As she sat at the dinner table, Tohru could hear the prince's voice speaking, but the words sounded like alien noises to her, lost in thought as she was.

She recalled her research with Kagura from a few hours earlier. Every story they poured over seemed to agree- a kiss from a maiden was the optimal way to cure a curse.

Princess Tohru had never kissed anyone before. Of course, her hand had been kissed many a time, but even then, there was usually the cloth of a glove between the lips and her skin. How could she possibly kiss Prince Yuki before the ball?

"….dessert?" The soft voice of the prince wafted around her head.

"What? I wasn't listening. Oh, I'm so sorry…"

"That's alright. I was asking if you'd like Kisa to bring you some cake. Are you tired? It's okay if you need to go back to your room…"

"No, no! I'm fine!"

"Are you sure? Because the ball is tomorrow. I'd hate for you to fall ill and have to miss it." The prince's eyebrows knitted in concern.

"Um, well, on second thought, maybe I will go back to my room." Tohru's chair squealed on the stone floor as she pushed it backward abruptly.

She kept up a brisk pace on the way back to her room, her mind still awash in a sea of kissing and princes. The most obvious way to accomplish the task would be to make the prince fall in love with her, but that seemed so dishonest. She couldn't spend time with a boy with an ulterior motive in mind, even if it was for his benefit, it just felt wrong. There must be another way. Asking him out-right was out of the question. There was no way that a gentleman such as himself would kiss a girl he hardly knew, or at least that was the impression Tohru got.

Tohru reached her room, shut the door, and flopped herself onto the bed.

"Princess Tohru?" The prince's delicate voice slipped through the wooden door.

Tohru didn't respond. The embarrassment hit her all at once. Running away from dinner like that was definitely a step in wrong direction, if she truly planned on kissing the prince!

"I'm very sorry if dinner didn't agree with you. It's all my fault. The food from the garden must not have been ripe yet, and I should have noticed. Well, Kisa brought the cake anyway, so I'll just leave it here at the door."

A moment or two after Tohru thought that he had left, she found that as if by puppet strings, her body had stood by itself and meandered to the door.

She placed first her hands and forehead against the grainy oak, then her lips. If only it were that easy. There should be a way for her to kiss the prince without his knowing and bestow him with the gift of living curse-free, like a beribboned Santa Claus.

Not being one for heavy make-up, the lips left no mark as she swiftly pulled away, feeling quite silly.

"I hope you feel better soon." Came the soft voice once again, followed by the clink of a plate being set down. Footsteps could now be heard traveling away from the room.

He must have been waiting there for a response. He had definitely heard her walk up to the door! He must think she was so rude, being up and about and not bothering to answer.

She would have asked Kagura for advice, but Tohru knew that the maid was also very busy today…

Kagura had a plan of her very own. She hated to be selfish, but she had decided not to fill Tohru in on all of the details. It was hard for her not to be selfish when her adorable Kyou was involved. To think that her little Kyon-kyon had grown up to be a real, live knight in shining armor! What do knights do? They save maidens, of course! This was the basis of Kagura's brilliant plan. A little knowledge of the lay-out of the castle helped too.

"Kyon-Kyon!"

"What is it now?" He cringed as the girl ran toward her.

After Tohru had been called to a private dinner with Yuki, Kyou found himself wandering the halls after eating alone in his room. He became restless when the princess was busy and there was no job for him to do.

"Kyon-kyon!" Kagura had caught up to him. "I found out how to break the curse! You need to come with me right away!"

"There's no way I'm going anywhere with you!" He wrinkled his nose as he turned to head back toward his room.

"Oh~Yes~You~Arrrrrre~!" Kagura sang as leapt into the air, arms open wide.

Poof! An orange kitty was now gripped lovingly in her arms.

Kyou may be gruff, but he would never purposely hurt a girl. He begrudgingly remained in her arms, claws safely retracted, until she brought him to their destination.

"The dungeon again? Are we going antique shopping?" Kyou griped just before reverting to his human form. He put on the clothes that Kagura had also carried along with him.

A grey eye peeked through Kagura's fingers as Kyou dressed.

"I found a secret door in the dungeon! I just know that the key to breaking your curse is in there!"

Kyou opened his mouth to argue, but then considered. What did he have to lose? Tohru was busy right now and at least he knew that rat wouldn't be down there. So what if he wasted a few minutes of his day? Kagura was annoying, but it wasn't like being around her caused him physical pain. Mental pain, maybe…

"Okay, show me."