Halle was so shocked at the sight of Prince Joshua lying sprawled across the floor, but she soon came to her senses and drew closer to him. "Are you all right!?"

She had rushed into the study up on seeing him down on the floor and reached out to him, completely worried sick. Was he sick!?

"Your Highness!?" Halle leaned over him worriedly as she stared down at his face, calling out to him once more. She shook him gently, and his eyelids fluttered.

"Mm...mnn..." Prince Joshua stirred slightly, and his eyes twitched open.

"Oh, Your Highness!" Halle sighed deeply in relief as she removed her hand from his face, placing it over her heart. "God, I was so worried! Are you okay!?"

Prince Joshua sat up with an angry look on his face. "Shut up." He bitterly cut off her rambling, causing Halle's eyes to widen sharply.

She stared at Prince Joshua intently as he yawned, rubbing his eyes. "E-excuse me!"

"I was just sleeping..." He stood up as he spoke, paying her no mind.

He was just asleep? Thank goodness...

Wait.

"You were sleeping on the floor?" Halle quirked an eyebrow as she rose back up to her feet, staring at Prince Joshua quizzically.

His face was expressionless as he turned to his desk. "I didn't go to sleep there... I fell." He slumped down into his chair, seemingly unconcerned with the troublesome woman in his office.

"You...fell?" Halle's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline as she only grew more confused. She looked back at the place where he had been lying down and caught sight of the sofa. Her expression softened as she whispered, "oh... I guess even Your Highness falls asleep on the sofa, then..."

Prince Joshua seemed unperturbed as he addressed the annoying girl. "I was just taking a nap. I ended up working until late last night..."

Halle understood, but she clutched her arms gently as she frowned worriedly at him. "But you'll catch a cold if you sleep like that..."

He glanced up at her, feeling as if she was quite the hypocrite at the moment. "You're one to talk. You're the one who fell asleep at their desk..."

Halle's face flushed red in embarrassment, but she quickly calmed back down when she had processed what he had just said. "Wait... What?"

A strange, saddened look came over his face before he turned away from her, and his shoulders relaxed. "Nothing..."

Her heartbeat quickened at his expression. Last night...did he...?

"Umm..." Halle tripped over her words, unsure how to ask this. "Were you the one who covered me in that blanket last night?"

Prince Joshua jumped as she spoke to him, and he looked up at her. "What blanket is this?"

She felt a little disappointed at his words. It would have been nice if he was the one to give her that blanket... "I'm sorry. Last night, someone covered me with a blanket while I was asleep. I had thought it was Your Highness who did it..."

His face resumed its typical serious expression as he looked back down at his paperwork he had been filling out. "Why would I do something like that?"

That is a good point, but...

"I'm sorry." Halle sheepishly apologized with a cute smile on her face, tucking a stray strand of brown hair behind her ear.

Prince Joshua cleared his throat roughly. "You don't need to apologize." He kept his eyes focused on his paperwork as he asked, "did the blanket help at all...?"

Halle stared at him curiously for a moment as a suspicious smile found its way to her lips. "Yes, it did. I was very warm."

"Oh. That's good." She thought she saw Prince Joshua's features soften for a moment as a tiny smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He looked back up at her suddenly with his normal face again. "Don't go getting the wrong idea. It would be a hassle if a guest caught a cold while staying here, not to mention an embarrassment to the royal family." He spoke harshly, and and any feelings of kindness Halle had felt had melted away.

"I see..." She bitterly smiled as she felt he always had to say one thing too many, masking the dark aura that floated around her.

"If that is all, I suggest you go back to your room. I'm busy." Prince Joshua dismissed her, waving her off.

"Yes. I am sorry for disturbing you." Halle turned to leave, not looking back once.

She did think for a moment that he's actually a kind person deep, deep down underneath that brusque exterior, but perhaps she was wrong...? No, that couldn't be it...

