Chapter Twenty Seven: Everything
Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get, it's what you are expected to give- which is everything.
-Anonymous
xxXxx
Lune jumped off the couch, and started backing away with horrified eyes. "Oh no," he choked out in horror as Baron also realized that she was onto them.
"Oh, sit down; I'm not angry with you," she chided, standing up to grab his wrist before he could try escaping. "Well, okay, maybe a little, but I know it's not your fault. This whole mess is the sole property of your father."
The prince couldn't answer her. He couldn't even look at her, even though she had a grip on both of his shoulders by now.
Haru sighed, and gently made him sit down again. But she remained standing. "I have a theory on what's been going on, Lune, and I wanted to talk to you about it in a way that no one can overhear."
'Then what about me?' Baron couldn't help but wonder. Surely she knew that he was there.
"Back when we actually started talking to each other, in the tower, you said that the only reason you weren't fighting your father's wishes was to protect the life of someone very dear to you. You may not think I pay a lot of attention to you, but I've noticed that other than your father, there really are only two people that even have a prayer of inspiring that kind of loyalty out of you. One is Baron, and the other is Yuki. I think we both know that if you were protecting Baron, you'd have said so from the start."
Lune flinched guiltily, but still remained silent. Haru kneeled in front of him, and used one hand to force his attention away from his shoes and toward her face.
"All you have to do to convince me I'm wrong, is say that you're not in love with Yuki."
Lune stared at her in horror, and closed his eyes painfully. "I… I can't," he whispered after a few moments of terrible silence.
Haru beamed at him, and released his face to do what she had once told Baron was a victory punch. "I knew it!"
'She did?' Baron wondered, although slightly relieved that she had been able to figure it out without help.
"Keep quiet!" he implored her worriedly. "Someone might hear you."
"Sorry. I've been praying that there was something going on between you two since she said that you two were friends."
Lune stared at her in shock. "But… what about the day Baron came back?"
"Oh for crying out loud; I was attempting to pump you for information since Yuki wasn't talking! But I blew it, thanks to my impatience; a mistake I'm not going to make tonight."
Lune shook his head miserably. "Haru, we can't fight this! Yuki will die; don't you care about her life?"
"Of course I do. That's why I want you to run away with her right now."
Baron's heart was suddenly as light as a feather.
A groan was heard from the prince. "Baron was right; you are the type to encourage elopement."
"Completely. Shouldn't you be going about now?"
"But what about the prophecy, Haru?"
She slapped her forehead in irritation. "Don't you understand? This is part of the prophecy!"
"What in the Cat Kingdom are you talking about? The next king is to be your child!"
"That's right." Haru gave a large sigh, and grabbed his shoulder in a gesture of patience. "Lune, didn't you notice that just about everything for my destiny was set up about twelve years ago?"
"What do you mean?" the prince asked as Baron wondered the same.
"Think about it. That's when Baron came to court, when he brought Vulcan, when you met Yuki; everything."
"What does my meeting Yuki have to do with the prophecy?" Lune inquired, sounding more confused than ever.
'He has a point. The prophecy only mentions him, her, and her child,' Baron concluded.
She made him lock eyes with her again. "There's been some things you've lied about, and others you were honest over. But the one thing you've never told anyone, as far as I can tell, is what you were doing in the Human Kingdom the day we met."
The room was suddenly so silent, that Baron was tempted to find a pin to drop. But he kept his eyes and ears cocked to Lune, since the prince had never truly answered that question.
"I promise that I won't be angry or throw a fit over whatever it is you're about to tell me, Lune, but I need to know; what were you doing in my kingdom that day?"
The dark prince could only look at her, clearly fighting back the urge to cry. "I… I was actually…"
"It's okay; go on," she encouraged him, almost the way a mother would.
"… I was looking for you," Lune whispered, now studying his shoes again. "Or, at least the place where you obtained the fish cookies Yuki loved talking about. I was going to buy a box for her as an engagement gift, and defy Father for her. I tried to anyway, after you rescued me, but Father promised to remove her head if I so much as spoke to her again, and I can't let that happen. Even if it means marrying you."
Haru stood up, and smiled with relief. "I had a feeling Yuki had something to do with it. Especially since you came without an escort."
"I didn't want Father to find out before I proposed, and… it was something I had to do on my own. Now look at us; destined to both be bound to you."
"No, you're not," Haru replied in a sweet tone.
He looked up at her in surprise as the hidden lord did the same.
