Greta and Boris Read online

  With Sam left comfortably in his house, the three considered the best way to return home.

  ‘How did you get here?’ Boris said. ‘Did you take the staircase?’

  Kyrie and Greta nodded in reply. ‘Is there another way home?’ Greta asked. The thought of going down the staircase made her a little nervous to say the least.

  Boris smiled lazily. ‘Indeed there is! Let’s shoot the works. Travel back in style.’ He let out three sharp whistles, much to Greta’s surprise. She had no idea that cats were able to whistle so well. But then, she hadn’t known that cats could talk either until a few days ago. Or that there was a Rat King, or…well, so many things had happened that would have seemed impossible a week ago. Whistling cats was the least of it.

  At the third whistle, Greta heard a great beating of wings above her head. She looked up, to see a huge and glorious golden eagle coming in to land. His feathers shone like polished bronze, his eyes blazed as orange as the evening sun and he looked as strong as a tiger or lion. He was, without a doubt, the most impressive and handsome bird that Greta had ever seen.

  ‘Your Highness, Prince Marmaduke Nikolai Boris Blue,’ his voice rung out clearly. ‘I am at your service. And may I add that it is marvelous to see you safe and sound after your ordeal.’

  ‘Thank you Gryphon,’ Boris replied. ‘I owe much to my companions here, the girl-child Greta and the warrior Kyrie. But now we turn to you and request a ride back to my kingdom, to be reunited with my family and my home.’

  ‘But of course, your Highness,’ Gryphon replied. ‘It would give me great pleasure and it will be an honor to perform this humble service. Just get on my back, and off we go!’

  The three followed his instructions and with a great flapping of wings they flew off. For Greta, it was one of the most exhilarating times of her life. The rush of the cool wind against her face, the gentle and calming swish of the beating wings, the tranquil beauty of Cloud-Top Land and then the forest beneath them; all of it seemed magical as Gryphon sped them back to the Kingdom of Cats. He surfed on thermals and raced other birds, pointing out landmarks and historical sites, until they landed safely and wished him goodbye.

  Boris and Kyrie were home.

  In which we celebrate!

  As they walked from Gryphon’s landing point towards the palace, the entire Kingdom of Cats rushed out to meet them. Music was played on the streets as cats mewed out their thanks for Boris’ safe return, their happiness at restored order, their love and respect for Greta and Kyrie. Bands played a processional march, and everyone danced and cheered to see the three returning safely. But all this excitement was nothing compared to what awaited them at the palace.

  The throne room was full of decorations, flowers, streamers and balloons. Huge pictures of Greta and Kyrie adorned the walls. A massive banquet was laid out, with platters of fish and poultry – as well as a selection of luscious creamy desserts, from ice cream to tiramisu to panna cotta. Flowers covered the table and all around the great hall stood minstrels playing mandolins and wind instruments. The room was transformed to a scene of merriment and joy.

  At the head of the hall, resplendent on their thrones, sat the King and Queen and their younger children, where they had been anxiously waiting for news of Boris’ safe return. When the door opened to reveal him standing there, safe and home again, his overjoyed family ran across the room to take him in their arms.

  It was an emotional reunion as they cried and laughed and cried some more, holding their oldest son and brother close to them, never wanting to let him go again. Then more hugs and tears for Kyrie and Greta, as the joyful family thanked and praised them; naming them heroes of the land and demanding that they take their place in the history books.

  After they had hugged and cried and hugged some more, King Whiskers decided order had to be restored. He took his place at the head of the banqueting table and motioned for the rest of the court to do the same. Once everyone was seated it was time for his speech. King Whiskers was, after all, very fond of speeches.

  ‘My dear wife, my beloved children, friends and citizens of this great Kingdom,’ he said to the great cheering crowd in the hall. ‘What a day this is! What a glorious victory! We have moved from the darkest times to stand united today in this bright and happy moment. The cat-napping by our enemies the rats of my eldest born son, Prince Marmaduke Nikolai Boris Blue, threw our land into terror and confusion. Sorrow gripped us and we did not know if he would ever be seen in our kingdom again. We did not know if the rats would win this round. Uncertainty took over and we sank into a national depression.

  ‘But cats will never be defeated! By working together with our friends and loved ones we can achieve anything! This was the lesson learnt by the brave girl-child Greta. She overcame obstacles and terrifying ordeals to rescue our beloved Prince. Her courage and determination to succeed has brought back to us the good and noble Marmaduke Nikolai Boris. She has restored safety and harmony to our kingdom!

  ‘But she did not do this alone. Our gratitude also extends to the legendary warrior, Kyrie. Never have we known a cat of her strength, her wisdom and her bravery. Without these two great women, our Prince may have been lost. So I ask you to raise a toast to my son’s safe return, and to those who made it happen, Greta, Kyrie and Boris!’

  Every cat in the room cheered and raised their glasses of dandelion wine in a toast to the heroes.

  ‘You know me well,’ continued the King. ‘You know how I like to talk and make speeches and talk some more. But for the rest of the evening I will remain quiet. Let the warriors tell their story and let the celebrations begin!’

  And begin they did! The minstrels struck up their songs, as the cats and Greta started to tuck into their food. The cats clamored around the heroic pair, begging to hear the stories of how Kyrie found Greta, and how Boris was rescued. Everyone was laughing and talking and laughing again. After eating their fill of the delicious meal the cats took to the dance floor, whirling around the great hall with elation.

  Greta was happy too, but she felt strangely subdued – something that did not go unnoticed by Boris and Kyrie. After dancing together many times the pair came over and sat down next to her.

