"Ugh! Matthew, that's disgusting!" Lyn wailed, holding her nose.

"What? It's fish, what did you expect?"

Lyn shook her head. "Are you sure it's a good idea to present him with something that smells so bad?"

"But fish are yummy!" Matthew countered. "Everyone likes fish."

"You like fish because you're a cat," Lyn pointed out.

"Be that as it may... This is your last day with no roof over your head! I swear it!"

It was a much longer wait on this day to get an audience with the marquess. So long, in fact, that as Matthew sat waiting, his stomach began to rumble. Having very little other recourse, he delved into his bag of fish and began to snack on them. He tossed the remaining bones back into the bag.

"The marquess will see you now," a soldier informed him.

He led the way, and Matthew followed, still happily snacking on fish. Luckily, with most of the fish now safely tucked away in the cat-man's belly, the stink was not quite so obvious. However, the smell was the least of his worries.

"It's that delightful cat-man again!" Lord Hausen exclaimed. "What have you brought me today?"

"Milord, I come bearing fish upon this fine day! Freshly caught from the sparkling waters next to your castle, and numerous enough to supply you with delicious fish sticks for many days! Behold!"

Matthew slung the sack off of his shoulder and opened it. He peered in, and realized that most of what was left in the sack was white bone. There were very little blue and gray scales remaining to be seen. He had eaten all the fish!

"Er, a moment, milord!" Matthew covered quickly. He got down on the floor and stuck his head and hands inside the sack, pushing in further until his upper body was stuffed inside.

Lord Hausen and his men looked on in awe, curious of what the cat-man could possibly be doing.

After several minutes of suspense, Matthew emerged from the bag and pulled out a small statue, small enough to rest in the palm of his hand, but standing a little more than two feet high.

"Due to circumstances beyond my control, I am afraid I could not deliver you the fish I promised. However, in their place I give you this fish-bone statue for you to enjoy!"

Lord Hausen stared.

"It's a dragon," Matthew explained at the lord's silence, much like a child would explain his or her piece of art that he or she happened to be quite proud of. "You see how I gave it wings, and a spiky tail, and the cute little snout and horns? Isn't it great?!"

After another moment of silence, Lord Hausen began clapping. "Splendid! Just splendid!"

"Thank you, milord!" Matthew beamed. "I take great pride in being able to entertain you so."

"When might I see you again?" the marquess pressed.

"I fear I shan't be visiting you on the morrow," Matthew said sadly. "The lady and I will be running errands in the countryside."

"I see. I assume you refer to the Lady Lyndis."

"Indeed I do, milord."

Marquess Caelin nodded thoughtfully. "Very well. I will not force you to return tomorrow, but I should I should like to meet with my granddaughter very soon."

Matthew bowed deeply, as before, still hiding the same smug grin. "If that is what you wish, milord."

The next day, Lyn and Matthew were out in the countryside again.

"Aren't you excited?!" Matthew demanded enthusiastically.

"Is there any particular reason I should be?" Lyn wondered.

Matthew grinned widely. "Why, this is the day you meet your grandfather for the first time."

Lyn turned on Matthew suddenly. "What? Really? You prepared a meeting today? Then what are we doing out here? Shouldn't we be going to Castle Caelin?"

"Patience, milady," Matthew said soothingly. He winked. "Ostia wasn't built in a day. I haven't prepared a formal meeting, but it's a meeting all the same."

"Wow, now I really am excited," Lyn said hopefully. "This is what I've been waiting for. Okay, Matthew, what do you need me to do?"

"Take off your clothes!"

Lyn's eyes got wide, then narrowed into murderous slits.

SLAP!

Serra looked up at the strange noise in the distance. "Did you hear that too, Erky-pie? It sounded like someone getting slapped in the face really hard!"

"It did rather," Erk replied. He tried to turn his head to get a better look at the direction the slap had come from, but found it difficult atop Serra's shoulder. His feet dangled helplessly. "Um, could you put me down now?"

"No, I don't think I will," Serra said decidedly, as if it were a new idea. "I fear I'm just enjoying the view of your rear end far too much."

