Grace just finished cleaning up after her dinner when someone knocked
on the door. She did not expect visitors or deliveries; she did not
have many friends and none of them were the type to turn up
unexpected. Uninvited guests are usually bad news. Still, she gathered
her courage, opened the door a bit, and peeked out.

A young woman stood there, around the same age as her. She was fully
clothed in black. Black boots, long black trousers, black gloves, a
black shirt with long sleeves, a black scarf hid most of her face,
even her hair was black. The stranger pulled her scarf down, revealing
her face, and pleaded: "Please let me in!" So Grace stepped aside, the
stranger slipped in, quickly closed the door behind her, and sat down
with her back to the door, breathing heavily.

Grace wasn't sure why she let this intruder in. She already regretted
it and started thinking about a plan to get rid of her. She could be
dangerous. Some strange person clad in black; what if it is a
terrorist, a bomb throwing anarchist? They were everywhere in the city
recently. Even this morning, as Grace was commuting to work, there was
a protest that held up her bus. She was late to work, and had to spend
the whole morning listening to her boss lecturing her about
punctuality. She then spent her lunch break in the toilet, crying.
Powerful politicians from around the world were gathering in the city
to discuss matters important to them. Grace did not care much about
these ministers; they can deal with their issues among themselves. But
troublemakers are attracted to powerful people like flies are
attracted to excrement, and they followed them here.

The intruder waved at Grace to join her on the floor. She kneeled down
and sat on her heels, afraid of what would happen if she did not
follow the orders. She noticed that on top of the intruder's head was
a pair of cat ears. They were adorable, and Grace watched the ears
flicker nervously.

"Hey, my eyes are down here." whispered the owner of the cat ears with
slight amusement. Grace gathered all her courage and lowered her eyes
to meet the gaze of her intruder. She had red eyes that would not look
away from her. Grace felt she was looking into those eyes for way too
long, but an urge overtook her and she couldn't look away. It felt
like a part of her soul had been kidnapped by those red eyes and now
the rest of her soul was trying to break out of her own eyeballs to
join the stolen part in the mesmerizing red abyss of this intruder's
eyes.

The sound of a siren from outside broke their trance. "Do you have a
window that looks to the street?" whispered the intruder. Grace
pointed towards the living room. The intruder started crawling there,
on all fours. Grace followed her, in the same manner. She did not like
this. It was humiliating, unfit for her. She wanted to get rid of the
intruder. She did not like being ordered around in her own home, in
her own domain. But she was too scared not to play along. So she went.

In the living room, the intruder sat down next to the window. "Can you
tell me what's going on outside?" she asked Grace. Grace peeked out.
"It's a police car. There are two officers next to it, talking." said
Grace, and gathering all her courage, she continued "Are they here for
you?" The intruder nodded. "Are you dangerous?" The intruder looked at
Grace, surprised. "Of course not! I was just sparypainting. They are
the ones that are dangerous." Grace wasn't so sure about that.

Meanwhile the sirens stopped their deafening cries. "They've got in
the car. Looks like they are driving away." she narrated. "Really?"
The intruder let out a cry of joy and jumped next to Grace. There was
barely any space for her to look out, and Grace was determined not to
give up any more of it for her; she had given up enough today. This
did not seem to bother the intruder. She put her face so close to
Grace that their cheeks almost touched. Grace could feel the heat
radiating from that face. Blood rushed to her own and she realized she
was blushing. Why would she react this way? She turned her face away,
afraid that now it was her heat that was noticable. But the intruder
did not seem to care, she gently let herself fall back, taking a deep
breath as she stretched out on the floor, and let out a deep sigh.

Grace felt relaxed too. Now she was sure that she did the right thing.
What could have happened if the cops caught this poor catgirl? Those
brutes would have beat her up for sure, or worse. Grace saved this
troublemaker, she gave her shelter, she took her under her protection.
Those gestures that she interpreted as orders before now felt as pleas
for help. She was glad, at least she did one thing right today. But
now that the danger was gone, it was time to send this troublemaker on
her way.

While Grace was constructing her plan to make the troublemaker leave,
the catgirl stood up and extended a hand to Grace. Grace accepted it
and let her help her up. The catgirl shaked Grace's hand and
introduced herself: "I'm Alunya. Thank you for saving me." "You are
most welcome. I am Grace, welcome to my home." With the formalities
out of the way, Grace wanted to bow Alunya out. "Now, if you would
excuse me, could you please--" But the catgirl interrupted her: "Can I
please use the toilet?" As it looked urgent, Grace showed her where it
was.

While her guest was away, Grace had some time to think it over.
Vandalism was pretty dumb, but it is not an inexcusable crime. Maybe
they could still become friends. She would have liked a new friend, it
was getting pretty lonely lately. But since her guest was likely here
to protest, they probably had their political differences. Could they
get over it and become friends? She was trying to come up with a plan
to figure that out.

