Chapter 4: Why?
A/N: Well here's another installment. I do promise, I'll eventually update my other stories. This one had just been dying to get out, so it's what I've been writing. Please enjoy and let me know what you think! :)
Disclaimer: Still don't own Cats. Surprise?
As the petite tom made his way through the junkyard, he did his best to willfully extinguish the sparks ignited by his fury. Mistoffelees was blind to everything that he passed as his concentration and his anger consumed his mind. The black and white tom had never felt such fury course through his body as the sparks in his white bib and the tips of his ears began to die down.
The source of this anger wasn't his cousin, Victoria, but that playboy tom, Plato. Of course Mistoffelees would have been lying if he didn't admit there was some anger towards the snowy queen, but one couldn't really stay mad at her long, not when they considered her condition. How long had Mistoffelees tried to get Victoria out of her house and into the junkyard, hoping that new faces and new experience would help heal the wounds that her heart carried?
No, the real cat at fault in this situation was Plato. Mistoffelees had always been able to forgive the tom's usual player ways, but when he saw that tom so close to Victoria, something in the magical cat had snapped. When Plato was with the other queens, everyone knew his reputation and no one was really hurt, but Mistoffelees knew that Victoria couldn't react like that. She was already so frail, so fragile. Mistoffelees wasn't sure if she'd be able to recover from another heartbreak, it might be the final crack that would completely shatter her heart and mind. Of course the black and white tom felt a little guilty about snapping about his new mistreatment of his old friend, but currently Victoria was of more importance than the toms' friendship.
As the young tom neared the pipe that signaled the entrance to his den, his angry pace slowed down. Mistoffelees glanced up at the setting sun and released a large sigh that seemed to push all the anxiety and tenseness out of his petite body. A white paw rested shakily on the pipe as his black paw ran agitatedly through his headfur. It was odd that there were few cats out in the clearing, but it was getting late and they were probably all settling in for the night.
Mistoffelees closed his copper eyes tight and took another deep breath, trying to will all his anger out of his body. His anger would get him nowhere with the small, delicate queen waiting for him inside the den.
Just as the tom released his breath, a strong but gentle paw gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. Mistoffelees's eyes shot open as he turned to find a concerned looking Munkustrap staring intently back at him. Even though the tribe protector had yet to have kittens of his own, he mastered that fatherly-concerned-look.
"Hello there Mistoffelees. I saw…" The steel tabby gave Mistoffelees another gentle squeeze as he nodded his head in the direction of the den.
It didn't take a detective to figure out what Munkustrap meant, and Mistoffelees couldn't help his ears dropping a bit in disappointment. "Look, Munk, please don't worry about it! I'll keep an eye on her. I promise she won't cause trouble this time!" The magic tom's copper eyes eagerly searched the protectors gray ones as he tried to convince Munkustrap on his promise.
Munkustrap let a gentle smile grace his lips as he let go of Mistoffelees shoulder and held up his paws in surrender. "Don't worry about it Mistoffelees. You know that the tribe is more concerned for Victoria than ready to accuse her." The great leader gave a small shake of his head. "Should I go find Jemima?"
It was Mistoffelees's turn to shake his head. "No…thank you. Let the poor queen sleep, I know these visits aren't her favorite thing. She deserves time to spend with her real friends."
The Jellicle Protector gave a sage nod as if contemplating Mistoffelees's words. "I'll do as you wish, but please don't be so quick to assume other's feelings for your cousin. Anyways, I'll let you go into your den. Let us know if you, or Victoria, need anything."
Another sigh escaped Mistoffelees's lips as he watched Munkustrap pick his way out of the clearing and back on patrol. It was clear that the young tom was not convinced by Munkustrap's words as he slowly turned back into the den. As Mistoffelees entered, he made sure to close the curtain behind him, indicating that he did not wish to be disturbed.
When the tom emerged on the other side of the pipe and into the main compartment of his den, he gave a quick flick of his paw, which caused a small lamp near the center of the room to light up as if it had been plugged in.
Even though the den had been dark until Mistoffelees had brought the lamp to life, Victoria still sat on a pile of blankets, a book open in her lap. She seemed to almost ritually turn the pages and allow her paws to run over the pages and linger on the few images contained among the words. Only the Everlasting Cat knew what kind of secrets Victoria had been staring at in the dark, but she didn't look up or even react as Mistoffelees entered the den and summoned the light.
