Thursday, Soul stares absentmindedly at himself in the large mirror of the room he doesn't own. He's watching the way his jaw clenched as he inspects his still bruised face which was still a pretty color of purple and blue. He doesn't know where Maka ran off to first that day as he was simply left with yet another note that told him not to look for her, and that she was still in the castle somewhere. He gave it half an hour before he started searching for her, only to find her hidden away in another alcove in one of the deserted hallways of the castle.

"Leave me alone, Soul," He'd said.

"Why're you being so difficult? You know it's kind of my job to watch over and protect you, right?" Soul had replied with an attitude.

"I can hold my own, you know?"

"I'd like to see you try."

That day, he'd sat with his back against the wall of the random hallway uncomfortably as Maka moaned and groaned about how ugly the castle architecture was. "Why does this castle have so many damn alcoves and crawl spaces? They look, and feel, out of place here."

"I don't know, but you seem to like them seeing as you choose to hang around in them."

"They're ugly spots, but they're comfortable. Try and sit in one."

"You understand I'm fairly taller than you, right?"

Friday, he'd just arrived at the castle in time to catch Maka slipping out of the kitchen with a tray of cookies. He gave her a good chase, insisting that 'cookie time' was a 'sacred moment' and she couldn't have some dingy guard ruining the fun for her. Soul hated to say it, but he found it almost endearing. It brought him comforting memories from his childhood when he and his friend would chase one another around the enormous kitchen in the middle of the night laughing as they attempted to make a batch of cookies, which always ended up tasting more like sand-paper.

That day, he stood idly outside of Maka's bedroom door in silence. They didn't talk much after the whole "chasing her down and dragging her back into her room by her amr" fiasco.

He didn't want to admit it, but he missed Maka's calm conversations that day.

Saturday hit him like a truck. He wasn't surprised when Maka wasn't up in her bedroom when he arrived, but he was surprised by the fact that she didn't leave a note like she'd done before. So again, he took off in a frantic search around the castle for the Princess, only to come up with nothing in the span of two hours. Panic had started to settle in his system. He really didn't like the thought of leaving Maka by herself for long, and he hated the fact that he'd practically paced to the entrance of Maka's tower empty handed.

With absolutely no more ideas up his sleeve, he finally matched his way to the outdoor garden, which practically encased the entire outside of the castle with bushels of flowers.

He dumbly thought that he should have checked here in the first place when he caught Maka sitting in a patch of pumpkins, wrapped in the cloak he'd given to her just days ago.

"Finally found me?"

"Kind of a weird spot, don't you think?"

"Thought it'd be fun."

"Fun?" Soul had parroted back as he sat himself beside Maka in the patch.

"Yeah," The Princess replied with a chuckle. "Fun. ITs a nice feeling, being wanted."

Soul paused, stiffening at the words as he carefully examined Maka's face. She looked deep in thought, her eyebrows pinched just the slightest, her bottom lip jutted out. This wasn't just another off-handed comment for fun, right?

"I know it's your job to look after me, but it's kind of funny watching you chase after me like you want me around." Maka finally looked his way, their eyes locking. Soul could see Maka's eyes glistening through the October sunlight with tears. "I mean it, seriously by the way. No more lying."

Sunday came marching in like a lion, marking it exactly one week until Princess Maka's birthday celebration.

Today, he's lucky enough to pass the kitchen as Kim is slipping out with a handful of trays. They exchange a quick glance before Kim lets out a small and airy laugh. "Pretty sure she's going out beyond the garden. There's a densely settled forest right beyond the garden."

Luckily with his speed and good eyesight, it doesn't take him long to target the navy green fabric that was moving through the garden. By the time he has caught up with the young Princess, she's knee deep in the thick grass of the woods that surrounds their castle's garden.

He can hear his blood rushing in his ears as a rasped breath escapes him. "You just love being difficult, don't you," He barely gets out as he stops at his Princess's side, bending at the waist. It wasn't even a question at this point; it was a statement. Princess Maka had done nothing more than cause him trouble since he'd been assigned as her personal guard.

At this point, Princess Maka's actions did not surprise him. Of course she'd go out and run away from the castle for fun just in spite of him.

"Didn't I tell you not to follow me?" Maka mutters at his side. She sounds lost and confused.

"Didn't even make it to your room today," He explains before he clears his throat. "If i could just leave you alone, I would; trust me." Soul finds himself responding, head dipped down to avoid Maka's eyes. "I think you've made it painfully clear you really don't want me around anymore. If it's such a hassle, having me as a guard, I can ask to be reassigned."

He doesn't know why he says it, but it's too late to take back the bitter words. He knows there's moments when he can see Maka slowly opening up, the real Maka, but it doesn't quell any of the doubts he has. Maka wasn't even looking for friendship from him anymore, was she? She probably just saw him as another annoying guard.

