A/N: Yes, I know these updates are taking a long time. I apologize for the wait! So now that Plato and Victoria are separated, does Misto get Vicky and have a happily-ever-after? For those of you who have read my other stories, you know this will definitely not be the case. Not yet, anyway. I suppose you could say the real drama begins now. Enjoy!
Mistoffelees was miserable for days after the argument he had had with Victoria, and his emotions were largely attributed to the white queen-kit's behaviour. She had been informed by her parents that they gave Misto the job of guarding her so she couldn't sneak off with Plato. The black and white tom-kit was doing well in that respect, but as mentioned before, it made him more than unhappy. Since the only thing Vicky wanted to do was get back with Plato, she was acting the opposite of how she usually did: difficult, angry, and rebellious. Her temper easily got the better of her, especially when she was either around Misto or her parents, and the tuxedoed tom-kit didn't know an alternative that could get her mind off of her old tomfriend. He tried Victoria's favourite spell, Aurora's Symphony, but the ivory queen-kit ignored the brilliant ribbons of colour and abstract, lilting music.
One sunny afternoon, about a week after Victoria and her tomfriend were banned from seeing each other, Mistoffelees had had enough of his best friend's impudent, sulking behaviour.
"Vicky, you must stop acting like this. What your father said was final. He's not going to let you get back together with Plato. It's unanimous among the others that Plato's not right for you, so stop acting like this is going to blow over. You're making everyone around you miserable. Where's the cheerful, innocent Vicky that we used to love?" Mistoffelees said sternly to the white queen-kit, who sat on the ground in front of him. They were in a secluded clearing where Misto had just finished practicing magic. He was fully aware that Vicky disliked spending time with him now that they were on bad terms and it wasn't voluntary.
Victoria frowned at the remark and took her time to form an answer. The black and white tom-kit missed her smiles, for they were few and far between now. Vicky laughed mirthlessly and retorted, "That part of me is with Plato. I'm not the same without him." Her stony gaze softened as she continued in a quieter voice, "Do I really have that effect on everyone?" It was obviously meant for herself, but Misto had no trouble catching it.
"Yes," Misto replied with a hint of pleading to his otherwise dull tone, "No one is happy that you've turned into this…this alter ego of yourself. I know you miss Plato, but you have to get over him. Look at what he's doing to you. He's making you into something you're not." Misto thought he was sounding like a broken record player now. He'd been saying the same things to Victoria for the past week and naturally, she refused to listen to his advice.
The white queen-kit sighed sadly. She fiddled with her thumbs for a moment and didn't look up from her paws while she spat, "Then that's all the more proof that I need Plato. Why did Dad have to be so harsh? He knew perfectly well what this would do to me, yet he did it anyway!"
Misto placed a paw on hers, which caused her to glance up into his ochre eyes. "Your father did it to protect you. He didn't do it to spite you; he did it to keep you safe from harm. The truth is you're fine without Plato. You just don't believe you are." He explained gently, eyes holding hers.
Vicky broke eye-contact and folded her forelegs over her chest. "That doesn't mean I won't stop missing him. Of course I've seen Plato around, but it's different between us now. It's more awkward and distant. If only there was some way to go back to the way things were, even momentarily, it would really be a good way to get out of this rut." Her brow creased in thought and she fell silent.
"Don't go plotting things in secret now!" The magical tom-kit chuckled jokingly. The discreet glint that flashed through Victoria's sapphire eyes for a moment didn't go unnoticed by him, but he decided not to press the matter. Victoria knew the consequences of doing anything romantic with Plato, and he highly doubted she was of a mind to go against her father's wishes.
After that conversation, Victoria's mood lightened considerably. For a few hours she was almost back to her old, joyful, bubbly self. Misto spent most of the rest of the afternoon practicing his dancing with her. He had improved a lot since the first lesson in which he could barely do a pirouette. He was now able to do leaps and turns almost as gracefully as Victoria. When they parted to go eat dinner, Misto was convinced that he had made a breakthrough with her and things would only get better from here. He went to sleep in peace for the first time that week rather than being kept awake by worrying about his best friend's state.
