I Have Your Heart Part 2

xxXxx

Baron casually flicked a bit of dust off the cuff of his jacket. "Over my dead body," he informed the messenger pleasantly.

"I highly advise you to reconsider," the human pressed, his tone as hard as his eyes. "Lady Yoshioka has no business in your home, or even this kingdom. Do you really want to be the cause of a war?"

Baron slowly looked him over, feeling his own rage begin to boil. "How quickly you forget my sister's fate. If anyone has the right to start a war, it's my kingdom. Consider Lord Yoshioka and his doctor's execution as well as his granddaughter's presence in my home to be a light price to pay for peace. Especially since Lady Haru has assured me that she will not be missed by any of her own kind."

"There is still an outcry for my king to do something. Come now; what future could she have with Bastets?"

"That is a fair point, my lord," his own king's advisor offered, but Baron already knew how little the feline approved of Baron's choice to keep the girl. "King Rupert himself has offered to take Lady Haru in as his ward if she is returned. You can't ask for a better keeper for her."

Baron forced himself to take in a deep breath before answering. "I have no intention to. Because Lady Haru is staying with me, and if there is no other business, I would like to return home."

His king rolled his head from side to side to crack his neck bones. "I still think you were hasty about taking her to my kingdom," he told Baron bluntly. "Her confession at the trial was useful, but the ambassador has a point. She doesn't really have a purpose in staying here."

"Oh no?" Baron countered angrily. "She's devastated by the means taken to extend her life. She is finding a great deal of solace in learning everything she can about my dear sister, and preparing herself to fulfill some of her lifelong wishes. She will not get that in any other kingdom, and I personally find great solace in her company. Lady Haru… stays with me."

"Will you at least tell her of her king's offer?" the messenger demanded. "Or allow me to tell her myself?"

"I will tell her, for all the good it will do," Baron promised while resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "It's a shame that I don't feel you can be trusted, or I would allow you to tell her yourself. But it would be best to tell your king that he would be wiser to use all that indignation to make sure that the atrocity that took my sister from me doesn't take anyone else."

"Baron, you go too far!" the advisor snapped at him. "Just let the girl return to her own kind! It's not like you're planning to marry her!"

Green eyes blinked at that. No words came through his lips, but everyone present could immediately see what he was thinking.

"Baron, no!" the king gasped with chagrin, but it was already too late.

"Thank you for the suggestion, Natori," he responded more pleasantly than he ever had to the Bastet before. "I'll go see what Lady Haru thinks of it," he promised with a wide grin while making his respectful exit.

"But she's a human!" Natori wailed.

"And I know about the Fish of Nilpan," Baron answered over his shoulder right before activating the spell that would turn one of the many mirrors lining the hall into a direct portal to his chambers within his own castle.

As soon as he was through, he turned around to see the mirror shimmer and return to his own reflection. "All right, Humbert," he told himself seriously. "You always told yourself that you wouldn't waste a lady's time unless you knew she was the one. You've been attracted to Haru since she put her hands on your ears, and she only gets better the longer you know her. Be frank, be sincere, and… just tell her," he advised himself, knowing that despite the reason for telling her, it was still a good reason to finally say it.

Deciding that was as much of a preparatory talk as he was going to get, he straightened up as much as he could and left his chambers to start the most important search of his life.

"Where is Lady Haru?" he asked the first servant he crossed paths with.

"At the tennis court, my lord. She's got a way to go," he added with an apologetic smile.

"Well, she did have a late start," Baron defended her with a firm grin that everyone knew not to say anything rude about the current subject.

The servant took the hint without comment and continued with his load of candlesticks.

'Should I make a quick stop to the family vault for a ring? No, the king might already be arranging something to stop me, and I don't want him or the messenger to get to her first. Maybe she'd appreciate picking out the ring herself.' Baron brightened at the thought and ran faster, choosing to leave his home via a window to get to his personal tennis court.

Well, his sister's tennis court. It had been her favorite birthday present.

He was pleased to see that the Moon brothers were still stationed around the court in a protective circle in case Haru's king tried to take her back by force.

Haru tossed the tennis ball in the air and hit it with her racquet, but the ball sailed right over the other side of the net. A blatant foul. "Drat!" she muttered, but Gregory was already tossing the ball back to her. "Thanks!"

"Your aim seems to be improving," Baron noted as he approached with an easy smile.

Haru turned around and blinded him with her smile. "If by that, you mean I didn't hit anyone on the head again, yes. It's getting better."

He couldn't resist laughing at her honesty. Odd. Before meeting her, he didn't think he'd ever smile again. He walked up to her and put his arms around her, savoring her scent.

