Here, Kitty, Kitty

The Game

The next evening, Cassie made her way to Helena's salon. Despite the fact she knew Maddie was gunning for her at the moment and that her group might attempt to catnap her at random, Cassie, rather stupidly, could hardly pay much attention to her surroundings as she travelled to Helena's. Understandably, her mind was rather occupied by the oncoming battle for her freedom, along with whatever had actually gone down on Uma's ship the night before.

'This is what ye' get for underminin' me in front of 'em.'

The Cheshire Cat's daughter had wriggled out of the pirate's hold almost immediately after that. While she had endured a sliver of humiliation at having to openly accept Harry in front of the entire population of his side of the Isle, it hadn't been too troubling. Considering their history and his knack for violence, it could've gone much worse. However, not long after the 'fight' had ended, the entire crew had gone back to Uma's shoppe for a little gathering, of sorts.

Like thousands of insects after a rock had been lifted, the pirates had scattered back to Uma's place. Overly excited from the training they'd witnessed, the group hollered and howled with great glee as they spread through the street, only quieting once they were back in the shoppe. Amongst the rowdy bunch, Starla had pulled Cassie with the crowd by her hand, the excitement of the evening clearly having overtaken the pirate girl.

After entering the shoppe, and rather grateful to escape Starla's clutches, Cassie sneaked into a less occupied corner to observe the situation. The pirates seemed unbearably rowdy that evening. It was all rather peculiar, but Cassie assumed the majority simply got their highs from watching other people fight. If this was yet another custom, it was one she'd just have to adjust to.

Large gatherings had never really appealed to the little cat, so she'd hung around for maybe five or ten minutes before heading back to the ship for some rest. Thankfully, none of the others had seen her leave, so she was left unbothered for the remainder of the evening. And, much to Cassie's relief, no one came to wake her up when she slept through the daylight.

When Helena's salon came into sight, Cassie breathed a sigh of relief. With the twins nowhere to be seen, she was free to come in through the door like normal.

Pushing on the door, Cassie entered the salon, making sure to pull the latch across when she was in. Taking a step back to turn and head into the main area, Cassie flinched when something crunched beneath her feet. Peering down, the little cat frowned when she realised shards of glass were scattered across the floor.

With a twist in her stomach, Cassie followed the glass trail into the salon. With her nerves balancing on the edge, the only thing that kept her calm was the lack of blood. After all, Helena had one hell of a temper, and having a breakdown in the salon and destroying whatever she could get her hands on was hardly rare.

Stepping around the shards to avoid alerting a possible intruder, Cassie crept through the empty salon. Her worries were tamed slightly when she noticed the cracks spreading through almost all of the mirrors. So far, all the clues point to Helena being the cause.

Cassie stepped through the salon a little more confidently. Walking into the dimly lit dining room, the little cat was overcome with relief.

"Helena," she mumbled.

The Queen of Hearts looked up, and Cassie paused. Beneath Helena's eyes was a smear of black, worsened by the continuing tears streaming down her cheeks. Her hair, usually so neat and without a hair out of place, was messily tied back into a knot, tussled in multiple areas. Clearly, something had gone down.

"Hey, pussycat," greeted Helena with a whisper, her nose wrinkling as her bottom lip twitched.

Cassie sighed, and came forward to sit in the chair beside Helena's. "What happened?"