Ok, I know I said that I wouldn't do this, but I'm just making a quick point: Bleach was invented 5000 years ago (look it up!) This does have some relevance to the story. Ok, bye now.
I woke up in the morning when a bird trilled directly above me. I considered rushing up the trunk of the tree and eating him for waking me up (I'm not much of a morning person), but then I realized I had slept all night by a tree, that I wasn't in Ashkyla's room, that I was lying in her lap, and that she was completely dirty. And, more importantly, that I was completely dirty. Or, if not completely dirty, at least not my usual spotlessly clean. I leaped away and began to wash myself, as the human next to us woke up. She yawned, blinking in the early morning sunlight, and looked around. Noticing me, she gave a little start, then blinked suddenly and laughed. Personally I didn't find the current situation funny, especially considering the glob of sap pulling the hair on my back leg into ugly little spikes. Shaking her head, she turned back to me.
"Hello kitty. Can I wake your mistress now?" She smiled, and I remembered her. Right before I had fallen asleep, she had tried to wake up my princess, but she had veered away at my powerful unnerving stare. That works every time, and Ashkyla had been through too much to have her sleep disrupted just then. But this time I simply ignored her, and continued to work at the yucky sap as she gently tapped my princess on the shoulder.
Ashkyla woke with a start, her eyes wide. Forgetting my bad-fur day, I walked over to her, confused to see surprise printed so vividly on her face. Her eyes went wider as she realized where she was and she took a deep breath, as if trying to center herself, then said in a small, shaken voice, "Kady?"
"You know my name?" Kady looked surprised as well, and then a bit amused. "I've seen you at you're window often, but I never thought you knew who I was."
"You saw me? I thought I was so inconspicuous." She stretched and looked around a little. "But that's not important right now. Why are you out here?" She reached out and rubbed my head absentmindedly, almost as if we weren't under a tree in the middle of a meadow. Her hand even unconsciously reached for the arm of her throne, eventually finding a large root.
Kady seemed temporarily taken aback at the princess's nonchalance, and launched into speech. "I… I was running away from… whatever happened. I'm still confused. I climbed up the tree when I saw someone behind me, and then it turned out to be you. I suppose I really should be asking about why you're here." Kady settled against the tree next to her, and looked at Ashkyla expectantly. As an afterthought, she said, "Your Highness."
Ashkyla shook her head slowly. "Not anymore. My father and mother are dead." She stopped and closed her eyes, breathing in and out slowly until she could go on. "And I barely escaped with my life. The King of Nirdan has taken my kingdom, and I have nowhere to turn." Then, slowly, she began to explain what had happened, from when she had overheard her father at the dinner table, to when she had fled from the castle. I could see that she was holding back tears at some parts, and at the end she gasped and let the tears trail down her face. "I… I though I had… cried myself… out… last night."
Kady patted her awkwardly, and Ashkyla buried her head in the other girl's shoulder, shaking slightly, but not making any noise. When she finally stopped, Kady held her and arms length and looked her in the eye. "We will get your kingdom back. King Gandon is not the true king. But you are the true princess." The words seemed to pop from her mouth, and even she looked slightly surprised at what she had said.
Ashkyla shook her head again. "There is no way. Any of the guards who drank the wine are dead, and the rest of our army is small and inexperienced, most likely already being defeated by Nirdanese forces. If he finds out I am alive, he will kill me, and if he didn't fall for my trick he may already be after me. It's hopeless." Her mask was beginning to work its way back into control, and suddenly there was the princess again, dirty and tear-streaked, but royal in that quiet way.
Kady tried to smile. "No, it's not hopeless. The people won't like how King Gandon took the throne. They prospered under your father. They will stand behind you when they find out that you aren't dead. We will fight back."
The princess smiled at Kady's hopeful tones, but her eyes were grim. "The king can hardly let word get out that he out-right murdered my father. He will send some lie out among everyone, most likely making my family look awful. If he's clever enough to overtake my country within one night, he will be clever enough to convince the people that they are better off with him than my father. And how are a whole bunch of bakers and maids going to face the king's army." For a moment her eyes cleared, and a small smile spread across her face at the picture.
