The Beauty Underneath

Chapter 2 – So Strange Yet Beautiful

(A/N: I got reviews! Woop woop! So yeah, there's been some confusion about the last line. Basically, when I said Macavity chose the latter it meant that he chose the last option mentioned. Hope that's all cleared up~)

He had to take a moment. He slipped behind an alley, and leant against the wall, taking a while to regain a normal breathing pace. Okay, he thought to himself, his brow furrowed as he scratched the back of his neck. She didn't seem any older than sixteen but not younger than thirteen. Was I with Demeter around that time? He thought back, his head hurting because of the rapid speed of his thoughts. Demeter left me… sixteen years ago.

This was too much, Macavity never thought of himself a father…. The very word made his skin crawl as a bitter taste arose in his mouth. He didn't want a kid! He was still pretty young, he felt as though his whole life was ahead of him and now he'd have to go through that life knowing there was a stupid girl he'd possibly fathered.

But then he thought of her beauty, of her eyes, her lips… He didn't want anything to happen to her, he wanted to snap any boys neck if they looked at her, he wanted to watch her grow into a gorgeous queen like her mother.

He shook his head as questions about the girl revolved around his mind. Is she a dancer like her Mother? How old is she exactly? Would she want a father like me? Am I her father? Does she know about me? Does she see things like I do?

Macavity had to find out. At least if she wasn't he'd be able to go about life without her face in the back of his mind and if she was…

He stopped his thoughts in his tracks. What would he do if she were his? Would he take on the role of a full time father? He sighed. The truth was, Macavity wasn't sure what he'd do either way. He just had to know.

"Why was he looking at me so weird? You know, but you're not telling me. I'm older now; I'm not some frail thing you have to protect from the truth. Why did he even look at me?"

"Jemima. Get to bed."

"But I deserve to…"
"Bed."

And that was the end of the so called 'argument' Jemima had with her Father that night. She wasn't stupid. She saw the mad man stare at her before he disappeared and she had to admit she was terrified. If Macavity went as far to even look at you then you ran far away. He was a frightening tom. She knew why Demeter was so skittish, why Munkustrap was so uptight and why Bombalurina was as protective over Demeter as Skimbleshanks was over Jemima.

However, as usual, she went to bed without complaint. With a scowl on her face she pulled her blanket up to her chin and glared at the ceiling above her, she knew she wasn't going to sleep because all of her unanswered questions would irritate her until they were answered.

She wasn't prepared for what happened next though. A hand covered her lips and muffled any noise she attempted to make. Despite her struggles, she felt herself get pinned by a much larger frame than her own as two fingers roughly pinched her nose and cut off her airways. The shadow person on top of her took their hand off her mouth and let her breathe before pouring a strange tasting liquid in her mouth and making her swallow it.

Jemima gave one last attempt at screaming but found herself unconscious before she had the chance to even try.

Jemima woke up in a place surrounded with candles. She blinked drowsily as she tried clumsily to get on her feet. After stumbling a bit, she regained balance and took a look around. The room was dimly lit and full of mirrors, candles and lilies. Despite the fact she remembered everything that had happened only a few hours ago, she found the room somewhat… relaxing.

She circled the area a few times before taking a seat on a chair placed in the corner. As soon as she did, she felt goose bumps rise on her body. Jemima shuddered slightly and wrapped her arms around herself. After a few almost awkward moments, strangely enticing music hit her ears and she almost fell back off her chair by the impact.

A mans voice echoed around the room, his tone and words smooth like silk but with a sharp edge to it. She closed her eyes and inhaled as his voice enticed her into relaxing.

"Have you ever yearned to go, past the world you think you know? Been in thrall to the call of the beauty underneath?"

Jemima circled the room in an attempt to find the source of the voice, she had never been touched by song this much since Grizabella had sang of her experiences. Then however, she didn't empathize with the singer, she simply felt sympathetic. Now, it was like the male singing was looking through a window straight into Jemima's own head. It was frightening but at the same time it was… Indescribable.

"Have you let it draw you in, past the place where dreams begin? Felt the full breathless pull of the beauty underneath?"

A figure appeared seemingly inside of the glass of a grand mirror raised on a platform, she couldn't see the singers face as they were covered by a veil or cloak of some sort. However, as soon as it came into Jemima's line of vision she took a few hurried steps towards it before stopping. It was as if after her few first steps her legs refused to go closer to the figure, be it human instinct or just sheer shock, she remained there and kept her eyes on the singer.

"When the dark unfolds its wings, do you sense the strangest things? Things no-one would ever guess? Things mere words cannot express?"

Jemima took a deep breath, her smile stretching broadly across her face and closed her eyes as she finally replied to the cloaked figure.

"Yes."

Skimbleshanks had just gone to check on her as he always did before he and Jenny went to bed, when he noticed that she wasn't there he knew straight away what had happened and he left the room, gravely telling his mate what had happened. Jennyanydots clapped her hand to her lips as tears rolled down her cheeks, her expression could only be described as anguished and Skimbleshanks automatically regretted not taking more precautions with their youngest daughter.

They knew what to do. They left the den and went to Demeter and Munkustrap. The two had moved in together after the ball when they finally came out publicly that they were going to get mated.

"We need to talk to you two, its urgent."

Demeter groaned and there was a lot of muttering before Munkustrap finally surfaced drowsily. He stretched and yawned before placing an almost professional smile on his face,

"Skimble, Jenny… What's the matter?" he said, his voice thick with sleep. Skimbleshanks courteously shook off the fact Munkustrap had not yet sensed the seriousness of the situation and just plunged in.

"We need to speak to Demeter too. Its Jemima, he's taken her."

Munkustrap's face turned a ghastly shade of white and his gentle eyes widened. He abandoned his usual calm exterior and punched the old tire next to them with clearly illustrated anger and then raked his hands through his head fur.

"That bastard…" he murmured. Usually, Jenny would have scalded him for cursing so bluntly but it was clear to everyone that Munkustrap saw Jemima very highly as he was always watching her closely, almost acting like a second father. He sighed and looked at the entrance of his den where Demeter lay, he thought for a while and then murmured, "Do you think he worked it out?" Skimbleshanks nodded once and the golden queen dashed out of her den after obviously eavesdropping.

"I gave up my baby girl, I gave her to you expecting you to make sure you kept her far away from him. I steered clear of her since she was born so he'd have no suspicions, I specifically asked you to keep her out of his sight and now she's gone. Macavity's taken my baby and none of you have done anything yet!"

"Demeter please understand…"

"I understand perfectly," she exploded, her body shaking feverishly, "I understand that Jemima, whom I left in your care, is gone. You can say whatever you want about Macavity but I know better than anyone else that he's one of the most charming toms there's ever been. He could be doing anything to her right now and you'd all prefer to stand around and talk about it. Go and find my baby!" Tears of anger and pure anguish rolled down the queen's cheeks, Munkustrap put his arm around his mate.

"We'll do everything we can, Deme."

"Do better," she retorted sharply. Jennyanydots shook her head and grabbed the younger's forearms before saying,

"I agree with you completely Demeter, but you really need to stop shouting. Come with me, I'll take you around to Bombalurina's and you can stay there the night while the toms think of a plan. If we burst in on him, he might do something to her, something worse than we imagined.