Mittens Part 8 (Text Only)

Mittens Part 8

Kerry steps back from Lars and she looks frightened.

“Why aren’t you guys freaking out!” she shrieks, looking at me and mom confused. “I’m not crazy! That c-cat just s-spoke!”

“Lars,” I grumble, telling him off in displeasure of his reckless actions, nudging him with my foot.

“We don’t have time for games!” Lars replies, reacting unhappily to my gentle nudge.

“Kerry, Liam!” Mom scolds, gathering Kerry by her collar. “Please keep it down! We don’t know who’s listening and frankly, I don’t want your father to see!”

Kerry shrieks as mom pulls her closer to Lars. “Eeek! Am I dreaming or something! First, the cat that makes my brother a girl…now this one is talking!”

“Kerry!” Mom says, putting a finger to her lips. “Please! —keep it down.”

Ridged in fear, Kerry just nods at Mom’s imperious presence.

“Listen,” Mom says down at Kerry with a smile. “I really need to talk to Liam and his new friend here in private.”

Kerry bites down on her lower lip as she listens. She clearly just wants to run away.

“Do you think you can do me a favor?” mom asks politely.

Kerry nods once more as her eyes cautiously dart down to Lars at my feet.

“I’m going to go sit in the car with Liam and Lars,” Mom explains, looking around to make sure no one is listening. “I need you to tell dad I’m taking your sister to get some feminine products. Whilst we are doing that, we need you to act normal and at least try and chat with some of the girl's dad introduces you to.”

Kerry looks up and I see the fear in her eyes. I wasn’t expecting her to be so afraid of Lars—especially after she didn’t seem all that freaked out when I transformed into a cat girl.

“It’s r-real…..?” Kerry mutters, looking up at mom in terror.

“Yes Hunny,” Mom replies, pointing to the crowd inside the main hall. “It’s very important I speak with Lars right now. I trust you understand why that’s so important.”

Kerry quickly throws me a glance, before looking at mum nervously. “Are we going to be ok?” she asks, her voice strained.

“I won’t let anything happen,” Mom reassures her, gently placing a hand on her soft face. “Just go do as I ask, ok.”

Kerry looks at me again and her expression puts shivers down my spine. Does she know something I don’t?

As she walks off towards the crowd, mom starts ushering us towards the exit and our car in the parking lot

Mom beeps the car open and she gets into the driver’s side. I scurry around to the clack of my heels on the concrete and get into the passenger side. Lars jumps in just as I go to close the door and makes himself comfortable on my lap.

“Comfy?” I ask sarcastically as I shut the car door.

“Very,” Lars purrs with a wide grin.

As I fidget with his unusually heavy weight for a cat on my legs, I brush the hair from my face and look over at mom. My skin goes all goose-pimply as I look at the worry stricken across her face.

“Mom…?” I say nervously, worried I’ve done something wrong. “Are you ok?”

“Lars,” Mom says pointedly, looking straight forward through the car’s windscreen. “Is it close to me and my family?”

“The city over,” Lars replies, letting out a long cat-like yawn. “Last time I had a report in.”

“Wait!?” I interrupt, putting two and two together. “You’re both talking about the THING…aren’t you!? The thing that stole your orb.”

“How much does she know…?” Mom asks, ignoring me.

“What she needs to know,” Lars replies, also ignoring me.

Mom continues to stare straight out the window. I’ve never seen her act like this. So ridged and serious.

“I assume you can reverse what you’ve done to my son here?” Mom continues, her voice now tense. “If we decide not to help you with your cause.”

“Morgan…?” Lars replies, puzzled by her words. “I thought you said you were completely on board with this!? I thought you wanted to help all our kind stuck in the world, cursed to live out lives as these insignificant creatures!”

“STOP!” I scream out, interrupting. “Can someone explain to me what’s happening right now!?”

I turn to look at mom and she’s looking at me concerned. “You know about all this!? I ask, getting quite upset. “Why am I always the last to know!”

I turn to Lars, and I give him a filthy look. “Do you have a way of changing me back!? I’d very much like to be a boy again, thank you very much. My cat ears are always itchy! – I hate it! Don’t even get me started on being a girl either. Being pretty is not my thing.”

“So she doesn’t know everything then,” Mom replies in reaction to my outburst.

“SHE!?” I screech, now getting very upset they keep talking around me. “I’m a boy mom! Not this pretty little girl you see before you!”

“Mitzy!” Mom scolds, raising her voice. “Just calm down, will you. Let me talk to Lars already! If I didn’t want you to hear what he has to say, I wouldn’t have you in here right now!”

Huffing like a typical teenage girl, I sink into my car seat.

“Answer her questions Lars,” Mom then resumes, staring down at Lars with daggers in her eyes. “Do you have a way of changing her back to normal?”

“Normal…,” Lars scoffs, staring mom down with confidence. “You should be thrilled I’ve allowed your ‘son’ to take her rightful place as Princess Royal. Not many formadors left y’know —so you should be thanking me Morgan, Queen Royal of Green Clowder.”

“Q-queen….!?” I instantly questions, stunned that my mother is apparent royalty.

