Day 12.

Seeing as the Prince was entirely fatigued, I had carried him home last night and made sure that he did not wake up until the next morning. I had been quite tired myself, so I had gone straight to bed after checking up on his condition. I woke up fairly early this morning, so as to prepare breakfast for the Prince so that he may have more energy to go about with his day (of course, only considering if he has already rested enough; if he is still tired in any way, I will refuse to let him go to work).

As I was almost finished preparing breakfast, I hear the loud shrill of his time contraption going off like a bomb. It was turned off a few seconds later, and the Prince tiredly trudged out of his bed. I greeted him on his way to the bathroom, the sleepy expression on his face quickly replaced by surprise as he inquired as to why I am up so early. I explained the situation to him, and he thanked me with a smile as he declared that he would join me after he has washed up.

However, I do not let him go to the bathroom easily, as I will not allow him to go to work if he is not well. I rest my palm on his forehead, and finding it to be of normal temperature, I let him pass. I could not help but notice the slight redness in his cheeks as I did that gesture, though; I would have to observe him more carefully as that could be a sign of a sickness I did not readily catch.

We eat breakfast merrily; the Prince seems to have regained his energy right away and had not shown any ill effects from the incident yesterday. However, I insisted that I would bring him to work today, as I am not confident that he will not pass out suddenly in the middle of the road or any of the sort and readily put himself in danger.

He protested at first, saying nonsense things about bothering me, but I quickly tell him that this it is my pleasure and duty to do so; besides, I do not have anything better to do. We walk towards the bus stop in relative silence, our bodies in close proximity to each other's, as I observe the surroundings carefully for anything that might harm the Prince.

When we boarded the 'bus', I had opted to sit directly opposite him as he does not seem to need me by his side anymore like he did last night; however, he insisted that he liked sitting beside me. I comply, though of course I try to keep a considerable distance. Suddenly, he carefully beckoned for me to come closer; puzzled, I do. He puts a strange little thing in my ear, and to my surprise, music was coming out from it! He told me that he liked listening to music while traveling, and he would love to share such an experience with me.

It was a most curious contraption. In my world, I could only hear music if it is being performed by the Royal Choir, songs usually dedicated to the Royal Family, or by the occasional passing minstrel. But through this, I could hear different kinds of songs performed by different people, in tunes I have never heard of before. They were pleasant, just like the Prince himself.

The whole ride continued on like this, with the Prince and I being lost in our own little merry world filled with wonderful music, which was sadly cut short when we arrived at our destination. Still, it was a fond memory I will keep forever, as I feel as though the Prince has shared a part of him with me that he has not shared with anyone else.

I bade goodbye to the Prince as he set upon doing his work, since I learned from him that I cannot be on the premises. I opted to stay somewhere nearby so I do not have to go all the way back home; and in this way, I will also be close to the Prince should something happen. Thankfully, his work ended without any more incidents. The look on the Prince's face when he saw me waiting outside for him was priceless; it was a mix of confusion and surprise, and then a small, comforted, seemingly satisfied smile.

Instead of returning straight home, though, the Prince pulled me along to eat dinner outside with him. We stopped by a local 'restaurant', as he called it, and put in our food orders. He told me that the dinner was a way of thanking me, though I still cannot for the life of me figure out why he is thanking me. I am merely doing my duty, which did not need any thanks.

The dinner was very pleasant, indeed. It might be presumptuous of me to say, but I feel as though I have become closer to the Prince through that one dinner we shared. We had talked about very random things that would normally be done between two friends; he even laughed at my poorly conjured jokes. May I also just mention that the Prince is almost fluent with our language. It did not take long for him to relearn it.

As we stepped out of the restaurant, though, I heard the Prince emit an excited gasp as he looked up at the sky. I look up as well, and suddenly, a cold, white drop hit my cheek.

It was snowing.

The beautiful white flakes fell all around us as the Prince insisted that we walk home instead, telling me that he loved walking in the first snowfall. I complied, seeing that he was well dressed for the cold. However, he did not have gloves; I watch him breathe into his palms and then rub them together to try and keep them warm.

I offer him mine, telling him that I did not need them; but no matter how much I insisted, he did not budge. I offered him a compromise; one glove each. This he accepted, a bit reluctantly, as I happily removed my left glove and handed it to him to wear.

And, without thinking, I grab his ungloved hand and intertwined it with mine.

He looked up at me in question, asking me what I was doing. Again, without thinking, I reply that I am keeping his hand warm for him.

I could have sworn that I saw a tinge of color pass his cheeks, but he had quickly turned his face away from me so I failed to get a good look. Though our hands stayed in that position, as we slowly walked home.

A small smile tugged at my lips. I have definitely become closer to the Prince.