Elise's hands were soft as she dragged her fingers through Takumi's tangled locks, humming a song he didn't recognize. The guest room had fallen to relative silence without Silas or Flora around, and to Takumi's surprise, he missed their company. Though Elise was making up for their absence with her warm nature and lively voice. Elise's retainer took up the door frame, not bothering to sit down. Takumi was eternally grateful for the fact; she refused to take her armour off and he's not sure the chair could handle the weights Elise mentioned she kept in it.

"Do you have folk songs in Hoshido?" The noble said suddenly, tugging his hair back with a little more force than necessary to get through a knot.

Takumi winced at the motion, but smiled complacently. "We have quite a few, just like yours… is that what you were humming?"

"Yup," Elise giggled, and Takumi felt her draw his hair up, the tension pulling lightly on his scalp. " What are yours about?"

"Well, that's a bit of a broad answer." He felt his lips twitch up in a smile as she huffed.

"Well, what are your favorites about?" She asked, and Takumi heard a strange swiping noise before the pulling sensation relaxed.

"Hmm…" Takumi thought about it for a moment. He personally hadn't learned many of them as a child, but Hinata was constantly singing one or another out of tune. He ignored the ache in his chest, settling on one he knew the lyrics too.

"My retainer was rather fond of one his mother used to sing to him. It was a song about going into the fields to pick Benibana."

Elise's hands paused whatever she was doing to him. "Whats a Benny-banah?" He smiled at her slight slurring of the word.

"I think you call it by a different name… safflower?"

There was a little gasp of recognition, and her chin hit his shoulder. He jumped at the sudden contact, looking down to meet her eyes. Passionate purple stared up at him, shining in the warm candle light. "Safflower?"

Takumi blinked in surprise. "Uh, yeah. Is it not common around here?"

"Nuh-uh." She looked slightly sad at the confession.

"You didn't really strike me as a safflower kind of girl." He smiled gently to her. "I was thinking of Daisies, or lilies but… do you like yellow flowers?"

"Well yeah," she admitted with a snort. "But I've only ever gotten my hands on a few. Roses are one of the only flowers that grow well in the castle. Safflower makes the most beautiful dye! It's what Odin's clothes are colored with…" She pouted, sitting back and working on Takumi's hair again. "I don't know how Leo got any, I just wish…" She sighed and Takumi shuddered as her warm breath tickled the back of his neck. "I don't know… I just wish I could be vibrant too."

Takumi was shocked. "What do you mean?"

He felt her forehead thump onto his back as she groaned. "Nevermind…"

"Elise…" he scrambled for a response. "You have to tell me what's wrong or you're not… taking advantage of our friendship." One of them would most certainly die.

The old thought felt like ice as it entered his mind, but Elise seemed delighted. "Prince Takumi!" She laughed out loud, throwing her arms over his shoulders and hugging him tightly to her, cheek pressed against his head. Takumi covered her arm with his hands. Nohrians where a lot handsy-er then Hoshidans and he had to admit… he was a bit touch starved, even before he was captured. And Elise? Had been nothing but kind to him. He wasn't sure he would allow this close contact with anyone else in the castle, besides Kamui. One of them would most certainly die.

The warmth from her touch was replaced with a chill as she pulled back once more, hands returning to his hair. "Promise you won't laugh?"

"I promise." He said solemnly.

"Well…" her grip tightened slightly. "I've never really been too far outside of Nohr. I mean, even when I've gone out as a field medic-" another shiver went up his spine. She shouldn't be anywhere near a fight. "I've never been farther then the border. Nohr isn't the most… colorful place." There was that twinge of sadness again. Takumi thought it sounded wrong coming from her.

"Leo told me it's because we don't have the resources to waste. So we mostly have wildflowers and crops. Anything that's not useful gets weeded out." Her voice was tight as she spoke now, and Takumi held his tongue. He was getting the impression that no one had heard her vent in a while, especially if the look her retainer was giving her was any indication; some weird mix of hurt, admiration, and love. "So we don't have much in the way of fun. And that makes it way into our clothes, I guess. We don't have many colors, and I just wanted that… I wanted to feel bright for once…" Her grip on his hair tightened as she trailed off.

