Destrian chuckled as the cat reached out to nuzzle his hand. The little feline was very friendly. He wondered again how it had ended up so lost in the woods. Its owner must have been worried sick. He was about to scoop the cat up to bring it back with him –perhaps he could find its owner somewhere in the kingdom– when he heard a voice.

He looked up to see a nervous looking girl standing by the trees. She was keeping her distance, an action he didn’t find very unusual. She looked like a young peasant woman, and the lower class always seemed uncomfortable in his presence. He offered her a reassuring smile in an attempt to ease her worries. He hoped to lessen the peasants’ sense of unease over time.

**“I-I’m sorry,”** the girl stammered. Apparently Destrian’s friendly gesture did nothing to lessen her worries. **“That's my cat. He's a little bit of a trouble maker and always runs off. Thank you for stopping him for me.”**

Odd. She didn’t shower him with praises or titles like most peasants did when they spoke to him. Her casual manners were amusing. It was a nice break from the constant stream of ‘Your Majesty,’ or ‘My liege,’ or ‘Great Prince,’ or whatever other exaggerated honors the commoners were using these days.

The strange girl knelt down, still keeping her distance from him, and began to call gently to her cat. The animal responded immediately, scampering over to nuzzle her hand. Then it turned right back around and hopped onto Destrian’s lap. He laughed and stroked the cat –apparently named Grounii– along its back.

The girl seemed to turn a little paler when her pet did this. She inched closer, then seemed to think better of it and stopped a fair distance away, **“Ummm... maybe… if you stand up he might come back to me?”**

“Here,” Destrian picked up Grounii and cradled him in his arms. He then stood up and carried the cat back to the girl, holding him out for her to take. At a closer glance, she looked a bit tattered. Somehow, he was reminded of the little girl who stole a loaf of bread from the royal kitchens all those years ago.

“How did you end up so far from the kingdom?” Destrian asked concernedly. “I can’t imagine you strayed this far just to search for your missing cat. Is everything alright?”