Five Hours in a Balloon

I Own Nothing

All Rights Reserved

For a long time I have thought that Mistoffelees and Cassandra would make a sweet couple, and I have been rather disappointed with the limited number of Fanfictions to depict them as such. The obvious solution was to write one myself.

I

"Don't worry, I won't let you walk into anything," Mistoffelees promised.

"I don't know why you insist upon being so mysterious," Cassandra grumbled as she closed her eyes. She wondered what he was up to. As she felt his gentle paws holding her arms a tingle went down her spine and she felt a surge of excitement, but she was adept at keeping those feelings hidden.

"Just keep your eyes shut and you'll find out in a few minutes." He carefully guided her around a corner. "All right, you can open them!"

She did and saw a crate lined with towels and a large blanket tied to it. With forced calmness, though inwardly she was crestfallen, she said "All right. Interesting."

Mistoffelees laughed. "I know you're disappointed. But you'll understand in a minute. Here, climb in!"

He helped her into the crate and then climbed in himself.

"What are these towels for?"

"We don't want to stand for hours on hard wood, do we? Don't want any nasty splinters either."

She looked around. Stand here for hours? "All right, Mistoffelees, out with it: what are you up to?"

He held up his paws and waved them around. A streak of blue energy burst from them. The large blanket lit up as if was a neon sign and rose, on its own accord, into the air. As it rose it naturally pulled the crate it was tied to with it.

Cassandra's mouth opened slightly and she looked about as surprised as she ever did. "You've made a hot air balloon!"

He grinned at her.

"I never knew you possessed this kind of magic!"

"I wanted to keep it a surprise!"

She often could not help but be amazed at this cat. He always found new ways to surprise and impress her in ways no other cat was capable. "Is there anything you can't do with magic?"

"Sure. Restoring life, traveling through time, diminishing Tuggar's mane and ego—"

Cassandra had to laugh. It was a dark and melodic sound that Mistoffelees loved hearing. "I'm not expecting miracles!"

They had reached an elevation now where they were higher than most of the buildings in London. Mistoffelees stopped the conversation so he could focus on directing the balloon. After all, if his spell went wrong they could easily fall to their deaths, and that would be a rather depressing way to end this little outing. Cassandra took the opportunity to look about them.

She had never in her life been this high up. It was like looking at another world almost. The cars below them looked like the tokens human children played board games with. The masses of people were little more than multicolored dots moving in random directions. And it was so strange to see the rooftops of buildings that had always towered imposingly over her. The Thames was flowing sluggishly before them, twisting and cutting through the city like a giant gray snake.

"Well? What do you think?"

Cassandra had a little trouble thinking of the right superlatives. "This is rapturous!"

"Not my choice of words, but I agree with the general idea," he grinned.

She swatted his arm playfully. "That's because your vocabulary is not as refined as mine is! I shall have to work on fixing that."

Mistoffelees caught her paw. "Oh you will, will you?"

"Yes I shall." She replied, holding her nose upwards pompously as if she was some socialite matriarch. Mistoffelees just started laughing, and she started laughing. "Actually, I have enough eloquence for the pair of us. I much prefer you just the way you are."

"I'm very glad to hear you say so,"

There was nothing Mistoffelees would have liked more at that moment than to wrap his paws around this beautiful queen and kiss her, but unfortunately, as the balloon gradually floated over the river a few pigeons and a seagull flew over to investigate the strange sight. He was compelled to turn away and shoot a bolt of electricity at the makeshift flock. He did not want those beaks and claws anywhere near the balloon if he could help it.

Feeling a bit mischievous now, and a bit eager to impress Cassandra even further, he used his magic to maneuver the balloon so that it was directly in line with the London Eye Ferris Wheel and rose in synchronization with the cars. The people on the ride could hardly believe their eyes and instinctively pulled out their phones.

Cassandra scowled. "Mistoffelees, take us higher. I don't want my profile ending up on those wireless computer machines and have a horde of ninnies squealing about how cute they think we are. It's undignified for a Jellicle. Take us higher."

