"It is time…" Old Deuteronomy told Munkustrap. It was the beginning of the meeting, at the end of the day. The silver tom called the meeting to order. He shouted to the cats that Deuteronomy would now address the Jellicles. Munkustrap was nervous; trying to take care of this matter inconspicuously without causing much attention to…Macavity, would be difficult enough. Almost the entire tribe knowing could be hazardous to this goal though. Deuteronomy stood up on the top of a wooden bench, placed on the rusted yellow car in the meeting den.
"Cats of all kind, we gather here to speak of an important matter, concerning the newest Jellicle female, Zelaphelia. I have observed her, without verbal use, and have come to the conclusion that her family is of this tribe."
"What brought you to that conclusion?" asked a low voice from above shouted; it was Asparagus.
Deuteronomy paused, as if in a pondering thought, and then spoke again, "She… has unveiled certain characteristics that seemed familiar to my eye. She's articulate, curious, strong, and everything that a Jellicle would be, and I have wondered if there may be family here in the Junkyard."
There was a silence among the adults, and Munkustrap looked at Deuteronomy with doubtful, but sympathetic grin. There wasn't one cat that was going to admit that they abandoned their own kitten. They would feel like they were going to take on the wrath of the Jellicle Leader. How else would they live with the guilt, whoever the parent was?
"Come now," Deuteronomy continued, "There must be one who will at least say something that they have noticed about her."
Then, Munkustrap heard a male cat clear his throat to the side, and everyone turned to him, "I have somethin' to say." It was Skimble. It couldn't be that he was the relative. Zela and he held no likeness to each other; her golden-red and black fur, and his orange coat. There wasn't anyway that they were related, could it?
"I would like to know, Deuteronomy, if you are trying to ask if some adult here is her parent or relative. If that is true, then I must deny it. I do not have any relation to her, but perhaps if we look at the features of her body and face, maybe they will be familiar in the way we could recognize her as a look-a-like to one of the adults."
"Hmm…I agree with you Skimble," the elderly tom concurred, "If we could review…Munkustrap," Deuteronomy turned toward his son, "Could you recite Zelaphelia's physique?"
Munkustrap had to think back from when he first saw the young female, but it was hard to think of, for he had only seen her once. It wasn't hard to figure out after awhile, "I believe she…is a calico queen, in her youth, a black coat, but with golden fur and red streaks, her whiskers are curled, slightly, violet colored eyes, she's very tall and thin, and her forehead is highly dome."
"Hmm…that does not sound like anyone here…I…really can't think of another cat that would resemble her." Deuteronomy said.
Well, perhaps the elderly leader would rethink his conclusion of the female. If no one would confess, and he couldn't think of any cat that would look like Zela, then it must be said and done. The meeting, the Jellicle protector might realize, was pointless, and Munkustrap had the confidence that Deuteronomy would lose his hope of finding Zelaphelia's family in the tribe, and find it more suitable to drop the situation, but before Munkustrap could shout that the meeting was over, someone cried, "I have something to say!"
It was his mate, Demeter, who was lying down on top of scrap metal that was once fashioned, by some human, as a roof. Bombalurina was with her, and nudged the skittish queen to speak, "I have to tell everyone something." Demeter mumbled, loudly.
"Please, share it with us." Deuteronomy said.
"…I…I have a secret that has rotted my conscious ever since I came back to the tribe." Bomba nudged Demeter to continue.
"Zelaphelia…," the beautiful golden queen hesitated, "is my daughter."
A shocking gasp went through the crowd, and Munkustrap's was the strongest of them all. Demeter had a daughter? It couldn't be. How could it be? The two mates have had kittens of their own…why would she keep such a thing from him? Munkustrap had pain struck through him, when he heard the dreadful news. Demeter looked down at him, with guilt, pity, and regret.
"How-How can this be?" Munkustrap asked.
