One Year Later:
Macavity's temper had spiraled out of control. It didn't matter if it was aimed at Demeter, or their daughter Jemima. When he was mad, everyone felt his rage.
"You shouldn't yell at Jemima so much. She's only a kitten."
"Don't tell me what to do." Macavity turned over in the bed they shared and yanked the majority of the blankets toward him.
Returning the gesture, Demeter yanked the blankets in her direction, much to Macavity's dismay. "I don't see how she will ever trust you as a father figure if all you do is cause her to cower in fear. You're not thinking like a normal feline! Where's your common sense? I feel like I don't know who you are right now and it terrifies me!"
"That's not my fault, Demeter." He yanked the blankets once more, rougher and more determined.
"Do you even love her? Jemima I mean… do you love her the way I do? Is she everything to you the way she is to me?"
Silence.
"Well, do you love her?" Demeter sat up and huffed. "How can anyone be loved by a tom who has no compassion in his heart, no warmth in his soul… you're not even a cat, are you? You're a Pollicle, a stubborn Pollicle who only has room in his heart for himself."
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Macavity bellowed, turning over and shoving Demeter out of the bed and onto the floor.
"Damn you, Demeter! I give you everything you could possibly want and because I have a tendency to be angry and upset, you treat me like dirt?"
"There's one thing you've never been able to give me, Macavity, and that's love. Nothing can survive without love."
"How about tough love, Demeter? You ever hear of that? Would you like to see how it works?"
"No, thank you." She replied bitterly, pushing herself up and leaving the room.
The Next Day:
Demeter sat in the garden with Jemima, who playfully swatted at the flowers dancing in the light breeze. The birds chirped merrily and the clouds soared above in the cerulean blue sky. The day was beautiful - plain and simple.
Jemima leapt in and out of the thick green hedges, giggling with glee. Demeter laughed at her silly little daughter, envious of her innocent perspective on life.
Suddenly Jemima was pulling on Demeter's arms, jumping up and down with excitement. "Mommy, couldn't we go to the docks? I want to see the boats and watch the seagulls eat fish."
"On one condition." Demeter bent down to look Jemima in the eyes; she teasingly tapped Jemima on the nose with her paw.
"And what's that?" Jemima swatted at Demeter's nose with an attempt to copy her mother's actions.
"That you have lots of fun and do as I tell you at all times while we're there."
"DEAL!" Jemima squealed.
"Let's go, then. Shall we?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Jemima bounded alongside her mother as they headed towards the shore.
The beach was deserted except for a few humans. Jemima chased the seagulls, giving her best impression of the way a lion roars in the jungle. It was adorably pathetic. Demeter taught Jemima all about the sea shells and the fish, about the boats and the wooden piers. They sat upon the dunes together, sunbathing and enjoying each other's company. Demeter knew she should enjoy the peace and quiet while she could, for as soon as they returned home, Macavity would be furious, claiming that outings at the beach were frivolous wastes of time.
"Jem, what are up to over there?" Jemima sat with her back facing Demeter. She was working on something diligently, Demeter just didn't know what. She crept up to Jemima, craning her neck over her daughter's shoulder.
"Wait, mommy! Don't look yet! It's a surprise!" Jemima cried desperately.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." Demeter chuckled.
Jemima continued to work; tongue sticking out on the side of her small mouth, eyes focusing intently on whatever it was in the grasp of her paws.
"Can I look now?" Demeter questioned anxiously.
"Only if you close your eyes first." Jemima teased cleverly.
"Okay. They're closed, Jem."
Jemima looked over her shoulder, noticing one of her mother's chartreuse eyes peeping through the slits of nearly closed eyelids.
"No peeking, mommy!"
Demeter bit her lip in an attempt to disguise her smile, but it was to no avail. Her ears tilted and listened to the sound of her daughter coming closer and closer through the sand. Something slipped over her head and rested on her neck.
Jemima giggled. "Open your eyes now, mommy."
Demeter did. She gasped, looking down upon a seashell hanging on her neck. The necklace was made out of braided blades of beach grass from the dunes nearby and delicately weaved through a single hole in the perfectly white shell.
"Jemima, it's beautiful! How did you even make this?"
"I'm just gifted I guess." She spoke proudly.
"Yes you are." Demeter grabbed Jemima and hugged her close to her.
As the sun was setting, they abandoned their spot upon the dunes and headed home. As they entered the Warehouse, Demeter was met in the lobby by Macavity.
"Hi, daddy." Jemima sauntered cautiously to her father with her head hung low and her ears drooped fearfully.
"You've nothing to be afraid of, Jemima. Go to your room and stay there."
"Yes, sir." She obeyed her father. She looked back once at Demeter, who smiled and ushered her onward up the grand staircase.
