Chapter Eighteen: Home to Stay

Baron dipped his handkerchief into the small bowl of water again, and held it to that pale forehead. His gloves had been pulled off long ago, and his hands were stained red with his efforts to sew the ex-Cat Queen back into one piece.

The young woman had begun breathing again shortly after he had set her to rest on this bed, and her heart was resuming a steady pulse.

"Come on, Haru," he whispered again, wishing with all his heart to see her open her beautiful eyes again.

After a few more minutes, Haru's pale face began to contort, and a soft groan escaped her lips. Baron left the handkerchief on her forehead and held her hands with his own.

"Please come back, Louise," he begged. Her back arched a bit as a yawn was given, and rich chocolate eyes met soothing mint. She looked at him with mild surprise as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Louise Nicole von Blut, don't you ever scare me like that again!" he told her firmly, struggling to keep the tears at bay.

She weakly giggled as she tried to sit up, the handkerchief on her forehead falling into her lap from the action. "You even scold me like Dad used to. Even the accent is similar."

Baron raised one hand to her shoulder as he rearranged the pillows behind her back, so she could sit up without much effort. "Did you ever try to die in front of him?" he asked in an accusatory manner.

"Not intentionally, but sometimes things happened. It was important that the king mortally wound me before I killed him, and I knew you wouldn't let me do that if you had known beforehand."

The Cat Creation began to growl in irritation. "Enough games, Haru. How did you use the pearl?"

She smiled a bit. "When the first of the von Blut line became a magician and seer, he found that pearl at the bottom of an ocean inside a green oyster. When he first touched it, he foresaw one of his descendants using the pearl to gain immortality."

"Immortality?" Baron asked, feeling his heart speed up.

"Yes. If one of the line was wearing the pearl while struck with a deadly blow, and gave another back, willing to die with no thought to glory and the pearl pressed to the heart, then the death would be incomplete. I'll heal soon enough, Baron, but I don't think I'll be going anywhere for a few centuries. You're a very amusing fellow."

His familiar blush came back, but there was a smile of pleasure in it as she looked in her hands again, to see that the stone in the middle of the watch was now a blood red color. It was still ticking, but now it didn't seem to have the familiar enthusiasm that she remembered.

"This thing doesn't have any magical properties anymore," she said softly, rubbing it against one cheek. "Now it's just a treasured heirloom. Thank you, Baron, for giving it and my identity back."

Impulsively, he hugged her softly, in an attempt to disguise the tears of relief. It didn't work all that well.

She could already feel his heartbeat.

"It was my pleasure, Louise," he whispered, holding her like he had no intention of ever letting go. "Which name would you prefer to be addressed as?"

"I'll work with either one. They're both me, after all." Haru managed to wrap her arms around his middle, and look around.

It was the same bedroom that their daughter would one day live in, but it now lacked all of the touches that screamed that the room belonged to a little girl. It was a very cozy guest room.

"Where are we?" she asked Baron, spying a bit of night sky from the window she had seen in her vision.

The Creation Cat Lord stiffened, and pulled away, laughing a little nervously. "Well, after you collapsed, Natori wanted to send your body to the coroners. But, I knew you couldn't be dead, because your father swore you would be okay. So I sort of stole you away to my home, in the Creation Refuge, using your crown to make the portal. I have a spell working right now to keep them from interfering with trying to save your life. And Toto's keeping watch, just in case."

"Toto?" Haru asked, lying against the sheets again.

"Yes. He's a Crow Creation, crafted from stone. He and Muta thought I was crazy for bringing you here, but Muta wanted you back almost as much as I do."

She quirked one of her eyebrows at him, and smiled mischievously. "Oh really?"

He blushed again as she giggled a little. A tapping came from the window, making both of them look over. The black crow from before was carefully pecking the glass.

"Baron! They're making another attempt!"

The Creation Cat Lord sighed. "Of course they are."

The crow spotted the girl in bed, and made as much of a bow as he could manage before flying away.

"Haru, are you feeling up to making a public appearance?" the Cat Creation Lord asked her.

"To get the Cat Kingdom to stop trying to rescue my body?" the white feline asked in return.

"Yes. Are you strong enough?"

"Sure," she said, throwing off the blankets. She was still in her ball gown, but Baron had torn off the more unnecessary extras so that she would be more comfortable. She could feel stitches where every single cut had been, and saw that he had politely sewn the dress back together after bandaging her the best he could.

Firmly, but gently, the orange and cream cat picked her up, and walked out of the room, down the hall and a flight of stairs, and to the front door.

"Do I have to go back with them?" she whispered, keeping her arms around his neck. His eyes glowed, remembering how miserable the kingdom had made her.

"Not unless you want to, Haru. I'm certain that Lune and Yuki will honor whatever decision you make."

The white-haired she-cat had to giggle a bit.

"Lune once offered me the kingdom, after his father was dead, but I turned him down. I never liked living on display like a pet or toy."

