"Charlotte!" the young woman called out The blond captain of the blue rose Squadron turned her head to see her Vice-Captain Mira running up to her.

"So, how was it? How was dinner? Did you manage to tell him?" Mira fired question after question. She, along with the rest of the squad had insisted Charlotte ask the Captain of the Black Bulls out once they had all been let in on Charlotte's deepest secret. Surprisingly, or perhaps serendipitously, said Captain had shown up within minutes of her confession to her squad. And so she did ask him.

Except the purpose was far less romantic than the squad would have liked. They made her promise to at least drop a few hints about her true feelings during the meal.

"Not exactly." Charlotte kept walking. The dinner – she refused to call it a date, though she had heard the word mentioned among a few of the younger squad members before she had left-was nice, but strained. She had not known what to say, or even really how to start a normal conversation with the man. Or at least one where she didn't immediately insult him in some way.

Charlotte felt hopeless and awkward. She didn't think she would ever be able to tell him.

The tiny brunette sighed as she kept pace with the tall blond. She tossed her head in frustration.

"Well, he did seem fairly clueless as to the whole situation when you asked him. Making everything about business and all."

"It's fine Mira. If he finds out, then he finds out. I don't know if I even want him to." Charlotte sighed, feeling a catch in her voice. Stop lying, she told herself.

"But you should tell him Charlotte. It's been what 10 years."

Charlotte let out another sigh as she ran her fingers through her loose hair. They had insisted she wears it down for dinner. To show her feminine side, they had said.

"Yeah. About that long."

The pair approached the entrance to the main building when Charlotte noticed several other of the squad's members waiting expectantly.

Charlotte stopped in her tracks for a moment. Sighing, she prepared to face the same line of questioning from the gathered women

"How was the date?"

"Did you have a good time, Captain?"

"Did he figure it out?"

"Did you tell him?"

Several faces watched her as their questions echoed in her mind. Charlotte braced herself against the onslaught. She had no answers for them. Well, not any they wanted to hear.

I wish Sol were here. She would be a voice of reason, Charlotte thought as she looked at the excitement in their faces.

"No, I didn't tell him. No, he didn't figure it out. We just talked business, that's all."

Every single face fell as if each woman had her dreams crushed. The group seemed to release a collective sigh of disappointment.

"How could he not know?" One of the women asked, more to herself, Charlotte guessed, than to anyone else.

"Didn't you hear him earlier? He thinks she hates him." Another chimed in to answer the question.

"If the Captain wasn't such a good Magic Knight, she would probably be a great actor, because I thought she hated him too." A third voice added.

Charlotte rubbed her eyes. She was still exhausted from the recent battle and her possession, and the world had certainly not slowed down enough for her to catch up. And now the talk of curses had opened a gaggle of old wounds. The last thing she wanted to do now was to stand around and try to figure out Yami Sukehiro. Right now, she wanted to sleep.

"I appreciate all of your concerns, but can you please get out of the way?" She said a little more sharply than she had meant. The group who had clustered around the door split down the center and allowed her passage into the building and toward her bed.

"I have the perfect plan." Mira grinned as she sat next to her at breakfast.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. Mira's plans never quite worked out the way she described them.

"A plan for what?"

"For you to tell him how you feel."

"Mira..." Charlotte started to protest.

"Now, just hear me out."

Charlotte pressed her lips into a thin line as Mira started talking.

A few days later, Charlotte sat in the tavern at a table with several of the officers in her squad. Her back was rigid and she shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She could not believe she was going along with Mira's plan. She half expected the plan to fall through, as they always seemed to do.

Maybe he won't even show up, she thought as the serving girl placed a plate of food in the center of the table.

"Relax, Charlotte," Mira whispered. "You're shaking the table."

"Sorry." Charlotte placed a hand on her knee to still its shaking. The soft fabric of the dress she wore startled her as much now as it did when she had first put it on. Mira had insisted on the dress, and Charlotte had been shocked when Sol had approved and even seemed to help with picking it out. The younger woman was slowly coming around to the idea of her Captain being interested in a man – especially given who that man was. Or at least, Mira had hinted at such.

