The Clockwork Princess

21 The cat and the rat

The quantum cat and the rodent scholar had landed beyond the city wall. After the cat spent twenty minutes rolling on his back complaining, about how much his legs hurt from the landing they stood up and limped south.

'Quick we must get to the King' the rat shouted and ran off as best he could.

The journey was terrible they spent huge amounts of time avoiding being seen by Calgari's mechanical followers. After a few hours they realise that Caligari's mechanical people didn't notice a cat go by. Then the cat and the rat began walking down the road. The road was filled with Caligari's mechanical people. They stood like all the soles of their shoes had become instantly stuck to the road. 

Eventually the rat not used to running got so tired that cat picked in up and put him on his back.

'Oh I feel so stupid' the rat said.

'Welcome to how the rest of the world feels' the quantum cat said.

'No, I should have realised that Caligari's mechanical people wouldn't have noticed us. We have wasted so much time hiding'

'They might not have noticed a cat but a rat and a cat they might think odd.'

Before the rat could say anything the he went shooting up in to the air. The rat fell but was caught by another hand and in prisoned between two sets of fingers.

'What have we got here then' said one of the King's men.

'It's the traitor cat! I remember him from the palace' said another one.

'He's right There's a reward for this one. Big fat reward to' said another solider.

The rat and the cat were taken back to the camp the King's men had said up. As they did they saw hundreds of Princes who had from all over Europe to look for the Princess. They had even shouted at Prince Kicka who like the everyone else ignored them.

Soon the cat and the rat were in a prison tent under the ever watch full eye of one of the King's men.

The rat paced up and down in the cage.

'I've failed the Princes!' the rat said

'You tried' the cat said 'Look. If you don't look at me then as soon as the guard looks away I can escape'

'We don't have that much time to waste!' the rat said 'Think rat think!'

The rat though hard as he could, he thought harder than someone trying to do long division on a Monday morning double maths lesson. He thought harder than someone trying to remember the names of all the fish in the sea as a bet on a long Sunday afternoon. He thought harder than a thousand children doing a spelling test in a dusty old hall and still nothing came.

Suddenly the rat stopped in his tracks. It was as if he had been hit on the head by a vat of pink custard spotted with purple cherries.

'I have it!' the rat turned to the guard and shouted 'As a prisoner of the King I have the right to send a message to my family! I want to send a telegraph message'.

It was the law, even for talking rat. Soon someone from the telegraph office arrived to take the message. In fact it was two people.

'Quick' said the rat as the telegraph people arrived to take the message. 'I have an urgent message for Mrs and Mrs Janus!' Telegraph hill Surrey.

'That should be a quick message' the first telegraph operator said 'its for us'.

'Mrs Janus & Mrs Janus!' the rat said in surprise.

The Janus sisters had come to send telegraph messages for all the King's men and all the Kings's horses and the King and his advisors, and the Queen, and the Bishop and the knights and all the princesses of Europe.

'Mrs Janus' the rat began talking so quickly he sounded like someone had taken the lid off a blender full of words running at full speed. 'The clockwork princess has found the real Princess. Dr Calgary had her. They escaped from his factory. They are all in Manchester. An army of clockwork people surrounds the city. Caligari told the city that if he doesn't marry Princess Amelia he will destroy the city! You must send help NOW. The wedding is tomorrow'.

The Janus sisters ran to the King and Queen. The king called for his bow, his arrows, his spear and his chariot then left for Manchester. The Queen came into the prison tent and got the story again. She freed the cat and rat, stroked her prime quantum cat then set off for with the rest of the army and the Princess of Europe after the King.