The song used for the beginning of this chapter was taken from An American Tail. I've been wanting to use it for a while now.
Chapter Twenty-One: Joy
"When I feel like it, but-"
Rue cut her off. "Would you please sing something? Right now?"
"In the middle of the hallway?" Haru complained. "I'll feel like an idiot!"
Rue grabbed her hand without a further word, and nearly dragged her to a door at the end of the hallway.
The sheer size of the room rivaled that of the Cat King's banquet hall.
Rue quickly locked the door behind her, and looked at Haru again. "What about now?" she begged.
"Will you explain the dream if I do?"
"Yes, anything! Just start singing!"
Haru sighed while shrugging. "All right. Here's something Mom used to sing when I was feeling bad and needed help going to sleep." 'I know I should say worse than usual, but oh well.' "She also used to sing it when she was thinking about you two, so don't be shocked if I start crying."
Rue and Ahiru shook their heads in sync with each other, and urged her again to start singing.
She began with a soft crooning voice. "Somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight, someone's thinking of me and loving me tonight. Somewhere out there, someone's saying a prayer that we'll find one another in that big somewhere out there." She kept her eyes on Rue, a little disturbed by how her sister was staring at her, like she was terrified.
Ahiru, on the other hand, just looked sad.
Haru smiled at them, and held out a comforting hand to touch Rue's other shoulder gently, trying to sing the song the way their mother used to. "And even though I know how very far apart we are, it helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star. And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby, it helps to think that we're sleeping underneath the same big sky." She took a deep breath, loving the next part of the song.
Haru was unashamed of her tears, although her heart ached. She wished with all her heart that her mother could have come back with her, and meet the daughters she had longed for, for all these years. "Somewhere out there, if love can see us through, then we'll be together. Somewhere out there, out where dreams come true-." She finished the song with a soft crooning voice, like one would sing a lullaby.
But then her head snapped to the side without warning, and her eyes became angry. She wiped her tears away immediately.
She stalked over to the large glass door that led to a balcony, and slammed it shut on a weeping cat's face. "Will you stop following me everywhere, Wally?! Get a life outside of me, I'm begging you!"
"But Haru! That was so lovely! Please, I just want a few moments!" The red-clad cat started meowing pitifully and scratching at the glass, but Haru pulled a long blue curtain over the door so that he wouldn't be able to see her anymore.
She slapped her hands together in a satisfied manner while turning back to her sisters. "There; do you still think you've been listening to me every night, Big Sis?"
Rue couldn't say anything. She threw her arms around her little sister's neck, and started crying like someone had broken her heart. Ahiru walked across her shoulder to Haru's and started nuzzling her cheek while quacking sadly, tears still running down her face.
Unsure of what to do, Haru squeezed her big sister gently. "Come on, guys. What's so bad about my singing?"
"It's… it's not the singing," Rue gasped through her sobs. "It's the screaming and crying that's so terrible."
"Rue, just tell me what the dream is. I'm pretty sure I can handle it."
"Well… first there's your voice. Ahiru and I couldn't see anything, but we could hear you singing. You sounded so sad, like you were trying to cheer yourself up despite the fact that you knew it was hopeless."
'That doesn't sound so implausible,' Haru concluded glumly. "Did anything else happen?"
"You stopped for a while, and started screaming. It was terrible," Rue sobbed, hugging her even tighter. "You kept saying, 'No, don't take them away from me! Someone, help me!' But no one ever did. You screamed for several minutes, and when it was over, you cried. It was like someone had taken away everything you had ever loved."
"And you didn't see anything, right?"
"No. It was like being trapped in a black mist. I could tell you were near, but I couldn't move an inch to help you. It was terrible," Rue wept.
Haru crooned softly and rocked her older sister like a child. She nibbled her lower lip in thought, trying to figure out the strange dream. "You know, it still might not have been me. I used to hear all the time that Mom and I sounded the same. Isn't it possible that you heard Mom crying over losing you two for all these years?"
Rue shook her head, and bit back another sob. "No, Haru. It was definitely you we heard."
She hummed a little. "This sounds like something Baron should know about, when he gets here. Maybe he knows something about dreams that I don't." She patted her sister's thick black hair, and smiled softly. "I wonder why almost none of my dreams had you or Ahiru in them."
