Memoirs of Kitty Siam Ch. 21

I took a seat as instructed; Teela and the Reeve took a seat at the table with me. Sir Tausin asked me to recount the details of my journey from the castle until we met up along the road to the cabin. I went over the events in detail but omitted the parts where I was in feline form. I told him how the farmhouse had been boarded up and set on fire with me inside. I explained that I was lucky enough to make it out onto a porch roof and jump to safety before the smoke and fire got to me. Thankfully the house was destroyed and no one could go back to check if there actually was a porch roof or not attached to the side of the house. I detailed that there were four soldiers there that I could see and I mentioned that believed that Lord Hetch was there supervising the night's events.

I went on about my following our plan and making my way to the coach, and my shock and horror when I first thought that the man hanging from the tree was the Reeve, but figured out later that it was not. At this point the Reeve interrupted and sadly chimed in and explained that the man that I had found hanging from the tree was his twin brother. The final words of his statement caused him to choke and tear up as he sadly finished the sentence.

I changed the subject and started to talk about my surprise when I found Lord Hetch and his men at the cabin. I expressed that I felt betrayed when they were there, but then as I thought out the events of the day, I knew that it was someone other than Teela and her owner who had tipped them off. I did not discuss the wild beast that had mutilated Lord Hetch's henchmen. I thought I would leave that as a mystery for the constables to look into. I also stopped short of confessing to killing Lord Hetch when I remembered that I was sitting at the table with the top law enforcement officer in the Shire.

Sir Tausin was still drying his eyes with a cloth that Teela had presented him when I finished my tale. Red eyed and distraught, and with his voice quivering he asked me straight out, "Did you kill Lord Hetch?"

I paused for a moment, my eyes locked on his as I constructed my reply. I do not know why my answer came out the way it did, but right then and there I confessed, "Yes Sir, I did." My head bowed and looked down at the table. The next words that I expected to hear were, "You are under arrest", but no reply came. Instead the Reeve stood and moved toward me. His hand reached for my arm and guided me to my feet. I was expecting my hands to be bound behind my back, but was surprised when this big strong man took me into his arms and hugged me tightly. His head bent as his cheek came to rest on my soft black hair. He held me for the longest time and as I heard him sobbing softly, I hugged him back as tightly as my slender arms would allow. I knew this was a terrible time for him and I wanted to apologize immediately if I had caused him any pain.

The Reeve wiped his eyes again as we separated, and then Teela stood and pulled us both into a group hug. All three of us were wiping the tears from our face when we stepped away from each other. Sir Tausin spoke first and admitted that my killing Hetch was a problem, but it was a problem that he would take no action to solve. He had his people going through the motions, but not really looking for answers. His people knew of the loss of his brother and suspected that Lord Hetch was behind his murder. In the Reeve's opinion, Lord Hetch got what he deserved, case closed. Though he did admit that he wanted to be the one to thrust the knife into Lord Hetch's chest personally.

Sir Tausin asked Teela and I to sit, and we did as he instructed. He left us for a few minutes then returned from the house with three mugs and a jug of wine. He poured each of us a mug, and as he poured the wine he went on to lament that the wine we were drinking tonight was made by his twin brother at the family winery. He stood and raised his mug and toasted to the memory of his brother. Teela and I stood and joined in the toast. I watched carefully as both he and Teela consumed the contents of the mug in one motion, and I followed suit. It was only and ounce or so, and though I was unfamiliar with alcohol, this tasted quite good.

Sir Tausin filled our mugs again then raised his mug, and we drank a toast to better days without Lord Hetch. After our toasts were completed, our host filled our mugs once again, but this time we sat at the table and sipped slowly as we discussed in detail the happenings of the land. Teela chimed in with her news and went on to tell of an attempt on the life of the Prince Vortak while he was touring the market inside the castle's courtyard. The Reeve filled in the details that only the constables were privy to. He summed up the event then compared this to my journey to the cabin and suggested that he may have a spy or a leak inside his troop of constables. Due to these events he only knew of a few hand picked men that he could trust now, and he suspected that perhaps the leak could even be inside the Prince's security detail. He admitted that his forces were stretched very thin and he was unsure how he could continue to protect the castle and the Prince at the same time.

