Young Writers Society

Kitshire wrangled with the old cat, but it was really just play to her. She knew he would stand no chance, and she knew he knew that as well.

She kicked him with her back legs to the ceiling of the barn. He crashed into the wood supports and came falling back down, his energy depleted.

Kitshire took a furtive look around at the shocked cats and hissed at them, issuing an unsaid challenge. She begged them to come forward, to defend their dying leader. She would take down any loyalists until a graveyard lie at the bottom of her throne.

The old cat struggled to his feet. His face was battered, but still he snarled at her. They both knew he had to fight until the end. It was the only way.

She arched her back and her fur stood on end, increasing her size dramatically. In a flash, she pounced on him, and with an easy claw to the belly, she ripped him open, letting his insides fall out. He staggered for a moment, dragging his intestines on the floor below the throne, until he collapsed.

She turned her attention to the rest of the clan. For many tense moments, she paced back and forth in front of the throne, showing her full size to them. Some hissed at her half-heartedly. Others disappeared out of fright. Some showed their bellies in submission.

Good. Her old clan was hers once again.

---

Mercury retraced Lordshire's steps. The only two places he had seen the man go in and out of was the abandoned hideout and the inn. The hideout was off-limits; there was no way Mercury would dare to enter that place without some kind of strategy --unlike someone. So he stalked his way to the roof of the inn and studied it closely. Front entrance was too likely. He would immediately be recognized as someone who didn't belong. He jumped onto a slanted roof that connected to the back of the inn, probably some kind of stables.

On the ground behind the stables, he noticed a slight trail of blood. That could be Lordshire's, and if that was the case, then Vincent was telling the truth of who he was and where his allegiances were. Or... it could be Vincent's. It led down the alleyway. Mercury followed it, tracking it from the roofs.

While following the blood trail, Mercury noticed someone inconspicuously (or, well, somewhat inconspicuously) dragging someone along. Was that...

Vincent. And Lordshire.

Mercury fell into the shadows. He had to see where this went.

Vincent look around him as he carried Lordy through the town. Everything was, too quiet? Why was no one trying to stop him? There weren't even any guards on patrol.

"Where is that assh*le. Couldn't even stay put for five minutes?" Vincent mumbled to himself.

He reached the side of a building and dumped Lordy down on the the floor. He proceeded to rip off his sleeves and used the to tie up Lordy's hands and legs, and then propped him up against the wall so that he was sitting down. Squatting down so that he could be eye level with the unconscious mess he made, he then reached out and slapped Lordy hard enough to wake him.

Lordy shook the confusion off and looked up at Vincent.

"Morning, princess. Wanna tell me what's going on?" Vincent asked him.

Kitshire settled into her throne. The box structure was just so comfortable.

"Now, someone bring me!" She paused for dramatic effect. "my old advisor!"

---

Mercury stalked Vincent, who stopped and dumped Lordshire onto the ground, and tied him up. Has he ever subdued someone before? Captured? Tortured?

Does he have a hideout of his own? Mercury almost smacked his head in frustration. Every bone in his body was fighting his mind, which was screaming at him to help Vincent.

But. He had to wait.

A solid blow to Lordy's face shook him awake. A man was in front of him in a uniform of the guards from the Capitol. He was saying something but Lordy didn't hear anything coming out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry, you're going to have to repeat that. I'm still seeing stars from the first time you hit me." Lordy told him.

The man frowned and inched closer.

"I said, I want you to tell me what's going on."

Lordy tried to move his arms, but they were firmly tied. "Listen, I'm just as confused as you are. It's not everyday I wake up tied up to the side of a building."

"Why is no one following us? Where are your soldiers?" The man asked.

"I have no soldiers. Just some uh... friends. You probably scared them off with all of the acrobatics you displayed back there." Lordy told him with a smile.

---

This is going nowhere, Vincent thought.

He knew this was too easy. If the Eyes were really involved and Lordshire had something to do with it, why would capturing him be such a breeze? He's had a harder time catching common burglars when he was first being trained.

"Well if you're not going to talk," Vincent began, thinking there was only one reckless thing he could do to solve both of his problems at once.

