The idea that a woman's ability on the back of a horse should dictate whether or not she could be Queen again seemed absurd, but here Soul was, leaning in his throne on the stage at the tournament ring, watching as number six cantered about with a smile. Black Star had whispered some crude joke about riding but that of course wasn't where his mind was at, instead continuing to run through the memories he'd earned back through Maka's touch, finding them less blurred with each examination. He couldn't decide what was more exhilarating, that his mind seemed to have the ability to come back to him or that the way that came about was from being able to hold her hand.

He was instantly distracted by the movement on the stairs to the dais, his eyes falling on Medusa as she ascended. Maka's warning blared in his head and Soul forced on a smile. "Hello, Medusa."

"Hello, my prince." She bowed deeply and when her face came back up she was stretching out a smile. "I have your elixir for today."

"You can leave it there," Soul motioned towards the table in front of Black Star.

There was a moment's hint of surprise on her face before she squashed it. "My prince, taking it right away would be beneficial."

"Oh, of course. Just usually unsettles my stomach, so," he shrugged before looking back at Black Star. "Hey, get me something to eat, will you?"

Black Star made a good show of mumbling under his breath, earning his face the attention as he moved. While this had only been discussed in theory, Soul should never have doubted his friend's ability at sleight-of-hand since as soon as Black Star was squeezing past the table he was switching one vial for the other.

Soul picked up the new one off the table before unscrewing the top. "Cheers," he motioned it towards Medusa who gave a laugh that was more toleration than amusement before he tossed the liquid back. He made the usual face since most of these concoctions were bitter and screwed the cap back on before handing it back to Medusa. "Thank you."

Medusa nodded sharply, "Please, let me know if you experience any changes."

Soul replied by sending his gaze back to the field, his mind already starting to roll over in fear. I have to trust Maka. I have to, even if I'm scared that… He cut off the thought as he drove his knuckles into his thigh. Black Star was quick to return, a few slices of bread on a plate. "I should shove this in your face," he whispered as he leaned in close. "Dropped off the vial with Marie."

"Thank you." For show, Soul shoved a piece of bread in his mouth, sure that Medusa was probably somehow watching. He'd have to remember to play up the ache as the festivities continued.

Number seven through twelve continued with nothing all that spectacular. Soul should have expected that the whispers would start as soon as thirteen came out. There was a resounding gasp as Maka entered on horseback. There wasn't actually any inappropriate skin to be seen but she was most certainly dressed like a man, a breezy white shirt kept in place with a leather jerkin and simple pants with knee-high boots. Her hair was spun in a bun high on her head. None of it was at all his concern, just the knowing smile that she wore.

There was no walk, no trot, no easy start because the instant the trumpet sounded Maka was urging her horse in a gallop. Her eyes were focused again, tendrils of hair feathering around the side of her head as the wind rushed past her. No look was afforded Soul's way or anyone else's, and the joy on her face was all her own. As she rushed through the curve and started on the other straightaway, Soul saw the bow on her back. Maka was quickly up in the saddle, slinging the bow to her front and pulling it back with the ease of being on solid ground. He didn't even catch her nocking the arrow let alone letting it loose, hitting a leftover target from games of days past.

Showoff, he kept bit on his tongue but couldn't stop the laugh that accompanied it. When she hit the next curve it wasn't a laugh that left his lips but a sigh, the way her face had blossomed into a devastatingly beautiful smile. She's happy, maybe for the first time since she got here and I… I'm dying for that smile again, but at me, with me. That's what it is, isn't it?

"Insolent girl," the Queen spat, bringing Soul back from his thoughts.

"No, mother," Soul corrected quickly with another laugh. "She's not just a girl."

After dinner, Black Star dragged Soul up to the parapet walk and sat on the edge with an arrow loop between them. He'd snuck into the kitchen earlier, fighting off the girls to fill his water skin to the brim with the best wine he knew he could steal without getting whipped. The first half-hour was filled with silence, just the two of them passing the skin back and forth while they watched the stars come out one by one. "How's the memory?" Black Star finally broke the silence before throwing back another swig.

"Coming back," Soul let a hopeful smile cross his face. "Not all, but… slowly, and thankfully they stay. I haven't had to write anything down since it started."

"Good," Black Star nodded as he handed the skin to Soul. "You… remembering stuff about being at Marie's?"