I suggested that since Lord Hetch is out of the picture that things may get easier now that his men are no longer able to cause trouble with his direction and protection. Both Sir Tausin and Teela agreed. I offered my assistance to the Reeve and promised that I would do whatever I could to help out. I did not know when I offered to help what would happen in the near future. I wish now looking back that perhaps I should not have made that offer. Maybe it was the wine that had loosened my tongue but I could have sworn that my owner's manual said that I would not be affected by intoxicating beverages.

The wine kept coming as the conversation continued. Teela was feeling a bit tipsy as she staggered into the house to get another jug of wine. The Reeve stood, filled our mugs. He stood smartly and clicked his heels together as he raised his mug and toasted, "To his Majesty the King and the members of the Royal Family." Teela and I stood as well and imitated our host and toasted along with him. We drank from our mugs then returned to our seats. The Reeve started back into his recounting of the days evens and started off by relaying the contents of a confidential letter that the Prince had received and had allowed Sir Tausin to read. The letter was from the King who had finally made his way with the army to set up camp along Kreet's Southern border with the kingdom of Na'Tal. It seems that an invading army that had landed by sea upon their Southern shore had besieged the military forces of Na'Tal. The invaders had entered the capitol and the army of Na'Tal was in full retreat to the North. The war had been going on for the better part of a year the Reeve explained and that every attempt to stop the invaders had failed. The King and his forces were digging in along the border and preparing for battle. The Kreetin army was also welcoming the officers and men of the Na'Tal army to join the defensive line being set up.

I asked Sir Tausin if there were someone in the castle that I could talk to about the invaders and the army of Na'Tal.

Perhaps there was he said and he would try to get us together soon.

Sir Tausin considered my request a bit longer, and then suggested that in the morning that I go with Teela to the local blacksmith and have my collar removed. He then offered me a parchment with his seal on it that confirmed the order to the blacksmith. I was stunned as I read over the order.

This came as a shock to me as there was no way that I wanted some brute with a sledge hammer and chisel banging on my priceless high tech wardrobe collar. I stammered out a "Yes Sir" to his request. He could tell that this request had caught me by surprise and that I was not too comfortable with the request even though he knew I would comply fully. One glance in Teela's direction told me that this was a surprise to her as well.

The Reeve went on to explain that one of his duties, as Reeve was the disposition of ownerless or abandoned serving girls. The King had granted him the authority, as all Reeves of the land had been to remove the collars of the abandoned girls. He said that I had been ownerless too long and that he doubted that my true owner would find me here even if he and his clan were still alive. Unfortunately I had to agree with him on this. It was my turn to bow my head and shed a tear knowing that I would no longer have the protection that my collar afforded me... but then on second thought, my mind went over the number of men that I had to kill to protect myself since I have been here. Perhaps I would be better off relying on myself for protection than to continue to rely on a golden collar from a man that was probably dead.

We finished off the second jug of wine, said our "good nights" then headed off to bed. I was escorted to the guest room where I settled in, stripped off my dress and slipped under the soft cool sheets. I heard my host and Teela close the door in the room next to mine. I heard them talk for a while but could not make out exactly what they were saying through the thick stone wall, but the word, "boratcha" came through loud and clear, as did the moaning and panting that followed.

The whole "boratcha" thing with this culture seemed to be such a waste in that a woman was only taken in one position. Maybe its time that someone show these men that if a woman is allowed to be creative, they may find her much more pleasing. As I lay there on the bed I envied Teela, as she did not have the itch like mine that needed to be scratched. She was fortunate to have a good man like Sir Tausin to scratch that itch for her with that oh so special scratching tool. For those of you reading that do not understand the "itch" comments I will say it plain and simple, this kitty needed to get laid before some poor young man was savagely and sexually attacked on the streets of Grimsod Shire.

