Chapter Five: Great Things, Little Things
We cannot do great things. We can only do little things with great love.
-Anonymous
xxXxx
Baron Humbert von Gikkingen hadn't been all that impressed with his new home, save for the extensive library and lovely view from almost every window. Mountains, forests, the sea, even the Human Tree were all easily seen.
However, he had yet to be impressed with anything he saw outside of the castle grounds.
There were a grand total of three towns on his lands, and all three bordered the seemingly endless shoreline. Each possessed a long wooden dock, along with an average of thirty rickety boats each that stayed within sight of land at all times. Through the slight fog, Humbert could just make out cats struggling with nets full of fish. The unsteady boats shook uncertainly with each heave.
"That doesn't look very safe," Humbert fretted with concern.
"It isn't safe, sir," a crippled cat sitting on the wharf rasped at him. "We lose many of our boys to the cold sea. She's a cruel mistress, she is."
"I bet she is. Tell me; were any lives lost, in rebuilding the castle?" he asked tightly.
Richard had never directly answered him, concerning that. As things were, he was being unnaturally silent ever since the new lord's inspection of the first town.
"Aye, sir. I owe this cripple to it meself."
"Was anything done for you after it happened?" Humbert asked with intent.
"Not much sir. What little was done, was done after the old baron died."
The stunted cat looked at his steward, who coughed nervously into one hand.
"Baron Carouch didn't want me pampering the workers, or at least that was how he put it. After he died, I did what I could to ease what had been done to them."
"Did you decrease the taxes?"
"Yes, my lord. By a good thirty-five percent."
Humbert had to sharply restrain himself from gaping at him. "Thirty-five percent? How much was it originally?"
"Fifty percent. The old baron was speaking of increasing it to seventy-five, but he died before it happened."
"Thank heaven. Richard, don't bother with any renovations or alterations on the castle just yet; I want every building in my district to be ready for the coming winter. I could fall through some of the roofs in the last village."
"We may not have enough time before winter hits, my lord," Richard warned him.
"Then we'll put up whoever's left in the castle until the weather warms up again. There should be room for everyone, I think."
"Um, Humbert," Lune said in a hesitant voice. "That isn't done."
"Why not, Lune? There's plenty of room for everyone, isn't there?"
The prince stared at him for a moment. "Well…" he struggled to say. "It… isn't… the proper way to use a baron's castle."
Humbert gave his new friend a long sad look. "Proper? It isn't proper to give aid to those who need it?" He shook his head and sighed. "Lune, your father placed me in charge of these people, and I'm going to care for them as I see fit. If you don't approve, either inform your father of what I'm up to, or turn a blind eye."
Richard began choking terribly as Lune gaped at him. Even the crippled cat was staring at him incredulously.
"… No one's ever said that to me before," Lune whispered in almost dumb amazement.
Humbert shook his head and sighed. "I'm sorry, Lune, but this…" he angrily gestured at the old cat's crippled leg, and everything it signified. "It has to stop, even if it's just in my area."
ooOoo
Such was easier said than done. There were an alarming number of people with lingering injuries from building the castle or nearly losing their life out on the open sea. There were so many that were in need that Humbert knew his plan would not come into effect until after winter, at least.
After closer inspection of the homes, he eventually gave up and gave an invitation for everyone on his lands to evacuate their homes for the winter in favor of the castle.
Many resisted, although he wasn't quite certain why they would choose to stay in broken down shacks rather than the castle. In any case, he didn't force his will on them, since that would only rank him the same as the old baron. He simply made it clear that they would be welcome if they changed their minds, and moved on.
Of course, when all of them showed up after the first snowfall, he was good enough not to say anything.
ooOoo
"It is strange, to see one so gifted with mathematics," Richard said one night, after Lune had returned to the castle on a gift hare.
It had been four months since he had come, and there was a light snowfall outside. It was also quite late. The only reason the room wasn't drenched in shadows was because of the roaring fire from the other side of the large table he and the little lord were bent over.
"Thank you, Richard. I'm glad I haven't lost the knack for it. Now then; we've agreed to sell the gold canopies and draperies to Count DeLarouche, who will be sending his cats in a week to deliver the payment and collect them. Couple that with what we've gained from selling all those ugly vases and paintings in the main hall, and it looks like we'll have enough to feed and keep everyone warm until early summer," Humbert said with relief, making a few more marks on the paper before setting it aside to let the ink dry.
