NOTE: I do not own CATS...It belongs to Andrew Loyd Webber and his "Really Useful Group"...I DO however own Prima...she's mine.

"Look at that...tiger stripes AND leopard spots.... How lovely..." Those were the first words I ever heard. I assumed they were from my mother...not that I could see her, but I could feel her warm body up against mine... And then my father spoke. "Yes...and only one kitten...that's very rare..." I took this into consideration for a moment before realizing that he meant that I had no other siblings...This was a bit upsetting at first, but then I realized that it meant more milk for me! (hehe) And so it was at that time that I let out a nice loud whine to let my mother know I was hungry, and soon enough I was eating... Later on though, for about the 6th time. I let out yet another whine signaling my hunger and my mother sighed deeply. "My, my little one...You sure are hungry all the time!" Then my father gave a small laugh before speaking. "You know, we really should give her a name sooner or later..." "I know..." said my mother kindly. "We shall call her Prima...cause she's such a little prima-donna..." I wasn't quite sure what that meant, but I did like my new name. I was hardly a week old, but could already tell that my name fit me well...

It was only a day or so later that my green eyes finally revealed themselves. I could now finally see both my mother and father, whom I also learned, were called Jezebel and Xavier. And they also told me that we belonged to an elite tribe of cats called the jelicles.

I soon took a liking to wandering around our alleyway home, and by the time I was a few months old, had found my way around the city near by... It was on a bleak December day though; that a catastrophe I shall never forget took place. My mother and father had said they were going to go meet a few of their other jelicle comrades (who I had yet to meet). And so I bid them farewell in the traditional jelicle way, by rubbing heads with each other, and they were soon gone... I, on the other hand, spent all day down by the harbor terrorizing the local mice. And when it finally got dark I went home to our alley. My parents weren't home yet. So I just curled up in my favorite trash can and fell fast asleep, believing that my parents would be right beside me in the morning. But I was wrong...

The next morning I got a very rude awakening... I was half-asleep but could still here them. Two older cats. One female, and one male. The female one spoke first. "Poor dear, she has no idea what's happened..." and then the male one with the thick Scottish accent spoke. "Are you sure this is her Jenny?" "Of course I am Skimble...Jezebel said the Pike street alley, and well, here she is...the poor thing" It was then when I jumped as one of them prodded me with it's paw in order to awaken me. "Meeroww!!..........." I screamed as I feel out of the trashcan, and landed on my feet (of course).

I quickly glared at both of them. They were strangers in MY family's alleyway. And as far as I was concerned they weren't welcome... They were both orange cats. One was a tabby, and the other was a Gumby cat. But it wasn't until I gave them both a good look over that I realized the one cat (the male) had on a maroon and green striped vest, complete with pocket watch! "Alright" I said as I arched my back. "Who are you two, and where are my parents!..." The Gumby female just glanced at her partner before looking at me with a sorrowful stare. "Let me explain my dear" She said. "My name is Jenny-any-dots, and this is my mate, Skimbleshanks. We were friends of your mother and father." It took me a moment, but I finally caught on to the loophole in her comment. "What do you mean, WERE....where are my parents?!..." It was then that the orange tabby in the vest took over. "Well, you see...your parents ran into a couple of policle dogs on their way to the forest yesterday-..." "Ya?...and?.....So where are they now?!" Skimble just gulped hard before continuing. "They...they didn't make it Prima......your mother and father are dead..."

I couldn't believe it...I was sure they were lying...what a cruel joke! I thought... "No!...you're both lying!" I said in a rage of fury. "They're alive!...I know it!..." But I couldn't hold it back any longer. I ran into Jenny's open arms and cried my eyes out... She then spoke in a quivering voice. "Your mother's last word to me as she lay dying, was to come and fetch you, so you could join us and the rest of the jelicles...that's where you really belong my dear...". And so with heavy hearts and teary eyes, Skimble and Jenny took me with them back to the lair of the jelicle cats...



