A/N: That's right, the long hiatus is finally over. Updates weekly for this one while I also work on other stories. Enjoy and don't forget to leave a comment.


Once upon a time in the kingdom of Dymond, there was an old miller who was returning home after a long day in the village. It was already dark, the miller was on his cart that was being pulled by his only donkey, and his only source of light was a lit lantern that hung on a hook.

The travel was rather peaceful until he heard a loud commotion behind him, he turned his head and saw another cart rushing towards him. He didn't get a good look at the driver because they were wearing a hood and they kept snapping a whip at the horse pulling the cart, which was covered with a drape.

The stranger whirled past the miller's cart at such speed that the miller feared that he would be toppled over. He yelled and cursed at the stranger driver but the stranger did not stop. Suddenly, the stranger's cart hit a pitfall in the road and a box fell out of the back-left corner of the cart because that side was not tied down properly but the stranger kept on going.

The miller noticed the box and was curious as to what he should do. As the miller's cart slowly approached the box, the miller stopped his donkey and, taking the lantern with him, the old miller hopped off his seat. Upon closer inspection, the old miller saw that the box was made of iron, it had a small caged opening on one side, and there was an inscription on another side of the box.

=Amethyst, F-5 C-8XM=

'What on earth?' the old miller wondered. But then his thoughts were interrupted by a small noise.

"Meow"

The old miller whirled his head. 'What was that?' he thought.

"Meow!"

There it was again... then a thought accord to him and brought his light to the small opening of the iron box. When he looked inside, he saw two glowing eyes looking back at him. At first, he thought it was a frightful beast but then he took a second look and saw that the thing in the box was, in actuality, a small kitten. The old miller was astonished to see such a little kitten in such a state, he decided then and there to take the kitten home with him.

When he got home to his mill, the miller took a hammer from his toolbox and tried to break the iron lock that kept the box closed. Soon the box was opened and he saw the kitten scooting away from the opening in fear. The kitten hissed at the miller and made a sound that said, 'Back off! I may be small but I'll bite you if you get close'. But the miller was not afraid, instead, he smiled, he knew what he could do.

The old miller went to the pantry, got the milk and a saucer. He poured milk into the saucer and placed it on the table in front of the iron box for the kitten to see. Curiously the kitten pawed, slowly but surely, to the saucer and gave it a sniff. After an experimental lick, the kitten quickly drank it up and the old miller got a better look at the kitten now. She was small, with messy pale lavender fur on her body, and big, dark indigo eyes.

As the kitten continued to drink the milk, the old miller gave a small stroke on the kitten's back. The kitten reacted quickly to the touch and bit down on the miller's finger. It stung for a moment but otherwise, it was not painful, for the old miller's hands were rough and worn from years of labor. The kitten continued to bite down as hard as she was capable until she began to realize that the old miller wasn't fighting back or getting angry, he just smiled at her. The kitten then released her hold on his finger and started licking the small wound. This time when the old miller stroked the kitten's back, she was not afraid and she purred instead.

At that moment, the old miller decided to care for the kitten and he couldn't wait to show his son and nephew their new cat.


Five years went by and under the care of the old miller and his boys the cat, now known as Amethyst, grew up healthy and strong. Her pale lavender fur was so soft but occasionally messy with flour and the small dark purple spot on her chest took on the shape of a star. As young and as feral as she was, however, Amethyst wasn't the best mouse catcher which as it turned out was a bit of a problem at the mill.

The old miller had one son named Andy and a nephew named Greg.

Andy was a young man of 23 years with bisque colored skin and short blond hair. He was wearing an olive-colored tunic and a gray long-sleeved undershirt along with brown pants and black boots.

Greg was also a young man of 22 years but he had a more peach colored skin and long brown hair. He was wearing a dark brown tunic with blue pants and black boots. Greg loved playing music but his family suggested that it was a waste of time so he was sent to live with his uncle and cousin instead of spending the day lazing around with his guitar.

But today was rather sad because his uncle, the old miller, was on his deathbed and after a while, he died, and his family was greatly saddened by the loss. Then came the reading of his last will and testimony.

The will was written as such;

"Firstly, I leave behind 14 copper coins with which I hope my son and nephew will split equally amongst themselves. Now to the separate items.

To my son, Andrew, I leave to you my mill which never fails to grind the best wheat into flour and I also leave you the hard-working donkey, who will more than earn his keep.

And lastly, to my nephew, Gregory, who has worked fairly well on the mill, I leave to you the family cat; Amethyst."

"WHAT?!" Greg said in disbelief. "Is that really what it says?"

"Looks like it Greg," Andy said after he just read the will.

"Seriously?" Greg said. "I work here for almost a decade and when he dies, he leaves me the cat?"

"Hey, there's no need to be like that. You're still welcome to stay at the mill with me. We are family. We can run the mill together."

