Sal, Butter and Pepper || ONC2024

Chapter 20: The Last Wish

A wise witch once hinted that sometimes love is merely waiting to be found. Well, Butter was sure, deadly so, that his mistress wasn't in the market looking for that tingling feeling that made her heart go: Thump, thump, but she had, by magic beyond his understanding, succeeded in finding it nonetheless. Honestly, though, could it be called finding when the said love kept trying to win you over despite being shot down again...and again...and again?

Also, the kitten wanted to take his words back, especially the ones he had used to describe Ms. Poppy's command over the English language. He stood corrected now, for she was fantabulous!

Even after being assaulted by Butter's mistress, Salvador Hart was totally and irrevocably in love with her. How he had managed to fall so hard for someone who did nothing but her job and came home to a talking kitten was a mystery to the feline. That was until Sal explained everything to him. Butter could almost hear pieces of the puzzle of their ill-fated relationship fall into place with a clickety-clack. 

"Oh, my Satan!" Butter could neither keep words from falling out of his mouth nor surprise out of his tone. "That makes perfect sense. You gotta tell her," he said and snapped his mouth shut.

Oops! 

"Little one, the cat's been out of the bag for a while now; you can relax. If you are worried that I will expose you or your world, don't be. I won't ever-"

"I would like my kitten back, please." 

Oh, no! 

Pepper was at the door; to Butter, she still sounded hot and bothered. So as not to anger his mistress further, the feline left the cozy comfort of Sal's palm and glanced up at her. "Pepper-"

However, before the kitten could fix the misunderstanding, his mistress snapped her fingers. "Slumber-seed."

Butter watched, horrified, as his mistress's suitor fell to the floor with a thud. 

Pepper winced, drawing her familiar’s eyes to her. A plethora of emotions flashed across her countenance, but before the kitten could voice his thoughts, she schooled her features into one of indifference. "I suppose you had fun tricking me again," she deadpanned, and without giving the kitten a chance to defend Sal or himself, she swept him off his feet, held him in the circle of her arms, and left the room. 

The kitten struggled to get out of the restraints. "My lady, you don't know-" 

"Save it, Butter. I have told Felicity to send our luggage back home. We are leaving this place right now."

"Sal is inno-"

"Shut up, or I will make you." The witch fixed Butter with a cold stare. 

Butter raised his front paws in a sign of surrender. No, this was not the time to talk some sense into her. But that didn't mean she could stop him from challenging the hand The Fates had dealt him.

The familiar fell silent, biding his time. Within a minute or so, they were seated inside a red vehicle, with paparazzi swarming it from all four directions. Butter felt like a celebrity; the feeling lasted only for a few seconds. As the shutters went off in their faces, Pepper hid behind her duffel. "Move it!" she yelled at the driver.

The man in the driver's seat turned around. "Sorry ma'am. No, can't do."

"Why?"

"I think it's because someone tipped them off that you are Salvador Hart's girlfriend."

"Well"—Pepper stomped her foot—"I am not. Just tell them that and shoo them away."

"That's not how this works, ma'am. We have to either wait it out, or the man himself has to show up and clear the air, you know what I mean?"