Author's Note: I hope somebody out there knows both Matt Cruse and Stardust, so that I'll get at least one review. Anyway, it was a hard decision for me to write this in third person; normally I would've written in it first person, because that just seems like the only way to write Matt Cruse, but this story's got so many subplots it would've been impossible to write without a more omniscient POV. It really is quite comical—I have to re-type literally every sentence because I keep forgetting and writing it in first person.
Disclaimer: I don't own Stardust or the Matt Cruse series.
Chapter Warnings: One very mild expletive. Mention of kissing, for you nitpickers out there.
...
Herein lies the beginning of Part One of the story "The Doppelganger." Part One focuses chiefly on the journey of Matthew Cruse and Katherine de Vries over the village of Wall and into the fantastical kingdom of Stormhold. In Stormhold, a series of unfortunate events will lead to disaster and tragedy, and to the descent of one of the young explorers into darkness.
Part One is the Star. Part One is Cloudchaser.
Sitting in his family's beautiful house in Kitsilano, in his bedroom, the window open wide, a pile of mail on his lap, Matt Cruse felt pretty good. Matt's eighteenth birthday had been two days ago, and the post was so full of cards from family members, admirers, and brownnosers that his mother had given him the whole pile to sift through. In fact, nearly everything in the mail was addressed personally to him.
The first three were birthday cards—one from his aunt and uncle in Toronto, one from the prime minister of Canada himself, and one from a young woman he'd never heard of in his life named Dilys Watson. He set these aside, on top of a letter sent from Victoria by his friend Tobias. He moved on to a cream-colored card with a fancy gold border. It said, in script so loopy it was nearly impossible to make out: You are cordially invited to join us as a Guest of Honor at the Lionsgate Museum of Zoology & Botanical Sciences for the Formspring Gala at eleven o'clock Sunday evening, 27th August. Matt shook his head bemusedly at it, wondering what this gala was for and why on Earth they had invited him as a guest of honor.
The last was a short letter from his inamorata, Kate de Vries. It had come adorned with a proper seal on the envelope. He'd read this one so many times that the edges were smudged from his fingerprints.
Dear Matt,
Happy birthday. I got an invitation from the Zoological Society in the mail inviting me to the gala at the museum this Sunday. They told me you were getting one too. You did, didn't you?
Anyway, I think this has something to do with one of—here the word my had been thoroughly inked out—our discoveries. Aerozoans or etherians or something. But you ought to know that my parents are coming too.
Mr. and Mrs. de Vries were a very wealthy couple who were extremely…protective, to put it kindly…of their daughter. Kate and Matt had kept their relationship secret from them for two years, but after their last trip together, there was no hiding it anymore—because Kate was not only his inamorata now, she was his fiancée. He had only seen Charles de Vries and his wife one time, and that was before they knew about Kate and him.
I'm just telling you this to give you a heads-up. I have no doubt that my parents will adore you, but I didn't want you to be surprised at the gala. Make sure you put on a good face for them, and for the Zoological Society, and all the guests, and everyone else for that matter.
See you soon. Can't wait!
Love,
Kate
Matt chuckled at her anxiety and ran his thumb over the word "love." Two days and he'd be at the gala—he'd be with Kate.
The grand ballroom of the Lionsgate Museum of Zoology and Botanical Sciences was enormous, and generously furnished. The closest Matt had been to a place like this was the ballroom of the Hotel Lionsgate, and that had been for a very momentous occasion indeed. So Matt couldn't help but feel rather nervous as he walked inside tonight.
He was wearing his old Airship Academy uniform, which still fitted him because he seemed to have stopped growing at seventeen, to his disappointment. His sisters had wanted to come, but his mother didn't think children of their age were very appropriate at the gala, so she had stayed home with them, leaving Matt to go on his own. Now, looking at all the elegant, formal guests, he thought she was probably right. Not one of them looked younger than thirty, and he felt very conspicuous at eighteen.
He didn't really know what to do first, so he began to meander about aimlessly, trying to look like he had some notion of where he was going. When he caught sight of a long table covered by a spotless white tablecloth and laden with refreshments, he immediately went over and poured himself a glass of punch, just so he could have something to do with his hands other than thrusting them into his pockets.
