Chapter Sixteen: Unexpected
Creativity comes from looking for the unexpected and stepping outside of your own experience.
Masaru Ibuka
xxXxx
The morning after Haru's arrival, Baron was staring at the mixture of herbs and such that were brewing in the tea pot, referring to his tea journals frequently. He had tried making a blend like this before, but it had been far too weak; hardly more than flavored water. A few sprigs of rosemary, and some mint leaves should take care of that, along with freshly squeezed lemon juice.
"… In the kitchen. He hardly ever uses the dining hall," Lune's voice slowly became audible, just before the door opened.
Baron casually looked over one shoulder, not terribly surprised that he had been speaking to Haru.
But no Yuki.
"Morning, Baron," Haru said casually while rubbing sleep out of one eye.
"Good morning, Baron," Lune stressed, giving his intended an irritated look. "Would you mind solving a debate between us?"
"Oh sure; ask your best friend who'll be on your side," Haru said sarcastically, accenting the statement with a practiced eye roll.
Baron turned away from his tea pot for now. "What are you two fighting about this early in the morning?" he asked tiredly.
"Yuki's still not feeling well, and I think she's coming down with a cold. Because I want to avoid creating more work for your servants," Haru stressed, mostly directing the force of it at Lune, "I'd appreciate it if your cooks would allow me to bring her meals and such to my room, however long it takes for her to get better."
"But as future princess of the Cat Kingdom," Lune retorted, "You're not going to be allowed to personally assist your maid, and need to practice giving orders."
"But since we're not married yet, I'm still a peasant girl," Haru insisted stubbornly. "Peasant girls are allowed to look after sick friends, aren't they?"
The few cooks in the kitchen were trying hard to not look like they were eavesdropping or laughing.
"Kittens," Baron sighed, rubbing his head as he referred to the bickering couple. "The two of you need to learn negotiation. Haru; whether you like it or not, you are the Sea Maiden, and you have been sent here to prepare for your future at Lune's side, have you not?"
Haru gave him an angry look, but reluctantly nodded.
"However, Yuki is still your friend, and you're not a princess yet, as you said yourself. Lune; let her take care of Yuki for today, and if she needs more time to recover, Haru will allow one of my servants the honor. Is that agreeable?"
Haru stared at him in shock as Lune did the same; assuming that the little lord would have simply sided with the prince. But then the half human leaned slightly close to her intended, and whispered something that Baron could hear loud and clear.
"Why isn't he the king's advisor?"
The tawny kitten was almost certain that was meant as a compliment.
"Because he's competent, I suppose," Lune answered with a childish grin.
Deciding that the blend was done boiling, Baron poured a cup and added some milk. "Would either of you care to sample?"
"Oh no; I remember what happened last time," Lune grimaced, actually taking a step back from the small lord.
Haru gave him a surprised look, but shrugged as she accepted the cup. Just as she was raising it to her lips, Baron suddenly panicked. What if it was a bad batch again? What would she do to him for revenge?
Haru took one sip. Her cheeks were immediately sucked inwards as her large brown eyes became even larger, akin to saucers. She stumbled backward against a cook that was standing nearby, and managed to start gasping for breath.
The cook, Rose, simply steadied her with a smile. "His lordship's blends can be unpredictable, my lady."
"I-I see," Haru gasped, looking at the yellow tea she had accidentally spilled on the floor. But then she started giggling uncontrollably.
"Oh dear; the tea's made her hysterical," Baron fretted, opening his tea journal to cross off this blend as well.
Haru tried to control her giggling. "No, that's not it. I was just thinking; this kind of tea would have been perfect for keeping me awake through Natori's lectures."
Baron stared at her incredulously.
"No, seriously; it's like concentrated lemonade. If you add maybe a half cup of the blend to about eight or ten cups of water with a half cup of honey or sugar, it would be perfect for summer afternoons."
Baron stared at her in astonishment, since that was the first positive reaction he had ever gotten to one of his blends. Not about to waste this rare occurrence, he immediate set on making the adjustments she suggested. Wordlessly, he poured a cup of the improved blend and offered it to her.
