Post by Spook on Dec 31, 2008 15:47:23 GMT -5
((For everyone who has heard of Spook's past, and those who haven't. This is what happened when she was four moons old and driven out of her home.
Please don't copy any of this, because I'm thinking of using this in a future book.))
Sparrow walked into the ring of cats, hatred rising out from her bright turquoise eyes. All of the pathetic minions of the White Cat council were there, hissing and spitting at her. One reached out and scored their claws down her deep orange side. She wanted to do nothing more than lunge back out at them, but she restrained herself and continued walking forward. Sparrow raised her head and padded onward. Nothing was worth striking back at the pieces of filth that jibed hateful barbs at her. They weren’t fit to wipe her paws.
A princess of the White Cats should be respected; elevated to a status that was untouchable by mere common cats. But no, she had been born with the wrong color of pelt. Instead of the assortment of white furs of every cat in the assembly sported, she had fur the color of a sunset. She was colored. Nothing was lower in the eyes of the White Cats than a colored cat. She was impure; cursed; an abomination. You could be blind, deaf, or even mute and you would be of a higher status than a cat with some pigment. Her muzzle moved slowly as she quietly hissed under her breath.
Sparrow entered the center and all of the White Cats formed a semi-circle at her back. There was nothing more she hated than having her enemies behind her. If they wanted to say something, they could say it to her face. If they wanted to hurt her, they could hurt her with her bottomless eyes staring back at them, watching their every move. She sat and promptly began to stare ahead where soon the other half of the semi-circle would arrive. The White Cat Council would soon be there.
She may have been only four moons old in body, but in spirit she was ageless and though she lived through endless pain, she felt she would never die. Never.
The cobblestones of the empty alleyway in which she sat were hard against her bony, starving frame, but she didn’t complain. Darkness shadowed every corner of the lane except where she sat in futile silence, knowing what her punishment would be. She would be driven out, luck bless every step she took away from the hell hole she sat in at the moment. It was her time, sunset, and things would go in her way. There was nothing more than the burning desire to be gone from this place which she had never called home. She would go and she would never turn back even though with the painful memories burned into her mind, it would always appear that the city was in front of her eyes.
Suddenly all of the White Cats fell silent as fourteen of the most illustrious personas in the city stepped into their positions. They were beautiful, all long haired types. Their fur was silky and well groomed, never lacking the proper care. There were Persians, Angoras, and many other types. The pitiful minions all sat and bowed their heads, but Sparrow looked defiantly into their eyes. There was only one cat there which her heart gave a twinge upon seeing. Her older half-sister, Aeronwen, sat there among the council, for she was the Heir to the throne; a pure-bred white cat of the line of Queens. Aeronwen’s eyes saddened at seeing her little sister sitting there in the place of Supreme Justice. Both sisters loved each other more than the world and many nights were spent with just the two of them talking and Aeronwen licking the new wounds on her baby sister’s pelt.
But, the moment of regret was over as the final place in the circle, directly across from where Sparrow sat, was filled. She was the most beautiful of all the white cats and she lacked nothing. Her muzzle was long and elegant, her fur large and whiter than fresh snow. Gwendolyn. Her mother.
Sparrow’s muzzle parted into a snarl. There, within striking range, was the creature that had given birth to her then thrown her away in disgust. She began whispering again, in such a quiet voice than even the Council, sitting directly in front of her couldn’t hear. “I am a Sparrow. I will fly away and be free. I will sing my songs from a high branch and liars will never be trusted. I will prevail in my world or sorrow. I am a Sparrow. I will never forget who the White Doves made me be.”
Gwendolyn’s sweet face was marred by a poisonous smile as she sat and very slowly licked her front right paw. “So,” She began, her soprano voice leaking venom, “What do we have here, dears?”
“We have the colored cat, your highness,” One of the minion toms said.
Her silver eyes washed over her daughter. “I can, see than Fion.” She hissed at the Angora. She turned her eyes back to Sparrow and said, “So daughter, my nameless child-“
“My name is Sparrow,” The tiny kit spat back.
Ignoring the interruption, the Queen continued, “You had the unfortunate genes to be born colored. How this happened, no one knows, for you are the first cat born with the wrong genes in the past 700 moons. I always have loved you, you know, but I cannot allow the genes to spread throughout the Cats.”
Sparrow yowled, losing all of her silent aloofness. “You have never loved me, you lying beast! And you know very well how I can to be colored! My father was colored, but you will never allow anyone to know that! Do you know why? Because your position means a million times more to you than your own daughter!”
“Listen to the nameless’ poor corrupted mind. “Gwendolyn crooned. “See why we cannot have a colored cat within our midst. They have dreams, and they tell tales. They do not know right from wrong. They are all simple-minded and quick to react, the poor kits. Fion, Wynn, dears, if you wouldn’t mind, could you prevent the poor addled Nameless from speaking further?”
