Part Seven

I returned to the palace with Leo, and in the afternoon it was back to our usual study schedule. But I couldn't focus at all.

"Maya. Maya? Are you listening?" Leo tapped me lightly on the forehead, and I raised my head finally.

"Ah! I'm sorry."

"C'mon now, turn the page." I turned the page as requested. My pulse sped up at the simple touch of his fingers on my skin. When I looked up, Leo was standing next to me as he always did. I couldn't think of a single thing to say. (That was the second time we kissed— but what did it mean this time?) I closed my eyes briefly, trying to put it out of my mind. But it was no use, and nothing he taught me really sank in.

After our lessons were over, Leo spoke softly, his teacher voice gone.

"That reminds me. About Robert—"

"Oh?" Leo explained to me that Robert was currently under 'house arrest.' "What?!" (Is this because of that paintbrush?) I stood up suddenly, and stared up at Leo. Leo removed his glasses and gazed down at me.

"Princess, we'll take it from here. Try not to get involved any further, okay?"

"But I just—" (This is all my fault.) I turned my face away, and Leo stepped over to the bookshelf, muttering something under his breath.

"I wish you weren't thinking about some other man."

"Huh?" (Did he just say something? I couldn't quite hear him.) I opened my mouth to ask him, but right then there was a knock at the door. Nico poked his head into the room.

"I brought you some tea, Maya." Nico entered the room carrying tea on a tray. Leo stepped past him and headed for the door.

"We'll finish up here for today. See you later, Maya."

"See you." After the door closed, I gave a big sigh. (I didn't really get to ask him anything about Robert.) Nico set the tray down on the desk in front of me. Then he leaned over and met my gaze.

"What's wrong? You don't look well."

"I guess." (I want to see Robert, and talk to him. But—) As I sat there fretting, Nico gave me a shy smile.

"Maya— I hope you know you can talk to me about anything."

"Nico—" I stared up at him, feeling suddenly grateful. (Nico's always taking care of me. I'm sure he'll be happy to listen.) "Well, actually—" Nico listened quietly as I told him my worries. And then, between us, we formulated a plan.

That evening— Nico and I sneaked out of my room and hurried to where Robert was being kept, trying to avoid being seen.

"I never imagined you'd manage to talk me into helping you with your secret midnight dates."

"What do you mean date?! Anyway, I'm sorry Nico." Nico gave me a wry smile, then looked away.

"It's okay. This is way better than letting you go by yourself." I'd asked Nico to take me to where Robert was being held. He'd been unwilling, but he'd agreed to take me all the same.

"There's something that I need to apologize to Robert for." Nico was silent in response to my explanation.

We made our way quietly but quickly through the palace. Somehow it seemed much bigger than usual. But at last we reached Robert's room, and Nico spoke in a whisper. "I'll distract the guards, but you won't have much time, okay?"

"Okay." I waited until the guards were gone, and then I hastily knocked on the door. The door opened slowly, and Robert peered out at me in shock.

"Maya? But why—" Robert opened the door and stared at me in shock, his eyes wide.

"Robert, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault!"

"No, no, please don't worry about it. Now you should hurry back to your room before they find you here." Robert reached out and put a gentle hand on my shoulder, urging me to turn around. His smile was wistful. "Thank you for coming to see me."

"Oh, Robert—" Robert narrowed his eyes suddenly as he stared at me.

"And Maya—you should be careful. The traitor may still be close to you."

"What?" I turned back to face him, but Robert was already closing the door. "Robert?" (What on earth did he mean by that?) At that moment, someone grabbed my hand from behind. "Ahh!" I looked around in surprise to find Nico standing there, looking flustered.

"Let's get going, Maya!"

"O-Okay!" Nico half dragged me as we hurried down the moonlit corridors. Although we were hurrying, it seemed to take forever to get anywhere. The corridors all started to look the same to me. I was soon out of breath, but I did my best to keep up. (Nico's really something else.) "Do you know where the guards are?" Nico gave me a vague smile.

"Good question." We continued to hurry, Nico checking back over his shoulder every so often. But at last we reached my room, and I slowed down to catch my breath.

"Thank you Nico." I thought about Robert's gentle smile. "I'm sure they'll let Robert go once they figure out the truth." Nico gazed at me silently, his expression unreadable. Then I heard a noise at the end of the corridor. Nico turned towards it, his expression tense. (Hang on, I recognize that noise.) All of a sudden, Leo's parrot came flying around the corner. "Oh!"

"Found you, Princess. Found you."

"Huh?" Nico raised his eyebrows in surprise at the parrot's sudden appearance. A moment later I heard a familiar voice.

