Of Cat and Boy

By Lady of the Ink
Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne, but you knew that. At least, I hope you knew that. But I do own this story, and all the twists and turns it takes.

Chapter Six

A New Understanding


Merle growled softly deep in her throat as she pivoted on her heel to continue her pacing. Her thoughts were in such turmoil that she couldn't bring herself to remain still for more than a few moments. All she could do was try to keep herself occupied. So far, it wasn't working.

It wasn't surprising, really, that she was so upset. That boy, Van, had promised he would return tonight, and somehow, she knew he had meant it. He would be back, and she didn't have a clue what she was going to do then. Past experience had taught her that children could be much worse than adults when it came to making trouble in someone else's life. They had yet to learn that what went around inevitably came around, and therefore held nothing back when it came to torturing those in a less stable position.

There was more to the situation than just attacks on her own feelings. Those she could ignore, any wounds they might leave could be easily hidden with her years of practice. She would even have the opportunity to give back as good as she got.

But no, there was a much larger threat hanging over her head. It had been made quite clear to her on the day of her arrival that she was to stay away from all of the other people she might run into. She was to do her job, and allow them to do theirs. Even if she didn't know what Van's purpose was, she did know her own, and talking to strange boys in the kitchen in the middle of the night was not a part of that.

Merle sighed, coming to an abrupt halt in mid-step. Her gaze slid to the window, and she looked distractedly at the small crowds of people, going about their business. Workers and deliverymen milled around, unloading wagons and talking to each other in loud, cheerful voices. They had reason to be happy, she thought bitterly to herself. They didn't run the risk of being tossed out on their ears for something they had no control over.

As that thought flitted through her mind, Merle started. For a moment, she could have sworn she saw Van out there, dark hair glinting in the sun, looking right back at her. Shaking her head in disbelief, she leaned forward for a closer look. But as she scanned the crowd, the people shifted, blocking her view. When they finally moved enough for her to see again, the small space was vacant.

Twisting to lean her back against the wall beside the window, Merle forced herself to take a deep breath. 'Things must really be getting to me,' she thought. 'Now I'm starting to think I see him everywhere.'

Moving slowly away from the wall, she walked with dragging steps back to her bed. Sitting on the edge, she looked unseeingly at the floor. No matter what she did, the night was going to come. There was no way to stop it. All she could do was figure out how she was going to handle the situation. Her eyes drifted shut and her shoulders slumped as the hopelessness of her situation truly began to sink in.

A soft squeaking sound pulled her from her thoughts moments later. Lifting her head, Merle saw a small, gray form shuffling along the wall in front of her. Her ears twitched as she listened to the snuffling noises it made, her eyes locked on the almost hypnotic swaying of its tail.

It popped into her mind that this could be the distraction she had been looking for. A nice little chase to take her mind off of her problems would be a welcome respite from worrying. Slipping from the bed onto all fours, she lowered herself until she was just an inch from the floor. Just as she was about to pounce, there was a clattering sound from the other side of the room. Jerking her head to the side, she was almost surprised when she saw the group of women working there. She was so used to sleeping through the day and only being up when no one else was around that she had almost forgotten about the cooks' presence.

Her eyes shifted from the mouse to the cooks and back again. She wasn't supposed to bother them while they were working, but catching mice was her job. It was the sole reason she was being allowed to stay. But she had also been told to stay away from the other people in the kitchen.

After long moments of careful thought, Merle decided to go for it. It was her job, after all, and she needed the distraction. Besides that, she might get into trouble if she didn't catch it, and they saw it. And if she was very careful and kept close to the wall, she might be able to keep the mouse boxed in. The women would never have to know what she was doing.

Her decision made, she again assumed her pouncing position. Mentally plotting out her course of action, she leaned forward slightly. So long as she stayed on her prey's left side, it would be trapped between her and the wall. If luck was with her, it would head straight for the corner, effectively boxing itself in. After that, all she would have to do was make a quick grab, and it would all be over.

Her eyes narrowing with the intensity of her concentration, Merle held her breath and waited for the right moment to make her move. The glorified squeak toy continued its random examination of the floor, then suddenly shot off to one side. Without thinking, Merle gave chase. Everything around her seemed to fade into the background as she kept her eyes locked on her quarry.

The mouse slid out of view around a corner, and Merle decided it was time to end it. Putting on a burst of speed, she lunged forward. Halfway through her midair leap, her hand closed around the squirming body, and a feeling of triumph washed through her. Until she landed.

The force of her jump had her skidding a few feet forward on her landing. Unfortunately, those few feet were already occupied. Even as she slammed into the obstruction, a piercing shriek filled the air. Merle couldn't help but wince at the combined assault of volume and pitch on her sensitive ears. Following her instincts, she dropped her prize to slam both hands over the offended body parts.

As the screaming continued, Merle backed away, stopping only when her back came in contact with the wall. From the corner of her eye, she saw swishes of skirts as other members of the staff came running to see what was going on. It wasn't until a loud, authoritative voice said one word that things began to calm down.

"Enough!" In the strained silence that followed, Merle dared a quick upward glance. All six of the main workers were gathered in a semicircle around her, including one of the cooks, Nellie. Her mostly gray hair was coming loose from its bun, framing a face that had turned and alarming shade of red. She had a death grip on her skirt, and was glaring down at Merle with a look that could kill. Gulping, Merle dropped her head, determined not to look up again.

Laurinda, assured that everyone had obeyed her earlier command, asked, "What exactly is going on here?"

"That . . .that thing ran right into me, for no reason at all!" Nellie punctuated her sentence with a shuddering sigh, and Merle could easily picture her pose, one hand pressing against her chest. "I said the very first day that that dirty little thing shouldn't be allowed in here, but you wouldn't listen. Now here it is, getting in the way, just like I knew it would."

