Emerald Eyes

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, there lived a young man by the name of Daniel. The son of the powerful Lord Harrington, he was expected to live up to his father’s image of steadfast rule. The developement of a sweet, quiet teenage boy was a shock to everyone. In a world ruled by the Medieval archetypes of boldness and masculinity associated with men, shy and soft-spoken Daniel seemed a bit out of place. In fact, his lack of macho-ness made him the laughingstock of the entire kingdom, and the subject of many cruel jokes. He was without friends, and his parents strongly doubted the possibility of marriage. He was considered by many to be too feminine to father sons.

In truth, Daniel was not feminine at all, simply gentle and sensitive. He also enjoyed the beauty of nature, something unheard of in men during that time period. He was not interested in war or bloodshed, which led many to believe that he was a coward as well. He was therefore constantly being pummeled by the “real men” who claimed they were trying to toughen him up, but in truth they just wanted to hit something.

One day, Daniel was lying in the shade of the orchard, looking up at the clouds. He heard a rustling in the leaves behind him. Thinking it was a squirrel, he ignored it. The rustling grew louder, however, and he began to suspect that he had been singled out for another attack. He began to make his way back his home, but the sounds followed him, now to his right.

Unable to stand it any longer, he turned around to face his pursuer. "What are you waiting for?" he demanded of the holly bushes, "Come on out and face me like a real man!"

In response, a tiny black cat stepped tentatively out of the cover of the leaves and meowed innocently. Daniel sighed and rolled his eyes. “Trespassing on a lord’s manor and harassing his son.” He squatted down to look the cat in the face. “I could have you executed, you know,” he said, pointing accusingly. The cat sniffed his finger. “Well?” asked Daniel. “Do you have anything to say in your defense?”

The cat purred and nuzzled his hand.

Daniel smiled. “All right. Love at first sight. I accept your explanation.” He rubbed the feline’s chin. “You’re a pretty girl,” he said. The cat was jet black all over except for two streaks of white framing her face. The fur was soft and shiny, and the animal was sleek and well fed. Her eyes were a dazzling shade of green, and they sparkled like gems in her face.

From far off, Daniel could hear the baying of the hounds. “But this is no place for a girl like you,” he said. He scooped her into his arms. “We should relocate, don’t you think, Emerald Eyes?”

The cat simply purred.

(^_^)

Daniel’s parents had different opinions about their son’s new pet. For his mother, it was love at first sight. For his father, is was concern for his son’s already crumbling reputation.

“It’s not that I don’t care about your feelings,” he said imploringly while Daniel set a saucer of cream on the floor, “but it’s bad enough that rumors are flying that you were born a woman. I don’t need people declaring you a witch as well.”

“Let them declare all they want. No one ever listens anymore.” His head snapped up. “Wait a minute; are you telling me that people are saying I’m a girl?”

“The insult is directed at me,” his father said dejectedly, “that I was so desperate for a son to carry on the family name that I christened my daughter with a man’s name and raised her as a boy.” He regained his air of dignity. “As for the animal,” he said, “I have no qualms about you keeping it.” He leaned closer and said in a low voice, “However, perhaps it would be wise to let people believe it’s your mother’s cat.”

“Do you really think they’d fall for that?” asked Daniel. They both looked at her. She was holding the cat to her chest and nuzzling it’s fur. “Who’s the cutest little kitty in the kingdom? Who’s the prettiest kitty-cat to be found? You are! You’re just the sweetest little pretty kitty ever, yes you are, you lovely creature!”

“Oh yes,” said Daniel’s father, “I think they’ll be entirely convinced.”

(6_6)

And so the cat was adopted into the household. At the Lady Harrington’s appeal, the cat was christened “Jewel” and was given full run of the manor and the surrounding grounds. The Harrington family crest, previously depicting a willow tree on the edge of a pond, was replaced with the image of a black cat wearing stalking a rat in armor on an emerald-green background.

Not that she didn’t earn her keep; the stablemaster swore by her, as there had not been a single rodent in the stables since her arrival. The strange thing was, Jewel never ate the pests she terminated. Instead, she left the tiny bodies in a small heap behind the compost mound. Nobody understood it, and eventually just wrote it off as one of the many peculiar habits she possessed, such as attempting to eat with a fork and sleeping under the covers. But then again, cats are peculiar creatures.

As for Daniel, he never went anywhere without Jewel trailing along right behind him. They even shared the same pillow(and the covers as well, on occassion). Shw ould even sit still for him for hours on end while he tried to capture her exquisite beauty on canvas. Daniel’s skills as an artist were impressive, at least as far as her body went, but no matter how he tried, he was unable to recreate the dazzling beauty of her brilliant green eyes.