At once had the balloon veered off while wafting upwards and headed back over the river.

"I'm sorry, Cass, I completely forgot they were likely to do that,"

"How could you forget something like that?" Cassandra asked scornfully, "They do it all the time! You of all cats should know! A few hundred are taking your picture every time you do a magic show!"

"Which means I've grown so accustomed to it I don't think about it anymore," Mistoffelees said quietly.

Cassandra's foul mood vanished and she apologized at once. "But still, let's avoid humans for today, all right?"

"As well as we can," Mistoffelees promised. "Oh look, we're right above St. James's Park,"

She did and saw beautiful green lawns, the rounded of tops trees, and a small green lake that appeared to be in the shape of a leg bone, with a wooded island on both ends, and a bridge running through the middle.

There was something magical about all of this, Cassandra thought. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful sight, and she was with an amazing Tom. Forgotten was her annoyance over camera phones. Instead she felt wonderful. She almost felt like she could just leave the balloon and through the air herself.

"You could try it once, I suppose," Mistoffelees commented when she told him this. Cassandra had to laugh again. It had once been rare for her to laugh ever, yet somehow this Tom always knew what to say. "I suppose you could do it,"

"Of course! Would you like me to?"

She shook her head vigorously. "Not when we're up this high. What if something went wrong?" For a moment he saw fear in her eyes, so he hastily dropped the idea. The balloon rose in silence for a few minutes.

"So," Mistoffelees said eventually, "where do you want to go?"

"Can you get us out of London?"

"Of course. But which direction?"

"Could you maybe get us to Paris?" she asked hopefully. "Don't laugh! You know how much I have wanted to see it!"

Mistoffelees stopped laughing but kept smiling. "Not today, I'm afraid. I've never used this spell for such a length of time yet. I don't know if it'll last for such a distance, and I certainly don't want to risk it over the Channel until I do."

Cassandra nodded. "But one day soon, perhaps?"

"We could just ask Skimble for train times and sneak a ride, you know."

She drew nearer to him, "But this way would be so much nicer! It would just be us and no stupid humans and noisy engines. Just the two of us gliding over the English and French countryside's with an endless horizon before us, bound for a metropolitan center of the arts. Does it not sound wonderful?"

Mistoffelees felt his breath hitch up, as it often did when she was standing so close. "I'll get us to Paris one day, Cass, don't worry. But where shall we go today?"

"Well, why not just see how far north we can go?"

"That sounds fine to me." He tightened one of the knots.

She eyed them nervously. "Specifically how long does this spell perform for, anyway?"

"My longest test lasted four and three quarter hours. But I was only six meters off the ground for that." He thought a moment. "How about we head north a ways and find a nice hill to land on before heading home?"

For lack of an alternative preference, Cassandra consented.

It was a beautiful day in autumn. After an early morning drizzle the sun was finally coming out as the short afternoon began, drying the ground a little and turning the leaves golden and red, lighting the grass and pine trees in a warm green hue, and changing the sky from dull gray to a lovely cobalt blue. Yet despite the change in weather the air was still crisp and chilled, and there was little warmth to be found even when standing in the direct sunlight. Mistoffelees did not mind so much, but Cassandra's sleek coat was very thin. Seeing her start to shiver Mistoffelees picked up a spare blanket, which he had brought for just such an occasion, and draped it around her.

"Alonzo would have kept me warm by embracing me for a long time," she remarked.

"And your relationship with him fell apart after a month," Mistoffelees replied without missing a beat, "I don't think his example is one to be followed."

"You had better not." Cassandra said rather sharply.

"Cass, I'd never cheat on you. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes. I also knew that about Alonzo, but that didn't keep him faithful, did it?"

Mistoffelees put his paws on her shoulders. "Cass, I said it before and I'll say it to the day I die: I will never cheat on you."

She looked into his eyes and believed him. Perhaps it was only because she wanted to, but she believed him nevertheless. "Of course, Alonzo and I weren't made for each other. That became obvious fairly swiftly. Our breakup was doomed to happen sooner or later."

