I Am Puss In Boots

The door to Elizabeth's room was violently kicked open, and from it, an orange cat carrying a bunch of belongings came dashing out, his wide green eyes filled with panic.

And right after he passed through the door, a barrage of items was thrown after him, smashing violently against the hallway walls.

From the doorway, an enraged Elizabeth appeared, dressed in pajamas with a thick robe hastily thrown over them, running after him.

In her arms, various objects… or more precisely, her throwing ammunition.

Puss ran without looking back, hearing the sound of breaking objects behind him.

Some guards nearby, seeing Puss in Boots being chased by a furious Elizabeth so early in the morning, were left completely speechless and frozen.

"You! Stop that cat!" Elizabeth shouted in fury.

Never before had she been so insulted in her life—and the worst part… it was by a cat she had begun to fall for.

The guards were petrified. They knew that cat was dangerous, but it wasn't wise to disobey the young lady's orders.

So, gritting their teeth, they lunged to try to catch him, but with Puss's agility and flexibility, he easily dodged them by mere inches, leaving the two guards to crash face-first into the floor, continuing his escape.

Elizabeth didn't stop either, jumping over the guards.

"Quick, get up and chase him!" she shouted while running.

Puss turned his face toward her without stopping.

"Elizabeth, can you stop being crazy already?" he shouted, his expression helpless.

"You scoundrel! Bastard!" she screamed back in rage.

Helpless, Puss realized she wouldn't calm down anytime soon, so he had no choice but to keep running.

He quickly placed his hat on his head, clumsily fastened his belt with one hand, threw his black cape over his shoulders, and — with a series of awkward hops as he slipped into his boots — Puss returned to his dashing, fully equipped appearance, all without breaking his sprint.

And as he ran, Elizabeth kept gathering an army of guards in pursuit. It started with two, then four, then eight—and soon there were nearly twenty after him.

"You seemed like a calm and reasonable person. You don't look calm and reasonable now!" Puss shouted as he saw her grinding her teeth while chasing him.

"If you take back what you said, I'll stop!" she yelled back in fury.

"Ha! Never!" Puss laughed loudly and sped up even more, infuriating her even further.

Soon, they burst out of the governor's mansion, with more and more guards joining the chase. In the city, even the redcoats of the Royal Navy, confused and powerless, were swept into the pursuit—though most of them didn't even know why they were running, following the herd mentality with baffled expressions.

…

At the port, Will was finishing preparations on the small one-mast boat they would use, with Tornado and Neddy, the gloomy donkey, already aboard, taking up most of the cramped space.

There was also an old man present—Will had rented the boat from him to take them far enough from Port Royal for Jack to pick them up.

While stowing away a suitcase with clothes, Will seemed to hear a faint shout in the distance.

"... Will…"

He looked up, frowning, wondering if he was just hearing things.

"... Will…"

"Sounds like someone's calling me," he muttered, scratching his head in confusion.

"... WIIIIILLL…"

This time, the shout came much louder, and Will turned toward the city to find the source of the noise—only to freeze in shock and immediately regret looking.

Charging at full speed down the streets was a cat, being chased by hundreds of people, with Elizabeth leading the way.

"What the…" he muttered, stunned, but before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted.

"Run, you fools!" Puss shouted, picking up even more speed, widening the gap between himself and the guards.

Will's eyes widened, and without hesitation, he cut the mooring ropes and pushed the boat away from the dock.

"Let's go!" he shouted to the old man, who—though equally shocked—quickly followed his employer's orders and adjusted the sails as the boat began to drift away.

Will glanced back toward Puss.

At that moment, Puss had already reached the dock, and upon seeing the boat drifting away, he grinned and sprinted toward the edge of the pier, propelling himself forward in a mad dash.

His paws left the ground, and with his arms swinging in slow motion, he leapt across the gap and landed smoothly on the boat's deck in a graceful roll as time seemed to return to normal.

Sliding a little in his boots as he rose to his feet, he turned and looked back toward the pier.

There, the crowd had stopped, with Elizabeth glaring at him furiously.

Puss walked over to the small railing of the boat, smiling at her as he took off his hat and placed it over his chest.

"Elizabeth, if you can truly wait for me… I'll accept you," he said, smiling sincerely, with no hesitation in his eyes.

His words were serious. If she could truly keep her promise, he would accept her when he returned.

Despite her furious face, a tear slid down her cheek, which she quickly wiped away with her sleeve.

"You better keep your promise, you bastard!" she shouted, her voice trembling with rage—but more tears fell as she hurriedly wiped her reddened eyes.

"I, Puss in Boots, am a cat of my word!" he shouted back with a soft, gentle smile.

No matter what he told himself, he liked her. And deep down, he felt that—because of him, and especially after what he'd said—Elizabeth wouldn't be like she had been in the movies.

Of course, there was still a chance she wouldn't change. This separation would also serve as a test of her heart. If she couldn't persist for him, then it simply wasn't meant to be.

Looking at her tear-streaked face, he felt a stab of pain in his chest—but he took a deep breath and calmed himself.

He still had many adventures ahead, and he couldn't stop now. After all, he was still very young—only fifteen years old—even though, by cat standards, that would already be considered quite old.

But as with everything in the Shrek universe, cat ages couldn't be any stranger. The original Puss, at 40 years old in the last movie, was still in his prime.

Shaking his head and leaving such thoughts behind, he turned to Will, who looked as if he had just been struck by lightning.

Puss's gaze seemed to snap him out of it a little, and he asked, heartbroken,

"Y-You and Elizabeth…?" He couldn't even finish the sentence, but Puss understood what he meant, and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

Will's love for her was truly pure — so pure, in fact, that even knowing she had kissed other men in the canon, even while she was engaged to him, he didn't mind in the slightest.

As for Puss… well, considering he planned for Elizabeth not to be his only woman, the difference between their loves was clear.

'Haah… it's a curse to be this charming. Sorry, Will, I can only apologize for being uncontrollably gallant.' Puss sighed, feeling a bit of regret.

"Well, I won't lie, Will. Elizabeth and I do have feelings for each other," he spoke bluntly, without even trying to hide it.

Feeling sorry for Will was one thing, but establishing his territory was another. It was better for Will to forget her completely.

"I… I… well… congratulations…" Confused and with lost eyes, he struggled to find the words before finally squeezing out a congratulations.

"Gracias," Puss replied simply, feeling a bit awkward and embarrassed under Will's broken gaze.

Taking a deep breath, with a sad look, Will stared firmly at Puss and spoke with determination.

"Elizabeth is a very special person. I hope you make her happy. If you ever disappoint her, I won't forgive you." He clenched his fists, staring at Puss without blinking.

"Uh… Sí?" Puss responded uncertainly.

'And why would I care about your forgiveness?' he thought in confusion but still nodded to appease the young man.

Receiving Puss's firm nod, Will sighed inwardly, walked to the corner of the boat, sat down, hugged his knees, and stared at the sea, lost.

"Sniff… sniff…"

Puss scratched his neck awkwardly at the loud sniffles coming from him.

Then, a black horse's muzzle bumped into his side, catching his attention.

"Snort!"

Seeing the sad look Tornado was giving Will, Puss patted the horse's muzzle in comfort.

"Don't worry, there are plenty of fish in the sea. He'll be fine." He consoled the black horse.

"Whinny?" Tornado looked at the sea, confused.

Puss massaged his forehead in frustration at the sight.

"Not that sea, idiot."