Chapter Two: The Cat Queen
"Would you care for a drink, Majesty?"
A gloriously obsidian black cat shook her head, her eyes locked onto her young son as he tried to pounce on a dragonfly, happy in his own world.
His fur was lighter than hers, and his eyes were like his father's; the Cat King. Her soul shuddered, no love lost for her husband. It was the young prince Lune that gave her joy. She only prayed that her boy would not grow into his father's insanity. It's a good thing that there were no wars here, or his whims would have left the kingdom in ruins.
Lune became distracted from the firefly, racing towards his mother with a pebble in his paw.
"Mother, this is for you!"
The Cat Queen smiled lovingly at him as he presented the green stone with a flourish. She took it, noting all the tiny specks of color over the trinket's surface.
"This is beautiful, sweetheart. I'll treasure it."
He grinned at her, and then raced off. One of the maids accompanying the queen and prince coughed uncomfortably. The black cat looked at her as she slipped the stone into her handbag.
"Yes Niki? Is there something you would like to say?"
She shifted uncomfortably.
"Begging your majesty's pardon, but it seems undignified to allow the future ruler to run around like a commoner."
The Cat Queen glared at her.
"It's healthier for him to run around than to be stuck inside walls all the time. And he's so clever with his studies, he deserves a break every once in a while. Besides, this is an adventure for him."
The lake close by gave a heaving sound, like a waterfall. A high-pitched scream was heard, along with a thump. The queen grinned as she got to her feet.
"Sounds like we have a visitor."
The maids moved in to stop her.
"It could be someone dangerous; we'll go see who it is."
A pitiful mewing sound came to their ears, steeling the queen's determination. She pushed past the maids and headed for the source of the crying, recognizing a child's cry when she heard it. Pushing back the cat tails, she eventually found a tiny gray kitten, curled up in a fetal position, her eyes closed tightly from pain.
"Whoever's there, I swear I'm not trying to bother you."
The queen's heart broke from the beaten tone to the girl's voice. She walked over to the kitten and licked her face.
"You're not bothering anyone, dear. Where does it hurt?"
"Everywhere."
The queen gave her a good look-over, finally determining that no permanent damage had been done.
"Don't worry, it will fade with time. What's your name?"
The kitten opened her eyes, a beautiful blue that matched the sky above them.
"Yuki."
The queen's eyes widened, recognizing the beautiful sapphire color.
"Tell me, Yuki; are you related to Luki?"
The kitten got to her feet.
"Yes; she's my mother. Did you know her?"
The obsidian cat nodded, hardly daring to believe the twist of fate.
"Are you kidding? I used to be her owner."
The blue-eyed cat looked at her with confusion.
"I thought only humans claimed to own cats."
The queen nodded in agreement.
"That would make sense, since I used to be a human."
The tiny kitten stared at the beautiful cat in shock.
"Then…why…"
The obsidian cat looked at her lovingly, wonderful memories being brought back. She gently took the kitten by the neck and walked back to the picnic area. Now that the kitten was soaking wet, the queen could tell that the gray was traveling in distinct patterns through Yuki's fur, revealing it to actually be white underneath the filth. The queen smiled and set the kitten down on the picnic blanket and started licking the kitten clean, despite the protests from the maids.
"Any human that trespasses into the Cat Kingdom will turn into a cat, and will stay that way if they don't leave by the next human world's sunset. I had fallen into the kingdom by accident, and the king here became smitten with me. He forced me to stay until the change was permanent, and then forced me to marry him." The queen continued on her chore, until the kitten between her paws was a beautiful pure white. "What happened to your mother?"
Yuki looked down sadly.
"Your parents tossed her out, after a year of waiting for you. She lived off the garbage until she met my father, who got picked up by the bad man. Mama got picked up by one last month."
The Cat Queen's eyes clouded over with tears.
"Oh…Luki…"
A shifting in the bush revealed the young crown prince, a small trout in his mouth. He took one look at the white kitten between his mother's paws, and his mouth dropped open in astonishment, sending the fish flailing to the ground. Yuki stared back, stunned by his eyes of fire and ice. The obsidian cat looked over at her son.
"Oh, Lune." She wiped away her tears with one paw. "Come meet the daughter of an old friend of mine."
Yuki tried to hide behind the queen, intimidated by the prince's eyes, but the regal cat pushed her forward with one paw, as the prince made a hesitant bow.
"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Prince Lune."
Not quite sure what to do, the white kitten bowed low.
"I am Yuki. Nice to meet you too."
The Cat Queen looked at the white kitten, thinking that something was missing. Yuki now had pure white fur, and was a very pretty little cat. She grinned; remembering what she used to do to Luki. Searching around in the handbag, she found the item she was looking for.
Yuki yelped in surprise as a pink ribbon was wrapped around her neck, and carefully tied into a bow in the back.
"There. Beautiful." The queen examined the little kitten from the front. She would grow to be a beauty, just like her mother. But she knew from experience that good looks were more of a curse than a gift around a crazy king…
"Will you play with me, Yuki?" her son hesitantly asked; the white kitten shyly nodding. The queen watched her son and the newcomer chase after each other and small grasshoppers as she tried to think of a way to protect the white kitten.
After what had happened to Luki, thanks to her disappearance, she was directly responsible for her old friend's daughter. She wanted desperately for Yuki to be safe, but the queen wished to see more of the young kitten, just for the sweet memories the young cat inspired.
A polite coughing came from her side, and she looked over in surprise to see that her handmaidens were still with her. One was holding out a drink again. This time, the queen accepted it.
As she sipped at the straw, an idea began to form inside her head. She grinned; knowing that it would work without a single hitch.
For what could be more invisible to a crazy king than a lowly servant?
