Chapter 18
When Kitty made her way up on deck again, she saw Jim mopping the main deck. She also saw the hulking, menacing spacer, Mr. Hands, not far away glaring at the boy. She hurried her way up the stairs to Amelia's quarters. She dashed inside, not even bothering knocking. "Captain! Arrow!" she yelped.
"Kitty, how many times must I tell you to knock before entering, hmm?" Amelia asked looking up at her.
Kitty just arched an eyebrow, her face a bit grim. She turned toward Arrow. "Arrow, if I were you, I'd head out on deck...right this very moment," Kitty advised.
"Oh? And why might that be, Kitty?" Arrow asked.
"Because that foul bug Scroop and his cronies are looking for a chance to kill our Mr. Hawkins, that's why," Kitty declared vehemently. Amelia's green eyes went wide, and she opened her mouth in surprise, as Arrow shot to his feet quickly, and dashed out on deck.
"You're welcome!" Kitty yelled after him.
Amelia could only sigh. "Just my bloody luck," she muttered irritably.
"Oh, come now, Amelia...relax," Kitty counseled.
"I shall," Amelia said, "but only if you promise me that I'm going to make it out of this disaster waiting to happen in one piece," she answered with a wry grin.
"Oh, that! I promise, Captain...you'll be okay," Kitty said. Kitty knew that Amelia would make it...but she felt her stomach flutter in sorrow when she remembered the image of Arrow falling overboard and down the gullet of that black hole. Kitty swallowed hard...it was so hard for her to know that he had to die so Amelia would seek consolation from Delbert.
"Amelia?" Kitty said after she gained control of herself once more.
"Yes, dear?" Amelia answered, not even looking up from her work.
"Would it be all right with you if I invite the Doctor to eat with us today?" Kitty asked. Amelia looked up at her at that question. Kitty perservered, "I mean, you really should try to get to know him a bit better, don't you think?" Kitty said trying to not come off as seeming to be pushy.
"Very well, I suppose, Amelia conceded, and Kitty mentally squealed 'Yes!'. She dashed off again, and once on deck, saw Arrow and Scroop glaring at one another furiously...evidently the two had had their clash already. Arrow walked past Kitty resolutely, his granite jaw firm and set with anger. Kitty followed Arrow back inside Amelia's stateroom, and she had to swallow a small screech as Arrow unexpectedly wheeled on her to say, "Thank you, Kitty...should there be a next time, do tell me as soon as possible, all right?" Kitty nodded before going down to fetch the Doctor from his cabin.
There he laid, half asleep over a book on some topic related to astrophysics. Kitty gently removed the book, which caused Delbert to come awake with a start. Kitty looked at the book and said (as Delbert hadn't quite realised exactly where he was just yet) "How can anyone enjoy something that´s so complicated that nearly no one else can easily understand it?"
As she was saying this, she turned the book upside down and sideways, trying to make heads or tails of it. Delbert took the book gently away from Kitty. "Actually, Miss, it´s not nearly as complicated to understand as you might think," he said.
Kitty smiled. "Whatever. Oh, by the way, Doctor," she said and took off her tricorner hat to be polite. "The Captain cordially invites you to take lunch with her, Arrow, and myself in her stateroom, if you'd care to join us," Kitty said with a polite nod of her head.
"Did she? Well, well," Delbert remarked, rising to his feet to follow her. But, before the eager canid made his way toward the door, Kitty advised him. "Listen here, Doctor...I am going to be as polite as I can when I say this: lose that spacesuit of yours...fast! It's ludicrous-looking at best, and the mere thought of you showing up in that sets me to laughter. So, be a good fellow, and off inside and change into something a bit more proper."
Kitty didn't have to wait long, no more than five minutes. She and Delbert made their way up to Amelia's stateroom, where she went right in---without the benefit of even so much as one knock---as was her usual. Amelia looked up from her paperwork, saw the two, and began putting them away.
"Good day to you, Captain," Delbert greeted the busy Captain.
Amelia was going to say something along the lines of the fact that it was the afternoon already, but the look she received from Kitty made her change her mind. "Good day to you as well, Doctor," she greeted politely in return. "Kitty, if you would be so kind?"
Kitty nodded, understanding at once what Amelia wanted, and with one snap of her fingers, a table with four chairs around it suddenly appeared.
