Great.
I peered down at the ground. I had to have been at least five stories up. God, if Chase left me up here I was going to punch him. I hated heights, especially ones where I knew there was no way I could get down without him transporting me down. He was such a jerk if he left me.
After the anger started to dissipate, I realized how much I could really see of the Kingdoms. Although I had walked through the ruins yesterday, it was much different seeing them in the day like this. I could see how grand it really once stood, how many people it could occupy. It was extraordinary to see, as time and nature currently trying to take it back to a time before it was created, trees and plants swallowing it whole, slowly but surely. I imagined parts of the Greek and Roman Empire looked quite the same. History that would slowly be forgotten.
“Chase, where the hell did you go?” I whispered as I tried to figure out how to get down from here. Nope, there was no clear way of doing it. I was screwed.
“You didn’t think I would really leave you here alone, now did ya?”
I looked up to find Chase on a branch higher up than the board. I don’t know why I didn’t think to look up, he was a cat after all.
“Who knows with you,” I commented
He grinned as he jumped down to the platform. “You learn quickly.”
I looked back down at the ground below. It seemed quiet, but I knew Malcolm and the others were down there. “Shouldn’t we be getting down there now? You said something about learning how to fight today.”
“As you wish.” He wrapped his arms around me and suddenly we were on the ground. He kept his arms around me, smiling. My heart started to beat faster. His skin was warm against mine and I could feel his hot breath against my face. He started to lean closer…
“Chase!” I heard Malcolm’s voice call from behind me. Chase let go of me and I turned to find Malcolm running over towards us. “You have some nerve, you stupid cat!”
Chase raised his eyebrow with a sly smile. “What are you talking about?”
“I went to wake up Alice and she was gone. You didn’t tell any of us where you took her. What do you think that was like, especially since there are people out there who are trying to get her? For all we knew, she could have been kidnapped. But lo and behold, you were missing as well.” Malcolm had his hands clenched in fists and his face was starting to turn red. I stepped away from the two of them.
Chase shrugged it off, not letting Malcolm talk down at him. “She couldn’t sleep so I decided to take her up to my tree fort to see the wonders of this land.”
Malcolm looked up in disbelief. “You took her up there? How could you?”
“Easily, I’m a cat. Now, stop yelling at me or are you just jealous that she spent the night with me instead of you?”
Malcolm pulled his fist back and punched Chase right in the jaw.
“Chase!” I exclaimed as he fell back. I knelt down next to him, making sure he was all right.
Chase placed his fingers over where his lip was bleeding. “That was uncalled for.”
“No it wasn’t,” Malcolm sharply replied. He held out his hand. “Now let’s go Alice, there’s a lot we need to go over today. You don’t want to spend your time with this cat.”
I looked down at Chase who was licking the blood off his finger. I didn’t understand why Malcolm was so mad at Chase, he was just trying to help. Though, then again, he should have told someone where we were, but I was responsible for that as well. I sighed as I grabbed Malcolm’s hand and he helped me up.
Malcolm led us back towards the castle where I could change into something more practical to learn how to fight in. I spotted an ivory and brown corset with a blue shirt, brown pants, and a utility belt that would be perfect to wear.
I glanced behind us to find Chase following at a distance, scowling. I felt bad for him and didn’t know what to do. The more time I spent with either of them, the more they fought. I liked them both and wanted both to be my friends. It was a lot more complicated than I even realized, especially if they had existed for such a long time.
“Why are you so mad at him?” I finally asked Malcolm. I would have whispered so Chase couldn’t overhear, but I remembered he was a cat and could hear pretty much anything.
“Because, he knew better than to take you away from the base. If Bill attacked here, he would have been defenseless. We have to stick together in case someone finds us,” he explained, keeping his eyes forward.
“But would they have been able to get up there, on the tree I mean. We were pretty high up.”
“When Chase opens portals like that, they stay around for a while. Bill has a device that can allow him to go through. That is why we didn’t use his abilities in the forest. If Bill figured out you were up there, you would have been cornered and everything that we worked hard to accomplish would have been for nothing.”
I looked down at my feet. “Oh, I didn’t know.”
“You aren’t the one
