by SJ McGarry
The modest castle sat back in among a forest of trees that grew around the borders surrounding the one hundred acres of secluded land. Tall evergreens and dormant gardens, now sleeping nestled within a blanket of snow, created a mystical setting, like a castle in an enchanted forest during the times of knights and dragons.
"Well, here we are," King Johan announced as he pushed a button that unlocked the safety seat mold from his form. The side doors of the Airstream glided to open in an upward position. "Wait here, Megan, while I summon Konan to help carry in the flowers and luggage. I'll come back and help you and Nella."
He leaned over, kissing her on the cheek, and then placed a light kiss on the top of Nella's head. Stepping out of the flying machine with Scruffy on his heels, he exited the hanger and walked up the pathway to the side entrance of the castle. Johan pressed his index finger on the security keypad; the sensor turned green, and the portal slid open.
Scruffy rushed into the castle yipping, “She's here, she's here," running through the rooms like a train with brake failure. The loud clicking of her feet gave warning as she barreled towards the family's entertainment room and missed colliding into the large cage that housed Cluck-Cluck.
Cluck-Cluck was the Royal Family's birdbot and a cousin of the Bennu, a sacred bird linked with the sun, creation, and birth. He earned his name because he made a clucking sound in his throat. Over thousands of years, Cluck-Cluck had developed a rather extensive vocabulary in all known languages in the Universe, and he showed off his knowledge often.
Bright gold feathers adorned the top of his head, and brilliant white covered his body. His massive wings measured about an eight-foot span. Beautiful tones of deep blues, bold reds, dark greens, royal purple, and vivid yellows graced the eyes of an observer, reminding one of the colors in a rainbow.
"What's the ruckus about?" Cluck-Cluck squawked at the top of his lungs. "Call the space control, watch out! A deranged dogbot is loose in the castle, call the space control! Squawk. Squawk!"
Scruffy ran and jumped up on the sofa placed next to Cluck-Cluck's impressive cage, which looked like a mini replica of the castle. A rectangle-shaped metal platform supported the base of the structure. A pole rose upward, where Cluck-Cluck perched on a petrified wooden dowel while enjoying his meals, cracking seeds and devouring fruit.
Queen Megan instructed one of their pet-vets to clip his wings to prevent him from flying off too far but, this did not inhibit him since he could use his magic to go anywhere, he liked. Cluck-Cluck only went along with the charade to keep normalcy within the castle and not compromise his undercover position as a member of the special-ops group of 'Fur and Feather Warriors' assigned to protect the Princess. He had no plans of going anywhere unless he received direct orders from King Montrobius of the Centaurian Empire.
Cluck enjoyed the freedom of flying throughout the castle. The beautiful winding stairs, crystal candelabras, and ornate statues always gave new meaning to maneuverability. There was never a need to hunt for food as the castle’s chef supplied him with a special daily platter filled with all the treats fit for a king. Yes, castle life was good, and Cluck-Cluck knew it.
"She's here," Scruffy yipped with excitement. "Wait till you see her. The Princess is beautiful. She even used her BC to talk with me."
Cluck-Cluck cocked his head to one side. His eyes started a fast whirling motion and then stopped dead center, glaring at Scruffy. "Well, what did she say?"
"Not too much," Scruffy replied. "She fell asleep."
"Well that sounded like quite an interesting conversation," Cluck-Cluck squawked out an imitation of the Queen’s laugh.
Cluck-Cluck and Scruffy stopped their banter at once when they heard the voices filtering in from outside the castle. The King was giving Konan instructions on how to secure the wings of the plane and requesting that he bring up all the flowers and luggage to the royal nursery.
Scruffy laughed to herself and let out a couple of involuntary yips. As if Konan, the highest and most feared warrior on the planet, would not know how to secure the wings of the plane, she mused.
The King and Queen’s footsteps echoed against the stone path heading toward the castle entrance, so Scruffy sent her BC warning in her best bossy yip. "Now be quiet, Cluck-Cluck, so you don't alert King Johan, Queen Megan, or Konan."
"You don't have to worry about me. Your loud yap would wake up the hardest-of-hearing alien tubers worms on Mars!"