Kady seemed a bit irked at her amusement, but was apparently determined to stay on her train of thought. "Not everyone will believe the king's words, especially if we spread the truth. And there are many ways in which servants can face an army. You are too much of a pessimist. You will see." Kady brightened a little, and began to get up as if she had made up her mind. "But come. We can do nothing sitting under this tree, waiting for King Gandon's army to find you."
Ashkyla got up and stretched out her cramped legs. Beneath her, crushed, was her journal, obviously forgotten. She still didn't notice it and she followed Kady back toward the city. Must I do everything for her? I picked it up in my teeth and followed them as quickly as I could, finally rubbing against her leg to get her attention. She looked down from her conversation, and took the journal from me, smiling in gratitude, and gripping it tight.
"Where are we going?" She asked, ignoring Kady's questioning glance at the journal.
"To my aunt's house. I'm hoping she will give you shelter, for at least a little while. Until I can find out what's going on at the castle. Her house is around here somewhere, near to the meadow." We had reached the houses, and Kady led us into the shadows, whispering.
Ashkyla stopped and listened for a moment, then followed Kady quickly, glancing around every once in a while. She reminded me of a mouse, scurrying through the shadows. Whenever we reached a corner, Kady would stop and listen too, then look around and beckon Ashkyla forward. Soon we stopped and went up to the door of a house much, muchsmaller that the castle, but about the same size as the ones around it. There was a sort-of small garden in front, with some flowers and a bird bath. I liked the house immediately for the bird bath, although there weren't any birds in it at that moment.
Kady knocked, and a tall woman with an apron on opened the door, staring at us in surprise. Well… staring at Kady and my princess was more like it, I don't think she particularly noticed me because after asking them to come in, she almost closed the door on my tail (second time in the past day!).
"Kady! Why are you here? Is there something wrong with your father? Who is this with…" She stopped talking, having looked straight at Ashkyla for the first time, and gawked, then hastily curtsied. "Your… your highness! What a pleasure to welcome you to my humble abode."
Ashkyla smiled and put her hand on the woman's arm, pulling her up. "I'm no longer a princess, but thank you for your hospitality. I know our presence will need explaining, and it's a rather long story even we don't know the end of. Do you have anywhere we can sit?" She had turned from a rodent to royalty in a moment.
"Well… you can come and sit in the kitchen, although you will have to mind the mess. I was in the middle of cooking breakfast, you see." She led us through a door to her right into a small, warm room with lots of pots and pans and food hanging in the corners. There was a small table in the middle, with lots of chairs around it and a jug in the middle, next to some flowers in a tall, thin cup. I think they're called vases, except this one was much smaller than the ones at the palace.
Kady grinned at her aunt's reaction. "Well, Princess Ashkyla, I would like to introduce you to my Aunt Winny. Aunt Winny, Ashkyla."
Winny turned around with her hand to her mouth. "Oh dear, I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. Please, sit down." She took a seat at one side of the table, and the two girls sat down facing her.
Kady drew a breath. "I'll begin. I haven't explained it all to either of you, so I supposed I should start. Father and I were leaving the kitchen last night, when we heard the guards… talking… about something, some signal, and the whole thing just didn't make sense, but we knew something awful, something underhanded, was happening. We surmised that King Gandon had something to do with it, and then Father told me to go, to run out through the kitchen. I didn't mean to exactly, but when the yelling began, chaos reigned and I was eventually pushed out, running. I saw someone behind me, coming the same way, and thought they were chasing me. I ran faster, and climbed the tree in the meadow, and when Ashkyla came into view, I realized it had been her. I went down out of the tree and lay down on the trunk next to her, and slept until this morning when I woke up the princess, then we came here, and so far that's it." She made a casual half-shrug, as if she had only been describing her trip to the market, and turned to Ashkyla. "Your turn."