"Hmph..." Erk muttered, crossing his arms and blushing slightly. "I believe that's my line..."

"I didn't mean it that way!!" Matthew protested. He tried futilely to the rub the pain away in his cheek, where a hand print had decided to make a home.

"Well, it sure sounded like it!" Lyn shot back. "Well I'm sorry I had to do that, but you just don't go around telling people to take their clothes off! What was the point of that, anyway? Gauging my reflexes or something?"

"It was phase three of my plan," Matthew pouted. "It's not like I'll look or anything..."

"I think I'd like to hear a little more of phase three before I agree to it," Lyn suggested.

Matthew grew out of his sulk and his eyes lit up. "Okay, here's the plan: I let on to Marquess Caelin that we were out in the countryside today. I also know for a fact that around this time everyday anyway, he takes a carriage ride along this path, right by this pond over here. As soon he comes up over the crest of that hill over there, you start splashing around in the water like you're drowning. I run up to the carriage, screaming of how the Lady Lyndis was attacked by a group of thieves, robbed of her clothing and thrown into the pond. Alas, she knows not how to swim! And so, Lord Hausen's guards come rushing from the carriage to save you, giving you a snazzy new outfit and letting your ride in the carriage, giving you some good old catching up time."

"I don't want new clothes, though!" Lyn protested.

"Well, you will a little later," Matthew explained. "I'm taking them."

"What?! So now you're a cross-dresser?!"

"Please, stop jumping to conclusions! I know this all sounds absurd, but everything is going perfectly. I have it all under control. You told me before you trusted me. Don't you still?"

Lyn sighed. "I guess... Now turn around, and if I catch you peaking, it's not your face I'll be aiming for!"

Matthew gulped and ran off across the path, looking out at the countryside. When he heard a splash followed by a scream, he whirled around, forgetting that he wasn't supposed to look.

Luckily, she was almost fully submerged in the water and had her back turned. "Th-this water is freezing!" Braving the chill, she waded out further.

"Sorry," Matthew apologized, stashing the clothing she'd left on the shore into his cloak. "If I could have offered you a warmer pond, I would have."

"I don't know if I can do this," Lyn said doubtfully from the middle of the pond. "This is deceitful! The water is so shallow, I can touch the bottom!"

"Okay then, pretending to drown won't be the issue," Matthew agreed. "Just try in vain to escape that alligator that's swimming slowly towards you."

"Oh, Matthew, like I'd really fall for— AAAHH!!!"

"That's good! Keep that up!" Matthew rooted, spotting the carriage just cresting the hill. He ran for the carriage as fast as he could, crying, "Lord Hausen! Lord Hausen! Lady Lyndis is in danger!"

"Danger? What danger?!" Lord Hausen demanded, poking his head out the carriage window.

"Thieves robbed her and pushed her in the pond!" Matthew explained quickly. "A pond filled with alligators!"

"Go! Save her!" Lord Hausen ordered. A pair of soldiers darted from the carriage and made a bee-line for the pond.

Lyn was trying to run along the bottom of the water away from the alligator, moving slowly along the surface as if to torment her. Matthew watched and silently cursed himself. It seemed Lyn didn't know how to swim after all...

One of the soldiers to her rescue had a javelin and thrust it as hard as he could at the alligator threatening Lyn. The spear hit its mark and the alligator hissed and thrashed around, a cloud of blood mixing with the already murky pond water.

Lyn reached the shore and was helped partway out by the other soldier. He handed her a large velvet, fur-lined cloak with which to wrap herself in. She took it thankfully, embarrassed beyond all comprehension.

Once she had dried and, concealed from everyone behind the outstretched cloak, changed into the spare clothing that was concealed in the carriage, she and Matthew climbed into the carriage itself. They sat across from Lord Hausen, and the soldiers took to walking outside next to the carriage as guards.

"I swear, the next weapon I get my hands on is going into your neck...!" Lyn whispered through clenched teeth at Matthew.

Matthew smiled weakly and flinched away from the enraged lady.

"Lyndis..." Lord Hausen said. "Can it truly be?"

