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WHILE I was busy scaring myself, Harold easily apprehended Plum in its weakened state. He grabbed the feline by clamping its wings together, much as he’d done to Lars a short time before, and carried it with us. Elizabeth and I were careful to keep our distance, however, as it was making moaning and groaning sounds that suggested it was about to vomit the whole while.
Finally, we returned to my parents’ bedroom, where Mother waited, and Harold handed the miniature menace to her.
“Apparently, sealing my memories took most of its mana,” I explained.
Mother scrutinized Plum, hand glowing as she held it, while the pale-faced creature moaned.
“Mariabel!” Plum growled. “Hmph! You canneowt placate me with a mere trifling of meowna!”
It pointedly looked away from her, but its whiskers twitched with anticipation, and its tail swished to and fro excitedly. I wasn’t sure whether to trust its actions or its words.
“You’re giving it mana?” I asked, somewhat surprised.
“I wouldn’t want monster vomit on the carpet,” Mother sighed. “Though, at this point, I doubt there’s much I can do for it.”
Granted, Plum wasn’t looking any better, and despite its previous glee, it slumped in exhaustion, eyes shut again. It resembled Father to a remarkable extent.
“First, it wore itself out breaking the seal, then it spent its remaining mana all at once…” Mother sighed, resting Plum on the bed beside Father. “If it lost any more mana, it’d be dead by now. Honestly, first the sealer, now the sealed…”
“Gaius!” the cat hissed. “To think we would meet here, of all places… The hour of your death is nyaigh!”
Plum weakly swatted Father’s face, and while there was virtually no force behind the blows, the king moaned in feeble defiance. There was no coyness or feigned aggression there; it seemed to loathe Father genuinely.
Mother unaffectedly watched as Plum ran out of energy, after which she turned back to face me. “The seal on your memories is like a box, in a sense. What you can’t reach is locked inside, so the more memories it holds and the more potent they are, the stronger the box needs to be.”
“That makes sense.”
I spent ten full years thinking about Elizabeth nonstop, after all…
“But you messed with it, didn’t mew?” Plum asked, narrowing its eyes slightly. “The flow of meowna feels all meowxed up.”
“Well, we had no intention of altering it…”
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Harold’s shoulders slump resignedly.
Plum’s eyes narrowed further. “Come neow, pretty-boy Mariabel look-alike.”
Gods, I hate being called that.
It beckoned me, and after I obediently drew my face closer, it scooted closer to me and smacked me on the face.
I’ll abstain from forming any opinions on its evil toe beans, I think.
I felt eyes on me, and I turned to find Elizabeth staring at me. Something resembling jealousy was in her eyes. She was a cat lover, if I recall correctly. I noticed Lars was studying his talons in disappointment, realizing he could never compete in that regard.
“Mmrrr…” Plum closed its eyes. “It seems my seal was meowsdirected… Now, it only targets memories related to your greatest treasure.”
“I’d feared as much,” I sighed.
“You knew?”
“More or less.”
My academic and political knowledge was the second most important thing to me, primarily because I needed to know those things to marry Elizabeth. That was the next most natural thing to seal.
“Can you unseal it?” I asked.
Plum twirled its whiskers. “Neowt possible. Some of this meowna isn’t mine… it’s white and sparkly, somehow. If I try when I’m neowt in top form, I’d just tangle it up mewre.”
That would be Lars’ mana, I guessed. A hallowyrm’s mana was far more potent and difficult to deal with than a mere monster’s, so it was no small wonder the magic was hard to unthread.
I frowned. “I’d rather not mess up my brain any more than it already is.”
I glanced at Elizabeth, noting that she seemed just as frustrated. Worst-case scenario, messing with my mind further could erase her from my memories altogether.
Plum nodded. “Give me one meownth, and I’ll have enough meowna to return you to neowrmal.”
“A whole month?”
I’d have to be content knowing my memories could be fixed. It would be inconvenient, granted, but I would survive.
Beside me, the tension left Elizabeth’s shoulders. The relaxation seemed to be spreading, even, as Plum had already rolled over onto its back with a grin, its fur spilling over the mattress’ soft contours like melted butter.
“For that one meownth, I expect you to treat me like royalty. Then, and only then, will I help mew out of meowr mess. If you meownage to get on my bad side, then—mewrar?!”
Mother cut the little imp off by hoisting it aloft by the scruff of its neck. Its fur puffed out, and its pupils rapidly dilated in fear.
She faintly smiled as she swung the creature to and fro as if contemplating what to do with it. “If we were to get rid of you, the seal would disappear on its own…though I suppose you’re a rather powerful monster. If something unfortunate were to happen to you, why, we might throw the entire monster world into disarray.”
“E-Exactly!” Plum nodded furiously, rubbing its little toe beans together furtively, its panicked smile showing only hints of its fangs. “You were so generous in sealing me away last time, Your Majesty! Myahaha…”
It was brownnosing, clearly, but profoundly failing to be cute. It lacked any of Lars’ feigned uselessness and was never in a subservient position to her besides. Father gaped at the sight wordlessly.
Huh. I didn’t realize he was awake.
“Did We ever tell you of your mother’s reputation?” he finally said.
I nodded. “I knew what I heard was true… They call her the Dem— er, the Miracle of Urhalla.”
“Very good. And what is Urhalla?”
I shot him a puzzled look. “It’s the name of a country…our country.”
It was odd for her appellation to include the name of the kingdom itself—but then, it all clicked. Father, noticing the realization on my face, nodded grimly.
“Mariabel once made herself known not only through this country but the entire continent. Even monsters grew to fear her on sight. She is the single bravest, most powerful woman in our country’s history.”
Mother sighed, something akin to embarrassment passing over her face. “Please, dear, don’t remind me of those days. I was such a tomboy; people called me all sorts of horrible things, like the Exploder and the Goddess of Destruction…”
Father tenderly took her hand. “We count those days among Our fondest memories.”
It was oddly touching, especially considering the brutal implications of Mother’s past. The sheer number of names she had and the prevailing violence of them spoke volumes.
“I never would’ve guessed,” I said with a shake of my head.
“Nor would I have,” Elizabeth added.