At last! I thought I was never going to get out of that apartment. I'm bored out of my mind in there. It's been days since Josh left and I want to know where he went this time. I watched him put a bunch of clothes and things in bags the other day, and I haven't seen him since he carried them out. He's been gone before, but this time I'm really bored. It's not like I can use the DVD player by myself! I've chased every ball around the apartment at least a dozen times. I've taken naps. And this place we live in now is far too clean - there are never any bugs to play with!
So before I go crazy I've decided I'm going to go find someone who'll tell me where Josh went. Maybe someone who'll play with me some, too. There have always been nice People around since we moved here, but I haven't seen any of them lately. All I've seen are those stupid Metal People who come in to make sure I have food, and they don't seem to have any idea how to have fun. What's a cat supposed to do? Sit and wait forever?
I stopped in the middle of a hallway and looked around. I'd been running since I got out and realized I didn't really know where I was going. I was in one hallway now, and there was another one in front of me that went across this one. This one ended there, so if I kept going that way I would have to go right or left. Hmmm, decisions.
Oooh! How do People stand these cold stone floors? My paws are freezing just from standing here! Wait . . . what's that? Footsteps! A Person's coming! Maybe they know where Josh is. I'll ask them.
I ran over to the corner by the other hallway and peeked carefully around the corner. There was a girl Person coming, one I didn't know. She looked like she had something on her mind, because she didn't see me at all. Good, a dumb Person. They're the easiest. I crouched down, ready to leap out from cover and take my prey by surprise. As I heard her come closer I wiggled the back half of my body to make sure it was ready to go.
When the Person was only a couple of steps from the hallway where I was hiding, I sprung out at her and pounced on her feet. I wrapped my front legs around her ankle to slow her down. Then I tried to bite her leg, but she was wearing pants so all I got was a mouthful of cotton. Yech!
"Goodness!" said the Person as she looked down at me. "Where did you come from?"
"Where's Josh!?" I demanded before I tried to bite her again.
The Person laughed at me - actually laughed at me! "My, you're a feisty little thing, aren't you?" she said.
"Where's Josh?" I repeated. What does it take to get through to this Person? Some People understand Cat better than others, but this one seemed really clueless.
She just laughed again and reached down to pick me up. She was pretty, for a person, and smelled good too. "You're a cute little thing," she said. Then she frowned at me for some reason. "What happened to you?"
"The same thing that's going to happen to you if you don't answer my question!" I told her. I don't care how good she smells, I want answers!
"Oh, poor little thing," she said as she pulled me into her cradled arms.
"Don't talk down to me!" I said in indignation. "Just because you're about a million paws taller than me doesn't mean you can be rude!"
Then she laughed at me again. What is wrong with this Person? "You certainly are a mouthy little cat."
"I'll show you 'mouthy little cat' when I bite you on your stupid--"
"I have a friend who will know where you belong. Come along, little one." She turned around to go back the way she'd come, still holding me. Well, if her friend was someone who knew me, then maybe they'd know where Josh was! I decided that, for now, I'd go along with her.
Then she started rubbing my head between my ears. Okay, maybe this wasn't so bad..
A few minutes later the Person carried me into a large room where another Person was sitting behind a desk. I lifted my chin up from her arm so I could see who the other Person was.
Thayer! Oh thank goodness! Thayer will know where Josh went - he knows absolutely everything about this place!
"Lord Thayer, I have captured a desperate bandit in the halls of the Palace," said the Person carrying me.
Thayer smiled as he stood up and came over to us. "Ah yes, I see you've met Rogue," he said as he rubbed between my ears. Even if I don't get any answers this trip was worth it! "Rogue is Lieutenant Cochran's cat," he continued. I think he has it backwards, but that's okay. To show him I didn't have any hard feelings I rolled over and wrapped my arms around his wrist and licked at his hand. "She must have escaped from his quarters."
"Lieutenant Cochran's?" she echoed. All right, I let it go once, but don't push your luck! She began rubbing my stomach, so I decided I might let it go again this time. "But she's missing a leg."
Missing a leg?! I wiggled each one quickly to make sure they were all still there. One . . . two . . . three. Yes, they're all there! What is this crazy Person talking about?
"She had already lost the leg when he found her. He took her to the veterinarian to get it properly taken care of, and then took her home."
"That's . . . very kind," the girl Person said.
"Indeed. Another reason you should perhaps not judge him too harshly."
"Right! So, where is he?" I asked.
Thayer smiled down at me and rubbed the top of my head again. "Don't worry, Josh will be back from Paris soon."
Finally! I don't know where this 'Paris' place is, but at least someone finally answered my question. Thayer was always so kind. I thanked him with another hand licking.
"I'm grateful you came by just now, Lady Lenka," Thayer said as he sat back down behind his desk again. "There is a matter I should like to discuss with you."
The girl Person - I guess her name is Lady Lenka - sat down in a chair across the desk from Thayer, and I found myself a comfortable place in her lap. "Of course, sire," she said.
Thayer gave her an odd look - the sort of look I would get if I were about to sharpen my claws on the couch. "Please, Lenka, let's not return to our initial formality. I greatly appreciate the lack of it between us."
"Well," Lenka said, "you were the one who called me 'Lady Lenka.'" Her voice had a faint tone of laughter that I decided I liked.
"A fair point," Thayer said, an embarrassed smile on his face. "I wanted to tell you that you did an excellent job transcribing my father's journals. You showed a great deal of discretion and integrity with such sensitive work. I very much doubt that there are many others in the Palace who would have proved so reliable."
"Thank you, sir, but I only did what was right. The trust you showed in me was not mine to violate."
"Another point in your favor: you believe in doing what is right for its own sake, not for any reward. Yet another is your willingness to speak your mind clearly and honestly. I value these traits very highly, Lenka, and they are all too rare in these days. That is why I would like for you to become my personal assistant." Lenka began to say something, and Thayer raised a hand to stop her. "You needn't answer now; you may think about it for a while if you like."
"What would my duties be?" Lenka asked.
"I need someone who can handle routine things for me. Keeping my calendar, assisting me with my correspondence, making arrangements for meetings and travel, all matter of state business.
"But more than that, I need someone whose opinions I can trust and whose honesty is unimpeachable. I need an advisor I can discuss important matters with who will not then spread my opinions throughout the country. Someone of intelligence who understands the importance and the impact of matters facing Mendellia."
"But Thayer, surely there are people you have known longer in whom you could better place that trust," Lenka protested.
"There are, and I will always rely on their advice. However, I have already entrusted them with important positions within the government that frequently keep them quite busy. I would like to have someone who is available whenever needed. I believe you would be an excellent choice."
"How would this affect my position with the Queen Mother?" Lenka asked.
"I would hope you would continue to be her lady-in-waiting, at least in title. Your new duties would keep you away from her immediate attention most of the time, and would hopefully dissuade her from sending another lady to my office for quite some time. So you see, your accepting my offer would be most beneficial to us both."
There was a long pause, and I rolled over to look up at Lenka. She seemed to be thinking very hard, so I gave her hand a warm lick to make her thoughts happy. Finally she said, "I accept."
Thayer smiled happily at her. "Good. I had hoped you would. Now then, why don't you take the rest of the day off? I will see you here in the morning."
Lenka stood up, cradling me in her arms again. "Agreed. In the meantime, I'll return the three legged bandit to her quarters."
"Perhaps you could stop by there occasionally to visit with her. I'm sure Josh would appreciate someone looking after her while he's away."
Lenka looked down at me and smiled. "That sounds like a good idea. What do you think, Lady Rogue?"
I stretched up and bumped my nose against her forehead. That sounded like a great idea.