"You weren't in your room, so I went to look for you, and—"

"Leo!" Leo frowned as he stared at Nico and me.

"What are you up to?" Leo's voice was suspicious, but Nico smiled sweetly at him.

"The princess just wanted to get a breath of fresh air. So we went for a short walk— that's all." Leo met Nico's gaze, his eyes narrowed. Nico ignored Leo's frown and escorted me as far as my room. Then he bade me goodnight and left.

After Nico left, I entered my room and Leo followed me.

"So what were you really up to?"

"Um—" I sat down on my bed, frowning. (There's no way that I can tell him I went to see Robert.) "I couldn't sleep."

"Is that so?" Leo spoke softly, and then reached out and put his hands on my shoulders.

"Oh!" His face moved close to mine, close enough that I could feel his breath on my cheek and his expression turned mischievous.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me?"

"Hey—" Leo's fingers began to caress my neck gently, and I quivered at the unexpected touch. "Leo—" I raised my hands in an attempt to push him away, but he caught hold of my hands instead. I pulled a face at him, and he grinned again, twining his fingers with mine.

"You know what comes next, don't you?" I caught my breath at the intensity in his gaze. A moment ago he'd just been teasing, but this felt different, and I was suddenly nervous and excited all at once. I remembered the first time he kissed me. Back then he was so pushy, and yet at the same time distant somehow. (But—this is so different than then. He's different— and so am I.) I relaxed and stopped resisting him, squeezing our intertwined fingers gently. Leo raised his head and stared at me in surprise. Our gazes met, and I stared back at him, waiting for a reaction. After a moment, he gave a long drawn-out sigh. Then he quietly let go of my hands and took a step back. "Ahh, you got me."

"Leo?" I stared up at him in surprise, and Leo gave me a quick smile.

"Good night Princess. Don't take any more walks, okay?" As the door closed behind him, I sighed as well. (I think maybe I'm glad he didn't take it any further right now. But at the same time—) I pressed my hands against my flushed cheeks, and sighed again.

The next day— I wanted to thank Nico again for helping me out, so I visited his room.

"Nico?" I knocked at his door, and then turned the doorknob. Nico was inside, and he turned to look at me with an expression of surprise on his face.

"Maya! Is something the matter?"

"No, I just—" I walked towards him, but as I did so I noticed a piece of parchment on his desk. (Hang on—) I only saw the design for a moment, but suddenly my heart was pounding madly. (That's— the crest of Stein, isn't it?)

After I left Nico's room, I thought again about the parchment I'd seen on his desk. (That definitely had the crest of Stein on it.) At the same time, I remembered what Robert had said to me. I stopped suddenly. My head was pounding, and I couldn't think straight. (Nico must be hiding something from me. But what should I do about it? And is it even something I can handle myself?)

Later that day, I left the palace with Nico on official business. From the carriage I could see a hill and I spoke suddenly.

"Nico—can we take a slight detour?"

"Huh? Giles will get mad, you know." Nico's expression was puzzled.

"Please? Just for a little bit." Nico stared at me doubtfully for a long moment, but he finally nodded his head.

He directed the coachman, and soon the carriage was stopped at the bottom of the hill. A soft breeze ruffled my hair as we climbed the hill together.

"It's nice to be outside, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." Nico kept a pace behind me as I walked, but he smiled at my words. I glanced back at him, and then spoke hesitantly.

"Hey, Nico—you're not—hiding anything from me, are you?"

"Huh?" Nico raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I'm sorry—when I was in your room earlier, I saw the crest on your letter." Nico pressed his lips together. For a moment there was silence, and then he spoke again, his voice soft.

"If I was hiding something, what would you do?"

"To be honest—" I raised my head and met his gaze directly. "I'd want you to run away, right now." (I know that wouldn't be allowed, but I don't want him to be locked up like Robert it.) Nico stared back at me, and I smiled suddenly. Then he dropped his gaze, his expression upset.

"Maya—you're so naïve." I wasn't sure what I could say to that. I dropped my gaze as well. (Am I naïve? But even if I am—) I raised my head again, and met Nico's gaze.

"I don't care where you come from—I won't ever forget how kind you've been to me. But I want you to tell me the truth." Nico stared straight back at me. "Why did you come to the palace?" Nico's expression turned thoughtful, and he dropped his gaze to the ground. The silence between us seemed to stretch out endlessly. Finally Nico met my gaze again, his expression serious.

"Princess, I want to ask your advice."

