Bonjour reader across the world!

This time, I have actually kept my promise of regularly updating, let's hope this is the same for the next few months.

Now, I know what you all want...You all want the chapter! Chapter Twenty takes us back to Whoville and centres on Mr. and Mrs. Mayor. The time for this chapter is before Kirsty and Horton got auctioned off to the circus, and includes a lot of mysterious, which will be revealed later in the act.

I would like to thank Guest for reviewing (Oh my gosh…Thank you so much for your comments! I feel so happy that this story is loved and read by people. You have made my day. I'm sad that you don't have an account, cause then I could reply to you personally.) and a BIG, BIG thank you goes to Arixa23. This is her last chapter for me, and in total, she has done nine chapters (10-15 & 18-20). I cannot express my gratitude enough on how much your wisdom and skill has helped this story and me. You have shaped this story beyond compare.

Disclaimer: I do not own Seussical. That belongs to Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty and Ted Geisel. I only own Kirsty and Cith. The crystal like mist was based from the book series Lion Boy written by Zizou Corder, which I highly recommend.

Ciao and please R&R!

Sophie ;D

Chapter Twenty: Mother Knows Best

After a busy and hectic week shopping, organising meetings with the City Council, having a dress fitting with her tailor and helping her husband with his filing and paperwork, Mrs. Mayor was more than happy to make an early trip home. Unlocking her front door, she noticed that her husband was not yet home. She figured that he must have been caught at the office, as that happened often.

"Good afternoon, my lady. How was your day?" a voice said, breaking the lady's thoughts. She glanced to the kitchen to see Cith, her family's personal butler and her daughter's tutor and escort before Kirsty had been sent to the military academy. "I have prepared your tea, just the way you required."

Mrs. Mayor made her way over to him, picking up the cup of tea he had made for her. It tasted quite different from her regular cup, the flavour having an irregular tang. The aroma was also peculiar, its fragrance not one she recognised. "Quite well, Cith. What type of tea is this?"

"A new brand called Sapphire Haze. I thought you might enjoy it. It apparently has glowing reviews; they say that it makes you feel quite fresh. Do you not like it, madam?"

"No, I think it's fine. Just very unusual. But remember, Cith, just call me Mrs. Mayor, please. You don't have to be so formal when you speak to me."

"Yes, Mrs. Mayor. I will remember to do that in future."

After she took another sip, Mrs. Mayor moved on to her next question. "Did any mail come in today?"

The young man nodded, his ever familiar smile fading from his face. "Only one, my lady." He handed the woman an envelope. It had her name addressed on it, next to a royal emblem. It was the same emblem which belonged to the military school she had sent her daughter to, the place which had torn their mother-daughter relationship completely apart.

She swallowed her tears, trying to keep her professional state in front of her servant. "I can't believe it has been three months already," she said aloud to herself. "The house seems a lot less bright without her here. Sometimes, I forget she's gone away and I go to wish her goodnight, but…" Her words faded away, memories of her daughter slipping through her fingers like sand. Moments of their time together had suddenly come back to her, including when her daughter had told her the worst news of all, which crushed her heart.

She wasn't really her child. In fact, she wasn't even a Who, but a human who had been sucked into their world and put into this role.

"I miss her too…" he whispered, knowing that she must be hurting. "I wish I could have at least said goodbye to your daughter, before she left. She was always so nice and I think that's what got her in trouble. Things like this hurt, they make you want to give up, but we have to remember, it's all for the best. We have to be strong, keep acting like nothing is wrong for Miss Kirsty's sake, so hopefully she can be strong too."

Mrs. Mayor smiled at her butler, thanking him for his wise and kind words of support, before he left the room, giving her some time alone. After sitting in silence for a few minutes, she slowly opened the envelope, in which she found a handwritten letter. Instantly, she knew it was from Kirsty, recognising the handwriting. Not at all sure what to expect, she began reading to herself, slowly walking up the staircase.

Dear Helen,

I hope you and your husband are all right. It's getting a lot colder here; winter must be on the way. Life at the academy has been better than expected. General Schmitz says that I am the most perfectly trained cadet, and that my Thinking problems are a thing of the past!

…That's what you wanted to hear, wasn't it? It kills me to lie to you, but I had to say that. You shouldn't have to worry about me. To be honest, it has been utter pain. I thought that I might have been slightly prepared for what I would experience at the academy. Boy was I wrong. Every single day, we are worked to the bone, both in physical and mental abilities. For the majority of the day we have classes, most of which are the majors lecturing us about our enemies, the rebels, the original Butter Battle and how this new war started. The classes themselves aren't so bad, just what they tell us. It just doesn't seem legitimate to me, like there is another side to the story they aren't telling us. The physically demanding part of the day is the early morning, where we have training drills. All the cadets are up at 0500 hours, and within half an hour, most of us are tired beyond belief, and we still have an hour to go of physical training, if we are lucky. The meals are even worse than expected; having to eat raw liver three times a day makes your body even less stable. Surprisingly, in amongst all the drama, I have made a few allies. One of them is Jojo, who has changed a lot since I last saw him, and the other is a corporal, who goes by the name Pip. He has proved very useful, especially in a place like this. He actually respects me, unlike the rest of the cadets, and was the first person who I could trust at all in this organisation. He was the one who secretly sent this letter out for me, as I know that the academy would be fuming if they saw this letter.

