The princess from the far off land of Kale was truly a sight to behold. There was once a time when most princesses held their stature and were kind as could be. As of late, most princesses tend to turn cruel and slightly wicked. Not this beloved princess. She's maintained what a true princess is supposed to be like: kind, charitable, and most of all beautiful. Her hair was in long, coal black locks against her back. The color seemed to shimmer slightly and would begin to resemble that of the night sky if one watched carefully enough. The crimson red eyes of hers resembled those of rubies and sparkled exactly like the gemstones themselves. Of course, this was a princess that was quite happy with the way her life was. Princess Haruka never needed to have the slightest concern within her life. She was quite content running her own kingdom without the need of a husband. She was perfectly capable of doing it on her own. Unfortunately, things were not always going to be the perfection she wanted it to be. The actual King, her father, was one that always needed to play by the books. There was the unwritten rule that a princess absolutely had to marry a prince. It was unheard of for a woman to be running a kingdom all on her own. She needed a husband. Haruka would have gladly accepted the unwritten rule to please her father, but he wasn't going to make this entirely easy on dear Haruka. The princess had only one wish for her father: She was to choose her own husband. Unfortunately, her father would hear nothing of it. It took him only a few hours to decide whom she was to marry. The king chose Prince Hiei of the well-civilized land of Kiyoshio.

Prince Hiei was certainly an affluent young man. The palace he resided in had many rooms that were only used to protect golden artifacts, beautiful pieces of jewelry, valuable gems found only in certain places in the world, and many other assortments of expensive items. A young man this wealthy should certainly have been happy, but he was the farthest thing from happy. Much like Haruka's problem, the land did not want only one man running the show and calling all the shots. The kingdom wanted Hiei to marry a princess so the power was equally divided up. It would please the people, or Hiei could easily kiss his position as prince goodbye. The minute Hiei found out that he just needed to marry a princess, he sent out quite a few of his personal messengers to any kingdom within a one hundred mile radius of his kingdom. There were quite a few to choose from, after all. Right now, love was the furthest thing from involved. Hiei wanted a beautiful princess to show off to the crowds. That way, he kept his position and his dignity.

By the following morning, Hiei's wishes were granted. Yusuke entered his chambers, bowing slightly before he began to truly speak to the prince.

"My lord, the princesses from all the other kingdoms you requested are here," Yusuke explained to him. Yusuke was by far his most loyal subject. He was a messenger and also the fiercest warrior when times of war were at hand. Yusuke never lost a war as long as he was the one calling all the shots.

"How many of them were collected?" Hiei's voice was as smooth as the smoothest velvet, but that didn't change who he really was. Hiei was a cruel man underneath the façade he was presenting to all the peasants in the kingdom. The only reason he did this was because he wanted to maintain his position on the throne. In order to do that, however, he must first become King. The only way to do that was to marry a princess. He needed a princess with such a beauty that she could easily be considered a Goddess in human form. Love was the farthest thing from important. As long as an heir came out of the marriage, then he would be completely satisfied. Love was nothing more than a useless emotion to the cruel, harsh prince.

"Seventeen. There was about thirty kingdoms were found in all, but only seventeen of them bared a princess." How seven messengers had managed to get through thirty kingdoms on horseback in one night was completely beyond Yusuke's knowledge. Either way, they had pulled off the impossible. There might have been seventeen, but only one of them was to have the true misfortunate of becoming Hiei's bride.

"Show them to me," was the cold, incisive answer from the prince as he rapidly followed Yusuke down the spiral staircase to the main ballroom. Soon enough, his eyes were filled with the sight of many different princesses. Each held their own unique beauty, but most did certainly not possess the beauty that he was looking for. She had to stand out like a Goddess in human form. She couldn't blend in at all. Blending in was not something that Hiei was going to approve of for his queen.

After a few minutes searching through the other sixteen girls, Hiei managed to find her. The majority of her beauty was hidden away by an opaque veil covering her face from the nose down. The veil could not manage to cover the slight shimmer in her hair or the sparkle of her crimson eyes. A Goddess in human form…

"Bring me that one," he commanded to Yusuke. The young warrior nodded and went over to the princess. He gingerly led her through the other women and right up to Prince Hiei. There were small whispers of disappointment from the other princesses, but they did not get discouraged yet. Maybe there was a reason the veil was over her face…

"This is Princess Haruka Minakami. She was brought here from the kingdom of Kale about ninety-five miles away from here," Yusuke reported as he stepped back a step to allow Hiei to see her.

"Remove your veil, princess," Hiei ordered somewhat harshly. "I wish to see the rest of your face." Surely his Goddess in human form had no blemishes… right?

Haruka was hesitant as her shaking hands reached up to slide the veil away from her face. She had hoped with all her might that the prince would find someone before he got to her. The minute the veil moved away from the rest of her face, an evil smirk formed across Hiei's lips.

"Send the others back to their rightful kingdoms. I have found my queen." Haruka could only stare in his eyes for a few moments longer before forcing herself to look away. There was something quite sinister about this young man; something so sinister that she did not wish to find out what it was.

