The Duke of Elgin Mews

Duke was humiliated. To be cornered so completely by his own hubris…it was shameful. He looked down through the gnarled branches at the hard ground, so very far below and rumbled displeasure at the back of his throat. It had been bird. Simply a bird, that had been his undoing. One he had never seen before. Bright, shining and so exotic he had salivated over its imagined taste. But it had been a trap. The dazzling beauty had lured him higher and higher, until he was too far gone. Then it had simply fluttered away into the sky, turning to a dot on the horizon. Luna had always said temptation would be his undoing. How right she had been. Duke pulled his gaze away from the lost earth and scanned the twist of wood and leaf that was now his prison. There was no way out.

Padding gently across the maze of stems, Duke ducked and weaved toward the wide trunk at the centre of the tree. He found a nook, right at the source of one of the larger limbs and settled down onto his haunches. He was the bravest cat in Elgin Mews, lord of the streets and master of the wild ways. He could not be seen so weak, and so he strategically placed himself out of view and gave himself time to think. He was not hiding. A cat of his strength never did. Duke narrowed his emerald eyes and looked out through the gaps in the leaves. There were no structures or other tall plants nearby. Nothing close enough for even a daring leap to reach. The ancient oak had been manicured well. There were no branches for the first ten feet of its body. Nothing but a sheer drop, down furrowed bark. All well and good when your blood was up and the hunt was live. Easy to dig your claws into and pull upward with all your strength. Not so easy to slow a free fall, not without breaking something. Duke knew, from tragic witness, a broken paw was a death sentence on the street. His substantial muscles clamped down, his throat felt tight and his claws pushed deeper into the trees skin. For the first time in his life, he didn’t know what to do.

“Looks like you’re in a bit of a bind there, Duke…” A soft voice filtered up from below. He looked down to see the least welcome, but most perfect face, gazing back at him. A pink nose nestled amongst snow white fur. Her black lips completely visible upon her upturned chin. The most beautiful feline for a thousand miles. Luna.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head,” He lied, “I’ll be down when I’m ready.”

“Oh, I’m sure you will,” she smiled. Her voice like silk over honey, “What took you to such heights, anyway? Finally bored of walking in the dirt with the rest of us?”

Duke feigned shock and outrage, curling his lips back in a wicked smile.

“Why, Luna! How could you suggest such a thing? I will never grow tired of walking the ground that a beauty such as you has graced!”

“Right…” She said, rolling her eyes, but smiling as well, “So tell me then, how is it that you find yourself in the domain of squirrels and birds?”

“A tom needs challenge in his life. You see all these house cats, lounging around in the suns warmth, bloated and content with their weakness. Most of them think fear is the enemy. They are wrong. Comfort harms them far more than any trial could.”

“So you climb the largest tree in the neighbourhood…as a test?” She asked, her eyebrows rising.

“How else do we grow?’ He challenged her. It was what he liked most about Luna. Sure, he could look on that porcelain body without end, but her wit and her conversation. That was like gravy.

“Well, conqueror of the arboreal realm. You come see me once you succeed? I’ll lick those scratches. Can’t have such a tom fall to so small a thing as dirty wounds now can we?”

“No ma’am” He gulped, solidifying his need to escape as soon as possible.

She turned back before taking her first step away, as if presenting an afterthought.

“Oh and Duke? Should you require assistance? Don’t stalk it in silence. Even the strongest of cats can only go so far on his own paws. Sometimes…it takes a greater courage to accept help. Sometimes even a tom needs a home. Just a thought…”

With a slow blink and a cock of her beautiful head, she rocked away on swaying hips.

“As if I should need it…” Duke mumbled under his breath and lowered his belly against the cool of the branch.

He must have slept, for his eyes snapped open suddenly to movement. Bleary and confused he noticed the darkness was more complete than had been cast by the leaves, and the moon was shining in the sky. Night had fallen. Yet the change he had been blind to in sleep, was the smaller danger. The outline of another creature was approaching along the branches at speed and Duke had to drive his claws back into the branch to maintain his grip on the narrow perch. He arched his back and stopped the animals advance with a spitting hiss.

“WOAH! Woah!” The scattered squirrel screamed, “Duke!? What are you doing up here!? Almost stopped my heart, you did! The alleys not enough for you anymore? You want the trees as well? Natty and the others ain’t gonna like that. No. No. They won’t.”

“Relax, Rodent. I have not come to claim your domain. Who would want it…” Duke said. His whole body settling now that he had regained his senses. Squirrels were far from a threat. Not alone, anyway.

“Good. Good. Good.” The daft creature repeated, “Wait, why wouldn’t you want it? Beautiful tree this. One of the best outside the park. Fine specimen. Near perfect.”

Duke sighed.

“Sure. It’s lovely. Whatever.” He said, “Now go away.”

“Oh I would Duke, I really would. I know your reputation and I would not intentionally defy your request. Its just. Its just that my home is a little above you there. My nest is within and, well there’s no other way past.”

“You want me…to move…” Duke hissed.

“No, no, no. I don’t want it. I wouldn’t ask such a thing. I just. I need to get home and well. There’s not another path I can take.”

Duke looked down over the edge. In the darkness the ground had disappeared completely and he found himself staring into a dizzying abyss. His claws spread further, not something he thought possible, and they dug deeply into the bark. He looked from one side to the other and where he had moved easily among the branches before, suddenly felt impossible. How had the gaps between the thin ledges grown so large?

