Li Ji eyed the calico cat nestled inside Kiyomi's embrace and a thought arose—did this cat just glare at me with open disdain? At that instant, the cat unexpectedly stuck its tongue out!
Li Ji's eyebrows arched high. It was clearly aimed at her! Or was she imagining it?
But judging from Jian's reaction, she wasn't mistaken. "Not only children dislike you, but also cats!" he chuckled.
A vexed expression crossed Li Ji's face and she cast a glance at him. Jian shoot her a teasing grimace, and while shrugging nonchalantly he added, "Only mosquitoes love you."
"You are insufferable!" she grumbled. "But you saw it too! That cat pulled its tongue at me!"
"Li Ji, she was only licking her whiskers." Kiyomi said in a matter-of-fact tone. Then he tilted his head to the side and scratched under the cat's chin.
"You had no breakfast yet and you are hungry, huh?" he asked in an overly sweet voice.
Jian turned to Kiyomi, "There is leftovers of stir-fried mackerel from yesterday. It's her favourite."
At the same moment, a loud "Ha!" pierced their ears. Their heads whipped toward Li Ji. "Did you see it?" she screeched with wide-eyes.
They felt as puzzled as Li Ji seemed to be—What happened? See what?
Unfortunately, nobody saw how the cat had quickly pulled her tongue out at her! Li Ji crossed her arms, leaned forward and glared at the cat. What a conniving little fur ball! She puzzled over.
"Go on, I dare you to stuck your tongue out at me. Everyone… Watch and see!"
Jian nudged Li Ji lightly and muttered. "What is wrong with you lately?"
"Is the restaurant serving shrimp dumplings today?" All of a sudden asked Kiyomi. "Shall we go have breakfast in the city?"
His mind had wandered away. He wanted to order extra dumplings for the little cat. Shrimp dumplings being one of her favourite food!
Li Ji extended her finger to poke the cat in the ribs. Emika didn't shy away from her touch.
[That's it, come closer.] she cackled inside. [A little bit more…]
Jian was replying to Kiyomi, "No. Today the restaurant is serving mushroom soup with lotus chicken."
Meanwhile, before Li Ji could poke the cat, Emika had suddenly shuddered in Kiyomi's arms and blocked her hand with her paws, and began to whimper.
As the two men turned their attention to the cat, her brow whiskers arched above her eyes gave her a cute wide-eyed appearance of innocence. Next, she buried her head deeper into Kiyomi's chest.
Emika was enjoying every minute of toying with her. Her reactions were hilarious!
"Li Ji..." frowned Kiyomi. "What did you do?"
Li Ji stepped back with her hands waving in the air, "I swear I didn't touch her."
"Stop pestering the poor little thing." Jian chided.
And again, like a flash, Emika had pulled her tongue out for her eyes only! Li Ji jumped back, disbelieving that a cat could be such a calculating troublemaker!
"She did it again! Don't tell me you didn't see that?"
Jian and Kiyomi turned their head in unison. Her beautiful emerald eyes moving from Kiyomi to Jian, Emika blinked a few times innocently. The power of her puppy look grew stronger once she added a deep and rumbling purr.
Jian patted the cat's head. "Li Ji, have you lost your mind?"
"This cat… this cat is quite cunning… waiting the perfect moment to stick her tongue out at me…"
Emika's voice trapped into this feline body wanted to break free and soar with laughters.
Jian shook his head. "You are such a muttonhead, such a muttonhead."
"Hey… You!" shouted Li Ji as she slapped Jian' s arm.
"So, you are the victim of a vendetta by a mouse and a cat?"
Her mouth twisted into a grimace.
Jian rolled his eyes. "Perfectly ridiculous! You know how that sounds, don't you?"
"Why isn't it less believable than the fact that we can cross between worlds?"
The prince couldn't stop a smile from growing on his face. With a nostalgic grin he continued listening to Jian and Li Ji quipping at each other.
Underneath his stern exterior, Jian was actually companionable and had a streak of playfulness an ocean wide. Li Ji's enthusiasm and caring nature, those were what she was so well-liked for—despite her stubbornness and fiery temper—especially when Kiyomi needed comforting.
Their loyalty though, and their upright nature, those were the qualities Kiyomi cherished them for the most.
He exhaled as memories unrolled through his mind.
They had run wild as children, he and Jian, along with Li Ji, escaping the unfeeling palace to explore the capital city. Listless he was in house-arrest and needed distraction. It was a wonder they'd never been discovered scampering off to play in the marketplace for the Emperor was all-knowing.
Since hiding in this realm, Kiyomi had been putting on a brave front for the both of them, but there were too many variables for their retributive journey of punishment and justice to have a happy ending.
But then again, his fate had been filled with the improbable and strange—a whole new world that could only exist in people's imagination and an estranged great-uncle with powers defying the laws of nature.
Who was to say that they would not be fortunate in their pursuit of revenge?
Li Ji had slapped the cat's head to provoke her into pulling its tongue out. Immediately, Kiyomi amused smile faded away.
It was only a slight tap. Emika pretended to be in pain, softly mewling. [Hehehe...]
"What are you doing!" Kiyomi said promptly and firmly—Emika's lips arose in a triumphant sneer for having gotten away with her scheme.
"She is just a cat, not an evil mastermind. What has gotten into you lately?"
Jian chortled.
