Okay, entry time methinks!
I may have jinxed it by being first, but oh well.
Title: I Remember
Word Count: 1001
Summary: The life of a witch, as reminisced by her cat.
I remember when I was first given to you, my dear little child. You were young, but then again they always are. You pulled my tail and stroked my fur the wrong way and I was so tempted to scratch you. Then I remembered that you were just young and ignorant of your own actions, like I was once, and so I endured it all, telling myself it was only a short matter of time before I was rid of you. As you pulled me onto your bed on that first night and I lay by your feet, that was the thought that I fell asleep clawing at.
Oh how foolish, how wretched was I?
But of course, never quite as foolish as you my dear. You grew up, making the same mistakes as all children do and I was always there to help you. Although for you and I the mistakes were more disastrous, more spectacular. More lethal. Like that purple bottle belonging to your mother, which had always fascinated you. I had warned you never to drink it, or even to open the bottle, but curiosity killed the human: the human phrase has always been a source of amusement for me, but I digress. I had warned you, but you had to go and open it, no matter what the peril. It was still my fault. I watched over you as you lay there, struggling for each breath as your mother scurried around, gathering the items she required to save your life. I sat and watched, using my own power, different that it may be, to slow the poison in your body. It gave your mother enough time to create the antidote. You listened to me from then on, eager to avoid another incident like that. I was glad, for I now knew you and loved you, as I should, even when you pulled my tail.
Well, at least you listened to me most of the time.
But one day you fell in love. With the force of one of those odd mechanical things.. a bulldozer, I think the saying goes. It gets away from me sometimes. Nevertheless it looked painful, the fast pace your heart beat when he entered the room and you saw him. It happened every single time. Yet again I had to warn you, tell you to think about it. That boy, although he was intelligent, bright, charismatic and everything you'd ever whispered to me as a child about your love, he was bad. He was bad for you, his parents were bad, their parents were bad and those before them were bad. Their very souls were ingrained into an era of blood and torment and death and chaos and all he would do was hurt you. But you never listened this time. I was shocked when I heard you utter “No.” Love makes fools of us all. All I could do was hope you weren't the greatest one of all.
But he hurt you so much.
They hurt us all. A rebellion against the council. A bid to return to the old ways, the brutal, deadly ways. You were born into a golden era and you'd never known the danger and the sheer fear. You could never imagine it from the few tales that people reluctantly dredged up from the past. Now you had to experience it first hand. From that boy. No, not a boy, for he had grown up far too powerful to be labelled as such, he had grown up far too twisted and warped to be even related to humanity. That monster tortured you. I could feel your pain as I gathered others to help you, those who could be spared from the battle. But even feeling as you felt could not prepare me for the sight of when I found you. There was not an inch of you uncovered by blood or bruises. Your arm was broken, the white of the bone visible amongst the red and healed around in the wrong place. We had to break it again to set it back, but you never cried. You had cried enough.
You didn't cry when you killed him in their last stand.
You were able to learn from your mistakes, and you grew strong. You took your place in the community and became a leader, a good one at that. You fell in love again and I agreed with you. He was a good man, although you were hesitant at first, you gradually fell in love with him. He never hurt you, although sometimes I worried your sharp words were too much, even for him. In the end, you settled down with him, a pair who loved each other very dearly, who cherished your children. I can't quite say I feel the same about them. The blighters have never stopped pulling my tail. It was fine when it was only you, but then there was twins and then another boy. I thought it was over, and then there was their children. And then their children after that. Why is there all of this fascination with my tail, I pray that you tell me!
Nevertheless, they are a fine, fine family.
And you are my fine, fine family.
Even with your husband gone, succumbed to old age; the near ancient age that your kind reach, we are all still here, at your bedside. You have had a long and good life, and I have been besides you every foot and paw of the way. You have taught me even more about human life and I feel more for you than I have ever felt for anyone before. For this I thank you. Yet I can only agonise on how short your time is in comparison to mine.
But when you are gone, I will always remember you. So very dearly.
Just as I remember those who came before you.
And will remember all of those who come after you.
Forever.
