"He just keeps brooding on it," sighed May. "Really - he can be such a
pain at times!"
Soot just nodded. "Are you surprised by that? After what happened?"
Their looks hit the closed door of the inn room - the money they had now
were more than enough to rent an apartment in the inn. One room for Soot
and May. In the other, Zack stayed with Merta.
"She still hasn't woken up," Soot said with a sigh. "Now this is what I
call bad. And Grace running away didn't help it."
"She will definitely come back!" cried May. "The day after tomorrow..."
"Yes," interrupted Soot, "but the thing is that we are supposed to leave
for the island today..."
May paled. "I didn't think about it. But she might have some sort of plan..."
"Yes," nodded Soot. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of."
I think I've cried through the most of the night. The blow May gave me
yesterday was nothing compared to this: Grace, the cute, innocent Grace,
did something with Merta that left her more dead than alive.
I wanted to confront her. When I found they were gone, I was going to spank
them both, but now I knew Merta was innocent. Grace, after I get her, will
be sorry she was ever born! I was the one who saved her, I carried her out
of Feltar's dungeon - and this is supposed to be her gratitude?
I would get the money in time - I just knew I would!
"If Merta dies," I cried out loud, "you will wish I left you where I found
you. If she dies... I'm going to kill you."
May shuddered. "It's really bad. In this state of mind, he might seriously
hurt her. What should we do?"
"First of all," said Soot, "I'm going to find that stupid maid. I was in
hiding at times - I know all the obvious places and I really doubt Grace
would think of anywhere else. You stay on the guard here. Zack shouldn't
leave the room until it's time to board the ship."
"It's 8 AM and the ship sails in the afternoon, with the tide!"
Soot nodded. "Exactly. Just keep him in."
"How?"
But she was already gone.
"Keep him in," muttered May. "I'm not my brother's keeper, you know."
She sat down on the bed. No stupid stuff today, she thought. Zack was obviously
unstable and May was afraid he might lose his self-control. He was already
vowing to kill Grace - he would certainly have no qualms about giving her
a spanking of her life - anything could set him off!
Grace has woken up and groaned.
She was lying on a heap of garbage. She faintly remembered that she settled
here because it was soft. She was probably so tired she didn't notice the
smell.
And she was close to tears.
Oh, it was fine yesterday. Telling herself that she must do it, even when
she knew the consequences of her actions. Telling herself that Zack will
eventually understand and won't spank her much (she had no delusions about
avoiding it completely), telling herself that he will cool off in the two
days...
But in today's light, what she did looked just horrible and she could envision
anything as her punishment - from public whipping to a being dropped in
the sea with a rock tied to her legs.
She started to cry softly.
And she screamed as she felt something rough touch her face.
She jumped up. There was a nude girl in front of her.
She licked her lips. "Salty," she said.
Shocked Grace looked on her.
"You... were licking my face?"
The girl nodded. "I shouldn't?" she queried.
"No! You can't just go and licking people's faces!"
She shrugged. "Why not?"
"Because it's..." Grace blinked and looked at the girl again. Something
was just wrong here and the nudity was just a part of it.
She had green eyes, just like herself, and the hair were red. Her body
was well-developed - better developed than Grace's, although the girl did,
in fact, look younger than her - her legs maybe a tad too long, and her
tail...
Ah. Here was where the trouble started.
The tail was long and slim and covered with red hair. Now that's something
you don't see every day.
"Who are you?" she asked her.
"I'm Linda," said the girl. "And I want to play with you."
I opened the door and almost collided with my sister.
"What are you doing here?" I asked but thanks to my mental state it came
out as a shout.
May jumped. "Well... you know... I was worried about you, Bro."
"About me?" I didn't get it. "Why? You should be worried about Merta! She's
the one who's..."
May nodded. "Yes, but... you didn't sleep at all, right?"
I sighed. "I remember I was talking to her... I was calling her... then,
maybe..."
I couldn't admit I've cried. Crying was something girls did.
"I know," said May with sympathy. "Bro, can I visit her? With you?"
I nodded. "Of course. I'm sure she will be... happy to have a company."
"She looks much better than yesterday," said May. "Much more color in her
face."
"You think so?"