Once we arrived in the cave, all eyes were on me... Especially those of a particularly handsome tomcat in the corner. He quickly approached, and gave me a sideways grin before speaking. "Hey there cutie...you must be the new girl." He rubbed his paw against the side of my face, but I quickly swiped it away. I had just found out less than an hour ago that both my parents were dead, and this cat thinks it's an appropriate time to come on to me!... "The name's Prima." I told him sternly. "And who might you be?" Again he just grinned before opening his mouth. "Perhaps you've heard of me...THE Rum Tum Tugger?..." "Nope" I said with a sly grin. "Never heard of you...is that, a problem?...Tugger?" His grin quickly faded as he sauntered away, his ego clearly injured.

I then felt a large warm paw on my shoulder, and turned around to see one of the largest cats I had ever seen. He was a (big) gray and white tabby. And he was clearly very old. And even though I had never laid eyes on him until that moment, I already felt as though I could trust him with my life. "Come here small one...My name is Deuteronomy, and I am the leader of the jelicle tribe. Your mother and father were wonderful cats, and will be greatly missed, but this is your family now. And so I hope you can be happy here with us." And as he said this, I finally took notice of the dozens of other cats that had suddenly appeared before me... There were black and white, brown and orange, spotted and striped...No two cats looked the same. Except for two black white and brown striped calicos in the back of the crowd whom were completely identical.

The old cat spoke again. "Perhaps you would like to get...more aquatinted with your surroundings my dear...My eldest son Munku-...": he then paused as he looked all around the room but seemed completely lost. He then looked over at the arrogant tomcat in the corner. "Tugger...where is your brother?" "I'm not sure Deuteronomy." He said. "He's probably still with his humans..." Humans?....there were jelicles that were owned by humans?! That's when I noticed that a majority of the cats in the room all had collars on. Even Tugger did... "Oh well" Deuteronomy said with a slight smile. "I suppose Tugger could show you around instead if you like..." I glanced over at Tugger just as he gave me an invisible kiss, and I knew immediately what he had in mind. So I just turned to Deuteronomy and smiled. "Uh, ya know...I think I've had enough for one day...I'd really just like to be alone for now...if it's not too much trouble, Deuteronomy...sir."

And so I was showed to a room of my own by a beautiful pure white kitten they called Victoria. "You know..." she said as we had entered the small room in the back of the cave. "I knew your parents pretty well, they were nice cats...I'm sorry you lost them..." "Not as sorry as I am..." I said as I plopped down on the cold floor. Victoria suddenly became speechless, and quickly departed, leaving me alone in misery and confusion... My tears soon found me once again, and I cried myself to sleep.

I didn't wake again till the following morning. But when I opened my eyes, all I saw was another pair of huge brown ones staring right back at me. I jumped and nearly fell backwards onto my tail. What is it with these cats?! I thought to myself. Hadn't they ever heard of a peaceful morning?!... I then got a good look at my intruder. She was a white and brown calico. A mere kitten too. She just glared at me, and then spoke. "What's your name?...my name is Etcetra..." "My name's Prima...and what's with the rude awakening!?..." She just gave a small smile before continuing. "Oh, ya...sorry bout that...but I couldn't wait all day for you to wake up!...I just came by to tell you that Tugger is mine...ok?...I saw the way he looked at you yesterday, but don't get any ideas...he's mine...cause for your information, we've already made out once!...so there...just forget about him Prima, ok?!..." It took me a moment to take in all of what she had just said, for she had said it very fast...but when I had finally understood it all I smiled and replied. "Don't worry Etcetra...you can have him...you won't have to worry about me at all." Etcetra grinned and stood up. "Well good, I should hope so. Cause I-"But suddenly a soft male voice interrupted her from just outside the room. "Etcetra, don't bother her...she's been through a lot lately..." Just then, a beautiful, tall, gray and black striped tabby stepped into the room. And his appearance was just as soft and hypnotic as his voice had been. "Yes Munkustrap..." Etcetra said as she left the room with a skip. Probably off in search for Tugger...The striped tabby walked towards me and held out a paw to help me up off the floor. I took it, and as I looked up my eyes met with his, which were a beautiful shade of gray. "Sorry about her" He said with a calming smile. "she's very territorial when it comes to my brother..." I tried to reply, but as hard as I tried, all I could manage out of my mouth was a small "oh..." He just continued to smile his beautiful smile and spoke again. "Permit me, my name is Munkustrap. And you must be Prima...my father told me about you..." I managed a smile and just continued to stare at him for a moment before catching myself, and finally speaking. "Y- yes...I am...and you're Deuteronomy's eldest son, am I right?..." "That would be me.....I'm, sorry I wasn't here yesterday...but if you like, I could show you around today. Perhaps we could get some breakfast first, you must be hungry..." He was right. Do to certain circumstances, I had missed breakfast yesterday...and hadn't eaten since the day prior... "I'd like that..." I said. And so he led me out of the room and so started my new life as a jelicle cat...



