The Aristocats Collection

Chapter 2

Then, suddenly--an alley! Maybe Duke would be down it. I saw a group of cats. I hid behind a trashcan, wondering how to make myself look like an Alley cat. I rolled in the dirt, and then realized something. My pink bow didn't look Alley cat-ish. I couldn't take it off--the bottle with milk was in it. I had to take a chance. I stepped out with my dirty white fur and all. ''Hey, Alley cats!'' I smiled. They stared at me. ''So, ya know a cat named Duke?''
All of them whispered things like, ''Who's that?'' I just kept a rough, wild smile on my face. A black and orange calico stepped forward. ''Looking for a Duke, eh?'' he smiled deviously. A few of his friends laughed. I started to feel hopeful. This cat might know my dad!
''Well, why ya standing there?'' the cat laughed. ''Scat! Shoo! Ya hear me, kitty?''
I pouted and stood my ground. The calico looked down at me. ''Stubborn, eh?'' he hissed at me. I backed up. ''Yeah, that's right!'' he yelled. ''Away!''
I heard their laughs as I rapelled down the sidewalk, scared. Well, they were not welcome. I should really be more careful... I thought. Well, keep on walking.
I yawned. I was tired. Maybe I was just hungry. I slipped the bottle of milk out of my bow and took a sip. It was disgusting and rancid. I knocked over the bottle by accident, and I spilled on my paw. I softly whined. ''Oh, Mama.'' I whispered. ''Toulouse, Berlioz, Madame, Agatha...'' The names played through my mind. Now I was hungry and sleepy. But I had to push on.
Not too soon after, there was another alley. No cats there. But wait...I looked closer. There was a black and white cat. Duke, maybe. Behind him was a small black kitten with a white, heart shaped mark on its chest. I gathered my courage and walked up to the cat.
''Excuse me, are you Duke?'' The cat smiled. ''Why do you want to know?'' I didn't know if I should tell the cat or not. But I decided I would.
''I am Marie, an Aristocat. I am the daughter of Duchess, and I live up the street in a fancy mansion. I have two brothers named Berlioz and Toulouse. I came looking for my real father, named Duke. Are you Duke?'' I said. I took a big breath.
The cat looked at me. ''So you.'' he whispered. ''My litter and Duchess'...you are my daughter?''
I nodded. ''Yes. I am.'' ''Well, then Marie. Meet your other sister Rebel.'' The black kitten emerged from behind him. ''So, Duke, is this my...'' she scowled at me, and I noticed she didn't call Duke dad. ''My sister?''
I smiled. ''And you have two brothers, Toulouse and Berlioz.'' Rebel smiled. ''Are they Alley cats, and not Aristocats!?'' ''They are Aristocats too.'' I nodded. Rebel's face fell. ''Oh.'' Her lip rose into a quick snarl, then it fell.
''Well,'' Duke smiled. ''Seeing as you guys aren't such a handful anymore, I'll come back.'' Rebel flashed a face of disgust at her father. ''Duke, no. I'm not going to waste my life as some fancy, famous, revolting Aristocat. No way, no how.'' Rebel exclaimed. Duke flashed down his paw to grab Rebel's, but she pulled away. Her name really fit her.
Duke hissed. ''Rebel, come on now.'' Rebel's eyes were cloudy, as if she wanted to cry. But they stayed cloudy. Then I realized something. I didn't want to be rude, but I asked.
''What's with Rebel's eyes?'' I asked nicely. Duke stared down at Rebel. ''She's blind.'' I stood, watching Rebel with a sad face. Of course, she didn't know I was staring at her right now. I felt sad.
I looked Rebel in the eyes, not that it would matter. ''Rebel. Please. Just try.'' Now her eyes got slick, like she was actually going to cry. ''Okay...'' she gulped. We walked back to mansion in silence, a million questions whispering in my ear.
Through the cat door and upstairs, where, of course, awaited my siblings and parents. ''Oh, Marie!'' Duchess ran to me. ''Where have you been?''
