Back again with another chapter. A quick thanks to those fans who have stuck with me through the years and my newest fans. You are all appreciated! Now on with the story! =)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

My Prince Charming

Chapter 28

Hinata woke up from the snoring next to her. Due to the Wind Prince's plan of having her and Naruto hang low for the day, they came to the conclusion that it would be more convenient if they stayed in the same room.

As long as they snuck out without someone recognizing her as a Hyuga, then she could head down to where the other girls had stayed later that day and get ready for the banquet with everyone else staying none the wiser.

Even being aware that her sister and father would not be attending this evening, did not ease the worried teen's thoughts. She would not let herself relax until they left the wind castle together. She would not dare to dream for the best, only to have it be ripped away from her. Instead she would play this day safe; hanging out in this room with Naruto until it was absolutely necessary that she leave. She would make the most of today…just in case this happened to be the last with him.

With the Fire Residents

"Sakura, you can't ignore me like this." The Fire prince and maid had been walking around the castle halls with a twenty-five foot distance between them, the pinkette leading the way to their unknown destination. The Uchiha managed to fill a few more feet in the gap with a couple of long strides, "We are supposed to look like we are getting along. Why would I be taking you to the banquet if we are fighting?"

"Because you were forced too." the girl snapped, keeping up her fast pace.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. This argument had gone too far. He was getting sick and tired of it and it needed to end.

"This is ridiculous, just get over it already!"

The pinkette froze in place and he could practically feel the heat waves radiating off her body from her temper.

"Get over it?" she asked rather calmly before exploding, "Get over it! That's just great! You know what I will definitely try that! But how? Please tell me how one would be able to get over this… this betrayal!"

"Betrayal?" now it was the Fire prince's turn, "You're feeling betrayed! What about me? I'm the one having someone try and dash all my hopes at finding my brother!"

"I am trying to protect you!"

"It sure doesn't feel like it! Why can't you just try seeing this from my side?"

"You don't think I've tried that?" Sakura retorted back in exasperation.

"No, I don't think you have." He hissed back, "Otherwise you would realize that you would be doing the same thing as me!"

"Oh yeah, and what makes you so certain of that?"

"Because you already have!" This caused the girl to quiet down as she stared back in slight curiosity, "My brother could be out there somewhere and someone might know where he is. The chances of that being true might be close to zero, but it could be. I'm betting on that little bit of hope. It's just like you and your mom. When you were taken, your mother was dying…Even if you stayed with her, the chances that she would make it was close to zero…but that didn't stop you from wanting to be there on that slim chance of her pulling through. You didn't like me very much at the beginning, but because of befriending someone you were uncomfortable with at first, she is doing better now. How is this different from what I am doing?"

Sakura wanted to say 'because this man has tried to kill me!' But she had already told him that. 'This man is bribing you!' She had already said that too.

So, what came out next of course sounded very unpleasant.

"Although I was thankful to have you help out my mom, I did not get to be there to help her. Nor do I believe I'll get to ever be there to help her again, now that I am stuck here…I have come to terms with it. I had to give up what I truly wanted; maybe it's about time you do the same."

This pissed off the Uchiha royally! Couldn't she just once admit that he had a point; instead of finding yet another excuse of why he was wrong!

"That's it!" the prince turned around, ready to start off in a new direction, refusing to follow this girl around anymore, "I give up. You're a lost cause."

"What?!"

Sasuke had ten seconds in which he was able to take in the scenery and notice that they were causing a scene, and with quite an audience, before he was roughly turned around by his screeching maid.

"I'm the lost cause! I wasn't the one who started this! This is not my fault. And you! You hypocrite! Speak for yourself! You're the real lost cause! You won't even budge! All I'm asking for is your trust! Why can't you just give it to me?!"

She hardly had time to register that the other teen had moved before his lips came crashing down on hers.

To say that Sasuke was confused would be an understatement. 'This girl was annoying. This girl was driving him insane! This girl seemed to disagree with him on everything. So where in his right mind was it logical that he should kiss the girl?'

