Nero has found an immediate connection with Princess Kitty Kiss. She tells him that the ‘Princess’ part isn’t really a title. Her human family is so devoted to her that she always gets called that. They even registered it as her name, along with the Kitty Kiss.
‘Kiss is a lovely name,’ says Nero. ‘It seems to fit your personality.’ Then he thinks that may be too forward of him, but Princess just smiles and says that she is not expecting Nero to be a mad emperor either, which puts him at his ease.
Princess tells Nero that she hadn’t intended to set sail on her own. When she boarded the ship, she had expected to join a couple of friends from another family who were also travelling to the United States. But they had suddenly come down with an illness and were unable to join the cruise. They were not seriously ill and had been able to secure credits to postpone their travel, but that left Princess on her own. She had intended to visit some cousins in the USA, but she is now unsure exactly what she will do, as she would have been travelling with her friends.
They chat amiably for a while, discovering that they have many common interests.
Nero also doesn’t get a chance to mingle with other cats his age. The crew members are all older cats. The only reason he is allowed to work on the ship part-time is that his mother is employed as a governess to the rich passengers’ kittens. That keeps the kittens amused while their parents enjoy themselves. He doesn’t get regular schooling, so he learns what he can. He has been travelling the world on cruise ships all his life.
They talk about shipboard life, and Nero mentions he has met another solitary young female called Sirin. Although Sirin is travelling with her guardian, he keeps such a close eye on her that she doesn’t get to meet other young cats.
Glancing over, Nero sees Sirin with her guardian Lord Nelson. He hasn’t officially met Lord Nelson, and as he is only a trainee crew member, he finds the idea of meeting Nelson very intimidating. Sirin doesn’t seem to notice them. He is unsure why she is sitting on the table. It looks as if Nelson is giving her a lecture. Perhaps he is just telling her to look at something.
The images and videos are all generated by AI from the author’s text.
