To Make Me Happy
Ch. 16: A Broken Man
Catspaw couldn't stop the shock that washed across his face, all tears forgotten. Miranda had not willingly come to him since the day before their wedding that never happened. His feelings were so tangled he couldn't form any coherent words.
He was feeling dread, mixed with fury, mixed with hope, mixed with anticipation, and the strongest, love. He stared at her beautiful face, not quiet knowing what else to do. And then, as he stared, all at once his senses seemed to vanish, leaving only a cold numbness behind in it's wake.
He slumped back in his chair, and a blank stare replaced all expression in his eyes. He heard a gasp, but he couldn't be sure where from. Then he felt a warm hand over his human one. He could barely feel it.
Then, a warm hand on his cheek, turning his head until he was looking into a pair of beautiful green eyes.. It took a few moments, but finally, realization dawned on him.
"Miranda?" he whispered. She nodded her head. "Yes Catspaw, it's me." Her heart nearly broke as one lone tear traveled down his cheek.
"Miranda, what have I done?"
The question startled her. She took a moment to compose herself. "What do you mean?' she asked.
Another tear spilled over as he tried to explain himself.
"How did this happen?" he whispered. "How did I end up in this situation? Everything was great…and I had to go ruin it. I've married myself to a woman who doesn't seem to know a thing except sleep spells and escape. She despises me! I will never have an heir. Never have a son to call my own…..Never have love." The last part came as a whisper.
"Why didn't I choose you Miranda? You who liked me. You, who were raised to be a king's wife. You, who are not mad. You Miranda! You!"
And then, he broke. Tears spilled from his eyes as heaving sobs wracked his body. He had never felt anguish like this before. Never in his life. A jolt ran through his body as he felt two warm, petite arms wrap around his shoulders.
He realized it was Miranda and this seemed to make him cry harder. His head fell on her shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her still small frame.
Miranda almost flinched when she felt his arms go around her. He could hurt her so easily. But all she saw here was a broken man. One who couldn't even hurt a fly at the moment. She knew his emotional status was fragile right now. Oh so fragile. So she did all she knew to do. Hold him and comfort him. Though she hadn't yet said it out loud, Miranda had forgiven Catspaw for all he had done to her.
And, if he would let her, she would try her hardest to be his friend. Right now, that's what he needed the most.
It took a good 15 minutes before Catspaw was calmed down. Miranda quickly retrieved a handkerchief from a pocket in her dress and lifted his head from her shoulder. She gently wiped away all the remaining tears. He sniffled and she placed a hand alongside his cheek, forcing him to look in her eyes.
"You can't keep dwelling on this." she told him. "You have a kingdom to run. You're strong. I know it. Things will get better"
At this, Catspaw snorted.
"I mean it. You'll be happy again. You'll smile again." The look in Catspaw's eyes when she said this almost made her rethink her words, but she pressed on.
"I have faith in you. And I have faith that, in time, your wife will love you." His head dropped back onto Miranda's shoulder.
"No." he whispered. "She will never love me. It will be this way forever." Miranda sighed.
"If your negative like that, it will be. You must think positive. Talk to her, let her know you truly do wish good things for her. You can grow to love her. I know you can."
She felt a nod on her shoulder. Miranda stroked his hair and they sat in a comfortable silence for several minutes.. In a few moments, he was completely calmed down. He lifted his head from her shoulder.
"Thank you Miranda. I'm sorry you had to see me like this."
Miranda shook her head. "It's okay." she said. "You needed this to be able to move on to the next stage of your life. And the next one will be the best." She smiled at him, a heartwarming smile that had him grinning from ear to ear in return.
Miranda stood, Catspaw after her, and headed towards the door.
"Miranda." he said when she reached the door. She turned to look at him.
"I truly wish to congratulate you and Dentwood on your first child." Miranda smiled and placed a hand on her still-flat tummy.
"Thank you." Then she left, leaving Catspaw to sit and ponder all that had just happen and most of all, figuring out the next steps to take towards the road of fixing the disaster he had made of his life.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Kate's eyes grew wide. Was that her son walking towards her? 'No!' she thought. 'Couldn't be.'.
This man was smiling. She hadn't seen Catspaw smile in months. But alas, it was her son. And he had a huge grin on his face. When he reached Kate, he wrapped her in a tight hug.
"Mother!" he cried. "I'm so glad to see you!" He sat her down.
Kate smiled. "Why so happy all the sudden? Not that I don't like it." He grinned again.
