A Fine an' Pleasant Misery
By Dream Painter
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Chapter One
"And some of the time, you would say it was luck..."
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Her life was over.
She'd lost all feeling. Everything was utterly and completely numb. Her life had lost its meaning, it had ended... and she hadn't even been there when it happened.
It had been a month before, that night when she had died. It was the night before her birthday. Her brother – her hero, best friend, partner, and protector – had crept out after she had fallen asleep. He'd gone to get her a present. There was a necklace that had caught her eye, a lovely strand of pearls, and she had been hinting about it for weeks.
So, he had gone out to get it for her.
And he didn't come back.
She wasn't immediately concerned when she awoke the next morning and he wasn't there. He'd often gone out by himself, even she did so on occasion, and nothing had ever gone wrong. In fact, that morning she had felt excited, knowing exactly where her brother had gone and what he would bring with him upon his return.
By noontime, she had begun to feel a little uneasy. What sort of trouble had her brother ran into? She hoped he was still able to get her present to her. It would be disappointing if he had to ditch it somewhere...
A short time later found her asking others when they'd last seen her older sibling and if he had mentioned anything about being out for the day. Apparently, the tom had said nothing of plans for the day nor had anyone seen him since the previous night, but they wished her a happy birthday.
Evening was nowhere near falling before she was imploring Munkustrap to send groups out to help search for her brother. If she hadn't been so anxious, she doubted the tabby would have given heed to her concern. After all, the two of them were always up to some sort of mischief and they had always gotten out of it with unparalleled finesse.
Two hours later, she paced back and forth across the clearing in the growing dusk. Her group had returned half an hour before, along with several of the others. Still, there was no news of her brother. Even the other Jellicles were starting to worry. She was just about to go back out and search again by herself when Munkustrap's group returned. The tabby was carrying a pearl necklace.
Automatically, she felt her spirits rise and she trotted over to meet them, taking the necklace in one paw. "Ah – it's lovely!" she exclaimed, smiling happily, then tilted her head to look around the striped tom. "Where's Mungo?"
She didn't like the look that Munkustrap was giving to her. It was full of... No! She turned her attention to the other two, to Alonzo and Skimbleshanks.
"'e's on 'is way, isn't 'e? Was 'e hurt?" she asked, struggling to keep the smile on her face from wavering. They weren't answering right away because they were tired. That's what it was. Of course they'd be tired after running about the city to find him. It was only natural. It wasn't empathy she saw in their eyes, it was weariness.
"Teazer," Munkustrap began quietly, his tone thick, "I'm so sorry..."
"NO! There's nothin' ta be sorry 'bout! Munkus, ya can't talk like that – yer makin' me worry. Ya can't..." Hysteria had crept into her tone despite her best efforts to stave it off, making her accent harder to understand.
"We found the necklace in an alley, Rumpleteazer," Skimbleshanks spoke up, his gentle brogue somehow making his words harsher. "There was the smell of pollicles and your brother, an' there was a fair amount of fur and blood..."
"What are ya sayin'?"
It was Alonzo who answered. "Most of the blood belonged to Mungojerrie. It's not likely he would have gotten very far. Were he anywhere in the area, we would have found him," he told her, hesitating a moment before finishing, "but we didn't."
The necklace fell from her paw as agony tore through her entire being. Unable to remain upright, she collapsed to the ground, her body nearly convulsing with the pain washing over her. Sobs stole her breath away as tears marred her vision.
She'd killed him. He was gone and it was all her fault. If only she hadn't asked for anything, hadn't insisted on having that necklace. Or if she had woken up when he was leaving. If she'd gone with him. If...
Somehow, she had gotten to her den, to the den she shared with her brother. They'd continue searching for awhile, she'd been told, maybe a human or another cat had come to the tom's aid. She had finally stopped weeping and hadn't cried since.
That had been a month before and Munkustrap had finally had to call off the search. She now sat in front of her makeshift vanity as she had almost every waking moment since her life had ended. The necklace lay on the table in front of her. She'd never worn it, knowing that her brother would want to put it on her himself. It was part of the surprise, after all.
Looking up, she saw a familiar face gazing back at her. Her breath caught in her throat. "You're 'ere..." she whispered, returning the smile before her. The necklace was placed around her neck and the queen couldn't help but grin appreciatively. "It really is a beauty, ain't it?"
The familiar face nodded wordlessly.
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To be continued...