"Get outta here!" Avoiding the savage blow, the red queen hissed, ducking out of the doorway, glaring malevolently back at the trader. "We don't want your kind here, whore."

"I'm no whore." Bombalurina retorted sharply, her beautiful eyes blazing with fury. "My sister is starving and I can't afford to pay any other way!"

"You seduced my son! He told me so." The trader growled, taking a menacing. "That doesn't make you a whore?"

"I didn't seduce him." Falling back a step, she felt like her heart had been torn out of her body. "He...he said he loved me...he told me he wanted to show me..."

"Liar!" Spitting at her, he turned on heel, a disgusted expression on his face.

Swallowing a sob, Bombalurina sank her claws into her paws, stumbling back through the streets to the tattered shelter she and her younger sister shared.

Looking up hopefully as her sister entered, Demeter hugged herself, shivering violently. "Did you get any...Bombie?" Forcing herself to her paws, she reached out to her sister. "What happened, Bombie? Are you crying?"

Rubbing her eyes with the heel of her paw, she laughed harshly, sniffing back the latest tide of tears. "I...well...we don't have any food..." Sinking to her knees, her sister's arms around her, she managed to mumble. "Oh Bast, Dem, I'm sorry...I...you...you should go with Tamron."

Her ears flattening against her skull, Demeter whimpered at their brother's name. "Why Bomb?" She whispered, staring up fearfully at he sister. "What hapened?" Answered by silence, she met her sister's eyes again. "Bomb...why are you crying? Tell me..."

"Oh, Dem..." Hugging little Demeter close, she buried her face in the soft black-gold fur, her sobs choking her. "Everything....it went so wrong...I can't feed you...care for you...that bastard...he said he loved me..."

"Shh." Stroking her sister's fur soothingly, Demeter, held her close, her own tears mingling with her sisters.

"I...I loved him...how could he do this?" Shuddering with sobs, she tightened her grip on her sister, her lovely eyes filling with more tears. "Am I a whore, Dem? Tell me, did I miss something? What did I do to deserve that?"

"Oh, Bombie." Rubbing her forehead against her sister's, Demeter swallowed a sob, murmuring. "You're no whore. They want to hurt you, that's all...you know his parents never liked you."

"But why, Dem? Whats wrong with me? With us?"

Smiling a bitter smile, Demeter replied. "Class."

"Class?"

"We've lived all our lives among the scum of the streets...hell, we are the scum of the streets...they don't want us bursting into their comfortable, neat way of life."

"You're too smart, kitt." Bombalurina kissed her sister fondly, hugging her tightly. "But what can we do now?"

"Get away from the people who hate us?" Staring at her sister, Bombalurina lowered her face. Leave her home. She'd thought about it so many times, but had been afraid of uprooting her sister from the place she had always thought of as home.

"We'll go to London." She declared, nodding slowly. "We'll make our fortune and be better than those idiots. We're as good as they are and we can be better."

"Are you sure, Bombie?" Squeezing her sister's paw, Demeter's golden eyes showed a flicker of trepidation.

Nodding, the red queen squeezed her paw. "You can go back and stay with Tamron if you don't want to go with me."

Lowering her head, Demeter bit back a shudder of revulsion, as she remembered what her brother had done to her every time Bombalurina had gone to scavenge for food. Touching her stomach, she remembered the pain, her thighs clenching together at the horrifying memories. She was still a kitten, but had been through far more than her sister could ever imagine, hiding the blood and bruising from her brother's assault with her thick fur.

"I want to come with you." She whispered tremulously, briefly wondering if she would ever meet a tom who didn't want to hurt her or her sister. She couldn't trust any of them. "I don't want you to be on your own." And I don't want Tamron to hurt me again, she added under her breath.

*

"Look, Dem." Bombalurina whispered triumphantly, her voice barely a breath. "We made it! We're here!"

Staring around, Demeter felt a shiver race up her spine. Everything was so big. So frightening. Nothing like the small town they had fled from several weeks earlier.

"Let's get some food." The red queen leaped down from the back of the lorry they had been riding on. With their collars still on, the two queens were certain they were relatively safe from any animal catchers and strolled casually down the streets, looking for a possible source of nourishment.

"Wait here." Bombalurina hissed softly, pushing her sister into a blocked doorway. "I'll be right back." Watching with intrigue, Demeter saw her sister seductively glide up to a ratty looking tomcat in a darkened alley, but they moved out of her line of sight and she lay back with a sigh, her head resting exhaustedly on her paws.

*

"Now, m'dear." The old tom stared hungrily at the stunning red queen. "Perhaps we can make an agreement."

Her stomach rolling from near-starvation and disgust, Bombalurina smiled her sexiest smile. If they called her a whore and slut anyway, why not act like one? If it got her what she wanted, who was to care? "What do you mean?" She whispered coyly. "What do I have..." She arched sensually, yawning and flexing her silky body. "That you could possibly want?"

