Light mist began to gather around the perimeter of the
desolate home, and a small beam of moonlight bathed the aging, gray walls with
its milky glow. Broken down stone structures and other decorative statues
littered the yard just behind the manor, and an old, wooden fence bordered the
entire estate from the edge of the forest all the way to the beginning of a
long forgotten hiking trail.
Gardens,
now wild and uncontrolled, lay spread out across the boundaries just beside the
fences, acting as a second ambit alongside the wooden posts. A few fountains
were laid out in a symmetrical type of pattern, as where one was placed in a
certain area, such as near the gardens, another one would be exactly in the spot
opposite. Stone paths trailed around the unused fountains, and eventually they
led to a path that preceded to the entryway of the manor.
The
fairly large manor itself stood about thirty meters high, forty meters wide,
with a good amount of glass windows spread out to cover particular areas along
the surface of the walls. The dark gray tiled roofs overlaying the home covered
the entire building, made up of approximately seventy plus materials including
stone and wood. Occasionally a few small gargoyles can be spotted perched along
the rims of the windowsills and along the edges of the roof, and several
intricate patterns were carved carefully into their wings, creating a complex
yet fascinating way of sculpture.
Sitting
just outside of a second story window sat a feline, most likely around the age
of one year, with beautiful, silver tabby fur. Her average-sized tail lay
dangling from the rim of the windowsill, gently swaying back and forth through
the chilly night air. The vivid green eyes nestled into her skull stared out
over the dense forest that settled just a several meters away, and her soft
paws unsheathed their claws to grip onto the stone that made up the sill in an
effort to maintain balance.
What am I doing…? The tabby furrowed her
brows together as troubling thoughts raced around within her mind. Troubling
thoughts along with worries about what was soon to come, and about what she was
going to do when whatever it was did arrive. She knew she should have been
preparing for the upcoming events, since she played an important part, but here
she was; sitting outside and doing absolutely nothing.
I am responsible for this after all.. I
should at least make an effort to try and prevent it from occurring. A
disappointed sigh escaped from her jaws, and her head slowly turned around to
face the darkness that lay inside the interior of the house, her eyes narrowed
with regret. This is my fault that this
very thing is happening… It’s my fault that all these lives will be lost...
It’s
my fault that my own daughter will die.
Yet how hard she may try to alter the
future and change future events from occurring, the young she-cat could not
fluctuate fate. For fate has confirmed that these very calamities will indeed
occur, and nothing and no one could change that fact, no matter how much they
are willing to give up to simply save lives.
One
could say this cat made a deal with the devil, or a corrupt spirit to be more
specific, and this bargain cost her a lot more than what she realized. This
arrangement was sealed as a way to avert
the future catastrophes since the she would lose much loved relatives, but the
spirit had other plans. Considering that the she-cat was completely oblivious
at the moment because she had just found out what will happen in due time, the
entity noticed the slight distraction and immediately took the advantage.
It happened little over a month ago, but to the tabby it seemed like it just happened, that it was only moments ago when she found out the real motive behind the apparition’s plans. And believe it or not, she truly did just figure out what she had gotten herself into, even if it happened several weeks ago.
The
clouds painted across the dark sky began to move towards the horizon, and that
very line on the edge of the visible atmosphere started to brighten with shades
of pale shades of yellow and orange, indicating it was soon to be dawn. The
female hesitantly got up from her perch and turned around towards the inside of
the building, not really ready to start the day, but still determined to
continue on with life for the sake of her future kits.
Everyday
was the same. She would go into the forest, hunt, eat, and then prepare her
nest for rest. It was the boring routine she became accustomed with for the
rest of her life, if she even lived longer than she expected, which wasn’t
much. Hunting seemed like a job for her, that it was more work then the way it
would pleasure her when she caught prey. Sure, she loved the feeling of
accomplishment when she achieved her goals in hunting and training her body, but
now, her heart simply wasn’t put in to her efforts anymore, not after what
happened.
However,
she still hunted everyday. She still forced herself out of her nest every
morning, since she knew new existences will be accompanying her on this
treacherous road known as life. These existences were to eventually be her
kits, or how the entity would put them, a burden to society. Why even bother to
have kits when you could barely support yourself, you may ask? Well, it just so
happens this was apart of the spirit’s plans, and that spirit is the one who
had her meet the love of her life. Sadly, said lover soon began to dislike the
female cat, eventually leaving her alone and helpless with three unborn kits,
and has not returned since. Just to worsen these scenarios, the spirit dumped a
wolf right outside the mansion one morning, forcing the cat to face the fact
that she could perish any day now.
Reaching
the end of the staircase, the silver tabby cat was about to turn towards the
halls just a few feet away when she felt a light tapping on her flank, causing
her to freeze in fear. Slowly swinging around, horrified, bright green orbs
instantaneously met with dull, lifeless blue ones.
