Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

A/N: I actually have nothing to say aside from Thank Yous for all the reviews and favourites! New chapter up! Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 25: The Enemy's Territory

She'd been amused by the mere fact that Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez bothered to prepare a carriage for her—something the princess of Sakura did not expect from the man who seem to always be in an outrage or rampage. But her amusement was only short-lived as an anxious air wafted around her for the whole during of the trip. The travel towards the unknown had been peaceful albeit a rough one despite the cushioned seat of the presentable transport. She rode alone in the entirety of the long journey. Meal times she was joined by the Panther, out of courtesy for his guest as he had told her, but she was left to entertain herself on the remainder of the travel.

Three days of travel worn out the princess. Not knowing what fate prepared for her in their destination added to her lethargy. Rukia gazed outside the small window of the carriage and witnessed a sudden change in the terrain they had been threading. It was a stark change, hardly missed by anyone who would credit it with even the slightest regard.

Grim.

Dreadful.

Sinister.

It was such a dark place with a thick eerie atmosphere—as though it had been deprived of life.

" We're here." Kuchiki Rukia heard Grimmjow's announcement from the small window of the transport as the carriage she rode rounded into a chateau—appearance as forbidding and ominous as its surrounding land. It didn't take long before the transport came to a full halt and the door of the carriage was opened for her. Left with not much of a choice, she exited her mode of conveyance, mustering all the bravery that she could or what was left of it. " Come." The Panther had grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her into the chateau's receiving area where lines of servants welcomed them with every ounce of grace and discipline, a stark contrast of an Arrancar's very nature.

The butler of the residence, as the princess presumed him to be, greeted them with a bow. " Grimmjow-sama, the Master awaits." He informed us as he gestured towards a large and white paneled double door up ahead.

The Kuchiki royalty was tugged by the blue-head heartthrob towards the said door and pushed it open to reveal a spacious and almost barren room. Grimmjow had pulled her along with him as he entered the room and let go of her. She gave it a once-over in the brief moment that she was allowed to do so. It was clean and monochromatic—a tasteless interior heralding a huge space. Then her eyes were immediately drawn to the single furniture inside, a very tall white chair akin to a throne atop the landing of the five-step staircase, as though designed to keep the chair well elevated from the rest of the surface. In it sat a man with curly brunette tresses, his chestnut eyes gazing at her, who then stood up then took the down flight of the stairs and approached them with a welcoming expression.

" Welcome to my humble abode, your highness Kuchiki Rukia-san." His voice was low and smooth in the ear as an imposing smile appeared on his handsome face. He then tipped his upper body to show courtesy to the female royalty.

Rukia stiffened as she gazed at him with steel cold eyes. " Aizen Sosuke." She managed to utter through gritted teeth as she clenched her hands tightly by her sides.

" I'm quite honored that you remember my name despite the fact that we've met only once three years ago." He admitted pleasantly, smile still plastered on his face.

The princess was unable to fathom how she managed not to slap him to wipe off the smile on his face. Kuchiki Rukia knew better than to fall for his charming and gentle façade.

" King Byakuya." Aizen Sosuke glided in the throne room, addressing the king who was gazing outside the window where chaos prevailed, the latter's sword lying on the floor and broken in half while a man's corpse was sprawled somewhere near him. " I see you've beaten Zommari." He noted as he stared on the dead figure briefly but immediately shifted his gaze back to the king. "I hope you'll pardon the slight mess we've made." Behind him were dead bodies of guards who dared to stop him from coming near their king.

Ulquiorra Cifer followed behind him, holding Rukia captive with a dagger dangerously close to her throat.

" Nii-sama!" The female Kuchiki attempted to break free from her captors hold but with futile result. She studied the king and noted how heavily wounded he was. His left arm and leg were bleeding heavily. It was astounding how he was still managing to stand erect " Nii-sama." She whimpered in agony.

Byakuya veered his head towards them and immediately fell on his sister." What do you want?" Asked the king with a freezing demeanor, his glacial indifference intact as he gazed at Aizen.

" We'd like you to give us the princess, Kuchiki Rukia." Aizen Sosuke stated without preamble. " In exchange we'll pull back our forces and leave your kingdom in peace. A pretty satisfying agreement, is it no—"

" No." Was the king's immediate yet firm response.

" I was informed that you're a very reasonable and wise king." Was the brunette's opening line. " And having to choice between your whole kingdom and your dear sister, perhaps it can be presumed that you'll choose the one which weighs heavier in your heart. Though, news about you never told of your sentimentality towards family. So to say, I was expecting you to choose a hundred of lives over one. It would be the logical choice with regards to number." He explained then smiled with amusement. " But your refusal towards my first preposition goes in accordance with my plan." Aizen nodded to himself. " Harribel!"He called out.

Suddenly, a tanned woman with blond hair appeared beside him, kneeling in one knee with her head bowed down. "Aizen-sama."

