Susie Vector had been scuba diving before. But never like this. As she clutched the back of the old man's fin, she zoomed across the sea floor at a dizzying speed. Moreover, even though the sun had set long ago, the underwater terrain was illuminated for her for miles in all directions. It was almost as if a protective shell surrounded her and endowed her with incredible underwater vision. As she reached the deepest part of the Mediterranean, she saw in the distance a giant bubble enclosing a vast golden city. She wondered if it was the lost city of Atlantis. She supposed she would find out soon enough because the old man was clearly taking her there.
As they approached the gate to the underwater city, the old man performed an elaborate hand gesture and a portal to the bubble opened up. Susie stepped inside . The city was immaculate and dominated by a structure at the top of a rise that looked something like a medieval castle.
"Come Ms. Vector," said the old man. We will go directly to the castle throne room. My master awaits your arrival.
She was hurried up to the castle and through the corridors into a giant room where a handsome man wearing a crown was seated on a green throne shaped like the protective shell of a turtle.
"I'm so glad that you have returned to me," said the man on throne. "But as you may not remember me because of the curse, I am Ivan. And you are my long lost queen, Svetlana."
"I'm sorry Sir," said Susie, "but I don't believe I've ever met you before."
"We'll that's of no consequence," cried the man, "what's important is that you have returned to me. Isn't that so, royal jester?"
Susie's growing sense of unease at this encounter lessened slightly when she saw a familiar figure, namely the Talking Cat bound into view. The Cat wore a red jester's hat with a bell at the end. The cat wasted no time in running down the carpet and leaping into Susie's arms. As she looked at the Cat's face, she could see that he was quickly shaking his head back and forth as if pleading with her against something. However, for some strange reason, it appeared that the Cat was unable to talk.
"Yea, don't worry about him," said King Ivan, "he's not very funny for a jester. You heard of the phrase "cat got your tongue"? We'll lets just say that I got the Cat's tongue. And I think I need a new royal jester. Guards?"
Two henchman ripped the Cat from her arms and put him inside a cage. "I don't know why my aunt gave me the Cat in the first place. But she say the Cat was connected to you somehow and that the Cat would lead me back to you. So I guess its got that going for it. But that's about all. Its beginning to tire me. Now Svetlana, back to important matters, I will have my servants show you to your room so that you can slip into something more comfortable and prepare for the royal buffet tonight. Today is a happy day for me and all the Kingdom now that you have returned."
And with that Ivan clapped twice and a group of young women scurried into view and escorted Susie down a side hall and into a room that looked like something like a 17th Century French boudoir. Susie's long body was bathed in a strong smelling water that left her slightly intoxicated and smelling like lavender and hyacinth. She started getting groggy, but she shook her head and told the maids over and over to bring the Cat to her. Eventually the maids brought in the cage with the Talking Cat.
"What the fuck is going on here? What did you get me into now!," said Susie, shaking the bars on the cage door. The Cat gestured to her that he still could not talk--motioning her with his paws to get something to write with. One good thing about the maids, Susie discovered was that they brought you stuff you asked for. It was kinda cool.
In no time the Talking Cat was furiously scribbling on a note card. Susie picked it up and read it:
Susie, you are in my nightmare. This King Ivan is crazy. He thinks you are his wife.
"Yea, no shit Sherlock," said Susie, "But he is kinda cute. And why do you always insist that this is your dream? This is my life. I'm not in your dream!"
"Whatever, but you need to get me out of this cage first. Ivan's Aunt put a spell on me so that I can't speak and I can't get out of this nightmare."
"Yea, I was wondering about that. What were you doing with the Aunt?"
"Like I said, this is nightmare."
"Yea, I bet it was. What did you do to piss her off?"
"Its not what I did to piss her off. From what I can tell its what Ivan did. The Aunt put a spell on him that every time it rains in the holy land he turns into a turtle and it forced remain on dry land until he is rescued by a woman with a pure heart or something like that."
"So what about his belief that I am his wife?
"I don't know anything about that," wrote the Cat.
"Well my feline friend. Look at the portrait over there on the wall, doesn't that kind of look like me? Maybe the King is right. Maybe I am the queen and the Aunt or something put a curse on me so I don't remember it."
"Good luck with that. You really want to stay here?"