Soon enough, he'd just be simply kept at arms length like Crona was, wasn't he?

Maybe Maka would want to look for another guard, a guard who'd be more susceptible to her desires for leaving the kingdom. A lot of guards hated it here, if she were to ask one of the lower ranking guards to be her personal guard, he was sure the two of them would be gone for good in a day.

There's a lull in their conversation. A long pause that has Soul snapping his head up in such a fast motion that it leaves him breathless when he catches two owlish eyes blinking back at him. The others' gaze is gone in just seconds as Maka turns back to staring into the depths of the forest ahead of them.

"You're the worst guard I've ever had," Maka comments under her breath so lowly it has Soul second-guessing what she had said.

"Oh?" Soul sighs, straightening his posture. "What makes you say that?"

"You let me get away with too much." Again, Maka's eyes are on him, her gaze filled with such seriousness it has Soul's stomach dropping for just a moment.

"Any sane guard by now would have put me on lockdown, had the whole guard force on me. Even after everything I put you through, with the whole you know, tricking you situation, we're here, standing alone in the middle of a forest." At this point, Soul's a little unsure of where Maka is going with this. "You must like me or something."

The venom that he'd remembered the Princess's voice holding just days ago is gone, disappeared and replaced with something so soft that Soul's wondering if she's just fucking with him again.

"Can't tell if you're being serious or not," He mumbled under his breath, feeling heat rise to his cheeks.

"Im being serious," Maka insists, "I told you already, no more lying."

Soul takes in the Princess's open stance, trying to read into every single bit of her body language. She doesn't look defensive or scared, doesn't look uncomfortable or distant. She'd just be standing there, right in front of Soul, with a soft expression.

"I want to start over, you and I." Maka begins, looking down to her feet. "I don't want this to sound like I'm trying to manipulate you again, I really don't, and I want to make that as painfully obvious as I can." Maka finally runs back to him, gulping down a breath.

"Please, take me out of the castle- just one more time, please let me have that feeling again. I'll never ask again," her words are jumbled, very unlike the way she'd first persuaded him to take her out. "I know its stupid of me to ask you, after everything ive done. But I swear my curiosity gets the best of me. I just want to know what's beyond those walls. I don't want to permanently leave, as much as the idea is tempting."

Soul stares down at the Princess, annoyance pricking at his skin. He thinks back to Blackstar and Kilik and all they have said about this situation. He thinks back to the obviously painful fact that Maka had used him before, and admitted to it. Was this just another manipulation tactic?

"I'll stop this. All of this. Just let me see what's out there, just one time, and I promise I'll start listening. I'll work better to be that person you thought I was, and I really mean it, Soul." Maka gasps down another breath, eyes wide and frantic. "God, I don't even know why i'm asking you to take me again. If I really wanted to, I could just leave, but I need someone to ground me and keep me from genuinely leaving forever."

Soul continues to stare down the Princess. He doesnt think he can trust a single word that comes from her mouth.

"I don't trust you," He voices, crossing his arms over his chest protectively. "Besides, I doubt you could even hold your own. If something were to happen and I failed to protect you, and you had absolutely no other way of keeping yourself safe, it would be all my fault."

He doesn't know why he sugar coats his no, but he does.

He hates the way Maka makes him feel. There's the smallest weak spot he holds for the Princess, and he knows he can't let it get the better of him. They're just so alike, it's painful for Soul. He knows what it feels like to just want out- he knows what it feels like to want to see the world- he knows that adventure and curiosity feels like drugs when they're being fulfilled.

He understands every single aspect of what Maka feels, despite the utter selfishness that came with her curiosity. He can't blame it on him though, can he? He was just a sheltered Princess who was a curious human.

She was human.

Dangerously human.

"If I can find a way for you to trust me, and prove to you that I actually can hold my own, would you actually take me out beyond the walls?"

Something in the moment pulls Soul to a full stop. Being alone with the Princess, in the middle of the woods, with such an intense stare directed at him is making him feel a way he does not want to feel.

He wants to hate Maka.

He wants to see her just as a selfish royal who wanted to use him as a pawn.

He wants to see her as just another disposable part in his own life; but he can't.

"I don't know," He snickers, "Depends on how convincing your argument is."

Something is pushing him towards Maka, like they're supposed to naturally gravitate to one another. He hates it, he hates it so much, and yet here he was beating around the bush scared to face the reality of what he was feeling.

If he really wanted to hate Maka, he would have sicked the whole guard force on her by now and framed her for the possible treason; but he didn't.

Maybe Soul was just a weak man.

The same weak man who was trying to run from his past, but ultimately watching it reflect back onto him in the form of a person.


That night, long after he's escorted Maka back to her room after dinner, he finds himself leaning on the young Princess's balcony. The cold fall air nips at his neck and cheeks, but he can't seem to be bothered to find shelter back in the Princess's room.