"My father and King Gandon were talking… about me, at dinnertime. I was afraid they were arranging some awful marriage for me, so I left dinner early and went up to my room to change into these clothes as a disguise. Then I went downstairs to where the two kings would meet, and saw…" She only paused for a moment this time. "King Gandon's soldiers leapt from hiding spots around the room and then King Gandon killed my father. I ran up to my room, and behind me a guard ran out and shouted to the other guards to attack now. My maid came up with the idea to throw my gown out the window as if I had jumped, and I escaped through a secret passage way until I came out in the gardens. I heard a scream, I know it was my mother's, and I began to run blindly until I eventually came to where Kady found me. The rest you know. But now, neither of us have any clue as to what is happening back at the castle." Ashkyla had sped through her account, and now she stopped and looked at Winny. "I'm sorry; this must be a lot for you. I should have explained more slowly. But the outcome is that I am no longer the future ruler, and that I am worse off all of a sudden than the poorest beggar." Once again, she had to take a deep breath.
Winny had been staring into space, like a cat, facing the window. Finally she turned back to us (I had rested my back feet on Ashkyla's lap and my front feet on the top of the table so I could see) and said something she should have said at the very beginning. "You have a cat?" Well, it came out slightly hoarse, and didn't make up for missing the obvious fact before, but at least she had noticed me.
Kady struggled to keep a straight face, although I didn't find it very funny, and broke the momentary silence. "You didn't know? She's legendary at the castle." This made up for it, I suppose, being called legendary.
"No, not really. I mean, I heard once in passing that you had a cat, but I suppose…" Winny sighed and stood up. "Your cat isn't the issue here." Well, so much for that. I'm not sure if I like this Winny person. "What is the issue is how we are going to deal with this. If they suspect that you're still alive, I'm sure the King will be looking for you… And they'll probably be expecting you to try and leave the city, so the best thing to do would be if you stayed here. I suppose you could sleep in the boys' room until they return from Loring. We are moving, you see, and my husband and our sons went to look at the house, and perhaps make a few changes. Then they will come back to move everything. They left just yesterday. They won't be back for two weeks, so you can stay here until then." She had begun to pace a little, as if working everything out in her head.
Kady stepped on Ashkyla's foot as she attempted to rise, obviously predicting a polite refusal. "Thank you Aunt Winny. Now all we have to do is figure out how to get the country back." Kady smiled jokingly. "I'll go back to the castle soon. I can find out what has happened, and I'm sure father is wondering about me." A worried expression wormed its way into her face all of a sudden. "But first, let's figure out how we're going to hide the princess. If King Gandon fell for your trick, you can most likely escape notice by simply staying out of sight, but you can only stay here for a week or two. So we'll have to disguise you, in a more permanent way than this uniform." Kady gestured at the dirty, crumpled, and torn tunic, which now seemed even less disguising than it had last night. "It would most likely be most discreet to dress you up as a commoner; after all they are looking for a princess."
Ashkyla stood up now, meaning I ended up having to jump onto the table at the last minute or fall embarrassingly to the ground. She looked around, almost indignant. "Wait. I'd like to thank you Winny for your hospitality, and I really hope I won't be an inconvenience. And I'd like to thank you Kady for helping me so much so far. But you're treating me like I can't do anything for myself. I may be a princess, but I'm not helpless. If you'd just let me … I can… There's no reason to…" She puttered out, at a loss as to what to say in the situation. I thought she deserved it, after forgetting me on her lap.
Kady smiled and continued talking as if nothing had happened, while Ashkyla floundered around for someway to regain her regal air. "Now, your hair could be a problem. It's very distinctive. So…we're going to have to cut it." She quirked her mouth apologetically. Noble girls weren't supposed to cut their hair until they were officially women. It was supposed to show innocence or something. Many noble women kept their long hair to put up in intricate hair dos. I suppose Ashkyla had never really though about not having long hair before. She looked slightly taken aback at the idea, then slowly nodded.
"I suppose I may… have to disguise… the color, too." She tried to keep her cool, continuing the thread of thought. "My mother uses… used dyes in her hair. Perhaps we can get some dye."