Prince Joshua really was a kind person; she knew that now. He just didn't know how to show it. She didn't know enough about him yet, but she was beginning to figure the mysterious prince out, piece by piece.

Halle stopped at the door frame as she rested one hand on it, smirking a little as she turned her head back slightly. "You know something, Prince Joshua?"

"Hm." He didn't tear his eyes away from his work at all, just as she suspected he would do.

She smirked all-knowingly at the prince. "You are a terrible liar."

Prince Joshua jumped a little and looked up just in time to see the smirking woman mysteriously disappear into the hallway, leaving him with that one last thing. His eyes were wide with shock as he listened to the calming sounds of her footsteps growing further and further away from him.

He stared out the empty doorway, resting his head in one hand as a small smile slowly crept up onto his face. "Troublesome girl..."

The next morning...

"Doesn't this taste great?" Undaunted, Halle once again tried speaking to Prince Joshua as they ate breakfast together.

Maybe he wouldn't answer...?

Jan was standing at attention nearby, and a strange look crossed his face as he waited for Prince Joshua to respond, if at all.

"Mm..."

Halle was slightly disappointed at Prince Joshua's vague response, but she also accepted it. It's not like she expected anything to change overnight...

But then she heard Prince Joshua's voice. "It goes well with ketchup."

"...huh?" Halle blinked at Prince Joshua owlishly.

He looked over and pointed to her plate. "You have put Worcester sauce on yours, but it goes better with ketchup."

Halle quickly looked up at Jan, who looked completely astounded by Prince Joshua's behavior. He went to the nearby trolley and placed some ketchup in a small dish, and he brought it over to Halle.

"Here you are." He smiled gently as he placed the ketchup next to her plate.

"Thank you." Halle smiled to him as she spread some of the ketchup on her food and brought it to her mouth. Her eyes widened in delighted surprise when she found that Prince Joshua was indeed right. "Wow! It really does taste better this way!" She spoke unthinkingly before shutting her mouth tight and looking over at Prince Joshua. "Oh, sorry, I..."

Halle dropped her jaw in astonishment when she saw that Prince Joshua had the cutest, most genuine smile on his face that she had ever seen. It looked purely innocent and delighted, and she would be lying if she said his real smile wasn't the least bit charming.

"I did tell you it tastes good that way." He smiled brilliantly to her, nearly making Halle fall out of her chair from how astounding it was.

Halle's heart thumped in her chest as she awkwardly stared down at her plate, unable to meet his gaze when he was making a face like that.

Prince Joshua gave her a nod before turning his attention back to his newspaper, and the smile disappeared. He continued eating his own meal as if nothing strange had just happened.

Halle rose an eyebrow in suspicion. She didn't just imagine that, did she...?

She looked over to Jan, who apparently was even more surprised than she was after seeing Prince Joshua smile at her like that. He was frozen in shock as he stared at Prince Joshua, and when he noticed Halle's gaze, he bowed his head and retreated back to his post as if nothing had just happened.

He really did smile, then...

Halle returned to her meal in silence, all the while her head was filled with thoughts of what she had just witnessed.

Several nights later...

Halle didn't think she would ever finish these documents, but the end was in sight now! She looked over at her finished pile, unable to believe that she wrote all of that.

She smiled bitterly at the sheer amount of work she had done. The remaining paperwork was slowly diminishing, and she was nearing the end. She had thought it to be a lot when she first started, but just like working on these documents, little by little she had become able to speak with Prince Joshua as well.

Halle sighed at the thought. At first, all she wanted to do was go home as soon as possible, but could there be a little part of her that didn't really want to go...?

Well, maybe not...

And with that thought, she bent back down towards her work.

...

But what if she really was hoping her stay at Dres Van wouldn't come to an end?

I've been in the mood to write lately, hence the last three updates being so close together XD I actually would keep writing some more if I didn't have to go to work now... Such a shame. *sigh*

Read, review, and enjoy!