Mistoffelees paused for a moment to gaze on the queen as an unexplainable sadness seemed to well up inside him. Eventually the tuxedoed tom lowered himself onto a cinderblock that sat next to an elevated plank that served as his reading desk and chair. He continued to let his eyes linger on his cousin's snowy silhouette before resting his elbows on his knees and his forehead in his paws. He managed two more deep breaths before turning his gaze back to Victoria though leaving one paw on his forehead in exhaustion. "Victoria…"
There was no reaction as another page was turned and another secret examined.
Mistoffelees rubbed his paws into his closed copper eyes. From the very beginning (long, long ago), he refused to play this game that the little family had created as they followed their own rules. There had to be some other way. "Victoria…Look, I'm sorry I yelled, but I was upset…Will you please look up from that stupid book!"
A snowy ear flicked in annoyance as icy blue eyes shot up to meet Mistoffelees's copper ones. It was odd; Victoria's eyes didn't hold anything close to anger, but rather a mix of despair and defiance. "It's not stupid." She mumbled, never letting her eyes leave his as her paw ran over the page again.
Mistoffelees got up and crossed the den, settling next to his alabaster cousin as he placed a gentle paw on hers to halt its ritualistic page stroking. "Really, I'm sorry Viki." He purred, his voice so gentle it was as if he was speaking to a newborn kitten. "I didn't mean to say those things… I was just upset." He paused, weighing his next words. "Do you know who you were talking to?"
Victoria rolled her eyes as she snapped the book shut. "Of course I did Mistoffelees! I don't just hang out with strangers! That was Plato." At the last sentence, the young queen straightened her back and looked quite proud of herself.
Mistoffelees continued to gaze intently at Victoria, studying her posture and trying to understand what was going on in that labyrinth of her mind. "Okay… And hasn't Jemima told you about him?"
A loud groan emitted from Victoria's petite throat as she dramatically rolled her eyes before staring blankly at the desk across the den. "Yes, Mistoffelees! He seemed fine to me!" Victoria's voice was one of a defiant kitten that was tired of being told what to do.
The black and white tom tried to calm the torrent of emotions that seemed to be coursing through Victoria with a gentle squeeze of his paw. "Then please stay away from him. He's not a tom that runs in the good crowd. You know how we worry."
Victoria glanced agitatedly towards Mistoffelees as her fur seemed to bristle a bit. "Don't say that." Her voice was close to a hiss. "Pleasing papa is the last thing I care about it!"
Mistoffelees's eyes continued to study Victoria's face, trying to understand what she was saying. Her father was all she had left of her nuclear family, how had their relationship gotten this bad? Then a thought seemed to break on him. "You weren't talking him just to… ya know…anger Uncle Bustopher, were you?"
Victoria's icy gaze settled back on Mistoffelees as she snatched her paw out of his grasp. "And what if I was. I don't see what you guys have to do with my actions!"
Mistoffelees instinctively rose to his back paws in offense. "Victoria!" He could feel his anger rising in him again. "Don't you dare say those things! You know we care!"
"Papa doesn't care. You know he doesn't!" Victoria's voice was low and deadly. Her eyes portraying the hurt tearing her soul apart. "You know, as well as I do, what papa really wants! All he wants is… All papa wants is…him back!"
It didn't take more than a moment for Mistoffelees to understand the game that Victoria was trying to play and what she was trying to make him do and say. He had sworn upon his mother's grave long ago that he wasn't going to play into this charade as the family tore itself apart. Mistoffelees's paws quickly ran through his paws through his headfur as he tried to will himself to calm down again. As he felt the sparks begin to rise, he knew he had to end this conversation now before he did just as the queen wanted. In a forced but gentle voice, Mistoffelees addressed Victoria through his closed lids, "Victoria, I need to step outside. Again, I'm sorry. Please just let it go. And please stay in the den, read the book or something, I'll be back in a moment."
Mistoffelees didn't even wait for a reply as he quickly exited the den into the crisp night air. He leaned his lean back against the pipe as he stared up at the stars. The same question kept running through his head. How had anyone let this family fall so apart? What would Aunt Isabella think? Or even worse, what would William think?
