Prologue
"Titanius, Sibyl, be careful over there with that pile!" Demeter called as she watched the two kittens joyously climbing up and down the junk piles, jumping onto each other and chasing each other back and forth.
"Sibyl, watch for your brother!" Demeter cried as she watched her son rolling off of a cardboard box holding an old cigar in his paws.
"Don't worry, Mother!" the little brown and white kitten queen called in her jingle belle-like voice. She let out a cheerful laugh and pounced onto her gray tabby brother, and the two rolled onto the ground from a cardboard box, and almost crashed into Jennyanydots as she was walking by. But the old Gumbie queen only grinned at the two fur balls, shook her head, and continued with what she was doing.
Demeter rolled her eyes and rushed toward the two.
"If you two don't stop playing dangerous games, you'll be locked in the closet for three hours without supper!" she warned.
"Oh, Mother," Sibyl lowered her eyes.
Seeing her daughter's sudden change in emotion, Demeter calmed down and changed her tone of voice.
"I just want you two to be careful," she said, "if you get hurt, you're the ones who'll be sorry more than anyone else."
"Come on, let them have some fun!" Demeter heard a voice coming from behind, and saw Bombalurina ambling over with Tugger.
"Well, fun has limits, too," said Demeter, sighing.
"They're just little kits, sis," said Bombalurina, "I never thought you'd make such a strict parent."
"They need to learn as early as possible," said Demeter.
"Ha, well, I don't think I learned until it was too late, but oh well," Tugger made a face and chuckled.
"I mean, even Jenny didn't say anything, and you know how she can be with kits sometimes," said Bombalurina.
"Father!" Demeter, Bombalurina, and Tugger simultaneously swung their heads at the sound of a loud scream, and saw the two kittens, dashing here and there and shrieking with excitements as Munkustrap hopped around chasing after their tails. Tugger and Bombalurina laughed as they watched the silver tabby again turning into a kitten.
"Munkustrap, sometimes I wonder if you're their father or their brother!" Demeter called loudly as she watched Munkustrap purposely getting slammed to the ground and stepped on by the kittens.
Munkustrap jumped up, and the two kittens climbed onto his back and started playfully batting his ears and biting his fur.
"Oh, let them enjoy it while they still can, Demeter," Munkustrap smiled, gently swiping Titanius away from his eye. "And I get more exercise this way, too, so what's wrong with it?"
Demeter shook her head as Munkustrap walked toward her, leaving the two kittens in their persistent tagging around the junkyard.
"How are you doing, Munkustrap bro?" Tugger asked as he and Bombalurina stretched out on the ground.
"Preparing with Old Deuteronomy for choosing this year's mating dance couple, what else?" Munkustrap yawned.
"Who is it gonna be this year?" Demeter asked, "Electra and Tumblebrutus?"
"Most likely," said Munkustrap, "those two are definitely of age now. Next year I think, without a doubt, Etcetera and Pouncival will be chosen, and then Jemima and whom, I have no idea yet."
"Maybe Victoria's new little one?" Tugger sniggered, as he turned his head toward the entrance of the junkyard. Victoria and Mistoffelees were walking toward them, followed by Alonzo and Cassandra.
"Vicki!" Bombalurina called as the couple came close.
"Hi," Victoria greeted.
"You're feeling all right?" Demeter asked.
"Yeah," Victoria smiled and blushed a bit as she sat down, curling her hind legs a bit to somewhat cover her belly.
"What's everyone doing here?" Alonzo asked, sitting himself next to Mistoffelees and signaling for his beautiful Siamese mate to sit down on his lap.
"Oh, nothing, just chilling," said Tugger, "anything you have in mind?"
"Nah," Cassandra smiled, licking Alonzo's face. "Vicki has slept all day, and we wanted to let her move around a little."
"Must be getting really excited, you two, huh?" Bombalurina glanced from Victoria to Mistoffelees.
"Well, Vicki is still getting ready for it, I'd say," Mistoffelees smiled at Victoria on the side, whose sixth month's pregnancy was clearly and obviously exposing despite her efforts to cover up.
"Oh, Misto," Victoria tapped her mate on the shoulder with a paw and blushed, while putting the other on top of her bulging belly.
"Oh, come on," Tugger said, "Even Demeter never got this shy when she was at your stage. It's just that time of queenhood."
Victoria lowered her head to hide the pink shade on her cheeks.
