Since the day he was born, Alfalfa knew he had to protect her. Yet when they came to take him to her, he knew his fate was sealed. He cried.
The leaders were glad he was there. He took over many of their responsibilities. He stayed awake to patrol for prowlers & others that may seek to harm the princess.
He spent much of his day sleeping with one eye, as the princess played with her Barbies. Sometimes she drew pictures of herself, often running with Alfalfa through the forest. During the infrequent times that the leaders came to escort the princess to court, Alfalfa would often find himself exiled to his quarters alone. He didn’t like this.
Alfalfa had a sixth sense, you see. He knew that there were traitors among the leaders. Most of them said nasty things, things the princess shouldn’t hear. The princess was blinded to these things,since she had deep affection for her “family”, as she called them.
Alfalfa sat at attention all night, waiting impatiently for his princess to return. When she finally did return & she had seen him waiting, she hugged him and patted his head.
The years passed, and the affection that Alfalfa felt for the princess had grown exponentially. Alfalfa had become somewhat lackadaisical about some things. He knew that he was there to make her smile when she needed it. The princess often went to run in the forest & play with the butterflies; Alfalfa would rest his eyes, within ear shot of her laughter.
One day, as Alfalfa dozed in the open meadow he heard footsteps approaching. His eyes flew open, his senses on high alert. Coming down the forest trail, he saw the leaders stomping in his direction. They had the princess in restraints. She was crying, and instantly, he ran to her.
Alfalfa knew that he couldn’t fight the leaders alone. He was only a youth. His knives would upset them, but they held the majority & outmatched him in ability & skill. Alfalfa promised the princess, that he wouldn’t leave her. When the leaders came to restrain him and lock him into chains, he didn’t resist.
Alfalfa wasn’t afraid. He knew that whatever happened, he would be with the princess. He knew because that was part of the contract. Even into death, he would follow her.
He didn’t realize he was wrong, until he awoke in the dungeon of an abandoned castle.
His eyes darted around the yellowed walls, his nails scraped against the concrete floor, and he searched for a window : There were none. It felt like hours & even weeks passed as Alfalfa paced the dingy room, searching for any weakness that would allow him to fly from this place and find his beloved princess.
Soon, his eye fell upon a loosened stone. When he lifted the stone away it revealed a doorway. Alfalfa quickly fled through the opening and found himself in the midst of the court.
The leaders were huddled together in the corner. Alfalfa saw the princess’s belongings scattered about on the table. Her dresses and her playthings were lying haphazardly among her drawings and her writings. “A witch has bespelled her.” Alfalfa heard one of the leaders whisper. Another replied “That is impossible. It is obviously demonic possession.” Were they speaking of the princess? He didn’t know for sure. Alfalfa jumped up onto a low hanging ledge & laying as still as he could, proceeded to listen intently for any clue about his princess.
What Alfalfa heard couldn’t be true. He had waited until they had all dispersed to make a movement or a sound. Now, he found himself running through the empty corridors, looking behind every plank of wood and atop any stairway. He had to find her. Though he became tired, he didn’t stop.
“A Witch? A Demon? His Princess?” Alfalfa knew he had to find her. They didn’t know her like he did. She wouldn’t do the things they were accusing her of.
When he found her she was sitting upon a pile of rags. The dark attic made it difficult to see if she was hurt, but he could smell blood, and piss, mingled with the rot of the wooden floor boards.
He practically leaped the full distance to her, careful to distribute his weight, just right so as not to send them both crashing down to the concrete below! “Princess! He cried out as he crouched beside her & touched her cheek with his own. We must run. We must escape. Your trial is at dawn!”
The princess turned her head and looked at him, without a smile. The tears streamed from her eyes, crimson drops. She turned back to what she had been looking at before. Alfalfa peered at it as well, and what he saw frightened him.
Her tears of blood ran down her cheeks, splattering upon the severed head of a leader. The head belonged to the one she called “Mother”.
“Please princess, please come with me.” Alfalfa didn’t care what had happened. He knew he had to save her. He loved his princess, and someone meant to harm her.
“I love you, Alfalfa.” He heard her say. It was with the smallest of voices she said those words, as she had said many times while he wiped her tears away.
Suddenly a great, white hot, flame erupted before him. Gastly voices chanted “noctus eferves, eferves spirgus”. He couldn’t see them. They had created a great cloud. He stumbled, crying out for the princess. He had to save her. He clawed at the air, swung at the shadows, his lungs burning & the fire catching his hair… “Where is she” … his only thought, as he collapsed to the floor… “My princess, I’m here.” … All was still, and silent.
The princess covered Alfalfa in a royal cloth. She kissed his burned scalp as the tears of misery flowed down her cheeks. “Alfalfa, you were the best kitty.” she stammered, as she laid him down into eternal rest. “We will always be together, my love. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten.”