A/N: InYuJi did it again! She made another page of fanart for this fic, and her depiction of Haru as Christine is just lovely. If that isn't enough to tempt you to look at it, she's even got Muta in the kilt! An extra amount of love goes out to her, firstly for doing the artwork, and secondly for getting me hooked on A Monster in Paris before it's even out.
Don't forget to check out and vote for Phantom's Confidant on her profile! I would if I could!
mmMmm
Chapter Thirty Seven: Worth Forgiving For
If I'm wise,
I will walk away,
And gladly…
But, sadly,
I'm not that wise,
It's hard to talk away
The mem'ries that you prize!
Love is worth forgiving for!
Now I realize-
Everything worth living for
Is there, in his eyes!
In His Eyes, Wildhorn's Jekyll and Hyde Musical
xxXxx
'Grade A certified idiot. That's me, all right,' Inspector Jones inwardly lamented as he drove down the lonely road that led to the von Gikkingen manor.
He had to be an idiot. No one else would have left an innocent teenage girl to be seduced by an old lord, and then persuaded to marry him.
Well, nearly innocent, in any case. If the files he had looked up on the Moon girl were of any indication, she was very good at getting herself into trouble in Japan as well.
So why did he feel such a wrench of pity for her?
The inspector gave a short, humorless laugh, and maneuvered a turn in the road before accelerating. Who wouldn't feel pity for a girl with half a face? Especially since she was only trying to save her mother's life?
After what felt like eternity, he pulled up to the tall iron gates of the von Gikkingen manor.
The guard standing in the small shelter next to the gate leaned out to get a good look at him. He grinned, and opened the gate before the policeman had a chance to ask. "I'll radio the lord for you, Inspector."
"I'm not here for the lord," he answered shortly before driving through the tall gate. Within seconds, he had parked his car outside the manor, and was marching up to the main doors.
An elderly butler opened it from within, and bowed politely. "I suppose you wish to speak to the lord, Inspector?"
"Not precisely, my good man," Jones responded, sharply reigning in his temper. "I'm here to speak to Haru Moon."
"As you wish, although that isn't her name anymore. She married the lord, you see," the butler informed him before leading him deep into the manor.
"Yes, I'm well aware of the fact," Jones sighed, wishing that he would pick up the pace as they approached the stairs. 'I should have listened to Father about him when I had the chance.'
"We thought you would be. In all honesty, we expected you to pay a call on us long before now."
Jones stiffened his jaw a bit from anger, but said nothing. How could the servant be so callous about his master's inappropriate behavior?
At last, they stopped at a door on the second floor of the manor. The butler knocked on it respectfully while clearing his throat. "My lady? Inspector Jones wishes for a moment of your time."
"Must you call me that, Matthew?" a slightly familiar voice complained from within. "But go ahead and send him in."
Matthew opened the door and bowed to the cop respectfully. Jones nodded in acknowledgement, and stepped through the threshold.
What he saw made him stop cold in his tracks, even as the door shut behind him.
Haru's head and right arm were wrapped in paint-spotted bandages, and her hair was a great deal lighter than he remembered. The young girl was standing by a large canvas that was facing away from him and towards the window. She washed her paintbrush in a water-filled jar, and stiffly set it with the others before looking at him.
Even her gaze was different from what he remembered. This was no longer a scared teenager he was dealing with.
"It's nice to see you again, Inspector. Especially since I didn't have to beat anyone up this time," she said hoarsely with a pained laugh, just before stopping and touching her throat. "Right. Not a good idea," she muttered to herself as a diamond ring on one finger caught the light from the window behind her.
"Just what happened to you?" he asked in horror.
"A lot. Oh, you mean the bandages?" she asked while cleaning her hands on a rag. "I got sick of all the scars, so I had them removed and got my throat fixed. I probably should have waited, but I was through with avoiding mirrors, and I hate going mute. Would you like some tea?"
"… No thank you," Jones managed to say, taking a few steps closer to her. "Did… your husband make you do it?"
She gave another laugh, wincing underneath her bandages. "No. He honestly doesn't care what I look like, as long as I'm happy. He didn't pay for the surgeries, if that's what you're wondering."
"I see. Who did, then? Your parents?"
"Nah. I've been saving up my earnings from being Baron's illustrator. You'd be surprised how well it pays, plus I've been doing some commissions."
Jones looked at her for a long moment, noting her lighter hair. "You've changed a great deal, since we last spoke," he said carefully.
She smiled, but then winced and touched her bandaged face. "I have, haven't I? I'm actually happy now."