"But Andy, you know I don't want to be a miller all my life. You and my parents may be okay with it but I'm not."

"Oh, here we go again, Mister 'I'm better than this'. You are a Demayo Greg, and Demayo's come from a long line of millers because that's what we do best."

"Yeah exactly, I'm not saying I want to go against the family but come on Andy. Your father was a miller, my father is a miller, and his father and his father. When does the cycle end? I just know that there has to be more to life than being a miller and I'm not going to find it out here."

"What are you talkin' about?"

Greg sighed. "I wanted to wait till after the morning period to tell you that... I'm thinking of leaving the mill."

"Where will you go? Back to your parents?"

"No, I'm not going back there. I'm going to find different work."

Andy rolled his eyes. "Wait, let me guess. In music?"

"Maybe..." Greg mumbled.

"Greg..." Andy groaned. "Don't get me wrong you're really good on that guitar but you're not going to make a good living on it."

"I've already made up my mind, Andy. I'll just take my copper coins, the cat, a little bread and be on my way."

"Whoa whoa whoa... Let's not go crazy, you can't just leave. At least sleep on it first."

Greg was determined to leave but he knew Andy would find some reason to keep him at the mill. Andy was never a fan of change.

"Okay Andy, I'll sleep on it," Greg went back to the house and he spotted the cat, part of his dowry, sunbathing under the window. He went to pet her. "Hey Amethyst, wanna go on a little trip tonight?" he whispered.


Later that night, Greg was lying awake in bed, waiting. Andy snored loudly as usual so Greg knew his chance had come and quickly got dressed. He packed a loaf of bread, his copper coins, his guitar, and he grabbed Amethyst at the last minute. Before he went out the door, Greg left a note on the table for Andy.

"Dear Andy,

I've thought about it and I still want to be something more than just another miller in the family. I've only taken my share of the dowry and a loaf of bread. Maybe we'll see each other again someday.

Signed - Gregory DeMayo"

...

All night long, Greg and his cat walked on the open road until eventually the human became too exhausted to go on any further.

"Maybe I should have waited till morning to set out," Greg said. "Ah well, what's done is done, right?" he asked the cat as if he expected her to answer. "Well we're just a few miles away from the village but I don't think I can go another step. Let's get some rest." Greg picked up the cat, placed her on his shoulders, and he climbed up a tree. When they got to a safe height of the tree, Greg slept in the nook and Amethyst simply watched her owner sleep for a while.

Eventually, the cat got bored and she went higher up the tree to see the moon. Back at the mill, Amethyst would always watch the moon in the night sky while the men slept. Tonight, the moon was full and a strange sensation came over the cat but she was used to it by now. It started with a tingling in her chest where the star mark was, then her whole body began to sparkle and jolt. It was a feeling similar to an adrenalin rush, giving her energy and make her brain run faster but the rushing feeling is usually there one moment and gone the next. Amethyst didn't mind though because soon, she thought, she could use this growing brain power to some good use. Amethyst returned to her owner and rested on her stomach across Greg's sleeping form.


The next morning, Greg woke up to Amethyst pawing at his face.

"Okay... okay, Amethyst. I'm awake." Greg said tiredly.

The cat jumped off her owner and started on her way down the tree with Greg following behind her. For a cat, she seemed to have no trouble climbing off trees. When he got to the ground, Greg reached into his pocket. He took out the small coin purse and checked for the seven coins.

"Hmmm. It's not much but it will have to do for now. C'mon, let's just hope that these copper coins will get us a room." Greg said.

The cat followed her owner to the village but before they reached the borders, Greg spotted something peculiar. Ahead of them, there was a tall tulip poplar and at the bottom of the tree, there was a short person attempting and failing to climb the tree. There was also a wheel barrel full off shoeboxes in various colors. The short stranger fell over and Greg came to help.

When Greg got closer he saw that the stranger was an old woman. She was short and elderly with wafer-gray hair done up in a large bun and tanned skin. She was wearing an acapulco-green robe and she had a cane.

"Are you alright ma'am?" Greg asked. Greg slowly helped the old woman back on her feet.

"Oh, thank you, young man." The old woman said. "I'm all right."

"I'm glad but if I may ask, why are you trying to climb this tree?"

"Because a pair of my loveliest shoes have gotten stuck in the tree. See?"

Greg looked up and saw a pair of small boots tied to one of the highest branches of the tulip poplar.

"Uhhh... how exactly did they get up there?" Greg asked.

"You probably won't believe me but as I was taking my shoes out for some air, those boots suddenly jumped out of my wheel barrel and hopped from the ground to the branches of the tree." The old woman explained.

Greg just gave the woman a confused look. "Okay..."

"Anyway, I've been trying to get them back but I'm afraid I'm just not strong enough to climb this tree. Do you think you can get them for me?" the old woman asked.

