Coo-ee

Coo. Coo.

That was the sound of an incoming message of the textual variety. Princess Catherine had been waiting for a reply. She had been waiting so long, in fact, that she had fallen asleep. Now awakened, she began groggily feeling around her bedside table.

Coo. Coo.

Not there. She rubbed her eyes and looked around her room. Where was it? Not by the one stone window, the drapes waving gently as a cool breeze stole its way inside. She froze and focused on listing for the tell-tale sound.

Coo. Coo.

Wait, that came from the bedside table. She scanned it again and stalked forward silently. Every time! How did this happen every time? She looked under the bed, then under the duvet that she had just crawled out of. She froze again to listen.

Coo. Coo.

Well, that sounded like it came from behind her. Come on, already she had been waiting a full day for a response. She was starting to fear Jane had lost interest in her. The room was clean, well furnished and somewhat decadent. The one window offered unparalleled views of the city and the distant countryside. She had bookshelves heaving with the latest books, and tapestries for days but that was little substitution for companionship.

Coo. Coo.

That was definitely coming from the bedside table. She searched it over again knowing too well it wasn’t there. She listened. The guards weren’t allowed to talk to her. The maid wasn’t even allowed to make eye contact. No one saw anything wrong with that; her family fed her and gave her the finest entertainment that can be enjoyed in solitary confinement. So many would kill for such luxury. But loneliness is crippling. Then she had received a message from Jane. The messages were short and infrequent but they were the highlight of her week.

Coo. Coo.

“How on earth did it get in here?”, she thought and she slowly pulled open the draw. Inside, sat quite happily, was a large pigeon. It appeared to look quite pleased with itself. She looked at it. It looked at her. Slowly she lifted it out and turned it upside down revealing a note tied to its leg. The pigeon didn’t seem to mind; it remained still except for its feet that paddled loosely in the air, making it difficult for the message to be removed. Once it was retrieved, she sat on the bed, placed the bird beside her and began to read.

Coo. Coo.

The pigeon was merrily plodding towards the window. “No, I haven’t attached a message yet,” Catherine picked it up and placed it back on the bed. It immediately began waddling towards the window again. Catherine frowned, picked up the bird and gently placed it back in the draw. She put some seeds she had saved from a bread roll into the draw with it. It stared at her and she gently pushed the drawer shut. She loved the messages and the bird for bringing them, but there was something fundamentally wrong with that creature.  

Catherine eyed the draw suspiciously. She could hear pecking sounds. She turned her attention to the note, took a deep breath and began to read.

‘Dearest Catherine,

I hope this note finds you as it leaves me, attached to a pigeon.

OMG so I got the job, Stan said I was totes the best candidate, despite the incident in the bar lol. Started yesterday and bin swamped hence slow reply. Dad had a portrait of the fam done last week and said I could have the sketches so, I’m sending you a pic of me! The image is too big for Jeremy to carry so find attached part 1 of 24. Might take a while but I’m in no rush, here’s a spoiler :-)<--<.

Oh and bish to C4.

Much luv,

J

P.S. it's getting hot out be sure to give Jeremy some extra water, soz about him, he’s a silly bird.’

There was a small square of paper on the floor, which folded out into a slightly larger square and was mostly blank save for a few sketched lines. On the back was written ‘the sexiest 5 strands of hair ever, they’ll get more interesting promise’. It wasn’t much but Catherine stared at those lines for several minutes imagining what Jane looked like. Jane was a merchant’s daughter, but her dad didn’t think girls were capable of the gruelling work of commerce. When she was denied a job with the family business she retaliated by joining the city watch. Now, according to her last text message, she had gotten the promotion and was going to become a Corporal. She was so talented, Catherine assumed and moved an ornately carved marble chess piece with silver inlay across the pearl and onyx chessboard. She thought for a moment, then moved a chess piece carved in slate and gold. Then she began writing a reply.

‘Dearest Jane

You are amazing, congrats corporal. Those 5 strands really do it for me >< I’d send you a picture but u’d probs be able to buy 1 urself, I am famous after all.

I read the book u recommended, that twist tho, omg did not see it coming. If u get chance read ‘amor colmillo’ it’s a bit steamy but a really good story (I read it for the plot honest :P).

How’s uni, u mentioned u were doin night classes but never said wat u were doin, u know u cant be a wizard and a cop right? Jk

Nothin much else to report my end, u should trade Jeremy in for an upgrade, like an eagle or something so I can send you books :P

Knight to F6.

