Children of the Marquis of Carabas's Story

"Alright, here we go."
The young ten-year-old started to lift his bow. From a distance, him and his two siblings would have easily been mistaken for peasants, but in reality, they were the children of the influential Marquis of Carabas. They were to the right of the bridge that seemed to divide half of the town. Jude, the oldest, was leaning against the side a building that faced the west. Carlos, the second oldest, was aiming his bow towards the tree by the river, and Isabelle, the youngest, was standing just in front of the tree on her tiptoes, a shiny red apple on her head.

"You sure this is a good idea, Carlos?" Jude said to his brother, clearly annoyed. His arms were crossed, and his face was serious.
"Why of course, Jude," Carlos started, not seeming concerned like his brother. "It'll be a great way to practice my shooting. And besides, Issie and i already made a bet that she can't flinch or run away, or else i'll admit to the town that she's a coward."
"THAT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN!!!" the yong girl shouted, a determined and angry look on her face. She started to back towards the tree, and wrapped her arms around the bark, preventing herself from running away.

Meanwhile, Mornalee started to ride her horse towards the direction of the castle. The bridge where the children were located was a short distance away.

"Alright." Jude said to his brother. "But if that arrow goes through my sister's head, you'll be the most troublesome boy in Faecleir."
"Shut your mouth. Youre messing me up." the blonde haired boy said. He closed his one eye, and stuck out a bit of his tongue. He focused on the space between Isabelle and the tip of his arrow. The young girl started to feel the pressure, and sweat started to drip down her forehead.

"Alright Issie, when i count to three." Issie nervously nodded at Carlos.
"One," Isabelle's face turned pale.
"Two," She started to tremble.
"Thr...."
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" and before Carlos had a chance to shoot the arrow, Isabelle took off into the street, the red apple flying off of her head.
Carlos became furious and threw the bow on the ground, but Jude payed attention to where Isabelle was running. In the distance, he could see a white horse approaching his sister. To make matters worse, the girl tripped right in the middle of the road, the bridge right behind her.
"WATCH OUT!!!!!" Jude shouted. He shouted to both Isabelle, and the woman on the horse.
Issie tensed up and started to scream. However, the woman on the horse heard Jude's warning, and stopped her horse just in time.
All three children seemed to close their eyes. Not hearing any trampling sounds, the three started to open their eyes slowly.
Although Issie's eyes were wide as they looked up at Mornalee, Jude's eyes were even wider.
"It can't be....." he mumbled silently to himself.
"M-Miss..Sk-..." Jude started to approach the white horse.
"Youre...."
"Yes, I'm Skylar of the Sword." Mornalee said, looking down at the boy.
"Wha-what are you doing here?" Jude said, his words becoming louder. A smile crept on his face.
Skylar jumped off her horse, and stood in front of Sumas. She looked down at the boy with her sharp gaze.
"I'm here to look for someone. Someone of great importance."
"We know people of great importance!" Carlos said as he jumped into the conversation. Isabelle was still on the ground, staring up at the mysterious woman.
"Carlos you can't just....." Jude was about to say.
"Do you know our father? He's known around here as the Marquis of Carabas! We live in that big castle all the way over there!"
Carlos pointed to the castle in the distance. Jude simply facepalmed with a grave expression.
Mornalee's eyes widened. "Well this must be fate, because i'm looking for the legendary puss in boots. Has your father ever told you about him?"
"Oh yeah! his tabby cat stays at our castle! he's simply amazing!" Carlos exclaimed.
"KITTY!!!" the little girl shouted. She started to pick herself up off of her feet.
"If you want, we can take you there. I think it's about time we headed home anyway." Jude said as he looked at his two siblings, as well as the vigilante in front of him.
"That would be wonderful. Pleased to make your acquaintance..."
"Jude." he replied, shaking her hand. "That's Carlos, and that's Issie over there." he said, motioning over to his siblings.

The pair of four headed over to the castle, Skylar on her horse, and the three children quickly walking next to her. She had offered them a ride, but Jude refused, saying that she was of greater importance. Carlos was confused, as his brother had never spoken so much in his life.
Mornalee found a stable to keep her horse, and once they were all ready, they entered through the gates of the castle.

“ ’Ere Rachelle, I can carry zis bag for you.” Puss offered as he walked along a small stone wall that lined many of the streets of Mewhaven as he held the hand of a woman with powder blonde hair that was reminiscent of moon light. While the young woman was indeed quite pretty, there was nothing romantic involved with the polite gesture the famous cat extended.

