Chapter Eleven: Haru's Sorrow
Baron was letting Louis take a turn at driving the sleigh, the boys and their mother managing to fit onto the front seat with their luggage in the back box. The lord allowed himself to appreciate the scenery, now that Haru had undoubtedly had doubled the guard around it, expecting them to arrive any day now. His soul bubbled excitedly, thinking of seeing her again.
He had managed to convince his mother to part with Haru's portrait long enough for him to have copies made, so that he could see her face every day instead of when he could think of an excuse to go into his mother's room in order to see her. His mother, usually very giving, became very possessive when it came to the unofficial princess's portrait. But Louis had been right about one thing; a piece of paper couldn't substitute for the real thing.
Baron had discovered something interesting about himself, when his brother had sent Haru that stupid practical joke. His mother had to do some fast talking to persuade him that a month without talking to Haru would be plenty of punishment. Louis had thought that the punishment was overkill, which was what ultimately won Baron's acceptance of the idea.
The interesting part was how his soul cried out, thinking that Haru thought he was engaged to some girl. Frankly, the unofficial princess was far more interesting than the girls his mother used to invite over for tea, strangely not sending any over in months. While he was venting out the explanation he was planning on sending Haru, he was shocked to suddenly look down and find himself writing her a passionate love confession.
He didn't send her that version of course; he edited it out until it only sounded like he was put out with his brother, and she had sent back a list of possible hobbies for Louis to keep him out of trouble, if such a thing was possible. But his soul had been swirling around ever since then.
His father used to tell him that small slips of the tongue and pen revealed the true nature of a person. But when did he fall for Haru? She was brilliant, of course, playful and serious when she needed to be, and he could spend hours rereading her stories about how she scared off this or that suitor merely by trying to talk politics or serving one of her real favorite meals, which were invariably peasant in origin. He glossed over the fact in his letters that they had also been favorites of his since his own childhood.
Come on; she liked his cat form! That alone should have clued him in that the lovable brunette was the one for him, since everyone else besides his family found his whiskers and tail to be most distasteful.
His heart sped up as he reached for his coat pocket, and grabbed the small box inside it. He hadn't told anyone what he was planning (although he suspected his mother had an idea), or why he was so insistent to spend the holiday season with Haru. He didn't know how she would react, when he made his intentions known, but it would haunt him for the rest of his life if he didn't try. He had never felt this way about any woman, and was certain that their age difference could be dealt with easily.
What he was planning to make known to her, he thought she deserved to hear directly from him, not from a piece of paper bearing his signature. And if she accepted what he was thinking, he was completely prepared to fight all of Celia if it meant being with her. It wasn't like her father deserved or cared about her anyway.
'Baroness Haru von Gikkingen…what a pleasant concept…' He would have started purring if a voice didn't distract him.
"Baron!"
The lord was broken out of his beautiful day dream, and he looked up to see his old friend circling above the wagon.
"Hello, Toto-"
"Do pleasantries later! Haru needs you right now!"
Baron quirked an eyebrow as he took the reins back from Louis, who was glaring at him. He urged the horses into a faster trot.
"Why does she need me?"
"Her brother died yesterday."
Baron's heart froze, and his eyes narrowed on the road in front of them.
"Louis, keep Mother steady. Hah!" He flicked the reins sharply, making the horses quicken to a gallop. The viscount had one arm around his mother and the other on the box for support. Toto still managed to get ahead of them in order to tell the guards the von Gikkingens were coming.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
When Haru's estate came into view, Baron could see her soldiers, now clad in black armor, clearing off the road for their approach, several fancy-dressed men bearing huge flowers whining loudly about the injustice of staying out in the cold when they could be wooing Haru as the sleigh flew through the quickly opened gates, which were firmly shut behind them.
Baron reined in the horses and jumped off the sleigh in order to follow Toto into the small castle, leaving his brother to assist their mother, who did so with an angry growl.
Baron wasn't the only one that loved the brunette.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Toto swiftly flew through the corridors and stairs to lead Baron to Haru's room, where she had been since the incident, not even leaving for meals, apparently not having much of an appetite. The black-dressed servants wisely kept out of the tawny-haired man's way, clearly relieved that he had finally arrived.
Baron knocked firmly on her door.
"Haru, it's me. Please come out. You know for a fact that I can come in with ease if you don't-" he was cut off as the door unlocked and opened wide, revealing a pale young woman, her eyes wide with an old horror and newfound relief. Although she preferred to wear dark colors and looked well in them, it was still unnatural to see her in black.
She threw herself into his arms, clinging to him the way she had nearly eleven years before. Baron squeezed her hard, not all that surprised when her sorrow flowed from her and onto his clothes, changing them through darkening shades of gray until becoming black.
"Thank heaven," she whispered. "I was praying you'd come soon." Her tears began to soak the front of his vest and shirt as he rubbed her back, not caring about how inappropriate their closeness was.
She needed him, and she had him; that was all that mattered.
As Louis and Evangeline caught up to the final hallway, both gasping, they saw the last of Baron's suit turn black from Haru's power as she clung to him, her face buried in his chest and muffling her sobs. Evangeline's heart broke, seeing the sweet girl so distraught, but Louis's broke for a different reason.
He could have comforted her just as well, if he had reached her before his brother.
Baron squeezed her again, rubbing her soft hair with one gloved hand.
"Haru, what happened to Hashi?"
She hiccupped once.
"Sheer idiocy. It never would have happened if he had been allowed to live with me."