Kalli glared at the cat as she took another bite of monster meat. With her mouth half full of food, she asked, “Fwy are you Fowing?”

The cat gave an indignant snort and said, “I do wish you would take this just a little more serious, young lady.”

I flicked a bean at the cat, which it sidestepped and then I said, “How about you explain yourself so we can decide for ourselves if it’s serious.”

Kalli replied through mate chat. Thank you!

Orpheus heaved a sigh and said, “Very well. I do not believe the magic was in error when you sent Kalli back to her home. I had a hunch and you just confirmed it. Well, not one hundred percent, but this is a very large piece of the puzzle.”

Kalli swallowed her food and asked. “What are you trying to say? Was I born in Kalliville?”

The cat gave a weak laugh, still bowing his head. “Perhaps. Not here specifically. You see, I believe the place you were born was destroyed. It is the very same place that Melvin sent me today. I speak of Celestea Castle, which is a week’s march to the south. It has been abandoned for over a decade since it was decimated during the Three Days War.”

“There was a war?” I asked, suddenly curious about the history of the dark lands. “What does that have to do with Kalli?”

Orpheus paced back and forth as he replied. “If my hunch is correct, then all of this has everything to do with her. You see, nobody knows what happened to the royal family. They went missing twelve years ago. The queen, the king, and the princess. She would have been four at that time.”

Kalli snorted, spraying bits of food on the cat. He spluttered. “My lady, honestly. Have you no manners?”

“Not really,” Kalli muttered. “Manners don’t fill your belly in an orphanage.”

I laughed at her comment, causing Kalli to turn the scowl on me. Not you too!

Sorry. I’m on your side. It’s just funny.

The truth was, that was one of my favorite things about Kalli. While she wasn’t troll levels of disgusting like Orpheus was implying, she didn’t care about what other people thought about her. Kalli was real, and for some odd reason, she chose to like me.

We both watched the cat as he carefully chose his words. “My humblest apologies. I should have taken into consideration what you’ve been through. I am truly sorry that I wasn’t there for you.”

“Why would you be?” Kalli asked, raising an eyebrow.

Orpheus made a sound like he was clearing his throat. His mouth didn’t move which made the effect look strange. “Ahem, it was my duty to protect you. I was distracted and failed.”

He looked miserable, hindering my earlier desire to tease him. I was still curious, so I asked, “How were you distracted?”

The more we discussed his past, the more closed off the cat became. Just when I thought he was done talking, he spoke. “I, um, I put a personal matter ahead of the throne. A decision that I regret deeply. I do not expect forgiveness. Especially not from the princess.”

Kalli and I looked at one another, unsure of whether or not to push the matter. She speared another slice of monster meat and said, “Don’t worry about it. Even if I am the princess, I don’t remember it, so I’m not mad. I am sure your personal business must have been very important to draw you away.”

The cat heaved a sigh, causing a meatball to roll off Kalli’s plate. She glared at Orpheus, who took a step back after realizing what he’d done. Sliding her plate out of the way, I offered mine to Kalli.

Turning my attention back to Orpheus, I said, “You know, where I’m from, it’s bad manners for cats to sit on the table. Is that your only form?”

“Of course not.” The cat snickered, hopping off of the table. “I agree that it was bad form to climb up there. I did so in my excitement.”

“Why don’t you use your other form and sit at the table properly. Something more human perhaps?” Kalli said between mouthfuls of food.

I began making another plate as Orpheus replied. “Alas, I have sworn to remain in this form until the day comes when I can make things right.”

“How do you propose to do that?” I asked, interested in where he was going with his reasoning.

“Revenge!” He practically snarled the word.

Composing himself, Orpheus began licking his paw. “I cannot speak of it. While I do trust the two of you, it is impossible to know who is listening to this conversation. You will know if and when the time comes.”

Kalli leaned over to pat the cat on the head. “If you mean to avenge my parents, don’t worry about it. I don’t think they would want you to suffer for them. You shouldn’t live in the past. You will never be happy that way.”

“Thank you, my lady.” The cat replied, purring at Kalli’s touch. “Unfortunately, life isn’t always so simple. They took everything from me.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes. Kalli and I ate while Orpheus paced on the ground. He didn’t appear to want to leave, so I asked, “Can you tell us about this Three Days War? What happened that caused the Kingdom of Celestea to fall so quickly?”

“It was a Queendom.” The cat corrected me. “Celestea was always ruled by the queen. The magic only accepts a female heir who takes up the mantle along with the name, Celestea. I am still not sure how they got in. Someone on the inside betrayed us. That is the only explanation that I can come up with. The magic died with the royal family on that day, or so I thought. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that the princess could have survived.”

“I still don’t think I’m a princess,” Kalli said, sighing wistfully. “I think you have the wrong girl.”

Orpheus jumped back on the table, startling Kalli. “There is a way to find out. You would have to trust me though.”