Greg said. "Sure, I'll get your shoes back. Mind watching my cat?" he asked pointing to the lavender cat.

Greg removed his bag and guitar strap from his shoulders and started climbing the tulip poplar. After a little difficulty, Greg had finally managed to get to the high branches, closer to the boots. When he got the boots, he found that they were even smaller up close, almost looked like a pair of baby shoes. Greg successfully climbed back down with the boots and when he got to the ground he handed the shoes back to the old woman.

"Here you go, ma'am. One pair of boots." Greg said.

"Oh, thank you again." The old woman said, taking the shoes. "And please call me Gunga."

"Okay, Gunga. Do you need any more help?"

"N'ah, you've done enough already. And now I shall help you."

"Ah no. You don't have to do that." Greg said. "I was just happy to help." Greg threw his bag back over his shoulders while Amethyst, meanwhile, returned to Greg's side.

"No no, young man. It wouldn't be right of me not returning a favor." Gunga said. Then the old woman went to her wheel barrel and picked out a purple shoebox. She slips the small mauve boots inside and hands the box to Greg. "Here you go. When you get as old as I am, you learn that sometimes even the most wondrous of things in this world can be found in small packages. Enjoy."

Greg was rather intrigued when he opened the box... but it defiantly wasn't what he expected. Inside was the small, dark mauve boots, a black belt with a large buckle and a mauve colored plumed hat with a long, white, and fluffy feather. The hat and belt were just as small as the boots and would in no way fit Greg at all.

"Uh... thank you, Gunga, but what am I-" Greg said, but when he looked up from the box he saw that the old woman and her wheel barrel were gone.

"Gunga? Gunga?!" Greg cried out but the old woman was nowhere to be seen. "Huh? Did you see where she went?" he asked Amethyst but she didn't answer. Greg hummed in thought as he placed the box on the ground as he went for his bag and guitar, when he looked back he saw the cat with the mauve boots in her teeth.

"What are you doing? You wanna try them on or something?" Greg chuckled at the idea. "Maybe later Amy, right now we need to get to the village." He took the shoes from the cat, placed them back in the box into his pack and started walking, Amethyst followed but was not happy.

By the afternoon, the two travelers had reached the village. Before they could do anything else, Greg had to find them a place to sleep for the night and he went to the nearest inn but it seemed they only had enough for just one night because it was very costly. Greg didn't want to spend most of their money at once so they tried somewhere else. By dusk, Greg and his cat were still without a place to stay but soon they settled for hiding in an abandoned stable on the outskirts of the village. Greg settled himself on a pile of straw and tried to make himself comfortable.

"Someplace huh?" Greg said.

Amethyst looked at him with disapproval.

"I know it's not much but it's something and that's enough for now. Its only temporary until I can get a job somewhere."

As the man was just starting to get settled, the lavender-colored cat went to make sure that they were alone by scurrying around the stable. Greg raised an eyebrow as he noticed his cat's behavior.

"What are you doing?" Greg asked. "Trying to perfect your mouse hunting?" he teased before chuckling.

"N'ah dude, just making sure we have a little privacy. We need to talk." Came a nasal voice.

When Greg heard the voice, he stopped chuckling and jumped to his feet.

"Who said that?!" Greg shrieked, he looks around for the source.

"Shhhh, calm down it was just me." The voice said.

"Me who?"

"Me down here."

Greg looked at the floor and only saw his cat Amethyst. He was confused at first but then a thought struck him.

"Did you- no... no, no. What am I thinking, cats don't talk." Greg said.

"Well I can and I just did, pal." Said the cat.

This time Greg saw the cat's mouth move and heard the words coming out but now he was too stunned to answer and dropped to his knees.

"Ok, now that I got your attention." Amethyst said.

"You're...- you can talk?!" Greg exclaimed, his mind still trying to process the situation.

"Yeah, we got that already. Now can we focus dude."

"You can talk..." he muttered.

"PAY ATTENTION!" Amethyst hissed, she jumped and swiped at his nose.

Greg fell back but otherwise, he didn't say another word.

"Good" Amethyst stated as she moved closer. "Listen dude, I know you're doing your best but let's be real here, your best isn't great, and we need more than just pocket change to live. Which is why I'm gonna help ya'."

"Um... help how?" Greg asked. Seeming a little calmer and open to the fact that his cat can talk.

"Just leave it to me but first let's get some sleep. Tomorrow we start my plan." Amethyst said. She curled up on a straw pile.

"Plan for what?"

"D'uh to make you rich and famous." Amethyst answered before she yawned. "G'night Greg." Amethyst whispered.

Greg wanted to ask more questions but the cat was already asleep. Deciding that there was nothing else he could do for tonight, Greg took a spot on one of the bigger straw stacks and drifted to sleep.