Fleck slunk out of her bed, feeling as though she were about to vomit from the oppressing feelings of stress and fear. Still, Fleck forcefully carried herself to Stinger’s cove, soundless and unseen under the cover of darkness. Gently, Fleck nudged her friend awake with trembling paws.
“Whatsthat?” Stinger asked sleepily as he opened his eyes. “Oh, its you, Fleck how’re ya doing? What did ya wake me for?”
“I just wanted to...” Having not thought much of it, Fleck had no idea of what her excuse was going to be. She racked her brain for the waved-away suggestions that Ember had given her previously. He had told her that she could ‘take a midnight stroll with him or that you want to show him something or that you want to have a drink with him.’ Deciding that the second option was the lest romantic one, Fleck when with that. “I just wanted to show you something. Follow me.”
Fleck then dashed away so that Stinger didn’t have any time to argue. She sat down and waited for him to rise for the last time from his bed.
“C-come with me,” Fleck directed him once he had emerged from the depths of the hollow tree, quaking from the effort of not crying.
“What do ya wanna show me?” Stinger asked as they raced in the direction of the traitorous river.
“You’ll see,” Fleck replied shortly, indicating that that was the end of the conversation.
Soon, they were there, by the rippling river, close to the nearby group of bushes as possible. It was here that Fleck halted, panting a little from the short but brisk run. As she looked around her, particularly at the bushes. It was there that her observant eyes rested upon the area where the very tip of a dark ginger tail had vanished into the bush. She was just in time. Although that was supposed to be a good thing, she felt deeply disappointed.
“So, what’s here that ya wanted t’ show me? I can’t see much that’s very interesting.” Stinger was looking around just as Fleck was, searching for the something that didn’t exist.
Fleck felt tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Stinger,” she whispered, keeping her head down as that he couldn’t see her face.
Stinger ducked his head, attempting to read Fleck’s expression. “What do you mean your--”
But Fleck couldn’t bare it anymore. She could bare to stand here a moment longer, awaiting her friend’s demise. She bounded a step forewords and jumped on top of him, stopping him in mid-sentence and pinning him to the muddy earth. He gazed at her in a confused fashion, unable to comprehend what was going on. Before he could even attempt to, Ember and a handful of other cats, a little over half a dozen in all, leap out from the cover of the bushes, snarling viciously.
“Well done, Fleck,” Ember said, face clear of all emotion.
Stinger had immediately recognized the tall ginger-and-white cat as King Ember. In a shock, he spluttered, “Fleck are you one of... You can’t possibly be...”
“Oh yes she is,” a large black tomcat boomed without pity from the back of the group. “And you’re about to die, killer.”
Even at this tense moment, Stinger still remained defiant. “I’m not a killer!”
A hushed, mirthless laughter broke out among the assassins at this statement. It was immediately ceased when Ember began to speak.
“Now I will kill him myself.” He smiled shrewdly.
Fleck bit her lip in order to keep her lower jaw from trembling. How can you be so cruel and heartless! she wanted to scream at her king, but she remained silent and released Stinger. Instead of running away, Stinger stood in a more dignified position and held his ground. Fleck silently willed him to dash away. Come on, run while you still can!
“Fleck you can’t really be...,” Stinger murmured as he faced her, looking both confused and immensely hurt.
Ember sidled noiselessly behind Stinger and stabbed him from behind, straight through the chest. Stinger gave a gasp of shock and pain and slumped to the earth. His eyes were slowly closing and he was now laying in a pool of blood.
“Why?” he whispered, expression pained as he gazed at Fleck.
And that was the last thing he ever said.
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Ember tugged his sword from poor Stinger’s body. Fleck found herself immobilized and in a shock. She was the one responsible for her good friend’s death. She had betrayed his trust...
Ember scowled as he glared at Stinger, uncaring of the kind sole that had once occupied the now vacant body. Fleck fought down the rage that was rising up inside of her, knowing that she would have to play her cards carefully. She couldn’t go along screaming at her king and waking her fellow guards. After all, it was Ember that had the sword. Even in her emotional state, Fleck had an uncanny ability to control herself when she wished to.
Quietly, she sniffed, attempting to stem the uncontrollable flow of the salty tears that were rolling down her cheeks. The oppressing silence was pressing ruthlessly upon her chest, causing her lugs to expel all of the air from her chest. A lump was rising in her throat. She couldn’t stand this another second...
“Well,” Ember said lightly, without a trace of regret or empathy, “that was extremely easy. You know, I was just thinking. Why don’t we just wipe out all of the other guards in one go? You know, in their sleep. Then, we’ll have pretty much won the battle! Heh, it’ll be easy as catching a trapped mouse! Easier, in fact.”
With great difficulty, Fleck swallowed the lump in her throat and slid her claws into the blood-soaked earth in attempt to keep her voice from quaking. “N-no. We can do that. It’ll be to dangerous...” In her depressed state, Fleck was unable to think of anything good enough to save her other friends.
“What do you mean, ‘ to dangerous?’ They’ll be snoring soundly in their beds while we slit their unsuspecting throats!”
Fleck grit her teeth to control her rage as she came up with a scheme. “It will be dangerous because King Slate is going to be posting a midnight guard for ever night exceeding this one. This guard will be armed with a serious gun, and one of the automatic hoover guns will be posted at its side. No, even if you were able to somehow kill that guard and disable the hoover gun, it was cause far to much noise for all of the guards to continue to sleep.”
“Oh,” Ember sighed, disappointment evident in his voice. He then brightened as he added cheerfully, “Well, at lest we’ve assassinated the captain of the guard, so now that’ll strike fear into their hearts and get their leader out of the way!”
“Well you don’t have to sound so happy about it!” Fleck hissed, baring her sharp, ivory-white teeth.
“War is war, complete with killing and assassinations,” Ember chortled briskly, dusting himself of in a casual manner.
“Good-bye,” Fleck said in a dark, deadly tone appropriate for one about to deal another a death blow.
She crouched, tail lashing furiously, as she waited for Ember and his group of assassins to take their leave. They soon did. A few minutes after they were gone, Fleck wept freely, gazing in a pained fashion at the sightless, bright green eyes of her dead friend. What had she done?
Fleck ignored the roll of thunder and downpour of heavy rain. It was a storm, sure as anything, and complete with forks of lightning and tumors of thunder. The dark storm clouds blotted out the moon and the stars, robbing Fleck of the little light that they had previously provided. Rain mixed with tears and blood.
The sky was crying.
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-KittyLover8
© 2013
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