“If you can’t move-”

“I CAN MOVE!” Duke snapped, “Should I want to, I can move anywhere I please. Or do you doubt my strength, rodent?”

“Of course not, Duke. No. Nothing like that. Nothing at all like that. But should you need a guide down to the ground…I could show you the best grips? There is a path I use…one that will take you home most efficiently. Not that you should need such a thing of course…”

“You will not be returning to your home this evening, Squirrel. I do not feel urged to move. In fact, I am quite comfortable and wish to return to my rest. Be gone.” Duke said, using his most flat and intimidating tone.

“Right. But…my nest?” The foolish animal nattered on.

“Be glad I am not yet hungry! You test my patience!” Duke snapped, narrowing his eyes toward the bushy tailed weakling.

“Right. I’ll return tomorrow. Yes, sorry. I’ll go at once. Sorry to bother you, Duke. I hope you remember my obedience. Yes...please do.”

Blessedly the rodent then turned and scuttled down the tree to the ground without the slightest effort. Duke acted as though his eyes were fully closed and that he was indifferent. He couldn’t let it be known how envious he was, in that moment, of the stupid creatures climbing ability.

When the sun rose and bathed Duke in filtered light and warmth, he breathed a sigh of relief. He had not slept since his rude awakening during the night. His mouth was dry and his lids burned, but at least he could see the ground again. That solid mass of dirt and grass that he longed to press his paws into. It was so tempting to throw himself from the branch. It felt worth the broken bones just to touch it again. Of course, he had more determination than that. He was the Duke, after all. A din of birdsong was echoing all around. It made his stomach rumble and his ears twitch under the assault of it. When a fluttering of feathers fell into view, his ears perked to attention. It was the same bird. The one that had led him into his current predicament. Green, blue and iridescent…he still wanted it. He could eat it and last a little longer. Out on the thinner part of the branch, it sat preening its feathers, sending its irresistible fowl-smell into the air. Duke ignored the thought that warned against the very thing that had gotten him trapped in the first place and pushed his body up from the bark. He crouched there, moving so slowly he appeared as just another shadow. Reaching forward with a single paw, he carefully stalked his prey. When he pressed the pad of his toes to the rounded surface of the limb, it held for a second, then to his shock, slipped sideways. His claws found nothing but open air, and nothing to sink into. His other feet scrambled in all directions, scratching and clawing to keep himself upright. Dukes entire core tensed as hard as stone in an effort to haul himself back into the centre of the perch and after a few seconds of heart-tearing panic, he finally managed it. He slammed his claws deep into the bark and panting hard, he held still, pressing his entire body as low as possible. It was just in time to see the stunning bird take off, without even a glance backward.

When his nerves had finally calmed, Duke was able to relax his legs ever so slightly and release the death grip he had on the wood beneath his belly. He let out a long breath and pressed his forehead to the tree. It was time to admit that he was out of his depth. He was stuck. There was nothing he could do. For all his strength and status, he was powerless. The feeling disgusted him. Not since the box had he suffered so.

“Never again…” He whispered to himself.

A reminder of the promise he had made, when that lid had finally opened to light, and the human hand had pulled him from under the bodies of his lost siblings. Flea bitten and starved, he had built himself back up from nothing. An abandoned orphan, he had pledged to transform himself into something worthwhile. Never again would he allow anyone to cast him aside so carelessly. When he had regained his strength, he had fled from the human house. Refusing to exchange one cell for another, Duke had instead become the most feared and respected cat in all of Elgin Mews. The alleys and the parks belonged to him, and every creature in the neighbourhood knew it. All that hardship, all that work, only to be undone by his own over-confidence. It was pathetic. Now he would die alone, trapped in a prison made of nothing but open air. It was not so different from the cardboard that had sentenced him as a kitten, or the brick jail that he had been transferred into. All were choking and oppressive. He sighed and licked at the sore pads of his feet, wondering how long it would take him to die, entombed by timber and leaf.

Hours passed, until movement and a familiar voice snapped Duke’s ears high. He peered out over the edge of the branch and looked down on a human. She was staring right up at him with narrowed brows.

“Pudding? Is that really you…?” She asked, searching his face, “Oh my goodness!!! It is you! Where have you been!? Are you stuck!? Wait right there…I’ll get a ladder!”

As the young woman ran off at full speed, Duke had only the energy to sigh and press his forehead even harder into the bark of the tree. Of course it would be her. Now she would have the satisfaction of rescuing him a second time. He felt a pang of guilt that he would need to leave her all over again. So many times, he had seen her pacing the streets, calling the insipid name she had chosen for him. He had only hidden more. She had been kind to him, like the mother he had lost. But that love could never replace the freedom he had gained. In the first days he had wept for her, but that weakness had long since been hardened to steel in his heart. He was Duke now, and no one would keep him contained. The metal contraption banged into the tree trunk and sooner than he would like, he was face to face with his past. Everything in Duke wanted to leap from the tree and take whatever injury came. He might damn himself, but at least it would be on his own terms. Yet, when his eyes met hers, and he saw the concern in them, he did something he had not done in years.

“Maow” He pleaded.

She took him up in her arms and he clung on tightly. She hugged him down to the ground and Duke relished the familiar smell of her. The warmth of her coat enveloped him and for the first time in days, he felt safe. As she carried him like a baby into the nearby house, Duke spotted Luna watching from the top of the garden wall. She smiled a knowing grin at him. He didn’t care. He buried his head into the woman’s shoulder and purred. There would be time later, to escape again. For now, he was content to be warm, held, and with solid ground finally within reach.