A week went by, and Kiku was getting used to the idea of having Arthur around. They'd spent a lot of time together, and Arthur had even helped him with his garden. The time spent together had mostly been against Kiku's will, but Arthur had at least been making himself useful.

It was commonplace now for Arthur to be the one at Kiku's door in the morning, as he currently was.

"Kiku..." Kiku sat up to Arthur's voice, "Kiku get up..." He sounded different. Shaken somehow.

"Hold on." Kiku slipped on a green kimono with a white dragon on it. When he looked at the dragon now, it reminded him of the white snake. Sliding open the door, he raised an eyebrow. The mildly annoyed expression turned to a frown when he noticed Arthur's head hung low in sorrow.

"I have bad news." Arthur said, looking up to meet Kiku's eyes, "Your father left just an hour ago... He's headed out to join the war."

"What!?" Kiku could have fainted. He almost had, though Arthur caught him and helped him back to sit on his bed.

"I'm sorry." Arthur said, "I was going to wake you to see him off, but he wouldn't allow it."

"You were... Thinking of me?" He shook his head, then recited the words Arthur had told him before, "No matter how odd or uncomfortable her orders may be, you serve the queen."

"Well, yes, but no." Arthur looked away, which wasn't normal for his proper attitude of meeting someone's eyes when speaking to them, "I meant... I was worried."

"Huh?"

"I know we barely know each other. I'll probably never understand the full extent of the situation, but it's obvious even to me how upset this makes you."

Kiku was quiet, taking a deep breath. There was nothing he could say about the current situation, but he felt the urge to talk, and so he began,"My mother died when I was young. I barely remember her. She died of a disease the doctors couldn't cure. My father even went out in search for one, having left home for... Two years. My mother held on all that time too, waiting to see him again before finally... Letting go. She was a parent I never got to know... So my father is everything. And my garden." He glanced outside.

"Your... Garden?" Arthur asked, looking wounded himself by the sad story.

"Mm, it was my mother's. She grew it by herself."

"What?" Arthur couldn't hide his shock, "It's far too huge for one person to maintain." He calmed his voice, then added, "Your mother must have been an amazing woman."

Kiku smiled and nodded, "When she described the garden she wanted, I guess there were quite a few people who told her she couldn't do it. Not only was the size too large, but the soil was too dry for very many plants to grow. Somehow she managed though. Father imported plants from all around the world just to make her happy. He would go on and on about how beautiful the plants were, and then he'd tell her how they were nothing in comparison to her beauty."

"She would always joke about that," The two looked up to see Nao leaning in the doorway, "She used to tell your father that if she was so beautiful that even mother nature was overshadowed, she should just stay inside."

"What did the king say in return?" Arthur asked with an honest investment in the story.

"He said she was mother nature, and that her home was in the sun." There was silence after the remark.

"Are we boring you?" Kiku asked.

"No, no, not at all." Arthur shook his head, "This is... I didn't expect you to open up so much. I'd like to hear more."

"How about you tell us something about yourself?" Nao offered Arthur instead.

Kiku looked at him as well, "I'd like that."

Arthur thought a moment, "Well, as much as I'd like to say my life's played out like a fairy tail, there's nothing too special about it. My parents were both working in the palace when I was born. My mother was a cook, and my father was a guard for the castle. I was born with the luxuries of a prince, though I wasn't waited on hand and foot like one. I've spent most of my life training with weapons and hand to hand combat. My parents were strict with schooling and training..."

Kiku could tell that Arthur felt a bit awkward talking about himself, and so he stood up, "How about we go to the garden now?"

Arthur nodded in agreement, but Nao shook her head, "I'm going to help with some house work." Before she walked away she added, "Oh, and Kiku. Your mother is very proud of what you've been doing with her garden."

Kiku smiled, but Arthur frowned as she walked away, "Your mother 'is' proud..." He said softly under his breath. He didn't question it though, seeing as it hadn't seemed to bother Kiku.

~

That night, Kiku dreamed of the white snake.

Kiku was in the garden, but it was dark. "Hello?" He called out. He felt uneasy, but as he glanced around there were no shadows, nor sounds for him to detect.

"Oh Prince, I've finally come for you." A man's voice cooed.

A chill ran down Kiku's spin as the voice had come from right behind him.

"They thought they could hide you from me by disguising you as a girl. Well, even I didn't think they'd go to such measures." As the man spoke, something shifted in the bushes.

"Go away!" Kiku demanded. His fists curled, and beads of sweat ran down his face.

His eyes were locked on the ground ahead of him. Something white slithered across the garden, its scales shining in the moonlight. The white snake stopped and turned to stare at Kiku. Its gaze went past him onto whomever was behind him. Kiku could see a silhouette of the man in the snake's snake hissed, as though sensing that the man was a threat.

"Get out of here." Kiku urged the snake, "You'll only get hurt."

The snake didn't listen, and continued to hiss.

"What a fragile, yet spirited creature." The man smirked. Kiku felt something cold pointed to his back- a knife. Just when he thought he was going to be stabbed, the man pushed him out of the way and instead charged towards the snake. "I'll shut it up." Kiku yelled in desperation as the man and snake lunged at each other.

"Kiku!" His eyes opened, a cold sweat on his neck. It took his eyes a moment to adjust in the moonlit room. "Are you alright?" It was Arthur who was standing at his bedside.

"Yeah..." Kiku said, half asleep, then gasped and yelped when the situation dawned on him. Thank goodness he was covered by his blankets.

Arthur blinked, "Sorry." He said, glancing away, "Since you're alright."

"W-wait." Kiku said, "Just... Give me a moment, okay? Wait outside my door." Arthur was confused, but nodded and waited as told. Kiku dressed himself in a proper night gown. He then called for Arthur to return.

The modest soldier took a tentative step in, closing the door softly behind him. Kiku patted the bed. Arthur sat at the edge of the bed, "What were you dreaming?" He asked.

"I'd rather not say." Kiku sighed. He was still very tired, "Do you mind if I..." He trailed off, resting his head on Arthur's shoulder. Soon he drifted off to sleep again, and Arthur couldn't help but to fall asleep as well.

~

When the sun began to shine through Kiku's window, he opened his eyes to greet the morning. He remembered the night before, blushing when he remembered how he'd fallen asleep. He glanced over to look for Arthur, but he was gone.

The mystery of his disappearance wasn't a long one as Arthur soon was bursting through the door. His modesty and polite nature pushed aside by the panic of an emergency.

"Kiku!" He said, "It's Nao!"