Upside Down

~x~

Author's Note: Bleh. This one took a lot longer than I wanted to (mostly because I got a tad distracted by something for a Club I'm active in, over on my end), but…it's here. Finally. And, now that my classes are OVER, updates should be a loooot faster than they are now. (:

Also, expect some more familiar faces in this chapter. You know, this one was actually supposed to be SMALLER than the previous ones. But, well...that didn't happen. Haha.

You've probably noticed that I've been using Japanese honorifics in this fanfiction. Well, my reasoning for that is, Rave Master is a Japanese manga and therefore the people are TECHNICALLY Japanese. Thus, the honorifics.

Enjoy~

~x~

Chapter Eight: 'You Stud Muffin, You'

Slowly, Haru peeled open his eyes and found himself staring directly at the large canopy above his bed. A soft groan escaped his lips as he shifted slightly, only causing pain to shoot up his legs. He rolled his head over and tried to find a position where neither leg would hurt. It soon became apparent, however, that such a feat was only possible during sleep, much to Haru's immediate despair. "Why did Musica have to hit me?" he asked himself softly.

After Musica had found his two friends, he proceeded to chase them throughout the grounds until finally catching Haru and punching him as hard as possible in the exact place where Julia had aimed her kick. Unfortunately, Musica's anger had gone into that one punch, and there wasn't any left to continue chasing after the much faster Julia.

"Prince Haru-sama?" a soft voice asked from his far left. Haru already knew who it was – waking up to find a friend in his room was hardly rare at this point – but he slowly opened his eyes once more and sat up, groaning again. "Prince Haru-sama, what happened?"

The prince grinned at her happily, shrugging. "Musica punched me where he knew it would hurt most," he answered nonchalantly. The maid gasped slightly, but didn't move from where she was standing. "Belnika, you don't have to be all formal and stuff. We're obviously gonna see a lot of each other, so we might as well skip all the boring formalities," he added, leaning back on his palms.

Belnika stared at him for a moment longer before looking down at her pale hands. "But, you're a Prince. And I'm just a maid," she finally said slowly, glancing back up at him. The prince shrugged, grinning at her again.

"That doesn't matter to me. I was a farm until a couple days ago," he pointed out, "I can't act like a Prince or any other kind of royalty yet, not until Alpine and them teach me everything. Besides, it makes me really uncomfortable to be around all those pompous jerks – except for Let, Julia, and Musica – anyways. I'd much rather prefer hanging out with you."

The maid's cheeks enflamed, but Haru chose to ignore it. "Th-thank you, Haru-sama," she stuttered out, all grins. He grinned back, waving away her thank you. "Maybe sometime after your lessons, I can…show you around the castle," she suggested timidly, biting down on her bottom lip nervously. Contrary to what she must have thought his reaction would be, Haru's whole face lit up and he nodded eagerly.

"That would be awesome! I mean, wandering around was working fine for me, but if someone that's actually nice to me could show me around a bit more, then I wouldn't get lost so much!" he cried out happily. On his way back up to his wing last night, the prince had somehow managed to get himself hopelessly lost in one of the downstairs corridors, being saved only when Shiba, who had been patrolling, found him and took him to the right place.

Belnika's eyes widened in shock at his outburst, but smiled back as well. "It would be my honor, Haru-sama," she said, curtsying. "But, I do believe that you have some sort of plan with Princess Celia-kun today, right?" she asked, still smiling at him. Haru stared at her blankly for a second before slowly remembering what he had promised her.

As soon as this memory crashed down on him, the prince jumped out of bed – ignoring all pain from his groin – and began to run around the room. "That's right! I totally forgot about that!" he cried out, running to one of his dresses, "Shit, shit, shit! Belnika!" he cursed, swiveling around, "I need some clothes that'll make me look really fancy and like I kind of know what I'm doing!" Her eyes went wide, and she rushed over, gently pushing him out of the way as she rummaged through the drawers for him.

