That was it. In one single statement, I told Kris exactly how I felt about myself. And it was the truth, the absolute truth. I never got a chance to get close to my parents, they both disappeared when I was very young, but I always remembered my dad telling me to be the best for everyone else. There was no "I," there was only a "them," and I was not supposed to put myself above them. So I didn't. I'd always blame myself for everything, I never thought I was good enough. Making friends was an impossible task because nobody wanted to call "The Pathetic Prince" (because that was my nickname to some) their friend.

Kris took a step back when he heard me utter the word imperfect. He glared at me in a way that showed so much hatred for that word.

"Ralsei," he wrapped me in a hug and began whispering in my ear, "I am yet to meet anybody that comes so close to perfection as you do. What you're doing now is imperfect-if you were just to smile and be happy you'd be too perfect."

"K-Kris?"

"Shh…" I think he noticed how close to tears I was, because he didn't break the hug and was actually bringing me in closer.

"...Thank you," I said, then pressed my face into his shoulder to cry for a bit.

I had finished crying, I had gone to the bathroom to clean myself up, and then I headed back to my room with Kris. A lot had happened in one day, and luckily it was starting to get around the time to go to sleep; I was absolutely exhausted.

"Um… this is the only room that has a bed…"

Kris said nothing to it.

"I can sleep on the rug or…"

"No more of that. You deserve good too, you get to sleep on the bed."

"But where will you-"

"Who said I wasn't also going to sleep on the bed?"

A part of me wanted nothing more than what he just suggested, but a part of me still didn't think I deserved that after all I had done today. I was definitely going to try again tomorrow, and hopefully I would make myself better. I had to, it was for Kris.

"Don't worry about a thing," he said, "sometimes my brother and I would sleep together because one of us got a nightmare or maybe it was just really cold that night. This isn't unusual, not for me at least."

"I guess if you're okay with it…"

"Are you okay with it Ralsei?"

Yes. A million times yes. My bed wasn't even that big, I'd have to sleep on top of him or he'd have to sleep on top of me if he really intended on us both fitting.

"It's fine!" I added on a smile to be convincing.

"There you go, that's the Ralsei I like to see!" he smiled back.

So we both got into the bed together. He was ever-so-slightly bigger than me, so he got on first. I had no idea what position to get in, so he helped me find a position comfortable for the both of us. I literally was lying flat on him, our feet touching at the end of the bed all the way up to our faces. This was the closest we've ever been, I probably started blushing at the realization. I doubted he wanted my fur to be all over him, so I may have nuzzled him a bit as I put my head closer toward his neck than his face.

I could easily feel his heartbeat and the rise and fall of his chest with each breath. He seemed to be much calmer about this than I was. I steadily tried to slow my own breathing to not be as flustered, but I don't know how well it worked.

"Comfy?" he asked.

"Very…" I said.

I raised a hand for a moment to use some magic. I always would light my castle using candles. It wasn't very modern or anything, but I liked them because it allowed me to turn any and every light on and off at will. Just then I used my magic to stop the flames of each candle, and darkness fell over every room. I could barely see Kris, but his warmth hadn't moved at all.

"I suppose we could maybe stay up a bit longer if you're not tired…" I said.

"It's fine, I think I'll get to sleep just fine."

"Okay then, goodnight Kris."

"Goodnight Ralsei."

He wrapped a hand around me and I let myself melt into his warmth.

It was funny that he mentioned that his brother and him would sometimes sleep together to chase away nightmares. I'd often have nightmares of my own, but that night was definitely the most pleasant sleep I had ever gotten.

Of course though, me being used to the time cycle of the Dark World, I woke up before Kris. He looked so peaceful though, I got off of him slowly and carefully so that I didn't wake him up. Then I waved a hand, the castle got brighter-except this room. I dimly lit each candle individually. I was about to go and start preparing breakfast so that Kris could have something to eat when he wakes up, but as I was leaving I heard a noise behind me.

"...sei…" I turned around.

"...alsei…" I wasn't just hearing something, was I?

"...Ralsei…" Kris said my name just then, didn't he?

"...I love… you…"

I ran out of the room and closed the door behind me. I didn't slam it, but everything happened incredibly fast. Kris was just talking in his sleep, and I heard it. He said my name and then… that. 'I love you.' Was that it? Was it true? I couldn't bring myself to ask, not yet.