Haru drank it with no hesitation, which he was almost willing to consider miraculous in itself. Even stranger, she was actually smiling when she finished the cup. "You can't call it tea anymore, but it's pretty good."
Baron hurriedly poured himself a cup, and took a sip. His eyes widened with surprise. "Over three thousand tries…" he whispered to himself.
"Really? Then statistics were on your side by now," Haru replied with a soft smile.
"My lady?" one of the cooks said with respect, presenting her with a breakfast tray. "There's enough for both you and your maid."
"Thank you," Haru replied, carefully taking the tray.
"Miss Haru; in an hour, we'll have your first lesson. That should be enough time for you to properly care for Yuki," Baron said, suddenly remembering the reason she and Lune were in his home.
"Okay," she answered cheerfully, thanking a cook with a nod as he opened the door for her.
Curious, Baron set aside his teacup for now, and walked to the door.
"Is something wrong, my friend?" Lune asked.
"No. I just want to see the way she walks." Baron carefully studied her pace, until she turned a distant corner. He turned back to the prince, a little perplexed. "She doesn't seem to be as clumsy as you and your father say."
In fact, she hadn't struck him as clumsy at all, save for when she tripped near the portal's mouth on the human side.
"She probably doesn't wish to drop the tray, Baron. She was bumping into corners and such all the time at the palace."
The little kitten stole one more look down the hallway, and smirked as he wrote the girl's suggestions into his tea journal. "Perhaps I can use that to my advantage. Everyone, please help yourself to the lemonade."
ooOoo
Of course, it might have helped if he told her where to meet him for the first lesson. To cover for any possible misunderstandings, Baron simply knocked on the wall next to her curtain when the hour was up.
He could hear Haru say something in a warm tone, more than likely to Yuki. She nodded at him as she pushed the curtain aside and let it fall behind her. "Thanks for letting me take care of her."
"It only seemed fair. Now then; would you care to give me a personal assessment as to why the king felt it was necessary to send you here?" he asked, gesturing for her to walk with him down the hall.
She rolled her eyes as they started walking; doing her best to ignore the servants that were shamelessly staring at her. "I think the real reason is because he got sick of me saying that I told him so over and over again. Even though I did, you know, warn him that it was a bad idea."
"Why precisely is it such a bad idea?" Baron asked curiously.
"I'm not princess material," Haru replied in a flat tone, a trace of her frustration beginning to return. "Even before coming here, I knew that. I mean… how can I say this?" she asked herself, holding one hand to her forehead as her long hair fell over her shoulders to hide her face.
"Try," Baron implored her; fighting back the urge to brush the long strands away.
"Well… a princess needs to look a certain way, act a certain way, talk in a certain way, right? No matter where she goes or does, she's always being watched, and just about every detail of her life is at the mercy of the crown's whims."
"You have summarized it quite accurately," he congratulated her, even as his heart began to sink again.
"Well, I can't handle that. Back home, it was easy not to care if people were watching or not, because I knew that no matter what I did, only Renny would ever approve of me. No one cared about what I did except for him, and all he asked was that I did my homework and chores every day, and that I stay out of trouble when I leave our house. Other than that, I pretty much had free rein over my life. Now I'm stuck in a gilded cage, and there's not a blasted thing I can do about it."
Baron gasped with horror. "Miss Haru!"
"Well, it's how I feel!" she defended.
"No, not that. I can't believe that word fell out of your mouth!"
To her defense, she seemed honestly confused. "Which one; cage?"
"No, the word before 'thing'. I didn't think you used such coarse language!"
She stared at him, and tried to fight back a smile. "Blasted?"
"Miss Haru," he groaned, covering his ears. "Please refrain from that word!"
She started giggling. "You know Baron; that's not considered a swear word in my world."
"Well, it's very much considered one here. Please don't use that word anymore!"
She just kept laughing, bracing herself against a nearby window as she tried to muffle the sounds with one hand. "C-Come on! Out of all the things about me that could irk you, and it was that one?"
"Miss Haru; please," he begged, wondering in horror if she had used that word at the palace.