Soul let the wine clear the tightness in his throat. "Again, some. And what I do remember… be honest with me, I loved her, didn't I? Every single memory that I get doesn't make sense unless I loved her just as much as she loved me."

Black Star motioned for the wine back and took a long draft, clearing his throat after. "She told you she loved you?"

"Answer my question first," Soul snapped.

"I will, just tell me, she said that?"

Soul sighed, "She said that we were best friends and that the last year she daydreamed of more."

Black Star snorted a laugh, "She couldn't just come out and say it, could she? She's fucking impossible."

"She said you'd call her that," Soul grinned before grabbing the wine back. "And she also said that she couldn't say how I felt, that I never said anything."

"Well, you were working towards it," Black Star shrugged.

"So I did?" Soul jumped, tottering a little in the sill before he righted himself.

"Promise not to hit me? Remember, we've been drinking and a fall from this height-"

"What did you do?" Soul grumbled as he slipped back onto the solid ground of the parapet.

Black Star just thumped to the ground on his back, blowing a little air from his lungs as he started to fish in his pocket. "Remember, I thought you were dying. My best friend. The only person I've ever trusted and would trust with my life."

"Stop buttering me up!" Soul crawled closer, pressing his back to the arrow slot as he leaned over Black Star.

"You had something made for her, right before you got hurt." Black Star took the box out of his pocket. It was wooden, hand-carved with exquisite images of flowers that he held out for Soul to take. "You were pissed because you were actually going to give it to her that day we were all in the woods. Why you thought you could be romantic with Marie, Stein, and me snooping around I don't know but you almost chickened out because you thought everything hinged on that. But when we left town, you told me you were going to do it anyway."

"Do what?" Soul asked breathlessly as he stared at the box.

"Have your first kiss, dummy," Black Star said with a laugh.

He was dumbfounded, eyes darting from Black Star to the gift. "Did I?"

"Hell if I know," Black Star chuckled again. "All I know is the plan was that I kept Marie and Stein's attention long enough for you to get her alone in the glen but after you disappeared, well, that's when we all heard Maka screaming and…"

"That's when?" Soul offered the question that didn't need an answer. Instead, he sighed, "Why didn't you give this to me before? Or to her after it happened, she must have…"

"Again, kind of thought you were dying and… the day after, when you woke up, one of the first things I told you was that Maka was alright and you looked at me like I had eight heads. You said her name again, said it was familiar, but then everything else on her was a blank." Black Star crossed his arms over his chest, a frown starting to pull at his lips. "And we all swore when you and I left that we weren't going to talk about this. Marie and Stein were in enough danger as it was just for housing you and Maka was just a commoner. To even insinuate that she had a relationship with you? That could have been trouble for her, too."

Black Star shook his head, "And I'm a God with women, I know what they get like when they think they've gotten a token of your love. I couldn't imagine giving that to Maka just in time for you to actually leave her, probably forever." He pointed towards the box. "But you could give it to her now."

"I-" Soul snapped his mouth shut, staring desperately at the box. "Is it fair? I still don't remember that day and my feelings back then…"

Black Star raised his eyebrows. "You got feelings now?"

"Now?" Soul blinked at him. "Well…"

Black Star stuck out his fist before producing a finger, "She's the first girl you've held hands with."

Soul scoffed, "No-"

"Liar," Black Star threw up another finger, "Every time she's doing one of these stupid contests you're all eyes on her."

"That's because I'm trying to figure out-"

Another finger and another interruption, "And she's been killing it in those contests. Whether it was the book or the sword she has it." Black Star catapulted up to sitting, laying the empty wine between them. "And I think you're missing the forest through the trees here. It'd be nice to remember what it felt like to be fifteen and in love with a girl but you're twenty, you're about to choose your bride, and, all emotions aside, Maka's the best choice for you, for the kingdom, not one of those idiot courtesans who will most likely bore you to death. So maybe wooing her now, putting a little effort into feelings as they are at this minute is a better plan."

"I have to… I've got to go." Soul stumbled to his feet, the wine still vigorously coursing through his veins as he rushed off into the darkness.

"He's drunk," Black Star laughed. "Oh, fuck is Maka going to kill me for this."