Finally, she pulled out an elaborate white tunic, with blue trimming down the middle and buttons that Haru suspected were pure gold. He nodded and took it from her as she continued to rummage through for some pants. After a second, Belnika revealed thick velvet bottoms with another gold button and some swirled design on the side. Haru nodded gratefully again as he took the trousers, about to run off when Belnika stopped him.

"These are yours, right?" she asked, pulling out one ring, a chained bracelet, and two earrings from her pocket. Haru's face lit up, and he nodded eagerly as he held out his hand for her to gently drop them in. "I found them in your pockets, but I forgot to give them to you yesterday," she explained softly, blushing brightly.

The prince waved her apology away, turning to the mirror and gently pushing his earrings through the almost invisible holes in his left ear. "This is so awesome! I thought I left them back at the farm or something," he said cheerfully, grinning at her happily again. "What would I do without ya', Belnika?" he asked once the earrings had successfully been inserted in.

Before she could reply, the door to his bedroom slammed open, causing both of them to jump in shock. Haru groaned slightly, his hands automatically guarding his groin area. "Good, you're up. I was going to drag you out of bed if you weren't," Musica said cheerfully, waving. He grinned at Belnika, and sniggered at Haru's position, "Relax, dude, I'm not gonna hit you again," he said nonchalantly, walking forward. "Whoa, dude, when did you get earrings?"

"I've had em' since I was little. I took them out before Shiba found me, and I guess I left them in my pocket, so Belnika just gave em' to me," explained Haru with a slight shrug, uncoiling his hand from around the ring and bracelet and gently sliding them into place. "Much better. Anyways, can you leave?" he whined, pointing to the door he had entered from, "I gotta change."

Musica laughed, leaning against the bedframe. As he started to speak, Belnika slowly curtsied to them both and exited the room to give them privacy. "Didn't you have some hot date yesterday?" he asked curiously, crossing his hands against his chest.

The younger one rolled his eyes. "It wasn't a date. I was just showin' her around the village is all," he grumbled, starting to head off. With a laugh, Musica stopped him and pushed him back into place. "She just moved here from Elie Village, and didn't really know her way around, so I told her I'd show her around. We ended up just hanging out by the lake and talking, though," he reluctantly explained.

Silence settled over the two. "Yeah, talking. Right," he said skeptically, rolling his eyes. Haru stared at him with a dull expression for a second before turning away and heading to the bathroom.

"Either way, I'm spending the day with Celia as much as I can. I really wanna get to know her," he called back without turning around to meet his gaze. Just as he reached the door and was disappearing into the confines of the grand bathing room, he heard Musica give a soft snort. Ignoring his friend, he closed the door behind him and began to strip himself of his pajamas.

As quickly as he could, Haru changed into the outfit that Belnika had given him, trying to block out what Musica had said about spending time with Elie being a 'hot date'. "It wasn't a 'date'," he grumbled to himself, yanking the fancy shirt over his head without even washing himself off. After catching Sonya in the corridors last night, they came to an agreement; she would bathe him at night, when he would generally be too tired to put up much resistance. It seemed to be the best solution to Haru's immense dislike of being bathed, and Sonya had taken quite an amount of amusement from his suggestion.

Once he was positive that he pulled on all the garments on correctly – he had some serious trouble debating which side of the trousers was front and which was back – he turned his attention to the mirror and grabbed his comb. Desperately, he ran it through his hair and attempted it to lie flat. After several moments of struggle, he finally gave up and put the comb down and glared at his reflection. "At least I have all my jewelry," he said to himself, grabbing his toothbrush and running it underneath the sink.

Finally done with what was quickly becoming a routine, Haru exited the bathing room and cautiously looked around his room; Musica was gone. Sighing in expectance – visitors to his room never stayed too long, but they certainly appeared often enough – he tossed his pajamas on the bed and made his way to the halls with a grumbling stomach.

By the time he had managed to get to the dining hall, Haru's stomach was roaring for food. Gratefully, he pushed open the large doors and grinned widely. "Mornin'," he said cheerfully to those around the table, sitting down at the large oval table. Immediately, three heads rose, each one with a different expression on them.

