The tiny tortoiseshell Princess slept with her paws tucked near her chest. As the sun just barely peeked through the Bathtub-Nursery, she blinked, and lifted her head from the pillow she was laying on. She glanced around the Nursery, checking to see if Jenny or Jellylorum were awake. Jenny was nowhere to be seen, and Jellylorum laid in the corner, sleeping with Electra and Etcetera on top of her.

Excitement bubbled up inside her, and she ran from the Nursery, leaping through the junkyard until she grew tired and had to stop. This continued for a while, until she grew bored, and decided that she would search for the black-and-white Misto. He was always the best at telling stories.

She peered into the tunnel that Misto typically slept in, guarding it against whatever was on the other side. Jemima paused, and sniffed the bottom of the tunnel. His scent was all over, yet he was nowhere to be found. Her ears laid back against her head, and then it hit her- she was alone, and at the end of the tunnel was another world she had yet to explore. And with that happier, albeit dangerous thought, she trotted happily through tunnel, imagining what she might see on the other side.

She popped out on the other end, rubbing her eyes furiously. Jemima sensed another cat nearby and her fur stood on end as she realized she was standing in between two of Macavity's terrible henchmen.

"Oy, Magofut, what have we here?" the one asked, bearing a thick accent.

"I dunno, Sheni. Looks like a Jellicle to me!"

Before Jemima could respond, the nasty, bristle-furred cat called Magofut grabbed her by the shoulders, directing her towards Macavity's territory. "Come on now, little Jellicle, don't be afraid. We're just taking you to meet the cat himself."

Jemima just barely dodged Sheni's claws as they met Magofut's head. "You rat! You're not supposed to tell the captives what we're doing with them. It ruins the mysterious horror of it all," he turned to the little tortie Jemima with a smile, "She's not gonna be afraid of us now."

Jemima shrugged. He was right. She was startled, but not really afraid as they guided her to Macavity's camp.

As the dewy, light-aired morning turned to a sunny afternoon, Jemima started to wonder how much farther she would have to walk before they were at Macavity's lair. The tortie kitten had never walked so far before, and her paws were starting to hurt from all the grass and rocks that she had caught between her paw pads. As if realizing the pain that she was in, Sheni paused and sat down, and Mugofut, although confused, did the same. "Whatta we doing? We were supposed to be back an hour ago. He's gonna have our heads if we don't-"

"Don't worry about Macavity. I'll deal with him. The young one is starting to weaken, is all."

"So? What does that matter? We can just drag her to Macavity for all I care. I'm tired of fooling around. I wanna go home."

Sheni's yellow eyes flashed with anger, his fur puffing at Magofut as he stepped closer to the bigger, albeit dumber, cat. "The henchmen of the Nepolean of Crime do not "drag" their captors into camp. If Macavity wants his Jellicles so badly, he'll wait to get them. He knows that their kind are fragile, and weak...and yet he still asks that we bring every Jellicle back...alive. I for one will not be responsible for bringing a worn-down kitten into Macavity's camp." By the time he finished speaking, he was so close to Magofut's face that Jemima was sure he could smell the nasty cat's breath. "Understand?"

Magofut only nodded.

"Good. Then why don't you go and grab our little guest a mouse while she rests?"

"Why can't you do it?"

Sheni growled. "Well, considering the amount of brains left in your head, I wouldn't be surprised if I came back to find that you were...outsmarted...by a kitten."

Magofut snorted. "Fine. But if Macavity gets angry-"

"I'll deal with Macavity."

In an instant, Magofut disappeared.

"Idiot." Sheni laid down again, his tail swishing as he watched Jemima without trying to seem too interested in her.

And then, for the first time in hours, Jemima spoke. "What is your camp like?"

Sheni flicked his ears. "It's nothing special. Besides, there's no use talking about it. You won't see it anyways."

"It must be very dark there."

"And why do you assume that?"

"You don't look like you get much sun, is all. You stopped short of the camp and asked Mugofut to hunt so that you could get some sun, didn't you?"

Sheni's eyes widened with surprise. "How did you know we were so close?"

"I can smell them."

"Oh."

Sheni sat up to scratch an itch behind his ear. "You know, I think I liked the last kitten we captured better."

The glow in Jemima's eyes dimmed. "You mean Victoria?"

Sheni rolled his eyes. "You Jellicles and your fancy names. I dunno what she was called, but she was quieter."

Jemima blushed. The fur on her chest rose with embarrassment, and she fell silent.

A few moments later, Magofut came back with half a mouse in his jaws. He tried dropping it at Jemima's paws before Sheni saw it, yet the fiery, narrowed-eyed cat was smarter than he appeared. "You bumbling idiot!" he said, slapping Magofut with both paws this time. Jemima jumped, spooked by the cat's sudden outburst. "We might be against the Jellicles, but we don't intend to starve them. The kitten clearly hasn't eaten since this morning. You should be ashamed of yourself."

The black cat moped. "I'm sorry, Sheni."

His fur bristled. "You'd better be. If Macavity found out about this-"

Magofut fell down at his fellow henchman's paws. "Please, Sheni, don't tell Macavity. I didn't mean it, I swear!"

Sheni jerked the plump cat upwards with a swift, violent motion of his paw. "Stand up. We have no time for this. Let's take the kitten to Macavity so we can get back to work."

