True love, Izabel assures me, encompasses all of the declensions of existence, and, in its comprehensive breadth, surpasses the being of the self and standard notions of animal time. More, that to be enraptured in the flow of bliss between lover and beloved is to align with the essence of the universe, and therefore of course it was love at first sight for her, when she met him, that afternoon in my chambers. In general, Izmir will not speak of it. When I ask him, he swishes his tail and stares at me with eyes of glittering complexity. From the kittens however, and from my observations at the time, I am sure that for him, just as for her, it was love at first sight. Who knows, if they had met at a different time, with different circumstances in hand, whether they would have fallen for each other quite so quickly, I suppose so, but as it was they were left with little time to linger at their choosing. Fate had built great works around their crossing, and, if brief, had more than compensated for brevity with the most propitious blessings. Izmir was to become a hero, and unite the three treasures of the cats for his wife. In the midst of his efforts to reclaim the second of the treasures, he had met the princess of the cats hiding in the palace, who had helped him on the way. Izabel was in need of a hero, knowing that she could and would not marry Mr Respectable. She had fled the rooftops and was hiding in my chambers when Izmir, foretold in prophecy, had found her. Their love was written in the stars, but had it not been, I am certain they would have fallen for each other anyway, such was the grace of the match in both form and spirit.
Izmir flew from the treasure room and then soared away over the confused ranks of guards running around in the courtyard. The light of the cats threw off an explosion of sunlight as it rose, clasped tightly in his mouth, into the brilliant summer sky. In a moment he was again by Ahmet's side. Ahmet needed no telling and in another moment after that they had flown beyond the palace walls and were back with Fatma.
'We did it again!' cried Ahmet. 'The light of the cats is ours. Two treasures in one morning. Whoo!'
Fatma still had not stopped crying. She looked at Izmir, a large black cat with a pair of white wings, holding a diamond in his mouth, and let out a low wail.
'Izmir!' exclaimed Ahmet. 'What happened? Tell us how you did it!'
Izmir let the light of the cats drop from his mouth. It hit the floor and rolled towards Fatma in the dust and there lay sparkling, caressing her tear-stained face with shafts of diamond-dappled light. To Izmir, it must have seemed as though a dream. For some moments he could do no more than try to catch his breath and steady his heaving heart.
'So quickly…' he said, 'I don't know what to say. Impossible to explain…'
How strange thought Ahmet, Izmir was acting quite out of character, he seemed genuinely unsettled.
'It was tough in there' he started, 'where I entered, after I left you, through the skylight and into the pantry. There were guards running everywhere, looking for a cat, and a she cat at that. Well anyway I charged them and made my way forwards, but was given chase by yet more guards, and so then tried to lose them in my turnings. A few moments of running took me into a bed chamber, which I almost departed, but then stopped in, for out of the corner of my eye I saw another cat, with a human girl.'
Ahmet stared at Izmir in wonder.
'I thought to ask the other cat where to find the treasure' he continued, 'but the cat, well the cat… It was Izabel, the princess of the cats… She's hiding from Longshanks, and from the cat he intends her to marry, Mr Respectable. She has taken the human princess, the daughter of the Sultan, as a friend, who on asking assisted me in capturing the light. She took me in a bag to its place of keeping, and there distracted the guard. Well then it was easy, I just took it and ran.'
Fatma spoke for the first time in hours.
'And I suppose that now you expect Izabel to be your wife?'
Izmir looked at Fatma askance. He had in truth not stopped thinking about the idea. He had fallen utterly in love with her, and at some level, he had come to think of it as certain that he would recover the final treasure and go on to marry Izabel, princess and heir to the throne of the cats. There was something about Fatma's question that unsettled him, but yes…
'Yes' he said, 'I do intend to marry Izabel.'
'I see' said Fatma. 'The implication of course is that you must somehow overcome both Longshanks and Mr Respectable in order to achieve this.'
'You are almost certainly correct' replied Izmir.
'Oh dear' said Fatma. She felt utterly bleak. Looking ahead, she could see the tragedy forming shape.
'There is only more treasure to recover. Remember the prophecy Fatma. Once we have the sword of the cats it will be impossible to stop us.'
'That you should think so is surely the point Izmir, you must understand that.'
Ahmet lost his patience.
'Izmir come on let's go. I can't wait to see you fight the dog king. She's never going to agree with you, I wouldn't waste your time.'
Izmir nodded.