He should have brought himself back to the guards quarters long ago, but he was too busy caught up in his own thoughts. If he were to bring these thoughts around Kilik or Blackstar, he knew everything that had happened over the past two weeks would just repeat.

He still couldn't figure out why he was so drawn to Maka. He genuinely wanted to believe that Maka was looking for friendship from him, but for his own safety, he really needed to keep the Princess at arm's length. He wouldn't risk losing this job. He couldn't risk going on the run again, looking for a new life to start.

Not when she was still out there somewhere, looking for him.

Part of him thinks that if he lived his life under different circumstances and Maka had asked him to run away with her, he'd say yes in a heartbeat. He hates the thought, and truly it leaves a sour pit in his stomach, but it's the truth. Despite his past and all of the choices he had to make to get to where he is today, there was still a part of him that never vanished from childhood. The part of him that sought the adrenaline rush from actually living- the part of him that would travel the world on foot just to keep himself from staying in one spot for long.

God, if she wasn't looking for him still, he probably wouldn't have settled in the kingdom of Eibon. He would never have become a guard. He'd still be traveling freely, no strings attached to anything, seeking out everything the world had to offer.

Maybe that's why he couldn't hate Maka for being selfish. They were just too damn alike, just looking for the same exact things in life. He couldn't blame her for being that way.

If Soul never had to worry about keeping a good reputation- never had to worry about being a "good guard"- never had to worry about starting somewhere new where he could possibly be found- he would have never cared that Maka was trying to manipulate him to get her out of the kingdom.

That was the cold hard, scary truth.

His train of thought, which was probably traveling at the speed of a bullet train by now, was interrupted when Maka finally stepped out onto the balcony beside him. "Are you just going to stand there and freeze your ass off?"

"I'm not cold."

A little white lie never hurts.

"I don't know about that one, I can see your armor trembling."

Before he can reply, he feels warmth wrap around him comfortably. Looking down, he watches as Maka soothes the dark green blanket around his shoulder pieces before ultimately dropping onto the balcony railing.

"Why are you still here, Soul?" She doesn't question him rudely, her tone rather filled with concern. He deflates at the question, leaning his body weight against the balcony. He doesn't know, really. He doesn't have any reason to still be here, and yet, here he was.

"Got a lot on my mind, I guess," He replies, eyes flickering to the mountains that curved just above the kingdom gates. "Am I intruding?"

"No," Maka is quick to reply, "I like your company, a lot." She pauses, shifting closer to Soul. "I missed your company this week, actually."

Soul can't help the airy laugh that escapes him. He subtly nudges Maka's side, rolling his eyes. "God Maka, just tell me you love me already," The joke leaves him so naturally that he pauses, the reality of who he's talking to sinking in.

Maka scoffs. "You're so weird, you know that?"

"I've been informed, a couple of times, actually." He's grateful Maka didn't seem put off by the joke.

"Seriously though, what's up? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, just letting you know I'm willing to lend an ear."

He shifts slightly, just enough so he can see Maka out of the corner of his eye. She's standing beside him, her elbows propped up on the balcony as her attention lies somewhere towards the gates. The moonlight shines off the tip of her nose and her jawline, making the scene before him look almost ethereal.

He hates how he notices how damn attractive Maka can be.

"I guess I'm just thinking about life, if that makes sense?" It's not far from the truth, at least. Maka kind of was his life now.

Maka hums, nodding. "Did you want to continue thinking about life? Or do you want a distraction?"

"A distraction sounds kind of nice," He can't help but say.

Again, humming, Maka holds up a finger and returns back into her room. A moment later, she returns with a candle in hand and a book he doesn't quite recognize. It's a small book, a lot different compared to the books he's read before from Maka's library.

"I never lied about my love for reading, by the way, Want me to read you a story?"

He's taken aback by the offer. God, hen was the last time someone even read him a damn story. He was twenty-three, so probably fourteen years ago at most.

"You want to read me a story?" He can't help but laugh.

"What, you don't like being read to?" Maka sets the candle on the balcony's railing, an eyebrow raised. "Don't tell me you're one of those people now."

"One of those people?" Soul parrots back, fascinated by the way the candle's light bounces off Maka's face.

"You know, one of those people who don't like being read to. Everyone likes it."

"Can't say i even remember the last time someone read to me," He interjected, "I was probably a child then."

"You still act like a child now, so it works out." Soul couldn't help but watch as Maka raised both of her eyebrows, a wide smile spreading across her face.

"I'm taking that as a compliment, just so you know."

He's not sure why he doesn't say no.

Strangely, he spends that night curled up on the ground of Princess Maka's balcony, watching the candle she's brought to the floor flicker through the wind as Maka read aloud a book about a but that he didn't even remember the name of.

He hates how soothing Maka's voice becomes.