Kaoru's POV:
The entire time he's been there, he hasn't stopped looking at the person who's been mysteriously absent for a week: Dutchess. With her pretty, h/c hair and her adorable face. His heart swells as he watches you work, causing him to zone out constantly the entire time. I have to tell her, he thinks to himself.
Though Kyoya talked about having to have a Princess, he's decided he doesn't care: Princess or not, Dutchess is something special, just... it can't even be pinpointed. There's just something about her.
Finally, all of them leave and after the lengthy parting words he gets up and walks over to Dutchess, who's eyes widen at the sight of him. She holds a tray of dirty plates and, looking to see that Kyoya is talking to Hikaru and everyone else in the room is busy, he says, "come with me."
————————————————————
Your POV:
There goes my heart again...what have I got to lose?, you think to yourself as you walk out of the room (leaving the tray inside, of course) following him to just outside the door. Stopping, he turns to you and looks you up and down.
"Where were you?," he asks delicately, and you explain how you missed and had to clean the floor. While you explain, he nods from time to time and seems to truly listen. Finally, you finish and stare down at the floor, looking for some sort of comfort. Why is he even talking to me?
After a few moments, a devious smile creeps onto his face and, starting to get concerned, you're about to say something when he wraps his arms around you into a hug. There's no time to avoid it or push him away, it just happens.
Panicked, you say, "what are you doing?" and try to wriggle free, but quickly give up. Why? Why? Why? This is so wrong, why?, you think helplessly. Am I just some toy to him? Whispering softly, you hear him say, "I missed you. I'm glad you're back." No longer struggling, you take note of him holding you and actually... enjoy it? What is this? I can't be liking this, he just led me out here like a total creep and now is hugging me. Who does that? Sorry to say, despite all this, you decide to secretly enjoy it.
"Uh, thanks," you say as he lets go, and you sign, so uncomfortable but so at peace at the same time- which is immediately destroyed by your stomach, which suddenly gives a loud growl.
He bursts out laughing, and you start sputtering, "I'm so so sorry!," along with similar statements, but he shakes his head at you and he continues to laugh. Nervous, you join in and give a few nervous laughs as he says, "Dutchess, are you hungry?"
Yes. "No, I'm fine," you start, beginning to walk away, wanting to get out of the situation, but he follows, still laughing a little. "Let's go to the kitchen and get you something." Ahhhhhh. "You know you can't ignore me forever, right?," he questions as you look straight ahead, trying to pretend he isn't there. He's right...
Giving him a look, which was meant to be one of hatred but ended up being more of a lopsided smile, you say, "fine. You have one hour." Should I be neglecting my job again? No, but I'm getting terminated anyway so I guess it's okay.
Seeing that he has that look again, you exclaim, flabbergasted, "And stop it with that evil smile!" Already you're so done with him, even though you've only been together for five minutes. "What evil smile?," he says jokingly, as you both turn down the hall with the kitchen in it.
"That one," you say, starting to smile now. "The one that you put on when you get exactly what you want." Shaking his head, he opens the door to the kitchen and gestures for you to walk in first, as he says, "that's funny." Was he being sarcastic or...?
Walking in, you see cakes covering the surface of all of the counters and tables in the expansive kitchen. Chocolate fudge, strawberry shortcake, and countless others are everywhere, and it seems that you're all alone, with the exception of the cakes and him. These must be for the party tomorrow.
Grabbing your hand, (which immediately makes that feeling happen again) he drags you over towards the center of the kitchen until you see a person sitting with his short legs pressed up against his chest, hugging them.
"Who's that?," you rudely ask out loud. Despite working here for a while now, you have seen this short blonde kid around, but haven't introduced yourself or anything. "Dutchess, this is Hunny, one of our chefs and best bakers," he says, sounding slightly more formal.
He sits there, in the same position, not looking up at you both until you realize something: he's crying. "Oh no, what happened?" you say sympathetically, immediately letting go of the Prince's hand (why was I still holding it???!!!) and getting on the floor. Looking, you see his eyes are all bloodshot and you still see the occasional tear streaming down one of his cheeks.
"I can't eat any of it," he says darkly, not meeting your eyes, and looking inconsolable. Looking up at the Prince, you watch as he shrugs and slides his hands into his pockets. "Hunny-," he calmly begins, "let me tell my own story," he interrupts, practically growling.
Before you can say anything else, the little boy goes on a rant, which he practically cries his way through: "once upon a time I was happy. I could eat cake with my favorite stuffed animal, bun bun, whenever I wanted to. So that's the name of that old rabbit I always see him with. Then, one day I started to not feel good whenever I ate cake and soon I began to get itchy all over and my tongue burned. And I would throw up and it was terrible! I went to the doctor and-" he says, taking a breath, "and they said," he adds, brushing some tears out of his eyes, "That I'm allergic to cake!" With that, he buries his face in his hands and starts sobbing uncontrollably.