When morning came I was roused out of bed by Teela's knock at the door. The sun had already been up for a few hours when she came to collect me for our trip to the blacksmith. Remembering our assignment for the day I performed a little preemptive strike and used the wardrobe collar to duplicate its self as a plain simple gold band around my neck that the blacksmith could ruin with his primitive tools. I reformed the wardrobe collar into a thick bracelet around my left wrist with no visible latching device.

I was just pulling my plain white dress on over my head when Teela popped her head in the door. She threw a towel at me and giggled, "Bathe first, then dress, come on."

She took me by the arm and dragged me down the hallway, then down the steps out to the garden and over to the bathing pool. Our bath was uneventful, but she did fill me in on all the gossip about the noble women, none of which I knew but I smiled and nodded a lot as if I really cared about them. She washed my back and hair and I did the same for her as our conversation continued.

We discussed the funeral arrangements that had been made for her owner's brother. The date had not been set as the funeral raft was still being constructed. The custom here is for those that can afford it to be set adrift on a burning raft while farewells are said and prayers are offered to the gods to take their loved one. Those that cannot afford the raft and ceremony are simply cremated on a bonfire in an isolated field then their ashes are spread upon the water. The Reeve is a well-liked man in the Shire and in the Kingdom. I was told that the Prince would be attending the funeral.

We finished our bath, dried each other off then slipped into our dresses for the day. We spent the next twenty or so minutes brushing each other's hair until dry, and of course continued with the gossip. I was tempted to tease her about the noises coming through the wall, but I know that in some cultures, matters of the pillow are not discussed. I was not so sure about the Kreetin culture so I kept quiet so as not to insult my friend.

We made quite the sight as Teela and I walked the streets of the village, the tall athletic buxom blonde huntress walking with the only slender Asian girl within about a thousand light years. We were making our way to the blacksmith's shop but not by any sort of a direct route. We stopped at a small pub for what tasted like coffee that was brewed with turpentine instead of water, but the hot drink did well at washing down what passed for stones... err... I mean scones.

From the pub we went by several dressmaker's shops and browsed a bit. The daily wear dresses were all plain white linen. There were several everyday dresses in black, which from seeing the women on the road were reserved for mourning. We had passed several women today wearing black; I suspected that they were mourning the death of Lord Hetch. I was tempted to ask Teela when and where his funeral was being held, but I was beyond caring so I let the thought pass.

The dress shop also had more expensive looking dresses in assorted colors with muted and subdued tones. There was a faded looking maroon, blue, and grey materiel used to make the garments. Some of the displays were mix and match, and some were solid colors. They looked like something that would be worn to a classy party or a ball of sorts. As I stopped to look, Teela confirmed that these are party dresses, or perhaps dresses to be worn to a formal event. They were nothing like the ball gowns that I had seen on the videos at the academy, but they fit right in here in this setting. They were something right out of Europe's middle ages.

We wasted enough time in the shops and in the market that it was after midday when we finally made it to the blacksmith's shop. Teela handed the smith the document, he accepted it, read it carefully and escorted us deeper into his shop. I knew it was coming but I hesitated when he asked me to lay my head down on his anvil, but I did as he requested. I did my best to keep my white dress from coming into contact with the soot stained anvil. He picked up and large hammer and chisel as he moved around behind me. The next thing I heard was the hammer striking the chisel and like that, the collar was severed and removed from my neck. I asked as he handed the damaged collar to me if he could cut it into three equal pieces, which he did easily enough. I collected the pieces from him and placed them in the linen shoulder bag I was carrying. Teela offered the smith several small coins, which he accepted. The smith thanked us for our business then we went on our way.

I asked Teela about the coins she used and about the money system. She pulled out examples of each and described them to me and explained their value. I pulled the three pieces of gold collar out of my bag and inquired if I could trade the gold for coin of the realm. Our next stop was at the jeweler. I offered up one of the gold pieces and after a lengthy examination, he offered me 263 quintars. Teela spoke up quickly saying, "She will take it." Teela informed me as we left the jeweler's shop that I had enough to buy a medium sized house inside the safety of castle walls. I smiled to myself knowing that I had two more pieces left in my bag in case I needed more coins.

