Shane's PoV -

     Devin and I had been something for quite a while now. I don't know exactly what we were though. I kinda liked him as more than a pet and I think he kinda cared about me a little too. I had been giving him more and more freedom so now he was allowed to roam the majority of the castle during the day an was only caged at night. I still felt kinda bad about that but I was worried he would run away. I moved his cage to my room so he wouldn't feel so self conscious being kept in the throne room.

The only problem was Devin kept getting himself into dangerous situations. He would get into fights with the guards, run along the castle rooftop, or jump out of cabinets and scare my poor advisor. Currently I stood outside the castle listening to my advisor drone on about why we should build better fortifications. "Listen, Karmo, our castle is safe enough, no one even knows we exist," I replied but made the mistake of glance at the highest level of the castle in the process.

"What the hell is he doing?!" I gasped as Devin jumped from windowsill to balcony, "I have to go!"

     I quickly shoved a notebook into Karmo's hands and took off running through the castle, which had been happening quite a lot lately. I took the stairs three at a time and rounded corners so fast I nearly knocked my help out of the way. Finally, I made it to the top floor. I ran down the hall glancing through open doors to look out the window. Then I caught a glimpse of Devin's thick cat tail. I ran over one room to the right and charged in. Some woman may have screamed but I didn't care, I ran to the window and hurriedly opened it before grabbing Devin in my arms. He let out a caterwaul and I pulled him inside, "What the hell were you doing!?" I may have been a bit too harsh but I was worried for him.

     "Awwww, you care about me but I'm part cat I have good balance," Devin replied in his usual sassy attitude.

     I couldn't help but pull him close, "You scared me, don't do that again!"

     "No promises," he hugged back and purred a little.

     "Well this is heart warming and all but please get out of here I'm trying to get dressed!" the lady, who's room we were standing in, yelled causing Devin and I to slap our hands over our eyes and scurry out of the room.

     "Well that was amusing..." Devin smirked.

     "Whatever... do you want to stay with me so you don't almost get yourself killed anymore today?" I suggest.

     "Your life is so boring though," Devin complained, "all you do is talk and sit on a throne."

     "To bad," I grabbed Devin's hand and pulled him after me downstairs.

     I always wondered what my kingdom thought about Devin and myself. He usually hung around me when he wasn't getting himself into trouble and we hugged quite a bit. I didn't even know what Devin and I were. Was it weird that I might possibly be in love with a cat hybrid? What would my people think about that? After all my advisor, Karmo, had warned me that I should be keeping more distance from Devin. I choose not to listen to him.

I currently sat on my throne, it was late in the day and no one had came in to ask something for several hours. Devin sat next to me, half on my lap and half on the throne, with his head on my shoulder. He was asleep and snored a little. I smiled at the sight, Devin really was cute. My heart swelled for him and I planted a small kiss to his lips. He didn't wake up but he let out a quiet purr. I think I was in love...

Finally, my kingly duties were over for the day so I took the sleeping Devin in my arms and carried him upstairs to our room. It was kinda difficult to carry a sleeping cat boy up 5 flights of stairs but I managed. I lay Devin down on my bed, he was already asleep so he didn't need the cage tonight, right... I flopped down next to him exhaustedly and cuddled into the blankets.

I had been asleep for hours and it was the dead of night when I woke to a scream from the first floor of the castle. I glanced over to find Devin gone. I cursed under my breath as I threw the blankets off me and ran downstairs as fast as I could. When I was halfway down the steps I heard the scream again. It sounded like it was coming from the kitchen.

Once on the first floor I hurried to the kitchen to find the cook running around trying to put out a fire! He was screaming frantically. The fire was growing larger by the second and had already consumed about half the kitchen. "I'll call the bucket burgade!" I shouted over the roar of flames.

     With that I ran out the door and hurriedly rung the alarm that meant fire on the first floor. Soon the residents of the castle would run down here and help put out the fire but I had bigger priorities to worry about. I had to find Devin!