Duke and Rebel entered. ''I found Duke and my sister.''
Duchess stared at Duke, as if in disgust, then to Rebel. ''How come you never told me about Rebel?'' I cried out. Mama stared at Duke. ''So, Duke.'' she sighed. ''After all these years....'' "Hey, Duchess what's up with this cat?'' Thomas snarled. Duke looked at Thomas. ''Well, um...'' Duke looked away. ''Looks like you have a, uh, new mate, I guess.''
Duke and Thomas stared each other down, not knowing what to do. Mama shivered. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. Mama gave me a look of disapproval. I knew she was mad.
Meanwhile, Toulouse and Berlioz were having fun with Rebel. I knew she liked Toulouse the most. Rebel play clawed at Toulouse, and he responded with his signature 'Meow, fft!' Duchess was so concerned about Duke she didn't even notice Toulouse and his un-Aristocatic ways. Then Madame walked in. She gasped. "Oh, oh! Duke, after all these years! You've returned!'' she happily smiled. Madame picked him up and Duke cuddled against her. "Merr-ow." he purred. Then Madame put him down. "Our family is complete again! Oh, and that little cat from you and Duchess' litter you took with you...Rebel! Oh, how nice...''
A shocked look was printed on Mama's face. The surprise of Duke and Rebel staying...oh, it just didn't appeal to her. Too many cats, I guess she thought.
Duke smiled. "So, I guess I'm staying again." For some reason, Thomas nodded in a cool fashion. Although he'd have to share a mate, I think Thomas liked Duke. I swear I saw a tiny smile creep onto Mama's face.
Now, I had a good, jumpy, awesome feeling inside me.
The next morning, I woke up to the sound of Duke and Thomas chatting. That was good. My head rose. I saw Rebel and Toulouse happily talking. Berlioz was obsessed with a plastic sparkly ball. And I was just sitting in bed. I started wondering why I always wake up last. I called out to Rebel. "Hey, Rebel, do you know what scales and arpeggios are?'' I smiled. I just knew she wouldn't know. But she surprised me.
"They are measures in music. You sing them. Like, do mi sol la fa, that stuff." Then she again became occupied with Toulouse. Maybe Rebel knew more than what I thought. But she still wasn't ready to be an Aristocat. Not just yet.
"Breakfast!" Agatha called. We raced down the stairs. Well, Agatha had tried something new. She set out sugared milk with no cinnamon, but instead with strawberries and melty, soft chocolate. Delicious.
I raced to get the biggest bowl, but Rebel pushed in front of me. "Hey!" I exclaimed. I tried to push back in front of the line, and by the time I did that, Toulouse and Berlioz already had the second and third biggest bowls. So, because of my fighting, I got the smallest bowl. I had lapped up most of the milk within a minute or so. Toulouse, whom had the third biggest, finished his bowl; and Berlioz soon finished his. But there was Rebel, who kept slowly lapping up her milk. Slowly, as if to show off and brag.
Another change of mind. We've heard of snooty Aristocats, but now I'd met a snooty Alley cat.
But, like everything, the milk was soon gone, and Rebel no longer had something to brag about. Well that was good! At least I thought it was. Rebel found Madame and started cuddling her like crazy. Madame picked her up and cuddled her back. ''Oh, sweet Rebel. You're adorable!'' Madame smiled. I was jealous. I loved my dad, my adoptive dad, my Mama, my brothers, and Madame. But I was not so sure I loved my one sister.
The rest of the day, I sat and thought about my opinion on Rebel. How she cuddled up to Madame; How she stole the milk. Half Aristocat, half Alley. Duchess came to say goodnight to us when it was bedtime. ''Sweeties, one of you must share your bed with Rebel until we can get her one.'' Mama told us. Toulouse immediately yelled, "I will!'' Ha. Of course he would. He probably loved Rebel more than me, more than Berlioz. Maybe more than Madame. Maybe even more than our parents.
