Spice of Love - Completed

Sugar and spice

Mary Little's sad turn of her lips lifted in amusement. "Yes, Cat. All he has to do is look and that is what she made him do. She made him look deep inside and see the monster that haunted him all this time was there all along, inside him."

"He was evil," said Cat, conclusively.

"He was a mess, Cat," said Mary, knowing that with Cat, she did not need to sugar coat the truth. Cat had a way of understanding things that went beyond the ordinary. Her IQ had already been measured at genius levels. Her curiosity could never be satisfied with half-truths. If she scented an evasion, Cat would only sink her claws in harder until she discovered all she needed to know, and then she would drift on to a new source of curiosity.

Cat stared up at the ceiling as she thought through the story, objectively, then she turned bright violet-blue eyes—which she shared with her twin and her mother—on Mary. "You are right, Mama, he is a mess. But was she right to help him? I know what Father Andy says about forgiveness wiping away sins, but I think that's bollocks. The prince sinned. No matter that he eventually came to understand his mistakes, there is no salvation for him."

Mary Little stared at her daughter aghast. "Why Cat? Why ever would you say that?"

Cat turned to look at her mama, as if she were the simpleton, then she explained herself, slowly, "Because-God-does-not-exist."

Mary Little drew back as though she had been struck. God was all she had. God was all that kept her going. Rising in the morning and making her way through her day, and now Cat was saying he did not exist? She stared into the clear objective eyes of her daughter; eyes that saw too much. Eyes that understood too much. "I need God to exist, Cat." Mary Little whispered simply, her voice hoarse from unshed tears. Tears that continued to haunt her night after night for eight long years.

Cat studied her mama keenly and was silent for a moment before she abruptly nodded her head, "He exists if you will it, Mama." She understood that too. "He exists for you, Mama." She reached out a small hand to pat her mama's reassuringly, then turned to switch off her bedside light and snuggle down to sleep.

Two years later.

"Don't move!" The little girl's voice hissed out authoritatively.

Catherine Little lifted her magnifying glass and stared intently through it. Her violet-blue eyes staring unblinkingly at an exaggerated replica staring back at her. She watched the eye water under the strain of staying open and then the long, blond-tipped lashes winked closed.

"I said don't blink!" Cat sat back on her haunches to glare down steadily at her twin. "How do you expect me to help you if you keep blinking?"

She reached out a hand to grasp her sister's shoulder and reposition her back into place. "Now s-t-a-y still. You don't want me to poke you by mistake." Cat lifted the earbud she dropped earlier and raised the magnifying glass back up to her sister's eye. "We'll get this lash out of your eye in no time," she purred soothingly, as she began to inch the earbud closer to her sister's eye.

The door flew open, hitting the wall with a bang, startling them both. "What the hell, Lucy?" Cat exclaimed, her heart pounding from the sudden shock.

"Jace and I are going to the park. You guys want to come?" Lucy peered at them interestedly, ignoring Cat's rude outburst. "Hey, what are you two doing anyway?"

"I have an eyelash in my eye, Lucy," muttered Emily pitifully. "It hurts."

"Then wash it out, silly," instructed Lucy. "Hurry, now. Go splash some water on it. We'll wait for you."