This is whom I am destined to marry? She thought carefully, somehow managing to keep tears from falling. Hiei just continued to watch her as the other princesses were escorted outside into carriages to be returned home.

The others were returned home to their happiness and their own kingdoms. Haruka, unfortunately, was forced to remain in Hiei's palace. Their wedding was to take place within a few more days. Hiei didn't wish to wait any longer than he had to, but there were preparations that had to be taken care of before he would be able to actually marry her. Soft bristles of a hairbrush were slowly moving through her black hair, as she looked around the room with nothing more than plain white walls and a few decorations. The vanity, bed, and window curtains were really the only other things within the room. This couldn't be the first impression he was really willing to make… Then again, she really didn't know anything about this Prince Hiei.

Hiei soon barged into the room without the slightest knock or warning that he was entering. Why should he even begin to care what this woman thought of what he did? She was to be his queen so she was just going to have to get used to it.

"My princess, there is a parade that is taking place tomorrow. It is to celebrate our soon to be marriage." With that, he was out the door and already down the hall.

"Wonderful… Publicity to the shame that I must bare…" she quietly stated as she sat down on the soft mattress on the large bed. She blew out the candle that was flickering by her bedside and soon fell into the dark abyss of sleep. Her only hope was to dream of true happiness since she could no longer have any hope to live it.

The next morning, sleep may as well have just been a simple thought on Haruka's mind. She was soon being thrown from the bed at an early hour to prepare for the parade. The maids were carefully hemming a lavender colored dress to match her height and petite frame. She watched in the mirror as small pins to keep the dress in place, as another maid would sew, continuously pricked her. This was a life she didn't want…

The finishing touches were soon placed. The silver colored shoes and the flower crown were placed upon her body. Hiei entered the main hall at about the same time that Haruka did. It was not uncommon for Hiei to be wearing a formal wardrobe that was completely black. His red and black satin cape flew behind him slightly as his crown shimmered from the reflection of the sunlight coming in through the windows.

"Beautiful," Hiei commented, actually meaning what he said. After all, her beauty was all he cared about. She nodded a small thanks before he lead her out to the horses they were to ride in the parade.

Hiei was doing what he did best: Soaking up all the glory. Haruka continued to ride in silence, barely waving at a few people that wanted attention from their soon to be queen. Her crimson orbs soon locked with the emerald orbs of a certain peasant. His long, flaming red hair swayed slightly in the breeze as his eyes continued to follow her. He was much too handsome to be just a peasant. The meeting of gazes did not go unnoticed by Hiei. He quickly snatched up Haruka's hand to force her attention back onto him. He needed to keep her focus off of that little gold-digger, which he managed to succeed in doing.

Once they were back in the palace, Hiei handed his crown to one of the maids who carefully returned it to the case where it would remain until he was king. "I couldn't help but notice you taking a small interest in that street rat out there," he commented to Haruka, looking at her. His voice was far from teasing or kind, however.

She handed her flower crown to a maid and turned to look at Hiei. "Yes… He seemed rather… different somehow. It's almost as if he should be a part of royalty and not just a peasant who can barely manage to find any food."

"Well learn this, princess," he snapped, placing his hand on her chin and forcing their gazes to lock. "I am the ruler of this kingdom. In order to stay that way, I must be king. You will be my queen and I will be the king. Nothing will stand in my way. Not even you." He threw her head to the side and left the room to go speak with Yusuke about training up the army again for war. Her hands began to slowly shake, showing she was frightened. Did he possibly mean that he would kill her if she were the only obstacle standing in his way to get to the throne?

Pacing inside a rather rundown home was that same exact street rat that Haruka had seen during the parade. Of course, that was just Hiei's name for him. The man's real name was Kurama. He was born royalty and was the rightful heir to the throne. Hiei was his trusted friend and advisor. When Kurama's father passed away, Hiei seized his chance for the glory he so desperately wanted. Kurama was thrown out into the desert to perish and he claimed that bandits killed Kurama. By the time he had returned to take his place back, he was too much of a street rat to make anyone believe him. Hiei said the similarities in looks were only an act to make them believe he was the real Prince Kurama. Until today, he had no true purpose to want to return back to the palace. Life outside of those trapped concrete walls seemed to be a life that Kurama enjoyed. But that princess was beginning to change his mind…

He moved aside the tattered curtains to reveal the sight of the palace. "That poor girl… I have to rescue her." Haruka was beautiful and kind. Elegant and graceful. She certainly wasn't the right match for Hiei. Kurama felt that Hiei deserved to rot in the grimiest dungeon and to be tortured. The man certainly did not deserve a beautiful bride nor did he deserve to rule a kingdom. A small white fox sat at his side, watching the castle rather carefully. Whenever the fox spoke, Kurama could understand his words. He had named the fox Kuromaru because it just felt right to him. He also knew Haruka in a way, but he just wished he knew how exactly he knew her. All he knew for a fact was that he needed to save her.

"What's your next move?" Kuromaru asked.

