Nightcat – Kitty Castle – Book 1
Celesta & Keziah Thiessen
Published by Celesta Thiessen
Copyright 2012 Celesta Thiessen
Cover art by Josh Branscum
Chapter 1– The Secret of the Night Cats
“But Mom, why do you have to leave?” asked Celesta. Celesta had blond curly hair and brown eyes. She was wearing her prettiest blue dress, to say goodbye to her parents. Celesta was one of three princesses. They were triplets - all seven years old, almost eight.
The whole family was standing inside the castle, near the large front doors.
“Because we are being overrun with dragons!” said the queen. Their mother had long brown ringlets and brown eyes.
All the children were very sad that their parents had to go. The king and queen had to find some way to stop the dragons. The children knew this quest could take their parents a long time.
“Why can’t one of you stay?” asked Priscilla. Priscilla had beautiful, long brown hair, and she had brown eyes, like her sisters. She was wearing a lovely purple dress.
“Because,” answered the king, “it would be too dangerous for one person to go alone. You will all be safe here, in Kitty Castle.” Their father had brown eyes and short brown hair.
Kitty Castle was very old. It was a strong fortress. Some said there was magic deep within.
“Goodbye,” moaned Keziah. She was afraid that her parents might get killed on such a dangerous trip. The dragon fire could burn anything except stone. Everything else burned, even if it was raining! That’s why it would be so dangerous for her parents. Keziah had curly, brown hair and dark brown eyes. She was wearing her most beautiful pink dress.
“Don’t worry. Your tutor, Mr. Raymond, will help take care of you while we’re gone,” said the king.
“Nooo!” said David. “I don’t think he even believes in dragons. He never goes outside. He never knows what’s going on! How is he going to take care of us?” David had short blond hair and brown eyes. He was only five years old.
“Our cook, Daisy, will help him,” said the king. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”
“Richard, I want you to take care of your little sisters and brother, too,” said their mother.
“I will, Mother,” said Richard. Richard had short brown hair and brown eyes. He was eleven years old.
The king and queen then left. They slammed the door shut so that no dragon would get in and no cat would get out.
“Children,” announced their tutor, “it is time for your studies.” Mr. Raymond was a tall, skinny man with golden spectacles.
Sadly, the children walked up the stairs to the library. Their cat, whom they called Nightcat, came to greet them at the top of the stairs.
“Hi, Nightcat,” Keziah said. They called their old, silver cat Nightcat because they had noticed that he stayed up all night, every night. They knew he was a very special cat. The children had noticed that many cats slept at nighttime but some cats stayed up all night. These were night cats and their pet was one of them.
Nightcat returned to the royal library where he liked to sleep because the cook had no interest in books - except cook books - and there were none of those in the library. Daisy kept the cookbooks in the kitchen. Daisy didn’t like cats so Nightcat thought it best to keep away from her. He curled up on a pillow near the fireplace.
That night, the three sisters stayed up because they wanted to see what Nightcat did every night. They thought that he must be very lonely. As the sisters watched, Nightcat started down the winding staircase to the cellar. The princesses followed quietly behind the cat so that he wouldn’t hear them. When they got to the basement, it was very dark. They couldn’t see Nightcat. Then Keziah noticed something.
“Priscilla, Celesta, look!” whispered Keziah. “There’s a secret passageway!” She pointed to an opening in the wall that was still partially open.
“Let’s go in there,” whispered Priscilla.
“I’m not so sure,” said Celesta. “It looks pretty dark.”
“I brought a flashlight, just in case,” whispered Keziah.
“Good thinking!” said Celesta.
“Shhh...,” whispered Keziah.
Keziah turned on her flashlight. They all went in. The passageway looked very old but they felt safe. Kitty Castle was their home. There was nothing to fear in Kitty Castle. Nightcat was far ahead of them. They hurried down the hallway to catch up. When they got to a large room, they found a small pool of water. Then they saw Nightcat. He seemed to be changing. He was growing! Something was happening to his back.
“Oh, no!” whispered Priscilla.
“I think it’s okay,” said Keziah.
Soon Nightcat was as big as a tiger and had large, silver-furred wings.
“It’s the magic - the magic of Kitty Castle!” said Celesta.
“It’s the magic we’ve been waiting for!” said Keziah.
Nightcat breathed and a few sparkles twinkled in the air. Then he turned and looked at the princesses.
“Nightcat, is that you?” asked Pricilla.
Then Nightcat spoke, “It is I! And this is the magic we’ve all been waiting for! Thank you for following me. You showed that you love me very much. It is your love that has turned me into the first good night cat in the world.”
“Is there a way for us to stop the dragons now?” asked Keziah.
“Yes,” answered Nightcat. “Dragons are night cats that have been treated badly. The cure is in this pool. My breath will put them to sleep and then you can splash this water on the dragons to turn them back into kittens.”
“Well,” said Keziah, “we must go to sleep now or we will get in trouble from our tutor.” Mr. Raymond never let them stay up at night.
They tiptoed softly up to their room and went to bed.
In the morning, they awoke refreshed. It seemed like Nightcat had made the night last a little longer for them than for the others in the castle. When the brothers woke up, they were surprised to find that Nightcat was huge and had wings. They were scared, too. The sisters had to explain what had happened.
“I wouldn’t believe it,” said Richard, “if I didn’t see it here with my own eyes.”
“Thank you for never pulling my tail and for treating me with kindness,” said Nightcat to the boys. “You have helped me to change into a good night cat.”
“Whoa,” said David. “I didn’t know you could talk!”
“It would be a good idea to keep quiet about me,” said Nightcat. “The cook and your tutor don’t like me. I think that I would frighten them.”
“Okay,” said Celesta.
“Now,” said Nightcat, “I must go to sleep.”