During the night, the tuxedoed tom-kit was partially roused from his slumber by the sound of scurrying feet. The sound was light and almost inaudible, so he just assumed that it was a mouse scampering around at the entrance to his den. The sound soon faded and the tired tom-kit went back to sleep.
When Misto saw Victoria the next morning, she looked happier than ever. He thought it was unusual for her to recover practically overnight, but was glad for the change. He hoped it was because of their conversation yesterday afternoon, or perhaps one that she may have had with her mother or father. Nevertheless, the white queen-kit was cheerful and supposedly didn't have a care in the world. Mistoffelees still had a feeling at the back of his mind that something was out of place, though. What would make Vicky so happy that she forgot about her previous predicament with Plato?
Misto decided to ask. When they were alone after their friends had left to go hunt for lunch, he saw his chance. He pulled Victoria aside and inquired, "Vicky, you seem so much more relaxed and happy since yesterday. I'm kind of wondering what brought about this turn-around. What's up?"
Victoria giggled and replied, "I just had a wonderful night yesterday! You know, I had trouble sleeping ever since I was separated from Plato, but now I can finally go to sleep without tossing and turning the whole night. Your advice really helped, Misto. I was acting silly, and I felt so horrible that my behaviour was affecting my friends and family. I came to my senses and I'm alright now. Thanks for being there for me."
The black and white tom-kit smiled, but the way his friend answered seemed slightly odd to him. Misto never remembered her having symptoms that might suggest lack of sleep. It was also as if her words had been rehearsed and not in earnest. He furrowed his brow and asked again just to make sure. "Are you positively sure you're alright?" Misto questioned, eyeing Victoria suspiciously.
The ivory queen-kit rolled her eyes. She placed a paw on Misto's shoulder and looked him directly in his eyes. "I'm fine. Really, you don't need to worry about me. C'mon, let's go hunt for lunch." She said with more sincerity. Misto nodded and followed her to a trash pile near his drain-pipe den where they hunted a trio of napping pigeons. The ignorant birds were roosting on a ledge of garbage quite close to the ground, making them easy prey. The tuxedoed tom-kit inspected his den while he ate his pigeon to reassure himself that the scurrying he heard last night wasn't an indication of rodents trying to make their home in his. The entrance of the drain pipe was clean of evidence like droppings or the vermin themselves, and he didn't smell anything that would suggest they had moved deeper into the pipe. When he was absolutely sure that he had a rodent-free den, he emerged from it and scratched his head, perplexed.
"If my den doesn't have any mice or rats in it, then what was that noise I heard last night? Hmm…maybe it was a one-time thing. I'll see if it happens again tonight." Mistoffelees determined as he threw away his pigeon bones which had been picked clean of meat.
While Vicky and Misto were walking back into the center clearing, they came across something unexpected. It seemed that while they were hunting, Victoria's parents had occupied the TSE-1 to sun together. Munkustrap and Demeter were lying side by side with Jemima snuggled up against her mother, which lifted Vicky's spirits even higher. Because of her negativity in the past week, she hadn't noticed her mother becoming more at ease with her father. It appeared they had been brought closer together because of the hardship they were facing with their oldest daughter.
Victoria and Mistoffelees didn't want to disturb the fragile couple, so they darted behind an old washing machine to observe them before they noticed them. After a few minutes, Munk began to hesitantly groom his mate. Demeter tensed at the contact, but gradually allowed him to completely groom the filth off her fur. Misto even saw her smile a little at the sensation of her mate's tongue against her body. This was clearly a big step for the couple. Not only does grooming the other signify close intimacy, it indicates that the two cats fully trust in each other.