"Really, Zack, I think that she just overexerted her powers." She sounded
sympathetic. "I bet she will wake up in time for ship."
"The ship!" I jumped. "I forgot all about it!"
"No worries, it's not due to leave right now," said May. She lowered her
head to Merta's chest. "It sounds to me she's sleeping normally now," she
said. "And I think you should get some sleep, too."
I hesitated. "Well..."
"I'm really sorry," said May. "For what Grace did. But please, don't kill
her."
"Kill her?" I repeated. Then I remembered my words from before. "Ah...
you heard?"
"All the neighbourhood had to hear that, Zack. We were worried you might
really hurt her."
"I just don't know, May. I never thought she would be do something like
this. I guess... there is a lot about her I don't know, huh?"
"She's not a bad person, I'm sure of that," said May firmly. "I read the
note she left. I think... she is just afraid to face the consequences."
"And damn right she is!" I raised my voice again. "This is not a matter
of some minor correction! She did something really stupid and reckless and
I will punish her severely... I mean, I should, shouldn't I?"
May thought about it a bit. "You shouldn't spank her while you are still
angry with her," she said. "Maybe you should forgive her before you
spank her bottom. Only then you will be able to punish her fairly."
"I can't forgive her," I stated bluntly. "Not until Merta wakes up and
tells me her side of the story."
"Play with me?" blinked Grace in confusion.
"Yes," nodded Linda. "I want to play."
Grace watched in horror as she absent-mindedly digged a half-rotten fish
head from the garbage heap and started to nibble on it.
"What kind of game?" she asked, faintly.
"Game? I just want to play," repeated Linda, this time more indignantly.
"No!" cried Grace. "I mean - I'm all smelly from sleeping here, I should
get some water and wash..."
Linda looked genuinely puzzled. "Why do you need water for washing?"
"Well... how do you wash?"
"Like this." Linda finished the fish head and carefully licked her fingers.
She's a cat, thought Grace in fascination. I'm sitting here talking to
a cat and I'm hallucinating it's a human girl. Must be the smell. It can
do weird things to your head. She even has cat ears, red, of course,
on top of her head.
"Well, I require water," she said carefully.
"If I bring you water, will you play?"
Grace gave up. "Sure..."
Linda came up to the nearest wall.
The nail on her right forefinger suddenly grew and she started scratching
a picture in the plaster.
Grace watched as the picture on the wall came off and became an icosahedron
full of water.
"Here's the water," said Linda. "Wash yourself and we will play, OK?"
"You are a Geomancer!" cried Grace accusingly.
Linda blinked. "Of course not. I'm Linda, did you forget?"
"But what you did - that's geomancy!"
"Don't be silly. It's just bad water. Not good to drink. I like water in
puddles better."
"Somebody has told you to come here, am I right?" she said slowly.
"What? Nobody tells me what to do!" cried Linda. Her tail straightened
itself and bristled. It was pretty intimidating, actually. Grace had to
take a step back.
"But..."
"Any trouble?"
Grace looked around. Soot was standing on the rooftop of nearby house.
"Do you have any trouble? Past those you caused to yourself, of course,"
she snickered.
We were waiting in Merta's room. She just wouldn't wake up by herself and
May told me I shouldn't try to speed up the process.
"You could kiss her," she suggested. "That usually helps in the fairy tales."
"Don't be silly!"
"Hey, chill off, it was just a suggestion."
But what if she will be Raia after she wakes up? I thought. She wasn't
someone I would fancy to meet.
Merta moved a little and moaned.
"Maybe you should go," I said quickly. May didn't put it all together,
she didn't know Merta bore the legendary Witch Queen in her mind. Soot didn't
know either, possibly not even Merta herself, the only one other person
who knew was...
Grace. I started to sweat. Could Grace's outrageous behaviour have something
to do with this? Could she tried to destroy Raia? But...
The door opened and we both turned.
The creature that stood in the door didn't look at all familiar. Her head
was a head of woman, but that was the only human part, the rest of her body
looked like a solid black pillar. "So, we meet again," she said. The metallic tone of her voice triggered
a memory.
"Swarm!"
She nodded. "We have chosen this form to minimize resistance." Black
tendrils shot from the pillar. In a flash, May was hurled against the wall.
She fainted.
