Sorry it took so long, but here is the sequel so many of you requested to The Prince And The Pharmacist, so please enjoy as always! (I actually wrote most of this in school because I'm a bad child ;P)

Disclaimer: I do not own Akagami no Shirayukihime :(

In Sickness And In Health

Pale sunlight blossomed through the leaves of the trees of Clarines as the kingdom began to awake, one citizen at a time.

The hallways of the palace were full of bustling people this morning, even more so than usually as they flocked to the presence of the second prince.

Today, they were to hold a group training session for the newer knights in the kingdom, and it was to be run by none other than prince Zen Wistaria himself. Zen had been presented this issue of a declining number of knights recently, and so had requested, and was granted permission to hold such sessions to further strengthen the forces of Clarines.

Young teenage boys as well as several girls, looked around nervously and excitedly at one another, chattering like squirrels in the springtime forest until, at last, the second prince's appearance stunned them all into silence.

He walked with his chin held high, his light, spiky hair being pulled back by a breeze with a cloak at his back and a sword at his side. His eyes were shining as he gazed at the young faces of his new generation of the kingdom's fighters and defenders, and they all waited in awed silence before he spoke.

"I welcome you all to this special training session this fine morning. To reiterate the course of the training, we shall proceed to the forest where we will be holding sessions and mock battles. As the future knights of Clarines, I am determined to shape you all into people I can be proud to call members of my kingdom. We shall break into several groups and commence several different styles simultaneously. I shall lead one group, and my companions shall lead three others." He motioned to his side to where Obi, Mitsuhide and Kiki stood a little off to the side.

Murmurs of excitement bursted from amongst the trainees before Zen continued his speech. "We will also be taking with us one of our pharmacists in the case of any accidental injuries. He will be joining us shortly." As Zen finished and looked up, he caught a glimpse of brilliant apple red among the dull blondes and browns and indicated his speech was finished as he headed toward her.

The chattering began anew as Shirayuki reached him, accompanied by Ryuu. "Good morning, Ryuu." He addressed the higher-level pharmacist first before directing his vision at the elegant emerald eyes before him. "Shirayuki." He smiled, feeling a warmth flood over him simply at the sound of her name.

"Hi, Zen!" She exclaimed breathlessly. Her hair was slightly frazzled and he could easily tell she was just as excited, if not more so, than all of the present candidates put together. He could not hold back his amused grin as he unconsciously let his hand reach up and tuck a loose strand behind her ear. "E-Eh? Oh, thanks." She beamed, her eyes flicking at him quickly.

Then, Zen snapped back into reality and realized this public display of affection was inappropriate at this time and quickly pulled his hand back.

"S-Sorry." He apologized as he caught Ryuu's eye; the young pharmacist gave the prince a knowing look that said he caught the hint, but said nothing and simply shrugged before walking over to where the other three assistants waited. Zen thanked the boy silently before turning his attention back to his very favorite pharmacist. "Again, I'm really sorry about this. I wanted to take you more than anyone else today, but…"

"I already told you it's fine and not to worry about it, right? It couldn't be helped. He is more experienced than me, considering I only just became an official palace pharmacist. Besides, he's better at treating wounds while I specialize with medicines and herbs for unseen ailments. Choosing him was only natural." Her genuine smile told him she was not offended in the least, which reassured him. "Just make sure you train them all as best you can, and make sure to bring everyone back safely. And that includes yourself too." She added sternly.

"Of course I will. Just who do you think I am?" He reached forward to ruffle her hair messily.

"Hey! Weren't you the one who just fixed it?" She complained, batting his hand away like a kitten.

"Sorry, sorry." He teased as she pouted at him and began to adjust her hair correctly. Then, another voice sounded from the side, and they both looked up to see Obi waving his arm.

"Master! We're all ready to depart over here!"

"I'm coming!" The prince replied hastily before turning back to the girl. "I'll see you in the evening." He leaned forward and gave her a swift peck on the cheek.

"Right." She nodded with a blush. "I'll be waiting. Be careful."