"Don't you see? This was meant to happen! Quite literally, if you had never met Yuki or if I had never saved her life, you would have had no reason to visit my kingdom, and the prophecy would be invalid. You were meant to love her, and she was meant to love you. That's literally the only reason I'm here, other than Baron's persistence."
'And the king's arrogance,' the tawny kitten longed to add.
"But what about our son?" Lune demanded. "The crown must pass through the direct line."
"Lune, use your head!" Haru nearly hissed into the prince's ear. "Hasn't it ever occurred to you that the stupid prophecy means my son will marry your daughter?"
Baron's jaw dropped. 'So she does know!'
It took the prince a little longer to say something. "… Father pressed the engagement so hard, I never got a chance to think about that possibility," he confessed almost sheepishly as he stood up.
"I've been pressed just as hard as you, and I thought of it," Haru retorted, gently touching his face with one hand. Then she sighed heavily. "Lune, you're a great cat; you'll never hear me deny that again. But to be perfectly honest, I think you and Yuki would make a much better couple than we would. I hope when everything calms down, I'll be able to count you as a friend instead."
Lune laughed; a strange, relieved sob that Baron had never heard before. He grabbed Haru by the shoulders and gave her a rib-crushing hug.
Baron knew he had no right to get indignant about such a gesture. But he still had to restrain himself from angrily revealing his presence.
"You know, when everyone hears of this, my father's efforts to get us together will seem like a trifle," he managed to say after a minute. "The noblecats can become quite competitive, especially when it concerns a beautiful woman."
Haru snorted indelicately.
"Stop that," he scolded as Baron wished he could do the same. "I may not want to marry you, but you are lovely, especially when you're happy. Being the Sea Maiden won't help, you know."
"Don't worry; I have another trick up my sleeve," Haru promised him, gently turning him around and pushing him away. "On top of that, I already know which one I'm supposed to marry."
'She does?' Baron thought in a panic.
"Oh? Which one?" Lune asked, almost uncomfortably. Was he thinking about the confrontation with Baron?
"I don't dare say; I might jinx it. Besides, I want him to choose whether or not to get stuck with me. But let me worry about that," she said quickly, leaning close to whisper into his ear. "I want you to go to Yuki, and tell her how you feel about her. Elope tonight; I'll buy you all the time I can. But whatever you do, don't come back until after it's safe."
"When will that be?"
Haru sighed again. "Trust me, you'll know, and I hope you'll forgive me for it. Now get going!"
"… You're completely certain about this?" he asked, as if afraid that it was an elaborate joke.
"Completely. Besides," Haru continued, her tone turning coaxing, "if you do it, not only will I have Muta whip up a large batch of those cookies for the two of you, but I'll take back what I said about Magic Dance."
"Uh, Haru? If I marry Yuki, what you said about Magic Dance won't matter."
"Exactly. Good thing I never actually gained feelings for you, or I'd be furious enough to sic Muta on you for sneaking around behind my back."
"Hey-" Lune tried to object.
"Enough stalling. Get going right now, because if I end up married to you, I'll never forgive you for refusing this escape hatch. Go!"
Lune gave her another deeply grateful look, and ran for a bookcase that was actually a door to the secret corridors.
Haru walked up to the bookcase after it slammed shut behind him, and held her ear against the wall; presumably so that she could hear him walk away. After a few minutes, she turned away from the secret entrance, and sent a grin into the room. "You can come out now, Baron. It's safe."
Hesitantly, he walked around the book case he was hiding behind. "… That was rather impressive, Haru. First you fool the entire castle into thinking you've reformed, and then you figure out what the king did."
"Between the two, I'd say fooling everyone was harder. Smiling all the time hurts my cheeks," she complained with a silly grin, one that he knew very well. "Would you like to see something funny?"
"Of course," he replied as they both walked back to the center of the room to meet at the chairs.
She grinned at him again as they both sat down, and passed the small note from her glove to him. He took it, and glanced at the words.
Your Chicky is safe, and in good hands.
Baron had to fight to keep from laughing out loud as he tucked the note into his breast pocket. "That was rather tricky of you, Haru. Banana sandwiches, indeed."
She fought back a few giggles of her own. "I might not like lying, now that I've gotten the hang of it, but it can be useful at times. Which reminds me." She suddenly slapped his elbow, making him yelp in surprise. "That's for lying to me, again."
"It wasn't my idea," he protested while rubbing the arm, just before fully realizing what she had done. "… You hit me!"
"You earned it," she replied with a silly grin, one that had no anger in it whatsoever.
"But you never harm anyone that can't fight back."
"That's right. But since we both know you're older and more mature than I am, you can handle your own."