“I’m blind monsieur Puss, not invalid. I can carry my own things, but thank you.” Rachelle refused politely with a soft smile. “How is Bettina? She went abroad with your youngest did she not?”

“Ah yes. ‘Enry iz tender ‘earted, but wanted to see ze other kingdoms. She promised to look after ‘im for me.” Puss replied. “She did not say goodbye?” He guessed sadly.

“No. She usually relents to a visit on my birthday though, so I should see her soon. I worry about her is all.” Rachelle replied with a wane smile. Puss wondered not for the first time how a blind woman with eyes made of polished crystal could have such an expressive face. He tried to never stare at her eyes for too long, as they had always made him feel strangely uncomfortable. Perhaps it was because he knew the story behind those eyes, and it was a painful reminder of his own arrogance and failure regarding his ability to protect his people from the monster that was Lord Craven.

“She never keeps ‘Enry away for long, she’ll come to see you soon enough.” Puss assured halfheartedly. Bettina was a stubborn girl, and he knew why she felt she needed to keep her distance. “ ’Ave there been anymore visions?”

“Nothing concrete.” Rachelle sighed. “I’ve gotten bits and pieces, faces I don’t recognize, shadows that stalk, nothing good. I’ve seen Bettina there though, and a boy. I keep seeing him, a prince perhaps? He seems important.” Puss took that information in with a soft hmmm. Rachelle’s ability of premonition had been an immense help to him in the past, but the choppiness of the things she’d seen lately was unsettling.

The rest of the walk to the castle was held in comfortable silence, though Puss paused with his sharp cat eyes narrowed as he saw a warrior woman on a horse talking with the Marquis’ children. The children seemed ecstatic to meet her, and were in fact leading her through the gates to the castle. He did not have enough information about this woman to ascertain her identity, but he did not like surprises.

“What is monsieur?” Rachelle asked, sensing the tension rolling off the cat.

“I’m not sure, but we will soon find out ne?” Puss replied, leading them towards the castle.

"here we are" Jude said, guiding Mornalee through the castle. Mornalee hadn't been through a castle since the invasion of Spindewas, and looking at the dainty walls was like stepping through the past. For Mornalee, the past was not a memory, but a force at her back. It always pushed and steered her. She knew that the burning past, with torture, murder, and never being able to see her mother needed to be resolved.

Jude, Carlos and Mornalee went to the Marquis's chamber to ask about Puss in boot's whereabouts.
" Why, i haven't seen him." said the caretaker of the children, also known as the nurse. "The cat and the children's father. I haven't seen them. I think the Marquis is running out to see King Storkfort of something. I'm not sure...."

Meanwhile, Isabelle was wandering through the castle, as usual. Just then, she saw the cat with a pretty and older aged woman.
"KITTY!!!" she yelled, running to the cat. She gave Puss in boots a quick yet tight hug, and then started to jump as she began to ramble on and on.
"A lady came to see you, kitty! she wants to see you!! she's reeeeeallly tall and she has a horse and everything!!! she traveled all the way here and everything!!!"

Once the boys and Mornalee had finished speaking with the nurse, they looked for Isabelle, and found her by Puss in boots. Mornalee breathed a small sigh of relief, and quickly approached the cat.

"Monsieur Puss," she started, "otherwise known as the famous Puss in boots"
Mornalee bowed, and then looked down at the cat and the lady he was with with soft yet determined eyes as she spoke.
"My name is Skylar. I am known in Towerlot as Skylar of the Sword. I have been working as a vigilante in Towerlot, and it is with great honor that i come in your prescence Monsieur Puss. "

"My homeland, Spindewas, has been overthrown by emporer Contalabutte. Not just Spindewas, but other kingdoms as well. Contalabutte is not a just ruler, rather, he sheds blood to get his way. For some reason, the other lands have done nothing to help Spindewas, but rather they have just stood and watched from a distance. I come here today to ask for your help. I don't now how to put this, but i need your wits and knowledge. You have done many things in the past to help others, and i hope you can do the same for many more people."

She reached in her back pocket and pulled out a leather bag that looked as though it was filled tightly with something. From the jingling sound it made, you could tell it was coins.

