Page 68 of The Princess's Pet

“Have you ever played pinball?” Edward asked and I shook my head no. “It’s the best.” And he excitedly directed me to a large game that stood on 4 legs and was brightly coloured. The aim of the game was to stop a little metal ball from being lost by moving flippers and earning points for the ball hitting various targets. We played a few games, and it was fun. Edward was kinda fun too when he wasn’t being all stuffy.

He showed me the lounge room full of well-worn couches. We found Loki snoozing on a couch.

Loki was much larger than any house cat I had ever seen before.

“I’m not sure that’s a cat,” I told Edward apprehensively as he walked over to the animal and woke it up.

“Sure he is.” He told me, scratching behind Loki’s ear and the cat looked up at him, big purple eyes opening slowly. I stepped back when the animal stood and stretched languidly.

The cat looked at me curiously and leapt from the couch walking towards me.

“Edward! Keep it away from me,” I cried.

“Don’t worry Percy. He’s a big cuddle monster. He won’t hurt you,” Edward reassured, walking past Loki to stand beside me.

Loki walked up to us slowly and I was rooted to the spot. The top of his head was level with my stomach. This was not an ordinary cat.

“He’s just a floofball,” Edward said reaching out and petting the cat again. “Here, give him a pet. It’s okay. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you Percy. The Princess would have my head,” he told me seriously.

I reached out slowly my hand shaking. Loki was pure muscle beneath all that black fur. He leaned into my touch and brushed himself up against my legs. I would have fallen over if Edward hadn’t caught and steadied me.

“See, he’s a good boy,” Edward said and I had to agree. After I got over my initial fear and distrust, Loki was very affectionate. “He likes you,” Edward commented.

“You think? I’ve never been near a cat like this before.” I laughed.

“He’s a good judge of character,” Edward told me. “We should probably get you back to the castle. It’s getting dark out,” he added.

“Bye Loki,” I said patting the giant cat’s head. He followed behind us until we left the building as if showing us out.

“I didn’t expect the servant quarters to have so much entertainment. Or a monstrous cat,” I told Edward, pleasantly surprised.

“We work hard and we’re rewarded. It’s a good life as a Borealis servant. If you want to be here,” he explained.

“And you want to be here?” I asked him.

“My family’s served the Royal Borealis coven and house for generations. It’s all I’ve known, and I don’t want to know anything else,” he told me seriously.

“I can tell you’re very devoted to Borealis,” I told him and couldn’t hide my smirk at his seriousness.

“I know I bother people.” He sighed beside me as we walked back through the courtyards. “They think I take my role too seriously. I have ambitions and I don’t hide them. I want to be head servant one day.”

“I think you will be,” I told him. “But you’re a lot more fun when you aren’t so serious.”

“You’ve only known me when I’ve been working,” he told me.

“You were working at the Academy?” I asked him. He nodded.

“I was. The Princess asked me to keep an eye on what was happening with the servants of the other Houses.” He hesitated. “And you.”

“She asked you to keep an eye on me?” I asked shocked.

“Yes, but I didn’t do a good job. You didn’t want to know me.” He laughed.

“You spy for my Princess?” I asked a little annoyed, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. Who knew how many spies the Princess had watching me? No wonder she always knew what I’d been up to.

“Your Princess?” Edward asked, sharing the same mischievous smile as his grandmother.

“What?”

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