Three months later…
The nineteen year old brunette rolled around on the floor in one of the sitting rooms as two kittens climbed all over her. Haru giggled as their whiskers skimmed over her skin. Baron, in his full cat form, walked over to Haru and prodded one of the kittens resting on her stomach. He gently picked the kitten up by its scruff, with his teeth, and set it on the floor. The kitten squeaked in protest. Baron meowed something to it and grabbed the next one.
"Is it time to go already?" Haru asked as she brushed the cat fur off her pale purple dress. Baron nodded. Haru looked at the clock, and sure enough it was noon. As the clock chimed, a blue portal opened up. The kittens mewled in glee and darted through the glowing circle. Haru's lips twitch into a smile from amusement and followed the kittens to the Cat Kingdom. Baron stayed where he was and watched the portal close.
Haru wandered down the corridors of the castle. She knew the place like the back of her hand now. Visiting the place every other day had its advantages. Haru had the reading and writing of the language of the cats down too. There were just a few problems she had when it came to different writing styles. She felt proud of herself. "Haru!" a voice called out. Haru turned around to see Lune and Yuki coming towards her.
"Thank you for kittensitting. I hope they weren't too much trouble" Yuki said as her and Lune's two kittens ran up to them.
"Not at all. Baron and I enjoyed watching them. They were so much fun to spend time with" Haru said with a dismissive wave of her hand. Lune grinned.
"Are you and Baron having any kittens anytime soon?" Lune questioned. There was a hint of mirth in his eyes. Haru blushed.
"That's none of your business" Haru said with a childish stamp of her foot. Lune chuckled.
"My apologies for riling you up, Haru"" Lune said with a mock bow.
"Yeah, okay. I'm going to the library. I think I might have found some useful information on what the Von Gikkingen relic is" Haru said in anticipation. Lune nodded his head. His whiskers twitched in amusement at Haru's enthusiasm.
"You better get going then. Do you need Yuki to help translate?" Lune asked.
"If you wouldn't mind" Haru said as she looked over at the white feline.
"Not one bit" Yuki said as she followed her human friend to the library.
"I wouldn't have asked for your help, but I think the words I keep reading are in poem or riddle form. The style of writing is throwing me off" Haru said guiltily.
"Don't worry. You'll get better at it. You almost have it all learned" Yuki said proudly. Haru beamed at her friend.
"Ah, here. It is this little section" Haru said as she pointed to a page in one of the leather bound books. It was a hand written autobiography. Yuki examined the text. She read it aloud to Haru.
"It seems that it is a riddle" Yuki said. "It will be fun to solve."
Haru nodded her head even though she wasn't really paying attention. The words of the text just kept reverberating in her head.
Of animal or human you shan't be
Only one's first true love can be the key
To return to norm, she must destroy
The hollow sun that holds an eye, a sphere that stops the ploy
When it ends, exterior retreats
But afterwards, there will still be treats
"What does that mean?" Haru blurted out in frustration. "It was obviously about Baron's curse. His ancestor must have upset a cat magician and gotten himself turned into a cat. But what does it mean about a hollow sun with an eye?" Yuki shook her head.
"I don't know."
"I think I found the only clue that I will ever find about this mysterious relic. It's not much, but it's better than nothing. Thank you for your help, Yuki. I think I'm done using the castle's library. I read every book that could possibly lead me to clues about Baron's curse, and the riddle is the only useful information I found. There is no point in researching anymore."
"I understand. I'm sure you can figure the riddle out. You're smart. Talk to Baron about it. You can figure it out together. Maybe he'll remember something about the curse when he hears it" Yuki suggested.
"Good idea. Thank you, Yuki, especially for putting up with me when I got frustrated" Haru said as she gave her friend a hug.
"Anytime" Yuki said. "Don't forget to come and visit!"
"I won't" Haru said as she flashed Yuki a glimpse of her engagement ring. Haru touched the cat's eye gem on her ring and a blue portal appeared. Haru stepped through and came out in her and Baron's bedroom. Haru rubbed her ring one more time to close the portal. She was happy that Lune was kind enough to enhance her and Baron's rings so that they could open up portals to the Cat Kingdom. Lune and Baron wanted to make sure that the royal family of the Cat Kingdom and the Von Gikkingens stayed in contact often. Both families wanted their descendants to stay close friends.
Haru sighed as she walked over to her wardrobe. It was brand new and matched Baron's perfectly except that it was a little more feminine looking. Haru rubbed the smooth wood. Her hand stopped its action when the door opened.
"Haru? I didn't know you were coming back so soon, love" Baron said as he walked to Haru's side. Haru smiled up at Baron and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"I decided to stop researching information on your curse in the castle's library. It wasn't helpful. The only helpful thing I found was this riddle about your curse. I couldn't figure it out. I was hoping we could solve it together" Haru said as she stood on her toes to kiss Baron. Baron purred deeply at the sign of affection from Haru. He pulled away with a goofy smile on his face.
"I don't know if I can help, but I'll try my best" Baron declared. Haru nodded frantically and dragged Baron over to the bed. She repeated the riddle to him with precision to make sure she didn't get it wrong and so that he could understand it. "I understand the beginning with having to have my first love break the curse, but the rest is just words to me." Haru frowned and snapped her fingers.
