The entire city was in something of an uproar not long after the news reached the library. Elaine might have guessed that she and Caitlyn were among the first to know, if she’d even had the presence of mind to be thinking about that.
As it was, she was walking with a crowd towards the center of the city, roughly in the direction of the Central Manor which would theoretically open to Lord Watts now. Elaine doubted the key would even have to physically unlock the door; it was definitely magical, so the door would probably open the moment he approached it.
How did he even catch her? That was what Elaine couldn’t understand. I thought… She didn’t really know what she had thought. But she obviously hadn’t believed that anyone was going to actually win Katherine’s ridiculous contest.
But sure enough, in front of the fountain adorning the space before the Central Manor, there stood Lord Watts with a little black cat in his arms. She looked far calmer than Elaine felt, apparently scanning the approaching people; her gaze drifted to Elaine and only paused a moment before moving on.
When a large crowd had gathered around him, Lord Watts said simply, “Behold the cat of Enchantress Katherine, Lady of Light and Dark!”
There was a cheer, although Elaine noticed that she wasn’t the only one who didn’t look too pleased; she caught sight of Sir Strickland with a hand on the shoulder of someone who was probably his son, as well as many young men whose expressions varied from disappointed to enraged. She really did have the whole city vying after her.
The noise of the people all around quieted as a shadowy figure formed in front of Lord Watts, then solidified and became Enchanter Stephan. He gave the younger man an appraising look, then said softly, “So, Lord Watts, you have caught the Enchantress’s cat.”
“So I have, Enchanter Stephen.” Lord Watts sounded respectful enough, but Elaine could hear the triumph in his voice, irritating in its self-assurance.
“And according to the declaration given at the beginning of this year, whoever holds the cat will be able to use the key around its neck to enter the Central Manor and claim Lady Katherine’s hand in marriage.” Elaine really couldn’t tell how Enchanter Stephan felt about all of this. Surely he cared about Katherine marrying someone she loved?
“Yes, Enchanter.” Lord Watts took the key from around the cat’s neck and showed it to Enchanter Stephan.
“Well then, you had better see if the door will open for you, Lord Watts.” Now there seemed to be a little more emotion in his voice, something like amusement.
Elaine realized she was digging her fingernails into her palms as she watched Lord Watts approach the door of the manor, but she couldn’t make herself relax. It felt like the only thing that had mattered to her in years was being slowly, torturously stripped away from her.
The world was fuzzy, and it took Elaine a moment to realize that was because she was crying. She felt vulnerable, she wanted to run away, to hide, to go home and never leave again, but it was as if she was rooted to the ground, unable to take her eyes away from the cat in Lord Watts’ arms.
The crowd began to murmur, and Elaine blinked away tears to see that, for some reason, Lord Watts was still standing outside. The door of the manor was still shut. The key… wasn’t working?
“Oh, Spirits above us, what kind of joke is this?” He finally exclaimed, dropping the cat and yanking the key out of the door to look at it.
“Sorry, it’s broken.” The words came from the cat— from Katherine— as she transformed back into her human self, adorned in gold and red. “If you look closely, you might notice that all of its magic has been… sapped away.” Katherine’s eyes met Elaine’s and she smiled, earning her a smile back despite Elaine’s confused distress.
“That rather defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?” Lord Watts said stiffly. He didn’t seem surprised by Katherine’s transformation, though nearly everyone else clearly hadn’t expected this turn of events.
It was Enchanter Stephan who spoke then, to Katherine rather than Lord Watts. “Lady— Katherine,” he said gently. “You agreed to it. You decided it.”
Katherine gave him a small, reassuring smile before she stepped away from the Manor to stand at the center of the crowd where she could be heard better. “It’s true that I made this declaration, and it is true that I have every intention of keeping my word in this.
“However, there was an addendum to my declaration, stating that if I chose someone else worthy to marry before or at the time of the capture of ‘my cat’, they would take precedence over the winner of the contest.”
“Have you met such a person?” Enchanter Stephan sounded more curious than surprised.
“I have,” Katherine replied evenly.
Lord Watts now stepped away from the manor and demanded, “Where is he, then?”
Katherine looked back at him, then at her uncle. For the first time, there was apprehension in her eyes as she gazed at all the people around her. Then her face settled into a look of resolve and she stood up straight. “She is standing among this crowd.”
Elaine’s heart seemed to stop. She can’t mean… me. Can she?
Katherine’s eyes found Elaine’s and she held out a hand. The crowd began to grow restless and the whispers increased as Elaine walked forward to take Katherine’s hand. She felt like she was caught in a dream; she wondered when she would wake up.
“As… some of you know…” Katherine began once Elaine was by her side, and Elaine didn’t miss the look between Katherine and Caitlyn; the blue-eyed girl’s face was unreadable. “…I have always had more interest in women than men. It is something that I, and others—” here she glanced at her uncle— “used to wonder when it would change, when I would find the man that was meant to be my other half.
