Chapter Four: The Rescuer

Elly yelped a bit as she and the owner of the arms collided with the ground, and became covered with stalks of fresh rhubarb. The arms loosened considerably, but the owner didn't make a sound.

"No!" a man howled. "My cart!"

The white kitten opened her eyes again, to see her father and siblings running toward her, as well as a young human.

"Elly!" Baron shouted even as the pursuing human also called out to his loved one.

"Haru!"

"My cart," the man moaned as the boy kneeled next to the comatose woman, who was steadily gaining a large bump on her head.

The young human groaned as he eased her head into his lap, and tried to wake her up. "Haru? Haru?! You promised you'd stop doing this kind of thing!"

The woman's hold on the kitten-child had loosened considerably enough so that Baron could lift his child out of it and hold her close as tears threatened to surface.

"Don't… you ever leave my side in the marketplace again!" he ordered as he kissed her lovingly, almost possessively. Elly looked over her shoulder to see who had rescued her from danger.

It was a human girl, dressed in a simple but clean brown dress. Her long hair was about the same shade and was pulled away from her face in a high ponytail, and she was almost frighteningly thin. She was young, but it was hard to tell precisely how old the girl was, since most of her face was covered by an extremely thick pair of glasses.

Elly couldn't even tell if her eyes were open or not.

The boy that kept shaking her shoulders, maybe thirteen years of age, had to be a close relative, since he was dressed in the same simple yet serviceable clothes, and had the same feather-like hair. "Please wake up!" he begged as the peddler walked around the destroyed cart.

"Who's going to pay for this?!" he demanded. "I have children to feed."

"I will," Baron said firmly, standing up a bit. "It's a fair exchange for my daughter's life."

The peddler looked down, obviously not noticing the lord before know. His eyes widened, and his hands started shaking slightly. "That is most gracious of you, Lord Gikkingen," he stammered fearfully, and bowed respectfully.

Baron waved one hand dismissively. "I was planning on buying a few stalks from you anyway. Elly, although I share your passion for rhubarb, I would still appreciate it if you would stay close while we're in the marketplace from now on. This young lady took quite a beating on your behalf."

The white kitten started crying and nodding her head as she looked at her rescuer. "Is she okay?" Elly asked fearfully, as the human boy took a handkerchief to her forehead.

He chuckled darkly. "She should be fine. She's had bigger bumps than this one, and my sister thinks that she's indestructible…" he suddenly trailed off. His huge black eyes looked down at the tawny lord with absolute astonishment.

Baron placed him and the girl to be of Yrathean origin, and knew that cats usually refrained from speaking to humans in that kingdom. He smiled apologetically and bowed low. "I apologize for the inconvenience your sister has been put through, young man, but I must admit that I'm most grateful for her intervention on my daughter's behalf. If there's anything you two would wish of me when she wakes up, please feel free to ask for it."

The boy kept staring at him, but took a breath. "Are you really the Baron von Gikkingen?"

The orange and cream cat nodded, making the boy's eyes grow wild.

"Oh boy…" he muttered before shaking his sister's shoulders insistently. "Haru, please wake up!"

"I've got a bit of water," the peddler said helpfully, uncorking his water skin before handing it to the boy, who nodded gratefully before holding one end of it over his sister's head.

ooOoo

Cold water suddenly caressed her face, making Haru violently snap into consciousness. "The cat! Did I get the cat?!" she asked in a panic, looking around as she sat up from her little brother's lap.

"Yes. Thank you for saving me, Miss Haru."

She looked down, seeing a white kitten all but snuggle in the newly made lap. But, it was dressed like a human girl, and even had hands and feet! She hadn't noticed those details before.

"I'm very sorry for making you get hurt for me, and I promise not to go into the street alone again," she added, her beautiful green eyes still bearing fresh tears.

Hesitantly, the slim brunette scratched one of the kitten's well-formed ears with one finger, wondering if she had hit her head a little too hard. And her back didn't feel so good, either. "Well, you're safe, and that's what's important," she said after a moment's thought.

"I couldn't have said it better myself, Miss Haru."

The human girl's eyes flickered just beyond her lap, and stared shamelessly.

There was an orange and cream cat in front of her, but he had the same physical peculiarities that the kitten on her lap had. He had two other kittens with him, also dressed in the aristocratic style of this kingdom. He also had the same glowing green eyes as the white kitten on her lap.

He took off the tall silk hat, a grey matching his suit, and held it to his heart in salute to her, in the manner of a true gentleman. "I humbly thank you from the bottom of my heart for rescuing my daughter, Miss Haru."

Her manners sharply brought back into focus, the slim girl bowed low from her sitting position, in the style of her native kingdom. "No problem, sir," she said, barely able to keep from screaming, thanks to the renewed pain all over her back and head. She snuck a glance behind her to see a rather impressive caved-in side of the rhubarb cart that had caught her eye, more than likely what had stopped her impressive jump from the horse's path. The brunette grimaced behind her glasses, and looked up at the peddler, who was corking the water skin that her brother had passed to him.

"I can work off the damage to your cart," she offered in an apologetic manner.

He laughed good-naturedly, and pointed to the feline gentleman in front of her. "The good Baron's already taking care of it, Miss, but thank you."

Her heart froze as her head snapped back to the strange feline, and to his two children, which were staring at her from behind their father.

He smiled warmly at her as he placed the top hat back between his large ears. "If there's anything at all I can do for you, please let me know," he urged her, his mint-green eyes glowing with gratitude. Haru bit her lip nervously, wondering…

"He's the Baron von Gikkingen!" Hashi whispered excitedly into her ear. "Go ahead and ask him!"

The aristocratic feline cocked his head a bit, hearing the soft words. "Ask me what?" he asked politely.

Haru took a deep breath, and bowed low one more time as she unconsciously kept rubbing the white kitten's fur with one hand, fiercely silencing her aching back and head. "Good Baron, my name's Haru Yoshioka and I'd like to apply for the housekeeping position that you posted in the newspaper."

His eyes widened a bit, and his mouth fell open a little. Haru winced, wondering if he would consider hiring a human. But she needed this job pretty badly, if she and her brother wanted to eat tonight.

The kitten on her lap gasped, and jumped off to pull at one of her father's hands. "Daddy, please hire her," she begged as her two siblings also joined the chorus of "hire her, hire her!", as they also pulled on his hands and arms.

The Baron, however, cast his eyes up to the sky as a wild smile overtook his face. "Thank you," he whispered softly, though not softly enough to escape Haru or Hashi's notice. He suddenly looked at the brave brunette again, and smiled even wider.

"When can you start?"