Elspeth Starkenburg's Arc

Chapter 3 of 10

Amalia buttoned her belt for the tavern. She crouched by the fire and studied Elspeth. "I work Roslyn's evening shift now," she said. "That means I'm gone at dusk. That's when the cat needs to come home." She rubbed her tired eyes. "You can't chase her alone. She spooks and bolts." Elspeth knew this was true. Two nights running, she had reached for Apple's fur, and the cat had darted into the dark. Amalia had caught her both times. Tonight Amalia would be pouring measures for Roslyn instead. Elspeth thought about her father. He said you did not catch a thing by grabbing. You made it want to come. So she made a plan without hands in it. All afternoon she worked. She lined an old crate with a cushion. She draped a soft pink blanket over the top so it looked warm inside. She set the crate by the cottage door, where Apple could see it from the field. Then she found the feather toy she had tied herself, feather on a string on a stick. At dusk Amalia paused at the door. "You sure?" she asked. "Go," Elspeth said. "I've got her." Amalia looked at the crate, then at the girl. She did not argue. "Home by full dark," she said, and went. Elspeth put on her fur-lined cloak against the cold. She carried the feather stick to the edge of the field. Apple sat in the hay by the barn, watching. Elspeth did not walk toward her. She sat on the ground near the crate and dragged the feather slow across the dirt. Apple's ears turned. The feather hopped. The cat crept two steps from the barn, then stopped. Elspeth kept still. She flicked the string so the feather jumped like a bug. Apple's tail twitched. Elspeth backed toward the crate, trailing the feather behind her. Apple followed, low to the ground, eyes fixed. Elspeth did not reach out. She let the feather rest inside the crate on the blanket. Then she waited. Apple stopped at the crate's edge. She sniffed the cushion. She pressed a paw to the blanket, then climbed in and turned a slow circle. She batted the feather once and settled against the pink cloth. She did not bolt. Elspeth's chest hurt from holding still. She did not touch the cat. She only sat and breathed. When full dark came, she lifted the whole crate, cat and all, and carried it through the door. Apple stayed curled inside, blinking at the fire. Elspeth had brought Apple home alone. No hands, no chasing. But when she set the crate down, Apple looked at the door, then at the window, and did not settle to sleep. She wanted out. The crate had gotten Apple inside. Keeping her through the whole night, away from the barn, was a different problem, and it was Elspeth's now.