Mia opened her eyes to find herself in darkness. She tried to stand, but whimpered as pain shot through her.
“Shh, don’t move, Mia,” she heard a voice say. Mia moaned and turned to look at whoever had spoken. To her surprise, it was Laia. Her mother’s cub was at her paws, sound asleep. Mia looked around more and saw Grace staring at her. But no Lark. Mia buried her head into the grass of the den they were in.
“Mia, are you okay?” Grace murmured. Mia shrugged a little. She couldn’t keep a sob from escaping her mangled body. She wanted to curl up somewhere and die.
“Mia, it’s okay,” Laia’s soothing voice purred. “How are you feeling?”
Mia looked up at her, a tear on her whisker. “It’s not okay. Half of us must be dead, Laia! Kia is dead. And so is Lark. And it’s all my fault for bringing him and Grace with me, and I could have attacked Shard later when Kia wasn’t around, and-”
“Mia, calm down,” Laia said. Mia could tell she was forcing herself to keep her voice from shaking. “Kia is dead. But it’s not your fault, it was Shard’s. And Lark is alive.”
Mia’s eyes were wide open now. “Lark is alive? Where is he? Is he okay? Can I see him?”
Laia sighed. “He’s very badly injured, but I think he’ll survive. Not right now, you need to get some rest. He’s in another den with the kitten mothers.”
“Wait,” said Mia, confused. “How did you get here?”
Grace said then, “I brought her here. When everyone started fighting, I ran off to find help and I ran into her and Shai. She hid Shai somewhere and came back here with me, but by that time Shard was dead. So we stopped the battle and got every injured cat who had survived and helped them.”
Mia nodded. “I guess that makes sense…. Who else died?” she asked, afraid of the answer. Laia sighed heavily. She listed the cats who had ended up dying. Three of them Mia recognized the most: Midnight, who was the dead tiger cub Flame’s mother, Snowy, and Flint. Mia felt even more depressed after she learned of these deaths.
“Mia, you should get some sleep now,” Laia said. Mia nodded in agreement. That sounded nice. She closed her eyes, welcoming sleep to take her, which it did.
~
It had been about a week since the battle. Mia was almost completely healed, except for a few scars from her wounds that would likely be there for the rest of her life. Laia finally allowed her to come out of the den she had stayed in. Mia still hadn’t seen Lark yet. And today, Laia was allowing her to go and see him.
That morning, she got up and groomed herself fully. Then she went outside of the main den and padded over to the den that was now currently Laia’s, where Lark had been moved. She went inside, and she saw a shape sit up, and green eyes blink back at her.
“Mia!” the cat said. It was Lark, of course. She ran over to him, purring, and rubbed her cheek against his.
“Lark! How are you? Are you okay?”
Lark nodded. “I feel fine. What about you?”
Mia smiled. “I’m okay. Lark, you saved my life. Neither of us would be alive right now without you. I don’t know how I can thank you.” She felt like she wanted to cry again, only in happiness. Lark licked her cheek.
“There’s no need to thank me,” he replied. “I saved you because you’re my friend. And… and because I love you.”
Mia felt herself blushing. “Well, I love you too. I’m so sorry about all of this. I didn’t know that you would get hurt so badly.”
“Don’t be sorry, Mia,” Lark said. “It was worth it. Now the Kin can go back to normal. You’re going to stay, right?”
Mia hadn’t thought about that. Now that she had fulfilled this prophecy, she had a real choice. Was she going to stay? Or was she going to go home? Then she remembered that she was supposed to become the leader of these felines. But what about Laia? She was still alive, and she was the daughter of the now gone king and queen, which meant she should be the next queen.
“I… I don’t know,” Mia murmured. “I have a human family, and they have no idea what happened to me. But I am apparently supposed to become the cat queen, which I think is ridiculous…”
“Maybe you should ask Laia,” Lark said. Mia nodded slowly. “I suppose. I have a feeling that she’s going to make me stay. But I want to see my family again and let them know I’m okay.”
