Memories Part Four
"Everything will be just fine," Baron promised Haru, squeezing her hand on his arm since he could feel her trembling.
"I want you to be right," she whispered; her strange, old eyes filled with an ancient longing.
Baron frowned, since that only seemed to confirm his suspicions that her stepmother hated his wife a little more than she was letting on.
As trumpets blared from within, the pair of soldiers opened the giant doors to reveal the throne room, and the entire court.
Baron felt that was a bit much, but it was far too late to protest such a large audience. He kept his posture as proper as ever, and escorted his human wife through the separated throng until they were in front of the king, who for once was sitting up straight instead of lounging on his throne. He bowed as his wife gave a deep curtsy with one hand, since the other was still firmly pressed against his arm.
"Baroness von Gikkingen," the king boomed in a voice that rattled the large chandelier overhead. "You have been accused by many of witchcraft and ill intent. But your husband has made it clear that he thinks you're cursed."
Haru nodded with a nervous smile but didn't say anything.
He scowled at the lack of a verbal answer but continued. "Therefore, it is my wish that you submit to Totoro, my grand magician, so that he can discern what your problem is."
Baron could have slapped himself with how the king let the formal language slip into his relaxed dialect now of all times.
"Your majesty," Haru responded while curtsying again. "Nothing would please me more than as many people as possible learning about what your grand magician will find."
He frowned at her ready acceptance before nodding at the large grey and white cat standing next to the throne. "Step away from her, Baron. We only want to see what reflects in her."
Baron couldn't help feeling nervous about the separation, but an encouraging smile was enough to make him release her and step away in a fashion that should allow him to see the mirror.
Totoro murmured something unintelligible in a deep growl as he rubbed the surface of the mirror with his pawlike hands three times before turning it so that the glass would face the eager young baroness. The mirror filled with white light before focusing the light straight onto the human, which made the room illuminate brighter than eyes could see.
Before Baron could blink back his eyesight, he could hear the courtiers screaming in horror at what they saw. He rubbed his eyes to encourage them to return to normal and immediately turned his attention to the mirror. His mouth immediately fell open with horror.
Instead of displaying Haru in her best court dress, there was a weathered hag in the mirror, definitely over a century old. Haru's ancient eyes suited the skeletal woman perfectly, but that was not the full extent of the nightmare depicted.
She was in a snow-white wedding dress that had been out of style for over a century, but there was blood down the skirt from a black dagger that kept twisting where it was certain no child could issue from. The hand holding the dagger was just as black and attached to a shadowed figure with no discernable features that stood directly behind the ancient bride. The other hand was firmly clenched against her mouth as the eyes spoke of a fathomless pain. The only color in the reflection that wasn't black, white, or red was what seemed to be a short gold chain hanging from the skirt.
Haru seemed to be the only one unsurprised by what the mirror depicted as her true form. After studying it for a minute to give everyone time to calm down, she nodded once sadly. "That more or less sums it up. As you can see, your majesty, I will need some assistance if you would like details," she informed the monarch before casually using her own hand to mimic the black one across the hag's mouth to prevent a single sound.
It was just as disturbing to see that ancient hag copying her body movements in spite of the shade holding her fast in its grip.
The king looked at her with disgust but turned his gaze to Totoro. "Can you make sense of this?"
Totoro waved his paw in an uncertain manner but signaled for two guards to come hold the mirror for him, still pointing it at the young baroness. He approached her cautiously as he pulled a strange leaf from one of his pockets. He opened his mouth wide, and Haru understood that she needed to do the same. He placed the leaf on her tongue, growling something else unintelligible while keeping his hand over her mouth.
There was a brief moment where the black magic was visible directly on her mouth, but thanks to Totoro's strength and determination, that black shadow shattered like glass. Haru gasped from the experience, stumbling backward.
Baron wasted no time leaping forward to catch her. "Haru? Did it work?" he asked worriedly while sneaking a look at the black figure in the mirror, who had released the hag's mouth and was waving it like her lips had changed into lava.
"I am Sheeta!" Haru yelled at the top of her lungs before giggling with surprise and delight. With her husband's help, she stood back on her feet to continue. "I am Chihiro, I am Nausicca, I am San! I am Fio, I am Naoko! I am Haru!" She laughed even harder than before as tears of relief streamed down her face.
Baron couldn't help thinking it was a good thing Haru didn't wear human makeup to the summons, though she must have known how happy she would be and made sure not to wear it. "I'm afraid I don't understand, Haru. Do you mean you're cursed to remember your former lives?"
