She had not made it in time, left as a cross between homo sapien and feline.
He had been shocked to see her when she had come down the tower towards him with a strange look in her eye, but when she wrapped her arms around him and started to cry – shock finally setting in – he had not hesitated to wrap his arms around her. He had picked her up and carried her back down to where Yuki and the Prince were waiting.
Haru wasn't crying any more, but he didn't want to let go of her, and she in turn didn't want him to let go of her either. He carried her back to the castle.
"Baron?"
The cat figurine looked down at her, practically a kitten in his arms.
"What now?"
That was when it had started: he had planted a comforting kiss between her ears, a promise that it would be all right, if she had faith in herself, and in him.
"Shall we make it a double wedding then?" Lune had asked, walking beside the orange gentleman.
"She's still too young to marry anybody Lune," Yuki had scolded her love gently from the other side of the Baron, patting her friend's brown hair as a mother would.
Baron had looked at the girl in his arms, and she had looked back. Yuki was right of course; Haru was still too young to marry, not like cats, which could mate by their fourth birthday. That didn't stop the feeling from sparking and sputtering quietly into life in his chest. He could wait.
Haru was given rooms in the palace and lived there for nearly four years. Baron was a regular visitor, and sometimes he took her for a ride on Toto, showing her the world from a new perspective, travelling further than she had ever thought possible in her old life.
They had been dancing together at the third anniversary of Lune and Yuki's wedding when he had asked her to marry him. When Haru said yes, Baron had picked her up by the waist and spun her around – her hands automatically finding his shoulders, then slipping around his neck as he lowered her to the ground again.
"So you're getting married to old doll-face?" Yuki teased that night while Haru helped her tuck in her kittens.
"Oh, Yuki, why didn't I think of that?" Haru cried in a wailed whisper, struck by the reality of what her friend had just said.
"Why didn't you think of what Haru?" asked the queen, looking up at her friend in surprise.
"He's a doll," Haru said. "Made of wood rather than warm flesh," she added, seeing that Yuki didn't understand.
The white cat raised a paw to her mouth, struck by understanding. When she drew her paw away, however, there was a smile in place.
"Uh-oh," Haru said, a smile of her own seeding itself on her lips. "I know that look."
"All the Cat Kings have magic," Yuki said slowly. "I don't see why we can't make the Baron into a real cat for you."
"Just don't change the way he looks," Haru pleaded when she had finished hugging her friend in excitement.
Yuki crossed a claw over her heart and the females went to see the King.
0
"It is a tradition, in this part of the proceedings, for the best cat to give a speech," started King Lune, rising from his seat at the head table. "Now, while Baron may be the best cat here, I'm the one in office, so I'm the one who will do the talking."
Some laughter scattered around the wedding guests, but in general, a hush fell as they listened to their monarch.
"Baron, you asked Haru to marry you, and lucky stiff that you are, she said yes –" Baron and Haru smiled, and Lune continued; "but you are, I'm sorry to say, still rather stiff."
Baron lost his smile, wondering where this could be going. Haru didn't even blink – it had all been planned, she knew what was coming.
"Made from wood, I shudder to think what kind of relationship you may have with our beloved Haru, so I intend to rectify this matter, and give you true life. Turning into a lump of wood will no longer be an option; that's the down side. The upside is that you and Haru will get the happily ever after that you deserve, and kittens if I'm any judge – probably a messy pile of paws and tails the likes of which we will never see again."
Baron smiled again. He hadn't thought of that – it would, he knew, be terribly hard on Haru to be married to a figurine who came to life sometimes. This plan was a good one.
"Thank you Lune," he said, gripping Haru's hand as the distinguished cat conjured the enchantment and bestowed true life upon him.
They danced for almost an hour after that, and left on Toto's back for their honeymoon.