Before the Fall

Chapter Fifty-Five - Tea Time

Aster

I could tell Fall was just around the corner. The leaves were getting more color to them, the air was crisper, and I was happily soaking up every minute of it.

The General had allowed me some time outside, and though it was not nearly as much as I would want, it was enough to satisfy me.

I laid on a blanket, under the trees, staring up at the brilliant blue sky and wondering just how lucky I was to be here. I needed nothing. Everything was provided for me, down to the shoes on my feet.

The General had told me he had found me among some para-military group, being tortured and experimented on. I guess that explained the burn scars on my neck. He said they made me wear a kind of shock collar. I was horrified. The jagged scars on my chest however, still had no explanation.

My hand ran across them through my shirt. I really wish I knew what had happened to me. It just have been traumatic though. The General said I was suffering from some form of selective amnesia. He said it might never go away. I'm saddened, but if my life was so horrific before, I'm glad I don't remember it.

I hear footsteps through the leaves and I sit up, happy to see my General coming over to me.

"General! What brings you out here?"

He walks over to me and smiles. "I came to check on my favorite ward."

"I'm doing well, sir! All because of you."

"You flatter me. It's time for tea, are you ready to go back?"

"I am! I'm getting a little hungry. Think the chef will send up any snacks?"

"I already ordered them."

"You are always one step ahead of me," I laughed.

"I make it my practice to always be one step ahead."

I laced my arm through his and he escorted me back up to the house. "General?" I said as we walked.

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you don't know how I got these scars on my chest?"

He looked rather sad and downcast, his steps faltering a bit as we walked together.  "My dear, some things are better left in the past. Why remember something that was obviously so painful?"

"I don't know, but it bothers me so much. I just want to know how I got hurt. I mean, these scars are rough looking. It must have been something-"

"Aster, I think that's enough of this kind of talk. It makes my stomach churn to speak of such awful things. Let's talk of something more pleasant, hm?"

I frown a bit at his cutoff of my words, but shrugged it off. "I suppose."

He always did this. Any time I asked about my past, he either cut me off, or changed the subject all together. I trusted him, I really did. But something about his hedging made me question just exactly what I was into when he found me.

"Can we go see the animals after tea?" I hoped a little jaunt through the stock houses would perk us both up.

"I think that's a fine idea."  Then he smiled.

And when he smiled all was right with my world.

* * *

I sipped the rest of my tea, letting the last of its warmth settle in my stomach. I had grown accustomed to its bitter taste and actually preferred it over other drinks offered to me.

"Ready to go see the animals now?" the General asked, setting his own tea cup aside. He preferred a different kind of tea, so it wasn't uncommon for two tea pots to be present between us.

"I think so. I am getting rather tired though. So maybe just a walk through the cats today?"

"That sounds fine. I have some work to do as well. Perhaps after this you can take a little nap. Sleep off some of the mental cobwebs."

"I do feel like I have a lot of cobwebs." We both laughed. I enjoyed these times with the General. He treated me so kindly and never treated me harshly. I was just thankful he had saved my life.

We entered the cat house and walked alongside small and medium sized cages filled with many different species of cats, big and small. I always loved to watch how smooth they walked and how intently they would stare at us as we passed.

The General always looked at each cat with such love in his eyes. I could tell they were his favorite animal, which is why I asked to come here often. He had never explained his love for them, but he was always happier when we visited them.

We walked until we reached the largest cats, the ones kept behind glass walls for the safety of everyone. I always felt a twinge of sadness as I watched the majestic animals stalk around their enclosures. I wished I could free them, but the General said it would be unwise as they had been born into captivity and lacked the skills to live in the wild.

I, too, had a favorite animal and we had finally arrived at its enclosure. I walked towards the glass and placed my hand on it, wishing I could touch the beautiful creature on the other side. "I love black panthers, don't you?"

The General stood beside me and hummed in acknowledgement of my words. "They are a decent cat, I suppose. I prefer my cats much larger though."

"Yes, but there is just something wonderful about their black coat, under coats of spots, their sleek movements...it's just exhilarating! I wish I could have been hybridized as a black panther instead of some boring old house cat."

"You are perfect the way you are, my dear," crooned the General, stroking my cat ears.

I nearly purred.

However, I looked back into the greenish eyes of the panther on the other side of that glass and a pestering picture kept running through my mind, as it did every time I visited this particular cat. A black panther, laying at the base of a tree, dazed and confused. I had no idea what that mental image was or what it might have meant. So until I did, I planned to keep it as my own special moment.

The panther pressed his muzzle up against my hand on the glass and I smiled happily. Maybe one day the General would let me help care for the big cat.

* * *

Narrative

"We've finally located one, sir."

"Where?"

"About fifty kilometers away from your current location."

"That far?"

"We're lucky we found this one, sir. Everything else had been damaged somehow."

"Can it be used?"

"Affirmative."

"Perfect. Get it ready. I've waited long enough."