And so Munkustrap led me out from my room and in to the cave. There, many kittens played merrily with one another, while being watched over by Jenny and another older female cat whom I was later told was called Jellylormum... Deuteronomy also watched them from a ways away, sitting on his "throne". Munkustrap and I walked over to him, and munku bowed gracefully before speaking... "Father" he said quietly. "I am gong to go show the new dame around for a while, we should be back later..." The old gray cat just smiled before bidding us a fond farewell, and we left... Upon exiting the cave and surrendering to the daylight, we ran into two female cats, about the same age as myself. They were both reddish brown tiger tabbies, and very pretty I might add. The taller of the two just stared at both Munku and I with a sly grin. "Hi" I said, trying to be polite. "I don't believe we've met." She just looked at me for a moment before extending a paw. "No, I don't believe we have...My name's Bombalurina, and this is my daughter, Demeter..." she said, gesturing to the cat behind her. I was puzzled...how could Demeter be her daughter?!...she had to be the same age... "You, seem so young to have a daughter already Bombalurina...if you don't mind me saying so..." At this, her grin faded completely and she almost seemed to stiffen up. Then she just glared at Munkustrap who was standing behind me and spoke. "Yes, well...things happen, you know?...." her glance then returned to me. "See you around...sorry, I don't think I got your name..." "Prima" I said. "Oh, well then...see you around, Prima..." Bombalurina then grabbed Demeter be the arm and drug her off. I, on the other hand, continued my stroll with Munkustrap. "What was all that about Munkustrap?" I asked, confused. "Oh, n- ...nothing" Munku said, trying to sound reassuring. "She just gets that way sometimes, that's all..." I considered interrogating him further, but figured it was best not to. So I just kept walking...

Munkustrap managed to "borrow" some fish from the market, as well as some cream. I quickly thanked him and began to eat greedily. Later on, he showed me around the forest, while lecturing me on all the rules the jelicles set down. He also introduced me to a number of other cats. Such as Cassandra, the brown havana and her mate Alonzo, the black and white tabby. Then there was Quaxo. A very polite and very friendly tuxedo cat. Munkustrap and I walked around all day. The sun was finally beginning to set, when he led into the local junkyard. Such a strange place to take me. I thought, as we walked into a clearing... "Munkustrap." I said, a trifle perplexed. "What are we doing here?" He just smiled and looked all around him as though he had just accomplished something spectacular. "This is the place where the annual Jelicle Ball takes place..." I looked around, amazed. My father had once told me about the jelicle ball, and I had always wanted to go. But up until now, I had been too young... Munkustrap and I just stood there for a moment, both lost in our own worlds, when all of the sudden the street lamps flickered and a giant "CRASH!" was heard. I jumped, and instinctively, Munkustrap pulled me close to him, and I heard him mutter to himself quietly. "...Macavity" "Wha-..." I tried to speak, but before I could, a horrific ginger cat sprang out of nowhere and cackled wildly. I was scared to death. Munkustrap then looked me square in the eyes, and I could see the fear rising in his own. "Run Prima...Run back to the cave as fast as you can..." and so, without even looking back, I did... I didn't know who this Macavity character was, but he obviously meant business... It was after I had been running for quite some time, that I realized I had no clue where I was going...I couldn't remember the way back to the cave! So I walked around for a few minuets, frantically trying to figure out where I was. I stepped out of an alleyway and "WHOOSH!" suddenly I was swooped up and quickly thrown into the back of a smelly old van. I had been caught by the cat catchers!... When the van finally stopped, the vulgar human driving it, grabbed me by the scruff of my neck. He carried me down a long dark hallway before tossing me into dirty, cold cage. I was a prisoner! I didn't want to be there, and I knew that id I didn't get out soon, I'd never see my new family again...When this thought came to mind, and image of Munku's bright smile flashed inside my head, and I quickly began to cry... But no sooner had I begun, then I heard a voice come from the cage next to me... "No need to cry miss..." said a small male voice from beside me. I sat up and looked through the bard to see a brown and white calico peering back at me... "You're a jelicle huh..." He said. "Y- yes I am..." I said through my tears. "My name's Prima...who are you?" He just smiled and stuck out is chest... "My name is Pouncivile." He said. "And I'm a jelicle too!...Been in here for about a day now..." he caught sight of the despair in my eyes and paused for a moment. "...But don't worry, a Dame as lovely as yourself will get outa here in no time!..." He just smiled and walked away to go sleep, and so I was alone again. I paced back and forth for an hour while Pouncivile slept silently nearby...I hated enclosed areas, I was on the verge of insanity!...But just then, the large door at the end of the hallway opened. And all the animals, including Pouncivile awoke to the sound of footsteps... Then she appeared. A young girl, perhaps no older than 16, walked in...She walked by, starring and smiling sweetly at each cage she passed... Then she walked up to my cage and stopped dead in her tracks. "Oh how lovely!" she said as she starred at me. "You're a very pretty girl aren't you..." She then turned to the uniformed man behind her. "I'll take this one please." She said, pointing at me. And so before I knew it, he had picked me up and placed me in a carrier. I peered out the carrier door and down at the cage where Pouncivile stood looking up at me. "Good luck with your human." He said. "And if you should get back to the others before I do...let them know I'm alright, okay?..." "Alright." I said. "I will..."