To signify he had heard her, he waved behind over his shoulder as he began to walk away.

Shirayuki stood by silently as she watched him begin to address the candidates. He split the group into four smaller ones, sending the girls to Kiki and splitting the boys into groups by height. Once they were all organized, Zen gave the signal to move out, and the bustling group of Clarines's people gradually began to disappear into the forest.

When it was silent ay last, Shirayuki spun on her heel and with a slightly worried sigh, headed back into the castle to begin the day's work.

Once the sun began to sink away behind the horizon, the palace's usual sounds increased into a din as the trainees returned; Shirayuki ran out to meet them, both anxious and thrilled at the same time.

The young candidates all had weary but accomplished looks on their faces as they began to disperse and head home in their respected directions. When the numbers began to fan out, Shirayuki easily spotted her friends and dashed over to meet them. A spark of worry flickered in her chest when she noticed Mitsuhide leaning on Kiki's shoulder, but his trademark smile was present on his lips.

"Welcome back!" She exclaimed. "What happened? Is anyone hurt?" She wondered fretfully, looking over each of them in turn.

"We're all fine." Kiki announced. "Some just a bit less intelligent than others." She remarked with a tiny smile as she shifted the weight of her partner's arm onto her shoulder and held onto his wrist.

"Really?" Mistuhide complained. "Even you now, Kiki? Could you please let it go?"

"What happened?" Shirayuki asked Obi.

"Ah, nothing much. Mistuhide-san just wasn't paying attention when one of the trainees came at him during a mock battle."

"Oh come on! I was outnumbered! Besides, Zen never said they could gang up on me!"

"I never said they couldn't." The prince defended himself.

"You guys are so mean to me sometimes…" Mitsuhide mumbled.

"Yes, yes, we all know Mistuhide-san made a rookie mistake." Ryuu broke in with a yawn. "But he came off with a sore shoulder that should be better by tomorrow morning. Rather, how is your wrist, Kiki-san?" He asked, looking up at her.

"It's fine now, thank you." She responded politely. "Let's be off then. I think we all need a good night's rest after that."

"Agreed." Zen confirmed.

The group gradually made their way into the castle with the prince and the pharmacist at the back. As they came to the hallway where they were required to part to reach their respective quarters, they shared a brief exchange of sweet words and smiles before Zen kissed her quickly and then sent her off to bed. He watched her go until she was out of sight, then headed off toward his own room.

He coughed once on his way, but thought nothing of it.

A knock came on Shirayuki's door the next morning just as she had been on her way out.

"Yes?" She queried as the door creaked open to reveal the slightly troubled faces of Kiki and Mitsuhide.

"Are you free at the moment?" The boy wondered meaningfully.

"I am." Her smile faded away as her eyebrows furrowed in dismay. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, don't look so frightened. I apologize if I gave you the wrong impression." He shook his head to clear it and put his trademark smile back onto his lips before continuing. "You see, Zen is sick and-"

"What?" She cried, more loudly than she could help. She quickly pressed her hands against her mouth in embarrassment before going on in a lower voice. "W-What do you mean he's sick? How sick is he? Why-?"

"Woah, woah, calm down!" He soothed. "That was my fault again for making it sound worse than it actually is. Let me try again." He cleared his throat awkwardly as Kiki sighed heavily behind him before stepping in to put the poor scene before her to a halt.

"Thank you for your efforts, Mitsuhide, but I believe it would be best if I were to take it from here, now that you've scared her out of her wits." Kiki pulled him back by the sleeve and took his place before Shirayuki. "The doctor said it was very minor cold, and considering his...past experiences, he should be able to fight it off within a day." Shirayuki felt a thorn of guilt prick her heart at the reference of Zen's harsh training to become immune to poisons that he had conducted upon himself many years ago. Kiki continued, "The doctor suggested that Zen keep an aide by him until tomorrow just to be safe, and we all know who he sent for." She dipped her head politely as she finished.