She managed to get her laughter under control. "Fine, but only because you said please."
He sighed with relief, and pulled aside the curtain to his study. It seemed as good a place as any to have their first lesson. He chose one book from his bookshelf and offered it to her. "Since you won't provide me with more specific information, we may as well start with the basics."
Haru took the book, turning melancholy. "I can't read cat, Baron."
"I don't want you to read it. I want you to balance it on your head."
She seemed surprised, but shrugged as she placed it between her triangular ears, flattening them a bit to do so. The book immediately fell off, but she caught it with ease. "At least this is better than the saucer of milk that Natori insisted on using."
Baron bit back a laugh. "I imagine your gown was ruined."
She smirked wickedly as she kept trying to perch the book on her head. "Nope. Natori was still pretty close when it fell off, so it got him instead."
Baron coughed into one gloved hand to cover up the chuckle threatening to escape his control. "He should have known better than that. Here, come closer to that chair," he urged, walking over to a small wooden one that he used for reaching books on the higher shelves.
Haru followed him without question, handing over the book when he gestured for her to do so.
He then stepped onto the chair, so that he was about the same height as her. "Please direct your attention to the window; we have a lovely view of the sea from here."
She looked past him, a deep longing in her eyes. "Yes, we do."
Although he was still a bit nervous about being this close to a human, he tilted her chin up by a few degrees, and gently eased the book over her head. He kept one hand on it until he was satisfied with the angle of her chin. Noticing that her shoulders were slightly slumped, he went ahead and guided them to a better position.
Thankfully, she obeyed all his silent promptings; never taking her eyes from the gently roaring sea.
"Try to hold your head just like that, Miss Haru," he said softly, releasing his hold on her and the book.
It stayed as steady as a rock.
"What's the point of balancing a book again?" Haru asked, making it shake slightly.
"Come now; you even said that princesses need to act a certain way. Balancing a book teaches you to keep your head level, make your movements smoother, and improve your posture. We'll work on having you stand still and move your head first; we'll get to walking later."
"Can't wait," she murmured in a monotone, her eyes becoming clouded and lost.
Baron saddened at her mood. He didn't like seeing her like this; she was so much more interesting when she was cheerful, or even just concerned about Yuki. But when she was thinking about her own predicament… well, he didn't care for it at all.
He stole a look at the window before realizing something else. "Haru, did you deliberately sabotage your lessons at the palace?"
"No. I just didn't put any effort into them," she admitted. "As far as I'm concerned, the king wanted me, so now he's stuck with me. I even warned him not to expect enthusiasm. Heck, the only reason I was bumping into everything is because I was still getting used to having a tail."
Baron nodded, since he had overheard her tell the monarch. 'She didn't seem to need much adjustment with her tail when she was walking with me to the palace, or when she was attempting to escape.' "Haru, I'm well aware that you can treat my lessons in the same manner. Even if you learn them beautifully, there's nothing I can do to ensure that you actually apply them to palace life."
Haru turned her head to look at him, nearly sending the book to the ground. She hurriedly grabbed one side of it as he grabbed the other. She resumed the pose that he had given her, and took her hand off the book.
Baron also released it, thrilled that it was again as steady as a rock.
"You know, the king really should get a perspective like yours," she told him. "He never bothered to think about that very strong possibility."
"I'm afraid the king isn't used to negotiating; he is accustomed to giving commands, and threatening heads when a command isn't enough. It tends to cloud his judgment on how to deal with you."
She gave a short laugh, making the book shake again. "All right; what would you do to ensure good behavior from me?"
"A compromise, of course. It's been nearly a month since you've been near salt water, hasn't it?"
"It feels like even longer," she whispered in agony.
"You've never gone so long without it, have you?" he asked in sympathy.
"No, I've gone longer without it, because Renny would sometimes ground me for… well…" She gripped the book with one hand so that her guilty shifting wouldn't make it fall. "The other kids my age would sometimes make me angry enough to get into fights, or I'd do something stupid over a feline. The longest he's ever grounded me was three months."
Baron nodded, using his logic to translate what she meant by kids and grounding.
