"But I'm telling you, I didn't take a cookie from the kitchen!"

I thrashed around in the grip of the head chef as he dragged me outside by my ear. A few minutes ago, my stomach kept growling at me, so I was going to grab a snack with the permission of Chef Richard. For some reason, he believed that I already took some sweets before dinner time even though I haven't been in the kitchen at all today.

Despite my constant protesting, he shook his head and scolded me. Even though I was the crown prince, he was allowed to lecture me since I was still a child. It's stupid that all the adults here think they know everything when really, they don't. When I was pushed outside, I grumbled to myself then started walking.

"Some birthday this is turning out to be. I haven't seen Kaoru all day."

As soon as I thought that, I froze in my steps. A low growl escaped my lips now that I realized something. I began sprinting down the hall to the garden where I knew my brother would be. Soon enough, I arrived at the place where my brother sat with his body in my direction.

"Kaoru!"

I ran over to him with an annoyed look on my face, but he remained smiling at me. The happy expression on his face made me more suspicious of him.

"Hikaru."

"Did you steal a cookie from the kitchen?"

He looked at me with an innocent expression. That confirmed to me that he was guilty and wanted to see me more frustrated. Sometimes I hated when he does this to me, but I can't complain since I sometimes do the same to him. Since we were twin brothers, it was easy for one twin to take the blame for the other's action. It made me feel bad that I'm the one that usually got him into trouble. What makes me feel worse is that he doesn't mind doing that for me. He should at least be angry once in a while.

"Now, why would I do that?"

"I don't know, but for some reason, Chef Richard won't let me into the kitchen cause he said he saw me steal a cookie! And I wasn't even planning on doing that today!"

That last part was actually a lie. My brother was a big fan of sweets, so I was thinking of stealing some cookies for us to eat after dinner.

"What kind of cookie was stolen?"

"How should I know? I didn't do it."

"Well, I didn't steal a cookie either...I took two."

When I heard him mumble that last part, I sighed loudly. He must have gotten hungry to waiting for dinner but he could have at least be more discreet about it.

"Kaoru! You could have saved one for me."

I couldn't help but pout which made him gently pat my head with a small laugh. Suddenly, he held out a cookie in his other hand in front of my face. This instantly made me feel better as a wide smile spread through my lips.

"Better."

I grabbed the cookie from his hand and quickly ate it. My hunger wasn't fully satisfied, but I wasn't complaining.

"Hikaru, I got something for you."

The cookie was gone once he said that but my smile still remained in its place.

"Really? You didn't have to you know."

His lips curved into a smile as the arm around his back fidget a little. I wanted to take a peek, but I stopped myself since I needed to be patient.

"I wanted to though, so close your eyes."

"Uh, okay."

I closed my eyes and waited for something to happen. When nothing happened, I wondered if Kaoru was just playing another trick on me.

"Okay, open your eyes."

My eyes opened and I stared back at my brother. When he continued to look at me, I was starting to think that this was another joke after all.

"Now what?"

"What do you mean?"

I held in a sigh of annoyance. He really wanted to test my patience today.

"You did something so that's why I had to close my eyes right?"

"I wonder."

A growl almost escaped my lips when he said that.

"Kaoru!"

"Yes?"

I was about to tackle him down to the ground but sighed in defeat instead. Whenever he smiled, I was completely powerless. When I looked down a little, a white object fell onto my lap. I instantly recognized it as a rose.

"Oh, how pretty."

The rose looked delicate in my eyes, so I cupped my hands together then scooped up the flower into my palms. My sense of touch told me that it was made from paper, so I'm guessing Kaoru must have been trying to fold the paper into this shape all day. That thought made me smile as my eyes turned back to him.

"Thank you Kaoru."

"You're very welcome."

"I didn't get anything for you though."

Once I realized that, I frowned. As the older brother, I should be the one to take care of him.

"No it's alright, your smile is all I need to make my day. So, could you please smile for me?"

His eyes held so much love in them that I couldn't argue with him. He was much more caring than a person should ever be. I was very lucky to have a sibling like Kaoru. A smile returned to my face as I held onto the rose carefully.

"Make sure not to lose it alright? It took a lot of experimenting to get it the way it is now. If you misplace it, then I'm going to make sure that you're banned from the kitchen forever alright?"

Was he threatening me or trying to be funny? What an interesting guy my brother is.

"Kaoru!"

"I'm kidding."

He chuckled and patted my head before looking up at the sky. I did the same for a moment before looking at the rose in my hand. I really hope that we could stay together forever like this.

"Hey Kaoru."

"Yes?"

"No matter what happens, we'll always be together right?"

"Right."

His quick response to my question made me happy. However, I had to make sure that he would keep his promise, so I decided to do a childish thing.

"Pinky Promise?"

I held out my pinky to him and he intertwined his with my own without another thought.

"Pinky Promise."