"Still, as soon as the weather warms up, we'll need to find a way to pay for the major reconstruction of the towns. I wouldn't even keep rabbits in some of those houses!"
"They are in shameful condition, aren't they?" Richard responded softly.
Humbert set his elbows on the table in the study, his brow furrowed in thought. "We'll find a way to raise the money, Richard, and we'll do it without resorting to more taxation. The people are exhausted enough as is."
"My lord?" Richard asked in a soft voice.
The tawny kitten looked up at the old cat. "Yes?"
"How… do you know all these things?"
Humbert blinked twice, and cocked his head to convey his confusion.
"I mean, who were you, before you became the baron? Your mind is too… educated to have been someone ordinary. Not even the old Baron's family was so good with numbers. Are you a younger son of some lesser known noblecat?"
Humbert shook his head softly. "I was ordinary enough, other than the fact that I lived in a cave with Toto for a year." He glanced at the grandfather clock, and yawned loudly. "We'd best head to bed; tomorrow's another day, and we'll need our wits about us."
"Humbert, please," Richard begged, gently taking hold of one arm as he forgot about formality. "Who were you, before you came to us?"
Humbert's heart sank into his shoes as he somehow managed to wiggle his way out of the steward's hold.
It wasn't that he was ashamed of his roots. It was more that he didn't want his brothers to find him, if his true identity became general knowledge. Even if by some miracle their hearts had changed since that night, his new status would doubtlessly be enough to rekindle their jealousy.
"I was no one, Richard."
"I don't believe that, my lord. You had to have been someone," he insisted with fervor.
Humbert looked at Richard sadly, and shook his head as he left the study. "Who I used to be is dead, Richard. Talking about him won't bring him back. Pleasant dreams."
ooOoo
"… Which would explain why the field just beyond the woods would be the perfect location for the mulberry trees," Humbert explained as he traced a gloved finger over a map of the surrounding area, surrounded by a handful of the baronetcy's best gardeners. "Does anyone have any objections to the location?"
"I have one, my lord," a middle aged feline woman said respectfully, gesturing to the same area. "This field is full of herbs. We depend on it for spices and healing ointments."
Humbert took a look at the notes around the large map. "This doesn't say anything about an herb field."
"We never allowed a lord to know before," her husband said sheepishly, gripping her hand in a protective gesture. "The old baron would have stripped the field for revenue and left us with nothing if we hadn't kept it secret."
The stunted cat gave a soft laugh. "Yet you let me know in passing. Just out of curiosity, was anybody truly loyal to the Baron Carouch?"
"His wife was, but she died shortly after him," Richard said softly. "Had a difficult childbirth, and the child died as well."
Humbert sighed. "Very well; all of you know this area better than anyone. Where would you think mulberry trees would be best suited for everyone to work at?"
"There's a fertile valley beyond the field, my lord." An older male cat pointed a gnarled, shaky hand at the space between two mountains. "The map makers were always careful to understate it when reporting it to the old family."
"How big is it?" Humbert asked, taking a look at the spot.
"I'd say a good thirty acres, my lord. We would have settled in that area long ago, but…"
"The old baron," Humbert sighed, getting a little tired of hearing that. "Well, if there are no objections, I would like all of you to help me inspect that valley, come spring. If the soil is good and the weather permits, I'd like to at least have the trees transferred here next year. It will be another nine years until they will be able to produce fruit, I'm afraid, but when they do, it will open up all sorts of doors."
He beamed at them. "Just think of it; jams, pies, soaps, dye, paint; even medicine can be made from mulberries! There isn't a one of you that couldn't make at least some of that, and more. If we all work hard, we won't need to fish nearly as much, which in turn means that more lives will be spared in the long run."
"What about wine?" Richard asked.
"No!" Humbert roared before he could control himself.
The good twenty souls in the study with him leapt back in shock; having never heard that tone out of him before.
The little kitten did some brief breathing exercises, rubbing one hand against his forehead to combat the headache. "I apologize for my outburst, but I will not allow a single mulberry to be used for wine. That… disgusting bile brings nothing but heartache and sorrow."