The two called upon toms, scurried forward in a rush to carry out their queen’s orders. They pushed the tiny kit to the ground, it was not hard, and covered her mouth with their tail. Sparrow knew she couldn’t bite them because if she did, she would not be exiled, but killed as a lunatic and claimed to be a danger to all cats.
Sparrow’s head quickly turned as she heard a strangled gasp and a shudder from Aeronwen. A tear slipped down the Princess’s muzzle, but she kept her head high and didn’t allow herself any more. She would be beaten by the ruthless queen later if she showed any sign of weakness in front of the convicted and the commoners.
“As you see,” Gwendolyn continued without delay, “Such ideas and misconceptions can be a grave danger to our society. To prevent such fruitless lies from spreading amongst us, we must do the only thing possible. We must send my unfortunate daughter into exile.”
No one would dare go against the White Queen’s wishes. Because of this, mumbled agreements were whispered from all in her group of mindless followers. She smiled and turned to the other fourteen cats that made up the great White Council.
“And do you agree?” She purred.
No one except Sparrow and the council members saw the look she gave them as she met eyes with one and all. Even Sparrow, as immobile as she was, couldn’t repress a shiver. This wasn’t a council. This was a dictatorship in which if anyone disagreed, the queen would make sure they mysteriously disappeared.
“Of course, your Ladyship,” The reply came from all. And amongst them, only Aeronwen’s was inscrutable.
The beautiful Gwendolyn’s smile reassured every cat in the alley and if Sparrow had been free, she would have spat on the ground in disgust.
“Well then, it is inevitable. It is 15-0. Exile.” The White Queen’s voice powered over all.
As if on cue all of the White Cats began their jeering again and the whole abandoned street reverberated with yowls and caterwauls. Fion and Wynn let go of Sparrow and she shot out of the circle. She was fast. And she was finally free. As effortlessly as a squirrel, she saw a human’s ladder and began launching herself up the rungs. She reached the top and looked down from the tall building at the white mass below. It looked like writhing snow. She yowled down at them in her alto voice, so unlike the soprano of her sister and mother. “You lie, you cheat, you beg, you steal, and you will all die horrible deaths, for my Lady, luck, will never let a liar pass through her doors.” And just like that, she turned her back on the alley and scrambled across the closely joined roofs of the vacant section of the city.
She was already a spook for the cats behind her.
1,500 words
Please don't copy any of this, because I'm thinking of using this in a future book.))
Once a Sparrow
Always a Spook
Always a Spook
Sparrow walked into the ring of cats, hatred rising out from her bright turquoise eyes. All of the pathetic minions of the White Cat council were there, hissing and spitting at her. One reached out and scored their claws down her deep orange side. She wanted to do nothing more than lunge back out at them, but she restrained herself and continued walking forward. Sparrow raised her head and padded onward. Nothing was worth striking back at the pieces of filth that jibed hateful barbs at her. They weren’t fit to wipe her paws.
A princess of the White Cats should be respected; elevated to a status that was untouchable by mere common cats. But no, she had been born with the wrong color of pelt. Instead of the assortment of white furs of every cat in the assembly sported, she had fur the color of a sunset. She was colored. Nothing was lower in the eyes of the White Cats than a colored cat. She was impure; cursed; an abomination. You could be blind, deaf, or even mute and you would be of a higher status than a cat with some pigment. Her muzzle moved slowly as she quietly hissed under her breath.
Sparrow entered the center and all of the White Cats formed a semi-circle at her back. There was nothing more she hated than having her enemies behind her. If they wanted to say something, they could say it to her face. If they wanted to hurt her, they could hurt her with her bottomless eyes staring back at them, watching their every move. She sat and promptly began to stare ahead where soon the other half of the semi-circle would arrive. The White Cat Council would soon be there.
She may have been only four moons old in body, but in spirit she was ageless and though she lived through endless pain, she felt she would never die. Never.
The cobblestones of the empty alleyway in which she sat were hard against her bony, starving frame, but she didn’t complain. Darkness shadowed every corner of the lane except where she sat in futile silence, knowing what her punishment would be. She would be driven out, luck bless every step she took away from the hell hole she sat in at the moment. It was her time, sunset, and things would go in her way. There was nothing more than the burning desire to be gone from this place which she had never called home. She would go and she would never turn back even though with the painful memories burned into her mind, it would always appear that the city was in front of her eyes.
