Zora's breathing was rough and uneven, and her skin was pale. The normally dark purple color had paled, and there were beads of sweat above her eyebrows. Her hands were resting on her stomach, her slender hands shaking slightly. Kiba hoped that the fact that small tremors were running though Zora were side of effects of the cure, not a symptom of the illness.

  Very slowly, very tentatively, Kiba curled his fingers around one of Zora's hands, holding it still. Zora's hands were small, smooth, and delicate; tiny compared to Kiba's rough and scarred hands. 

   Very slowly, one of Zora's big yellow eyes opened. Kiba released her hand quickly.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  The first thing Zora saw when she opened her eyes was Kiba's scarred face, staring down at her. "Hello Kiba."

"Princess."

"Kiba, what happened?"

"Princess, apparently you contracted Prison Fever carrying that prisoner from the Galra lab."

 Zora gave a sigh of exasperation, "Of course. Because since when has anything been easy."

Kiba smiled slightly, "A doctor here cured you and some of the cure has already been sent to the boy you saved. His name is Matt Holt by the way."

 "Great," Zora said, ending it with a cough. 

"Princess, I was so worried," Kiba said shakily. "I thought you were going to die."

Zora smiled, staring up at Kiba's concerned face. "Well, I'm fine now."

"Of course Princess," He said stiffly. It amazed Zora how quickly he was back to his usual rigid body guard self. Kiba could do these massive 180 degree turns, from someone Zora didn't recognize back to her dependable guard. Zora had known Kiba most of her life, before he'd been assigned as her bodyguard there had just been an everchanging stream of faceless guards. Sanjana had been and always would be Zora's best friend, but Kiba had always been there. He was her first ever friend, and Zora had never had to question whether or not Kiba would have her back. He'd always been there, a constant in her life. And she didn't know how she would have gotten this far without him.