Electra wasn't afraid, although she was staying here all alone, during a very dark night at a secluded spot. Sure, perharps the furious and mean cat called Growltiger was walking around, but that sure was not a big deal! What does it matter that everyone still thinks of her as a kitten? What does it matter that Alonzo (who even fought Macavity - not victoriously, but at least he had the courage) left her here with a piece of string, tied on the tree branch, to pull it if Munkus would came for control. What does it matter if Growltiger kidnap, kill or eat her alive!?
She complained to the starry sky. "Come back, Alonzo..."
"Alonzo?" Cassandra came out of nowhere.
El immediately panicked. "Um, Cass... Hi... What are you doing here?"
Siamese was fortunately so nervous that she didn't notice. "I need to talk to him. Is he with you?"
Electra changed her shyness with surprise. "Um, he's there... Well, not really..."
Cass noticed a stretched string with a slight smile. "Oh. I see..."
Electra clearly remembered every line of Victoria's story and she gave a promise to keep it secret, which wouldn't be so easy next to the one of the story main characters, but... – this place was scary. "Cassadra? Do you want to be here with me?"
Cass came back. They sat for a moment quietly beside each other.
"How could he left you here alone?" asked Cassandra. "This is not like him very much."
Electra shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he thought I'll be just fine..."
They saw Victoria stopping at the open space in front of her lair. Plato came ahead to meet her. They talked for a while, then began with dance rehearsal.
"Shouldn't they be on a patrol?" asked El.
"Deuteronimy's birthday is the day after tomorrow. And Viki is perfectionist," answered Cassandra.
The pair repeated the assembly about three times until Plato get tired. It seemed that he persuades her to leave and she asks him, on the contrary, to continue.
"Practicing day and night. Plato hate that..."
"Why doesn't he tell?"
"It's his queen. When the cat loves, ignors shortcomings."
The couple finally splited up, each in a different direction.
"Do you like Alonzo?" Cass suddenly asked.
El blushed like a tomato under her coat. "Um, I think so...?"
"Take care of him, okay?"
"Of Alonzo?" El raised her eyebrows really high. How could she keep an eye on the cat, who once fought Macavity?
"It's maybe not seen on the surface, but inside he's so vulnerable..." said Cassandra. Her eyes strangely glistened. "Someone have to stop him in time. Someone have to tell him to be careful."
"Why don't you tell him?" asked El, even though she knew the real reason.
Cassandra wiped her eyes. " He doesn't want to talk to me and I understand him. I hurt him so much..."
Munkustrap's journey to Grizabella's house took less than ten minutes. Old cat pilgrim did not dare to the junkyard, so at least she set up a lair nearby, in the old garden shed. Munkustrap therefore could rebound from patrol without being noticed. Well, almost...
Alonzo watched him under cover of darkness and now, hidden in the bushes behind the fence, waiting till Munkus leaves. When the air was clean, he approached and knocked on the door of the shed.
Grizabella opened slightly, that he could saw just one suspicious eye throught a crack. "What do you want?" she said.
"I'll give you more than him," he answered simply.
For a while she was examing his face and when she decided, that he's serious, she opened completely. "Are you sure, young man?"
He nodded. "Yes."
In a small space was everything from a rusty gardening tools to the old junk. At the rest of the space was sitting Jemima with her ball and when she saw him to enter, her face completely lit up. "Alonzo!"
Cassandra sucked familiar smell. "Munkus?"
Munkustrap rushed up to them, looking suspiciously around. "I knew it! He's gone!"
"Who?" asked Electra innocently.
"Who do you think!? You promised you both would stay here, which you're not, so I have a right to punish him!"
El began to pull the string. "No, wait! He's here! On the tree!"
Munk squinted into the branches. "Why so quiet then?"
"Uh..." El lowered her head in disgrace.
"It's not his fault," said Cassandra. " He didn't feel well, he had asked me to be here instead of him."
Silver cat gave her annoyed expresion. "I'm not buying it! And besides, you also left your place. We'll talk about it tomorrow!"
Both cats watched him until he disappeared in a first shadow. "I'm sorry that we got you into problems," said El.
"That's all right. I have to go back now," said the queen and stood up.
"Cassandra?" El called her back at a last time. "I know it's a strange question, but what exactly happens when you eat chocolate?"
Alonzo ran around the old pontiac and with a little difficulty he found the entrance to the Bustopher's secret hideout. When he was here the last time, they had been recalculating the swag and Alonzo was sure that it was still unmoved. They had nowhere else to put it. He went inside and found a cigarette butt. The unpleasant smell overlapped distinctive odor of rat meat. It lay there on a nice pile. Alonzo assumed that it is about one-third of the winter stocks. He put some in an old bucket and he went back to Grizabella. She deserved some food for her service.
Electra watched the slow sunrise. This time the heavy thoughts accompanied her, or how would Alonzo said, contexts accompanied her. She haven't noticed the quiet steps behind her, or deep sighs, or even a pair of big paws, until they grasped her at the scruff of the neck and rised from the ground like a feather.
