Chapter 25 - Purrfect

"Rest for now. I will have food for you all. I can feel your hunger. I am Goddess Kiterina. By entering this area of safety and protection, you are choosing to accept me as your goddess. If you still wish to follow me, I will promise no hunger shall ever bother you again."

"You don't intend to kill us, to remove our hunger, do you?" asked one of the blue fairies. His face looked worn, and tired.

"No, I will never kill one of my followers!" she snarled at the thought.

The orc before her, glanced up in surprise. "You truly must be a goddess!"

"Why do you say that?"

"No one can understand the fey folk."

Kiterina looked at the orc for a moment, they around at the other creatures. It never occurred to her that they might all speak different languages. She had heard them all, clearly, as if they spoke her language. Though as she thought about it, they did all sound different.

"Must we change, as your original followers, if we choose to follow you?" asked another of the blue fey.

Turning her head in confusion, she noticed Timmy at the door. He was looking down at his hands, then he looked up at her. His eyes had changed to slits, much as a cat's eye. He had grown feline ears, and two wings fluttered slowly over his shoulders. Dangling between his legs, she could see a tail, waving back and forth. For a moment, she wondered if it would be just as chaotic as her own, but then focused back on the situation at hand.

"Goddess?" he asked, in a soft mewling voice, then he noticed all the creatures scattered around the house, and stopped to stare.

Jumping over those at her feet, she landed next to him, and sniffed his hair. Could it have been when she marked him? Turning into the house, she sought out the three young men, and found them talking to each other, joking, at the table.

"Are you kitten me?"

"You stop that right meow!"

"What are we doing with our lives?"

"That's purrfect."

As she watched, ears began to grow on their heads, and then tails and wings sprouted. Claws sprung out of the tips of their hands, which became more muscular and powerful.

"Goddess?" they all turned to her, in surprise.

"I have chosen you to be my personal servants," she explained, realizing the truth in it. "Timmy shall be my Most High Servant, and the three of you my Most High Guards."

"And what of us?" asked Henry, standing with his arm around Rose.

"Would you follow me unto your graves?" she asked curiously. She knew they would, but also knew that she required them to voice it.

Henry looked at Rose, who nodded. "Yes, I think so," he said.

Walking up to them, she rubbed her head against them, making sure her scent was firmly entrenched on them. It would take a bit for the transformation to go into effect.

"I would prefer to remain human until I can fetch my family," said Stan.

"Then you may go to do that."

"Where will you be?" he asked, before leaving.

Looking down, she knew she had to make a decision. She needed to feed and care for those outside the house as well.

"Give me a moment," she said, returned to the door.

"Tell me what you know about the situation with the Demon King and the humans."

They all looked at each other, before turning to her. She could hear their thoughts, gathering the information she needed, but not to be too rude, she waited for them to all speak at once, then pause in confused embarrassment.

"It is alright, I appreciate your thoughts. They explain much. Transforming will be a personal decision for my followers. I am quite partial to those who are closest to me going through the change, but for the rest, they may remain what they are."

Ignoring the confused looks and murmurs between them, she turned back. The Demon King had been dead for years. The humans were capturing them, calling them demons, despite not being demons at all. It was all a ruse to cheat the human people of their money and to keep them under control using fear. They would gather the human men, who would be most likely to cause trouble should they learn the truth, and send them off to fight fake enemies, and conveniently kill them. The human king was actually the one who needed to die.

Kiterina wondered if the mage who had brought her here, knew the truth, and that was why he had tried so hard to capture her when she declared that she needed to take out the Demon King. That would definitely explain why he had gone to such lengths to try and capture her.

Smiling to herself, it amazed her, how much a person would talk in front of slaves he thought would soon be dead. Especially, when he thought they didn't understand him. The most interesting part, was the comment, that guard had made in front of the slave cages, about how the human king had lived for an unusually long time.

"Rose, I need you to cook everything you have left, that is edible. Make soups, they should stretch further. Henry, I need you to go with Lee, James, and Mike to the barn, and outfit it for those outside to rest in. Their wounds have been healed, but they are still exhausted.

"Stan, you may go in search of your family. We will be heading towards the mountains as soon as everyone has had a chance to rest. There is much to do, but you are welcome to wait and travel with us part of the way. It is still dangerous outside of the barrier until the human drivers disperse."

Stan nodded, then followed the others outside. Kiterina turned and looked at Tommy. He looked cute with cat ears.

"I will help Rose feed everyone," he said softly, still looking at his hands. She lay down next to the fire, in amusement. She knew he would get used to his new look. The thought that he didn't like it, never occurred to her.