Shizuku screamed as she suddenly realized that Muta was nearly twice her size and Baron was about her size. It was quite a shock. One minute they were normal size, the next they were huge, at least Muta was.
"What's happened?" she cried.
Haru chuckled. "Relax. We just shrunk. It's an affect the Cat Kingdom has on humans."
"An affect?" Seiji repeated.
Haru nodded. "Yeah, I told you this happened when I was telling you about my adventure here."
Shizuku thought for a moment. "Oh yeah, I remember now." She gave an embarrassed smile. "Guess I forgot."
"Wait!" Seiji cried, suddenly remembering something. "We're not going to turn into cats, are we?"
He shared a look with Shizuku, then the two of them turned to Haru for an answer.
"Haru?"
"Uh..." She really didn't know, so she turned to Baron. "Baron, are we?"
Baron shook his head. "No need to worry about that. A spell was placed on you the last time you were here. It won't happen again, don't worry. Although, nothing can be done about your sizes though. But don't worry, you'll go back to normal once you leave this world." He looked up. "Toto, are you there?"
The crow landed on the stone rim. "I'm here. Just wake me up when you're ready to leave."
Baron nodded. "We'll do that. Thank you, Toto."
The crow nodded. "Don't mention it. Good luck." He said, and turned to stone.
Baron turned back to the others. "Well, shall we go?"
They excited the tower. All the rubble had been cleared out, but the tower hadn't been rebuild.
"Hey Baron, why didn't they rebuild the tower?" Haru asked.
Baron thought about it a moment. "Hmm, I suppose they didn't want to move the portal again. There's no telling where the portal would have ended up. It may appeared in someone's backyard."
Haru decided that that made sense. "I guess. Yeah, that's a good point."
Muta snorted. "I would have thought that you were smarter than that. Let's see how fast you can get us through the maze."
Seiji blinked. "Maze? What maze?"
Haru waved it off. "The one that you have to go through to get from here to the castle. Don't worry about it though. Without those sneaky cats using fake walls, it's a clear path."
They saw that she was right. They didn't need to find their way through the maze. Without the fake walls, all they had to do was follow the path in front of them.
"Who makes a maze like this?" Shizuku wondered out loud.
"Normally when someone enter, there are cats carrying fake walls to block the way, but since we're uninvited guests we're in the clear." Haru replied.
After completing the easiest maze of their lives, they came to the back door of the castle. Two guards were there, guarding the door. When the others approached, the guards stepped in their way.
"That's far enough." The first guard said. "Do you have an invitation?"
"And if you do, why are you using the back door?" the second guard asked. "Wait, how'd you get back here anyway?"
Baron stepped forward. "I apologize for the intrusion. No, we do not have invitations. I am Baron Humbert von Jikkingen, and I have come for my fiancée, Louise."
The guards didn't move. "Sorry, no invite, no entry."
Haru laid a hand on Baron's shoulder. "Let me handle this." she said. Clearing her throat, she addressed the two guards. "Hey guys. You probably don't recognize me in my human form, but I am Princess Haru."
The two guards gave each other questioning looks. "Sorry, princess, invite only. No exceptions."
Haru narrowed her eyes and put her hand on her hips. "Invite only, huh? Let me tell you something. I saved the lives of both King Lune and Queen Yuki, and I have a close personal friendship with them. I was dragged her against my will, turned into a cat, almost forced to marry a cat, twice, was in the tower when it collapsed, and nearly fell to my death. Baron risked his life to save me. To pay him back, I attempted to help find his long lost fiancée. And now that she's found, the Ex-Cat King has kidnapped her and dragged her here against her will. I demand you let us in right now to see the king and queen. If you don't, I'll sic thee Renaldo Moon on you."
She turned to Muta, who was just staring off into space. Seiji nudged him to get the cat's attention.
"Huh, what? Oh, um, grr! I am Renaldo Moon! Let us speak to the king and queen or else I'll eat you!"
The two guards were trembling in fear. "Right away, princess!" the first guard said in a shaky voice. "I'll inform the king and queen of your arrival."
"I'll do that!" the second guard cried, wanting to get away from Muta, and he took off before the other guard could say anything.
As they waited, Shizuku and Seiji took in all the sights, sounds, and smells the Cat Kingdom had to offer.
"You know," said Shizuku, looking around, "this would be a nice place to live. It feels so... at home."
