CH.7: Police? What are you?

Wondering around the tiny old town Alyssa heard someone shouting. "Police! Police thief! Stop that thief!" Suddenly yet quite quickly three men came racing down the street, clad in black with black sticks raised high above their head. Alyssa could not see as to who they were chasing.

"Things just got interesting!" Alyssa quickly moved to a darkened alcove and shifted to her cat form. She chased after the men, following the crowd as they moved to watch the chase.

"Not again!" Wined sock monkey shrinking in size with Alyssa's shift into cat form. He didn't like this curious side. The side of Alyssa that liked to give chase to her whims.

It's important to know that when Alyssa was around three years of age she spotted an oddly dressed man attempting to hide deep within the woods around her home. On a whim, she followed that man as he stalked closer to her home, to where her grandmother sat mending her favorite socks. At the time Alyssa was unaware of what he was, later she learned that the man was an assassin sent to kill her grandmother. Alyssa failed to see the knife in the man's hand, or even what he was up to. Grandmother on the other hand knew where he was all along, and what he was there to do. Needless to say, he failed in his task, he was rewarded for his efforts by being turned into a particularly ugly vase.

"Will you stop following dangerous people, please!" Sock monkey could see from the corner of his eye three men on horseback.

Alyssa chose to pretend to not hear sock monkey's plea and continued after the men on horseback. Upon catching up to the men, she immediately felt dejected, they had already caught up to the thief and had him in chains. "So much for some excitement." Thought Alyssa watching as a portly man waddled his way up to the three black-clad men, huffing all the way.

'Th-That's him! He stole all my shop's earnings for the day." Huffed the big man, trying to catch his breath. "Thieving little bugger, you should be ashamed, stealing from the working men."

"That's enough!" Barked the taller of the three men. "He shall be dealt with. Here's your purse." Alyssa watched as the tall dark man tossed the fat man a small bag, then mounted his horse in one swift movement. The other two followed the first and began to drag the chained thief through the crowded streets.

"I wonder where there going?" Thought Alyssa fighting to find a new way through the thick crowd. She was determined to follow.

"That desperate for money, are ya!?" said one of the riders in a deep tone.

"If ya we're that desperate, ya should have signed onto one of the ships at the port. I heard they're always looking for new crew members." Tittered the one pulling the chains.

"You two should keep your mouths shut, do your jobs. You know the thing that pays your bills." The taller man turned slightly in his saddle to glare at the other two. He was clearly the one in charge.

While being dragged behind the three "policemen" our would-be thief began to notice something he'd never seen before. He saw a little black cat dodging feet, it was keeping up pace rather nicely with him and his captures. Yet that alone was not the unusual thing, for it had a little bag on it's back. "What's that hanging out of the bag?" Thought the thief to himself, not wanting to draw any more attention from the glaring crowds. "Is that a sock monkey? I wonder if that's the pirate king's cat? It's said that he's an odd man, tends to do odd things. I'd bet that cat is his, it'd make sense. yeah, it's probably his cat, just too odd."

"Pick up your feet boy, move!" Barked the man pulling the chains.

"Sorry, but you do know that the Pirate King's cat is following us." The thief tripped as the chains were pulled while pointing to the little black ball of fur, now sitting on top of an apple crate watching. "It's probably lost."

The three men turned their heads at the same time to look directly at the little black cat and her tiny bag, carrying a tiny sock monkey.

"Interesting!" Declared the taller man while dismounting his horse. As swiftly as he had dismounted, he snatched up Alyssa and re-mounted. "You two take that thief to the town dungeon, report him to the clerk for trial. As for this little one, I'll return her to the castle."

"Yes, sir!' Hollered the other two men as they turned down a different road from their leader, dragging the stumbling thief behind them.

"I Know the King has many pets up at his castle, but I don't recall ever seeing you there." The tall man's hand stroked her fur out of habit, he liked cats. There seems to be many animals at the castle that wander freely and openly, they tend to seek out attention from anyone and everyone. No one seemed to mind the animals wandering about. Alyssa didn't mind the big man hand stroking her fur, she rather enjoyed it, she even purred happily.

