The short story of a shapeshifter

In the small city of Santa Barbara, a beautiful woman lived, alone with seemingly no one but her cat. She was the most desired woman in the area and not only men wanted her as their bride. She however did not want any of the townsfolk, since she felt like they only wanted her for her looks. So one day, she decided to test the town. „I have decided that the only person who I am willing to marry with is the one who can unlock my front door, with the key that my cat is wearing around her neck. There is no other key and fooling me is impossible, as I will know if my cat has lost the key. And make no mistake, if the cat is harmed, I will move away and never look back.“ She had written all this into a letter, which she then copied and sent out to adult in town. As soon as the townsfolk had read the letter, the chase began. Men, Women, even children joined in the hunt for the cat, yet without luck. No matter how smart a trap was, the cat was smarter. Many people had given up, thinking that it was not worth it to spend all their energy on catching a cat. However a lot more were convinced that they could catch the cat and take the key from it. Yet, after a month there was barely anyone left who even wanted to try anymore, most of the town being too exhausted from the daily hunts to continue any longer. Meanwhile the cat remained energetic, still avoiding traps like she was trained to do so. When everyone had given up, a single person remained. They were new to the town and had been around for only two weeks, but they almost immediately figured out the obvious thing to do here. It wasn’t a chase that would get the cat or the key, instead the people of the town should have befriended the cat. So they started leaving treats out for the cat, wanting to befriend her and get the key that way. They knew that it would take time to get the animal to trust them, but they wanted to prove themselves. So, they had patience and after two weeks the cat began taking the treats, eating them in a secret space. The new guy had not followed the cat once, giving her the privacy she wanted. And it paid off, as the cat eventually stopped leaving their side. Yet, they still were not allowed to touch the cat or get too close. And they did not, instead just being patient. No one else had been trying to get the key for the time that the new guy had tried, although they were skeptical of his methode, not believing that it would work. After another week, the cat finally let the newbie pet her, basically giving them permission to take the key. And they did, having the town cheering for them. After they had taken the key, the cat quickly disappeared, while the good men and women of the town basically escorted the successful person to the womans house, where they unlocked the door. They were greeted by the woman, a smile on her beautiful face as she held out her hand. „As promised, I shall marry you.“ That evening, when her soon to be spouse was asleep, she watched him with a fond smile, kissing his head before her appearance shifted. Soon enough, instead of the woman, the cat was laying next to the winner, curled up and sleeping peacefully.