Chapter Seventeen: A Second Chance

Hayley woke up the next day after experiencing her wound on her arm. She had a cast on her arm. She came out of the bedroom while Dawson checked the scratches on my cheeks.

"Ow! That hurts!" I yelped as he put medicine on me.

"Well, hold still then. You'll get infected if we leave those scars open." I heard the bedroom door closed and I turned around. Hayley gawked at the sight of Dawson, and Basil sitting at his desk, smoking his pipe.

"Hayley, you're awake." I said to her. She almost lost her balance.

"This is unbelievable." Came from her.

"I know. Pretty cool, huh?" I asked her. She couldn't believe that she would actually meet Basil and everyone.

"Yeah, if you say so." She chuckled nervously. Ms. Judson came out of the kitchen with a tray of breakfast. She caught sight of Hayley standing in front of the bedroom.

"Oh, my! You poor dear. You didn't have to get out of bed." AL just came out of the kitchen as well. When she did, Ms. Judson handed her the tray and helped Hayley to Basil's red chair. AL stood there with the food, having no idea on what to do.

"Bring the tray over here, dear." Ms. Judson called to AL.

"AL! You're here, too?" Hayley exclaimed. AL giggled.

"Nope, I'm invisible…Yeah, I'm stuck here, too."

"Well, good. I thought you went somewhere else. Your dad and siblings are worried sick about you." Hayley said. That reminds me. I need to ask Hayley how are Mom and Dad.

"Hayley, how's our parents?"

She looked at me. "Not too good. In fact, after I had my hair appointment, Mom and Dad were dozing off. I had to tell Dad a couple of times to stay focused. I can't blame them, though. They miss you a whole lot."

"And they'll start missing both of us. Please, Hayley. Continue."

"Well, while we had dinner, Mom began to hear something. We thought it was the dogs, but it grew louder. It sounded like whirring. I got up, but Dad told me to sit down. He looked around the living room to see where it was coming from. Next thing I knew, someone grabbed me out of nowhere. Mom and Dad turned to look at me as I screamed. Then, everything went black, only to see that somebody smiling evilly at me with a cigar in his mouth."

"Theodore." I muttered under my breath.

"That stupid chipmunk. K.P., are we ever gonna get out of here?" AL asked me. I smiled.

"This time, I'm sure." AL's eyes widen. I guess she wasn't expecting that answer, especially Hayley.

"Really? How do you know for sure?" Hayley asked. That's when Basil turned his chair around.

"This is going to be hard to explain, but you need to trust your sister, Miss Hayley." She looked at him, and then to me.

"What does that mean?" And so, I told them. I told them everything of how Ratigan turned a new leaf. They looked at me astounded.

"That's hard to believe." Hayley said when I was done.

"Chunky legs turned good? Well then, who's the bad guy in this movie?" AL said.

"This isn't a movie, AL. It's for real. I saw it in his eyes. He even cried."

"What! Are you serious?" Hayley exclaimed while eating her breakfast she was given.

"Chunky legs cried?! Then, what were those scratches?" AL asked. I touched my cheek.

"He was going through a hard time of acceptance. I guess what made him stop was that of me giving him a brotherly love." Hayley put her fork down on her plate.

"So, does that mean he'll be a nice guy, and that we have to be nice to him?"

"It'll be hard to get use to the new Ratigan, but to my opinion, I think you'll like him." They both sighed.

"Okay, I'll give him a chance." Hayley smiled.

"But, if he hurts you again, man, I'm gonna kick him where it hurts!" AL cried out. I laughed. So did everyone else.

"But, I'm afraid six witnesses aren't enough evidence to prove his change." Basil lit his pipe again. "If he really means it, he'll have to face the queen. And I will tell you, Ratigan has charges that have held him up for a long time."

"He's right. How in the world are we going to convince Her Majesty to let Ratigan slip by?" Dawson questioned. This is hard. I'm sure he's meaning to change, but he has consequences. So much to pile on.

I clutched my heart necklace tightly. There's got to be a way to convince Mousetoria that Ratigan has changed.

"You still have that brooch the queen gave to you, right?" Basil asked me.

"Yeah, it's in your room." I went back into Basil's room and grabbed the butterfly brooch on the nightstand. I went back to him.

"You'll need to wear it." He said, emptying his pipe. I looked at him funny.