Still, the thought of going through with the plan made Charlotte nervous. The other women gathered at the table with her laughed and joked as if the day were any other day as if they were seated around a table in the common room back at their headquarters rather than at the unfamiliar tavern in the capital.

But Mira had done her homework and found he frequented the establishment often – especially on payday.

Still, despite all of the preparations, he had yet to show up.

"Captain, you aren't hungry?" One of the lieutenants asked from across the table upon noticing Charlotte stirring the meal before her around with her fork. Charlotte's stomach growled in response and her cheeks blushed at the noise. To be honest, she was starving. So hungry she felt nauseous. She had been too nervous to eat much for breakfast and her midday meal had been forgotten in the effort to dress her. Now the food before her smelled delicious, but it made her feel sick at the same time. She smiled weakly and forced a small bite. Part of her mind registered how the food tasted as good as it smelled, making a note to come back when she wasn't a basket case of nervous energy and could properly enjoy a meal. The rest of her mind screamed about how bad of an idea the taste had been.

The tavern was loud with conversation, but still, Charlotte could hear him enter the room. She felt her already ramrod straight back further straighten and a slight shiver traveled through her body. And then she heard his voice calling out to the bartender in a familiar manner. His chair scraped loudly against the wooden floor as he pulled it back and she could hear the grunting sigh as he landed in it heavily. The rest of the noise in the room – even her own squad's laughing conversation-had faded away until all Charlotte could hear was his voice and the percussive beating of her heart.

Mira tapped her arm and gave her a grin and a nod. Charlotte watched as the Vice-Captain waved at the girl who had been serving them. Her face blanched in fear as the young girl came over with a tray of several delicate cakes, all individually portioned. The smell of rich chocolate filled her nose. The smell usually made her mouth water, but today she could barely keep herself from wanting to vomit. The serving girl placed one of the cakes in front of each of the women at the table and then looked at the one remaining in her hand. She looked around the table, double-checking her count before looking at the women in confusion.

"Um, I think they sent out too many."

"Oh, no, we have one member out ill and she couldn't make it. Just leave it on the table." Mira smiled at the girl who placed the extra cake next to her.

"This is so good!" one of the other women exclaimed. Charlotte looked at the cake and took a tiny taste. She immediately regretted the decision. She sighed in frustration.

Mira leaned over to her.

"Are you alright?"

"No. I'm more nervous than I have ever been in my life." She admitted. "And now I feel so helpless, so weak."

"You're not weak, Charlotte. It's alright to be nervous." Mira said, squeezing Charlotte's hand. "It will be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

"I don't know. I mean it's Yami and he's known to go off at the littlest thing sometimes."

Mira glanced behind her at the lone Black Bull sitting a couple of tables away.

"I think it will be alright. So get to it."

Charlotte stood up.

"I need some air first." She turned away from her squad and immediately heard the whispers going around the table. She took a deep breath as she walked toward the door. A group of loiterers clustered around the opening, blocking her escape. Her heart was racing so fiercely she only wanted to escape, to run, to forget this feeling within her. She wanted to ignore it as she had for so long. She felt tears welling in her eyes as she fought against the desire to hide.

No, she told herself. She was done hiding. She would conquer this feeling, this weakness within herself. If she could not, how could she ever expect him to respect her? How could she respect herself?

She turned toward the bathroom instead of fighting her way through the crowd at the door. The path took her past his table. He was engrossed in something as she approached. He picked at the daily special and he sipped on a stein of ale, but his focus seemed inward as if he were lost in thought. She thought it was a strange look for him. Certainly, it was an unexpected one.

Absently, she ran her fingers along the table as she walked past, but she kept her eyes focused ahead. In the bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair hung loosely around her face and the other girls had insisted on applying a light coating of make-up. The lipstick was brighter, redder than she had ever worn before, and made her lips stand out against her skin like a vibrant strawberry, or the petals of a red, red rose.

She looked like a stranger. The stranger was very beautiful in an overly feminine sort of way, but she could barely recognize the features in the mirror as her own.