"Good morning, Prince Haru-chan!" Princess Celia said first, waving her pale hand happily. As he had last seen her, her long blue hair shone like a jewel, with one of the most beautiful dresses he had ever seen gracing her pale body. She seemed slightly excited, and it was Haru's greatest wish at that moment that she was excited for the same thing he was.

The other two remained silent, exchanging a brief glance. "Good morning King Lucia, King Uta," Haru said politely, sitting down in a chair opposite the two king's, and next to the princess. They merely nodded and went back to eating their breakfast. Deciding that talking to them would only result in some taunt or jeer in his direction, the prince turned to Celia instead while piling food on his plate. "We're still spending the day together, right?" he asked her rather nervously.

Immediately, the princess nodded. "Of course! You promised that we'd go down to the city," she reminded him, grinning. Haru nodded as well, but had to stop and consider that one.

"Well, since Queen Reina and King Haja are going to be here today, maybe we should just stick around the castle," he said slowly, watching her very carefully for her reaction. While her smile slipped just a bit, it was quickly put back into place.

"Sure! There's always next weekend!" she exclaimed, spearing a piece of fruit and placing it into her mouth daintily. Haru laughed in relief, beginning to eat as well. Conversation was limited due to both of them eating – and the fact that Lucia and Uta were watching them very carefully – but as soon as they were both finished, the two took off.

As soon as they left the dining hall, Haru let out a huge sigh of relief. "I don't get why they hate me so much," he muttered to himself, shaking his head. Celia giggled, and latched onto his arm. Although his first instinct was to pull away, or tell her to stop, Haru simply smiled down at her.

"King Lucia and King Uta-kun had wanted to be the most powerful nations in the whole world, but since Symphonia found its' heir, that isn't possible anymore," she explained, and began to lead him down the hall. "They're just angry because, once you get all your training and learning's in, you'll be just as great a King as King Gale was!"

Haru laughed skeptically at her, but she didn't seem to notice. "Celia, where are we going?" he asked, helping her push open a large door. She merely giggled again, refusing to say anything more. Curious, the prince laid down multiple guesses in hopes of a reaction from her, but all he ever seemed to get was a giggle. Finally, the two seemed to reach their destination; the stables. "We're going for a horse ride?" Haru guessed curiously, frowning at her simple chuckle.

"No," she told him, drawing out the word cheerfully, "we're gonna go see the city!" Haru's eyes popped open, but just as he was about to speak, she placed a finger on his lips. "Don't worry. Reina and Haja won't be here until this evening. We have plenty of time to go down and explore the city," she said softly, her voice entrancing.

For a few seconds, Haru simply stared down at her in amazement. "Yeah, I guess," he finally grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. Celia giggled, taking his hand and leading him into the stable. Once she stopped, considering which horse to take, Haru immediately walked over to the horse he had ridden the other day, placing a hand on its' head. "We can take this one," he explained happily. Celia studied the horse for a second before nodding, clasping her hands together as she waited for him to pull the horse out of the stable.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Celia asked once Haru had tied the saddle on the animal. The prince stared at it for a second before ducking down to check. Some feet away, Celia roared with laughter, but Haru had done what he wanted it – he now knew its' gender.

"It's definitely a girl," he said happily, jumping onto the saddle and holding out his hand for Celia to join him. "Come on," the prince said softly, scooting back so she could be in front of him. Carefully, she grabbed his hand and jumped on, sitting sideways due to her dress. Haru carefully grabbed the reins, making sure not to squish her, but also trying to hold her in place.

Once they were all situated, the three of them took off, galloping away down the opposite side of the castle – the village and farms were on the southern, and eastern areas, while the city dominated the entire north, north-east, and part of the north-west, with some scattered farms in the west. "I've never ridden a horse with someone else before," Celia admitted, wrapping her arms around Haru's middle to steady herself. The prince tried to ignore the way her arms felt around his stomach, his face reddening.

"Me either," he admitted with a laugh, "but it looks like this horse seems to be able to carry our weight." Celia nodded, and the two lapsed into silence once more. "I brought along some money, so we can go shopping," Haru told her once they reached the very edge of the city. Slowing down, the three began to slowly trot to the city.

