Twice in a Lifetime Chapter Thirteen: The Cat Kingdom
The Cat Kingdom was fairly peaceful before Baron's car sped through a new blue portal and towards the castle. The guards, familiar with the car's owner, immediately opened the gates for the car to go through, the huge crow just sailing over the wall.
Inside the green car, Muta was barely able to move, lying across the back seat in an effort to make more room, since he barely fit. Baron's ears trailed up the sides of his head as his eyes became more slanted and a thick coat of fur began to grow. He parked the car in the courtyard and hurriedly got out so that his tail could grow out comfortably, whiskers beginning to sprout.
He rushed to the other side of the car and picked up Lune again, the task a little more difficult this time since they were nearly the same size. The cloak didn't cover as much of him as it did a few minutes before. Disturbed by the noise, a large gray cat, lighter than Lune, poked his head out of the window. He gasped, and then crawled down the side of the building, obviously too distraught to think about the stairs.
"Son!" He ran to Baron's side, trying to understand where the wounds had come from.
"The infirmary, Your Majesty?" At least the orange cat still had his head on straight. The large cat blinked twice in confusion, and then turned to lead the way. Muta finished extracting himself from the car.
"Maybe I should take your share of dinner tonight, Piggy Cat!" Toto taunted, a smirk evident in his tone. Muta looked up at the bird to retort.
"Maybe I should add you to Haru's stew while her back is turned!"
The Cat King turned back sharply to hiss at them.
"If you two are going to fight, then stay out here! The doctors will need peace and quiet!"
They shrugged, not caring much, and kept insulting each other as the king and Baron disappeared inside the castle.
"Actually, they've been behaving far better than usual, Majesty. The only reason they've gone back is because their new source of amusement is gone for the moment."
The king pulled back a curtain, and a group of doctors took the prince from the half-cat and began the process of cleaning him up.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"What happened, Lune?"
Two hours later, the dark gray cat laid his head back, rolls of cloth wrapping him up like a mummy. A pretty white cat was at his side, holding his paw, one of the few unscratched points on his body. She was relieved that her husband would heal completely.
"I got into a fight with a few street cats, and then some kids tried to steal my collar. If it wasn't for Baron's girlfriend, I might have bled to death."
The king turned back to the orange cat, a sly smile on his lips.
"Girlfriend? I thought you swore off those after your wife died."
"This one persuaded me to renounce the vow. Unfortunately, she's with someone else at the moment."
Lune's father looked confused.
"How did she persuade you if she's with someone else?"
"By being her wonderful self. As things stand, we're just friends."
He blinked again.
"I take it she's the Haru your friends were fighting about?"
"Yes. Emily's distracting her until we can head back."
The Cat Princess looked up sharply.
"Which Haru?"
Lune turned to the white cat, and gave a weak smile.
"Must be your Haru, Yuki. Not too many girls run around helping cats with that name."
Baron looked at the princess.
"What did she do for you?"
The cat princess's eyes faded from fond memories of a young human girl holding a yellow box; a huge smile on her cute face.
"She fed me fish crackers so I wouldn't starve."
"Yes, it's probably the same Haru; I heard she had a long history with cats."
The king knocked one paw against the wall.
"I've been hearing about a mysterious human girl that went out of her way to help cats, but I never had the urge to meet her before. She must be properly thanked for her deeds."
Baron stepped on his line of thought, knowing he would carry his thanks too far.
"Haru's not the type to accept rewards. She's satisfied with a simple thank you."
"Heh, no wonder you like her. But I'd at least like to see the woman who saved my son and daughter-in-law." He hobbled back to a personal study, Baron trailing behind, since he remembered how the king had reacted when he first saw Louise.
The Cat King walked up to a crystal ball, surrounded by a mountain of record able tapes and stuck one into the VCR. He picked up a fancy remote and started playing with the buttons. He spoke into the microphone at the top of the remote.
"Show me the Haru that saved my son's life."
The ball flickered on, and then clouded over, like a satellite dish trying to find the right channel.
The sphere's vision cleared to show two beautiful human girls, the younger one bearing a striking resemblance to the older woman. Both were dressed to appear in court, except for the aprons tied around their waists and the tied back sleeves. They were both at a smallish counter in a neat little apartment, the woman peeling and coring green apples while the younger girl placed them on square pieces of rolled out dough. The girl would coat the apples with a butter mixture, and then a sugary mixture before wrapping the apples up in the dough squares and placing them in a pan, a large pot steaming on the stovetop.
Baron smiled warmly at the picture, so the Cat King knew that this was the right one. The older woman spoke tenderly, her voice echoing with a crystal twinkling inside the crystal ball.
"It's nice having you and your dad like my home-cooked meals instead of a delivery pizza or burger."
The little girl placed another wrapped apple in the pan.
"Is that the kind of food your boyfriend likes?"
"Yeah." The woman seemed to sadden, thinking of him. The little girl noticed the change of mood and placed one flour-covered hand over the older girl's apron to tug on it.
"Haru, why is Machida your boyfriend if you can't agree on anything and you hardly spend any time together?"
The woman shook violently, accidentally cutting her finger instead of the apple. Firmly keeping a paper towel over the wound, she thought carefully about the question. Baron stepped closer to the sphere, his eyes locked on the brunette.
"I've dreamed about being his girlfriend for years, and it was kind of funny that he literally needed to be hit on the head with an oar to take a second look at me. We have a lot of fun fighting, and it's mutually understood that he needs to focus on keeping his football scholarship and I need to worry about making bills on time and my full scholarship."
"But do you love him?"
Haru's eyes widened at the question, and she opened her mouth to answer.
Nothing came out, and she knew what it meant as her heart sunk in realization. She placed the last apple in front of the girl, who started her work on it.
"No. I care about Machida, but I don't love him."
Baron's heart soared, finally knowing for certain that she wasn't fully committed to her current relationship. His daughter brightened too.
"If you don't love him, why not give Daddy a chance? He loves you."
He made a mental note to raise Emily's allowance when he got back to the human world. Haru took the full pan and filled it with a brown liquid before placing it in the hot oven, using the time to think about the question. She sat down at the small table, keeping both fists under her chin as she concentrated. Baron placed one hand over her image, willing her to feel the love he had for her. The Cat King watched his movements with great interest.
"Why don't I?" she whispered, her eyes a thousand miles away. Seeing the moment of weakness, Emily moved in for the kill.