"Oh, if only it were that," Haru groaned, turning to face him, but speaking clearly enough for everyone to hear. "About a hundred years ago, I as Sheeta had a terrible father. He was so deeply in love with my mother, that he couldn't find it in him to forgive me for killing her with my birth."
Baron scoffed. "That's ludicrous, it wasn't your fault."
"He wasn't exactly rational. He made my childhood as Sheeta a living nightmare, and I guess he couldn't bear the thought of me being happy when he was no longer around, so he somehow got his hands on a powerful magician that kept himself covered in my presence, so I don't know who he was." Haru pointed at the terrible reflection with one hand. "The night before I was given in marriage, he cursed me to the same pain he felt I inflicted on my mother. Over and over again, his plan was for my soul to be transferred to my daughter every time I was giving birth, all while retaining my memories since Sheeta's time. Thanks to the expectations of any noble woman, it's been a rapid, extremely painful cycle."
Baron choked on his outrage as the murmurs around them grew to angry shouts.
"This is low, even for a human!" one marquis declared.
"He would have been burned at the stake if he were found out!" one of the Human Tributes was quick to declare.
"I've been settling for taking jars of urine or dogs to his grave a few times every incarnation since his death," Haru admitted with no shame. "I would have worn yellow to his funeral too if my father at the time would have let me. That was the same lifetime I started realizing The Selection was my only hope for breaking the cycle."
Baron couldn't resist the urge to hold her tighter to him while staring at the terrible reflection, which now made perfect sense. "Why didn't you kill yourself or run away by now?!"
Haru sighed tiredly. "He made sure I was rendered immune to poisons and would faint if I put a certain amount of distance between me and my current father or husband's house without his knowledge and permission. My body also turns weak and shaky if I try to be 'careless'." Her lips surprisingly turned a bit into a wicked smile. "On the bright side, it was funny to see my succession of stepmothers and half or stepsiblings get annoyed when nothing would happen after I ate or drank whatever they were insisting I try. I also have depressingly good luck about only getting injuries when they arrange 'accidents'," she growled to herself. "I hope this explains why I went so far to manipulate Nanami into making sure I was available for The Selection."
Baron nodded, wishing that the rogue was alive so that he could dispatch him for her. He squeezed her a little tighter, realizing that every detail of her reflection was now explained.
Except…
"What is that gold chain?" he couldn't resist asking.
She bit back a tired chuckle before pulling a bookmark of her pocket that was strangely bulky.
Even as she did, her ancient reflection copied the action with the chain.
Haru took a moment to untie the cord at the top, but then yanked hard enough to pull the bookmark inside out.
Baron couldn't take it anymore. He wept at the six wedding rings that had both ribbon and cord intertwined between them to ensure they stayed flat and in place like a chain.
"You wouldn't believe how creative I'd have to get to make sure no one else could get their hands on these every time my time to deliver drew close. More than one stepmother was upset about being denied 'my mother's' ring," Haru explained in a manner that was trying to be lighthearted, but the weight of all she had endured was still more than evident.
Baron couldn't help himself, holding her tighter than ever against him before looking up at his king, who was more than disgusted by what was uncovered. "As you can see, your majesty, my wife has never meant any harm to anyone. If you insist that something must be done, make sure word of her curse spreads to Alsdea. Tie letters to arrows before shooting them over the wall if you must, but the tormentors that are still alive need to know the real reason they could never break her."
"It wasn't lack of trying, I can testify of that," Haru mumbled, making him nuzzle her before continuing.
"Even if none of the Alsdean nobility feel guilt, they will still need to be held accountable for the deliberate mistreatment since I'm more than certain that she's faced much more discrimination among her own kind than ours. As for Haru herself, just let us return home. I'll make sure that her last life is her finest."
Haru buried her face into his chest and clung a little more desperately to his jacket.
The king was still staring more at the baroness's reflection than her, but waved his hand dismissively. "The charges are dropped, buried, forgotten. You may take your leave."
Haru was just able to bow with her husband before they took the side exit to ensure that they never presented their backs to his majesty. Once out of the throne room, she unclenched her hands from around the fake bookmark and started sliding the ring ribbon back into it.
"Why did you keep them all?" Baron couldn't resist asking as they walked as one down the hallway that would lead to where their carriage was waiting.