" Tell the others to destroy what remains of this city and its surrounding land under Zenbonsakura's reig—"

" Stop!" The princess yelled as her eyes widened with what she heard. She tried once more to break free from her captors but only earned a shallow wound on her neck from the sword Ulquiorra Cifer held against her.

" Stay out of this, Rukia!" The king commanded.

" Shhh! Let us let the princess speak, shall we?"Aizen insisted with a timid smile on his face.

"I'm sorry, nii-sama." The princess stated firmly then turned to the brunette leader. " I'll go with you! Just don't harm my brother and my people!" She declared with resolution, her face void of any emotion.

Aizen Sosuke veered his head towards the princess, a pleased look on his face. " Release her." He told Ulquiorra who immediately pushed Rukia down in kneeling position and moved away. " I'm glad you're far more reasonable than your brother, princess." He loomed over her.

" Why are you doing this?" Rukia asked, looking directly into Aizen's eyes. " What do you want from me?"

The invader's leader regarded her for a brief moment." Do not trouble yourself with details. Since I am very pleased with your decision—you doing it on your own accord—I will give you credit." Aizen replied, his cloying smile still intact. " I shall pull back my forces and leave your kingdom. However, in exchange of that, you will be betrothed with my nephew Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and return with us to Hueco Mundo."

" Betrothed? With your nephew?" The princess questioned, almost uncertain if she had heard him right.

The brunette nodded and the doors swung open as a blue-head male with a handsome yet menacing look on his face strolled in, creating his grand entrance. " That would be me." He said with a feral grin as he came near the princess and hovered over her kneeling form. " So, you're the princess huh?" He moved his face closer and inspected her. The younger Kuchiki stared at him with defiant eyes and a firm look on her face. " I like that look on your face." He sniggered then moved away to lean on a nearby wall.

" You could have just called in and asked for my sister's hand in marriage properly instead of destroying half my kingdom." The king spoke after his long silence. It was evident how he'd been barely keeping himself together and remaining to stand erect, his voice sounded weary while his breath was labored.

" Then we'll not be certain that you'll really give your sister's hand in marriage." Aizen justified in the most casual way anyone could deliver the line. " Besides, this marriage is simply to put on a good act. Abduction does leave a bad taste in the mouth so we'll do with political marriage instead."

" C-can you give me time to spend with my brother? J-just a short time will do! He is severely wounded and he…" The Kuchiki princess trailed off and paled as she finally noticed her brother's blood pulling beneath his feet. She then shifted her eyes back to her captor, reflecting the urgency that she was feeling.

Aizen paused and stared into the princess' eyes intently. " Do you swear that you'll be keeping your word?"

" I-I promise! I give you my word." She swore in desperation, silently wishing that her brother could hold on a little longer.

" Then I'll take your word for it, Princess. This betrothal shan't be until three years from now. Surely that is enough time for you. We will come back to collect you once this grace period is over, Kuchiki Rukia. However, to make certain that you keep your side of the agreement, I'll have Ulquiorra and Grimmjow check on the princess from time to time. It will also be a way for the betrothed to get to know one another."

Kuchiki Byakuya was certainly peeved by the fact that everything was being decided by his oppressor, his infuriation concealed by the closing of his eyes yet his forceful voice somehow betrayed him. " What are you playing at?"

" Nii-sama, please conserve your strength." The princess ran to her brother's side and supported him, while taking out her handkerchief and putting pressure on the bleeding wound in his leg.

" I think you are smart enough to understand why your sister is special." Was Sosuke's ambiguous reply, another imposing smile ghosting his lips. " Well then, we shall call it a night. It was a pleasant stay that I had your majesty." He bade before regarding the princess for the last time. " Until we meet again, princess."

With that, every one of the invaders disappeared, leaving behind their tracks of destruction and the cries of her people.

" You've grown into a beautiful woman, princess." Aizen's remark jolted the lady back from her reverie. " I hope you'll consider my home as yours from now on. Don't hesitate to ask Ulquiorra for anything that you might need. For now I'll have to excuse myself to see to other matters that need my attention. Ulquiorra will show you to your room." Then the brunette left the room, disappearing in a door behind the white chair and shutting it behind him.

" Your room is this way, Kuchiki Rukia." The pale man uttered, maintaining his indifference, as he gestured towards door they used to come in.

" I'll bring her to her room myself." Grimmjow countered the order. When Ulquiorra didn't reply but simply stared at him, the blue-head groaned in annoyance and rolled his eyes. " Quite being a prick. It's not like I don't have any right to do that." He reasoned before grabbing Rukia by the elbow and pulling her with him as they exit the room.

The chateau was like a maze. Its hallways were white and plain that they looked undistinguishable from one another. After taking flight in the stairs and a few turns left and right, they had entered a room at the end of a long hallway. The interior, as expected, was like the house itself—plain, white and almost barren except for the bed, dresser, the desk and chair at the corner.