"Grandfather," Lyn smiled. "It is I, Lyndis, your granddaughter."

Matthew sniffled and wiped away a tear. "Ah... Reunions... They get to me every time..."

"Perhaps it would be best to turn this carriage right around and head back for the city," the marquess said suddenly. "You could be in great danger, travelling around in this area."

"Oh, you don't mean the whole thieves attacking me thing, do you?" Lyn asked. "Because that was really all—"

"No, nothing like that," said the marquess. The lines in his face seemed to deepen as he shook his head sorrowfully. "This...this is much worse."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"My brother, your great uncle Lundgren... He has learned of your presence in Caelin."

"Lord Lundgren?" Lyn repeated, eyes narrowing. "Yes, I know of him."

Hausen nodded. "I thought you might. I fear he eyes the throne of Caelin for himself. I'm not going to live forever. He knows that full well as anyone else does. Of course, now that you've presented yourself, Lady Lyndis, the heir to the throne of Caelin, that puts quite a convenient roadblock up for his plans, doesn't it?"

"If I inherit, he won't," Lyn deduced quite simply.

"His own fortress was built out in this countryside," Hausen continued. "If we happen to meet with him or his men on this road, they will surely try to kill you."

"That's not going to happen," Matthew said adamantly. His usually jovial demeanor had been replaced with one of grim determination. "Tell your driver to head back for the city. Stay within the castle until I've sent word that it's safe."

"What are you saying?" Lyn demanded. "You're not going off on your own again, are you? Matthew, this is serious! You can't possibly be thinking of taking Lord Lundgren on, are you?"

"I thought we went over this whole trust issue."

Lyn shook her head furiously. "If you died, I'd never forgive myself!"

Matthew shut his eyes and grinned. "Hey, if he wants to kill me, he's gonna have to catch me first. I'm a cat, remember? I've got nine lives, and they're burning a hole in my pocket."

Matthew watched as the carriage, turned in the other direction now, headed back down the path towards the city. He nodded purposefully, then ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction, right for Lord Lundgren's fortress.

On the way, he noticed that alongside the road up ahead was a small shack, presided over by two soldiers and a few cavaliers. They had to be Lundgren's.

"Halt!" one of the soldiers shouted at him as he approached. The soldier leveled a lance with him and his mouth was twisted into a sneer beneath his helmet. "What's your business here, furball?"

"I come bearing news for your Lord Lundgren," Matthew stated seriously. "Lady Lyndis is coming this way, and she is prepared to challenge the lord for the title of heir to the throne of Caelin!"

The two soldiers shared a look. The first one turned his gaze upon Matthew again. "How do we know you're not bluffing?"

"Are you willing to risk it if I'm not?" Matthew answered coldly.

The soldiers shared a second glance, this one of rising terror.

Matthew smiled. "She has long, dark green hair, in a ponytail. Part Sacaen, and wearing a blue dress and most likely equipped with a sword."

The first one, again, trying to keep his cool, turned to Matthew. "Go about your business. The lord will be informed right away."

"As you wish," Matthew replied. He sprinted away. Once he was well out of their line of sight and half way up the hill to the fortress, he concealed himself behind some shrubbery. He watched as one of the cavaliers rode up to the fortress, apparently delivering the message. Matthew, smiling triumphantly, reached into his cloak and pulled out two things: Lady Lyndis's old clothes, and the book Legault had given him on shapeshifting.

"Milord, we have word that the Lady Lyndis is coming this way," the cavalier informed the lord.

Lord Lundgren glared at the cavalier from his chair. "How accurate is this information?"

"I know not, sir," the horseman replied. "It was delivered to us by a strange man with the ears and tail of a cat. He appeared to be nothing more than a peasant. But whether or not this information is false, we at the check point thought it would be wise to alert you of this, just in case."

All of a sudden, a soldier ran into the room and shouted, "Milord, a lone woman is approaching the castle!"

"A lone woman?" Lundgren repeated. He grinned. "You don't say... And her appearance?"

"Long green hair, in a ponytail," the soldier replied.

"And a blue dress? With a sword?"

"Yes, milord. How did you—?"