The dark blue dress clung to her in a way that made her feel exposed. The fabric was soft against her skin, sure, but it almost felt as if she were wearing nothing at all. And with the way it hugged her chest, she felt she might as well be. The others had said it would make her interest more obvious, but it just made her feel strange, vulnerable, too open.

She tucked her loose hair behind one ear. At least they had let her keep her braid, she thought as she ran her fingers over the tightly woven plait. At least that was familiar.

Charlotte took a deep breath to steel herself. Despite her appearance, she needed to see things through.

"You're going to do this, right?" She asked her reflection. She hoped the image would answer and reassure her. But the version of her looking out of the mirror was silent.

"Right." She told herself in its stead. "You are. Besides, it's not coming out and saying it directly. If you can't even do this little thing, how can you call yourself strong enough to stand with him?"

She took another deep breath and let it out loudly.

"Right. First, greet him on your way back." She walked through the plan she had formulated to ease into the main event. "Just tell him hello. Acknowledge his presence. It would be weird otherwise, right?"

She ran her fingers through her hair again, pulling the strands back out from behind her ear.

"Say hello and then go back to your seat. After a few minutes, bring him the cake. Easy."

She let out a shaky breath before she turned from the mirror and forced herself out of the bathroom.

He was still sitting alone eating and drinking. He seemed a little sad as he picked at the subpar dish before him. Charlotte could not tell if he was upset about the food, about something else, or if it was just his normal face. She passed by him.

"Hello, Yami." Her voice came out calm and steady, though her heart threatened to leap out of her chest. She slowed her pace as she walked passed, turning her head toward him. She didn't know if she wanted him to look up at her or ignore her.

He looked up. And then his eyes flicked downward before locking on to her eyes.

"If it isn't the Prickly Queen of Thorns." One corner of his lips quirked up in a half-smile, while the other held onto the cigarette he had tucked there. "What brings you here? I didn't think you would like places like this."

Charlotte stopped. He had addressed her in his usual manner, but he had talked to her. Not just a greeting, but an actual question... was he looking for an answer or was he simply being polite?

Charlotte pressed her lips into a thin line before turning around to face him. She placed her hand on the table. She needed the extra support as she felt her knees would give out at any moment.

"We're celebrating a birthday today. She wanted to come here." Charlotte gave him the lie she had practiced. The only reason she was here, the only reason they were all here, was for him. "I don't know why, but I guess you can't always account for taste." Her voice was like acid, and she regretted the tone immediately. The half-smile on Yami's turned into a smirk.

"Yeah, well, not everyone is as accustomed to fancy restaurants and such. Besides, sometimes it's just more fun to let loose." He shifted in his chair and leaned on the table as he withdrew the cigarette from between his lips and exhaled. "But I guess you wouldn't know anything about that." He tapped the ashy end of the cigarette into a dish and stuck it back between his lips. His eyes traveled up her body, more slowly this time, before he met her eyes again. Charlotte shifted slightly under the weight of his gaze and tightened her grip on the table. Yami shrugged.

"Or maybe you do, I dunno."

No, you don't know, Charlotte thought. She wanted to ask him if he wanted to find out, but the words died in her throat.

"Thanks for the other night, by the way. That place was delicious, even if it was a little out of my league."

Charlotte blinked and stood silent for a moment as she processed what he had said.

"Um... You're welcome. I hope I was able to answer your questions, um, sufficiently."

"Yeah." He glanced away from her for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly as if there were more on his mind. She followed his gaze like a cat following an insect. "It was very helpful." He blinked as he looked back at her, his eyes wide as they caught hers. Charlotte felt herself blush as she tucked her loose hair behind her ear.

"Good. Um, I should get back."

"Yeah, right. Don't want to keep the birthday girl waiting." His face had gone back to the bored neutrality it typically had.

Charlotte turned and bit her lip to keep the small smile threatening to form locked within. Aside from dinner, which had devolved into a work discussion, the exchange had been the most they had said to each other which didn't end up with them trading insults. Progress of a sort, Charlotte guessed.

Mira's eyebrows were raised as Charlotte walked back to the table.