  ‘Are you ok, Greta?’ Boris asked, nuzzling his human’s chin.

  Greta smiled at the familiar caress. ‘Yes, of course. It’s a marvelous party Boris.’

  ‘You just seem slightly sad,’ Kyrie said. ‘Not as lively as the rest of us. Are you sure there is nothing wrong?’

  Greta looked sadly at her hands. ‘I guess it’s the opposite. I feel so happy here, with you both, and in the Kingdom of Cats. Everyone has been so good and kind to me. I feel like I don’t really want to go home.’

  Boris and Kyrie exchanged knowing glances.

  ‘It is very easy to think like that Greta,’ Boris replied. ‘Sometimes, when you are so happy in a place, you can’t bear the thought of leaving it. Especially if leaving it means returning to somewhere that can be not so nice. But the human world is where you belong. It is part of who you are. Just as here is where we cats belong. Think what would happen if you stayed here. You might be happy now, but you’d miss your family and your home and you’d lose a sense of your identity. You’d stop feeling human, you’d stop being Greta. And that would be a tragedy.’

  Greta nodded. ‘I suppose so,’ she said. ‘I just love it here so much.’

  ‘Think of all that you learnt on our journey, Greta,’ Kyrie carried on from Boris. ‘What did you see in the millpond? A strong and brave girl who will become a strong and brave woman. You can take that with you forever now and you don’t ever have to be afraid anymore. You’ve learnt to be proud of who you are, and that is such a great thing. Once you know that, you can achieve everything you’ve ever wanted and be happy wherever you go. You belong with your human world.’

  ‘But you know you can visit here whenever you need or want,’ Boris added.

  Greta sat in a contemplative silence for a while. ‘No, you’r
e right. I see that. I cannot leave my place in the human world, or desert my family and my home. They are part of who I am. I should go back.’ She looked at both the cats on either side of her. ‘I’m sorry I can’t stay for the rest of the party, Boris. But if I don’t go back now…’

  ‘Of course.’ He nuzzled her happily. ‘Do you know your way back?’

  ‘I’ll take her,’ Kyrie said. ‘Then I’ll come back to the party.’

  ‘Thank you, Kyrie. I’ll see you tomorrow Greta, in my usual place! Thank you so much for what you did. Without you there to save me I dread to think what could have happened.’

  Greta just smiled in reply, and Boris understood. They didn’t need words.

  Kyrie and Greta walked silently through the Kingdom of Cats to the border where it met the human world. Across the kingdom the parties and revels continued, but the pair felt sad. It was going to be hard to say goodbye to each other.

  ‘You will come and visit, won’t you, Greta?’ Kyrie mewed.

  ‘Of course I will! And you promise to visit me too?’

  Kyrie nodded. ‘I have so much respect for you, Greta. You have done so well and been so strong. Never doubt that. I am honored to have spent this journey with you.’

  ‘I am too,’ she replied. ‘Yes. I am too.’

  They smiled warmly at each other. ‘Well, here I am,’ Greta said. ‘Time to say goodbye.’

  Kyrie nuzzled her and the pair hugged for a long time. Then, with a final wave and without looking back, Greta returned home.

  Epilogue

  The sun streamed through the curtains, illuminating Greta’s bedroom with dappled light. Slowly forcing her eyes open, Greta yawned lazily and stretched, trying to decide whether to sleep some more, or start the day. The sun convinced her to do the latter. She leaned over the end of the bed, and ruffled the top of Boris’ head.

  ‘Come on, time to wake up, Boris!’ she yawned.

  ‘Miaow,’ he replied, yawning to reveal his rough pink tongue and shiny teeth. Greta dragged her tired body out of bed and wandered into the kitchen, Boris close at her heels. She put the kettle on, poured some milk out for her cat, made some toast with honey and together they went into the garden to enjoy their breakfast under the tree.

  They had the whole summer ahead of them.

  Acknowledgements

  First of all I would like to thank the team at Our Street and John Hunt publishing who took a chance on Greta and Boris’ adventure and chose to publish it. Thank you to John Hunt, Catherine Harris, Mary Flatt, Nick Welch, Stuart Davies and Trevor Greenfield.

  Secondly I want to thank Robert Griggs for bringing ‘Greta and Boris: a daring rescue’ to life with his fantastic illustrations. They are exactly how I imagined the world of Greta and Boris to look. He is so talented and I am so proud to call him both a colleague and a friend.

  Thank you to Bidisha for believing in Greta and Boris, and to everyone else who read the book and made me believe that it was good and worth publishing.

  Thanks to Dave Sturdy for taking the ‘author photo’.

  Thank you to mum, Kathryn, Ben, Dad and Louise. To my friends, Liz, Liam, Emma, Cat, Coz, Mark, Tony, Chris, Duffy, Eva, Hannah, Nicky, Pip, Karen, Morvan, Julien and Natalie. To old friends Jay, Kay, Niz, Ralph, Holly, Joe, Lawrence, Nadia and Carol. And to London friends Dara, Doug, Dave, Kate, Rowan, Joe, Anna, Lydia, Ellie and Jack. Special thanks to Susie for collaborating with me on my other book The Light Bulb Moment and on the Crooked Rib Zines. Thanks also to my Bristol Feminist Network sisterhood, Anna, Katy, Sue, Jenny, Kate, Marina S and Helen, and to the feminist collective of tweeters for their endless encouragement and support.

  Final and most important thank you to JP, who always believed in Greta and Boris, and in me as a writer.

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