" Feeling at home now?" Grimmjow asked insincerely as he pulled the chair and sat on it before assuming a lax position.

The princess remained standing by the door, not bothering to cast the totality of the room a glance as her eyes bore unto the closed window behind the desk. " I might as well be a prisoner here." She stated dryly.

The male ignored the statement but settled his eyes on her and spoke, " You've had this scary look on your face ever since you met with my uncle, subtle enough but I've been watching you for years now to manage to notice it." The panther informed her before shrugging and smirking. " That reaction is quite mild though. I was actually thinking you'd try to murder him then and there."

Amethyst eyes gazed at the blue-haired male sharply as the princess took a moment to pause before retorting. " And what? Give them the pleasure of killing me after murdering their leader when I'm a step closer towards my goal?"

Grimmjow let out a loud chortle. " Killing him is basically impossible. For now that is." He admitted grimly. " But I'll give you merit for managing to think that optimistically. Plus points if you actually acted upon your murderous intent which would fail at any given time." Panther mused at the possibility then shrugged. " Why don't you lighten up for now? You've barely spent an hour here and you're all tensed already. That won't help you with anything."

" How can I ease up without knowing what your uncle is planning?" She answered calmly despite her statement.

The blue-head narrowed his eyes at the woman. " You're appearing too calm for someone anxious." He noted, interest piqued by her sudden apathy. Other women would probably be panicking by now. But this difference was the very reason why he'd been drawn to her for some unexplainable cause. She'd been amusing—never failed to amuse him. It was nice to have his toy back in close proximity. " But in truth, you're actually really scared, right? You try too hard to hide it."

The woman flinched a bit, surprised how he managed to see underneath her façade, but composed herself. Then she changed the topic. " Didn't you say before that you'd help me?" She asked, eyes now boring on the Panther with a serious expression on her face.

The male clicked his tongue and smirked. " I thought you'd soften up while you were with that orange-head kid. Guess I was wrong. And I was even starting take interest in him." He pulled himself up and approached Rukia, standing a meter away from her and bending over to level his face with hers.

" Leave Ichigo out of this!" She suddenly hissed, dropping the pretext of indifference and glowered at him boldly.

A look of surprise crossed Grimmjow's face before a predatory smile surfaced. " Ah, so it wasn't my imagination after all. Your Kuchiki mask falls off too easily with matters concerning that guy. Is our little princess fancying another male aside from her betrothed?" He asked, a hint of impishness in his tone. The Kuchiki princess chose to keep silent as she pressed her lips into a thin line. " Don't worry, I'm not the jealous type of guy." He said as he patted her shoulder in reassurance. " I mean, my intended concerning herself with that guy's business when she has a lot on her plate. I think I deserve to have broken his limps the first time we met but I held back for the sake of keeping my word."

" You know his business concerns me as well!" Rukia harangued.

" No need to ruffle your feathers, Kuchiki." He presaged then stated with disinterest, " His mother threw away her life on her own accord. It wasn't your decision so it has nothing to do with you."

" Yo—"

A knock on the door came, which caused the pair to stop their argument and swivel their heads towards the point of entry. It opened to reveal Ulquiorra Cifer with a stack of folded clothing in hand. Green-eyes surveyed the people inside the room then reminded the blue-head. " Grimmjow, you have stayed far too long in Kuchiki Rukia's room."

" Such a prick." The blue-haired murmured under his breath.

" I've always wondered why I've always seen you but not Ulquiorra when he seemed so dedicated with his surveillance task." The princess noted almost sarcastically.

" You don't say?" Grimmjow rolled his eyes. " And I thought you'd be smart enough to figure it out yourself when I've been saving your hind a thousand times already." He stopped and waited for her to react but when she didn't, he diverted the topic. " But then again, who would have thought that a cold guy like him would take an interest in someone?"

" Interest in someone?" The princess pondered.

Panther shrugged. " Not in a romantic stand-point. However, a boring guy like him pouring attention to someone outside the big guy's orders is quite remarkable in every and all sense." It was intended as an insult but nevertheless, it did not concur an appropriate response from the subject.

" Enough stalling Grimmjow." The pale male reminded, his voice remained passive making his thoughts impossible to gauge.

Leaning down, Panther whispered unto the princess' ear. " I'll leave you for now while." With that, he glared at Ulquiorra and warned. " Try not to bully my plaything too much. Only I have the right to do that." Then he walk passed him and left the room.

.

.

.

A meeting happened in a dark room as its door opened and a man entered without preamble, striding confidently along the icy floor, steps echoing and causing slight crushing sounds from small specks of ice cracking beneath his weight.

" How are you feeling?" A velvety male voice asked as he entered a room. His breathing caused vapor to escape from his lips.

A smile came from perfectly shaped lips. " Happier than I could ever be with her within my clasp."

The dark room's temperature dropped significantly.

" We've begun gathering our materials." The male informed with a confident tone." It won't be long until all preparations are completed."

" Soon enough, I shall get what I want."