"Why?" I asked.

"To prove you're a friend to the Queen, that's why. That way, you can get in and talk to her."

"But…but I don't know what to say." It's true. I didn't know how to explain that Ratigan's a good guy now.

"Just let your heart do the talking." He smiled. My…heart? I fidgeted my necklace. At that moment, I figured out what he meant.

"I'm…a bit scared." Although I had the words, will I be able to speak them out? Basil pulled me into a hug.

"God will be with you." He whispered softly. He's right. God hasn't left me. He'll give me the courage. I came to think. Did God send me here to purify a wicked man's soul? I wanted to know the answer, but I guess I'll have to find out. Hayley began to snicker.

"What?" I looked at her.

"Can you feel the love ton…"

"SHUT UP!" I burst out. My face turned red. Basil never heard of the song, but he knew where this was going.

"Why does this always happen?" He blushed in embarrassment. Hayley and AL laughed.

"It's love. You can't resist!" AL cried out.

"Sick woman." I muttered under my breath. I turned to Hayley. "As for your information, Basil happens to be our godfather. So, congrats Hayley! You as well have a mouse as a godfather."

Hayley looked shocked. "What?! Since when?! Our parents will flip!"

"I authorized it. He asked me. That's it."

"That's just…weird."

"Get used to it."

"As if!"

I finally ended the argument with a raspberry.

"All right, you two. Good grief. I thought you two get along well." Ms. Judson stepped in.

"We do. We just fight for fun." I said.

"We do?" Hayley replied. I glared at her. She smiled cutely at me. Basil and Dawson chuckled.

"Come on, Kiara. Take my deerstalker." Basil handed his coat to me. I put it on.

"Good luck, sis!" Hayley called out as Basil and I stepped outside. Basil whistled for Toby.

"Break a leg!" AL called out. "But, not really."

"Please, be careful!" Ms. Judson said.

"We wish you the best!" Dawson said. I smiled and gave them a peace sign.

"Just pray for me!" I jumped onto Toby and held onto Basil's waist as we rode towards Buckingham Palace.

We made it to the palace unharmed. I quickly jumped off and ran to the gates.

"Halt!" A guard held up his rifle.

"I must speak to the queen immediately." I told him as I held up the brooch. The guard recognized it, and took me in with Basil following behind me. We were led to her room. The guard knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" I heard the queen's voice inside.

"It's Miss Phoenix and Detective Sherlockson, Your Majesty. Miss Phoenix wishes to speak with you. She says it's urgent." A moment pause.

"Bring her in." She said sweetly. The guard opened the door for us. "So sorry for keeping you waiting. I had to fix my hair." The queen fixed her crown as we walked in. I curtsied and Basil bowed as the guard closed the door. The queen crossed to her small table and sat down. "So, what's all the trouble, dear?" She smiled sweetly. Oh, man. How am I going to say it? I can't get the words out. Basil held my hand. I looked at him and he smiled. I smiled back. I turned to face the queen.

"Your Majesty, yesterday I was abducted by Chippendale." The queen looked at me.

"I see. We just recently discovered he escaped. What happened? Did he hurt you?"

"In a way, yes. He brought my sister into this world and has threatened to kill my family. He nearly killed my sister, but thank God himself she was only wounded." The queen gasped.

"Oh, my goodness. Your sister's here?"

"Yes. And, my life was about to end that night as well. He was about to kill me." I paused, recalling that dreadful night.

"Please continue, Kiara." I inhaled and exhaled.

"Not to be rude, Your Majesty, but I would appreciated if you listen to everything I have to say, and not interrupt." She nodded.

"Go on." Basil squeezed my hand.

"He had the gun pointed right at me. But, at a split second, Ratigan stepped in, and shot Chippendale in the eye. Yes, Ratigan did bust him out, but he didn't like it how he was treating me. That night, Ratigan ordered his lackeys to take me and my sister back to Baker Street." The queen gave a look of confusion. "I know, I was confused, too. You see, Ratigan was in love with me. He would've taken me in his bed that night, but he didn't. He let me go. He had the look of defeat. It was like he couldn't win my love." The queen only nodded, not saying a word. "I had a feeling that he changed somehow. It is strange, but think about it. If he wanted me in the first place, why did he let me go? Why did he give up?" She scratched her chin.

"It is strange. What makes you think he changed?"