"Baron? Is everything all right?" she asked, though still wrapping her own arms around his chest.

He rather liked that it was an automatic response to his affections anymore. "The summons were over you," he admitted, holding her a little tighter. "It seems your kingdom is so obsessed with the idea of getting you back, your king is willing to take you as his ward."

She hmphed angrily while tightening her own grip. "Too bad none of them wanted me before the scandal, or I might be flattered."

"I think the messenger is planning to be a pain about your king's insistence, but Natori gave us the perfect solution to the problem."

Haru looked up at him with surprise. "Natori? I thought he wanted me out of Bast."

"Oh, he does," Baron smirked. "That's why he was so upset that I'm taking his words to heart."

She cocked an eyebrow at him, the human equivalent of cocking one's head before smirking right back at him. "All right. What did he say?"

Baron took in a deep breath, surprised at how scared he was about offering this suggestion. The idea of it had a great deal of appeal to him, but what about her? He knew she found him attractive when he was wearing a human mask, but if she agreed to this, she'd more or less be forced to wear a Bastet one for the rest of her life. Was that really fair to her?

… What would she look like as a Bastet? Would she really be interested in joining his kind on his request alone? He didn't waste any thought on how fair he would find her since he had always been attracted to her sweet spirit.

Haru was now looking at him with concern. "Baron, I want to stay with you. I'm not a doll or even a pet under your roof, I'm a person. That means more to me than I can ever say. I'm willing to hear even a silly suggestion to-"

There was a familiar sound of magic, making the feline lord stifle an oath that he didn't want Haru to pick up.

A portal opened up just outside the fence to the tennis court, one that spewed both Natori and the royal messenger out like bad cabbage, as if they had both wrestled to go through first.

"Don't you dare!" the messenger hollered before even bothering to gather himself back up. "Just how unprincipled are you, to even think of coercing Lady Haru into marriage after what you did to her grandfather!"

Baron could feel Haru's lungs take in a sharp breath before her head snapped back to him.

"… Is that what you were leading up to?" she asked a little timidly.

He swallowed with difficulty before nodding. Jeremy and Harold were closing in on the messenger and Natori, but they knew enough to just place themselves between the court's entrance and the intruders.

Haru wasn't pulling away from him, he took that as a good sign. Her grip on him had loosened, but she wasn't letting go of him.

"Surely you can see that it's a sin against nature itself for a human and a Bastet-" the messenger tried to coax, but was cut short by the very lady he was trying to persuade.

"Do you mind?" Haru asked with irritation. "This conversation has no room for you." With that she looked up at Baron with a shy smile, ignoring the messenger that was now gaping like a fish. "… I made up my mind a while ago to get your advice if marriage ever became a possibility for me."

It was a better opening than what he was starting to fear. "Well, the best way to analyze this is to first determine your opinion of this suitor," he responded with a casualness that he most certainly didn't feel.

She gave a small smile and laugh. "That's easy. I think he deserves someone a lot better than me, but if he presses the issue, I'll probably cave. I don't exactly have a good track record with winning arguments against him."

Baron immediately felt a ridiculous grin overtake his face. "Could that perchance have something to do with how deeply interested he is in your happiness?" he asked a bit pointedly.

She grinned up at him and tightened her embrace while rubbing her face against his chest.

It was something she had never done before, and Baron could feel his heart speed up in appreciation.

"I want him to be happy, too. He lost someone very important to him recently, and for some reason, he takes a lot of comfort in having me in his life."

That made him stiffen angrily and tighten his grip on her until they were almost one person. "Have I really been so careless as to not tell you what you mean to me?" he asked in a low tone that sent a shiver down her spine. "Allow me to correct that immediately."

The initial plan had been to go into the long list of reasons first, but for some reason, his body decided that kissing her would drive the point home a bit better.

… It was an interesting contrast, kissing a human. Their noses seemed designed to get in the way, but at least Haru knew how to tilt her head to kiss him back.

That was the beautiful part. She was kissing him back! Without hesitation, and clinging to him the way he was clinging to her.

It was beyond perfect. The exact proof that he had found his mate, no matter the strangled sounds coming from the unwanted guests.

When they broke apart only a little, the first thing he saw was the glorious smile that her lips had immediately shaped into. "Well, when you put it that way," she admitted sheepishly, clinging to him even more fiercely than before. "I take it you know the needed steps to stifle outcries?"

"There is an amulet that will be needed to change you into a Bastet, and my king will likely require an oath of loyalty before giving his blessing," Baron admitted, wanting to get the hard part out of the way.

"Then let's get to it," Haru answered without the slightest bit of hesitation, still squeezing him like she had no intention of ever letting go.

That suited Baron just fine.