YES. This sequel actually exists now. Aren't you proud of me? XD I'm looking forward to some crit, too.
And a shout-out to my beta,Magical - Marvel - Mr. Mistoffelees ! CURSE THOSE HYPHENS.
Chapter One: In which Mistoffelees whines more than he should
Victoria groaned as a loud whimper woke her; Mistoffelees was having yet another nightmare. Every single night! She thought angrily, before hastily checking herself, No, no, you must be patient. He's traumatized. The white queen moved over to face her mate and gently began to kiss him awake; waking the jumpy tom from a nightmare any other way could result in him electrocuting her or frying the blankets. Victoria had learned both the hard way.
Sometimes she wondered why she'd stayed his mate through all this time, if she was just a fool in hoping he did love her, truly. Though, as his whimpering faded and his eyelids slowly opened to reveal amber eyes, sparkling with the smile she could feel on his lips, Victoria was reminded why she would never be able to leave him. Through all of his trauma and problems, he had retained his quirks, his intelligence, the kitten-like fascination he had with everything...and all of it caused her to dote on him. He had her stuck.
"Was I having another nightmare?" Mistoffelees asked softly, pulling away and sitting up to look at her with mingled confusion and amusement showing plainly on his features. The white queen nodded.
"Yes, but how did you know? You can't ever remember them," she replied, moving over to climb into his lap and rest her head on his fluffy white chest. The tuxedo began to purr ever-so-quietly as she gently ran her fingers through his bib.
"Because you never kiss me awake when I'm not," he whined, pouting at her and crossing his arms, "I like it, you know. It's a very pleasant way to get up."
Victoria laughed, relieved that it was one of his good days. If she woke him on a bad day, he was in no way like the Mistoffelees she had grown up and fallen in love with. She snuggled closer to him and closed her eyes. He didn't speak, and when she turned her eyes to his face, the white queen noted that he was staring at a crack in the far wall as if it were of utmost importance. Victoria had long since realized that the tuxedo would often do such a thing, lost in some obscure thought.
"Mistoffelees," she began, watching as his glazed-over eyes blinked and he turned his gaze down to her slowly, "When was it you last ate? I haven't caught you any food recently, and I don't know if you've been feeding yourself." The tuxedo tended to forget to eat meals unless reminded; it was just another setback to face as he slowly returned to some form of normalcy. There were so many challenges that both he and Victoria had to face before he could heal properly, if he ever did...
"No, you caught me something to eat yesterday...because today is Tuesday, right?" he tilted his head questioningly as doubt filled his gaze; he rarely knew the date, so why should he now?
She sighed, annoyed and angered at the fact that he was so badly off he forgot to eat. What would happen to him when she became old and feeble? The white queen gently whacked the top of his head and tried not to yell as she spoke, "Mistoffelees, you must remember to eat! Today is Friday. It's been four days since you've eaten! How is that healthy?"
He flushed red and looked down, "I...I have so much to think about, I wasn't hungry right then, and you were busy...I just forget. I suppose it's not healthy...but it's not like I'm starving to death, Victoria. There's no need to panic."
Victoria nodded, swallowing her anger; it did no good to shame or to scold him. It never helped. She opened her mouth to speak, her tone surprisingly level and comforting, "Misto, love, we need to keep you well-fed. I don't want anything that we can prevent to happen to you."
He smiled, rolling his eyes surreptitiously, "I'm not a kitten, dear," he purred, mimicking her use of pet names, "I know I act an awful lot like one sometimes, on my bad days, but try to treat me like an adult when I'm acting like one. I'm a big tom."
This time, it was Victoria's turn to blush and glance away, his remark leaving her feeling foolish and like a mother hen, "I'm sorry, Misto. I just worry; I know I shouldn't, but I do. It's part of being a queen," she paused, knowing the statement was only half-true.
He said he knew how he acted on bad days, but the tuxedo honestly had no idea how difficult he could be, what with his sudden fits of anger, or sometimes he reverted to an almost kitten-like state, with monosyllabic speech completing the picture. Or, on occasion, he wouldn't respond to any prodding, locked away in some thoughtful dreamland. And of course, there were the rare, horrible days when he would forget where he was entirely and who Victoria was.
"What time is it?" he asked softly, obviously well enough today that he would create conversation without prodding. Victoria smiled again, glad she would have at least one day where he could nearly care for himself. It meant less effort on her part and a chance to clean their house, which deteriorated to a grubby state every time he had several bad days in a row.
