Day turned into night, and the same happened when the sun rose again over the hill shining its rays over Mytrhria and Hessia.
Somewhere perched in a tree overlooking Redkyte citadel, two cats sat on a branch with their tails swishing left and right in synchronised movements.
The two cats looked at each other and finally jumped on the citadel wall, walking on it and looking at the Somkethren castle, studying it closely as if trying to find a way inside.
Laughter echoed in the air " Finally, more rat catchers!" a guard exclaimed, walking past the two cats, who hissed at him, and the fur on their backs stood up.
The guard laughed again " You should save the strength to catch rats!" he added while patting one of the cats on the head in an amused tone at the cat's behaviour; the cat swung its paw to scratch the guard but got caught in guards glove and guard grabbed the cat by the scruff and threw the cat inside the citadel walls.
" Go catch some rats, you filthy thing!" the guard barked, annoyed at the cat for daring to attack him.
The other cat got quickly kicked off the wall as well and landed not far from the other cat while the guards laughed and moved on patrolling the citadel wall.
The cat that got thrown looked up at the guards and hissed and licked the paw caught in the glove as if touching the guard made it dirty. The cat continued licking its paw and cleaning the scruff of his neck all the while; the other cat just sprawled on the ground and looked like it didn't want to be there while waiting for the other cat to finish grooming itself.
Once that was done, they moved on and slowly but surely entered the Somkethren castle, looking around the gloomy and desolate place as if looking for something.
" Shoo, you disgusting thing!" one of the maids swung her cloth towards the cats from behind them, making them run and disappear out of sight.
The cats roamed through the castle and tried to stay out of sight until they came upon two barred gates that sat at the top of some stairs leading into the underground. The cats squeezed through the bars and descended the stairs in haste as if they had found what they were looking for.
They walked through the narrow and dimly lit corridor, finally entering a generous-sized underground chamber, where a shrine adorned the wall opposite the chamber entrance; the stench of death and rotting corpses heavily lingered in the air, making one of the cats sneeze at the pungent smell.
Soon a woman with dark hair appeared in the centre of the chamber, sitting in the middle of a circle that had intricate runes running all around within the circle.
The woman let out a sardonic laugh and turned around to face the two cats " I wasn't expecting visitors so soon! I do apologise for my lack of preparation but make yourselves at home!" she sarcastically commented, lifting her hand in the air. The circle glowed, and the witch stepped out of the ring trapping the two cats inside.
The woman chuckled, which quickly turned into a wicked laugh echoing through the room, while one of the cats jumped, trying to run but crashed into the invisible wall. The other cat hissed and started to walk along the circle as if studying the runes on the floor.
The laugh slowly faded and turned into a sigh " I knew you would come! I didn't expect you so quickly, but what is that saying! Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!" she said in a pensive tone while pinching her chin, looking thoughtful.
The cat halted its steps and hissed again and pawed the invisible wall, while the other one just lay on the floor and yawned as if already bored with interaction.
The sound of metal clanking travelled down to the underground chamber, descending footsteps echoed through the chamber, and soon a man wearing royal attire appeared in the room, a little confused at the sight of the two cats.
" How lovely of you to come and visit!" the woman faked politeness, sounding more like she was being sarcastic.
The man pinched the bridge of his nose " Sadhya, you're killing cats now?" the man questioned in disbelief, looking at the two cats in the circle.
The witch scoffed " Would you like me to kill one of your daughters! You have two. One less won't make much of a difference!" she smirked while a horrified expression quickly settled on the man's face, making the witch let out a sneer.
" We have a deal, I kept my side of the deal, and I expected you to do the same!" the man's voice was resolute while he turned around to leave.
" If I don't, there is nothing you can do!" the woman hissed, making the man halt his footsteps, and his hand went for his sword, ready to pull it out and run it through the woman's heart.
" Careful, I wouldn't do that if I were you! Once you're dead, I have no use for the girls or that pretty wife of yours!" the woman warned, crossing her arms against her chest, intently peering at the man through her lashes.
The man growled and gritted his teeth and left without saying another word to the woman. Alone again, the woman turned her attention to the two cats " You're way too precious to be sacrificed. I need you alive and well!" she babied the cats lowering herself to have a closer look.
The cat that had walked around the circle so far stopped in front of the woman, hissed, and pawed again at the invisible wall attempting to scratch the witch.
" Ohh, that is so cute! You think that you can hurt me!" the woman faked being touched by the gesture.
" You know I wasn't expecting you to bring company, though! That was such a nice surprise!" the woman uttered genuinely while standing up and walking to the shrine.