Confusing as it was, it did not surprise him that he was kissing her. The timing in the conversation might have been illogical, but overall it wasn't…Neji had wanted them to be seen together. He wanted rumors to spread that the prince's were taking their maids…rumors that actually made sense. 'Well this would do exactly that.'

So in that sense, this was the logical thing to do. Too bad the reciprocate didn't share the same sentiment at the moment.

SMACK!

Sasuke's head turned to the side and a few bystanders gasped. Sakura was panting with heavy rage.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

After regaining his composure (which he found rather hard to do after being slapped in front of an audience by his own personal maid right after kissing her) the prince managed to pull up his signature smirk, "I thought you wanted trust?"

"Quit playing games!"

"Who said it was a game?" Sasuke paused, "Was it a game when you did it?"

A red tinge flushed over the girls face, but her anger covered it, "Of course not!" she defended, "But that was different!"

"How was that any different? How come you can kiss me and call it trust, but when I do it, it becomes a game?" the pinkette didn't know what to say, but that was alright because it seemed that the Uchiha still had more to say. After a pause and a sigh he continued, "You wanted my trust, and now you have it. So now what?"

He almost thought that the girl was pledging silence before she finally answered him.

"Did I really receive your trust…or just a kiss to shut me up?"

"Sakura" the tone in which he said her name gave her the answer.

"Are you going to fire Orochimaru?"

"No"

"So you don't trust me then."

"Oh come on!"

"No! You don't get to throw around kisses and the trust word that mean something much more to me than they do you! Just like a sword, if used as a toy they pierce through the skin and hurt the ones on the other end."

"I'm not the one throwing around words! What about you? You told me I had to start somewhere! You said it would be alright if I only started trusting a little at a time, but now that I've told you I trust you it's not enough?"

"Exactly"

The Fire Prince wasn't expecting the girl to agree so easily, but after a moment she continued, "I know what I said, and I know it's hypocritical what I'm doing now. I did mean what I said back then, that just a little trust would do. But now, the situation calls for more. Trusting me a little is good and all, but if it's not going towards this topic then it's meaningless. Perhaps you're right…" There it was. What he was waiting for… "Perhaps I am a lost cause because you will not be able to convince me to let this go. I know you are trying to protect your heart so it doesn't get further damaged, but I'm trying to protect you. If you listen to me and I am wrong, then you will feel a great pain… but if you don't listen to me and I am right, then you might not be able to feel at all. I won't let that happen. No matter how many times you break my heart in the process, I won't let this go. If you can't trust me and you can't take this anymore , then your only option left is to let me go, because I'm not going to just sit here and watch you get hurt. As long as I'm by your side I won't stop trying to protect you."

The pinkette walked off, leaving the Fire prince standing in the hall. Thanks to the unexpected kiss, they didn't need to spend any more time together. Rumors were sure to spread from the scene they just caused.

With the Earth Residents

Shikamaru and Ino had been walking outside when they heard it from a group of passerby's.

"Did you hear?"

"I know! I still can't believe it!"

"Who?"

"The Fire Prince and his maid!"

"So he kissed her just out of the blue?"

"No they were arguing over something."

"Probably a lover's spat…"

"And then he just pulled her in and kissed her!"

"And then she smacked him!"

"How rude!"

"Yeah, but she was the one to tell him there was nothing he could do to stop her from trying to always protect him."

"So the feelings must be mutual then?"

"She's so lucky!"

Ino was blushing furiously, just listening to it. What the hell did those two think they were doing! Shikamaru must have been thinking similarly, for he seemed to answer the blonde's unspoken question.

"Those two seem to be taking their roles very seriously."

"Yup" the maid croaked.

"They're really going to show us up at this rate."

"What?" she squeaked, looking over at her prince who was looking back at her. She could see a slight tinge to his relatively pale face.

"I mean everyone is going to know why they are going together, but us just walking around side by side isn't going to give off any vibes or clues as to why we're going together."

Ino was the color of a tomato as she built up the courage to ask, "Are you suggesting that we k-kiss?"

Red generously dusted his cheeks as he answered, "Well, if you'd want too, I don't think it would hurt. It would lock in our rumors pretty solidly." Ino gulped and just about to reply back that he had a point when he added, "Plus it would get this over with. We wouldn't have to spend all day walking around pointlessly if we just kissed and got it over with."