It was the most magnificent sight that Haru had ever seen. Buildings were everywhere, all made of sturdy looking white stone, and shining wood for window frames. People of all sorts were walking around, all dressed in what Haru soon realized was a sort of median to what he was used to – not as bad as peasants clothing, nor were they nearly as pristine as the clothing he saw around the castle – but it was the styles of the people that caught his attention. Hairdos of all sorts were visible, with all sort of different outward appearances.

"Wow…" the two breathed together, jumping off the horse and leading it into the bustling city. "Think we'll find a visitors' stable or something?" Celia asked, her blue hair blowing behind her. Haru watched her for a second, entranced.

"We should," he finally answered, looking around for anything that said 'horse' in it. After a second of looking, he finally found one off to the right; a large sign with the words 'Knight Horses' written on it. "There," he pointed out, taking her hand in his free one and leading her over there.

The stable was half the size of the one on the grounds', but Haru could tell immediately that it was a place that got little business. "What do you want?" a man asked lazily. He had a squared off nose with black hair that was brushed all to the left side of his face. "This is for the Knights of the Blue Sky only, no little brats allowed."

Haru shrugged. "Can we keep our horse here?" he asked anyways, grinning at the man. With an angry expression, the stable keeper turned to him, obviously ready to yell or attack him. As soon as his squared brown eyes saw Celia, he froze.

"P-Princess Celia!" he squeaked, his whole face going red. "Wh-why are you here? Unless…unless –!" he started to say, but was quickly cut off by Haru's hand covering his mouth.

"Keep quiet! I don't wanna the civilians to know that Celia and I are in the city, alright?" Haru hissed in his ear, waiting until the man stopped struggling to release him. "Can you just hold our horse for us? I don't think the people would take too well to a horse running around on their streets," he asked again, pulling out several silver coins.

The stable keeper gaped at him. "Y-yes, of course! Anything for you, Prince Haru!" he said quickly, snatching up the coins and taking the reins for their horse. "As soon as you come back, make sure to have one silver coin," he called out, disappearing into the stable. Haru waved at him, and turned back to Celia.

"Well, where to, Princess?" he asked, gesturing to the street. She considered for a bit, shrugging. Haru laughed, "How about we just walk down the main road, and go to whatever catches our eye?" he suggested, holding out his arm for her to take. With a slight blush on her cheeks, she took his arm and the two took off.

As they walked, Celia kept on a constant stream of conversation about…well, everything. Her hometown, her sister, her people, her dislike towards Julia and Musica, and just herself in general. Haru listened intently, never interrupting. Instead, he simply watched her talk, awed by her very voice; it seemed like she was singing rather than actually talking. "Hey, Celia," he said once he was sure that she had finished, "how many other languages can you speak?"

She looked up in surprise, her blue eyes wide. "I can only speak Mildish and Symphonian fluently, but I'm learning to speak Raregroovian, and Vulkan right now. Once I'm all fluent in those, I'll learn all the others," she replied with a slight shrug of her thin shoulders. "Why?"

Haru grinned. "Because I met this girl the other day that can speak a whole bunch of different languages," he answered cheerfully. Celia smiled back at him, but it was short lived.

"Is she from Symphonia?" she asked in a slightly clipped voice. Immediately, worry flooded into Haru. What had he said? How should he fix it?

"Nah, she moved here because her family was too poor to keep her," he said nonchalantly. From the corners of his eyes, he watched for her reaction. Much to his surprise, she seemed to brighten; her smile slipped back into place, and any sort of dislike she might have had was gone.

At the same she laughed, a soft sigh of relief left Haru. "So, she's a peasant?" the princess asked bluntly. Haru's eyes narrowed, but he kept a smile plastered on his face as he slowly nodded. "Oh, that's alright then," she replied, hugging his arm tightly to her side. Haru laughed slightly, but he stared down at her in confusion.

