Chapter Four
A New Challenge
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Van froze as the sight before him truly sank in. Instead of the hulking monster
with fangs dripping blood that he had expected, he found himself looking at a
girl. And a small girl, at that. She sat on her haunches a scant few feet away,
calmly licking at her hand.

Her ears stuck out from an unruly mop of pink hair that fell several inches past
her shoulders. The thing that really caught his attention, though, was her tail.
It was long and thin, with dark stripes marking the entire length. At that
moment, it was curled around her feet but he could see the very tip flicking
back and forth, back and forth.

The sight was almost hypnotic in a way, and Van found himself inching forward to
get a better look. He barely managed to stop before her gave himself away.
Slipping back around the corner, he leaned against the wall.

He had seen beast people before, of course. They were fairly common in Fanelia
and its surrounding forests. But he had never seen one so close-up, or so young.
If he remembered what Master Josias had droned about them one day, the younger
members of the families were usually sheltered until they were his age or older.
It was their parents' way of keeping them safe while they taught them how to
take care of themselves.

Van thought that that was probably a good thing, especially if they were going
to be around others who thought like his tutor. The entire lecture had been
littered with phrases like "dumb animals" and "horrid creatures, really". That
had helped Van's vague annoyance with the man edge closer to full blown dislike.
He wondered what Master Josias would have to say about his own less than pure
heritage.

Shrugging that thought off, Van put himself back on track. Could that girl be
the person who had been in his room? And if she was, why? For that matter, what
she doing in the castle's kitchen now? Did anyone else know she was here?

Question after question filled his mind, and Van knew he wouldn't be able to
rest until he got some answers. But how was he supposed to get those answers?
Who exactly could he ask about the mysterious girl?

The small bit of her clothing that he had been able to see had shown it to be
made out of a plain, serviceable fabric like most of the maids wore. That
pointed towards her being a commoner. That meant he would have to ask someone of
the same station if he wanted information.

Van frowned as he went over his short list of options. All of them had one
drawback or another. His asking about her would be sure to raised questions
aimed back at him. They would want to know where and when he had seen her. That
would lead to the obvious query as to what he was doing creeping around the
halls in the middle of the night. Leaning his head against the wall, he fought a
sigh. All those factors really only left him with one choice.

He was going to have to talk to the girl himself.

~*~

Merle carefully cleaned all traces of her meal from her hands and face. Her tail
swished contentedly against the floor as she savored the absence of hunger
pains. It wasn't a full stomach, but it had been too long to remember since
she'd felt that particular sensation. As far as she was concerned, this was just
as good.

Finished with her washing, she stretched both arms high over her head. The chase
from just moments before had been short, but her muscles were still sore from
the previous night. All that running and slamming into things had taken a toll,
some aspects of which had become very clear when she'd slipped out of bed
earlier that day.

Slumping down a bit, Merle sighed. For all that she had embraced her new life,
the nights were still far from entertaining. Aside from the brief pursuits,
there was little to break up the monotony of the long hours until sunrise. That
was probably why her mind seemed intent on reliving the night be fore's
out-of-bounds excursion. It was the first exciting and different thing to happen
to her since her chance meeting with Balgus.

Forcibly resurrecting her "think positive" strategy, Merle slowly got to her
feet. There had to be something she could do to keep herself occupied. She had
just begun compiling a list of activities that wouldn't get her in trouble when
she heard it. It was a subtle sound, nothing more than a mere whisper of
movement.

She froze. Now that she was focusing, she could make out the faint sound of
slow, even breaths. There was someone else in the room! Without really wanting
to, she slowly turned towards the noise.

Just as Merle finished turning, a head popped around the corner. A quiet yelp
escaped her before she could stop it. She got one glimpse of dark hair and dark
eyes and instinct took over. In less than a second, she turned on her heel and
took off. The other person yelled something after her, but there was no way she
was going to stop. All she could think was that someone had found out about the
night before, that she was caught.

Suddenly, all the hours with nothing to do but explore came in handy. She knew
every crevice and cubbyhole in the kitchen, and she was about to put that
knowledge to good use. Slipping around a cabinet and ducking under a table, she
found herself by the large pantries. Scrambling inside, she shivered as the
cooler air hit her skin. At the far end, there was a square of empty space,
ready for the next morning's milk delivery.

Curling into a ball, she huddled in that corner, willing herself to breath as
quietly as she could. She squeezed her eyes shut so tightly she saw flashes of
light, and waited.

Footsteps crossed the kitchen, advancing and then retreating as the other person
looked for her. She almost jumped out of her skin when they spoke.

"I'm not going to hurt you." The voice was young, but obviously belonged to a
boy. "You can come out. I just want to talk." Merle didn't move.

There was a sigh of exasperation. "I just want to know why you're here, and if
it was you in my room last night."