There was a sigh from Laurinda, considerably quieter than Nellie's, as she listened to the woman's complaints. When she was through, Laurinda spoke again. "I'm sure this was nothing more than an accident, and nothing more. I expected more from all of you than to be thrown for loop over someone bumping into someone else. Now, it's time for everyone to just get back to work, or dinner will be late, and that's unacceptable." The calmly spoken, yet immensely firm command had immediate effect. Several of the skirts vanished from Merle's view as the women drifted back to their workstations.

Deciding she wasn't going to wait around to hear any more, she dropped her hands. Still keeping her gaze locked on the floor, she dashed back to her bed, trying her best to ignore the eyes she could feel on her fleeing form the whole way. She was almost to her sanctuary when she heard Nellie's voice again, deliberately loud in the almost silent room.

"I knew that having that thing in here would be nothing but problems. I told you all so, but no one bothered to listen to me. They never do, you know, until it's too late. You can't expect one of those to remember its place. Well, they have only themselves to blame for this. "

Diving onto her bed, Merle curled herself into the tightest ball she could manage while still being able to breathe. She covered her head with both arms and tried to block out everything around her. This way, the workday passed quickly. There was the last rush to finish preparing the evening meal, followed by the clanking of dishes as everything was cleaned up. After that, the women quickly filtered out the door, not remaining as they usually did for small talk.

It wasn't until the door slammed for the last time that Merle finally moved. She sat on the edge of her bed, listening as the women's voices faded into the distance. Even though they were gone, she didn't feel her usual motivation to get to work. All she really wanted to do was curl up in a ball and try to forget that the rest of world existed at all. Sighing at the knowledge that that wish was impossible, she slowly pushed herself into a standing position. If there was something you had to do, it was best to just face the inevitable and get it over with.

She had barely taken two steps forward when the kitchen door was flung open with no small amount of force. Merle gawked, slack jawed, as one of the younger assistants made an impressive entrance. Shoving the door closed behind her, she took several steps into the room. For a minute, she remained motionless except for one hand, which was tugging at the end of one blonde braid. This gave Merle plenty of time to draw numerous conclusions about her reason for returning. As none of them were particularly good for her, she was decidedly nervous when the other girl finally spoke.

"Hi," she said, her voice bright and slightly breathless. She added a smile before continuing. "I'm Daphne. I . . . I just wanted to let you know that it wasn't right, what Nellie said. Some people are just too stuck in the way things were to see that times have changed. Nellie's like that." She frowned slightly, her gaze dropping to the floor. "I just thought you should know that not everyone's like that, even if they don't have the courage to tell you so themselves.

"Some of the older women can make it pretty hard on you if you dare go against their opinion. It's usually a lot easier to just ignore them as best you can. But this time, she went too far. It wasn't her place to say those things, and you shouldn't have had to hear them."

Daphne looked up, and Merle could see her chewing on her lower lip. "Anyway, I just thought you should know." With a wave of her hand, she made a vague gesture towards the wall where a line of pegs served to hold cloaks. A single dark blue wrap hung there, giving silent motive for the assistant cook's return. She had begun moving towards when Merle found herself speaking.

"Wait!" The word burst out before she could stop it. The older girl froze, and then looked over her shoulder with a puzzled expression. Refusing to meet her eyes, Merle looked at a spot over her head. "Thank you," she mumbled softly.

Stealing a quick glance at Daphne from the corner of her eye, she was surprised to see a smile cross her face. "You're welcome." She grabbed her cloak from its hook, quickly swinging it around her shoulders. Heading for the door, she paused again with one hand on the knob. "Give the others some time, and you'll see. Most of them are really good people. As for all the Nellies, just ignore them, and they lose their power. That's what my dad says, at least. Well, I've got to go, before the others come looking for me."

She pulled the door open, but before she could step over the threshold, Merle stopped her once more. She wasn't exactly sure why, but Daphne's unexpected show of support had made her feel a lot better. It had even buoyed her courage enough to ask about one of the things that had been weighing on her mind.

It was her turn to look at the floor as she posed her question. "Do you . . .do you know of a boy, with dark hair, named Van?"

"Lord Van, you mean? You know him? Of course you know him, otherwise you wouldn't be asking about him." She lightly smacked herself on the forehead. "He used to be down here in the kitchens all the time, sneaking cookies and things like that. But that was before . . .everything happened. I haven't seen him much lately, just once or twice on the grounds. I think his tutor keeps him pretty busy most of the time." She pursed her lips, a look of distaste crossing her expressive face. "Nasty man, that one. Like a male version of Nellie with a superiority complex, if you can imagine that."

Daphne's hand slipped from the doorknob as she leaned against the wall. "There aren't many people around here who like him, but he does hold a higher position, so there's nothing we can do. You'd think they could have found someone more appropriate to entrust the future king to, but there's no accounting for the ways of royalty. We can only hope he doesn't pick up on any of Master Josias' habits."

Before she could say anything else, a voice filtered in from outside. Daphne tilted her head to the side to listen, then straightened with a start. Offering another smile to an unmoving Merle, she pulled the door open once more. "That's for me, so I'd better go. Remember, just hang in there, okay?" With a small wave, she disappeared through the doorway.

Merle felt as though she were nailed to the floor. Just when she had thought things couldn't get more complicated, this happened. Her knees felt shaky, and she slid into a sitting position on the floor.

"Future king," she mumbled to herself. It suddenly seemed like everything that she had thought she'd figured out had been wrong. In fact, she was now sure of only one thing. She was in deep trouble.