The image of the black and white patched cat wouldn't leave Mistoffelees's mind as the imaginary tom's deep sapphire eyes seemed to gaze directly into Mistoffelees's soul, asking the same question: 'Why'?
The image quickly faded into clips of Mistoffelees's memories. The magical tom could easily recall those peaceful times long ago when William would run through the yard, a small white kitten trailing his tail like a shadow. William was probably one of the best brother's a kitten could ask for. He would always help his sister with new dance moves or teach her the games of the junkyard. (Games that he always made sure he lost when he was playing against his sister.)
A few hours later, after Mistoffelees had run out of film in his movies of memories, he realized he should head back in and make sure that Victoria was okay. He sighed, realizing he still had no answers to any of his questions. Silently, the tom padded through the pipe and into the main room of the den. As soon as he entered the den, he realized that Victoria had extinguished the lamp.
Mistoffelees slipped over to the corner of the den and grabbed his tail in his paws. Pulling his tail's white tip up to his lips, he whispered a few Latin phrases. After he let the phrases hang in the air for a moment, he gently blew into his tail. The white portion of his tail gently began to glow and the light grew brighter and brighter. Before the light grew to bright, Mistoffelees quickly waved his paw over the glowing tip and seemed to motion it to lower. The light quickly became dimmer until it was only as bright as a child's night-light.
The tom let his eyes adjust to the new amount of light before turning to examine the den before him. Curled up on the pile of blankets, a small ball of white fur seemed to breathe steadily. Victoria's eyes were shut as her ears flicked, picking up the noises that were only in the land of dreams. Laying almost reverently under one of her paws was the open tome that she had been studying earlier.
Mistoffelees couldn't help but smile as he turned back to his desk and picked up a small, well-worn mouse toy that had been sitting next to a pile of books. Earlier in the day, Bustopher had sent a messenger requesting Mistoffelees presence. Mistoffelees had run as fast as his paws would carry him to Busopher's and Victoria's den-house. The older tom had relayed everything that had happened and giving the young tom the tattered toy, hoping Mistoffelees could bring Bustohper's precious daughter back.
The tuxedoed tom rotated the toy in his paws as he analyzed the dearly-loved object. After contemplating the warmth that seemed to radiate from little mouse, he couldn't help but roll a tattered, felt ear in his paw as he crossed the den towards his dear cousin.
Gently, with the care you give a newborn, he lifted a dainty paw and closed the book before lowering the paw back onto the book. Mistoffelees's eyes lingered on the ink placed ceremoniously on the book's spine: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
A feint sigh escaped Mistoffelees as his eyes lingered on the title before gazing back at the mouse toy, and then ending on Victoria's sleeping countenance. It seemed that even in her dreams, happiness still eluded her.
Finally, Mistoffelees softly placed the toy next to Victoria's paw. He watched as the sleeping queen seemed to sense his action as she shifted slightly, pulling the mouse up against her cheek.
Mistoffelees let his gaze rest for a few more moments on Victoria, another sigh escaping his lips. "Victoria, I wish I could make you understand, we do care. There's no one Uncle Bustopher cares about more…He's just scared. We're both so scared for you. You're-you're the only family we have left…"
With that last statement, Mistoffelees placed a gentle kiss on Victoria's forehead before straightening up and walking to a crate in a far corner of the den. He silently lifted the extra blankets and a pillow out of the crate that were there just for occasions like this. The small tom cleared out a small space in front of his reading desk as he spread the blankets out. Mistoffelees curled up and grabbed his tail again, giving it another blow, extinguishing the light. As the darkness settled in and Mistoffelees curled his tail over his nose, he finally let a few of the tears he had been holding slip down his cheek.
A whispered carried through the darkness, so feint that Mistoffelees would have thought it was a ghost if they hadn't come from his mouth, "Victoria, can you ever forgive me for letting this happen?"
Silence filled the den as the tom let a dreamless sleep consume him.
A/N: Please REVIEW! It really keeps me going (sometimes even faster!) It really helps me to know that people are reading and enjoying my story! Let me know what you think! Improvements? Critiques? Compliments? Favorite lines? I'll take anything! Haha Thank you so much for reading!