“Why don’t you stay, then, and go tell your family you’re fine? I’m sure they’d understand, wouldn’t they?”
Mia snorted. “I seriously doubt that. If they saw me again they’d probably hug me until I was half dead and lock me in my house for safekeeping forever. They probably think I was kidnapped. And besides, they would never believe me if I explained.”
“Then why don’t you show them?” Lark suggested, cocking his head a bit.
“I don’t know yet,” Mia said. “I’ll go and talk to Laia about it now, alright?” With that, Lark nodded and Mia padded out of the den. Laia was padding toward the den, luckily, so Mia didn’t have to search for her at all.
“Hi, Laia,” she called, running over to the lioness. “I have something I want to ask you.”
Laia nodded. “What would that be?”
“I was just wondering if you think I should go back to my family or if I should stay here. I know I’m supposed to apparently be the leader of the Kin, but I really want to go back to my family. I’m pretty sure that they all think I’m dead.”
Laia raised her brow at Mia. “Well, if you’re supposed to stay, then maybe you should stay. I’m not supposed to be the queen anyway. You are.”
“Yes, but what about my family and friends?” Mia said.
“Well, maybe you could go and visit them sometimes. Tell them what you are.”
“I’m not entirely sure they’d understand, though,” Mia replied. She flattened her ears a bit.
“At least try. Then they’ll know that you’re alive,” Laia said. “And if they try to keep you there, you can run away again.”
Mia huffed, her warm breath creating a small cloud in the cool air around them. “Fine. But don’t you want to be the queen? I was a normal human before all of this happened.”
“It doesn’t matter what I want,” said Laia. “The Elysium spirits want you to be the queen because they see something in you that many others might not. Not to mention you killed our last ‘king.’ Why don’t you go and see your family now?”
Mia hesitated for a moment then finally nodded slowly. “Fine. I’ll see you later then.” Then she ran off into the woods. Mia walked until she was in her town and by a clothing donations bin. She jumped onto the rim and jumped inside onto the soft clothing. This time she found a pair of too-big pink-and-white tennis shoes, a pair of awfully tight jeans, and an oversized white tee shirt with the local baseball team on the front.
She changed into a human inside of the bin and put on the clothing then crawled out, making sure there wasn’t anybody around to see her. Mia ran all the way to her house, and by this time she was exhausted from running so much.
She walked up onto the porch and stared at the door, feeling nervous.
This is what I’ve wanted to do ever since I changed into a cat for the first time. I finally get to really see my family again!
Mia reached out her hand and rapped on the door six times in total. She looked at the driveway and was relieved to see her family’s red van parked there. Then she heard a squeaking noise and turned quickly to see her mother standing there.
Mia’s mother gasped in shock. Then she started to scream and grabbed Mia into a tight hug. “Mia! You’re okay! You’re alive!” she squealed. “Where have you been? You’re not hurt, are you?”
Mia hugged her mother back, feeling her eyes well with tears. “It’s a long story,” she said. “Where’s Dad and Rina? I need to explain all of this to you guys.” She didn’t feel that right now was the right time to say she couldn’t stay.
“They’re both upstairs. Oh, Mia! I can’t believe it! After months, you’re back!” Then she pulled her daughter inside, still hugging her.
Mia laughed. “I know, Mom. It’s kinda getting hard to breathe. Maybe you could let me go for a minute?”
Mrs. Mortea sniffed. “Okay, okay.” Then she released her daughter and held her shoulders, holding her back to look at her. “Where are your clothes?”
Mia shook her head. “That’s something I have to explain, I guess. These I got from a donation bin.”
Mia’s mother’s eyes went wide. “You mean-”
“No, Mom! That’s not what happened at all!” she said before her mother had a chance to speak. “Don’t worry.”
Her mother squinted, and touched the scars on Mia’s neck. “Where did these come from? Mia, were you hurt? Who hurt you?”
Mia sighed. “Mom, how many times have I told you I’m going to explain?”
Before Mrs. Mortea could reply, Mia heard someone coming down the stairs. She glanced over to see her sister standing there, staring.