"Say, Tugger, when are you and Bombalurina gonna add some new members to our Jellicle Tribe?" Alonzo asked.
"Uh…" Tugger and Bombalurina exchanged a look.
Mistoffelees and Victoria couldn't help covering up their grinning mouths.
"Give me a break," Bombalurina stretched, "having fun is one thing, but if I'll have to end up putting up with crying, running-around, wetting-everywhere fur balls 24/7, I'd rather be spayed."
"You don't want to be a mother that much?" Mistoffelees asked.
"Giving birth and nursing might not bug me that much. It's what comes afterward that gets me goose bumps," Bombalurina yawned, and lied down with her arms behind her head on top of Tugger's stretched out legs.
"Gee, even with that in mind, they still wanna have a good time every night. How brave they must be," Munkustrap said on the side, causing laughters to instantly burst out of Demeter, Mistoffelees, and Victoria.
Tugger and Bombalurina glowered at Munkustrap, and Bombalurina's face suddenly looked like a ripe apple.
"You just had to say that out loud in front of the whole pathetic world, right?" Bombalurina pouted.
"Yeah, sure, like you two when you first started had no other purposes in mind other than producing heirs," said Tugger, trying hard to retain his cool by swallowing down his urges of laughing.
This time, it was Munkustrap and Demeter's turn to glower and turn red.
Mistoffelees and Victoria were almost down on the ground laughing.
"Oh, shut it, you two," Demeter uttered.
Mistoffelees and Victoria restrained their laughters, but still couldn't help making silly faces at each other.
"But what about you two, Alonzo?" Munkustrap quickly shifted the subject. "You're talking about Tugger, what about you who's even older?"
"Uh…" Alonzo and Cassandra said simultaneously, then looked at each other and laughed. "Yeah, right!"
"I wonder someday if us queens would get paid being kitten manufacturers," Cassandra chuckled.
Victoria couldn't help turning red again. "Cassandra, cut the sarcasm, would you?"
Cassandra stretched out her slim hind legs and yawned. "When I feel like it, sure. But for now, we'll put the attention on Vicki."
"Mother, Father, look at me!" a high-pitched, kittenish scream made everyone turn around, and saw Sibyl, standing on the toes of her hind legs on top of a rusty old pan, and posed in a diving position, and Titanius was a few steps away from her with his back arched. In one second, Sibyl bounced off high from the pan, sprung over Titanius, and "flew" toward the group. Victoria suddenly screamed and dodged, but the weight of her now heavy body made quick movements nearly impossible. Sibyl landed right on top of her, and her weight pushed her unbalanced body with such great force that she landed straight down on the ground. Before anyone had a chance to react to what had happened, Victoria was holding her bulging belly with her paws and crying out in pain.
Everyone let out a loud cry, and Sibyl rolled onto the ground as Victoria turned sideways, pulling her knees in toward her and trying hard to press down the pain in her belly. Mistoffelees turned deathly pale, slipped his arms underneath her to try to steady her, as he frantically yelled her name. Demeter's eyes looked as if fireballs were about to fly out of them. Munkustrap, Tugger, Bombalurina, all hopped onto their feet and surrounded the shaking Victoria, while Cassandra cried for Munkustrap and Alonzo to get Jennyanydots.
"Vicki!" Mistoffelees cried as he saw sweat rolling down Victoria's forehead and tears coming out of the corners of her eyes. Munkustrap was dashing toward the closet at the other end of the junkyard where he expected to find the Gumbie cat, while Tugger and Bombalurina hovered close, with Bombalurina gently holding Victoria's paw and Tugger gently messaging her back. Mistoffelees looked as if about to break down any moment.
"Vicki, oh, Everlasting Cat! Talk to us! Say that you're ok!" Bombalurina cried.
But all Victoria could do was whimper and pant.
"Vicki!" Mistoffelees cried, bending down and covered his mate with his body. Tugger pulled him back and tried his best to comfort the small black tom on the side, as Alonzo wiped Victoria's face with the back of his paw.
Demeter glowered at the shivering and confused Sibyl standing on the side, feeling her chest burning as if a hot piece of iron was pressed against her rib cage. She could find no room in her mind to think, and before she even realized, her paw was raised high, and then slapped across Sibyl's face. The sudden sound seemed as loud and sharp as the explosion of a small firecracker, and Sibyl was nearly knocked to the ground.