She swallowed hard. It was the person from the night before. She was really
going to be in for it now. He would tell Laurinda, and Laurinda would tell that
nasty tutor, and he would have her thrown out of the castle just when she was
finally getting used to it. She had known the thin man hated her on sight, and
he would probably enjoy tossing her out. People would gather around to yell and
throw things at her as she scurried away, just like the villagers had when she
was younger.

Merle was so wrapped up in that memory that she jumped when the boy sighed
loudly. Her shoulder brushed into a jar, bumping it into the one sitting next to
it. The soft clink sounded horribly loud to her ears, and she cringed.
But the boy spoke as if her hadn't heard it. "Well, fine. If you aren't gonna
come out, I'm not gonna waste all night talking to myself." The irritated
declaration was quickly followed by footsteps leaving the room. For long moments
after the sound faded away, Merle remained in her hiding place. She could hardly
believe that she had gotten off so easily. Maybe the boy would leave her alone,
now that he knew she wasn't going to jump at his orders.

With a soft sigh, she slipped from her hiding spot and headed towards the door.
She could only hope this would be the boy's first and last late night visit to
the kitchens.

~*~

If there was one thing that Van Fanel wasn't, it was a quitter. He had won more
than one argument with Folken simply by refusing to give in. When there was
something he truly wanted, nothing would stop him from going after it with
everything he had. Finding out who the jumpy little cat girl was had just become
his top priority.

He hadn't even spoken when she took off like an orange streak, ducking under
tables and around corners. It was instantly clear that she knew her way around,
which probably meant she'd spent a good bit of time in that room. While that
answered one question, it made another even more imperative. Why?

He'd made several laps around the room, trying to coax her into coming out. It
didn't take long to realize that that was a lost cause. She had some reason she
was trying to keep away from him, and a few words from him weren't going to
change that. Frustration at coming so close only to be thwarted made him sigh
heavily. That was when he heard the noise. It had taken him a moment to place
it, but the sound of bottles clinking was something he'd heard many times. A sly
smile had crossed his face as he figured out her hiding place.

Van knew she would stay in the pantry for as long as it took for him to go away.
As far as he knew, she could wait all night. He, unfortunately, didn't have that
much time. If he wasn't back in bed before sunup, this would be his last late
night foray for a long time to come.

Thinking back on the things he had overheard by listening in on Folken's
training, he tried to come up with some sort of plan. A look that the maids had
come to know and fear crossed his face and he smiled. Trying to sound as annoyed
as possible, he mumbled something about not wasting his time and stomped back
the way he had come in. Making it to the door, he stopped, and then retraced his
steps as silently as he could.

A split second decision had him leaning against the wall beside the pantry door
rather than charging in. He hadn't had any close contact with a cat girl before,
but he'd heard stories about their wickedly sharp claws and teeth. If he could,
he'd rather avoid being turned into a chew toy.

Not that he was scared, of course.

Van chewed his lower lip as he waited, practically holding his breath. It took
almost longer than his nerves could stand, but then he heard the soft sound of
movement. The steps were slow and cautious as they came closer to the door. Van
prepared to act.

When he figured she should be just a few steps from the door, he finally took
action. In a move he hoped was too quick for her to see coming, he turned so
that he was completely blocking the doorway, cutting off her only exit. He
braced an arm on either side of the doorframe and spread his feet to help hold
his position.

He had been expecting the short scream that came next, so it was no surprise.
What he hadn't expected was for the girl to come barreling forward. The
startling action brought her slamming forcefully into the center of his chest,
knocking the air from his lungs. His hands automatically dropped from the
doorframe to grab at the girl's arms.

It was the wrong move to make. Without the added support of his grip, Van found
himself teetering off balance. The wiggling of his captive as she tried to get
free didn't help matters. With an almost detached air, he acknowledged what was
almost destined to happen. One extra hard twist from the cat girl and Van felt
himself start to fall backwards. He squeezed his eyes shut and tightened his
grip as he waited for the impact.

The kitchen's stone floors did not make for a soft landing. Van could feel more
than one battered limb that was going to be sporting a few new bruises come
morning. Opening his eyes to inspect the damage, he immediately froze. Two large
unblinking blue eyes stared back at him, their owner sprawled halfway across his
chest.

The both moved at the same time. She scrambled to the left, managing to send her
elbow into his stomach in the process. Gasping slightly, Van was able to get a
new grip on her wrist even as he clambered to his knees. They were less than a
foot apart, linked only by his hand.

Several long moments passed, and he was surprised when the girl made no effort
to escape. Coming to a decision, Van slowly released his grip, letting his arm
drop to his side. She didn't so much as flick an eyelash.

For the first time since meeting her face-to-face, he felt a bit of hope. Maybe
she had finally realized that she had nothing to be afraid of. Letting some of
his good mood show on his face, he smiled.

"I'm Van."

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