He stared at her, feeling more love than ever before. Even if the slap had hurt and startled him, she had given it to him as an equal!
Never before had he been so happy to receive abuse. "… Thank you, Haru. I know that… my appearance can be deceiving."
"Very deceiving," she agreed, dragging him close for a warm hug. "I'm sorry it took so long to come to grips with the real you."
He purred with pleasure, unable to stop the action. But Haru didn't seem to mind, if her giggles were of any indication.
Then he remembered what he had come here to do. Although he really didn't want to, he pried himself out of Haru's arms, so that he could stand up and right in front of her. The action made them about the same height, since she was still sitting.
"Haru Yoshioka, there's something I would very much like to ask you."
She beamed at him happily. "Oh? What would that be, my lord?" she asked, her tone playful.
He opened his mouth to ask for her hand… but nothing came out. He gulped once from nerves and tried again. Still, nothing.
As he kept trying to ask, Haru's eyes seemed to lose just a shade of their color, and he could see a bit of uncertainty in them.
Baron wasn't quite sure where the idea came from. But since his voice was choosing such an inopportune time to go on strike, he saw no other choice. Biting his lower lip for luck, he reached up with both hands to remove the black silk hat he was currently wearing.
But he couldn't help but wish that he had been able to do this with his regular hat, as he tucked the headwear neatly into the nook of one arm, and just looked at the half- human; his heart in his eyes.
He thought he knew what Haru's smile looked like, in its many forms. But none of them could compare to the one that spread over her face as she leaned forward, gently grabbed the front of his suit with one hand, and pulled him close enough to press a chaste kiss against his lips.
Not a word had needed to be spoken.
When Haru pulled away and released his suit, her wildly happy grin had spread to his own face.
"That one was most certainly not CPR."
She grinned at him. "Nope, that one was genuine." Then she nervously placed one hand on each of his shoulders, and locked eyes with him. "Baron, how badly do you want to be with me?"
With the confirmation that she had just provided of her own feelings, the little kitten found the courage to answer without thinking twice for it.
"I'd die for the chance."
A flicker of yellow fear ran its course through her eyes, but she was able to control it on her own, giving him a tearful smile and she kissed his lips one more time. "You know that the king won't stand for it, right?"
"No. I don't know what to do about him," Baron admitted, feeling like a failure for admitting it.
"Maybe you don't. But I do."
He stared in complete shock, but waited for her to continue.
She sighed an almost sob as she stole another large embrace. "Baron, we literally have only one chance to be together. If either of us make even a little mistake, it's over for good. I wish I could tell you what's about to happen, but I can't let the king know what we're up to."
"I won't tell!"
"I know you won't. Because I'm not going to tell you anything; your reaction needs to be genuine." She took a long deep breath through the nostrils, trying to gain the courage to tell him something.
Something big.
"This isn't easy for me to ask, Baron. But in order to make everything work, you need to do something harder than you've ever done before."
"Whatever it is, I'll do it," he assured her fiercely.
"Can you trust me?"
"Of course-"
"Think it over before you answer," she interrupted him, a look of actual agony in her fair features. "You have to be able to trust me completely. If there's even a little bit of doubt, something terrible will happen. I'd avoid this if I could, but I can't. This is quite literally the only way for us to be together, and I want… need, you to trust me. Can you do that?"
Baron looked at her carefully, wishing he could pry more information from her. But despite the obvious terror she had for what was to come, he knew that stubborn set of her jaw.
She would tell him nothing more than what she had just said.
He smiled lovingly, and took her gloved hand so that he could kiss it. "I trust you completely, Haru. No matter what happens."
The relief he saw in her eyes was more than worth the brief soul-searching. She nearly crushed him in another embrace, and kissed his cheek in gratitude. "You need to return to the party as discreetly as possible with a different entrance. Do nothing to bring attention to yourself. Muta knows what to do from here, but whatever you do; don't involve yourself until the king sends for you in the morning."
"Will I receive more instruction then?"
"Yes, but not from me. This is why I need your trust so badly, Baron. This will be the last time I can talk to you until it's over." Haru sighed, and held his head so that one of his ears was close to her mouth. She whispered a single sentence in Japanese to him, and then released him completely.
Completely stunned, Baron shook his head while smiling. "I think you're driving me into insanity with you, Haru; I'm beginning to understand that strange tongue of yours."
She looked at him incredulously, but asked him something else in the same fluid tongue.
"Yes, really," he assured her with another smile. "You said not to worry, because you are fairly certain everything is going to work out."