"MERCURY!" He stood up and shouted, "Does this prove I'm not on Lordshire's side? Come help me take him back to the capitol!"

"Uh, Miss Kitshire..."

"Nuh uh uh! Madam Kitshire, thank you. Or Queen. Whichever you'd prefer."

"Madam Kitshire... your advisor won't be back for another day or two." The cat had their ears down in submission.

"Ah, well, no matter. Actually! Yes matter! Call all clan members back home." Kitshire let out a devilish smile. "I have big plans ahead of us."

---

"MERCURY! I KNOW YOU'RE AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE!"

The brute wouldn't stop until he revealed himself, would he?

Vincent paced near the wall Mercury was hiding in, and Mercury pulled him to the crevice Mercury was hiding. "Would you shut up? Do you want to grab the attention of... of who-knows-what?"

Lordy watched as the man walked away from him shouting about another planet. He thought maybe the man was praying to some lord he didn't know about.

Normally, Lordy would be trying to squirm his way out, but these weren't normal circumstances.

"Uh, can we hurry this up? It's past my bedtime and I could really use some rum for this headache you gave me."

---

"You know for someone as smart as you, you don't seem to realize what's going on do you?" Vincent asked Mercury.

Mercury seemed confused.

"NO ONE is going to come here. Look around us!" He raised his arms and spun around, "There is a distinct lack of anything going on. Doesn't that raise any red flags to you? We have to find out what's going on."

Queen Madam Tabitha Marxil Kitshire lazed around on the makeshift throne. The first thing she needed to do was sort out their accommodations. It was horrid to live in a shed. It would not do whatsoever.

Next was to locate all of Lordshire's hideouts. Figure out what exactly he was doing in the city.

She yawned. She hadn't thought this much in years.

---

Mercury nodded. "This has 'trap' written all over it. For the both of us. You have any old hideouts you can use for questioning? I want to make sure no one is following us."

Lordy observed as the two lovebirds had their quarrel. Can they speed this up? I have kingdoms to overthrow and my people may be too dumb to be patient.

He knew that all eyes were on him right now, even if they couldn't be seen. That's exactly how he wanted it.

---

"Hm," Vincent thought about Mercury's question, "I do. But we're going to have to make it back to the Capitol with him first. I have a few homes vacant up there that no one will bother us."

He looked back at Lordshire, "We just need to get a disguise for that guy."

Kitshire's ears perked up.

A black and white cat prowled into the barn, curling her tail in annoyance.

Despite Kitshire's newfound position, she felt the overwhelming pressure to show her belly in submission. Those were the old times. And, well, times had changed. Tabitha focused her attention on a particularly interesting hay bail, even turning her ears away from the other feline. Kitshire would not be the one to initiate the impending conversation; it was no longer her place to feel the need to do so.

She felt the cat pace around the old man's body. She made sure to not have it moved. It was a statement for the moment.

"So," the other cat finally began, "the old man finally pawed the pail."

Of course she wouldn't concede that Kitshire killed him. And to boast at this point would be childish.

So, "Hello cousin," was all Tabitha said.

---

Mercury wanted to spit at the despicable excuse of a man lying a bit from them. "If it were up to me or you, he'd be garbage right now." He shuddered. "All I know is we need to be smart about this. I don't have to use my powers to realize we're being watched."

Lordy could tell the two men were in a heated exchange. Over him. He seemed to have that effect on people.

"Um, if you two don't mind, this rope is rather uncomfortable. If you take it off I promise I won't run away! Big strong men like you can easily just kill me if I tried."

---

"I mean," Vincent ignored Lordshire's yapping in the background, "We still can kill him."

He knew it was a longshot, but part of him still wanted to finish his original mission and go back to report to the king.

"Unless..." He looked around him for something he could use to hide Lordshire inside and his eye fell upon a market stall, "Potato sacks."

"Tabitha," her cousin replied. "Do you expect me to heel?"

The fur on Tabitha's back stood on end. Well, yes, but now that you ask I can't say that. I'd be dumb.

"I expect you to follow your new queen."

"I could just fight you for the throne like you did my father."

Tabitha... didn't know how to respond to that.

Then her cousin scoffed. "Relax, Tabitha. I don't care enough for the throne. If I did, my father would be dead long ago."