"Well! My word..." Delbert exclaimed, shocked by what had just transpired.
"Don't mention it, Doctor. You're welcome," Kitty said roguishly. She then snapped her fingers again and suddenly a rich linen table cloth popped into being and draped itself over the table, just before a fine set of porcelain dishes, crystal stemware, and sterling silverware were laid fastidiously upon the table.
"Kitty," Amelia warned in a low 'what are you doing' sort of voice. "What in blazes do you---"
"We have a guest, Captain," Kitty reminded her matter of factly, indicating the good Doctor with a cant of her head. "And besides, you may consider this my way of showing you that I do have manners, should I choose to use them."
"Why, yes. So it would appear," Amelia said and arched an eyebrow as two silver candelsticks, complete with rose red tapers, blinked into being upon the tabletop. "But, is this hardly to time to become the cheetah when once you were the turtle, Kitty?"
Kitty simply smiled and shrugged, "Why not?" She then waved a negligent flip of a hand, and the finest bottle of the Captain's limited supply of fine red wine appeared---chilled---on the table's center.
"Very refined, Kitty. But, as far as I remember...ou don´t even drink wine, dear," Amelia remarked, taking her seat.
"True, but you do, so just you hush," Kitty replied.
Delbert just looked from one felinid to the other, as their verbal sparing match continued. "Um, so...just to refresh my memory...who´s exactly in command again?" he asked Kitty.
"Oh, that's an easy one, Doctor. She is," Kitty said pointing a thumb toward Amelia. "But, you see, I'm rather special as I can utilize magic, so she knows enough to not get on my bad side." Kitty paused to let that sink in, then added, "Just how do you think she ended up with a tail anyway?" Kitty said and blinked.
"Tail? I'm sorry, but I don't understand," Delbert asked and suddenly saw Amelia's tail swinging impatiently back and forth in suppresed anger. She chose to ignore the smug looking Kitty, and lifted up one of the fine porcelain plates. "Just where did you come upon this lot, Kitty?"
"Just you turn it over, and you'll see, smarty," Kitty said, just a bit saucily.
Amelia did, and her green eyes became huge as she read the name upon the plate: Christopher Smollet. "These were Poppa's?" She asked, incredulous.
"Oh, yeah. Nothing but the best," Kitty said. "That goes for everything else. The wine is your father's. I think it´s from the west part of Felinesia...but I could be wrong about that."
Amelia laid the plate back down as Arrow knocked, then came inside with the food. He saw Delbert sitting there, and then counted the number of plates. "I do apologize, Captain...I hadn't realize we were having a guest," he said.
"You may thank Miss Petro for that, Arrow," Amelia said as Kitty took the food from Arrow and laid it upon the table. Arrow looked at the table. Hmm, he thought to himself...candles, his friend Christopher's silverware and dishes, and a bottle of fine red wine. He then glanced over toward Delbert, then looked down at Kitty who whistled a innocent tune. I thought so, Arrow thought with a knowing smile.
"So, are we going to eat soon? I'm starving," Kitty asked.
Everyone present then took their seats and started eating and talking. Soon, it was time to go back to work, and as Kitty followed the Doctor back down to his cabin, Amelia turned towards Arrow. "Now, Arrow, precisely what was all that about?" she asked her closest friend.
"Excuse me, Captain...but what was what about?" Arrow asked innocently.
"You know just as well as I that we don´t ever use my father's silverware and dinnerware unless it is a very special occassion like Christmas or Easter. And. Daddy's special issue of wine is also just for things like celebrating New Year's Eve or something along those lines. Care to explain just what you and that rogue Kitty were up to? Hmm?"
"Well, Amelia," Arrow began. "Kitty and I did say we intended to play matchmaker, did we not?"
Amelia just gaped at him. "Preposterous! Doctor Doppler...and myself? Ridiculous!" she nearly screeched.
"Oh, do calm down, Amelia," Arrow chided his young friend. "Besides, I did see you looking his way again and again. Do tell me I was wrong..."
Amelia sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "Arrow, I really don´t have time for this soft of nonsense just now," she said.
"No doubt," Arrow answered kindly, but then his expression hardened a bit. "I suppose you should of thought of that before you tried to play matchmaker with Kitty and myself then, correct? Correct," he said, nodded his head politely, and made his way out to begin his shift on deck.