"Why, there he is—the man of the hour, Mr. Cruse!"
It was Kate's father. He was walking up to Matt with Mrs. de Vries beaming on his arm, and of course Matt had no way of escaping. Mr. de Vries clapped his shoulder in greeting. "Good to see you again, sir," Matt said in what he hoped sounded like an enthusiastic tone.
"And you, and you," the nobleman replied.
Mrs. de Vries extended a feminine, white-gloved hand. "How charming to finally meet you, Mr. Cruse—Kate's told us so much about you."
Matt chuckled uncomfortably. "H-has she?"
"But of course!" Mr. and Mrs. de Vries both seemed so approving of him; it was quite surprising. "Quite a frightening business, quite a frightening business indeed, that whole affair with Vikram Szpirglas. And then there was that expedition on the Starclimber—Kate tells us that we have you to thank for her safe return!"
He smiled modestly. "Well, it was mostly Captain Walken's outstanding direction that got us home."
Mr. de Vries adopted a slightly less approving expression. "Of course, there was that little incident with the suffragettes."
Matt felt himself growing hot around the ears. A year ago, he had been arrested in Kate's company after she had viciously smashed a shop window in a revolt for the right of women's suffrage. A cameraman had gotten a photograph of him in the jail cell with Kate, which had appeared in the newspaper the following morning. He very nearly shuddered at the memory.
Matt was saved the discomfort of answering. "But I suppose all your other remarkable feats more than make up for that little snag," Mr. de Vries said conclusively.
Matt exhaled.
"Mrs. de Vries and myself think you are a very appropriate suitor for our daughter," he went on.
His wife chimed in, "And you and Kate know each other so well—she told us all about how you took care of her while you were watch officer aboard the Aurora."
It was fortuitous that Matt hadn't already taken another gulp of punch, because he would have choked on it. He lowered his cup in a shaking hand and said lightly, "I'm sorry?"
"You remember! Three years ago, when you were serving as a watch officer on the Aurora. An impressively young age for such a post, I must say—Captain Walken thinks ever so highly of you," Mrs. de Vries said warmly.
Matt was beginning to feel quite sick. "Where is Kate?" he asked evenly, trying to seem like he was only making polite conversation.
"Oh, she wandered off somewhere to go talk to a colleague," said Mr. de Vries. "Speaking of which, I think I see the mayor over there by that window. It was delightful chatting with you again, Mr. Cruse." And with that, he and his wife swept off to bootlick the mayor of Lionsgate City.
Matt stalked through the merry crowd, shrugging off the many people who came up to shake his hand, his eyes trained for the slight figure of Kate de Vries. When he finally found her, she was alone at the punch table pouring something into a glass. She looked up and saw him, and she let out a little exclamation of joy. "Matt!" she said, her eyes glowing. "You're—"
"Come with me," Matt said roughly, and took her hand.
He led her out onto the balcony, where he was sure they would not be overheard. The two of them leaned with false casualness on the stone railing that overlooked the cool Lionsgate City night.
"Did you tell your parents I was the watch officer on the Aurora?" he asked bluntly.
Three years ago, before he had become well-known and well-respected and promising-futured, he had worked on a luxury passenger airliner called the Aurora. It was indeed on the Aurora that he'd first met Kate, but not as watch officer—as cabin boy.
Her eyes widened in understanding. "Oh, Matt, I… Yes. I did."
"Why?"
"You know perfectly well. My parents would never have let me marry you if they knew you had nothing better to go back to than Captain Walken's recommendation and a job as a cabin boy—or maybe junior sailmaker—after you left the Academy. They'd tell me you held no future for me, and they'd put a stop to it."
"Don't they read the paper?"
"Actually, the story that came out about you only mentioned that you worked on the Aurora, it never said what your exact job was."
"And Miss Simpkins?"
Miss Simpkins was Kate's chaperone. She had accompanied Kate on every one of their adventures to date (aside from the voyage to outer space), and it was very hard for Kate to keep secrets from her for too long.
Kate's eyes sparkled mischievously. "She… Well, she knew that I told them about it, but she didn't know exactly what I told them."
Matt did not smile. "What were you planning to do when I finished the Academy?"