When Munkustrap was finished, he kissed the top of Demeter's head and returned to lying on his back. Victoria beamed and silently cheered as her mother rolled over, supported both paws on her mate's chest, and leaned in to peck his lips in appreciation. The bewildered expression on Munk's face at the kiss caused Dem to giggle a bit before she lowered her head to use his chest as a pillow. She closed her eyes and let out a contented sigh. Munkustrap smiled down at his partner and gently wrapped his arm around her, gauging her reaction with his eyes. It looked like Demeter was forcing herself to get over her trauma by letting her mate become more intimate with her. He began stroking the black and gold queen's back, but stopped as she flinched. Demeter made herself settle down again on Munk's chest and he resumed running his fingers along her back. She didn't flinch again and remained tranquil. When Jem decided her mother favoured to snuggle her father instead of her, she crawled around to Munk's opposite side and settled herself there as he used his free arm to hold her, too.
Vicky had to bite on her knuckles to keep from squealing with joy and disrupting the scene in front of her. Misto quickly led her away; back to the clearing they had been in yesterday, where no one could hear them. There she let out the squeal she had been holding in and danced in a circle with her best friend until the momentary elation had subsided enough for her to stop. Misto stumbled as Victoria let his paws go because she had made him so dizzy from the spinning. He stood still for a moment so his world would cease whirling around him.
"My parents are finally together again!" the pearly queen-kit exclaimed once Misto had gotten his bearings again, "Everything's how it should be, and I couldn't be happier! I must tell Plato about this, he'll be overjoyed!" Vicky would have darted out of the clearing, if it weren't for her friend's objection.
Mistoffelees cocked an eyebrow in slight confusion. "What do you mean by 'everything's how it should be'? I hate to bring up the subject, but aren't you still sad that you're not allowed to see Plato romantically? You seem to have made quite the rapid recovery overnight." He voiced the topic that had been bothering him since this morning with a bit more accusation than intended.
The white queen-kit giggled lightly to brush off the topic, but quickly realized the skeptical look on the Conjurer's face wasn't going to leave that easily. Her countenance became serious as she replied in the same rehearsed voice she had used earlier, "Of course I'm still pining for Plato. You talked some sense into me, remember? I don't want to make others miserable because I am. We're great friends, nothing more. Just like my Dad advised."
Misto shrugged and dropped the conversation. In the back of his mind, he still felt like Victoria was hiding something behind that even, steady tone of hers. He considered using a spell to pry the truth out of her or discreetly read her mind, but that would just be a breach of trust and privacy, if not downright rude from a Conjurer's point of view.
Besides the miracle that had occurred for Vicky's parents, the remainder of the day was pretty uneventful. The ivory queen-kit invited her best friend to dinner and then they spent the evening playing with Jemima. The tiny red and black kitten was growing quickly and Demeter was gradually weaning her off her milk. As a result, Jem was continually restless and Vicky or her parents always had to find something to occupy her with. This was usually a ball of yarn, reading a story, or exploring the center clearing where she could easily be supervised. When it was time to go to bed, Misto bid Victoria and her family goodnight and headed back to his den to get some sleep.
Mistoffelees was woken from his peaceful slumber by the same noise he had heard the previous night: the soft, scurrying sound of feet. This time he was irritated enough by the noise to do something about it. He reluctantly slipped out from his warm nest of blankets and shivered as the chillier air enveloped him. The black and white tom-kit rubbed the sleep from his eyes and followed the sound that was fading away by now. He stopped and pricked his ears to listen to the pattern the feet were making. It was definitely not the four-step rhythm of a rodent, but a two-step one, and much heavier than a mouse or rat's. They were also coming from outside, not inside his den like he had suspected at first.
The tuxedoed tom-kit poked his head out of his drain pipe to survey his surroundings and instantly drew it back in. Did he just see what he thought he had seen? Misto gradually let his head emerge from the den, inch by inch, to confirm his observation. The pure white colour of Victoria's fur gave her away in her dark surroundings, even though it appeared she was trying hard not to be seen. She darted from shadow to shadow in the night, but Misto didn't have any idea of where she could possibly be going at this hour. He decided to follow her for curiosity's sake.
Misto kept to the shadows like his friend was, although he had the option of using an invisibility spell on himself. He didn't want to waste precious energy or risk being caught should the spell wear off. Staying in the shadows didn't really make that much of a difference since the moon was a mere sliver in the star-studded sky, and didn't make the shadows significantly darker than the open areas. Misto was much stealthier than the white queen-kit, given his upbringing, but she wasn't that bad herself. Years of dancing had rewarded her with a light, dainty step. He was a good fifty feet behind her and she still hadn't noticed anyone was tailing her. Misto glanced about him and recognized where they were headed. He had been down this path before. Vicky was going to Plato's den.
