Ahem, you'll want a translator.
They left in the early morning, just before the sunrise. Joan was riding on Plato's back, and the small company (not really that small; there was Nina, Victoria, Plato, Soot, Mahra, Fenna, and Electra—Fenna's twin sister Layla stayed in the junkyard due to a mind link the twins had in order to convey any messages) set off to the south, with Nina explaining their journey to them as they left the junkyard behind.
"Once we reach the southern shore of the UK," she said. "We'll have to get onto a boat that is sailing for France. It won't take long, but long enough to make anyone with a weak stomach sick." Victoria turned very green at the thought of going out onto the water for any length of time, but she glanced at her sleeping daughter to reassure herself. Nina grinned. "From there, we'll be travelling with the scoundrel Raul, and we'll be in his capable paws from then on."
Soot giggled, and Fenna sighed dreamily. Electra nudged her. "When she says 'scoundrel', does she mean—"
"He's the most suave toms in all of France," Fenna blushed. "He's never settled down with a queen, and he's a perfect gentletom, prone to giving out more compliments than is considered healthy."
"And he knows the quickest ways through the country," Mahra stressed, though Electra could see the slightest hints of a blush under her scruffy brown fur.
Fenna rolled her eyes. "But mostly," she said in an undertone, "he knows how to make a queen feel like she's worth more than a million diamonds. Trust me; all your troubles will be left behind once you meet Raul."
They somehow managed to get onto a boat by the next night. It had actually been easier than they'd thought—the owner of the boat was busy checking the motor as they leapt one by one onto the deck, and then snuck into a large storage room. Nina had assured there would be plenty of places to hide if the need arose, but all the same she asked Mahra and Fenna to cast a spell that would allow their fur to blend into the back ground. After a few hours of rocking in the gentile waves, the large boat finally lurched forward into open water. Electra, feeling the need to get away from a potentially sick Victoria, padded out onto the deck and found she enjoyed the sensation of the boat plowing through waves and occasionally bucking when it hit a large swell.
She ventured out to the prow, where she could look down and see the water part in front of the boat. Once or twice, she imagined she could see silvery fish larger than herself swimming in the depths. She flinched away from the sound of shoes on the deck, but relaxed when she remembered that she couldn't be seen. However, that did not explain why a grizzled old man scooped her up in his leathery hands.
"Qu'est-ce qu'un beau chat," the man muttered, stroking Electra's fur. "Comment avez-vous sur mon bateau ?'' Electra guessed he was speaking French, but she didn't understand a word of it. She merely meowed quietly, hoping the man wouldn't think to search the rest of his boat. The man began walking towards a door that had light shining through the window. He pushed his way into the room, where an elderly woman and a young man were sitting. "Vous voyez ce que j'ai trouvé? Un chat a rangés sur notre bateau."
The woman, probably the man's wife, smiled. "Sa fourrure est une jolie couleur, " she gently lifted Electra from the man's hands, and began scratching behind her ears. Electra began purring immediately, and the young man patted her head once. The small family didn't talk much, Electra could tell that much, but it seemed they knew how to be in each other's presence without feeling the need to talk. She stayed in the cabin until the woman opened the door to let her wander around the deck.
As soon as she was certain the humans weren't following her, Electra slipped into the cargo room. She was instantly greeted by a very frantic Nina.
"What do you think you were doing?" she demanded. "Right after you left, Fenna and Mahra lost power over the spell, and we all became in jeopardy with you wandering around the deck!"
"They weren't mad," Electra muttered, slightly thrown off-guard by the sudden outburst from Nina—she strongly suspected it was her maternal instincts coming out. But apparently it was the wrong thing to say. Instead of calming down, Nina looked furious.
"They found you?!"
Scowling, Electra lifted her chin. "Yes, and they liked having a cat aboard for a while. They aren't going to do anything to harm us, I'm pretty sure."
Nina growled, but said nothing. She retreated to her former position behind a crate by the door, her entire body tense. Electra rolled her eyes and curled up next to Fenna, who had a distant look in her eyes. As everyone drifted off to sleep, Electra managed to snatch a few words Fenna muttered; probably subconsciously… she seemed to be having a conversation with her sister.
