Chapter Ten: An Inquisition

Haru's eyes widened as her heart pumped painfully in her chest.

'I wasn't expecting them to ask me that. I better tell them what I told everyone else. They do work for the king, after all, and this isn't exactly a thing I want to take chances with.' Sighing a bit, she pulled a small notepad out of a hidden pocket she had sewn into the dress, and wrote out a short explanation with a small pen.

I took an oath of silence on my wedding day. I'll talk again when I'm happily widowed.

She passed the little book to Baron, who took it, but only gave it a glance, his expression troubled. Was he a speed reader or something?

"I see. Why did you choose to do that specifically?"

Her heart pounded painfully again, but she took back the notepad.

Partially to punish the king for forcing me to marry him, and to find out if he'd notice. He's never paid all that much attention to my opinion, anyway, and there are other ways of talking.

Baron took the notepad again, with Muta looking over his shoulder. The tawny feline frowned a bit, concern evident.

"I hope you'll answer this question honestly, but do you know about the seer's little announcement?" he asked. She nodded in confirmation.

"Do you think you'd ever try to kill your husband?"

'Try? I would have succeeded, if my conscience didn't get in the way.' She sighed and nodded, thinking about the time her husband was sleeping peacefully as she raised a blade at him. That had been after she got back from her mother's funeral. She could practically see behind her eyelids how brightly the knife had gleamed in the sunlight that came through a nearby window.

'Heck, I'd have killed myself by now, if I didn't care about Lune and Yuki's feelings. Not that I didn't try anyway.'

Baron inhaled sharply as she took the notepad back, and started writing in it again. She wasn't shocked that he was surprised. After all, a scrawny girl like herself wasn't exactly what one would think of, for a royal assassin.

I can't defend myself worth fish crackers, but I have made it plain to his Majesty that if he ever threatens an innocent life again, I will show him as much mercy as he has shown me. He still doesn't listen to what I say, but at least I gave him fair warning. Were there any other questions?

She held out the notebook to him, but he didn't take it. He was too busy staring at her, his mouth slightly agape. She frowned a bit, and prodded one of his light gloved hands with the notebook.

'Why does he keep asking questions if he doesn't bother looking at the answers that I give him?'

The Cat Creation snapped to attention and took the notepad a little sheepishly.

"My apologies, it's not every day that a wife admits that she might kill her husband."

'Only if he does something stupid enough to earn it. Which, in my experience, means it's only a matter of time.'

A polite coughing came from behind the Bureau. They turned, allowing Haru to also see who was there.

Natoru froze up in fear, as he usually did whenever the queen was around. The young queen could almost feel her eyes turn cold and unfriendly.

Although she knew it was ridiculous, a small part of her still thought that if this idiot had given the king her real answer the first time it had been presented to her, she might still be a single human.

'What is it?' she asked him frostily in her mind. Natoru gulped noticeably.

"H-his Majesty requests her Majesty to come to the hospital wing. Three new doctors just arrived."

If Haru still used her vocal chords, she would have started growling in irritation, shaking her head angrily.

'I know he's stupid and stubborn, but when is he going to learn this is something he can't command to change?'

Baron stepped in front of her, when she made to follow the advisor.

"Are you ill, Majesty?" he asked, true concern evident in his green eyes. Haru bit back a laugh, a little touched that he cared enough to ask, and wrote a quick note at the bottom of the page she had written her answers in before ripping it out and handing it to the Cat Creation, since it was a bad idea to keep the king waiting for any reason.

No, but he believes I am.

Baron gripped the paper as she disappeared through the curtain behind the advisor, his eyes wide.

'What was that supposed to mean?' he wondered.

The forgotten pianist began to stack up his music and tried side-walking to another curtain nervously.

"Wait a moment," Baron said when Yosho was two feet away from the exit. He stopped dead, fear evident. The Cat Creation laughed while folding up the paper and putting it in the inside pocket of his jacket.

"If I were you, I'd cancel my plans to kill the king with the chandelier at his anniversary banquet. It's a bit on the played-out side, and the queen would rather he died a clean death. You could accidentally hit her with the thing, you know, and then she would never look at you the way you wish her to."

Yosho's mouth dropped open with fright.

"How…"

"Even if I didn't know about your plot, your actions would have given you away anyway." Baron tipped his hat politely before exiting the room with Muta, who grunted angrily.

"Why did you stop that one too? You saw how miserable the king is making her."

Baron sighed as the folded paper in his pocket crackled slightly with each step.

"The queen wants him to die either a clean death or when he tries to harm an innocent, and I intend to honor her wish. Besides, there's more going on than what meets the surface."

"What do you mean?" his fat friend asked as they entered a more crowded area of the hallway.

"She's hiding something about her voice. I don't know what it is yet, but I intend to find out. Muta, did she ever talk to you about dancing?"

The white feline laughed a little evilly.

"Only when her partners end up in the hospital and she got banished from all dance floors. Why?"

Baron frowned, hoping for something a little more substantial than that. There were only so many ways he could prod the fetching young queen into thinking about certain things before she became suspicious. Who could be this mysterious dancing partner that she had hinted at in her thoughts? Was it the same one that he reminded her of, perhaps?

"Because I think that it could be important. I wish I knew why I know this, but it's critical, somehow."