Chapter Four: A Chance Meeting
Haru tightened her cousin's amethyst corset one more time, tying off the cords expertly. Louise grimaced slightly, but pinned the modest tiara to her hair, so it wouldn't fall off during her act. She giggled again, slipping the golden bangles over her wrists as the fancy red dress flowed over her slender body like water.
"There! How do I look?"
"Beautiful, as usual." Haru turned away, and wrapped a dark cloak around herself. Louise left off fixing her hair to shake her head sadly as her dark cousin carefully tied a strangely engraved steel mask over her eyes.
"Too bad you can't do more for the cause than sewing," she said softly. Haru gave her signature shrug, in the usual attempt to make it look like her ineptitude as a gypsy didn't bother her.
"I'll live. Have fun, Louise."
The blonde girl stole one more hug before wrapping herself in a dark cloak, so she could get to her spot in the streets without spoiling anything. The darker cousin walked out of the tent first, and started walking out of the caravan and towards the streets of Omal. The city was the capital of the kingdom, but Haru had never been particularly impressed with it. The prince hardly ever ventured out into the streets, and the king was so sickly that he might as well be a phantom in one of the stories Aunt Naomi told her. The brunette sighed, looking at her reflection while passing by puddles left by the rain of the night before.
Haru was wearing the navy dress she had admired earlier, and almost seemed to blend into the scenery. Even her steel mask looked like a sorry attempt to look mysterious. She sighed again, wishing…
As the young woman came closer to the enormous church that rivaled the palace in size, the sounds of merriment met her ears. Feeling a little better, she quickened her pace.
Suddenly, when she had just reached the corner of the church, a hand came out of nowhere, grabbing her wrist. She cried out, wheeling around to see an older man, with thinning salt-and-pepper hair. He was smiling sickeningly at her, and his breath was rancid with bad wine.
"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" he slurred. The brunette glared at him, and pinched his wrist sharply to make him let go of her.
"That is none of your concern, sir." It wasn't her first choice of words, but her mother had made sure that she had manners, at the very least. How come the only time men paid attention to her was when they were drunk?! The man laughed greasily, his eyes just a little too bright.
"Ooh, looks like I found a feisty one. Tell you what, sweetheart, I've got a pouch full of gold, and I'm feeling a little lonely-"
"No thanks," Haru said firmly, before turning to run. The man grabbed her hood angrily, catching a fistful of her long dark brown hair in the process and making her cry out in pain with a slight bit of fear and a dash of anger for good measure.
Oh, now he was asking for it! And the brunette was completely willing to give it to him! She lifted one foot in preparation to start her usual chastisement of overeager drunkards.
"Now wait a-AUGH!" He suddenly released her hood, making her stumble a bit in surprise and turn to see what had cut the drunkard off. Her eyes widened with amazement as she rubbed her scalp from the man's cruel grip.
A crow was sweeping gracefully into the air, a bit of hair in his claws matching the strands on the drunk's head, which now had a few sharp claw marks across it, which were bleeding profusely. The crow in question cawed like he was laughing. The drunkard held one hand to his forehead as his eyes turned red.
"You buzzard!" he shrieked at the crow before turning to face the girl again. He took a breath to yell at her, but then stopped, his eyes to her left. She looked over, a little surprised to see a man with a cat head next to her. His glowing green eyes were on the drunkard, and he was maybe a foot away from the brunette.
"Is there a problem here?" the feline stranger asked softly, his tone suggesting that there had better not be. The drunkard gulped, noting how tall the cat-man was.
"The girl's with me. We're busy-"
"Are you really?" the tall cat asked, holding his arm out to Haru, who twitched slightly.
"It looked to me like you were just leaving," the green-eyed man finished, gazing at the girl, whose eyes flicked to the drunkard again. She hesitantly put her hand on the dark sleeve as the crow dived for the older man's head again. He howled, leaning over and covering his head with his arms as blood stained the sleeves of his shirt.
"Enough!" the drunkard shrieked, running down the street, away from the festival grounds. Cawing evilly, like he was still laughing, the dark bird made a landing on the cat-man's shoulder.
Haru gulped nervously. She could have handled the drunk, but it was still kind of this man to intercede on her behalf. No one had ever done that for her before.
"Thank you, sir. Both of you," she added, looking at the crow, who bowed politely from his strange perch. The cat mask the tall man was wearing was pure genius, shifting around in a smile like it really was a face.
"My pleasure, miss. Just out of curiosity, are you here for the festival?"
She laughed lightly, noting in passing that there was now an extremely fat white cat walking on Baron's other side. How could he even move, through all that fat?
"Of course. I'm guessing you are too?"
He nodded solemnly, and started walking towards the noisy streets. Haru kept pace with him, since her arm was still linked with his.
"I've never been this close to a fair before," the man said softly, looking around at all the stalls and dancers. The girl on his arm smiled softly, deciding that he was harmless.
"Then let me show you around. I'm Haru Yoshioka, by the way."
The cat eyes blinked.
"I'm Baron. Just Baron."
She quirked an eyebrow, wondering if it was a title or his real name. With his manners, she could believe either. Suddenly, she pulled hard on his arm, making him stop. A fire breather showed off his skills just where Baron's head would have been, if Haru hadn't stopped him. His eyes widened, and he smiled again.
"I didn't realize it was so dangerous down here."
Haru laughed, moving him around the crowd to get into the easier flow of the street.
"It isn't, if you know what to watch for. So, was there anything in particular you would like to see, Baron?"
The cat mouth opened and closed nervously.
"Yes," he said slowly. "There's a gypsy girl that I was hoping to see dance at a close range. She's very easy to spot; long light blonde hair, fairly slim build, huge blue eyes-"
"And a decided preference for wearing purple?" Haru asked, somehow knowing what his answer would be as her heart sunk into her stomach. He nodded excitedly.
"Do you know her?"
Haru bit her lip, struggling to contain her emotions.
'Even now, when I'm with a complete stranger, it's all about Louise. I hate my life.' She looked ahead of them, and loosened her hold on his arm considerably, almost letting go of him entirely.
"I've met her once or twice."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Yes, I stole the 'you were just leaving' line from Howl's Moving Castle. It just felt right.