A/N: Sup. I learned about vikings today and watched Harry Potter: The Order of the Pheonix. It was horrible.

"Remember to be on your best behavior, Kiku," Michiko said seriously. "The king and I only expect the best out of you."

Kiku nodded. "I'll be good, mother," he said. "I have good manners, don't I?"

"For a six year-old, yes," Xia said, looking straight ahead as they walked through the capital city nearby the monastery. "You're a very good young man."

"Well, I learned from you," Kiku said, smiling. Xia smiled back to his son. Kiku loved his father. He was giant compared to the small child, with that dark black hair tied up into a ponytail and a thin black mustache and dark brown eyes, and his long, flowing, pink and red and white robes. To Kiku, the man was no less than a thing worthy of awe. Of course, he was encouraged to follow in his mother's foot steps to be the best son he could be them. He needed to be like her: calm, kind, quiet, obedient, and intelligent. He was told to imitate her graceful step, with in her white robe making her seem like she was gliding. Not a thing strand of ebony from her shoulder-length hair was awry, her eyes sparkled with kindness. It was the kind of beauty he didn't appreciate until he was older, but oh, did he see it.

As a child of a young age he didn't truly understand the weight of the pressure his parents put on him. For him, no, there wasn't a care in this kingdom. "Can I meet the king's son, father?" Kiku asked as they were approaching the palace.

Xia blinked, then shook his head. "No, Kiku, not yet," he answered. "The queen has not bore a son."

"Why not? Don't I have to marry their son?"

"...you do, Kiku, but you do not have to think about that for quite a while."

By then they'd reached the gate. The castle was surrounded by pink brick and an unfitting black gate. Two guard towers were on either side of the gate. Two guards, Tens, were on the ground in front of the black gate. The Tens bowed. "Your Acehood," they to him in unison.

Xia nodded to them. "We're here to visit the king. We've brought our son."

Kiku waved to them and smiled. "Hi!"

The Tens couldn't help but smile. "He's cute, sir... and madame," said one Ten.

Michiko gave a curt nod. "Thank you," she said softly.

The other Ten glanced up and shouted to one of the towers "Lift the gate for Our Acehood!"

The black gate lifted up and the three walked into the courtyard. It was a well-kept courtyard. The ash trees were in excellent conditions, as were the rose bushes and garden nearby the west wing of the castle. Xia kept his chin up and his eyes forward. Kiku was taking everything he saw in with tremendous excitement. He saw a small, white rabbit, which Kiku then tried to chase, but was held back by Michiko's firm grip. "Kiku, you need to be on your best behavior," she chided quietly.

Kiku looked down. "S-Sorry," he mumbled.

Michiko sighed as they reached the large, red palace doors. There were two more guards at the door. Each grabbed the handles on the double-door and opened it for Xia and his family. Xia nodded in acknowledgement.

"Thank you!" Kiku said graciously, perking up again. That child could never be sad for long.

The king's throne room was just after the first room, used for recreational activities. King Ferdinand was on his throne, as was Ostara on her own. "Ah, I've been expecting your arrival, Xia," Ferdinand said in the same stern voice as ever. That was followed by a pause of a minute. He stood up and slowly walked over to the family of three. He knelt down in front of Kiku. The child's eyes were wide and wondering. "So this is Kiku." Ferdinand's voice was indifferent.

Xia nodded. "Yes, my king."

"Kiku does not realize that he is below me in rank. He did not bow or even acknowledge me when you arrived."

Kiku blinked. "Oh- oh! I'm s-s-sorry, my- my lord-" He bowed at his tiny waist.

"Really, Kiku's only six. He's still learning his place," Michiko said nervously.

Ferdinand narrowed his eyes. Ostara got up from her throne. "Now, now, Ferdinand. Michiko is right. Kiku is really just a young child," she said, stepping towards them. "By the time he's grown up he'll be the perfect gentleman."

"That's not what I want him to be."

Kiku was slowly backing away from Ferdinand. He clutched his mother's robes and hid partly behind her. "My king, Kiku will be a good wife, won't you, Kiku?" Michiko looked down at her son. Kiku nodded shyly.

Ferdinand blinked and stood up. "Very well. Xia, how about my Jack takes your son out for a walk in the gardens while we speak, hm?" he suggested.

"Of course, my king," Xia said, pulling Kiku away from Michiko.

"No!" Kiku grabbed her robe again, but Michiko took hold of one of Kiku's shoulders. "Kiku, don't you want to see the king's garden? It's very pretty. Besides, I bet that bunny you saw will be around there."

Kiku contemplated it for a few seconds. "Yes, mother. I'll go."

"Romulus, take Kiku."

Kiku was happy to see Romulus. His father loved and trusted Romulus deeply. Kiku ran over to the man, grinning. Romulus smiled back. "Come with me, Kiku. It's a beautiful garden that's been planted."