"Same with me and Electra," Mistoffelees muttered. "You and Lon were better suited for each other than we were. You at least lasted a month. We split up after the first date." He put a paw on his head wearily. "That was a rough night."

"I've been meaning to ask: did you really turn her coat blue?"

He buried his face in his paws. "I was trying to light a candle. Used the wrong spell. And then I couldn't figure out how to reverse it and ended up turning our dinner into a pile of wintergreen berries."

Cassandra winced. "You don't have to tell me the rest if you don't want to."

"You're right, let's talk about something else. Hold on a minute, we're getting too high, I'm going to lower us a little."

"Could you actually take us higher? Now that we're up here, I feel a sudden craving to touch a cloud."

Mistoffelees looked around, raising his whiskers in amusement. Cassandra looked around too. There were no clouds in sight.

"It's autumn in London," she said defensively, "I naturally expect clouds to always be around at this time of year."

"If we see one I'll try to get us close enough. I'd like to touch one too, now that I think of it. But for now…" He waved his arms and the balloon began to descend slowly.

Cassandra smiled. "And that song just calls you 'clever'. I would use the term 'amazing' or 'incredible'. You know, Alonzo was a bit jealous of you."

"Oh?" He tried to sound uninterested.

"Yes. He always wondered why you'd picked me, of all cats, for that magic trick to bring back Old Deuteronomy, and thought he had a rival. Of course, then you had your 'dinner' with Electra and lost all interest in any sort of romantic attachments, so he decided his fears were groundless."

"Not entirely," Mistoffelees replied, "Considering we're together now,"

"Yes, but you never asked me out until after I'd broken up with him." She eyed him curiously. "You know, I don't know myself why you chose me for that trick. You've never said."

"Nobody's ever asked,"

"Oh they've asked, believe me!"

Indeed, others had. After he selected her that night for his magic trick, a number of Jellicles had thought as Alonzo had, including her. Had Mistoffelees been trying to convey a hint that he was interested in a romantic relationship with Cassandra? But they had had a limited interacted afterwards, and Alonzo, perhaps eager to beat him to the punch, had quickly asked Cassandra out. Not long afterwards Mistoffelees and Electra had begun their short lived and dismal relationship. During this period his motives at the Jellicle Ball remained a mystery.

"Well they've never asked me about it." He shook his head, "That was quite a night, wasn't it? I don't remember a Jellicle Ball ever having so much happen."

"Nor I and I've been with the tribe considerably longer."

She looked over the sides again. They had passed out of London and were drifting towards the Epping Forest. Numerous ponds were beneath them, as were thick forests of trees which obscured much of the smaller roads from sight. To the right she could see houses that looked something like rows of scales on a reptile, only they had lines of trees and roads dividing them. On second thought she felt it somewhat resembled a painting by Klimt. Not in terms of the colors but the shapes and random yet deliberate directions.

She became aware Mistoffelees was watching her. "What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"Our first date. Remember?"

"Of course I do. We saw the Royal Ballet's production of The Sleeping Beauty. How could I forget? Though I must say, I was very surprised you asked me to go with you."

What had happened was this: Mistoffelees had been approached by his sister Victoria, her mate Plato, and their friends Jemima and Tumblebrutus. They announced they were going to see the ballet and invited him to come with them. So that he would not feel like a fifth leg, they had offered to set him up with someone. Mistoffelees still suspected they were really doing this to find him a mate, which had rather irritated him. He had only accepted on the grounds that he be allowed to do the 'setting up' himself. He then left the house for a while and on his return announced that Cassandra had agreed to come.

After that, the two began to attend the theatre together on a regular basis. Operas, plays, ballets, and to a lesser extent musicals and magic shows. Some of these magic shows were performed by Mistoffelees himself. On a few occasions, especially during the early weeks, other Jellicles, namely Victoria and Plato, would accompany them, but for some time now it had just been the two of them attending the performances. They had been to every major theatre in London at least once, and at length Mistoffelees had suggested they do something different, and Cassandra agreed. And thus they were floating over the earth.