Rue looked up at her sharply. "You've been having dreams?" she asked fearfully.
Haru nodded. "Before I came to the island, I'd relive the day Ahiru was kidnapped by the ravens, ever since Mom died. Then after I came here, I was treated to reliving some of my worst memories. The latest ones have been the weirdest though," she confessed with a giggle.
"How weird?!" Rue demanded as Ahiru patted her cheek, and quacked for her to tell.
"Well… I'm feeling really sorry for myself, our father was alive and a king, and he was making me marry a complete stranger to continue the family line. I haven't dreamed past that part yet, but I had a terrible feeling about my groom. Oh, and everyone spoke in thee's and thou's."
Rue looked at her in confusion. "That is pretty weird. I doubt Father would really marry you off to a stranger."
'You'd be surprised,' Haru longed to say, but didn't dare. "We'll tell Baron about the dreams when he gets here," she promised with a smile. "Everything will be just fine, I promise."
Rue nodding, brushing away her remaining tears with one furious hand. "We have to tell Mytho," she said in a firm voice, grabbing Haru's hand to start dragging her out of the room.
"Hold on! Why tell him?" Haru asked, taking her hand back.
"Because he needs to know! I promised I'd tell him who the singer was as soon as I figured it out, and what if someone tries to hurt you for real?!"
"Are you kidding? I can take care of myself, and Baron can cover whatever I can't," Haru protested, not wanting to let that boy know about her weaknesses.
"A promise is a promise," she said stubbornly, running out of the room.
Haru watched the door close behind her big sister mutely. She sighed, and turned to Ahiru, who was still on her shoulder. "Well, did you want to dance with me instead?"
"Quack?" she asked, obviously a little surprised by how quickly her sister was changing the subject.
"Come on, pretty please?" Haru coaxed, walking out to the center of the cavern-like room. Very gently she took her little sister from her shoulder and set her on the cool floor. "It'll give us something to do until she comes back, if nothing else."
Ahiru blushed a bit, and looked down at her webbed feet. Her beautiful blue eyes were sad as she quacked in a low voice.
Haru saddened a little. "Are you embarrassed about your abilities?"
Dismally, Ahiru nodded.
Smiling softly, Haru got down on her knees, and picked up her sister again long enough to kiss her forehead again. "I'm not sure what everyone else has been saying about the way you dance, but do you know what I learned a year ago?"
Ahiru looked up at her sharply.
"It doesn't matter if you're good or not. If you're having fun, who cares what other people think? I'll love you, no matter how you dance, Little Sis." Again, she kissed her sister's head, the stray feather tickling her cheek. She set the little duck down, and stood up. She twirled once with her arms in the air, keeping her eyes on Ahiru. "Pretty please? I want to dance with my little sister."
Ahiru's smile was breathtaking, even with the beak in the way. She nodded, and held her wings in front of her while rising nearly to the tips of her feet.
Haru smiled as well, and twirled once, keeping her eyes on her feathered sister. As they danced, Haru forced her eyes to remain open so that she wouldn't accidentally step on Ahiru.
She had to admit, she was impressed with her little sister. Although she had been told repeatedly that Ahiru wasn't any good at ballet, it was obvious that she had kept practicing after reverting back to a full-time duck.
They pirouetted as one, circling each other happily. It wasn't perfect, and it wasn't fancy, but it was from the heart, and that was all that mattered.
'Dancing with my sister's a much better way to ensure my eyes will stay open. If I weren't so worried for Ahiru's safety around Neko-sensei, I'd take her with me to those early classes.'
Suddenly, a sound distracted her. It was… applause?
Haru and Ahiru stopped dancing to see who was clapping. Haru looked to the large glass door she had shut earlier. She gasped as her sister trembled slightly.
It was Baron.
But, he was so tall! As tall in her vision as he had been when she was at a cat height. He was leaning against the open doorframe, a warm smile on his face as he lowered his gloved hands slightly.
Wally was nowhere to be seen.
"I don't mean offense, Haru, but I like this style much better than what you did in Japan-"
Baron was cut off as Haru threw herself into his arms, and wrapped her own around his chest. He stumbled backward from the force, but quickly regained his balance to wrap his arms around her happily.
"How…?" she whispered into his pressed white shirt after a moment of blissful closeness. A bit of cold gold was strapped around his neck, warming itself by Haru's cheek.