"Ah...well it's very good to hear it's nothing serious." The red-haired girl gave a sigh of relief. "I'll go to him right away."

"He's in his quarters." Kiki informed her.

"And we'll tell Ryuu and the others that you'll be taking a day off today." Mitsuhide added in.

"Thank you very much." Shirayuki bowed briefly before stepping out into the hallway. But before she took off, she thought of something and returned to her room. She selected a few bottles from the shelves above her desk and dropped them into her skirt pocket before brushing past her companions again and dashing off toward Zen's room. The guards posted in the hallway acknowledged her with a nod of approval as they let her pass.

She knocked on his door and called out his name, but received no answer. Puzzled, she wondered if he had been permitted to go out, though she highly doubted it. Again, she knocked but got no reply. Just as she was about to question one of the guards, the door opened and she jumped as Zen appeared before her.

"Zen!" She gasped. "I'm sorry. I hope I didn't disturb you. Were you asleep?" She wondered, looking him over. But he seemed to have been awake for some time now and different possibilities swarmed her mind as she awaited his reply. But Zen glanced at her awkwardly from silver irises and bowed his head slightly. Shirayuki blinked in confusion as she tried to catch his eye.

"Zen...?" Her voice was small and deeply troubled, and Zen forced himself to look into her beautiful emerald eyes; they were filled with concern and a hint of panic. He felt her softly grip his sleeve. "Zen...what's wrong?" Hearing the plead in her voice made him feel miserable that he had made her so worried. He opened his mouth and tried his very best to explain, but no words escaped his lips.

"Eh?" Shirayuki tilted her head to one side as Zen gave a hopeless shrug. "You...you lost your voice?" Relief flooded her voice as she came to understand it was not something grave that troubled him. Zen nodded once and she could tell that he was a little embarrassed; how was a prince supposed to run his country if he had no voice?

"Well," Shirayuki went on, letting go of his sleeve. "That's probably just because of all the shouting you had to do in the training session yesterday, right? Do you have any other symptoms?" She asked.

Almost as if in response, Zen sneezed noisily into his elbow and Shirayuki gave him a bemused look. "No voice, but you can still sneeze, eh?" He looked up and gave her a small pout and she giggled. "Well, either way, you're relived from your duties today, no?" Zen shook his head and stepped to one side to show her the pile of papers lying on the desk in his large room; obviously, he was still expected to sign documents. "Ah. I see." She nodded. "But as your personal aide for the day, I am making it mandatory that you rest and take breaks in between your work. Understand?" She sounded almost like a teacher scolding a child, and Zen smirked in amusement as he nodded. "Good then. Now, is there anything you need?" Zen was thoughtful for a moment before he shook his head. "Alright, then you shouldn't mind going for a walk to get some fresh air." She smiled.

She knows me far too well. Zen thought as he willingly followed her down the hall and toward the courtyard. He could tell she was feeling extremely self-conscious as the people of the castle gave them curious looks; she was to be the aide of the second prince of Clarines and she was only barely an official pharmacist.

They walked carelessly for quite a while in silence about the courtyard until they came to the orchid, trees ripe with bright, fresh fruit. Together, they sat at the base of a thick tree trunk whose leaves were laden with apples overhead. "Wow." The girl breathed. "I still can't believe how much fruit this orchid produces. It's simply gorgeous! Back in TanBurn we couldn't have had this much fruit in an entire forest some years. The soil here must be really..."

Zen had been enjoying listening to her speak so much, which she hardly ever did, when she cut herself off abruptly, causing him to glance over at her. She had one hand covering her mouth and Zen nudged her with his elbow to inquire what the matter was. "I'm sorry." She apologized needlessly, as she so often did. "I guess I never realized how chatty I am." She sighed.

Zen knocked his head against hers to let her know she was being foolish. He gave her an encouraging look with warm eyes that urged her to go on talking. She smiled and went on, describing what each season was like back in TanBurn and comparing them to the seasons in Clarines.