As Scruffy and Cluck-Cluck continued their BC banter with one another, the security energy that allowed entrance to the central part of the castle appeared, spiraling around to an open position. Scruffy and Cluck-Cluck went barreling through the opening before it closed. They could hear the King and Queen whispering as they glided up the automated staircase to the nursery, with Nella cuddled in the safety of her mother's arms.
Meanwhile, Kisa and Purry, the Royal Family's pet astrocats, rushed up the side steps beside the automated staircase. They passed King Johan and Queen Megan and dashed into the nursery ahead of them, not wanting to miss all the excitement.
Kisa, a Russian-blue male astrocat, earned his name because he always tried to kiss everyone he met. The name "Kisa" meant "Little Kitten" in Russian but, it also looked like the Earth word "kiss." He had taken part in a joint mission long ago when a Russian spacecraft from Earth which happened to land on Centaurius. The Russians presented Kisa as a gift, and he became a permanent member and a part of the Fur and Feather Warriors of the Royal Family.
Kisa was exquisite and handsome for an astrocat. He was slender, and his fur so smooth, it looked like a lake shimmering in the moonlight. Golden, slanted eyes gave one the feeling he could look deep into a person's soul. His body, lean and regal, much like his ancestors of Tpyge, he sat tall and majestic as any royal king.
The Royal Family's second astrocat was Kisa's wife, Purry. She was of a mixed alien breed and did not seem to have any magical powers, much to her dismay.
During one of Centaurius' space expeditions, the crew of Titan 1 found Purry in an abandoned meteor field on a distant rogue planet and left to die. Somehow, she found enough strength to keep catching the alien tuber worms that would surface at night on the barren world. The crew cut through a crater field where they discovered Purry. They found half of her body covered in soot, still alive but with severe head trauma. They brought her back to the ship to clean her wounds. The flight medical officer ended up flushing out the gash that required twelve stitches and gave her antibiotics.
Upon the Titan 1s return to Centaurius, Norhann, the captain took Purry to the castle to let King Johan decide what they should do with her. He summoned the petvet, and Queen Megan set eyes on the injured astrocat, the rest became history. The name ‘Purry’ stuck with the astrocat since she had a loud purr, like the sound of an idling Astrojet.
Purry's fur was a mixture of colors likened to slate, buttercups, and snow. Four white paws made it look like she was wearing boots, and they were always prancing around to a four-step rhythm. It was comical, considering her ballooned size. She had a fascinating spray of white and yellow freckles only on the right side of her sweet face, which surrounded long whiskers that serve as sensory radar probes. She was a loveable astrocat, but skittish around little aliens because of her near-death experience. Her meow sounded like the coo of a dove.
"You should have Konan take Kisa and Purry down to their room," Megan said to Johan.
"I believe you're right, not that they would hurt Nella, but their curiosity gets the best of them sometimes. I'll do it myself, as Konan is busy bringing in the luggage and placing the flowers in various rooms throughout the castle."
Kisa dashed out the door before King Johan could grab him.
"You little scallywag, come back here Kisa," Johan laughed.
"Quick, Purry, run," Kisa screeched in mid-flight. "They will lock us up in our room, and then we will miss meeting with the Princess. We don’t have time to spare!"
Poor Purry. She tried to run but kne
w she would not make it in time, so she did the next best maneuver. She fell to the floor, rolled over, and raised her four paws towards the ceiling in surrender. "I'm sorry Kisa, I wasn't fast enough. I'll catch up with you later," Purry meowed, as the King bent down to pick her up into his arms.
"That's a good girl, Purry," King Johan gave positive reinforcement, scratching her belly. He picked her up in an attempt to carry her back down the staircase. "Purry¸ you need to go on a diet soon. You're getting much too heavy to carry!" He sat Purry down on the floor in the astrocat room. It was a room decorated with the word fun in mind. The walls boasted of small paw-print wallpaper, and a variety of fun tubes, pedestals and high stands for them to exercise and play, stretch or enjoy snooze with the sun’s caress. Various star clusters were visible on the ceiling, a replica of formations within the Andromeda Galaxy, which boasted in beauty when the lights were turned off.
