Tadsgirl: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like it.

EarthGurdian: As always with fairy tales, sometimes things don't get mentioned or they left out. It explains a little later about the marriage problem.

RogueFanKC: Wow you are spot on! I loved your review. Thank you so very much!

Sorry for the loooong update. I'll try to be faster next time.

Chapter III: But Keep the Old

Haru awoke a little before day break to find Baron standing with his back towards her. She smiled to see that he was watching the sunrise. He turned and with a bright smile, wished her a good morning.

"Good Morning to you too, Baron," she smiled back at him. Suddenly sighing, her good mood was broken when she remembered she had to cook a meal literally fit for a king. Rising, she ran a brush through her hair she hurried her way down to the kitchens with Baron on her shoulder.

She gave a bucket of water to the poor cook desperately cooking a meal for Mitsuki to give to her father. Luckily he was not cooking both meals, because Ying opted to send out from one from a different country. He gave her his heartfelt thanks and furiously stirred the pot on the stove.

She was just tying an apron around her waist and entering another area of the kitchen when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Standing in front of her was a large, fat white cat. It wasn't the fact that it was standing that startled her but that it was wearing a hairnet and an apron, and was apparently added seasonings to a large boiling pot.

Baron instructed her to set him on the countertop beside the stove. He calmly sat down observing the cooking process and said, "As you can see Muta," gesturing an elegant hand towards the cat, "is cooking the meal for you, so please sit down and relax."

Shocked speechless, Haru could only collapse into the nearest chair. Muta was mumbling something about whatever was in the pot not being salty enough and threw a dash in to compensate. He had a sleek coat of white fur, and spoke with a gruff voice. Standing on his hind legs, she could also see that it was immense, and could easily reach the stove. She grinned to see that he was very fat. She could never trust a skinny cook.

"Baron!" Muta shouted, "Toss me that jar above your head."

Haru was about to reach for it, when Baron, lifting his cane, knocked it off the shelf, caught it primly, and handed it to Muta to add to the pot. She smiled and could only watch with entertainment as the large fat cat called out orders and Baron found ingenious ways to carry them out.

For a moment, Haru feared that being cats they cooked something strange like stir fried mice, so she tried to sneak a peek into the pot. Muta quickly slammed a lid before she could see anything. Confused she looked towards Baron.

The proper cat just smiled and placing a single finger against his lips mischievously said, "It's a surprise, Haru."

Muta interjected with a gruff, "And we're not trying to poison him either."

Haru laughed merrily. That was exactly the next thought that had popped into her head after Baron's comment. She bent down and scratched Muta behind the ears. Muta purred contentedly because she had managed to find the purr-fect spot on his neck.

"Thanks Muta," she said gratefully. "You're welcomed anytime in our kitchen."

Muta answered with a louder purr.

Baron cleared his throat, "We should go before we're late, Haru."

With a start, she realized it was almost time for the judging, so she carefully grabbed the covered dishes and carried them into the main dining hall. She could smell a heavenly scent emanating from the dishes.

King Yoshi sat down at one of the main tables completely famished. Mitsuki first placed down her meal. It was the cook's fanciest meal of roast chicken, vegetable soup, and sticky rice. Taking a small bite of each, he pronounced it an excellent meal.

Haru rolled her eyes. Of course it was excellent; he had it everyday for lunch.

Next was Ying's meal. She whipped out a plate from a far away country. "Somewhere called Pah-ree Paris ," she said pronouncing it very badly. Yoshi nervously eyed the plate, and took a small bite of the crescent moon shaped bread (croissant), bread with ham and cheese, and fruit-wrapped pastry (crepes). He again pronounced it excellent despite his unfamiliarity of it.

Haru balked. She was unsure that her meal could compete with the King's biased opinion. She looked around wondering where Baron was. She spied him sitting on top of Muta's head by the doorway. Meeting his eyes, she was suddenly lost in his emerald orbs. He nodded his head, beckoning for her to present her meal. She remembered his advice of believing in her abilities. Suddenly she was instilled with confidence and striding forward, she placed the covered meal in front of her uncle.

Yoshi grinned broadly. He knew that his only decision was that one of his daughters' meals was good, and that Haru's was absolutely horrific. He began to waver though as he smelled something delicious just from covered dishes. He removed the cover and just stared in wonderment at what he saw.

It was exquisite. A blue bowl held a generous amount of duck soup with small green onion. The duck wasn't fatty and tender and the broth was exactly the right mix of flavor with very little oil. Next, sitting on a red plate, a small mound of fried rice with pork sausage generously mixed in met his mouth. Lastly, dessert was a sweet bun that was perfectly moist and soft. He soon found himself finishing every bite of the meal. When he was done eating he covered his eyes with his hand.

Haru was anxious to find out his expression after eating the meal Muta had made. She feared the worst when he leaned his head against the palm of his hand and completely covered his eyes. He suddenly looked up at her and she was surprised to find tears flowing down his cheeks.

"How did you know?" he croaked out in a hoarse voice. "This was the exact meal my mother would give me whenever I did well in school. I'd always do well just to have this meal. It tastes exactly the same too," he said in wonderment.

