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Beruthiel's post for Shumita

Shumita walked slowly along the corridor, it was almost the end of a long day and the place seemed quite empty. The only sound was the shuffling of Shumita's feet and the sloshing of water in the bucket she had in her hand. She had spent most of the day mopping and cleaning the guest quarters of the palace. Her work load, along with a lot of the other servants, had doubled since the announcement of the King's brother's forthcoming arrival. Shumita still had her supper kitchen duties and then she had to help the head cook with plans for the welcoming feast.

The girl sighed as she reached the end of the corridor; the bucket she was holding still had water in it so she used the rest to water some of the plants that were in the room or on the window sills. After emptying it all out she took it to the store room which was behind a plain door on the opposite wall. She hurriedly put the bucket onto one of the shelves but then felt a pang of annoyance; she'd left the mop in the other room where she'd been cleaning.

Shumita dashed back through the hallway to the other room. She stared around, searching for the mop when she heard a loud shattering noise which made her jump. The noise had definitely come from somewhere near this room. Moving cautiously around the corner she saw to her horror that pieces of glass were scattered all over the floor. One of the glass ornaments which were normally on top of a long table which ran along the wall was missing.

She didn't know what to do, what if someone found her and thought it was she who had broken it? She'd surely be kicked out for breaking one of the priceless decorations. She peered around to check that no one had seen her and then stared back at the glass. Then to her surprise a silky black body crawled out from under a table which the ornament had once been on. Shumita glared at the cat, furious with it. The cat must have pushed it off as it had moved along the table. Shumita had no idea which cat it was; they all looked the same to her. "Why you...stupid...furry...pesky...little..." Shumita grumbled furiously through clenched teeth. The cat miaowed as though it was laughing at her and it started to stroll away, its tail high in the air.

She couldn’t stand it, “Oh no you don’t” she yelled and she ran straight after the cat and picked it up. She hurried straight to the store room where she’d put her bucket and shoved the cat in. It made horrible hissing sounds but Shumita shut the door before it could get out and sighed feeling quite pleased with herself. She made her way back to the room where the remains of the ornament was but she jumped slightly when she saw that another servant was standing there staring open-mouthed at the glass.

“Shumita! Can you explain this?” The woman shouted at the girl.

“N…No… I haven’t been here since lunchtime” She replied lying and hoping that the woman would believe her.

“Alright. Don’t touch anything, leave it for Aina to clean it up, I’ll go get her now.”

The woman said shortly, turned and marched back down a flight of stairs. Shumita waited until she was gone before leaving for the kitchens, she felt a wonderful sense of happiness at the thought that the cat was shut up in the dark and probably wouldn’t be found for a while.

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Sophia's post

Beruthiel slammed the chamber door on Habeth's concerned questions. Yes her lips were pressed tightly together and shaking, yes her cries had been heard all over the complex... she tightened her lips further. She crossed into the bedchamber, yanked the silver clip out of her hair fiercely. It tumbled out of her hand and onto the dresser, trailing long silver hairs behind it. A black shape threaded itself in around her ankles, and Beruthiel recognized it as Athel. The female cat sat at her feet, casting luminous yellow eyes on her, with that expression of cat-worry that the queen had come to recognize.
She scooped Athel up in her arms, held her close against her chest. "That man!" She spoke from between tightly clenched teeth. "He cannot take you away from me, he will not." He mind wandered back over the dinner conversation, and she slumped to the edge of the bed, one hand crushing Athel to her body, the other snatching at the silver of her down comforter. How dare Tarannon suggest that she get rid of her precious kittens in favor of that child, that brat. How dare he suggest that she lock them up, claiming they carried disease, that they scratched and bit.

Athel squirmed in protest of Beruthiel's tight hold, her voice squeaking in an offended "mew". The queen looked down at the cat in her arms as though she hadn't properly seen it before. "Athel? Why aren't you..." the queen's voice was low, but her puzzlement very obvious. "Where is Miaama?" Athel leapt lightly to the floor as the queen stood and pushed open the sitting room door.

Disregarding her tangled hair, still half pinned from the day, and rumpled clothing, Beruthiel went to the open window and called to the white cat. Nearing panic, the queen descended to the garden and pushed through the swinging doors. "Miaama?" What if the other cats had been waylaid, what if Athel was the only one who had been able to return? Were they alright? Yawla... Pirro... What if they had found Pirro... the note? The blood drained from Beruthiel's face as she slumped to the stone bench where she'd sat earlier.

A movement by the door caught Beruthiel's eye, the queen stiffened, putting a hand to her disheveled hair. It was the servant girl, Shumita, who came through the swinging door and into the garden. "Milady?" She spoke timidly. "Your maid, Habeth, sent me out to see if you needed anything." She curtsied unsteadily. Beruthiel looked at the girl, then at Athel who had followed her out and was snaking between her ankles.

"Yes, yes girl. Find Miaama, I want the whole house searched. Every room, every closet until she is found!" Beruthiel was nearly screeching in her terror.

"Miaama?" Shumita's eyes were wide, and she was clearly frightened. "Who is Miaama, Lady?"

"My cat, girl, my cat! The white one, find her! Go!" The queen's eyes were blazing as she stood, and Shumita lingered only an instant before she took to her heels across the garden. Beruthiel collapsed back onto the bench, white and shaking. It was at Athel's urging that she finally looked up, the black cat's head rubbing under her chin and against her hands.

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Miaama paced across the yard, her tail held straight up, and her head high. Athel's distracted thoughts had reached her before they got to the palace complex, and Miaama knew it would be difficult to hid her nervous state from the Mistress. She ducked under a low plant with great purple blossoms, and looked at Beruthiel from a distance. The Mistress's silver hair hung like a curtain over her face, and her hands were twitching in her lap. Miaama swallowed a rush of concern and stepped delicately up to the bench where Beruthiel slumped.

"Miaama..." the queen's voice was quiet and shaken. "What happened?" The white cat focused her large blue eyes on a tree behind Beruthiel as she shook the dirt of the street delicately from one front paw. "I felt like going along. I..." she sneezed disdainfully, "needed the exercise."

Leaving Beruthiel to the ministrations of Athel, and Yawla and Pirro who had just returned, Miaama pushed through the half open doors and made her way to the queen's chambers. She had lied to the Mistress, and that thought made her nervous, but she consoled herself that it was all for the good. That what they had done tonight would solve the Mistress's problem forever.

[ July 23, 2003: Message edited by: piosenniel ]