Shutting the door behind him, King Johan turned to search for Kisa. One thing he knew was that both astrocats were notorious for disappearing on a whim. "I couldn't find Kisa, but he'll surface sooner or later," King Johan said to Megan as he entered the nursery.
Both Megan and Johan stood in silence, watching their little daughter as she slept.
"She's beautiful Megan, and she has your nose and mouth." A smile claimed his face while pulling Megan closer to him.
"Yes, I agree, but she has your sparkling eyes and noble chin," Megan responded, resting her head against his solid shoulder. They stood there a moment, both daydreaming, and both wondering what the future held for their beautiful baby girl.
King Johan walked over to the window that overlooked a peaceful garden area. Evergreen trees circled formal walkways around a beautiful gazebo where one could sit and read or meditate on the beauty of nature. At the garden's entrance was an elegant fountain ensconced in marble, containing four beautiful winged cherubs. It now slumbered. After the last of winter's frost melted, the water would spring to life and flow once again through the golden containers each cherub held, symbolizing and welcoming spring's promises of a new genesis.
Raising the window about a quarter of the way up to let in the fresh breeze, the smell of the pine trees drifted into the room. He took a deep breath, enjoying the morning. It was warmer than usual for a beautiful snowy day, being the third day of the twelfth Centaurian ring of time, which was much like winter on Earth. Today felt more like the fourth ring of a Centaurian spring day.
Once he checked the BMS, Baby Monitoring System, to make sure it was operable and armed, he turned and saw a beautiful sight he would always cherish forever in his memory. An aura in the shape of a heart surrounded mother and daughter. Reluctant to end the beautiful scene before him, he cleared his throat in an attempt to keep his emotions in check and whispered, “Let’s try to get something to eat while Nella is sleeping. We might not get the chance later.”
CHAPTER 15
Fur and Feathered Warriors
Kisa’s head appeared from underneath the dresser where he had been hiding as he heard the king and queen's footsteps fade down the stairs, Scruffy poked her nose around the corner of the doorway to the room to make sure the coast was clear.
"Quick," Kisa yelled, "go find Purry and Cluck-Cluck. Have them meet here in the nursery. Hurry, we have little time!"
Scruffy ran back down the stairs, claws clicking across the marble floor and darted through the pet door at the back entrance of the kitchen. Running as fast as she could, she came to a stop underneath the open window of Kisa and Purry's room.
"Hey Scruff, what's happening?"
Panting double time, Scruffy repeated the message. "Kisa said to meet in the nursery and to hurry before the King and Queen return."
Since someone locked the door, Purry's eyes scanned the only choice of an exit, and a wave of terror rumbled through her body. Having doubts to her ability to climb the tall tree with all the weight she had put on during the winter, she moved to the edge of the windowsill and with much effort & faith, leaped, landing on a tree limb attempting to keep her balance. She moved to the tree's main trunk. Her front and back legs hugged the tree as if it was her long-lost cousin from the famous astrocat city.
Inch by inch she started her slow upward climb. By the time she reached the nursery window, her fur had stuck to her body like molasses. It was challenging to grasp a firm hold on anything since the aliens had yanked out her claws.
Scruffy ran back inside the castle through the petbot portal, her paws once again clicking and her pom-pom tail wiggling at high speed as she scampered across the marble floor. Making a wild dash to the family room, she found Cluck-Cluck's concentrating on a hardwood dowel while practicing his splintering techniques.
“Cluck-Cluck, Kisa says for you to meet in the nursery ASAP so we can talk with the princess and don't squawk!”
"I heard you. Don't wind your pompom in a knot," Cluck-Cluck cackled. He spread and flapped his wings, sending seeds and fruit cores flying everywhere causing Scruffy to sneeze.
"Shush, I told you not to squawk,"
"Oh, shush yourself!" countered Cluck-Cluck as he went airborne up the stairs to the nursery unaided by his magical powers yet unknown to anyone in the family except the other petbots.
The three unique petbot warriors gathered around the crib where baby Nella slept, whispering among themselves.
"It's a sign," Cluck-Cluck warbled.
"What sign?" Purry questioned.
