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Chapter 59. I would not give you false hope
by Pearl
Oh you sun now run away, run away,
little stars come out to play, out to play,
baby mine come close your eyes,
sleep until the new dawnrise,
I will sing thee lullabies, through this peaceful night.
How long had she had been humming? Pearl wasn't sure. She must have unconsciously picked up the simple tune because she was concentrating so hard on finding Sandy. It was a song the little kit loved, one that had calmed her tears many a time.
But, no. Despite the fact that it was a familiar melody, the song had come into her mind from a different source: the faint treble of a flute. It was so beautiful, so haunting that the vixen couldn't help but sing along; softly at first and then louder as she began to seek out the musician.
Lullabies were for little ones. Why else would somebeast play a lullaby, unless a little one were near to hear it? And if there were a little one somewhere close by, why shouldn't it be her own dear kit? It may not have been the soundest logic, but hope still lent speed to the vixen's search and confidence to her song. She rounded a corner sure that the piper must be right there. As she entered the alley however, the music suddenly came to an end. Pearl also let the song die on her lips.
"Oh please don't stop. Such a voice; like an angel," came a smooth whisper from the shadow.
The vixen squinted into the darkness. Surely this wasn't the sort of place a creature would choose to serenade a child into slumber. "Wh-who are you?"
"Only a simple player, Madam. It is so seldom to meet another creature with such a talent. What a treat it is to have you join my melody with your own dulcet tones. Music is after all the food of love; love which stirs the heart and sets fire to the blood. Certainly if the passion in your voice is anything to judge by, it is love which leads you as well?"
"I ..." Pearl took a step back away from the creature's dark silhouette. "I was looking for somebeast. I thought maybe...that song.... It sounded like a lullaby."
"A mother searching for her kit?" The sable guessed, stepping out into the open. His eyes were bright with some manic light. "How touching. Perhaps I could aid you in your quest? The little one is undoubtedly a music lover with such a guardian as thee. Surely our harmonization would draw the kitten out of hiding."
Fighting the instinct to flee, the madam kept her response polite, "No, thank you. I'm sure I'll manage. I'll just be going." She spun on her footpaw and set off back the way she had come.
The others had said something about a sable. He was an evil creature who had murdered Sybil and Dirano. Her throat went dry when she remembered the state of the poor cat, drained of blood, and nailed to the gate of Sarkleyet's estate. Pearl wasn't about to stick around and find out if this was the same beast.
Her pawsteps quickened frantically, her breath became sharp and ragged, and her heart hammered uncontrollably. It was impossible to hear any pursuing pawsteps, and she couldn't find the courage to look behind. In her hurry the vixen hurtled into a solid object. She attempted to push away and continue with her flight but a paw caught her wrist and stopped her.
"Ms Pearl, what's wrong? You stormed out so fast I didn't have a chance to talk to you."
"Emma," the madam panted, realizing after a moment who had impeded her flight. "We have to get out of here. There was some crazy beast back there. I think he may be the one who..."
"Emma? Emma? Did somebeast say Emma? Hmmm... Emma..." the frighteningly familiar voice drawled.
Pearl gasped and whirled around.
"Ah yes. I believe we have a mutual friend. Or did rather, you'll have to excuse me. He got a little drained after we had a drink together. I left him hanging around by the martin's mansion." As he spoke, the mad-beast paced closer to them. "He was a passionate one too, ever so passionate about a darling little creature he called Emma."
Suddenly Pearl pushed the younger female away from herself in an effort to get the cat moving. "Run, Emmy! Save yourself!"
There was no time to even consider her own escape. In a whisker's shake the sable had the vixen locked in a deadly embrace with a knife pressed to her throat. Those paws that had so beautifully employed the flute now wielded their new instrument with equal skill.
The vixen let out an eardrum rending scream.
"Awe that voice," The sable crooned with an excited chuckle. "It's almost a shame..."
Out of the corner of her eye, Pearl saw her murderer lick the blade before he brought it back to her exposed neck.
"But we must all suffer for our art, mustn't we?"
The knife incised a shallow slit into the skin where it was pressed and the vixen screamed again. The sable carried on with his oration as if he hadn't heard. "Oh yes, I suffer. My health suffers. Do you have any idea how hard it is to carry on with your craft while your blood is turning to ash? No, of course, you couldn't."