Zen leaned his head back against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes, letting himself imagine the scenery she described. She too leaned back, and their shoulders bumped; at first she was hesitant, but when he shifted closer to her, she relaxed a bit as they leaned slightly against one another.

The sun moved across the blue sky and the rays that cut through the canopy produced dappled shadows of the dancing leaves. The pair dozed off for a short while and then awoke simultaneously at the sound of a crow cawing. They exchanged glances before stretching their arms above their heads and yawning back into wakefulness.

Shirayuki was on her feet first and she offered her hand to Zen with a beaming smile that made a fuzzy sensation fill his stomach. He slipped his hand into her palm and she pulled him up before loosely locking her arm with his and leading him back to the castle.

Just as they had gotten inside, Zen sneezed again and he felt Shirayuki stiffen beside him.

"I'll got fetch you some tissues." She decided instantly before rushing off.

Reluctantly, the prince returned to his room and began reading and signing papers until he heard her knock. Upon opening the door for her, he saw that she carried a box of tissues under each arm and had each hand full with a glass of cool water. "Should I just leave these with you?" She wondered, and he instantly noticed her feelings of awkwardness at being in the doorway to his room. She obviously did not feel comfortable being in his quarters with a title such as the one she held.

Zen took everything from her, walked back across his room, deposited them on his desk and proceeded to write. Shirayuki stayed put as though her feet were rooted to the spot. When the prince brought the paper to her, she read his beautiful calligraphy with uncertain eyes.

Shirayuki, today the entire palace knows that you are to be my personal aide, so do not feel any hindrance about coming into this room; you don't have to worry about anything. Plus, you are always welcome in my quarters at any time.

When she had finished reading, she looked up to meet his sincere eyes and her shoulders relaxed. "Thank you, Zen."

He shook his head as he went back to his desk to finish the few documents he had yet to sign. Shirayuki watched on in silence, but she did not miss the tiny cough he let loose when he had finished. "Here, you need to drink something." She urged, pushing one of the glasses toward him. He thanked her with his eyes as he drank. "Let me deliver these papers for you." She offered, gathering the pile of parchment.

He wanted to stop her and to tell her not to worry herself over it, but she was already gone before he could even try. He took this time to realize how boring this kind of slow day was, minus her presence, and started to slightly appreciate the everyday busywork of a prince.

His red-haired aide returned several moments later, panting slightly; he assumed she had ran all the way to get back to him as quickly as possible. He gave her a nod of thanks as she made her way over to him. "Do you feel any different? Better or worse?" Zen sniffed once but shrugged ambiguously in response.

"Here, let me feel your forehead." She lightly pressed her palm against his skin and then compared it with her own temperature. "You've got a bit of a fever." She announced in a stiff tone. "I know it's early, but I think you should get some rest now. With this kind of cold, the more you sleep, the faster you'll get better. I'm going to go fetch some cloth." And before he could stop her she had vanished once more.

He sighed and cursed inwardly. Why does this sickness have to be more detrimental to her than it is to me? But he knew better than to argue against the word of a pharmacist, especially her, and he proceeded to remove his boots, cloak, and sword. He leaned the blade against the wall by his bed and wandered into the bathroom connected to his room to wash his face. He blew his nose before she re-entered, carrying several small cloths. She was satisfied that he had actually done what she had requested.

"You should drink some more too before you sleep. Hopefully you can get your voice back overnight." He nodded and drained half of the second glass before he sat on his bed. "Oh! I almost forgot. Catch." Zen just barely caught the bright red apple she tossed at him. "I thought you might be hungry." He silently thanked her yet again as he bit down into the sweetly bitter fruit.

He noticed her flinch slightly as he did so, and recalled that the first time she had seen him eat an apple, he had collapsed shortly afterward due to poisoning. He was touched that she still felt such things about him, and wanted nothing more than to ruffle her hair to reassure her of everything.

The red-haired girl asked permission with her eyes to enter his bathroom in order to dampen one of the cloths in the sink and he nodded. He finished his snack and tossed out the core as Shirayuki returned. Then, he cleared his throat for a moment and attempted to speak again.