Slightly more luv

C

x’

She then set a saucer of water out and sat Jeremy in front of it. He drank for a while then walked onto the plate and sat down before continuing to drink. Watered, fed and dripping pigeon water, he was delicately placed on the window ledge but held in place lest he fly away prematurely. The note was tied to the leg and he was released. He continued to stand stock-still. Catherine gave him a poke.

“Go on”, she poked him again, “gooo”. She shooed lightly and Jeremy looked offended but stationary. Gently pushing, he sidled up to the edge. One more gentle poke and he flopped over the edge. Catherine gasped and looked down expecting to see him falling only to see him flying away, though at a much lower altitude. They needed a new message delivery provider; this pigeon was a menace. Was the kiss too much. It was just a little ‘x’ but they had never sent kisses before. What if that was coming on too strong? What if she had the wrong idea? Why someone as cool and outgoing as Jane would want anything to do with a royal recluse like her who never did anything was beyond her. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing this lifeline to the outside world but Jane was definitely going to cut off all communication because of one stupid letter. Eugh, she was such an idiot. She stared at the window waiting for an impossibly fast reply. Then she carefully stored the image fragment. She made a guess at the final image size and would demand the maid bring her a frame of appropriate size when she came to deliver her meal.

Catherine sat in bed, book held limply in one hand, staring into the middle distance. The room was illuminated in an orange glow from the horizon.

Coo. Coo.

She shot up and rushed to the window where Jeremy stood. She reached for him and he shuffled away. She slowly shifted her position and he mirrored her movement. He always had to make things difficult.

Coo. Coo.

“I know, I’m trying to get the message but you keep mo-“

Coo. Coo.

“Don’t interrupt me. Now come on, stop being silly.” She was fifth in line to the throne, technically the fifth most powerful person in the world regardless of her current prisoner-like status. It was quite humbling to be reduced to bargaining with a pigeon and she produced some more seed for that very purpose. She retrieved the note and lay the pigeon down on its back, it lay there with its legs in the air watching her curiously.

‘Dear Catherine

‘Amor colmillo’ eh? Someone’s getting lonely up in that tower of yours :P jk will have a look. Uni’s fun, it's just general magic studied, it’s like magic theory, I figure I can be like the magic expert on the force and know what to expect if we run into anything. Classes are kinda dry but that’s where I met Abigail-‘

Who the hell is Abigail?

‘-and she’s like my best friend-‘

Like her best friend, but not her best friend so her romantic friend?

‘-and, OMG that reminds me, big news, so right to fill you in, Abigail is dating the head of the department Evalyn and she told me she’s planning to propose tomorrow! we’re having a big party, obs wish you could be my plus one but I will tell you all about it after.

Oh and Stan my Seargent says if I’m getting messages during work hours I need to at least ‘maintain a pretence of work’ so you are now officially deputised (which I can totally do now btw) into the watch as my eye in the sky, you see anything funny from up there let me know. Don’t worry tho, he really doesn’t care, think he’s more worried for if I ever move to another watch house they might be funny about it.

Queen to H5

Just a tad more luv

J

Xx

P.S. I think Jeremy can handle two parts of the picture at once so, part 2 AND 3 attached’

Oh boy, two kisses, two! She was worried over nothing. That girl was trying to smooch her arm off with two whole kisses, and two picture pieces. One of the new bits had, ‘have you ever seen a finer scalp’ written on the reverse. Catherine had to admit, she had not: the guards wore helmets and the maid wore a weird hat thing. She assembled the pieces to create the top of Janes's head. It was a pencil drawing but Jane previously described her hair as ‘mousey brown’. A quick trip to the chessboard and she began her reply.

‘Dearest Jane

Lookout mode engaged. The city looks pretty calm from up here. I saw a girl crying on the steps behind the butcher the other day. I see her there from time to time but I imagine you have bigger things to deal with. I’ll see if I can get a spyglass! Then I can be your super spy.

I’ve never been to a party or a wedding. I would love to go with you. But omg I have no idea how to dance, would be totes embarrassing. You have to tell me all about it, in detail, everything. What are you gonna wear, what do people even wear to parties?

Oh and it totes sounds like you want to be a wizard cop just admit it.

Wish we could meet in person one day, you and your friends sound cool.

Oh find attached a drawing, pretty sure I’ve got what you look like down

Knight to C6

Love

C

Xx’

Catherine then added a doodle of wizard cop beating up generic bad guys while a doodle-princess looked on, swooning. The image was annotated to highlight wizard cop’s highly attractive scalp. Jeremy was watered, fed and reloaded. He went without fuss but then immediately returned several times to deliver her message back to her. On the third time, he set off on his delivery correctly.