"This isn't good!" Thought sock monkey, eyes fixed on the sky. "I can't see anything again."

After a few minutes of riding down a long cobblestone road, out of the village and down a large hill towards the sound of water, they arrived at the "castle". To Alyssa's eyes, it looked nothing like a castle, there were no turrets, no walls, no moat, not even a courtyard with a water feature. It looked like a rather large house, almost like a barn, but bigger and with more windows. Though it did have a gate with an angry-looking guard. "What do you want policeman."

" I have brought the Pirate King's little kitten back." Announced the tall man glaring down at the angry guard.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Bellowed the angry guard taking one look at Alyssa's black fur. "The King does not like the color black. He doesn't even like cats. They remind him about death. Take that mongrel away at once!"

Without argue, also not wanting to lose his position, the tall man turned his horse around and rode off. "An interesting turn of events. you don't belong to our eccentric King, yet you have that little bag and sock monkey toy. You must be well-loved, and belong to someone. Maybe a beloved house pet? Oh, well. I'll take you back with me to the station house for now." Thought the tall man as he moved his horse through the crowded streets of the odd town.

"Welcome back, Derk!" Shouted a short round man taking the horse's reins. "What's that you've got there?"

"Evening Even." Responded the tall man who's name Alyssa hardened even thought about till then, Derk. "This little cutie is someone's lost pet."

"Not the Kings?" Even's eyes noticing the small bag and sock monkey shoved in it.

"That was the initial thought but after taking her up there..." Derk trailed off remembering what the guard had said. "Not!"

"Well then, I'll have the trainee's practice making lost and found flyers. We'll pass them out and post them up in public places." Even declared as Derk dismounted once within the stables. "She won't stay lost for long, of that I'm sure."

"Yeah right!" Thought sock monkey finally getting to see the man's pot-marked face. "No one is going to be looking for us, at least not for a while."

It was the opposite, for Alyssa's mother was currently looking for them. In that very same town, those she was on the opposite side from them.

"I wonder if Cheshire witch will come?" Alyssa mused to herself, knowing no one would even care. Cheshire had been gone when she woke up, though she did leave tea and cookies for her.

A few days passed as Alyssa followed Derk around the grounds of the station house. The most apparent thing to Alyssa was the officers and trainees did almost everything together. They all lived, trained, cleaned, and ate at the same time. Unless they were married, those men were constantly patrolling the town. Alyssa watched as trainees were made to ride horses, swing swords, fire crossbows, and mend garments as well as other things. The unmentionable things. Even sock monkey took notice of one being able to mend one's own clothes, it tends to come in handy from time to time.

"Derk!" Where are you, man?!" Boomed the voice of a well-muscled man.

"Can I help you, sir?" Derk suddenly popped out from behind a horse stall followed by a little black cat.

"That cat, no one's come for it yet?" The muscular man glared at Alyssa.

"No sir!" Derek followed the man's gaze. "I'm starting to believe that she may have been left behind. She could have belonged to someone who left aboard a ship. Given the trainees have already posted flyers at the docks, though several ships did leave before the postings."

"No one's come to claim her?" muttered the man more to himself than to anyone else.

"Excuse me, sir?" Derk saw his mouth move yet couldn't hear what he'd said.

Turning on his heels to glare at Derk the man gave a slight sneer. "Well, give it a few more days, then off with the beast."

"Off with the beast? What's that supposed to mean?" Thought sock monkey enjoying his view from Alyssa's fluffy back. Sock monkey was watching trainees cleaning stables and washing laundry. It's the little things one tends to miss when they no longer have hands. "Alyssa I think it might be time to shift back to your human form, sooner than later."

"I guess no one is looking for me." Thought Alyssa turning to move deeper into the stables. "Maybe it is time to change back into my human form, that man gives me the creeps."

Noticing the quick little kitten taking off Derk couldn't help but chortle. "Guess she spotted a mouse."

"The rodent population had decreased as of late." Thought the muscular man to himself as he turned to leave. " Maybe we shall keep it."