Moments later, Sheni forced Jemima to close her eyes. He managed to carry her until they were in the camp, at least, by what she could tell. Despite the fact that she could see nothing, Her ears were filled with the sounds of Macavity's band of misfits and demons. There were cats hissing and screeching at batting at each other with fierce claws. There were Queens nearby who smelled of milk and nervousness, but from what, she couldn't tell. She curled her own tail up to her belly protectively, suddenly wishing that these mean cats would put her down so that she could run away and go home. She might not know the way, but she would make it somehow.

Jemima felt brambles against her fur as she was shoved through what felt like a tight hole. Her little paws stamped down on a massive tail as she was dropped, and in her ears rang the most threatening hiss she had ever heard. "Jemima."

She opened her eyes.

He loomed before her like fire. His mane was bigger than any mane she had ever seen- even bigger than Tugger's- yet dreadfully uncombed. His eyes were blazing yellow as they stared at her from deep, skeletal sockets surrounded by drooping, pink flesh. His long, brittle whiskers were burnt and twisted. His smile, conniving. Fiery-red fur gave off a scent of death and doom and destruction. He towered over her more so that any Jellicle she had ever seen- he was taller than even Munkustrap. His claws were long and twisted, yet sharp and shiny with thick, wet blood.

He laughed.

It was like thunder to Jemima's ears, and she shrunk down before him, fighting the urge to hide in Sheni's fur. "Jemima- you've come home."

The young tortie's mind whirled in confusion. Her tongue was bound with fear.

Her mouth opened- what came out was unexpected, even for her:

"Daylight,

See the dew on the sunflower,

And the rose that is fading,

Roses wither away.

Like the sunflower, I yearn to turn my face to the dawn,

I am waiting, for the day."

Macavity roared in disgust. His arms extended and he shook his paws violently at her. "Take her away. I don't want to see her again."

"What are we to do with her?" Sheni asked.

"Take her to the Outer Dens. The Magic Cat will not be able to conjure her from there." He shook a paw, and before Jemima could properly speak, she was dragged away.

They threw her into a deep, dark hole. At first, she was too scared to explore, to see if anyone else had been thrown in before her. She could barely see in front of her own forepaws, yet she eventually walked the entire floor of the cave. By the time she was through, her fur was itchy and irritated, and her paws hurt again. There were pebbles stuck in her paw pads, yet everytime she tried to pull them out, it only felt worse and the pain would bring tears to her eyes. At one point, she bumped something and jumped back, her fur fluffing up in what would've been a comical gesture, if she wasn't so frightened. She pawed at what she had found, realizing that it was smooth, long, and rounded at both ends. Jemima jerked away from the pile, and finally found an old knapsack to sleep in. The tortie kitten curled inside it, her paws over her eyes, wishing that she could just go home.

Jennyanydots was always the first cat up, yet she was never surprised by this. As far as she was concerned, most of the males were lazybones. It wasn't like Munkus didn't keep them in line. However, he didn't keep as tight a ship as Jenny would've, that was for sure.

Jenny yawned and stretched in the corner of the Nursery, trying to avoid waking the young ones. She glanced over the four sleeping figures with pride. Jellylorum was snoring at the bottom of the pile, with one paw over her eyes and another over her stomach. Electra and Etcetera laid on her back legs, each one of them stretched out over each other in a cat-pile. Victoria slept at the Queen's head, curled into a tight ball so as not to disturb anyone else. Her dainty features were still apparent on her smooth, pretty face.

Jenny's ears twitched. "Jemima!?" She held her nose to the air, sniffing. The scent was there, but it was old. She threw the pillows clear outside the Nursery, nearly hitting a few drowsy kittens in the head. "Jelly, wake up. We've lost Jemima!"

Jellylorum sat up and wiped her eyes. "What?!"

"Jemima's gone, she's not here!"

Jellylorum glanced around the Nursery. "Don't fret, my dear. You go and get Munkus. I'll stay here with the kittens just in case she comes back."

As if she was already awake and listening to the conversation, Victoria rose to meet Jenny's gaze. "Shouldn't we help to look for her?" her soft voice questioned.

"No. You must all stay here. We can't risk loosing anymore of you. You must promise me to stay put, all of you!" Jelly demanded.

Victoria nodded, and the others followed suit drowsily.

"Good." Jennyanydots shot from the Bathtub-Nursery in a rush.

"Munkus! Munkus, where are you?!"

The striped black-and-white cat leaped from his spot atop the trunk of the old car. "What is the problem, Jenny?"

"It's Jemima. She's not in the Nursery. Has anyone seen her?"

There was already a crowd. Cassandra was followed by Coricopat and Tantomile as they slunk from the shadows. Tugger appeared behind Munkus, his eyes glazed with worry. Demeter shot from behind a cardboard box, her paws shaking as she skidded to a stop.

"Stay calm, all of you," Munkus gestured to the congregation. "Go to every place you know in the Junkyard. If we do not find her, then we will know where to look," he instructed solemly.

They searched until there was nowhere left, and when the Jellicles had seemed to have lost all hope, Munkus started to gather a search party.

"Let me come with you."

Everyone paused, looking to see who had spoken. They were shocked to see that it was Demeter, the skittish white-and-red patched Queen. "Please let me come with you. I know I don't seem like much help, but Jemima is my daughter. I want to know that she's safe."

Munkus stepped closer to the Queen. "Are you sure you want to come? You know that she could be with him," he took her hand gently.

Deme nodded. "Yes. I can't let any of you risk your lives when what has happened is my fault."

"Skimble, Plato and I will come with you. You don't have to do this alone." His eyes glistened with care for the deeply-disturbed Queen.

"Let us go, then. We have no time to waste."