Abbernathy and the Cat Kingdom

(35) - Rest -

Word had come from the Dawn Queen later that night: the news had begun spreading across Aelurus of the Shadow King's betrayal of the Eridan Treaty. He'd marched on two of the animal kingdoms, Aelurus as well as the reptilian realm, Oxfrendren. Gravious had given instruction to have their rulers killed and replaced by shadesmere. There was even a rumor that Nocturnis had been dead long before his rebellion, though the truth of it all could never be proven.

But now that Aelurus had learned the truth, its people cried out for a new king and so, a few days after their run-in with Feign, Abby found herself staring up at the ceiling of Darkmoore Castle. Stripped of its previous occupants, the castle, though a bit musty, now shone with a vibrancy it hadn't had before. She'd been given a room in the west wing, opposite the royal wing where Sebbi and Lucy were staying, and the morning sun shone through the crack in the heavy cotton curtains.

The ceiling was gilded in gold, patterns of trees and smatterings of stars etched into the wood. She sat up in her four-poster bed and stretched. She'd felt like she'd been asleep for months, rather than a few hours. It'd been almost a week since her thirteenth birthday, since she'd learned the truth about her cats, and about the fire that had killed her family.

Lucy and Sebbi were princes of Aelurus, a kingdom full of upright walking giant cat creatures and now that the false king had been dealt with, one of them would rule. Their coronation was coming up, but first they had a funeral to attend.

Abby rose to her feet with an ache in her back and stretched again before moving toward the large wardrobe opposite her. Inside it, she found long gowns of deep purple and midnight blue, her size, along with a few braided silver cords and one hooded black cape. She grabbed the blue dress, heaved it over her head and slid into it, the material soft against her skin. Her birthday dress had arrived back at Darkmoore in barely more than tatters and Abby, to her own surprise, was glad when the servants had ripped her out of its remains. It had been stained with blood and Abby couldn't have been happier to be rid of it, even if it had been a gift from her father.

After the dress, Abby grabbed a silver cord and tied it twice high around her waist. She knotted the end, three times, as she was told by Margo this was customary for funerals. Each knot represented a main phase of the moon goddess. After that, Abby tied her hair up in a ponytail using the ribbon Sebbi had given her back in town. Standing on her tiptoes, wearing a very uncomfortable pair of leather sandals, Abby quickly glanced at herself in the mirror. She looked worn, and older and she could barely recognize the girl reflected back at her, staring at her with empty eyes and sunken cheeks. She had a bruise below her left eye and a few faint red marks across her neck. All given to her by Feign.

He's still around, she thought and winced, remembering his red eyes, the feeling of steel against her skin, the power behind his fingers as he tried to strangle her to death. If it hadn't been for the queen's blood then Abby would have—

A slow, heavy knock echoed throughout the room. Shaken out of her thoughts, Abby ran towards the door. "Coming," she called.

On the other side of the large, carved door stood Sebbi, dressed in an all black coat and trousers, the crescent-shaped scar gleaming between his eyes. His fur looked as though it'd been brushed for the very first time in his life ever. Abby smiled as she spied bits of broken comb teeth stuck deep in his fur.

Sebbi scratched at the back of his head. "Do I look strange?"

Abby chuckled softly and nodded. "Yes," she said. "You're a giant cat, remember? You've looked strange since the moment we got here."

"I mean," he said, fiddling with the slightly large cuffs of his jacket, "Do I look stranger?" With a harrumph, he looked briefly down at the floor. "They brushed my fur," he said, his tone barely above a whisper.