Dark Before The Dawn

Chapter 2 - Confusion

"If it weren't for those misery-spreading heathens that are the Doom Lords!", Those same words, which I doubt I was supposed to hear, wouldn't stop echoing inside me. I constantly worried if Mom had a bad experience with who or whatever I overheard her mention. Like, she, for some reason, always seemed happier around me and Puppycorn, but I began to assume that whenever she had her alone time, she would be brooding about "Frowntown" or the "Doom Lords". But I never knew for sure, though, because, after the incident that sparked all the confusion I had now, I decided not to try and spy on my Mom whenever she needed time to herself. If I didn't decide to refrain from that, I probably would've known more.

"Unikitty, are you sure you're okay?", I heard Mom asking me as she walked into mine and Puppycorn's room, her shadow towering over me, "You just.....haven't really been yourself all day." "Mommy, what do you mean I haven't been myself?", I asked her. "You're just a lot quieter, you haven't really been playing, and you seem a bit sad." I didn't respond. But then again, her statement was kinda true. Normally I was a really energetic, talkative, and playful little kitty, but now it was like the exact opposite. But I wasn't really sad, though. Just confused. And perhaps a bit scared. "Well, if there is something wrong, though, I love you, so don't be afraid to come to me. You're my daughter.", Mom reminded me. This wasn't the only time I was reminded this. There had been other times where I had some sort of problem, and my Mom gave me the courage to talk about my problems with her words. But I wasn't as embarrassed to talk about those problems as with this one. "Er.....I'm still okay. Maybe I just don't feel like anything.", I stammered, trying desperately to get her to stop worrying about me.

"Are you sure?", Mom asked me again. "YES! I'M SURE! STOP ASKING ME!!!!", I angrily snapped, my fur turning various shades of red, and my horn and tail engulfing in flames. I appeared to have scared the living daylight out of her with that one snarl of mine, so much so that she backed up and her fur temporarily turned white. My fur turned pink again, and my horn and tail turned back to normal. I was extremely surprised and remorseful that I had scared my Mom with my own anger, even though she was bigger than me, and quickly covered my mouth with my paw. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that!", I exclaimed. My Mom took a deep breath like she was about to lecture or scold me. I backed up a bit, holding back tears. My fur began turned various shades of blue. I worried that Mom was angry at me for that outburst, and just not letting it get the best of her. But I definitely should've payed more attention to Mom's facial expression; she looked worried, and perhaps a bit shaken, but not angry. "I'm sorry!", I exclaimed again, my voice constantly cracking.

"Oh, come here, little one.", Mom soothed as she stretched out her paw toward me. All I could do was just give in to the hug she was offering me, and I do admit to giving in when she also offered me a shoulder to cry on. Luckily, I was only crying silently, though. "It's okay. We all have little outbursts here and there; it can happen when you are feeling an emotion and you don't know how to express it.", my Mom reassured, stroking my back with her other paw, "It's okay to cry; it's a perfectly natural and healthy way to express feelings such as sadness or pain. I just want you to remember that it's not what you express; it's how you express it. I love you." My fur slowly turned back to normal. I lifted my head and looked up at her reassuring face. "You're not mad?", I asked her. "Of course, I'm not mad.", she laughed, "I just want you to remember for the future. Having emotions is okay as long as it's not disruptive and you don't hurt anyone or yourself."

"Can I be left alone?", I asked Mom, feeling like I just needed some time to myself. "Okay, then. If that helps." She then smiled at me and left the room, albeit leaving the door open so that I could come out in case I changed my mind. All she was doing was giving me an opportunity to self-soothe. I spent the next few minutes on my bed, trying to think about things that would help me forget what I heard Mom say. I had constantly been told that at some point in my life, I'd have the Unikingdom all to myself. Like, as in, at some point, I will be the one who rules it. I always thought of how fun and cool it would be to rule this kingdom, and thinking about the possible future was always a nice distraction from when I was anxious or stressed. But I also was quite comfortable with my life as a whole, and the luxuries that seemed to come with being a royal, and I knew that before I rule, I should just relax and enjoy my time as heir. Thinking about the fact that that was most likely in for a bright future definitely blocked out the memory of those words I shouldn't have heard.