"So, if you… Hey, Angel, are you listening to me?"

Collins looked at the young prince worriedly. It wasn't like him not to pay attention during their private tutoring sessions.

"Huh?" Angel looked up from the splotch of ink on a piece of paper he'd been focusing on for the past fifteen minutes. "Oh, sorry… I just… Sorry."

"Well, if you're not feeling well, we could continue with the lesson tomorrow, if that's what you want," his teacher offered.

"No, no," Angel insisted. "I'm okay. Just a little… tired."

"Alright."

Collins sighed involuntarily. Initially, the thought of being the prince's private tutor wasn't something that made him proud. He had agreed only to bring in the money. With his best friend causing trouble at every corner and their other friends failing to hold onto any jobs, he didn't have much of a choice.

Mark was a painter, but he had to practically scourge the earth for things to use as paint. Roger was a poet, but his lack of inspiration for the past year had caused them much distress. They had both been very successful once, but since the kingdom went bankrupt, nobody wanted to waste money on things they only wanted, not needed. Since then, they were on and off working for Alison Grey of the Grey Dress Emporium.

Maureen, though, was another story. As rebellious as the teacher himself, it was only natural that they were best friends. However, she was much more… pronounced. He often had to pull her out of sticky situations. How Mark, knowing his personality, could put up with her as a girlfriend for over three years amused him.

And then there was that gypsy girl who showed up every once in a while. He couldn't even remember her name, sometimes. It was something similar to the princess', starting with an M… Miri, was it? No, Mimi. It was definitely Mimi. She would appear about twice a week, sometimes staying the night in the tiny room they rented of a building, other times not.

After a while, though, Collins' opinion of the royal family (well, the prince, at least) completely turned around.

While studying science in the library one day, the prince, thirteen at the time, said suddenly, "You can just call me Angel, you know? I'd actually prefer it over Your Highness…"

At sixteen, of course Collins complied. And of course nobody knew about it. If the queen had caught him addressing her son in such a manner, he would be fired for sure. But then again, Angel always seemed to come to his rescue. He'd pulled so many things at the palace (more than half of them unintentional, but still) that it was a usual thing for the prince to beg his mother not to fire "the greatest teacher in the world," in his words.

The first time happened shortly after Collins arrived, only fifteen at the time. He'd forgotten what exactly he had done, but Angel had come rushing in, shouting that he was "a million times better than that stupid Mr. Grey."

The following week, the queen had grudgingly told Collins to treat Angel more strictly for insulting her advisor. He ignored this. He found it ridiculous that one moment she wanted him fired, and the next, she wanted him to control her son.

Angel proved to be a quick learner. Compared to Maureen, that was. And he also proved to be one of the most generous and caring people he had ever met. He knew all of his friends: Mark, Roger, Maureen… He always found ways to sneak food or other resources to the starving artists, but of them all, he asked the most about Mimi, despite the fact that Collins rarely saw her.

"Collins…" Angel said just as he shut the textbook. "Can you take me out of the palace? Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Collins was surprised. It wasn't that they hadn't done this before. Angel just liked to plan ahead. He would always get a week's notice. "Why?"

Angel shrugged. "Just take me, please?" He pouted. Over time, he found that pouting could get Mr. Collins to do almost anything.

"I really don't see why not," he replied. "Tomorrow it is."

"Oh, thank you, Collins!" exclaimed Angel, hugging him in a way less than masculine. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm going to go get ready now, okay?"

Collins knew about the prince's… feminine ways. He was considerably to blame for the habits, as he had first suggested the cross-dressing when Angel had wanted to leave the castle. It had been a joke at first, but when the prince found himself enjoying the game of dress-up, he knew it was his fault.

He didn't have a problem with that, though. Angel made a… beautiful woman. The first of that type he'd ever felt anything for.

But it was no use, he knew.

"Geez, we've done this before, Angel," Collins told him. "Why're you so excited this time?"

Angel sighed, deciding there was no getting out of this.

"I'm getting married."

"Oh." Collins tried to hide the disappointment in his voice. Stop it, Thomas, he told himself. You can't afford to think like that. It's not happening!

"To Princess Joanne," Angel continued. "It's all we can do since the kingdom went bankrupt. It's not that I don't like her… I mean, I might. I don't know. I mean… God, I don't even get to meet her before the wedding! I might… never see any of our friends again…"

"Oh, Ang… Look, we'll all go to the Life tomorrow," Collins offered. "Get drunk. Do whatever. Us, Mo, Mark, and Roger. And Mimi, too, if she decides to show up."

"Okay," Angel said, a smile returning to his face. "Okay! Thank you so much, Collins! Miranda's going to help me pick what to wear. Oh, it's going to be so exciting!" He gave his teacher another hug, this one less lingering but leaving him yearning.

As Angel pranced out the room to find his sister, Collins sighed, gathering his things and getting ready to leave. The prince was such a tease.