As Romulus and Kiku walked through the garden full of roses, pansies, daffodils, snapdragon, and every other flower one could imagine, Kiku said, "Sir, I didn't know you were the Jack."

Romulus chuckled. "Well, when the king was first crowned, he came down to the monastery to meet his wife. He saw me and he knew he could trust me as his Jack. I've be juggling both."

"Wow," Kiku said. "That's amazing!"

"Thank you, Kiku." Romulus said, smiling wide. Kiku stopped when he saw the hedge maze. "That's our hedge maze, Kiku. I see you like it."

Kiku looked at Romulus. "I wanna go through it!" he said happily, running towards it.

Romulus grabbed Kiku. "No. You can't go through it unless I come with."

"Well, come on then!" Kiku said, trying to drag Romulus towards the maze.

The Jack sighed. "Ah, fine."

Kiku really didn't want Romulus there. He in his young mind thought he'd be able to figure out the maze all by himself. Kiku glanced back at the entrance a moment as they were about to begin the maze. He saw the white rabbit. "Romulus, look!" Kiku said, pointing to it.

Romulus looked back and Kiku ran off. The Jack flipped around when he heard Kiku run. "Kiku, stop!" There were a lot of twists and turns in this maze; it was perfect for Kiku to escape from Romulus. What could he say? He's was a free spirit. Kiku giggled as he ran through the maze, taking every left turn he could. It was all good fun until he reached a dead end. Kiku looked back and realized there were at least five different ways he could have entered this area. He frowned. Oh," was the soft noise he uttered. Kiku took the path in the very middle. Dead end. "Oh."

He found another dead end. Kiku was worried. This maze was bigger and more elaborate than he figured. He wondered if he'd ever be found. he must be so deep in the maze by now. After wandering around for thirty minutes Kiku sat down at one of the dead ends and cried.

"Hey, kid, what's wrong?"

Kiku looked up. A young boy, dressed in a grey tunic and leggings with a black heart printed on it, was walking towards him. He had red eyes and silver hair. Kiku was quite startled.

"Who... are you?" Kiku inquired, scooting back.

The boy smiled. "Hey, don't be scared," he said. His voice was so scratchy Kiku honestly was even more frightened. "My name is Gilbert. What's yours?"

Kiku hesitated to tell Gilbert his name. "Ki... Kiku."

"Kiku, huh," Gilbert scratched his chin, then frowned. "Oh. I know you."

Kiku blinked. "You do?"

Gilbert nodded. "Yeah. You're the kid that's gonna marry me."

"I- I beg your pardon?" Kiku stood up and stepped back. His back was poked by some stray twigs from the hedge. "I'm... I'm supposed to marry the king's son!"

Gilbert's frown turned to a smile. "I know," he said coolly. "I'm the king's son."

Kiku thought that was ridiculous. "Excuse me, but father said that King Ferdinand didn't have any children."

Gilbert smirked. "Yeah, I know. My old dad's just ashamed of me," he said. "Apparently my mom had an affair with a commoner and that made me. I'm the worst thing a king could have: a Joker as a son."

A Joker? Those, Kiku knew, were the worst, most disgusting, dirty beings in Wonderland. "A Joker?" Kiku was horrified. "I don't want to be caught speaking with a Joker!"

Gilbert laughed. "Hey, don't be so mean. I'm not that bad. You're going to marry me one day, so you'd better get used to me. Besides, don't you want to get out of this maze?"

"Maze?" Kiku mumbled. "Oh... no. I'm not lost."

"Then why were you crying?"

"...well..."

Gilbert darted forward and grabbed Kiku's hand. "Come on. I'll get you out of here. I spend most of my time here so I know exactly how to get out." Gilbert calmly led Kiku out of the maze. He seemed so well-rehearsed. Gilbert knew this maze like the back of his hand. Kiku couldn't help but respect him a little.

As they reached the ash tree marking the end, Kiku said Romulus pacing back and forth. "Uh-oh," Gilbert said.

Romulus took notice of the two. "Kiku!" He grabbed the boy's shoulders. "Don't ever do that again!"

"I-I'm sorry, Romulus." Kiku hung his head.

Romulus turned his attention to Gilbert. The Jack seemed disgusted by the boy. "What were you doing with Kiku? Your father said not to contact him."

Gilbert shrugged. "I know, Rom, but ol' Kiku here was lost and I figured I should help him." He laughed. "You shoulda seen him. He was crying when I found him."

Kiku blushed. "I was not..."

Romulus frowned. "Well... thank you, Gilbert, for helping Kiku. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll take Kiku back to his father." Romulus lifted Kiku up and carried him back to the courtyard. Gilbert sighed and returned to the hedge maze.

A/N: Now we know about Ferdinand's son Gilbert! Will Kiku and Gilbert become friends? Obviously because they're a pairing in this story. It's mentioned in the description.