Petibone (Fantasmical 2024)

6. A Bargain with Shadows _ Halosandhellfires

Prompt: The gates of hell stood ajar and out steps one of hell's most cunning creatures. Your Character stares it in the eyes. This hellcat can bring you to your knees or grant you your one deepest desire.

**

Meeting Desiré, the sweetest orc in the world, changed something in me—at least how I viewed orcs. I found myself not packing my explosive devices for my latest mission. Why bother? My bag might get stolen on the way, or I might accidentally blow up Desiré. The world was no longer just good and evil; there were in-betweens. There was an excellent orc somewhere who stood out from the many fearsome orcs.

With this new perspective, I embarked on my latest message delivery. This mission seemed simple; it wasn't secret and didn't involve the royal family or the wizard. I was sure it would be boring—just go to Dion, deliver the message, and return to continue my library research. I had started looking into materials about goblins and how they were mentioned, and I am particularly interested in ancient writings.

But let's leave that because I wanted to talk about Dion. The small village was a charming place, inhabited mainly by beekeepers. As I approached the town, I could see the beehives from afar. It was a quiet little area, and I arrived in the evening when they were herding the cows from the pastures, or maybe the cows came home by themselves? A few cows walked ahead of me and turned into their own yards by themselves. I just found out they were smart enough to remember where they lived.

I decided to spend the night at the inn. At this late hour, I wanted to avoid disturbing Abbie, the cheesemaker to whom I had to deliver a recipe. I assumed there was an inn everywhere I went, and there was one here, too, but it was completely empty. I felt a bit uncertain because, besides having no guests, there was no staff—not even a bartender or a cook to order dinner from.

With no better idea, I unpacked the remaining food from my backpack and started eating it. Then, tired from the long journey, I lay down on a bench to rest for a bit. This was an inn, so it would be okay to spend the night there since I couldn't rent a room.

It was uncomfortable, but that wasn't the worst part. A cat came in from somewhere because I woke up to meowing. When I opened my eyes, in the flickering light of the kerosene lamps, a huge, blinking cat's eye was right in front of my face. Its black fur made it invisible in the dim light, and at first, it seemed like only the cat's eyes were staring at me.

Something was frightening about it because I suddenly sat up and saw the black cat. But it wasn't bothered—it jumped onto the bench beside me. When it spoke, I didn't even find it strange.

"I have a proposition for you!" it said in a purring old woman's voice. I saw its mouth move, yet I still looked around to see if someone else was speaking. But I was still alone in the inn.

Seeing my confusion, the cat placed one paw on my thigh and continued, "Listen to me because you won't get this opportunity again in your life!"

When I looked back into its big eyes, it continued, "I'm sure you have the deepest desire, one you barely admit even to yourself, but every part of you yearns for it. What if I told you I could fulfill it?"

As I watched, its mouth moved, but it was extraordinary. "Who are you?" I groaned.

"Is that really the most important thing? Who I am? Not that I want to fulfill your wildest dream?"

It didn't turn out well the last time I wished to be an elf girl. There must be some trick here, some condition that makes it more complex. Some condition...

"You're right; there is a condition," said the cat, and I think I groaned in surprise, out loud, because I hadn't spoken my doubts; I had only thought them.