Chapter Twelve – Hallelujah, Some Love

~This story is going through a revamp. Please check the first chapter for more information~

ooOoo

"Is anyone going to tell me what this is or what? I can't read," Muta said unhelpfully. Lune cleared his throat and nodded.

"Yes, sorry, my apologies," Lune looked back at the rune on the aged page. "What we see here, and what is currently… burned into Haru, is the Rune of the Anchor." He hesitated slightly, glancing at the Doctor for confirmation.

"Yes, that's right," Doctor Denai said. He turned the book back around and narrowed his eyes at the words. "We haven't seen this rune for nearly a decade. It is a very powerful Rune, and in the wrong hands, it can do a great amount of damage."

"What damage?" Kaoru asked. He sounded angry and was glaring at the Doctor. "Can you get straight to the point? Haru is out there, in pain, and we don't have time to be looking at books."

Doctor Denai looked taken aback by Kaoru's tone, and sat a little straighter in his chair, returning with a stern voice. "Mister Yoshioka! Whilst I understand that you are concerned for your beloved, I do not appreciate you getting angry when I am trying to assist you."

"Pardon?" Baron asked, confusion flashing in his eyes. "I don't recall Haru mentioning that you were married, Kaoru." That feeling rushed through him again, that negative feeling he had felt a few days ago outside of Haru's room. Not only did it return, unwanted, but it was also accompanied by sudden alarm. Kaoru blinked, and then suddenly grinned.

"We aren't. But I think it has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you agree?" Kaoru asked Baron, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Baron's eyebrows raised. Was he being teased?

"Very sorry," Denai interrupted, looking a bit embarrassed. "I've been told before not to assume things." He gave a nervous glance to them both before returning to the matter at hand. "Anyway, as I was saying before I was interrupted. This Rune has only ever been used once before, or at least there has never been any report of it happening before the previous Cat Queen." King Lune nodded in agreement.

"It was used on King Lune's mother when she first ventured here by accident. She was a human girl, too. The Cat King at that time was taken by her charm and beauty, and they were soon wed. However, somewhere along the line of her stay here, she began to fall very ill very regularly. This world is not suited to humans, you see. There's a theory that there is something in the air that does not mix well with a human's body, but nothing has been confirmed. Perhaps it is also the fact that this is a whole new dimension completely," Doctor Denai talked quickly, as if he had recited and studied this a million times over. "The way King Lune's mother happened upon this place was a mistake, too. She had tripped through a portal whilst following one of our armed cats who had opened the wrong portal by mistake. She landed in the military quarters. Received quite the fright!" He chuckled, reflecting on the memory. Baron coughed, urging him to continue. Doctor Denai tutted and shook his head at the impatience.

"Long story short, we came across this book full of old texts and Runes. When partnered with a vessel that contains part of one world, and part of another, the vessel then acts as an Anchor between those worlds. It keeps a steady stream of portals that link them both together. The Cat King at the time insisted that this would be the remedy to the Cat Queen's issue, and with her permission, it was carefully etched into her skin. Mind, when we did it, it was done in a very different way. With a thin scalpel. The scarring was hardly visible other than the soft, blue glow it gave off. The Queen never went through such a scene I just witnessed…" The Doctor trailed off, glancing out of the office window and into the infirmary. Haru had been changed into a white gown and looked to be lying peacefully in sleep.

"So what you are trying to say is that Haru is now an Anchor between this world and the human world?" Baron asked, his curiosity increasing.

"Well, yes, I suppose I am," Denai shrugged. "However, it says here that no two Anchors can be linked to the same external dimension. And, in case you hadn't noticed, we still have a very clear connection to the human world. The Queen was not buried when she passed, she was encased in stone and the statue you see in the Gardens is her resting place. Her body remains the active Anchor."

Kaoru's mouth was open in surprise. "How is that even possible? This is crazy!" He said, standing up and running his paws over his face. "Why has Haru been marked, then? What dimension is she linked to? As far as I know, she only came from the human world."

