Chapter Text
Rudolf puts his hand on the woman's waist, but she's the one that leads. She's very beautiful and very sure of herself, and Rudolf stares at her with wide eyes as they move together with catlike grace. Unlike Tod, she doesn't look otherworldly; her beauty, despite the curious blend of cat and human traits, is warmer, more comprehensible. She seems to know intuitively how Rudolf moves, almost like they've done this before.
Maybe being a cat isn't so bad after all. If he wasn't, he would never have met her, even if it is just for a brief moment.
He's jolted from his thoughts by a tingling on his cheeks, and realises that he has whiskers now.
"No, Rudolf", she whispers. She lets go of his shoulder for a moment to gently turn his head towards her so that he sees her dark eyes.
"It's easy to lose yourself here, but you mustn't. I already told you that before, didn't I?"
Rudolf almost falters, but manages to keep the rhythm. Mizzi looks at him resolutely, and he tightens his hold of her waist.
"How -"
"The bird", Mizzi says under her breath. "But I'll explain later. When the music ends, we run."
It'll be easier said than done, Rudolf thinks. He sneaks a glance at the crowd surrounding them; all eyes are on him. The uniformed cats guard the doors, and if his cat husband-to-be is at all concerned with not letting them put a stop to the festivities, he’s going to order his attendants to keep them from leaving. Mizzi seems determined, though, and Rudolf nods.
“They’re almost done”, he whispers. Mizzi slowly steers them towards the door; when the music does stop, they waste no time, breaking out of step and directly into a run.
“Close the doors”, Tod shouts, but the element of surprise affords them the crucial seconds to slip through them before the order is put into effect. They don’t look back as they run down the palace corridor and take a sharp turn to the right at the end of it.
“He’s going to send them after us”, Rudolf says. Mizzi, who’s managed to shed her mask, takes his hand and tugs him towards a small passageway, no doubt intended for the kitchen staff to pass through. It seems much too small for a human to fit into, but they manage it easily. Mizzi shuts the door behind them, and they press their backs against the wall as they hear hurried footsteps pass them in the main hallway.
“We need to find the castle tower”, she says. “If we want to become human again, we need to make it to the top before sunrise.”
“That’s ages away, isn’t it?” Rudolf asks. “When I got here, it was noontime.”
“Time passes differently here”, Mizzi says. “It must be past four in the morning in Vienna by now. We must hurry.”
***
They wander through a maze of doors and hallways, ducking into small spaces when they hear cats passing by. The interior of the singular tower is easy to recognise once they find it; the stairs rise out of nothing and quickly steepen. They’re very narrow and seem to go up forever, but they have no choice but to climb them. The staircase is surprisingly deserted; if this truly is the most convenient way for them to return to the human world, Rudolf would think it’d be more carefully guarded. If they had any other choice, he’d want to avoid it, because it’s such an obvious trap.
After too many flights of them, he stops, leaning against the wall, panting. Mizzi stops too and looks at him, her eyes reflecting the small amount of light that streams in through the embrasures. She’s still beautiful.
“If we don’t make it -” he starts. Mizzi lifts a hand, stepping close to him and putting a finger onto his lips.
“We will”, she says. “For God’s sake, Rudolf, don’t tell me you want to have a tail for the rest of your life.”
“A -” Rudolf stutters, and almost falls over when he realises it. Mizzi grasps him tightly by the sleeves to keep him from tumbling down the stairs, but ironically, his tail helps him keep his balance even better.
“Look up”, she says, and Rudolf does. The top of the tower is open, and even though the light that streams in through the tower windows is bright and clear, the sky at the top is night-black, save for the hints of orange that reveal it won’t be long until the sun rises.
“There’s not much more to go, come on”, she says, and Rudolf lets her pull him up.
Rudolf lets out a sigh of relief as they reach the top of the tower. There’s a wider platform there; a smaller set of steps leads to the very top. He squeezes Mizzi’s hand gratefully, about to lead her towards them, until -
“Wait!” a voice cries out. Rudolf turns his head to see Tod melt out of the shadows cast by the pillars that line the edges of the platform. Of course . Why would he bother to chase them when he could wait for them at the top? He freezes as Tod walks towards them.
“I’m sorry”, Tod says. “I think I’ve misunderstood. You clearly aren’t as enthusiastic about my kingdom as I assumed.”
“To put it mildly, no, I’m not”, Rudolf says. Mizzi tugs at his hand impatiently, and he gets the point - it isn’t a good idea to let themselves be tricked into staying past sunrise by engaging in conversation. If they ran again, they could make it up the stairs. Still, he feels himself unable not to hear Tod out.
“I’m not going to make you stay”, Tod says. He blinks slowly as he comes to stand in front of them. “Not until you come to me out of your own free will. But until then… would you be opposed to me making further visits to the human world instead?”
Rudolf looks at him - his golden hair, his elegant features, his soft pink lips, even his hands. He really isn’t bad-looking for a cat.
“Why not”, he says, even though he knows Mizzi is rolling her eyes at him - or laughing, or perhaps both. “Just… don’t take me away by surprise again.”
“I will, of course, assume a less conspicuous form in the future“, Tod says, winking at him. Rudolf is a bit concerned - he doesn’t know if he means the black-pawed cat or an entirely human form. If it’s the latter, he’s going to be put in a very tough spot. “Goodbye for now, my prince. And Frau Kaspar.”
“Goodbye”, Rudolf says. He thinks he sees Mizzi blow a kiss at Tod over her shoulder as they climb up the stairs and into the cold air that is familiar to them.
And it’s some very cold air. As soon as they stand at the very top of the tower, the wind hits them full-force, and they have to cling to each other not to be blown away. After Rudolf’s eyes get used to the darkness, he looks at Mizzi and lets out a sigh of relief at seeing her face returned to how he’s used to seeing it. She reaches up to caress his face, and he knows that the whiskers are gone.
He looks forward, and realises he recognises the place. However, this is an angle from which he’s very rarely seen the Hofburg main court. They’re standing on top of the dome; in other words, very high up. It’s going to take them some time to get down. If only they still had the balance to pull it off effortlessly.