Part 30: How Interesting...
The day came faster than Kat would have liked. One moment, Chat Noir was making puns and the next, Kat was in the apartment on the top floor of the bookshop. The apartment had a small living room, a bathroom at the end of a hallway, and two bedrooms, each on either side of the bathroom. It also had a small kitchen with a bar counter that served as a dining table. Kat sat on one side while Cicily prepared lunch for the both of them.
"So, Miss Kat, where are you from?"
"A long ways away." A glum note came through her voice. Kat couldn't help but picture her little brothers. And then her dad.
"That isn't vague at all," Cicily said sarcastically. A faint smile graced her lips as Kat broke out of her thoughts.
"Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to...nevermind." Usually the urge to give a lengthy apology was overwhelming, but today she felt too drained.
"What were you thinking about?" Cicily asked.
"Nothing." Kat shook her head. "Just…nothing."
"You know, I've found that 'nothing' can mean an awful lot."
This wasn't fair! Kat wanted so badly to talk about everything that had happened, everything that didn't happen, the pain in her heart, the bruises on her arms from where she had landed the day before. Now, Kat had someone to talk to. But would it even matter? She doubted it. As soon as she did talk, the universe or the magic or whatever it was would probably take her away again.
A knock came from the door. Cicily pursed her lips.
"This is not a part of the shop!" She said loudly enough to be heard through the door. "If you have questions, ask my cashier!"
"Is that any way to greet an old friend?" A deep voice, slightly muffled by the wood, answered. Cicily's eyes widened.
"Go to a room, doesn't matter which," she whispered frantically. "Hide, quickly."
Kat eyed her suspiciously, but complied. What kind of person was Cicily? What kind of person was behind the door? Maybe Cicily was part of the mob. Suddenly, she felt a little better about not telling Cicily anything. Kat slid under a bed just as the door opened. Heavy sounding footsteps filled the tense silence.
"What are you doing here, Ambrosi? I thought I told you to leave me alone."
"You did, and I would very much like to. But I believe you've just found one of Medea's play things."
"I did not. Besides, neither of us know who those people were. Or are. Or...whatever! Just get out. Leave me alone."
"Cece, you know I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't important."
"Don't call me Cece. Just stay away."
A sigh.
"Cicily, what if I told you…" The man trailed off. "What if...I...may have found one of the others? A boy."
Cicily gasped.
"You found one? Are you going to tell Medea?"
"Not if I can help it, but if she comes asking for him, I don't think I can hold her off. Not alone, at any rate."
"Fine. If she comes for him, call me and I'll be there. But otherwise, leave me alone."
"Cicily, if you have one of them-"
"If I had one of them, we would need to keep them apart at all costs. We don't know what would happen if they came into contact with one another. You saw what happened when just one of them used their power."
"I know. And...I'm sorry for intruding. I shouldn't have. Sorry."
The door closed so softly that Kat wasn't sure it had closed at all. She peaked under the floral bedspread that hung off the side of the bed. Cicily stood in the doorway, a worried expression on her face.
"K-kat?"
Kat crawled out from her hiding spot. Questions swirled through her mind.
"I'm sorry if that scared you. Ambrosi isn't actually that scary himself, but I still didn't want him to see you. Especially if he has one of Medea's playthings," Cicily added in a mutter.
"Who is Medea?" Kat asked.
Several emotions crossed Cicily's face, too quickly for Kat to recognize any of them.
"Let's...put a pin in that for now." Her expression brightened. "How about we get you registered for school? What grade are you in? We should probably come up with a realistic story about how you came to be in my care."
"But-" Kat wanted answers so badly, especially about who the boy was. She shook her head. Cicily probably wouldn't answer. "All right. Let's get me registered."
Cicily let out a breath. "Oh, thank goodness. I was thinking we could say that you're my niece from the States. You've been homeschooled your whole life, so you don't have any school transcripts. I don't know what to do about your citizenship, though."
"What do you actually know about me?" Kat asked. "There was that whole conversation with that man, and now you're sticking as close to the truth as possible. It's like you already know me."
"Er, well, I mean...I don't know anything about you! I was just...making this up as I go along." Cicily's voice raised in tone until the last part of her sentence sounded like a question.
"No, you're not. But I guess...I won't ask any more questions. For now. I would like to know one thing, though." Kat took a breath. "And I would very much like you to give me an answer."
"All right. If it's something I can answer, then sure."
"What are you? From the conversation with that man, I sort of figured you're not quite human. Or if you are, you know someone who's not."
"I'm afraid I won't be answering that, but...you're smarter than you seem, Kat." Cicily nodded to herself. "That's good."
Hello my wonderful readers! This part was really fun to write. I have finally come up with a way to explore Kat's story more fully. I've got some new characters, as you may have noticed, and I'm excited to use them more. Stay tuned!