Kady shook her head, "Hair dyes are… rather expensive."
"But maybe… would blanch lighten hair?" Winny went to her cupboard and pulled out a large jar of something. I've heard people talk about blanch before, mainly the maids. I guess it whitens things, but I'm not sure what.
"Isn't that for laundry?" Ashkyla frowned a little. Ah. So that's what it does. Well, I wouldn't want laundry liquids in my fur, and I suppose she felt the same way.
"Well… yes. But we can test it on the hair we've cut off, and dilute it with some water. It should be fine." Kady tried to look reassuring. "Where are the scissors, anyway?"
"We can't just cut her hair, just like that. We have to wash it and comb it first." Winny picked up a basin from beneath a counter and poured water from a bucket into it. Then she put it on the table and left the room, coming back a moment later with a towel and a comb. She turned a chair against the table, with the back next to the basin, and turned to back to us, who were watching her bustle around creating the instant hair station as if she did it every day. "Now, your highness, lower your hair into the water. It seems all tangled and dirty now. We can hardly just cut it." She said it again, as if a private joke.
I dipped my paw into the water and withdrew it quickly. It was cold. Well, at least it was cold for something humans were expected to use. In my experience, they always warmed the water before Ashkyla got in. She sat down in the chair and dropped the ends of her hair into the basin, then lowered her head slowly. As it came into contact with the water she gasped, but continued going down until only her face was out of the water, and her hair swirled beneath it.
"Now lift your head up." Winny placed the towel out behind the basin, and stretched Ashkyla's hair out onto it as she came up, first squeezing the water back into the basin. "Kady, can you move the basin? Thank you dear. Now pass me that comb. Put your head down on the table, my lady."
I watched these actions with interest. It was like they were doing a dance, each step being careful and precise and planned out. Now Ashkyla was leaning back onto the table, looking rather uncomfortable, her long hair stretched out until almost the opposite edge. Slowly, Winny began to comb out her hair. It most likely wasn't too bad, considering how long I had sat through it being combed out last night, but there were dead leaves and twigs in it now that certainly hadn't been there before. Soon, however, the towel was covered in slightly curled strands of long, glistening black hair and there was a small pile of tree-bits next to the cloth.
"Now stand up dear. Slowly! Alright, sit down again." Winny moved the chair away from the table so the back faced the main space and draped the towel down the back so the bottom of it nearly reached the floor.
I was sorely tempted to jump down to the floor and swat at it, but I doubted anyone would really appreciate it. Winny had reached into a drawer and was taking out what looked like two knives attached to each other. I supposed that they were going to be used to cut Ashkyla's hair. Winny left the room again and came back with a large rag, which she put under the towel, which I didn't understand until she began to cut the hair and collected it in the cloth.
But that didn't happen for a few moments. First, Winny ran the comb through Ashkyla's hair again, as if stalling, then moved her hand up and down her hair, trying to find a good spot to cut, it seemed.
Winny moved her hand down a little. Finally satisfied, she dropped her hand, but kept her eyes locked on the spot and reached for the knives. Then slowly, slowly she closed the two blades over the edge of the long black cascade and strand by strand, a wispy dark circle formed on the rag. The two blades clicked together, and we all heard Ashkyla gasp slightly. Then they were open again and cut through a second swathe. For the final time they opened and closed, and we all waited as Ashkyla sat up and turned her head.
"Somehow, that managed to be one of the most dramatic experiences in my entire life." There was a moment of silence, and then the three humans burst out laughing. I didn't see what was so funny. I will never understand humans.
Kady picked up the rag with the hair in it and took it over to the counter as Ashkyla swayed her head around and ran her fingers through her hair, getting used to it. I thought she looked strange, as her hair fell in a completely different way now, but I suppose that was just because cats are observant. I doubt the humans would feel similarly.
"You look so different… it's a good thing!" Kady circled Ashkyla, considering the new state of her hair. "But we still have plenty left to do."