“Mia!” Rina yelled, and ran over. She grabbed Mia and hugged her. Mia let her for a minute then pushed her away.
“I’ll go get your father,” Mrs. Mortea sniffled, and went upstairs. Mia looked at Rina, who was looking like she was going to burst.
“Mia!” Rina cried. “Where the heck did you go? Were you kidnapped?”
Mia shook her head. “No, I wasn’t kidnapped. Don’t worry; I’ll explain everything as soon as everyone is down here.”
Just then, Mia’s mother came down leading her father by the hand. He did the exact same thing Mrs. Mortea and Rina did: stare for a minute, wide eyed, and then run over and hug her. “Mia! Where have-”
“I know,” Mia said. “Where have I been? I need you guys to all go sit on the couch. I have to explain something to you. Something big that you probably won’t believe.
She led her dumbstruck family to the living room and made them all sit down. Then she stood in front of them.
Here it goes…
“Okay, so remember when you saw that calico cat in the kitchen?” Mia began.
“Yes, but how do you know about it? You were gone when I went up to make sure you were awake,” Mr. Mortea said. Mia sighed.
“Well, that cat… that cat was me.” She looked up to see her family’s confused faces staring back at her.
Her mother spoke first. “That’s not possible, Mia. There’s no way you were a cat. Tell me the truth.”
Mia raised her eyebrows. “I swear, it’s the truth. That day I fainted at school, I had a dream. A lion came to me in it and told me I needed to kill Shard. Then, while I was sleeping, I turned into a cat, and you threw me out. I ran into the forest, where I joined this group of cats called the Kin. Did you know that there are big cats, like lions and tigers, living in the forest? Lions normally lead the Kin. Anyway, I was supposed to kill their leader, Shard, who was a male lion. He was really mean and actually almost killed his own cub, as well as killed the king and prince before him, and forced everyone to let him take over. If I didn’t kill him, which I did, he would have eventually murdered all of the other cats disloyal to him as well as people and other animals. That is what these scars are from.”
Mia touched the scars on her neck, and then pulled up her pant leg to show the other scar that had been caused by being bitten.
“Mia, you’re crazy. You want to forget what really happened to you, so you’re making something up. I don’t know where you got all of this from, but I’m willing to bet that you were kidnapped,” said Mia’s father. “There’s just no way!”
“Wait!” Mia said. “I have proof.”
“What proof?” Mrs. Mortea said, raising her eyebrows.
“Well,” replied Mia, “besides the scars, I will show you that I can shift into cats. Any kind. Choose one! Even a big cat, it doesn’t matter.”
Rina said then, “Tiger! Turn into a tiger!”
“Okay,” said Mia. She closed her eyes and imagined the great feline, orange-and-black striped, green eyes glowing. She felt the usual tingle she got and then she heard a scream and two gasps.
Mia opened her eyes to see her family all on their feet. Rina was pointing, her mouth moving but no sound coming out. Mrs. Mortea just stood there, gaping, as did Mr. Mortea.
Mia stepped toward them and held down her head in front of Rina. She let out a purring sound and lay down.
Rina slowly reached out her hand and touched Mia’s tiger head. “It’s real,” she whispered, and then touched Mia’s ear.
Mia closed her eyes again and transformed back into a human. Too late, she remembered she was always naked when she did that and grabbed the clothes lying on the floor, quickly putting them back on.
“You see,” Mia said then, “I wasn’t lying. But I have something else to tell you, too.”
“Wh-what?” her mother managed to say.
“I’m the Kins’ leader. I have to go back there and live there. It doesn’t matter what you think. But don’t worry; I’ll come back and visit sometimes.”
Mia’s father stepped up to her. “I can’t let you do that. Look at those scars! You could get killed. And don’t cats live to be, at maximum, maybe twenty years? And in the wild, even shorter!”
“Dad, I’m not a normal cat,” Mia pointed out. “I killed a full-grown lion with only tooth and claw. And I’ll come and visit. Often, I promise! Please just let me go.”
