THE CAPTAIN
Haru's last dream was very different from the ones she experienced—had she only known—while the Cat Baron was with her. She was once again alone with the Cat, who was standing in front of her in his Morning Coat, with his two hands firmly on his cane, and they were in her room. She couldn't tell what time it was, because the windows looked as if they had been covered by sheets of black velvet. The room was in a moody half-shadow that bore down heavily on her soul, oppressive and silent.
"Baron," Haru said softly, "if you must return to Louise, you must. But I'll take what I can, when I can. While I can." She started to undress, undoing the zip in the back of her yellow gown.
The Cat beheld her with a blank expression on his face.
"Baron?"
He stirred. "Haru, let's not cross a line we can't uncross." He stepped to her and put his hand over the one lowering her zip, stopping her. He fastened her dress back up.
Haru looked sadly down at the floor. "I guess you're right. But if you'll pardon me, I think I'm going to have a good cry."
He let her, and the tears were flowing down her cheeks when Baron put his hand under her chin and lifted her face up. "The summer of our love has come and gone. You must let it be that way, and let me go," he said softly. "Let our love go to its autumn and winter and bury it under the snow."
"I can't do that!" she cried. "I lo–"
The Cat suddenly covered her lips with his, in a long kiss that ended with them separating slowly. As they broke the kiss, Haru felt her heart breaking at the same time.
The cat gentleman looked at her. His own orbs were moist. Then, without another word, he turned and headed for the door.
"Baron!" Haru called, her voice pleading, even though she knew he wouldn't heed her, would continue walking away.
The Cat reached for the door and opened it. Standing on the other side, waiting with a beatific smile, was Louise, resplendent in her flowing, long-skirted light-blue gown, and with a magical city brightly lit by an eternal sun as her background. Golden tresses fell down the sides of her head in curling waves, and her teal-colored eyes looked at Baron in happiness. She extended her hand.
Baron took it and stood at her side. They waved to Haru, and as quickly as he had come into her life those years ago, the Cat left it, by vanishing into thin air with his beloved. The door to the other country closed of its own accord, and Haru remained standing in the middle of the room and wept bitterly.
------oOo------
No, no, no, she thought in anguish, even as dream gave way to reality; she woke up with still-closed eyes and found herself crying. Without knowing how she knew it, she knew she had been vouchsafed a vision of the future.
Is that what lies at the end for me? I knew I promised Baron I would only stay with him until we found Louise again, but why is parting so painful? I wish it wouldn't be so. I can't let it get me down. She opened her wet eyes and stared up at the dark-brown ceiling. I won't let it get me down. If I let it end like that all of this happiness will have been for naught. Better to face it with a smile, and go back to Kei-chan. If he'll still have me.
With an effort she sat up in bed. The dawn was near. Haru got herself moving, rummaging through the drawers and dressers for a decent set of clothes to wear. Then she brushed her teeth, took a shower and headed downstairs to the kitchen. One more day turning into history in her dalliance with Baron. She would make the most of it, and get rid of the guilty feeling she had about being a lazybones and letting everyone else do the work here as well.
------oOo------
"Sensei! What're you doing here?"
"Oh, hi, Haru," the elder woman greeted her, looking up from washing the dishes in one of the vast kitchen's large white ceramic sinks. "What brings you here?"
"I... well, I was going to help Windamary if I could."
"So you can. She's over there." With a nod of the head Shizuku indicated the farther end of the busy kitchen. "I'm sure she'll find you something to do."
Haru headed for Fort Lorum's chief of staff and found her supervising a throng of cats. The Russian Blue looked at her in surprise, then smiled as Haru explained her presence there.
"If you'll put yourself under Cameron's charge," she said, "I'll get a breakfast ready for that sweetheart of yours. When it's ready I'll call you and bring it up to his room."
"No, that won't be necessary," said Haru. "I'd... I'd like to bring it to him myself."
"Okay, then. And I'll have something for that glutton friend of his and the crow as well."
"Thank you, Windamary-shocho," Haru said, bowing to her.
"It's not a big deal, but having two of the King's guests helping here is very unusual. Oh, Cameron! Come here. Yes, good morning. Lady Yoshioka would like to help in the kitchen. Please take her under your paw and give her something to do."
"Yes, Mom," the little cat replied, bowing. "Good morning, Lady Yoshioka. Is your door giving you any more trouble?"
"No. Thank you for having it fixed."
"Not a problem. This way, please. A helping hand is always welcome."
------oOo------
"Aiya, is that how you cook squid rings in your world?"