"Well, by that time I'll already be eighteen years old."
"So what?"
"I'm legally an adult when I turn eighteen. I can marry whomever I see fit, no matter what my parents think. I never thought this secret would last forever; I fully intend to tell them after my birthday."
"That you lied to them. For three years."
"Well, yes, if you put it that way."
Matt laughed humorlessly. "Kate, there is no other way to put it! What will your parents say when you finally go straight with them?"
"They might disown me," said Kate in a quiet voice. "Or cut me off."
"Exactly! You won't have any money of your own right after you turn eighteen. You'll still need their support."
Kate didn't deflate—on the contrary, she looked ecstatic. "You and I have a habit of coming back from our little vacations with sacks full of gold."
Matt almost wanted to slap her. "You can't depend on that to save your life!"
"Well, perhaps Mother and Daddy will be alright with it—speaking of saving my life, do you know how many times you've saved my life? Because I do, and so do my parents. I don't think they'll forget what you've accomplished, even when they find out that you were a cabin boy on the Aurora."
He nodded. "Then it's settled. We're going to find them right now and tell them the truth."
"Nothing's settled!" said Kate at once. "This has to be done delicately."
"You are so good at mucking things up for me," said Matt bitterly. "It's not just about money and freedom, Kate. You know, I did actually hope for your parents to like me a little bit. I…" He didn't know exactly what to say next. "Damn it, Kate!" he said angrily, a little louder than he probably should have. "This is a fine mess you've got us into."
"I know," said Kate apologetically. "I'm sorry, Matt."
"There's really no way to do it delicately at this point. We just have to grit our teeth and do it."
Kate looked resigned. "I suppose you're right…"
"For once," he said coldly.
She sighed. "Well, we might as well do it now."
She laced her fingers through Matt's and they walked back into the house through the huge doors. Before they could locate Kate's parents over the heads of the crowd, however, another man hailed them on the threshold of the balcony.
"There you are! Mr. Cruse, Miss de Vries—it's been so long." Two very familiar people were walking over to them and offering their hands to be wrung: Hugh Snuffler and John McKinnon. Matt had been expecting this; Sir Hugh was, after all, the head of the Zoological Society. Still, Matt and Kate were none too pleased to see him.
"Good to see you, Sir John," Matt said as they grasped wrists. "Sir Hugh."
"Mm," said Sir Hugh vaguely. He kept his eyes averted from Kate, who pursed her lips.
"We've been looking all over for you two," said Sir John.
"Why's that, sir?"
"Well, you see..." Sir John lowered his voice confidentially, so that Kate and Matt leaned in to hear. "We're planning a special expedition very soon—a zoological exploration of sorts."
Sir John was the Canadian Minister of Air, which didn't entirely explain his involvement in a simple "zoological exploration." Matt glanced over at Kate and saw that she was listening with rapt attention.
"What kind of zoological exploration?" she asked eagerly; Matt could tell this was exactly what Sir John had wanted her to say.
"Well, it concerns one of your recent discoveries," he explained. "The cloud cat, to be precise."
Now Matt was interested as well. He had been significantly involved in the discovery of cloud cats—in fact, one of them had tried to eat him on several occasions.
"We know from your research that they only periodically return to the island in the Pacificus," Sir John went on, "and we're very interested in learning where else they go."
Kate was grinning now, and so was Matt. They saw where Sir John was going with this.
"We know the general direction; every year, we've seen them flying in an easterly direction. But that's the predictable part."
Matt nodded. "The winds would carry them east."
Sir John tapped his nose. "What we don't know is where they migrate to after they depart.
"They're not terribly timid creatures," he went on, "They congregated around our airship last time we saw them. But we're still concerned that ornithopters would be too loud and rickety; they might scare them off course. We know how well-camouflaged they are, and how swiftly they fly. We need a faster, more maneuverable means of aviation than airships, but ordinary ornithopters are out of the question as well. So we've constructed a new, modified version of the ornithopter—one that makes no sound."
"Impossible!" Kate said, delighted.
"Not so, Miss de Vries," said Sir John, smiling. "We've done it. Piloting it is relatively similar to piloting any normal ornithopter, and we happen to know that you're trained to fly ornithopters."
