Chapter Twenty Two: A Friar's Folly
The archdeacon glared at the mere friar coldly, making the man shift around in his chair uncomfortably.
"Brother Nashi, I believe we have already concluded this discussion. Repeatedly, if memory serves."
"But it's different this time," the dark-haired priest objected, sensing that he was losing the man's attention. "Father Hashio even admitted that there was a Baron this time!"
The archdeacon growled.
"I am well aware that Father Hashio has been sheltering a disfigured orphan named Baron for years. What are you trying to prove, Friar Nashi?"
The man's jaw dropped.
"You knew?!"
"Of course I know. It's my job to know." The archdeacon shuffled some papers on his desk into a neat pile. "I also know that Father Hashio has been allowing a half-blood gypsy to visit him, to ward off loneliness. I have no objections about that, either."
Friar Nashi's mouth flapped wordlessly for a few seconds.
"Where have they been meeting?"
The old church-keeper scoffed dismissively.
"Do you honestly expect me to tell you? You delight only in stirring up trouble, to make yourself look important." The white-haired churchman sighed tiredly. "Listen well, for I will not say this again. Leave Father Hashio and his affairs to him. Stop taking it upon yourself to intrude upon his business. Baron's been assisting this church for years, and I cannot bear for him to leave, just because you want to be taken seriously for once." The older man sighed again, this time with more melancholy.
"I had long hoped that Baron would join our brotherhood one day, but if the remarkable progress in his work the months since he started seeing Miss Haru is of any indication, he will be a married man before much longer, disfigured or not."
Friar Nashi's heart froze over with an untold horror.
"No! He couldn't possibly marry that witch!"
Without hesitation, the archdeacon rose from his seat and delivered a punch so powerful, that it knocked the younger priest from his seat.
"Here's a saying you should be familiar with," the archdeacon hissed. "It has been said 'by their fruits ye shall know them'. I have seen the fruits of Miss Haru for myself, and I know for a certainty that she is a good girl with a big heart. Leave her be. If I ever hear of you bothering her, Father Hashio, or Baron again, I will send you to a remote monastery in the mountains, where only squirrels and such will be your charge. Have I made myself clear, Friar Nashi?!"
The young priest stared at his superior, shocked beyond belief. How could even the archdeacon be blind to that witch's black magic?
"She'll destroy you! She'll destroy us all! She's nothing but-"
ooOoo
Baron made the final dash in his work for the day.
"There! How close are you, Haru?"
Dark brown eyes flicked up at the tomcat, making a smile appear as a needle continued its dance across a plum-colored sleeve.
"Just one more seam rip after this." The gypsy girl gave a playful glare. "One day, I will finish before you do."
The orange and cream feline laughed as he crossed the room to sit next to her on the couch.
"Maybe if you would give yourself less work, you could beat me."
The slim brunette scoffed.
"I don't need a handicap, Baron. Besides, I need to keep my daily quota up in order to keep the Gypsy King happy."
He smiled at her again while reaching underneath the couch for a neat little box, which he opened in order to retrieve a needle.
"It seems to me that he's giving you too much work," the tawny half-cat said, threading his needle before reaching for the last ripped article of clothing. Haru stiffened slightly.
"You don't have to help me, Baron."
He smiled at her warmly, and then started stitching the seam rip neatly.
"No. I don't. But it will make the work go by faster." He increased his pace to one rivaling the brunette's, making the girl realize that he must have been doing all of his own sewing, since his mother died, or maybe even before.
They sat in companionable silence for a few moments, focused on keeping the stitches small and even. Then, without warning, Haru snuck a peak at her feline friend from the corner of her eye, and started laughing her head off. Baron looked over at her, alarmed.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, making the girl shake her head helplessly.
"I'm sorry, Baron, but…" she took a few breaths to steady herself. "The image of a sharply dressed gentleman like you, with a gypsy's tunic over your knees… it just seems so contradictory!"
He cocked his head at her, an amused smile on his lips.
"But somehow you can accept the fact that I'm somewhere between the worlds of human and cat without question?"
She giggled, and then nodded while knotting off the end of the thread, cutting it with her teeth.
"But you don't look funny, so it's different."
He smiled at her again, and focused on the last two inches on his rip. He wanted to think of something to say to that, but for some reason, his mind went completely blank. He desperately tried to think of something to say, but settled for tying off the knot in the sleeve, which now looked perfect. He carefully folded the garment, and set it on top of the shirt that Haru had just fixed.
"I still think that your king is overworking you."
"He doesn't have much of a choice. There are only three other seamstresses in the order, and a few hundred people to keep decently clothed. Everyone else needs to worry about perfecting their acts." She sighed, and slipped her arms around Baron's chest before squeezing softly. "But work's gotten a lot easier, now that I have someone to talk to while working. Thanks for letting me visit you so much."
Baron prayed that the girl wouldn't hear how wildly his heart was beating, thanks to her gentle touch, or how the room seemed to sway slightly in his vision. But he wrapped his arms around the girl anyway, and returned her sweet embrace, loving how warm she was, and how perfectly she seemed to fit into his arms.
"Thank you, Haru. I…"
Why were the words freezing in his throat again? What was it he was so afraid to say? 'I love you, please kiss me so we can live happily ever after?'!
Haru looked up at him, her eyes slightly confused.
"Yes?"
He took a deep breath and smiled at her again, holding her close.
"I enjoy having you here. I love talking with you."
She blushed slightly, but a warm smile graced her lips once more. She rested her head on his chest and squeezed again, making the room start to swim again for Baron.
"I love talking with you too," she whispered softly as her large brown eyes faded slightly, wondering if he was trying to say what she thought he was trying to say to her.
Because if he was…