golden.

0.

"Mafumafu-sama, playtime is over."

The white-headed boy whipped his head to face the lady who was by the doorframe, his face falling as he realized that his time with his playmate had ended for the day.

"Already?" He whined. "Lon-chan has to go right now?"

The maid had simply smiled before approaching the two. She placed her hand in between the young man's ears and pet him. "Yes, the princess has to go home now as she has things to do. But she will come back soon, right?"

She faces the child of the opposite gender, who nodded vigorously.

"I'll be sure to play with you again, Mafu-chan!" She grinned, standing up and brushing the dust off her puffy dress.

Her grey folded ears twitched as the bell on her tail had jingled slightly before bowing, thanking both the maid and the young prince for their time. She then ran off to her Mother, who was there to pick her up.

The maid, Natalia, simply waved her goodbye before noticing the prince's eyes tearing up. She then hushes him gently, purring so that his distress levels may lower to a certain amount.

"Kashitarou-san says that you'll be going around outside today, so he would want to see you. Don't you think it'll be fun?"

The prince sniffled, rubbing at his eyes to prevent anymore tears from falling out, but he nodded. He didn't want to spend the day moping around the entire castle this time.

With Natalia's help, he dresses into his travel wear (which consisted of a pair of black leather boots, baggy brown pants, a white collared shirt, and a large white and blue poncho.) and headed off to meet with Kashitarou.

As they made their way to the advisor's office, the maid had placed two loud knocks on its door. At the same time, the prince balled his fists and quickly pounded onto the wood before a voice told them to come in.

"Kashi!" The younger male released his hold on the maid's hand as they opened the door and ran over to his advisor and jumped. Luckily, the older of the two was quick enough to turn around and catch him into a hug.

"Mafu! What did I say about running like that? You could've gotten hurt!" Was the usual thing Kashitarou would scold him, and the usual response would be Mafumafu's small giggles as he set him back down.

"I see that Natalia has told you of our objectives today?" He places his hands on both of his hips as to seem confident and playful. This of course had an effect on Mafumafu, as he mimicked his stance as he thought it was cool.

The 18-year-old advisor chuckled at his act and ruffled his hair, causing the 8-year-old prince to squeak and his siamese ears to flatten in surprise. "That's great! Let's head out in a bit then."

As Kashitarou grabbed ahold of his travel clothing and called for a fair amount of guards to aid them in their patrol, the two of them had found themselves at the gates of the castle.

"Be safe now, alright?"

"Of course, Natalia. We'll be back in no time."

Kashitarou held her hand in both of his. The maid's concerned look had softened after this action.

"Bye-bye, Natii! I'll bring Kashi back home safe!!!" The prince declared, touching the lady's heart.

She lowered herself to his height before gently patting his head, smiling. "I hope he won't cause too much trouble for you, your highness."

The advisor growled in embarrassment before ordering the guards around them to move forward and begin their patrol. Without looking back, they had left the gates.