"If you don't mind my asking," Cassandra said slowly, "Why did you pick me, of all the Jellicles?"

Mistoffelees thought a moment. "Well, for starters, you were the most likely to agree to come, seeing how it was a ballet."

"True. That was one problem that came between me and Alonzo. He never truly cared about the theatre. He would go with me and he respected obvious talent, but he never felt stirred by what he saw. I could always see the indifference in his eyes. But was that the only reason?" She was hoping very much that he would say it was not.

Mistoffelees looked away from her a little. This was not quite how he was picturing this trip going. He had every intention of answering her question, but he had intended to do it on his own terms, when the time was right. "If you don't mind my asking, why did you agree to come?"

She shrugged. "I went to see The Sleeping Beauty. I certainly did not expect we would go on to see more shows. You told me yourself to think of it as 'just an outing with a group of friends'."

"Yes," he acknowledged, "I was afraid you'd say 'no' if you thought it was an attempt to…"

Cassandra eyed him expectantly. "To…?"

Mistoffelees could feel sweat on his fur and in his nervousness he began to fade from visibility.

"What's the matter? You only do that when you're afraid of something. What's wrong, what is it?"

"Nothing!" he blurted unconvincingly.

Cassandra's ears lowered suspiciously. Luckily for Mistoffelees, one of the knots started loosening and he had to rush over to tighten it.

"You know, I was very surprised you said 'yes'," he quickly said as he worked, "After what happened with Alonzo, I thought you'd never look twice at a Tom again,"

"As did I," she admitted, "But as I said, I only went that first time because I wanted to see the ballet,"

"And everything else we've gone to since then? Were you only going to see those?"

"I think what you really mean is: would I have gone alone or with anyone else?"

"Yes, I suppose that's what I mean." This was something that had been bothering him ever since that first outing.

Cassandra gave him a piercing stare which made him feel she could see into his very soul. "Have I ever shown any inclination I wanted to see a show with anyone else?"

"Not when I'm around, but I don't know what you think about and…and I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought this up, it shouldn't matter to me what your motives—"

"Stop rambling," Cassandra said, "you were right to bring this up, because no relationship lasts without honesty."

"Then in all honesty, I can't help but wonder if I am nothing more than your theatre companion."

Cassandra's gaze softened. "Is that what you think of yourself as?"

"It feels like that's all I've been for the past few months," he said bitterly.

She put a paw on his shoulder. "But you've enjoyed yourself, haven't you?"

"Of course I have! But I…I honestly don't know what to say now,"

"I've gone to the theatres with you because I enjoy it. I enjoy what we see and I enjoy having your company. Would I go alone if you were busy? Perhaps, if it was something I particularly wanted to see and if I could be of no assistance to you. But I doubt I would enjoy it as much without you. Would I ask anyone else to come with me? Only my sister Exotica or perhaps your sister, if you did not mind, but I doubt either of them would come." She moved her paw so it was touching his face. "But you are not just my 'theatre companion'. I—I would rather—" she suddenly fell silent.

Mistoffelees wanted to ask her what was wrong, but only then did they realize that the balloon had been descending for so long it finally and quite naturally landed on the ground.

"Oh," he looked about them. They had landed in a large field beyond the Epping Forest.

Cassandra looked around as well. "Are we going to continue the flight or stop here for a while?"

He suddenly staggered and put a paw to his head.

"Mistoffelees?"

"I think we'll have to stay here a while," he said weakly. He felt incredibly dizzy.

"Mistoffelees, what's wrong? Is it your magic?"

"Yes," He took a few steps and sank to the ground. Lightheadedness was one of the main side effects his magic had on him, especially with the more elaborate and drawn out spells.

Cassandra helped him lie down on the grass. "I've never seen you have a reaction this bad before,"

"Keeping a balloon that high in the air for a long time is pretty tiring work," he admitted as he took a deep breath, "I'm not used to it," and with that he promptly fell asleep.