Chapter Four: Haru's Choice
Baron didn't expect to sleep very well that night, but changing species apparently wore one out. He woke up feeling a little groggy, wondering why he was in the wagon box. He remembered as he looked over his furry body and felt his new face. At least he wasn't cold.
The orange and cream cat hopped off the wagon box, careful not to disturb any one. Remembering a stream he had seen just before meeting Princess Louise, he calmly backtracked until he found it. Carefully leaning close to the edge, he dropped one paw into the water, since he didn't trust his new balance enough to put both of his front paws into the water. He slapped the dripping wet paw over his face, letting the icy cold of the water wake him up. He gasped slightly; flicking his ears in order to get rid of the specks of water that had flown to them from his paw.
"Drop dead! Or more to the point, tell your king to drop dead!"
A loud shout made him flick his ears upwards again, and he started running toward the sound. He didn't care much if his new form might not be as helpful as his human one, but if someone needed help, he wasn't about to shirk from the call. He crawled underneath a bush to get a peak at what was going on.
A towering human was fighting a group of gray cats with a burning tree branch. Off to the side, a brown cat with red cheek marks was shaking his head in dismay.
"Really Miss Haru; a queen shouldn't behave in such a manner."
Baron's ears perked up, hardly daring to believe it.
'Miss Haru?!' Although he hadn't been told much about her, the lord was still surprised to see his fiancé dressed like a peasant boy, with closely cropped hair, which was a bit unevenly sheared. As she turned in his direction to madly fend off more cats, Baron could see that her large brown eyes would have given her gender away anyway. What could she possibly be doing here of all places?
"Cool, because I'll never be a queen! I'm going to find my real fiancé, and fix whatever Louise did to him!" the human girl angrily shouted for all to hear. The brown cat shook his head as several of the gray cats started to retreat in fear of the crazy human.
"The princess was very thorough with her spell, Miss Haru. It's unbreakable."
The young woman stormed up to the brown cat and slammed her fist into his mouth, sending him flying after the posse of gray cats.
"Nothing is unbreakable if you apply enough force! I'm going to help the baron, or die trying!" she called after their retreating backs. Sighing, she started walking over to the river to douse her weapon.
"Well, I most certainly hope that you won't die in the attempt, but I'll gladly take your offer of assistance."
Startled by the new voice, Haru raised her weapon again, and looked around wildly. A bush to her left shifted a bit, to reveal a handsome orange and cream cat. He stood on his hind legs and bowed politely to her.
"This wasn't exactly how I planned our first meeting, but I'm Baron Humbert von Gikkingen."
Haru blinked, and then looked deep into the cat's green eyes, somehow knowing that he was telling the truth. She tossed her flaming branch into the river before it burned her. The slim brunette gave a polite curtsy, forgetting that she wasn't wearing a skirt at the present.
"I guess you know I'm Haru Yoshioka." She sat down in order to be a better eye level with the cat. "So; this is what Louise did to you?"
He nodded; looking confused.
"How did you know that the Cat Princess did something to me?"
Haru sighed and put up her hands in a defensive gesture.
"I found out last night that my father's been planning to double-cross you for years. The Cat King offered ten times as much gold as your family did, and my father's too greedy to give back what you already gave him."
The orange and cream feline started growling angrily, and made his claws come out in irritation.
"When I get my paws on him…"
"We need to fix your problem first. Could you please tell me everything you can about when Louise cursed you? I know a little bit about cat magic, and I need to at least try to help fix what happened to you because of me."
Baron looked at her wearily.
"Well, about ten minutes after I sent Toto ahead, we came to a little white cat sitting directly in the middle of the road. I asked her to move, and she said no. I gave orders for everyone to go around her, but for some reason, no one could get past the invisible line the cat was making. Then she jumped on the head of my horse to get a better look at me." He looked down, feeling a bit embarrassed about telling the fetching girl the next part. "She expressed admiration for my appearance, and suggested that she would be a better bride for me than you. Unlike your father, I honor my commitments, so I politely turned her down." He spread his arms out, so she could better see his furry body. "And this is what happened."
Haru sighed.
"Did she use any words when she cursed you?"
"Yes, after she took my family ring."
Haru paled.
"Uh oh… what were her exact words?"
Baron cocked his head at her, wondering why the ring was so important.
"She said, 'I'll be taking this, until a human braves my father's castle to retrieve it for you. One sound from the human, and you are mine."
Haru's eyes widened.
"Shoot! Shoot, shoot, shoot!" She jumped to her feet, and started pacing like mad. Baron watched her movements with interest.
"It sounds breakable, despite what that other cat said."
His fiancé started hyperventilating.
"Oh, it's breakable all right. Just extremely difficult to pull off." She looked at him, still determined to do what she could for the orange cat. "I know how to get to the Cat Kingdom, and into the castle, but getting out of the kingdom's a bit trickier. And if a human doesn't leave by the next human sunrise, they stay as cats. When Natoru says 'impossible', he really means that he can't fathom it happening." She calmed down and sat on the cool grass again. Baron kept looking at her.
"Can you think of a human that would be willing to do it?"
"Only one. Me."
His eyes widened.
"Miss Haru, as your fiancé, I truly must protest against that proposition."
She looked over at the tawny cat and pointed a finger at him.
"And as your fiancé, Mr. Baron, I protest against your protest. If I try to ask anyone else, the soldiers will find out where I am, and take me back to my father's estate and force me to marry King Phoebus. No offense, but even without Toto and your flowers, I'd still want to help you out. I've never been the biggest fan of the Cat King, and I'm more than willing to take my chances with you. And I'd love to see him humiliated."
"Believe me; he will earn what's coming to him when I meet him." His growl was returning. "But you're dead set on doing this?"
"Absolutely."
He sighed, and got to his paws again.
"Please follow me. I think I know some people that can help us out with this."
She nodded, and got to her feet. Baron took a slower route back to the wagon, so that his fiancé would have an easier time following him.
"About the flowers… I loved them."
He turned in order to smile warmly at her.
"And I liked the joke you sent me last night. I really needed a good laugh when Toto got the handkerchief to me."
She smiled back; thrilled that he had understood the old tongue.
"I embroidered jokes like that over all my handkerchiefs, to help cheer me up when I have to endure another boring function. Father doesn't understand what the squiggles are, so he can't protest."
Baron laughed; a sound that was rapidly growing on the brunette.
'Toto was right! She is the right girl for me!'