Marvela again tried to climb out of the hole she was trapped in. And again, she slid back down to the damp, mossy floor. She slapped her paws to her face in frustration. Countless claw-marks scored the rusty walls surrounding her, evidence of her futile efforts. Perhaps she should try again with her magic... Levitating small things was a simple trick, and she sure was small. She had done it many times before.
Her ears went hot with shame and she pressed them back against her head. She recalled the wave she had unwittingly unleashed on the rats. She would surely lose control again. No... Marvela thought to herself. No, I don't think I can... Not anymore.
Far above her on the other side of the grate came the sound of snickering. Marvela snapped her head up, ears alert and tail thrashing.
"Hello?" she called. "Is there someone up there?"
The grate slid open just wide enough for a tiny head to poke through. "What do you need, cat?" a snow-white rat squeaked down at her.
Marvela's tail stilled. She let her shoulders slump with disappointment. "Oh. Just another mean rat." She pouted. "Any chance you'll let me go?"
Her rat guard shook his head, humor sparkling in his black eyes. "Nuh-uh," he said, giggling. He leaned further into the hole to peer at his feline captive. He pricked his white whiskers forward in curiosity. "My friends said you could make sparkly-things appear..." he whispered.
The kitten's orange eyes searched the opening above her. The white rat appeared alone at the moment. "Oh? And where are your friends now?"
The light left the rat's eyes. He retracted from the opening a bit. "They... They were supposed to be guarding you with me, but they said that clearly I was the best rat for the job, and then they went off to scrounge for snacks in the Aboveground—"
"They left you behind," Marvela surmised. She wondered if he was friends with that big bully rat. From what she could see, this rat seemed smaller than the others. He'd surely make an easy target for ridicule.
The rat rubbed at his pink ears and avoided eye-contact with her. "I guess..." he squeaked.
Marvela sat back on her haunches. She was small too. She knew how the little rat must feel. "Some friends, huh?" she mewed up at him.
The rat looked deep in thought as he considered the trapped cat. He shook himself abruptly, looking more alert. "Hey! Make more sparkles! I didn't get to see them last time!"
"Only if you let me out."
"Oh... No, I can't do that. Sorry. The other rats would take my tail for that."
"Then no sparkles," Marvela meowed. She stuck her tongue out at the rat for good measure. She was almost relieved when the rat sullenly shoved the grate back over her. At that point, she wasn't confident she could even conjure 'sparkles'.
The darkness swallowed her once more.
With nothing left to do, Marvela spun around in place then curled up and let sleep overtake her.
⭐⭐⭐
"Wow, so you really can make sparkles!" a high-pitched voice exclaimed, startling the kitten awake.
Marvela's eyes shot open. She bolted upright from the soggy ground, unsure of how much time had passed.
The white rat had the grate open again. His eyes were as round as marbles as he stared down at her. No, wait... He wasn't staring at her. Something else entranced him.
The kitten yelped in surprise as a glowing orange butterfly flitted past her. It shed glittering flecks of light with every silent beat of its wings as it rose to join the multitude of other ethereal butterflies dancing above her head.
Marvela felt that stirring feeling within her. She had just been dreaming of butterflies. Had she summoned these butterfly illusions in her sleep? "Magic..." she breathed, watching the ethereal butterflies cavort with one another.
"What?" the rat questioned, leaning as far as he could into the hole to pat at the butterflies. His paw passed right through one, causing it to vanish in a puff of orange smoke.
"I said it's magic!" Marvela corrected. "Not 'sparkles!'"
"Well, it sure is pretty whatever you call it," the rat grinned. "Or... Was I guess."
The black cat and the white rat watched as, one by one, each of Marvela's conjured butterflies ended their dance with a flourish and vanished into thin air.
"Can all cats do magic?" the rat asked.
Marvela shook her head, licking at her charred fur that still bothered her. "No. Only animals who are made familiars by witches can do some magic."
"Witches?"
Marvela finished soothing her fur and gave the rat her full attention. "Humans who were given the ability to use magic by the spirits."
"Neat!" the rat squeaked. He leaned so far into the tunnel; it almost looked like he would fall in with her. "I've heard of witches! Actually, I've been seeing a lot of witches around town recently! In the rare opportunities I've been allowed to go topside, that is..."
Marvela gasped at that. "Really? You have?"
"Oh yeah! Ghosts and goblins, too!"
"Ghosts and gob—? Oh. You're talking about all those weird decorations around the town, aren't you?"
The rat laughed at her, but it was laughter devoid of any malice. He genuinely seemed to enjoy talking with Marvela. And though Marvela was reluctant to admit it, she enjoyed talking with him too. It at least helped break the monotony of being trapped in a tunnel.
"It's Halloween!" the rat continued to explain to her. "Or at least it will be in two days. People like to celebrate all the creepy-crawlies on Halloween night! I've heard so many things about it, and I can't wait to maybe see what it's like for myself! I wonder if they also appreciate us rats on Halloween?"
