Catching Up

"If you'll forgive me, I'm afraid my gift won't be much use to you at dinner," Princess Kairi murmured, taking her seat next to the prince. "We don't often require personal servants to wait the dinner table."

Riku raised a silver eyebrow at his guest. "Please Princess, tell me more about your home country. I'm afraid I'm not familiar with it." Not that he wanted to expose the girl in a lie, at what it could cost her (or more importantly, Sora), but his curiosity was eating at him. Was the girl as much a sham as Sora? If not, how had he convinced her to smuggle him into the palace?

Kairi smiled, eyes crinkling at the corners. "It's a small island country, a peaceful, quiet place. It's green and warm, and the main commerce comes from the sea. But there are a few places in the mountains where our people harvest plants for dyes and spices. I miss it very much, but one must do what one must." Her smile faded a little, eyes focusing on something far-off. "It simply feels like I have been away for forever."

Riku ignored the hopeful smile his father shot his way, noticing the prince interacting with their guest, for once without prompting. "And what brings you so far from your home? Surely not for a glimpse of the sultan," Eraqus interrupted.

The princess's smile faltered. "I'm afraid I had no choice. A great storm was approaching, and I was sent away to escape it. I've been travelling for some time, with my escort."

Riku studied her. She seemed to be speaking the truth, but instinct told him there was a lie in there, somewhere. Maybe a small detail. But then, Sora as a servant was certainly a lie. Sora had always been a free spirit, never one to be caught or ordered around. That, at least, exposed the whole thing as a farce.

His attention was drawn away from the girl to fall on the other person in question: Sora had appeared in front of their table, a grin on his face, small body twisting in flips and somersaults. A blur of blue silks through the air. Then, with a quick motion, he snatched up fruits from their table and began juggling them. Riku stared; Eraqus and Xemnas applauded.

Kairi giggled. "Well, as I said, he's not much use, but he's amusing."

The rest of the dinner turned to the usual small talk, delicacies disappearing as quickly as they were presented, and all the while, Sora smiled and danced and entertained. Riku had never thought a thief would channel their agility into such controlled movements for amusement, although he wasn't surprised when Sora used sleight of hand to pilfer silver from the table. Xemnas especially laughed when Riku found himself reaching for a fork, only to see it flashing in the air, juggled along with some dates.

When he was sure no one was looking, Riku shot Sora a glare, whose grin only widened.

Sora was covered in a sheen of sweat by the time Sultan Eraqus announced the end of dinner, and no one found it strange that the prince's new acquisition moved to stand at his side, awaiting orders.

There was nothing unusual about a prince having a servant accompany him to his quarters, especially one that was a new gift.

Still, Riku glanced both ways in the hallway before shutting his door and spinning to face Sora. "Are you out of your mind? I told you not to—"

"Not to pretend to be a prince," Sora cut him off cheerfully. "So I didn't."

Riku dragged a hand down his face. "So you brought some girl into it, instead? She's not even a real princess, is she?"

Sora shrugged and scratched the back of his head. "Not exactly, at least I don't think…"

Riku rolled his eyes. "There is no 'Not exactly,' Sora, she either is or isn't. So who is she, anyway, that she's willing to risk death to smuggle you into the palace?"

Sora plopped down onto a pile of pillows, already making himself at home. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Anyway, she didn't smuggle me in, exactly. You can't smuggle gifts." He shot Riku a winning smile. "So, what's my first order as your servant, Ku?"

Riku moved to stand over the brunette. "It's Prince Riku. You seriously must have a death wish." Sora snorted. "Fine. Your first order is to tell me the truth. At least if I know, I can anticipate any problems."

Sora sprawled back on the pillows, and Riku suddenly found his eyes drawn to the smooth line of stomach that was exposed at the movement. "You know, it's very comfortable here. If I would've known about you before, I think I would have tried something like this a lot sooner."

Aqua eyes narrowed. "Sora." A thread of warning in his voice, the kind of voice he used to give orders, arms crossing across his chest.

Sora's expression darkened. "Well, my prince, I stole her. Well, sort of."

"Sort of?"

Sora sat up with a huff. "I didn't know! See, there was this old lamp, and I thought, no one will notice it missing, and anyway, if I cleaned it up, I could get a little silver for it, right?"

"What's a lamp have to do with anything?"

Blue eyes bugged. "That's what I'm telling you, Ku!" Sora stood on his toes so he could whisper in the prince's ear, "She's a genie!"

"What?" Riku spluttered, then broke into laughter. "Wow, Sora, you almost had me. Fine. Whatever. Don't tell me."

"Ku, I'm telling the truth!"

Riku ruffled brown hair fondly, humming. "I can't say I'm not glad for the company. Just don't get caught. And stop calling me Ku. If you're going to be my servant," his lips twisted wryly, "then you had better act like it. At least outside of this room. I am the prince, after all."

Sora surprised him with a crushing hug. "Well, if you don't believe me yet, that's okay. I'm just glad I get to be with my friend again."

Riku stiffened at the strange warmth enveloping him, waiting for the embrace to end. When it did, he cleared his throat. "So, ah, you can sleep somewhere in here. There's a small closet that's for personal servants, but you don't have to sleep there. I don't usually keep a personal servant, nor do I really consider you one. But, outside of this room, you cannot let your mask slip. Don't trust anyone. They all have their own agendas."

Sora frowned. "That sounds worse than being out there," he gestured at the balcony, curtains fluttering in a small breeze.

Riku lifted his shoulder with a shrug. "Welcome to life at the palace." With a sigh, he moved to recline on his couch, eyes tracking Sora as the brunette made a circuit of the room. "I'll be expected in the throne room again soon. Father likes to entertain his guests with performers after dinner. Where did you learn to do all that, anyway?"

Sora was examining an ornate cabinet, fingers brushing over the keyhole. "Oh, you know. Here and there. Just a little something I started doing after you disappeared, a little tumbling to distract people." He glanced up at the prince. "Selphie would do her thing while everyone watched. You know, it's a good thing there's so many guards around here, because this lock is terrible." He demonstrated by swinging the cabinet door open, revealing Riku's best silks.

Riku chuckled. "You'll have to teach me how to do that, later. It might actually be fun to tease the nobles at court."

"Where do you sleep, Ku?"

The prince waved a nonchalant hand at a curtained doorway. "My bed is through there. This is just the outer chamber."

Sora twitched the indicated curtain aside, giving the other room a cursory glance. "It's so big. And this is all to yourself?"

Riku stared up at the ceiling. "It's small, compared to the whole city. I miss it, you know?" Sora hummed in acknowledgement.

A silence descended between them, stretching and becoming almost uncomfortable, until a knock at the door broke the tension. "Prince Riku?"

"Enter."

A young boy eased the door open, dressed in plain linen and obviously a lesser servant. "Sultan has me inform you that performance soon," he proclaimed, voice high and accented.

Riku nodded. "Thank you. You may go." The boy left as carefully as he'd entered, and Riku turned to Sora. "Care to come along? You can serve me wine, but I don't drink much. So you can enjoy the performance, too."

Sora's beaming face was all the answer he needed.