Read The last author :: Chapter 2- Drafts (part 2)

Arthur stood up, slipping due to the speed of his steps, watching in terror as the cat headed towards the kitchen. When she was only one meter away, she used the blue stele again, crossing the wall. Arthur stopped just so as not to hit the wall, placing his hands on its surface to catch his breath. The thought of someone discovering him crossed his mind, causing his chest to tighten in worry. He took a deep breath and ran to the back door. Crossing a wall with the pen without knowing who was on the other side was even worse than them seeing the cat.

He passed the empty dining room, surrounded by furniture full of fine ceramics, and jumped into the kitchen.

It was very large, on the three walls there was a marble counter, with a dishwasher, a charcoal stove, a wood oven and work areas, which at the time were covered with roasted fish, a bowl full of rice, and a hotpot with broth. Multiple utensils hung from the walls, such as pots, ladles, and spatulas; in addition to a couple of floeerpots near the window, full of spices, such as mint and bay leaf.

He saw Elena, she was cutting tomatoes on the island in the middle of the kitchen, near some freshly baked cookies. She smiled when he saw him enter.

“Hello, Arthur! How are you?” She greeted, as she continued his work, lifting the board and sliding the knife over its surface, to drop the tomatoes on a salad of onion, lettuce, carrots and radishes. She raised an eyebrow. “What brings you here?” Shouldn't you be resting?”

"Uhm," Arthur said, taking a look at the kitchen, "I'm doing well, eh, it's just... I thought maybe you would need some help, you know?"

He approached the island, checking to see if there was anything he could excuse himself to collaborate on.

“That's very kind of you, but mom and I already took care of everything, this was really the last thing I had to do.”

"Ah, it's a shame, next time I'll come earlier," Arthur apologized, looking curiously at the walls, hoping to see some sign of the kitten. "Where is Ray, by the way?"

"For you, I'm Mrs. Olga, young Arthur," answered Ray, who passed through the door carrying some trays. “The only one who can call me Mrs. Ray is your brother, thank you very much,” she announced, annoyed, leaving the trays near Elena.

"Oh come on, everyone has called you Ray for years, why change it now?" Arthur smiled, leaning on the counter behind him.

He saw the cat approaching him. Looking at the fish to his right.

“Mhp! You lost that right when you started stealing desserts," she reproached him, taking the tray full of cookies and moving it away from Arthur, placing it on another counter.

Arthur moved in front of the fish just at the moment when the cat was going to jump towards it, clinging to his pants.

“Mawww,” the cat protested, climbing his leg using her claws.

“Gh!” Arthur pronounced between pain and terror.

“What was that?” Ray Olga asked.

“What was what?” Arthur questioned.

Ray Olga looked at him with her eyes narrowed, suspicious.

“Anyway, we were still going to eat desserts for dinner, what's the difference?” Arthur smiled nervously, picking up the cat and hiding it behind his back.

The cat was excited to see the marine delicacy now so close.

“Precisely, at dinner! Not in the yard while you run!” Ray Olga snorted, approaching him to point her finger at his chest.

Elena tried to maintain a smile, failing completely, playing with her hands nervously. She swallowed and decided instead to grab one of the trays and start portioning out the lunch.

“It’s a way to enjoy it?” Arthur laughed, pressing his lips into a half smile, trying not to bite them so as not to give away his distress.

Ray was about to raise his voice again, when he stared at Arthur's legs.

“How did you stain your pants?“ Ray asked, pointing to the spot that was expanding on his calf.

"Amh... an accident," the young man excused himself.

"You're hiding something," Ray stated, looking him in the eyes again.

Arthur felt the cat reach for the fish, squirming in his hands.

“Me? Not at all!” Arthur said, shaking the cat to let it go.

“So, what do you have in your hands?” the cook challenged him.

"I don't have..." Arthur began to respond, when the cat jumped on his shoulder meowing loudly, protesting furiously towards her creator.

Ray, Elena and Arthur stood watching her.

“What is Avril doing here?” Ray asked.

“I can explain it! It's just that when I was outside I…” Arthur was stunned in the middle of his lie “A-Avril?”

“Who else?! Yeah! The cat!” Ray became exasperated, losing every bit of patience in her body.

"Ahm... She went into the kitchen, I wanted to prevent her from getting into trouble," Arthur said half-sincerely.

Ray placed a hand on his temple, wrinkling her nose as she squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her jaw. She sighed and turned around.

“Good. Get out of here before she touches something.”

Elena saw her mother with surprise, and approached her to help her plate.

“Y-Yes, Mrs. Ra- eh, Olga,” Arthur responded, with his lips slightly open, taking the cat in his hands.

The cat herself looked surprised. Avril. Mh. So that was her name.

Arthur went back up to the study, thinking about what had just happened. Why did the cat have a name for Ray Olga? Why hadn't she been surprised to see her? It almost seemed as if...

Opening the door, she found Luke cleaning up the ink he had spilled on the floor and table.

"There you are," Luke said when he saw him, standing up using the table as support.

“L-Luke!” Arthur stammered.

The young butler wiped his hands with a cloth handkerchief.

“Did you forget to feed Avril?” that name again! Luke turned to look at Arthur, who shrugged slightly between his shoulders.

“Uh, I think so.”

“I'm not surprised she was so” Luke looked back at the table, still somewhat disorganized “restless”.

Arthur swallowed.

“Just don't forget to do it again. Make yourself a note, that should help,” Luke suggested to Arthur, placing a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm how nervous his young friend looked.

"Y-Yes," Arthur managed to respond.

Luke stared at the cat. Frowning slightly. That was Avril after all. But... Mh, it seemed strange for a moment...

Surely just a lapse.

He gave her a pet, and then turned to look at Arthur.

“Are you alright?” Luke worried, Arthur looked a little pale.

“Yeah, just... I'm a little tired. Sorry for giving you more work.”

“It's alright. Don't worry, I'm not mad at you.” Luke placed a hand on Arthur's forehead, trying to feel any symptoms of the illness. He didn't seem to have a fever. “Try to rest, alright?”

Arthur nodded his head.

“If anything happens you can tell me, understand?” the butler offered, heading to the door.

"Yes, thanks Luke," Arthur knew that he would not fulfill that request, but he still appreciated his friend's gesture.

"Bring the clothes you stained downstairs to wash, the sooner the better, the ink can be difficult to remove," Luke explained, before disappearing down the hallway.

Arthur stayed in the middle of the study. A cold ran down his back and he felt very small. All sound, touch, and attention he had towards his surroundings completely disappeared.

What had he done?