"And there was no one with her? You're certain?"

"Not so far as I could see. There's no one on the road, and there's no shelter for any troops to launch a surprise attack on our west side."

Lundgren leaned back in his chair. "You're all dismissed. Send everyone to the east wing of the fortress."

The soldier looked puzzled. "Milord?"

"Do as I command!" Lord Lundgren snapped. The grin took its place once more and he calmed himself again. "I want to deal with the girl on my own..."

The front of the castle was completely deserted. Lundgren waited patiently, fully attired in a general's armour and carrying a large steel lance. He heard footfalls padding down the hall, and a woman in a blue dress scurried in and screeched to a halt on the other side of the room. Her long green hair streamed out behind her as she took on a defiant stance.

"Ah, grand niece," Lundgren greeted with false belligerence. "So good of you to come."

The woman narrowed her eyes and pulled an eastern-style sword from its scabbard at her side. She stood before him threateningly.

"Care to test your steel against mine?" Lundgren taunted. He took slow, resonating steps as his heavy armour clanked with each movement.

The woman prepared herself, then sprinted at the general, a blur of slashing blades as she suddenly appeared in front of him. Her speed was great, but her technique was awful, hacking away at his armour futilely as if she had never used a sword before.

"Vermin!" Lundgren bellowed. He reached out and snatched her by the ponytail. He lifted her off the ground, and the sudden shock made her lose her grip and drop her sword. She dangled with her neck bent at a strange angle, her face contorted in pain.

He adjusted his grip on the steel lance. "I've finally got you where I want you, Lyndis!"

When the woman spoke, though, Lundgren was shocked into submission:

"See, now that's where we have a problem..."

The woman's voice...sounded like a man's!

Lundgren gasped in horror as the dark green hair in his left hand suddenly turned honey blonde. The one who he thought was Lyn chanted some words under her breath, and bands of blue light seemed to morph her form into a new one. The ponytail he held seemed to melt away. This new being dropped to the stone floor in a crouch. He grabbed the dropped sword, which had morphed into a dagger by this time, and used it to thrust into a gap in the general's armour.

Lundgren grunted irritably at being duped, and lurched at the bloody wound in his side. In a sudden fit of anger, he swung the steel lance, much like it was the broad end of an axe. Though unconventional, it was effective enough at striking the man in the side of the head and sending him skidding across the floor.

He landed on his stomach and tried get up, groaning painfully. He clutched his head and looked up at Lundgren clanked over to him, step by laboured step.

Matthew watched in horror as death in a suit of armour strode towards him. Everything had been going fine until he had waited too long to get away from the general after stabbing him. The sudden lance blow had been unexpected, and now Matthew didn't have a weapon. He thought he had been lucky that there were no guards. His plan was to wound Lundgren and leave him to bleed to death, but it was not meant to be. Matthew's world spun, and he felt the blood trickle from the side of his head onto his ear.

As blurry as his vision was, he noticed a dark shape scamper along the architectural ledge around the room. It stopped, and the rope harnessing a large iron chandelier began to shake. Matthew realized that he had been saved.

The general suddenly stopped, apparently noticing the faint smile growing on Matthew's lips as he looked overhead. Lundgren leaned backwards, the only way the armour allowed him to look up, and saw the chandelier seconds before it struck him. Matthew heard the resounding clang and raspy scratching of metal on metal, along with an angered cry from Lord Lundgren. The cat-man felt great satisfaction as the impact of the chandelier caused the impenetrable general to lose his balance and fall to the floor with an earthshaking thud.

The shadow Matthew had seen moving along the ledge leapt off and landed on the floor. It shot by him like a bullet and ran down the hall, calling after him, "Follow me!"

For a moment, Matthew could have sworn he recognized the voice, but decided not to linger on that thought. He took off after the little furry shape as fast as he could.

When it finally came to a stop, they had arrived in a small, torch-lit room with the bare minimum of furniture lining its walls.

"You..." Matthew panted. The thing he had been following appeared to be a cat, as he was— well, had been.

He thought the pink fur seemed familiar, but when she turned around to face him, his heart nearly exploded.

