Then proceed with this week’s entry
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“What’s your name, child?” The queen picked up a kitten and settled it on her lap as she sat on the bed.
“Pickles.” The girl squirmed and turned her head to sneeze.
“Well… Pickles, what does the Wizard Deen do for you?” The kitten began climbing her majesty’s dress.
“Bed, two meals, sometimes three a day. And he’s teaching me magic.” Pickles coughed into her arm.
“Clearly not any healing spells.”
“He’ll fix me up once he comes around. Is the king any better?”
“His majesty will recover.”
“See? Deen’s not so bad.”
“You could have done better for yourself.”
“Because of the cats?” Near Pickles’ head, the mama cat purred and kneaded the pillow.
The climber clawed its way up the Queen’s front and finally reached her shoulder, but fell. Her majesty caught it and replaced it on her lap. “Do you have any idea what value a magical cat has?”
“If I sold my cat, I could live here in the palace. But she’s my familiar. Deen won’t take her. He swore a blood oath.”
“I begin to see the appeal of this path. But … a demonologist?”
“I won’t go hungry.”
“I think your cat did all his fighting for him.”
Pickles jerked the covers into her face and sneezed again. “They worked together.”
“I see.” The kitten flopped onto its back and seized a dangling string.
“That one likes you. I might sell him.”
“Might?”
“For the right price. To the right person.”
The queen chuckled and dislodged her ferocious guest, returning him to his siblings on the counterpane. “I shall have to consider carefully.” She swished out of the room in a wash of perfume.
The kitten meowed after her until Pickles pulled it up to her own chest. “She’ll be back. She doesn’t know you already belong to her. And we shan’t tell her. We’ll let her pay.” The little girl stroked the kitten’s nose, then flopped back onto the pillow and closed her eyes.
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What’s your path? Everyone would love to know over at Trifecta.
[note – the girl IS lying about her name. Her name is Vee. She doesn’t trust anybody, let alone the queen.]
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Jessie Powell is the Jester Queen. She likes to tell you about her dog, her kids, her fiction, and her blog, but not necessarily in that order. |
Your descriptions are so vivid, I can clearly seen each scene playing out.
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Ah! “She swished out of the room in a wash of perfume.” Exquisite visual piece. Thanks for sharing.
meow! Clever kitty 🙂
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I enjoy this story!
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You’ve captured a kitten’s movements well. I can really picture it playing on the queen.
Hop over and visit Bee’s recent post Maternity Leave – (Fiction)
Cats are such fun to write about. And kittens are especially fond of scratching their way up unscalable objects and falling off at the top
Your writing is very descriptive. I could really see the scene.
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Yay! I always worry when everything hinges on dialogue.
This is very good. I really liked reading this, could picture all the characters and scene throughout. Well done. 🙂
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So glad you enjoyed it.
I really like the way this story came together. The dialogue is natural and the imagery is great.
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So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
wow this is beautiful. The name Pickles made me smile and i love that line swished out of the room in a wash of perfume. 🙂
If the Queen had asked, Vee (her real name) would have told her “because I’m as briney as a barrel of pickles”
I remember this one! I love how the cat and the kid are the ones in control and the wizard and the royals just stumble around after them.
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That’s true! I hadn’t really thought of it that way, but they really are. Vee/Pickles is a crafty kid, very much a Gavroche.
I love your fiction. And I’m so proud (slightly jealous) that you keep up with it so nicely.
Thanks Missy! You actually keep to a REGULAR schedule. There’s seriously something to be said for that!!
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Oh, hurray! I love that you’ve returned to this. Vee is an interesting girl. You have a knack for writing strong young characters (your America’s Next Author piece, for example). Honestly, my favorite phrase was “…and dislodged her ferocious guest.” I love how “ferocious” kittens can be… 🙂
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Love the name Pickles for a cat. You put me right in the scene.
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I kind of like the kid. Don’t think the queen knows quite what to make of her. Curious, saying her name was Pickels.
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Okay, I need to read the other pieces. I was a bit lost as to why the Queen was visiting Pickles (my fault for not reading the earlier entries), but I agree with the comments above that you captured the kitten perfectly.
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Pickles 😀 That’s such a great name. This piece is so cool.
Ha, sneaky here…of course kitties do select their people (doesn’t matter if the owner is willing or not!)
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As usual, it’s wonderful! And, it stands alone really well, but also works with the ongoing story. I love that the kitten already belongs to the queen 🙂
A great read – My cat is actually sitting next to me as I read this. Perfect descriptions. Terrific dialogue.
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You may be the finest dialogue writer of all-time. I never have trouble following and everything’s descriptive. Okay, write more,…now
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Clever little Pickles-oops I mean Vee;-)Loved the sentence,“She’ll be back. She doesn’t know you already belong to her. And we shan’t tell her. We’ll let her pay.” My kind of girl-loved it:-)
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