"Hunny's life was cake," says Kaoru, sounding a little concerned. "but now he can't have it and it hurts him since he's surrounded by cake all day and can't have any." So he cries over cake everyday?
When you were at home, you would cry once a week, despite your jokes and constant nagging of your Step-family. Sometimes, it just got to be to much when you reflected on how none of this should be happening to you in the first place. If only your Father came back. Then things would have been so much different. Now, whenever you see someone cry, it hits you hard. But if he never went missing, then I wouldn't have come here... or met him. Starting to feel a little bit sad at that though, you turn back to Hunny and his problems.
"Hunny, it's going to be ok," starts Kaoru, getting down next to you. "I told you that they are working on a cure to your allergy-" "but I still can't have it!," he cries, shaking a little. "Is he like this everyday?," you ask the Prince, concerned for the little boy's mental health. When Kaoru nods yes, you get up and grab a few napkins off of the table.
"Hunny, I don't really know you, but you seem to love cake a lot," you begin, getting down again and holding out one of the napkins. "No duh," he says, being his dark self again. "What was your favorite?," you ask, genuinely curious. For a moment, he stops sniveling and looks up quickly enough to take the napkin. "All of them." How old is this guy even? He looks... maybe about 9ish? Why do they even have a kid working here?
"Cake is delicious, right?," you say, holding out another napkin to him. "My favorite is-," starts Kaoru, but you smack him in the arm to get him to shut up. You watch as his devious smile comes back and he shakes his head at you again. "And one day, that special day, you'll get to taste the sweetness of cake again. All of them.," you say gently, and the blonde boy looks up at you with wide eyes, still bloodshot but no tears come. "But, for now, you have those cherished memories of all the times of when you could eat cake," you say, surprised that he's actually stopped sobbing. Blowing his nose, the blonde boy stands up and wipes his eyes again. "Thank you. You're right. One day I'll have cake again." Giving you a little smile, he excuses himself from the both of you and goes to the other side of the kitchen to start washing some dishes.
"How did you do that?," says Kaoru, awestruck that you were able to get him to stop crying. Leaning against the cabinet, you shrug and say, "are we still getting me a snack or not?" Smiling, Kaoru gets up and asks you for your favorite type. "[fav cake type] is good," you respond.
Kyoya's going to be so angry at me for ditching again...
Soon, you're eating a big piece of your favorite type of cake next to the Prince, leaning against the cabinets and sitting on the floor together. This is not what I was expecting to be doing today. Kaoru eats his cake, but he plays with his food more than he eats it. The bags under his eyes from a few weeks ago are still present, so, finally, you ask him: "why are you so tired all the time."
Putting down his cake, he explains that Hikaru has not been himself after the party and he's been trying to figure out ways to help him but just can't.
"Well..." you begin, thinking out loud, "you shouldn't be worrying yourself to a point of exhaustion." As he gives you a confused look, you continue. "You're tired. It's obvious. If you keep working yourself to that point of exhaustion, then you're going to be a help to no one." For a few moments, he's silent and then he runs one of his hands through his hair. "But I need to help him..." "Sometimes you have to think to yourself about what you want and what your needs are Kaoru, or else you won't be a help to anyone," you say, being complete honest, also completely forgetting about you were talking to a Prince. He's so easy to talk to. Who would think someone like him would be?
Smiling slightly, he scoots a little closer to you and says, "You didn't use my title again." Mortified at your mistake, you tense up and put your plate down. "There's no need to be tense, Dutchess, it's ok," he says gently, taking your hand. "W-why are you doing this?," you say, panicked. For a moment, he looks like he wants to say something very, very badly but it seems that he chooses not to. Shrugging, he says, "Because I wanted to. I'm glad you enjoyed your cake and you're right. I'm going to think about myself and live life the way I want it."
Is he being serious again? It's scary when he tries to be serious. His hand stays in yours for a few more seconds until it isn't and your hand goes cold. "Can I ask you something really important?" I guess he is serious. "Sure," you say, still slightly timid from him taking your hand from just a few moments before.
"If you want to do or say something, but the other person isn't going to like it, should you do it or not?," he asks curiously, seeming to get slightly closer. It takes you a few moments to register his words, and, finally, you decide to say, "do it, because you'll never know how they truly feel about what your actions are or what you say unless you do it."
Nodding, he says, "thank you Dutchess." Both of you get up and wave goodbye to Hunny, who is no longer sobbing. Walking out the door first, you hold the door open for him and he follows.