"It's about six in the morning," she answered, yawning, and glancing at a watch sitting on her nightstand, "I'm going to get you some food and then clean house. Don't leave until I send Munkustrap in to watch you, please. You're supposed to have a supervisor at all times, and no one else is going to adult-sit you at this hour." Ever since he'd cut himself, leaving three horrible scars on each arm, he'd been watched by someone close to him every minute of every day. Though, when he was more jumpy and paranoid than usual, that didn't always help if it wasn't Victoria or Alonzo.
"But I can't go back to sleep after I've had a nightmare without you cuddling me," he whined softly, pawing at her and pulling her closer, "I get scared, and when I'm scared I have episodes. Do you want me to have an episode? I don't think you do." He'd been flirtatiously nibbling on her eartip as he spoke, knowing it would erode away her willpower to nothing.
"Oh, all right, you manipulative tom, you," she muttered, lying back down on the bed and snuggling into his chest as his arms went around her. So much for Mistoffelees needing her to cuddle him. He was just going through a needy phase, she supposed, purring softly as he pressed his face into the hollow between her neck and shoulder.
"You smell good," he said thickly, opening one eye sleepily and looking at her. He was prone to odd and off-topic compliments, and that was no result of the trauma. Once, when the two of them had "married" each other when they were ten, (it hadn't worked out, as Victoria wouldn't eat canned fish) he had told her that she "had a nice nose" and "wasn't too funny looking". As he'd gotten older, the comments had gotten slightly more tactful, but only in increments.
"Well, I should hope so," she answered in response. He quieted, and soon after was once again asleep, snoring softly and tickling her ears with his hot breath. Victoria squirmed carefully out from under his arms and spent a few moments grooming herself in front of a bit of reflective glass that served as a mirror before leaving the den.
She breathed in the sweet morning air, a grin gracing her lips despite the cloudy and overcast sky. The sun hadn't quite come up yet, so few cats were about, most preferring to enjoy alone time with their mates at such an early hour or go on a stroll outside of the 'yard. But Victoria was not most cats, and her mateship was not the average one. Mistoffelees needed to eat, and she would find him food. Rodents and other small mammals and birds would be sleeping at the moment, making them easy to hunt down.
But first, she needed to collect Munkustrap and send him to her den. The white queen ambled slowly along, knowing her mate couldn't hurt himself if he was sleeping, and took her time in reaching the tabby's shared den with Demeter.
When she reached the couple's den, she knocked gently on it until she heard the noises of stirring Jellicles. Munkustrap opened the door, blearily looking down at Victoria and casting a pleading glance at Demeter. The black and gold queen nodded, smiling thinly; she wasn't quite all there herself, and understood he needed taking care of.
"Mistoffelees, mm?" he grunted, raising an eyebrow. Victoria nodded appreciatively, glad he was so very understanding. She gave the tabby a quick hug and waved to Demeter.
"I'm going out to hunt," she explained, "I feel like he's wasting away, so tell him I shouldn't be more than an hour or two." Munkustrap gave a quick nod and Demeter looked over to her and back to her well-stocked pantry – she took great pride in her cooking, though was nowhere near as good as Jenny.
"I can bring over a nice lunch for you two, and Munkus and I can stay and visit for a bit, can't we, dear?" Demeter crooned, snuggling into the bigger tom's chest. Victoria blushed at their display and looked at her feet, feeling as though she was invading their privacy.
"Yes," he agreed happily, "I'll tell Lees we're going to come visit for lunch. It should be fun; Deme and Lees can catch up." Demeter grinned; she'd fawned over the tuxedo as though he was her own kitten and hadn't spoken to him in ages. She was sure to want to coddle him.
"Well, then," Victoria began, "I'll need to get Lees his breakfast, so I'll be going. Thanks ever so much, Munkus! You have no idea how much I appreciate this." At that, she dashed off towards the hunting grounds, where Munkustrap was certain she would catch far too much for her mate to eat in one sitting, especially in the morning.
"She's a good mate to him," Demeter stated softly, "Almost like you were to me. He needs her, you know, to hold him together. 'Else he would fall apart at the seams on his bad days, until he didn't have any good ones left."
Munkustrap nodded seriously, knowing his mate's sudden insight was nothing but truth, and that Mistoffelees was lucky to have his entire family and group of caretakers that helped him retain this level of sanity. He was so close to recovery, but with their limited technology, there was no way to determine if he would continue to improve. Munkus shook these melancholy thoughts from his head with a chuckle, kissed Demeter, and strolled off to go visit with his youngest nephew.