Haru quickly took the wok off the fire. "Sorry, I guess I made the batter a little too watery."
"It's okay, but don't burn any more, we can't afford it. Here, let me make the batter while you turn the stove off first and cut up some more rings." The cat walked to the nearby refrigerator and busied himself doing something in front of it.
Chop-chop-chop went the fat-bladed knife, and soon Haru had two platefuls of the slippery decapods ready. In the meantime the little orange tom had come up with a large bowl of creamy, cold batter, and soon they had the wok heated and the train restarted.
"Much better," Cameron said as he sampled their effort. "Maybe a tad more salt." As Haru watched, a white jar floated off the condiment shelves high up on the wall and went into his hands. The servant unscrewed it and tossed a liberal amount of the crystalline substance into the batter. "That should do it."
As the cat returned the jar to the shelf, Haru said, "I wish I had magic powers." She carefully flipped some of the squid rings over.
"I wish I had a bigger body so the ladies would be interested in me," the tom returned evenly. "Or that I were as handsome as you are pretty, Lady Yoshioka."
"But you are cute," she said. "And you can call me Haru." She gave him a quick pinch on a furry cheek.
There was a rhythmic thumping sound that came from behind them, and they both turned around to see a cat in a fitting khaki uniform enter the room from the wide double doors on the opposite wall that served as the entranceway for the food carts and supply crates.
Cameron's eyes grew wide, and he straightened himself up and bowed.
"Captain Loriel, welcome. I suppose you're looking for your pitcher?"
Haru suddenly felt the temperature in the room lower by several degrees. She couldn't make out if it was purely in her mind, or was physical as well.
"Yes, Cameron. Have you seen it?"
If there was ever a combination of feline fatale and commanding presence personified, she was it. Taller than Baron, with white fur and coal-black ears, tail, paws and startling whitish eyes set within an ebon face mask, with a distinctive M standing out on her forehead and a body whose sexiness seemed to transcend species lines, Captain Loriel was a tabby whom no one would easily forget after seeing.
She had a pair of three-toed metal feet and lower legs, which seemed in Haru's eyes to add a barbaric flair to her glamour. These thumped on the floor as she walked, and she stopped short of the refrigerator to regard the person eyeing her.
"And who is this human, may I ask, Cameron?" Her voice, low and suspicious, held a note of hostility in it.
"A friend of King Lune's, Captain, who wanted to help out here." Cameron introduced Haru, who bowed to her.
"Nice to meet you," Haru said, not knowing the proper address or how to deal with the suddenly frosty look in the Captain's piercing gaze.
Captain Loriel looked a moment more at her, then made a perfunctory nod and turned away. She opened the refrigerator door. "Aaah. Here it is."
Haru had to bestir herself and look to the frying calamari. She was dumping them on a bed of tissues to absorb the oil when she happened to look back at the Captain. The cat had a large pitcher to her mouth, and was greedily gulping the contents down when a thin stream happened to overflow and trickle down the Captain's white-furred neck. It was scarlet red, crimson red, the syrupy red of—
"Blood?" Haru asked involuntarily. The Captain heard her and set the pitcher down on a nearby metal table.
"Yes, Lady Yoshioka," she answered, wiping the spill with a digit and sucking on it as she walked slowly towards Haru with an ominous look in her eyes. "It's blood. My favorite drink. This one's the best of them all." She stopped in front of Haru, and her gaze seemed to transfix her, impaling her where she stood. Her right paw slowly came up and lighted on Haru's cheek, giving it a featherlight caress that felt more sensual than the young lady cared to admit.
"A lovely human," Captain Loriel purred. "It's so unusual to see one this far in the Cat Kingdom. I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Edeline Loriel. I'm the leader of this installation." She smiled, and for the first time Haru saw—with considerable apprehension—that her fangs were very long and sharp.
Captain Loriel let go of her cheek, and her gaze settled on Haru's neck. "My favorite drink of all," she said in a voice that sent shivers through the young woman's body, "is human blood."
Haru's shock rose to the level where she regained her senses, enough to snap out of her mesmerization. She stepped back and quickly turned the stove down, as the wok was already smoking.
"D-dame," she stuttered, distrait. "Cameron, could you please pass me the bowl of blood—I mean batter!" The small cat gave it to her, and she refilled the cooker with raw rings.
All of a sudden there was a breath on her shoulder. "Mmm, that smells nice. Are we going to have that for breakfast?"
"Yes, Captain," came Cameron's reply.