An alarm went off in the back of the tom-kit's mind that screamed, "Victoria's been lying! She's been seeing Plato all along!" Mistoffelees bit his lip hard to prevent a hiss from escaping. How could he have been so gullible? He remembered the suspicious glint in Victoria's eye, the carefully rehearsed words, and the non-chalance at the topic of her old tomfriend. She had been covering up the fact that she spent the nights with the russet and white tom-kit.
Victoria suddenly halted and rotated her ears to the back and front. Misto froze in place behind the dryer he had been skirting around. The white queen-kit threw a glance over her shoulder, but saw nothing. She continued walking, albeit warier of her surroundings. The tuxedoed tom-kit following her did his best to match her footfalls so she wouldn't suspect that somebody was shadowing her. A couple yards later they came upon Jellylorum and Asparagus' den, but Misto had a feeling they weren't going to knock on the front door. Vicky stole into the little alley beside it that led to Jelly's makeshift medicinal herb garden.
This was the first time Mistofelees had actually seen Jelly's garden, and he didn't know she had one until now. He wouldn't be surprised if Jenny had one too, seeing as she was also a nurse. Misto hid behind the wall nearest the garden as Victoria entered it. The black and white tom-kit didn't dare try to see what was going behind it because there was nothing to conceal him beyond that little alley. He heard quiet, joyful laughter and assumed Plato was hugging his queenfriend, or nuzzling her. Misto had to strain his ears to hear the soft words being exchanged between the pair of lovers.
"I'm so glad I could be with you again, Plato," Victoria spoke, "C'mon, let's go to our special place."
The spying tom-kit heard footsteps becoming louder and realized that the pair was coming his way. He began to panic. "What do I do? What do I do?" He demanded from himself frantically, but no answer came. Victoria and Plato were getting closer and Misto didn't have time to run or they would surely notice him. Plato would most likely attempt to wring his neck again. By instinct, or desire for self-preservation, the magical tom-kit clapped his paws together and hoped for the best.
Plato and Victoria strolled into the alleyway, holding paws and simply enjoying each other's company. There was no need for words as they made their way down the narrow, empty alley and back onto the main path. The pair ambled along, lost in the beauty of the stars overhead. They were in no hurry, although the place they had in mind was quite a way's away.
Mistoffelees let out the breath he had been holding as he heard Plato and Vicky's footseteps grow fainter. His body reappeared, but he felt less weary than the last time he had used the invisibility spell. Then Misto reminded himself that the previous time he had been trying to keep four cats invisible instead of just one. The tuxedoed tom-kit slunk out of the alley and poked his head out from the wall of the den. Plato and Vicky were walking along the main path, still in sight. Misto breathed a silent sigh of relief that he hadn't lost them. He resumed following the pair, partially eager to get evidence to condemn Plato, but also to have Vicky safe from the possessive tom for good.
The two lovebirds strolled along for another ten minutes. Misto was in unfamiliar territory now. He had never ventured this deep into the junkyard, but he could always just poof himself back to the center clearing whenever he wanted to. His attention returned to Victoria and Plato as they turned off the main path and down a clearly less traveled one. The black and white tom-kit took his post behind a discarded, horizontal refrigerator and observed the pair, ready to take mental notes on the abusive behaviour that he was positive would come. The door to the fridge that was his refuge had one set of hinges removed, but the door was propped upright securely by other garbage, so Misto was sure it wouldn't fall on him. The narrow slat that was created provided a perfect scenario where he could see the pair perfectly, but they could only see his eyes. The rest of his body was huddled inside one of the spaces where humans put food. What were the chances that they would see him? They were so wrapped up in each other a bomb exploding wouldn't cause them to bat an eyelash in the other direction!