"That went well." The vice-captain said quietly, though the rest of the women leaned in to hear. How could they keep the charade up if everyone was so focused on her, Charlotte wondered. "Now's the perfect time." Mira slid the cake across the table.

"But what if he doesn't want it?"

"Oh, Captain, you didn't see him after you walked by."

"What? Why? What happened?"

"That hand across the table thing was a stroke of brilliance, by the way."

"Can someone please tell me what happened?"

"He did a double-take as you passed him and then watched you until you disappeared," Mira explained, her eyebrows waggling.

"Probably not used to seeing me in a dress like this." Charlotte countered, smoothing her hands over her skirt. She pulled at the top of the dress where it clung a little too tightly for her taste.

"Whatever it was, he seemed intrigued, which for a man like him, is a step in the right direction."

Charlotte sighed.

Was he interested? Or was he simply reacting to a novel situation? The uneasiness with the entire situation started creeping back in. Mira placed her hand on top of Charlotte's.

"You can do this. And if he doesn't take it, then at least you will know where you stand, right?"

Mira had used the argument repeatedly, telling Charlotte how it would be better to know something than to live with constant uncertainty. How even if he were to reject her, it would be easier in the long run than to always be wondering.

Charlotte nodded and looked at the cake. She and Mira had spent a fair amount of time in the morning making it, and all of the others so no one else would guess what was going on. The task had been difficult given Charlotte's lack of cooking knowledge, and she would not admit how much fun she had trying, but now she hoped it would be enough. She hated the idea of giving him something which tasted bad or was ugly. She had seen the elaborate chocolates other women had given to their loved ones and felt her effort had been a failure.

What if he didn't like it? What if it was bad?

Or maybe worse, what if he didn't get it? Surely he would know what it means. He has been a citizen of the kingdom for years, and it was a common tradition.

Charlotte took a deep breath and stood once more.

Do it now and get it over with, she told herself.

She picked up the cake and walked over to his table once more. He was still alone, though his plate of food was gone and he was nursing a second beer.

"Ugh, tastes like watered down piss." He grimaced as he placed the stein on the table. Charlotte stood at the corner of the table hoping he would look up at her, or maybe hoping he wouldn't.

"Um, Yami?"

His eyes shot up to her as she addressed him.

"Um, we, um, we had an extra cake and I thought you might want it." She hurriedly placed the dish on the table and pushed it over to him. Yami looked at it for a minute and then back up at Charlotte, who stood wringing her hands together.

"Is that chocolate?" He lifted the plate to his face and sniffed at it.

"Yes. I, um, I made it."

"Are you trying to poison me?" He looked up at her suspiciously. The furious blush came back to Charlotte's cheeks. She sputtered as she tried to protest.

"We made them for the party and everyone else seems fine." She indicated the group of women behind her. "As I said, it was extra."

"Relax, I'm kidding. It smells good. Thanks."

"Yes, well, you're welcome." Charlotte turned quickly and walked as fast as was socially appropriate back to the table. She didn't bother looking back at him.

He hadn't understood at all.

She placed her head in her hands.

"I want to die." She muttered.

"Oh, now's not the time for that." Mira poked her in the shoulder. "He's eating it."

Charlotte glanced over her shoulder to see him pick one of the pieces of solid chocolate filigree from the top and pop it into his mouth. His face showed both surprise and satisfaction before he broke off another piece to eat as he waved over to a server to ask for a fork.

"It doesn't matter. He's as clueless as they come."

"Well, he seems to be enjoying it regardless."

"There you are, Yami. I thought you would be in the gambling hall still." A frantic young man's voice cut through the din of too many conversations. Charlotte turned to the voice only to see Langris's brother rushing through the crowd toward his squad leader.

"Run of bad luck almost ran out of money," Yami said with a full mouth to where he was nearly unintelligible.

"If you're out of money, then how did you afford that cake?"

"I didn't. Charlotte gave it to me."

"What?"

"Charlotte gave it to me," Yami said more clearly after swallowing. "It's really good."

The young man with tossed brown hair looked over toward the table of women.

