In My Darkness: La Chatte Noire

Chapter Twenty-Two: New Kitten

Chapter Twenty-Two: New Kitten

Camillé breathed in deeply and cringed. The sound of the most unharmonious organ playing she had ever heard was assaulting her ears. It sounded like something was jumping on the keys. What in the world was Erik doing? Usually his playing was so much smoother and sweeter than this in the morning. Her eyes began to open before fluttering closed again as she stretched.

"Erik… what are you…"

The palms of her hands rested against something large and soft and moving. She opened her eyes then and was surprised to see Erik laying in front of her, asleep on the pillows beside her. A blush crept up her cheeks as she realized that she was lying beside him in bed, with her hands on his chest – though luckily, he was still fully clothed, as was she. When she lifted her hands from his chest, a large bang emanated from the organ. Erik's eyebrows rose and the eye that was not resting on the pillow opened, blinking a few times before finally focusing. Another sound came from the organ and he leaned up on his elbow, rubbing the other one of his eyes in a way that made Camillé giggle. He looked down at her and frowned for a moment before smiling and beginning to laugh. She smirked, cocking her head to the side as if to ask why he was so joyous.

He gestured at the space between them and she looked down, suddenly remembering. "Erik… where's Ayesha?"

Again, he laughed before leaning over and pressing his lips to hers, resting one hand on her waist. "It appears we have a musical cat."

Camillé's eyes widened and she got up from the bed in a flash, Erik following and grabbing her hand as they walked into the main cavern. Ayesha, their little Siamese kitten, was chasing something across the top of the organ, pouncing and hitting the organ keys as she went. Suddenly, she pounced and hit the deeper notes, making Erik laugh.

"She will need a bit of training, but that is a musical cat if I have ever seen one."

His beloved looked up at him from below the stairs. "Please do not tell me you're actually thinking about giving a cat music lessons."

Erik gave no response as he walked over to the kitten and picked her up, holding her in one hand gently while petting her with the other. A purr rose from the fuzzy ball, and Camillé smiled involuntarily. Her feet led her over to them and she looked up at Erik, kissing him gently. Then Ayesha meowed and they broke apart laughing.

"I knew it was the right decision to save her," he chuckled, and Camillé cast her head sideways.

"If I recall, I had to talk you into it."

He gave her a look that made her feel as if she had missed something. "Bien-Aimée, I would not have left the kitten out there to die. No creature deserves that fate."

Now she felt like an idiot, but the sweet kiss he bestowed upon her lips and his smile convinced her that it was alright. As he set the kitten down on the organ bench, he pulled her into his arms. They stood there for many minutes until another set of dissonant notes rang through the cavern. Camillé pulled away from him and chuckled.

"Perhaps it's time for you to start on those lessons for Ayesha."

_____/~~\_____

Erik was still sitting at his organ when Camillé came back in from delivering his latest letter two hours later. But the sight she saw made her laugh. Erik was sitting at his organ, but Ayesha was on top of the organ, looking down at his fingers as they danced across the keys. Every once in a while she'd try to paw at his hands, and hit a wrong note, and Erik lightly corrected her and played the right key several times with one finger until Ayesha pawed at it again and hit the note. Camillé couldn't help but smile at how adorable Erik and their kitten were together. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, causing him to pause in their playing.