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[CatLyxen]

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Cat wiped down the bar at Poet’s Garden. It had been busy in spurts but looked like things were slowing down for the night. She had talked to women about men and talked to men about women. All the while standing behind the bar cleaning the days dirty mugs. Many patrons simply wanted a drink and somewhere to sit, others wanted a little conversation. As Cat wiped down the bar for the last time that night she looked at the hat sitting on the bar. She ran her fingers gently over the brim and tears sprang to her eyes. Poet had put Angus’s hat on the bar in memory of his brother.
Cat’s guilt ate at her. Poet had lost his brother because of her and because of her Poet had watched his beloved tavern burn to the ground. Cat had worked as hard as she could to help get the tavern rebuilt and ready to reopen. Now that the work was done she had time to think, to remember.
She finished up at the bar, said goodnight to friends and headed to the bedroom. She got to the door and couldn’t make herself go in. She put her hand gently on the door , then turned and walked away.
Later that night she arrived at her house in Yew. She walked in and headed straight to the magic entrance to her bedroom. She moved a chair close to the fireplace and sat down. She took a bottle from her pack and reached for an empty mug on a nearby table. She poured some of the clear liquid into the mug . She swirled it around and drank it down. When she could breathe again , she refilled the mug. She kept refilling the mug until the bottle had but a few drops left then tipped the bottle up to her lips and finished it.
She sat back ,staring into the fireplace. She began to mumble,” you have taken everything from me. Never let me alone. Never let me go. I canna get away. I canna keep you from hurtin the people I love. What do I do? Do I give you back what you want? Your property. Live the rest of my life as your possession. Would that stop you. Would it?”
Cat stood up and walked drunkenly toward a table that held a little box. Inside the box were notes that Poet had written to her, telling her how much he cared for her. She thought of all the things she and Poet had been through. Their friendship started out when he was a part of the Brotherhood but no one wanted them together .Their friendship was so new and Poet’s heart too hurt for the interference not to have taken its toll. They cared for each other but went their separate ways.
Cat had tried to forget the big man with the wounded heart but something always drew her back to him.
She thought of how they were now .How much she loved him. How much she would give up for him. She pictured the scene in which she would tell Poet she would return to her father. To stop the killing and to stop her father from hurting anyone else. But she knew her father wouldn’t stop. Her father had always found what she loved and destroyed it, even when she had promised to give it up. This wouldn’t be any different.
As she thought of all the pain her father had caused she grew angry. She saw in her memory the Garden in flames, Poet’s stricken face and the face of Angus.
Angus ..the man who had saved her life and given his own.
“You’ve taken enough!! It’s your turn to lose Father!! It’s your turn!” She screamed over and over using her war axe to break everything in the room except the little box that held her heart.
She stood in the middle of the room breathing hard and dizzy. She threw the war axe to the ground and sat down. She started to push feathers back into a pillow and threw it aside. Getting up from the floor she walked into the adjoining room. She opened a small chest she hadn’t opened in a long while and began to remove dark clothing from it. First a long sleeved shirt then long pants and boots. At the bottom of the chest was a black mask. “ You have no love for anything but gold . “ she said out loud.
“I didn’t think I would ever wear the clothes of a thief again but … It’s your Turn to lose Father, Your Turn.”