Warning: This fanfiction will contain harsh language, dramatic turns of events, sex and violence This is rated mature for these reasons and if you don't like it, don't waste time on reading and commenting.

Disclaimer: I don't own Be my princess, any of it's characters, or the original story line of Keith's route.

A/N: NOBODY TOLD ME THE WARNING AND DISCLAIMER WERE REPEATED SOMEWHERE AT THE END OF CHAPTER NINE ;A;

~ "Silver Lovers" ~

Episode eleven

After I had raided the fridge I started to wander around the mansion. Until now I had only been in the parts where I was supposed to clean, but I knew there were more places that I hadn't been yet.

At the third floor I stopped to stare out of the window. Behind me people rushed back and forth in panic. Most of them simply ignored me. I wasn't worth the attention now that Liberty was in a crisis.

I silently wondered how Prince Keith was dealing with this situation. He was the crown prince after all, he was bound to have to deal with this. As my mind started to wander off to things completely unrelated to the crisis, I let out a sigh.

"You know, they say that you let a bit of happiness escape every time you sigh." A familiar voice said from behind me. I turned around and smiled at the source. "Hi Catherine."

She smiled back as she walked over to me. "Hello Anna, how was the party yesterday?" Her question caught me off guard, I had momentarily forgotten all about the party… and the events that happened afterwards. I grew slightly flustered and avoided her eyes. It felt like she could see right into my mind.

"It was nice…" I mumbled, masking my surprise by sounding indifferent. She chuckled. "Did you not enjoy it? I heard my brother took you to a masquerade."

I shrugged at her words. "It wasn't something I've been to before." My mind wandered back to the masquerade. I hadn't been at the party for long, but had experienced things I never thought I'd get to experience in my life. I had danced with a random stranger whose face and name I never got to know, I had gotten into a bitch fight with a famous actress and been photographed by paparazzi.

She smiled knowingly. "I also heard you caused quite a commotion." My eyes widened at her words as I looked back at her. "What do you mean?" I felt a bad feeling starting to nag me at the back of my mind, but tried to ignore it. After all, what damage could have been done from simply going to a party.

She chuckled. "I also read the paper you know. Today there was a big article about my brother and his supposed to be fiancée." She looked into my eyes, a smile playing on her lips. "You looked great in the picture."

My face contorted into a frown as I looked at her. "That wasn't supposed to happen." I mumbled as I looked away from her again, earning another light chuckle. "Don't worry, they didn't get your face this time."

I rolled my eyes and looked back at her. "Then why do they assume I'm suddenly his fiancée again?" This time it was her who frowned. "Apparently Laura made sure to tell the press you were the same person as at the ball at Nobel Michel." I chuckled as she scowled while pronouncing Laura's name. "You don't like her?" I couldn't hold back my smile as I realized I might have found another soul who disliked Laura Nicholson.

Catherine tilted her head to the side and seemed to think a moment before speaking. "I don't particularly like her." She said, giving me a strange look. "By the way…" She said as she reached out to touch the scratch on my cheek. "What happened to your cheek?"

I grimaced as she pressed her cold finger against the throbbing scratch. "Laura Nicholson, that's what happened." Her eyes widened at my words. "She did this to you? Why would she do such a thing?" I winced as she pressed a little harder. "Not sure, she was sort of angry that I was with His Highness at the party."

Catherine narrowed her eyes as she removed her hand from my cheek. I softly rubbed my area around the wound. Her pressing it had reawakened the pain. Catherine looked away with a scowl. "I don't like how she acts all possessive over my brother."

All I could do was shrug and seem uninterested while on the inside I was agreeing with her with all my heart. At the masquerade I had realized that I didn't like it when other woman touched Prince Keith, or even talked to him. And when Laura acted so possessive, as if he was married to her already, I realized even more that I had gotten myself into more trouble than I should have. I had started to develop feelings for Prince Keith, I wasn't sure it was love, but I cared a great deal about him, enough to get jealous.

