THE
GOOD STRAY
CHAPTER FOUR - CONCLUSIONS
"Wait!" Macavity's voice sounded through the room, stopping all cheers and hollers as the ill queen doubled over for the third time. "You can't kill her!"
All gathered looked baffled by their master's words. A week ago, he had insisted that the jury unanimously declare that Rumpelteazer, along with her twin brother Mungojerrie, was guilty of treason to the Stray name. In a fit of rage, he had single handedly decided that their punishment should be death. Now, he was announcing that the queen had to live.
"Why, sir?" Cyclone finally worked up the courage to speak, the black tom getting to his feet to ask the question that was burning each and every mind.
Macavity looked down at her, his look cold yet compassionate. Climbing down from his thrown, he ordered the two executioners to lift her up. They did so, rather roughly, and he finally got a closer look at her.
"Because," he began, his voice low. "She's carrying my kitten."
A stunned gasp rose from each throat, sounding together as one. Eyes blurred, Rumpelteazer looked up at the tall ginger tom, her face pleading, though for what he couldn't tell.
"Take her to my chamber," he growled in a commanding tone. "My private chamber."
Cyclone obeyed, nodding briefly before scooping the young queen into his arms. She said very little as he carried her out through the doors of the thrown room, and did little more than sob as they made their way to Macavity's private chamber.
Pushing the door open, the black guard placed her gently on a pile of rags his master had in the corner. For any room in Macavity's lair, this was luxury. Workers were given minimal rags to make their rooms comfortable. Macavity took anything he could find, which meant that his makeshift bed was made from old human blankets, sheets and a few torn pillows. It was only fitting, considering he was the master.
Rumpelteazer looked around the room blearily. Her stomach still continued to churn as she lay there, wondering what had just happened. One moment, she had watched her brother die, the next she was on the floor sick, and somehow she ended up amongst a pile of comfortable linen. She figured she missed something along the way, but having not slept for two days, she found it hard to stay awake. Within moments, she was sound asleep.
When Macavity entered the room in the early hours of the evening, he sat by her side, watching her silently as she slept. Never could he have thought that their one night stand could lead to her pregnancy. It made sense, since she had been a virgin before his night with her. But after one night... it was almost incredible.
Killing Teazer, he realised, would mean killing his kitten, a kitten that he had helped to create. This was nothing completely new to the young tom, who's daughters ended up being killed soon after their birth, but never a day before. The thrown of his Stray empire needed an heir, and as it stood there was none.
What if the child inside Teazer's womb was really the son he had been searching for? A strange tingling he had never felt before suggested that she was pregnant. Maybe it meant that this was his son. It was, after all, a feeling he hadn't felt when his previous mates were carrying females. There was still hope the kitten was a male.
Green eyes slowly flickered open, widening fearfully as the focused on Macavity's face. "M..."
"Don't worry, Rumpelteazer." The ginger tom's voice was little more than a dull purr. "I'm not going to hurt you again. I actually want to help you."
The tabby queen looked confused and frightened. What was he implying? Would he still kill her? What about the life of her kitten? So many thoughts stirred through her mind that they were almost too numerous to count.
"You are aware that you are pregnant?" She nodded slowly in response. "Is the kitten mine?" Again she nodded. He blew out a sigh. "I want you to stay here, until the kitten is born. After that, I won't hurt you or kill you. I'll release you, but the kitten will stay with me." This was a slight lie, because he had no intentions of keeping her alive after the birth. He knew that she would certainly turn him down if he told the truth.
"Like always, you have very little choice. If you choose to co-operate with me, I will assist you during your pregnancy. If you do not, your kitten will be born in imprisonment where you will have no assistance from me or any of the other slaves. Either way, you will have this kitten, and I will keep it after it's born." He grinned rather evilly. "You have two choices, really. Help or no help. Which will it be?"
Her mind spun into turmoil as she tried to decipher which of the two would be best.
*~*