Marvela remained unimpressed. "Vigilance sounds like a strange place," the kitten told the rat. Then she frowned. Halloween was in two days, when Slight would rise.
"Vigilance is a beautiful place!" the rat retorted. "And the Aboveground is nice too." He giggled at his joke for a moment; then his face fell as he caught Marvela's eye. "Hopefully, I'll be allowed to go to the Aboveground for Halloween. The Rat King doesn't let me out much... You know... because I'm small. No one lets me do anything I want. I just have to do what they say."
The rat's eyes looked watery, and Marvela's heart broke for him. The white rat smiled down at her as he continued. "You're different for a cat. I guess I'm different for a rat."
Marvela found herself smiling back up at him. A comfortable silence passed between the two of them as they contemplated each other in silence.
"Curious," the rat uttered, breaking the silence.
"What's curious?"
"My name. It's Curious."
"Oh!" Marvela mewed with a grin. "Nice to meet you, Curious! I'm Marvela." She tilted her head at Curious, smirking. "If you let me out, I'll conjure up some more 'sparklies' for you."
Curious shook his head hard enough to make his ears flap, not taking the bait. "Sorry again, Marvela. Everything goes to the Rat King. That's the rule down here."
Marvela's grin faded. This strange rat wasn't as easily persuaded as Sunshine was—as her friends back in Grudgewood were. "Everything goes to the Rat King," she repeated to herself as Curious shut the grate above her.
She held a paw to her face, imagining sparks rising from it once more. A single orange ember shot forth from one of her claws like a tiny lightning bolt, bright enough to illuminate her prison for a brief second. Unruly as it was, her magic hadn't left her. A timid smile stretched across her muzzle. "Well, then I guess I'll be looking forward to meeting him..."
⭐⭐⭐
It wasn't long before a gaggle of rats returned to fetch Marvela. After they had tossed down a few moldy cardboard boxes for her to use to climb free from her dank prison, her tail dropped when she took stock of the rats around her. Her heart sank when she realized Curious wasn't among them.
That strange feeling vanished once she recognized the worn leather book a trio of rats supported a few paces away from her.
"Hey!" she hissed, trying to shove past the swarm of rats to swipe her spellbook. "That's mine!"
The rats held her back. "Nope!" one of them chuckled. "Now belong to the King! Come along, you scruffy cat. They're looking forward to meeting you!"
"They are?" Marvela parroted, ears askew in puzzlement.
The rats ignored her confusion and shoved her forward through the dizzying maze of utter darkness. She had no idea how any of them could tell the difference between one damp tunnel and another. I suppose when you never leave the dark, you have no choice but to make yourself at home in it, Marvela thought, her face grim. She was reminded of Asra and her hatred for the magic-less.
Eventually, the tunnel they marched through widened, and Marvela found herself in a great big chamber. Droplets of moisture rained down on Marvela and her escorts as she took in the sights and sounds of the largest gathering of rats she had ever laid eyes on. The chattering laughter of the rats echoed from every damp wall of the chamber.
Marvela stood trembling as the sea of vermin parted, revealing a path to the only source of light in the room; a rust-encrusted lantern at the crest of a mountain of found objects ranging from valuables like diamond jewelry, empty glass bottles of every color, to shiny bits of metal and old food. The yellow light of the lantern was reflected in every shiny and sparkly bit and bauble and casted flecks of rainbow light on every surface of the chamber. Yet Marvela didn't have the opportunity to gawk out the strangely beautiful show of colors. The kitten's chest panged as she watched the rats toss her book carelessly into the pile.
Backlit by the light of the lantern at the top of the heap was a monstrously huge rat.
The fur along Marvela's spine rippled at the sight of its many heads with long buckteeth, its sniffing noses and quivering whiskers, its dozens of grabby pink hands, its bald tails knotted together...
The kitten blinked. Wait. No... This creature wasn't a single monster. It was a pile of rats all joined together by a tangled knot of tails.
The crowd of rats gathered around the sparkling mountain of treasures all ducked their heads in reverence at the wriggling pile of unkempt rats. This... This was the Rat King.
As the black kitten balked at the tangled rats, completely aghast, they regarded her back with numerous pairs of wide eyes.
"This is the cat?" spoke a voice from the mass of rats. "It's so small."
"Looks more like a mouse," wheezed another.
"I'm hungry. Someone pass me a wedge of that cheese over there," grumbled a third.
One of the rats raised a paw to interject, "I want a closer look! Easy now, fellas..."
The tangled rats tip-toed at the crest of the mound of treasures, grappling for footing. All fear left Marvela when one of the entangled rats slipped, disturbing the mountain of found objects and sending the whole of the Rat King tumbling down the slope. The pile of rats landed in front of Marvela in a groaning heap.
The kitten couldn't help but snicker.
Tiny paws roughly shoved Marvela forward toward the puddle of clumsy, griping rats that was the Rat King.
"Watch yourself next time, scatter-brain!" one of the rats grumbled at the rat who had slipped.