I sat awake in my bed, staring at the moonlight out the window. It was open again, and the sweet air drifted into the room. I kept quiet, as so not to awaken the other kittens. Then, I heard a voice I didn't expect to hear.
''Marie?'' It said. I instantly recognised it to be Rebel's voice. I looked to Toulouse's bed. ''What?'' I whispered. Rebel jumped a big leap, all the way to my bed. I had no idea how she could do it. ''I feel like I don't belong in this family...like you guys don't like me.'' she said softly. I would never expect she felt like that. "But we do like you. Not, just like you, love you." A suspicious voice announced.
It was revealed to be Berlioz, sitting in the blue bed between mine and Toulouse's. I looked at Rebel. I finally declared my feelings. ''At first, I thought it was a good idea to find Duke and you. Well, I thought I was just finding Duke, and not a hidden sister I never knew about. It's been a big step for me. I thought you didn't love me. I thought...well, I thought you were underestimating me.'' I heaved. ''I get that alot, with all these pink bows and my perfectly combed fur...'' "Why are you guys still up?'' said another voice.
For a second, I thought it was Toulouse, but it was coming from the door. I looked over to see no other than Duke. ''Leave your mother alone tomorrow, kittens. In fact, leave her alone for the rest of this week.'' he said. We all looked at eachother confused. Why couldn't we be with Mama? But I had to obey. I was scared. What was happening to Mama? Then it hit me. Maybe a new litter was arriving. I hoped that was it. Nothing else. I hoped and prayed the rest of the night.
The next day, Rebel was noticeably more polite. She even chimed in with our scales and arpeggios. Her voice is actually pretty . Nothing like you would expect from a blind Alley cat. I call her an Aristalley, actually. That's a mix between an Aristocat and an Alley cat. She said she likes it. I wonder how hard it must be, transitioning from Alley to Aristo. She'd probably always have a little bit of alley in her. That's one thing I can't change.
It never seemed like Rebel was blind. She always seemed...fine. Like a regular kitten. I guess she's just gotten used to it. It always seemed strange and unreal to me, that some creatures live their entire lives in the darkness. Sometimes, I close my eyes for a minute or two, imagining what it would be like. To never see what Mama or Toulouse or Berlioz looked like. Just to hear them. Feel them. Smell them. Just know their presence from clues. No sight at all.
After the first few days, I grew lonely for Mama. I longed for her presence. Toulouse, Thomas, Berlioz, Rebel, and Duke were all great. But I loved Mama. I wanted her back. Of course, she was probably still in the house, but somewhere secluded. Secret. Did she want me as much as I wanted her?
I always had a special connection with myself. I always knew exactly what to do, and how to deal with problems. I confessed my feelings to myself before I confessed them to others. I talked to myself. I barely had a friend.
I was hoping that, if Mama was having a litter, there would be a true girl in it. Rebel wasn't a true girl. Just a girl. I'm talking about someone who combs their fur, and someone who loves beauty. Someone who loves pink, and ribbons and sparkles. Sequins and jewelry, and dresses and frilly laces. And I had a strong feeling it would be Mariette.
The next day, our maid Agatha woke us early. I thought it would be about Mama and the new kittens. And in fact...
It was. A litter of three new kittens.
They were tiny, but they had fur. They made a little mewing sound. Strangely, it was just like how Toulouse had pictured.
I recalled the painting in my mind. A small white male...an orange and white female...a light orange female. Exactly. I burst out. ''Mama, Mama!'' I shouted. Mama looked to me. ''I know just what to name them.'' ''Wonderful, make your suggestions.'' she said. I snickered at Toulouse, but I had changed the names just a bit.
''The orange and white female will be Mariette. The light orange female will be Toula. Finally, the white male will be Berlay.'' I said, confidently.
Mama smiled. ''That is what we will call them. Mariette, Toula, and Berlay.''
And nobody objected to the names. Not even Toulouse.