Amy and Stripes: page 23

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They stepped into the polished granite porch and waited. A moment later a face peered out of the window in the silver doors. The face smiled and then disappeared. Amy heard chains rattling and locks being opened, then the doors opened. As Amy stepped inside, she gasped. The floors of the palace were tiled gold and silver. The ceiling was engraved with pictured of gods and goddesses of Sugi. The servants all wore white tuxedos embroidered with silver. Wonderful smells wafted from the main kitchen, making her wish she had a snack with her. A short woman with curly bright red hair came speeding over. She hugged Corpse and then turned to look at Amy.

"Well then, who do we have here?" the woman asked.

"This is Amy, Mom," Corpse said. "She's my..." He paused. "Owner." As he said that, he used the two-finger parentheses gesture.

Amy sighed. Why couldn't she have a normal cat like everyone else? The thought made her laugh.

"What?" Corpse asked.

"Nothing," Amy answered innocently. Amy froze. "Wait, so this is your mom?" Amy asked.

"Yup," Corpse answered proudly.

Amy suddenly felt embarrassed. She was in the presence of the Queen of Sugi, and all she was wearing was a "Fun in the Sun" t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

The queen seemed to guess what she was thinking and she said, "Oh, don't be embarrassed deary. We'll get you some new ones straight away." And with that she grabbed Amy's hand and started pulling Amy toward a door labeled "Graveyard."

"Wait," Amy said. "If you're getting me new clothes, why are we going into a room labeled Graveyard?"

"It's a security thing," the queen explained. The queen opened the door to the room labeled Graveyard.