One-Shot: Like Cats and Dogs

Triss and Edmund are Eternity characters; Eternity is an original series I write. Find out more about it here! [link]



“Administrator Shaine, you are hereby convicted by the Fern Province Council for treason!”

Shaine gulped as his chartreuse eyes widened in shock. He remained motionless as the guards came over to take him out of the Council Hall, but Triss could clearly see the guilty and fearful expression creeping across his face.

“He went along surprisingly quietly,” Administrator Aster, the Administrator Triss was closest to both physically and emotionally, mused. The lavender dog turned to the Our Leader. “What a despicable thing to do! How dare he attempt to make a deal like that!”

It was despicable, indeed. Less than a season ago, Administrator Shaine had covertly sent out a letter to Darren Adainel, the Our Leader of the Pond Union, which bordered the Fern Province to the east. In the letter, he promised to give the Pond Union land from the Fern Province in exchange for the death for Triss. Darren, despite the tension between the two countries and his dislike of Triss and her ideals and politics, had refused the offer. Triss mentally reviewed the last sentences of the letter.

“I may not like Our Leader Triss, and I may think her ambitions are foolish, but I would never go as far as to send an assassin after her. Not only would this provoke tensions to a point of a war, but I am a man of honor and ethics. I would never dream of doing something so underhanded.”

Privately, Triss wondered why Shaine would have any reason to want her dead. They weren’t too close, but he didn’t hate Triss, at least not enough to want her dead. Besides, Triss knew if she had been killed, it would only provoke a war. It was a well-known fact that Shaine was one of the biggest pacifists on the Council.

But why would he want me dead? He wouldn’t have anything to gain from it. The commander would be next in line to become the O.L…

A snarl formed in the back of Triss’ throat.
The commander.

“Edmund Samoy! We need to talk!” The disgruntled tabby flung open the door to the commander’s office as she stormed in, her platinum blonde tail fluffed up and her turquoise eyes blazing.

“Miss Triss, what a surprise to see you here,” The dog stood up and walked over to the Our Leader nonchalantly. Triss could tell he knew perfectly well why she had sought him out.

“Let’s cut to the chase,” Triss replied curtly. She clutched the letter tightly in her paw as she closed the door behind her. She had never liked or trusted Edmund, and had no patience for any excuses he might conjure up. Triss knew that Edmund would do anything to become Our Leader himself. She recalled when the Fern Province Brooch, the emblem of the Fern Province as well as the Our Leader’s power, had turned out to be a fake and Triss had been sent on a quest to retrieve it. Less than a season later, after the cameraman’s video camera broke after a disaster, Edmund saw the footage, seized an opportunity and made a false announcement claiming Triss was dead. Almost immediately after, he took her position as Our Leader. When Triss had returned to the Fern Province, Edmund proclaimed her an impostor and set the military on her. Eventually Triss proved she was indeed the true Our Leader, but when Edmund was put to trial, the Council came to the decision he had made an “innocent mistake”.

Many times Triss wished she could remove him from office herself, but she didn’t have the power to do so unless Edmund was convicted by the Council of a crime. The previous Our Leader, Leon, had Edmund as his commander, but he had decided to appoint Triss as the next Our Leader instead after receiving an omen.

Edmund’s voice snapped Triss out of her thoughts.

“So you came here to discuss the letter?” He eyed the piece of paper Triss was squeezing in her paw.

“Why else would I come to talk with you?” Triss retorted. With each second that passed, she lost more and more of her already meager patience with the Commander. “I’ve got it all figured out. You wrote the letter, but you had Administrator Shaine sign it and send it to Darren Adainel so in case he refused your offer, you wouldn’t take the blame.”

“What would make you jump to such a conclusion?” Edmund replied calmly as a smirk crossed his long muzzle. Triss felt a shiver run down her furry spine. It greatly unnerved her that his reaction would be so relaxed. Edmund had a ferociously short temper, and she had seen it in action before.

Triss was at a loss of words. Not one half-retort crossed her mind. With an irritated hiss, she began to step out the door.

“Miss Triss, one more thing.”

She whirled around mid-step and glared at him. Two identical pairs of turquoise eyes met as Edmund returned her glare.

“It would be very unwise of you to mention this conversation or your suspicions to anyone else. After all, the Fern Province and the Pond Union are on the verge of war. It would only make things worse if your secrets were spilled as well as mine.”

Triss felt her blood turn to ice. He couldn’t do that! If it got out that she wasn’t truly the former Our Leader’s daughter, she would lose her position. Only the commander or the immediate family of the Our Leader could be chosen to be the successor. On the other hand, it would bring great shame to Ed as well, and he would certainly lose his position.

Triss ruefully remembered how a few years ago, immediately after she had been inaugurated as the Our Leader, Edmund had taken her aside and told Triss her true lineage so he could use it to blackmail her.

The tabby hissed at her treacherous commander as she abruptly stepped out of the doorway. “You are not my father.”


:bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink::bulletyellow::bulletpink:

I really hate it that you can't have large preview images like you used to be able to, so I had to put the story in the Artist's Comments for the picture to appear full-size.

I always love it when contests coincide with something I already have planned. I was going to write this story anyways-lately I've felt very inspired to explore their relation more, but then one group I'm in decided to host a contest with the theme "Love/Hate" so I figured this would suit it well. You can probably guess which theme I went for here. \
Also, I won!

I love how the background came out, though the crown molding was a complete pain in the neck to make, especially since I had to make it go around the wall's corner. Still, it was worth it; just look at how gorgeous it is! It's also part of why I wanted the picture to be full-size.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Drawn, inked and colored traditionally, digital inking done on Inkscape, coloring done with PhotoShop Elements and Inkscape