Winny had taken out a little clay bowl. She dipped it into the basin, which was still full of water, and then filled it the rest of the way with thick white powder from the jar of blanch. Then she took one of the twigs from Ashkyla's hair pile and laughingly used it to stir the contents of the owl. Taking a clump of hair from the rag, she spread a layer of the mixture carefully on top, then put it in the sun.
"It may take a while affect the hair. While we wait, I suggest we move on to clothes." Winny turned around and shook her head with a similar air to her reaction to just cutting the hair. "I don't know how you came to have that uniform, but it is much too big for you and now it's dirty and torn. We'll have to find something else for you to wear. I have some old dresses I could take in, I suppose."
"For the time being, it might be easier if she just borrowed some of my clothes. We're about the same size, well I might be a little taller, but it won't matter much." Kady cut in quickly, with a glance at her aunt. She was wearing what looked to me like a curtain which she had rapped around herself then sowed that way. And even I, as a cat without the whimsies humans do about the cloth they insist on putting about their bodies, could tell that it was rather ugly, and looked nearly specifically chosen to make her curly, tree-brown hair look bad. At least compared to what I had seen in the palace, which I suppose isn't really a good comparison.
"But if I wear something of yours, won't people recognize it? I couldn't be seen wearing someone else's clothes, it would seem strange." Ashkyla said with a thoughtful air.
Kady shook her head, with an amused look on her face. "No one notices clothes in the Servant's quarters, everyone is too busy. It will be fine. But I can't get my clothes until I go to the castle. And I want to finish on you before that."
"Well, what's left? We've done all of me that could really be noticed- all of me that we can change at least." Ashkyla stopped talking and bit her lip a little, the same expression I saw her use with her tutor sometimes, when she was trying to think of an elusive answer. "Oh! My name! My story. Who I am."
"Before that… you're skin. It's too… fine, too pampered. We can off set that by getting your face dirty, at least for the time being." Kady walked over to the kitchen's hearth, where the ashes from a previous fire lay. She picked up a long piece of charcoal, which she handed to Ashkyla. "Rub it on your skin a little."
She took it reluctantly, and began to lightly rub it on her skin. Well, it was more a touch it to her skin than a rub. I knew Ashkyla was sensitive about the condition of her skin. She never got the red bumps I saw on other's faces, and whenever she cried she made pains not to appear blotchy. She never let herself stay out in the sun long enough to sunburn, as her father did, but did go out a little to darken her skin color slightly. She calls it a tan. I don't understand why humans need their skin to be the exact right color. Cats have all sorts of different fur colors, and they are all -well, most of them- are fine. Some are nicer than others, like mine, but no one tries to change their fur. And we can't even see out skin, so I suppose it must be different for humans, with no fur. I really do pity them.
Kady looked almost amused, but she sighed exasperatedly. "You have to rub harder." As Ashkyla increased the pressure only slightly, Kady reached forward. "Here, I'll do it- oh. Oh my. I can't believe we missed this." Kady's hand had brushed against Ashkyla's finger, the one with the ring on it. She seemed really taken aback at the sight. I didn't think it was so extraordinary. I thought it was boring. It was much less extravagant than most of the jewelry Ashkyla owned. It was a simple gold band with a small stone set in it and some carvings. She said it was really old and a huge tradition, but I didn't see anything amazing about the ring. It must be a human thing.
Ashkyla gasped too and stared at the ring, hesitating. "I can't take off the ring! It's a symbol. Not one I really appreciated until this moment, but a symbol all the same."
Taking advantage of her momentary horror, Kady grabbed the charcoal and rubbed it enough to evoke a un-princess-like yelp from Ashkyla and create a black shadow across her skin. "There, you see. Well, you can't see, but you'll just have to trust me that it looks much better."
The princess, now looking less and less like the royal I knew, glared reproachfully at Kady, then sighed and rearranged her face back into its normal, calm expression. "I suppose it had to be done, but that was worse than my hair. And what am I supposed to do with my ring? I can't keep it with me, in case someone finds it, but I can't get rid of it. And it's a pretty boring ring, not very noticeable."