Daniel had what he had wanted, what he had needed, all his life: a friend. Late at night, when sleep eluded him, he would just sit stroking Jewel in his lap and listen to the steady drone of her purring. “It’s just you and me against the world,” he whispered, rubbing her cheek. She gazed back at him with half closed eyes. If she were human, Daniel mused, she would be smiling.

(-_-)

Daniel was walking through the orchard one day. As usual, Jewel was by his side. Suddenly, she
took off into the trees. “Jewel! Where are you going?” Daniel called for her, but she did not reply nor return. He figured that she had gone off for a jaunt on her own, and would return later that day. At least by dinner time, as she had become quite large with a bounty of good food and never liked to miss a meal.

She did not return, however, not even when dinner had been served and eaten. Daniel began to worry.

“Now, Son, there’s no need for concern,” said Lady Harrington as she adjusted the fit on her ruby-and-diamond-studded choker, “After all, all cats like to have some time to themselves every now and then.”

The baying of hounds could be heard in the distance. “That’s odd,” said Lord Harrington, “The dogs aren’t normally loose this late in the evening.”

The barking grew louder. The dogs were moving toward the manor, and fast. “Good heavens, they’re not going to hunt this late at night, are they?” cried Lady Harrington, “How will we ever get any sleep with this infernal racket going on all night?”

“Why would they be hunting this close to the estate?” inquired Daniel. Then he heard the loud, screeching cries of a cat. . . his cat.

“Jewel,” he gasped. He raced out of the room and into the courtyard. The ear-piercing yowls and ferocious snarls were emanating from several yards to his left, but in the shadows of night he couldn’t determine the exact location of the pack.

The animal keeper ran up with a torch. The dogs were visible now, all circled around a dark form that could only be the cat. The keeper marched up to the pack and kicked the dogs out of the way. Daniel grabbed two of them by the collars to prevent them from resuming their attack on Jewel. Their keeper ordered them to heel, which they did without hesitation. When all the dogs were restrained, Daniel carefully picked up Jewel. His stomach lurched at the feel of blood in her fur.

The animal keeper was apologizing profusely to the lord and lady. “Please forgive me, they saw the cat and took off, I tried to stop them but. . .”

Daniel stroked Jewel with shaking hands. The dogs had only been on her for a few moments, but the damage had been done. The prospect of her survival seemed pretty bleak. She looked up at him and mewed softly. Her emerald-green eyes were dim.

Daniel’s father placed a hand on his shoulder. “The cat will not survive the night,” he said, “You had best leave her in the stable.”

Daniel bowed his head and carried his beloved pet to the stable. There, he removed his thick velvet tunic and wrapped her in it. “Goodbye, Jewel,” he said. He gave her a final kiss on the top of her head, then left her.

(*,_*)

The next day Daniel awoke early to take care of Jewel. He wanted this task to himself. He felt it was his responsibility as her caregiver to make sure that she was properly interred. Even so, he was not looking forward to the grief.

He entered the stable quietly so as not to disturb the horses. He walked reluctantly toward the corner in which he had left Jewel in his tunic. His tunic was still there, but, to his astonishment, the cat was not.

He bent to retrive his tunic. Suddenly, a hand gripped his shoulder. He jumped up so fast that he almost fell over. His assailant, on the other hand, did fall over. He heard the impact on the soft hay behind him. He whirled to face his attacker with clenched fists. . .

. . . and stared in absolute dumbfoundment at the girl sprawled in the hay. She grinned at him broadly. “And people say cats are high-strung.” She laughed.

Daniel was still too stupified to speak.

The girl jumped gracefully to her feet. “I expected a warmer welcome from you, but then again it must be quite a shock to see me here.”

Daniel found his voice at last-it had been hiding in the pit of stomach-and demanded, “How did you get in here?”

“You brought me here, just like you’ve brought me everywhere else since you discovered I was following you.” The girl twirled. “Like I would ever leave your side.”

“Why were you following me?” asked Daniel, completely confused.

The girl approched him, smiling. “Well,” she said shyly, “You could always say it was love at first sight.”

Daniel looked at the girl, really looked at her. Her long hair was jet black except for two streaks of blonde framing her face, and it shined brightly and looked soft. Then he looked at her eyes. They were a dazzling shade of green, and sparkled in her face like two gems. He smiled as he recognized her.

“Surprised?” Jewel smiled at him.

“What do you think, Emerald Eyes?” He smiled back.

“So how about it?” she asked, “Would you like to know the story of how I became a cat?”

Daniel drew her into his arms. “Maybe some other time,” he whispered, caressing her cheek. She gazed at him lovingly with half-closed eyes and a little smile.

If she were a cat, mused Daniel, she would be purring.