He sighed, and decided to stop with the small talk. "Haru… I'm worried about you. I'm not just talking as a policeman; there's a number of people in the village that are worried about your…"
"My marriage to Baron?" she asked bluntly, her tone turning a little stiff.
"Yes. Haru, I know I should have mentioned it earlier, but I showed my father a picture of you, and he says that-"
"I bear a certain physical resemblance to Baron's old fiancée, Lucy Cross?" she asked, cutting him off with a dead tone.
He stared at her with shock. "You already knew?"
"Recently. I'd have appreciated if someone would have spoken up before this month, though," she growled, pressing her bandaged hand against her forehead. "I found out before I married Baron, if that's what you're worried about."
"Well, that was only part of it, Haru. My father and I are worried that… you'll disappear, too," he said in a soft tone.
Haru gave a harsh laugh, and promptly held both hands to her throat from the pain. "I wouldn't worry about that, if I were you. I'm not going anywhere; I have everything I could possibly want here."
"That's what Lucy thought as well," he reminded her in a tight tone.
"I have a bit more confirmation than she did." She gave him a sideways glance, and smiled painfully. "Baron currently has five death threats hanging on his head, if anything happens to me. I wouldn't be all that shocked if he were hiding a few more from me. Not that he really needs threats to stay on good behavior; he's always treated me like a lady."
Jones looked at her for a long moment. "Would one or two of those threats be from your parents?"
"Dad was the first one." Then she sighed, and gently placed one hand on each of his shoulders.
"I know you're probably not going to listen to what I'm about to say, but you still need to hear it. I married Baron for one reason, and one reason only. I'm madly in love with him, and for some crazy reason, he feels the same way about me. I was aware of what would come with being his wife when he proposed. I know that there's probably not a single person in England that really approves of the marriage outside the estate, and my parents aren't very happy about it, either. But they're putting up with it because they really don't have a choice in the matter, and neither do you."
He stiffened from the last part.
"I'm not going to disappear," Haru repeated forcefully, patting one of his shoulders. "You did your duty by trying to warn me, but I really don't need it. Besides, Baron's not dumb enough to try what you're thinking. He's seen my 'fits' up close and personal, and you've just seen the aftermath, remember?"
"Well…" he said uncomfortably.
"I can flat out guarantee that nothing's going to happen to me, Inspector. I'm not the lady Lucy was, but she wasn't the fighter that I am, either. Baron understands that, and I wish you would, too." Then she winced, and held one hand to her slim, bandage-covered neck. "My throat isn't feeling good, sir. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?"
Jones sighed tiredly, realizing how futile it was to dissuade the girl from her chosen course. "What about children? Is Doctor Gikkingen all right with possibly losing his claim to the-" He sharply cut himself off, seeing the sudden agony in the young girl's eyes.
"… We'd love for that to be a problem, Inspector. But it isn't. Baron told me months ago that he can't father children. We even thought about adoption, but that didn't feel fair to Toto, as you just pointed out. It's only right for the baronetcy to pass though the natural family. Our niece and nephew will have to be enough, along with my sister when she's born. Unless it's a boy, but I just have a feeling that it's going to be a girl."
"Your mother's expecting?" he asked with shock.
"Yes. You're finding out all sorts of things, aren't you?" Haru asked tiredly, turning to her canvas in front of the window. She tapped one of her brushes against the jar it had been resting in, and picked up her palette to resume her work.
A little curious, he walked around the canvas to see what she was working on. His jaw dropped in astonishment.
Most of the canvas only had pencil markings in the shapes of bodies and faces, but there was two faces in the middle right that were being given exceptional detail.
It was her and the baron, caught in a deep embrace with each other. Only half of her face could be seen, but it was unmarred and perfect. Her hair was the newer, toffee color that was peeking between the bandages on her head.
Most importantly, however, was how happy they looked together.
"This is a family portrait of everyone in the estate," Haru said softly as she added details to her husband's top hat. "This is the family I used to dream about, and I almost walked away from it when I found out about Lucy. I don't make the same mistake twice, Inspector. Baron and I are ready for whatever happens in the years to come."
Inspector Jones stared at her and her work in progress for a long moment, noting the amount of care she was putting into each brush stroke.
At last, he was forced to admit defeat. "Your bandages are due to surgery, correct?"
She nodded mutely, and continued her work.
"Then I assume you won't mind if I come back in about two weeks or so, to see how well it came out?" he asked, just in case she was really trying to hide a wife-beating incident from him.
"Not at all. Are you sure you don't want some tea?"
"No thank you, but could you give your husband a message for me?"
Haru looked up at him curiously.