The young girl placed me in the passenger's seat of her car and drove off. I soon fell asleep, but woke up what seemed like moments later to the sound of her voice. "Come here kitty-kitty-kitty..." I cautiously poked my head out of the carrier and looked up at her, but before I could escape her clutches, she grabbed me and slipped a collar over my head... "Damn" I thought. "So this is what I've been reduced to...a house pet." "There you go." She said with a proud smile, as she put me down. "And I think as a finishing touch, we'll name you....Duchess!" Duchess?... Duchess!!...Did I really look like a "Duchess" ?!...No!...I was Prima!...But there was nothing I could do to change it, and so now (and forever more) my house name was...Duchess

I came to find out later on that my human's name was Molly. Molly was 16 and lived with her parents Carl and June Parker. She wouldn't let me out of the house for the first three days I was there, which really pissed me off... I wanted to go back to the cave and let everyone know I was okay...especially Munkustrap...

So one day, as I was moping around the house, I wandered into what the humans called the "bathroom". And I jumped up on the counter... Immediately I was taken aback at what I saw. Another cat! A beautiful, female tabby. She was black and brown with tiger stripes AND leopard spots! She also had twinkling glass green eyes and a complementary spiked collar... It took me a moment, but eventually I realized who she was... It was me! It was my reflection... I now knew why all the male cats kept complimenting me. Why my mother and father had been so proud. And why Molly chose ME out of all the other cats at the pound... I was beautiful...unique even... I turned around a couple of times, examining my many features and smiled proudly...

The next day, Molly FINALLY let me out, and immediately I tried to figure out which way it was back to the cave. But I had no clue...I was totally lost... And that's when I spotted them... Two tiger tabbies sunning themselves on the lawn next door. I quickly made my way over to them, and when one saw me approaching he jumped up with a gigantic grin on his face... "Oy!...Teaser, lookie what I found!..." At that, the second tabby jumped up and began giving me the once over... "Ello..." She said "You must be the new cat from next door..." After I had caught my breath, I replied. "Yes...yes I am...My name is Du- ...Prima...might you two be jelicles?..." The female of the two approached me and smiled. "We are...My name is RumpleTeaser...and this is me best mate MungoJerrie...it's nice to meet ya..." I smiled. At least they were jelicles, they could take me back to the cave... "Could you please, take me back to the cave in the forest then?" I said. "Why sure we can!" Mungo said as he stood up. "T'would be our pleasure." So Mungo and Teaser led me all the way back to the cave. And when I got there, everyone was all smiles... "Thank goodness you're alright..." said Jenny, as she tightly hugged me. Even Tugger was glad to see me, along with Bombalurina... Deuteronomy too, gave me a big hug before examining my new collar. "Good to see you miss..." said a small male voice from behind me. I spun around to see Pouncivile standing there with a big smile, and a collar. "You too Pouncivile." I said with a grin. Then as I turned around, I saw Munkustrap emerge from the back of the cave smiling. "Munkustrap!" I cried, as I literally ran into his open arms. But as I hugged him, I saw him wince as a pained _expression crossed his face. I took a step back in concern... "What's wrong?" I said. "I got into a fight with Macavity after you left...I managed to chase him off, but only after her gave me a pretty good beating...it's alright though...I'm fine" He just forced a smile and pulled me in for another hug... Then he took a look at my collar. "See you've been busy too." He said "Ya..." I said "But my human's pretty nice..." Then I started to fiddle with my collar, trying to make it more comfortable. And Munkustrap just laughed slightly. "You'll get used to it eventually...we all do..."