Before he could ask what she meant by that, she pointed to a large store that was advertising all sort of assorted treats. "Ooh, Haru-chan, can we check that store out?" she asked eagerly. The prince grinned, and began to lead her towards the little shop.

As they got closer, it soon became apparent what sort of treats the store sold – ice cream. Ice cream was a valuable treat nowadays, being so rarely made by farmers. To most of them – and to Haru – it was a waste of milk that could have gone to use to a family that needed it, or for cheese or some other dairy product. Judging by the way Celia was reacting to the store, the two were of very different opinions on this subject. "Ooh, Haru-chan, look at all the ice-cream!" she squealed, tightening her grip on his arm.

"Oh…boy," Haru said in what he hoped was an enthusiastic tone. Celia didn't seem to notice, too busy fawning over all of the different flavors. "You go ahead and pick whatever flavor you want, Celia," the prince said kindly, watching her fondly.

Excitedly, she turned back to him and grinned. "Thank you so much, Haru-chan!" she cried, turning back to the clerk and placing her order. "What are you going to get?" she asked, halfway turning back around to him. The prince smiled widely, shaking his head.

"Maybe I'll get some later," he lied smoothly, handing several silver coins for her ice-cream. She simply shrugged once, still grinning, and paid for her treat. In slight disgust, Haru watched as the man scooped a large amount of the treat into a small little bowl before scooping a similarly sized second helping into it. Celia squealed at the second helping, thanking the man happily before pulling a spoon from a small jar and turning back to Haru.

As the princess and the prince left the shop, Haru couldn't help but notice just how milk must have gone into making that amount of ice-cream. From his experience with churning milk, that amount probably could have lasted him a week before he needed to put aside some of the milk he normally went up and sold for himself. "Is that…good?" he asked curiously after a bit, rubbing the back of his neck.

In surprise, Celia looked up mid-bite. "It sure is! I wish I knew how they managed to make so many different flavors of it," she replied happily, finishing up her spoonful. The prince simply laughed softly, and tried to ignore the nagging feeling about how many people might have needed that milk.

The rest of the day passed fairly quickly, with stops to almost every store that Celia liked – Haru had decided to watch what Celia liked, in case he would ever need to buy her anything – and an almost one-sided conversation from Celia. "Haru-chan," she said softly, after having just finished up a rant about something – Haru hadn't really paid much attention – her older sister had done, "you don't think I talk too much, do you?"

"No! No, of course not!" Haru cried out, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "And, even if you did talk too much, it wouldn't matter to me. I like listening to you talk, Celia," he told her happily, grinning at her.

Unlike him, Celia did not blush at that. "Thanks," she told him, leaning against him gently. "I'm so happy that we got to spend today together. And I can see you any time at the castle!"

Haru beamed down at her. "Well, any time except during my classes. I guess those are supposed to be top-secret," he corrected gently, pushing his free hand into his pocket. The princess nodded in agreement for a second before shrugging.

"Haru-chan, will you spend next Saturday with me too?" Celia asked, pulling away. Haru smiled at her apologetically, shaking his head.

"I would, but I promised my friend Gemma I'd go down to the village and explain what's going on," he lied smoothly with a shrug. "He raised me for a while after my Mom died, so I figured that I owe him an explanation," the prince added quickly in an attempt to make it sound like this was something he really needed to do next Saturday.

To his relief, Celia didn't seem to be upset about this. "Alright, then next Sunday!" she said instead, linking her arm with him and walking. Haru followed in relief, glancing up at the sky and frowning.

Reluctantly, he stopped her, gesturing to the sky. "I would absolutely love to keep on running around the city with you, Celia," he said honestly, "but, Queen Reina and King Haja will be here soon, and it would be really rude of me not to be there to greet them." The princess pouted at him, crossing her arms against her chest. "Aw, come on, Celia. I don't wanna have to leave, but I gotta," he soothed, wrapping an arm around her, "And there's always next week."

