The Authorities Are Here

Treecats proved to be pretty much what they sounded like. Cats who lived in trees. Her Majesty was a feline the size of a cocker-spaniel, with long white fur and silver points, tufted ears, and alarmingly large paws with claws that could easily gut a small child. She had a throne-like bed in the chef's sitting room with velvet cushions and curtains, from which she could survey her domain, which was apparently the chef's quarters and the kitchen garden. The walls in the chef's sitting room and were covered with numerous photographs, newspaper clippings, and ribbons evidencing Her Majesty's status as a treecat of the highest caliber. Several shelves held awards and statues, also testifying to her impressiveness.

Chef--whose actual name was apparently Whitespine--eyed Six suspiciously when she was introduced by Littlewing. His suspicion was mildly alleviated when Six immediately turned to Her Majesty to offer obeisance. Her Majesty yawned, displaying fangs as long as Six's fingers, and headbutted Six's hand, granting permission for petting. She closed her eyes in satisfaction as Six scratched her chin and then gently stroked the soft fur.

"So you want one of our kittens, do you?" Chef inquired. "And what makes you think you deserve one?"

"Umm . . ." said Six, looking at Littlewing for help. The guardswoman lifted a shoulder in an unhelpful half-shrug. "Actually, I don't know that I do? Lady Snowpearl suggested it you might allow it, when I said I wanted a treecat."

Chef sniffed, and his eyes narrowed. "One does not 'have' a treecat."

Sera mentally rolled her eyes at this evidence that he was one of THOSE cat owners.

But apparently so was Six, since she answered cheerfully enough, "Oh I know that. We had groundcats growing up, and they were quick to correct you if you made the mistake of thinking you were in charge."

"Groundcats," said Chef, with a faint curl of his lip. Six smiled back easily.

"My family are farmers, and poor ones. We couldn't have afforded to properly keep a treecat," she said. She returned to scratching Her Majesty's chin. The cat purred with pleasure. "Especially not one like Her Majesty. I don't imagine she would deign to hunt."

"Certainly not," said Chef with a sniff.

Six apparently realized that she was not going to be approved as a caretaker for one of Her Majesty's offspring, because she said, "Lady Snowpearl suggested that I adopt a shelter cat. But I've never cared for a treecat, only the ground cats in our barn. What do I need to know?"

Chef spent several moments wrestling with his feelings. Watching through Six's eyes, Sera suspected he was offended by the idea that Her Majesty could be compared in any way with a groundcat, but was also eager to share his knowledge. He was also apparently alarmed by the idea of Her Majesty associating with a lesser feline, as when he finally spoke it was to say sharply, "I trust you will not bring an unaltered male into this household."

"Of course not," Six replied hastily.

Chef was mollified by the promise that Six wouldn't bring in a male to potentially molest his beloved cat, and decided to share what he knew about treecats. Sera half listened, noting that Chef's instructions for caring for a treecat were more or less the instructions she might have received if she'd asked about how to care for an ordinary house cat from her own world.

If that advice came from a cat lover with too much disposable income.

Chef was midway through a tirade on the evils of declawing (which had been arrived at after an off-hand warning that treecats and small children shouldn't left together unsupervised) when one of the other guardswomen stuck her head into the sitting room and said, "We've been summoned. The authorities are here."

"Authorities?" Chef repeated, eyes widening in alarm. He made a protective movement towards Her Majesty. "Why would Lady Snowpearl send a criminal to me?"

"Miss Six is not a criminal," Littlewing said placatingly. "She was the victim of an attack from a deranged man."

From Chef's expression, this was not any better. Six sighed and said, "Thank you for your time, Chef. I greatly appreciate your advice. But we had better go."

"Yes, yes. Do that," Chef said, and all but shoved Six and Littlewing out of his sitting room. Sera allowed herself another mental eyeroll as Six followed a stone-faced male guard down the halls. Littlewing and the second of Six's guardswomen fell in behind.

It had been decided, after much discussion, not to do anything about Sera's presence in Six's body, aside from making it clear to the household that Six was considered a member of the House. The two men who'd attacked her the night before had been confined somewhere within the estate and were awaiting Lady Snowpearl's decision on their fate. As far as the outside world went, the House of Llinn would wait to see what happened. So the morning and early afternoon had passed quietly.

Sera went first to Sunfeather, who decided she needed time to arrange Six's duties and tutors, and suggested that Six 'wander around a bit' until the next morning.

"But you will be here in the library promptly at eight tomorrow," she said sternly.

"Yes, ma'am," Six said with a cheerful smile and bobbing curtsey. "I'm looking forward to it."

"We'll see how enthusiastic you are by the end of the day tomorrow," Sunfeather had cackled. "Now run along."