“I know the answer now, and it is never.” Katherine laughed, a giddy sound of something like relief. “I will never be with a man, and the one who holds my heart is beside me now.”
Lord Watts’ face had a similar expression as it did when he had seen Katherine kissing Elaine in that alleyway, but now he looked much more angry— and dangerous. Elaine, who couldn’t shake the daze she felt she was in, shifted closer to Katherine and cleared her throat softly.
Katherine glanced at Lord Watts, then once again looked around her at the crowd. There were expressions ranging from confusion to disgust on many faces; very few seemed to be accepting anything Katherine was saying.
“I don’t expect anyone to understand. But then, I don’t need any of you to understand.
“Just know that I am still Lady Katherine, Enchantress, Lady of Light and Dark, and I will never give up on this city, so long as it tries never to give up on me. There is a future for us all, a bright one, and I want to move towards that future with the most worthy person I know, the woman I love, at my side: Lady Elaine, daughter of Enchantress Susanna, Lady of the River of Stars, and Enchanter Abraham, Lord of Flight.”
There was once again a great deal of noise among the gathered people, but now Katherine had her full attention on Elaine; the moment their eyes locked, the reality of it all finally sank in and Elaine felt tears falling down her face once again. “Katherine…” Elaine choked, laughing and crying, elated and scared all at once.
Katherine dropped down onto one knee, still holding Elaine’s hands in her own. “Elaine…” Now Katherine’s eyes were shining with tears. “I know we haven’t known each other long, and I’m afraid I may not be everything you deserve, but I want to spend the rest of my life learning to be more, with you, for you. I love you.
“Elaine, will you marry me?”
Elaine knelt down to Katherine’s level and pulled her into a hug, crying and laughing into her shoulder and anchoring herself in the feel of Katherine’s arms. “Yes, Katherine, yes! I love you, too.”
Katherine stood up, bringing Elaine up with her, and grinned through her tears before pulling Elaine into her, kissing her. Everything else ceased to matter and there was nothing in Elaine’s world but Katherine, beautiful, brave, wonderful Katherine.
When they separated, Enchanter Stephan was dispersing the crowd with promises of an official declaration to be made within the next few days. As he did so, Katherine took Elaine to the door of the Central Manor, which opened with a wave of her hand. They stepped inside and suddenly all was silent.
“You really want to marry me?” Elaine asked, unable to stop smiling.
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” Katherine laughed. “I didn’t expect any of this to happen today, and I had no idea what I was going to do until I saw you in the crowd.”
Elaine shook her head. “You’re unbelievable, Katherine.”
Katherine’s eyes glowed at the love in Elaine’s voice. “Not as unbelievable as you, Lady Elaine.”
Elaine hummed. “How did you know who I am? I mean, I only figured it out myself less than an hour ago.”
“Sort of a guess,” Katherine admitted. “But certainly a lucky one.”
Elaine allowed Katherine to wrap her arms around her, so that their faces were inches apart and Elaine’s hands were on Katherine’s shoulders “You know there is so much left I don’t know about myself? I love you, Katherine…” Elaine rested her head against Katherine’s shoulder. “But I’m afraid I won’t even be the same person if I continue to learn about my past, and my parents.
“But I need to know.”
Katherine was quiet for a moment. Elaine wanted to believe that her need to know more could work with Katherine’s need to lead her city, but she would let Katherine go if she had to. Spirits, please don’t make me let her go… don’t make me live without her.
“Look at me, Elaine,” Katherine finally said softly. Elaine obeyed, looking into Katherine’s eyes. They were bright with love and determination, and not a hint of doubt. “Whatever happens to either of us next, whatever I need to do, whatever you need to do… I want you with me.”
Elaine smiled as she felt more tears welling up in her eyes. “I want you with me, too.”
“I want to be yours,” Katherine breathed, touching her forehead to Elaine’s. “I want you.”
Elaine closed her eyes. “Me, too.”
They kissed once again, first gently, then passionately; Elaine wrapped her arms behind Katherine’s neck and drew Katherine into her. She knew the future was going to be hard, she knew not every moment would feel as perfect as this one— but she didn’t care. As long as Katherine loved her, as long as they were together, she knew it would be okay.
Together, for the rest of their lives and beyond, everything would be wonderful.
Author Notes: Part 1: https://www.shortstories101.com/story/cat-part-1/
Part 10: https://www.shortstories101.com/story/cat-part-10/
Ta-da! The end! I know it's all kinda cheesy and maybe a bit contrived, but it was fun to write and I hope it was fun to read. Thanks for reading all of it (unless you're reading this without context, in which case I highly recommend starting with part 1), and thanks especially to hercules (https://www.shortstories101.com/users/hercules/) and Skylar (https://www.shortstories101.com/users/aishlynn/) for the support as I posted each part! As always, let me know what you think!
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