Fairuza decided she didn't want to continue magic that day, so the kittens went off to play. Mungojerrie had come back from stealing a pie, and he split the pie up, giving some to everyone in the junkyard. Pretty soon the kittens went home for lunch.
"Who's up for some fun today?" Tugger asked suddenly after lunch.
"What do you mean?" I asked as I refilled Chartara's milk bowl.
"I mean like all of us just getting out of the house to have some family quality time together."
"Really?" Chartara started bouncing up and down in her seat.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Well, how does a picnic and swimming sound?" Charta squealed and nodded excitedly, quickly finishing her lunch. Soon we were at the creek, and Chartara was happily splashing in the water.
"Come on Daddy! The water feels good!" She was jumping around in a shallow part of the creek. Tugger shook his head.
"Maybe after lunch," he called back. We sat back to watch our daughter rolled around, jump, and splash in the creek. We began setting up the picnic blanket and set out the food.
"Lunch!"
"Aw, Mommy! Can't I play for a few more minutes?" Chartara whined.
"Listen to your mother," Tugger replied. "You can play after lunch." Chartara reluctantly left the water.
"Yum!" Chartara licked her lips at the sight of lunch. We dug into sandwiches, soup, milk, and dessert. Soon Chartara was back in the water playing, and this time Tugger and I joined her. We laughed and played until the sun started to set.
Finally, Chartara yawned. "Alright kitten, it's time to head home." Tugger picked her up and walked over to the picnic blanket, and I carried the blanket and basket.
"Good night Mommy and Daddy." Chartara whispered before she passed out. Tugger and I whispered our good nights and stumbled off to bed.
Tugger and I woke up the next morning to heavy pounding on our door. I stayed put while Tugger angrily got up. Coricopat and Tantomile rushed into our den; Tantomile looked like she was trying not to cry.
"Tara!" Tanto cried, looking at me.
"She's asleep," I replied. Tanto shook her head.
"No, no she's not!"
"What do you mean?"
"She's gone! Someone took her!" Before she could say anything, Tugger and I darted into the room. Her bed was messy and ripped from the wall, and her window was shattered. I felt faint and fell into Tugger, who steadied me up, not letting go. I started hyperventilating and Tugger took me back out to the couch to sit.
"Where is she?" Tugger demanded, pushing Coricopat against the wall.
"We don't know." Coricopat looked frightened. No one ever saw Tugger this fierce before. "We didn't recognize the cat!"
"Tugger, let him go!" I demanded. He did as he was told.
"It's true," Tantomile said. "The image was too dark. We could see what color it was though. He/She was a patched brown and white."
"Thank you," I said weakly from the couch. The twin mystics nodded and headed out the door. Tugger and I cuddled (although he doesn't care for it) before finding Old Deuteronomy, who sent out search parties.
Chartara yawned and stretched out. When she opened her eyes it was dark out. She sat up and tried to adjust her eyes to the darkness. "Mommy? Daddy?"
Suddenly Chartara realized that she was not in her own bedroom. She started to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. A tear slipped down her cheek.
"Mommy?" Her voice was much smaller now; frightened. "Daddy?" She cowered in a corner of her room when she realized her family was nowhere to be found. Her head jerked towards the door as she heard the metal doorknob squeak. A brown and white patched Tabby entered the room and Chartara tried shrinking deeper into the corner.
"Hello Chartara."
"H-how do you know my name?"
The Tabby smiled. "Let's just say I know your fellow Jellicles."
"Where's Mommy and Daddy?" The kitten was scared.
"They decided they wanted you to live with me," the Tabby said.
"T-they…don't want…m-me?" The Tabby nodded. Chartara began crying.
"I'll be back shortly with breakfast." The Tabby left, and Chartara found herself swallowed up in the darkness again.
For the next two months every single tribe had looked for the missing queen. Tugger and I had not slept since Chartara was kitten–napped. We finally called off the search for Chartara. We presumed she was dead by whoever took her. Tugger and I were heartbroken at the thought of our dead daughter. Tugger was never the same. He would always have a blank expression whenever he looked at someone, stared into space, and had a vacant smile. Even Munk started to worry his brother's behavior. Everyone in the tribe was upset at the loss of Chartara, and tried to cheer us up. We still attended birthday parties and other activities with the tribe, but never fully enjoyed ourselves. Emotions were lost.
***Poor Tugger and Aliyah :( hopefully they can find Chartara soon.***
