Black Butler
It was a normal day. Well, as normal as my day gets. What I consider normal, most people would consider an unlucky day. My day usually involves me doing something awkward, or causing confusion, or being really confused. They're usually minor things, but it happens so much my friends nicknamed me the 'Slightly Confused'. It was a lighthearted joke, but you get the point.
Plus, I have a hyperactive imagination with the common side effect of daydreaming. It was the root of all my problems. My imagination was what usually led me to blurt out something strange and cause a few people to look at me oddly or just burst out laughing. But I didn't regret it; I like the way my mind works and I love making people laugh. Sometimes, I was so quick to connect one distant thing to another that people would end up not following my thought process at all.
My mom likes to complain that I am constantly changing the subject when we're talking, but to me, it's all connected. Let me give you an example. So I was chatting with my mom and she was telling me about a turtle she saw crossing the street, and because of that I thought of how slow a turtle was. And since I thought of it being slow, I thought of slowness in general and then thought of how slow school was during the day. And so, I told her about how bored I was during class and how it seemed that class dragged on forever. To her, it seemed that I was changing the subject by jumping from a turtle to school, when in truth I was continuing the conversation. Now, whenever I think she'll suspect that I'm changing the subject, I tell her how I got to that point.
Anyways, I was walking away from the university buildings and heading towards my dorm, when I heard a soft meow from a passageway between the biology students' dorms and the main building. I turned my head to look for the source but saw nothing. Where was it coming from? I really wanted to investigate but was afraid of going through the passageway, especially when the sun was beginning to set. Pouting, I turned and raised my foot up to march away, but again, I heard a meow. This time it was more urgent.
I began to feel worried; what if the poor kitty was hurt? I really loved cats and hoped this one was okay. This was the reason I was learning to be a doctor- to help others. Although, I reluctantly admit, that I wasn't studying to be a vet.
I gripped the strap of my backpack and worked up the courage to go through the rapidly darkening passage. This will be quick, I promised myself, as easy as one, two, three.
"Here kitty," I called out softly as I walked into the alley, "Where are you?"
I made soft meowing noises, hoping to get to come out, but knowing I sounded stupid.
The cat had fallen silent. Maybe it was offended by my sucky meowing?
It was too dark to see anything at this point, but what happened to me next seemed inevitable. I took one step forward and whole-heartedly expected to step on hard ground. Unfortunately, the universe seemed to have other things in mind.
My entire body tipped forward, and I went down the rabbit hole. I should've know my bravery would lead to me into making an extremely stupid decision. I should've known my luck wouldn't last. I was too much like a black cat.
"Gyaaaa!" I screamed as I fell though a portal, "What's happening!?"
After a few minutes of free falling, I made the decision to stop screaming. It wasn't going to help me anyways. I just crossed my arms and rolled on my back. This kind of reminded me of Spy Kids where… what was the girl's name? Julie? Juney? Or was that the brother's name? Whatever, the point was that I remembered a part where they were free falling like I was. Why am I telling you this? No reason. I just remembered the similarities.
I checked my watch to see how long I was falling, but it seemed to decide now was a good time to malfunction since the second hand was just ticking in place. Wait...what if this was like those sci-fi movies I watched and right now I'm moving through time? How was that even possible? How could a portal just randomly appear on Earth? I mean, sure I believed at some point humans would learn to time travel, but at such an early stage? I mean, would anyone be ready to know that we can time travel? If the world isn't ready, would the government lock me away? I wanted to curl up into a ball just thinking about all these questions.
I really hoped I wasn't going back in time, because if I did, people would try to burn me for being a witch just on the basis that my clothing wasn't normal. And I was wearing pants, too! Oh man, that would be the final blow to put the nail on my coffin since only men were allowed to wear pants. I would be seen as a cross-dresser, and they would most likely end me slowly and painfully. My body throbbed just thinking about it.
As if the world had enough of my turmoil, I felt the falling sensation slow down and saw a light below me. As I got closer, I began to realize it was an image of a grown woman with graying hair, wearing an expensive yellow ball gown, and delicately sipping tea in front of a garden. My eyes widened, knowing that this woman was most likely a noble, and if I landed in front of her, that would be instant death. Or on the other hand, she could help me out. I swallowed as I got closer and closer to the image, praying to whatever being was out there to make the lady benevolent and curious enough to let me live.
I fell through and let out a squawk as I hit the ground. I laid on my back in stunned silence as the sound of birds chirping filtered through my ears.
Once I regained my bearings, I went on my knees and clasped my hands together, "Please don't kill me, it was an accident!"
"There are no accidents," she replied calmly with a British accent, and continued sipping her tea. I blinked and realized it sounded like the turtle from Kung Fu Panda. Wow, maybe DreamWorks should get copyrights from her.
"Please, sit," she said and waved over to a chair placed next to her.
