Elspeth Starkenburg's Arc

Chapter 4 of 10

Apple would not settle. She sat in the crate by the fire and stared at the door. Then she stood, jumped out, and scratched at the wood. Her claws raked the boards. She turned and did it again. Elspeth watched her from the floor. If she guessed wrong, the cat would tear at that door until dawn. Elspeth thought hard. Her father used to say a full belly makes a body sleepy. He liked it when someone fed him without being asked. Maybe Apple was the same. Maybe she scratched because she was hungry, not because she wanted the barn. Elspeth went to the cold shelf and found the tin of sardines. She mashed a few into a small saucer with the back of a spoon. The smell filled the room. She set the saucer down near the crate, then stepped back so she would not crowd the cat. Apple's head turned. Her nose worked. She left the door and crept to the saucer. She sniffed once, then ate fast, licking the dish clean. When it was empty she sat and cleaned her whiskers with one paw. Elspeth still did not touch her. She dragged the feather toy slow across the floor instead. Apple's eyes followed. The girl flicked it near the crate. Apple pounced, missed, pounced again. She batted the feather over the cushion and into the blanket. Her jumps got slower. Her tail stopped twitching. Apple climbed into the crate. She turned one slow circle on the cushion. She pressed her paws into the soft cloth, kneading it. Then she curled into a tight ball and tucked her nose under her tail. Her sides rose and fell. She did not look at the door again. Elspeth held her breath. She waited for the cat to bolt. Apple only slept. The scratching was done. The girl had guessed right. Food, then play, then the warm crate. That was the order that worked. Elspeth lay on the floor by the fire pit to keep watch. She wanted to be sure Apple stayed. She rested her cheek on her arm and looked at the small sleeping shape. The fire snapped low. Warmth pressed on her back. Her eyes grew heavy. She meant to stay awake, but she did not. Amalia came home from the tavern in the dark. She pushed the door open, ready to help catch the cat if it had gone wild. Instead she stopped. The girl lay curled on the floor, asleep. The cat slept in its crate a hand's reach away. Neither had stirred at the door. Amalia stood there a moment. She let the latch fall soft behind her. "Well," she said, low. "Look at that." She pulled a blanket from the bench and laid it over Elspeth. Apple slept on. The cat had stayed the whole night through. Tomorrow the girl would try to move her from the crate to the pillow.