Inside a gloomy castle, a dark-golden armor was sitting on a throne. It was like as though he was perceiving everything. His right hand held a black staff with a red sphere on its end and a necklace with a red crystal, which emitted a soft light, could be seen worn outside the armor.
When suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew and opened the iron door. Dark shadows flew inside and landed in front of the Dark Knight. Formed out of the shadows were 2 armors that were kneeling down on one leg and they wore a dark agate-green armor that was covered with a worn-out cloak. They held their weapons to the ground. One was holding a broadsword with mysterious descriptions in its blade and the other had a double-headed, battle-axe with carvings.
"Have you found the seed?" The Dark Knight asked with a hoarse voice.
"Not yet, my lord," the knight with a broadsword replied. Her voice was flat.
"How about Gregen?" The Dark Knight snarled.
The Knight tightened his grip and answered with a rough voice:
"The traitor is nowhere to be found."
"His brother?" He raised his voice.
"The same, my lord. Both of them are gone," The knight with the axe answered.
"SEARCH THE SEED AND SEARCH THE TRAITOR!" The Dark Knight ordered. He raised his staff and harshly hit the end of it on the ground, making a loud noise that echoed throughout the castle. He threatened them, "If any of you return empty-handed, then expect to leave this place spiritless."
.....
The next morning, Lev woke up at around 7:30 a.m. He cleaned inside the house, which was now a lot easier because the dirt and dust weren't overcrowded just like yesterday. Next, the porch. There wasn't much dirt on it because the wind constantly passes through in there, blowing the mud and specks of dust to the corner and into the gaps that were leading to the outside.
After cleaning, he took a sit on the bench. Lev noticed that the cat was nowhere to be seen. Before he stood up to search for the cat, he heard the door opened and Lola came out. She didn't look at Lev and went straight outside to work.
Lev scratched his head and discovered something, "I guess the shadow that I saw last night only appears every night. Her face looked better today compared last night."
Lev looked under the bench, thinking that he might find the cat sleeping in there. He stepped outside and tried to search for him. He inspected the space that was underneath the porch, the roof of the house, and the surroundings.
Maybe he went to the lake to search for food... Lev guessed. He went back to the porch and to his surprise, the same grungy cat.
"Wait. How did you— The door was—" Lev was confused. "Maybe you got in through the gap under the door."
There was indeed a tiny gap under the screen door, big enough for the cat to fit in.
"But still," He continued while pointing outside, "I should have seen you entering."
The cat tilted his head in response and on the edge of the window was his tail hanging.
"Never mind," Lev sighed. He went inside the house and what he saw on the table was the same plastic bag which was untouched. He unwrapped it and inside was the three pieces of wheat bread.
Why did she not eat it? Did she put poison in it? Maybe she was in a hurry or maybe she left it for me... Questions flashed through Lev's mind as he tried to guess the answer.
He broke a piece of bread in half and placed it on the edge of the table.
He slightly turned his body around and said, "Hey, there is food for you."
The cat jumped down from the window and trotted towards the table. He hopped unto the chair and climbed on the top of the table. The bread's appearance was still in good condition, no sign of moss or any deterioration. He took a sniff and ate it.
"I guess it's safe," Lev concluded.
He placed the other half on where the cat was eating and took another bread then ate it.
Lev reserved the last bread for lunchtime. "Yesterday I got lucky that a kind old lady and the old man gave me food to eat. But I can't always depend on luck," Lev reminded to himself while wrapping the food.
He took a quick glance at the cat who was nearly finishing his share. It reminded him of Kaz on the day where they both got adopted.
"I should give you a bath. I can't go around the village with a dirty cat sitting on my shoulders. Actually, you should stop sitting down on my shoulders, it's weird and I'll just garner more attention to myself," Lev pinched the bridge of his nose. Just the thought of people staring and gossiping made him stressed.
When the cat heard the word 'bath', he quickly finished his food and quickly jumped on Lev's shoulder.
"Hey! No more shoulder ride," Lev warned him.
He carried the cat down and took off his jacket, scarf and hat, and placed it on the top of the table. He didn't want it to be dirtied while giving the cat a warm bath.
He went to the bathroom and the cat followed. The bathroom was small. On the left side was the sink while beside it was the commode. On top of the sink was a small cabinet with a mirror behind the cabinet door. Inside were soaps, toothpaste, spare toothbrushes, and some out-of-date, over-the-counter medicines. There was no bathtub in there but instead a shower and a curtain.
Lev took a small water basin and filled it with warm water. The cat voluntarily went inside the basin while it was being filled.
"I guess you badly wanted to take a warm bath, huh?" Lev half-smirked. He was quite getting used to the cat.
He pulled up the sleeves of his sweater, grabbed the soap and brush then sat on a small stool which Lola used for changing the light bulb.
Lev rubbed the soap in the cat's body and gently brushed him. The water in the basin started to become dirty with mud, slowly revealing the cat's silver-white fur. Its bright-pink nose twitched and its eyes tightly shut. Lev noticed something strange on the cat's face.
"Why don't you have any whiskers?" Lev asked.
The cat opened its eyes and glared at him, it felt attacked by what Lev said.
"What a weird cat," Lev washed the soap off of its body.
The cat's face was not happy with all the criticism he received. He shook off the water on Lev, sprinkling droplets all over Lev's face and on his clothes.
"Ew! Yuck!" Lev shouted while turning his head away. He took a clean towel and wiped his face.
Lev tsked. He used the same towel to wrap the cat and dried him off. He carried the cat to the porch and he placed him on the ground where there was sunlight.
Before exploring the next village where Lola worked, Lev first planned to do some laundry. He went to the bathroom to change his sweater with his old white shirt. The mess that the cat did made him uncomfortable to wear the sweater so he decided to change it and add it in the laundry. There was no washing machine in that house so he did the laundry manually, making his tender hands dry and rough. He hanged the wet clothes and towels outside to let them dry.
By that time, the cat was completely dry. The sun reflected its fur, making it shine like silver.
Lev never forgot to wear the clothes that he left on the table. Aside from being insecure with his hair, it was really cold so how else could he forget not to wear a jacket and a scarf?
The knitted winter hat that was on his head left some strands of hair hanging down on his forehead, sideburns, and the back part of his head. But it was completely concealed when he wore the hood.
Lev was ready for the next exploration. He stepped out of the porch and noticed the clean cat he earlier took a bath was waiting for him outside. The cat was now different from last time, it was a lot cleaner now and his eyes held a hidden beauty within it as though it was hiding the mystery of the stars.
Lev scratched his eyebrow and said, "I can't let you get dirty now, eh? I'll feel bad about it if your white fur gets tainted again with dirt."
He carried the cat with both hands, head up, legs down and with his body parallel to the chest and pressed against it.
And now, a boy carrying a cat was walking westward.