"You happen to have a cellar full of Garrington's best years," Richard said carefully. "And our cellar is quite an impressive size."
Humbert's stomach clenched in horror. Even if he hadn't heard his true family name, 'cellar' was enough to bring back that terrible night.
"I should have known," he growled under his breath. Baron Carouch did sound like the type to keep fine wine in constant stock.
"You could always sell that as well," his steward replied in the same tone.
"And pass the curse to another place? No. We'll use it as fertilizer for the trees, when we transplant them," Humbert decided. "Part of the definition of wine is that it's aged, anyway."
A polite cough came from the doorway. Humbert and the country folk looked up to see a middle aged butler standing in the doorway.
"My apologies, my lord, but there is a messenger from the palace requesting for you."
Humbert cocked his head in curiosity. "I believe we've accomplished what we can for now; please feel free to return to your regular duties," he said politely while tipping his hat and walking around the large table they had been gathered around.
They bowed or curtsied back at him as Richard began ushering them out as well.
"Where is this messenger?" Humbert asked the butler, Adam, as they walked down the hallway together.
"In the main hall, my lord. I, um, hope you won't mind, but I had my sister prepare a warm meal for him," he said hesitantly.
"Why would I mind? It's a long journey from the palace, after all, and the beginning of winter." The little lord shook his head at the tall butler. "Honestly, being so hesitant over such a thing. I'm not Baron Carouch, you know."
"Thank the stars," Adam sighed gratefully.
Humbert sighed and shook his head again. 'Perhaps this is why I had to lose my family. To rebuild what my predecessor tore down. Well, that, and save Lune's life.'
The messenger was sitting close to the fire, shivering in a chair as a maid approached him with a plate of hot food. He accepted it gratefully, just before seeing the lord. He flinched, and tried to rise from the chair.
"Please stay where you are; you look exhausted," Humbert urged him with one hand, almost feeling the cat's weariness.
"Thank you, my lord," he replied gratefully, even as his shaky hand dove into a satchel covered with half-melted snow. He pulled out a tightly bound scroll, with the royal family's seal on it. "The king bid me to give you this."
"Thank you. Enjoy your supper," Humbert bid him as he broke the seal, and unrolled the parchment.
Baron von Gikkingen-
It is our wish that you immediately come to the palace. We have another task for you and your pet bird.
"Toto is not a pet," Humbert growled as he looked at the king's signature and royal seal.
"Is something wrong, my lord?" Adam asked worriedly.
"… The king misunderstands my friendship with Toto." He rolled up the scroll with a sigh. "Adam; please find this cat a warm room for the next day or so. He needs to rest before returning, and I need to pass instructions to Richard before leaving for the palace in the morning."
ooOoo
'What could the king possibly need from us? Surely he doesn't lack for servants that can cater to his every whim. Could Lune be sick again? No, that couldn't be it.'
"I hate flying in winter," Toto groaned as his wings beat against the icy winds. "Couldn't your king have waited until spring?"
"I haven't a clue, my friend. But whatever he wants of us, let's hope that it is worth the trip," Humbert managed to say with minimal shivers.
"No kidding; I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to keep this pace. There!" he said with relief spiraling down to a series of lights down below; the royal palace.
From the moment Toto landed, Humbert could sense that something was… off about the summons.
Although the stable hands were quick to approach Toto with fire-warmed blankets to rub his feathers free from the ice, the looks they were giving him were nothing short of peculiar.
"I was ordered to bring you to the castle doors as soon as possible," one of the older cats said a shade formally. "Chief Advisor Natori will escort you the rest of the way to the king's presence."
Humbert nodded, and pulled his icy cloak tight around his shaking body. "Are you permitted to tell me what's going on?" he asked as he followed the stable hand into the snow to approach the castle.
"I'm afraid not, my lord. However," the old cat hesitated, and walked just a shade slower to prolong their walk.
"Pride is a terrible thing, young one. I hope you'll learn that from this, at least."
Humbert gaped at him in disbelief.
With his weak little body, the last thing he's ever had to worry about was becoming prideful.
"What in the Cat Kingdom are you-" he tried to ask the cat as a small castle door opened.