"Demeter, no!" Bombalurina cried, and was forced to let go of Victoria and grab hold of her sister, who looked like she was about to explode on her kitten.
"You little demon…" Demeter gritted her teeth, and was shaking up and down with rage. Her arms wriggled in Bombalurina's tight grasp. Sibyl, obviously not prepared for a slap, was trembling all over, with her head lowered almost to the ground, and she dared not even to raise an eye to see what was going on. Titanius remained at his old spot, staring at the scene, looking equally confused and scared as his sister.
"Demeter, calm down! She's just a kitten! She didn't mean it!" Bombalurina cried, holding down Demeter's stretched out arm. She finally pulled Demeter away from Sibyl, and threw the kitten a look of "get out of here" before returning to Victoria.
At that moment, Munkustrap had returned with the old Gumbie Cat. Jennyanydots bent down, pushing Tugger aside, and closely examined the small, curled up white queen lying on the ground with her eyes closed. Tugger put a paw over Mistoffelees's, while Jennyanydots gently felt Victoria's pulse and carefully brushed her paws over her belly. Victoria groaned and winced.
"It's a small shock, but she'll be fine," said Jennyanydots, glancing at all the worried faces around her. "Thank the Everlasting Cat that she was not hit by something heavy. The pain will go away pretty soon, and what she needs now is some place soft and a good rest. Be careful touching her for the rest of the day!"
Mistoffelees fell weightlessly backwards, and Tugger reached out to catch him. The small black and white tom let out a deep breath.
"Easy, buddy," Tugger stroked Mistoffelees's white chest. "Didn't you hear Jenny? Vicki's fine!"
Mistoffelees leaned on Tugger's shoulder, and for a while, Tugger thought he would lose consciousness.
"Are you sure she'll be all right?" Munkustrap asked, "I mean, it looked like it was quite a bang!" He turned around and shook his head at his daughter, who had retreated to the back.
The Gumbie Cat nodded, and looked at Bombalurina who was still holding Demeter's arms. "Bombalurina, can we borrow the new blanket that your human just bought you? It's the softest and warmest I can think of, and that's what Vicki really needs at the moment."
"Yes, yes, of course!" Bombalurina said, "I'll be back in five minutes!" She whispered something in Demeter's ears, then ran off.
"I'll go get her some water and soft food," Cassandra said, and was already gone.
Victoria opened her eyes slowly, and let out a low groan.
"Misto…" she called, her voice barely above a whisper. She weakly lifted a paw to reach out for her mate, but dropped it before she could raise it above her head.
"Vicki!" Mistoffelees sprung up from Tugger as if he was made of springs, and took Victoria's paw.
"Aw…" Victoria moaned, still holding her belly with her other paw.
"Are you still hurt?" Mistoffelees asked.
"Uh-huh," Victoria murmured.
"Come on, let's get her to my place," Jennyanydots called, and Tugger bent down and lifted Victoria into his arms.
"Gee, Heaviside! I had no idea she'd get this heavy," Tugger mumbled under his breath as everyone followed behind Jennyanydots.
"You're all right, Vicki?" Mistoffelees was almost running to keep up with Tugger's long legs.
"Oh, don't worry. I'm not gonna drop her," Tugger turned around and smiled at the tuxedo beside him.
"You're making fun of my now," Mistoffelees glared, "I swear, you'd behave no calmer than me if this was Bombalurina!"
"I'm not making fun of you, Misto," said Tugger as they neared Jennyanydots's closet. Bombalurina had rushed back with a blanket, and Munkustrap had to make the trembling Sibyl and Titanius go into the old oven on the other side of the junkyard so they could stay out of the way.
"Hey, what's going on?" Jellylorum's high-pitched voice was suddenly heard from behind as the group entered the closet.
Munkustrap sighed. "Well, unfortunately, my over-active daughter accidentally jumped too hard and pushed Vicki to the ground, and that hurt her belly."
"Oh, my!" Jellylorum gasped, "Her kittens, will they be all right? That is just too dangerous for a queen in her state!"
"She'll be fine, thank Heaviside," Jennyanydots came out of the closet after settling Victoria comfortably on a pile of thick clothes and rags. Bombalurina had returned with the blanked, and Jennyanydots gently opened it up and put it over the small white queen. "Good thing that it was a kitten that hit her."
"Let me go see the poor thing," Jellylorum entered the closet and rushed toward Victoria, curled up under the blanket with her eyes closed and leaning on Mistoffelees, who was holding her tightly and lovingly, while Demeter gently brushed the soft white fur on her head with her paw.
