Upside Down

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Author's Note: HOME SWEET HOME!!!!!! Ahhhhhh, it feels so wonderful to be home. x3 Anyways, this chapter's also gonna be a bit like a filler chappie, but it's also going to have a LOT of hints and foreshadowing, so pay close attention, OK?! Also, we're introducing quite a ton of people you all know and love, but it's all for good reasons. (: Enjoy

Disclaimer: I still own no Rave character, only Mashima-Sensei does.

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Chapter Three: Lessons, Friends and, Dad

Hours later, when the young prince rose, he found that his body was still working on his farming schedule – up with the sun, down with the sun. He sighed, rolling over and staring up at the high canopy ceiling, rubbing his eyes tiredly. As he began to sit up he heard some scuffling in his room and the prince immediately shot up, looking around in surprise.

Off the far right – well, Haru's right – was a very tall woman leaning over and picking up his discarded clothing. "Er…hi?" he called out, startling her to the point of dropping his clothes again and straightening up in shock, her face pale in the moonlight. Had Haru not been aware that he was stark naked, he would have gotten up and shook her hand. "I'm sorry, but…who are you?" The woman smoothed her dress, her pale face turning red.

"Oh, uh, well, um…m-my name's B-Belnika," she introduced, curtsying deeply at him. She had hair that looked pale blue, and eyes that shone the same hue in the dark. Though she looked incredibly pale, the young lady's skin had turned to a bright red in her blush, "Sir Alpine-sama assigned me to be your personal servant." Haru nodded, rubbing the back of his head nervously, blushing as well. "I brought you clean clothes, your Highness," she added quickly, scurrying over to the shelves and pulling out a stack of crisp looking clothes.

Haru grinned at her, rubbing the back of his neck again, reaching with one hand for them as she held them out for him while bowing her head deeply. "Belnika," he said seriously, causing the girl to look up in surprise, her face darkening, "I don't want us to have this kind of formal relationship. I mean, we're gonna be seeing a lot of each other, right? Well, I want us to be friends. So, you don't have to be all shy and nervous around me." Belnika stared at him in shock for a few seconds before smiling back at him tightly and nodding. "Good. So, um, is there a place I could…you know, take a bath?" he asked, blushing a little bit himself.

As if he had spoken the magic words, the bedroom door burst open, revealing two elderly women, dressing similarly to Belnika. "Prince Haru," the one in front said in a booming voice, "up. Now." Rather frightened, Haru grabbed a mess of sheets and wrapped it around his waist, standing up and making sure to keep his back straight. The woman rolled her eyes, jabbing a finger at the door, "Belnika, leave," she directly briskly. With a small smile on her face, the blue haired maid vanished to the outskirts of the room, leaving Haru alone with two, in his opinion, very demanding old women.

Without another a word, the other of the two stepped forward, and Haru realized that she wasn't in the slightest old; her hair was just a very fine shade of blond. She had no wrinkles in sight, but she was obviously older than Haru was, maybe the age his older sister would have been had she lived through that disease. "Get those things off, we gotta bathe you," she said, leaning forward and gazing right into Haru's eyes.

"Wha-what?!" Haru asked incredulously, stepping back nervously, "I can bathe myself just fine, thank you." The girl rolled her eyes and, with one quick motion, ripped away the sheets from his waist, revealing all of Haru's manhood. The older woman didn't even glance away from his eyes, instead grabbing his arm and pushing him towards another door rather roughly. Haru was speechless, simply covering himself up as the two women quite literally threw him into an enormous bathing tub.

Too stunned to pay much attention to the décor, Haru simply stared up at these two women, unable to speak. "My name's Sonya," the elder one said cheerfully, putting her hand on Haru's head and dunking in the steaming water. When she allowed him to resurface, it was only to allow him to cough and breathe before being dunked again.

"And I'm Julia," the other one said, lifting his arm and beginning to scrub viciously with a large scrub brush. Haru yelped loudly, trying to take his arm back from her rough hands. Julia grinned at him, simply tightening her hold, "Haru, we're not trying to kill you. We're the Royal bathers, well, she is. I'm still an apprentice." Haru ignored her, continuing to try and yank his arm free. To his horror, Sonya grabbed his other arm and doing the same, if not harder. "Relax, geez. Quit being so tense," she told him happily, beginning to lather soap on his arm before continuing to scrub.

