"I….I think I did it…"

Dymian raised his eyebrows at the little Queen on the bed, who was staring up at him, wide eyed. "You? How could you have done that? You don't have any magic in your blood…Do you...?

Rumpleteazer shrugged, biting her lip. "I…There was this spell that Macavity used to do, to heal some of the better Henchcats when they got hurt in battle. He used it on Jerrie once. I saw him do it so many times that I know it by heart. And…There was some of your blood on the ground…And I just had to try…"

Dymian stared at her, thinking hard. He didn't know quite what to make of her at the moment. It was quite possible that she was telling the truth…Strange things did happen at times. And it was widely known that every Jellicle cat has a bit of magic in them…But it would only show itself when dire need arose. Those who could control it and use it whenever they liked (like himself) were normally born with an unusually large amount of magic in their system…Rather like being born with too much blood. It would bounce around inside you and explode at odd moments, until you learned to harness it.

Slowly, Dymian reached forward and pressed his paw against Rumple's cheek. She let out a long sigh and dropped her gaze to her lap. She studied her paws, still covered with dry blood, making her fur clump together and stick out in odd places. This was Dymian's blood…

"Rumple…You saved my life…"

"Did I…? What happened to you, then? The spell is supposed to reverse any damage…You look like a ghost…"

Dymian sighed softly and ran his paw over her cheek, biting his lip (which, with his large and sharp fangs, was a feat to accomplish without hurting himself). He had a theory…but, for all he knew, it could have been completely off the mark.

"The last ditch efforts of a non-magical cat can only do so much, love…I think…I think you brought me back in a form that only you can see…I was already dead when you tried the spell…And that spell isn't meant to bring anyone back to life, even in the best of circumstances. It's a miracle that you did this much, it really is…I am, in essence…A ghost to everyone else…I am only alive to the cat who wanted to see me brought back…You… "

Rumple stared up at him, her eyes wide and innocent, completely bemused by this explanation.

"I…I see…", She lied.

Dymian's eyes flitted between her caramel colored ones and, for once, he couldn't read her emotions or her thoughts, something he was normally able to do with ease. Perhaps he had lost this particular power when he had been brought back to life…He made a mental note to find out what other things he had lost.

"Rumple….You are happy that I'm here…Aren't you?"

Rumpleteazer looked up at this Tom, so different from the first moment she had seen him. He had caused her so much pain…Had caused her to send her own twin brother away, had killed Jemima, had killed Old Deuteronomy! She wanted to hate him…She needed to hate him…but, somehow, she couldn't bring herself to do so. Those eyes….Once a pitch black, swimming with emotions she could never read, now a dark blue, swirling around like water in a bowl. It almost made her sick to look at them for too long. He had killed too many…

"Dymian…I need…I need to think…Would you mind too much if I just…left, for a little while? Just enough to collect my thoughts…Please…"

Dymian looked down at his little Queen. She was, indeed, his…Even she couldn't deny the feelings that she felt…He knew she must feel them, even though he couldn't tell anymore. Still…If he let her go now, he might never see her again! What if the Jellicles saw her, and tried to take her back into the Junkyard? She wouldn't go…Would she? No…She loved him now, he was sure of it…She wouldn't just leave him in that way…

"You may go…But please be back before the sun fully rises…"

Rumpleteazer nodded slowly, and looked around, searching for a way out. She hadn't thought of this. How was she meant to get out…And, for that matter, how was she meant to get back in? Dymian saw her struggling and cleared his throat loudly, pointing to a curtain that lay over a seemingly bare patch of wall. As he pointed to it, the curtain slowly raised itself, revealing a large mirror. Teazer remembered how they had gotten in last time- this mirror led directly to the one that sat in her den. She gave a nod of thanks to Dymian and cautiously walked towards the mirror. As she crept nearer, the image on the glassy surface changed from her timid, carefully moving figure to the clearly visible inside of her den. She stopped in shock and stared for a moment. The mirror had been positioned in such a way that only her bed was visible- Jerrie's was farther than the mirror could reflect. Teazer shivered slightly as she thought about the purposes this mirror may have served to Dymian, with this perfect position for watching her sleep. This must have been how he had spoken to her that night, so long ago…It didn't even seem to be her own memory anymore, it had happened so long ago, seemed so apart from her.

After a moment of watching this mirror, Teazer caught hold of her senses again, and continued forward again, all the while very aware of Dymian's eyes on her back, watching her carefully. She had no doubt that he would find some way of watching her while she was roaming the Junkyard- he was not likely to let her go out all on her own, not when he believed he was now to have her to himself forever and always.

She reached the mirror and bit her lip for a moment, unsure what exactly she was meant to do, how she was meant to go about using it. Dymian seemed in no hurry to help her this time. Slowly, experimentally, she stuck out a paw, and touched one claw to the surface of the mirror. To her surprise, her claw sunk right through, sending ripples throughout the glass, as though it were made of little more than water. She pressed her paw further into the mirror, until she was up to her shoulder in the mirror. To her surprise, she felt her paw leave the watery glass and find fresh air. Looking through the mirror, she could see that her paw had made its way through to the other side. It seemed safe enough….

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Teazer closed her eyes, and stepped through the mirror. It was though someone had dunked her under the water of a deep pool. Her feet seemed to leave any sense of solid ground. She couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't hear a thing except for her own frantic heart beat. Desperately, she kicked her legs, trying to find the ground again. As she kicked, she felt her right foot leave the watery glass and hit air. With a tremendous burst of strength, she kicked her other leg out behind her, and propelled herself through the mirror, landing in a heap of fur and limbs on the other side. Gasping and panted, she got up, trembling from head to toe. The mirror seemed solid once again and, when she walked towards it, reflected nothing except her scared and blood covered face. In a hoarse voice, she whispered, "Dymian…I'll be back soon, I promise. Just let me in when I return…"