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Chapter Nine: The Princess's Hospitality

"Sunrise? But-" Toto tried to talk, but then just gestured out the window, which had allowed unchanging afternoon sunlight to filter through ever since they had arrived. The princess smiled, understanding his confusion.

"Cat time is different than human time. Trust me on this."

"What does the sunrise have to do with anything?" Muta asked gruffly.

"Well, if humans don't leave by the following sunrise of their world, they're stuck as a cat. Hiromi had gone back to her world before the sun set when she had come here the first time, so she wasn't in any danger."

"I think I'd remember coming here!" the peachy cat protested, realizing that the forgotten visit must have been why she could read cat. But the princess shook her head firmly.

"After a human returns to their world, they always forget that my kingdom even exists. Part of the spell over my land. You had fallen into one of the lakes at Cat's Paw Park ten years ago at a family reunion during the full moon, and I sent you back to your world before sunset. Now; I'm sure all of you are hungry."

"And thirsty," Muta added.

"And tired," Toto said, drawing Hiromi close again. Haru laughed a little sadly, and then bowed politely again.

"Please forgive me. You haven't been shown the proper hospitality."

She snapped her fingers, and a table with chairs rose from the floor. At first, they were the same blue as the floor, but then morphed into oak. Platters appeared, filled with fruit, pancakes, biscuits, and anything else humans could possibly want out of a breakfast.

Except eggs. Part of her promise to Snow included never consuming eggs.

Muta whistled appreciatively while taking a seat.

"Dang; you could show those cooks a thing or two."

Haru laughed at the compliment as the quartet seated and started helping themselves.

"They only sent you fish and water for punishment, and to drug you all so that I wouldn't think anything was wrong when I came back. Again; I'm sorry that all this happened."

Her fiancé almost smiled at her, as he poured himself a cup of steaming tea.

"And again, Highness; you're not the one responsible for the mess. I'm Baron von Gikkingen, by the way."

Haru blinked, not realizing that she hadn't known his name. Baron…

"It suits you. You probably know my name, but I prefer to just be called 'Haru'. I honestly thought that you'd be more aggressive about everything than this."

He grimaced and pointed downward.

"We vented it on your guards until the queen banished us up here. They had cleaned up the worst of it before you came, but there was a quite impressive casualty count."

"Did you kill anyone?" she asked sternly.

"No, but I think many of them are scarred for life."

The princess actually started laughing.

"They already were. By me." She turned away, and raised her arms again, to start making further accommodations for the ex-humans.

"Will you not be joining us?" Baron asked her. Her arms froze.

"I didn't think you and your companions would be comfortable sharing a meal with me."

"Nonsense. Please sit down."

Since the tawny cat had asked, she made another chair appear on the longer side of the table that Hiromi was on, and made another plate and goblet appear. Seating herself neatly in it, she helped herself to a few blueberry pancakes with maple syrup. Her breakfast companions watched her neatly cut the pancakes into a few segments at a time with a knife, instead of the side of a fork, and eat the portions neatly. After a few seconds, she noticed they were staring.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. Muta shook his head in disbelief.

"You sure don't act like a princess."

"Sure she does!" Toto countered immediately. "You just don't recognize good manners when you see them!"

"Take that back, you Bird Brain!"

"Why don't you make me?!"

Muta immediately propelled himself out of the chair and knocked his dark friend out of his. Haru immediately stood up in shock.

"It's not that big of a deal!" she protested. "There's no need to-"

"Please sit down, Haru," Baron said, calmly sipping the tea she had provided. "Don't worry about their feuds."

Although she was skeptical, the brown cat slowly lowered herself into the seat again as the peach one laughed.

"Yeah, this is the longest I've seen them go without fighting each other. They fight all the time."

"Sounds like a strange friendship," Haru said skeptically, taking a sip of tea. A blue ball hanging from her belt started talking.

"Honey; are you done talking to Baron yet? We're waiting for you down here."

Haru picked up the ball and placed it close to her mouth.

"No, I'm not done, and I don't think I will be for a while. Oh, and the wedding's cancelled until further notice."

"What?! You can't do that!"

"I just did," Haru stated; squeezing the ball until it turned black. Hiromi stared at the trinket as Haru hooked it back onto her belt.

"Is that the Cat Kingdom version of a cell phone?"

"Yes. But I do need to clarify a few things. Baron, just to cover bases, you were tricked into accepting an engagement with me, neither of us want the commitment to a complete stranger, but we don't have a choice in the matter, and your friends got dragged into things by their loyalty to you?"

He nodded.

"That pretty much covers what's happened. Is there a way out of the engagement?"

"One, but I don't think we want to use it."

"Why not?"

She looked at him, her mismatched eyes turning sad.

"Because I doubt you want to die, even to escape a future with me, and I doubt you have it in you to kill me. If one of us died, the engagement contract would be null and void, but it still wouldn't give you or your companions back the human lives that were unfairly stolen from you."

Baron's mouth fell open in shock, but then closed. He nodded his head at the princess, knowing that he couldn't kill her, now that he had actually spoken with her instead of to her. He may not love her, but he didn't hate her enough to do such a despicable thing either.

"There's a way out of the marriage, but it wouldn't fix anything."

Toto looked up from trying to strangle Muta.

"What is it?"

"To just not get married. I could adopt an heir, but my mother's been fighting that idea ever since I told her about it." She took a deep breath. "I know I don't have the right to ask this, Baron, but I suggest a compromise."

He cocked his head at her, now that he didn't have eyebrows to raise anymore.

"What kind of compromise?"

"The kind that will make my mother incredibly angry, and possibly regret the day she decided to engage us without our permission."

That was when Baron spoke his first purr, although it had come unexpectedly.

"I'm all ears."