Haru decided to simply ignore them, trying to preserve what little dignity he had left. Julia and Sonya, however, seemed to be intending that thorough meant extremely painful, so the young prince gave a quite few yelps of pain. As they began to lift his leg to get around his waist, Haru shoved their hands away, shaking his blushing red firmly, "No. Let me do that part!" he told them sternly. The two women exchanged for a meaningful look, and for a few seconds, Haru thought maybe they'd refuse him, as they would look between each other and him. Finally, they rolled their eyes together and held out the scrub brush for him to work with, standing up and wiping their sopping hands on their aprons. "Really? You guys aren't pulling my leg?" he asked hesitantly, reaching forward and grabbing the scrub brush, taking it quickly when he had gotten a hold of it.

Julia smirked at him, leaning forward so their eyes were just several inches apart, "Kid, we're not here to take away all your dignity. And trust me, no bath will ever be as bad as the one you'll get after that first lesson with Shiba. Then you'll really be in pain," she promised, patting his head with a smirk. Deciding not to ask why, he waited patiently for them to leave, waving slightly with his other hand. "Don't stay in too long – breakfast is almost ready, and Maltese-sama is not one to keep waiting," the silvery blond called as she slipped through the door.

As soon as the two women were out the door, Haru began to wash his groin, considerably softer than they had. As much as his arms stung, and his sun kissed skin burned due to their rough scrubbing, Haru could see the amount of filth in the tub and felt much cleaner than he had last night. Wishing he could have sat in the warm tub for a bit longer, the Prince rose and grabbed the nearest towel, stepping out before wrapping it around his waist, staring across the room at a large, ornate mirror.

His silver hair was plastered onto his forehead, dangling in front of his purple eyes in heavy strands, trying to spike back up naturally. With a chuckle, he began to dry his body off, wincing slightly as his skin burned. Not that he had never had a bath before that moment, but he hadn't really tried to keep all the dirt and whatnot off – it was too tiring to scrub so hard each and every night he bathed, which wasn't that often. Water was more important to the crops, not to his body; besides, he was usually too tired at the end of the day.

Once he was completely dried off, he grabbed his new set of clothing, which consisted of a plain blue tunic and ivory slacks. "Not very fancy for a Prince," he muttered in slight amusement, pulling it over his head anyways, and the slacks over his bare legs, feeling a small object in his pocket. Confused, he pulled it out, finding a long black necklace with several beads on it, and a small, folded piece of paper.

Eyes wide in surprise, he unfolded the paper and held it closer to the light to read.

'My son,

If you're reading this, and I sincerely hope that you are not, it means that you are alone in the world, and that I have failed my promises. I promised your Mother, as soon as she told me that she was pregnant once again, that I would never allow our son to be thrown into the God awful world I grew up in. I promised her that you wouldn't know my identity, that you'd be safe.

But, if you're reading this, then I failed you. For that, amongst millions of other things, I am sorry. Haru, I hope that you do not hate me for all that I failed to do for you before my time came for me, yet I would be understanding if you do harbor hatred and anger towards me. I was not there; I left behind my family when I should have stayed.

Please know this; I love you. I have loved you from the second Sakura told me that you even existed, just as I loved your sister. It is no substitute for my mistakes, but I hope that it helps soothe whatever pain I have caused.

As I will not be around to help guide you through the sticky road of politics, and your only guide will be those wretched advisers, read carefully, my son;

Follow your heart. Do what you think is best for the people of your country, but do not put your own interests first. Visit with them. Speak with the ones that you grew up around and ask of their opinions on what they believe should be done. Hold some form of council. The only people that should be choosing their rights' are the people, you are just merely a guide.

On that note, I advise you to listen to five people very closely, as they are pure in heart and unclouded in mind. My four Knights of the Blue Sky; Alpine the Bright, Deerhound the Strong, Dalmatian the Wise, and Clea the Level, along with the strongest man in this Kingdom – perhaps the entire world, when it comes to swordplay – Shiba the Sword Saint. These five are the only people apart from yourself to truly trust in this Kingdom, my son, as they will never intentionally steer you wrong.

I could sit here and write millions of words, all for you, but I will have to suffice with just one more paragraph, as my carriage is ready to leave. It is a shame that I will never be able to see you as you age, nor that I will ever be able to say all that needs to be said to your face.

Remember Haru, your father will always love you, and always has, from the moment he realized your existence was.

My guilt will never be as strong as the anger, pain, or even hatred you feel for me, so I say this without hope that you will accept it; I apologize from the very bottom of my heart that I failed you.

Gale Symphonia-Glory IV

PS: The necklace was something I bought for you when you just an infant. I have a matching one, but Sakura refused to allow you to wear it, being so young.'

For a few seconds, Haru simply stared at the paper, his hands shaking dreadfully. While his Father had apparently thought that he had hated him, the Prince held only one feeling towards the man, until that very moment; confusion. Anger suddenly began to well up in his body, and, with the letter and necklace clamped firmly in his hand, he stormed out of the bathing room without even touching his hair.

