Well, a curse on the hairy furball, the Lady's cat didn't show up until four days later. It didn't always come every day, but Elaine had begun to worry that it might not appear again at all.
While she'd been waiting, though, Elaine had taken the time to make a rare trip into the city, curious to see if this cat had really been making that much of a ruckus.
Sure enough, before she had even made it to the city center, Elaine saw three young men chasing after a little black streak. Sequentially, one man tripped on a root that Elaine wasn't sure had been there before, another skidded on a puddle in the middle of a dry road, and the third simply tumbled to the ground. It was a comical scene that Elaine struggled to stop herself from laughing at out loud, lest too much attention be drawn to her.
She got to the central market in time to see yet another man chasing the thing around shops and vendors, knocking things over and making a scene. "How many could there possibly be who are that determined to marry this Lady?" Elaine wondered out loud, shaking her head.
"You'd be surprised how many people have been waiting for the Enchantress to come of age in the hope of marrying her, or having their son marry her," a nearby vendor replied.
Elaine wasn't used to people responding when she talked to herself, but she managed not to jump when this one did. Turning to the woman, who appeared to be selling charmed spoons, Elaine asked, "But why?" She didn't quite dare ask if the Lady was really all that great, since the city people were extremely loyal to the Enchanter Family.
"Oh, they all have their own reasons, but more likely than not they hope to bring more power into their family. Magic is drying up in many folks 'round the world, but it runs strong as ever in the Lady's blood."
"I see."
"Anyway, it doesn't make a difference to an old woman like me who the Lady marries. Care to purchase a charmed spoon?"
Politely, Elaine inquired after what the charms did, listened to a list of things that she never would have thought of using a spoon for, and declined before perusing the rest of the market.
The sun was just beginning to slide back down from its pinnacle when Elaine decided she had better head back home. The various magical objects all around her were starting to give her a headache, and the longer she stayed out, the more she worried something bad might happen.
As her luck would have it, Elaine made it all the way to the edge of the city before someone started looking at her too closely, and she was off running before they could figure out if she was what they thought she was.
The next morning, morning of the fourth day since meeting Sir Edward Strickland, the familiar thump on the roof alerted Elaine to the presence of her furry interloper. For once, she was glad to hear it.
This time Elaine changed her approach, and simply sat on the roof, curious to see if it would take interest in her unusual behavior and confident that, as before, it wouldn't get off the roof without assistance.
"Hey, kitty. Having a good day today?"
The cat didn't seem to care one way or another about Elaine's presence. It began washing its white feet.
Elaine watched as the rising sun painted the sky and highlighted the city in the distance. "I guess it makes more sense now, that you would come here, since the chase is apparently endless out there."
A glance back at the creature showed that it was now working on its tail, licking away without a care in the world.
"I don't know what business anyone— even an enchantress— has, sending their cat out to be hunted down by hordes of men. Sounds like a fate worse than death, to me."
After another few minutes, the sound of the cat grooming itself stopped. Moments later, Elaine felt curious whiskers tickling her arm.
Surprised, she looked down at the cat. "Oh, so now you want to be friends? After all this time?"
The cat sat down beside Elaine, and she relented, gently brushing her finger against its soft cheek. "Well, if you were looking for a refuge from them, you came to the right place. People don't come this way often. If you weren't a cat, I'd be as surprised that you made it this far as I was about Sir Strickland."
The cat abruptly stood up again, making as if to leave, so Elaine snatched it up before it could get out of her reach. "Oh, no you don't. I have things to do today besides cat-catching."
The cat wriggled and meowed in protest, its pointy claws snagging at Elaine's sleeves, but she held it tight as always and, this time, brought it into the house, locking the door firmly.
The second the lock clicked, the cat began to meow loudly, sounding terribly indignant.
"It's only for a few days, so you may as well get used to it."
To Elaine's surprise, the cat sighed— it seemed almost dramatic to her— and stopped meowing.
"Okay. Good. Now, I'm just going to go about my work, so… go be a cat, I guess."
Author Notes: Part 1: https://www.shortstories101.com/story/cat-part-1/
Hope you're interested to see what happens next; let me know what you think!
Part 3: https://www.shortstories101.com/story/cat-part-3/
Recommend Reviews (1) Write a ReviewReport
United States • 21 years old