A third time Pearl screamed, now as much for the pain as for the fear. "Please! Stop! Don't do this!" She managed to get a paw free and tried to push the blade away. Her claws slipped on something hot and wet. It was blood, her blood. The sight of it made her dizzy and nauseous.
"Still," the sable continued. "The show must go on."
"Let her go, Castille!" A shout came from somewhere further down the street.
It sounded vaguely familiar. Pearl tried to look up to see who it was but, as she was fading into unconsciousness, the last thing she heard was the sable's mad giggle. "Mustn't disappoint the audience."
"We can't just leave her here. That monster might come back to finish her off. You haven't seen what he's capable of." The bass rumble came from Aras. Pearl mused as she began to come around, My knight in shining armor. He always seems to show up exactly when I have need of him.
"Yes, but we've already wasted enough time." That was the sheriff. "We're supposed to be searching for a hostage an' after runnin' off to save her I'm not even bloody sure where we are."
"I can help you find your way," a female voice answered. "And I might know of a creature who would..."
"That's my girl." The vixen opened her eyes and smiled bleakly up at the three beasts tending to her. "Always so helpful. Jus' like I taught you."
"Ms. Pearl, are you all right?" Emma asked concern filling the catmaid's green eyes.
"Well of course I'm fine." Pearl patted Aras' paw (he must have caught her when she fell) and stood on her own footpaws. "Why shouldn't I be ..." She caught a glimpse of her paw where her own blood tinged the clawtips red-brown. "Oh Fates, what happened?"
Somebeast had tied a cloth around her throat where the sable had cut her. The vixen trembled and the wolverine's paw came back to steady her.
Aras's deep voice was calming, "He's gone now. He's not going to hurt you anymore."
Pearl nodded vaguely. They were starting to move. Emma was leading them some place. Snatches of conversation flew by her but the madam didn't catch them.
Then Aras asked, "What is this place?"
"Think you mean, what was this place?" Brull stepped past the wolverine, through the rubble.
Pearl looked around at the debris that littered the area. "I believe this once the home of one of the island's more prominent business men, Theron Marquesas. I don't see why you have brought us here, however, Em." It was her first full sentence in a while and it caused the rest of them to turn their attention to her.
The catmaid shuddered and glanced around nervously. "It was destroyed in the storm."
"No kidding." Brull cleared his throat.
The vixen watched the other female carefully. It was as if Pearl was awakening from a dream and she recalled that her former employee knew more about what was really going on then what she had previously led on. "There was a big party here that night. Most of the storm's initial casualties were crushed when the ceiling of the ballroom collapsed."
Emma nodded, "I was there or here rather. I – I had followed Dirano to see if he was going to meet with Ms. Mizli."
"Theron's wife?"
Again the younger female nodded. "I snuck in while the party was going on an' took shelter from the storm down in the servant's quarters."
"That's great," Aras interrupted. "But you still haven't told us why we're here now."
"Yes Em, why did you bring us here?" Pearl asked. She felt as if the whole of her existence hinged on the answer to this question.
The catmaid eyed each of the other creatures guiltily before she continued. "I – well when I started working with Felldoh's Heirs one of the things they were looking for was a place to stow their prisoner's young ones, somewhere the islanders would never think to look for . . ."
"You've known she was here all along!" Like lightning the vixen's paws went to the younger female's throat.
"Now hold on there." Brull attempted to break up the fight but all Aras had to do was reach in with one paw and lift Pearl away from her victim.
"Let me go!" The vixen struggled to get free. "She's as good as kitnapped Sandy herself!"
The sheriff kept a paw on Emma who looked ready to bolt but he spoke calmly to Pearl. "I realize that, but you gotta keep your voice down or we'll have half the woodlanders in town down on us."
Aras made sure that the madam had calmed down a bit before he set her back on her foot paws and turned to face the catmaid. "So where is this place they're keeping the kits?"
"You heard the wolverine," growled Brull, crossing his own arms menacingly. "Speak up!"
Tears of fear were glistening in the catmaid's eyes. "It's just – just a little further, just past that bit of wall that's still standing."
