Chapter 3 – Small Deeds

Haru hummed as she stirred the simmering stew above the fire. The pearl onions rolled amongst the bubbles as she added the chopped carrots for dinner. Their pantry was full thanks to her efforts during last autumn's harvest, and on the cold night the girl was grateful for the hot meal.

Her pleasure was not to last this evening.

Lin and her mother's contentment existed as long as the violet blossoms were fresh, which was to say not long at all.

"Haru! Worthless girl. I want strawberries!"

The brunette looked at her relative, dumbfounded at her stupidity. "It's winter, Lin, we don't have any strawberries." She spoke slowly hoping the girl would understand.

The poor brunette had no such luck as her cruel cousin berated her, "I WANT SOME! Go out and fetch me a basket full!" The haughty child thrust the wicker basket into Haru's arms shoving her out the door with force.

Haru pounded on the locked door futilely begging to be let back in.

"Mother!" She could hear Lin shout. "Help me squeeze into this dress! I heard a nobleman was coming to the village!"

The girl mused that if Lin put as much effort into her exercises as she did getting into her dress, it might have made things a lot easier on the mother and daughter pair.

A cold winter breeze soon shocked Haru from her thoughts. Her first impulse was to find Baron, but she didn't want to appear as a greedy person. To return back so soon to him and the others at the bonfire would make them suspect her as having ulterior motives, but the other consequence was to freeze to death! She didn't know what to do!

"Hey kid."

She nearly jumped with fright at the sight of the large white cat almost blending with the snow. Oddly he looked much smaller and walked on all fours, almost looking and acting like a regular sized housecat. Well on second thought, maybe the size of a housecat if he was fed six meals a day.

"My name's Haru, not kid," she retorted. "What are you doing here, Fatso?"

The cat gave her a sour look. "I'm not Fatso. The name's Renaldo Moon, notorious and feared throughout the kingdom." He puffed his chest out with pride. "But you can call me Muta. Baron and Yuki thought your shrew of a cousin was going to send you out again so they sent me and Toto to guide you through the forest."

A dark figure hidden on the rooftop cawed causing Haru to turn swiftly around.

"Hah, you mean Baron and Yuki sent me, and you didn't want to be left out!" the crow taunted.

"Shutup birdbrain, or I'll throw you down the chimney!"

Before the bickering could start, the black crow flew down to Haru's feet giving a clumsy bob. "I'm Toto. It's nice to see you again, Haru."

She gave a questionable glance to the pair, "Is it alright for me to return back to the others so quickly?"

Muta and Toto glanced at each other. "It'll be okay, kid. Let's get going before we all freeze to death," Muta finally hazarded.

Haru was wary of their secretive behavior, but she was glad to get out of the dismal weather, and, most importantly, to see Baron again.

TCRTCRTCRTCRTCR

"Well well well, look what's the cat's brought in," a familiar seedy voice met the trio's ears. He was lounged against his seat looking delighted at her presence.

Haru watched in shock as the moment Toto and Muta crossed towards the circle of stones, they appeared larger than when they were outside her front door. The white cat stretched mightily and stood on two feet rather than four.

Muta groaned. "Why do you call yourself the Cat King again?" He towered over many of the months.

"Because I represent January, the first month of the year, so that makes me the King." A sudden flash of lightning struck the King on the tip of his tail, causing his fur to puff up with static electricity.

Haru had to laugh at the insane logic behind his thoughts and the odd sight. Where had the lightning come from?

"Please excuse my father," a dark furred cat said, but unusually he was addressing it to the sky and not to her. He turned and bowed formally to the girl.

Haru looked and was astonished to see that he too had mismatched eyes. Baron, the Cat King, the pretty white cat - did all beings here have such fantastic features?

"My name is Lune…"

"Prince Lune!" The Cat King butted in from the background. The floppy-eared tan cat and another older one, slim with dark glasses, was attending to "his majesty."

The human girl laughed as Lune rolled his strangely colored eyes in exasperation.

"I'm really sorry for coming back here so soon," she apologized.

But who wouldn't return?

The camaraderie within the group was jovial, and the very air around the bonfire felt of warmth and peace. A light brown cat dressed in an Elizabethan collar and feathered cap gave out a boisterous laugh as he watched his orange friend in a chef's hat wave a raw fish in the air. Quietly off to the side, a dark cat with a white beard and an accordion composed a romantic waltz, lost in his thoughts.

"Did they hurt you, Haru?" The cat whiter than the winter snow approached the pair, her blue eyes wrinkled with concern. Again her familiarity with Haru was unsettling to the bewildered girl.

Lune took the feline's paw within his giving her a loving look, "This is Yuki." It was obvious to everyone what their relationship was. "Don't fear her exuberance. She was so excited to see you here. We all were."

Haru couldn't help but squeal silently at the adorable sight even through her confusion. "No, they didn't hurt me, but how do you know me, Yuki?"

The cat smiled, accentuating her pretty features. "When you were a child and I was a kitten, I was abandoned and starving on the street. You gave me some fish crackers out of your lunch box. It made me survive another day until I found a safe haven here."

The brunette thought carefully. She had fed many strays in her village throughout her life. It was of second nature to her. Staring into Yuki's beautiful eyes, her own widened with astonishment. "I remember! You said thank you to me, and that life was tough. I clearly heard it, but my mother said you only meowed. I thought I was imagining it."

"No," the white cat took Haru's hand in her paw. "I was eternally grateful that you saved my life that day. I told everyone here of your generous deed. The other months sent a good wind or a rain cloud in your direction because of it, but I'll still do anything I can to repay you."

Lune muttered under his breath to Yuki, "Yes, and you don't know what a monster you created by telling a certain someone so much about her…"

Haru didn't hear the dark cat's words, only lost in the white feline's emotional ones, "Oh, you don't have to Yuki. I'm just glad that you're happy and safe here."

The feline shook her head refusing to accept Haru's humble reply, "If you find yourself troubled by something mysterious or a problem that's hard to solve, there's a place you can go where you always find help, and that's right here with us. What did your cousin ask for this time?"

"They asked for something ridiculous again – strawberries!"

Instead of being met with laughter, Yuki could only smile gracefully at her, "I can most certainly help you with that!"

Thank you YarningChick, SidLaBelle and Guest for reviewing. A short chapter, but things will pick up.

Please review,
Grignard