“Going somewhere, Emeline?”
The voice she so despised and hated
with such a fiery passion spoke in a cool, emotionless tone, and the she-cat
cringed slightly at the sight of the spirit’s beautiful appearance. Short,
white tabby fur covered the apparition’s entire frame, and around her neck was
a piece of jewelry the she-cat learned to be a necklace. The spirit’s face was
one of pure art, even for a cat, consisting an alluring smile with a cold twist,
along with those large, pointed ears and those eyes. Her appearance could be
considered unusual for a cat to many, and sometimes the she-cat wondered
whether or not this being was a human previously.
The tabby known as Emeline struggled to not tremble from fear in front of the intruder, and she stood with her head held high in an attempt to show pride and fearlessness, but the spirit noticed this and her smirk grew wider in amusement. “As a matter of fact, yes, I am leaving to hunt like I do every day.”
The
ghostly feline chuckled lightly. “You do
know that today is the day, yes?”
Emeline now had a confused look
painted across her features. “The day for what exactly?”
“You don’t remember? I’m pretty sure I told you when we first met and I reminded you not too long ago after nightfall.”
The silver tabby’s face fell
immediately, and her previously still shoulders now began to shake in horror.
Realization slapped her across the face with brutal force, causing her to cry
out in fear and hopelessness as the spirit laughed at the cat’s outburst.
“I remember the first time you stared at me
with that terrified expression upon your face, it was as priceless as it is
now, if not more humorous.”
After a few seconds of soft sobbing
Emeline collapsed into the floor and wept into her paws, refusing to look at
the apparition before her as said spirit drifted off towards the yard out front
of the mansion. She completely forgot today was the day she was sentencing her
kits to death by giving birth to them, giving a horrible, pain-filled life to
all of them when they appeared tucked securely in her embrace that evening, and
there was nothing she could do about it.
-------------
At
sunset, three new life forms were settled snugly into the she-cat’s belly fur,
tears soaking her fur that resulted from Emeline’s wailing. Two of the newborns
were female, one having a rather unusual coat of pitch black fur while the other
was white furred with black markings. The third was a male with a soft coat of
brown tabby fur. All three infants were resting peacefully in their mother’s
embrace, completely heedless to their creator’s cries of misery.
“You cannot alter fate, Emeline.” The
spirit hovering in the moonlight from one of the room’s windows spoke, her hardened
gaze glued to the kits huddled in the young cat’s nest. “I told you this many times before, now relinquish that bawling and face
the facts.”
Emeline raised her head and glared at
the entity with chips of emerald ice, her mouth drawn into a thin line of
acrimony, and said spirit raised her defined brows in slight surprise at the
fierceness in her accomplice’s gaze. “I know. Can I not pour out my emotions
when I can? It is not healthy to bottle up these types of things.”
“It won’t help you whatsoever. There is no
point in doing it.”
She sniffed and looked away from the
floating feline by the aperture, later taking a peek down at her three kits
resting beside her. I’m sorry... I never
meant for this to happen… The female glanced up at the spirit staring
outside through the window. It is her
fault.
“What
is my fault?” A
voice sounded beside her left ear, and Emeline yelped in surprise, almost stepping
on one of the kit’s small tails. “If you
are articulating me and my plans with your brats, then yes, you are correct. It
is indeed my fault.” Green orbs narrowed in fury as they watched the ghost
leap from the bed, drifting off back to the window to bathe in the pale
moonlight.
“Everything will go well according to my intentions, and if anything, including you, even dare to sway the order of things, I will kill you. Understood, Emeline?”
The
tabby grit her teeth and protectively wrapped her striped tail around the
bundles of fur, and nodded slowly though she instantly regretted it.
“Understood.”
“Good.” Her cruel smile graced her features once more, and her tail slowly lifted and gestured towards the wooden door to direct the new mother out of the room. “You may go and start on cleaning out those bird nests in the kitchen downstairs. I’ll take care of… Your kits.”
Knowing she couldn’t say no, Emeline
leaped down from the twin bed, quickly stretched her limbs, and then hesitantly
left the room to start on her assignment, leaving the apparition and the three
newborns alone.
“You’ll see.. Once you are old enough, everyone you love will die, and it will be your fault.” The female kit was soon set aside from the other kits with the spirit now sitting beside it, and said spirit softly moved a tuft of black fur out of the kit’s face. “You will not ruin my arrangements, even if it is the last thing you do, it will not happen.”
She smiled slightly. “You will die the worst way possible, I
assure you that. You will have a horrible life, and you will regret everything you
ever done, Wolfstar. And then, I will kill you, along with the rest of your
family.”
Thank you for reading! ^~^