"Oh, hi, Jelly," Demeter looked up, seeing Jellylorum coming.
"How's the poor little thing?" Jellylorum bent down and gently ran her paw through Victoria's fur on her head. Victoria opened her eyes a bit just enough to recognize Jellylorum, and gave her a weak smile.
"I'm ok, Jelly," she said, "I'm not hurting right now. I guess I've really worried you all too much."
"Should we go ask the twins to get her some nerve soothing medication?" Munkustrap asked Jennyanydots at the door of the closet.
Jennyanydots thought for a moment. "Maybe not now. But later, if she starts to show any sign of discomfort or agitation, then send for them."
"I think maybe we should leave her and Misto alone for a while," Bombalurina said, looking in at the two. "And Munkustrap," she leaned closer to the tabby in order to speak lowly into his ears. "You might want to talk to Demeter. Gee, you should've seen her. She looked like she was about to eat Sibyl!"
Munkustrap glanced at his mate inside, heaved out a sigh, and nodded. "I know what you mean. I'll try to handle it."
"Hey, Misto, if you ever need anything, we'll be near!" Tugger called.
Mistoffelees nodded, but his full attention was on Victoria in his arms.
Tugger put an arm over Bombalurina's shoulders and the pair walked away.
"Cassandra will come back pretty soon with what she went to get, I think," said Alonzo, "tell her that I'm waiting for her on the old truck. If you need us, you'll be able to see us both, too."
Jennyanydots nodded and looked into the closet.
"Come on, Jenny," Jellylorum came out of the closet. "I don't think we're needed here at the moment. Didn't you ask me to bring you some more fabric for your mice uniforms? I got them all out in my house to show you. Come on!"
"Hey, Misto," Jennyanydots turned around. "If anything happens, I'll be at Jelly's!"
"Don't worry, Jenny," Mistoffelees squeezed out a smile, and stroked Victoria's back.
After the two old queens left, Munkustrap entered the closet.
"Looks like she's settled down," the silver tabby smiled, "gee, she really scared the daylight out of all of us."
"I'm fine, Munkustrap, really," came a small voice. "I'm feeling really bad now I've caused such a scene. You guys have all worried about me too much."
"Oh, don't say this," Munkustrap bent down next to Demeter and stroked Victoria's ears. "You just take care of yourself, and we are all happy to take care of you anytime. We always want healthy and strong kittens in our tribe."
Victoria smiled. "I will have healthy kittens. I won't let you down."
"You two are gonna be ok now?" Munkustrap asked.
"Yeah. I'll take care of her," Mistoffelees replied.
"And please, don't yell at little Sibyl. It was totally an accident, and I've already forgiven her," Victoria said, but had to close her eyes.
Demeter heaved out a sigh, and Mistoffelees nodded at her.
"Demeter," Munkustrap said gently to his mate, who was still grooming Victoria, and whispered. "Shall we go now, too?"
Demeter looked at her mate in silence, and slowly rose to her feet.
"If you two need us for anything, we'll be on the tire," Munkustrap said before walking out with Demeter.
Mistoffelees nodded, and Munkustrap gently nudged his mate out of the closet.
"Demeter," Munkustrap called as the two walked out to the junkyard.
Demeter walked with her eyes on the ground, not replying.
"Demeter, are you listening to me?" Munkustrap called again as they approached the tire in the back of the junkyard.
Demeter only raised her head enough to see him.
"Bombalurina told me you went out of control again," Munkustrap sighed as he climbed up the tire with Demeter.
Demeter shook her head and folded her legs in as she sat down.
"Demeter," Munkustrap put a paw on top of Demeter's and gazed at her passionately. "It was an accident, that's all. No need to get that excited. Besides, everything's fine."
Demeter shook her head and thoughtlessly ran her fingers through her head fur.
"Maybe you didn't notice, but Sibyl was terrified," said Munkustrap, "you hit her again, didn't you?"
Demeter stared at her mate, a look of sadness mixed with embarrassment rose onto her face.
"Where are they now?" she suddenly asked, glancing around the junkyard.
"Oh, I sent them to the oven," Munkustrap indicated, "they'll be quiet for a while."
Demeter loosened a little and nodded.
"They're still kittens, Demeter," said Munkustrap as he put an arm around Demeter's shoulders. "losing your temper will only scare them. Besides, you know that Sibyl is now at the most active stage, and at her age, she wouldn't see what was coming."