Licking his lips, the old tom grinned toothlessly, his eyes wandering all over her. "I think you can guess, m'dear. We seldom get gals as pretty as yourself hereabouts."

"But I'm so weak...I must eat and rest before I could...thank you to the best of my abilities." Giving him a deeply-suggestive look, she purred throatily.

"Very well." The old tom turned and reached into a deep crack in the wall, tugging out several rock-hard slabs of meat and tossing them to her. "I'll see you here, same time tomorrow." Grabbing her by her chest fur, he planted a cruel kiss on her lips, growling. "And you better show, sweetheart, or I might just get very angry."

"Yes sir." She whispered huskily, kissing him hard, leaving him grunting for breath. "And you won't be disappointed." Sliding her paw down his body, she held his eyes and smirked slightly. "I guarantee it. This is quality merchandise."

"So I noticed." The old tom purred ferociously, his eyes half-closed. The red queen knew what she was doing, that was clear. No innocent kitten here, he realised.

Scopping up the meat, Bombalurina sauntered off, her graceful body swaying sensually, but as soon as she was out of sight of the leering tom, she doubled over and vomited, revulsion washing over her. "Gee, you're a good whore." She muttered to herself, gasping for breath, her paws clutching her stomach. "So good, you puke at the thought. Great."

*

"Dem, wake up, kid." Prodding her sister gently with her paw, she thrust one of the chunks of stale meat into Demeter's paw. "Here, food."

Sniffing, Demeter's golden eyes snapped open and she stared at the dried-out flesh in her paws with delight. "Where did you get it?" She whispered from her dry-mouth, her sharp little teeth sinking into the meat, as she gnawed the moisture out of it.

"I met a trader." Shrugging,Bombalurina did not elaborate. "He gave me it in exchange for...work."

Curled in the corner, Demeter continued to chew vigourously on the beef, her eyes half-closed with drowsy pleasure as she felt her stomach filling for the first time in days.

Sinking down beside, Bombalurina gnawed on a chunk as well, but was no longer hungry. Her mind was racing and she knew she could not face the ugly and repulsive tom again. Running away from him would mean she was a fugitive, which would mean that Demeter would be in danger too, but she knew that whatever happened, she could not go through with what she had promised. She may have been a compulsive flirt, but she could never go as far as her actions suggested she would, particularly with a tom like the one she had got the meat from. So far, the wickedly sexy red queen had only had one lover - a tom she had adored more than life itself - and he had betrayed her.

"Whatcha thinkin', Bom?" Demeter asked quietly, casting a sidelong glance at her beautiful sister.

Sliding an arm around Demeter's thin shoulder's, Bombalurina smiled brightly and pleasantly replied, "Just how nice it is to have food in my stomach."

"Who was the trader you got it from?" Demeter's uncanny knack of seeing past a lie, her liquid gold eyes locking onto her sister's, almost as if she was reaching into Bombalurina's mind and trying to find the truth herself.

"Someone very dangerous." She finally admitted - both to herself and to her sister. "We'll have to make sure he doesn't find us again."

"Or he'll kill us." Demeter whispered hoarsely, blinking back hot tears. Forcing a grin, she squeezed her sister's paw. "You really know how to pick 'em, huh, sis?"

"You bet I do." Bombalurina rubbed her head against her sister's. "We have to move soon though, right, kid?"

"Right." Demeter nodded tiredly, leaning against the red shoulder. "But we'll rest for a little while...just a little while."

*

Blinking in the afternoon light, Bombalurina cursed her stupidity. Falling asleep when they had to escape was sheer foolishness, she hissed, shaking Demeter awake. "C'mon kid." She whispered urgently. "We have to go. C'mon, Dem. He'll be looking for us soon."

"I'm awake." The gold and black queen stretched and scrambled to her cut and bruised paws, rubbing her sleep-crusted eyes with the back of her dirt-matted paws.

Grabbing her sister's arm, the red queen glanced down the already bustling streets nervously, before racing across the roads and into a dark alley, Demeter gasping at her heels. "This way!" She hissed frantically, breaking into a sprint.

Having finally eaten, the two queens had enough energy to keep moving as fast as they could, but both were weak and exhausted from the long and strenuous journey to London from their village.

Glancing back - an action bourne on instinct - Bombalurina almost screamed, as she spotted the tom on a ledge high above them, his eyes fixed on them.

"Where ya goin', gorgeous?" He bellowed, loud enough for his sleazy voice to carry down to them.

"Hell!" Skidding to a halt, she grabbed Demeter's arm again and pulled her into a bisecting alley, weaving through a winding maze of passages and narrow backstreets.

