08-04-2023, 10:23 PM
Royal Residence, Castle Zargo, Zargothrax
Midnight
Javed Hashemi moved silently along the corridor as the household slumbered. A cat slinked into view, pausing to look at Javed inquisitively. In response, he gave the cat a glare that made the cat freeze. The cat’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. It marked Javed as a threat, a danger that it and the other feline residents ought to be wary of. Then the cat turned tail and fled off to places unknown.
Javed continued, unperturbed by the encounter with the feline. He made his way up to the top floor of the residence, walking to the end of a corridor long disused. A cobweb in the corner fluttered slightly as he passed, its creator long since eaten by a cat. The King’s advisor stopped in front of a wooden door at the end of the corridor, and taking out an old-fashioned metal key he unlocked it, slipping inside.
The cat he had encountered returned to the King’s bedroom, where its compatriots were mostly sleeping. It nudged one of the other cats awake and flicked its tail in some kind of message. The information spread silently throughout the pile of felines, until they all woke up and, as one, climbed on top of the King sleeping in his bed, meowing loudly in unison to wake him up.
“I see,” the King said groggily as he opened his eyes to watch the felines. “Yes, I foresaw this. It will be okay. All variables are accounted for, my dears. I will not allow her to get away with this.”
*
Princess Leila sat up in her bed watching the live feed of the CCTV camera in her father’s bedroom. She had not managed to hack such a thing herself, but she had help. Now, she spent much time spying on her father and his feline friends. Usually he just played with them, or babbled about science, but this one was more confusing.
Her father often spoke to the cats as if in conversation, but this was the first time she had seen anything to suggest the cats themselves were intending to communicate. The way they’d all woken in unison was odd. But perhaps there was a logical explanation. Maybe a mouse had gotten into the room. Or they’d smelled something else they disliked, the perfume of a passing servant perhaps. Or maybe they were hungry.
Leila rewound the video, watching from the moment the first cat returned. It was Khordad, the third of the cats. They were named after the months of the year in the Zoroastrian calendar, for some reason that the King had chosen not to disclose. It irked her eldest brother no end, given that he shared the name with one of the cats now. Bahman (human) was getting rather fed up of his father paying more attention to Bahman (cat) than him.
Perhaps she could retrace Khordad’s steps. Leila went into the master page of the palace CCTV, following Khordad’s movements in reverse until she came across the footage of the cat’s encounter with Javed. She froze herself, watching him on the screen until her concentration was broken by yet another sneezing fit. Nothing she said had convinced her family to allow her to live literally anywhere else as of yet, unfortunately.
“That creeper,” Leila whispered aloud to herself. Much like her brother, she did not think much of Javed. Unlike the others, though, Leila did not attribute his improbable movements to supernatural activity. He clearly used the same secret passageways she did to come and go around the palace. She’d seen traces of his movements inside them before. This explained everything.
Leila had snuck out again during the day to acquire some (now illegal) “cat repellent” spray from a black marketeer, and she had covered herself in it while within one of the passageways. Javed must have passed through the same area and got its scent on him. Then Khordad came back reeking and disturbed the other cats, so they decided to complain to the nearest human, and her father interpreted it as something weird again.
She sighed in relief as she worked through the logic of the evening. None of it meant anything at all. She was just becoming paranoid. She needed some sleep.
Midnight
Javed Hashemi moved silently along the corridor as the household slumbered. A cat slinked into view, pausing to look at Javed inquisitively. In response, he gave the cat a glare that made the cat freeze. The cat’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. It marked Javed as a threat, a danger that it and the other feline residents ought to be wary of. Then the cat turned tail and fled off to places unknown.
Javed continued, unperturbed by the encounter with the feline. He made his way up to the top floor of the residence, walking to the end of a corridor long disused. A cobweb in the corner fluttered slightly as he passed, its creator long since eaten by a cat. The King’s advisor stopped in front of a wooden door at the end of the corridor, and taking out an old-fashioned metal key he unlocked it, slipping inside.
The cat he had encountered returned to the King’s bedroom, where its compatriots were mostly sleeping. It nudged one of the other cats awake and flicked its tail in some kind of message. The information spread silently throughout the pile of felines, until they all woke up and, as one, climbed on top of the King sleeping in his bed, meowing loudly in unison to wake him up.
“I see,” the King said groggily as he opened his eyes to watch the felines. “Yes, I foresaw this. It will be okay. All variables are accounted for, my dears. I will not allow her to get away with this.”
*
Princess Leila sat up in her bed watching the live feed of the CCTV camera in her father’s bedroom. She had not managed to hack such a thing herself, but she had help. Now, she spent much time spying on her father and his feline friends. Usually he just played with them, or babbled about science, but this one was more confusing.
Her father often spoke to the cats as if in conversation, but this was the first time she had seen anything to suggest the cats themselves were intending to communicate. The way they’d all woken in unison was odd. But perhaps there was a logical explanation. Maybe a mouse had gotten into the room. Or they’d smelled something else they disliked, the perfume of a passing servant perhaps. Or maybe they were hungry.
Leila rewound the video, watching from the moment the first cat returned. It was Khordad, the third of the cats. They were named after the months of the year in the Zoroastrian calendar, for some reason that the King had chosen not to disclose. It irked her eldest brother no end, given that he shared the name with one of the cats now. Bahman (human) was getting rather fed up of his father paying more attention to Bahman (cat) than him.
Perhaps she could retrace Khordad’s steps. Leila went into the master page of the palace CCTV, following Khordad’s movements in reverse until she came across the footage of the cat’s encounter with Javed. She froze herself, watching him on the screen until her concentration was broken by yet another sneezing fit. Nothing she said had convinced her family to allow her to live literally anywhere else as of yet, unfortunately.
“That creeper,” Leila whispered aloud to herself. Much like her brother, she did not think much of Javed. Unlike the others, though, Leila did not attribute his improbable movements to supernatural activity. He clearly used the same secret passageways she did to come and go around the palace. She’d seen traces of his movements inside them before. This explained everything.
Leila had snuck out again during the day to acquire some (now illegal) “cat repellent” spray from a black marketeer, and she had covered herself in it while within one of the passageways. Javed must have passed through the same area and got its scent on him. Then Khordad came back reeking and disturbed the other cats, so they decided to complain to the nearest human, and her father interpreted it as something weird again.
She sighed in relief as she worked through the logic of the evening. None of it meant anything at all. She was just becoming paranoid. She needed some sleep.
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