"Of course, i will give a reward for your efforts, if you so choose to help me. 200 pieces of silver. Counted it all myself. If you want more, you will have more. money is not a problem for me. The only thing i ask of you, Monsieur Puss, is your wisdom and cooperation. If you accept this proposal, we would need to travel across the land. There are rumors of a group who wishes to free Spindewas as well. I soon wish to join them, but i think you would be a wonderful asset to the team."

Mornalee crouched down and extended her hand out to the cat.
"So is it a deal?"

“KITTY!” Puss had barely made it through the door and into the hall with Rachelle before little Isabella was upon him, and the aging cat could do little more than laugh good naturedly and pat the little girl affectionately on the back.

“Yez yez, I saw zis. Where is zis lady?” Puss asked before Jude and Carlos came walking up with the woman in question. Now that she was up close, Puss recognized those features. The height, the face, the color of her eyes, Puss knew exactly who it was who stood before him. The princess of Spindlewas may not have recalled seeing him, but puss was always lurking in the shadows, keeping a watchful eye whenever they had visited Spindlewas, or when Ruffdor and his family visited Mewhaven.

Puss listened in silence as Princess Mornalee made her plea to him for his aid, and barely suppressed his lip from upturning in disgust when she made to offer him money like a common mercenary. The girl had much to learn. Once she had finished speaking, Puss gently disentangled himself from Isabelle and cleared his throat as he took a step out.

“Ze ozer kingdoms did no stand by and watch so much as weighed zier options Mademoiselle. Wars bring ruin and disease, and costs a fortune, and no ruler in zier right mind would choose to fight such a war against ze Empire unless ze country itself was threatened. Ze Emperor 'ates Ogres. It is easier to rationalize zat 'is 'atred and opportunity motivated him to kill Ruffdor, and zat 'e will not attack ozers, zan get involved with a potentially unnecessary war. If you wish to sway ozer kingdom to your cause, you will need to give specific reasons why zey should get involved. Ask yourself how zis will benefit zem before you speak. Zat advice I give you free.” Puss lectured as he adjusted his hat and began circling Mornalee.

“I am a very rich cat mademoiselle, and I have no need of your silver. If you wish to bargain such a price for aid, there are always mercenaries and wizards for hire on Dancleir. Go zere if you wish to peddle such a price.” His spine was stiff and his gaze haughty as he spoke, and he stopped his pacing once he was in front of her once more.

“To ‘ave a princess owe a debt to Mew’aven ‘owever, zat is a price I would work for.” Puss finished, his gaze softening with an arched brow.

“So it’s her then? She’s finally come?” Rachelle asked with a soft smile gracing her lips. Puss made a soft humming sound in agreement before turning his head to one of the guards.

“Philip, go retrieved our ozer guests, I believe zey will be very pleased to meet our newest arrival.” Puss commanded, and the guard dashed off to do the cat’s bidding.

Mornalee was devestated and a little bit furious. She had come a long way to search for the cat, and here he was, giving her a lecture about why the kingdoms never got involved. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but she knew everything he said was right. It was almost like suicide for another kingdom to get involved with the Kalgrist empire unless they were threatened. Just like what she had learned from the hunter who taught her the ways of the blade, you do not attack unless your enemy strikes first.

Mornalee looked down in shame as Puss in boots talked about her silver. She realized she was stupid to think that he was like a mercenary. It had never been like the cat to be greedy in the first place. Mornalee knew that offering the silver was like a slap in the face. She wanted to escape her body and run away, but she knew she had to accept her choices and face the consequence. With someone like her, Spindewas would never be freed from Contalabutte.

However, there was something that the cat said at the end of his lecture, something that sparked up Mornalee's hopes again.
“To ‘ave a princess owe a debt to Mew’aven ‘owever, zat is a price I would work for.” he said, his eyes softening. Mornalee was surprised that the cat would be so compassionate and offer her a second chance. She lifted her head and nodded at his words. "Yes" she silently muttered, a determined yet sorrowful look on her face. This time, she wouldn't let her oppurtunities pass by.

Although Mornalee looked at Puss in Boots's words as a chance for redemption, Jude was bewildered. He nudged his brother standing next to him, and whispered, "Did he just call Skylar of the Sword a princess?" Carlos, who couldn't care less, shrugged, and said, "I don't know. Maybe you just heard him wrong or something."

“So it’s her then? She’s finally come?” the lady next to the cat asked with a pretty smile. The cat nodded, and then asked a guard to retrieve other guests,
saying,"... I believe zey will be very pleased to meet our newest arrival.”
Mornalee looked down at the cat with sheer confusion. "Other guests?" she asked, "Who are they?"