Another thing I underestimated was how much I would miss you. I thought it would easy to live without you, but I had to keep telling myself that I wasn't your daughter, and you weren't my mother, and I am deeply struggling. You were the first person who ever cared for me, giving me a home and someone who I could depend on. That meant the world to me. You tried to heal a part of my heart which will never be healed, and gave me hope in my dark life. I can never repay you, but I will try and help you find your perfect child you have always dreamed of and deserve to have back so greatly. You will find your lost child, and they, whoever they may be, will love you as much as I did.

Please, don't worry about me, Helen. I'm not your problem anymore. You just need to stay strong, keep fighting. Your people need you more than ever, and not just because of the recent incident involving Horton. I shouldn't really be telling you this (or even writing this letter- if this got into the wrong hands, it would be costly), but I have reason to believe the city council have something to hide and could be possibly conspiring against you. The day of my birthday, I heard them talking to this strange man. They planned my enrolment into the academy, and I feel they have more power than they are letting on. This may just be superstitions, but I just believe they aren't to be trusted. Now I just need real evidence that is strong enough to convince all the citizens of Who the truth. You just have to trust me on this. Please don't tell anyone, especially Mr. Mayor. I fear that things will get even worse. I have no idea how that may be, but no one must know until I know for sure what is going on.

Speaking of Mr. Mayor, I am still trying to tell him my secret, so could you please not tell him anything yet? It would be better if he heard it from me, face to face. I am almost due for an afternoon off, so after I check on Horton and his new 'egg' if Mayzie hasn't come back from her vacation, I will tell him, I promise. Hopefully, he'll be as understanding as you, but I doubt he will be. It might take him some time before he can understand.

Look after yourself and say hello to Cith from me.

Sincerely,

Kirsty

Finishing the letter, Mrs. Mayor sat on the bed in their now vacant guest room, which was where Kirsty used to sleep. While reading, she could have sworn she had felt the teenager's presence in the room, but she quickly shot that theory down, and the faint Thinker part of her that had grasped onto the theory.

How has it come to this? How could I do this to her?

Mrs. Mayor sighed, as she kept trying to convince herself that it really was all for Kirsty's own good and that soon, she would come back and everything would be perfect and they could be the normal family they were supposed to be. But she knew that would never be possible. Kirsty would always be a Thinker; they would always stand out, and there was nothing she could do to change that.

"Dear? I'm home!"

Hearing her husband's voice, she quickly hid the letter, went down the stairs to greet Mr. Mayor. He looked a lot happier than she had expected him to be. "Hello. You're home early today," she said, flatly.

"I thought you'd be surprised! The council and I had a meeting just after lunch and came up with some quite good agreements, so I thought I could come home early to surprise you and celebrate!" he said, giving his wife a fake sort of smile and a kiss on the cheek.

"Are you all right?" his wife asked him, worriedly. She had never seen him this happy in all her time being married to him.

The politician laughed, spinning Mrs. Mayor around unexpectedly. "Why, I've never felt better, my love. I am the Mayor of a beautiful city, with a beautiful wife by my side, and living the perfect life. The lead Chairman was absolutely right when he told me nothing goes wrong in Whoville. We are literally living in heaven, right here on Who!"

"Uh…dear, do you think that we made a good decision, by sending her to that academy?"

Mr. Mayor turned to wife, noticing her miserable tone of voice. "Of course we did. We told her that if she kept Thinking, she would end up there. Her behaviour was getting out of control, and that was all her fault. General Schmitz is the best trained in his field, and will straighten her out so she is no longer a threat to our society. She will learn to act like a real Who. It's for her own good," he assured her.

"I suppose…but I'm just worried for her. What if something bad happens to her?" Mrs. Mayor asked, starting to pace back and forth. A threat to our society? How could he say that about anyone, let alone his own daughter? Something wasn't right. "Have you got any letters from her?"

"Yes, I got one this morning, which included a report card. From both documents, she is slowly warming up to the academy's plan," Mr. Mayor said, which made his wife even more confused. What did he mean by the academy's plan? Her husband gave her a quick kiss and went happily up the stairs, humming to himself.

Something's not right about this whole situation. Last night, he was complaining about how the council never listened to him and how they hated him. Now, he's acting like they're best friends? And how could he say that academy is where our daughter belongs? We both know it isn't, so why did he change his view, and why so easily?

Questions filling her head, she went over to the nearest window, with her cup of tea in one hand, and opened the window with the other. As she took in the fresh air, a strange scent filled her nose, causing her to sneeze. Looking out into the city further, she noticed that everything was beginning to be covered by an unusual silver mist.

"What in the name of Who is this?" she whispered to herself, as a small cloud blew her way. She touched it lightly, and found that the mist was actually small, translucent white crystals. Immediately, she moved away the window, the unnaturally sweet scent of the mist too strong for her to handle. Her head felt light. She took a sip of her tea, trying to comprehend what she had just seen, which remarkably made her head feel refreshed. She remembered Kirsty's letter and wondered if the council had something to do with this unknown weather.

What did her town have in store for it? Was there worse to come? Was this just the calm before the storm? And would everyone make it out, not just alive, but the same way they went in?