"I am," Kate agreed, grinning from ear to ear.
"I assume you know what I'm going to say next," said Sir John humorously. "Sir Hugh and a team of zoologists are going on an expedition aboard one of our airships, which will also be carrying one of these special ornithopters—and we'd like you two to come along. Are you interested?"
Kate's smile faltered. "Sir Hugh?"
Sir Hugh spoke up for the first time. "Yes, Miss de Vries, this expedition is a little whim of mine, and Sir John is humoring me. However, since you and Mr. Cruse were the first to work with cloud cats, and since I know how admirably you both behaved on the Starclimber, we've agreed to invite you as well."
Now Kate's cheeks were flushing. "Invite us?" she said icily.
"Yes." Sir Hugh was smiling broadly. "If you are not satisfied with our terms, or do not wish to come, we shall have to manage without you."
"But we are most adamant that you do come!" Sir John said hastily. "It is our dearest wish—"
"Kate! There you are."
Two new people had joined their party: Mr. and Mrs. de Vries.
"Why, Sir John!" said Charles de Vries. "Sir Hugh! How charming."
"We were just discussing an expedition we're planning to take on the Pacificus, Mr. de Vries," said Sir John.
"We're tracking the migration patterns of cloud cats," said Sir Hugh, "a really marvelous discovery by your plucky daughter here."
Kate's eyes flashed, and plucky was not one of the words Matt thought of to describe her at the moment.
"And you were hoping Kate could join you?" said Mrs. de Vries.
Sir John gave her a brilliant smile. "We were—but of course, we need your permission."
"Well, of course she'll do it!" Matt was taken aback by the enthusiasm in Mr. de Vries's voice. "And we'll come too."
Matt and Kate stared. "Y-you'll what?" said Kate, horrified.
"We'll come with you!" Mr. de Vries said jovially. "I daresay it'll be an interesting experience."
"But... But, Father," Kate stuttered, "won't you have to...um..."
"Naturally, the expedition will only be for two weeks or so," Sir John assured them. "Surely you won't be missing anything important?"
"When is it?" asked Mrs. de Vries.
"We depart early on the morning of the fifth of September," Sir Hugh answered.
Matt's heart sank. The seventh was Kate's eighteenth birthday; he'd been hoping to do something just the two of them.
Kate, it seemed, was not troubled by this at least. "What a stupendous way to spend my birthday!" she exclaimed.
"Then it's settled," declared Mr. de Vries. "Kate, Mrs. de Vries, Mr. Cruse, and I will meet you at the departure time packed and ready to go at the Lionsgate City Aeroport."
"Splendid!" said Sir John happily. "We will see you in nine days' time."
"Well," said Sir Hugh, "first I'll see them on the stage."
Matt frowned. The stage? "Why will you see us onstage?"
Sir John winked. "You'll see in a moment, son."
Sir John departed with Sir Hugh, and soon after Kate's parents went off to the dance floor. Kate watched them for a moment, and then turned to Matt expectantly.
He'd been dreading this. He had danced with Kate only one time before, and that had not been in a ballroom full of strangers. "Er, Kate..."
"Oh, come on, Matt—it'll be fun!"
Tugging a little bit too hard on his arm, Kate caused Matt to stumble and spill his drink all over the front of his uniform. He almost dropped the cup—it was icy-cold—and Kate put her hands to her mouth, horror-struck. "Oh, Matt, I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you clean it up—"
"Perhaps we shouldn't be dancing if I'm this clumsy tonight," said Matt as he mopped up his shirt.
"Fine," said Kate mischievously, bending to pick up Matt's cup, "but you owe me one."
He agreed. He wasn't exactly thrilled about owing Kate a dance, but it was better than having to go onto the dance floor and waltz with her right now.
Kate turned their conversation to her parents, and the secret she had been keeping from them. "Do you still think I should tell them the truth?"
"I suppose not," Matt said, resigned. "Not if they can forbid you from going to the island."
"We'll tell them after the expedition," Kate decided. "Alright?"
"We'll tell them during the expedition," said Matt. "Maybe if they're forced to spend a couple of weeks with me on an airship, they'll learn to live with me."
