In the dark of the starless night of the crescent moon, a cat slipped soundlessly through the shadows. The ink-black sky was swathed with clouds so dark gray that they were almost black, blotting out the stars. To these dark clouds, the cat was grateful, as they cast the world into darkness.
The cat was approaching its destination with speed. It moved like a tawny owl, silent but fast. In the distance, the cat could still see the splotch on the horizon that was Ember’s kingdom. Soon, that pathetic little kingdom will merely be another kingdom of Slate’s, the incompetent fiends serving as slaves and their once-king Ember bowing for mercy at my lord’s feet, the cat thought smugly with a confident sneer, suppressing laughter. Ah, yes. How oblivious they all were.
Almost there, the cat told itself, pressing forward faster then ever before. The trees around it cast eerie shadows, and the cat got a sensation that it was being watched by an unseen foe. The cat ignored the feeling and kept on moving, looking over its shoulder from time to time in attempt to catch the enemy cat off guard. Finally, it couldn’t stand it anymore. The cat skidded to a stop and whipped its head around to face the unknown cat.
“I know that you’re there,” the cat hissed menacingly, stalking forward in a show of its well-muscled limbs. “Show yourself before it’s to late.”
There was no answer. Just silence apart from the lone and timid chirp of a single cricket.
“Show yourself, now, or I will kill you,” the cat snarled, losing the small amount of patience that it possessed.
To show that it wasn’t afraid, the menacing cat snatched up a nearby mouse, who had been trembling underneath a bramble bush, hoping that it hadn’t been seen. The ruthless cat flung the mouse in the direction of the shadows. Nothing, just a screaming silence.
The cat shook its head, deciding that there must be no one. If it was caught... It couldn’t even begin to imagine what would happen.
The cat resumed its flight towards Slate’s kingdom, which was about a minute away, at this pace. The skillful cat’s paws pounded the leaf-strewn earth with a remarkable silence. The cat was panting, but amazingly enough with hardly the slightest sound. It was obviously exercising great efforts as not to be seen, even though this was its own territory.
Soon, the cat had arrived at the edge of the great forest. Eyes darting in every direction as to make sure that it had not been seen, the cat crept soundlessly into the open, packed-dirt clearing. Cautiously, the cat made its way towards the towering hollow ash tree, which stood almost directly in front of it.
With a practiced air, the cat leapt onto the side of the ash tree with apparent ease and dug its razor-sharp claws deep into the age-softened bark. The tree didn’t so much as tremble as the cat did this, which was quite remarkable seeing as the cat was fairly large and muscular. The light-footed cat freed one of its paws from the tree’s back and dug it into the surface about half a foot above. The cat continued this at a fast pace until it had streaked all the way up the length of the tree. Now the cat was almost there. Just a little bit further and it would be right where it wanted to be.
The cat slunk noiselessly through the threshold, which had been deactivated ever since an assassin had disabled the lasers, which had been some time ago. The cat sniffed at its king’s carelessness. You were lucky that that assassin didn’t get you those three times, Slate. But keep on chancing it and you will. With a faint smile the cat added mentally, But it would be no matter, at least not to me. I would assume position as leader of this kingdom and would take over Ember’s, too. The assassin would be saving me the trouble of having to kill you myself at some point when you get a little to greedy for my liking.
The cat continued foreword, never stopping. The normally creaky old wooden floorboards did not make a sound under its light touch. The cat crept across the soft rugs that were generously distributed about the room. Soon, it reached a door with well-oiled hinges. At the lightest touch, the cat was able to push the door open. In an armchair in one corner of the room, about one and a half yards away from the bed, sat a indiffert-looking King Slate. From the ancient lamp that stood nearby the chair came a dim pool of yellow light which covered little other then the chair.
“Come closer,” Slate invited the cat with a beaconing wave of his paw.
The cat obliged, standing at the edge of the pool of light. It remained in shadow, face veiled by the darkness. The cat gave its king a subservient bow, kneeling to its better. The cat’s expression was unseen by the king, but it was one of cunning slyness. Ha! the cat thought. The gullible fool...
“What is it that you have to report, my spy?” Slate inquired with an imperious demeanor, peering down at the cat with an impassive expression.
“I have recently killed the three that you requested me to assassinate, my lord,” the cat addressed him in a quiet and slightly trembling voice.
“Name them to me,” Slate ordered in a suspicious tone.
“Their names were FireLilly, Spark and Gemini, my lord,” the cat answered without the slightest hesitation.
“Good, good,” Slate murmured as though he had a host of other things on him mind. “Any suggestions for our next move, my spy?”
“I believe that we should steal back what they have stolen, my lord,” the spy hissed with a winning smirk. Its claws scraped the old wooden floorboards with anticipation and her tail swished powerfully back and forth as if it were about to pounce on a particularly plump and juicy mouse.
“As in...?” Slate questioned disinterestedly, continuing to gaze down his nose at the cat kneeling below him.
“As in,” the spy began with relish, “stealing back the guns that they took so long ago, my lord. If we do, they will again be at a disadvantage as they were earlier in the war, my lord. Ah, that would show them, the smug little fiends. Wouldn’t it, my lord? They think that they can just take our weapons and we will lie down? They will be in a hefty surprise, my lord, isn’t that correct?”
“That is,” Slate corrected, “they will be if I give you permission to execute your plan. And of course, being me, I will.” Slate leaned back in his arm chair with an air of great generosity.
“That is most generous of you, my lord,” the spy whispered with a baneful grin, eyes closed as it mauled over its thoughts of the smug king’s destruction. These thoughts were the only things that kept the spy sane.
“Do they trust you?” Slate inquired offhand.
“Why yes, my lord,” the cat said gloatingly. “They would trust me with their lives, they would. Ha, ha, ha! The fools. It will be an easy thievery, my lord.”
“I hope that you aren’t underestimating them,” Slate said warningly. “That is a common and often fatal mistake.”
“I am not, my lord,” the cat said confidently with another laugh. “Believing that they are as bright as gnats is overestimating them, my lord.”
“Then go,” Slate instructed coldly. “You will carry out the plan tomorrow night.”
The cat nodded agreeably. “As you wish, my lord. But I have an inquiry, if you wouldn’t mind my asking, my lord.” The cat’s voice was falsely timid.
“Yes?” Slate asked. “As long as it is not another one of your stupid ones, my spy.” Slate gave a large guffaw.
Halfheartedly, the spy joined in with the laughter. The cat’s face did not match that of a cat who was laughing. This gave an eerie effect that would have unnerved the smug king if he had been able to see its face. “What do I do if I am caught, my lord? I do not want things to get too... Messy.”
Slate waved an unconcerned paw at his spy with a smirk. “Kill them. But do it quietly.”
The cat shared the smirk wholeheartedly. It began to back away, deeper and deeper into the shadows. The spy was still bowing submissively as it walked slowly backwards. “As you wish, my lord.”
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-KittyLover8
© 2013
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