I slowly got up and tried to move gracefully towards the chair. I cautiously sat down, my whole body tense, and I wondered whether she was taking up time so that the guards could come and capture me.
"Tea?" she asked, holding up the teapot.
I grabbed a second cup, momentarily wondering why there were two if she was on her own, and held out my shaking hand towards her.
She smiled reassuringly, trying to calm my trembling, and poured me tea. I brought the cup of tea to my lips and blew at it.
"Hungry?" she inquired, pointing at some sandwiches piled in front of her.
Was I ever! I eagerly nodded and reached for some sandwiches, promptly devouring them the moment they reached my mouth. The lady watched with gentle amusement at my unladylike behavior.
From the corner of my eye, I saw her reach out to touch something above my head. I automatically ducked and covered my head, thinking it was a bug. I shrieked when I touched something fuzzy and tried to rip it off.
Instantly, pain coursed through me.
"Don't do that!" said the noblewoman, raising her voice slightly, "Those are your ears you're tearing off!"
What!? My ears? I put my hands where my ears were and felt them right in place where they should be.
"No...I have my ears right here, see?" I raised my hair to show her where my ears were.
She rolled her eyes and clapped twice in succession. Immediately, a young girl rushed in carrying a mirror. Handing her the mirror, the young girl bowed deeply and backed away without a single glance at me.
The lady beckoned me to come closer and handed me her mirror. I slowly raised it to my face, my heart in my throat.
Gasping, I realized what she had meant by saying I had ears. Two black, fuzzy cat ears sat regally on my head as if they had always been there.
"I also forgot to mention you have a tail," she murmured.
As if on cue, something warm and fluffy brushed against my hand. I snapped my hand away and looked at my rear. Ahh! She was telling the truth! I reached out for the black, fluffy tail to make sure it was real. Giving a few experimental tugs on the soft tail, I deemed it as very real and very attached to my body.
I crouched on the ground and put my head in my hands. I didn't trust my legs to remain standing at this point. My tail automatically curled around me. God, how could this happen!? As far as I knew, no one in my family was a were-neko.
I felt a gentle hand on my back and heard the woman say, "Guessing from your reactions, this is a new development, isn't it?"
I miserably nodded.
"It's not such a bad thing," she reassured me kindly, "Being a cute kitty isn't so bad."
I paused my wallowing for a moment to think about what she had said. She was right- I loved cats, and having ears and a tail was like a dream come true. On the other hand, people would think I was some sort of freak, and they might fear and bully me. Although, I could cover my ears, and if I wore a Victorian dress, my tail would be easily covered. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how right she was. My positive side took the reins and I felt, in that moment, that I had a greater control over my situation. Maybe things weren't as hopeless as they seemed. I just needed to think positive.
I raised my head and nodded at her, "You're right. And thank you for putting my head on straight."
I gently squeezed her hand.
Her smile widened, "I didn't do much. It seemed you figured it out yourself."
I stood up, feeling energy course through me and saw the lady straighten as well, smoothing her dress. I realized I still didn't know the woman's name.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"It's Victoria, dear," she said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, "What's yours?"
"It's Thena. Like Athena but without the 'A'."
I reached out my hand to give her a firm handshake but stopped when I saw her hesitate for a moment before smiling and proceeding to shake my hand. My eyebrows came together in confusion as to why she had hesitated.
Reading my mind, she responded, "My apologies, I am not accustomed to a handshake as only men do that in greeting."
Oh. OH! Well snap, I forgot about that. I sheepishly rubbed the back of my head and spluttered out apologies.
"It's fine, child, I find our interactions quite...refreshing, " Victoria said laughingly.
That was embarrassing!
Time seemed to fly by as I told Victoria how I had gotten there. I didn't want to divulge too much information about the future, fearing that I would cause something to change in history. Just by me being there I was changing things. But then again, maybe I was supposed to come to this time period or else the future wouldn't be the way it was as I knew it. Man! There were way too many theories! I rubbed my temples in irritation.
The sun was beginning to set by the time we were done chatting. Victoria rose and told me that there might be a possibility to send me back to my time. And tomorrow she would send me to someone who could help.
"Knowing him," she said in affectionate exasperation, "he would be the most likely person to stumble upon an anomaly. He's a magnet for strange things. And his butler is even stranger. But don't worry, you would be in safe hands with an order coming from me."
My eyes widened, if she thought they were strange and had calmly accepted my dramatic entrance, then these guys were at another level of weird.
I yawned and Victoria smiled warmly, leading me to the room I would be staying in.
"If you need anything, just pull the cord over there," she pointed at a rope hanging from the ceiling near a large queen sized bed. "A servant will arrive in a few minutes to assist you."
I thanked her for her generosity and closed the door to get some shut-eye. Tossing my backpack to the floor, I didn't even spare a glance at my surroundings. I was fast asleep, curled up underneath thick blankets.