"Charlotte? You mean the captain of the Blue Rose Knights Charlotte?" the newcomer turned back to his captain.

"Yeah. She made it herself, she said." Yami took another bite of the cake.

"She did?" He looked from Yami to the table where the blue rose knights had gathered and back. "Really?"

"That's what she said."

"You, um, you know what that means, right?"

"That I have some damn delicious free cake."

Finral sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes.

"All these years wishing for something like this to happen to me, and he doesn't even know what's going on," he muttered as he looked over to the knot of women once more. One of them, a short brunette, eyed Yami suspiciously. Lady Charlotte sat with her back to them, but her blond head was bowed and even from the distance, Finral could read embarrassment in her slouch.

"No, Yami..." Finral took a seat in the other chair at the table. "Do you even know what today is?"

"Payday."

"Well, yes, but... oh for crying out loud... Yami, it's valentine's day."

Yami stopped and looked at Finral, but the younger man could see that the captain didn't fully comprehend what he was trying to tell him.

"You know, the celebration of lovers? When people tell share their feelings with those they care about?"

"Oh, that is today isn't it." Yami took another big bite of the chocolate cake. "You want some? I could get another spoon."

"Um, Lady Charlotte gave that to you, Yami."

"She said it was extra." Finral didn't believe that for a moment.

"I don't think you should be sharing it."

"Suit yourself." Yami took another bite. He closed his eyes as the flavors hit his tongue-chocolaty and sweet but also just a bit salty, but not too much. Perfect, he thought.

Finral watched him a moment as he relished in the flavors. He looked over at the women again. He could pick the captain out of the crowd easily. She was a beautiful woman and Finral could at least pride himself on his ability to spot a beautiful woman anywhere. The only problem was he thought all women were beautiful.

But Charlotte Roselei was a beauty beyond compare. Even Finesse-who had a fine beauty of her own-was no match for the briar maiden.

And today she looked especially lovely, even though Finral could only see her from behind. Her blond hair hung loosely to her shoulders and the clothes she wore were a rich royal blue, a brighter shade than her squad's robes, fully saturated and dazzling, like a sapphire spun into silk. Despite the chair partially obscuring his view, Finral could tell the outfit was well-tailored and designed to show off her feminine side. She was an unusually strange, but quite welcome sight for anyone who only knew her as a Magic Knight.

"So, what do you think of Lady Charlotte, Yami?" Finral asked. Even if Yami hadn't realized what the cake meant, Finral knew. He decided to start digging for information. If only because he felt Charlotte deserved an answer. Not to mention his curiosity had been peaked by the situation.

"Charlotte? She's a good fighter."

Finral let out a frustrated sigh.

"I'm sure she is. After all, she is a captain. But what do you think about her as a person?"

Yami scrapped the spoon against the plate several times to leave no crumb uneaten. Finral watched as his face screwed up in thought.

"I dunno. We can hardly have a conversation without resorting to insults. I don't know if I would exactly call us friends or anything."

"But do you like her?"

"I guess?" Yami placed the spoon down on the table and used his finger to pick up any errant cake crumbs from the plate.

Finral rubbed his eyes. Yami apparently could not read between the lines. Or maybe the questions are too subtle? Finral thought.

"You know how I mean, right? Like what do you think about her looks? That sort of stuff."

Yami looked over at the table where she sat for the first time since Finral had arrived.

"She looks like a woman."

"Do you think she's pretty?" Finral said more pointedly. Yami shifted in his seat. Was the captain nervous?

"What's with the questions, Finral?" Yami pulled a cigarette from his pouch and lit it. He stuck it between his lips and took a long drag, inhaling until his lungs were filled to bursting and then exhaling slowly.

Maybe he doesn't know anything, Finral thought. Or worse, maybe he doesn't feel anything.

"Um, Yami, you're probably going to kill me, but I have to ask, and I want you to remember that I'm your ride home before I do, alright?"

Yami sneered in annoyance at him as he inhaled once more on his cigarette. He blew the smoke in Finral's direction. To his credit, Finral simply waved the noxious fumes away.