The two of us shared a smile. To another person, it probably looked the same. In my mind,

Kaoru's smile shines like no other star in the sky.

"Oh yah, ha-"

"-There they are!"

We both turned our heads to the direction of the sudden voice to see one of the stupid advisors at the garden entrance. With him were a few intimidating guards that were looking at our direction. After a moment, the advisor pointed a finger at me.

"That's him."

Suddenly, one of the guards came over, grabbed my hand, and started pulling me away from my brother. If he thought I was just going to let him take me, he was dead wrong.

"Let go of me!"

I stepped on the soldier's foot and broke out of his grip before going back to Kaoru's side. His eyes were starting to water as we held onto each other's hands for comfort.

"Hikaru, what's happening?"

My heart was beating rapidly and my palms were getting sweaty. I didn't know what was going to happen to us and that made me scared.

"What are you standing around for? Go get him!"

"I don't know Kaoru."

I held onto my brother's hand tighter when the guards came after us again. Despite my kicks and punches, they were still stronger than me. One of the guards wrapped an arm around me before pulling me away while another did the same to my brother. I gritted my teeth and tried to hold on but we were torn apart.

"Let me go! What is the meaning of this!"

My eyes were getting blurry as I fought to get out of the soldier's grasp. Kaoru held his hand out to me as I was forced further away from him.

"Hikaru!"

We were both dragged out of the garden by the guards, but we went opposite directions. I growled in frustration as I struggled harder to free myself. However, as hard as I tried, I couldn't get out. When I realized that it was no use, I yelled for my brother, my other half, that was being taken from me.

After a few moments, I was pushed into my room. As soon as I was inside, the door was closed then followed after with a clicking sound. I tried turning the knob but it didn't budge. My hands balled up into a fists.

"Let me out of here!"

I banged my hands against my bedroom door and continued to yell. To my dismay, no one answered the door no matter how hard I scream. I looked around my room while coming up a plan to escape. Kaoru and I have been together every since we were little. We were inseparable and I wasn't about to let someone take him away from me.

When I went over to the balcony, I scanned the area then saw vines growing on the wall beside me. I took a chance and grabbed them before climbing down. Thankfully, the plants were more stable than I imagined so they safely led me onto the ground.

I then sprinted to the horse stables where they had to go to in order to leave the castle. Once I arrived at my destination, I saw Kaoru carried into a carriage with a few other guards. Before I was able to run to him, my arm was grabbed from behind.

"No! Let go!"

Another guard came to my side and held my other arm so that I wouldn't fight back. I growled and tried to kick the guard's shin but it was no use. They made sure to keep their distance away from me.

"Prince Hikaru, behave yourself!"

The same advisor from before arrived at the stables with his hands crossed over his chest. His sudden appearance made me want to attack him. He obviously had something to do with this situation.

"You better have a good explanation for trying to separate me from my brother."

His expression stayed strict, but I thought I saw a flicker in his eyes that showed a different emotion he was feeling.

"For the sake of the kingdom, we felt that it would be best if you two are raised up in different environments."

I was going to talk back but he held up a hand for me to stop.

"As the crown prince, you need to be taught the many aspects a king must possess to lead his people in the right direction. So far, it seems that Kaoru's presence in this castle has guided you away from that."

"And that's why you're taking him away from me? That's a stupid reason! Unhand me at once!"

I looked at the carriage to make sure it was still here then doubled my efforts to escape. The longer I let this guy talk, the more I felt the need to be with my brother. If I didn't hurry, he will be taken away from me.

"Prince Hikaru, your father is the one that proposed this idea."

As soon as he said that, I ceased my movements. I looked at him in disbelief then finally notice the piece of paper he was holding. He unfolded the document and showed me the contents on it. At that moment, my body froze.

"It seems that the recent cold he received turned out to be something worse than he expected. That's why he wants to make sure that before his time comes, you two will be trained to become excellent leaders for this kingdom. However, seeing as you two can't concentrate with the other around, this had to be done."

I felt mixed emotions flow through me as my mind started processing the information. My father meant the best for wanting to separate us, but he had to know that keeping me away from him will kill me. He was my other half, we completed each other. I can't be the same without him.

"I know this is hard for you, but you have to think about your brother. He wouldn't want himself to be a distraction from your studies."

Another growl escaped my lips when I knew that he was right. Kaoru being the selfless person he was would do anything to make me the best king. Although I wanted to keep Kaoru by my side, it seems that we'll have to be away from each other for now. I needed to be responsible for once and do what needs to be done.

"Fine, I'll go along with this. He better come back or else I'll have your head."

The advisor grinned and didn't seem to mind the fact that I just threatened him. I looked at the carriage as it started to make its way to the front gate. The hands that were on my arms disappeared and allowed me to take a few steps forward.

"I'll study hard Kaoru, so that I'll be the best king anyone here has ever seen. That's why...please come back soon."