Soon, you're both standing outside the closed kitchen door, and it seems to you that he still has a lot he wants to say to you. "Do you want to tell me something?," you ask. Rolling up his sleeves, he says, "yes, but it may be easier to hear if you have your eyes closed." Confused, you consider questioning it but decide to just go with it and listen.
As your eyes close shut, you say, "I have no idea what's happening but-" and suddenly you feel a finger on your lips and a "shhh" sound fills the air, silencing you. The finger slides off your lips and onto your cheek, and you feel a soft pair of lips touch your other cheek.
Oh my gosh no, you think to yourself as his lips stay there, gentle, enjoyable. I can't be actually be liking this. Your heart pounds as he releases and your eyes fly open to the guy- the prince- who just kissed you. "I hope you liked it Dutchess," he says shyly, and you stand there, shocked at what he just did. "I like you a lot." Did I like it? He just kissed me! Yes... "No! You can't do this," you say, panicking, and with that you turn the other way and bolt down the hallway to somewhere else, anywhere else. No blacking out this time, just fear, leaving no room for anything else. Is he even running after me or calling me back? You can't find out since your mind is consumed with the though of what just happened and what all of this means. The Prince just kissed me when he's not supposed to.
Sadly, your black shoes with the slight heel aren't made for running, and now you're running on an area with an ornate rug, and soon you're falling forward, having tripped on it. No no no- but you're jerked back when someone grabs the back of your shirt, preventing you from falling.
"Are you okay, I'm sorry," he says, letting go of your shirt. "Why would you say that?," you say in disbelief, still recovering from the shock of almost falling. "Because it's true, Dutchess.," he says with a tight smile. "I don't even know your real name, and you're such a mystery. You are so much fun to be around and so, so beautiful, and I don't think you know any of this. My heart always races when I'm around you and I'm so much happier when you're around. I get worried about you when you're missing. I don't care if you're a princess or not either. I want you and only you."
He looks at you expectantly, and you can't bear to meet his eyes. He's serious- but he can't be. Echoes of Drizzel's words of unrequited love and of never dancing with him again resound in your mind. "I had to tell you because I really like you, and I want to spend more time with you." Heart breaking, you shake your head from side to side.
I can't do this with him. He's a prince. I'm a maid. And I'm going away after tomorrow- forever. "We can't do this," you say, voice trembling.
"But we can, I'm a prince and-" "But being a prince doesn't excuse you from the rules," you respond, voice shaking even harder. Finally, finding the strength to meet his eyes, you stare into them, "you don't even know me and I don't know you." "But I want to," he says, sounding a little more desperate than before. "I want to catch you when you fall next time and-" "stop the romantic crap," you snap, surprising both him and yourself. "This isn't realistic at all and it's never going to happen." Seeing that you've hurt him, you excuse yourself and turn away, leaving him standing there by himself. Outside you seem confident, a force of power. Inside, you're breaking apart. What did I just do?
He doesn't chase after you- doesn't do anything, and at one point you turn around as you round the corner, and see that he's standing in the same place as before, arms now crossed.
————————————————————
Later that night:
Everything that's happened has been buzzing through your head. At least I'll leave soon so I won't bother him anymore, you think to yourself solemnly, holding the handwritten letter that was delivered to you by Haruhi (who's now asleep in her bed, snoring loudly) when she came back to the dorm for the night. Again, you reread it it your mind (you've already read it so many times that you've memorized it) because now it's dark and there's no light.
Dear Dutchess,
I'm sorry that I made you upset, but please remember I'm not giving up on you.
With love, Kaoru
No royal title, you think to yourself with a small smile. Maybe he does really like me? But I've already done too much damage. Putting the letter back in the envelope, though you'll probably take it out again a few minutes later, you recount the words of many, many people. 'Unrequited love.' That's true for him to me... but how do I feel? 'Terminated' That'll be true as of tomorrow night or the day after.
Throwing your head into the pillow, the one that's bothering you the most passes through. Not even the 'I like you a lot' or the 'I'm not giving up on you.' It's the 'you don't even know me and I don't know you' statement that you harshly said. Because, deep down, you know it's not true, it's mainly a lie. Though you've only known him for about a month and a half, he's so easy to speak to and it feels like you've known him for years. How could I hurt him like this? I'll just apologize next time I see him.
But, there's one problem, you realize: I won't see him alone again. After tomorrow's ball, you're out. Gone. Back at your stepmother's. With that thought, tears fill your eyes with the thought of what could've been if you weren't so harsh. What if I just... agreed? Told him I guess I somewhat enjoyed his company. But I can't like him. It's him!
A single tear streams down your cheek as you try to fall asleep thinking about what you've done to both him and to yourself.
The last time I'll see him is tomorrow as Ella- she's me. But, she's not. She's so, so much better. With that, you try to have sleep overtake you, but, ultimately, you fail.
————————————————————
I hope you enjoyed my trash :)