Hours later…
The queens had successfully gotten all the other kittens to bed without waking Amolia, who hadn't woken since Bomba put her to bed. Munkustrap was on duty once again so Demeter and Jemima were staying there that night. Before heading to bed themselves, the queens all sat together around the kitchen table and talked in hushed tones.
"So she really thought she'd be punished for being ill?" Jellyorum asked in utter shock.
Demeter nodded "Things like that happen there." She said sadly.
"And in someplace like that, getting sick is not hard to do" Jenny added.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"We can never let him get a hold of her" Bomba said "He'll kill her for sure".
Everyone nodded again. More time passed and the conversation shifted to a less heavier subject before they heard faint rustling and a whimper behind them. They all turned their heads to see Amolia standing in the doorway of the back bedroom, her cheeks wet with tears.
"What's happened darling?" Jellyorum asked.
Bombalurina gave her a knowing look "Nightmare?" she asked
Amolia nodded and ran to The Scarlet queen's open arms.
Bombalurina hugged the kitten tight while she sobbed. All of the other queens watched, impressed by how motherly the flirtatious red queen had become since Amolia came into her life. Sure she had been helping out with and caring for the kittens for some time now, but she always acted more like a babysitter or a camp counselor than a mother. She liked to call herself the cool aunt in reference to her relationship to Jemima. Despite how seeing how upset Amolia was in that moment, Demeter couldn't help but smile a little. When Amolia calmed down enough to talk, the queens began asking questions her about her nightmare.
"It was about about Macavity." This came as a surprise to nobody. "Jemima and me were locked away, where mummy and me used to be, and he said we would never ever be able to come back here again."
Bomba held her tighter and looked to Demeter. She looked alarmed that her daughter was involved in such a nightmare. Bomba placed a comforting paw on her knee in an attempt to reassure her that it was, indeed, just a dream, although she wasn't so sure herself.
Just then a scream rang out from the back bedroom. It was a very distinct scream, especially to Demeter. Without hesitation, she shot up and made a beeline to the back bedroom. Minutes later, she emerged with A very distressed Jemima cradled in her arms. Demeter sat back down at the table next to Bombalurina and Amolia, and began rocking her terrified daughter, hugging her tightly against her body. Amolia, who had started to calm down, started crying all over again upon seeing Jemima so upset. Once again, Bombalurina pulled Amolia tight, and rocked her like Demeter was rocking Jemima. Once Demeter was able to get Jemima calm enough, the queens, once again asked about her dream.
"M m m Macavity" Jemima whimpered
The queens looked around at each other, all of them clearly frightened by the similarity between the two kittens' nightmares.
"Was he after you my love?" Demeter asked gently, lovingly running her paw through Jemima's bedraggled head fur.
The kitten nodded.
"He was saying he was going to take me and Amolia and lock us away so we could never see you or anyone else again."
Her sobs started up again as she plunged her face back into Demeter's chest. Amolia looked up from where she was snuggled up against Bomba and stared at Jemima and then up at Demeter and then Bomba, fear plastered across her face. Her entire body shook. Both queens tried to return her gaze with reassuring ones, but their fear was equally as apparent. Despite being so young, even she knew this couldn't just be an unfortunate coincidence. Macavity was in their head, and those threats were likely not empty ones.
What seemed like hours from then, both kittens were finally lulled back to sleep by Bombalurina and Demeter's soft and soothing voices softly speaking and humming in their ears, while rocking and rubbing the kittens backs. These were calming strategies that Jenny and Jelly had once used on them when they were young.
After they put them back in bed, they returned back to the main room. Demeter had her paw pressed to her forehead, stress and fear in her eyes. Bomba spoke first when the both had sat back down.
"Those weren't just dreams, you guys know that right?" A hint of panic in her voice.
Both Jenny and Jelly shook their heads, not knowing what to think of the situation.
Demeter shook her head too, though a little faster and more frantic. "He's in their head." she choked. She let out a sob,
"He can't take her" she cried "He can't take my baby."
"He won't" Bombalurina said firmly, grabbing Demeter's shoulders. "We will protect them" her voice was low and determined.
Though she wasn't going to openly admit it, the thought of loosing Amolia upset her the same way the thought of loosing Jemima upset Demeter. What upset her more, however, was the thought of Amolia returning to that hell hole, likely to meet a fate a lot like her mother's. Amolia deserved to be a kitten and to be able to play with other kittens without a care or a worry in the world. She deserved to be taken care of when she was ill and have someone make her rest and take medicine even when she didn't want to. Finally, she deserved a home and a family and love. All of these things would never happen for her, should Macavity ever get a hold of her again.
"Tomorrow we should let Munkustrap and the other Toms know, maybe they can come up with ways to strengthen the defense plan, should the he invade again sometime soon." Jenny stated, Jellyorum nodded.
Bombalurina and Demeter agreed too, at a loss of anything else they or any other cat in the tribe could do to prevent the Hidden Paw from attacking the junkyard. Finally, they all bid each other a good night and went to bed. For the time being, everyone was safe at home in the Jellicle Junkyard.