"Hey!"
I jumped to avoid a tendril that would pierce my shoulder - but the end
of tendril just came off and enveloped my upper arm. It burned. I cried.
Pillar transformed in a human body and Swarm stepped in the room. "We take the girl," she intoned.
"The hell you do!" I cried. The sword was suddenly back in my hand and
I hacked against Swarm.
The blade just passed through her body. Nothing happened.
Swarm transformed into a cloud and enveloped Merta. Whole of my body started
to burn and I suddenly couldn't breathe. "Curious," said Swarm. "It seems that we are unable to harm her
or take her as long as you are alive." She formed a head again to say those words. Then the head smiled. "This situation requires an immediate correction."
"Another funny girl!" laughed Linda. "Will you play?"
Soot blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Soot!" cried Grace. "She is a Geomancer! I think she had been sent by
that Queen person - like Swarm!"
The rooftop was at least twenty feet above the ground, but Linda easily
jumped up on it.
"I'm Linda," she said. "And who are you?"
Soot smiled. "So... you want to play?"
"Yes!"
"What kind of playing do you have in mind?"
Linda thought about it. "Hmmm... how about you run and I chase you?"
Soot looked at her. "I don't think that would be exactly fair, Linda. I
mean, you are obviously much more agile than me. You would certainly win."
"What good is to play when you can't win?"
Soot laughed. "You're my type of a girl. Where are you from?"
Linda furrowed her brow. "Hmmm... An alley!"
"An alley?"
"Yes! Lots of good food in there!"
A sound from below made Soot look over the rooftop edge. Grace was nowhere
to be seen.
She nodded. "What about we both chase the girl that just ran away?"
she suggested. "How about that kind of playing?"
Linda beamed. "That would be great!" She jumped off the roof.
It took a tad longer for Soot to get down.
When Grace streaked through the town and hit another alleyway, she almost
fainted when somebody leaped from the shadows and pinned her to the ground.
She definitely screamed.
"I caught you first! I won!" laughed Linda.
Soot appeared in the entrance. "Yep, it looks like that, Linda," she smiled.
"Now, Grace, there are some matters we need to talk about."
"What about her?" Grace was panicking. "I tell you, she might come after
us!"
"I did! And I caught you first!"
"I very much doubt anyone would use her as a henchman - or henchwoman
or henchcat or what the hell she is," shook Soot her head.
"But why is she able to use geomancy?"
"Good point. Tell me, Linda, are you able to draw more pictures like that?"
Linda thought about it. "I don't know. I never tried any other."
"Where did you come from?"
"I told you - an alley. And the streets. I like the streets."
"An alley in this town?"
Linda shrugged. "I don't know. What's a 'town'?"
"Do you remember anything else?" persisted Soot. "Your parents, friends..."
"I remember the mice. They were funny! And good!"
Soot nodded. "I see... How did you get in here?"
"I don't know! But I like it here! You are sooo funny!"
"Concentrate!" barked Soot. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"Well, the last thing it you telling me what's the last thing I remember!"
"Before you met Grace, I mean!" Soot was losing her calm.
This took some heavy thinking.
"A girl," she said in the end. "Big girl. Hurt. I remember... blood."
"Are you joking?" I cried out.
I tried with all my might and I was able to breathe. Somehow, I was feeling
all the painful or bad things Merta would feel otherwise.
Wait - that couldn't be right. Because I spanked her and that certainly
hurt her - not me.
This was all pointless since we were both going to die if I didn't
do something.
But the only weapon that proved to be effective against Swarm was fire
- and I had nothing to light a fire with. Merta was still unconscious. And
she couldn't help me, either.
I hacked and slashed through the swarm of particles although I knew it
was pointless.
The head formed again. "Why are you wasting your time with a futile activity?" It sounded
puzzled. "Your weapon is clearly ineffective against our dispersed structure." "You wouldn't understand!" I cried. "I won't let you hurt Merta!" "You know very well that she is Raia," pointed out Swarm. "She
presents a danger to the whole world. Only the Queen can contain her."
"She is Merta and that's enough for me!" I cried. "I'm going to protect
her! It's my duty as her Knight!" "I don't understand." Swarm was hesitating. She really didn't understand
what was going on.