"What?" (What does he mean by that?) Nico began to explain everything to me. He said he'd originally entered the palace in order to simply gather information about Wysteria. But he told me that over time, he'd come to realize something. What he'd realized was that someone was secretly manipulating both Wysteria and Stein.

"I believe it's the same person who arranged for someone like me to enter the palace. But I don't know who that was."

"I see." He explained that he was currently working to find out who they were, and stop the crimes in both countries. After he'd finished speaking, Nico cleared his throat, and spoke in a firm voice.

"I'm certain that this information will be beneficial for Wysteria as well."

"Nico?" To my surprise, he bowed formally.

"Princess, will you allow me to remain free?"

It was the last thing I expected Nico to say. I couldn't hid my surprise at his request. (If Leo was here, I'm sure he'd tell me not to believe him. But I've already made up my mind.)

"Yes, I will." I nodded as I gazed up at Nico. "Nico—I believe you." (Both as myself, and as the princess.) Nico looked startled at my words. Then he took a step towards me, and held out a dagger.

"Please take this."

"What?" (What is this for?) I took the dagger, and looked up at him. He gave me a wry smile as he met my gaze.

"You really shouldn't believe in people so easily, Maya. This is something that's very dear to me." I looked down at the dagger in my hands. The crest of Stein was clearly engraved on it. "I'm going to believe in you too. So I want you to take care of that for me as proof of that."

"Nico—" As I stared down at the dagger, Nico muttered something quietly.

"You're only the second person I've said that to."

"What?"

"Nothing." I raised my head, but Nico was smiling at me the way he always did, as if nothing had changed. He obviously didn't want to talk about it further, so I let it slide. At his suggestion, we returned to the carriage. As we were on our way back to the palace, Nico spoke suddenly.

"You shouldn't tell Leo—at least, not for a while yet."

"Why?" Nico narrowed his eyes.

"He's probably going to be dragged into it eventually anyway, albeit unwillingly."

After we returned to the palace, I paid a visit to Giles's room.

"Please release Robert. As the princess, I will be responsible for him." Giles frowned at my request, but eventually he gave a small sigh.

"It's true that we haven't found any other proof besides that paintbrush. But what brought this on?"

"Well, I—" (I can't exactly tell him it's because I found someone else from Stein in the palace, can I?) I was still standing there trying to figure out what to say when the door opened.

"Oh, are you two in the middle of something?"

"No, it's fine." I breathed a sigh of relief as Nico's arrival cut our conversation short. Our eyes met, and he winked at me briefly. (Nico—thank you.) I hurriedly thanked Giles and left his room again. I didn't want him to question me any further. I wandered slowly away from his room, thinking hard. I couldn't forget Nico's words to me earlier. (Is Leo really going to get dragged into this? What on earth could he have meant by that?) I turned the corner, and stopped as I saw someone right in front of me.

"Oh!"

"Hmm?" I was startled to see Leo right in front of me, and I automatically took a step back. Leo reached out and caught hold of my arm. "Why are you trying to run away?"

"What do you mean—" Leo narrowed his eyes at my flustered words, and his fingers tightened their grip on my arm. A memory of when he'd pushed me down onto the bed flitted through my mind. My pulse sped up a little, and my cheeks flushed red.

"You shouldn't be running away from me, Maya." He leaned closer, still studying my face. then he narrowed his eyes.

"W-What?" My voice was flustered, and Leo replied in a quiet, even tone.

"You're hiding something again, aren't you?" Leo leaned close and stared at me. "I heard that you asked for Robert to be released. Why?"

"Well, I—" I stopped in confusion, and Leo's face moved closer still.

"I was right, wasn't I? You're hiding something." I swallowed hard. (How on earth can I explain what's going on?)

"No I'm not." (I still don't know anything yet—it's better for me to just keep quiet.) I met Leo's gaze, trying to keep my expression as neutral as possible. But he stared back at me, and I began to remember all the times he'd seemed able to guess what I was thinking. I bit my lip lightly, and then suddenly Leo muttered under his breath.

"You're always worrying about other men."

"Huh?" He continued to stare at me, but there was something different about his gaze now.

"Am I ever going to get the chance to have you all to myself?" I caught my breath, my pulse suddenly racing at his words and the look in his eyes. I tried to think of a response, but my mind was blank. (He's just joking, like he always does—right?) I felt captivated by his gaze, unable to tear my eyes away. My heart was pounding so loudly I was sure he could hear it.

"Um—Leo—" Leo tilted his head as I spoke his name, and then his face moved towards me. "Oh—"

Oh, I just love Nico so much! Definitely doing his route after I finish this. Part Eight coming tomorrow (most likely)