Chapter 9

Frowning, Lune stared at the door separating everyone else from Yuki and Baron, who were in deep conversation in the other room. Haru, Muta, and Toto also sat in the room with Lune, waiting for Baron and Yuki to come out also.

Haru looked down at her feet.

'I wonder what's going on. After the meteor shower, Baron and Yuki told us that they needed to come back to the palace immediately. And flying back to the palace on Toto, Baron seemed uneasy and anxious. I wonder what's going on...' Haru thought.

Similar thoughts clouded Prince Lune's mind also.

'Yuki... what's going on? Why are you and Baron the only ones that seemed bothered by something? Things were just fine right after the meteor shower, what happened after that? What caused the two of you to want to leave and come back here? Once Yuki, Momo, and I teleported back here, Yuki seemed to have waited anxiously for Baron and the others to come. Momo and I were confused and Momo decided she better get some rest and left. Right after that Baron, Haru, Toto, and Muta came and then Yuki and Baron immediately left to talk in private. Just... what is the meaning of all this?' Lune thought.

OOO

Baron and Yuki stared at each other closely.

"So, this 'Louise' was your fiancée Baron?" Yuki asked.

Baron nodded.

"Until she disappeared..." Baron added.

Yuki sighed.

"And you say that you are having similar dreams like I am?" Yuki asked.

"Yes, I keep having these recurring dreams of you being Louise, Yuki." Baron said softly.

"But if the Louise you knew 'died' and I am 'her', then why am I even here, why was I brought back?" Yuki asked.

Baron frowned.

"I'm not sure… I don't know the purpose of your return either. Perhaps there is a purpose you need to fulfill." Baron said.

Yuki frowned.

"But what could I possibly need to do-" Yuki said, but froze in the middle of her sentence.

"Baron..." Yuki said softly.

"Yes?" Baron replied.

"Didn't you say that... Louise and you were once engaged?" Yuki asked.

Baron nodded slowly.

"What if..." Yuki hesitated.

Baron tilted his head slightly and stared at Yuki.

"What if..." Yuki said again.

"What if... my purpose of returning, was to meet and marry you Baron?" Yuki finally said.

Baron's eyes widen.

"Is to fulfill our old wish?" Baron asked.

Yuki nodded.

"Maybe it was always our destiny to be together..." Yuki said.

Baron then spoke.

"But, we don't even know much of each other in these circumstances. Do you even have any memories of being Louise?" Baron asked.

Yuki's sky blue eyes traveled down to the floor.

"I have a few vivid memories of you and this old antique shop. And the more I dream, the more some of my memories are coming back..." Yuki said softly.

Baron sighed.

"Even if we are meant to be, what about you? What about Lune...?" Baron asked softly.

Yuki's heart broke at the thought of her beloved Lune. The person she loved for as long as she could remember. He was the one who bought her to the Cat Kingdom and the one who did his very best to help her and make her happy. The one who purposed to her...

Yuki sighed sadly.

"I'm not destined to be with him it appears..." Yuki said sadly.

Baron's eyes widened, shocked from by her reply. Did she really believe that he and she are meant to marry?

Baron tried to process this information.

'Marry Ms. Yuki...?' Baron thought.

'I must admit, Yuki and Louise share a lot of traits, and their personalities almost mirror each other's... But things are different now. Sure, I was once very much in love with Louise, but I have moved on after her disappearance. Can I love Louise or Yuki again? And things are a lot different from before.' Baron thought.

Baron's eyes sadden thinking about a mocha eyed human girl that's been on his mind for almost a year now.

"Yuki..." Baron said softly.

"Please..." Yuki said.

"Please call me Louise, after all, that is who I really am... I guess I'm not Yuki anymore..." Yuki said solemnly.

OOO

Everyone looked up abruptly to see Baron and Yuki finally enter the room.

"Yuki!" Lune said, rushing over to her.

"Is everything all right?" Lune said holding on to Yuki's arms.

Yuki looked up to Lune, eyes filled with regret. Looking away, Yuki said quietly:

"I'm sorry Lune...but... we need to cancel our engagement..."

OOO

Momo watched from the doorway at Yuki, Lune, and the others and sighed.

She walked away and went down the unlit hallway in silence.

Momo turned a few corners and made it to a staircase.

Walking up what seemed like a million flights of stairs, she finally reached her destination, which was a lone door in a huge hallway.

Momo walked up to the door and knocked.

The door opened to reveal a gray cat.

"Yes?" the gray cat asked.

"I'm here with news..." Momo said simply.

The gray cat nodded and gestured for her to come in.

Momo walked into the large room, trailing after the gray cat. The gray cat walked to another section of the room and knelt down to a large chair in which its back was facing her, and whispered something to it and a murmur responded back. And without another word, the gray cat walked out of the room, leaving Momo alone with the mysterious owner of the murmur.

"Please come closer Momo..." said the voice.

Momo obeyed and walked up to the voice and stood in front of it.

"I have come with news Master Kuro..." Momo said.

The jet black colored cat smirked at her.

"It's about Ms. Yuki, she broke off her engagement with Prince Lune..." Momo said.

Kuro's smirk widened, his blood red eyes sparkling.

"Oh...? Why is that...?" Kuro asked still wearing his smirk.

"They didn't say, but I got one hint... Baron Humbert von Gikkingen is definitely involved." Momo said.

Kuro's smirk disappeared and was replaced with a frown.

"Von Gikkingen..." Kuro hissed between his teeth.

"I will make sure that he doesn't interfere this time... I will make sure of it." Kuro growled.