The rats righted themselves and stood before the unimpressed kitten.
"Well, go on then, cat," commanded one of the rats, running a paw over his ear to smooth his messy fur as if to maintain any shred of lingering dignity. "Show us what you can do."
"Yes. We were told many interesting things about you."
"We hope we weren't told wrong! Or else it's back to the tunnels for you with all the other boring things."
Marvela stood before the Rat King. Her heart raced. Around her, the crowd was restless. The chatter never ceased as it echoed around her, drowning out the sound of her pounding heartbeat in her ears. It was as if she were trapped inside a wasp's nest, with all the buzzing deafening her.
The Rat King's dozens of eyes narrowed at her. Some of the heads yawned.
"Which of you brought this boring cat to us?" one of the rats huffed at the audience. "Come forward to receive your scolding."
All at once, Marvela stilled. She had locked eyes with the one white rat in the crowd. Curious grinned up at her while all the larger rats jeered around him.
The kitten took a deep breath. This was what she had planned. She had to act. She shut her eyes, and called for her magic.
She could hardly contain her surprise when it willingly answered her call. Her magic awakened and spread through her from nose to tail-tip. Every hair on her pelt stood on end as she set her magic free.
The kitten was almost too afraid to open her eyes. She was unsure of what she would see.
But she forced her eyelids open.
And gasped along with the crowd of rats.
More golden butterflies graced the dark recesses of the Vigilance Belowground. There were more of them this time. Many more. Spectral fireflies swirled around the pirouetting butterflies, and shimmering ethereal crickets hopped and skipped amongst the crowd of rats.
Bathed in twinkling golden light, every one of the spectating rodents had their eyes stretched wide in amazement. Curious clapped his paws together for her.
Beside herself, Marvela grinned at him before turning back to face the Rat King. Like the audience, the Rat King marveled at the spectacle.
"Magic!" grunted a voice within the teeming mass. "It's real!"
"We haven't seen magic in Vigilance in a long time."
"We thought it had left!"
"So beautiful... A rare treasure indeed. This cat will be our pet, and she and her magic will stay in the dark with us."
"Forever!"
"Her name will be Sparkles."
Marvela's grin dissipated, replaced by a snarl. All of her spectral creatures popped out of existence like exploding stars. She no longer trembled as she stood squarely before the Rat King and their towering mountain. "My name is Marvela, and I'm a familiar," she told the Rat King. "Not anyone's house-pet!"
Her magic swelled at her words and she unleashed it in full force. "And if you keep me here," she declared. "Then magic really will disappear from this town for good!"
Confused squeaks rang from every corner of the chamber as a shimmering orange wave swept through the crowd, sucking up rats with it. Marvela turned her head toward the Rat King's pile of treasures, and the wave obeyed her command with gusto.
Each individual rat that made up the king struggled against each other to duck out of the way of the approaching glowing tsunami, but the mass of rats was immobile. The knot that bound them together held strong. The wave crashed into the king and their treasures, sending rats and debris scattering every which way. Something heavy somersaulted through the air toward Marvela. She sprang up, catching her spellbook in her jaws.
There was no time for celebration. Enraged rats charged at her, their teeth bared and ready. In the confusion, the kitten again ran with no direction in mind. All she saw were rats and orange embers.
All she saw was more of that wretched darkness.
There was a squeal behind her. Marvela chanced a backward glance and caught sight of that big bully rat leading the chase, rapidly catching up.
With a smirk, the crafty kitten conjured one last enormous butterfly. The sparkling insect intercepted the rat and alighted on the tip of his nose. With a high-pitched scream of, "It's on my face! Get it off!" the rat gave up his chase and retreated with the butterfly still clinging to him.
Though the heavy book she carried between her teeth stifled her laughter, the kitten's pace never slowed until a flash of white stopped short in her path. Marvela slid to a halt in front of Curious.
His fur almost glowing in the dark, the white rat pointed a tiny, clawed finger into the dingy recesses of a seemingly random tunnel. "That way, Marvela!" he squeaked up at her. "That way will take you topside!"
Marvela squinted, and sure enough, she could make out the faintest sliver of light in the distance. She could smell the slightest tinge of a cool Fall breeze.
But she remained where she stood, dropping her book at her paws. "Curious!" she mewed. "Come with me!"
The rat hugged his pink tail close to himself as he gawked up at her. "Wh-what?"
"You said you wanted to leave this place!" Marvela said, her heart pounding. She could hear the shrill sound of rats catching up to her. "Well, I'm leaving, and I'm never coming back!"
"Will there be more sparkly-stuff involved?" he asked, dropping his tail.
"Magic," she corrected with a grin. "And absolutely."
Curious grinned back and gave the white star on her chest a hearty pat before clambering up to sit between her shoulder blades.
"Then I'm in!" he cheered.
With her rat passenger hanging on tight and her magic swirling contently within her, Marvela grabbed her book and took off running toward the light at the end of the tunnel.