"I'm afraid that much I cannot tell you," Doctor Denai said grimly. "But I can tell you this; the late Queen's death was not a natural one. Once she had given birth to King Lune, she disappeared for days. The whole Kingdom was in uproar. We were close to giving up hope when one day she was delivered to the gates by a cat dressed all in black. He said nothing but smiled, pushing her towards the gate. He disappeared before the guards could grab him. Hours after the Queen was returned, she was on her death bed. The Rune we had etched into her suddenly had a twin Rune right above it. As weak as she was, she told us he had tried to use her as an Anchor to another world entirely. We believe that it failed because her body had, by that time, been uhm… well, it was no longer an innocent vessel." The Doctor ended his sentence rather awkwardly, trying to phrase it as delicately as he could.

"But she had Lune," Baron added.

"Yes, that's quite right – the vessel only has to be innocent before the actual marking," Denai nodded. Kaoru's face scrunched up in confusion.

"Okay, so how do we make Haru… un-innocent?" He asked rather dumbly. Baron closed his eyes momentarily, praying for the strength to explain as he leant forwards and quietly told Kaoru what the Doctor had meant. Kaoru's face promptly reddened as he nodded quickly and fell silent after muttering a 'nevermind'.

King Lune had turned away during this story, not wanting to hear a repeat of his Mother's unfortunate death and… tainting. He looked out of the room and at Haru, deep in thought.

"You think the Black Cat did this?" Baron asked, turning around to place both hands on the desk. Doctor Denai nodded and Baron bowed his head. "I see. Thank you, Doctor." He straightened his coat and left the room abruptly. He had a sudden urge to be near Haru. Once he reached her bed, he pulled up the chair that Kaoru had been using before and sat close by. He stared at her thoughtfully, his forehead furrowed.

Time passed and people came to visit every now and again. Kaoru had stayed with him for a while, but left muttering something about being hungry. The sun was setting before Haru stirred gently, waking from her sleep. Baron, who had been staring out of the window at the sun set sat up immediately and was at her side.

"Baron?" Haru said, blinking her eyes to clear out the sleep. "Where am I?"

"You're in the infirmary inside the palace, Haru," Baron said softly, smiling at her as her eyes focused onto him. She smiled back, and slowly sat up. He assisted her by placing a supporting hand on her back.

"Why do I feel so sore?" She asked, frowning. Suddenly she remembered being in the garden by the statue. "What happened?" She looked at Baron in confusion.

"I was hoping that you would be able to tell us that," Baron said sadly. "Muta found you unconscious in a bush. Do you not remember anything?"

Haru concentrated hard on her memories, trying to piece together what had happened. But as soon as she recalled up to standing near the statue, there was nothing but emptiness afterwards. She shook her head and then winced, her paw going to her collarbone. She gasped as the contact stung and she pulled down her gown slightly to reveal the blue rune burned into her skin. "What is this?!" She asked, panic rising in her voice. Baron place his hands on her hands and pulled them away from her robe.

"Stay calm, Miss Haru," he said gently. "Your body has been through quite the ordeal. And I'm afraid this will take a lot of explaining." She nodded, though she shook slightly from her discovery. In a quiet voice, to not wake the other patients in the infirmary, Baron carefully explained to her what Doctor Denai had explained to him only earlier that day. Haru soaked in the information quietly, nodding every now and again to indicate that she understood. She had to keep reminding herself to breath and not freak out with every detail that she learned.

Once Baron had finished, he could no longer stand the worry etched into her expression and he carefully lifted her in his arms and climbed onto the bed. He lowered her so that she was resting with her back against his chest, the rest of her body between his legs. She was surprised by the Baron's sudden tender movements but didn't resist nor retaliate when he carefully placed his arms around her in a comforting embrace. She leaned her head back against firm chest and looked up at him. He looked down at her and smiled, tilting his head.

"Are you comfortable now?" he asked quietly. She nodded, her cheeks going a bright red. It was nice to see some colour return to her face under her thin fur. They sat like that, basking in each other's comforting presence, for a while.

"I keep having this dream, you know," she spoke up after some time. "I don't know what it means, but it keeps cropping up every time I close my eyes. I'm in a field in front of a white mansion that sways with the wind. I'm with someone that I can't make the facial features out of, but I know that I care deeply for them… They trick me into approaching the mansion, and I am dragged in by someone into this dark abyss." She shuddered slightly as she recalled her dream. Of course, Baron already knew about her dream, but now that she had told him herself, he could talk to her about it.

"Yes, that is strange," he muttered, raising a hand to brush her hair gently. "The imagination can be a curious thing. People say that dreams are also subconscious reflections of memories that you may have forgotten in the past."

