The Origins of a Cat
Night. A cold wind blew through the streets of London. A fog clung to the chilly air, pooling in the streets and on the bridges.
It was late. The only people out now being the police on patrol and the drunks trying to avoid them.
In an alley, a small, fluffy orange tabby cat scavenged through a garbage bin for food. He was a stray, born in the cold and darkness of England's alleys. From the day he was born, the world hadn't been kind to him. Taking his mother not four weeks after his birth, his siblings shortly thereafter. He had been fending for himself ever since.
Now, three years after his birth, he was digging through the trash left out by the humans. Finding nothing edible, he left the alley and crossed the street into a park. Maybe he would have better luck catching a bird. Not five minutes into his walk in the park, the cat saw a white rabbit. He had only successfully captured a rabbit once, but he was so hungry, he figured he'd give it a shot. He stalked toward the rabbit, keeping low to the grass to avoid detection. All that was visible in the pale moonlight, if you knew where to look, were his green eyes glowing. He was almost to the rabbit when it caught his scent and looked into his eyes. With a leap, the rabbit raced off, the orange cat hot on it's heels. It raced into the woods, leaping over some tree roots in it's attempt to escape the cat. The cat, however, didn't see the roots. Instead, he tripped on one and found himself tumbling down a hole in the ground. He fell and fell, past fireplaces and chairs and dozens of other things before he finally landed feet first on a black and white tile floor in a room filled with doors. He sat down in the middle of the room, unsure of what to do next. Then, to his left, a small door just big enough for him to walk through opened on it's own. Without thinking, the cat stood and walked through the open door, quickly finding himself in a garden of white flowers with a huge white marble building in the distance. He walked toward the building and found a group of humans, all dressed in white, surrounding a woman with long white hair in a long white gown trimmed in silver. He hoped that maybe, just maybe, this human would be kind. He cautiously approached the group and soon found himself at the hem of the gown of the human.
"Oh! Who do we have here?" The woman asked, looking down at the fluffy cat at her feet. He looked up at her and meowed.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" The woman asked sweetly. The cat meowed again. He understood her, but she couldn't understand him. For just a moment, his heart fell, figuring this human would simply turn him away. Realizing the language barrier, the woman bent down and scooped the cat up into her arms and walked up the stairs of the marble building. After setting the cat on a banister, she took off her necklace and put it around the cat's neck.
"Now, what did you say your name was?"
"I...I don't have a name," the cat said in an unsteady voice. He looked startled, hearing hearing human words come from his own mouth.
"That's the power of Underland, my dear kitty, that allows you to speak as I do. I am Mirana, the White Queen of Underland. And you are in need of a name. Where do you come from?"
"I...umm. I'm from London. But I was born in Cheshire..."
"A Cheshire cat? Hmm...how about the name Chessur?"
"Chessur." The cat tried out the name and, finding it suited him, smiled an unusually large smile.
"Henceforth, you shall be known as Chessur the Cheshire Cat!" Mirana declared. Her courtiers applauded the announcement and Chessur smiled again. Mirana turned and began walking into the castle. Chessur hopped off of the banister, meaning to walk beside his new human, but found himself suspended in mid air.
"Mirana!" Chessur called. "What's happening to me?!" Mirana turned and saw her new furry friend scrambling in the air.
"The power of Underland does different things to different creatures." Mirana explained. Chessur righted himself and then leaned slightly forward, realizing that it propelled his body forward when he did so. Seeing Chessur getting the hang of floating, Mirana began moving down the white marble hall once again, Chessur floating by her side. As they went past a mirror, Chessur caught a glimpse of his reflection and stopped, hovering before the mirror. His orange fur had turned grey and his once white stripes were blue. His eyes had changed from yellow-green to teal.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to this Underland power," Chessur mumbled, looking himself over in the mirror. "Will all of this go away when you take your necklace back?"
"Only if I take it back this moment. If you're exposed to it's power long enough, the changes will be permanent." Chessur pondered this. He didn't have a home or family back in London. He would much rather stay with Mirana. As if reading his mind, Mirana made a suggestion.
"Why don't you stay here with me? And you can keep the necklace on until the changes are permanent." Chessur looked at Mirana in the mirror and smiled his huge smile.
"I'd like that." Mirana smiled and petted the floating cat, then continued on her way down the hall, Chessur floating at her shoulder.
"Your Majesty?"
"Yes, Chessur."
"I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."