"But at least then I could still see the sea, still smell it," she said wistfully. "But I'll admit that your sea smells better because no one around here has a car."
Baron blinked twice in confusion. His logic couldn't translate that word. "What is a car?"
She gave him a surprised look, and nibbled her lower lip as she thought quickly. "You know that metal thing on wheels that Renny and I drove up to our house in?"
"Oh!" Baron exclaimed, feeling silly for not figuring it out for himself.
"You've been to my world; you've noticed a slightly putrid scent to our air, right?"
"It was hard to miss."
"Well, that smell is from cars, or at least the gas in the cars. Because just about every family has at least one where I live, the smell kind of lingers in the air. It was one of the reasons I'd escape to the sea daily. But back to your point?"
"Of course. What were we speaking of again?" he asked sheepishly.
"You were talking about a compromise."
"Thank you. You mentioned that as long as you performed your duties, you were allowed to do as you wished while living with Renny?"
"Yes…?"
"I don't see a reason to do anything different. If you do well with your daily studies, you may play in the sea for a few hours every day before supper."
She immediately rewarded him with a smile. "Really?"
"I can't think of a better way to ensure your effort. Here's another offer for you; Lune is my best friend, and he makes an effort to visit my home at least twice a year. Since you'll be married to him before long, naturally you'll come as well."
Her smile began to fade, thinking about being married to the prince.
Baron spoke quickly, before it could fade too much. "If you apply what you learn here at the palace, you will be free to spend as much time in the water as you wish when you return to visit. Is that agreeable?"
A smile returned, although it wasn't as radiant as the first one was. "It's a lot better than nothing. Thank you."
"You're welcome. All right; now try turning your head slowly," he directed; one hand ready to catch the book if it fell.
She turned it to the left, nearly sending it to the floor. But she caught the book with one hand, since it was out of Baron's reach. "Too hard?" she guessed with a sheepish smile.
"A little too hard," he agreed, allowing her to set the book on its perch once more. "Try doing it slowly; ladies seldom have such sharp movements."
"Right. Too bad I'm not a real lady," she responded as she tried again. It wobbled, but didn't fall.
"Actually you are. Once you realize the fact, everything else will fall into place for you." Then he paused, feeling unnaturally curious. "Those fights you got into; how often did you win them?"
A very evil smirk overtook her strange features. "Three out of four times, and that's only because they were too cowardly to take me on in anything but a group."
He sighed sadly. "No wonder the guards didn't stand a chance against you."
"They were pathetic. Don't they have to go through training to become guards?"
"Yes, but humans have more experience with fighting. We've never had a war in our kingdom."
Haru's eyes turned wide with shock. "Never?" she asked incredulously.
"Never. We have the occasional feud between and within families, but that's about it."
She stared at him in total shock. "That must be nice."
"Not if you belong to one of the feuding families," Baron retorted in a soft tone, suddenly thinking about his brothers for the first time in…
He couldn't even remember the last time he thought about Harold and Louis. Had they lost the vineyard yet? Were they homeless drunkards, or had all that wine drinking managed to destroy their livers and lives by now?
Did they miss him at all? Did they regret trying to kill him?
A comforting warm hand on his shoulder suddenly brought his mind back to the present.
"Hey, are you okay, Baron?" Haru asked, looking concerned. "Were you from one of those families?"
He took in a shaky breath, and shook his head to clear it. "It's ancient history; nothing for you to worry about. Try turning your head again."
She didn't stop looking at him as she turned her head. "If it's such ancient history, why were you frozen for over a minute?"
His hands clenched painfully. "I try not to think about it, if possible. Please focus on your lesson."
'Please drop the subject' hung unspoken in the air.
Her eyes saddened, but she kept turning her head smoothly enough to only make the book wobble. "I'm sorry."
It was so strange to hear her utter that phrase, when it should have been him on so many counts. It reminded him of just what kind of girl he had so cruelly deceived on several levels. How he was continuing to deceive her, and would for the rest of his life.
He sighed, and kept his eyes on the slowly steadying book. "So am I."