Maradie's Fanfiction
Jemima crept up the side of the car and pushed open the hood. She pounced onto the rusted, old engine and made herself comfortable. She wasn’t sure how she felt about becoming a queen. Victoria, her sister, had become a queen at the last Jellicle Ball. She has said she would meet Jemima here when the moon rose. Where could she be? The brownish-black kitten scanned the Junkyard for a sign of movement from her perch under the hood. Suddenly, she saw her. She was sitting in the old oven that she and Plato slept in, talking to him. Well, Victoria was talking and Plato was staring at her in a way that Jemima considered offensive. She jumped out from under the hood and scampered to Victoria’s side. “Hello, Viki!” She said, rubbing her neck in greeting. “Good evening, Jemima.” Said Victoria, returning the greeting. Plato inclined his head to Jemima, and then turned back to Victoria. “So, what did Munkustrap do?” Jemima tugged at Victoria’s tail. “Viki…? What about your promise?” Victoria turned to Plato. “I’m sorry, Plato, but I did promise to talk to Jemima.” Plato nodded his approval and the girls hurried off. As soon as they were out of earshot, both girls dropped their proper attitude. “How do you stand him? He’s so boring!”
“Well, we don’t talk too much. Mostly, we just kiss.” Jemima giggled, but Victoria didn’t. “I’m serious, Jemima!”
“Sorry, Viki.” Jemima said “Anyway, what’s being a queen like?”
“Well, you don’t really do much.” Victoria stated thoughtfully. “Just sit around and look good, mostly.” Jemima sat down on the giant tire that lay in the middle of the Junkyard, and stretched out lazily. “But, what about…” She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “Mating?” Victoria sat down next to Jemima. “Jemi, don’t worry! You’re very pretty, and I’m sure a perfectly good Tom will choose you. I mean, look at me!”
“But Viki…What if nobody chooses me?” Jemima turned to her sister and saw that she wasn’t listening. She was staring towards the center of the Junkyard, where
Mr. Mistoffolees was doing magic tricks for the entertainment of Poncival and Cassandra. Jemima set her paw on her sister’s shoulder. Victoria started. “Jemi! Don’t do that!” Jemima disregarded this. “Go to him!” She said. “If you love him, go talk to him!” Victoria shook her paw off. “It’s not that simple…” She gazed at the black Tom again. “Besides, he’s with Cassandra now.” Jemima followed her gaze just in time to see Cassandra clutch at Misto’s leg. He shook her off with a smile and glanced up at Victoria. She gave him a sad smile and inclined her head. Misto climbed up the tire and sat down next to Jemima. “Hello, Quaxo.” Said Jemima slyly. Misto’s real name was Quaxo, but he liked to be called Mr. Mistoffolees when he was performing. “You know I don’t like it when you call me that.” He said, nipping her playfully on the ear. Victoria held out her paw and said, “Good evening, Misto. I trust that you are well?”
Misto looked a little confused at Victoria’s formality, but touched her paw gently and answered. “Very well, thank you. Cassandra is expecting the kittens any day now.” Victoria’s face turned, if possible, even whiter. “Kittens?” She repeated weakly. “Yes, kittens. Did you think that she was just gaining weight?” Giggled Jemima. Victoria gave her a gaze full of loathing. “You knew about this, and you didn’t tell me?” Jemima looked ashamed.
Unseen to either of them, Misto crept back down the tire and towards Cassandra. He waited for her to extend her paw, and then touched it lightly with his own. He felt terrible. He was stuck with a mate that he didn’t want, and the queen that he really wanted had already mated with another. He had missed his chance. “What’s the matter, Misto?” asked Cassandra, stretching out as much as she could in her present condition. “Nothing…It’s just…Nothing.” He said, rubbing her head. “You know, the Jellicle ball is coming up soon.”
The Jellicle ball was the one night of the year that the Jellicle moon shone. All of the cats came to the ball to mate and to meet the new kittens that may have been born during the year. A few of the cats lived at the Junkyard year-round, but most of them had Humans that took care of them, and only came there for the Jellicle ball. The ball also meant new mates.
“I know,” Cassandra said, “I’m hoping that the kittens will be born by then so I can have a proper mating.”
“Mmmhmmm…” Purred Misto. He wasn’t really listening. He had just spotted the Rum Tum Tugger coming through the tunnel. “Hold that thought” He said, standing up and heading for the tunnel. Tugger saw him and inclined his head. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Magical Mr. Mistoffolees! How’s the Conjuring Cat doing today?
“Not so good, Tugger.” Misto sighed. “What? It’s not Cassandra is it? She looks like quite a catch to me.” Said Tugger, straightening his ruff.
“She’s pretty and all, but she doesn’t like to talk, or watch my magic or much else.” Misto said. Tugger didn’t seem to hear him. “So, what’s this I hear about Cassandra having kittens?”
“What about it?” Misto said coolly. “So it’s true! Congratulations, dude!” Said Tugger, clapping him on the back. Misto shrugged and stared at his paws. “So, how’s Bombalurina?”
“Oh…” Tugger said, looking indifferent, “She’s alright.” Tugger was gazing over at the middle of the Junkyard, where Poncival, Etcetera and Jemima were playing Cat and Mouse. Poncival, the Cat, was chasing Jemima. He tripped on his own tail and tumbled into Jemima, who crashed into Etcetera, and nearly landed on top of Cassandra. Cassandra hissed and slunk back into the safety of the shadows. Jemima and Etcetera, the two Princesses, giggled and shrieked at Poncival, who was hopelessly tangled in his own tail.
“They won’t be kittens forever, you know.” Misto said, touching Tugger’s shoulder lightly. Tugger jumped. “What?”
“Jemima. She won’t be a Princess forever. She’s turning into a queen at this Jellicle ball.” Misto said softly. “Rumor has it that Poncival is going to ask her to mate.” Tugger glanced back at the brown and black kitten. It was hard to imagine that the most inquisitive and thoughtful kitten in the clan was going to be a Queen. No longer a member of his kitten fan club, but a Queen, proud and strong. He would miss her.
In the middle of his thinking, which he didn’t do very often, there was an earsplitting scream. Misto leapt to his feet and surveyed the Junkyard, looking for the source of the pained scream. Suddenly, he saw it. Cassandra, lying in the shade of a cardboard box, was writhing around in obvious discomfort. Jemima, Victoria, and Jellylorum were all sitting at her side. Time seemed to stand still. Misto sprinted across the Junkyard, leaping over the many heaps of trash, and blasting away the large boxes that were strewn across the ground. He finally skidded to a halt at Cassandra’s side. “What happened? What’s wrong?”
Jellylorum looked up at him with sparking eyes. “Kittens, Misto. Thank the Everlasting Cat they’re all okay.”
Misto looked down at where Jellylorum was pointing and saw 3 balls of fur curled up beside Cassandra, protected by her outstretched paw. The first kitten was black all over, save for a few tufts of white on his chest and face. The second kitten was the spitting image of her mother, with the exact same markings around her tightly closed eyes. The third kitten looked nothing like his mother or his father. He was brown with white stripes running down his back and chest. The tips of his ears were white as fresh cream.
