Chapter One: Two Babies
Deep within a large stone castle, everything was chaos. Not one but three nursemaids were in a large spacious room within the castle, assisting the duke's sister with the difficult birth.
The redheaded woman screamed again as her belly moved noticeably, the midwives doing what they could to ease the birth.
Outside the room waited the duke. His face was weary, and drawn with tired lines. His brother in law had died in the last war, and the man felt no trouble with looking after his widowed sister and the fatherless child. Without an heir of his own, he couldn't help but wish for a nephew, as his sister screamed again.
Several hours later, the midwives opened the door and bid him to enter. Worried by their horrified expressions, he entered the dimly lit room. His sister, Naoko, was on the brink of death; even he could see that. But she desperately clung to the bundle in her arms.
"Yosho; before you see your niece, I want you to promise me something."
He quirked an eyebrow at her as he sat down next to her and tried to sneak a peek at the baby. She hurriedly pulled her child away, but her inner spirit was already beginning to die.
"Name it, Naoko."
"I want you to watch over my little Haru; no matter what. Let her know that I love her just the way she is, and make sure she grows up to be a lady."
Worried by this promise, he tried to grab the newborn, but the mother pulled away again.
"Promise me!"
The duke bit his lip, but how could he deny her last wish?
"I swear that I will look after little Haru. She will have the education and upbringing befitting her rank, and will always know that she is loved."
The young woman relaxed a little, and hesitantly pulled away the blanket so that the uncle could see the child's face.
He jumped out of the bed, nearly knocking over a desk in his haste to be away from the baby. A shout of horror escaped his lips, looking at the strange creature that was his niece. At the yell, the tiny baby woke up, and started crying. The mother rocked her child gently, and spoke soothingly until her child was almost asleep again, gurgling softly.
"Don't forget, Yosho; you promised. I don't know why her body's between that of a human and a cat, but Haru is still my daughter and your niece." Smiling, she leaned back into her pillows, and let death claim her. The brown haired kitten-child cooed at the woman as she left the realms of the living, to join her husband.
The Duke Iyumi stared at the babe with revulsion. But he knew as well as anyone that to break a deathbed promise was to invite misfortune on every conceivable level. He turned away from the child, unable to take the sight of her anymore. He looked at the three midwives, worrying that they would tell of the monster's birth. Pulling out his purse, he paid each of them twice as much as he had promised.
"Tell no one of this," he hissed at them. "The baby is sickly, and must be kept away from the world. You know what will happen to you and your loved ones if this is discovered."
The women nodded fearfully and began to leave. But the youngest one turned just before leaving the room, and looked at the heavily canopied bed again. She gasped in astonishment.
"The child!"
The duke turned, and stared in unbelieving shock. For as the last of the daylight fled from the room, so did the baby's kittenish appearance. When the light was completely gone, a beautiful human baby girl was snuggled in her dead mother's arms, making cute baby sounds. Like approaching a viper, Yosho Iyumi approached the bed, and pried his niece out of his dead sister's arms. When the baby was in his arms, she opened her warm chocolate eyes at him, and cooed again.
'What has my sister given birth to? A demon?'
"Maybe there is a way to make this work," he whispered to himself, starting to come up with a plan, to keep this terrible secret. Yes, he would fulfill his promise to Naoko, but Haru wouldn't have any illusions beyond what her mother had specified. No one could ever know that the child was anything more than his sickly niece.
The next few years would prove to be difficult indeed.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Far away, in another land and dimension, there was another mother giving birth, at the exact time as the duke's sister. This woman was a baron's wife, and the proud father-to-be was holding his wife's hand and kissing her brow.
"Just a little more, love. It's almost over."
An hour later, the midwife had the baby in her hands, and was staring at it with disbelief. She looked up at the parents.
"It's a boy, but there's more." Slowly, she raised the infant, still wet with body fluids, so that both parents could see. The woman gasped with shock while her husband gave a whoop of delight.
"A human! My son was born a human!"
The gray half-cat nodded solemnly while she cleaned off the infant.
"We've been waiting some time for this to happen. The king will be pleased."
The good baron was nearly jumping up and down in his excitement, making his baroness laugh warmly, having only seen him lose his composure a small handful of times before. The midwife approached the dark gray half-cat, and gave him his son. Bright sapphire met light emerald, and the baron kissed his newborn son tenderly.
"You will bring much honor to our family, my boy. The things you'll grow up to do-"
"But he's probably hungry right now," his lovely and tawny wife said pointedly, holding her arms out for the child that had given her such a difficult seven hours of labor. Her husband laughed a little guiltily, and carefully handed over the precious bundle. As the young lad tasted his first milk, the midwife packed up the tools of her trade.
"I shall go to the palace, and tell our king that the sign has been given. What shall I tell him the babe's name is?"
His mother looked at him lovingly as the remaining daylight faded, and her human son slowly became her kitten baby.
"Humbert von Gikkingen. I promised my father I would name my first son after him."
"Despite the fact that he tried to talk you out of it," her husband said dryly, kissing her cheek. She giggled softly as the baby in her arms stopped feeding, to take a little rest.
It had been a long day indeed.