Baron's embrace deepened, as he recalled his own years of being merely a possession. "I think I can understand that." 'It's so good to hear her talk out loud!'

"I heard that," she informed him, giggling a bit as another blush crossed his cheeks.

ooOoo

"Muta, let us in already!" Lune ordered for the twelfth time as his soldiers took another run at the invisible barrier with a battering ram, only to have the assaulting implement shatter like glass again. The large white cat shook his head again while flipping to another page in the newspaper. The button for the shield was right next to him, along with a few apples, of course.

"Keep dreaming," he said in a bored tone. "The shield's not coming down until Baron gives the okay."

"But who knows what he's doing with Haru's body?!" Yuki demanded as tears fell down her alabaster cheeks. "Please, we just want to bury her in the manner she deserves."

The doors to the Cat Bureau suddenly opened, flooding the Refuge with a warm golden light. Muta glanced casually over his shoulder, but then dropped his newspaper in shock at the sight.

"Chicky?" he whispered reverently. The white half-cat beamed at him from her perch in Baron's arms.

"Hi, Muta-san. Did you have time to miss me?"

His mouth flapped a bit as his old friend carried the girl out of the house, and through the courtyard to the flabbergasted felines on the other side of the shield.

"Hi, everyone. Sorry for the scare, but I'm not dead, just wounded. Baron did nothing wrong with my body, so please stop trying to interfere," the white immortal cat said cheerfully, like she was a radio announcer.

The new royal couple were crying anew, but this time, it was tears of relief.

"Come on, Baron, let the shield come down so we can hug her," Yuki pleaded. But the Cat Creation shook his head.

"Her wounds are still fresh, and you're more than likely to be enthusiastic in hugging her. Could you kindly wait until she heals a bit more?"

Yuki wanted to protest again, but her husband covered her mouth.

"A week?" the new Cat King asked.

"Sounds fair," Haru said, shrugging. "So, what's going to be my punishment for killing a monarch? You do have to do something about it, for appearances, if nothing else."

Lune seriously considered the possibilities, making Baron's temper threaten to explode.

"After all she went through, you're honestly considering-"

"A medal," the gray monarch said firmly. "A nice shiny medal reading 'Courage'. I bet you'd like that a lot more than another invitation to marry into the royal family, Haru."

The white half-cat giggled. "I don't need a medal and your son's a bit young for me. A 'thank you' would work just fine, Lune."

The young king pouted. "Oh, all right, Haru. Thanks, but if you ever need anything, you know how to look me up, right?"

"Duh, Lune. A big fat one."

Baron was more than a little surprised at her frank choice of words, but Lune just laughed his head off, saluting the girl warmly.

"I even missed that. Be nice to her, Baron, or you're going to get it."

"I doubt you'll have to worry about that," the Cat Creation said firmly, although he ached to say 'I'll take better care of her than you ever did.'

ooOoo

On the other side of the shield, the familiar shadowy figure of the seer watched with joy as the cats left the Creation Refuge, and Baron once again carried his future bride inside the house they would one day share.

The seer wasn't all that worried, he knew better than anyone that the orange and cream cat wouldn't do anything improper with his mate-to-be. He would keep her in his house until she had healed physically, and then allow her to move into another house in the Refuge, since they were all empty. After precisely three months of courtship, Baron would propose… and his daughter would accept.

The seer turned away as the lights went out, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket so he could dry his streaming eyes.

"Sorry I couldn't bring him sooner, Sweetheart," the ghost of Damian von Blut whispered lovingly, as he disappeared for the last time. "Everything in its proper time and place."

ooOoo

Lots of love to; Ghost Wulf, fringeperson, Rini's Ghost, Chantal, gacktxx, Bambi4ever, kittydemon18, Bibishi Kuronecko787, Drifting One, NinjaoftheDarkness, Nonimouse, QuickStar, Lunarobi Pride, asian9090, Lanari, fairyMei33, Anonomous-Allstar-Fan (and Bob), zara2148, lilmouse1988, SetoSesshoumarulover18, anne-marie, Thundercat, Seichou, 10tailwolfdemon, Icefyre01, cuteknight101, EmoCupcake354, Alika Jones, Grassina3, ShiroLight, ArtsyChick, Gwendolyn368, Singer-Number-1(which was really Drifting One under cover), EgyptLover4, Poet on the Run, and LeafeKnight7 for sticking through my most depressing and heart-warming story yet.

You know, I honestly thought that people would start boiling tar and collecting feathers if I posted a story where the Cat King actually marries Haru, so I'm happily surprised to be proven wrong. But I just couldn't get the blasted idea out of my head, so here it is.

Again, thanks for reading and reviewing my work. It's getting harder and harder to write anymore (thanks to my well-meaning mother), but I'm still good for a few more stories.

Like this next one;

Wanted; a competent housekeeper and nanny for the three motherless children of the Baron von Gikkingen. Must be good at cooking vegetarian meals, cleaning the manor, and telling stories to the children. ONLY PLAIN GIRLS NEED APPLY!

Lots of love,

YarningChick