"Well, Toto was able to fly us here in short order, but he desperately needed to rest when we arrived, just now." He gestured out the balcony a bit, letting her see the new gargoyle on one of the walls of the castle.
"I meant your height," Haru giggled, rubbing her cheek against his chest happily.
"Ah," he floundered, sounding embarrassed as he held her in his arms. "Lune thought that I might be of more service to you at this size. And speaking of service, I believe you owe me an explanation."
Haru flinched. "I'm sorry for keeping another sister secret. I was never sure if I had one or two, and it hurt a little less to think of only one missing sister."
"How could you not be sure?" he demanded, taking her by the shoulders and holding her back a little. "Surely your parents would have told you how many siblings were missing!"
"Mom said there were three daughters, Dad said two, endless hours of fighting," Haru explained in an irritated tone, praying that he wouldn't interrogate her about it. That was the last thing she wanted to talk about. "I should have known Mom was right, but at least they're found!"
Baron sighed tiredly. "Just what am I going to do with you, Haru?"
"Another hug would be appreciated," she said hopefully.
Without warning, one of her nightmares returned to her mind; the one where her father had refused to hug her before breaking his promise to her mother. Her heart froze for a second.
Baron looked at her, and chuckled warmly as he drew her close again. "Now don't get me wrong, Haru; I'm quite grateful that you had Lune tell me of your sister's problem. Do you have any idea how dull life is without you?"
A goofy grin overtook her face as she squeezed him happily. "How could I? I'm not around when it happens, remember?" 'I knew Baron would hug me without a second thought. Why couldn't Dad have been more like him?'
Baron laughed at her again, and squeezed affectionately.
Haru had always loved the feel of his arms. She always felt so warm and safe, the one or two times he could wrap her up in them. She made a mental note to thank Lune at the earliest opportunity.
"A-hem!" Muta growled as he waddled into the room from the balcony. "Can you two wait until you're alone? We've got a job to do!"
"Killjoy," Haru pouted while reluctantly stepping away from Baron. She looked at her trembling little sister, and giggled while walking over to her. "It's okay, Little Sis. They may be cats, but they know that they'll be dead cats if they try to eat you."
"Quack?" she asked in a tiny voice.
"Of course I'm sure," Haru consoled her as she picked her up, and presented her to the Cat Creation. "Baron, this is my little sister, Ahiru. Little Sis, this is Baron Humbert von Gikkingen. And the fatso's Muta."
"Hey! I thought we agreed no more fat jokes," he growled at her.
"I don't remember making an agreement like that," she replied with an evil grin, watching Baron tip his hat at the duck in her hands.
"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Ahiru. Your sister tells me you have quite a problem on your… wings."
Ahiru quacked darkly under her breath.
"We'll never know that if you don't give us a chance to try."
The duck quickly looked up at him in shock. "Quack?!"
"You mean Haru can't? Surely there's someone on the island that can understand what you say."
The little bird shook her head numbly, a wild smile crossing her face.
"Wait, you can understand her?" Haru asked excitedly. 'I should have expected this. Toto could talk with cats, why couldn't Baron talk with birds?'
"Quite clearly. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, Miss Ahiru, would you mind telling me in your own words what happened to you?"
She nodded, took in a deep breath, and started quacking up a storm. Haru didn't understand a word of it, but Baron obviously did.
His expression was calm and calculating as he gently took Haru by one arm, and led her out to the balcony so that they could sit on the stone benches as Ahiru continued to quack.
Haru couldn't help but feel a little jealous, that Baron could have a decent conversation with her little sister and she couldn't. But she pushed those thoughts aside. With any luck, Ahiru wouldn't be quacking for much longer. She held her sister with one hand on her lap, and scratched Muta's ears with the other one, since he was sitting on the other side of her.
Baron nodded occasionally through the duck's narrative, and asked one or two questions concerning the pendant she had used to change into a human.
Then without warning, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Would you mind repeating that, Miss Ahiru?" he nearly hissed.
She nodded, and quacked again, her eyes nearly desperate.
"What's eatin' ya, Baron?" Muta rumbled between his purrs.
"I'm betting that Ahiru's telling him about the dreams she's been having about me," Haru replied softly, slightly intimidated by the way Baron slowly stood up, his eyes nearly on fire.
