Fourth Task: The Menagerie

1. Create a ‘doll’ of your character’s favorite animal in the menagerie. This can include your character or not, your choice. It can be a real animal or a made-up animal. Don’t stress about this! Don’t take hours on it! It can be terrible. I don’t mind. (For an example of just how bad it can be, see my imaginary animals doll, here: http://www.dolldivine.com/Pixie/GypsyMoth-1846680 .) Or you can hand draw it.

 2. Really, the animal can be awful ;)

 3. Respond to Tamd and answer his questions. (Why do you like this animal, and what do you miss about your home?)

Cora awoke early, for it was the day that the ladies were visiting the royal menagerie. Animals were something she felt comfortable with. Animals never ask awkward questions nor have expectations of behaviour or tradition. Cora got dressed swiftly in a comfortable dress – one of the many her mother had insisted on packing for her and headed out for breakfast.

The menagerie was huge, far bigger than Cora had expected and filled with animals from all across the empire (and beyond). Cora stared in awe at all the beautiful feathered, furred and scaled creatures. She then felt sorrow creep into her heart. For no animal should ever feel trapped. She then thought of her own situation. She was trapped here, trapped in a role she had never asked for. The young woman was deep in thought when she realised that she stood in front of a cage containing the most peculiar animal she had ever seen. Well, she had seen this animal before, but never in the condition was it in now. Cora let out a startled cry at the sight of the multicoloured rodent sniffing the air towards the back of the cage, appearing quite unaware she was there.  She turned around to see if any of the other girls had noticed it, but they were too engrossed in their own wonder and amazement at the array of exotic animals and birds. She caught the eye (not intentionally) of Prince Tamd, who smiled at her and strolled causally over. “You like this animal?” he asked Cora as he moved beside her.
“My lord,” Cora began, “I have never seen this animal before in my life. But I can’t say that it does intrigue me greatly,” she turned back to the creature that appeared to be grouping small stones into piles according to their colour. “It is a rat, I can see and rats are one of my favourite animals,” Prince Tamd looked surprised at this, for girls and rats don’t usually mix in his experience; he hoped she didn’t notice his surprise. She hadn’t noticed him as her eyes were locked on the rat. “Rats are very intelligent and it isn’t their fault they carry disease. However this is much larger than a native rat and the colours also suggest it isn’t found locally – am I right?” She asked turning back to the prince. Tamd considered this question, for he felt guilty about the answer. He wasn’t the greatest admirer of the fact that the animals were kept in cages and the truth about the rat was far worse than merely keeping it from the wild.

“This rat is native to this land,” Tamd began to explain. Cora’s eyes widened in surprise and the prince continued. “She has been in this cage for the past ten years. Yes, much longer than any normal rat would live,” he answered her question before she had a chance to speak, “She was an experiment. She was subjected to terrible treatment by a palace scientist. My father had no knowledge of this until it was too late. This rat is like no other rat on the planet. The only thing common “rat” about her is her general appearance. She is highly intelligent for an animal and her colours change with her moods. She can communicate in strange ways with other animals and some of the keepers.” He stopped, noticing the rat was staring at him, “I’m pretty sure she understands us too,” he added in a whisper, moving close to Cora’s ear. She could feel his warm breath against her cheek. A tingling rose inside her. She pushed it away, disgusted with her body’s betrayal of Braith.
“Anyhow, the king threw the mad scientist into prison and brought the poor creature to our menagerie. He has outlawed any testing on animals. No one was allowed to put this rat, Poppet, I like to call her, through any more abuse or testing. So we have no idea about what she is capable of.” The couple looked back towards Poppet, who was now creating a mosaic with the coloured stones. “Quite interesting really,” he finished, “She is a fascinating creature. But it is in her best interest now that she is left alone, safe in here. She is provided with plenty of interest. It is just a shame she will never find a mate,” he looked directly at Cora as he said this. Cora tried her hardest to suppress the rising heat creeping across her face. Thankfully the prince looked back at the colourful rat, who looked so happy playing with the stones in front her.
The two humans stood quietly contemplating their own thoughts while the rat arranged the pebbles into a picture of what appeared to be a human face. It looked up, as if seeking approval. Tamd smiled at Poppet and held out his hand that now contained some small morsels of meat. Poppet squeaked in delight and scampered over. She took the titbits from the prince and gave a strange bob – could it be she was bowing to him? She squeaked again before returning to admire her own work. Cora noticed that the rat didn’t eat the food straight away, but placed it carefully out of sight, saving it for when she was actually hungry.
Tamd turned to Cora and said finally, “I wish I could let her go free. It is so unfair to keep her locked up here. It is unfair that all of these animals are in here. But of course, I am not supposed to and I know she can’t mix with wild rats. Plus, none of these animals could survive the wild. They’ve been with us for far too long.” Cora nodded at his reasoning 

After a moment Tamd shook himself and gave a small laugh. “Anyway, I would miss her if she were gone.” He turned to Cora fully again, “What do you miss most about your home?”
 If Cora was to honestly answer this, she would betray her family and region. The thing she missed was the thing she couldn’t have. Not if she was successful here at the palace.
“I miss the open road,” she answered, “I miss the freedom of being able to get away and be alone with my thoughts. The palace is so beautiful, but it is also so restricting. I like to see the animals in their natural habitat; I like to see the flowers in their native region. But we are human, we adapt to new challenges and new expectations. I could learn to love the palace,” she lied without any indication of her deception. “If you were to leave the capitol, would you miss anything?” Cora asked. Tamd thought for a moment and answered. Cora listened intently and after another moment of silence, the prince spoke, “I am glad you like Poppet,” the prince smiled, “and I have enjoyed this conversation. I hope you enjoy the rest of the day, but I am afraid I must request leave from you as I have to continue my princely duties,” he smirked mischievously, gave a small bow and left. Cora watched him leave and considered what this prince would be like as a husband. What would happen if he chose her? Would she learn to accept him as her husband? Would she learn to love him? Then she remembered her own word... humans can adapt. Turning back to the colourful rodent she said aloud, “I will do what has to be done. Fate will decide my path” and if the rat understood her, it squeaked and shook its head in what could easily be interpreted as sympathy and understanding.