I just stood around for the rest of my visit, mingling and chatting with everyone when Plato (an orange and white calico) pulled me aside to talk in private. "Can I talk to you about something?" He finally said once we were out of earshot. "Sure" I said. "What about?" "Well, every year at the Jelicle Ball, it's my job to do a special dance with just once kitten...it's a dance to signify her entrance into...womanhood....Y'know?...it basically means she'll be allowed to mate from then on with any male of her choosing..." I was a bit confused at this point as to what any of this had to do with me, but told Plato to "Go on"... "Well, Deuteronomy wishes for you to do it this year...that's all...I know you aren't technically a kitten anymore...but I'm not going to argue with my father..." I just smiled. "It's fine with me...if that's what Deutronomy wants, then so be it...but Plato?" "Yes?" "Are you going to be teaching me this special dance some time soon before the ball?" "Oh no...it's okay, you'll know what to do..." He then winked, and ran off...

The next day was the eve of the ball... I sat there on the dinning room table, contemplating what Plato had said. "You'll know what to do..." I was completely baffled. What did he mean by that?!...How the hell was I supposed to do a dance I had never seen before, let alone perform!... Just then, I heard a soft voice from outside that made me completely forget my problem. "Prima...Prima, you there?..." I jumped off the table and ran through the cat door at full speed, literally knocking Munkustrap onto the ground. "Yes..." I said. "I'm here..." "Obviously" he said, laughing as he got to his feet. It was then when I saw him rub his side that I remembered about his ribs... "Oh!...goodness, I'm so sorry!...I forgot about your ribs!..." he looked at me and smiled. "Not to worry...I'm doing much better..." "Oh, okay" I said, scratching at a pesky flea... "Uh...I was wondering if you'd like to spend the day with me..." he said shyly. "Of course I would!" I said. "What did you have in mind?" "I thought we might go to the harbor..." "okay" I said with a huge grin on my face. And so we did...We walked for hours along the docks, and the shore. For dinner, we had left over fish from the market. And when the sun had finally set, he walked me home. We stood outside my house for the longest time. Both basking in the memories of earlier that day...and almost as though reading each others minds, we began to lean closer and closer to one another...we were mere inches apart, when suddenly, from the next door neighbor's porch came a loud hooting sound from two orange tiger tabbies... "Well...uh...Goodnight then..." Munkustrap said with a shy smile. "See you tomorrow night..." "Ya...see you..." I said, as I watched his gray and white figure disappear into the night... Then, still listening to the constant snickering coming from next door, I turned around and went back into the house, dreaming about the wonderful things, I would see tomorrow night...



The next morning I awoke bright and early. I stretched out on my cushion, and yawned. I was so filled with excitement I thought I would explode! I felt like a kitten all over again... My plan for the day, was to sun bathe, groom myself, take a nap, and groom some more...and that's just what I did. I sat out on the porch for a while and after that wandered into the "bathroom" again... Molly kept this stuff she called "potpourri" in a dish on the bathroom counter. I didn't know exactly why, but I did know that it smelled pretty good... like lilacs and spice, with a hint of honeydew... So I swiftly knocked the dish over and began to role around in its contents... a minuet later Molly walked in and scolded me like you wouldn't believe. That's when I decided it would be a good time to go and hide under the bed for a good long nap... And so I did! I woke up later and emerged from underneath the bed. I went and looked out the window. Still not dusk, but getting darker none the less...So I decided to go meet up with the gang in the cave... I was making my way towards the door, when Molly scooped me up into her arms. "Hey there Duchess (I still hated that name)..." She began to rub my belly, and so I purred to amuse her... "Me and mum and dad are gonna go on a 3 month trip to my grandparents castle in Ireland to visit them...But mum said you can't come, so we're gonna leave you here. My friend Sophie will come and check on you every 2 days...you'll be okay...but just so you know, we're leaving the day after tomorrow..." How long was 3 months...I didn't know...Where was Ireland...I didn't know that either... But I did know that however long 3 months was, I'd have the house practically all to myself! (score!) I meowed to make her think she had gotten through to me, and she put me down. I made my way further to the door, and just before I made my escape, I overheard Molly's mother (June) speaking with her. "I hope you know, we're gonna have that cat fixed once we get back..." "I know..." said Molly...