"I've just had a talk with Miranda, and I'm ready." He looked proud as he could be but for the life of her Kate had no idea what he was talking about.
"Read to what, son?" she asked. "I'm ready to get my life back on track!" he replied, grinning from ear to ear. "I'm ready to move on. Stop being bitter about choices I made, and improve the ones I did.. Miranda made me realize something. That my wife can grow to like it here and even like me! And I can do the same in return."
Now there was a determined set to his face. "And I plan to do just that." Kate smiled at him. "I'm so proud of you Catspaw. Your father would have been proud of you to."
They spent the better part of the day making plans and talking. And Kate truly was happy for her son.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Miranda was taking a stroll about the palace, happy now that she had made peace with Catspaw. Her thoughts were running wild at the moment, jumping from one thing to the next. She heard a noise to her right. She quickly glanced over to the side and noticed a door slightly ajar. Looking around, she saw no one in sight, so she proceeded slowly towards the door.
Miranda sucked in her breath as she pushed it open and stifled a scream when she found someone sitting inside. There, sitting in the middle of the floor was a beautiful Elf woman, looking frightened and like she was about to cast some sort of spell.
Miranda quickly put her hands up. "I mean you no harm." she said calmly. "Are you hiding?"
The woman hesitantly nodded her head. "From who?" Miranda asked.
The woman just stared. "Okay," Miranda said slowly, "may I ask who you are?"
The woman looked startled for a moment, but her mouth slowly opened.
"I am Arianna, wife of the goblin king." Miranda gasped. "So you're her? I've never seen you before! Oh! Forgive me!" Miranda quickly curtsied.
"I'm Miranda." Arianna nodded. "I know about you. The girl Catspaw was supposed to marry. He talks about you all the time in his sleep." Miranda was shocked.
"He does?" Arianna nodded her head.
"Wait," Miranda said, "I thought you only spoke Elfish."
The Elf woman shook her head. "That's what I let them all think. I catch on quick. I can also speak some goblin. But I don't want everyone using that to their advantage." Arianna didn't know why, but she felt like she could trust Miranda. Like she could talk to her and confide in her. She couldn't tell if it was the kind look about the girl, or the glow she seemed to be emitting.
Miranda stepped forward. "I…Forgive me for being rude, but….why do you run from Catspaw? Has he done something to hurt you?"
Arianna looked uncomfortable and shook her head. "I just fear he wants to keep me in confinement. He's taken me away, away from all the stars and the moon and trees. Away from nature. I don't know what else he will do."
Miranda took another step closer. "He means to do none of those things to you. He only wishes for you to be happy. And for you to at least like him. Trust me, he wishes you no harm."
The elf gave a small hint of a smile. "You think so?" Miranda nodded her head. "Just give him a chance."
Arianna's face lifted a bit. "Thank you Miranda." Miranda smiled at the girl. "Anytime."
She left the room and went in search of her mother-in-law.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Miranda smiled and hummed to herself as she walked down the hall towards her room after spending a couple of hours with her mother-in-law. She had devised a plan to bring Catspaw and Arianna closer together. And she just knew it would work. Or at least she hoped.
When she reached her rooms, she immediately sat down and began composing a letter to Catspaw. She had been working on it for quite some time and didn't hear as her husband walked into the room. She squealed when two warm arms wrapped around her shoulder.
Dentwood laughed. "Hello love." he whispered, then kissed her on the cheek. "How was your day?" Miranda smiled and stood, wrapping her arms around Dentwood and snuggling into his chest. "Wonderful." she murmured.
Over dinner, she told him all that had happened that day, from the meeting with Catspaw to finding Arianna. He didn't like the fact that she had gone to visit the king alone, but was calm when she explained his emotional distress and how she had helped him.
After dinner, Miranda finished the letter and headed to bed. She had it delivered the next morning as soon as she had woken up.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
There was a knock on his door. "Enter!" Catspaw yelled. A messenger stepped in.
"A letter sir," he said, "from Mrs. Miranda." Catspaw nodded and thanked the messenger, working hard to conceal his shock.
He opened the letter and began to read, a smile forming over his lips.
END CHAPTER
YES!!!!!! A KINDA QUICK UPDATE BUT MUCH QUICKER THAN THE OTHERES!!!!
Ok, so I'm pretty happy! This chapter is pretty long and posted a lot quicker than my others.
Hope you like it!
(I wasn't sure if I had mentioned the color of Miranda's eyes before so sorry if I accidentally changed it.)