Demeter sighed and leaned her head onto Munkustrap's broad shoulder. "It's not what Sibyl did, it was… seeing Vicki like that… suddenly frightened me out of my mind. I was probably more terrified than angry at that moment, and I didn't even know what I was doing…"
Munkustrap sighed and rubbed his face against Demeter's. "I know, Demeter. I understand. You don't need to say more."
Demeter lowered her head and licked her lips. "Vicki is no stronger than I was, and seeing her like that, just reminds me too much of…"
"No need to tell me anymore, darling," Munkustrap sighed and stroked Demeter's back. "I know. I know everything too well. Even after all these years, it's still too difficult for you to let go of that."
Demeter closed her eyes; a tear slowly rolled down her cheek.
"I love Sibyl, I really do. You know that our kittens each means half the world to me," she said in a whisper. "But it's just, Sibyl reminds me too much of my kittenhood. Seeing her everyday is like seeing a long gone image of myself, young age, my long lost innocence, and my old happy days. Over and over, she reminds me of how wonderful and easy everything had been when I was her age, and how I had once had a time that she is having now. But unlike me, she will not grow up the way I did. I won't allow it. And I just want to make sure that she will never have to learn her lessons the way I learned them, that's all. I guess that's why I'm always so paranoid with her, so afraid that I would miss something that I should educate her about while bringing her up, and she'll end up making the mistake that she'd end up regretting for the rest of her life."
"You don't even have to tell me these," said Munkustrap, "I understand you too well, Demeter. Our two kittens also took you much effort to birth and raise, and you and I both want to see them grow up well. But the thing is, they're still too young, and I do think you have a plenty of time to achieve what you want to achieve. They need to learn, but they need to have fun, too, don't you think? Besides, if you want to teach them too much too early, they're not going to understand. And I can assure you, that I will not allow what's happen to you to happen again to Sibyl."
"But still, Munkustrap, it doesn't mean I can still not be afraid that it would happen again," said Demeter, "you think I like to be this paranoid? No, I'm hating myself for it! You think that I wouldn't do anything to have that part of my memory permanently erased? But it can't happen!"
Munkustrap gently stroked Demeter's face. "But I can help you to leave it behind, can't I? We all can. Sibyl and Titanius will be an important part, too. I mean, sometimes, when I see them, I can forget everything that's on my mind."
"Do you think I should eventually tell Sibyl what happened to me?" Demeter asked nervously, wiping away her tears with her paws.
"That is up to you," said Munkustrap, "although, I'd say, that as mother and daughter, you two should be as honest with each other as you can instead of already keeping secrets at such an early time, and I can't see it would hurt her by telling her that, for that will teach her more about the world and give her more sense of caution. I'd think she'll soon be old enough to know these kind of things. But if you think she's not gonna be ready to handle it, then wait and see, and maybe later, she'll understand more."
"Oh, Heaviside, how complicated everything is," said Demeter, "one little mistake, and you have to pay your life for it. I feel I can't even raise my head up high in front of my kittens to say that they should be proud to have a good mother!"
"But you are a good mother, Demeter, and they should think so no matter what," said Munkustrap, "in fact, you know that they already do. I've told you this many times: no matter what happens, in my eyes, you'll always be perfect. And it's the same with Titanius and Sibyl."
"I'm all but perfect, Munkustrap," Demeter said bitterly, "I've already ruined myself too much, and it can't be fixed now."
"You mustn't say this, Demeter," Munkustrap put his paws on both of Demeter's shoulders and looked into her eyes. "If anyone out of all deserves the word 'perfect', you'd be the first! You have done nothing to ruin yourself!"
"You know what I'm talking about," Demeter sighed.
Munkustrap pulled her into his arms. "Let it go, Demeter, please. Why do you let this plague you this much when you know that you were not the one who was responsible? You're torturing me at the same time that you're torturing yourself, seeing you like this even after all this time. What's passed has passed, and let's leave it in the past."
"I wish I can write a book about my life, like humans do," Demeter said, "though there are so much that I wish I can wipe off forever from my memory, there are also so much that I'd like to keep forever."
"Well, maybe you can someday, if you want to," Munkustrap smiled and nuzzled Demeter's nose.
Demeter gently licked Munkustrap's face and let out a purr. Not far from them, the sun was already beginning to set…