Catherine turned back to me. "Anyway, let's stop talking about her." She smiled, but it looked like a forced smile in my eyes. She then turned her gaze towards the window, looking out over the gardens with a sad expression.

I noticed how she tensed up when another pair of people hurried their way past us. She shot then a quick glance before turning her eyes back on the garden. "It's not a very good situation, is it?" She asked softly as she placed her hand on the cold glass, peering out of the window as if there was something interesting going on outside.

I crossed my arms and leaned with my back against the window with a sigh. "Are you worried?" I mumbled as I stared across the hall, my eyes following every person who rushed past, noticing how they were completely ignoring us.

Catherine looked up at me. "Worried?" She sounded rather confused at my question. I shrugged and turned to look out of the window too. "About the state of the country now that it has entered a financial crisis." I didn't look at her as I spoke and watched the snow falling from the sky.

From the corner of my eye I could see Catherine tilting her head at my question, thinking long and hard about it. "Yes, I am worried but…" She leaned her cheek against the window and tried to make eye contact with me. "That's why I can't show it on the outside. We, the royal family, need to stay strong for our people." I looked at her as she spoke, a little surprised at her mature words. "If we look worried, the people will start to worry even more than they already are." She flashed me a strong smile for a second, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.

She turned her eyes away from me and looked back out of the window. "But I'm afraid that nothing we say will alleviate the fear that grips the country right now." I stared at her in surprise and was about to open my mouth to say something when a man's voice echoed through the halls.

"You're taking this issue too seriously." A shiver ran down my spine and I unconsciously grabbed for my neck when I recognized Prince Keith's voice. I spun around and saw him walking over to us. While rubbing my neck I tried to look at anything but him, but somehow my eyes were pulled towards him.

He gave me a wary glance before fixing his gaze on Catherine. "What is going on right now is typical for a country that has experienced a sudden economical growth and was expected to happen at some point." I looked at him as he explained it to his sister, who seemed to be at loss for words.

Catherine send me a worried glance and then turned back to look at her brother as he continued. "Something like this will die down soon, nothing to worry about." My eyes widened as I heard this. It seemed this guy had no idea what kind of trouble this situation would cause for a lot of people.

He suddenly snapped his head towards me. "What is it?" He snarled. Someone here seemed to be in a bad mood. I gave him an unimpressed look and took my hand away from my neck. His eyes flickered to the spot for a moment, but since I was wearing a turtle neck, there was nothing to see.

I shrugged at him, keeping my arms crossed. "You sound rather cool about it all." He furrowed his brow at this and turned his whole body towards me, taking a step closer. Which he regretted the moment he did because I could see a flash of doubt in his eyes.

He seemed to take a moment to control himself and clenched his fist at his side. "Are you implying that I should be worried?" I shrugged again and leaned back against the window, distancing myself from him as much as I could. "Maybe."

He shot me a cold glare as he spoke. "This isn't really an issue where the royal family can intervene. This country has it's foundations in creating a way of life in which its people are independent and do not need the help of governing bodies." He let out an agitated sigh before continuing. "If the royal family were to intervene, it will be the start of our citizens growing increasingly dependant." He sounded as if everything he just said should have been obvious.

I unfolded my arms and glared back at him. "You might think of it that way, but to me it sounds a lot like neglect." Catherine gave me a wary look as I spoke back to Prince Keith in a way I probably shouldn't have.

Prince Keith's glare became even harder as he hear my words. He seemed to feel very strongly about the things he just explained. "How dare you speak to me like that!" He started to raise his hand at me, but suddenly seemed to realize what he was doing and merely dragged his fingers through his hair.

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath to calm himself down before speaking. "Our people feel strongly about their power to live independent of government intervention." This time it was me who took a step towards him. I glared up at him, ignoring the urge to get even closer to him. "That might be true, but in a situation like this I think it's okay for the government to do something."