Suddenly all of the White Cats fell silent as fourteen of the most illustrious personas in the city stepped into their positions. They were beautiful, all long haired types. Their fur was silky and well groomed, never lacking the proper care. There were Persians, Angoras, and many other types. The pitiful minions all sat and bowed their heads, but Sparrow looked defiantly into their eyes. There was only one cat there which her heart gave a twinge upon seeing. Her older half-sister, Aeronwen, sat there among the council, for she was the Heir to the throne; a pure-bred white cat of the line of Queens. Aeronwen’s eyes saddened at seeing her little sister sitting there in the place of Supreme Justice. Both sisters loved each other more than the world and many nights were spent with just the two of them talking and Aeronwen licking the new wounds on her baby sister’s pelt.
But, the moment of regret was over as the final place in the circle, directly across from where Sparrow sat, was filled. She was the most beautiful of all the white cats and she lacked nothing. Her muzzle was long and elegant, her fur large and whiter than fresh snow. Gwendolyn. Her mother.
Sparrow’s muzzle parted into a snarl. There, within striking range, was the creature that had given birth to her then thrown her away in disgust. She began whispering again, in such a quiet voice than even the Council, sitting directly in front of her couldn’t hear. “I am a Sparrow. I will fly away and be free. I will sing my songs from a high branch and liars will never be trusted. I will prevail in my world or sorrow. I am a Sparrow. I will never forget who the White Doves made me be.”
Gwendolyn’s sweet face was marred by a poisonous smile as she sat and very slowly licked her front right paw. “So,” She began, her soprano voice leaking venom, “What do we have here, dears?”
“We have the colored cat, your highness,” One of the minion toms said.
Her silver eyes washed over her daughter. “I can, see than Fion.” She hissed at the Angora. She turned her eyes back to Sparrow and said, “So daughter, my nameless child-“
“My name is Sparrow,” The tiny kit spat back.
Ignoring the interruption, the Queen continued, “You had the unfortunate genes to be born colored. How this happened, no one knows, for you are the first cat born with the wrong genes in the past 700 moons. I always have loved you, you know, but I cannot allow the genes to spread throughout the Cats.”
Sparrow yowled, losing all of her silent aloofness. “You have never loved me, you lying beast! And you know very well how I can to be colored! My father was colored, but you will never allow anyone to know that! Do you know why? Because your position means a million times more to you than your own daughter!”
“Listen to the nameless’ poor corrupted mind. “Gwendolyn crooned. “See why we cannot have a colored cat within our midst. They have dreams, and they tell tales. They do not know right from wrong. They are all simple-minded and quick to react, the poor kits. Fion, Wynn, dears, if you wouldn’t mind, could you prevent the poor addled Nameless from speaking further?”
The two called upon toms, scurried forward in a rush to carry out their queen’s orders. They pushed the tiny kit to the ground, it was not hard, and covered her mouth with their tail. Sparrow knew she couldn’t bite them because if she did, she would not be exiled, but killed as a lunatic and claimed to be a danger to all cats.
Sparrow’s head quickly turned as she heard a strangled gasp and a shudder from Aeronwen. A tear slipped down the Princess’s muzzle, but she kept her head high and didn’t allow herself any more. She would be beaten by the ruthless queen later if she showed any sign of weakness in front of the convicted and the commoners.
“As you see,” Gwendolyn continued without delay, “Such ideas and misconceptions can be a grave danger to our society. To prevent such fruitless lies from spreading amongst us, we must do the only thing possible. We must send my unfortunate daughter into exile.”
No one would dare go against the White Queen’s wishes. Because of this, mumbled agreements were whispered from all in her group of mindless followers. She smiled and turned to the other fourteen cats that made up the great White Council.
“And do you agree?” She purred.
No one except Sparrow and the council members saw the look she gave them as she met eyes with one and all. Even Sparrow, as immobile as she was, couldn’t repress a shiver. This wasn’t a council. This was a dictatorship in which if anyone disagreed, the queen would make sure they mysteriously disappeared.
“Of course, your Ladyship,” The reply came from all. And amongst them, only Aeronwen’s was inscrutable.
The beautiful Gwendolyn’s smile reassured every cat in the alley and if Sparrow had been free, she would have spat on the ground in disgust.
“Well then, it is inevitable. It is 15-0. Exile.” The White Queen’s voice powered over all.
As if on cue all of the White Cats began their jeering again and the whole abandoned street reverberated with yowls and caterwauls. Fion and Wynn let go of Sparrow and she shot out of the circle. She was fast. And she was finally free. As effortlessly as a squirrel, she saw a human’s ladder and began launching herself up the rungs. She reached the top and looked down from the tall building at the white mass below. It looked like writhing snow. She yowled down at them in her alto voice, so unlike the soprano of her sister and mother. “You lie, you cheat, you beg, you steal, and you will all die horrible deaths, for my Lady, luck, will never let a liar pass through her doors.” And just like that, she turned her back on the alley and scrambled across the closely joined roofs of the vacant section of the city.
She was already a spook for the cats behind her.
1,500 words
