The young bandit landed with a thud. Everyone stared at the fallen rider but Mina couldn"t help but let out an amused meow while looking from the young bandit to the bandit chief."These bandits should be negotiators. They can diffuse tension by landing on their a.s.s."
Unbeknownst to her, the general"s gaze was also fixed on the bandit chief. Right after Mina"s chatter, she heard the general spoke up in a chiding tone.
"Prince Roupen, you and your men are in possession of a rare talent."
Mina couldn"t help but meow in agreement. The bandit chief glared at the general and at the black cat used a paw to express her glee over her human"s conduct.
While looking at the man, Mina saw the hint of a smile. Shifting back to his indifferent expression, the general looked at the crowd and spoke in an authoritative tone.
"Let"s set off quickly. We should head north towards the capital."
Mina was also excited to start her journey towards the capital. She couldn"t help but meow.
"Humans, we"re losing daylight! Giddy up! Giddy Up!"
Shortly after all arrangements were completed, it was time to set off. The bandit chief brought his most trusted man along and the princess wore her disguise. Everyone took note of the black cat who sat on the general"s mount although no one knew how or when the black cat made its way up there.
***
Almost an hour into the journey, Mina"s enthusiasm changed to weariness. Sitting on a horse was not her preferred means of transport! She has been constantly shifting to avoid falling off the animal. Every once in a while she couldn"t help but meow in annoyance.
"My cat parts are not comfortable!!!!"
Coincidentally, every time she complained, she felt that the jostling became slightly worse so she tried to control her whining.
To take her mind off the abominable journey, Mina decided to take stock of her situation which reminded her of how one of the bandits referred to her.
The devil"s sp.a.w.n!
Of course, she had nothing to do with the devil. She had no memory of striking a deal with someone from the underbelly of h.e.l.l!
In a way, she could understand the young man. Black cats were believed to be unlucky even in the modern era. She did not believe any of those superst.i.tions but the bandits and even the princess seems to be convinced that she is a vile creature.
Fortunately, her human was a reasonable man. He did not even budge at the accusations. He did not throw her off the horse and he is the most capable of the bunch. Mina had to pat herself with a paw --she had a good eye!
She couldn"t help but glance at the general. The man"s efficiency rating is superb. He ignored all useless talk and proceeded with the task he came to do --bring back the princess and the clumsy prince aka the bandit chief.
While thinking of the two n.o.bles, Mina spared them a glance and noticed that the princess motioned the bandit chief to come closer.
"Oh, these two seems to be close."
Although the two were some distance away from her, she could still hear them thanks to her cat senses. Focusing on the sound, she heard a soft voice ask an interesting question.
"Prince Roupen, do you trust the General from Artha?" After a short pause, the princess continued, "He knows you are the bandit chief, will you be in trouble?"
"I fought with the general in the battle against the savages. He considers me as a comrade."
The princess looked left and right and spoke almost in a whisper, "His...cat. Only the devil can tame these animals."
"Princess, you are being superst.i.tious. Even the fiercest men cower before the general."
"The cat has the evil eye, your.. your man called it names and he was thrown off his horse. There is something wrong with that cat!"
Mina was all ears and the remark made her scowl. Maintaining an even tone, the bandit chief answered.
"Perhaps a small animal spooked the horse. We are in a forest after all."
"Then, how do you think the general found us?"
"He has informants everywhere."
"Precisely. And that informant happens to be more intelligent than all of us." Pausing, the princess continued in a tone full of intrigue, "He has been spying on us with that cat."
"Princess, you think too much. The General is a capable man, his spies move like shadows," the bandit chief reasoned.
"His spy will surely go undetected. Who would suspect that his spy is a cat? It has been keeping tabs on me for two nights!" the princess insisted in an exasperated voice.
With furrowed brows, the prince glanced at the general and the cat in front of him. Mina caught his eye but the man quickly looked away and gazed at the princess. In a voice filled with conviction, the bandit chief replied, "It was merely a coincidence."
"In my defense, I was there for dinner," Mina thought while looking at them.
"Princess, you have a wild imagination. If the general understood cat language, I would be in a far more comfortable position."
The princess continued to converse with the prince about other topics. Bored with eavesdropping, Mina turned her attention to her surroundings.
From the snippets she heard, Mina realized that she landed in an intriguing era. Since she woke up in a cat"s body all she saw was the clearing and the hut where she woke up. At the moment, the view was pretty much the same --trees, bushes, plants, and surprisingly, only a few animals.
While looking around, she spotted a squirrel peeking from one of the tree hollows. When she saw the creature, Mina paused.
"I think I forgot something crucial."
Looking at the place where the squirrel disappeared, she continued to think but nothing came to mind. She dismissed those thoughts and focused on the road ahead.
She had more than enough time to make sense of all the information she gathered. Her human is apparently the General of an Empire called Artha. This empire has several kingdoms. She couldn"t figure out how many kingdoms there were but there should be more than two.
The bandit chief whom she had been considering as a candidate is also of n.o.ble birth. He used to be the Prince of a kingdom called Dinhi but for some reason, he lost his status and became involved with the bandits.
The princess who was in the bandit camp is apparently related to the Kingdom of Houri. Tarou was right, the woman is indeed a princess. So, that mouse can be a reliable source of information after all.
Just then, she finally remembered what was missing.
"Uh, Oh.."
It was almost mid-afternoon now and they have been traveling for hours.
"Underling."
"Tarou!"
She meowed in an alarmed voice.
The last time she saw the mouse was in the clearing. She looked at the trail they left behind.
"Tarou!"
Mina called out like a mother cat calling for its young.
"Tarou!"
Mina knew they were too far away for Tarou to hear and her meows eventually subsided.
She couldn"t help but berate herself.
She was too excited to set off that she forgot the mouse. Mina looked back at the path they took with a downcast expression.
"Tarou..."
"Will I see you again?"