"A reminder, I suppose," she sighed, finishing the task and tying the little cord back into place before sending it right back into the hidden pocket. "It started as a whim, since I wasn't completely sure if the magician was a real one or not and my first sperm donor was trying to destroy my peace even when he wasn't around. My second husband promised he was fine with the two children he had from his first wife, I got my hopes up that I could break the cycle, but then that traitor went back on his word and switched my contraception tea for conception tea after 'falling in love with me'." The young baroness snorted in disgust. "He never could look me as his daughter in the eye when he was proven wrong about whether a baby would kill me, and my stepson-turned-half-brother also broke his promises about looking after me after the birth and sending me to a convent in another kingdom when I came of age again. I mentioned more than once that it would have been smarter to blame his father for 'killing his beloved aunt' than me, even if that just made him free with his hands."
Baron released her arm to wrap his own around her for a tight hold as they left the palace. "That explains why you excel with my children, at least. Though I will be terribly disappointed in Thomas if he grows to have a similar temper."
Haru nodded her agreement with a thin smile of satisfaction. "That half-brother is an old man, now. I wish I could be a fly on the wall when he hears it was always me. At least Nanami will understand why Naoko laughed so hard when she threatened to make me think Nanami was my only mother."
Baron couldn't resist a wicked smirk as he assisted his wife into their carriage. "Be honest, dear. You did enjoy having fun with others' expectations for you."
"I needed something to help me pass the time until my age would line up with The Selection," Haru defended herself with a wicked smirk. "Other than collecting information, that is. The Lily I mentioned before was the Bastet Tribute five Selections ago. I wanted to be as prepared as possible, but I guess I wasn't as careful as I thought about certain things."
"It worked out for the best," Baron assured her before telling the driver to take them home and closing the door after himself.
Once they were on the road, he took her hands in his. "Haru, were you told everything the curse would entail at the beginning, or did you find out about the poison and such along the way?"
"About everything other than the soul transference and not being able to run, I learned along the way. Why do you ask?" she inquired with a raised eyebrow.
Baron took in a deep breath, since she wasn't likely to appreciate what had been bothering him for longer than today. "I think I can offer some insight to the husband that broke his word. Haru… watching you with my children-"
Her eyes went huge and she ripped her hands away from his. "Oh no, that's how Haku started it!" she yelled in a panic.
"My word is the same as before," Baron soothed her, though his heart was aching. "Since speaking of such feelings makes you uncomfortable, I will not say it. But would you at all consider that the curse has a certain effect on any husband you have as well?"
Haru blinked. "So it wasn't completely Haku breaking his word?" she asked numbly.
"No, you're standing evidence that he did," Baron assured her before trying again. "You don't have to answer if you'd rather not, but you take no time at all to come down with child each time?"
"Once usually is enough," she agreed, though she still looked nervous about sitting so close to him.
The lord tried not to take offense at that in favor of the conversation. "I know the potency of the potion both of us have taken to combat that problem, but that potion was designed for people unafflicted with such a terrible curse. Would you call me foolish if I expressed concerns that perhaps, you would still conceive if I ever made decisions in that direction?"
She blushed a little but looked down at her lap. "That's what I've been worrying about from the beginning. I've even had a few nightmares of falling pregnant anyway while you accuse me of infidelity since you also..."
Baron chuckled darkly. "I think we can agree that's one problem I'll never have with you. Would you be willing to hear out a possible, though drastic, solution for both of our peace of mind?"
Haru looked up at him with a worried expression. "How drastic do you mean?"
Baron tapped his fingers on the door to combat his nerves. "You are aware that there are certain illnesses that target the reproductive organs?"
Haru nodded sadly. "I used to wish to come down with it."
"I can't blame you. Were you aware that thanks to magic, those same organs can be removed with nothing more than a month or so of bedrest?"
She inhaled sharply as her ancient eyes turned wide and defenseless.
"Of course, I wouldn't ask this of you alone," he assured her hurriedly. "I was thinking that I pay the top specialist in Bastet to remove vital parts from both of us to make it impossible to conceive, even with magic. We won't need to explain why once the rumor mill does its job. It would be best to take that sort of thing between us nice and slow, and if you decide that the most you can give me is handholding and letting me hold you when we rest, I will respect that. But with what I learned about your condition today, it would be irresponsible not to at least consider-"
Baron Humbert von Gikkingen didn't get to finish his sentence.
His wife was too busy giving him their first kiss.
He could barely register that she'd transferred to his lap when she ended it with a blinding smile, snuggling deep into his arms.
"Now that you have the full context, I'll say it again. You are the best husband, and the one I wanted all along."