"Well I don't know. I could get used to staying here with all the maids and all. But you are probably right. The King is a tad bit creepy."
Their conversation was interrupted by a loud gong which the servants told Susie was the dinner bell. Susie was quickly dressed and escorted out of the room.
"See you later Cat, don't wait up for me."
The Cat replied by extending the middle finger of his paw to Susie.
"Come Ms. Vector," said the old man. We will go directly to the castle throne room. My master awaits your arrival.
She was hurried up to the castle and through the corridors into a giant room where a handsome man wearing a crown was seated on a green throne shaped like the protective shell of a turtle.
"I'm so glad that you have returned to me," said the man on throne. "But as you may not remember me because of the curse, I am Ivan. And you are my long lost queen, Svetlana."
"I'm sorry Sir," said Susie, "but I don't believe I've ever met you before."
"We'll that's of no consequence," cried the man, "what's important is that you have returned to me. Isn't that so, royal jester?"
Susie's growing sense of unease at this encounter lessened slightly when she saw a familiar figure, namely the Talking Cat bound into view. The Cat wore a red jester's hat with a bell at the end. The cat wasted no time in running down the carpet and leaping into Susie's arms. As she looked at the Cat's face, she could see that he was quickly shaking his head back and forth as if pleading with her against something. However, for some strange reason, it appeared that the Cat was unable to talk.
"Yea, don't worry about him," said King Ivan, "he's not very funny for a jester. You heard of the phrase "cat got your tongue"? We'll lets just say that I got the Cat's tongue. And I think I need a new royal jester. Guards?"
Two henchman ripped the Cat from her arms and put him inside a cage. "I don't know why my aunt gave me the Cat in the first place. But she say the Cat was connected to you somehow and that the Cat would lead me back to you. So I guess its got that going for it. But that's about all. Its beginning to tire me. Now Svetlana, back to important matters, I will have my servants show you to your room so that you can slip into something more comfortable and prepare for the royal buffet tonight. Today is a happy day for me and all the Kingdom now that you have returned."
And with that Ivan clapped twice and a group of young women scurried into view and escorted Susie down a side hall and into a room that looked like something like a 17th Century French boudoir. Susie's long body was bathed in a strong smelling water that left her slightly intoxicated and smelling like lavender and hyacinth. She started getting groggy, but she shook her head and told the maids over and over to bring the Cat to her. Eventually the maids brought in the cage with the Talking Cat.
"What the fuck is going on here? What did you get me into now!," said Susie, shaking the bars on the cage door. The Cat gestured to her that he still could not talk--motioning her with his paws to get something to write with. One good thing about the maids, Susie discovered was that they brought you stuff you asked for. It was kinda cool.
In no time the Talking Cat was furiously scribbling on a note card. Susie picked it up and read it:
Susie, you are in my nightmare. This King Ivan is crazy. He thinks you are his wife.
"Yea, no shit Sherlock," said Susie, "But he is kinda cute. And why do you always insist that this is your dream? This is my life. I'm not in your dream!"
"Whatever, but you need to get me out of this cage first. Ivan's Aunt put a spell on me so that I can't speak and I can't get out of this nightmare."
"Yea, I was wondering about that. What were you doing with the Aunt?"
"Like I said, this is nightmare."
"Yea, I bet it was. What did you do to piss her off?"
"Its not what I did to piss her off. From what I can tell its what Ivan did. The Aunt put a spell on him that every time it rains in the holy land he turns into a turtle and it forced remain on dry land until he is rescued by a woman with a pure heart or something like that."
"So what about his belief that I am his wife?
"I don't know anything about that," wrote the Cat.
"Well my feline friend. Look at the portrait over there on the wall, doesn't that kind of look like me? Maybe the King is right. Maybe I am the queen and the Aunt or something put a curse on me so I don't remember it."
"Good luck with that. You really want to stay here?"
"Well I don't know. I could get used to staying here with all the maids and all. But you are probably right. The King is a tad bit creepy."
Their conversation was interrupted by a loud gong which the servants told Susie was the dinner bell. Susie was quickly dressed and escorted out of the room.
"See you later Cat, don't wait up for me."
The Cat replied by extending the middle finger of his paw to Susie.
"Keep up that attitude and you may stay in that cage a long time my friend," said Susie. "But don't worry, I'll think of something to get you out of this
mess."
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