Title: Swear on Your Nine Lives
Author: Dorri
Summary: Pre-SFA. Upon his witnessing of her transformation, Fiona entrusts Puss with her secret.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Fiona and Puss
Disclaimer: Puss and Fiona belong to Dreamworks Animation. I make no profit from this story.
Author's Note: Since this is supposed to take place right after Puss first meets Fiona, he's obviously not fat yet, and I figure he hasn't quite hung up his sword yet. I like to think that it took him a while to finally give up his swordsmanship. This story won't explain HOW Puss came to live with Fiona, though I may explore that in another story.

Swear on Your Nine Lives

Puss yawned as he rolled over onto his side, the blankets that Fiona had provided for him the previous night surprisingly comfortable. It took him several minutes to finally conjure up the willpower to actually stand up. He stretched his front legs out first and then his hind legs, ears perking when he heard a light pop. He grabbed his belt and sword, not wanting to venture out alone without his protection. He clicked his rough tongue against the roof of his mouth, eager to quench his thirst.

Once his belt and sword were secure around his waist, he started to exit the tent, hoping to locate a creek or stream somewhere in the area. Just as he started to venture outside, the flaps suddenly parted and he found himself staring up at the surprisingly attractive ogress. "Oh, excuse me," he said, taking a step back.

"Where're you going?" Fiona asked, sounding worried. "You're not leaving, are you?"

"No, I was just going to find water."

Fiona nodded, her features relaxing a bit. Puss looked on past her, noticing the sun's morning rays creeping through the trees and bathing their surroundings in warm light. "Good, the sun's coming up," said Puss. "Hopefully I won't need to be looking over my shoulder quite as much."

Fiona looked back at the rising sun with anxiousness, which quickly caught Puss' attention. He jumped back in alarm when he noticed a vibrant, golden light begin to envelope the ogress. He hissed and backed away almost to the other end of the tent, hair standing up from the base of his neck all the way to the end of his tail. When the glowing, swirling dust cloud cleared, he was shocked to see not an ogress, but a human standing before him. She clutched at her now loose, baggy clothing and quickly darted inside the tent, closing the flaps shut.

"Fiona…?"

"I can explain," she said, turning to the cat. "I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep this from you, but I figured it'd be easier to let you see for yourself rather than me try to explain it to you." The now human Fiona sighed as she knelt down onto the floor. "It's a curse," she began. "I've been under this curse almost my whole life."

Puss slowly approached the woman, his fur beginning to settle.

"By night one way, by day another. This shall be the norm…until you find true love's first kiss, and then take love's true form."

"I…I don't understand."

"It's a spell. A witch cast it on me when I was little. Every night when the sun goes down, I turn into an ogre, and then when the sun rises again, I return to normal. Only when I receive true love's first kiss will the spell be broken." The woman suddenly looked angered. "But I gave up on that a long time ago," she spat. "My parents had me locked away in a dragon-guarded castle, promised that my true love would rescue me and we'd live happily ever after as king and queen, just like the story always go. Well…I waited…and waited…and waited. Eventually, I gave up. I wasn't going to just sit around and wait for someone to change my life for me. I was going to take matters into my own hands and get out of that tower myself."

Puss grinned. "I like your take charge attitude."

Fiona gripped a thick strand of red hair that hung loosely by her shoulder, slowly pulling it through her fingers. "When I returned home…everything had changed. Rumpel tricked my parents into signing one of his contracts, ultimately resulting in them disappearing forever. The kingdom was his for the taking once my parents were gone." Fiona grew silent for a moment, her eyes welling with tears. "He's ruined everything!" she cried, burying her face in her hands. "I want him dead!" Puss drew closer to her, placing a gentle paw on her leg. Fiona revealed her tear-stained face, looking down at the little cat through misty eyes.

"I never would have guessed you were the princess," he said, green eyes wide with wonder.

"Some princess," Fiona scoffed, looking away.

"What? What's to be ashamed of? You are a princess like no other! You are on a mission to save your kingdom! You're the fierce leader of a resistance group, and yet you still have your gentle side. No other princess could possibly compare. If you were a cat, I would ask you to marry me."

Fiona's mood quickly changed as she broke out into a fit of giggles, her tears forgotten.

"The other ogres…do they know of your curse?"

"No, and I can't let them ever find out."

"Why?"

"I just can't. If they knew my true form, I'm not sure they'd be as accepting of me, and considering how humans have persecuted them so much, I'm not so sure they'd still be willing to take orders from me. It may be safe to assume they don't trust humans, at least not enough to accept one as their leader. It's just best that they didn't know. At least for now."

"How do you manage to keep this from them?"

"Well, setting up my camp far away from theirs helps. I tell them that I like to use the day time to rest, and that I need my privacy. We typically plan battle strategies and train at night. It's honestly a good idea since we'd be harder to detect at night. We try to keep a low profile during the day. Rumpel's witches could easily spot us if we're too active in broad daylight."

Puss nodded.

Fiona's expression suddenly became more stern. "You're the only one who knows, so you have to promise not to breathe a word about this to anyone. You must swear on all nine of your lives."

Puss crossed a paw over his chest while lifting the other into the air. "I swear on my nine lives," he agreed. "Of course, it's probably a safe bet that I've lost a few over the years," he added, smirking.

Fiona smiled, reaching out to scratch the cat behind the ear. "Thanks." Puss purred softly, leaning into the touch. "You know, I always wanted a cat when I was a little girl."

Puss couldn't bring himself to deny the princess of her wish. He had always sworn he would never stoop to a level as low as allowing himself to be someone's pet. The thought just made him gag, but this woman's kindness and strong heart had melted his own so quickly. It was clear that she was heavily burdened due to her curse, and he could see a bit of relief now that she had finally told someone the truth. He couldn't imagine how stressful her situation was, and if being her pet would help to relieve that stress and provide the companionship she lacked while staying hidden away during the day, who was he to deny her that? She clearly needed someone to talk to during the day.

"I'm all yours, señorita," he said, bowing slightly. Fiona beamed, scooping the cat up and pulling him against her chest in a tight embrace. The feline winced against her vice grip, struggling to breathe. He sighed when she placed him gently on her lap, running a hand over his head and down his back. He began to purr again, subconsciously kneading her lap with his paws. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad, after all. He always loved it when people fawned over him, and now he was in the company of someone who would pamper and adore him daily. It seemed like a pretty good deal to him, just as long as he never had to do anything too degrading, like wear a pink ribbon.