Maka was worried when no music greeted her on the way down the stairs. It was only worse when she peeked from the edge of the curtain and found the room empty of Soul, not sitting, standing, or pacing. It didn't abate as she saw the box sitting on the bench though an added curiosity struck her and moved her feet forward. On the box was an assortment of flowers, forget-me-nots, clove, gorse. These were hardly plants that often went together and none of them particularly moving to look at, never an artist's first choice. Where the box had been sat a note.

It was scribbled hastily and her first instinct was to make fun of how his penmanship had actually deteriorated, but she was compelled instead to sit on the bench with a sweet sigh as she looked over the page.

Maka,

This was something the old Soul had wanted to give to you. I wish I could say that when I looked at it, I got the message loud and clear but this is another one of those secrets between you and him that I hope someday I'll get to know. At the same time, I was hoping you'd accept this from me too. I know I don't deserve to take the credit, but I'm going to ask you to wear this tomorrow at the ball. Maybe I'm wishing that when you think of me, you're thinking about the future, not just the past.

Soul

Her hands moved to the box, popping up the lid. All the air in her lungs disappeared as her eyes started to burn. With the haziness of the tears, the memory came back to her.

"Roses," Soul answered confidently.

"Well, if Stein wants to be boring," Maka rolled her eyes. "Plus, it's cliche. Marie deserves better than cliche."

"Alright, know-it-all, what's better?"

Maka tapped a finger thoughtfully to her chin. "Arbutus means 'you're the only one that I love.'"

"Isn't that a tree?"

"Red carnations mean deep, romantic love."

"Carnations are just as boring as roses," Soul corrected.

"True… I guess that knocks out red chrysanthemums too." Maka blew her bangs up with a huff of air. "Clove is undying love."

"Smells funny."

"Gorse is 'love in all seasons.'"

"Another tree."

"Forget-me-nots!" Maka burst excitedly. "That's what we'll get for Stein to give to her. Forget-me-nots."

"I guess." Soul kicked aimlessly at the dirt as they continued down the path. "You think flowers work anyway? They just die."

"Well, you can always dry them, keep them in a book," Maka shrugged.

"Maybe," Soul grumbled. "But if you're trying to prove your love lasts forever then why give something that dies?"

Maka turned her head and blinked at him incredulously. "Since when do you care? It's not like you're chasing after any girls."

"Oh, yeah, like you're one to talk," Soul spat back. "Not a man in sight, just memorizing flowers like a true bookworm."

"Shut up," she flicked her hair as she swiftly turned her head away from him. "I'll have you know that Hero, the blacksmith's apprentice has been asking after me." Oh, how she'd begged that he was jealous but she couldn't bear to look at his face.

"That idiot?" Soul laughed. "He hits his thumbs more than he hits the anvil."

"Still," she answered haughtily.

He huffed in reply and they walked in silence. As they reached the cusp of town, just before they'd be swallowed whole by the crowd Soul took a few quick steps to catch up to her side. "Which one do you like the best?"

Maka was caught off guard by the question and more so by the lack of teasing. "Out of the flowers?"

"Yeah," came back softly.

"Oh, well…" She slowed, giving her time to think before they were lost in the bustle. For some reason he moved in front of her, staring her down as if this was a dire answer. "Honeysuckle."

He let out a sharp laugh, "Seriously? It's practically a weed."

"It's still pretty," Maka argued. "And… well, it's…"

"What?" he pressed.

"It means devoted affection, love bonds that never end." The wistful sigh couldn't be contained behind her lips and she was afraid he'd tease again but he was waiting instead in silence, red eyes blinking calmly at her. "So if the flowers die, at least the message means the love won't."

He turned, his eyes working over the crowd before he grabbed her hand. "Come on, hold my hand so we don't get separated."

There had been no chance of that.

She let her fingertips follow the intricate filigree, the impossibly delicate metalworking that shaped the honeysuckle flower. The gems shone yellow and white with carved jade to make the leaves. Dangling like the berries from the vine were black pearls to add depth. She pulled it out of the box, turning it in her hands to realize it was a hairpin. There was no possible way this had been at the market, honeysuckle again not an artist's favorite image. It had to be ordered, made just for her after that day when they got flowers for Stein to give to Marie. That whole time he'd been thinking of what flowers to get her, and now that eternal love and devotion was in her hands.