What the Cat Saw

Yes, I’m sorry, this one has backstory. Not much. And it makes sense out of context. But if you want to know how we got here,

Start with this one

Then read this one

And then go here

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.]

About jesterqueen:
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.

Comments

What the Cat Saw — 28 Comments

  1. 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. 🙂

  2. 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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  3. 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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  4. 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 🙂

  5. 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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