     I ran from room to room, not caring who I disturbed. When I seen someone I would warn them about the fire before running off again. I had checked the entire first floor and found no sign of Devin. Then I searched the second and third floors. Smoke was billowing up the steps after me and rapidly spreading through the castle. I yelled for Devin but it soon turned into coughing. I knew the time I had to escape with my life was growing thin and nearly everyone in the castle was gone. Maybe Devin was gone too. Maybe he had left long before the fire or even when he heard the fire alarm I set off. I had a feeling that wasn't what had happened though. I doubted Devin would leave me. He had to be here still and I had to find him before it was too late for both of us. I could just imagine what the first floor looked like right now.

     I was on the fourth floor and the smoke was so thick I could scarcely see. I trudged up the steps to the top floor, the one I never expected to find Devin on. I looked in all the rooms till I got to the very last one. My room.

     I shoved open the door and there I found Devin trapped in his cage. I didn't put him there though? I rushed over to him and found him passed out from smoke inhalation. I rummaged through my dresser trying to find the keys to Devin's cage. Where were they?! I don't have time for this!

     "Are you looking for these?" I turned to find Karmo standing in the door frame, he held the keys and tossed them to me, "You can unlock him but it's too late for all of us now," Karmo taunted as I rushed to Devin's cage and unlocked it before dragging Devin out.

     "How dare you!" I yelled, "Why would you do this?!" I screamed as I slung Devin over my shoulder.

     "I did this for your own good, you would have been known as the stupid king who fell for his pet cat hybrid," my now ex advisor replied casually.

     I shoved Karmo out of my way. "Burn in Hell," I growled before running out into the smoke filled halls.

     I rushed down the stairs feeling the temperature rise with every step. We were on the third floor when I was meet with a wall of flames that licked at the walls and absorbed the castle. It was still far enough down the hall but moving fast. I searched for a window. I rushed into the nearest room and quickly shut the door and blocked the space at the bottom so no more smoke could come in. The air was more clear here than in the halls and Devin let out a faint cough. I lay him against the wall while I worked on tying bed sheets together. Hopefully we could survive this.

     I had just tied the last sheet when Devin faintly mumbled, "S-shane."

     I opened the window and threw out the bedding I had tied. I rushed over to him and I could feel just how hot it was from where he sat close to the door. The fire was right outside the hall. "We can make it, Devin, just hold onto my shoulders and don't let go no matter what," I grabbed Devin and hauled him onto my back where he held tight like a sloth.

     I rushed out the windowsill and slowly lowered us down. We had made it several yards down when the window I had just climbed out broke from the heat of the fire. The fire had now made it into the room and soon the bedsheets would burn and drop Devin and I at least 2 stories onto the ground below. There was no room for safety anymore. "Hold on tight!" I yelled and lessened my grip to allow the sheets to freely slip through my hands.

     We were practically falling and the cloth burned my hands but I still clung tight. When we had made it close enough to the ground I gripped onto the sheets once again. We were instantly slowed but our weight was enough to break the sheets and Devin and I fell from the first story. I adjusted my weight so Devin was above me so I wouldn't crush him on impact. Then I felt the painful thud of ground beneath me and Devin landed on top of me. I was in terrible pain but I was alive and so was Devin. I reached my hand up to Devin's cat ears and gently rubbed them, "You're okay," I smiled.

     He quickly got off me and lay beside me on the grass, "Yeah, thanks to you, now how do you feel?"

     "Terrible but alive," I groaned as I sat up, testing to see if I broke any bones.

     Devin did the same and gently cuddled into me. I kissed his forehead. We had managed to survive this.

     After the fire I took Devin and myself to the town healer and she gave us medicine to help with the smoke we inhaled but otherwise we were healthy. I managed to find a house for just Devin and myself. Days later it was found that everyone had survived the fire besides my advisor. A funeral was held and I decided not to tell anyone about what he'd done. There were no more cages for Devin and I decided he wasn't my pet anymore. He was my boyfriend and perhaps one day he would be my husband.