"Over my dead body," Baron growled dangerously, "will anyonehurt Haru like that!"
"Like what?" Muta asked, sitting up from his comfortable position.
"Ahiru and Rue have been dreaming that someone's going to make me scream and cry like there's nothing worth living for anymore," Haru quickly explained, watching Baron pace the balcony like a caged tiger. "But to be honest, I think it's whoever that comes after me that should be screaming, sooner or later."
"Oh, believe me; he'll be screaming long before I'm through with him," Baron muttered darkly.
Ahiru quacked happily, snuggling into her big sister's lap.
"Haru?"
She looked into the room, noticing that Rue had returned, with her husband and his knight in tow. The brunette smiled as she stood up, cradling Ahiru in one arm. She took Baron by the hand, and walked back into the room with Muta just behind them.
"Baron, I'd like you to meet my big sister, Princess Rue, her husband, Prince… do you prefer Siegfried or Mytho?" she suddenly asked, fighting back her initial feeling of revulsion for the prince.
"Mytho is fine," the white haired young man replied, staring at the giant cat with a quiet bemusement.
"And this is his knight, Sir Fakir. Guys, this is Baron and Muta from the Cat Bureau. Toto's still resting outside."
Rue smiled brightly as she nodded at them, although she was looking at Baron. "It's nice to finally meet you. Haru won't stop talking about you."
"So what else is new?" Muta chuckled.
"Be nice," Baron told him sternly.
Fakir stepped forward, since the prince was hesitating, and shook Baron's hand warmly. "I know it's a little early to ask this, but is there any way that Ahiru can be a human again?"
"There are a few spells and talismans that Miss Ahiru could use, but unfortunately, they're kept under lock and key by the Bird King. After Toto rests a bit, he's going to have a good look at Miss Ahiru, and then see if he can beg or steal one of them."
"You'd resort to burglary?" Haru asked with a surprised giggle.
"It wouldn't be the first time. It's a quiet way of ensuring that certain trinkets return to their proper owners without resorting to bloodshed," he replied with a roguish grin.
Rue and Fakir looked at each other, and actually started laughing.
ooOoo
Toto held one wing to his chin thoughtfully, a few hours later. The company had gathered in the library to discuss what to do with Ahiru's predicament. Everyone but Haru, Baron, and Muta were nervous about the big bird, but that could have been because he faintly resembled a raven.
Haru couldn't help but notice that the librarian Autor was nowhere to be seen. She grimaced, wondering what kind of wild stories he had heard to make him react the way he had earlier.
"And that's how things stand right now?" Toto asked, once Ahiru's story had been repeated one more time.
"More or less," Fakir replied glumly, one finger playing with the wild feather that stuck off of Ahiru's head. "But is there anything we can do about it?"
"It'll be tricky," Toto admitted, preening one wing thoughtfully. "I think I remember an old story about some swans that were both human and bird. I'll go to the Bird Kingdom in the morning and see if I can look it up."
"Will they allow you into the library?" Rue asked worriedly. She was back in her regular dress, since it didn't look like there would be any dancing lessons for today.
"Birds carve their stories and history in stone. The kingdom has large slabs of carved rock with writing all over the place. And even if I can't find it, there's a special flock that categorizes the slabs. They'll help me find the right story."
"That still doesn't answer my question," Muta complained while grinning evilly. "If Chicky's sisters are princesses, isn't she one too?"
Haru shuddered. "After all that effort to avoid a crown? I don't think so!"
Mytho, however, rubbed his wedding ring thoughtfully. "It's a possibility, you know. If Rue and Ahiru have alter egos, it's conceivable that you do as well, Haru." He flinched from the flames that appeared in the girl's eyes.
Haru managed to smile thinly. "Well, even if I did, it wouldn't matter, would it? The Raven's gone, I don't have a magic talisman- that can enhance my dancing skills," she quickly added when Baron made to protest. "There isn't even a real enemy around anymore."
ooOoo
Drosselmeyer grinned evilly, as he watched them make plans. "That's what you think, precious," he purred, rocking in his chair with Uzura on his lap.
She beat her little drum softly. "Are the kitties gonna get her this time, zura?" she asked sadly.
"Just you wait and see, Uzura. Just you wait and see," he gloated ominously.