Free Chosen Sister by Ardyth DeBruyn Page B

she’d hardly ever seen. Grapes, oranges, strawberries, as well as spiced turkey, stuffing, and apple pie. A teapot poured out two cups of tea as she watched.
    “Do you think it’s safe?” Austyn asked, poking a finger at some grapes.
    Reina didn’t want to think about it—she wanted to eat. “Well, I think we ought to try it.” Wasn’t Austyn starving as well? “It looks perfectly good. Perhaps it appeared here just for us.”
    Austyn frowned. “I dunno.”
    “Okay, I’ll try it first, just a little, to find out.” She picked a grape and popped it in her mouth. Its sweetness made her close her eyes in contentment. “Tastes just fine to me.” She let hunger take over and served herself a full plate.
    Austyn sat down and watched her carefully for a few minutes before taking a few grapes. Reina smiled to see that, after a few bites, he ate as furiously as she was.
    “Merrrow?”
    Reina turned. A sleek, red-gold cat sat between the table and the fire. It had black markings along its eyes, the tips of its ears, and its paws. Its yellow eyes fixed on Reina’s plate.
    “Oh, are you hungry too?” she asked, grinning.
    “Rrrow.”
    Normally, her parents didn’t hold with feeding animals, but the cat looked so well-kept and regal, Reina felt sure it belonged to whoever owned the castle. Surely they fed their pet good food and wouldn’t mind if she shared. And even if the wizard, or whoever owned this place, did mind, looking at the pitiful expression of the cat, Reina decided she didn’t care. They had plenty more food here than either of them could eat at the moment. She scanned the little table and grabbed a tea saucer. She ripped off some turkey, put it in the saucer, and set it on the floor.
    The cat tucked in as if it had been starving. Reina giggled.
    “Let’s give it some milk too,” Austyn said, grabbing the little milk pitcher from next to the teapot. He put his saucer on the floor and poured the milk into it. The cat started to purr and lapped it up.
    As they continued to eat, Reina’s eyes drooped. She was exhausted. Part of her wanted to keep searching for the Green Wizard—he ought to be around here somewhere—but she was too tired. A stuffed chair stood next to the fireplace. Perhaps if she just sat down for a bit, she’d feel up to it in a minute. She dragged herself over to the chair, and Austyn joined her. It was plenty large enough for both of them.
    The cat stalked over, staring up at them again with big golden eyes. Reina patted her lap, and it jumped up. Together they ran their hands across its fur as it kneaded their legs. Within minutes, all three of them fell asleep.
    A gentle touch to Reina’s face woke her. She opened her eyes. Two large amber eyes looked intently at her face. The cat gently tapped her cheek again with its paw. She yawned and stretched. The cat jumped down. Austyn remained asleep, his curls sticking up every which way. She smiled and gently shook him awake. He looked confused for a second.
    “I thought for a moment we were home again,” he said in a quiet voice.
    “Don’t worry, we’ll get home someday,” Reina replied. “Mama and Papa will be waiting for us, and everything will be like it was before, only better, because there’ll be no harpies or Red Wizard.”
    “I miss Mama and Papa.” Austyn sniffed. “What if we don’t ever get back?”
    “We will. I promise.”
    “Meow!”
    The cat interrupted their discussion. They both stared down at it. It started pacing back and forth, tail straight in the air, looking over its shoulder at them before coming back, rubbing against their legs, and then heading away again. Reina and Austyn looked at each other in surprise.
    “I guess we’d better do what it wants,” Reina said, standing up.
    The cat crashed its head against her leg, purring, and she reached down to scratch it behind the ear. Suddenly, it turned and headed across the hall. They followed. The cat led them out of the hall, into a corridor