Li Ji bowed her head in an apology. "Your Highness—"
"Stop calling me—Highness! How many times have I scolded you about this matter?" As much as he hated doing it, he had to rebuke her. She needed to be reminded that in this world he was no more than a commoner. Unless they wanted their heads mounted on a spike for treason (a situation which they narrowly escaped upon their arrival in this world! A story the reader will know about soon enough), she should not treat him as royalty.
Li Ji nodded, but her heart was aching every time she disappointed him.
"Is it not time for breakfast?" Kiyomi asked rhetorically to deflect attention from his scolding.
Emika thought it was a lovely sight to see the downcast look on Li Ji's face as she trudged to the kitchen area.
Emika had disliked her from the very start—she wanted to toss a defenceless cat out into the streets! However, her heart somersaulted with guilt. After all, we were once friends, she sighed with sadness.
Emika's torturous emotions kept coming in brutal waves; and shame and anger at herself were felt in full measure.
She had mistrusted Shufeng therefore abandoned him, even going as far as trying to kill him not once but twice! Whereas Li Ji had stayed by his side, risking her life without second thought. Emika immensely resented that fact. Immensely hated herself.
However, bullying Li Ji in a bid to wash over the sorrows and regrets of her soul was wrong and unbecoming.
No heart is completely trustworthy and truthful with itself. And Emika didn't want to admit it, but jealousy was a nasty guest that had invited itself in her heart and urging her to behave irrationally.
Emika worried that Li Ji might have earned the prince's heart.
Li Ji wasn't beautiful, but nonetheless, her charms were not unnoticeable. Waves of raven black hair framed her heart shaped face. Her chestnut eyes sprinkled with tiny golden flecks were shaped like half-moons, and her long and thick eyelashes brushed the top of her cheeks every time they fluttered.
Her nose was neither delicate nor straight, her lips lacked plumpness and a hue of pink, and her white complexion was too pallid, neither milky nor pearly. Nevertheless, it was an art to turn an ordinary face into something charming.
And the facts that they practically grew up together and that Li Ji has been serving the prince for the last nineteen years rendered Emika extremely nervous for she felt at a disadvantage.
Li Ji knew everything about his ways, his likes and dislikes. She was privy to his plans, his secrets, his thoughts and the cravings of his heart. She was a friend and companion with intelligence, bravery, usefulness, gentleness, and an unconditional love.
In contrast Emika had long become aware that during the years spent with Shufeng she had mostly acted capriciously and selfishly. She took so much from him, but she herself never gave anything in return.
Li Ji and Shufeng have been living under the same roof the same as family members, so unsurprisingly their mutual affection kept on growing deeper. Yet, Emika felt that there was something more lingering in the air than the intimacy between siblings.
Emika was certain she had witnessed it in their eyes.
Furthermore, her greatest disadvantage was that all of the prince's memories about their mutual past had been extracted from his mind.
Emika didn't exist anymore. Emika had never existed.
The Mind-Seal had erased her from his heart. And one crucial question tormented her: Was it willingly or forcefully? The answer could either break or mend her heart.
While holding Emika in his arms, Kiyomi went to the kitchen area. He placed her down on the floor while he unwrapped some fried mackerel.
Emika was almost fainting from lack of food! Shifting from a human to a cat form, and vice-versa, burned so much energy that her appetite had been growing exponentially.
Thinking about this morning, she needed to be more cautious and not fall asleep before having reverted into her cat-self. If Kiyomi had woken up only a few minutes before she did, he would have had such a shock upon finding an unknown woman in his bed!
Kiyomi cut one mackerel into small chunks into a saucer and put it on the floor.
She rewarded him with a trill. [About time I get fed!]
Her pink nose smelled it with anticipation. Oh no! She almost heaved when she saw a green dead fly in her food.
Her fur stood up and she chirruped in disgust. [Look what you nearly made me eat!]
She looked up at Kiyomi who was actually unaware of her predicament.
He ruffled her fur, "Eat up, it is your favourite food."
She showed her bare teeth, almost hissing. [You are not expecting me to eat this food, are you?]
She stared at him intensely; as if she was a fishing rod, with his eyes on the end of her hook she tried to reel in his gaze into the plate. Not to avail.
"You do not want to eat mackerel today?" He smiled softly. "Such a fussy little cat."
Next, her paws pushed the plate away from her.
"I see, madam is not hungry."
[No! I am starving! Time for another game of charades.] she huffed.
And so, she leaned her small nose closer to the plate and sniffed the fish making an overly exaggerated sound then frantically wiped her nose with her paws, stepped back and shook her head.
Kiyomi lifted the plate to his nose. "The smell is fine… Ah!" Then, he saw it, the dead fly! He pulled a grimace. "No wonder you do not want to eat it!"
He picked up the fly with chopsticks then slid back the plate towards Emika. The cat squinted her eyes shut, crinkled her nose, arched her back and turned away from it.
She mewled desperately. [Your Highness, would you eat your food after finding a dead fly in your plate?]
A strange tingling sensation happened inside her. Her heart began to beat faster and with uneven beats; and her brain seemed to make a decision of its own accord, as though belonging to someone else. What followed was an angry Emika-cat extending her claws, and her paws flipped the plate over with brute force. As soon as she realised what she had done, she was startled.
[Why am I acting like a spoiled brat?! Why am I loosing control of my emotions?]
Kiyomi didn't know if it was funnily cute or plainly annoying. It was quite unbelievable how this little cat acted like a queen!
He glanced at her with a distracted frown, his attention suddenly focused elsewhere…