"Tell him there's another death threat to add to his list, because I won't sit by and wait for evidence if something happens to you," he said in a low growl.
She laughed, and patted his shoulder with the hand that didn't have fresh paint on it. "I'll tell him, and thanks for caring."
He gave her a tight smile, and touched her good cheek gently before letting himself out of the study. As he walked down the stairs, and let himself out the front doors, he couldn't help but think about the young girl's words.
It was strange, but he wasn't half as worried as he had been, when he heard of the Baron's marriage. He knew that he shouldn't shrug off this case just over her words, and yet he could hear her soft voice repeating itself in his mind, over and over.
"Baron and I are ready… Baron and I are ready…"
She had meant every word; he saw it in her gaze.
He shook his head a bit as he opened the door to his car, and prepared to slide into the driver's seat. But then something caught his eye from a large window, forcing him to step away from the car and around a large tree to get a better look.
Haru was no longer alone in her studio. The baron was in the room with her. He could see them talking, making the policeman squint his eyes a bit to read their lips.
"… handled beautifully, love."
"Thanks. I just wish we could have told him everything."
"Everything?" Jones whispered suspiciously. What more had she hidden from him?
The baron sighed, and pulled her into a gentle embrace. As her arms trailed up to surround his neck, Inspector Jones was greeted with the exact pose Haru had depicted on the canvas.
"I know, Haru. If things had been a little different…"
"But they aren't," she finished, looking up with her large brown eyes. Then she smiled enough that even the Inspector could see it through her bandages. "At least we have each other, now."
The lord gave her a melting smile, and brushed one hand over her covered cheek. "Amen to that."
Then he leaned over to kiss her sweetly. She melted against him, running her hands through his thick orange hair.
Jones was almost awed by the way he was holding her. Not even china dolls were usually given such care.
"Ah, Inspector!" Toto von Gikkingen said out of the blue, startling him from his silent watch. "I'm so sorry for taking so long, but I can explain everything-"
"There's no need," Jones said, once he got his heart rate under control. Then he pointed up to the large window. "I can see what is happening quite clearly."
Toto looked up at the window and blanched. "Can't they even close the curtains first?" he muttered furiously.
"I'm glad they didn't. This assures me even more than the discussion I had with… the baroness." He made a slight face at the word, since she didn't look or act like a baroness.
Toto laughed. "Whatever you do, don't call her that to her face. As far as we're concerned, she's still Haru."
Jones gave a warm smile, and sighed as he walked back to the car. "In case she forgets, inform the lord there's another threat to add to the list."
"Certainly. But, why are you walking away so soon? I thought for sure that you would have been a bit more…" he paused, trying to find the right word.
"Angry? I was, but Haru can be quite convincing, with or without the window display." The inspector slipped into the car, and shut the door behind him.
Whatever else they were hiding from him, at least he could be sure of the girl's safety.
But just as he turned the key to make the engine roar to life, he remembered something.
He stuck his head out of the open window to look at the doctor. "Would you mind telling the both of them one more thing? I'm afraid I was too distracted to say it earlier."
Toto looked at him in confusion. "… Of course. What would you have me say?"
Inspector Jones grinned, and set his car in reverse. "Tell them congratulations."
ooOoo
Haru was blissfully happy in her new husband's arms. Not even her wildest dreams could compare to how she felt, right now.
Then for some unwelcome reason, Baron pulled away from her. "Oh dear," he said with an embarrassed chuckle.
"What is it?" she asked in her normal voice, since she didn't have to fake a surgery anymore.
"Toto can see us," he reported sheepishly, shifting her slightly to the side so he could close the curtain. "I wouldn't be surprised if the good inspector saw us before driving away."
"Oops," she giggled, squeezing him a bit harder. "We probably should have thought of that. Oh, honey, I'm sorry; I got paint all over your clothes again," she fussed, looking around for a clean towel.
"Darling, it's all right," he laughed, leaning forward for another kiss. "It's just one of the quirks of marrying an artist. I rather like your latest piece, by the way," he added, grinning at her depiction of them.
But then he gave a regretful sigh.
"What was that for?" she asked worriedly.
"… I'm still troubled, that our weddings were so rushed. You deserve better."
"Baron, we've been through this," she said sternly, placing her bandaged hand on his cheek. "I'm just happy that I'm your wife. The fact that I'm married to you is the biggest miracle that's happened to me yet. I don't care about a big fancy ceremony or anything like that. I've got you, and that's what matters. I love you, by the way." She kissed him again to prove her point.
She felt something wet fall from his face to hers, likely a tear. In any case, he was more than willing to take her into his arms again, and kiss her in that sweet, irresistible way.