A wedding, how romantic. It also meant this Abigail wasn’t a threat. Catherine sighed. Would she ever get married? Probably to some prince, by arrangement, she thought woefully. Wait, did I write ‘luv’ or ‘love’? In all the excitement she had lost track. Oh no, luv was casual and playful, love was a declaration of well, love. Oh dear. It was probably fine, there was two kisses after all that must have meant something. If only she had a second pigeon, she could send a casual correction. Would that look even worse? She spent the rest of the evening drawing herself and an approximation of Jane hanging out at parties and Jane and her ‘totally not wizards yeah right’ friends rescuing her from her tower. A spyglass was requested and delivered all without anyone saying a word. The city was huge. She had known that, but from up here it almost looked small. Zooming in, suddenly everything was so much more complicated. This was great. She imagined herself interacting with all the people she saw, making up imaginary conversations.

The next day she went to spy on the crying girl behind the butchers. She wasn’t there, but she did see a man being led away by a group of watchmen. One of them was shorter and had long brown hair. They were facing away and wearing armour. She watched them until they disappeared from view and searched for them for the rest of the day. It had never occurred to her that she might spot Jane out there.

Coo. Coo.

Jeremy had landed right under Catherine’s chin. She was busy watching out for Jane that she wasn’t watching out for her message, for once. The sun was going down already. She’d been spying all day without realising it.

Jeremy was impatiently standing on one leg, holding the one with a message on up in the air.

Coo. Coo.

“Jeez, alright, you got somewhere you need to be or something?” Catherine replied as she retrieved the note.

‘Dearest Catherine,

You’re the best, so I figured out which butchers you meant and my patrol went right by it so I had a look in, heard someone getting slapped, turns out the owner was hitting his wife. Not cool. Well, the watch usually overlooks things like that, sad I know, but I told him where he could go and he went for me, big mistake I was with the Sergeant and Stan don’t take shit from anyone. So, I made my first arrest as corporal. What’s more, turns out the shop is in her name, and when we told her sister she demanded they cut the fella out the business and go in together. All thanks to you, my guardian angel. You've made the city a better place. When I was there, I wondered if you were watching over me.

I wish you could come to this party tonight, told Abby about you and she says we should bust you out, you two would get along. She’s a nurse during the day but she’s tougher than I am. We loved your picture (it's on my wall at uni) what do you think, wizard cop, and wizard nurse rescue the princess. Seriously tho her gf is legit powerful. I was reluctant to say anything but Abby wasn’t taking no for an answer, she is totes trying to set us up lol.

We have a strict dress code, we’re all wearing black ball gowns and masks, weird right, I think Evalyn has something planned, I can’t wait, would be better with you there tho.

Queen to F8 takes pawn checkmate, you’re so bad at this ><

Love

Your J

Xx’

My J? thought Catherine, she’s my J, I have a J! she hugged the note and rolled on the bed, then remembered the pictures. Two more, part four and five. More hair and a side of a face, this was so exciting. Suddenly this Abigail was her second favourite person.

‘Dearest Jane

Hell yeah I busted the case wide open. You are very welcome. I don’t mind doing your job for you jk. Your so brave, keeping the city safe, I am genuinely proud, is that weird? ><

Wish I could be there tonight, remember I want every detail, let me know what happens, I’ll keep this message short so Jeremy is ready to get back to me with those hot deets.

Getting this picture is small bits is so exciting, can’t wait to see your ugly mug jk.

Oh, I totally forgot, I saw you! In real life, I saw a guard from behind with long brown hair, coming out of the butchers was that you!?

Darn, that was just a warm-up match, pawn to D4

Love

Your C

Xx’

Catherine was on cloud nine, her cheeks aglow. Sleep came slowly, her mind racing, desperate to hear more. The following day dragged on, no message.

Then, out of nowhere she watched as the sun began to fade. It must be some kind of eclipse. She’d have to ask Jane about it in her next note. But from here she could see the city, that had looked so distant and calm erupt into chaos. She watch in horror and fires began, and fights broke out. She diligently recorded everything; she would send the entire list via Jeremy when she could.

An ungodly screech echoed through the city. In the darken smoke-filled sky she could see some huge terrible creature flying straight towards her.

She was frozen in fear, she had never felt fear before she had always been safe in her tower. She couldn’t even bring herself to struggle as the talons smashed through the wall and snatched her from her tower. Guards ran about in panic, orders were screamed and then her room fell into silence as the chaos outside died down.

Coo. Coo.