The Prince & the Pauper

Chapter Five

It was nighttime, and Niall was fast asleep in his king-sized bed. Nandos, however, had a hard time falling asleep for some strange reason. All of a sudden, she saw a little mouse running about the room. She purred and quickly jumped down, chasing after it.

She chased it all throughout the palace, not realizing that it was heading for the front gate. Once she caught it, that's when she noticed where she was. Just as she was about to run away, a box was put on top of her. She meowed frantically and began trembling in fear. Stupid mouse; she shouldn't have chased after it. She should have stayed in her comfy, specially made bed.

Melon saw the cat trap was successful and he cheered. "We did it! Let's go!"

Cannon groaned out loud, smacked Melon on the head and exclaimed, "Our job is to capture the prince. . . not his cat!"

"Oh, right," he replied stupidly. "What did we get the cat for then?"

"Allow me to demonstrate."

Cannon began shaking the box, causing Nandos to meow excessively. That woke Niall up, as his cat never meows; she was a princess after all. He immediately sat up and started calling out her name.

"Nandos? Nandos, where are you? Come here girl, come here kitty!"

He walked all around the palace until he saw a box near the front gate. He frowned and headed over. Just as he was about to take the box off, Fitzgerald's henchmen put a large bag over him; trapping him.

***

Once Cannon and Melon locked Prince Niall in a room; they decided they no longer needed his pesky cat. Cannon grabbed Nandos and opened the door, throwing her outside and shutting the door behind him; locking it.

"Well, that certainly wasn't called for," she hissed.

"Are you alright?" the horse neighed.

"No," she meowed, irritated. "I am not okay! My master is inside with two hooligans, and I've got dirt. . . dirt on my bum! Who are you?"

"Hervé."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Nandos."

From inside the locked bedroom, Niall kept pacing back and forth. What was his mother going to think? How was he going to get out of there? Why did they kidnap him?

"I command you to unlock this door," Niall ordered.

Melon nodded and started heading to the door. "Of course, Your Highness."

Cannon smacked his across the head and rolled his eyes. "Of course, Your Highness," he mocked him, "you idiot! We're in charge here; not him."

"Right," he smiled sheepishly. "I knew that."

"I can't believe they won't let me in there," Nandos whined. "My prince needs me!"

"I'm sure the boss will let her out," Hervé suggested.

"What boss?"

"That boss."

Suddenly, Fitzgerald walked up to the door and knocked. Nandos's mouth dropped open and she hissed. She curled her little paws and felt so angry. "Oh, he is so awful! Just like his dog."

Cannon opened the door and smiled. "Signed, sealed, and delivered Master Fitzgerald."

"Does he know I'm behind this?"

"He has no idea."

"Good," he nodded. "Keep him here until the wedding to King Louis is cancelled."

Nandos gasped. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Who knew he was secretly evil? She turned to Hervé and said, "Do you think you could get me up to the roof?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "It is pretty high up."

He agreed to try and Nandos tried to stay calm. She was afraid of heights, but she needed to do this for Niall. She counted to three and Hervé launched her up in the air by lifting his back legs as high up as he could. She thankfully landed feet first on the roof. She looked down at the horse and said, "Thank you, Hervé. A girl's got to do what a girl's got to do!"

With that, she hopped down the chimney, meowing the entire way down. Thankfully, she landed in the bedroom where Niall was being held. He noticed a black and white furball and he seemed confused. "Nandos? Is that you?"

"I am simply not going to look at myself," she mumbled weakly to herself.