The Kitten Has Claws

The Kitten Has Claws [Chapter 4]

“Aargh! Fine, my name is Tamsin. Just stop calling me pumpkin!” Tamsin finally yelled in frustration from behind Delilah and Ingrid. They stifled laughter and smiled knowingly at Noelle.

“Tamsin,” Fletcher said slowly, letting the syllables roll off his tongue. “What a beautiful name.”

“Yah, thanks, ‘pookie’,” she said sarcastically. “Are we there yet? I’ve had enough of you.”

            “I like that you want to give me a nickname, but you need to come up with a better one. Pookie is not a manly name.”

            Tamsin grinned wickedly, “Pookie it is then. And you evaded my other question: are we there yet?”

            “Good God, yes!” Raine grumbled loudly from the front, cutting through their argument, “You two have been arguing the entire way, will you just shut up now?”

            “If he lets go of me,” she muttered.

            Fletcher set her gently on the ground and bowed mockingly, “As my lady wishes, so shall it be.”

            “Oh shut up.”

            They broke through the woods to see a large estate sitting in the middle of a clearing. It was massive and had an almost medieval castle feeling to it. Vines crawled up the three stories and curled around the walls lovingly. A large wrought iron gate presented an intimidating entrance to a deadly fortress.

            “Welcome to Haven,” Raine said. He whispered a strange word to the gate and it opened, revealing a gravel path that lead straight to the front door.

Delilah raced ahead as soon as the gate opened, heading for the front door. She threw open the front door and looked around frantically, “Where is he? Where’s Theo?” she asked breathlessly.

A butler materialized out of nowhere and gestured towards the stairs. “If you will follow me, miss.” He led the way up the stairs to the second floor and down a long hallway. Delilah wanted to yell at him to go faster, but she couldn’t risk pissing off her only guide to Theo. Finally after passing a million rooms they entered a large chamber where Theo was laying peacefully on the bed.

The chamber was accented by warm mahogany and red velvet, giving off a warm and comfortable aura. Charcoal sketches lined the walls, giving the room Theo’s personal touch.

She walked slowly to his side and placed a hand on his arm. “Is he alright?” she asked after a moment. There was no response. The butler had already disappeared. Weird. “Theo,” she whispered softly. Someone had already tended to his injuries and wrapped his shoulder. All he needed now was some rest. Running her fingers through his hair, Delilah smiled softly. She didn’t even know him, but she already cared about him. He had put himself in the way of the arrow, pushing her behind him, and for that she owed him her life.

“Delilah?” Noelle asked softly from the doorway, “we’re going to visit Vi, want to come?” She nodded and left the bedside reluctantly, following Noelle out into the hallway. Raine was there along with Tamsin and Ingrid. The five of them set off down the hallway, back the way Delilah had originally gone with the creepy butler. They stopped at the last room at the end of the hallway and entered slowly.

Noelle shivered when she entered. The room was all white with slashes of black and red furniture throughout. There was no excessiveness in the room, only practical pieces of furniture. No artwork was on the walls; overall it felt very cold and unemotional.

Violet lay on the bed, still deathly pale. Nothing looked wrong with her though. Finn was seated beside her, holding onto her hand like it was a lifeline. He looked sharply at the group when they entered, confusion and determination in his eyes.

“There is something strange about Violet,” he said flatly.

“What do you mean?” Noelle asked slowly. “Is she going to be alright?”

Finn nodded, “She’ll be fine, and in fact the wound is gone.” The women gasped and looked at each other in shock. He answered the question written on their faces, “Usually I can tell what someone is, just by sensing it. But she…she is a mystery to me. I can’t make heads or tails of what she is. Many creatures have the ability to heal quickly, but not this quickly.”

“If she’s not human…then what is she?” Ingrid asked. Violet had been their friend for the longest time, and they had never noticed anything exceptionally different about her. Sure, she was a generally quiet person, but they had never been given reason to think that there was anything off about her as a human. They never really took notice of how fast she healed.

Finn gave a frustrated growl and clenched his empty fist, “I don’t know.”