What ever shall we do Mirabel? I need to speak with Danny but maybe we should have waited to be summoned. I'm certain he will already be aware of our arrival. Nothing gets by him. I really should learn to temper my enthusiasm before it gets me into any more trouble.
She cast her eyes down onto her furry little friend, now curled up comfortably in the crook of her arm, and stroked her lovingly between the ears. Lifting the soft leather of the little purple collar that graced her neck, complete with the silver locket bearing her name, she ruffled the flattened fur beneath. The gift had been dropped off by a lone rider one evening some years before with a simple note saying:
I hope your Mirabel isn't getting stuck up any more trees lately. I trust she will enjoy her new collar and locket.
It was signed simply D.
At the time, Delilah's thoughts had ventured immediately to the nice gentleman who had helped her to rescue her cat that day and how kind he must be to follow up his intervention with such a little treasure. The locket was clearly hand-cast and made a little rattling noise when Mirabel bounced around the garden at home, alerting the neighbourhood birds to her presence, much to her obvious personal feline disgust. It always made Delilah laugh to see the exaggerated scowls that Mirabel would throw her way each time a bird would hop out of danger at the last second. Of course, she now knew that D was none other than Danny Rupert, and she felt indebted to him for the enduring kindness that he had shown them both.
Mirabel leaned into her and rolled her head around the soft shape of Delilah's palm. There was nobody that she loved more. Delilah had been a surrogate mom to her in her infancy and they had a wonderful bond. She was so grateful that she had come back for her. Mother had made sure that she was fed and watered but she was very controlling and she had felt uneasy at the best of times under her watchful eye. She was certain that that woman suspected something more was afoot, but she had played her part of the lonesome anxious house cat to perfection and despite some narrowed eyes and raised eyebrows thrown in her direction, and a few thinly veiled threats, she had maintained her resolve. She had to; for Delilah's sake. Up until now, there were a few things that she had intentionally shielded Delilah from as she had to be certain, before setting in action the chain of events that she hoped would bring about the end of the power struggles in the Barony, that her facts were correct.
Ever since the Fall, some animals had been endowed with special abilities. No human knew about them, as far as she was aware, except Delilah...and Henry, of course, for he was Delilah's confidante, her one true and trusted friend in the world. Other than Jet and Amber, Mirabel had not come across many animals who possessed the gift, of being able to understand human speech and emotion and being able to communicate seamlessly with those humans who dared to love them completely. With other humans, there was the ability to understand what they were thinking and feeling, but the communication was mono-directional. It was not like she could speak the human language; it could more be likened to an intuitive or telepathic connection. Delilah seemed to intuit her thoughts and vice versa, and it was in this manner that their relationship had grown and evolved.
Mirabel? Are you in there?
Delilah tilted her head, looking at her with concern.
Of course, I am dear girl!
Mirable scoffed.
She turned her head and licked the small round raw patch where Mother's hand had rested earlier that day and closed tightly around her fronds of charcoal hair. She scowled as she recalled the crass roughness of the woman.
Mother is planning something big, Delilah.
Mother had always worried Delilah. To the outside world she projected the image of a demure, loyal, and obedient wife, content to do her husband's bidding, when in fact, both Delilah and Mirabel knew who really wore the pants in that "castle". The only thing Mother had ever done at Father's bidding, was to agree to raise Delilah as her own, and even that had come at a price! To the world at large, she was a doting mother, behind closed doors she remained distant and aloof. She cared as anyone would who had raised a child from birth, but she had never been able to overcome the emotional obstacle of knowing that her husband had had an affair and that she was now raising the child of a woman she despised more than anything else in the whole world.
Mother seems to think that she and Father have been used by Danny Rupert as pawns in his own real-life game of snakes and ladders. She despises both Danny and ...uh...your birth mother. She seems to think that your real mother is about to make an appearance in your life and for some reason that gives her cause for grave concern.
She sent all the staff home early for the holidays, on the pretext that she needed some peace and quiet in the homestead but I know what she is really up to; I've had my eye on her for some time now.
You getting lost and coming across your Father at the Old Solar Baron's Estate is not as fortuitous as you may have thought. I discovered that your parents were working with the Predas but could not let you find out within the confines of the homestead as I feared you would not be able to get word to Danny Rupert otherwise. So I shared the little secret with Jet and Amber. Jet worked his magic to ensure that you detoured off the path that night that you went seeking Danny Rupert and he kept riding true in the direction of the old estate. We knew Henry would chase after you, he always does, and so Amber was primed to ensure Henry did not lose sight of you. Once you arrived at the estate we knew your curiosity would get the better of you. Jet and Amber made sure that their presence was discovered so that you could see for yourself what was happening inside and be able to take that knowledge with you to the Pizza Baron.
Delilah was still staring at Mirabel, mouth gaping wide open at these revelations when the door swung open in front of her and standing large in the doorway was Danny Rupert himself.
Come on in, Delilah
He greeted her warmly, waving her inside the room.
There is somebody here that I would very much like you to meet.
As she swept past him with Mirabel in her arms, Danny could not resist gazing at the little silver locket still securely attached to the purple leather collar around Mirabel's neck.
Aah excellent, he thought, the keys to my legacy are still safe.
Delilah walked in and stopped dead in her tracks. Before her, stood a woman who for all intents and purposes was her, only 20 odd years older. She started to shake and the hairs on her arms prickled. Her heart was beating considerably faster than a few seconds before too. She dropped Mirabel, who squawked loudly at her ungracious landing and took cover under the Baron's desk.
Hello Delilah...
the woman smiled sweetly at her, with much warmth in her voice,
...you have no idea how much I have been looking forward to seeing you again.
This is my entry for A Tale of Two Pizzas week 20, a writing initiative by @dibblers.dabs to create the first Hive blockchain novella. I went with something a bit out of left field this week lol. I have recently been reading about animal communication and it fascinated me. I considered that Mirabel and Delilah may have such a relationship if it were true, and how interesting would it be if this extended to an inter-species connection too! There are a couple of days remaining to enter this week's edition. You can find the link to the archived post showing all chapters written and accepted to date towards the story development in the linked post as well as @dibblers.dabs most recent chapter from which to write.
Photo credit:
image 1 canva pro library