Haru jumped out of her skin when she felt something warm and moist run across the skin at the side of her throat. It felt like—yes, it was—a tongue. Loriel, for some reason, was laving her exposed skin. Haru, confused and panicky, gave up her attempt at maintaining a cool façade and edged away from the cat behind her. "Please, don't stand so close to me," she requested. "A-and don't do that. I-I don't like it."
"Oh, I'm sorry," came the harsh voice at her ear "I didn't know you disliked that. I'll be on my way and leave you alone. Just let me just finish my drink," said Captain Loriel. She clonked back to her pitcher and knocked the contents down with a single gulp. Then she took it to a sink mounted against the wall, carefully rinsed it, and set it back on the metal table.
"Ah, that hit the spot. Helping out with the repairs on that bollixed ship sure takes the life out of one. Cameron, be sure to keep this filled for me, okay?"
"Yes, Captain."
"Then farewell for now. Oh, and a good morning to you, Lady Yoshioka." The tabby bowed and sauntered on her clanking legs out the door.
Haru breathed a noisy sigh of relief. The heat from the fire seemed to reach her chilled skin again. "So that's the famous Captain Loriel?"
"Yes, it was. Did she scare you, Lady Yoshioka?"
Haru nodded. "With her running her tongue over me like that?" She used the neck of her shirt to wipe herself. "What do you think?"
"No one's told you?" Cameron paused, as if weighing a decision in his mind. "The Captain's a vampire."
Haru paled. "Whaaaat?"
"Uh-huh. She died when she was struck by a horse-drawn cart in your world, but woke up again and found herself like that. She also lost her rear legs in that accident, so she isn't exactly fond of you humans."
"Is-is that pitcher really–"
"Filled with human blood? Yes. We buy it from your blood banks. Ever since she saved New Lorum from the pirates, the people have been grateful enough to provide her with free blood meals."
"She's never touched them?"
"She used to, that when she was still trying to cope with herself. There was a time in the distant past when she terrorized this town, when it was still called Lorum. For some reason, though, she had a change of heart, and since then she's never touched a cat hereabouts. It's very lucky for her she only needs a little blood. Usually a pitcher of the human variety lasts her a week."
"You people should have told me!" exclaimed Haru as she realized the terrible danger they had been in. "She might have fed on me or the Amasawas! I might have been turned into a vampire myself!"
"Lady Yoshioka," Cameron shot back in a surprisingly hard voice, "if she posed any threat to you King Lune would not have allowed you to come here. You're a stranger to this town and its ways, so I forgive you of what you said, but know this: you are insulting Captain Loriel and I won't have any more of it. You don't know what you're talking about."
"But what was that business of licking my neck, huh? She was tasting me, wasn't she? Are you in league with her?" Haru was on the verge of dropping everything and running out of the kitchen with Shizuku in tow. "A fresh supply of human blood on two legs, in the very kitchen in which she feeds? How convenient!"
"She was tasting you, yes. But she won't bite you. If she had bitten you, she would've been honor-bound to suck your blood until you died, until you couldn't turn into a vampire any more. But because she's developed a conscience, she doesn't do that any more, not without a very good reason. It's also why she stopped turning cats into vampires, like she used to."
"As for licking your skin, she does that so she can tell if you're someone she can trust or has to be wary of. She also knows first-timers are always scared of her, and doing that is her idea of a joke. A strange one, I grant you, but there it is."
"Well, it wasn't funny," Haru said petulantly. She stirred the squid rings. "No wonder I couldn't move."
"Oh, Lady Yoshioka, please trust me on this. I swear no harm will come to any of you humans from her, even though the Captain has reason to dislike you. If worse comes to worst, I can deal with her," reassured the servant. The possibility didn't seem to fill him with joy, if the look on his face was any indication.
"Cameron! I'm done with the dishes!" came the voice of Shizuku, who walked out from behind a rack of stacked trays, dishes, glasses and cutlery, wiping her hands on a rag. "Windamary says—Haru, what happened to you? You're as white as a sheet."
"Er–I met Captain Loriel," the younger woman answered. "Very interesting person." Very interesting? she thought in disbelief. I'm starting to sound like Baron.
Cameron chortled, and Shizuku looked at him, puzzled. "Oh, really? Was she the one who came in here? I could hear her walking around but didn't know who it was. Too bad. I would've liked to meet her. Cameron, Windamary's calling you. She's in the larder."
"Yes, I'll go. Lady Yoshioka, let's stop for now. I'll have one of the cooks take over." Haru bowed and turned to Shizuku, and Cameron left, muttering something about overtime pay.