"You wouldn't. But I won't let any harm to come to her. I... I..."
I looked around. Both girls were unconscious.
"I LOVE HER!" I cried and in the instant I knew it's the truth. The first
time I confessed my love. Too bad it had to happen when the only person
who could hear me probably didn't even know what the word meant.
Suddenly I felt a surge of power. The sword was glowing and the golden
glow spread all around my body.
I had become a true Knight. A Knight in a shining armor.
Grace gasped. "No! Please, say it's not true!"
"Excuse me?" asked Soot.
"When I left Merta yesterday... there was this cat, you see. In the alley.
And it... licked Merta's face, there was some blood on her lip and..."
"And?" asked Soot.
"You didn't hear it, but me and Zack... we met another one, like Swarm
but different, and she told us... well, Merta's blood has certain power."
"You mean this is the cat?" Soot blinked. "Are you seriously suggesting
that licking off a few drops of blood could change a normal alley cat in...
this?"
"Did you lick her face?" cried Grace. "Did you?"
"Yes," said Linda. "I thought she might wake up. She was hurt. I was sorry
for her."
"That is what she meant..." whispered Grace. "I was a fool. How stupid
I was!"
"What? What are you talking about?"
But Grace didn't hear them.
Raia changed Feltar's curse, thought Grace. And Raia told me that I bear
full responsibility for all the consequences.
I didn't know then, but suppose doing something like that was straining?
Then, Raia changing back into Merta before she could send me back - and
that was a consequence.
Merta hurting herself was my fault. My responsibility.
It's my responsibility there was any blood for the cat to lick.
I am responsible for what the cat did. And I bear full responsibility for
all the consequences. That's what I promised.
Everything relates to everything else.
She started crying.
I striked with the blazing sword and it burned its way through Swarm's
head.
She shrieked. "What are you doing? How... You can't hurt us!"
Another strike, another bunch of particles burnt. "No! Stop that!" Swarm let Merta go and concentrated on me. She was shooting her tendrils
at me, then shiny black projectiles - but nothing could pierce my armor.
I striked again and pierced the heart of black mass. "Stop! You're hurting me!"
Me? She never used that term before!
I striked again. This time Swarm just shrieked.
Then she moved away. She coalesced into human form again.
She looked about ten years old now. Tears were streaking down her face. "You will pay... pay for our disgrace!" she cried. "Next time...
next time!"
However evil she might be, I was feeling sorry for her. "Get out," I said.
"Next time we meet, I might just spank you."
She bristled - literally, thousands of small spikes appeared on her skin
- but then she just jumped out of the room's window.
In the midair, she exploded in a swarm of black particles and disappeared.
I don't remember anything after that.
"I can't explain it," said Grace between the sobs, "but this is the cat.
And I... it's all my fault she ended up like that! I'm responsible!"
"Well," said Soot with a sigh, "it's almost lunchtime. We have to go back.
To the inn."
"I'm not coming back! After I did, Zack would kill me!"
You are eerily close, thought Soot.
"But you have to get on the ship with us. How did you think you get to
the island?"
Grace hesitated. "I kept some of the money. I could get a ride on another
ship..."
"No," said Soot firmly. "You are going with us. You will tell Zack how
much sorry you are and you may ask him to postpone your punishment - but
you are going to face the consequences of what you did, is that clear?"
Consequences.
Grace nodded. "You are... right. I must face the consequences. Everything
relates."
"What?"
"Never mind." She put a hand in her bag and pulled a paddle from it.
"Take it... and give it to Zack. I'm not sure if I will have the courage
to do it myself."
Soot looked at the implement. I'm not afraid of spanking.
You don't be afraid to spank me well. "Well, it's not exactly true, is it?" she chuckled. "You are afraid,
aren't you?"
"Yes," admitted Grace. "But I know I deserve every swat. For abusing Merta.
For disappearing and not telling anyone. For running away. And..." she hesitated.
"For bringing this burden upon him." She indicated Linda.
Soot jumped. "What? You can't be serious!"
Grace patted Linda's head. She purred.
"I've decided. I'm going to take her with me. She knows nothing of human
world, she might end up... hurt."
"Her? If she's as strong as she's agile, she will have no trouble,
trust me!"
"I'm taking her with me!"
