Chapter Twenty Five: The Wedding
Baron came across a startling revelation, as the coach came to a stop in front of the castle gates, and his family emerged with the usual dignity that had become a trademark of the von Gikkingen family.
As Haru warmly clasped her brother's hand and Lily's, and Thomas and Elly clasp his own, he realized that, for the first time since his mother had died, there were finally enough hands to go around without raising a fuss. He smiled contentedly, once again sending a silent prayer of gratitude to the heavens for sending him Haru and Hashi.
But without warning, Natoru ran up to the gate, and stood right in front of the slim brunette, gasping heavily from exertion. "Are… you Haru?" he gasped desperately.
The housekeeper nodded nervously, making him grab her hand away from Hashi and start dragging her towards the castle doors.
"Stop that immediately!" Baron barked, releasing his children's hands so that he could pry the brown cat off of his nanny, who was already knocking the persistent feline's paws away angrily.
"I can't!" Natoru protested, trying to make another grab for the brunette. "The bride said that she wanted to see Haru as soon as she got here, and I can't disobey her!"
"You should have said that in the first place," the brunette growled at him before turning to her tawny employer, whose gloved hand was still on her slim wrist. "Think you can manage without me for a few minutes?"
He wanted to say no. He wanted to say anything that would persuade the girl to stay at his side, especially while they were in the same building as the Cat King.
But, for Yuki, he sighed and reluctantly released his hold on his brunette.
Wait… his?!
"Be quick," he urged her, getting his nanny to nod once before motioning for the brown cat to lead her through the castle's inner labyrinth.
Suddenly feeling lost, he held two of his children's hands again, and directed the remaining two with a look, urging them to the gates.
Hashi looked slightly more serious than usual, and a bit angry. 'Why is he letting her leave?!'
ooOoo
Haru had to hold her skirts up slightly, so that she wouldn't trip over them following Natoru through corridor after corridor. One of them she recognized from her previous visit, making her shove the thick glasses back up her nose again, just in case the feline monarch happened to be in the vicinity.
Finally, the brown cat stopped at a certain curtain, gasping terribly again. "I have her, Your highness!" he called into the red velvet, making a pink maid servant stick her head out of the folds and look incredulously at the human nanny.
"Are you sure she's the right one?" she asked suspiciously, looking at the girl with obvious distaste.
"Haru?!" a panicked Yuki called from the other side, making the slim brunette's senses start firing off.
Firmly, the human stepped past the pink servant and into the dressing room. Yuki was just stepping off of a footstool, gowned in a regal white wedding dress that gave her a lovely monochromatic look. She even had a modest crown to hold the veil over her face, but the brunette could never mistake the relief in the bride's soft blue eyes. But there was also a trace of confusion.
Knowing why the bride felt that way, Haru grinned warmly at her. "Don't tell me you've got another objection right before the wedding," she said teasingly. "I'd have thought the prince would have taken care of any further protests."
Yuki relaxed to the point of tears, recognizing the girl's smile despite the masklike glasses. Without thinking, she threw herself into the brunette's arms, despite the maidservants' protests.
"I…" Yuki stammered softly as tears flowed down her furry cheeks. "I… just wanted to see you again. This is a big day for me, and… I don't have any family to share it with. Real family, I mean."
Haru's heart melted as she squeezed the potential princess softly. "Shh, its okay, Yuki. I'm right here, you're not alone. Everything will be just fine."
ooOoo
Baron silently herded his children into a reserved pew that was closer to the front of the royal chapel. In any case, he was close enough to see the dark prince's chest heave up and down with nerves, and one paw nervously open and close as he whispered something to the ancient-looking priest that was to perform the ceremony.
Baron managed to catch Lune's eye, and smiled encouragingly as he sat between Elly and Thomas, wrapping his arms around them lovingly.
The prince sighed, and returned the smile thankfully. But then he took a good look at the cluster of feline and human children surrounding his friend on each side, and his worry returned. "Where's Haru?" the feline prince mouthed anxiously.
Baron opened his mouth to answer, but then noticed a red curtain on his right bulge conspicuously before revealing a familiar brunette. She looked around the huge room, her mouth set in a worried frown.
"Over there," Baron answered softly, standing up from his place. "I'm going to go fetch Haru, children. Please stay in your seats."
"I could go get her," Hashi protested, but the tawny lord was already free of the pew, and making a beeline for the slim human that was pacing the long side of the room, trying to find a familiar face.
The kittens watched as she suddenly turned as Baron tapped her shoulder. Her smile was wide and warming as he said something softly in her ear. She nodded happily, and accepted the arm he offered her so that they could walk back together.
Lily's eyes widened, noticing how her father's green ones didn't really leave Haru's face, and how the nanny smiled warmly, her own face tilted slightly back so that she could look at Baron's face.
"Let's let them sit together," the eldest sibling hissed quickly as the two approached. Thomas seemed to have seen what his elder sister had, because he immediately scooted closer to Elly to open up a space for the two on the end. Elly tried to complain, but Lily managed to stop her as Baron allowed Haru to slide into the pew first, and then follow closely, sitting close enough so that their sides were almost brushing against each other's.
Haru smiled warmly again while wrapping her arm around Thomas, the kitten closest to her, and pointedly looking at the other children.
"Remember, we're in a church," she whispered, the tone making it clear that now was not the time for foolishness.
They nodded as Thomas wiggled slightly closer to his nanny, enjoying her warm embrace.