"Leila!!!" he exclaimed. He dropped to his knees and grabbed Leila, holding her close in a big hug.

"Ack!" Leila choked. "Squeezing...too hard!"

"Oops! Sorry!" Matthew apologized. He held her out before him, on the verge of tears. "I...I thought you were dead!"

"I thought you were dead!" Leila replied, nearly in tears herself.

Matthew quirked an eyebrow. "You thought I was dead? What made you think that?"

Leila glared. "Because you never wrote!"

"Oh, hehe, that..." Matthew muttered nervously. He set Leila down and explained, "See, I was staying with an old woman in her cottage, and she had very little writing utensils with which I could write to you."

Leila's eyes widened in shock. "You were staying with an old woman?!"

"What?! No, it's not what you think!" Matthew screeched. He was tired of having woman constantly misunderstanding what he was trying to say. "I was nothing but a house cat to her, honest! ...Say, what are you doing in this castle, anyway?"

"The same as you at the cottage, I guess. Lundgren found me and decided to use me as a ratter. As amusing as that is, it's awfully lonely here... And mildewy..."

Matthew suggested, "If you help me, I can get you out of here and into the lap of luxury!"

"You need my help? You've got it!" Leila accepted. "But what do you mean? I've seen that look in your eyes before. You're up to something."

"You'll see," Matthew winked. He reached into his cloak and pulled out the large book once again. "But, first things first..."

Lundgren, muttering profanities all the while, had escaped from his armour as well as the chandelier. He picked up his spear and prepared to stalk off after that meddling, transforming boy. When he spotted a figure moving in the hall in front of him, he shouted angrily and prepared to strike.

"Stop!" the figure shouted. It moved into the light, and Lundgren stopped and stared. It looked like the cat he had found to rat out vermin in his fortress, only...human.

"Leila?" he said, puzzled. He began to lower his lance, but then tensed again. "How do I know it's not just that boy again?"

"I disposed of him," Leila deadpanned. She held up an old tome. "This was on him. I believe it's yours."

"My book on shapeshifting!" Lundgren exclaimed. "What could he have been doing with it...? And I suppose you decided to use it when it came into your possession?"

"Actually, I knew that man," Leila replied. "It was simple enough for me to trick him into transforming me into a human. It's dangerous for a cat to go up against a man carrying a silver dagger or two on him, so I thought this form was better suited for combat."

"As good as he would have been willing to transform you into, I suppose," Lundgren nodded.

"He uttered some words as he bled to death," Leila snarled. She put a strong emphasis on the gory description of his alleged demise. "Your granddaughter, Lady Lyndis, is coming here with a band of mercenaries. They'll be on your doorstep in a matter of minutes."

Lundgren's eyes widened. "Call up all the soldiers you can find! I can finish them all here if I have to, but I want them slowed down before they reach the fortress. I need more time...!"

"Why not simply destroy them all by transforming into something ferocious?" Leila shrugged. She held out the tome. "Perhaps if you transformed into a lion? Not only would they be intimidated, but a lion would surely frighten their horses and have the strength to vanquish many of their troops."

"This is true..." Lundgren said thoughtfully.

Leila tried to hand the book to him. "Would you like to give it a practice?"

"I've memorized every spell in that book!" Lundgren boasted. He made a dismissive motion with his hand at the tome. "Here, I'll do it. Just watch!"

Lord Lundgren began muttering words under his breath and began to change. Leila watched in awe at the flawless transformation from man to lion. The lion was sandy yellow, and its mane a deep orange with strands of dark gray. The lion gave a mighty roar, and Leila shrank back at the intimidating sound.

She composed herself, and said, "Most impressive, milord! But, what would happen if you became out-manned out on the battlefield? How would you escape? Perhaps something swift... A deer? No; had they a decent archer, you would surely be struck down. Something small? If you were small enough, you could escape detection as well as weaponry."

"Hm..." the Lundgren-lion murmured. "Here now, I've got one. Don't you get any ideas, now."

He began to transform again, and this time he shrank down into the tiny form of a dark gray rat. As Leila watched, she smiled triumphantly.

