Here, Kitty, Kitty

As Long As It Takes

Warnings:

. Swearing.
. Mentions of animal abuse/death (But nothing too graphic)
Also, I don't own Maddy, Anthony, Ginny, or the Gaston twins. They all belong to the writer of the 'Descendants' novels.

Anyway, enjoy!

Cassie swept up the remnants of hair from the salon floor, routinely tossing the last strands into Helena's 'Wig Making' bucket. She spared a glance to her right, a small smile tugging at her lips when she heard Gilzean babbling away, the black-haired baby playfully tugging at Helena's brown curls.

"They found another one today, y'know."

Just like that, Cassie's moment of content was swept away. Her smile fell, and she pursed her lips, praying with every fibre of her being that Helena wouldn't see straight through her.

"I think I've lost count of how many there've been now," the Queen continued, keeping her voice light for the sake of little Gilzean.

"Twenty-eight," the little cat mumbled sombrely, re-capping the lid of the bucket with a little too much aggression. She knew she had to be careful: She couldn't give Helena any reason to suspect something. However, hiding her utter disdain for the hook-wielding pirate was proving far more difficult than she'd anticipated.

It'd been two weeks since Cassie had last ventured out into the Isle. After witnessing the unfortunate pirate boy's demise, and the lengthy discussion she'd had with Helena about her loyalty, the Cheshire Cat's daughter had thought it best to lay low for a little while. After all, she was certain that - after her trip onto Uma's ship - Harry was looking for her, or he'd at least sent the word out to the rest of the crew, and Cassie had no desire to run into him again.

From what Helena had heard in the salon, though, Cassie knew full well he was eager to run into her.

It had started the day after she'd been to the ship. At first, no one had given it a second thought. The Isle was dreadful, and people were twisted and cruel, so it was no surprise to anyone. But then it kept going. Another was found the morning after, then another after the sun had gone down, and on and on it had continued. There didn't seem to be a pattern: Not one the Isle residents could figure out, anyway. What was left of the poor creatures were scattered about the inner Isle, some were left in the middle of the street, while others were dumped haphazardly in alleyways. No one knew who was so committed to such an atrocious act, and though the animals weren't exactly the first priority, it was beginning to unsettle the inner Islanders.

The witches were understandably outraged. Whenever a fresh one was found, everyone knew about it. Harsh, ear-shattering screeches echoed from the Witch School just around the corner, the former magic beings mourning in their own twisted way. For a short time, the Islanders thought the witches were the intended targets. It made sense, after all, since the witches doted on the furry animals. But if that'd been true, then the animals would've been left outside the school itself, and not randomly placed. Either way, the witches weren't taking it well, and they made sure everyone knew it.

It was stifling for Cassie. She spent the majority of her day as a feline, and now that numerous cats of all shapes, sizes, and colours were being dumped around the Isle in various states of dismemberment... well, it certainly sent her into a fit of rage and upset. More so since she knew exactly who was doing it, and why they were doing it.

Harry was calling her out. In his own vile and wicked way, the son of Hook was attempting to force the Cheshire Cat's daughter out of hiding, and if he kept it up - which she knew he would - then he would eventually succeed.

The Queen of Hearts hadn't questioned Cassie: Not at first, anyway. In the beginning, everyone had assumed the brutal killings had been a random, one-off kind of thing, and that included Helena and Cassie. Now, though, Helena's suspicions had piqued. The little cat didn't have to be looking at the Queen to know she was being closely watched, and Helena wasn't subtle in her scrutiny when she occasionally mentioned that another violated feline had been found. The Heart girl was looking for a reaction from Cassie, something to confirm her assumption that the Cheshire Cat's daughter was somehow involved with the new terror going about the Isle. Helena wasn't an idiot, and Cassie knew she was going to have to tell her eventually.