Pocketville Lost Diamonds: VOLUME 2

Chapter 33: savage fight

Ava walked upstairs.

Her feline body moved on the old wood of the stairs without a single noise, but it cracked under William’s weight, softly crying the ages of history that those oak steps had to have seen.

The light of the moon, entering from the small vertical space between the curtains of the windows, drew a rectangle of silver light on the walls on their side, which created a simple and mute scenography for their shadows, which acted like the puppets in a small theatre.

They reached the last step and found themselves in the darkness of the second level.
The light source was the colorful glass door that closed the way to the balcony, partially hidden by heavy red curtains. The floor was like the one in the lower lever, a precious parquet decorated with soft carpets and some precious furniture. They appeared to be very ancient, set in the corners and along the longest walls to leave as much space as possible.
Above, many paintings of landscapes and portraits of cats were hanged.

Ava approached them and observed one: she recognized it as a quite precious one, painted by a famous artist from Pocketville.
- This looks like a private collection. - commented.

- It looks like your father wanted to raise Musika up between art masterpieces. - answered William.

Ava looked back at him and noticed that they were alone.
Steel Wool and the two warrior dogs hadn’t followed them, maybe willing to stand guard outside or taking a look downstairs.
They were alone. Again.

The princess composed herself back, changing the clearly embarrassed expression with the distant and cold one she kept so far.
- He cared about his daughters to learn and appreciate any kind of art, that’s it. - said, looking away - Just… I don’t remember they were here when I came here. He must have brought them here later.

- Are you sure? No offence, princess, but you were only two years old…
- I am! - Ava turned to him once again, spelling this with a louder voice.
Doing this, something caught her attention…

- Sorry. - mumbled William, lowering his ears. Ava moved on one side and he followed her with eyes.
- William, look at this!
- Uh?

The Royal Guard sided her, trying to understand what she was looking at.
Right toward them, a smaller golden frame was almost hidden in the darkness. He had to sharpen his eyes to see what was painted on it…
- Ava, that’s...!
- Oh, my...

The protagonists of the picture were impossible to confuse: two siamese kittens, lovely hugging each other and staring at viewers with big and lively blue eyes.
The one on the left was a cinnamon-pointed Feles Aulicus with big ears. She had a bright smile, filled with the pure happiness of a kitty.
She wore a red collar with white lace and a small precious stone, which was hidden by something more colorful. Indeed, the two small and round paws were clumsily holding a big flower of hydrangea, whose leaves were wrinkled and broken just like someone used it as a toy for too long. 

The other kitty was almost totally alike, but she had silver marks instead of light brown ones and a minuscule black spot on her right cheek. She had a blue collar with a small necklace and her fur was uncombed. Her mouth was open and her sharped milk teeths seemed to have just chewed the flower she was holding between her paws: a red blossom of roses. Thorns had been cut away, maybe avoiding the danger she could sting herself - or sting her sister as revenge - or maybe to make that flower more beautiful.

- That’s Eva and I! - exclaimed the princess. That view hit her guts like a punch and some tears ran to her eyes.
That portrait wasn’t done to show their similarity by symmetric and strict positions, nor to signify their royalty and nobility with precious and useless dress and jewels: it was introducing them as two sisters, common and enthusiastic children that appeared to just want to have fun instead of pose for a portrait.