Chapter Four
The fat cat had the grace to look sheepish as he got back on his hind legs.
"Baron and I work as a team, so I followed."
"I would have let you in if you had knocked. It's safe to come out, Sweet Pea." The kitten wiggled out from underneath the sofa and looked at Muta.
"Hi again." The white cat looked at the elder Haru in surprise.
"Are you sure about bringing the princess away from the castle walls? She's a pretty easy target."
"Not true!" Little Haru piped up. "Mommy says that the safest place in the whole kingdom is with Big Sister, 'cause most cats are too scared to come within ten feet of her; let alone attacking." The two males looked at the brown half-cat, who shrugged.
"I've got a bit of a reputation, which proves useful, most of the time." She set down the staff again and headed back to the kitchenette. "Would you do the tea, Baron?"
"Certainly." Muta glared as the figurine made himself at home with the girl's appliances, setting the teapot full of fresh water on top of the small stove. The two Harus got busy separately mixing the wet and dry ingredients. After a while, Muta started to take careful notice of how much of what they were putting into the bowls.
"Are you making salmon pancakes?" The elder girl nodded as the smaller one combined the wet and dry contents into one bowl.
"I found a pretty good recipe in Mom's attic, which is strange, considering that she's a strict vegetarian." Muta looked into the half-full bowl, his eyes glazing over.
"You're missing an ingredient."
"I know, Mom caught me going through her boxes of meat cookbooks and gave them away to charity before I could copy down the whole list. They're still good without the last thing, but I've never-"
"Squirt of lemon." The general turned to him.
"Excuse me?"
"Try a small splash of lemon juice right before putting the batter in the pan. It will make the difference between good and great." Haru stared at the large cat while the smaller one fished around the fridge.
"Found it, squeezed fresh from the day before yesterday! Should we try it?" She waved around a small capped bottle. The elder Haru broke from her trance and did as the white cat suggested. Soon, a delicious fragrance began to rise from the baking fluff. "Can we flip it yet?" The princess asked eagerly, trying to see from the chair she had scooted to next to the stove, her eyes bright with anticipation. Baron, waiting for the water to boil, had taken a seat in one of the two chairs next to the small table, watching the half-cat's movements.
"Almost." Muta had retreated to the green couch, lounging on it while he watched the general delicately pick up the pan and take a step back from the stove for clearance.
"How high can you flip them?" The large cat asked casually.
"I don't know; the ceiling prevents me from finding out." The kitten giggled.
"One time, she flipped it so high that it got stuck on the ceiling for a few seconds, and we had to scrape off the mess."
"Well, if you hadn't been egging me on, I wouldn't have done it."
"You let a little kitten bully you?" Baron seemed rather amused.
"Take a good look at her face and tell me that she couldn't persuade you to do something silly." Haru shook the pan, loosening the pancake before giving the pan an upward thrust, making the half-baked disc fly into the air and sail gracefully back into the pan, wet side down.
"Two flips? Not bad." Haru grinned back at Muta, who was watching her with amusement.
"Why thank you."
"Haru!" The sharp voice echoed through the room, almost making the general drop the pan. Placing it back on the stove, she grabbed a bronze horn that had been resting above the fridge. She started talking into the smaller end.
"What is it, Lune?"
"There's an attack on the castle, I need your help now!" The shout echoed through the larger end of the instrument. Baron leapt of the chair and grabbed his things from the coat rack as Muta headed for the door.
"We'll be right there!" She was about to toss the horn back to its resting place when it spoke again.
"Wait. Is the Cat Bureau with you and my daughter?"
"They're almost out the door."
"On second thought, please stay where you are; protect the princess and let the Cat Bureau handle the castle. I'm counting on you, Haru." Her shoulders fell as the Bureau looked back at her.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"I believe I've told you what I'd do if you called me that ever again."
"Focus on the rebels, I'll keep Haru safe." She nodded at Baron, who returned her action and ran with Muta at top speed toward the castle. She swiftly bolted the door behind them and turned to the kitten, the teapot hissing on the stove.
"Shall we?"
In all, the attack was a minimal one, almost scattering before the Bureau even approached. This time, the guards seemed glad to see him.
"See the guy in the suit?! He took down General Haru in under five minutes!" The rebels, painted black with red streaks, gaped at Baron as he and Muta closed in. Two minutes later, the rebels that could still run were deserting the castle, while the casualties were dumped into the cavern-like dungeon. Lune approached Baron and gratefully shook his hand while Muta dumped the last ones down the hole.
"Thank you for your help; I don't know what we would have done without you and Muta. Haru's good, but she hasn't figured out how to be in two places at once quite yet."
"At least the Bureau came this time." Baron turned, seeing a stunning white cat with a blue ribbon around her neck. Although the look of anger had faded from her eyes, Baron could see what Haru meant by the queen holding a grudge. "Where's my daughter?"
"With the general. She was a bit put out by staying behind." Lune chuckled.
"I could tell, with the majesty comment. She only does that when she gets really annoyed with me." He approached the last of the rebels, held firmly in place by two guards. "Where is Artemis?" The rebel managed a smirk.
"What makes you think I'll tell?" Muta walked behind him and firmly grabbed his tail.
"Need I bother with explanations?" the large white cat asked as he started twisting the tail slowly, making the rebel wince, and then cry out.
"I don't know, okay? He always moves his base after an attack, so that squealers can't betray him!" The king cocked his head to one side.
"Wasn't this a bit risky? Trying to take the castle with only 50 of you?" The rebel managed a rather evil smile.
"Who said we were after the castle?" The king absorbed this for a moment, and understood.
"A diversion? From what?" The queen gasped.
"Haru!" The rebel's smile deepened in confirmation. The guards tossed him down the dungeon opening before following the monarchs, mere steps behind the Bureau, who ran back through the side path in the tall cat-tails, towards a group of trees in the distance, smoke beginning to billow between them.