Princess Agitha loved bugs, all types of bugs regardless of their colors or sizes. After all, what kind of princess would not love all of her own adorable sweet subjects? She enjoyed the bugs' company far more than the dull company that other people provided, for bugs talked about fine things like the weather and their friends while people talked about depressing and boring things like war, taxes, what the neighbors were doing, the latest problems with the bumbling guards, and other boring topics. Then again, Agitha didn't despise most people she knew from her short excursions out into the world. She rather liked the princess of the country she lived in, Princess Zelda, and the boy in green that was helping her with her ball by finding the lost Golden Bugs she had invited. However, most people got on her nerves, especially the older ones that pretended that they were smarter and better than her. They always asked her silly things, like 'Where are your parents?' and 'Why do you keep bugs?' and 'How disgusting, why don't your parents get rid of these awful things?' To avoid such bothersome confrontations and insults to her subjets, she spent her days outside in the flower gardens and the field, looking for more of her beloved lost subjects, or inside her castle, playing with the bugs.

"Oh dear, look how dark it has become outside! Okay, it's time to go to bed!" She called out as she noticed how dark it was outside the windows. She stood up from her comfortable cushion and skipped over to the lamp on the shelf. She gently blew the little flame out, dousing the main floor in darkness. The golden bugs that had arrived earlier that day for her ball glittered in the darkness, their melodic voices whispering to each other as they congregated around the large tree in the center of the room. Agitha smiled as she carefully made her way to the ladder, careful not to step on any bugs, golden or normal. She climbed the ladder to the second floor, where a second lamp had been lit beside her bed. She walked to the dresser and quickly changed into a butterfly-patterned nightdress. When she walked to her bed, a small bed with an elaborate bed-frame, she noticed a dark spot on her pillow. She giggled as she recognized it as another insect.

"Hello, li'l mantis. It's night time, aren't you tired? Go along now, it's time for bed," Agitha crooned as she gently picked up the bug and moved it to her bedside table. The mantis stared up at her, faceted eyes fearlessly looking up to its princess before it scampered across the table and started climbing down towards the floor. She giggled and pulled back the covers of her thick blanket, checking to make sure that no pill bugs were hidden in her covers before sliding in. She grabbed the lamp and blew away the flickering light. She smiled to herself as she glanced up, where two golden butterflies danced in large lopsided circles high above her head.

"Good night," She called out to her subjects as she curled beneath the covers. The soft comforting thrum of the insects' voices and tinkling of the Golden bugs' melodical words quickly lulled her to a deep sleep.

The sound of soft pitter-patter of footsteps was what woke her up, startling her out of her warm comfortable sleep. She opened her eyes and blinked, noticing the faint rays of dawn slipping through her window. She growled in annoyance before she heard the soft, quiet steps again. She sat up, sending a couple of pill bugs that had crawled onto her bed to sleep tumbling onto her lap. She looked around for the source of the noise before she heard something heavy slam down. She leapt out of bed and rushed to the railing, looking over the wooden rail to view the main floor. She gripped the rail tightly as she saw a disgusting creature down by the tree, its long ragged tail flitting from side to side as it stared down at the Golden Butterfly it had managed to catch beneath its paws.

"No!" She screamed. Her scream startled the creature, which glanced up at her in astonishment before returning to its victim. It snatched up the butterfly with its mouth, its sharp teeth puncturing its soft delicate gold wings. Agitha raced to the ladder and scrambled down the wooden frame, rushing as fast as her feet and hands could allow her. Once her bare feet touched the wooden floor, she spun around to face the creature. It turned slightly and glanced at her, slivers of golden wings stuck in the mottled fur of its face, before it turned away from her and caught sight of a ladybug roosting sleepily on the tree. It leapt towards it, sending the poor insect toppling off the tree and onto its unprotected back. Agitha looked around and snatched up a thick book from her shelves.

"Vermin!" She screamed as she dashed forward, swinging the book up. The cat ignored her; instead it licked up the squirming ladybug and swallowed it. She howled and smashed the book down on its head. It cried out in pain as it was pummeled into the ground, dark predator eyes glaring up at her in hostility and fear as it tried to stand up again. Agitha raised the book again and brought it down on the creature's skull. The creature twitched in pain before it relaxed. She slowly pulled the book away and observed what she had done. The creature's skull had been crushed in, a small puddle of dark liquid forming beneath its ugly head. She had killed the creature in her rage. She sniffed and finally noticed the hot smarting tears on her cheeks. The creature had managed to invade her castle while she was asleep; she had not protected her subjects as she had promised.