Grace started to open her blouse.
"What are you doing?" cried Soot. "Are you crazy?"
"She can't go like this," said Grace. "She must have some clothes."
"Great, so you are going to go across the town in just your bra and panties?"
That caught Grace unprepared. "Well... what if you went and brought some
extra clothes?"
"And let you run away again? Not a chance, girl."
Soot sighed and started to take off her top. "I have much greater experience
in avoiding being seen than you have," she said. "But you are going to owe
me big time."
"OK, get dressed," sighed Grace. "We have to go."
Linda sniffed the clothes. "Smell funny," she said. "I like it." To Grace's
surprise she dressed herself without help.
Just how much of her is a cat and how much is a girl? she thought. Linda
evidently didn't see anything unusual in her own precondition. Did she know
she was human now? She had to, right? It's not something you can miss. And
she evidently had some memories - albeit fuzzy - of her feline past...
She turned to Soot. She didn't look happy.
"I feel like naked without the clothes," she complained. "Oh, all right,
I'm going in the shadows. We are in the same inn as the day before yesterday,
but try to run away and Zack won't have to deal with you because I
will."
"I promise," nodded Grace.
But Soot was gone. She was good - Grace didn't even notice her vanishing.
"Where are we going?" asked Linda curiously.
"To Zack," sighed Grace. "I... travel with him. From now on, you can travel
with us, too."
"Great! You are so funny! I will like to go with you!" nodded Linda. "Are
there others?"
"The... the girl you licked. And one other, Zack's sister."
Linda sniffed. "You have kids with Zack?"
Grace gasped. "What... what... excuse me? I'm not ready for something like
that! I'm too young!"
"What do you mean?" asked Linda. "I'm younger than you and I had two or
three litters."
Grace just gasped. Of course, cats were doing things differently...
"What happened to them?"
Linda shrugged. "No idea. Five or six grew up and went away. Some died.
Two, I ate."
"You ate your own children?"
"Why not? Not enough food for all. It's normal thing."
"I think it would be a very good idea not to mention that again!" exploded
Grace. "I don't know what kind of behaviour you were used to, but we don't
do things this way!"
"Hmmm... And what way?"
Grace sighed. "Sometimes I wonder myself, you know. I mean - Zack is fine,
but he already has Merta - that's the girl you licked."
"And? I never heard that would be a problem."
"Not among cats! But we are human now..." Grace gasped.
"So... I am a human?"
"Not exactly, you... ah... I don't know!"
Linda laughed. "Humans are funny! I like being a human!"
"Zack will be livid..."
"You want to have kids with Zack?"
"Stop that!"
"I can smell," shrugged Linda. "Whenever you talk about him, there's that
smell."
"Wh..what do you mean?" Grace stammered.
Linda pointed at the street. "See those two?"
There was a boy and a girl holding hands. At times, they threw careful glances
to each other.
"They want to have kids together," pronounced Linda. "Both of them. That
smell again."
"You... you can actually smell that?" whispered Grace.
"Of course I can! Easy!"
"Please... don't tell anyone," whispered Grace. "Not Zack, especially. People
like to keep such things... secret."
"How do you have kids, then, if you don't tell each other?"
"We... manage. Somehow."
Linda sighed. "We go too slow," she complained.
"We would attract attention if we went faster."
"I like to have attention!"
"Yes, but I tell you it's bad right now."
"OK, OK..." grumbled Linda.
She didn't worry, realized Grace. I would worry if I woke up and found out
I'm a different species. But cat wouldn't. Cats never worried, they just...
took the life as it came and enjoyed it full-time.
I have a lot to teach her, she thought. But - I also have a lot to learn.
I woke up. Something soft and wet was covering my mouth.
I fumbled around and accidentally squeezed something else. Soft, too.
"Zack!"
I opened my eyes to find Merta on top of me, kissing me.
"Aaah!"
"You wouldn't wake up," said May. "And Merta just doesn't understand jokes
the way you do. But what do you know - it worked!"
"What time is it?" I asked quickly.
"Almost the time to go to the ship," replied May. "But Soot is not here
yet."
"Soot? Where did she..."
"To find Grace," said May quietly.
"Grace?"
"It's OK," said Merta. I finally realized it.