Celia sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I know. And, we'll see each other all week," she pointed out with a grin. Relief washed over Haru – again – and the two set off to the stable that they had left their horse with. As he had promised, Haru had kept one silver coin safe from the vast amounts of spending that Celia had done – the prince himself had only bought them both lunch, but Celia had bought all sorts of perfumes and jewelry for herself.

When they got to the stable, the keeper was nowhere to be seen, nor did it look like they would be able to get into the stable by themselves. "Excuse me?" Haru called into the stable, frowning. Silence followed him, and with an eye roll, the prince jumped the desk and pulled open the stable door himself. Inside was a dimly lit room, with five different holding pens. Off to the far right was their horse, and Haru quickly untied her and pulled her out. "Looks like we'll just have to leave the coin on the counter," he said to a laughing Celia cheerfully.

As soon as the coin was left on the table, Haru jumped on the horse with his hand offered out to Celia. "Care to join me, Princess?" he asked with a grin. Celia giggled and grabbed his hand, pulling herself on the horse, behind him this time, and wrapped her thin arms around his middle. Haru blushed, but pulled the reins and led the horse out of the city and back up to the castle.

When they reached the castle, the sun was just about to set. Much to his relief, no carriages could be seen anywhere on the ground that hadn't been there earlier. "I'm glad you had fun, Celia," he told her once he had jumped off the horse and put her into her pen.

"I'm glad that you came along with me," she replied, sliding off the horse. "I wish I could stay and chat, but I need to go to my room and write a letter to my older sister," she explained apologetically. Haru nodded in understanding, and the two exited the stable. Off to the distance were Julia, Let, and Musica, so the prince started to head over to them. The two waved once more at one another before the princess started heading up to the castle, and Haru down to his friends.

When he reached there, he realized that they were watching the entrance to the village carefully. "Hey, guys," he called, grinning at them. Immediately, they all turned in surprise, their eyes wide.

"Well, if it isn't the runaway prince himself!" Julia cried happily, throwing an arm around his shoulder. "You gotta start informing your Knights where you go, buddy. They throw fits when you're not around," she told him, whacking the back of his head.

In response, Haru merely laughed. "Dude, where were you?" Musica asked curiously, crossing his arms against his chest.

"I was spending the day with Princess Celia," he said with a large grin. Much to his amusement, the queen and prince gaped at him, their eyes wide as jokes formulated in their minds. "And, I'm gonna spend next Sunday with her, too." Musica whistled, and Julia laughed.

"You're a player!"

Immediately, Haru's amusement vanished. Musica and Julia were roaring with laughter, so he feebly turned to Let to explain. "You spent the day with Celia today, and she's very obviously interested in you; your maid, Belnika, seems to show a great interest in you as well; and you spent the day with a young lady down in the village yesterday, did you not?" he explained, a smirk decorating his face.

"I told you, it wasn't like that!" Haru cried, swiveling around to Musica. "I was just showing Elie the village, 'cause she's new here!" Much to his despair, the duo simply laughed harder, falling to the ground and holding their stomachs.

Just as Haru was about to rear back his foot to kick them both into silence, Let stopped him. "Haru," he warned seriously, "if you attack them, you will regret it." Haru sighed in acknowledgement, and waited patiently for them to stop laughing. When they had both recovered, they wrapped one of their arms around his shoulders and put their heads in close.

"Aw, calm down. We were just playing around…you stud muffin, you," they said together. Haru's embarrassment jumped up several levels, which only caused their laughter to begin once again.

Before he could attack them, despite Let's warning, Haru went into to attack them. Again, he was stopped by the king's arm. "Wait!" he cried, turning to the others, "Reina and Haja are here!" Just as Haru was about to grumble about how they were far too busy laughing to care, the two jumped up again and stared towards the village entrance, causing Haru to do the same. His eyes went wide at the sight of two elaborate carriages were pulled up to the castle. "Lets' go," directed Let, heading towards them.

Musica snorted, but all three of them followed him briskly. "Um, wait, Let…" Haru said softly, grabbing his arm and pulling him aside. The other two simply glanced at him before continuing on their way, obviously sensing his tension. "I don't…know how to act. Around people like Lucia and Uta," he started to explain, looking down at his feet, "Will…Reina and Haja be like they are?"