He glared down at me. "Success or failure depends on the efforts of our people. They decided it themselves. It's not up to the state to make their fortunes!" He spat the words back at me.

It felt strange to be arguing about this with the same man I had slept with the night before. However, my confusion didn't keep me from talking back to him. "Not everyone has the means to see it through, there are things that people can't achieve with their power alone!"

He didn't say anything back as he processed my words, clearly not able to fully grasp what I was saying. I continued to glare up at him as he stared down at me. We stood in silence like that, with a lost Catherine standing next to us, giving us uncomfortable glances.

As I looked at him I suddenly had short flashbacks on the night before. How his eyes had sparkled as he dragged me towards the club, how his hot breath had been on my lips as we danced close to each other, how his hands made their way to underneath my dress. I suddenly clearly remembered his every touch, and felt my body growing hotter as I continued to look at him.

My anger started to ebb away as my eyes wandered down to his lips. Oh how much I wanted those lips to be connected to mine right at this very moment. I slowly started leaning in towards him, completely forgetting our argument, or that Catherine was standing right next to me.

The look in Prince Keith's eyes softened and he too started leaning closer. Luckily, before we reached the point where people might start thinking strange things, a calm voice interrupted us. Prince Keith's eyes flared up as he realized what we were going to do. He took a step away from me as he turned towards the direction the voice was coming from.

I did the same and noticed a grey haired man walking towards us. I tilted my head as I pondered about whether or not I had seen this man before. Prince Keith gulped in surprise, seeming to recognize the man. "Alick?"

Both Prince Keith and I stood in surprise as the man approached me. Catherine on the other hand, seemed delighted to see this old man as she skipped over to him and clung to his arm. "Alick, are you feeling better now?" Her bright smile was almost infective as I looked at it.

The old man, or Alick, smiled down at her before looking back at us with a serious face. "When the country is in such a turmoil I can hardly keep to my bed." He then dropped his gaze to the floor and gave a slight bow. "I am sorry for interrupting into your conversation like this." His eyes mainly focused on Prince Keith, but as he spoke I noticed them flicker over to me for a moment.

"Not at all…" Prince Keith mumbled, seeming to have lost all the fire that he had in him when arguing with me. At this Alick straightened his back and looked at Prince Keith again. "May I presume to give you my own opinion, Your Highness?" Prince Keith merely nod. "Yes."

Alick gave a short bow before speaking. "Thank you. I believe Your Highness to be completely right in your opinion." At this Prince Keith shot me a triumphant look from the corner of his eye and I had to clench my jaw to keep myself from rolling my eyes at him.

Alick seemed to pay no attention to our little exchange and continued. "However, perhaps Miss Anna's feelings are closer to those of the people." I gave Alick a strange look when he mentioned my name. How did this man know me? Had I maybe met him before but forgotten all about it, which wasn't anything unusual.

Prince Keith raised his eyebrows at Alick's words. "The feelings of the people?" He mumbled as Alick nodded in response. "This problem has gotten out of hand and the people can't contain it, which is why this confusion has arisen."

Prince Keith glared mildly. "Are you saying our people are weak?" Alick shook his head at this. "Not at all. But occasionally situations will make assistance necessary. No matter how strong a person is, there will always be times when they are in need of a helping hand." Prince Keith's glare dropped of his face as he listened to Alick.

"I know Your Highness to be a sensible person and will understand what I mean by this." Alick continued, wiping Prince Keith's glare off his face entirely. Prince Keith dropped his gaze and bit his lip.

As I took this in I found myself wanting to be the one to bite that lip. Right at this very moment. If Alick and Catherine hadn't been here I would probably have reached out to him, but I refrained from doing so now.

As silence settled around us we heard the sound of hurried footsteps coming towards us from the other end of the hallway. A voice I'd recognize everywhere called out. "Your Highness!" I glanced over my shoulder and saw how Luke came running towards us, nearly tripping over a wrinkle in the carpet.