Tabitha let out a breath. "I'm glad, Scarlet."

"It's just Scar, now." She sighed. "So, what do you need done, cous'? I know you're not here for a house visit or to see an old friend."

Tabitha let out a long smile. "Well, actually, we will be going to see an old friend..."

---

"Potato sacks." Mercury nodded. "It could work. Classic." He turned to Lordshire. Ignoring the man's incessant whining, Mercury stabbed him with a hidden needle, and Lordshire crumpled.

He pulled Lordshire into the small alcove in the alleyway. Fumbling through his coat, he fished out a small canister and thrusted it onto the ground. Smoke exploded out into the alley. Mercury pulled a lost Vincent close. "Take Lordshire. I'll take another bag of potatoes. We need to split up, but keep an eye out."

Lordy fell to the floor, still fully aware of everything going on, but unable to move a muscle.

This is what I get for making it easy for them.

He heard a smoke bomb go off.

Quite dramatic.

Suddenly he was being carried away.

Well it's about time.

---

"Got it." Vincent was slightly surprised Mercury trusted him to take Lordshire, but he figured he'd stay close enough to not let anything happen anyway.

He grabbed a Lordy and dashed through houses, making his way out of the town. There was an eerie lack of civilian and guard presence. He could see the clearing ahead that marked the end of the town and sped towards it. Part of him questioned why he was even running when there was no one trying to stop him, but at least for Mercury he had to act like he was worried.

Tabitha Kitshire, curled tail and Scar in tow, padded up to a small ravine within the castle's inner walls.

Scar flicked her tail to brush against Tabitha. "Not that I mind scouring the castle grounds for the occasional meal or playtime, I have to ask. Why are we here?"

Tabitha purred out, "We have an army now, of course. But we need allies in the upcoming fight."

"You still haven't told me what the fight is."

Tabitha hissed. "I... I don't know what the fight is... just yet. Having this ally will help."

"So... you killed my father for a fight that you're not even sure is happening?"

Tabitha scoffed. "And what if I did?"

"Just keeping tabs."

"Hmm. Besides, while I may not know when the attack is coming, I do know there are plans from an acquaintance of mine. Plans that he chose not to share with me."

"So, obviously he is now your enemy?"

"Obviously."

Tabitha slid into between two bricks of a tower to the side of the main building. "Keep watch outside, Scar."

Scar flicked her tail in annoyance. "Fine."

---

Mercury couldn't go too fast with the lump of potatoes over his shoulder. Still, he was able to climb up to some balconies and onto the roof. He ran towards the city, up to the castle. He couldn't hear much of anything. No one chased him. Maybe they were all going for Vincent, which was worrying. Or perhaps he was too fast or slippery for any potentials chasers. There was some serious doubts for both of those ideas, but Mercury had to do something to make himself seem vulnerable.

He feigned being out of breath, and backed into an alleyway. He slumped down and sighed. His body didn't seem on alert, but his mind and eyes surely were. He sat, and waited... for something.

Could you be any less careful? I'm extremely fragile and should be handled delicately. Is what Lordy wanted to say, if he had the ability to speak.

Unfortunately he had to settle for a few muffled grunts as he was ragdolled around in the potato sack. Thankfully, whoever was carrying him seemed to be slowing down, which meant their journey was hopefully almost over and whoever was carrying him would treat him with more care.

---

Vincent dropped the sack with Lordy in it to the floor. They were at the edge of the city now, yet there was no one to be seen. Sure it was the middle of the night, but after all of the loud ruckus, not even a guard was in sight. Vincent wasn't used to going on a mission without being attacked every step of the way.

"MERCURY!" he shouted, "Where are you?"

After a few minutes, not even his paranoia could tell him something or someone was waiting for him. He climbed up to the roof and slumped against wall, staring at the flickering lights of the castle. That place was never asleep. If only they could see what he was doing now. He was so close to the castle, but hadn't felt so far away from it since before he had become an Eye. They were testing him, he knew it. But something was afoot, and it was his duty as an Eye to see it through. His job was one that most couldn't do, because it was his duty to protective the collective interest of the royals, even if it seemed controversial or made one angry.