The king remained quiet for several seconds. "No, they won't be like Lucia or Uta. Reina is a great deal like Julia, Musica, and I. Haja is a very intelligent individual, and knows of your situation. He will be formal, but not impolite," he explained with a smile. Haru nodded gratefully, and the two took off to catch up with the others.

As soon as they got into line with them, the first carriage door was thrown open. A heavy smell of perfume trailed off, and Haru immediately knew who was going to exit. However, he was not expecting the person that stepped out of the carriage; she was tall and slender, with hair and eyes the exact same color as Alpine. She was dressed in a bright red, strapless dress, with a golden necklace around her neck. Elbow length gloves covered her hands, though a bangle in the shape of a snake was around her left arm.

"Ooh, Queen Julia and King Let!" she cried cheerfully, waving at them cheerfully. "And you even brought along Prince Musica for the ride, eh?" the woman asked, her eyes lingering on Musica for just a second. Finally, her green spheres landed on Haru, and they instantly widened. "Wow. You know, I wasn't sure whether I'd believe this heir was the real deal when I heard that Shiba had found him, but now looking at him…it's a wonder it took you guys so long to find him!"

Blush crept into Haru's cheeks, and he bowed deeply to her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Queen Reina," he said firmly. Reina laughed, and he straightened up.

"Just head on it into the castle, Reina," Julia said casually, "someone will realize what's happened and Alpine will be alerted of your arrival." The other queen nodded, grinning at Haru once, and winking at Musica before heading inside. As soon as the door was closed, Julia elbowed Haru, "Don't be so formal with Reina. She's a lot like me."

Haru simply nodded, only half paying attention to what Julia was saying. The other carriage – which was now noticeably different than Reina's – had opened and revealed King Haja. He was the largest man that Haru had ever seen in his life, with a helmet upon his head that seemed to jut out without even touching his nose. He had a thick blonde beard and blonde hair underneath his helmet. His eyes were narrow and weary looking, but seemed to be much warmer than Lucia's were.

"Hello, King Let, Queen Julia, Prince Musica, and Prince Haru," he said in a booming voice. The four all nodded in response. "Prince Haru, it is an honor to meet the heir of Symphonia," he said next, bowing his head towards him.

The prince watched him in discomfort for a bit before smiling. "The honor's all mine, King Haja," he replied finally. Haja smiled, and began to sweep away into the castle. "Feel free to just go right on in, King; someone will have be notified of your arrival by now," Haru said quickly, glancing at Let. The king nodded and disappeared into the castle.

Let and Julia turned to him and smiled. "Very nice. You certainly know how to make a first impression, kiddo," the queen said cheerfully, slapping him on the back.

"Awesome. Now I just gotta figure out a way to get Lucia and Uta to stop being pricks," he replied with a sigh, looking down at his hands.

Musica laughed, pushing the other two out of the way and throwing an arm around his shoulder. "And how you're gonna decide between your three lovely ladies," he added happily. "You stud muffin." Haru's head jerked up, and he glared at the other prince.

"I am not a stud muffin!" he cried, punching Musica as hard as he could on the shoulder. Julia roared with laughter, but Musica gasped out in pain. The two glared at one another for a few seconds longer before Haru turned around slowly and sprinted away, with Musica not far behind him.

"Get back here, stud muffin! I just wanna give you some advice!" he screamed after him. Haru shook his head, and continued to run. Just as he was taking a sharp turn, he distantly heard Julia shout something out at him; 'Kick his ass, Musica!'.

With a sigh, Haru grabbed the body of a tree on the grounds and turned sharply. "Thanks a lot, Julia," he muttered in amusement as he continued to run.

~x~

Author's Note: Poor Haru. Next chapter, I'll try to keep the Haru-bashing to a low level, alrightey?

I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. To all my readers, and my Beta, I am SORRY. I kept on getting distracted, and not being home and whatnot…gah. Now that my classes are all done, I'll try to be a lot more efficient about updates, OK?