Haru nodded, having thought about this before. But she as certain that whatever she saw in the dream was completely new to her. With previous dreams they hadn't been as wildly confusing as this one. She raised her shoulders slightly as she suddenly remembered the dream she had when she had first come back to the Kingdom, after landing on Muta. She looked up at Baron again. She swallowed nervously before giving him a smile.

"Baron, do you remember the first time I met you?" She asked. Baron looked down at her in surprise.

"Of course, we had quite the adventure together," he smiled. How could she think that he would forget so easily?

"It was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to me before," Haru added. Lowering her eyes, she prepared herself for what she was about to bring up. "Do you also remember, when we were on the rooftop of my school, when I told you that I had a crush on you?"

Baron felt himself tense up suddenly, but only for a millisecond. Whether she noticed or not, he couldn't tell as she had looked down. He remembered. He thought about it often, and about his own response. He rested his chin atop her head and let out a low hum of acknowledgement. Haru shifted herself slightly so that she was turned enough to be able to look at him directly, face to face.

"How would you feel if I said that my feelings have not since changed?" She asked him in a small voice. Her eyes scanned his face for a reaction, and her heart fluttered when his lips broke out into the smallest of smiles.

"You continue to amaze me every day that I know you, Haru. There is nothing that you could say that would sway my admiration and affection," he said in an almost hushed tone. Affection, Haru repeated in her head, her face heating up. She raised her paws to her cheeks in embarrassment, but Baron caught them mid-way with his hands, and slowly placed them on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled closer ever so slightly. She looked at him, startled, but he kept smiling. If this moment was a dream, she never wanted to wake up. She didn't want to be imagining the Baron's face slowly inching closer to her; she didn't want to be imagining the look his eye that made her feel wanted and lusted.

Whatever Gods there were in this world, they surely did not want her to indulge as the infirmary doors were suddenly slammed open, startling many of the patients in the ward. Haru let out a small yelp and Baron closed his eyes in irritation.

"Baron von Gikkingen!" The guard called out frantically. When he spotted the Baron, he waved his paws wildly to get his attention. "Please, Sir, King Lune requires your assistance immediately. There has been an attack on the south-east village! Hurry!" And with that, the guard scurried out of the room, followed by a large group of armed cats. Alarm coursed through Haru's body as the Baron swiftly, but gently, lifted her again and placed her back down on the bed. It was warm where he had been.

"Please, stay here and rest," Baron told her, leaning down to place a tender kiss on her forehead. "I will return as soon as I can." He turned to leave, picking up his cane and coat at the same time. He looked back regretfully, giving her a small bow before disappearing through the infirmary doors. Haru didn't even get to say goodbye before he had left. She placed a paw to her chest where the rune throbbed slightly, just like her heart at the sudden absence of Baron.

She slumped back against the pillow and closed her eyes. A smile crept onto her face as she recalled what just happened, a shiver going up her spine. Despite all the bad happening in her life right now, she tucked that memory away for a rainy day.

The castle grew quiet once the chaos calmed down and once the soldiers were out and on their way to the village. Haru welcome the quiet to get a few moments of sleep.

What the stream of soldiers and even Baron himself had failed to notice when leaving the room, was the brown cloaked figure in the far corner of the infirmary, crouching in the shadows. Once the patients and Haru in the ward had fallen asleep once again, the figure emerged and approached her bed. They leant over Haru, not getting too close in case she woke up from her light sleep. They took out a handkerchief and carefully pressed it against Haru's mouth and nose. Her eyes opened in shock and there was a moment of futile struggle, and soon enough her eyelids drooped closed again as she passed out. Not wasting any time, the brown cloaked figure swiftly threw Haru over their shoulder and leapt back into the shadows of the room. They approached the hallway again, making sure that no one was around before making their silent way through the castle. Once outside, the figure spoke into a small device clipped to the brown cloak.

"Distraction successful," he muttered. There was a small beep, and then he continued. "She will be delivered unharmed."

ooOoo

More catnapping? Gosh. Poor Haru.

That's sure a recurring theme if I've ever seen one.

Would like to give a special appreciation to the people who reviewed this story thus far and kept me motivated when my river of ideas ran dry.

Justrockzyxxx, Sindy Sugar, Catsafari, TheEpcWn7, phantomoftheknight17, Ib Garcia, VoodooCat and all the lovely Guest Reviewers.

Ciao!