Seiji nodded in agreement. "Yeah, maybe we could stay for awhile after we rescue Louise."
"No!" Baron said aggressively. "This is merely the magical affect that the Cat Kingdom is having on you. It draws you in like a fly to a light. Don't forget who you are or where your real family and home is."
The two humans nodded and didn't say anything else on the matter.
The guard must have run the whole way there and back because he returned less than five minutes later, panting heavily.
"The king and queen will see you now."
Making sure to keep a safe distance away from Muta, the guards led the visitors to the throne room. There, sitting on the throne, was King Lune with his wife, Queen Yuki, by his side.
When they bowed before the royal family, Lune motioned for them to stand. "My friends, please, do not bow to us. You saved our lives. We are in your debt."
Haru looked up and smiled. "It's nice to see you again, your majesties."
Lune nodded. "It is good to see you again too. Who are your friends?"
Haru introduced the other two humans. "This is Shizuku and Seiji."
The two bowed again. "Greetings, your majesty." They said together.
Yuki chuckled. "Please, call us by our names. There is no reason to be so formal."
"Indeed." Lune agreed. "Any friend our of Haru's is a friend of ours." He turned to one of the guards. "Please fetch the children. I would like them to meet our guests."
The guard bowed. "Yes, sir."
Lune turned back to his guests, eyeing the other two. "Baron, glad to see that you are well. You too, Renaldo."
Muta groaned. "Muta's fine." He said rudely.
Shizuku nudged him. "Don't be so rude! They're royalty."
Lune laughed. "Not to worry, my friend. We are treated as superior beings far too much. It's a nice change to be treated just like anyone else."
Muta smirked. "See, there fine with me being rude."
"Your highness." The guard had returned. "The princes and princess have arrived."
Three kittens entered the room. There were two boys and a girl. The girl was as white as the purest of snow. One of the boys was as gray as ash while the other was as black as the night itself.
"Children," Yuki said smiling, "these are friends of ours. Say hello to Haru, Baron, Shizuku, Seiji, and Muta."
"Hey, why was I introduced last?" Muta cried.
The three kittens bowed their heads. "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you." they said together.
Yuki smiled. "My friends, these are our children. May I introduce to you our daughter Star," the white kitten stepped forward, "and our sons Orion," the black one stepped forward, "and Astro," the gray one stepped forward.
"Aw, they're so cute!" Haru cried.
"We have heard of you." Star said.
"You saved mother and father." Orion added.
Haru looked embarrassed. "Oh, it was nothing. Really."
Lune chuckled. "Is there anything we can get for you, my friends?"
Baron stepped forward. "I'm afraid we are here on personal business of the Cat Bureau. Very personal business."
"Oh dear." Yuki muttered. She turned to her husband. "And during the time your father planned to marry too."
Baron felt his anger rising from the thought of that walking hairball's paws on his woman. "That is why we are here."
The king and queen looked confused. "What do you mean?" Lune asked.
"I'll handle this." Haru replied. "I guess I'll start from the beginning. Ever since I left this place, your father has been sending Natoru to constantly ask if I had changed my mind about marrying him."
Lune groaned and put his face in his paws, rubbing his eyes. "I told him to leave you alone. He said he was."
Haru snorted. "Not at all."
Star giggled. "Uh oh, grandpa's been bad."
Lune shook his head. "I apologize on behalf of my father. But you don't need to worry about him anymore. He is marrying another."
Shizuku spoke up. "Um, that's the thing. He's trying to marry Baron's fiancée."
Lune looked confused. "I'm afraid I don't understand."
Shizuku glanced at Baron. "Well, you see, due to an unfortunate turn of events, Baron has been separated from his fiancée, Louise, for several years. We found her and planned to reunite her and Baron."
"But then Natoru showed up again." Haru said, taking over. "After I turned down your father's marriage proposal, again, Natoru told him of Louise. So he came to ask her to marrying him instead. She didn't even agree; she just said that she was flattered by the offer and your father took that as a yes and dragged her here. So we came to get her back."
Lune sighed. "Oh father." He looked at Baron. "I deeply apologize for my father's behavior. I offer my most sincere apologies."
"As do I." Yuki added.
Baron nodded. "You have nothing to apologize for."
Lune's expression became serious. "Well my father certainly does. Come, let's have a few words with him."