Mom rolls her eyes and lets out a long sigh. “Don’t call me that.”

“Mom…?” I say softly, trying to work it all out in my brain. “You are the Queen of Yibixus?”

“Was,” mom quickly answers and corrects. “Not anymore.”

Bringing my hands to my face, I shake my head. Hair failing around the place, I scream into my hands.

“So the answer to my question is no,” Mom says, ignoring my scream. “Lars, how to expect me to explain my son becoming a girl just like this. We’ve made a happy life for ourselves here. This is only going to draw attention and possibly our demise!”

“You’ve got a happy life!?” Lars remarks sarcastically, clearly unhappy with that response. “And what about the rest of your people….your highness!? Those not important enough or rich enough to have access to a Formador are cursed to say like I am right now. Helpless little cats! I ask you—how is that fair!?”

Mom looks away in frustration. Clearly, Lars has hit a raw nerve.

“You know we tried….Lars,” Mom replies, her words fierce and to the point. “You’re father devoted himself to using what we salvaged from the orb to help the rest of our people. It’s not my fault it didn’t work!”

“My father….,” Lars looks away in pain. “He was never interested in helping any of us. He wanted the power for himself and look where that’s got us!”

Sitting in complete silence as the cat in my lap argues with my mom, I wonder if I’ve gone crazy and if this is all just some lucid dream.”

“So what's the plan then Lars… Eden…,” Mom says sarcastically, waving her hand dismissively in his direction. “You coerce my kid into helping you--then you find the orbs and save Yibixus and all our kind….am I about right?”

“It's her rightful place!!” Lars retorts, anger tainting his voice as he accidentally lets out a cat-like growl

“You two!” I scream out, trying my best to tell them both off.

Mom and Lars look away from each other. I take a few deep breaths in then to calm down.

“Mom….,” I say politely, gaining her attention. “So, you are a grimalkin?”

“Yes, Hunny,” Mom replies. “I was a grimalkin before I transformed into a human.”

I look down at Lars and his issues become obvious to me. “So, if I understand this correctly—a lot of grimalkins are refugees on earth. I’m assuming that only the rich and powerful were able to transform into humans to re-settle here? I’m also assuming, like Lars here, those who couldn’t have been left to live out the rest of their days as cats…?”

“Nail on the head, Princess,” Lars remarks, stretching out his front two legs. “We have to do something. Leaving IT to continue to roam around freely is extremely irresponsible.”

Pulling a puzzled face, I turn back to mom and she quickly looks away. I think she knows what I’m about to ask.

“So….,” I say, knowing I’m probably not going to like the answer. “Why did you never tell us, Mom? Are me and Kerry even your children or is our family a complete lie?”

Mom’s mouth drops as she turns to face me with watery red eyes. “Liam,” she scolds. “Of course, you and Kerry are my children! How could you even say such a thing!?”

Mom gives me such a sour look, but my question is justified!

“Can you blame me!?” I instantly reply with sass. “My mom is apparently some sort of alien queen and I’m randomly….royalty!”

“I couldn’t tell you,” Mom says innocently. “It would have risked us being caught or worse….being found by Green.”

“Green?” I ask, looking at Lars for clarification.

“The thing that stole our orb,” Lars clarifies.

“Does Dad know?” I continue, desperate for answers.

“No,” Mom answers plainly, rubbing her eyes. “Please don’t tell him either. You may think I’m many things right now, but what I am for sure, is devoted to my husband and you kids. You are the life I choose.”

“Selfish,” Lars mutters under his purring.

As the tension in the car between them becomes thick like syrup, a loud noise on the hood of the car causes us to all freak-out and jump with fear.

“Holy…!” Mom gasps.

“It’s another cat,” I laugh anxiously, trying to calm my breathing.

Lars’s ears perk up and he stands on my lap. Standing on his hind legs, he leans against the dashboard to see out the window.

“Let them in,” he commands, looking at the car window on my side.

Shaking a little, I slowly reach over to the switch and lower the window. The cat, who just scared us all to death with its sudden appearance, jumps onto the edge of the open car door window.

“Sir….,” the cat says without hesitation. “I have news to report.”

Lars sits again on my lap and looks up at the jet-black cat sitting on the window. “Report away,” Lars replies.

“We’ve reports that IT has begun to act erratically,” the cat says, licking at a paw as it balances. “We were on its trail, but we’ve unfortunately lost visual.”

“Another shapeshift?” Lar asks, rubbing his whisker with one paw.

“Yes,” the black cat answers. “I’ve also got reports of several new developments since you’ve been recruiting the princess.”

“Recruiting?” I grumble quietly, under my breath.

“The commander has used her shard,” the cat reports. “We aren’t sure why as of yet, but its behavior of recent maybe indication that It knows.”

The black pauses and focuses.

“Lars…,” he says, making sure he’s listening. “The prince has emerged from hiding. The transformation has now finally taken place!”

Lars nods then looks up at me with a big beaming smile.

“This is good news indeed,” he replies, not taking his eyes off me. “Where is the prince now?”

“At the factory sir,” the black cat replies.