As she kissed him, it suddenly struck her, how perfectly balanced she and Lucy were, when it came to Baron. Whether or not she had been Lucy once upon a time, his first love would always remain the keeper of his past, while Haru intended to guard his future just as protectively. Lucy was his girlfriend and fiancé, and Haru was his best friend and wife.
'Dad was right. The only real change is that we're much more affectionate than before.'
Suddenly, her husband slipped a small paper into one of her hands. Haru broke off the kiss briefly to glance at it. She inhaled sharply, and looked up at Baron in amazement.
He smiled charmingly at her. "We may not have had a wedding worthy of you, but I wanted to ensure that the honeymoon would make up for it."
"Germany?" she asked excitedly. "Are you serious?"
"Of course. For two whole weeks, after our lunar appointment, and after the inspector sees the new you. A little late, perhaps, but-"
"It's fine," she interrupted, squeezing him from around the neck so that she could kiss him better.
"The best things in life are worth waiting for."
xxXxx
Lots of love goes out to; rinoaheartilly9485, dribnevar, Nanenna, Bloodsong, Catsafari, CaptainBillyTheWerewolf, YunaLee, inujisan, neko girl, laurashrub, katdemon18, mizgardenia21, viktoria, PrayerGirl, Lunae Ariae, mistress of mist, Rini's Ghost, Lady Moon Dragon, Aperio, Color-de-la-Musica, Weather Goddess, Orihime-San, Angel of Love and Fluffy Stuff, NINJAkitten214, splattermusic, PeaceLightVictory, Alice O'delle, aznchocoholic, Halle78657, annemarie, chantal, Ganduean-Vampiress, Angelus Draco, vikkie, Utsuro, ShadowXMoonlight, Suki-Alanna, KathySacuba, Ebony Mitsu, alynawatlovers, Raye of the Sunshine, Nichelle M, thetankgirl, nonimouse, MossflowerSquirrel, TheWorldOnlyISee, SilentSiren1526, Yva J., Sarabear2275, beautifullife, Shatatomyo, cwuizumi, beyondtheskies, kari910, , Cecily Mitchell, Sayrika, Greenhemoglobin, Elvin Magi, UnstableFable, Bambi4ever, Tanya Rayne, Warrior Medic, Thundercat, Kage Hasu, Midnight the Black Fox, starkitty, Darkness' Forbidden Scribe, Dendey, CC21, Cutekoala, Voldemort (courtesy of Kathy Sacuba, lol), Elita One, , poakkis, The GamerSwordsman, hmm, strawberryshinobi, EarthGurdian, theBurgundyRose, Cardboard Remains, The-Right-Girl, Marlene00891, Kitani, delilah hunter, Ducklin, Tigereyedgirl, JoJo53, Elizabeth, Strawberry White Tiger, Emily the Tsarina of Tokyo, Red-hEadNightlOver, Kerei Happiness, YAYfanfics101, BelleBeauty2694, Smufy-Fluffy, Iria the Seeker, Naa-chan, Grifffalconheart, B, Tamashi no Kuroneko, bluehatter, Be one with Mother Russia, NutMaeg, curious, Anonomous-Allstar-Fan, James Birdsong, AlphaSigma, sailor star rainbow, yem0417, Airene, marissa, Ms-Lady-Phoenix, XxPeaceful DarknessxX, The Spiked Dragon, fringeperson, Savannah Cullen, elyador, Black Star Dragoon, II Yuna-Chan II, and Victoria Pendragon for their reviews. I think you guys are great, even if my spell check despises a majority of you.
Inspiration for this story came from The Secret Garden, standard werewolf stories along with Hollywood myths, Phantom of the Opera, the Invisible Man, Jekyll and Hyde, a touch of Hades and Persephone, only with an unwilling Persephone this time, and another touch of Orpheus as well as Sleeping Beauty for the first chapter. Also from a movie called Daddy Long Legs; LucyMint was the one to suggest a story like that. This was also partially a response to someone who, once upon a review, said something to the effect that I keep killing off parents or turned them evil. So there; I can make them last through the entire story and still be good people!
Okay, guys; there's something a little different about ending this story. You see, there was another chapter I wrote, but ended up cutting out of the story because it was a filler and delayed some important parts that some of you were really impatient for. Let me know if you want me to go ahead and post it at the end of this as a deleted scene, okay?
I'm rather proud of my next piece; it took me almost a year to write it. Hope all of you like it when it comes out.
When destiny beckons, what can a cat and crow do?
I will be super-impressed if people figure out what fairy tale this is mostly based off of.
Lots of love,
YC