Eliza Twitchel & The Haunted Forest

Eliza Twitchel & The Haunted Forest--Chapter 17

                                    That's No Dryad

Crius padded quietly along an empty upstairs hallway in Castle Malwyrn, his broad head sweeping side-to-side, golden eyes searching. The werecat stopped and listened.  A deep growl rumbled in his throat. His tail twitched in agitation.

The clang of shackles caused his head to turn. A servant came around a corner, her arms laden with bed linins. She stopped in her tracks at the sight of the large cat, backed up a step, then turned and hurried back the way she came.

Stupid woman, Crius thought as he continued up the hallway, his claws clicking on the marble floor. In all his years in the castle, not once had he harmed any of the queen's menials—regardless of her daily threats that he would rip them limb from limb if they did not perform their duties to her satisfaction.  He was a warrior. Why would he waste his skills on those unable to defend themselves when there were others more deserving.

He stopped at a closed door and listened. His ears twitched at the sound of sobbing coming from behind the door.  Rising up on his hind legs, he transformed from the huge black panther into a creature neither cat nor human but something in between:  Tall and muscular, covered in short black fur, with powerful arms ending in sharp claws. Almond-shaped golden eyes glinted out of a black furry face.

Crius rapped softly on the door.  The sobbing stopped at once. Footsteps clicked heavily over a stone floor. The door opened to reveal Queen Grimmina's tear-streaked green face. Red-rimmed violet eyes glared at the werecat.

"What is it!" she snapped.

Crius bowed his head. "Forgive me, my queen," his deep voice rumbled. "The ogre has returned."

Grimmina wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.  "Alone?"

"No, my queen."

Grimmina opened the door, revealing a blood red gown and a necklace of large emeralds. She straightened her back. "Where are they?"

"In the banquet hall." Crius stepped back as Grimmina left the chamber, closing the door behind her. His eyes caught a glimpse of the baby nursery beyond. "Have you not mourned enough? When will you put the past where it belongs?"

Grimmina glared up at Crius, her eyes blazing.  "You forget your place, Crius."

The werecat stared back, unfazed by the queen's anger.  "No, my queen: Knowing my place is something I have never forgotten."

Crius dropped to all fours as he reverted to the large panther. He quietly padded up the hallway, his tail swishing back and forth.

Grimmina watched the big cat with clenched fists and a set jaw. She turned and stormed down the hallway in the opposite direction.

The queen descended a wide staircase and crossed an open foyer where three elf women knelt, scrubbing the marble floor with stiff-bristled brushes dipped in a pail of water.  As Grimmina neared, one woman panicked and backed into a pedestal holding a blue porcelain vase infused with gold veins.  The vase fell and shattered into a hundred pieces.

Grimmina stopped and stared at the shards littering the floor.  The woman trembled as she bowed her head.  She clasped her hands together.

"Forgive me, my queen!" she cried.  "It was an accident!  Have mercy!"

"My father the king brought that vase back from a voyage across the Djinn's Furnace.  It was a gift for my mother—and quite irreplaceable."

Another maidservant stepped forward, her head bowed and knees quaking, a scrub brush clenched in her hand. "Please, your majesty. We will work day and night to repay the loss of such a precious gift."