"Well, after coming back, I went back to his lair again. He was so messed up. His clothes were torn, and his fur grew darker."

"Oh, my."

"Yes. He was going through a hard stage of accepting the fact that I can't love him the way he loves me. But, I came to think that he wasn't loved right when he was a child. And to my surprise, it's a true fact. His family was discriminated by the civilians of mousedom." She gasped. Obviously, she was surprised.

"I don't believe it! I don't allow those kinds of things in my kingdom!"

"This isn't your fault, Your Majesty. It was the people. They didn't even help him when his parents were killed in a horse cart accident. Back then, he was a little child. He cried for help, but the people only gave him a look of disgust. At that moment, he believed that's how everyone was in London. He started to hate the people, and that's how his criminal age began." The queen got up from her chair and paced around.

"The poor man. I would've never thought he was treated terribly. Discrimination is against my law." I could see in her eyes that she felt pity on Ratigan. "But, he's done too many crimes, and I can't let that slip by. The Parliament would have my head. Add to fact, he did threaten my life and tried to take over the kingdom."

"That's because he wanted to show that his breed are not beasts. He wanted to prove that rats should've been treated equally." She nodded.

"I believe you." I looked to her surprisingly. Surely, she wouldn't.

"You do?" She smiled.

"Of course I do. I could tell in your eyes you were telling the truth. Tell me, were you worried that you couldn't say what you wanted to say?" I nodded. "Then, I believe you. I know you wouldn't lie and betray us. I may not know you well, but from what Basil has told me, you really are a bright and sweet girl, and that you're willingly to sacrifice your life for the ones you love." I was rather happy when she said that. But, something still bothered me.

"But, how will you clear his name now? The Parliament probably won't believe it."

"But, they'll believe you. Basil and I are not the only ones who know about you." She winked. No way! The Parliament knows me? That is so cool! Her Majesty told them about me!

"So, will you give Ratigan a second chance?" I asked.

"Yes, on one condition." She replied.

"What?" I asked again.

"He has to swear never to do crimes again, and that he swears his allegiance to England." I wasn't too sure about the last part, but she added on. "The next person who insults him will have his head." I smiled. Without even thinking, I hugged the queen.

"Oh, thank you, Your Majesty! You don't know how much this means to us!" I exclaimed. The queen laughed as she hugged me back. Basil chuckled.

"Now, dear. Make sure to tell your friend." She winked again.

"I will!" I curtsied and rushed out of the door.

"Kiara, wait!" Basil caught up with me after bowing to the queen. I raced outside and whistled for Toby. "Good lord, Kiara. You run too fast." Basil was out of breath.

"Sorry, but I was so anxious to tell him."

"Baby steps, Kiara. We must not rush." He finally laughed. Toby barked and licked me.

"Come on, Toby! Let's go to the Rat Trap!" I stopped for a moment. I thought about how Basil would react to see the man that killed his wife and daughter. I looked at him. "Basil, you don't have to come."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, you know. It's…"

Basil knew what I about to say. "It's hard for me to forget such a terrible tragedy. And, yes. It'll probably be hard for me to face him again. But, you changed him, Kiara. And, I know for a fact that he will not be the same horrible sewer rat he was." He smiled. I took his hand.

"We have to forgive. Even to the ones who have done the sleaziest. It is hard, but we have to. I forgave him, Basil. He said he was sorry for putting me through a time of suffering. I'm sure he'll ask for forgiveness from you." He smiled and kissed my hand.

"You have turned into the most beautiful white rose ever, Kiara. And I love you for that." He ran his fingers through my hair and kissed it. Toby whined in annoyance. We both laughed.

"Sorry, Toby. Didn't mean to keep you waiting." Basil said. He helped me up and Toby dashed to the Rat Trap. On our way, Basil spoke up.

"By the way, how did you manage to get him out of his crazy mood?"

"Well, it wasn't easy. Maybe it was the question I asked him."

"What was that?"

"I asked him if he enjoyed seeing me suffer when he was on top of me." Basil looked at me in shock.

"On top of you? What was he trying to do?"

I blushed red when I told him. I was really embarrassed to say. Basil's eyes grew wide and his mouth hung open. "He…tried to kiss me."

"…..WHY THAT GOOD FOR NOTHING SON OF A…"

"BASIL!!!!"