Chapter 15 Queen or Goddess?

Kitty settled down, a couple of miles from the road, and gently lay the boy down under the tree. She handed him the rabbit, and settled down herself. He sat there, looking at the dead creature and back at her, obviously not sure what to do with it.

"Did no one ever teach you how to eat?" she asked surprised. Surely, he knew how to skin a rabbit? It wasn't that hard.

"No, miss," he whispered in a hoarse voice, laying the rabbit down gently, as if he might anger her.

Scrunching up her face in disbelief, she grabbed the rabbit up and promptly ripped it apart. He jerked in fear, and she paused to look at him a bit more closely. To him she was probably nothing more than a monster. Thinking about what Dane would do, she carefully skinned and cleaned the carcass, before handing it back to him.

He held it at arm's reach, gingerly, with a couple of fingers. She sighed again. Dane would have cooked it for himself and Kiterina. Maybe people can't eat meat raw? It had never come up on the farm.

Thinking carefully, she decided this would never do. She had to get fire to cook the stupid rabbit. With a sigh, she climbed to her feet.

"Wait here, I'll be back," she grabbed up the skin and innards so that wolves wouldn't be interested in investigating while she was gone, and flew into the air.

The lights from the town were easy to spy from the air, and she knew they would have a way to start fire. Flying as quickly as she could, because this whole mess was nonsense, she quickly arrived at the town. Landing gently on the roof of the largest building, she winced as she heard the wood complain. It wasn't metal like the buildings she was used to. She would have to keep that in mind.

Several people were gathered at the other end of the town. It looked like the mage had sent someone to notify the people of her presence. Frowning in annoyance, she jumped to the ground behind the barn, and started snooping through the small town, looking for something to start a fire with. There were plenty of lit torches and burning oil lamps, but that wouldn't help her start a fire later, and she really didn't want to have to come back here every time she needed to feed the boy.

Throwing the rabbit remains at the few wild dogs who were interested in her, she made her way to one house that seemed to be in better condition than the others. Peeking in a window, she saw a woman tending a fire. There was a kettle cooking beside her, that had a lovely scent drifting out of it. It reminded her of the stew Dane had made when she was very small.

The woman stood from her chair by the fire, and turned towards a table that was on the other side of the room. Kitty watched her as she took two items and struck them together to make a spark that lit a candle. Then she took the candle to a cupboard and pulled it open. She was looking for something, but didn't seem to be finding it. After several minutes, she set the candle down, and left the room.

Kitty was just starting to climb through the window, when she heard a door open to her left. She paused in the shadows, watching the woman leave the house. Not hesitating any longer, she jumped into the room. There was a cloth bag on the floor by the table, so she grabbed it up and started throwing things into it. The two pieces of metal and rock that the woman had used to make fire went in first.

Blowing out the candle, she threw it in next, then headed for the cupboard. Inside, she found all different types of food. She wasn't sure what half of it was, but maybe the boy would recognize it and be able to eat it. Then, once the bag wouldn't hold any more, she went to the fire and grabbed the pot. A long-handled spoon was sticking out of the top, so she stirred it as she walked back towards the window.

Hearing the door open, she assumed the woman was returning, and wasted no time in leaping out of the window. She quickly jumped into the sky as the woman entered the room, and gave a shout of surprise. Kitty was relatively sure she wasn't spotted by the woman, because there were no screams of fear, only a cry of outrage at losing a few items.

Smirking to herself, she focused on flying back to where she had left the boy. He was curled into a ball under the tree she had left him at. Grateful that he hadn't left, and that she hadn't gotten lost trying to find him, she settled down next to him and set down the pot of stew.

"I'll eat the rabbit and whatever is left of this when you're full," she said as he looked up in surprise.

He didn't waste any breath asking her where it came from, just dug in, using the giant spoon as if it was his personal utensil. As she watched him, she ate the rabbit and thought about what her next step was. Obviously, she needed someone who could go among the humans and gather information. If she tried, she would end up fighting them all the time as they would see her as a monster.

In order for the boy to be able to accomplish this, he needed to be healthy and willing. She thought about how she had trained the dog to carry her around, by giving him treats and lots of praise. Would it work with the boy? She decided to wouldn't hurt to try.

As he sat back, rubbing his stomach in contentment, she leaned forward and snagged the pot. It was still mostly full. Glancing at him in surprise, she decided he may be worse off than she had originally thought, if he ate so little. His stomach much have shrunk while starving. It would take her longer to get him healthy then she had thought.

Spooning huge bites into her mouth, the rabbit long gone, she watched the boy shivering against the tree.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"My name's Timmy, if'n it please you," he said, sitting up straighter.

"Well, Timmy, I'm new to these lands and I would like to know what you can tell me."

"These lands? You mean this kingdom?" he asked, confused, scratching his head.

"Yes, this kingdom. I'm guessing there's a king who rules over these lands?" she asked, licking her finger clean.

"Oh, yes! He's the one people have to pay their taxes to so he'll keep the Demon King away."

"So, he's a good king?" she asked, not sure what taxes had to do with keeping the Demon King away.

"Oh, well, there's people who don't like paying the taxes, but most everyone I've seen prefers to being poor to being dead."

"That's a good point, I suppose," she said, nodding her head.

"The Demon King is really scary. Everyone who stands up to him dies a horr'ble death."

"But if that's true, then how does the king keep him away from those who pay their taxes?" Kitty was relatively certain that the tax collectors were using the fear of the people to get them to pay their taxes. It sounded like a trick they would do.

"Oh, I don't know," he said, shaking his head very seriously. "I'm just a poor street kid. I don't understand the ways of adults."

Kitty looked at him for a moment, setting the pot down on the ground. It sounded like he was repeating words spoken to him. She thought carefully before speaking.

"I think I'm going to choose you as my servant. You will no longer be a street kid, nor poor, as you will represent me where ever you go."

The boy's eyes widened in surprise and disbelief.

"In return for being my servant, you will be fed well, and kept safe from those who would harm you, including the Demon King, so you'll never have to pay taxes to this king."

Her words made a huge impression on the boy, and he quickly bowed down before her. She reached out to get him up out of the dirt, but stopped herself. She was setting herself up to be something great. She had to double think every action she took from now on.

"First rule, never grovel in the dirt to anyone. It makes you dirty, and I am a very clean individual."