The counter at the end of the world

The spell

This is my interpretation of the prompt:
The main character of your story wakes up one day with powerful druidic magic ... and with a set of claws and fluffy ears. Your family has some explaining to do.

Astra should've known, that fate wouldn't just accept defeat. After all, it hadn't until now.

She awoke slowly today, from a cozy, restful sleep. It was one of those awakenings that trickled into her consciousness bit by bit. First she felt the sunlight behind her closed eyelids, then she wiggled her toes, a yawn escaped her lips, and finally she felt the silky sheets against her skin as she opened her eyes. She couldn't have been more comfortable if she tried, though slowly but surely her comfort was replaced by a growing sense of dread, as she realized that she didn't know where she was.

As she got up to look around, she suddenly heard someone enter the room she was in, and a man in the livery of a servant appeared. He opened the curtains in front of the big windows to let the sunlight in, and then turned around to address her: "Good morning, prince." Prince ? Astra looked around for a mirror or any kind of reflective surface, but even as she tried to take a step closer to a dresser, she noticed the difference. Her body moved differently and as she looked down at herself, she saw two hairy black paws, where her arms should've been and as she tried to stand up to her usual height, she realized she was a lot smaller than she had been. An agonized scream escaped her lips, as she put two and two together, but to her horror it only sounded like a cat's jowl.

After she had taken the time for a minor mental breakdown, she had discovered the following; first of all, she was a cat. Secondly, she was in some kind of noble palace, where everyone seemed to be used to seeing her as a cat and though she didn't know for sure who they expected her to be, she had a pretty good guess. And last, but most certainly not least, whatever spell or magic had brought her here, she didn't know how to reverse it, which meant that she was stuck here until whatever was supposed to happen, happened. She sensed that it wasn't anything malignant - as an experienced caster like this could've just sent her to some death trap - she could already tell, though, that she would hate every second of it.

With reluctant curiosity, Astra trotted through the colorful tiled halls. The place was a labyrinth, but a splendid one, she soon discovered. It was made to be more than a space for living, almost every room too grandiose to feel comfortable in, especially the hallways. Between giant mosaics depicting some great battle or another and the finely carved pillars, looking out over a great city, there was no place for her childish frustration, even if she still tried to hold on to it.
It was as if the unnaturally cool stone, sapped the warmth out of the sunlight outside and with it, her own feelings. "Is this your tragic backstory?", she murmured grumpily, even if it only sounded like an unhappy meow. Well, she would certainly not feel pity for anyone because they were living a life of luxury.

Luckily the plot moved forward, as an attendant appeared, seemingly out of nowhere and informed her, that her mother was looking for her. Astra meowed as an answer and let the man lead the way to a different part of the palace. Here, the rooms looked a little smaller, though no less ostentatious and before Astra could wonder what kind of person it was that decorated them like this, a middle-aged woman appeared to relieve the servant of his duty.She was an exquisite beauty, with thick, black hair and intelligent almond shaped eyes. Astra felt like the extravagant style of the room should've continued with her wardrobe, but to her surprise, she was dressed in elegant but simple clothes, even her jewelry was just underlining her own natural beauty.

With an easy smile, she told the servant: "Thank you, you can go now. I'll take it from here."
The woman motioned to a seat next to a table with a simple tea set. "It's been a while since we had a chat. Do you mind?" Astra quickly took a seat and the woman, her apparent mother, took the one opposite her. While she was preparing the tea, her gaze wandered over Astra's body. "If you want me to talk to you like this, as some kind of protest, I don't mind. But I will take that to mean, that you have nothing to say to the matter." Astra also looked down at her feline body. It was the first time anyone acknowledged it.

The woman sighed. "Alright then, as you well know, there's mainly one topic that's on my mind these days. I've talked with your father, I talked with Arash, I talked with the observatories and noble houses from here to the end of the desert. There's much to consider when it comes to these things, but it seems like house Scorpios claim is the most supported right now, both in heaven and earth. I don't know if they paid off the officials or if she somehow read it into the stars herself, working as an observer, but at this point I'm half convinced it's fate. The surest way to know would be to meet her at the next-"

Astra sprinted away. She didn't want to hear about this, no details, no context, that would only make it easier to return. Or harder. Her little body ran as fast as it could, underneath curtains and through cool hallways, until she found a place that seemed different than the rest of the palace. There was earth underneath her paws, grass and trees. She hopped on a levitating flower pot and curled herself up into a little ball.

She missed her shop, the comfort and familiarity of it. The place where she had gone to flee, no, could you even call it fleeing when you were saving not only yourself but another? Maybe even a whole nation. She sighed and buried her head in her arms. Who was she trying to fool?

Her ears twitched when she heard footsteps approaching. "Hello! Brother?" She looked up and saw a young man with curly hair and a sunny smile entering the garden. He spotted her little balled up form and came over. "There you are!" Astra eyed him curiously. He looked young, especially the expression on his face, like a little boy trapped in the body of a grown man. He sat down next to her. "Mother told me what happened. I guess she didn't expect you to run away, when she was giving you the good news of who you're supposed to marry." He chuckled to himself, then grew serious again, when he saw that she didn't join in. Not that she could, as a cat. "Maybe you're looking at this the wrong way, you know? Until death do us part, doesn't mean forever." Astra looked up at him. "I mean, I'm sure, if you want, we can find some way to get rid of her."

And finally, she could feel the spell break.