"You went to the beach today. Another pointless outing." Macavity stood with his arms crossed, feet firmly planted on the ground, standing completely erect and sturdy.
"Yes." Demeter answered.
"You know I don't like that. In fact, I believe last time you disobeyed me I told you never to take Jemima to the docks again. Her time should be spent learning how to reign over this Kingdom I've spent so many months and endless amounts of labor building. What can she possibly accomplish at the beach that will help her prepare for life as a ruler?"
"Kittenhood." Demeter responded honestly.
"Excuse me?" Macavity was disgusted.
"How can she be a kitten if all she ever does it sit through lesson after lesson after lesson? You're forcing her to grow up without even experiencing what it is to have fun."
"Fun is irrelevant."
"I don't give a damn, Macavity! She is not your daughter only! I happen to be her mother! I should also have a say in how she lives her life. And you know, she's the one living it! Why doesn't she have a say? She should be able to do what she wants, we as parents are meant to guide her, not restrict her and force her to do things she hates!" Demeter's voice rose higher, grew louder. She allowed her emotions to surface in a way they never had. She stepped closer and closer to Macavity as she spoke.
"Why is freedom such an impossible concept for you to comprehend? I know you're heartless but-"
SLAP
Demeter met the ground with a resounding thud, the force of the slap introducing her to the cold floor and stinging of her cheek.
She looked up at Macavity, infuriated. She stumbled to her paws and continued to speak.
"I will not let you do this to me anymore. And I will not let you hurt or control the life my daughter lives."
"How dare you speak to me that way!"
Macavity pushed Demeter against the wall, holding her by the wrists. His breath was hot and engulfed the entirety of Demeter's face.
"I don't know who you think you are, but I will have your compliance, and if I have to resort to violence to get it, so be it." He delivered a solid kick to Demeter's stomach with the rounded part of his knee. She hunched over, feeling the air catch in her throat.
"Do we have an understanding?" Macavity asked. Demeter struggled to get air in her lungs, unable to speak, yet refusing to nod her head.
Macavity grabbed her by the throat, strengthening his vice-like grip as she continued to defy him. "Answer me, damn you!"
She looked him in the eyes, refusing to obey like the puppy she had been to him all this time. She enjoyed having the ability to stir such fury in him, so long as she could ignore the pain that resulted with her rebellion.
He gave out an exasperated grunt and threw her to the floor. He kicked her repeatedly. "You think you're so tough, don't you? Well, I'll teach you."
He lifted her off the ground, blood spilling out of the corner of her mouth. Still, she defiantly looked him in the eyes, the yellow orbs squinting as he gave another grunt of rage.
He scratched her over and over again, not noticing the kitten at the top of the stairs, watching in horror as her father beat her mother to a bloody pulp. Out of breath, Macavity stopped his attack, leaning down, ripping the necklace from Demeter's neck. She lay on her side, reeling from the ordeal she had just been through.
"Wait, give that back." Demeter wheezed. "Don't take that."
Macavity dropped it on the floor in front of Demeter's distressed and tormented face, stepping on it cruelly. The sound of the shell crunching beneath Macavity's paw caused her to clench her eyes closed, tears flowing for the first time since the argument began.
A voice cried out. "No!" Jemima raced down the stairs and knelt down before the shards of seashell. She held the pieces in her paws, crying softly. She stood up, anger on her young face and she hollered. "Why, daddy?"
"Because I can. Now you listen to me, Jemima. You will no longer go to the beach with your mother. In fact, you'll only see your mother for one hour every other day. This is final. Do you understand what I am saying to you?"
"NO! I love my mother a lot more than I love you. She cares about me and wants me to be happy. You're the worst father anyone could have and I HATE YOU!"
Macavity growled, throwing a paw across the face of his own flesh and blood. Jemima slid across the floor, sitting up instantly and rubbing the spot where her father's paw had made contact.
Demeter cried out, crawling to where her daughter sat sniffling, eyes overflowing with tiny drops of water.
She held her daughter and comforted her. Jemima cried into Demeter's neck, holding onto her mother tightly. Demeter looked up at Macavity, protective and brave. "You will never touch her again. I am taking her out of here and there is nothing you can do about it."
Macavity laughed. "Is that so? Let me show you something, the both of you. Take a look at that vase over there. You see it?" Macavity's voice took on a violent, dry, commanding tone. "Watch."
Macavity bowed his head, flexing his paws in fists and breathing deeply. He gave a shout and thrust his paws toward the vase. It shattered, sending bits of hardened clay and pottery dust everywhere. Demeter instinctively covered her daughter, shielding her from the debris.
"That's what'll happen to you if you dare leave this place."
Macavity left the room. Demeter was bewildered. She had never known that her mate possessed powers. Even still, it did not change her mind. She would free her daughter from this nightmare, even if it had to be the last thing she ever did.