Sir Branen Stonewall of Spindlewas was so far quite frustrated by his stay in Mewhaven, and the lack of straight answers he had been given by the feline population in Carabas was a contributing factor. No one would tell him anything regarding Bettina of Mewhaven, not if they knew her, or if they knew where she was, or if she was even alive. Their refusal to answer the last question left the young knight with a particularly tight knot of anxiety in the pit of his stomach. Branen had no right to feel this way, he knew that, but the thought of the beautiful, sarcastically witty, and damaged girl he remembered being dead filled him with such a sense of overwhelming grief he could hardly stand it. She could rage at him when he found her, slap him even or call him names. He deserved that much, especially as he was seeking her out now for a favor he had no right to ask, but he simply prayed she would be alive to do those things.

In the end, it had been Snow’s tears after the twentieth cat had refused to tell them whether or not Bettina was alive that had given them their lead. An old woman with a kindly, though troubled, face had told them to seek out the legendary Puss in Boots. That task had been easy enough, though their welcome once they’d found the famous feline had not exactly been warm. It had not been until they’d been taken to meet a young blind woman, and she had announced that they would have a role to play in fighting the Empire, were they allowed in the palace, and they had been shut up there ever since. Puss had at least told them that Bettina was alive, and that she worked for him (which had come as a surprise to Branen, though he knew not why), but informed them they were not to refer to her by that name. That response had baffled Branen, but the infurating feline had not designed himself to answer any more of his questions, and Neither Bran, nor Snow had seen him since they had been ushered away to their guest quarters three days ago.

It therefore came as a bit of a shock to Branen when they were suddenly both summoned to the hall, and the young knight wasted no time getting himself ready whilst his sister practically vibrated with excitement. He could think of no other reason for them to be summoned besides Bettina, and Bran felt almost nervous as they made their way down to the main hall. The sight that greeted him however, was not the petite curvaceous woman with golden curls he had expected, but instead the tall athletic figure of a woman he had met only a handful of times, but was never likely to forget.

“Your highness!” Bran exclaimed in shock, quickly taking a knee in front of his princess to show her his fealty. Taking the cue from her brother, snow also made a polite curtsy with her head bowed.

“Might I present to you ‘ighness, Sir Branen Stonewall and Lady Snow Stonewall of Spindlewas. I do believe zey ‘ave been searching for you.” Puss introduced in a manner that came off as almost bored. His dislike of the young knight was fairly transparent, but just because he thought Bran was an uptight, overly moral cur who had no right to come seeking Bettina out now, did not mean the man did not have a value or purpose in this war. Princess Mornalee need all the loyal knights and fighters she could gather, and the ever moral Sir Branen came free.

“Your highness!”

Mornalee turned around to see a man with thick brown locks of hair approaching her. He was accompanied by a lady that had a similar resemblance to him. It was as though Morn knew who they were, but she had no memories of them. Puss's next words explained why she had such a feeling.

“Might I present to you ‘ighness, Sir Branen Stonewall and Lady Snow Stonewall of Spindlewas. I do believe zey ‘ave been searching for you.”

Spindewas. Her home country. More hope poured into Mornalee's heart. It was as if fate was on her side.
"Wait, wait, wait!!!" a voice boomed. It was Jude. "I don't understand....'your highness'? Skylar of the Sword is a knight, a vigilante. She does things for others who cannot do things for themselves. She is not a royal. She never has been. It makes no sense....everything. Everything that everyone has said is starting to make no sense. Things just aren't going in the right order. So either you all have claimed her to be someone else by mistake......or Skylar of the Sword is someone else. I ask you, Miss Skylar, just......who are you??"

Carlos tugged on Jude's shirt, but the 14 year-old stood his ground. Mornalee turned to face Jude. Her eyes were sympathetic. She sighed, and said,
"My dear child, I will explain everything later. For now, I must ask of you three to depart from the room. There are important matters i must discuss with Sir Branen and Lady Snow Stonewall."

The three children left the room quickly and quietly. Carlos and Issie fled to their rooms, while the determined Jude stayed by the door, peering his eye through the slight crack in the door.

"Now," Mornalee began to say, "It is a pleasure to meet you both. I am very interested in the reason why you both have been searching for me. Tell me, what is the purpose of your visit to the castle today?"