“I don’t know, Mia,” her mother replied. “We’re your parents. And however strange you may be… we have to look out for you.”
“I know,” Mia said. “But I promise you that I’ll be safe. I have to go whether you like it or not.”
“Mia…” Mrs. Mortea sighed. “You’ve been gone for months. And we finally got you back.”
“I know,” Mia said with another sigh. “Please, Mom…”
Her parents looked at each other and mouthed things to each other for a minute. Finally, they turned back to their daughter. “You can go. But you have to visit us at least a day every month. If you don’t, we’ll come looking for you.”
“Thank you so, so much,” Mia said, wanting to cry again. “You don’t know how much this means to me. I promise I will.” Then she hugged them both, and her little sister. Mia stayed with them until that night and ate human food for dinner for the first time in what seemed like forever to her. Finally she left, transforming back into a gray tabby cat.
When Mia got back, Laia was standing at the entrance to the camp. She looked directly at Mia. “How did it go?”
“Fine,” Mia said. “They let me go as long as I visit them at least once a month, or they’ll come looking for me.” She smiled widely.
“That’s great! Just make sure you do. We don’t need anyone seeing us out here,” Laia said. “Are you ready to become our queen?”
“Right now?” Mia said, ears flattened. “Why now?”
“Why not now?” Laia responded. “We need a leader soon anyway. Come on.” With that, the lioness bounded to the center of the camp, and Mia had no choice but to follow.
“Change into a lion,” she whispered. Mia did as she was told, though she didn’t think it mattered what form she was in as long as it wasn’t human.
“Everyone gather here!” Laia called out. All of the cats in the camp obeyed, and sat in small groups, watching them intently. Mia felt embarrassed to see everyone staring at her. She even saw Lark in the group of cats. He smiled at her, and she smiled shyly back.
“Today,” Laia began, “we have gathered here to witness the making of a new queen. Mia killed the evil lion Shard, and therefore is our new leader.”
“What about you?” called a cat from the crowd. Laia looked in their direction.
“I was not meant to be the queen. The Elysium spirits want Mia to be the queen of the Kin, so that is the way it will be. So, from this moment on until her death, Miana shall be known as Queen Miana, the female leader of the Kin.”
The cats chanted Mia’s new title over and over again. It was hard to notice over all of the other noise, but Mia could tell that Grace and Lark chanting the loudest of all.
As soon as the ceremony was over, they had a feast on all of the prey there was. Mia felt immensely happy, but also nervous at her new responsibility. As she ate a plump rabbit, she noticed Lark and Grace come up to her and stood up.
“Wow!” Grace said, sighing happily as if it was her who had become the new queen. “Who knew that you, being a member here for only a little while, would actually become our leader? And at barely over a year old! Isn’t it amazing, Lark?”
Lark nodded, grinning. “Yes, definitely. Congratulations, Queen Miana.”
Mia blushed. “Please continue calling me Mia.”
“Of course, Mia,” Lark said, bowing to her. Mia giggled a little. Then he got closer to her and licked her nose once. Mia nuzzled his back after recoiling from the weird feeling of someone actually licking her nose, but realizing that cats probably did that all the time.
“Eww!” Grace exclaimed. “Will you two please stop that? It’s making me want to puke!”
Mia and Lark both laughed. “Of course,” Mia said. Then she licked Grace’s cheek, and Grace backed away, gagging.
As soon as they were done eating, Mia padded up to her new den. She went inside the stone cavern. She sat and ran her paw through the feathery bedding that someone had set out for her in the back of the cave. Darkness surrounded her. Mia felt like this entire experience was in a dream, but she knew it wasn’t. This was real. She was really the leader of a group of cats.
After sitting for a moment, Mia walked back outside. Cats were still feasting and some were grooming one another. Cubs and kittens were playing together outside of their den. She saw Lark and Grace chatting, and Laia grooming her little half-sister, Shai. Mia felt an immense feeling of joy inside of her.
“I really did it,” she whispered to herself, too quietly for anyone else to hear unless they were very close by. “I really saved them from Shard.”