"Okay then. Yami, you like girls, right? I mean, you're attracted to them, yeah?"

Yami shifted in his chair once more.

Yeah, he's definitely uncomfortable, Finral thought. The smoky air from the cigarette made it difficult to see, but as he leaned closer, Finral thought he saw the slightest of blushes on the captain's cheeks.

"What kind of silly question is that?"

"Right now, it's an important one. Are you attracted to women? I mean, it's no big deal if you aren't, but..."

"Well, yeah, usually."

"What else are you attracted to?"

"Fighting."

"I mean sexually." Finral bit his lower lip and pinched his face together. How could Yami be such a meathead?

"I... yeah, I like girls... women. I just... I don't have much experience." Yami's voice was low, nearly inaudible as if he were admitting something which brought him shame. Finral knew the feeling all too well, but where he made up for his lack of experience with bravado and a never back down attitude (at least with the ladies), Yami seemed to have closed himself off. Finral wondered if he was even aware of how he had cut himself off.

"Besides, who has time for anything like that." Yami waved the serving girl over again, stein in hand as a signal he wanted another drink.

"Right." Finral crossed his arms over his chest as he processed this new information. The server placed a fresh ale before Yami. She looked at the empty plate before looking from him to the table of women a few feet away. A small grin spread on the server's lips as she caught Finral's eye.

"But all things being equal, what would you think of Charlotte? Not in a good fighter sort of way, but in a beautiful woman who might be interested in you sort of way."

"There's no way she would be interested in me." Yami took a long drink from the stein.

Finral wanted to bang his head on the table. He pushed the chair back and stood up.

"I'll be right back." He looked over at the table of women once more before walking toward them.

Mira tapped Charlotte, who had finally started devouring her cake, on the arm. Charlotte looked up at the touch and wiped the rich, moist crumbs from her face as she turned to Mira with wide questioning eyes. Mira tilted her head to the young man approaching them.

"Ugh, it's him." One of the younger women muttered, only to grimace as her fist hit the table hard. Mira glared at her before turning to the young man.

"Excuse me, Ladies." Finral started as he approached.

"What do you want?" said the woman who had muttered earlier. "Because no one here is interested."

"I have a message for Captain Charlotte."

Charlotte turned to him wide-eyed, her fork sticking out of her mouth as she shoved another bite of cake into it. Her cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk storing nuts for the wintertime.

If he thought anything of her appearance, he said nothing.

"Well, spit it out." One of the women said.

Finral cleared his throat.

"I would rather say this privately, but... I want to apologize for how much of an idiot Yami is. Apparently, he didn't even know what today was or what your gift to him meant. Rest assured, I very much do. Don't worry, I'm going to work on him. Hopefully, he'll figure it out and will be able to respond in kind. But until then, I think you should know that he thought the cake was delicious." Finral gave Charlotte a tight smile before stalking back to the table where Yami was waving around his tankard and calling for another. Finral ripped the vessel from Yami's hand and slammed it on the table. He grabbed the large man by the arm and practically hauled him out of the tavern.

"I promise I'll cover it!" he called over his shoulder as he pushed Yami out of the door.

Charlotte, Mira and the rest of the women from the Blue Rose Knights watched the incident in various states of shock. Charlotte, having finally gotten over her nervousness and now starving, took another bite of the cake she held in her hand even as she turned in her chair.

"Well, I guess the good news from all of this is at least the message didn't fall entirely on deaf ears," Mira said as the door slammed shut.

"But what did he mean when he said he would work on it?" Another asked.

"I don't know, but I'm curious." The woman who had seemed so put off by Finral's appearance said. "At least he didn't try to hit on anyone..." She muttered beneath her breath.

Charlotte shoved another bite of cake in her mouth.

"What do you think, Charlotte?" Mira asked and the entire table turned to their captain expectantly, hoping for a new command or some tidbit which could lead them to their next step.

"He's right. This cake is delicious." She said after finishing her last bite. Charlotte licked the crumbs she had picked up from the fork before setting her plate down. The gathered women all looked at her and then at each other.

"Looks like he's not the only one who needs to do some work," Mira muttered.