“Explain,” Kalli said, setting her fork down to give the cat her full attention.

He sat and explained, “If you accompany me to the ruins of the castle, the magic will acknowledge your royal lineage and grant you your inheritance.”

“We refuse!” I barked, debating whether to shoo the cat off of the table. “That is obviously a trap.”

Turning to face me, Kalli had a frown on her face. Mel, I think I want to go see it, this place where I was maybe born.

We don’t know this cat.

She sighed. I know but I don’t think he would hurt me.

Fine.

Looking at the cat, I said, “We will go with you on two conditions. The first is that I am going too. No exceptions. Matter of fact, we are taking some guards just in case you pull a fast one.”

“Done,” Orpheus said. “And your second condition?”

Taking a deep breath, I said, “You need to swear on your core that you will never betray Kalli. I will make sure it’s binding so that you will die if you do. I’m afraid I just can’t trust you otherwise.”

“And Melvin!” Kalli blurted out. “You have to swear to never hurt him. Or die as he said.”

I smiled at Kalli.

I don’t need that clause. Your safety is fine. You are his princess. He will make this oath if he truly believes.

She shook her head, giving me a stubborn look. That’s exactly why he has to swear not to hurt you. If he thinks I’m a princess, he wouldn’t hurt me anyway. That doesn’t mean you’re safe.

“Done,” Orpheus replied, surprising us both.

Initializing a magic contract with a death penalty was something I had never done to another person before. A part of me wished that Kiki was with me to help me write it but it felt more natural to make it a sworn oath, bound by mana.

To do so, I decided to push my mana into the cat and get a closer look at his core. The first thing I noticed was that the Orpheus in front of me was a projection created entirely out of mana.

At first, I thought the cat was some kind of a clone but when I followed the mana channels, it led to a core. A large furry black orb hung in the darkness, nearly impossible to see. The only motion I detected were several black tails that swished around it. They too were difficult to see in the darkness. Orpheus was real, just not in his true form.

I spoke to him as I pondered how best to go about forcing a contract on his core. “Do you swear that you will never betray either Kalli or me? This includes the people under our protection as well. And will you do everything in your power to keep us from harm?”

The cat shook in my arms as Orpheus laughed. “That’s a bit of a stretch, isn’t it? Very well, though. I vow to do everything I can, within reason, to make sure that neither of you comes to harm. I swear to never betray either of you or your people. However, if either of you should turn to evil, I reserve the right to bring you to justice.”

I laughed while attempting to wrap my mana around his core. “Who gets to decide how you define evil?”

“Technically, I do,” Orpheus explained. “While the magic will go by my code of justice, I can’t just pretend you are evil. I must truly believe it or the accord will kill me.”

“Fair enough,” I replied, touching his core with my mana.

FORCED CONTRACT INITIATED

ANALYZING VOW

THE FOLLOWING TRAITS HAVE BEEN ADDED:

NEW TRAIT: Do no harm[Melvin Murphy]

NEW TRAIT: Do no harm[Kalliphae Murphy]

NEW TRAIT: Death Penalty[Orpheus Medius]

My mana made several circuits around the core before becoming impossibly tight, clinging to both the core and the tails. I sat there in silence for a moment, admiring how his black core contrasted with my glowing white mana. Then, his core suddenly reacted to my presence, forcing me from the cat and sending me flying backward.

Kalli, expecting me to be expelled, caught me in her arms. Did it work?

NEW TRAIT ACQUIRED: [CATLIKE DEXTERITY]

I looked up at Kalli, giving her a smile of reassurance.

Yep. He’s honor-bound not to hurt us.

She giggled. What does [Catlike Dexterity] do?

Dusting myself off as I stood up, I replied.

I don’t know but I’m sure we will find out. We always do.

Not waiting for me to figure it out, Kalli took a running start right at the village wall. When she got there she jumped, kicking off of the wall two times before she scaled the top fifteen feet off of the ground. Then she shrieked as she toppled over the other side, overshooting her goal.

Realizing that she was going to fall, I teleported to her. I appeared on the ground below her, looking up in time to see her butt as it crashed into me.

Oof!

Kalli quickly climbed off of me and helped me sit up. I’m so sorry, Mel. I got a little carried away trying our new skill. I didn’t mean to hurt you.

I rubbed my head tenderly, secretly enjoying the fact that Kalli’s butt had just made contact.

It’s okay. I’m thick-boned.

She punched my shoulder playfully. Hey! I know what you were thinking about.

Not wanting to risk another skill malfunction, we walked around the wall to the village entrance arm in arm. Orpheus sat waiting when we arrived. “Well, it appears that I am honor-bound to the two of you. Are you ready to see where you were born, Kalliphae?”

Kalli looked to me for reassurance. I gave her a nod of encouragement and she said, “Let’s go. Show me Celestea.”