Fixed?...what was...fixed??...My mind was racing, as I myself, was racing through the forest towards the cave... hat's when I spotted him... I stopped abruptly in my tracks and peered up at Tugger who was sitting on the low branch of a birch tree. "Hi Tugger..." I said, almost out of breath. "Hey there pretty kitty..." he said as he jumped down to greet me. Then I thought for a moment. Tugger seemed to be a pretty smart cat, as egotistic as he was, he was still clever...so I asked him... "Tugger..." "Ya?" ..."What does, fixed mean?" His eyes grew as big as saucers, and for a moment he was speechless... "W-...why?!...who told you!!..." "Who told me what?" I said. But after that he seemed to calm down. "Oh...uh, nothing...never mind..." "Well..." I said. "What is it?" "What is what?" "Fixed!" "Oh!...uh well..." Then he whispered his answer into my ears and my heart sank. "They can't do that!" I said. "Oh believe me...they can, and they will..." He said, and soon began to trail off, trying to change the subject...but it was no use... I was heart broken... I had been nothing but loyal to Molly since she took me in, and now this! ...Perhaps it was because of the "potpourri" incident...oh how I regretted it all now!... I had always dreamed of having kittens of my own someday, and now I wouldn't be able to!...it was horrible!...then a thought struck me. Molly's mother had said they were going to have me fixed when they got back...in 3 months!...so that was it...I had no choice...I had 3 months in which to have kittens if I was to have any at all, and that was that...

That night, when the sun had finally set, all the jelicles made their way to the junkyard... It was unbelievable! Non stop singing and dancing... We sang about the heavy side lair, and we also sang about certain cats. Such as Gus the theater cat, and about, some other cat I was unfamiliar with named Grizzabella. Munkustrap told stories to all of the kittens, and even Tugger got his own song. Then, after a big dance number, Plato motioned for me to join him, and I knew it was time for "the dance"... I was a bit nervous at first, I still had no idea what to do. Everyone was watching me. I stood, motionless for a moment, unsure of what my next move would be. Then suddenly, I felt a paw on my shoulder and I turned around to see Munkustrap, smiling at me. He then whispered into my ear... "You know what to do...I love you..." My heart skipped a beat...who knew what three words could do... Then he gave me a small shove, and I finally took center stage with Plato. All of the sudden, a feeling of serenity came over me, and I began to dance!...every move came with such ease, like I had been practicing for months!...it was the strangest sensation!... Then Plato, lifted me off the ground so that I was hanging upside down over his head. I looked over at Munkustrap who was smiling proudly, his gaze never wavering from my own... And then it was done. The dance was complete, and I could now take my place in the realm of the cats, instead of the kittens... I waltzed over to Munkustrap, who held me tightly in his arms. And I whispered into his ear... "I love you too..."

The rest of the night was magical...there was more singing and dancing... And then, Just before dawn, through a silence you could have cut with a knife...Deuteronomy chose Gus, to go to the heavy side lair, and be reborn to another jelicle life... After that, it was time for everyone to go his or her separate ways. Everybody was saying their fond farewells, when I suddenly remembered my "fixing" problem. And my lighter than air heart, sunk once more. Munkustrap had just finished saying goodnight to Quaxo when he realized how glum I looked. "What's the matter Prima?" he said... And so I told him about my heart-wrenching situation, and he simply smiled... "Why, I think I know of a way to fix that..." And he...or we, did...and so I was to have our kittens in two months time......but Y'know.......that, is an entirely different story.............................