Chapter 2
Slinking silently back into his den, Alonzo smiled as the first light of the day peered through the window, gently caressing the queen lying on the bed. The warm fingers of light danced around her slender figure, highlighting her curves and reminding him just how lucky he was to have Cassandra as his mate. The golden light lit up her facial features and she mumbled slightly in her sleep.
Grinning cheekily to himself, Alonzo moved quietly over to the bed and slid back under the sheets. Propping himself up onto his elbow, he nuzzled the slim, beautiful queen and, as she awoke, kissed her passionately. Catching onto his mood, she quickly responded, kissing him back and pressing into his chest. Purring, Alonzo ran his paws over her body and she shuddered, nipping him gently on his neck and massaging him. He moaned and rolled her onto her back, settling slightly above her.
It was about ten when Munkustrap started to get worried; where was Alonzo? He was not usually late; in fact, he'd never been late before. He frowned and looked around the Yard for any sign of a disturbance, but everything was going fine. He had just made up his mind to go to Alonzo's den when Demeter sidled up. "Hey Munkustrap, what's wrong?" she asked, noting the concerned look on his face. "Oh, hi Deme. Alonzo's not here yet. I was going to go check on him, but I guess I'll give him another five or ten minutes. You want to talk?"
Munkustrap made up his mind that Alonzo could wait another few minutes; it wasn't an everyday occurrence that an opportunity to talk to Demeter without the imminent threat of an interference from Bombalurina. "Sure. I managed to dodge Bomby when Tugger came. Is there anything you wanted to say in particular?"
"Umm…" Munkustrap had harboured romantic feelings towards the pretty black-and-gold queen for quite some time but had never quite worked up the nerve to tell her. And he had envisioned a more private place to tell her, rather than the top of the TSE1 in plain view of all the Jellicles, if they cared to look. "No, not now, really. Maybe later. Is there anything you wanted to say?" he asked, chickening out again. "Well, you know those three street cats we met last week?" Demeter began.
Munkustrap nodded; for street cats, Terrian, Aurora and Tristan had lived quite well, and were handsome strays living on the corner of Victoria Grove. The tribe had met them last week when they'd paid a visit and found them quite likeable, though they had no intentions of joining the Jellicles, they were well-mannered neighbours to have.
Terrian was a handsome cream-coloured tom, with brown-black paws and blue eyes. His mate, Aurora, was a similarly beautiful tan and red queen. Tristan was their friend, and the most handsome of them all. He had a pure black coat with metallic blue ripples that ran through it when he moved. He had one white foot, and a white-tipped tail, and shining blue eyes. Munkustrap knew several of the Tribe queens had fallen for him, but he would not let them visit him unless he requested it.
All in all, the presence of such a handsome tom so close by sent shivers of unease down Munkustrap's spine; he'd sighed in relief when all the eligible toms of his age (Coricopat, Tugger, Alonzo and Mungojerrie) had either taken mates (Cori, Lonz and Jerrie) or made their intentions clear (Tugger), and now there was another tom close by who might steal Demeter's heart. *For god's sake Munkustrap, if you told her you loved her this wouldn't be the case, you coward,* he reasoned, but couldn't work up the nerve.
"Well, Munkus, umm… Tristan sort of asked me on a date. He said he liked me and wanted me to go on a walk with him tonight. Can I go?" Munkustrap stiffened and almost growled, catching himself just in time. His first instinct was to say 'No' but he had no reason to, well, not one that she knew anyway. "Please?" Demeter looked up at him imploringly, catching his bright gaze. His heart melted at the sight of her eyes, soft and pleading. "It would mean the world to me…"
Munkustrap sighed and swallowed. "Well… ok Deme. But just a walk, mind. Make sure he doesn't hurt you; he'd better look after you. Be careful. Ok?" He looked down at her, eyes full of meaning. "Yes Munkustrap. Thank you." Demeter smiled at him, before sliding off the trunk. "Are you sure you don't want me to get Alonzo?" "No, it's alright, I've got it covered." Munkustrap sighed, suddenly feeling tired and weary. He tried to reason with himself. "It's just a walk, I mean, what could happen?" he mumbled.
*Oh, everything could happen. They could kiss, fall in love, die, get caught by the cat-catchers, run into humans, make out…* For some reason, the first three and the last anguished him the most. *And I'm not a patch on Tristan…* He felt miserable. Sighing again, he raised his paw to knock on Alonzo's door when he heard a yell from inside. Grabbing the handle, he opened the door and entered the den.
Alonzo and Cassandra had fallen asleep after their 'session', so to speak, and now the patched tom had awoken with sweat running down his face, panting and terrified. The dream had returned again, but this time, louder and more sinister than ever. The shadows were darker and more consuming, the air was stifling, and the voice was louder and higher, but still the same words. And still Alonzo couldn't place the voice.
Now, as he sat bolt upright, Munkustrap burst into the room, panic written all over his face. Hurriedly trying to disentangle himself from a disgruntled Cassandra, Alonzo staggered out of the bed as trying to catch his breath. "Are you alright, Alonzo?" Munkustrap queried. "Yeah… yeah I'm fine. Just a bad dream…" Alonzo babbled, attempting to straighten his ruffled fur. Munkustrap frowned then smiled wistfully. "Ok Lonz I'm going to pretend this didn't happen. I'm going to walk outside and wait on the TSE1 and you'll come in 5, okay? I didn't see anything…"
Alonzo nodded and continued cleaning himself up. "Ok, see you Cassie." He kissed her quickly then hurried outside to the TSE1, now certain that the dream meant something more. The question was, what? And all the time he contemplated, the evil lurked around the fringes of his world, waiting for the time to strike…