They stood together and watched Kate's parents twirl about a little stiffly for a while, making polite smalltalk. What he really wanted to do was kiss her; they hadn't had a chance for several days. But that, of course, was socially unacceptable at a formal gala like this one.
After a few minutes, the music stopped. A spotlight struck the raised wooden platform against one wall. Matt saw a large projection screen lowering itself behind the rotund man who was walking onto the stage. With a start, Matt recognized the man as Sir Hugh Snuffler.
"Ladies and gentleman," he said loudly, clapping his hands together, "thank you all very much for coming to the Formspring Gala here at the Lionsgate Museum of Zoology and Botanical Sciences!"
Smattered clapping, as the guests turned their attention to Sir Hugh's presentation.
"I am happy to announce that the Lionsgate Museum is now home to the very first official exhibit"—he gave just the slightest emphasis on "official"—"concerning the magnificent chiroptheia panthero—or, as it is more commonly known, cloud cat."
Matt smiled as more applause rippled through the audience. Exchanging a glance with Kate, visions of the cloud cats' island, and the very first one they'd ever seen, danced through his mind.
A light flickered into existence, projecting a blurry photograph on the screen behind Sir Hugh, who raised his chubby arm to direct the audience's attentions to it. Matt recognized it as one of the photos Kate had taken of a cloud cat's skeleton.
"As I'm sure you're all aware," said the eminent zoologist onstage, "the cloud cat was a few years ago by Miss Kate de Vries, who I am delighted to inform you is standing in this very room."
"That's not true," said Kate unexpectedly.
If anyone had not already been looking at her, they certainly were now. It was dead quiet.
Sir Hugh leaned forward. "I beg your pardon?" he said. His voice was level, but his eyes looked ready to pop from his head.
"The first recorded sighting of cloud cats," said Kate in a loud, carrying voice, "was made by Benjamin Molloy."
Benjamin Molloy. Kate's grandfather.
A murmur swept through the audience. Sir Hugh looked up to flash them a smile before turning back to Kate. "I'm afraid I don't—"
"If you'll recall, Sir Hugh, I sent you a letter regarding his discovery. You dismissed it as the ravings of a lunatic."
"Yes, well..." Sir Hugh cleared his throat, plainly embarrassed. "The cloud cat," he continued in a loud voice, "normally lives its life entirely airborne—never do a cloud cat's feet touch the ground. However, Miss de Vries found one specimen with a crimped wing that had fallen—"
"Mr. Cruse," said Kate.
"What?" said Sir Hugh in annoyance.
"Matt Cruse found it first."
"Whatever," he muttered. "Mr. Matthew Cruse was accompanying Miss de Vries at the time of discovery, both of them having crashed in an airship on the island the cloud cats frequent."
The picture on the projection screen changed to a photograph of the island, presumably taken from an airship.
"It is believed that they return to this island to breed in the fall, and—"
"Actually—" Kate began, but Sir Hugh threw up his hands in frustration.
"Would you like to make this presentation, Miss de Vries?" he said testily.
"That would be wonderful," she said, smiling and walking onto the stage. Matt's face burned red. Sir Hugh stared at her, dumbfounded.
"We don't know if their return to the island is seasonal or random," she explained, slipping into the presentation flawlessly. "All we know for sure is that, four years ago, they congregated around the island for a few days in September. Their bones, as you can see, are hollow like those of birds, which is one of the things that allow them to fly..."
It was good to see her so confident, but it was more than a little cruel of her to upstage Sir Hugh so. Matt knew that Sir Hugh had ruined her presentations once or twice, but he didn't like to think of Kate sinking to Sir Hugh's level.
After Sir Hugh and Kate had come to the end of the cloud cat slides, they reached a slide that showed a picture—taken by Ms. Evelyn Karr, with whom Matt and Kate were very good friends—of a strange fish-like creature that lived in outer space, called an etherian. Sir Hugh had been present when etherians were discovered.
Kate smiled sweetly. "All yours, Sir Hugh," she said, and skipped off the stage.
"You're an evil witch," Matt whispered to her, only half teasing.
She laughed wickedly.
...
A/N: In Starclimber, Kate's birthday is said to be in late spring to early summer. I had to put it in September to make the plot work. Consider it an AU, but only in that respect.