Just as he was slamming the door to his wing, he found himself face to face with the very person he had stormed off to see. "Haru?" Shiba asked in confusion as the young Prince grabbed onto the front of his shirt, slamming against the nearest wall.

"Tell me about my Dad!" Haru screamed. Shiba's green eyes widened, but he made no move to pull away from the infuriated Prince, "Why won't you just tell me about him?!"

Shiba sighed, not meeting his gaze, "Because you aren't ready to hear about him yet." Realized that the Prince holding onto him looked murderous, he quickly opened his mouth and continued, "If I sat down and told you everything about your father right now, you wouldn't be able to understand! I know, honestly Haru, I know that this isn't the answer you want to hear, but you just aren't ready!"

"Bullshit!" Haru screamed, slamming him against the wall again. Shiba's eyes narrowed in impatience, and in a heartbeat, he had thrown Haru off of him, towering over the younger man angrily.

"This is why I won't tell you," he said acidly, "You aren't as mature as you think, my Prince." For a few minutes, the two remained still like that, until Haru calmed down enough to unclench his fists and refold the paper, holding the necklace in his shaking hands. "Wear that proudly; Gale spoke of great things for that trinket," Shiba said softly, holding his hand out, which Haru took slowly, sighing and rubbing his back where he fell. The green eyed man seemed completely untroubled by the fact he had just been slammed against a wall, as if that was nothing for him. "We still have time for a light breakfast, if you are willing," Shiba told him softly as he led him down the hall.

Haru sighed, not especially caring at the moment. Instead, he focused on unclasping the necklace and pulling it over his still wet hair. "Whatever works," he mumbled, touching it softly when it fell into place around his neck. Shiba didn't reply to his comment, leading him down uncountable hallways to a small room filled with large books, chairs, a desk and a very irritated looking Clea Maltese.

"I won't even ask why Belnika didn't wake him up until after she cleaned his entire room. Get in here, Haru, and Shiba? Get out," she said shortly, grabbing Haru's arm and pulling him into the room. Shiba gave a slight chuckle, waving as he left the room. Once he was gone, Clea thrust a giant book into Haru's arms, "Walk across the room with that on your head. Now."

Not wanting to annoy his instructor further, Haru jumped up and balanced the book on his head, groaning at its' weight. Once it was balanced completely on his head, he took several steps forward only to find that book had slipped right off his head on the right side, landing to the floor with a giant thud. "S-sorry!" he cried, picking up the book and running back to the start, balancing it again and trying again. Five more time he tried to do as instructed, but he never made it even a third of the way across the room, much to his despair. As he was about to try for a seventh time, Clea swiped the book away from him, pushing him into the nearest chair, walking behind. "Uh…what are you doing?" he asked, twisting to see.

Immediately, he felt a hand grope at his back, twisting him back around and forcing him to sit straight. "Your posture is fine…what is it that's setting you off balance…?" Clea mumbled to herself, her hands still groping around his back. "Never mind. Back up, and continue trying," she said, pulling him up.

Hours passed, and Haru had not made any more progress with his task, save for a pounding headache and a throbbing foot from where the book fell repeatedly. "C-Clea-Sensei, can we take a break…? Please?" he begged, singing into a chair weakly. Clea chuckled at him, about to answer when a sudden pounding from the door caught her attention.

"Come in," she called, hands on her hips again. Slowly, three people entered the room, all with the sort of air of royalty that the painter of the Symphonian family had captured so perfectly, though not one of these people looked as if they could have a drop of Symphonian blood. "A-ah! Sir Let, Lady Julia, Prince Musica…to what do we owe the visit?" she asked in surprise, bowing.

Haru perked up at that second name, his jaw dropping at the sight of his bathing lady; whereas before she had been garbed in an old looking black dress with a simple blue apron, Julia was now wearing a long green dress that was extremely low cut, showing off her voluminous curves and rather tanned skin. Her long silvery hair was hanging around her shoulders, decorating her heart shaped face nicely. A single gold necklace adorned her neck, with matching earrings in her small earlobes. The woman's narrow chocolate brown eyes wide with amusement at his expression, her long arms placed on her wide hips.

"Y-you! You said you were a bathing lady!" Haru cried, jumping in shock before forgetting his foot and headache, sinking back into the chair. Julia roared with laughter, shrugging her delicate looking shoulders, "What, did you just wanna see me naked or something?!"

The other two men stared at her in a mixture of curiosity and amusement, but she simply waved them away. "I suppose we did not get to be properly introduced, my Prince. I am Queen Julia of the Makai Country, and this is my husband, King Let. This annoying little kid is our adopted brother, Prince Musica," she introduced with a smile.