I chuckled slightly, earning myself a glare from Prince Keith. Luke stopped in his tracks as he noticed Alick. "Grandpa?" He said, seemingly confused by his presence. I tilted my head, so Alick was Luke's grandpa? That would mean Luke's family had probably been serving the royal family for many generations already. So that was why he was a butler at his age.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked Alick as he approached us at a walking pace. Alick shot Luke a stern look. "You shouldn't run in the hallways Luke." He scolded, ignoring Luke's question. Luke stiffened slightly at his grandfather's cold words but then nodded. "I-I'm sorry sir. Are you feeling better now?"

Alick then smiled and nodded. "Yes, much better, I'm sorry to have worried you." Luke relaxed again and smiled back in relief. "Not at all, as long as you are well I am content." Alick patted Luke on the shoulder before turning serious again. "Now then, what is the problem? Calling out to His Highness like that."

Luke suddenly seemed to remember what it was he came here for and turned to Prince Keith. "Oh that's right. Your Highness." He went up to Prince Keith and whispered something in his ear. Prince Keith's face nodded along as Luke spoke. "Understood, I will go at once."

He shot me a short glance before turning his back and walking off. Luke hurried after him, leaving me alone with Catherine and Alick. As soon as they were out of sight I heard a giggle. Catherine was smiling up at me as she grabbed my arm.

"That was rather interesting." She said, chuckling to herself. I glanced down at her, feeling rather uncomfortable as the cold truth of what just happened washed over me. I had been seconds away from kissing Prince Keith in front of his very own sister.

Catherine didn't seem to notice my distress as she smiled up at me. "That's the first time I've seen my brother so lively in a long time." I gave her an odd look. "That was him looking lively?" I had seen Prince Keith looking much more alive in different situations… mainly when we were alone.

She nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I think you and my brother seem quite compatible with each other." I scratched my head in confusion, that was certainly not the observation I had wanted to hear.

Alick gave a short laugh. "I must say I agree with Her Highness on that. Miss Anna and His Highness seemed to get along just fine." I turned my head towards Alick in confusion. How could they get that conclusion from watching Prince Keith and me fight over something?

He simply smiled at me. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Miss Anna, I've heard a great deal about you from the other maids while I was ill." Catherine let me go as I tilted my head at him. So that was how he knew me.

Catherine smiled as she clung to Alick's arm again. "I told him about you too. When I went to visit him." Alick laughed and patted her on the head. "Yes, Her Highness was very insightful." I wasn't entirely sure how to feel about this and looked back and forth between their smiling faces.

Catherine then turned into the direction Prince Keith had walked off to. "Keith is such a problem. If only he would widen his outlook a little…" She mumbled. Alick chuckled lightly. "Well, His Highness has always been a bit awkward with some things."

I stared at him as I raised my eyebrows. Awkward? That was a major understatement. "Though I must say it's one of his more endearing traits." Alick continued. I nearly let out a laugh as he said this. Calling Prince Keith's awkwardness endearing was… strange. Especially coming from an old man, but I could see where he was coming from. Whenever Prince Keith did something awkward I always felt the urge to just hug him as tightly as I could and never let him go again.

"Well, if you will excuse me, I have to return to my duties now." Alick said. Catherine unwound her arms from around his and pouted. "But I wanted to talk a little more." Alick smiled and patted her on the head. "There will be plenty of time to talk later on Your Highness."

He then turned to me. "Enjoy your day off and make sure to rest up. I heard you had a rough day yesterday." He said this with a strange tone of seriousness in his voice and I felt something starting to nag at me again. I had definitely done something at the masquerade yesterday, that I shouldn't have. But I just didn't know what, and I had no idea to know what consequences it would have.

Both Alick and Catherine went off their own way again, and I was left alone with the cold window. Suddenly I felt the urge to go back to my room and have a nice long talk with a friend. And that was exactly what I was going to do. I needed to keep my thoughts away from Prince Keith and his biteable lips.