Chapter Seventeen: The Surprise
Haru looked around the enclosure, not seeing anything out of the ordinary as Baron closed the door behind them. He had already proudly shown her the spectacular view of the city, both during the day and night, so that couldn't be it.
"What's the surprise?" she asked. The tawny half-cat turned to her, smiling brightly.
"Just a small theory of mine." He bowed grandly for her, getting the girl to laugh softly.
"Would you care to dance, Haru?" he asked.
The young woman seemed to freeze into a block of ice, her eyes wide with horror.
"Baron… I've told you about me and dancing."
"And I highly doubt you're that clumsy," Baron said, rising to his feet. He smiled warmly, and held out a gloved hand to her.
"Just trust me," he repeated, clearly hoping that she would. Her heart began to speed out of control, imagining her dear friend as a pile of broken bones and fur. But, so few people before him had ever asked for her trust…
Praying that she wouldn't regret this later, she hesitantly gave Baron her hand. His warm fingers gently closed around it, and then pulled on the girl enough so that her body had nearly collided with his. With his other hand, he placed hers on his shoulder, and then held her waist respectfully.
Her skin seemed to ignite with sparks at his touch, making the girl shiver slightly as Baron started guiding her through an easy box step. He chuckled at her, the sound bordering on a purr.
"You do know you can trust me, right?"
She nodded quickly as another shiver raced up her spine.
"I trust you. I… just don't… usually get this close to guys besides Father Hashio."
He nodded sympathetically, turning the box step into a rotating one, as long as the girl was too nervous to notice.
"If it makes you feel better, you're the second girl I've ever come this close to. Mother was an exquisite dancer, but I haven't exactly had a partner since she died."
Haru laughed softly, her steps now strangely in sync with the feline lord's.
"What did you do for music?"
The orange cat smiled warmly at her, and started humming a soothing waltz.
Haru had never quite heard anything like it, with her gypsy background, but the melody was very soothing, and seemed to wrap her up in a warm cocoon.
Almost like she was dreaming, the slim brunette allowed her partner to fling her out, and then draw her close for a dip. He twirled the girl around under his fingertips expertly, still humming the sweet melody, which had been his favorite for years.
A slightly wicked smile played upon his furry lips, his theory about Haru's grace proven right.
'She's just shy about letting people see the real her. But I can see you, Haru. And I like what I'm seeing.'
ooOoo
When the brunette reappeared in camp, just after dark, a golden girl pounced on her.
"I know your secret!" Louise sang out at the top of her lungs, making her dark cousin panic.
"You do?!" she squeaked, trying to weasel out of the golden girl's clutches, which only tightened.
"I do!" Louise chirruped happily, squeezing Haru affectionately. "I should have seen it weeks ago, it was so obvious! You're seeing someone!"
Out of options, the brunette pinched her cousin's wrist until she let go as her heartbeat sped out of control.
"Yes I am. Father Hashio, like I said I was."
"Not a chance," Louise said silkily. "Father Hashio could never leave you smiling for days after seeing him, and you've been hugging everybody that comes close to you."
"Not everybody," Haru protested, feeling a blush coming on.
"Fine, nearly everybody. Plus, why have you only been interested in spending the entire Sunday with him for the past couple months, instead of just the morning and afternoon like you used to?"
Haru's blush deepened, still feeling the spark on her arms and waist from Baron's touch.
"We've had a lot to talk about."
"Oh? Like what?" the golden gypsy asked slyly. Haru bit her lip a little self-consciously.
"The bible, my parents, his son-"
"He has a son?!" Louise squealed. Haru groaned, thinking that her cousin had already known.
"He used to. Uncle Ryu died in a war years ago. He wanted to be my father, but Mother wanted Father, not him."
Louise sighed happily.
"All this drama… it's better than a play!"
Haru clenched her fists, remembering the melancholy man that had declared himself her uncle. He was a good man, and had deserved a good woman. But with his heart set on her mother, no one else would do. Her heart clenched, thinking about how willing she had been months before, to follow her surrogate uncle's footsteps for Machida's sake. But, for some reason she wasn't sure of, the dashing captain no longer mattered to her in that light.
"Nice to know I entertain you. Good night, Louise, Aunt Naomi." She had spotted the older gypsy, who had been hiding on the other side of the wagon. The middle-aged woman guiltily rose from the shadows as Haru opened the flap of her tent.
"What's his name, Haru?" Naomi asked. Her niece's hand stiffened on the sturdy canvas.
"I just said that Father Hashio's son's name was Ryu."
"Not him. The one you've been seeing."
Haru was silent, but then slipped inside the tent.
"Good night, Aunt Naomi."
As quickly as the brunette could manage, she slipped out of her cloak and day dress, then in between the soft sheets of the blankets. With one hand, she covered her face with self-loathing.
'Oh shoot. I practically told them I was seeing someone besides Father Hashio. I wish I didn't tell people Baron's name when they knew I was talking about a half-cat.'
Louise slipped in quietly, and got ready for bed, slipping in next to her cousin.
"You're really worrying Mama," the golden girl said pointedly to Haru's back, which was turned towards her. "She's starting to think that you're having an affair with a priest-"
Haru leapt out of her horizontal position, outraged.
"I would never get into an affair, let alone one with a priest!" she declared at the top of her lungs, shocked that anyone would think less of her.
Louise grinned, pleased to have finally gotten an answer.
"Then who have you been seeing, Haru? Why don't you ever talk about him?"
The brunette bit her lip, and then eased back into the covers, feeling her aunt's presence just outside the tent, and listening shamelessly to the girls' conversation.
"He's a young man that Father Hashio's been tutoring forever. He's very smart and funny, so Father Hashio decided to introduce us after the fair, when my friend said he was getting lonely, without anyone in his age group to talk to. Hardly anyone knows he's there, because he's very sickly and almost never leaves his room. I haven't talked about him because he asked me not to, and I respect his wishes. Don't tell anyone, okay? I wasn't even supposed to tell you."
"What's his name?" Louise asked eagerly.
'Think, Haru! Think fast!' "It's Daron. But please, don't tell anyone."
"Okay, but on one condition."
"What's that?"
"I want to meet him."