The Beauty Underneath
Chapter 12 ~ Try To Understand
He was her father.
She shook her head; she didn't want to believe it. Mixed feelings washed over her, surging and pumping in her blood stream, screaming in her ears, bitterly dancing on her tongue. She was unsure whom she was angrier at. Her 'parents' and everyone else in the tribe who gladly lied to her or herself for not figuring it out prior to this encounter.
And then of course, he stood there. She knew he was a sick, twisted, terrifying tom that charmed many and killed others. He could be lying but their sweet duet replayed in the back of her mind.
Her head span and Macavity touched her chin and turned so that he could see her face. She really was beautiful but for the first time Macavity felt no desire for a queen of such beauty. The only feelings her nurtured for her were…paternal. His eyes softened as he saw her eyes fill with tears. It was the worst sensation that Macavity had ever experienced. He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand and she turned her head in defiance, her expression mimicking one of a rebellious teenager, if it wasn't so sad Macavity might have laughed.
"You sing beautifully…" he murmured gently, "I always heard rumors of a queen who sang well in the jellicle tribe, but I had never dreamt it could have been you… Never dreamt the voice was so perfect."
Jemima's lip trembled. She was torn. She wanted to hate him, truly and insincerely. However, his feel for music, the sheer beauty he showed her…
"I want to go home," she whispered, her voice shaky and a single tear falling down to her cheek. He didn't want to see her cry and to know that he was the reason of such sorrow was unbearable, he wiped the tear away but it only made her flinch. He could see her becoming a queen like her Mother, driven to paranoia because of his actions. He couldn't let her go though, he had missed fifteen years of her life and now that he was finally exposed to the beauty and grace she possessed he didn't want to let it go.
"Do you find yourself beguiled by the dangerous and wild? Do you feed for the need of the beauty underneath?"
The beauty underneath. She shivered. Was it true? Could there be beauty underneath the exterior of the madman? Could there be some wholesomeness behind the madness? Jemima thought about it. Surely everyone was entitled to a second chance?
However, she then thought about why Demeter…her Mother, was so skittish. It was as if hundreds of secrets about her nurturing were revealed in a matter of minutes. She recalled Victoria telling her quietly that Demeter ran away from Macavity and hid from the rest of the tribe for a few months, there was rumors about a child she may have nurtured… And then Jemima was born.
She was a product of pain. And this was enough to send Jemima over the edge.
Tears fell rapidly down her cheeks and she covered her face roughly, she felt ashamed. He was unsure how to go about her crying, he wanted to run away but if he wanted to keep her with him he would have to try and commit to being twice the Father Skimbleshanks had been for the past fifteen years. So instead of retreating he awkwardly put his arms around her, ignoring the stiffening of her anatomy, he attempted to rub the nape of her neck in a comforting fashion.
"You're beautiful, Jemima…" he mumbled, making her stomach knot, her ears ring, her head reel and her heart tear in two. She pulled back and looked him in the eyes, she was scared, petrified. She opened her mouth to try and respond, to replace her pathetic tears with something sharp, something to make him think. However, there came a loud crash, a giggle and then a stern voice
"Let her go Macavity."
Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer weren't the trust worthiest of the tribe but they proved to be a great deal of help when it came to tasks with Macavity due to their previous involvement with the tom. When they heard a fellow jellicle was in trouble with the ginger tom they were more than ready to help.
So, the twins, Skimbleshanks, Alonzo and Munkustrap had been trailing around London for hours trying to find the whereabouts of Jemima. Macavity had many hideouts and they were only aware of a few so there was no guarantee that they'd find the two, however, as soon as the sun started to rise they finally found the room.
It was decorated strangely but seemed to suit Macavity's taste. Rumpleteazer clumsily bumped into a mirror and knocked it over so that all the glass shattered and instead of cringing and apologizing, she seemed highly amused as she started to giggle manically. Mungojerrie, also grinning, shushed her and smiled at the others apologetically. Alonzo rolled his eyes and Munkustrap regained composure,
"Let her go Macavity."
His words echoed around the mirror filled room and they heard a hoarse chuckle respond to his words. Skimbleshanks' ears pricked up and he ran towards the noise and sure enough, they were in the presence of Macavity and Jemima in only a few moments.
"How nice it is to see you all," Macavity said, his words dripping aggravatingly with false courtesy. Skimbleshanks began to shake furiously,
"Get your filthy murderin' hands off my daughter, you sick bastard!" Jemima flinched gently as Macavity began to laugh,
"Isn't time to stop lying to her? To stop lying to yourself?" Skimbleshanks paused and he caught the gaze of the small kit in Macavity's arms, her expression was one of fear and he wanted to run and claw the other tom's throat out. However, he knew there was some truth behind the madman's words.
"You may be her Father," Alonzo said, making his way next to Skimbleshanks, "But he had been her Dad. You've missed fifteen years of her life, missed her first tooth falling out, missed her eyes first opening… He's been there but you haven't. And do you know why you haven't? Because you're a sick and dangerous tom that needs to learn to control his temper."
Macavity's teeth clenched, he itched to try and come back with a snappy comment but he had to try and convince the quivering queen in his arms that he could be trustworthy, that he could be worth of her.
Rumpleteazer couldn't bear to watch anymore, she pushed past all of the toms and slowly made her way to the tom and Jemima. It was painful to watch the sweet girl be put under all of the pressure they were shoving on her. She smiled gently and tried her best to be kind. "Sweetie…" Ugh, it sounded so cliché, the tone didn't suit her.
"Go with whoever you want, ignore everyone else. Do what you need to do."
Jemima blinked at her, the two girls had never spoken more than two words to each other but now the tabby queen smiled at her sweetly and addressed her like they both understood each other completely. The calico nodded and pulled herself out of her…. Father's (she still found it hard to call him that) arms. Her gentle eyes found his and she nodded gently before running into Skimbleshanks' waiting arms,
"I'm sorry," she said, addressing the hurt madman. Munkustrap stroked Jemima's head and then looked at them all,
"We need to go now."
((A/N: I'm not sure if I like this one so much… But I hope you guys did? ^^' I'm trying hard to get the story written up before schoolwork becomes even more demanding then it already is XD))