Lundgren scurried around on the ground for a moment before he suddenly felt a pull on his tail.

The tiny rat squeaked helplessly in Matthew's hand.

"Hurry!" he called to Leila.

Leila ran over with a bottle concealed in her own cloak. She held it open and Matthew dropped the rat inside just in time. Leila screwed the lid on tight, the two cat-people watched in amusement as the rat grew Lord Lundgren's head, in miniature.

"He dares not transform," Matthew chuckled. "He'll be crushed!"

The Lundgren rat shook its paw, and scowled with its mismatched human head. It squeaked, "You'll pay for this!"

"My third and final gift, milord!" Matthew announced, bowing deeply to the marquess. He produced the glass container from his cloak. "Rat-in-a-bottle!"

Lord Hausen stared for a moment. "Is that Lundgren?"

"The one and only," Matthew grinned proudly.

The marquess snorted. "Serves him right. So everything has been resolved now, has it? Lundgren can no longer cause any trouble, and Lyndis, you're here to stay?"

"Of course," Lyn replied, smiling at her grandfather. "We have so much catching up to do."

"Um," Matthew interrupted. "Who are they?"

He pointed to the large group of people who were standing idly in the room with them.

"Oh," Lyn realized. "Well, Serra and Erk here caught wind of what was happening, and went to fetch the others for help. Turns out you were able to handle it yourself, though."

Erk glanced over at Serra and sighed, "I'm just glad she finally put me down..."

"As for the others... These are the Pegasus Knight sisters, Florina, Fiora, and Farina. Florina's an old friend of mine."

"Um... Nice to meet you..." Florina greeted Matthew shyly.

"Those two are Rebecca and Wil. They're archers."

"Wow! So you used to be a cat, huh?" Wil asked enthusiastically. "I used to have a cat. She was named Fluffy. She got run over by a horse, though." He sniffled. "Poor Fluffy..."

Rebecca put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry your cat died, Wil..."

"What? She didn't die!" Wil exclaimed. "She just got run over by a horse is all. She was okay."

Rebecca stared at him for a moment giving a weak smile.

Lyn continued, "And that man running around over there is Sain, and the one chasing him is Kent."

"Ooh!" Sain exclaimed, running after a young maid. "So many beautiful young maidens in this castle!!"

"EEK! Werewolf!" the poor maid screamed.

"Sain, she thinks you're trying to kill her!!!" Kent shouted after his companion. He had pointed ears and a fluffy tail the same fiery red as his hair.

"And finally, this is a Sacaen swordsman who wanted to lend his aid to us. His name is—"

"Hold it!" Matthew interrupted. As Lyn motioned towards the youth clad in a blue coat and headband, with his green hair done up in a braid, the cat-man knew immediately who it was. "I believe we've already met."

The swordsman blinked. "Do I know you? ...Oh, hey, wait, I remember you! You're the one who fed me when I was starving that one time!"

"So good to see you again, Guy," Matthew greeted, a large smirk on his face. He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Hm... Perhaps I should ask for a paw-rub later..."

"What?! What are you talking about?" Guy demanded.

"Well, if I recall, when I gave you that food, you said that you owed me your life."

"You were a cat!" Guy argued. "What am I supposed to do but humour a little stray cat who was offering me food? I hadn't eaten for days!"

"Well, I know for a fact that Sacaens never lie," Matthew said delinquently. "Lyndis told me so. Aaaaand..." He reached into his cloak and pulled out a slip of paper. "Behold! An oathpaper, stating that you agreed to pay me back for the food. And I counted three pieces of meat, soooo..."

"Grr... No fair!"

"Ah," Matthew sighed indulgently. He put an arm around Leila and Guy each. "I think I'm gonna be quite happy here."

"The end," Canas finished.

Nils looked puzzled. "But what happened to Guy?"

Canas looked suspiciously at Nils through his monocle. "Are you sure you've been listening to my stories?"

"Yes! Of course I have!" Nils exclaimed. "Please, Canas, I'd like to hear another one!"

"Alright." Canas flipped through the pages of the book and finally came to something. "I think you'll enjoy this one."