I awoke to find myself alone atop the cushion. The bright sunlight didn’t help me one bit in revealing the time of day but the house was very quiet. I stretched my front and rear legs and trotted off the platform. A quick search of the rooms told me nobody was home.

Now was my chance to find out about my friend.

I tiptoed through the palace grounds and stopped at the gate where I peeked my head out. The hour must have been very early or very late because the streets were deserted. All the better for this feline as I slunk along the wall and back to my old home.

I scampered under the arch and down the path to the house. A soft sniffle alerted me to trouble and I followed the sound to the dining table in the main room. Arian was seated on a cushion slumped over the table. Her arms were folded over one another and her head was tucked into them. An empty basket sat on the tap on her far side. The soft sniffles came from her and my delicate nose detected salt water. I hopped onto the table and walked over to my friend where I pawed her head.

Arian started and whipped her head up. Her face was a mess of tear-streaked cheeks and red eyes. She took one look at me and the faucet was opened. “Anna!” she wailed as she wrapped her arms around me and dragged me into a bear-tight hug. “I am so sorry!”

I wriggled in her tight grasp. “Meow! Meow meow!” Help! Can’t breathe!

Arian understood my frantic yowls enough to draw us apart. Her nose twitched and my eyes widened. No! No no no no-

A great sneeze erupted from Arian’s nose. I shut my eyes and cringed as a hailstorm of wet, dripping boogers struck me in the already tear-smeared face. Another bath would be in my near future.

Arian took one look at me and her face fell. “I am so sorry! Let me get you a towel!”

My friend made to get up but I clapped my paw on her hand and dug my nails in just enough for her to get the hint. She resumed her seat and turned her downcast face away from me.

“I. . .I am sorry. I am so distraught over the theft,” she sniffled as she grabbed the basket and hugged it against her chest. She stared down at the empty bottom and her shoulders slumped. “All those wonderful treats you made before, well, before you left. They are all gone.” She nodded in the direction of her bedroom. “I had kept them in my closet to keep them from melting and I. . .I found the basket lying on the floor this morning.” She bowed her head and another sniffle came out. “I am so sorry.”

Silly Arian. I let out a loud purr and rubbed my cheeks against her hand.

She managed a small smile but her eyes were still clouded with tears. “But it is not just because of the treats that I cry. I promised to care for this palace and I could not even protect it from a thief.”

I shook my head and let out another loud purr.

She slumped back over the table and lay her chin atop her crossed arms. “You are kind to forgive me but I wish I only knew who could have done this and why. Why would anyone take my memento of our time together?”

I wrinkled my whiskers and trotted over to her. She lifted her eyes as I shrank into myself and shivered.

Arian cocked her head to one side and blinked at me. “Have you caught a cold from me?”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head before pointing at myself.

Understanding dawned on her and she sat up. “You know who stole the sweets?”

I bobbed my head before I stabbed a paw at myself and shivered.

She leaned in and studied my charade before her eyes lit up. “You. . .are you saying Lady Shian stole them?”

I hopped up and turned in a circle.

Arian cupped her chin in her hand and furrowed her brow. “That would explain the slight bit of water I found on the floor beside the basket. She used her ice magic to whisk the sweets out of the house and in her blind attempt she knocked over the basket.” Her shoulders slumped and she shook her head. “But I suppose that matters little. Even if I complained there is no evidence but a dried puddle and the word of a cat.” She stared ahead and a little color drained from her face. “They may even discover who you are!”

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

I recalled the conversation between Dadan and Yushir, and a shiver ran down my spine. No prison for me. It would ruin my fur coat.

Still, I wondered if telling someone about my condition wouldn’t help me figure out how I could get out of my luxurious coat.

I twisted about taking a look at my small form. Arian noticed my perusal and leaned to one side to catch my eye. “You still have yet to figure out how to revert to your true form?”

I slumped forward and hung my head. She smiled and scratched me behind the ears. It was amazing how quickly cats could achieve nirvana with such a simple massage.

“Whatever happens, know that you have a home here,” Arian promised me as she drew her hand back. I could see her nostrils twitch at the bits of fur on her fingers which she discretely on the underside of the table. “And should matters become intolerable here there is always my homeland.”

I perked up and wagged my tail at her. She blinked at me but I slowly wrote a word in my fur that lay on the table.

Arian scooted closer and stretched her neck to read what I wrote and blushed. She plopped back down on her haunches and stared at the table. “Yes, I suppose Jin will be there unless he has taken a job elsewhere.”

I could manage a toothy grin.

The corners of Arian’s lips twitched before she burst out laughing. I couldn’t laugh as a cat but I could enjoy watching her clutch her stomach and hunch over as the moment took her.

She eventually wiped away the warm tears from her eyes with the back of one hand and smiled at me. “Thank you. You are a very good friend, Anna.”

I puffed out my chest to show off my modesty before I stood. She leaned back and nodded. “Of course. The hour is very late and you must return before your absence is noticed.”

I waved my paw at her before I turned and trotted outside. Arian’s words had at least told me the time of day and I wasn’t quite as surprised to find myself alone in the streets once more.

My feline feminine mind couldn’t quite let go of the intrusion into my old home by my archnemesis. There had to be a way to make her pay without her catching me and seeing how many ways you could skin a cat. Maybe I could shred all her curtains or rub my hair all over her couch.

But I’d never get away with it. Shian had a host of lackey servants in her palace. I’d be noticed before one of my claws grazed the fine linens.

I paused at a crossroads and plopped my butt on the beautiful white stones. Forward led me to Dadan’s palace. Left and right to the great unknown. I wasn’t sleepy so the palace of the handsome lord didn’t tempt me.

But does he tempt you?

I wrinkled my adorable pink nose. Did my inner mind really have to bother me right now?

You know you like him. Stop denying it.

My whiskers twitched and I curled my tail around my body so it twitched against my front paws. Yeah, well, what if I did like him? It’s not like he was going to fall in love with a kitty like me, cute or not.

And if you were to change back? What then?

My shoulders slumped and I scoffed. Then I’d be locked up in a prison cell. He could see me on visiting days.

I expected my inner voice to come back with some snarky reply, but that wasn’t what answered me. Instead, it was a faint silver glow from my body. My stupid magic was acting up again and I glared at the brilliant light as the threads drifted out of me.

I screeched when those same mischievous threads slipped underneath me and lifted me off the ground. My magic zipped me down the left path with such speed that my fur was pushed back. I yowled and rocked about trying to free myself from my disobedient powers but they didn’t heed my cries one bit.

I was flown through the streets and up a familiar hill. The path led to Dadan’s secret pool ward. We approached the precipice with reckless abandon, and though I knew I wouldn’t fall my brain was still triggered by the steep drop. I let out one terrified screech before I disappeared through the invisible barrier.