All things considered, my life has been a comfortable one. Not comfortable in the sense that I've been lounging on silk cushions throughout, but I've managed. I've had what I needed, and no cause to complain. No reason to be angry.

I'm angry now. I'm furious. If I could still cry, I'd be crying now.

Wait, I am crying now. Cats can cry? I hate learning new things about myself. Because I'm a cat now. Again.

What can I do?

For starters, I make my way back to the King's chambers, where I'll at least be safe from the likes of Alvin. Who knows who else in the castle might have a vendetta against cats? And at least most of the time, someone comes by and forces the King to take meals, which means he won't neglect my needs.

Besides, there is some semblance of hope, right? I turned back into a human, even temporarily. Whatever this is, it isn't permanent. I can make it happen again. If I could just figure out how.

"Hello, what's this?" Otis, one of the guards I was trying so hard to avoid last night when I was human, is getting on his knees to hold his hand out to me.

"Isn't that the King's new pet?" says Otto, the other guard. Unlike Otis, he keeps his distance.

"How did you sneak out of there, you little rascal?" But Otis is smiling, reminding me of Dinah. No matter how much chaos her beloved strays wreak, stealing scraps and knocking things off tables, she never seems to mind. "Come on, let's bring her home."

Otis' arms are full of me, so Otto's the one who knocks on the King's bedroom door. Alvin answers, and of course, he has the same nasty expression on his face that’s there whenever he's addressing anyone but a royal. "What do you want?"

"P-pardon, sir," Otto stutters. "We found His Majesty's cat outside, and—"

"Princess?" Suddenly the King is at the door, taking me into his arms, and almost Otis, too. "I've been worried sick! Where have you been?"

He talks to me as if I could respond. Technically, I can, but he doesn't know that.

"She was just wandering about," says Otis, stroking me like he's sorry to let me go. "Thought you might be missing her, Your Majesty."

"Some guards you have," sniffs Alvin. "Can't even keep a cat in a room."

"All due respect, there's no keeping a cat somewhere she doesn't want to be," Otis replies with a wise nod. I had no idea he was so bold. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've ever heard him speak until today. But the King just laughs, and I suppose there must be a level of trust between them if Otis is the one preventing any assassination attempts in the night.

"Thank you, Otis, truly," says the King. "I'll see to it she doesn't give you any more trouble."

"No trouble at all, Your Majesty," says Otis, though his smile is still for me. "I love cats, always have."

Alvin practically shudders as he shuts the door, effectively dismissing the guards. "This entire castle must be under some sort of spell."

"Wouldn't that be something," the King replies dreamily, setting me down on his bed. This bed! What possessed me to leave this glorious spread in the first place?

Oh, right. That human thing.

"What do you mean?" Alvin asks.

The King's eyes light up with the spark of a child describing his favorite toy. His enthusiasm is infectious, but I don't know if cats can smile or if that will give me away, so I bury my face in the sheets to hide it. So soft. "Imagine it, a whole nation under the sway of a magical cat. Did you know that some ancient cultures used to worship them?"

Alvin shakes his head. "Another one of your fairy tales?"

"No, this one was real."

"Well, I suppose we know why that empire eventually fell."

"You have no imagination at all." The King throws himself onto the bed, without an apparent thought to his fine clothes, and rolls in closer to scratch my ears. "I'd like to go out today, buy some things for Princess. It isn't fair for me to keep her with me all day when there's nothing for her to do, is there?"

Yes! Extremely unfair! I hold my breath, hoping I'll get to visit Dinah soon.

"She's a cat. What else would she be doing, mapping an atlas?"

"Don't be cruel, Alvin," says the King. "At least some toys to keep her amused."

Alvin relents, holding up his hands. "I'll send someone out for you. She's kept you distracted from your duties enough as it is." He better not be implying that I was at fault for the King's tardiness at the council meeting yesterday when the King’s absentmindedness almost led to my death by starvation.

"Not at all," says the King. "She saved my life yesterday, in fact."

Alvin's spine snaps straight. "What?"

"Nothing so dramatic," he laughs. "Just my spar with Demetria. She must've thought I was in danger, because she leapt right into the middle of it. I shouldn't take her to my sparring match today, she'll get herself killed trying to protect me from nothing."

Alvin gives me a look that suggests he wishes I would. "These workouts of yours," he sighs instead. "You'd think the Duchess was trying to convince you to make her General."

"Maybe she should be." The King's smiling, but his tone is thoughtful. "She wanted to be a knight when she was younger, you know. They wouldn't let her, of course, but she challenged every single noble who doubted her to a joust and bested them all. She's smart, she's fearless, she knows more about the military strategy of every neighboring kingdom than their own generals, I'm sure."

"Gus," says Alvin, sounding suddenly afraid. "You're not serious."

"Hm?" The King breaks out of his trance. "I'm going to be late. Again. I really must stop doing that."

Alvin sighs, but as long as the topic's forgotten, he won't be the one to bring it up again. "Indeed."

"Goodbye, Princess," says the King. He drops a kiss onto the top of my head, and for a moment, I freeze. If this were a fairy tale, a prince’s kiss would break the spell, and I'd be me again.

The moment passes. Nope, still a cat.

At least today, I'm a cat with free reign of the castle. First things first, I'm going to go see Dinah.