"You're awake!"
"Yes. I'm OK now. Please, Zack, don't be too harsh with Grace."
"Sorry, Merta, but I have to," I said. "She did a dangerous, reckless thing
and you got hurt. She will be punished, Merta - severely."
Merta sighed. "I... I see. But I feel sorry for her."
That's when the door opened. Grace was standing there, uneasily, together
with a red-haired girl I've never seen before. At the same time, Soot, almost
in nude, swinged through the window and immediately covered herself with a
blanket.
"Get her some proper clothes and pass mine here!" she barked. "I swear I
won't ever do this again!"
"Who's that girl?" I asked.
"That's Linda," said Soot. "Meet the newest member of our little ansamble."
"What?"
"Zack, she doesn't have anyone," interjected Grace. "We could at least take
her to the islands with us... please?"
I finally looked at her. She looked scared. The other girl - Linda? - wasn't
scared, more like annoyed. And curious.
Grace grabbed her hand and they disappeared, presumably to change.
"Soot," I said. "Care for an explanation? As for you two, girls, go outside
for a minute."
It was rather a lengthy explanation, interrupted by edited version of my
fight with Swarm.
"I'm sorry," I said at the end, "but it's all a bit hard to believe. Merta's
blood has power, yes, but to do a thing like this? I mean, she had to bleed
before, right? Why did it happen now?"
"No idea," said Soot. "But Grace was scared big time about it. I think she
knows more than she tells."
"Grace," I said, "is just full of surprises."
"What are you going to do with them?"
I sighed. "I don't have anything against Linda staying - but you two are
responsible for her, understand?" Soot wanted to say something, but I didn't
give her a chance. "This is not a family trip. We are on the run. You want
to take her - fine, but Grace and you will take care of her. Five girls -
don't you think that's a bit too much for me?"
"Hey, you don't have to take care of me - I am..."
"I especially have to take care of you," I said firmly. "And she
is going to go through some bad stuff, definitely. I think female companions
may be of more help than me. And if she causes trouble for the group, you
will get punished."
She sighed. "OK, I guess. Oh, and... Grace asked me to give this to you."
It was a small paddle. I turned it over and read the inscription.
"When did she..."
Soot shrugged. "No idea. Zack, she knows how much she screwed up - with
Merta, and with Linda too - and she knows she won't be getting her butt out
of this one. She just wants to postpone it for a bit. You know you can't
spank her yet."
I nodded. "Merta is OK," I said. "And I don't think it's entirely her fault
what happened to Linda. Having to take care of her is going to be enough punishment
for that. And even Merta asked me to go easy on her..."
There was a knock at the door and I opened it.
Linda was now dressed in a spare set of Grace's outfit, with a cap covering
her ears. Her tail was hidden in the skirt. She didn't look happy.
May came in with Soot's clothes and gently shoved me in the first room.
"I don't like this," said Linda. "I can't run in this!"
"You should avoid running for a while," said Grace. Then she looked at me.
"I suppose it would be pointless to ask how much you are angry with me?"
"A lot," I said.
"Ah."
Linda sniffed the air. "He's nice!" she exclaimed. "No wonder you want to
mmph mmh mmph..."
Grace clamped her mouth with a horrified expression. "I told you something
about that!"
Linda nodded and Grace let her go.
"I see you've got a new friend," I said.
"Please, Zack, don't start with that," pleaded Grace. "Just tell me you
are going to spank me."
I
quickly counted the
days. Mrs. Tain had said that she can't be spanked until seven days have passed.
That meant... Cant was one, then travel to Rego, that catastrophe in dress
store, part-time jobs - this was the fifth day.
"OK, Grace, I am going to
spank you. The day after tomorrow, in the evening, when you can be spanked
again."
She grimaced. "I don't want to wait that long..."
"Excuse me? Consider that a part of the punishment."
"Yes, Zack."
"Soot gave me your paddle."
"Ah."
"I ensure you that I definitely won't be afraid to spank you well."
She nodded. "Thank you."
"Also, I place Linda under your guidance. She likes you, apparently."
"I like all of you!" laughed Linda. "All humans are funny!"
At the moment, I definitely didn't think so.