"Drat! That's only how much I understood too" she said. Haru put her chin in her hand in thought. She looked over at Baron, who got up and went over to the window to look outside. No doubt he was thinking about the riddle too. Her eyes focused on his shining gold cat's eye ring. It shimmered in the sun. Haru's eyes widened.
The hollow sun that holds an eye, a sphere that stops the ploy.
Haru jumped up from the bed and ran over to Baron. She grabbed his shoulder and shook it. "Baron! Baron! Baron! Let me see your cat's eye ring!"
"My ring? Whatever for?" he asked even though he was already slipping it off his finger to hand it to her. His body immediately grew fur. Haru didn't say anything as she took the ring from him and rushed out of the room. She came back a minute or two later with a cast iron skillet in her hand. She had a crazy look in her eye. "Haru, what are you doing?" Baron asked as he eyed the skillet then his ring.
"Trust me" Haru said even though it sounded like she didn't trust herself. Haru set the ring on her dresser and stared at it for a second before raising the skillet above her head.
"Haru, wait! What are you doing?!" Baron said as he rushed forwards to save his ring. If it broke, then he wouldn't have anyway to turn back into a human. The thought scared him. But it was too late. By the time Baron reached for the ring, Haru already brought the skillet down on the family heirloom with force. A sickening thud could be heard. Baron screamed as his body began to glow and his fur painfully retreated back into his skin. Haru rushed to his side. Tears were running down her face.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know it was going to hurt" Haru sobbed as she latched herself to Baron who was writhing on the floor in agony. After about five minutes of a permanent transformation, Baron stopped wriggling on the floor. Haru squeezed his hand tightly. "Baron? Baron? Are you okay? How do you feel?" Haru asked in a panic. Baron opened his eyes to look at his wife. He choked out a sob of relief.
"Human" he said as he pulled Haru down on top of him. "Thank you." Haru laughed out in relief and kissed Baron on his warm pink lips. Baron began to purr. Haru gasped and pulled away. Her eyes scanned his face. Another line to the riddle came to her.
But afterwards, there will still be treats.
"I guess when the riddle said there would still be treats, it meant your purr. I wonder if you have other cat qualities. Here, can you understand this?" Haru said as she began making cat noises. Baron's ears twitched at the familiar language.
"You're speaking cat. You just said you loved me" Baron said. Haru grinned.
"So you got to keep your purr, you can understand cats, so I'm guessing you can still read and speak cat too" Haru concluded.
"I suppose so" Baron said as he sat up. Haru got off him and pulled him to his feet. Baron stumbled, but Haru was there to help him stay upright. He looked over at his broken ring on the dresser. Surprisingly, the cat's eye gem was still intact. "I can't believe my family's ring was the relic that the curse was tied to. Who would have guessed that what turned us human was also the thing that made us a half-cat?"
"Maybe that's why no one suspected it to be the relic" Haru said as she picked up the cat's eye gem. "At least the gem is still in good shape. You can get a new ring made and put this back in it. That way you can still use it to go back and forth between our world and the Cat Kingdom." Baron took the gem from Haru and inspected it. It was a little dull looking now. The magic was gone. He handed Haru the gem again as he opened the door with his free hand.
"I think that's a splendid idea" Baron said as he led Haru out of the room. "Let's go now, shall we?"
"Alright" Haru agreed as she and Baron walked down the hallway. They strolled right past a brawling Toto and Muta. Toto and Muta stopped fighting to stare at an overly happy Baron and Haru.
"Haru? Baron?" they asked as the followed the couple to the door. It was only then that they noticed the cat's eye gem in Haru's hand and not on Baron's finger or on a ring. They gawked at the couple.
"B-B-Baron, h-how?" Muta blubbered. Toto reached forward and snatched the gem from Haru's hand. He then grabbed Haru's hand to see her engagement ring. His eyes flickered back and forth between the two gems. He then grabbed Baron's hand. He tore off Baron's white gloves to make sure this wasn't a trick. Shockingly, there was no ring under Baron's gloves either.
"Are you…you know…human?" Toto asked. "Did Haru break the curse?"
"Indeed" Baron said as he raised Haru's hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. He stared into her eyes lovingly.
"How did you manage that, Chicky?" Muta questioned. Haru smiled and explained what happened from since she woke up to the moment she destroyed the relic. "I always knew you could do it!"
"Thank you" Haru said.
"Good job" Toto agreed.
"If you'll excuse us, Haru and I would like to take get a new ring made for my family's heirloom" Baron cut in.
"You can't go without us!"
"I believe we can" Baron said as he looked down at Haru with a knowing smirk. Haru looked up at him with the same wicked expression. Haru rubbed her cat's eye gem and a blue portal opened up behind them. Baron and Haru stepped back and disappeared as Toto and Muta lunged for them. The portal closed up a second later. Toto and Muta crashed into each other and landed on the ground.
Haru and Baron immediately summoned another portal to appear in the Cat Kingdom, to lead to the jeweler's. Haru sighed out in content as she and Baron entered the human world again. She rested her head on his shoulder. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. Together they walked into the store.
A/N: Next chapter is the last one. It is sort of a last chapter/epilogue thing. I'm not sure what to call it. Please review before the story ends. Also, I know Haru figuring out the curse seems rushed, but she is a smart girl. It wouldn't take her that long to figure everything out.