'Ahmet get the diamond, put it in your bundle. That's it. Sorry Fatma, you're going to have come with us.'
Fatma started to protest but before any words could come out of her mouth Izmir had grabbed both her and Ahmet.
'Point the way Ahmet' he roared before taking off from the ground and returning to the skies.
Ahmet was pleased to note that Melchior had been right. Sakarya was only a short flight from Istanbul. Of course he had never been to Sakarya, he had never heard of Sakarya in any other context and he had never enquired as to its whereabouts, but anyway he knew the way to go and exactly how long it would take to get there. He asked in his mind and everything he needed to know was already there. The town appeared before him in the distance, lit up on the plains beyond Istanbul. It would take only a matter of moments at this speed.
Once Izmir had been set upon the right course both he and Ahmet steadied their thoughts and focused in on the coming challenge. Their imaginations flickered through a succession of scenes from their envisioned future. They saw Izmir defeat the dog king in single combat. They saw him emerge from his cave holding the sword of the cats aloft. They saw the crowds cheering in Istanbul. They saw Izmir and Izabel before an altar, confetti flying in the air above their embrace. Not a single doubt nor a single question occurred in their minds during this time. They just knew that these things would come to pass.
Fatma also saw a vision of the future. It was very different from theirs but she believed it just as much. She saw the gutters at war. She saw the gutters in chains. She saw Izmir surrender. In the distance, she heard someone laughing.
'These cats are ready!' cried a voice.
'We're here' shouted Ahmet.
Izmir pulled downwards and began circling towards the ground.
Here we might spare a moment to empathise with the dog king. What we know is that indeed there was a dog living in these caves, themselves contained within the series of hills that lies beyond the small town of Sakarya. None of the cats I have spoken to about it could provide any proof that this dog was in fact the king of all dogs, for regardless of the truth, arbitrary as they insisted it was, they couldn't for a moment maintain interest in such an idea and so simply had never researched it. In any case, this dog did transpire to be in possession of a particularly fine sword, of craftsmanship too ethereal to suit such needs as its own. We do not know however how long he had owned it for, nor whether he even knew of what the object meant to the cats. Whatever, it seems certain that the dog king was entirely unprepared for the energy that the progress of Izmir now carried with it.
I imagine him slumbering peacefully, or so easily at least as dogs are capable of resting, the only disruption to the gloomy stench of his cave the sound of his own snoring. Around him, scattered carelessly, the bones of his most recent meals. Further into the darkness of his lair, a collection of ill-gained trophies left over from his days of foul-tempered conquest. Amongst them, discarded to the shadows, the sword of the cats, waiting to be released, shining, and calling to Izmir of completion.
Desire burnt within Izmir's chest as though a thousand fires had been lit to guide his soul towards this fate. His purpose, singular, noble, anyway of existential importance, had since meeting Izabel become the pathway to spiritual bliss. The trajectory of his ascent was now so steep that it allowed no deviation from its course at all. Stood before the caves, there was nothing beyond the message sent by his beating heart and body poised: to kill the dog king was the essence of his will. Then, as you may well imagine, this is exactly what he did.
It is only a slight shame to think of his demise, unknowing and swift as it was, for later it caused the cats a significant amount of embarrassment. But then too, we cannot blame Izmir, for although ruthless, the strength of circumstance around him had proved overwhelming.
The time was now. Izmir leapt into the air and shot forwards, travelling through the skies at over one hundred miles an hour. He entered the cave and flew directly, arms aloft and claws extended, into the face of the dog king, who, waking, had barely time to lift his head and howl before Izmir had ripped out his throat.
Izmir surveyed the cave before him. The sword of the cats caught his eye. In a flash he was there. Wrapping his paws around the hilt he lifted it through the piles of junk and swung it above his head. Outside he heard Ahmet, who had been watching in his mind, cry with delight. 'It is done. It's ours. It is time to start the world anew!'
Izmir paused. What now? Why was nothing happening? Of course! He had not the light of the cats with him. Ahmet had it in his bundle.
He shot back out of the caves and landed before the kittens in one smooth motion.
'Ahmet quick the light of the cats, give it to me.'
Ahmet produced the diamond and passed it to Izmir.
Izmir, his body taut with expectation, grabbed the diamond and then brought both arms above his head in a blinding arc. He jumped a little off the ground and there levitated, leaning backwards on the wings and then lifting his head to the heavens to await the gods' reply. The treasures were reunited.