"I'm sure you would've liked meeting her, sensei," she agreed with a straight face, wiping her hands on a towel and switching the burner off. "But you should bring a towel, and spray yourself with perfume," she cautioned. "Have you ever taken care of a dog?"
"No, why?"
"What does a dog like to do with its tongue?"
"Um, pant with it? Lick your face?"
Haru's laugh escaped her. Shizuku's quizzical look only intensified.
"Nothing, nothing. It's not important."
Shrugging, Shizuku dismissed the exchange and helped herself to a piece from the large bowl. "Hey, not bad."
------oOo------
Some time later, a long distance away, the Black Cat groaned and shifted in her hard wooden seat. Her buttocks ached, and she hazily recalled the orgy of drinking and eating she and some of the gang had indulged in after the group that had left for New Lorum returned.
When the long-faced and badly injured collection of dogs and cats came into the pirate lair, the Black Cat had given them a curt dismissal, ordering them to take care of their wounded. Then, several hours later, she gathered the ambulatory together and rebuked them for failing their mission. It was an unexpected setback; she had not expected the human friends of King Lune to be able to resist, except maybe for that Haru Yoshioka, and even then not against such a large force. Three against fifty, and the three won? Either they were very lucky or the pirates were very incompetent. During the scolding Louise had inwardly flinched; she had kept the idea a secret from Phaecis, who wanted nothing to do with and no one to touch New Lorum, but had banked that a success would mollify the Pirate King when he learned about it. But now...
The feast was her way of dealing with the matter; but the alpha dog, for some reason, hadn't shown up, and nobody knew where he had gone. Perhaps, one old soul speculated, he was once again roaming the island in one of those moody fits of his.
The Black Cat removed her legs from atop the table and saw the various foodstuffs still littering it. Sleeping cats and dogs were scattered throughout the bulb-lit hall, and their snores punctuated the silence.
She stood up and prodded the nearest cat, who woke and looked up at her with bleary eyes. "Ayuma," she said, "go check the generators. Tell me if there's still enough fuel."
The cat yawned and stretched. "Yes, ma'am." She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stumbled on unsteady legs out the main doors of the hall.
The Black Cat debated on whether to wake the rest of the crew and get their drunken butts out of the hall. Phaecis was sure to get mad if he saw his table and food in this sorry state. As she was about to shout at them, though, the muffled sound of something being dragged behind her made her pause and turn around.
In the shadowy light the gray Pirate King loomed large and silent. He held a quiet menace in his eyes, and a sack in his hands.
The Black Cat examined the bag. It had blood on the sackcloth, and as the huge Husky adjusted his grip on it an arm fell out and its paw dangled slackly...
She looked straight at the appendage. "Oh, Phaecis, did you really have to kill Evogöd? He was a fine subordinate."
At first the leader of the pirates didn't answer. Then he clenched a paw and growled, "You made me do it, Doctor. It is you, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"I told you never to send anyone against New Lorum. We dared enough destroying the Cat garrison two days ago. Now we have unnecessarily injured people and one who might not make it through the day." Sarpov, the dog whose throat had been crushed by landing on Seiji's pipe. "We may have proven our usefulness to each other in the past, but your continuing presumption is wearing my patience thin. Don't try me any more, or I will end this relationship of ours."
The Black Cat smirked. "You will? Oh, please, you're breaking my heart. If you had taken my advice and kidnapped them before they got to New Lorum–"
"We didn't know where they went, remember?" Phaecis reminded her. "Doctor, I'll let this slide, but I need to borrow your submersible."
"Which one?"
"The Platy. I need to drop this off." The Husky indicated the bundle.
"Oh? Where?"
"None of your business."
The Black Cat shrugged and scratched her leather shirt. Time for a morning bath, she supposed. "Fine, have it your way. She's all yours." The evil cat stretched luxuriously. "I'm going to take a shower." With that she strode up to the throne mounted at the further end of the hall, pushed a button on its back, and went into her lair through the door thus revealed. The stone shut behind her with a dull thud that woke some of the sleeping cats up.
Phaecis resumed dragging his burden to the hidden docks.
------oOo------
"Anata, what's that you're writing?"
Seiji looked up from the small table. "Evening, Shicchan. Nothing much. Would you mind if I went back to La Ballade tonight? There's something I need to do."
Shizuku sat down beside him. "Of course not. I was sort of hoping we could have a nice, quiet night together."
"Later, I promise, I'll be at your beck and call. I won't be long."