"I can't say I know. Barging into the palace in broad daylight will just get me thrown into the dungeon. There has to be another way…"

"What about at night?" Kuromaru suggested. "The balcony there leads to her room. I can launch you up there and you can speak with her."

Kurama nodded, though it seemed somehow this plan would fail. "Tonight it is."

Haruka stared at the starry night sky as she leaned against the railing. Who was that peasant that she saw at the parade? She felt a strange connection between them, almost as if she knew him. It was as if she had known him a majority of her life. But he was a complete stranger to her at the same exact time… "Maybe he would help me," she found herself whispering.

Kuromaru was quite the fox. He could increase in size and move at a speed that only a cheetah could move at. Kurama stood on Kuromaru's back and was launched into the air and onto Haruka's balcony. She turned and was slightly surprised to see him, but she actually ran over and wrapped her arms around him. This just felt right…

"It's you…"

Kurama returned her embrace. This felt familiar to him somehow. "Are you feeling alright, princess?"

"Please, don't use that word. It's bad enough I have to hear it from Hiei constantly. I just don't need it from you too."

The hug was soon ended, much to Kurama's disappointment. "Please call me Kurama by the way."

"And you may call me Haruka."

"I'm going to just assume that Hiei isn't the greatest?" He asked.

Haruka sighed, leaning against the railing again. "Not exactly. All he cares for is that throne and the title of king. He doesn't care if I'm there just so long as he gets what he wants." She turned to look at him again. Why did she trust an absolute stranger?

"I can help you."

"How could you possibly help me?" She hadn't meant to sound so harsh, but she just didn't want her dreams of freedom crushed.

"Do you trust me?" He asked, standing on the railing. He knew that Kuromaru was there.

After a moment of thinking, she answered. "Yes."

"Then leave it to me." He fell backwards. Haruka began to worry that he committed suicide, but soon saw him fly up on a fox's back and take off again. She had to trust him. There was no other hope for her right now.

The very next night, Kurama kept his word to Haruka. Kuromaru and Kurama had arrived on the balcony. She was carefully placed onto Kuromaru's back with Kurama and they soon began to fly towards the gates to get out. Little did they know, Hiei knew everything they had planned. Chains flew up from the bushes and wrapped themselves around Kuromaru's legs. Kurama and Haruka were sent skidding across the grass. As she began to stand, her arms were yanked behind her. It was Yusuke… Kuwabara already had hold of Kurama and had his hands tied.

Once they were taken into the dungeons, Hiei greeted them. Betraying him was completely stepping over the line. He would be able to find a new wife; that was no big issue. He slapped her across the face when she was close enough, which seemed to piss Kurama off even more.

"Trying to betray me?"

"What are you going to do?" Haruka snapped at him as Hiei unsheathed his sword.

Kurama's eyes widened; he knew what was going to happen. "No…" he whispered, trying his damnedest to pull away from Kuwabara and Yusuke, to no avail.

"Murder you, of course. The only witnesses to this act are my loyal servants and that street rat here that's going to be blamed for it all," he began, running the blade across her cheek. "I'll make the kingdom believe the street rat murdered my bride. I'll find another to make the kingdom happy, but they'll never know that I'm not mourning you." The tip of the sword was soon level with Haruka's heart.

"You heartless bastard!" Kurama cried out. "You'll never change!" He yelled, tears cascading down his cheeks. Not her… Not the one person that trusted him and actually seemed to care for him.

Haruka turned her head to look at him. "I'm sorry," she said as tears began to fall down her cheeks as well. No matter what she did, she was going to die by this evil, evil man. She would never forget the love she now knew she felt for Kurama. "I love you."

Hiei brought his arm back behind his head. "Die." He snapped, thrusting the sword forward with all his strength. The blade pierced through her flesh and her heart. There wasn't even enough time for her to scream. Blood ran down the front of her dress as he pulled out the blood soaked sword. A thin trail of blood leaked out from Haruka's mouth as her once sparkling eyes turned dark and gray with death. She fell forward onto the floor, in a puddle of her very own blood.

"No!" Kurama screamed, trying his hardest to escape Yusuke and Kuwabara's hold.

- - - -

"No!" Kurama shouted, shooting up from his place on the bed. His breathing was rapid and heavy as he looked around the slightly dark room. It was obvious that it was nearing the morning hours because the room was starting to become lighter and lighter. His eyes shot over to the side of the bed where Haruka always slept. To his dismay, Haruka wasn't there. The spot was completely empty.

No… She can't be dead. He thought, standing up from the bed in a panic.

Haruka, who had been washing her face, came into the room and looked at him. "Darling, are you alright?"

Kurama soon wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him. "Thank goodness you're alright, love."

She was certainly confused, but she hugged him back to comfort him. Whatever had happened had certainly startled him. "It's alright," she said rather soothingly.

He smiled; things were definitely all right. He would have to beat up on Hiei later for even giving him such a nightmare, but that was a different story entirely. For now, things were as they should be. "I love you, Haruka," he whispered into her ear.

Haruka smiled, "I love you too, Kurama."

That was one nightmare Kurama never wanted to experience ever again.