"It's…complicated…When…I told the tribe about my leave from the Warehouse, I left out what Macavity had did. I lied about not being caught; the night I escaped, it wasn't that different from when Bomba left. Macavity found out I was trying to leave, and he cursed me, and beat me, but before he stalked back to the warehouse he-he…" Demeter couldn't continue. She broke down in tears, probably terrified of the disgusting tom's, forceful and sexual behavior. Munkustrap's anger grew from knowing what his own brother- no, his half-brother, would lure-in lovely and innocent queens, such as Deme, and just use them for his own active lust. He felt like he would run to that warehouse, and tear Macavity to shreds…
"But then," the depressing queen, "When I found out that I was…pregnant later on, I traveled around the city, avoiding the Junkyard as much as possible, and tried to take care of my kitten and train Zelaphelia for the outside-world, hoping she could make it on her own. She was very young when I figured out I couldn't raise her anymore. I was a struggling mother on the street, so one day, by the river, I told her I was going to teach her how to fish, but while she was focusing on the water, I ran as quickly as I could away from my kitten. I covered-up my scent and tried to get back to the Junkyard, and that's what happened…I never felt so much regret in my life…"
"Why did you keep this from the tribe Demeter?" asked Old Deuteronomy with curiosity in his eyes.
"Because…" The golden queen shuddered, "Because I was afraid that…no one would accept me back if they knew…"
"Why would you think that no one would accept you or your daughter?" asked Jenny, who was observing from above.
Demeter didn't look-up at the curious orange female. She was glancing at Munkustrap, who was still horror-stricken by the news of his mate's deception, almost looking like she was ready to run-away in shame, but realizing her mind was wandering away from the question, responded after a long pause,
"Because…Zelaphelia's father is…Macavity."
This time, no one spoke. Tension, pain, and shock, were all around, and could be felt in every direction. Munkustrap's body turned stiff, and his paws were heavy. Now the epiphany of Demeter's actions had sunk in. He was blind-sighted at first, when he knew he should have realized when his mate spoke of Macavity's raping, that it would be his child.
Actually, the silver tabby could now see his half-brother in Zela. The red streaks on her body, and her eyes, though the color was different, had the piercing stare of Macavity. It was all clear now; Zelaphelia had been surviving on the streets for several years, and it was almost like the timing was perfect. There could be no doubt, that The Mystery Cat's off-spring was Zelaphelia.
Finally, someone spoke, "Well then how are we supposed to trust her?" This came from Plato. He had shouted loudly for all the Jellicles to hear him, "What if during those years she met her father? Don't you think that she could still possibly be on his side?"
"But," Jellyorum, who was sitting on a paint can down below, interrupted the orange and white tom's comments, "my daughter, Etcetera, has told me Zela didn't even know who Macavity was."
"It could've been a lie." Plato pointed out.
"It's a great chance that it wasn't." Munkustrap confirmed, "And Plato, a Jellicle does not judge his family. No matter who there parentage is. You shouldn't-"
"Enough!" Interrupted Old Deuteronomy, "We will discuss this matter like adults, not kittens. Now, the biggest issue right now is how to tell Zelaphelia. Demeter, does she know who her father is?"
Demeter looked-up at the Jellicle leader, and shook her head, "I didn't think it would be right to tell her."
"Very well then," Deuteronomy continued, "I must confess something myself. As you all know, Macavity has certain powers of his own. Well, his daughter has received something along the lines of that. She has powers, giving her the ability of seeing things beyond her sight and hearing, and I fear if Zelaphelia takes the news of her father the wrong way, she may use this power against us. We must have a vote. I proclaim we tell this matter of her family as gently as we possibly can. It is the only way we can attempt avoiding conflict. What say all of you? Speak now if you have an opposing decision."
Murmurs and whispers circled through the crowd of cats from above, deciding they're final vote. "We oppose the proclamation." said two voices shouted straight ahead. It was Coricopat and Tantomile.
"Why is this?" Deuteronomy asked the twins.
"We believe," this came from Tantomile, "If the worst should happen, and the reaction is taken the wrong way, Macavity will use her as a weapon if he discovers Zela is his daughter."
"Your concern is taken in, but then we must re-vote."
There was a groan among the adults. The problem with the systematic Jellicle voting was that it had to be unanimous, and if one cat opposed, then they had to explain their reasoning and try to convince the rest of the tribe, then they re-voted, while the opposing party's vote does not count. That was why so many of the Jellicles wouldn't vote against Deuteronomy, because then it would take such a long while to re-vote again and again.
The voting was repeated, but this time was unanimous. No one voted with Tantomile and Coricopat.
"So it is decided…" Deuteronomy commented silently to his son, "She must be told." Then he shouted out to the Jellicles, "We must find Zelaphelia immediately." A murmur of agreement went through the crowd, "Munkustrap," the elderly tom continued, "You, Demeter, and Rum Tum Tugger will go and find…wait. Where is Tugger?"
