Have I ever been in love? That's one of those questions they always ask in interviews. It's either that or 'Who was your first kiss?' or 'Who was your first crush?'
The answer to that question. Yes I have been in love although it isn't a part of my life I like to remember. I can deal with physical pain but not emotional pain. The only thing I can do is forget about it completely. But love is a hard thing to forget.
You could probably say that this house tour was the birth of the Rum Tum Tugger side of me. My father wasn't the only one with ideas. I had a few of my own and I planned to act on them straight away. The words of my mother's friend had made me think. Why in a few years?
'So… your name's Lyssa?' I wasn't really sure where I was walking but that wasn't really my main priority.
'Yes.' She smiled shyly to herself, not looking me in the eye.
'It's pretty.' I stopped for a moment, waiting for her to catch up. 'Keep up! It's a big house.' I tilted her chin so she was looking me in the eye. 'There's plenty of places to get lost.' And there she was. Like a rabbit in the headlights of an oncoming car, frozen and hypnotised.
You probably think I was being manipulative and cruel and that I was taking advantage of her but it wasn't like that. True, I was taking advantage of her but I was experimenting. I wasn't going to do anything wrong, I just wanted to see what effect I had on her.
I winked, grinning. 'Come on, there's lots more to see down here.'
And so the tour went on, every now and again I would try another trick and see what she did. Yes, it was probably cruel but, if I'm honest. I don't think she minded it.
Did I kiss her? No. It didn't go beyond flirting and messing with her mind.
When we finally returned to the room where my family were sat, Lyssa had recovered.
'Did you have a good tour?' My mother asked. She wasn't really interested in the answer; she just needed to acknowledge that we had entered the room.
'Yes.' Lyssa was slightly out of breath as she answered. 'It was very interesting.'
I managed to keep a straight face, hiding my laughter. It seemed to fool everyone apart from Lyssa's mother. She was looking at me in a way that made me feel as though she understood me completely.
We said our goodbyes and as I kissed the air above Lyssa'a paw she giggled. Her mother noticed this and looked me in the eye, nodding. With a quick swish of her paw she handed my mother a small piece of paper.
'I would like to invite you all to a party next week. Bring George and Adicia early. Adicia and Lyssa can get ready together. I think they'd like that.' My mother nodded, you could see inside she was jumping for joy. This was exactly the break she was looking for and evidently why she had befriended this queen.
'I look forward to seeing you there.' And with a swift nod, she and Lyssa were gone.
It was barely a few seconds before all hell broke loose. My sister was jumping about like a crazed kangaroo and my mother had a ridiculously dreamy expression on her face. I just sighed.
'I think I'm going to go to my room.'
Left alone in my room I could finally start to think over what had happened that day. With one sentence I had gone from being invisible to my parents, to suddenly in the limelight again. Once again I was going to be used as a puppet in their quest for power. But, as you know, I am a rebel and I would fight back. They could force me to the parties and make me act civilised when they were around but, as proved by the tour, out of their reach I had my own power. And by the everlasting cat, I was going to use it.
We arrived at the house a few hours before the party, as we were instructed. Adicia was leaping about like a possessed frog at the prospect of her first party. I, on the other hand, felt uncomfortable. My mother's friend, who I had decided at that point, I must find out the name of, hadn't said why she wanted me to come early.
The door clicked open and I gulped. The maid looked from my sister to me and eventually told my sister to go upstairs and gave her directions to Lyssa's room.
She then walked over to a door next to her and gestured for me to enter. My eyes met hers for a second. She looked back with a kind of curiosity which was soon replaced by fear. Of course, she was a maid, it was considered rude for her to look me in the eye. Inside I sighed; I would never get the hang of this life.
'Ah, George.' a queen's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
'Have a seat.'
I wandered in hesitantly and perched on the seat she gestured to. I sat impatiently, waiting for her to speak. The silence hovering around the room was unbearable. Eventually, she spoke.
'Do you know George, I've always wanted a son.' Her words were spoken slowly, as though she was choosing each one carefully before it left her lips.
'But after Lyssa, we found out that there would be no more kittens for us. I love Lyssa dearly but all the same...' She paused and changed the subject hastily. 'Now you may have noticed after my visit last week that I notice things. I look beneath the surface and discover things that other people often ignore and do you want to know what I've noticed about you?'
I just shrugged and muttered something.
'You're unhappy and you don't fit in with your family.'
I couldn't say anything. She was right and I wasn't about to deny it.
'So I've hit the nail on the head?' I nodded half-heartedly.
'I know from talking to your mother that you were sent away to school. Well you are not returning to that school. Instead, I have persuaded your mother that it would be wiser for you to have different lessons… Ones that you may enjoy more.'
She was watching me carefully, her dark eyes following and studying my every move.
'I have also suggested to your mother that you stay here whilst you are…' She paused, emphasising her next word in a way that puzzled me. 'Studying. I can follow through on that suggestion but I have one condition.'
I nodded, staying away from home seemed to be worth anything.
'You stay away from Lyssa. I don't want you messing up her head. There's little in there to begin with and to be honest, she's definitely not the queen for you.'
As if on cue, Lyssa and Adicia walked in.
The older queen's mood changed completely.
'And now, George dear, I think It's time you got ready for the party.'
Not the most exciting or chapters I know but oh well... Thank you for the reviews x