Unable to say a word, Haru swung her eyes over to Baron. He coyly placed a single finger to his lips again and his eyes twinkled merrily.

Turning back to the King unable to offer an explanation, Haru could only ask what his decision was.

Heaving a great sigh King Yoshi was forced to admit hers was.

"The next task will be to find me the perfect robe by tomorrow," and then he flew off into his royal chambers to remember the past which had been dredged up by the food.

Sighing with relief Haru ran over to where Muta and Baron stood. Baron was standing quietly by watching Haru as she threw her arms around Muta and hugged him fiercely.

"Thank you so much," she whispered into his fur. Muta could only duck his head and blush. "How did you know so much about him?" she asked.

Baron answered her, "The King as a boy had a kitten as a pet, though he was forced to give it up when he had to take the throne. Prince Lune tracked the kitten, now a cat, down and asked him what his former owner's favorite meal was. Muta is the best food connoisseur, so I thought he was the perfect candidate for the job."

Haru smiled widely at him, "That's ingenious, Baron!"

Muta snickered as he noticed a blush staining Baron's cheeks. He quickly bent over covering his laughter with his hands and pretended to have a coughing fit as Baron turned to glare at him.

Haru frowned suddenly remembering her uncle's next task. There were still another one after that she had to complete, and surely her uncle would do everything in his power to make her lose. She dreaded the fact that if she lost, she would have to serve in the palace for the rest of her days while one of her cousins and their idiot husband ruled.

Briefly she wondered if Baron would take her in, but quickly squashed the idea when she remembered that she could barely fit into his home. She heard an exasperated yowl coming from Muta, who had to return to the Cat Kingdom. She bent down and embraced him fondly, promising him full plates of food if he ever came over to the palace kitchens again. Waving goodbye, the content white cat sauntered off down the road.

Hearing her stomach growl, Haru realized that she had forgotten to eat lunch due to the excitement of the first task. Wondering what she was going to have to scrounge up in the kitchen, she heard a low baritone voice below her.

"Perhaps, my dear, you would like to accompany me to the kitchen?" Baron questioned her.

With surprise she nodded, and gently picked up Baron and placed him on her shoulder. He sat calmly with one hand placed against the back of her neck for balance, and the other holding his top hat and cane. She wandered back to the kitchen to discover two covered dishes warming on the stove. She uncovered one to find that it was toast with a sunny-side up egg, lettuce, and a slice of tomato.

Haru fondly remembered that it was the meal that her mother would torture her with whenever she woke up late. The other dish was much smaller in size, obviously meant for Baron.

Picking up both their meals, Haru announced, "It's such a lovely day, let's eat outside."

Baron smiled at her fondly, "That's a fine idea," he replied and when they reached the palace gardens they had their meal under the shade of a stately elm.

She had learned a great deal about him that day. She asked him why he did not live in the Cat Kingdom and he explained that he had been living alone in his little house for quite some time and was quite content with it, but he still retained his connections to the Cat Kingdom through Prince Lune and Muta.

After they finished their meal, and Baron had helped Haru with the dishes by skating on the plates with soapy sponge shoes, they sat around chatting with one another. Haru discovered that he had helped many people with their problems, no matter how large or small. She listened to his adventurous tales of scaling steep cliffs to find a blue robin shell a little boy wanted to give to his mother, or fishing a ring from a river because a nervous man had dropped it just before he could propose to his sweetheart.

She laughed gaily through all of his stories, but then asked him what he did for himself.

He paused for a moment and replied sedately, "I experiment with different blends of tea and I wait." He stared off into the distance suddenly.

"For what?" she couldn't help curiously asking. He didn't answer her, but changed the subject suddenly when he saw that it was getting dark. Fearing that she had affronted him, Haru lifted Baron up and headed back to her room. She had just placed Baron back onto the table when she remembered that she had not thought of how to sew a robe for the King.

"Don't worry, Haru. It's being dealt with," Baron said soothingly.

For a moment, Haru had a mental picture of Baron struggling with a sewing needle and thread and getting entangled in the many pieces of cloth it took to sew a robe. She giggled and crawled into bed.

"Night, Baron," she whispered to him. She could see his emerald eyes glowing in the dark, similar to those of most cats.

"Sweet dreams, Haru," he whispered back.

She fell asleep immediately and this time it was Baron who stayed awake into the night. His thoughts were certainly not about the contest though, but for a certain enigmatic girl.

Haru had an aura about her that was playful, joyous, and carefree. Baron believed that anyone else in her situation would have given up and toiled in the castle in anonymity for the rest of their life, but not Haru. She stood up and fought for her right to the throne, not for the title or the riches, but because of the injustice of a cruel king and for the fate of her kingdom. Baron often repeated his mantra of believing in oneself to all that he met, but he thought Haru was the one who most embodied it.

He vowed that he would help her through this no matter what the outcome was. Just as he drifted off to sleep, he felt a slight twinge of emotion in his heart as his eyes gazed on the sleeping Haru. Maybe, just maybe, he was falling in love with her…

Thanks for reading! The next chapter is very long, to make up for this one.

Grignard