Flash Fiction #589 -- Buffy the Princess/6

The sun was starting to go down. Where were they even going to sleep tonight? She looked around and decided some big leaves would make beds and blankets. It wasn't that cold, after all.

Thomas returned first. She saw him stand and fight past the waves and up to the sand. He looked pleased to see her.

"Buffy should be back soon," Serena said. "I should have told her to come back before sunset."

"She's smart. She'll -- there she is!" He pointed up at the sky and sounded as relieved as Serena felt. That was kind of sweet.

Buffy made a show of landing, of course. They all hurried into the cover of the plants. Serena gave her leaves for bedding. Buffy didn't much like it, but she looked likely to fall asleep on her paws.

"I think whoever was after us had to be in the east, directing the storm in our direction."

"Yes, that makes sense. There isn't much out that way, though."

"I saw nothing in that direction," Buffy admitted. "I thought I felt a trail of magic heading northward, but it died out, so it was probably an errant wind from the storm."

Both humans agreed.

"How did you end up with one of Queen Anna's special cats?" he asked. "I didn't think she ever parted with any of Empress Fluffy's litters."

They both turned and stared at him.

"Mom brought her home from one of her trips," Serena said. "She was a tiny thing, but Mom said she would make an excellent familiar. She was right."

"Special cats?" Buffy squeaked. She stopped so suddenly that Serena almost tripped over her. "I'm a special cat?"

"I can't imagine you could be anything else," Thomas said while she preened. "You look just like Empress Fluffy Kitty."

"If my mother is Empress Fluffy, then I must be Princess Buffy!"

She laughed with delight and skipped on ahead of them.

"Now you've done it," Serena said with a shake of her head. "And mom brought her home after a long trip. I was just old enough to train with a familiar."

She stopped talking, but they still followed Princess Buffy. Serena sniffed and shook her head.

"Serena?"

"I am worried about what happened to Mom. And to Dad. I am not used to that part, you know. But I want them both back!"

"I'll do my best to help you find them," Thomas promised. He even put a hand on her arm. "They disappeared. I think we didn't because we were inside the hull. That's a good thing, Serena. As worried as you are, I believe we'll be more help out here rather than wherever they were taken."

Serena looked at him and back at Buffy. The cat had stopped prancing, and she returned with a look of determination. Serious, too.

"We will find them," Buffy declared. It might even be a royal 'we' that she used. Serena only nodded, still feeling as lost as she had before. "Look," Buffy said and drew lines in the sand. "We sailed northward from home, most of the time with the shore in view. We were far closer to our destination than to home. The attack came from the east, but I suspect the person behind it was on the mainland, pulling together the storm farther out at sea."

"Someone strong," Thomas said and looked westward, but they were not close enough to see the mainland. "Someone willing to risk being caught, too. We are close enough to home that many people with powers could have caught a hint of it."

"Are there a lot of people with magical ability?" Serena asked.

"Far more than the King realizes," Thomas said, looking around as if he expected someone to hear him. That worried Serena about going to this place, and even Buffy looked uneasy. "It is kind of an open secret with just about everyone else. It is safest to keep quiet about any powers unless someone else shows they have magic. Even then, it would be wise to be quiet."


"The more I hear about life in this castle, the less I think I'll like it," Serena admitted.

"There is a reason why Mom never talked about the castle," Buffy said. "And she clearly doesn't want to live there."

"We should never have wanted to go!"

"The king mentioned, in the middle of a feast, that he wanted to meet you, Serena," Thomas admitted. "We all thought it a bit odd. Personally, I think he did it to annoy the princess gang."

"Who are they?" Buffy asked as he started walking away again.

"They are the topline princesses and related to Serena and me. I mentioned Thina, their leader. There are seven of them. They act as though they run the castle. A couple of them have bored the little magic that I wouldn't trust them very far."

"Could they be behind all of this?"

They walked a few more steps in silence. Then Thomas stopped and sighed. "I don't like to say they're stupid, but all of them are a few gems short of a crown."

Serena didn't ask why Thomas didn't like his cousins, but she felt she wouldn't like them much either. Buffy looked from one to the other and offered nothing, which Serena found both perplexing and worrisome. The cat always had something to say.

Thomas held up a hand and stopped them both. "I think we can find our best cover for the night there in those rocks," he said, pointing towards the boulders set back from the shore. "They look a lot more sturdy than those bushes did. We seem to be mostly out of the wind at this corner of the island. We only have to worry about another storm, but I don't think that will be a problem."