Hello Everyone!
Here's my second entry in the TCR fandom! I hope you'll like this story!
I'll be honest, I might not be very consistent with my updates, but I'll try my best!
I am not an English speaker, and I use gramarly to help me avoid mistakes, I hope it'll be okay for you!
Enjoy!
As soon as the cries left her daughter's lips, Naoko was running toward her room.
Her dear Haru, almost seven years old, was trashing and fighting against an invisible enemy in her bed, her limbs tangled in the bedsheets. The woman knelt next to her, avoiding a tinny fist that could have make her glasses fly to the ground, and took her daughter into her arms. She murmured nonsense into her child's ear, rocking her gently until the shivers stopped, morphing into ugly sobs.
"It… It was him, mom…" cried the little girl into her mother embrace.
"Who, little one?"
"It was the cat mom… He wanted me to marry him, but I don't want to!" she explained before bursting into tears once more.
"It's okay, sweetheart. I'm here, I'm going to protect you. He won't come here to take you, I promise." Murmured Naoko, her fingers combing Haru's dark hair, a faraway look in her eyes.
The woman had an idea of what might have caused the nightmares. After all, the last few months had been stressful for both of them. Even if there was a protection on her daughter's memories, she knew that it would take a toll on Haru's health if she didn't try to prevent them from coming.
"Listen to me, kitten," eventually said Naoko, "I have some friends that could help you to keep that evil cat away…"
The little sniffed, wiping her nose with her sleeve, "R-Really?"
The woman had to bit back a comment about how unladylike it was and nodded.
"Yes. They are the kindest persons I know, and I am sure that they won't mind to help you until you can deal yourself with this big bad cat." Explained the older woman, tickling her daughter at the end, making her giggled.
With a soft sigh, she helped Haru settled back into bed, "Now close your eyes, I am going to call them. I promise you that you won't have to worry anymore, okay, my treasure?"
"Okay, mom" mumbled Haru from under the covers, "Love you."
"I love you too, sweetheart."
With that, Naoko left the room, leaving the door slightly open to let a little light from the living room past.
Walking toward the kitchen, the woman sighed tiredly, rubbing her eyes, and prepare herself a glass of water.
She knew that her idea could be dangerous, as it would create a link that could allow those they had escaped nearly ten months ago to find them. Still, the situation was slowly but surely becoming dire as the nights passed. The single mother was running out of option.
Hoping that this decision wouldn't come back to bit her in the neck, she walked toward her working table, and from a hidden drawer, she pulled out a hand mirror.
Taking out her necklace from under her shirt, she brought it near the pearl at the top of it and murmured a few words under her breath.
The mirror surface clouded at her words, and roughly ten seconds late, a familiar figure appeared in it.
The man in the mirror was wearing black suit pants with a yellow waistcoat over a white shirt. The sleeves were rolled above the elbows, and everything would have seemed normal from an outsider perspective if it weren't for the fact that if his body looked human, his head was one of a cat. He was covered from head to toes by a dark grey fur, making his electrical blue eyes stand out even more.
Naoko couldn't help but smile in relief as she took into the tired, but alive, face of one of her oldest friends.
Her vis-à-vis had a similar relieved expression himself.
"Well, I had thought that you had forgotten everything about us!" said the man lightly in the mirror, even if Naoko could see that a huge weight had been removed from his shoulder.
"How could I when you are the reason that my daughter and I are still alive on this day?"
The man chuckled, shaking his head, and the woman could see that he had lost part of his left ear since the last moment she had seen him.
She decided to say nothing out of respect for him.
"I suppose you have something to ask me because I know for sure that you are aware of the risks you are taking by contacting me so soon after your escape."
"You know me too well, Duke," laughed Naoko, "It's about Haru."
Duke frowned, "What about her? Is she alright?"
"She is, but ever since we come here, she didn't have a single night without having a nightmare about… Him…"
The half-cat in the mirror frowned, "I guess that the repressing memories spell have some dire side effect then." He sighed and rubbed his eyes, "I should have thought about this possibility."
"We were in a kind of hurry when you cast it, I don't blame you for that."
"Still, I am not wrong by saying that she might have lost a lot of sleep since they started?"
Naoko sighed, "You are right, that's why I called you. I was hoping that you have a solution to keep them at bay. At this rate they're coming, I begin to fear for her health."
Duke scratched his chin with one hand, deep in thoughts.
"I may have an idea." Eventually said the half-cat, getting the attention of the woman.
"I am listening."
oOoOoOoOo
Haru was running. She knew that the monster was behind her, chasing her, cackling and the little girl couldn't help herself but sobbed as she tried to escape the shadow that was following her.
Then, suddenly, the dark corridors she was in disappeared, and the next moment, she was surrounded by stars.
Stopping dead in her tracks, she looked around her and realised that she wasn't chased anymore. A relieved sigh escaped her as she let her body float in the space that was surrounding her.
She felt that someone was caressing her head, telling her that she could now sleep peacefully. She knew it wasn't her mother, but maybe another child a little older than herself.
She wasn't sure.
But it didn't matter. Because for the first time for several months, Haru knew that she was safe in dreams.
So? What did you think? I'm looking forward to your opinions on the reviews!
Until next time, have a fantastic day and stay safe!
