A/N: I honestly don't know how many reviews I got for my last update, because it only shows Krissy4's and Chimalmaht's for the actual chapter nine, along with those that were for what's now chapter eight. Roman's poem/review (which I loved) appeared for a short while, but then disappeared. I took down the little flame to etcies thing, so now the reviews are a little messed up. And, I'm terribly sorry to say, Mrs. Beidle threw away the Constitution I spent hours writing for the Jellicle Kingdom. Luckily, etcies has it saved on her computer. Now, she just has to remember to bring it to school on Monday. Luv ya etcies!
Everlasting Cat, kits are annoying. Jemima just couldn't understand what was going on. Macavity had a spy watching me, so I couldn't tell her anything. I saw the spy's shadow once while outside. So instead, I had to act like a cruel person, who only kept her alive because Macavity said so. That actually wasn't difficult.
"What happened Rose? Why are you so mean now?" Jemima interrupted my thoughts.
"Shut up." I said angrily. Jemima looked like she was going to cry. I stopped my heart from melting, and told myself that if Macavity knew that I had comforted a captive, she and I could be killed. It would only show that I wasn't truly devoted to his side. I closed my eyes and sighed with aggravation, but not from Jemima. Macavity expected Munkustrap and the other toms to gallantly come to Jemima's rescue. But they wouldn't. Because I had to tell Munkustrap what I was doing. I could have hit myself. If at least Munkustrap didn't show, then Macavity would suspect that someone had already guaranteed Jemima's safety. Me. Who knows? Maybe Munkustrap would be smart enough to come. But I figured that the only way that would happen would be if he didn't believe I wasn't really working for Macavity. It seemed likely. Just in case though, I had to start figuring out a plan to get Jemima back to the Junkyard. I didn't need to worry though, because a calico ran by, yelling about the Jellicle toms are on their way. Jemima's ears perked up at the mention of the toms, she knew that her father would be leading them. I shook my head. What she didn't know was that her father was leading them into a trap. Then I grabbed Jemima, perhaps a bit roughly, by the scruff, and followed the cat into Macavity's office. Once the cat had finished, I sat down at one of the new chairs in front of Macavity's desk.
"I just had a brilliant idea, Macavity." I said, adding barely-contained-excitement to my voice. He inclined his head slightly, indicating that he was listening.
"Instead of having the toms come to their doom, as they most likely suspect, we offer a peaceful exchange. Munkustrap for Jemima. And then the next day, once news has circulated throughout the Junkyard about the trade, you execute Munkustrap in front of the entire tribe." I laughed.
"And what if Munkustrap refused the trade?" he asked in a way that gave me the feeling he already knew the answer.
"First of all, the brave, noble, and responsible Munkustrap wouldn't refuse the offer. Second, it would show all the other toms his true colors, and soon he would be banished from the tribe." I laughed again, and Macavity nodded his head in approval.
"I like it. Show our . . . guests in." he said with humor.
"Should we make 'em wait?" I asked. "You know, 'The master will see you in a few minutes.' Something to make fun of them. Make 'em sound unimportant." After receiving another nod, I left the room. Outside of the warehouse, I found that the toms were in a heated discussion about which way to go. It surprised me that the Jellicles never had any reason to come to Macavity's den before now. I sat a few feet away from them, waiting for them to notice me. After a few minutes, I got bored and finally walked up to them. Among the group of six, I recognized Munkustrap, Alonzo, Tugger, and Skimbleshanks. The other two looked familiar, but I couldn't put a name to their face. It didn't really matter though. They all just stared at me. I nodded my head over my shoulder, silently indicating for them to follow. The Rum Tum Tugger stopped Munkustrap from immediately following. Munkus must not have told him that I was acting as a double agent. Rolling my eyes, I broke the uneasy silence.
"C'mon. Macavity won't wait all day. If all goes well, no one's gonna die today, and you'll have your precious Jemima back." I sneered. I couldn't tell if the spy that had been watching me had followed. Hesitantly, the six cats followed, as if they expected that any moment Macavity's entire army would come and attack them. I led them into the warehouse, and several of Macavity's cats jumped to a battle stance. Hissing, I clawed one across the face, telling him that there had been a change of plans. The others sat back down uneasily, glaring either at me or the Jellicles. We proceeded quickly to the office.
"Wait here. I'll be out in a minute." I entered Macavity's office, and he was mauling another cat. After seeing this, I leaned back out of the room, looking at the Jellicles.
"Macavity's busy at the moment, but he'll be finished shortly." I said in my best secretary voice. "And if any of you cats here so much as looks at...our guests... the wrong way, it'll be your head." I added in an aside to Macavity's horde. I fully entered the office, shutting the door quietly behind me. Noticing a gleam on the wall to my left, I examined the new mural. It showed Munkustrap, on his knees, being executed in front of the Jellicles. There was fear in his eyes. I wondered how Macavity could have painted it so fast. Then again, he had a lot of practice from the murals coating the walls and ceiling of his bedroom and most of this wall. The unfortunate cat ran out of the room, dragging his right leg and a stream of blood running down his cheek. Glancing at Macavity, he nodded. I poked my head out of the open doorway, and found the Jellicles watching the injured cat.
"Macavity will see you now." I again used my secretary voice. The Jellicles stared at me, a look of horror on Alonzo's face. But he dutifully rose and followed the others into the room. Macavity was sitting at his desk, looking like a business cat. He gestured for the cats to sit. Even I sat down, and it seemed to encourage the others to follow suit.
"I'm sure you all know why you're here. To retrieve Jemima." Macavity opened.
"I swear by the Everlasting Cat, if you hurt her in the least," Munkustrap stood up, unsheathing his claws. Macavity waved him back to his seat.
"Honestly brother, must everything be fangs and claws between us?" he said with a hurt expression. "While I was going to slaughter you like lambs, I decided a simple trade would suffice."
"What do you want?" Skimbleshanks said, cutting to the chase.
"Munkustrap for Jemima. If you should accept the offer, Jemima and the other five of you will leave without injury. Should you decline, your deaths are assured. Except Munkustrap. He gets to go home and tell the Junkyard why he couldn't save your lives." Macavity said cooly, as if this were an everyday trade. I had to admit, he was almost as good at acting as I was. The Jellicles were seething with barely contained rage. Munkustrap however, was the only one who actually looked like he was thinking the plan over.
"Alright." he said.
"It's been a pleasure doing business with you, brother." Macavity said jovially. "Rose, escort Munkustrap to the prison cell." I nodded before grabbing Munkustrap by the arm and leading him out of the room. He was smart enough to remain quiet, although I could tell that he was furious. Taking him down stairs, I shut him in the damp cell. It had stone walls, as did the entire basement, and once I shut the door, I knew I had left Munkustrap in absolute darkness that no Jellicle could see in. I came back up to the main level, just in time to see the tail of the last Jellicle leave. Settling down to take a nap, I began to prepare for tomorrow's fight. I went over what I knew of Macavity's fighting tactics from our sparring session. But, there is a difference between fighting with fists, and fighting with claws.
I was awoken in the middle of the night by a cat running into Macavity's office. A few minutes later, my name was announced on the P.A. unit.
"Rose, get to my office." Macavity's voice crackled on the intercom. I obediently entered, and noticed a rather large file sitting on his desk.
"So, you're the one the call the Black Rose?" Macavity said. I frowned. How could he have known?