A Purrfect Target

Lavender was moments away from breaking into a cold sweat for the entire conversation.

Duke and Duchess Fournet were a rare breed among the nobility. They were one of the few families in the realm that never pledged fealty to the Dezerin Empire. The rumor was that Duke and Duchess did not come from noble stock. They were not even originally of the Empire, crossing from across the Yanalweh Sea to the south some time before the nobility rebelled.

The lands they held were some of the House of Wea’Vor’s most bountiful and richest, the most coveted lands of the Emperor’s demense after the major cities. The rebellion’s were ready to fight each other over those lands and plunge the lands into further chaos.

The Fournets were a compromise choice given their services during the rebellion. If none of them could have it, best to have someone they trusted do it instead. And as it turned out, the House Fournet was the one holding the tournament. It was from their bounty of riches that the tournament’s winnings were paid from.

“We would have remained at home, but we couldn’t well start without the entire family,” said the Duke. He shot his daughter Dora a stern look. “Someone learned her lessons a bit too well.”

“Not well enough,” Dora grumbled. "You still found me."

“Do you really want your mother to demonstrate what happens when you ignore our messages? Again?”

The Duchess Fournet smiled widely enough to bare her teeth. Lavender flinched at the sight. Whatever she had seen, it scared Dora even more. The catgirl’s ears pinned behind her head and her tail went perfectly straight. That was answer enough for the Duke and Duchess.

Duke Fournet’s smile was more subdued. “We will leave tomorrow, escorted by these adventurers. I expect you will fulfill your duties at the tournament and then we will leave you alone until the next one.”

Dora’s eye twitched but she did not object.

-----

With all of the increased business at the Bee’s Knees, the visiting nobles got the priority for rooms and bed.

That left Lavender and the others to sleep outside in canvas tents. She never grew tired of seeing the stars in the sky. Robert was busy regaling Hazel with stories of constellations passed down through his village. Hazel was nodding politely while she poured herself and Robert another helping of stew that had been simmering over a campfire.

Lavender was watching them from a distance. She was content to watch. Talking to people was nice, but after all of the chaos earlier in the day she found she needed some quiet. Solitude suited her right now.

She nearly jumped when she felt something black and hairy brush past her arm.

“Being alone is nice. But sometimes it’s better to be alone together.” Dora made herself comfortable sitting next to Lavender, who was perfectly still. “I have to spent the entire trip with them. Need all the space I can get tonight.”

“Mmm.” Lavender was trying to ignore the catwoman rubbing herself all over her.

Dora sniffed the air repeatedly. “You smell different than the other humans. Not bad. Different.”

Lavender shifted away from Dora a little. But Dora scooted closer in response.

“You act different than a lot of humans, too. Do you know how many men see a catgirl and start barking like dogs? I have nobles fawning over my… family’s huge tracts of land. I have knights trying to swear their loyalty if I’ll only give them my flower.”

She plucked a black rose out from her hair and twirled it between her fingers.

“It’s not the kind of life I want to live. That's my parents' dream for me. Not mine. I'm happy to be the Black Rose.” Dora put the flower back in her hair. “What about you? You got a dream?”

Lavender blinked. She’d had a dream for ten years of escaping the dragon. Her mind drifted back to that night Hazel and her had escaped from Westeron. The declaration she’d made.

“I’m going to reunite the realm,” said Lavender. She looked up to the stars with a smile. “And I don’t care if the stars themselves align against me. I will do it.”

Dora smiled. But she seem to take it seriously. “Nothing wrong with aiming high. Is that what you see when go to sleep? You sitting on the Emperor’s throne?”

Lavender smiled a little too hard. “S-Sure.”

----

It was the first time Lavender lied since her escape.

Lavender had never considered ruling. It was something she always thought her brothers would do or maybe Hazel. Her dreams – when they weren’t filled with fantasies of escape – were filled with something stranger. And she wasn’t sure how to explain it.

She saw it sometimes when she closed her eyes. Standing alone at the foot of a mountain that stretched into the heavens. Taller than any she’d ever seen. And climbing into the sky with it were stairs, seeming to never end.

But it was what was at the top that caught her attention: two crimson eyes. She could never make out what they belong to. Only that whatever it was, it had a voice that carried all the way down the mountain.

Are you going to take the first step?

A husky voice spoke. Lavender never thought the question was threatening or pleading. She couldn’t read anything into it. As far as she could tell, the question was only a question.

Are you?

Lavender continued looking at that climb. She always woke up before she could move.

-----

Dora emerged from her text the following morning bright and early.

She’d enjoyed teasing the purple-haired girl last night. Lavender reminded her of a lot of knights she’d encountered in the lead up to tournaments in the past. Something to keep in mind as she was trapped with her parents in their carriage.

Dora took the tent down quickly and gathered her things. Her rapier was firmly hanging from her belt as did a collection of daggers. Not that she’d get to use them. As capable as she was, as capable as her parents were, they’d insist on letting the adventurers they paid for throw themselves at anyone foolish to try and rob them before lifting a finger.

There was barely enough time to think before a flurry of quest notices flew past her on a gust of wind. One of them slotted itself firmly in her fingers. The thick black lines at the edge caught her eye first. She’d never seen it that thick before.

NOTICE, the paper read in thick script, The black armored knight has been spotted on the main road to the advertised tournament. It has not initiated any hostile action towards Guild members or their escorts. Maintain extreme caution and only try to collect on his bounty if not engaged with other pressing Guild matters.

Dora crumpled the paper and tossed it aside. “Not my problem,” she grumbled. “Who’d be dumb enough to take on that headache?”