Pearl started off in the indicated direction, tail swishing determinedly behind her. "Well what are we waiting for?"
"I think it might be better . . ." Emma spoke up and the other three stared at her.
The vixen wasn't really in the mood to hear what her former employee thought, but she snorted and waited for the girl to finish.
"They know me. I should probably go in by myself."
"Oh no." Pearl started to raise her voice again. "I've waited long enough to get her back I'm going in there now."
"Well," The sheriff put a paw on the madam's arm. "She might have a point there. We don't know how many of 'em are in there. If we just rush in they might start killin' off the little'uns."
This notion stopped Pearl in her tracks.
"Th - that's right." Emma nodded more confidently. "I'll just knock on the door and see what we're up against. And you can . . ." she shot a look at the wolverine. "You can stay just out of sight and watch me the whole time."
Nobeast said anything so the catmaid took a step toward the hiding place. "I'll only be a moment." Then she hurried before they could change their minds.
"We'd better get out of sight," Brull motioned for the other two to follow him behind a heap of rubble but he didn't take his eyes off Emma.
"I can't believe she never told me," Pearl seethed as she allowed Aras to guide her around next to the sheriff.
Brull snorted. "Maybe she was afraid you'd be angry."
The vixen was about to retort but Aras laid a paw on her arm and motioned for quiet. "I think we might be able to hear what they're saying," he whispered.
Emma had knocked on the door and a harassed looking shrewwife poked out her head looking side to side before she laid in to the catmaid with a vengeance. "Do you know how long I been waitin' for somebeast to relieve me o' this post? I know there's been a fire and fightin' and all sorts o' nonsense, but I was supposed to be off my shift a day ago! Well never mind. You're here now."
The shrew shoved a bundle into Emma's arms, "Take this one. He's your kind so maybe you can do something with 'im. He only cries for me."
The catmaid looked as if she had been about to say something but when the kitten was placed in her arms she stopped and stared at it.
"There's a couple of rats and a ferret who have been putting up a fuss, but the vixen's a doll. It's really the squirrel ye have t' worry about," the shrew went on and then the listeners lost some of what she said next because she ducked back inside the makeshift nursery.
Pearl's attention was captured when she heard the word 'vixen' but something seemed to have interested her companions as well.
"...Other than that you should be fine." The shrewwife, now with a bag over her shoulder, patted the still entranced Emma on the arm. "An' I'll make sure you get yer relief sooner than I did. Seasons know, you don't want to be stuck with this lot fer longer than you have to."
As soon as the woodlander was out of sight, Pearl rushed to door. "Where is she?"
The catmaid didn't answer. She was still staring at the little kitten. "Look at 'im, Ms. Pearl. I think he's Di's."
The vixen glanced at the babe Emma was cradling. He was indeed the spitting image of Dirano but Pearl would not be distracted from her purpose. "Where is Sandy?"
At the sound of her name the little kit gave an excited cry, clapped her paws, and reached up toward her grandmother.
It took a moment for Pearl to spot the tiny vixen sitting on the floor in the relative gloom of the old servants quarters. When she did, she scooped the kit up into her arms and hugged her fiercely. "Oh Sandy! Oh my sweet, Sandy! I've missed you so! Thank the Fates you're all right!"
"Gra," the kit squealed with delight, clinging just as tightly to her long lost guardian.
Then Pearl felt a tug on her skirt. She looked down. The other young ones had begun to gather around her. "Ma'am, have you seen my papa?" one of them asked.
"Where's my mama?" another pleaded and a whelp in the corner set up a piteous wail.
Pearl searched around herself for help and she saw Aras and Brull now standing in the doorway. They looked just as confounded as she felt. The madam had been so focused on her own problems that she hadn't even considered the other families that had been torn asunder by all this mess. She hugged Sandy again, glad of at least this one bright spot in the rest of the dark world and then whispered, "We'll find them. We'll find all your mummies and daddies. Everything is going to be just fine."
Then another voice rose up out of the crowd of little ones. "I suppose you've seen my father?" Pearl was surprised to see that this question came from a half grown squirrel. "Everybeast gets to see him but me."
end of week five.