His voice came out scratched and hoarse, but she could still understand him.

"Thank you for everything, Shirayuki." He rasped.

"Don't you even think about mentioning it." She scolded lightly. "Does your throat hurt at all?"

"Not at all. My voice just needs to recover." He reassured her.

"That's good to hear. Now lie down and try to get some rest. Ah, but finish the water first." He was about to tell her to finish the rest, as he had not seen her drink anything all day, but did not want to give her his cold. Therefore, he did as he was told and finished the water, but when he was finished he told her, "Make sure you drink something as well. And get something to eat." He added as he realized she had not eaten anything all day.

"I'll be fine. Now just take a sip of this before bed." She fished out a small bottle from her pocket and handed it to him.

The medicine drizzled down his throat and soothed the itchy sensation that had been present since the loss of his voice. He blew his nose once more as Shirayuki closed the blinds and turned off the light; the sunlight outside was still bright enough for her to see clearly, but it was just dark enough for him to rest.

She dragged his desk chair over to his bedside and took a seat as he laid down on his back. The pharmacist dutifully placed a damp cloth onto his forehead.

Zen still remembered the last time he had caught such a cold, minus the loss of voice, which occurred three years ago, before Shirayuki's arrival. He had been cared for by one of the castle's doctor's, a skittish young woman who constantly seemed painfully aware of her position as opposed to his. She had spoken in a clipped voice, and every sentence ended in "sir" or "Your Highness", and although he was grateful for her assistance, Zen was much more fond of the closeness of Shirayuki's personality. Her moments of awkwardness were brief and adorable, and all the rest of the time she stood beside him as a companion rather than a servant. Even now, as she gently laid the cloth onto his skin, brushing his bangs aside, there was a doting, motherly way in which she moved, in the soft, warm touch of her fingertips.

"Okay, try to get some sleep now." She requested quietly. "It seems you'll be one hundred percent again by tomorrow morning." She smiled, placing her left hand lightly atop his as she pulled his covers over him with her right.

"Hey." He whispered. "You need to rest too. You look exhausted."

"I'll get some sleep later and go to bed early tomorrow." She promised.

"No, you'll get some sleep now. And this is the second prince of Clarines speaking." He reminded her.

"N-No it's okay, really. Just let me take care of you for tonight."

"You already have." He reassured her. "Now let me take care of you, too."

"Zen-"

"Shirayuki." His voice was much clearer than before and she sighed, knowing there was no use in arguing with him now that he could speak well enough again.

"Fine. But as your pharmacist, aide and friend, I need to see you sleeping first."

"Fine. But if you leave afterward, I have every right to consider that as you breaking a promise to me." He knew the promise factor was something she would never dream of challenging.

"Deal. No close your eyes."

Zen smirked and did as she told him.

She replaced the cloth on his forehead with a fresh one and laid her hands on top of his again. "Good night, Zen." She murmured. Then, she leaned forward and down, kissing him on the cheek.

Having anticipated such sweet antics from her, Zen was ready for her kiss and returned it with one of his own, pecking her cheek lightly. He then reached up with his left arm, sliding his hand from under hers, and draped his arm across her shoulders, pulling her gently down toward him. She resisted slightly at first, but soon shifted closer and curled her hands beneath her chest like a kitten.

She blinked up at him with her gorgeous emerald eyes and he slowly closed his eyes, gingerly running his fingers through her silky soft hair. "Good night." He replied.

He gently rubbed her shoulders which were naturally stiff due to her work. Gradually, he felt her relax, and before long her breathing had become soft and slow.

"Heh. Let's just pretend I fell asleep first then." He concluded.

He realized he suddenly felt fully recovered now, and knew that her kiss had somehow been the reason why.

"Love you." He called out softly to her, feeling calmed at the knowledge that she would be there beside him when he awoke the next morning; and he knew that she would be beside him forevermore, in sickness and in health.

A/N: Thank you all very much for reading! I hope you liked it! Here's to chapter 31's release and waiting for 32!

Please review!