"…won't tell…good… help her…"
After that, Electra was asleep.
Everyone awoke with a start when the boat lurched to a stop, and Electra was the first one to leave the room that had hidden them on the water. The plan was for Electra to distract the humans while the rest of them unloaded from the boat, and she hoped she could get away after that. Electra padded towards the prow of the boat, meowing at the sight of the young man. He smiled when he saw her and scooped her up, muttering French as he stroked her fur. Out of the corner of her eye, Electra could see her companions leaping off the boat one by one, afterwards disappearing on the dock. She knew she could find them once she got off the boat, but that was easier said than done.
She started to squirm, and the young man laughed and hopped onto the dock, setting Electra down gently. As soon as her paws hit the worn wood, she shot off, following the scent of the rest of the group. They were quite a ways offshore, crouched in an overgrown flowerbed. Electra joined them, working to control her breathing from her flat run.
"What are we doing?" she asked.
"Waiting for Raul to show," Fenna said. She certainly looked excited. Nina must have seen him, because she jumped down from the vegetation and started calling out in a different language.
"Raul mio amico! E 'così bello vedere che dopo tanto tempo!"
Electra blinked. "That's not French," she pointed out to Fenna. The cream queen giggled.
"No, silly," she fluffed her tail (which really didn't need it) and straightened her whiskers. "Raul is Italiano," she giggled again and jumped down, followed by Soot and Mahra (who had also done some quick preening before showing themselves). Electra looked out to where her mother was, and saw one of the most handsome toms she was likely to see in her life. His fur was a light brown, with darker brown specks all over, with the exception of the patch of dark brown covering his muzzle, all four paws, and the tip of his tail.
Electra glanced over to see Victoria shaking her head disapprovingly, and Plato rested a paw on her shoulder. Joan was looking out curiously. "What are they saying, mommy?"
Victoria shrugged, baffled. Electra looked back out, and heard Nina and Raul speaking very rapidly in Italian. At one point, Nina turned towards the plants and gestured for them to come out. Victoria and Plato climbed down at once, but Electra lingered for a minute. When she finally consented to leave cover, Raul was smiling widely at Joan, and speaking softly to her.
"Sei un gattino bellissimo, Joan," he said. Whatever he said, it made Joan blush and hide her face in her father's chest. Raul patted her cheek, smiling crookedly. Electra walked forward slowly, trying to avoid attention—Soot, Mahra, Fenna, Nina, Joan, and even Victoria (Plato looked a little cautious of the Italian tom) were all blushing from recent compliments. Unfortunately, Raul noticed her.
"Nina!" He exclaimed, glancing at the queen in question. "You did not tell me you had una figlia! But she is bellissimo! Her eyes, they splenderanno come il mare!"
Electra froze, unsure of what he'd just complimented; it was obviously a compliment, because she could feel heat rising in her face, and Fenna looked slightly hurt. Nina came to her rescue.
"Raul, Electra does not speak Italian as well as the rest of us," Nina said with a smile.
Raul's smile widened. "Electra," he repeated the name. "Ah but you will learn to speak, no? After all, when you first meet me," he turned back to Nina. "I not know English so well, eh? I shall teach this bellezza, and she will speak as good as you, you see!" His face softened when he turned back to Electra. "Maybe I show you the meraviglie of this place later, no? Plenty of places to go, you see." With that, he offered an arm to Electra. Not knowing what else to do, she took it, and Raul started off down the boardwalk, chatting away in Italian. Electra glanced behind her, and regretted it. Both Soot and Fenna were fuming, and looked severely hurt that this devil-may-care tom had not offered to walk by them.
Nina caught up to the pair, and leaned in to Electra's ear. "Be careful," she warned. "He's not much older than you,"
"Thanks," Electra said sarcastically. It seemed she was in for one crazy trip in France.
I gotta say, I had a lot of fun developing Raul's character. He puts a smile on my face every time I think of him! And the reason he's Italian, and not French: because I saw Light in the Piazza, and I wanted him to have an Italian accent. Plus, I swoon over hot guys from Italy... ANYWAY, one more thing to consider: the way Raul says Electra's name is (eh-LEHC-tra, with a lilted 'r').