Transformed [W&W Book 1]

Chapter 5

Theresa studied her sister's face closely between bites.

Daphne appeared to be basically normal so long as Theresa ignored the lack of color in her skin. Daphne's wide blue eyes stood out amidst all the grey and even then they did not look exactly right, as if something had been removed.

Theresa could only hope that the strange colors she perceived were due to her feline state and not some other unknown horror that Francine had inflicted on her.

As she ate, Theresa used her newly sensitive ears to listen carefully for sounds of pursuit. It was hard to believe that they had lost her aunt's men so easily.

Yet it seemed to be true, therefore it was the perfect time to attempt her plan of communication.

She meowed loudly and Daphne looked over though bleary eyes. She took her paw and began scratching out a W in the hard dirt of the road.

Theresa inspected her handiwork. It was shallow, wiggly, and a pretty pathetic W in general, but at least it looked something like the letter that she was attempting to scribe.

Cat paws had clearly been designed for walking and swiping, not slow and deliberate strokes. She glanced at Daphne's face.

Daphne looked at her blankly. "What are you doing?"

Theresa let out a breath which sounded remarkably like her human sigh.

She meowed again insistently and pleaded silently for Daphne to stop being dense.

She decided to move forward and her sister would surely catch on to what Theresa was trying to say eventually. She made an I next to the W. This letter was much easier since it only required one easy stroke.

Daphne was still watching quietly. Theresa knew that Daphne knew how to read.

If nothing else, Francine had made a show of having her nieces properly cared for and educated. Daphne had spent as many hours with the tutor as Theresa had.

Theresa had to believe that she would understand what Theresa was attempting to write.

Or was Theresa's mind skewed by her transformation and was she writing the letters wrong?

Or were they so ill formed that Daphne could not tell what she was doing? She missed the nimble dexterity of her human hands.

But she had to keep going. If they did not find help, Theresa feared she would spend her life in this unfamiliar form. She made a Z next to the I and W. She accidentally scratched the top line across the other two letters. Drat!

"Oh, are you trying to write?" Daphne finally said. It was about time.

Theresa let out a breath of relief and made the next three letters with painstaking slowness.

"Wizard?" Daphne asked. Theresa nodded. Then she carefully wrote out "find".

"We need to find a wizard?" Daphne asked.

Theresa nodded.

"To turn you back to human? Before we get to the capital to petition the king?"

Theresa nodded with everything that was in her.

Daphne's forehead wrinkled up. "Do you know where to find a wizard?" she wondered.

Theresa shook her head spelled out "look for".

"That looks hard to do that with your paw," Daphne commented.

Theresa agreed; it was ridiculously hard. She wanted her hands and mouth back and the rest of her human self for that matter, but it did not seem like she would get any of her parts back so easily.