Haru stared at him a little longer, and shook her head with a laugh. "You never fail to amaze me, Baron. Now get going."
He nodded, giving her another loving smile before walking back to the entrance.
"Just between us, Baron," he heard her whisper, just as he let the curtain fall behind him.
"The son that's supposed to become king? I hope he turns out just like you."
ooOoo
The engagement ball, in the king's eyes, was an outstanding success. Every one of noble blood was in attendance, both the food and the music were the finest to be had, and best of all, his son had come to his senses about the Sea Maiden.
King Phoebus had to admit, he was confused as to why it took his heir so long to realize what a jewel Lady Haru was, even before Baron had polished her manners and personality until they glowed. He sighed, fighting back the familiar pang of jealousy that it was his son that was destined to wed her.
But that didn't stop him from wishing that she had been revealed a generation sooner. It wouldn't have taken even half as long for her to warm up to her destiny, if he had been allowed to try his old charms on her.
Not that it mattered anymore. He was too old for things like romance, even if she was such a babe.
He loved that word, especially in reference to the Sea Maiden.
"Prince Lune has been gone with Lady Haru for some time now," Natori said tightly, checking his watch. "Almost an hour and half, now."
"Ah, the lovebirds are just getting acquainted. Let them be," Phoebus ordered before returning his attention to the goblet of raspberry wine in his hand.
It was days like this when he wished that Garrington's was still in business. Nothing could compare to their wine.
"Still, this is their ball, and should be in attendance-"
"I said leave them be!" the king snapped angrily before taking a long drink. "The more comfortable they are alone together, the more likely they'll present me with a grandson soon."
"It's most improper, for them to be spending time alone together before the wedding," Natoru pouted as he played with the tassels on his uniform, looking more sour than usual.
Getting fed up with the two of them, Phoebus pointed at the huge cat standing watch over the exit the happy couple had passed through. "You know that guard of hers? He always does exactly as Haru says, when she says it, and without commentary. You could both take a leaf from his book, boys."
Natori glared hatefully at the large feline, but finally chose to be silent, as did his pouting son.
The music kept playing. The cats were still dancing. The food was disappearing, but that might have just been because Haru's guard had convinced one of the maids to bring him a plate of goodies every now and again.
He checked his pocket watch after another hour had passed. "… I think it's high time that the lovebirds rejoin the party. Go track them down."
Natori nodded, but still said nothing as both he and his son maneuvered their ways from the throne to approach the guard. Phoebus could never remember his name, but nonetheless approved that at least he did as he was told. It was nice to see that at least some servants knew how to do their job.
At first, he wouldn't let the advisors pass, but after some words were exchanged on both sides, the guard invited himself to go along and help search. At least, that was what Phoebus could assume, since neither of them looked too happy when the guard walked through the curtain with them.
Phoebus could only smirk; it was good for his advisors to get one-upped every now and again. That was one of the reasons why he depended so much on Baron; he may be a runt, but at least he knew his place most of the time.
He sighed, and allowed the wine-bearer to refill his goblet.
The minutes began ticking by. The king found himself checking his pocket watch every two minutes or less.
After a half hour, though, the two advisors came back to the ballroom.
Alone.
Phoebus cocked his head at the two, puzzled that not even the guard was with them. Even stranger; the two looked scared! They only ever looked that scared when he was angry, or when Lady Haru was throwing a tantrum. Neither was happening, he was certain, so what was wrong?
Unless Lady Haru was throwing a fit again?
"What's wrong, babes?" he asked suspiciously.
"I… well, you see, my king," Natori stuttered fearfully. "We, uh, found Lady Haru, after some searching. She was asleep in the library."
Phoebus stared in shock, and stood up from his throne. "Why the heck was she asleep in the library?" he asked in a low, dangerous tone.
"She says that Lune took her there, and said he'd be right back with a surprise. That was less than five minutes after they left the party," Natoru reported, looking strangely hopeful through his fear.
The king's blood ran cold in horror. He whistled sharply, making his two personal bodyguards stand at attention. "I want the two of you to see if a maid named… oh, never mind; just alert the security and find out where my son is." 'I've been having such trouble with names lately; who was the maid Lune wanted to marry?'
"Yes, your majesty," they replied as one, bowing their way out of his presence to start searching the palace.
"Where is Lady Haru's guard?" the king snarled at his advisors.
"She was tired when he woke her up, so she asked him to escort her to her chambers. He'll likely be standing guard outside her room all night, as usual," Natori reported.
"Good. I wouldn't want her to start thinking Lune's making an escape."