The Felinites

Chapter 4

Chapter 4~ Dexter's POV~

He has the wrong girl.

"I'm going to finish what we started earlier and was interrupted in the middle of," the man growls. He is one of the mongrels that attacked Princess Cleo at the meeting and he obviously believes he has cornered the princess. I cannot decide whether it is better or worse that he has the wrong girl.

While Abby and Princess Cleo do both look extremely similar, I don't quite understand how he could mistake Abby for the princess. Abby is missing something that the princess has, something that should be a dead giveaway. Abby does not have the royal birthmark.

"Leave now," I warn him.

He laughs a humorless sound. "You aren't getting rid of me that quickly," he snarls as he lunges for Abby, who is unconscious on the floor, with a dagger. I throw him against one of the walls before he can reach her. The impact of his body against the wall causes a loud crack that could easily be heard by other nearby guards.

The siren sounds, proving my theory that our scuffle had been heard. All of the royal family and as many servants as possible will be heading into hiding now. There are safe tunnels hidden throughout the walls of the castle, which only a select few guards and the royals know how to get into.

Footsteps slap against the castle floor as several guards come rushing toward the ruckus that we have created. "What happened?" several voices chorus as they enter the hall.

"An intruder," I grind out as I pin the man to the ground. Other hands reach out to help me. Two hands encircle his neck, but they let up once the man is rendered unconscious. Somebody carries the man out of the hall, presumably to the dungeons, which is where he will stay until his trials. If- rather, when- he is found guilty he will be banished from Filinus.

I stand up and my eyes automatically search for Abby. She is nowhere to be seen. Where could an unconscious Filinite have gone? I finally find her in the arms of another guard.

"I can take her," I offer the woman.

"Who is she? She looks so much like Princess Cleo, but she does not have the birthmark," the woman notices, making no move to turn Abby over to me.

"She is Princess Cleo's guest," I reply and shift my weight from one leg to the other, my usually even temper raring at the woman's refusal to hand Abby over to me. I don't have time to stay and chat. I have to get back to the princess, who is probably scared and confused.

"She looks so much like Princess Cleo," the woman repeats.

"Hand me the girl," I growl impatiently and the woman flinches before thrusting Abby into my arms. I whirl around and take the stairs three at a time as I race for Princess Cleo's room.

I find her room empty and begin to panic even though I know somebody would have taken her to a safe room when the alarms first went off. I lay Abby on the rug in the center of the room and then go to stand in front of a particular cluster of gems on Princess Cleo's wall. I brush a finger over sixteen of the tiny gems and they pop out of their place and fall into my hand. Then I walk to another wall in the room and arrange the magnetic gems into the shape of a tiara identical to Princess Cleo's. If you get the pattern wrong or don't finish it within twenty seconds of starting it the sirens will wail and bars will completely close the room in.

I know this pattern by heart, though and do not worry about anything like that. The floor under me splits open so that I drop down into the secret chambers and land gracefully on all fours. All of the secret chambers are identical. They are circular, furnitureless, and have a few boxes of food to accommodate for several weeks if the need were to arise. Princess Cleo and her mother sit in here with eight guards and four servants. The king would be more heavily guarded in another chamber.

"It is all clear," I announce.

"Where is Abby?" Princess Cleo demands at the same time her mother asks, "What happened?"

"Well, Queen Nala, an intruder broke in. Princess Cleo, I left Abby in your room," I answer both of their questions.

"Good," Princess Cleo says with a nod and scampers up one of the six exit staircases. Servants and guards begin to follow her example, using the various exits.

"Abby is the one that saved my Cleo earlier today, correct?" Queen Nala asks.

"Yes, she is," I reply.

"She was attacked by the intruder," the queen assumes and I nod in answer. "They mistook her for Cleo," she states and I nod again. "Was she injured?"

"She was knocked unconscious, but was left otherwise unharmed as far as I could tell," I answer.

"I want to meet this heroic look a-like that my daughter seems so fond of," Queen Nala demands.

"Very well, follow me," I lead her up the same staircase that Princess Cleo took and back to the princess's room.

Abby is still asleep on the floor where I left her. Princess Cleo sits beside her, gently brushing through Abby's fur. I incline my head in acknowledgement as I take my stand at her cave entrance. "My father told me to tell you, Dexter, that he wishes to see you. He is in his room," Princess Cleo announces.

"Ok, thanks," I reply as I leave the room. The king and queen's room is on the same floor as Princess Cleo's so it doesn't take long for me to reach King Sebastian. After I knock, it only takes a few moments for one of the guards to open the door.

The king and queen's room is similar to Princess Cleo's. This room has a large fuzzy purple rug in the center, a much larger rug than the one in the princess's room. The cave walls are decorated with gold instead of the multi-colored gems that adorn Princess Cleo's room. Another difference is that there are three shelves on one of the walls instead of just one and two thrones sit in one corner of the room.

"Hello, guard," King Sebastian greets me from his throne. He doesn't care about the names of his people, not even his guards and warriors. His golden fur glistens in the dim light of the cave and his long, slim tail flicks from side to side behind him. As always, he wears his black crown and black satin cave.

"Good, evening, Your Highness," I answer, inclining my head, "You wish to speak with me?"

"I do, indeed. I want to know what you know about this girl. The guest my daughter had over tonight? Nobody else seems to know her. Except you. Explain," he demands.

"I do not know her well, sir," I reply, "All I know is that she saved Princess Cleo from a knife wound, which would have killed her, this morning. The princess invited her over tonight as a thank you for her help. Her name is Abby," I reply.

The king thinks this over for a moment before he continues, "I want you to learn everything you can about this girl. Understand? For all we know she could be the one who stole the potions. Or even an Edacion spy."

"Yes, sir," I answer even though I do not think Abby would do such a thing as steal and she seems too innocent to be a spy. I turn to leave, but he stops me.

"What is your name." His voice ends in the same way it would if he were demanding an order rather than asking a question. At first, I am startled because the king has never bothered to learn any name other than that of other planet's royals.

"Dexter, you're Highness," I answer.

"Dexter," he repeats my name twice more, and then says, "I will be waiting for more information about the girl, Dexter. What did you say her name was, again?"

"Her name is Abby, sir," I answer.

"Thank you, that we be all," the king dismisses me.

I had been heading back toward the princess, but I take an abrupt turn at the stairs and go to the library instead, deciding to send another guard to Princess Cleo's room to watch over her and Queen Nala.

I do not suspect Abby of being anything other than a good Felinite that cares for her royals, but the king gave me a direct order and I will not disobey him. I will investigate Abby and learn every little detail I can about her. I will not let her out of my sight when she is near the princess. I will learn each and every one of her secrets, even if it kills me.