"Ah, you have arrived," the chief advisor said smoothly, his smile strangely tight. "That will be all."
The stable hand bowed and headed back as Humbert followed Natori into the castle. He sighed with relief as he took off his snow-covered cloak, and shook it once before handing it to a servant.
"Come now; we don't want to keep the king waiting," The old grey hair said impatiently, already walking down the hallway.
"No, of course not," Humbert replied while suppressing a shiver, walking after the advisor.
He had only met Natori for a short while during his last visit to the palace. But even that was enough to convince him that Natori did not approve of the king's decision to make Humbert a lord.
"Will you hurry up?" Natori nearly snapped, now several yards ahead of him.
"I am cold and physically weak; I am coming as quickly as I can without collapsing," Humbert replied as politely as possible between increasing gasps.
The chief advisor sniffed disdainfully, but did not lessen his pace in the slightest.
In fact, he had walked fast enough to beat Humbert to the royal chambers by a good three minutes. By then, the young cat's heart was working overtime, and every muscle in his body ached.
He dared to take a few seconds to compose himself, and walked through the curtain a servant pulled aside for him.
The king didn't look half as pleased to see him as he had before, and Natori was standing behind the comfortable chair he was lounging in. A slightly satisfied smirk was on the advisor's lips, but he said not a word.
"Come here, Baron of Piaal," the Cat King ordered in a low tone; his expression stormy.
Humbert did as he was ordered, and bowed low before his monarch. "You wished to see me, your majesty?" he asked politely.
"Yes, I did." The king sighed, and got up from his chair to pace in front of the tiny lord.
"I am most troubled, my lord baron. I have showered you with gifts that many in my kingdom would die for, including protection for your bird, and how do you repay that?"
Humbert's heart sank. "Your majesty is displeased with my handling of the baronetcy?" 'I guess Lune tattled after all.'
"Frankly, my good baron, as long as you keep up with paying your taxes, I couldn't care less what you do with the land or people I have assigned to you. No, I am troubled by something else entirely."
Humbert looked up in confusion. "If it is not my way of handling the baronetcy, then what have I done to so displease you, my king?"
The old cat wheeled around with an angry glint in his eyes, including the royal crown. "Don't play coy with me, Baron," he hissed low and angrily. "We've been hearing almost since you left what you have boasted of doing."
Now Humbert was even more confused. "Your majesty; I've been too busy to boast."
"Stop lying!" the king roared. "Is it true that you used firebird tears to heal my son?"
Humbert gaped at him. 'How did he find out about that? I never told anyone, and Toto wouldn't have either.'
"Well? Is that how you did it?" the king demanded.
Humbert lowered his gaze to the floor, still kneeling to him. "Yes, my king. That is how I cured your son."
"Where did you find firebird tears?"
"Toto gave them to me, so I could heal your son."
"Then give them to me immediately," the king ordered, holding out one hand for the vial.
"I'm afraid I can't, your majesty. I used the rest of them to heal the sick ones in my baronetcy. There was just enough to heal all of them."
"What? Wasting firebird tears on peasants?" the king roared again, stomping around the study angrily. "How dare you, Baron?"
'When did my rank turn into a name?' "If I had known that your majesty desired them, I would have held onto the tears," Humbert consoled, although it was a lie.
His people had needed the tears more than his majesty.
"What if my son gets sick again?"
"That is impossible, my king. The tear I gave him rendered his body immune to all diseases and poisons."
The king eyed him suspiciously. "Then why didn't you use a tear on yourself? You don't want to look like a kitten the rest of your life, do you?"
A terrible ache filled his chest; one that had nothing to do with the marathon Natori had forced him through. "No, I don't wish that, your majesty. But the tears only cure active diseases and ailments, and mine ran its course when I was only nine. It would take more than firebird tears to help me."
The monarch growled under his breath angrily, and continued his angry pacing. "Well, is your other claim true?"
Humbert laughed nervously. "I don't even know how you found out about the firebird tears, your majesty. What claim do you speak of?"
The king laughed harshly. "Why are you pretending ignorance, Baron?" He walked over, and guided the small cat's chin to make him lock eyes.
"You've been boasting that if I but give the word, you can bring to me the firebird itself. Consider my word given, if you want to keep that head of yours."