Soon her guest emerged from the toilet. In new clothes! It was still
mostly black, but Grace found it friendlier and not as intimidiating
as before. The trousers were replaced by a short black skirt, the
shirt with a black T-shirt. A bright red belt adorned her hip. Instead
of the scarf she now wore a half-black half-red bandana around her
neck. Grace noticed that her hair was short, barely touching her
shoulders. "Well, how do you like it?" asked Alunya as she struck a
pose. "Oh, it's very cute! It really suits you." said Grace happily.
Alunya stepped closer and leaned in to take a good look at Grace's
clothing. "Your outfit is really cute, too, I like this purple dress.
It looks very elegant. And your golden hair is so beautiful, it really
brings out the emerald of your eyes. Plus your hair style, it's so
cool!" Grace was happy to hear that. "Thank you! It's called a "hime
cut", it's how Japanese princesses used to wear their hair." she
replied. "Oh, I did not know that! You really do look like a
princess!" Grace was elated. Maybe they could be friends, after all.

Alunya turned around and took a good look at the nearby bookshelf. She
studied the titles carefully. Grace stepped next to her happily; books
are another topic dear to her heart, she was sure she could impress
her guest with her collection. "Do you like them?" Grace asked. "You
have so manny books!" replied Alunya, and continued: "Personally I
prefer science fiction, but fantasy can be entertaining, too." This
confused Grace. "What do you mean, fantasy? These are serious
philosophical works!" "Oh, so you really are a monarchist, are you
not?" Grace nodded yes and watched as Alunya's cat ears wilted in
disappointment. Maybe they can't be friends after all.

A deep silence befelt the two, but it passed on as quickly as it came,
as Alunya's stomach let out a deep growl. "Uh, sorry about that." she
said, seemingly embarassed. Grace wanted to cheer her up. "Don't
worry. I have some leftover Kaiserschmarrn if you would like some." It
did make Alunya smile. "Oh I would certainly like to smack a Kaiser!"
Alunya joked, but then quickly added: "I'm sorry, I don't want to
offend you. I don't have anything against you, it's just... strange,
you know?" Grace just waved at her to follow her into the kitchen.

Grace set the table for Alunya and put the food in the microwave.
While they were waiting for it to heat up, Alunya asked her about the
food: "It looked really sweet and special, did you have this for
dinner today because you are celebrating?" Grace replied: "It is
dessert. But I had nothing to celebrate today. I usually eat this when
I am in a bad mood, to cheer myself up." she admitted. "Oh, are you in
a bad mood today? Did something happen?" asked Alunya. Grace hesitated
for a moment before answering; it was a bit embarrassing. "I was late
for work, and my boss shouted at me because of it." She did not
mention why she was late. Alunya jumped up from the table. "You
shouldn't let your boss boss you around! Remember: the boss needs you,
you don't need the boss!" Grace was amused by Alunya's sudden
outburst. "Calm down, Alunya" she said, giggling. "I did not expect to
find a knight in you." Alunya seemed confused but she sat down again,
just in time for the microwave oven to finish its job.

Grace put the food before Alunya. "Let's eat!" Alunya cheered before
taking a spoonfull. After her first taste, she erupted: "Oh, it's
really good! You are an amazing cook, Grace!" Grace was elated to hear
this. To make someone this happy with her food! Surely this is how
kings must feel when they see their subject prosper under their rule.
She felt like a queen. But still, when her guest finished her meal,
the only thing on Grace's mind was to get rid of her. It was getting
late and she was tired.

Alunya grabbed her plate and went to the sink. "Oh don't worry about
it", Grace stopped her, "it's pretty late and I am sure you need to be
at home already." Alunya laughed it off. "It's okay, it's barely
anything, I'm used to cleaning up after myself." She was done with the
dishes in a minute, and turned to Grace: "Now, why don't we watch some
anime before I go? As a reward for helping with the chores." Grace
wasn't sure if this was meant to be a joke or not, but she felt
defeated. What could she do? You can't just kick out a guest. She felt
it was her duty to be welcoming. If there was nothing she could do,
they might as well enjoy some time together.

They sat on the sofa and Grace turned the TV on. The show barely
started when Grace felt Alunya lean on her, with her head falling on
Grace's shoulder. Grace froze. Her heart beat rapidly as blood filled
her face. To feel her body so close to hers, and they only met this
afternoon! She did not dare move, afraid that it would wake her. But
she started thinking, thinking about how she could keep her guest
around, silently working on a grand plan that would unite them
forever. She dozed off imagining all the happiness that awaited.

***

"Hey Alunya, do you remember when we first met? You fell asleep and
your head fell on my shoulder..."

"Oh, I was still awake. I remember how red it made your face, you looked adorable."

"What?!"