"Where...are...we...going?" Demeter gasped, struggling to keep up with her elder and stronger sister.

"Anywhere." Bombalurina growled, grim determination and fear etched on her face. Racing around a corner, she sharply jerked to a halt, Demeter colliding with her back.

"Can you make it over there, kid?" She whispered, staring up at the tall fence, unsheathing her claws slowly.

"I'll try..."

Holding out her forepaws, Bombalurina nodded grimly. "Go over first. I'll give you a boost over, then I'll follow, okay?"

Nodding a 'yes', she leapt onto her sister's paws and took a flying leap over the top of the fence, disappearing over the jagged rim and landing with a light thump on the other side.

"Bomba?" Hearing the shaky voice, Bombalurina launched herself up the fence and lended on the ground, her eyes widening in disbelief and outrage.

"Bom...I'm sorry." Demeter whispered, the claws digging into her throat constricting her windpipe.

"Let her go." Staring at the tom who held her sister, Bombalurina felt the waves of nausea wash over her again. "Please...I'll do anything, just let the kid go..."

"Why should I, gorgeous?" The tom snarled savagely, tightening his grip. Demeter gave a breathless shriek as blood started trickling slowly down her dirty fur.

"Because the nice lady said so." A new voice purred simply. "Let her go, Scarfeld."

Whirling round, the furious look on the brutal tom's face melted away to one of pure terror and he hastily dropped the kitten - gasping for breath - to the ground. "I'm, sorry, sir!" He grunted, backing away hastily, running away down the alley, leaving the two queens at the mystery newcomers mercy.

"Are you two lovely ladies all right?" Stepping into the dim light, the tom gazed at Bombalurina - who had dropped to her knees and was cradling Demeter gently.

"Ye...yes." The red queen whispered, stroking Demeter's face. "Who are you? Why did you help us?"

"I don't like to see young queens being attacked by brutal old toms." The silken voice replied evasively.

Scrutinising the tom, Bombalurina slowly helped Demeter to her paws. He was a tall and very thin tom, she noticed, but there was something about him. Something suave and sophisticated that she found appealing in spite of his scruffy appearance.

"What can we do to repay you?" She asked softly.

Spreading his paws in a gallic gesture of dismissal, he flashed her a dazzling smile. "I was wondering if you would allow me to help you further, as you seem new to the city."

"Is it that obvious?"

Nodding, he held out a paw to her. "I'm afraid so, my dear. Perhaps I can be of assistance however. You will need shelter and work, will you not?"

"Why would you do that?" Demeter asked suspiciously, eying him nervously.

"What do you want?"

"Just to help you." Reaching out, he rubbed Demeter's cheek and she shivered, staring into his deeply-sunken, dark eyes. "That's all I want. So," He turned to the elder queen. " If you will come with me, I'll take you to a place for you both to live."

"C'mon Dem." Bombalurina said impatiently, looping an arm through the tom's. "We can't turn down help like this, can we?"

"Yes," The black and gold queen responded softly, narrowing her eyes. "We can fend for ourselves."

Laughing richly, the tom shook his head and humourously said. "Of course you can, little kitten." Laying his paw on her arm, his cool eyes met hers again.

"Don't patronise me, mister." She hissed, backing behind Bombalurina. "Leave us alone."

"Is she always this fiery?" Amusement with a trace of aroused curiousity rang in his voice.

"Yes. Yes she is." Bombalurina glared at Demeter. "But no matter, we'll come with you anyway."

"No, Bomba, please!"

"Oh come on, Dem. We need all the help we can get."

"Not from him!" Shaking her head, Demeter felt her hackles rising. "I don't trust him, Bomb. I don't."

"Oh, kitten," He laughed deeply, but without humour. "I'm the most trustworthy tom hereabouts. Now, if I do anything to upset you, you can leave, all right? Does that sound fair?"

"Yes." Bombalurina said decisively. "Or she'll head back to live with our brother." Ignoring her sister's horrified look, she smiled brightly at the tom. "So, if we are going to come with you, I guess its only fair that we know something about you..."

"I'm one of the most...well-known toms, hereabouts. My father is the leader of the Jellicle Tribe." Pausing, he nuzzled the red queen teasingly and purred huskily in her ear. "I hope that our...association will prove fruitful." He smiled from the stunning queen to her beautiful little sister.

"I'm sure it will."

"So, mister 'I'm-so-trustworthy'," Demeter coolly interrupted his spiel, folding her arms, fear and nervous cynicism in her voice. "Tell us what your name is, or we don't come with you."

"Very well, little one." He smiled his ice-cold smile at her - out of Bombalurina's view - and replied. "Since you trust me..." He ignored the little queen's expression of disgust and started down the alley, Bombalurina's arm securely looped in his, replying. "I'm Macavity."