From within the room I heard a bit of shuffling, indicating that he was getting up. I gave myself an internal pep-talk to just go in there and everything would be fine. So I stepped in, and there he was, awake.

"Good morning, Kris!"

"There you are. Good morning Ralsei!"

"Sorry, I got up a moment before you did. I was going to go make breakfast, but you woke up right after I exited the room," I laughed.

"Oh! Well that's okay, I don't usually eat breakfast anyway," he paused, "my mother is probably worried enough as is that I spent a night away, I was thinking I would be heading out early."

"Oh… okay," I had to be happy, I forced a smile, "then let's get ready!"

I showed him to the bathroom and told him he could use whatever he needed. I went to the kitchen. Despite last night's tension, he did seem to like the cake, so I cut off a big slice and packed it away in a bag so that he could take it with him. I went back to my room, put on another cloak and my hat. Then he was done in the bathroom and I went in to brush my fur down a little bit, and after that we were ready.

Through a few purple halls and down a few steps and there was the front entrance to my castle. Then a bit further and we were in the empty town, even further and we were in the Field. We cut through the field easily, there weren't many awake yet and even if they were they probably wouldn't attack us for any reason. We came across the door that would let us cut the journey down a bit, and we took it directly to the Card Castle.

Luckily Lancer's guards seemed to be awake, and upon seeing us granted us entry immediately. As far as I knew, this was the only way to get Kris back to the Light World, at least in this part of the Dark World. Maybe later I could show him more of the Dark World than what he's seen. But we entered Lancer's castle, and rode the elevator up and took the few flights of steps.

Lancer was in the throne room. I was surprised to see him already awake, but he was the King now so it made a lot of sense. He would be a good king if he could make so many changes in so little time, all of them being as good as they were. He excitedly greeted Kris and I, but when we told him we were in a hurry he just nodded and let us go up.

And then we were on the roof, where we had once fought the old King. It seemed like a while ago, to be completely honest. But that's only because of how much has changed since then, mostly due to a lot of Lancer's new policies and all. It seemed like this part of the Dark World had a good future.

We headed over to where the fountain once stood. If we didn't know any better, we never would have assumed that one had been there in the first place. That was good, that meant the balance between the worlds was stable. But if it were trying to come back, Kris easily could stop it just like he did the first time. His soul seemed to resonate with the area, and a light began to flash in the middle of where the fountain used to be. That was his way out.

"This is goodbye, isn't it?" I asked.

"Seems like it. I'm sorry, Ralsei, I'll try to come back as soon as possible," he promised.

It did make me happy to see how much he did care about me.

"Next time, maybe bring Susie! I'm sure Lancer would love to see her again, and I'll admit I kind of want to see her again too," I smiled.

"It was hard enough getting myself here, but I'll see what I can do," he smiled back.

I could tell he was trying hard not to show any sadness. He wanted me to be happy, too.

"Ralsei?"

"Yes Kris?"

"Are you feeling better now? From yesterday, I mean."

"I feel wonderful," it was a half-truth. True in the sense that I did feel a lot better, a lie in the sense that I wasn't ready to see Kris off.

"And… Ralsei?"

"Yes?"

"You believe a lot in being kind to other people, right?"

"Of course! It always pays to be nice to people."

"Then be kind to yourself, too. Can you do that for me?"

"I will try, Kris."

"You won't try. You will."

"I will, Kris," that got him to smile.

We stood there for a moment, nothing but silence between us.

"If that's all there is to say, Ralsei-"

"Um… Wait, I do have something for you," I almost forgot about the cake I packed for him, "here you go!"

"Oh wow, thanks Ralsei! To tell the truth, I have a gift for you, too."

"Kris?"

He reached out for the light with one hand and grabbed my hand with the other. I heard him yell something, I think I heard him say that it was too soon for goodbye. But everything turned incredibly bright, I closed my eyes and brought my hat down a bit to help cover them up. I couldn't tell what was happening, it felt like I was moving despite having not taken a step in any direction. The bright light had enveloped everything, and from there I was floating in… somewhere. I didn't know where I was, I lost Kris, and all of a sudden everything seemed to hit me, and it was too much.