Winny, while the girls were wrestling with the charcoal, had been getting out bread and cheese. Now she offered both girls a slice of bread with cheese on top while she gave me a piece of cold beef. It was a little salty, something I've never understood about humans either, why they always have to add strange flavors to things. But I was hungry, and hadn't had a chance to try my paw at chasing mice. There were a few at the palace, but they were small and quick and usually finished off by the kitchen cats before I could get at them, but I had chased one all the way through the gardens once before it escaped through a crack in a hedge.
"I've suddenly realized the last thing we need to do before the princess is properly disguised." Winny waited for the two girls to finish chewing, as if she wanted their full attention, before she announced: "A story. A background. A name, most of all."
Ashkyla smiled and resisted informing her that they had already realized it. Winny had said it so dramatically that it sounded like a song. And Ashkyla had visibly brightened at the thought of a new name. She had complained to me once of how her own sounded. She explained that she was named through some tradition or other, but it sounded like she hated this tradition as much as the rest. She had spent the rest of that afternoon saying her name different ways until she found a way she could say it in her head without flinching. I could tell she was imagining sweeping, glorious names in her head right now. She opened her mouth to suggest something when Kady cut in.
"You do realize that has to be a simple, commoner's name. It shouldn't have more than two syllables, maybe three if it's very short. But that might draw attention to you, so-" Kady was cut off too.
"Lara!" Ashkyla proclaimed triumphantly. She waved her hands around as if to emphasize her brilliance. Well, at least that's why I would wave my hands around if I were her… and had hands. And she deserves it, I suppose. Lara is a nice name, and she sort of looks like the name. Humans have a strange way of looking like what they are called. Many humans wouldn't be even slightly able to be named most things, and so are generally stuck with whatever name they have. It's a sad fate for anyone, even humans, who generally don't notice most of their sad fates (like not having a tail). Cats, however, simply look like themselves, and we can be called almost any human name. Then again most human names are silly, except of course for mine.
Kady almost jumped at the sudden shout from the previously subdued princess, then smiled approvingly. "Lara works. It's pretty. You can be… my cousin Lara. No, you're my father's sister's husband's cousin's daughter." She gestured at each word. "Sort of a … second cousin-in-law, I suppose. That's confusing enough to explain most things away."
Winny clapped her hands slightly, the look on her face broadening to one of great enjoyment. "You could have come looking for a job, and you can be from Loring. My husband has relatives there, who he's staying with now, so it has a base in truth. Although it might be a problem if anyone were to be asked about you… but we can only hope that you'll be able to blend in. Oh, this is fun, making up stories." From her tone, I could tell that she would be purring if she were a cat.
Kady shook her head absently, but was obviously thinking again. "I think we've covered everything. I guess I should go now. I can only hope…" She sighed deeply and gazed into the sir in the direction of the castle, as if she could see it through the wall.
"I'm sure your father is all right. He sounds sensible. I'm sure he managed to get out of the way before… before… whatever it is." Ashkyla squeezed Kady's hand reassuringly, as if her own father wasn't only a few hours' dead.
Kady lifted the corner of her mouth in a smile as if to say thanks, and it was as if an invisible thread appeared between the two of them. A sudden bond of friendship… or a sudden string. I wonder if they'd mind if I played with it. I have a weakness for strings.
Winny came over then and hugged Kady, and Kady smiled a little more, then left. Winny turned to Ashkyla and started talking to herself about where she would sleep. I tuned out the conversation and began washing myself again, because it suddenly occurred to me that I was putting human conversation above the condition of my fur. Winny came back in, apparently having decided on a room and told Ashkyla to come. I decided that I might as well see it if this was going to be my new territory, and followed them into a room a lot smaller than Ashkyla's at the castle, and a lot less decorated. There are two beds, a tiny table between them, and a window. I curled up at the window sill as Ashkyla opened her notebook again. She hadn't as yet really thanked me for retrieving that.