Kiroyuki's POV
"W-who are you...?"

I questioned nervously since I was flustered over the fact that this was my first time meeting a boy who looked to be my age.

'My heart would not stop pounding! A boy here?! Back then, it really was just me and-... Never mind....'

He had chocolate-brown hair and beautiful aquamarine eyes that compliment his pale skin. I felt my cheeks grow hotter with blood rising towards my face.

'Why was he so near me?! Was he trying to kill me?!' My eyes slowly watered and he was stuck onto the ground shocked until the door opened with Shirayuki stopping mid-sentence.

"Hey Ryu, have you-oh..." My eyes lit up and I quickly jumped out of the white covered sheets and ran behind Shirayuki. She flinched and squealed in shock, almost dropping her clipboard. I hid myself in fear and uneasiness, my cheeks still flushed.

"... Shirayuki.... W-who is that....?" I whispered quietly, but loud enough for Shirayuki to hear me.

"This is Ryu. He's a court herbalist. He use to be my superior and tutor before I became a full fledged court herbalist." My eyes widened in surprise and fascination.

'He's so young and he's already a court herbalist for so long?! Wow... So cool...' I slowly removed myself from clutching Shirayuki's uniform and stood closely next to her.

"Um, maybe you two should introduce each other. I'll be back with medicine." I quickly grabbed her sleeve and she turned to me curiously. I gave her a nervous expression as she ruffled my hair gently.

"Don't worry, you can trust him." I nodded my head as she left me alone in the room with... Ryu...?

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Silence.....

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I was starting to get really uneasy. Maybe I should start a ... Conversation...

"Um... So your name is Ryu?" I awkwardly smiled.

"Mhm..." He just simply nodded his head and diverted eye contact.

'This is lovely...'

Ryu's POV
'I feel really nervous right now. Isn't she a princess? I remember some castle staff yelling out princess... Should I ask for her name? Should I speak formally?' I shifted my weight on the wooden floor that I was still seated on and tried speaking without stuttering. Tried...

"U-um, w-what is y-your n-name...?"

'........' My face exploded into a light blush of red.

"K-Kiroyuki..." When I turned to face her, she had a small hint of pink dusted over her cheeks which made her look kinda....cute.

"How old are you? I'm twelve..." I asked.

"I'm eleven and about to turn twelve in a few months..."

"You're a court herbalist, right?" I just simply nodded in response with a light hum. "So you find h-herbs exciting or interesting...?"

'Is she interested in herbs too?'

"Y-yeah, I guess... I honestly don't know how to feel about the job in general, but I do find that learning about herbs is i-interesting..."

"Well, I hope that you can come to really love your job and herbs even more..." She smiled... Not a huge one but rather a kind and warm one. It was like a picture perfect image of a princess. I never met a princess. I have only met Zen and Izana as princes.

"... Do you study about herbs too?" She diverted her gaze and poked at the ground with her foot.

"Um... That's hard to answer, but I guess that I kinda want to study more about herbs... I just know some of the basics......."

'I didn't know that royalty could study herbs... Or is it just her that decided this...'

"Is there a reason to study herbs?"

"... N-no... At least not really anymore."

"O-oh..."

"Don't worry! I'm sure that I'll find a reason soon. I'm pretty sure that I am getting pretty close too!"

'What's taking Shirayuki so long... I don't feel like I can hold up any longer. It's kinda getting cold...' I started shaking a bit due to the cold room and plus, my hands are still pretty cold from wringing out the towel.

"Are you cold? I'm sorry that you had to stay in here... I'm just not so use to the heat here."

"No it's fine-" The door behind us opened as Shirayuki entered the room with a small tan bottle. She chuckled lightly and placed her clipboard and the medicine down.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything. Ryu, if you want, you can go warm up real quick. Izana has to speak with her afterwards."

"Um o-okay..." I turned for the door but was stopped with someone grabbing the back of my sweater.

"B-bye Ryu! Let's talk again, okay?" I blushed at her sudden action and nodded my head.

"Y... Yeah..." I opened the door and let out a huge sigh of relief from my flushed face.

Shirayuki's POV
'Seems like they are starting to get along. That's great!'

I grabbed the bottle of medicine and poured some onto a metal spoon.

"Here Kiroyuki, this should fully recover your fever with some rest."

"Thank you." She took the spoon from my hands and carefully led it into her mouth. Then her eyes lit up.

"It's not bitter?!" Her eyes stared into mines confusingly yet happily.

I giggled at her reaction and removed the metal spoon from her delicate, small hands.

"Well, Ryu made this. It's meant for children to handle medicine better with a more easier way for them without fidgeting because of its usual bitter taste. It's still filled with potential of the effects of the herbs."

"Amazing!"

'It seems like she's slowly back into her usual self. That's wonderful— I'm happy for her.'

"Oh Kiroyuki." She simply nodded her head with a light hum. "We have to go see Izana right now. Would you be fine going out?"

"Yeah. Why would you ask?"

Flashback
"Kiroyuki!" She fell onto the ground without any warnings which possibly pained the body of the impact. She was panting heavily with a ton of sweat dropping off her face.

Flashback ended
'That was terrifying...'

"Um because would you handle the heat?" She gave me an 'oh' face and thought silently.

"Well I have to get use to the heat, so I'll manage. Plus... If I'm going to stay here, I can't stay locked up in a room. I have to help somehow!"

'So cute..... Ryu sure is lucky.'

"Okay let's go!"

"Mhm!" We walked out of the room and Kiroyuki held onto a small sweet smile on her face that could kill someone with cuteness. It seriously could!

A/N
Again I'm so sorry that I haven't posted any chapters in forever, it's just that I have a lot of struggles right now. School, projects, events, holiday, people, assignments, parties, meetings, schoolwork, and my own personal emotions have been getting in the way. I'm sorry but thank you for reading! Go ahead and check out my other stories! Bye! >.<

(Edited 7/18/18)