Author's Note: No sex for this chapter. Just Bubbles, and her usual chaos.
Also, nicked something from a consistent reader. Hopefully it comes as a nice surprise/present.
---
Bubbles scratched her stomach on the climb through the hole to the outside world. She also tumbled head over heels and hit her chin on the dirt outside. She would have loved to blame the stupid handcuffs that were still in place, but the entire world knew that she was just a giant klutz.
Inny-Inny bounded up and wrapped a cloak around her, clasping it around her neck before kissing her cheek.
She opened her mouth to tell him off, and the ratboy instantly vanished. Little asshole probably knew exactly what he'd done wrong. Not that she could really yell much about it, considering he had just saved her ass... And she had told the goddess that she was thinking of him as one of hers.
The neko awkwardly reached over her head, pulling the hood up and over her ears, before hiding her handcuffed wrists underneath the cloak. A quick look around told her that she was still within the walls of the city prison. She was just in the yard.
She moved slowly, keeping to the edge of the building and hopefully staying out of sight. The guards weren't expecting anyone in the yard, they had no reason to see her, but human vision is drawn to movement.
Bubbles ground her teeth together, pissed that Inny-Inny had simply taken off. But angrier that her goddess expected her to take over the city right after fucking her stupid... And still not removing her magic blocking cuffs! It'd only take one freaking fireball to get her out of here.
She pouted, looking at the wall of the prison in irritation. It wasn't like she had the coordination to climb a brick wall at the best of times. She might be neko, but she was still Bubbles. In handcuffs? Not a chance.
"Remember what she told you." The goddess whispered in her ear, "Follow the bunny."
"What bunny?" Bubbles snarled, tail flicking angrily.
Speaking was the wrong thing to do.
"Alarm! Prisoner escape!" A voice from above her yelled, followed instantly by the ringing of bells.
Bubbles winced and took off sprinting away from the wall and any hope of actual escape. She couldn't climb, so she needed to find somewhere to disappear before anyone decided to completely end her.
A couple arrows bounced off the corner of a stone wall as she ran by it, making her yellow eyes go wide with fright and her bowels make an uncomfortable gurgle.
Where was her Nina when she needed someone to actually toss a knife?
Bubbles jerked to a stop as she stepped onto the end of a rake, that had been lying in the yard. Her eyes watered in agony, and she stared down at her soft foot and the prongs of copper now protruding right the way through.
Another arrow whizzed by, close enough it brushed her hair and scored her cheek. She bit her lip, stomped her other foot onto the handle and ripped the first one free. Bleeding and crying, Bubbles went down onto all fours and sprinted as fast as she could.
It was an awkward and loping stride, not exactly a nekan sprint, but it was all she could do not to fall over. Her foot screamed in pain, especially with the mud and dirt that was crammed into the fresh wound. Her shoulder still hurt from where Inny-Kiel had got her with the throwing knife, the day before.
This wasn't just the world bullying her, anymore.
Bubbles could remember, vaguely, having one of the lords of the gutter take issue with her existence when she was younger. Even though he'd put out a kill order on her, she'd managed to survive it by hiding and running.
It had taken a few days, but she'd managed to earn enough by singing to pay that fat bastard off. In the mean time, however, his little posse had managed to break her tail and she had taken a crossbow bolt through one of her shoulders.
Yet, that was it.
All she had to do was break a bone, and she'd officially be in the worst shape of her life. Except maybe the time an angry incubus had tried to suck the life out of her, because she'd told him she was happy to remain a virgin, and wasn't interested in his stupid stuck-up attitude.
Considering what Sharhalla had told her about being a claker-well, breaking a bone was probably only one extra clumsy movement away. She had been feeling a little delicate since helping the man's red with Ninaein's surgery. A sort of hollow feeling she'd figured was just horror at the time, but hadn't entirely faded.
Sharhalla. Fanhalla.
Bubbles had never considered that the city might be named after a dragon or something. Another arrow hit, piercing the back of her ankle and slamming her face-first into the dirt. Reminding her, with just a small taste of excruciating pain, that she really shouldn't be considering it, right at this moment.
She let out a sobbing caterwaul, and dragged herself over to a wall, and lifted her hands above her head. She just couldn't do this.
Two guards burst into the yard, swords drawn and pointed at her. One of them growled at her, "On your feet, prisoner!"
She leaned into the wall and very slowly drew herself up. Trying to keep her handcuffed hands above her head as she did. The man gestured with his sword angrily, "Move it!"
---
Bubbles limped along, one ankle with an arrow still in it, the other foot pierced by a rake. She was forced up a flight of stairs, down a long corridor that seemed to have a half dozen more guards. These ones just looked stupid, though. Not like real guards.
They were wearing fancy clothes, and clean shaven faces. The sword handles were polished. Ceremonial bastards, maybe. Or they might be dangerous as fuck bodyguards for someone important who was up themselves enough to force murderers into looking pretty.
At the end of the hallway was a redwood door, with a silver bell hanging from a long cord. A servant in a suit, like a lord's butler or something equally arrogant, rolled his eyes at their approach. "I assume this is the escaped prisoner?"
"Yessir."
The man sighed and pulled the cord twice in an efficient manner, "His lordship has a guest, but they may wish to see the prat, as well."
Bubbles chattered her teeth at the bastard.
As the door swung inwards, the hilt of a sword smacked her across the back of the head, dazing her. The whole world disappeared for a moment, and it came back full of sparkles and bright lights. The neko swayed on her feet, struggling to focus.
