Firin dashed after Ruphel to the center of the orphanage, where the caretakers were trying to get the kits to calm down and follow them out in a line. Firin and Ruphel took a place at the end and the kits filed out. I wonder what this town meeting is about? I hope it's something good, like the queen had more kits or the BrushPaws and the WaterPaws made a peace treaty! Or, ooh, what if the government is finally making a law that you can't discriminate against cats based on their looks? Firin bounced excitedly on her toes. She looked at Ruphel to try to decipher his emotions. To her surprise, he looked grim. She nudged him. "Hey, why the long face?" she teased.

He glanced at her. "We don't know why we're being called. What if something terrible has happened?" He let out a breath. "I don't know about you, but I have a pretty bad feeling about this."

Firin thought about that for a moment. "I guess you're right. I shouldn't immediately assume that something new is something good."

Ruphel nodded. They followed the caretakers into the town square, which was packed with cats, all pointing their attention at a grey tom wearing a gold and green vest, in honor of the royal Brushpaws family. He looked down from the platform he was standing on at all of the cats who were assembling in the square with a hint of sadness in his eyes.

After a couple minutes of settling down, the cats in the square all peered up at him. He cleared his throat, then began to speak.

"Dear citizens of the loyal and delightful town of Sivara, I come with some sorrowful news." There were some murmurings around the square. The messenger waited a few moments for the noise to die down, then continued. "The strong and intelligent queen of the BrushPaws has gone missing." There were gasps all around.

What? The queen? Firin gasped. From what she had heard, the queen was kind and just ruler. She kept the order of the BrushPaw land, and was never cruel.

"What of the king?" someone shouted.

The messenger's gaze hardened. "He is fine, and is under strong guard."

Firin didn't know much about the king. He almost never left the palace in Kette, and his wife usually took care of any business, since she was the birth ruler, and that was how things were done in the BrushPaw queendom. She knew that if the birth ruler died or disappeared, their spouse would take over their reign. Firin hadn't missed how the messenger's face had taken on a harder look, and that planted a seed of worry in her belly. What if the king isn't nice?

The messenger cleared his throat to get the village's attention. "The royal family will appreciate it if you continue life as normal. Don't forget that the royal family values each of its citizens, and if you spot any WaterPaws, notify an official immediately. Thank you for your time." He stepped down from the platform and padded away, guards in armor flanking him.

Cats began to file out of the clearing. The caretakers of the orphanage gathered up all of the kits and started to head back. Firin caught Ruphel's eyes, and nearly jumped. They were filled with terror.

"The queen is missing!" Ruphel said, anxiety in his voice. "This is terrible!"

"It does sound pretty bad, but I don't get why you're so worked up." Firin licked Ruphel's ruffled neck fur down, then realized how weird that would seem to him. She grew hot underneath her fur.

Ruphel didn't notice. "It's much worse than it seems! The king is horrible!"

Firin's ears flicked back. "Really? What'd he do?"

"Did you hear that the king and queen actually had four kits, not three?"

"Yeah, the fourth one died of illness."

"No! She didn't! The king beat her to death because she wasn't pretty enough for him!" Ruphel swished his tail furiously. "He mistreats his servants, too."

Firin's eyes widened. "Are you sure?" She wanted this to be false, but Ruphel seemed pretty smart. "Maybe he's fine!"

"Yes, I am sure! My dad used to work for the king, and he often came home with scratches. He said he got them because he didn't follow the king's orders well enough." Ruphel's voice softened. "One day, he never came home from work, and that's why I'm in the orphanage."

Sympathy flooded through Firin. "Oh... I'm so sorry..."

They traveled the rest of the way back to the orphanage in silence. When they got back, the caretakers decided to have storytime until sunset, and afterwards Firin flopped down in her nest and slept.