I suppose I'd best get on with the story. Very well, but be warned – the content in these following chapters is not for the faint of heart. What is about to be revealed is no less than each and every detail that has sculpted my image, and as you will soon find out, the harsh realities of life are seldom kitten-friendly. But if, after all of these warnings, you are still inspired to stay and hear me out, then I salute you. Right then – I may as well start from the beginning.
I was a kitten like any other. Happy, playful, innocent . . . wide-eyed and curious about the mysterious ways of the world and everything in it. I could find amusement for hours on end with nothing but a ball of string or an old, torn up toy mouse that I found among the junk heaps that were my home. I had my share of friends, and the tribe's adults and elders all adored me . . . perhaps due to the fact that I was the first (and, at that time, only) son of Old Deuteronomy.
Ah, now there's a name I haven't uttered in a while. Deuteronomy. The old fleabag who does nothing but sit on that blasted tire day and night, and yet who is looked up to and fawned upon as the noble patriarch among that tribe of brainless excuses for cats. I doubt that they'll ever figure out that all that glitters is not gold.
And yet there was a time when I too looked up to him, respected him, loved him . . . not just as a ruler, but as a father. As far as I was concerned, he was the best cat in the world. Never shall I forget one day when he took me in his lap, gazing out across the clearing with wisdom of the years gone by playing across his ever-vigilant face.
"Macavity," he said to me, "my son . . . one day, all of this will be yours."
Following his gaze, I looked out at the junkyard too. It looked like a bunch of dirt with putrid rubbish heaped up as far as the eye could see. "All of it, Daddy?" I asked, my young eyes glowing with wonder and unspoiled innocence.
Deuteronomy nodded. "Yes, Macavity. Everything, from that little patch of grass over there to this tire we're sitting on right now."
"But it's all so big," I observed in my little voice. "How can I rule over the grass if it's taller than I am?"
"You'll grow," he promised, a gentle glow of amusement shining in those wise old eyes. "And as you do, you'll learn all that there is to know – I'll see to that myself. Then, one day, when the time comes . . . you, my son, will succeed me as the next leader of the Jellicle Tribe."
I beamed. Me, Jellicle Leader! From the moment he spoke those words, I already couldn't wait until the day came: the day when I would ascend to the head of the tribe. Such a horrible fate that nowadays I'm almost glad that that privilege was taken away from me. But, still being young and impressionable without a care in the world, my young mind began to drift off to fantasies so magnificent that they snatched the voice right out of me. Neither of us had any idea about the sick twist of fate that would turn my whole world around, and the day that those very same words would chase away all of the goodness in my heart.
Deuteronomy chuckled. Nudging me with a gentle paw, he told me, "Run along now, little one. You are young; go on and enjoy it while you still can."
I nodded obediently, hopping down from his lap and carefully climbing off of the tire before gleefully scampering away, grabbing the fuzzy yellow ball I'd been playing with earlier.
A moment later, before I knew what was going on, I was flat on my stomach on the ground. The ball rolled just out of reach of my stubby paws, and I became conscious of a weight on my back, pinning me down. A playful giggle sounded, and the weight suddenly lifted as a pretty black-and-gold queen-kit, just a bit younger than myself, trotted up from behind me and plopped down on the ground, scooping the ball into her arms. "This is mine," she told me with a cheeky grin.
"Deme!" I whined as I sat up, brushing the dirt off of myself. "I found it! Finders keepers!"
"Losers weepers," Demeter finished for me. "You lost it when you dropped it. And I found it again, so now it's mine."
I pouted. "But that's not fair!" I complained. "You made me drop it! That's different, that is!"
She shrugged. "You shoulda been paying more attention, then. What were you so happy about, anyway?"
"Oh yeah . . ." The ball instantly forgotten, I grinned widely. "My daddy says I'm gonna be Jellicle Leader one day," I boasted proudly.
A look of wonder entered Demeter's eyes. "Wow . . . you? Leader? No way!"
"Way," I retorted playfully. Eyeing the ball, I added, "So that means you're gonna hafta start listening to what I say . . . and I say that the ball is mine!" And with that, I snatched it back from her, mischief glinting in my eyes.
She just grinned. "But you're not the leader yet," she pointed out. "So I don't hafta listen if I don't wanna." Giggling cheekily, she poked me in the arm and then proceeded to try to grab the ball out of my grasp.
I know what you're thinking. That can't be Demeter. It's nothing like her. But it is. I haven't lost it and gone completely senile yet, you know. This bouncy young kitten and the paranoid queen you're thinking of are indeed one and the same. After all, everyone changes with time, don't they? If you must know, however, I will admit that this change can be attributed to me as well. You've heard stories, no doubt, about the terrible things that I did to this poor queen . . . and I assure you, all will be explained in due course. But for now, I will simply say that we used to be the best of friends, she and I. We did everything together; wherever one of us was, the other was never far behind. We never thought anything could separate us, much like I never imagined that one cruel twist of fate could snatch my destiny away from me right out from under my nose.
How wrong I was.
