Tangled By Fate

Chapter 89 - VERONICA'S TRANSFORMATION

The person spoke in a chilling voice, "You have to be punished for what you have done."

Veronica saw the person coming toward her. She was going to shout, "Wha-"

After that, everything turned dark. Veronica lost consciousness.

When she woke up, her body was hurting quite badly all over. She flinched. She recalled what happened before she lost consciousness. She didn't know how long it had been since she had fainted.

'Why does my body hurt so much? It's like I've been beaten up all over,' she wondered. She shuddered as her body was shaking badly in pain.

'I have to get up and look for a healer immediately. That person must be trying to kill me. But why?' she was saddened thinking of that person's face twisted in hatred. It was clearly directed toward her. 'There is no point in thinking that. After I'm healed, I will confront that person.'

Thinking of that person, she looked around and didn't find a trace of anyone. She sighed in relief. 'I don't know what I would have done if that person was still here,' she thought.

However, as she tried to stand up, she had some difficulties. Nonetheless, she did her best to get up. But, for some reason, she was unable to do so. She started to feel even weirder as time went by.

'What's wrong with me? Why can't I stand up? Did something happen to my legs?' She looked down to check her legs and what she saw nearly frightened her to death. '!!!'

She couldn't see anything other than some small, silver-colored, fluffy legs. It was inexplicable to her.

'What? What is this?' Her heartbeat increased. She tried to wipe her eyes to clear her vision, but the sensation on her face felt strange when she did that. She nervously looked at her hands. They looked the same as those tiny legs. More like the paws of a cat.

'Cat paws? But why?' Veronica thought it was nothing but a peculiar dream. She would just wake up at any moment and everything would go back to being normal. She turned her head and was startled to see her reflection on the glass door.

It wasn't her face. It was the face of a cat. The cat's reflection looked surprised as well. It had silver fur and emerald eyes.

'What? Cat? Me? H-how?' Veronica began to panic. When she recalled the person had something in their hands, she realized that her being turned into a cat had something to do with that person. Also, much to her horror, it didn't seem to be a dream at all considering all of her senses seemed to be working just fine. In fact, some senses worked even better than before. Her sense of smell was many times stronger than before as she could detect scents she didn't even know existed. She was also seeing a lot better in the darkness.

'But how am I a cat?' she couldn't find the answer even if she wrecked her head. Then, she decided to do something else. 'Since I have no idea what is going on, I have to find someone who knows me and let them know what happened to me.'

When she stepped inside the ballroom, she recalled no pets were allowed in the ballroom. She certainly didn't want to get hit or chased. So she stepped back and went to the balcony again. She found her clothes and pieces of jewelry lying on the balcony floor.

'Oh, my Goddess! I'm naked!' Veronica restlessly did her best to cover her chest and the private part between her legs but her 'hands' and 'legs' jumbled all together and fell on the floor.

'Oh yeah, I'm a cat now. It's normal not to wear clothes as an animal, but, it feels weird,' Veronica cried inwardly.

A cold wind blew and she shuddered. She hid inside her dress and stayed there. When she was a human, she was wearing shoes. She didn't know how cold the floor was. Now, the cold directly touched her skin and she couldn't help but shiver.

As she stayed there, she heard the guards announcing the king's arrival. "Your Majesty, the King has arrived!"

She stood up thinking she should go inside but hesitated. 'Where is Arthur? How long will he take to bring my drink? He must have forgotten about me, hasn't he?' she sulked.

At that moment, she heard the king's announcement, "Today is a glorious day for Synetia. On this glorious day, I would like to announce a piece of joyous news to everyone. I've decided to take my fifteenth wife. The lucky bride is Veronica, the heroine of the desert who brought the healers back from the enemy's clutches, and the healer of Utahill. Veronica, come forth to accept my proposal."

'What?! Marriage? With him?!!!' Kitty Veronica's face couldn't be paled but blood drained from her face all the same. She felt chills ran down her spine.

'How could he decide to marry me without even asking me beforehand?' She recalled seeing his family attending the prayer ceremony last night. 'Wait, he already has wives and children, has he not? Why does he want to marry again?' Tons of thoughts swirled in her kitty head.

Veronica recalled what Arthur said yesterday after lunch. "Don't think the king is easy just because he granted you a wish. He is rather an ambitious and greedy man. You should be careful around him. Don't show your smile too often. I told you to be wary of men, did you forget that? Why do you keep showing your hair and smiling to others?"

'So, that's why he was warning me. I thought he was being rude and all… He was trying to save him from this disaster.' Veronica wept. 'I was wrong, Arthur. I won't do this again. Please change me back or wake me up from this hellish nightmare. I don't want to marry an old fart either. I would rather marry a skirt chaser like you.'

As she was crying, she heard a commotion inside. She stopped weeping and paid attention to what was going on inside. She heard King Edward V shouting, "Bring that impudent woman in front of me right now. How dare that wench try to defy me? Going against the imperial command is a serious crime!"

Veronica flinched. "What am I going to do? The king is angry. Wait, what was the punishment for defying the imperial command…' She tried her best to remember all the books she had read since childhood. And she remembered, 'Synetian law is a bit crueler than the rest of the kingdoms. The punishment for defying imperial law is… beheading!'

'I can't stay here any longer. I have to live a long life. I should leave this place as soon as possible,' she thought of that and came out of her clothes. She heard some footsteps and hid behind the large curtain.

Since she didn't notice who was coming closer, she missed Arthur who just passed by her side and went to the balcony to look for her.

She peeked inside the ballroom and checked people's actions and then moved from one curtain to another curtain. It was good that the windows were close to one another. She could hurry to another curtain without much of a problem.

Because of her, the glorious party had turned upside down. The Synetian soldiers entered the ballroom and started to look for Veronica, the criminal who dared to shame His Majesty the King.

Since the soldiers were looking for her in every nook and cranny, it was hard for her to move anymore. The soldiers were checking the curtains, behind the statues, and under the food tables as well. They left no space for a human to hide.

Even so, that wasn't the part she was worried about. She was frightened of what would happen if they found a cat behind the curtains.

'Would they kill me or fry me?' she pondered. 'Both are worse. It means I'll eventually die whatever the process. I can't let them do either of that to me. I have to find a way not to let them see me but they are approaching me.'

She saw the guards coming closer. They looked scary. It reminded her of the Death God she read in a book. She shivered. 'How did Marshall Nolmes escape from his enemy?'

Marshall Nomles was a highly skilled detective who solved many mysteries. He was also sent to do some espionage missions. The detective book she bought was all about Marshal Nomles solving mysteries.

'Oh yeah, there was a time he hid in the enemy's house knowing the enemy would search for him anywhere but his own place.' Veronica peeked out of the curtain and looked at King Edward V and Prime Minister who were standing near the throne. Soldiers weren't searching near them since there was no way Veronica was there. 'If I can just get there…'

She turned around and went back to where she came from. As she reached the balcony, she saw for a split second that her clothes, shoes, and jewelry were all gone. She didn't have the time to think about that. Using the curtains' cover, she went close to the throne.

She almost reached her destination when she heard, "Oh? What's this?"