Hey! i've decided to write an alternate Ch4, i liked it better so i've changed it. This is the new Chapter 4. If you did not read the first one but would like to, PM me your email and i'll send it to you!!

Thanks very much to peaceofmindalchemist and Arashi-senpai for their help – it was greatly appreciated ^^

Chapter 4

The rest of the week was spent making preparations for the arrival of the Prince. The King was unreachable...generally in a daze that his daughter had agreed so willingly to the marriage; other times inconsolable at the thought of his little girl growing up. No of the servants could get through to him. Haruhi took charge of everything. She made sure a whole wing of the castle was prepared for their guests arrival and that all the rooms were ready for them; filled with the finest goods their kingdom had to offer. She made sure the cooks knew to make the finest foods over the period of time their guests were with them. She made regular trips to the village to make sure the villagers well all doing fine; they were always pleased to see their kind-hearted princess. She made sure that Yuzuha, Hikaru and Kaoru's mother, prepared a new dress for the Prince's arrival, it was to be a surprise until Friday.

Haruhi made sure that Hikaru and Kaoru accompanied her where ever she went: she wanted to spend as much time with them as possible. She was unsure about how much time she had left with them. They were more than happy to oblige, when they were not helping their mother. Most evenings they would eat dinner together in one of the gardens, and then at night, at Haruhi's request, the twins slept in her bed with her. She dreamt of all the time they had spent together and she knew she would never feel at home if she didn't have them.

Soon enough, it was Friday and the prince was arriving in the afternoon. Haruhi and the twins were making the final checks around the castle as her father tried to recover in time for their arrival. Around about midday, Haruhi called Yuzuha to her room. She sat on her bed, looking down at her feet, when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

"Good afternoon, Princess." Yuzuha said, as she entered the room with a giant bundle in her arms. She placed the bundle on the bed and hugged Haruhi. "How are you?"

"I've been better." She said with a sigh. Yuzuha put her arm around her shoulder and gave a squeeze.

"I'm sure it'll turn out fine, dear. I'm sure the boys will be able to go with you." Haruhi looked at her and smiled. Yuzuha, who had taken over her mother's duties, always knew what she was thinking.

"Yeah..."

"C'mon! Let's get this dress on you!" Yuzuha became very excited as she began opening the bundle. "This has to be the best one I've ever made!" Haruhi gasped at the sight of the beautiful creation before her. From a distance, the dress looked simple, plain, even but as Haruhi put it on, she began to appreciate all the effort Yuzuha had put into it. The dress was long, it hugged Haruhi in all the right places, cleverly showing off her maturing figure, the back of the dress sat mid-way down her back, showing off her delicate shoulder blades and Yuzuha had subtly added lots of intricate detail: green flowers running along the length of the train, spiralling up around Haruhi's legs before coming to a stop at her waist. The final touch to the dress was a length of silver that Yuzuha tied round Haruhi's waist and a pair of plain silver shoes that Yuzuha placed on Haruhi's feet. Haruhi did a few turns at Yuzuha's request.

"I agree with you YuYu. This is the best yet!"

"Thank you! I'm so pleased at how it turned out! You look beautiful. I think we better take you to the Great Hall. I'm sure our guests will be arriving soon." They two exited Haruhi's room. As they walked down to the Great Hall, Haruhi noticed many of the male servants looking at her.

"What are they looking at?"

"You. You're so beautiful." Haruhi only blushed at this statement and continued walking. They soon entered the Great Hall and all three men gaped as Haruhi walked in.

"You look wonderful." Said the twins, running to her side and escorting her to the seat by her father's side. As she sat down, the twins stood at her side; Hikaru on the right, Kaoru on the left. King Ryoji said nothing, but though about how much she looked like her mother. He just touched her hand and smiled.

After a while, a young man entered the room. "Your guests have arrived, Sire."

"Excellent. Show them in." The King stood as a group of men entered the Great Hall. He made his way toward the oldest man. "Akira! What a pleasure to see you again!" he said, embracing the man.

"Yes, Ryoji, it's been much too long." He returned Ryoji's embrace. They released and stood looking at one another. "I'd like to introduce you to my son." He beckoned forward an incredibly tall, black haired boy with an emotionless face. "This is Takashi." The young man bowed to the King.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"And you..."

"We only have a few men with us." King Yuzuru pointed to the boys behind him. "Kyoya, he deals with all my country's affairs. Although he's young, he is very efficient." A black haired boy with an intelligent face bowed to him.

"Mitsukuni...or Honey...is Takashi's personal assistant. He's one of the best fighters I've ever met, despite his size." A very cute, tiny, blonde boy bowed to them.

"Umehito, he's our kingdom's best fortune teller. He can perform impressive magic and readings that are rarely ever wrong." A strange cloaked boy with a strange cat puppet bowed low to them.

"Ritsu...he's my personal knight." A boy with long red hair and scary-looking face made a short bow to the King.

"And Tamaki...he's my assistant...he's mostly an entertainer." A beautiful blonde bowed dramatically to Ryoji.

"It's very nice to meet you all." said Ryoji. He turned to look at his daughter and motioned for her to come forward. The twins linked their arms through hers as she walked forward.

"This is Hikaru and Kaoru, my daughter's companions. They are sons to me." He smiled to the boys as they bowed to the other king.

"And, this is my daughter Haruhi." She swooshed forward slightly and curtsied.

"It's a delight to meet you." As she stood back up, Prince Takashi stepped forward and kissed her hand.

"Princess..." Haruhi smiled at him as he released her hand but there was no reaction: his face remained stoic. She noticed the glance between the twins.

"Hikaru, Kaoru? Will you show our guests to their rooms, please?"

"Yes, Highness. Please follow us." The group exited the Great Hall after the boys, leaving Haruhi and her father.

"Haruhi?"

"Yes, Father?"

"Please go to your room before dinner. Yuzuha will collect you."

She looked, confusedly at her father but didn't say anything. She curtsied to her father. "Of course." She left the Hall and ran back to her room, tears in her eyes.

"Is he punishing me?" she thought "He's already making me go through with this stupid betrothal! Isn't that enough?"

She ran as fast as she could but, as the tears blurred her vision, she collided with something and fell backwards. She braced herself but, to her surprise, her meeting with the floor never came. She felt a pair of arms around her body.

"Are you alright?" asked a cavernous voice

"Y-yes." She answered, wiping the tears from her eyes. The person set her back down on the floor and Haruhi realised who it was. It was Prince Takashi...

He bowed low to her. He was surprised at how beautiful she was.

"Excuse me, Princess..." he said, moving away in his initial direction but not without one last look at her. As Haruhi recovered all she could think about was the deep steel-coloured eyes of her mysteriously stoic fiancée...

For those who read the first....how did this compare??

So how was that? Sorry about the cliffy I couldn't help myself :s Better length this time?? lol

Xxx