The black and white tom-kit settled himself comfortably in his fridge compartment. Vicky and Plato were holding each other, kissing, and talking in hushes voices. Mistoffelees couldn't help but feel that old, familiar envy boil up inside of him. He was supposed to be one kissing Victoria! He was meant to hold her close and tell her how much she meant to him! The jealous tom-kit balled his fists, but decided to calm down. It would do no good if he suddenly burst out from his hiding spot and ruined the chance of acquiring evidence to tell Munkustrap of his daughter's secret meetings with Plato.
Mistoffelees could barely contain himself when the pair he was watching began to dance. It was a beautiful, almost magical pas de deux, set to music only Victoria and Plato could hear. As the tuxedoed tom-kit continued to observe the two, his jealousy ebbed away and was replaced by a strange calm. Vicky and Plato looked absolutely perfect together, as graceful as two birds dancing under the twinkling stars. When they finished, they held each other close and Misto felt a sense of guilt come over him. He couldn't ruin this splendid unity between Victoria and Plato. On the other paw, Plato was possessive, arrogant, and inconsiderate with his queenfriend. That alone should be enough to separate them! Misto sighed heavily in frustration, but instantly caught himself and shut his mouth. The pair in the clearing glanced in his direction as he ducked behind the wall of the refrigerator.
"Did you hear that, 'Tory?" The red and white patched tom asked with alarm in his voice. It was expected that the secrecy of their actions and the potential consequences put both cats on edge, no matter how absorbed in each other they appeared.
Victoria shot her tomfriend a quizzical look. "I didn't hear anything. Maybe your mind is playing tricks on you because you're tired? Let's get some sleep; I'm exhausted from all that dancing. Your lifts are getting much better, Plato. I don't feel like I'm going to fall anymore." Her compliment was enough to distract the russet and white tom-kit.
Plato nodded and he walked over to a trash pile on his right. He pulled out a plaid, moth-eaten blanket and motioned for Victoria to join him. Just before she went over to the trash pile, she gave a wink in Misto's direction. Then she snuggled up next to Plato as he tucked the blanket around them both.
The black and white tom-kit sat back on his haunches, stunned for a moment. How did Victoria know he was there? Misto glanced back at Vicky and Plato, but their eyes were closed and they appeared to be sound asleep. He gave up his spying mission and silently slipped out of the clearing. Once he was sure the pair couldn't see or hear him, he teleported himself back into his den.
The magical tom-kit had trouble getting back to sleep that night, overcome by indecision. Should he tell Munk about the fact that both his daughter and Plato were disobeying him? Or should he let them be and leave their private relationship alone? After all those days watching Plato demean Victoria, he never expected that the russet and white tom-kit could be so gentle when he was completely alone with her. He seemed to be his true self when he had no one to act for. Perhaps this was why Vicky kept going back to him; because she saw something in him that nobody else could. Misto had witnessed that tonight, and he didn't have the heart to shatter that unique connection between Victoria and her rightful tomfriend, Plato.
"So where does that leave me?" Mistoffelees thought to himself as he rolled over to stare up at the crimped ceiling of his den, "If Plato wasn't such a jerk he would be perfect for Vicky. When he's alone with her, he's a whole other tom. But why does he think it's alright to insult her in public? To show that he's dominant or to get attention?" He slammed his fist against the floor of the pipe as the memories of Plato's degrading comments towards Victoria surfaced once more. The tuxedoed tom-kit took deep breaths so as not to rile himself enough to use magic on a whim. When he was calm, he thought seriously about the subject for a few minutes. The answer slowly formed in his mind at the same time a feeling of pity settled in his heart. "Plato needs Victoria to feel good about himself. He's insecure without her, but he's able to mask it quite effectively when he's with her. Plato's not a jerk…He's just self-conscious like the rest of us. No wonder he hates me. I'm trying to take away the one thing he can be proud of. That doesn't mean it's fair to Vicky, though. She's being used as a trophy, but Plato actually cares about her feelings. It's all so confusing…"
The black and white tom-kit let a drawn-out sigh escape his lips before he decided to finally get some rest. He fell into a restless slumber to the musical chirping of the crickets outside, dreading the decision he would have to make tomorrow.