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"In my village," Rumpelstiltskin said darkly, holding up his perfectly pressed pants... that now sported a line of white and orange short hairs, "people would drown annoying cats in the river."
The feline in question just peeked out smugly from between his mistress's arms. In the two weeks since the ball of fur had made its home in the Victorian house, Rumpelstiltskin was in no doubt which of them would win a contest where Belle was the arbiter.
Flapping the ruined pants in the kitten's direction, he sneered at it. "Yes, drowned. And then they'd eat them!"
"Rumple," Belle admonished him, giving him a reproachful look.
"I'm just teaching your cat a bit of history. I thought you appreciated it when I shared my stories?"
Belle shook her head. Petted the kitten's head tenderly. "I don't care what the rest of your village did, but don't try to convince me you joined in." At least she spared him a loving smile. "You never drowned a poor defenseless cat in your life, Rumpelstiltskin."
His mouth pursed in displeasure, his first reaction always to dislike being found out so easily. But then he remembered that this was his wife, and that Belle already thought him a better man than what he could ever become. At least this time she was right. "All right, so the little critters were safe from me - but then I never kept one, did I?" He gave the cat a pointed glare. "Was probably what led the others to murder."
The cat licked its paw with a leisurely swipe of his tongue.
Belle giggled.
Resigned to never being able to scare those under his roof, Rumpelstiltskin sighed and retreated to find a new pair of pants.
He was rewarded by his wife coming behind him, then letting go of the cat so she could wrap her arms around him instead.
"Thank you for your patience, love."
Rumpelstiltskin smiled, enjoying the attention.
That his smile came also partly from the satisfaction at the annoyed feline yowl at having been summarily abandoned... Well. He didn't need to be that honest, did he?
The End
24/11/16