"My guidance?" repeated Grace slowly. Then she nodded. "Yes. You are right,
I'm the one responsible for her."
"Soot will help you, but remember - if Linda will cause any trouble, you
will bear the consequences."
"Zack..."
"Yes?"
Grace looked as she wanted to tell me something, but she shied off in the
end. "It's nothing. Please, will you forgive me?"
I smiled. "You didn't get your punishment yet, but I think I can give you
a little preliminary forgiveness."
She beamed. "Thank you!"
"Now, we need to get to the docks. There is a ship to take!"
After Zack left, Grace leaned to Linda. "Well? Does he love her?"
"Does he what?"
Grace sighed. Cats probably had no idea of love. Their sexual relationships
were never long-term.
"Does he want to h..have kids with Merta?"
Linda looked puzzled. "You told me humans like to keep those things secret."
"What?"
Linda actually smirked. "Sorry. A secret is a secret."
"No fair!" cried Grace. "Tell me, please!"
"No way!"
Grace grabbed after her but Linda easily jumped out of the way. She was
laughing her face off.
"There's going to be much more fun now!"
The captain charged us twenty gold pieces extra for a sixth member of the
party but it was no big deal - there was still about forty gold pieces left.
May complained about missing lunch, but nobody else did and when Soot surreptitiously
slapped her thigh, she got the hint and stopped.
The tide came and the ship set sail to Meneo. We got three rooms - Grace
and Linda claimed one, Soot and May another and the third was for me and Merta.
There was no discussion about this, everyone just seemed to treat us as an
item.
Were we, really?
It didn't matter. She was my Lady and I was her Knight.
We will be on Meneo the day after tomorrow. Our arrival will be celebrated
by a big spanking, and I found myself looking forward to it in a way Grace
definitely didn't. I felt a bit ashamed.
Grace found that Linda was quite a fast learner. She even grasped the idea
of cutlery quickly, and she accepted cooked food (although she seemed to had
retained the fangs of a predator). Vegetables, on the other hand, she blatantly
refused. Grace had no idea what kind of digestive system Linda possesses,
since cats are, unlike humans, strict carnivores, and she didn't press the
point.
She found herself liking Linda more and more. Maybe it was because she was
a cat. Grace always got well with cats. Or maybe because...
Because she was so unlike her. Grace has seen a lot in her life, mostly
bad things. She was wary, fearful. All her life, she was surrounded by people
stronger and more powerful than her.
Linda, on the other hand, was rash and naive. She didn't care for the future
or the past, she lived wholly in the present. She was a fighter. And she was
able to look at the world and where Grace got sad, Linda laughed.
For Linda, the world was a funny, happy place.
One day, thought Grace, it might be a happy place for me, too.
Then she saw Linda with a still-alive rat in her mouth, and felt a sudden
need to get some fresh air.
Two creatures were standing on the beach, watching the departing ship. The
sun has already set. "We should get them while we had the chance," said one of them.
"There is no real need," said the second one. "We know where they are going.
And the Queen knows, too. I think that she's going to send Spectre now." "She won't succeed," said the first voice smugly. "We are much
better than she is."
"Are you really?"
said a third voice, barely more
than a whisper, somewhere near. "Well, we will just find out, won't
we?"
End
of Chapter 11
May's Readers' Corner:
Well, once again, Fulgur seems to be on the roll! I'm glad for it - and
I didn't even get spanked this time, although I was afraid when Zack had that
bad mood, I must tell!
So, we found a new companion. Some of you have asked for a catgirl and people
Fulgur talked to all said they would love a character like that - so he submitted
to peer pressure and made Linda. But I like her - don't you? I would kill
to be as cute as her - or as well developed...
Oh well, I just have a feeling she is going to be useful. And of course,
Grace and Soot have absolutely no idea what did they got themselves into!
I won't reveal more, just the title of the next chapter: How to Spank a
Cat! Until it's released - see you!
May
May's Retrospective Readers' Corner:
How did Linda come into being?
Actually, Fulgur doesn't remember who came with the idea - probably him.
But he shared it with several people and all of them liked catgirls. So he
added one. Linda is the first - but not the last! - of new characters he
plans to introduce.
Well, to know more about her - you have to read further!
May's Readers' Corner:
May's Retrospective Readers' Corner: