As the wind blew fallen leaves into the abandoned alleyway, the moon suddenly shone brighter, as if it was releasing forgotten magic back into the world. The silence seemed unnatural, as if it was brought upon the night by an unknown being. As fragile as silence is, it was broken, by the pawsteps of three cats, padding down the alleyway. A mother, a father, a daughter. "We have come," the mother declared, softly and shakily, as the family reached the end of the alley. She seemed to be speaking to the moon itself. "We have come, and now you shall honor your promise!" As she finished speaking, a magical ring of purple mist began to seep out through the paved ground of the alley, forming a dome. Then, abruptly, the dome of mist seemed to explode from the inside, then disappear, revealing another cat. A cat whose piercing, cold, pink eyes would trigger alarm in anyone who she lay them upon. A cat whose midnight blue fur seemed to glow, as if every strand contained something mystical . A cat who, undoubtedly, possessed forgotten magic. "Don't worry, I never break my promises," the mysterious cat replied, in a wicked, yet comforting voice. After a short silence, the father spoke, "Our child, our firstborn child, here she is. She is healthy, strong, and brave. Just like we told you." The daughter pushed past her father and stared into the mysterious cat's eyes. "They're lying, lying I tell you! You can see from my matted fur that I am not healthy, and from my frail legs that I am not strong, and from my troubled eyes and shaking knees... that I am not brave..." The mysterious cat gazed back into the daughter's eyes. "Oh, young one, you will see soon that it does not matter what you are now, it is what you will become," she turned to the parents, "Are you sure that you want to give up something so precious?" The father spoke, "Why have her live a life where her parents cannot support her, or themselves for that matter, and where she will only suffer and regret," "-when she can live a life where she is protected by someone of such great power?," the mother finished. In a cold voice, the mysterious cat replied, "But you want something more, I can feel it. You two won't be happy just knowing that your child is protected. You want.. you want riches, you want fortune beyond imagination! You want glory, fame,... comfort." The parents shrunk back, but they muttered at the same time, "Yes..." An evil grin crept up the mysterious cat's face. "Then that, you shall have." The jewel on the mysterious cat's forehead began to glow, along with her eyes. The wind picked up, and began to circle the parents. It morphed into purple mist, the same that revealed the cat. It circled, faster and faster, until it suddenly stopped, and disappeared. The parents, bewildered by this, stood still, eyes wide. "What have we done?," the mother asked softly, shakily. "You broke your promise. You promised your child a perfect life and that you would always be together. Now you get to live your perfect dream lives, but at a cost you will always regret paying. The cost of breaking a promise you made to a child so full of hope that she believed you. If you two were willing to give her up that easily, then you have never loved her as I will. Never. Now it is time for you to go." The cat's eyes glowed brighter, and the parents began to glow as well. Then a magnificent burst of light and energy exploded from where the parents were standing. As the light disappeared, it revealed that they were gone, and the cat's eyes returned to normal. "Wh- where are they?," the daughter asked the cat. "Fear not, I have only sent them to another world, one where they shall live the life that they have desired," the cat answered, warmly, "I know your wondering what will become of you. I will raise you, as my own. I will protect you. Do not worry, child. You are with me, now."