Munkustrap looked around in the meeting den, in search of his brother, but with no avail. Tugger always did this…Now Demeter and Munk had to find Zelaphelia and the curious tom-cat when he was supposed to be here anyway. The meeting ended and the search was on…
^~*~^
Barnabas what it was going to take to please his dark master, and he knew that he couldn't make the same mistake as before, which is why he realized he came at a perfect time, while all of the adults were away, he could find out more information. He had been sneaking around the Junkyard for two hours before sunset, covering his scent and trying to find out what was happening.
He entered on what looked like a type of gathering of all the adult Jellicles. It didn't catch Barnabas's interest at first; all they spoke of was a female called Zelaphelia, and her physical features. It wasn't of much importance to Barnabas, but then he heard a golden queen, that looked…slightly familiar, speak his master's name, and it rang in his ear. Barnabas was drawn into the conversation. He could only hear a few key words, and two toms in the center were questioning the queen. He heard small chunks of the conversation, such as: Off-spring, Macavity, new female, Zelaphelia, powers, the ability to see beyond sight or hearing, break the news to her, family, she doesn't know, and you must search for her. It wasn't too hard to put together afterwards.
Obviously this new female, Zelaphelia had some power that gave her an ability to 'see beyond sight or hearing.' She was some sort-of offspring to Macavity, and she didn't know. Now the Jellicles had to find her and tell her. This is too good, Barnabas thought to himself…If this doesn't please Macavity, nothing will. He hadn't missed Zelaphelia's description either, so now it was the most valuable piece of information he had collected in days. Barnabas quickly ran off from the Junkyard. He rushed in the direction of the warehouse; fast as lightning, but not before seeing a tom he identified as Rum Tum Tugger, and the female he had saw before; they were on top of a wooden fence that was the borderline between the Junkyard and the outside world. Funny thing was...she resembled the description of...Of course! Barnabas quickly ran off to find Macavity's henchcats...
^~*~^
"I love this view; it's phenomenal." Zela said, excitedly, "How on earth did you discover this place?"
"Eh, it wasn't that hard," the Tugger answered like he didn't even break a sweat, "You just have to look around, and things are in the place you least expect them to be. I mean, would you believe that this," he pointed to the sunset, "would be in a Junkyard?"
"No, I wouldn't," the golden-red queen answered, "…so...tell me about yourself. I know nothing about you."
Tugger struck a confused look at Zelaphelia. He never really gave much thought to how he would answer this question. He couldn't actually say his characteristics, without repulsing the beautiful queen anyway. Maybe he could say some of his family ties and it would help.
"Eh…Well, my brother is Munkustrap…he and I are from Old Deuteronomy and his eighth wife's kids…I have a former mate called, Bomba, but after she left me for Macavity, I-"
"Wait, is Bomba a red queen?"
"Uh…yeah I think so. Why?"
"I…would really like to know why she left."
"I really don't know why she left, but Bomba and her nagging sister, Demeter, went to Macavity together; probably had some fling with him."
"Demeter?"
"Yeah, a golden queen; I think you might of saw her."
"Demeter…"
"Yes…is something wrong? Zela?"
Without a word, Zelaphelia had fallen off the fence, over to the side of the Junkyard. Tugger looked down in shock, to see the golden-red queen, not in any harm that he could identify, but in a crouched stance; almost looking like she was in emotional pain.
"Zel…Zela are you okay? Zela?"
Tugger was panic-stricken; what was he going to do? He couldn't just leave her here, but he didn't know what he was supposed to do in this situation. He grew stiff, and felt tensity everywhere, but finally, after time had finally sped-up, and the few moments had passed, Zela opened her eyes, and woke-up in a cold sweat. She stood, with a face full of horror and shock.
"What is it?" Tugger asked, "What's wrong?"
"Demeter…Demeter…is my mother."
"What?"
"She's my mother, and I can see things that are out of my sight and hearing range; it explains why I've had these weird visions, and she…she abandoned me. That's why I have such few memories of my family, because she was the one that deprived me of it…" Now the queen looked angry and full of regret, but Tugger was still confused by her behavior.