We concluded our business in the village then made our trek back to the Reeve's house. The day went well, though I did feel a bit naked without the collar around my neck. I did notice that the gentlemen of the village seemed to flirt and pay more attention to me after the collar was removed. I knew that I stood out in town and drew the attention of women and men, but I kept cool and just focused my attention on Teela and where I was walking. Knowing that I was being watched and ogled I did not want to trip and fall or step in a pile of horse dung.

When we entered the house the Reeve was waiting for us. It seemed that he was waiting for some time and was a bit impatient. He just shook his head when he looked over the items we were carrying. He looked at my bare neck after examining our swag, then told me to get up stairs and get into my battle suit and to be quick about it as we had a meeting to attend.

I was not sure what this meeting was about but I did as instructed. I activated the wardrobe bracelet and clad myself in my skintight battle suit; I topped it off with a matching jacket made of the same materiel. I did not know where we were going but the jacket made it look a bit more in line with something that someone might wear in this culture, but obviously there was no way I could make the suit fit in with the garments of the day. I came back down to the Reeve and turned around sharply for his inspection. He cleared his throat and announced that something was missing... "Go get your knife and sword, you are going to need those." So back up the steps I went.

When I came back down I was outfitted like a proper Shinobi warrior and ready for battle. While I was upstairs I tightly braided my hair then rolled it up and pinned it up high, securing it in place with two metal throwing spikes. Inside the wrists of the jacket were two hidden shuriken and a short knife. The Reeve nodded his acceptance to me then led me out the front door to his waiting coach. We entered the castle through the main gate and stopped at a side entrance. We were met by several constables and escorted inside. As we traveled the halls of the castle we came to the same room where I first met Lord Hetch, and to my dismay we entered the same room.

I had a very bad feeling about this, but did not have too long to remember past events when two royal guards entered, followed by Prince Vortak, an officer of the guard and two more guards. The Reeve and I dropped on one knee as Prince Vortak and his entourage entered the room. The Prince looked me over, his eyes fixated on my face, I almost thought I seen him start to smile when the Captain of the Guard stood between the Prince and I blocking his view of me and my view of him.

The Captain of the Guard looked me over, and then spoke to Sir Tausin as if speaking directly to me was beneath him. "She will have to surrender her weapons in the presence of the Prince." He went on to say, "You should not have brought her in here armed and dressed this way."

The Reeve laughed softly and informed the Captain, "If you want her weapons, you'll have to take them from her yourself."

The Prince chuckled slightly as the Captain looked at the Reeve and shot him a killing look, then turned to his men and in a angry voice commanded, "Disarm her!"

As two of the guards came toward me the Reeve whispered in my ear, "Play nice, and please do not kill anyone."

I laughed, smiled and gave him a playful, "Yes Sir."

The first guard lunged at me with his spear which I easily side stepped and directed the point of the spear into the thick leg of a nearby table. The blade stuck in deep and as the guard tried to pull the weapon back, I brought my knee up hard into his stomach. He released his grip on the spear and draped one arm in a guarding position across his gut; the other hand gripped the table as he tried to pull himself up. Again I launched my bend knee toward him and struck him in the ribs several times denying him breath. As his hand slipped from the table he stumbled slightly. I moved in quickly and took hold of his head by the back of his helmet then with all the force I could muster I rammed his head into the edge of the table. The blow scrambled his brain and he slumped to the floor.

I turned my head to look over my shoulder to see the second guard close behind me and charging in my direction. He lumbered toward me like the huge brute that he was. I steadied myself and watched him lift his sword high over head. His eyes were locked on mine but he should have been looking lower. As soon as he was in range I swiveled my hips and sent my right foot straight out behind me, the heel of my foot landed square between his legs. The force of his charge met the force of my back kick and within a second his lips formed a silent "O" shape. He dropped to his knees with his hands clutching his genitals. I turned quickly to face him and my hands came up in front of me in a defensive posture. As I see the guard before me on my knees, I shifted my weight and swiveled on the ball of my left foot as I sent my right foot in a sweeping arc into the side of the guard's head. His hands left his groin as his body went limp and crashed to the hard stone floor like a dropped ragdoll.