In reverent silence they waited until the feline musicians began that familiar march that filled the enormous room with its hymn. A few young flower girls came down the aisle, spreading petals everywhere in the white bride's path. Yuki gracefully floated to her bridegroom, who had lost all outside signs of his previous nerves. He smiled lovingly at her, and held his paw out so that it could clasp hers warmly.
Together, the prince and his bride faced the ancient priest, who started the ceremony in his slightly raspy voice. Since it was a royal wedding, the speech about marital duties was suitably long-winded, and lasted for more than an hour.
Some of the younger attendants began snoring before the ceremony was halfway finished, but as far as the von Gikkingen children and younger Yoshioka sibling were concerned, the bride and groom sealed their marriage with a kiss far too soon.
Of course, they weren't actually paying attention to the ceremony. They were watching the softly intertwined gloved hands of Haru and Baron, which kept rubbing against each other as the two stared straight ahead, wearing matching smiles of contentment on their lips.
ooOoo
The ball after the wedding was a bit more relaxed than Lune's birthday one had been. The dark red wine poured freely, and many of the noble guests drank deeply.
Haru chose not to touch anything, since her lifetime career of vegetarianism had spoiled her appetite for the meat-based refreshments being carried throughout the ballroom by proudly groomed servants.
Hashi finally had to turn away as a plate of shaved and gutted mice passed before his eyes, and he buried his face in his tall sister's waist. "Can we leave?" he begged. "Before I throw up?"
The tall brunette sighed, hugging her brother back tenderly while keeping an eye on her young charges. "Not until Baron says so," she whispered, her bespectacled eyes automatically racing back to the tawny half-feline, who was whispering something to Prince Edward. Almost like he could feel the power of her gaze, Baron's eyes immediately trailed over to her, and one of his more amazing smiles unconsciously slipped onto his lips.
Haru blushed deeply from behind her glasses, and looked down at her brother to distract her, smiling nervously. "He doesn't look like he wants to leave quite yet. Maybe Thomas could show you where the bathroom is, if you think you're going to be sick."
Hashi nodded thankfully, and started weaving his way through the circling nobles, trying to get to his best friend, who was dancing the usual pas de trios with his sisters. Elly, however, let go of her brother's hand so that she could jump on the human boy. Hashi nervously tried to pry himself away from the small white cat's grasp, but almost before the human boy realized it, he was drawn into the dance just like everyone else. After about a minute, the young brunette stopped trying to get away from the youngest von Gikkingen, and swept her off her feet, swinging her high above his head as she squealed with delight.
Haru bit back a giggle, seeing how relieved Thomas was that he didn't have to equally divide his attentions between his sisters anymore. The poor boy had to be exhausted by now.
"You think you've fooled everyone, I suppose?"
The brunette looked to her side, a little surprised that venomous Countess Sai was there. "I fool no one. I've found that people can and usually will fool themselves without outside help."
The black-clad feline scoffed, with an undercurrent of a hostile hiss. "Well, you haven't managed to fool me, peasant," Sai spat. "I know what you're planning."
"Oh?" Haru asked amusedly. "What am I planning, exactly?"
"Don't be coy! You have your eye on the Baron!"
"He's my boss; I'm supposed to keep an eye on him."
"That's not what I meant!" the autumn-colored countess hissed, unable herself to keep her eyes off of the Baron. "You fancy yourself to be his new Baroness!"
Haru stared at her, almost unable to speak. Sai glowed triumphantly, opening her mouth to tear the girl's pitiful ego to shreds.
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of."
The countess, however, was not the one to voice that opinion.
The nanny glared at her supposed superior. "Where on earth did you get that idea?!" Haru demanded. "Baron and I are friends, nothing more. I have never fancied myself as a possible mate for him," 'Those day dreams don't count!' "Besides, I think someone like Baron deserves someone more…" Haru trailed off, wondering. What one word could possibly hope to embody everything Baron should have, should he choose to marry again?
Sai sneered. "Well-bred? Better-looking? Higher ranking than a dirty insignificant-"
"Elegant," Haru suddenly said, snapping her fingers in grim satisfaction. "He deserves someone more elegant than me. Of course, I don't think he's going to remarry. I mean, if he was going to, don't you think he'd have done so by now?"
The question had been an innocent one. So the slim brunette was completely taken by surprise when the countess slapped her across her face, digging her claws into the girl's soft flesh as the nanny's glasses were torn from her face.
Savagely, Sai stamped as hard as she could on the corrective lenses, shattering them beyond hope of repair, even as an infuriated Baron ran to Haru's side.
The human hair covered her face as she looked away from the countess, numbly feeling the cuts on her face.
"How dare you-" Sai shrieked before the girl turned once more to face her. The rest of her insults became forgotten, as the human's face filled her vision.
Even with the cuts running across one side of her face, the girl was lovely. But the mounting fury in those huge dark eyes was unlike anything the countess had even seen before. The king's increasingly frequent fits bordered on madness, but there was a cold calculation in the humble nanny's eyes that made the king's anger seem insignificant in comparison.
"I think we should continue this discussion outside, where we won't bother the guests," Haru said in a chillingly calm manner, her eyes betraying her true emotions like a beacon. "I will not ruin Yuki's special day because of you."
The human flexed her fingers almost like talons, as her fingernails disappeared, only to be replaced with claws of her own, this time by conscious thought.