"Zela…I really don't know what you're-"
"Tugger! Zelaphelia!" a voice called out from behind. The curious tom could only recognize it as his annoying older brother, Munkustrap. Tugger could see two shadows creeping over through the darkness, while the sun was slowly coming down. The frightened golden-red female was in a crouched stance, almost like she was going to pounce on one of the figures coming closer. Tugger smelled the scent of Munk and Deme, as they finally came into what daylight was left from the sun. The leopard tom looked over at Zela, like she was supposed to be some protected prize, but she seemed to be hostile toward the two intruders already, not needing him as security.
"You…" Zela started, glaring at the golden queen, "you…abandoned me. You left me out on the streets like a piece of gutter-trash, and now, when you finally want me back, after I have been searching for my family all these years, I'd rather be dead than to admit you are my mother!"
Demeter had her head turned to Zela, with guilt on her face. She tried to get closer to her daughter, "Please Zelaphelia, just let me…" But the angry female hissed at her mother, with eyes full of hate; like she was going to kill her, and Demeter quickly backed away.
Munk stepped ahead of his mate, protecting her, and tried to speak to the young female peacefully, "Zelaphelia, please, I know you are angry, but Deuteronomy wants you to be calm about this situation. He wants to tell you about what future you can have. For all you know, you could be the next bloody Jellicle Leader! But please…"
"Why would Deuteronomy care about me?" Zela interrupted, "He never told me I had family in the Junkyard, or that I had mind-sight. He's a liar; just like all of you! And you," the golden-red female turned to Tugger, sharply, "You knew about this, didn't you?"
"Zela," Tugger started, "I had no Idea that-"
"-That I would find out? How could you? I thought you maybe...no…I was foolish to think so."
"Zelaphelia, listen." This came from Munkustrap, "Please try to be calm. I-"
"NO!" Zela cried, "I'm done with taking orders from you. Just leave me alone!"
The female suddenly turned her back to the three tense cats and leaped over the fence. Tugger, now realizing what had happened, looked over at his brother, and they both leaped on top of the fence, but Tugger looked around, and did not see a trace of her. Demeter quickly followed, looking around, frantically, but in vain. "I taught her that when she was a kitten…" the queen said, blubbering.
"I don't get it," Tugger said, turning to his brother, "Why was she so angry? She seemed almost like…"
"Macavity?" Munkustrap guessed.
"…Yes…but what happened?"
"Demeter is her mother, and Macavity is her father. Now Deuteronomy's worst fear has come true, and we didn't even tell her."
Tugger was in shock. This now explained everything to him, but it only filled his head with grief…
^~*~^
Zela used the old trick her mother taught her as a kitten, (to jump the tallest height and that would hide your scent) to now leave the Junkyard, but with no pleasure. Now she discovered the truth about her. The loving mother she had hoped for was nothing but a shrew and a liar. She couldn't believe that she had made such an outburst; even taking it out on Tugger and Munk. It was almost excruciating. She remembered that while she was alone with Tugger, Zela had a vision before the sun went down:
It was in the meeting den, and all the adults were high-up in their position. Demeter had just confessed that Zela was her daughter, and then, somehow, the vision skipped to a when Deuteronomy spoke of him, knowing the young female had a family, and that she had the ability to see things out of her sight and hearing, and they were about to decide if they were to tell her or not…
The vision ended, and the memory of it, was unusual…Zela almost wished she hadn't seen it, and she never went toward that garbage can, hunting, but she did, and everything was happening so fast now. She didn't want to hurt anyone, but now it was too late. She probably lost herself in that outburst. They would never accept her back now.
Zelaphelia was alone in utter darkness. The streets were desolate and empty, with almost a mysterious feeling to it. Zela couldn't estimate the torturing thoughts that were running through her mind. Her life had fallen apart in one single vision. Was she now no use to anyone but herself?
She had run as far as ten blocks away from the Junkyard, and was out of breath. She could not bare it any longer. Zela was more tired in this unfortunate situation, even more when she had to fight off the crazed-cats that were after her only a few days ago. Not only was she physically tired, the emotions had unraveled out of her like loose tapestry weavings. The painful sadness over-bared her, and started to cry out in the sorrow and anger that she couldn't hold in anymore.
The tribe would hate her now; never again would she step foot in the Junkyard. How could they forgive her? But then…her mother was forgiven by her Jellicles; as was her…Aunt Bombalurina. Perhaps if she had left then, maybe they would do the same…perhaps… But a moment too late, had these thoughts passed her mind. Now as Zela was about to turn back, a blow hit her on the back of her head. A deep searing pain burned her skull, and then nothing…