Let had wheat colored hair that defied all senses of gravity – even worse than Haru's – and narrow eyes the color of coal, but while they looked rather cold, Haru had a sense of underlying warmth in them. He was dressed in a very fancy blue tunic, with golden buttons and white ruffles decorating it. Around his shoulders was a cape the color of ivory, with blue trimmings and a blue cord keeping it in place. While he wore no jewelry, a thick scar went from his hairline to just above his right eyebrow.

The other one, Musica, had black haired that was obviously manually spiked, and eyes the color of milk chocolate. Three silver balls lined above his left eyebrow, and while he obviously tried to look intimidating, Haru could tell he was extremely kindhearted. He too was dressed in a blue tunic – obviously Makai's colors were blue and white, just as Symphonia's were blue, green, and cream – with long white slacks. A thick silver chain with a skull, snake and dagger design on it went down to the center of his chest, about a third down. He didn't seem to care too much for the fancy clothing; wearing no cape or crown.

"This is the newest royalty? Dude, he's like…fifteen!" Musica said, one eyebrow raising. Haru scowled at him deeply, and he laughed, "Relax, kiddo, I'm only teasing you. Three of us just wanted to drop down and meet our newest ally." Haru glanced at Clea, who had an indifferent expression on her face. "Clea, think the four of us could have some time to chat and get to know each other?" he asked sweetly to the woman, smiling happily.

Though she gave him a look that clearly said he couldn't, she bowed and left silently. "Uh…I'm sorry, I don't think I've ever really heard of Makai before," Haru admitted tentatively, glancing between the three of them as they sat down around him in the extra chairs. Let's expression did not change, but Julia and Musica exchanged a look of amusement.

"That would be because of your previous lifestyle," Let said, interrupting whatever those around him were about to say. "Worry not, young Prince, it shall be learned in due time," he continued, once again cutting off Musica. This time, the black haired man rolled his eyes, leaning forward and placing a hand over Let's mouth to speak.

"Don't you worry about a thing, kiddo. We left Let's brother-in-law in charge of Makai for a while, so we're gonna hang around with you till you get the hang of things. I've been wondering one thing though – how did people not recognize you around town? I mean, all the Symphonia-Glory males look like fucking twins, don't they?" Musica asked, glaring at Let as if daring the older man to cut in again. Haru stared at him in shock – wasn't he a…Prince? That sort of language and slang was stuff he had only heard from the drunkest people in his village.

For a few seconds, Haru tried to figure out this man rather than answer. "Huh? Oh, right," he said when he realized he was receiving stares, "I don't really know. My Dad was sort of…gone a lot, I guess. I never really had a chance to get to know him personally, or even learn about him in school. My Mom taught me an' my sister how to read and write, but we weren't allowed to attend classes," he finally said, shrugging.

"Whoa, seriously?" Julia asked, leaning forward, "Aw, man, you are so totally screwed when Alpine hears that!" Musica and her sniggered, but Let merely cracked a smile.

"I already told him and the other knights," Haru corrected with a slight chuckle, which only caused the two laughing to begin to laugh slightly harder. "What's so funny?" he asked, laughing nervously.

Musica and Julia exchanged another look, bursting out laughing. Let sighed, not taking his coal colored eyes off of Haru's purple ones, "They find it amusing that you are so uneducated and yet still alive after informing your Knights about it." Haru chuckled again, shrugging.

"I guess they spent so much time an' effort lookin' for me, they decided a little educating wouldn't be too big of a deal," he said casually, leaning back in his chair. Musica snorted, leaning back as well.

For a few seconds, the four sat in what wasn't an awkward silence, but rather a more companionable one, as if the four were already close friends that just gone some time without seeing one another. Finally, Julia leaned forward, her hand out, "Prince Haru," she said loudly, "I think the four of us are gonna be great friends." Haru grinned, shaking her hand firmly.

"'Bout time I started hangin' out with people my own age. Or at least, not ten years older than me," Musica agreed, reaching forward and shaking his hand as well. Let smirked, which looked rather cozy on his face, as if it had been there uncountable amounts of time beforehand.

Slowly, the two shook hands. "I will enjoy seeing how your strength goes, Prince Haru," he said shortly. Haru grinned at him, hearing a sort of underlining compassion of sorts beneath his tone.
What strange people…but, at least they aren't all stuck up. Julia's right – we're gonna be good friends.

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Author's Note: I AM SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY!!!! I know I said I'd have this up YESTERDAY, but yesterday was too hectic, and it had to be postponed! DDDx
Pleaaaaseeeee, oh lovely remaining readers of mine, do not hate me. TT~TT
I really hope I made up for it all with this chapter…Dx