"The markings across the bridge of her nose and cheeks," Cluck-Cluck pointed out.
Purry stared at Nella's face, trying to focus on what she was missing. "All I see are a bunch of freckles."
"You must look beyond the obvious. Open your inner eye and clear your mind of outside interference. If you concentrate - and above all, if you believe - you will see and understand," Kisa suggested to Purry in the most authoritative voice he could muster, following up with a soft, affectionate nudge.
"For once in your life, you've spoken with great wisdom," Cluck-Cluck remarked.
Kisa sent Cluck-Cluck a BC warning: ‘You had better watch your feathers.’ Kisa's threat vibrated loud and clear, Cluck-Cluck let out a deep growl and his BC reply: ‘Try it, mister, and see what my heavy-duty beak will do to you and your weird tail!’
NELLA WAS FLOATING on beautiful clouds of cotton candy. Muffled voices permeated and disrupted her peaceful slumber. She listened to see if she could understand what the intruders were saying.
Her eyes opened. She saw a beautiful, large, colorful winged birdbot perched on the windowsill. Across the room, she noticed two astrocats. One was a bluish-gray color, sitting tall and regal. The other astrocat was on the plump side, and her fur held a beautiful multicolor design.
Seated on the chair's cushion of the Queen Grizel antique high-back chair was a small, furry creature radiating a whirl of energy, with a pompom tail wiggling at high speed. Nella remembered the wiggling ball of fur introduced herself on the ride home from the Cygnus Parental Portals Medical Center. The fur and feather creatures stood their ground bickering among themselves.
Through her BC's she projected her thoughts stronger than she intended to the group of petbots. "Hi." Her voice cut through their silly banter. "I didn't mean to interrupt, but who are you, and why are you all here in my room watching me while I sleep?"
All three fur and feather warriors jumped in surprise. Regaining their composure, they all bowed in unison, except Purry.
Cluck-Cluck cleared his throat. "Your Highness, we didn't mean to awaken you. We came to welcome you to planet Centaurius and honored you have chosen us to be your royal Fur and Feather Warriors. We are here to help you.
Nella looked at each of them, still a little puzzled over the strangeness of everything around her and wondering what the winged creature meant? Her BCs kept sending distorted images fading in and out too fast for her mind to grasp or comprehend. Nella looked over and smiled. "Hi, Scruff. Are these your friends?"
"You remember me!"
&
nbsp; “I remember you," Nella replied.
"Well then, let me introduce you to the rest of your Fur and Feather Warrior team, selected with care to give support. I’m pleased to introduce Cluck-Cluck. He will be with you at the castle during your training and the mission. One of Cluck-Cluck's abilities is to communicate with humans in all languages in the Universe.”
A ‘BC’ memory spiraled through to Nella, showing Cluck-Cluck's magical form of a flying white dragon.
"Cluck-Cluck can offer escape by air if needed," Scruffy announced as if reading Nella’s mind.
Cluck-Cluck bowed.
“Pleased to meet you. Do we know each other? Have we met before?"
"Yes, a long time ago, in another place and time," Cluck-Cluck responded. "We will discuss this event later."
"All right,” continue Scruffy, swallowing and clearing her throat as she announced. "Next is Kisa."
Kisa's elegant bow was suave and debonair. "Princess, I am your humble astrocat servant," Kisa purred.
"Don't get carried away, Kisa." Cluck-Cluck squawked.
"Kisa’s wisdom reaches back to the days of the Egyptian Kings, and his powerful magic gives him the ability to change forms and become invisible, but he gets all into himself and feels superior to any of us.” Cluck-Cluck continued his barb to irritate his friend. “He is devoted, I can verify, and he will be your constant companion on Earth."
Seeing Kisa arched his back, preparing to send an insulting remark back to Cluck-Cluck. Scruffy stepped back in the conversation to avoid another squabble.
Purry, who remained stretched over the back of an antique Queen Grizel chair, her tail swishing back and forth in a fast, nervous rhythm gave off the illusion of boredom.
"Purry, show your respect to the princess," Scruffy warned.
With much effort to balance on the top of the back of the chair, she stood and attempted a partial bow while keeping one eye open on Nella.