"Is something wrong, Agitha?" A boy's timid voice called out. She glanced at the door, looked at the dead carcass, and quickly picked it up. She dashed to her basket and dumped the carcass in, making sure that it was hidden from view before she addressed the issue lurking outside her door.

"Nothing is wrong. I just had a bad dream, that's all," She called out as she walked towards the door, wiping her hands on her nightgown.

"A bad dream?" He called out, the worry in his voice slowly melting away to embarresment.

"I'm sorry I worried you," She said as she slowly cracked the door open. It was the boy who was always lingering around her house, his wide eyes glimmering in surprise.

"No, no it's okay! Really, I was worried someone was hurting you or something like that," The boy stammered, his cheeks flushing as he looked down at the ground sheepishly. Agitha scowled at the blushing boy, she never understood why the boy would come and visit her if all he ever did was blush and stare at his mud-covered feet. If he wanted to stare down at his feet and turn red, he can do that somewhere else, where someone might actually care about his peculiar behavior.

"Now, I really am busy today. I must find more of my subjects and invite them to my ball. Good-bye," She said. The boy opened his mouth to say something, but she quickly shut the door before he could speak. She glanced at the basket before walking towards the ladder.

An hour later, Agitha was out in the street dressed and prepared for the warm summer day. She kept her basket close to her body, to avoid anyone jostling the basket and accidentally revealing its contents. She ignored people staring at her in astonishment as she rushed to her destination, a small alleyway on the other side of the market. After making sure no one was watching her, she opened the basket. She gingerly took out the filthy carcass and deposited it beside a half-broken crate, which half-hid the corpse from view. Content that her pressing matter had now been solved, she stood up and closed the basket. She opened her parasol and twirled it as she walked out into the market, making sure no one had noticed her leave the alley. A faint smile came to her lips as she walked on, knowing that no one had watched her long enough to wonder why she was in the alley.

"Has anyone seen my cat?" Agitha heard a loud voice and she turned to see a distressed woman coming in her direction. Her thin angular face was blotchy and her cheeks glistened from her tears.

"Have you seen my precious Bells? She has long dark brown fur with black spots and the most adorable eyes. Please, she's been gone since yesterday and I'm worried that she is injured or sick," The woman asked in desperation, glancing around for anyone who could help her. Most of the bustling crowd ignored her questions, passing by her and her grief in their eagerness to continue to their next destination and in the haste of finding a good bargain. However, not all of them ignored her pleas.

"You lost your cat?" A woman asked, looking away from the customer she had just helped and staring at the sobbing woman curiously. A woman who had been waiting for the vendor to have a moment for haggling glared at the sobbing woman before returning to her scan of the vendor's goods.

"Yes, she vanished sometime last afternoon. My husband gave her to me before he died. Please, I must find her!" The woman sobbed as she tried to wipe away her tears. All she managed to do was smear more tears across her already messy face.

"Maybe you should try the alleys? Sometimes cats scavenge for scraps and leftovers from the market," A man called out. The woman nodded before she walked into the nearest alleyway, the same alleyway that Agitha had abandoned the creature. Agitha turned and started walking away, but she only took a few steps before a wail of grief billowed over their heads.

"No! You can't be dead!" The woman screamed, her voice temporarily overwhelming the crowd. However, her wail was soon swallowed by the thrum of the market. Agitha twirled her parasol in agitation; she hadn't expected the foul creature to have an owner that would truly care about its wellbeing. However, the creature had attacked her subjects, having an owner did not matter. It had to be punished. Agitha pushed aside the thought of the woman and her dead murdering cat and thought instead of her plans for the day. She must find more bugs to replace the dear ones she had lost, as well as a new partner for the female butterfly. She pushed through the crowd, the creature's death behind her and replaced with the thoughts of her precious bugs and her duties as Princess.

A/N: I'm experimenting with a new writing style with this fic, so please comment on how the style was and if there were any issues with it. Thank you.