Chapter 11

In fact, Haru became so relaxed so quickly that she collapsed unconscious on the grass.

"Oh dear," said Baron quickly, genuinely concerned and rushing to the young lady's side. The grass was soft and thick, so that he was too small to catch her wasn't a particular problem. He stood in shock for a moment, looking down on her face.

"Seems to glow with peace, doesn't she?" Toto commented softly, hopping up beside the cat. "It would almost be a shame to wake her up, but I suppose we must, to make sure that she's alright."

Baron brushed a little of Haru's brown hair off her cheek softly. He stepped back quickly when she turned her face fully towards him, her eyes still shut, and a small smile on her soft features, as though she were reacting to something nice in a dream.

"No," he answered tentatively. "I don't think we should wake her. Miss Haru will be fine, but I think I shall keep watch over her all the same. One never can tell when something unpleasant will show up."

"Quite," agreed the bird, before he took off and circled above the girl and figurine a couple of times before calling down "It looks all clear!" after which he wheeled and headed back to the refuge.

"It is truly remarkable," Baron mused, sitting down beside Haru's sleep-softened face. "I would never have believed it of myself, but after such a short acquaintance I find that I have grown accustomed to your face. Furthermore, I expect that I will miss you terribly when you leave. What shall we do? A hermit and a bachelor really have no business with each other."

Haru's features scrunched up, and she groaned quietly as one who does not want to wake up.

"Be still, there is no need to wake," the statuette murmured, stroking her forehead gently with the back of his gloved hand.

Haru stilled, and for a few minutes, she just slept, with the Baron watching over her.

Her brown eyes snapped open, and she blinked a couple of times, surprised to be so suddenly awake. It was the sound of rustling cloth that had woken her – the sound of someone removing an item of clothing. In her book, that was always a sound to be wary of. When she looked around, however, she saw that it was the Baron taking off his jacket and searching the pockets, even shaking the piece of dress.

"Have you lost something?" she asked, her voice quiet from still being sleepy.

The half-cat figure of living clay jerked at the sound of her voice and turned sharply.

Haru had propped herself up on her elbow to search for the source of the sound that had woken her, and he thought she looked somehow softer around the edges. Her hair was just a little messy from sleep, and her face still had that luminescent quality that Toto had previously observed – utter peacefulness.

Baron put his tailcoat back on. He had been trying to find his pocket handkerchief, to dampen and blot against Miss Haru's forehead, simply because – for some reason he could not account for – he wanted to touch her once more before they had to say goodbye. Dancing with her had been his way of helping her to escape, bringing her closer to the window without too much suspicion, but he had found that he enjoyed holding her.

"It doesn't matter," he said, smiling for her as convincingly as he could. "I meant to tell you before, you're a very elegant dancer, why did you say that you weren't?"

"Because I never have been," Haru answered, lying back down again, staring at the clouds in the early morning – slightly pink and glowing. "I highly suspect that having a tail helped in regards to that particular matter. For that matter Baron, why the deception? If you had just told me from the beginning, I would have run for the window and jumped onto Toto's back."

"It's, it's…" Baron rubbed the back of his neck, his green eyes looking for an answer somewhere in the surrounding scenery. He sighed. "It's sort of because I told Muta that he wasn't allowed to woo you into becoming his fourth wife. Some cats' morals are very loose, and Muta is almost as loose as a cat can get," the statuette explained, slightly ashamed to be revealing any of that small, private conversation.

"Oh that," she said, conveying both understanding and dismissal of what had been set before her. "Toto was right, if Muta had tried anything I would have beaten him up in much the same manner as I had the king."

Baron stared, open mouthed, and the tall young woman who was spread out on the grass before him, gazing happily at the clouds as she shocked him.

"I listened at the door," she explained, lifting her head to look at the doll that had saved her from being stuck forever as a cat.