Takumi winced. He didn't know how to make that better. There wasn't an easy way to do it, but he found the urge to try. "Hey Elise… have I ever told you about Oboro?"

"No… what's that?"

Takumi chuckled. "Who's that. Oboro is one of my retainers back home. Her family were merchants, you know? They used to sell textiles, some of the most beautiful fabrics you'd ever seen."

He felt her hands still and knew he'd peaked her interest.

"All sorts of colors and patterns, rolled up by the yard to sell to whoever wanted them-"

"What kind of patterns?" Elise asked in a small voice.

"Whatever kind you liked." He replied smoothly. "Close your eyes for me?"

"Why?"

He chuckled. "Just trust me."

He waited for a second or two before turning to the knight. "Are her eyes shut?"

The burly woman's lips twitched up in amusement. "Yup." She said, deep voice rumbling across the room.

"Alright. Imagine the deepest red wine you've ever seen… do you see it?"

"Yeah?"

"Now imagine Odin-" The girl let out a giggle, cutting Takumi off with a smile. "Imagine Odin's color- Safflower yellow."

"Alright?"

"Now imagine intricately woven flowers that color cutting across the red."

Elise let out a little breath. "Wow…"

Takumi continued on like that for what felt like hours, spinning images of bright colors and lights, festivals and geisha. Elise held onto every word, little gasps and laughs breaking through every once in awhile. And Takumi? Well...

Takumi felt lighter then he had since he had been captured. Maybe even since the war began. This was so...simple. He could remember when he was a kid, Sakura curled up into his chest on cold nights as he wove her the stories he remembered about the dad she had never truly met. Why couldn't that be his lot in life? Why couldn't it be Sakura and Elise's lot in life? Away from the front lines and away from the war torn countries they left behind. He shook himself mentally. Focus on the moment.

This… this was a breath of fresh air. His thoughts were cut off as Elise gave his hair a little tug. "Tadah!"

The girl slipped off the bed, reaching an arm out for Takumi to grab onto.

"What are you-"

"Trust me, I'm a doctor."

Weirly, he obliged, slipping his sore legs off the bed. He winced slightly as his bare feel hit the cold stone floor, but stood up regardless. His body swayed under his weight, weak legs buckling under him. He expected to hit the floor but was suddenly hoisted back up to his feet. His face flushed as he looked up to the guard.

"Be careful." She said softly, eye's amused. Before he could respond, Elise looped her arm under his, and the two girls led him to a large standing mirror by the wardrobe.

Takumi looked paler then he remembered, and tired too. But after a month and a half of captivity, it was amazing he wasn't gaunt...or dead. The soft, draping clothes that he had woke up in were a bit too loose on him, and he guessed that they had been modeled on someone closer to Prince Leo's size. But that's not what he was here for. His pale hair had been tied up in a similar fashion to his old style, held up by a strip of red ribbon.

He blinked, hands making their way to one of a few tiny braids making their way through his hair.

"What do you think?" Elise asked, grip tight on his arm.

"I...thank you Elise." Takumi managed. He didn't know why, but, this...made him feel more normal. His hand found Elise's arm once again as his throat tightened uncomfortably.

"Do you like it?" She gazed up at him again, waiting with baited breath.

"I-" He choked, hands trembling.

She gasped, grip tightening on him. "Oh, Takumi, I'm so sorry! Did I do it wrong?"

A wet laugh bubbled up from inside him as he wiped tears away from his eyes. "No, no. I love it."

Takumi tore his eyes away from the mirror, looking directly too her. "Thank you."

Elise's smile was dazzling, and she kept it on him the entire time she lead him back to the bed.

The younger girl draped herself across the edge of the bed after he had been settled once again under the sheets.

"Hey, Takumi?" She asked, eyes unblinking.

"Yes?" He brought the parchment once again onto his lap.

"After this is all over… will you take me to a Hoshidan Festival?"

One of them would most certainly…. "Of course."

Hello Everyone, Spacey here! For those of you unable to check the tumblr Updates, the reason this chapter took so long to come out was a mix of scheduling issues and... a full story facial! My Beta and I went back through every other chapter and fixed spelling and grammar mistakes I didn't catch before I got her to help me! It was pretty meticulous so I'm not surprised it took so long, but I still feel a little bad about the wait! I hope this makes up for it though ^^!