Chapter Thirteen: A Well-Kept Secret

Baron's jaw nearly fell off of his face as the queen walked alone out of the garden, and into the tall castle that had become her prison.

'Her father?! No… oh no.' He stumbled to a bench, and sat in it, staring off into space. Memories flooded back like a tsunami…

ooOoo

"We are so glad that you could make it, Lord Gikkingen," a fat old man jabbered as Baron stepped through the golden portal. On the back of the old man was a pair of weak-looking sparrow wings. Baron tipped his hat at the man, looking around the beautiful kingdom that was made entirely of mountains.

"It was my pleasure. Pray, what would the Icari King wish of me? The request was a little garbled."

The old man laughed a bit uneasily while stepping behind the Cat Creation to grab his arms securely.

"The king requested me to bring you to him, so that he can tell you. I tend to skip details a bit, and it drives him crazy." With that, the wings on the man's back began to beat up and down, somehow managing the weight as he sailed from his modest tower to the one made of marble and diamond. The guards posted over the biggest window flew aside so that the man could bring the Creation through, their eagle wings pointed to the sun in a traditional Icari salute. Baron tipped his hat at the two the best he could manage as his carrier made a heavy landing inside the gleaming window. The orange and cream cat landed solidly on his feet while the old man fell on his backside, panting heavily.

"Your Majesty! The Baron Humbert von Gikkingen!"

The Creation looked upwards, to see a throne almost three stories up from the ground, a handsome young Icari on the throne. His wings had the golden gleam of sunlight, as did his modest crown. The monarch beamed, and sailed down in order to grasp the help's hand firmly.

"Well met, good Baron! We've been hearing many good things about you."

"Then the reports were probably exaggerated," the half-cat laughed. "I tend to step on toes a bit to get the job done."

"Yes, we've heard that," the Icari King agreed, his smile betraying a trace of boyish enthusiasm. "But still, I know that if you are able to help my people, you will do everything in your power to ensure their happiness."

Baron nodded.

"So tell me, what's the emergency?"

The young king sighed tiredly.

"It's my uncle, I'm afraid. He has some… ah, hard feelings you could say, about my ascending the throne instead of him. It's a standard war over the crown, but he's crossed the line this time! He's kidnapped my beloved and is threatening to kill her if I don't surrender the crown to him. But, I know him well, good Baron. The estates my father had left to him in the will are ruined, without hope of becoming fruitful again for at least two centuries. I shudder to think of what will happen to my kingdom if he isn't stopped."

Baron smiled, and patted the king awkwardly on the shoulder, thanks to the protruding wing.

"You did the right thing, to call for me, your Majesty. It would have been better if you had called me sooner, but I suppose that can't be helped now. Do we know where your beloved is?"

The king smiled grimly, and pointed to a black curtain.

"I have a seer in there, who said that he's getting closer to her location. Perhaps you've heard of him, Damian von Blut?"

Baron twitched visibly, his mind in complete shock.

"Surely you're joking. The Damian von Blut?"

The king smiled even wider.

"I see even you, secluded in the Creation's Refuge, could not help but to know of him. Yes, it's truly him. My father saved his life a few years back, so he owed my family a favor. In fact, he's much like you are, Lord Gikkingen."

"I see. Do I get to meet him?" Baron asked, dearly wishing to meet the man that had inspired him to start the Cat Bureau. The king laughed.

"Certainly, as soon as he-"

The black curtain rippled in the air, forcing the two to look at the emerging figure.

Indeed, the man was dressed in a suit, complete with top hat and cane like the good Baron, but unlike the immortal, the renowned human's outfit was a sapphire color that mimicked the glorious night sky. And peaking from underneath the dark top hat was a thick crop of hair that was as white as starlight, the mark of a seer and magician of the von Blut line. His dark emerald eyes were first on the young king, but then trailed to the Cat Creation. His eyes seemed to burn with an unknown intensity.

From his right hand dangled a fine silver chain, one end clipped to his jacket pocket while the other ended at the knob of an intricately engraved silver watch, set with a gleaming pearl. The fairly young magician rubbed the watch thoughtfully.

Baron never really knew how long the great Damian von Blut stood there, gazing at him. It felt like the renowned seer was looking right through him, exploring every possible aspect of him with a calculated calmness.

"I see you have finally arrived, Baron Humbert von Gikkingen. I hope you're as good as your reputation," the seer said finally, like he had known that the Creation would come.

Which he very well may have.

The immortal laughed a little uneasily, although he had to be at least sixty years older than the intimidating human.

"Reputations tend to be inflated, Damian von Blut. I suspect you know that firsthand."

The magician smiled, and laughed softly.

"Modesty. I like that. Well, let's go, my lord Baron. We have a queen to save."

ooOoo

"A queen to save," Baron whispered, looking at the precious pocket watch. With a shaky hand, he flipped it so that he was looking at the back instead of the front. Very carefully, he pried the silver backing off. The hollow lid came off grudgingly, allowing the Cat Creation to look inside the contraption.

But he didn't see the mechanics that made the device tick. Instead, he was looking at a family portrait that the previous owner had lovingly placed inside the back of the watch.

It was Damian, with a beautiful redheaded woman, whose glorious brown eyes were sparkling with happiness. They each had an arm around each other… and one arm around the adorable little girl sitting partially on both of their laps. The girl had her father's starlight hair (pulled back in a high ponytail), but her mother's beautiful brown eyes and fair face. She smiled happily, cuddling her parents' arms close, trying to get them to hug her harder. Her smile sparkled just as brightly as the moon, and her skin was almost as pale.

"I keep my motivation in here, Baron. Whenever I wonder why I keep putting myself in a position that I might not make it back home, I look in there. It reminds me of what kind of world I want my beautiful little girl to grow up in. But, I won't be coming home to her this time. I've seen her future, Baron, and it's something I wish I could prevent with all my heart. A monster will come, and try to destroy her beautiful warm heart. She'll be able to keep it, but she'll need your help."

Baron's glance trailed up to Haru's mother. This was the woman that committed suicide, quite possibly over the guilt of not being able to protect her only child from falling prey to a lecherous king. There is the child the queen once was.

No wonder he didn't recognize her; the tiny white-haired girl in the picture radiated happiness while the brunette queen spoke silently of sorrow. But, at the same time, he wanted to hit himself for missing all the obvious hints.

'No wonder the watch goes crazy whenever she is near. And how comforting her presence is, she inherited her father's beautiful heart.' His tears of regret and pain slowly turned into tears of anger.

Here was his motivation as well.

With a steely determination, he closed the back of the watch, and stood up from his bench, glaring up at the castle that was somehow the very core of Haru's suffering.

"I won't fail you, Damian," he whispered angrily. "I'll save the queen. She'll be rescued from this living nightmare tomorrow, one way or another."

From the other side of a hedge, one unseen by the castle, a figure draped in a black cloak smiled.

'It's about time he figured out who the queen was. Now the fun can really start.'

ooOoo

'Blut' means blood. The waltz from the movie is named 'Katzen Blut' or 'cat's blood' in German. It felt appropriate.