So Six had 'run along'. Littlefeather and the other guardswoman -- Peachspring--had decided to send a message to Chef to ask for an interview, and then led Six on a tour of the manor. Six had received a few curious looks, but no one made any threatening moves, or even asked any questions. Here and there the guardswomen had summoned an acquaintance for introduction, and occasionally they'd stopped to greet someone of rank, murmuring an explanation of the individual's importance before introducing Six. It had been unexpectedly tiring, and Sera had been on the verge of suggesting a nap when they'd received word that Chef had time to meet.

Six, at least, had been energized by the visit with the treecat, and was alternately bouncing as she thought about the possibility of having a furry companion of her own and worrying about what would happen with 'the authorities'. She was doing her best to focus hard on the former rather than the later.

The male guardsman led them, eventually, to one of the upper levels of the library. They walked along a wide gallery overlooking the main library on the right, with doors leading to offices and meeting rooms on the left. Halfway down the gallery was broken by a trio of arches that led into a large alcove with groupings of sofas and chairs, and a back wall made up almost entirely of windows. A handful of guards shooed curious people away from the arches, but they let Six and her escort pass.

Lady Snowpearl was seated on a chair with a high, narrow back, listening with an expression of polite interest to a man in a formal uniform as he read from a tablet in his hands. A half dozen other men in matching uniforms stood at attention behind him.

" . . . held pending trial," the officer with the tablet was saying. "You are further required to release the nun known as Sister Forty-Six into our custody so that she may be escorted back to the Second Temple. Failure to comply with these orders is a defiance of Royal Law and sanctions will be taken against the House of Llinn."

Lady Snowpearl's expression was grim as she drew in a breath to speak.

"But I belong to the Third Temple," Six said, earning herself a sharp look from Lady Snowpearl. Ignoring the noblewoman, Six fixed her attention on the officer with the tablet and asked in confusion, "Why don't you have orders to take me there? And why in the name of all that is Sacred, would you be given orders to take me to the Second Temple when it was their father superior who tried to kill me?"

"Err . . ." said the man with tablet. He looked down at it.

"I may be a farm girl with a just a primary school education, but we DID have civics, officer," Six said, making her way to the man's side. She peered down at the tablet. "So I know that orders that are obviously inaccurate are not enforceable. And these are definitely inaccurate. I am Sister Forty-Six of the THIRD Temple, not the Second. You should get these corrected. Also, you'll want check with Mother Superior Swallowstar to make sure she actually wants me returned. I was under the impression that I'd been kicked out, owing to my broken wing."

The officer's eyes went to Sera's bandaged wing. Six pulled the tablet down so that she could see it better and slid the readout downward. "Oh, and this--this part you had better rethink as well, because you've been lied to. Brother Forty-Three didn't attack Father Superior Starwing, the Father Superior tried to kill ME. Brother Forty-Three merely acted to defend me. Lady Snowpearl is surprisingly reasonable for a noblewoman, but I don't think she's going to stand for a false accusation like this."

"Err . . . ." said the officer again. He glanced at his companions, who looked equally flummoxed.

"Oh, but it's good your here!" said Six brightly. "You can take my report about the murder attempt."

She beamed. The officer made a strangled sound. Six tapped on the tablet. "You have a form in here for that, right? Some sort of statement?"

Fifteen minutes later, the dazed officer was in possession of a counter-claim asserting that Father Superior Starwing had attacked Six in her hospital room, and Three had merely acted in her defense.

"But why would the Father Superior attack you, Sister?" one of the other officers ventured to ask.

"That's an excellent question. You should ask him. Or ask Nurse--" Six floundered a moment.

'Bluebelle,' Sera supplied, slightly surprised that she remembered the name.

"Nurse Bluebelle. She brought the Father Superior in to see me. Perhaps he told her? No, that's silly, she would never have admitted him if he'd said something like 'I'm going to kill your patient because she's annoying'," Six answered sweetly. She paused. "You might also just tell Mother Superior Swallowstar to send a note if she expects me or Brother Forty-Three to return to the temple. I'm sure you have better things to do than carry messages."

The officer with the tablet made another strangled sound, but nodded, and a few moments later he and his companions were on their way back to their station. All of them looked a bit shell-shocked as they went. Lady Snowpearl sat stiffly, her lips pressed tightly together, as the officers were led away. Six and Sera waited anxiously, worried about what she was going to say. After several minutes she asked, "Are they out of the library?"

One of the guards tipped a head to is collar and muttered, then a moment later replied, "Yes ma'am."

Lady Snowpearl let out a sigh of relief and burst into laughter. The guards stationed around the room relaxed as well, allowing themselves to grin. When she stopped giggling long enough, Lady Snowpearl said, "That, my dear, was the most entertaining rout I've seen in years. If you decide against leading my house, you should take up acting."

Six opened her eyes wide and said with mock confusion, "I don't know what you mean, Lady Snowpearl. I just told the truth."

Which just set Lady Snowpearl off into another fit of laughter.