Ino felt like she had just been stung by a very large bee and her filter turned off as her annoyance took over.

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't know hanging out with me all day was such a burden to you."

The Earth prince looked up in surprise at her sudden mood swing.

"Ino, I didn't mean it like…" he tried fixing it but it was too late.

"Besides who would want to kiss you anyway!" As her temper flared up, so did her voice and a few people stopped a moment before hurrying off. Slowly, she was able to process what just happened. The people running off and the look of utter humiliation on Shikamaru's face gave it away. Rumors would spread alright, but these ones wouldn't be nearly as pleasant.

"Shikamaru, I…"

"Not right now Ino." The way he said her name caused a chill to run through her. Although he didn't sound angry, there was something unusual to his voice. Something out of place…Something missing… 'Something lost' It finally dawned on her what it was… Shikamaru sounded confused. Shikamaru, the smartest person she knew, was confused.

What he said next nearly broke her heart.

"I guess even rejected by my own maid, I can still force you to be my date to the banquet… even if it makes me look like a pathetic loser."

"Shikamaru…"

"No, this is good, now that rumors are spreading, we won't have to walk around together anymore…Just like I wanted."

He gave her no chance to speak as he walked off in another direction, leaving the girl alone. Her assumption had been right. He was lost and confused right now. She had humiliated him and he had no idea how to handle it. What an awful feeling it was knowing that pretty soon nearly the entire castle will hear of how he asked for a kiss and was turned down because 'who would want to kiss him'…

He had never been humiliated before and he definitely never wanted to feel this way again. He had been right all along. Emotions were a useless thing to have. They definitely weren't worth it and a part of him couldn't help but resent the blonde who was the reason as to why he even started feeling in the first place.

With the Wind Residents

Tenten whistled as another set of employees hustled by murmuring yet another version of how the Earth prince got harshly rejected by his lowly maid.

"Well this just gets better and better." She chuckled as she leaned against the wall, next to the Hyuga prince, "Just like we wanted, Naruto has surprisingly managed to hang low as the other two made rumors that are simply just too juicy not to spread."

"It's not funny Tenten." Neji reprimanded as he heard another statement on a humiliating rejection. He doubted Shikamaru's first instinct was to make up a rumor on how he made a complete fool of himself in front of an audience. There was even a rumor on how the Fire maid slapped her prince, but that was just chalked up to 'passion in the moment.' How was it that the Fire prince's rumors led them to being star crossed lovers when they were obviously in a heated, ongoing argument and the Earth guests were now starring in a modern day fairytale of 'Beauty and the Beast!'… Rumors sure were a scary thing.

Another group passed by the two whispering under their breaths. Unfortunately Neji's hearing was superb and he heard it all.

"He must be a total loser if his own personal maid rejected him."

"Maybe if he held himself in a more princely manner…"

"I heard that he even tried to propose to her earlier."

The Hyuga heard his maid snicker behind him at this and he had to agree that these rumors were getting out of hand. To his surprise, the snickering instantly stopped…almost awkwardly and Neji glanced back at his maid who was looking off to her side. He followed her gaze and glowered down the hill at the man she had spotted. His head guard was leading the head maid up to them. When they reached them, the maid quickly informed him that the dresses he had wanted for that night had been prepared. He just nodded his response, not taking his glare off the burly guard who shifted uncomfortably. As soon as they retreated, Neji turned back to his maid who was now looking down, concentrating intensely on her feet.

"Tenten"

"Can we go to the training grounds?" she interrupted, as if trying to already change the subject, "I think it might be nice to let off some steam before we get ready. It's going to be a long night."

Neji paused before answering, "sure."

The brunette smiled back at him and took off down the hill.

The prince however took a moment to take a deep breath to calm down. It really burned him up inside to know that he could not fire that guy. If it wasn't for his concern for Tenten's feelings, that man would have been long gone. What irritated him more was how she acted when he walked by.

Neji could never get Tenten to shut up, but when this guy was in a fifty foot radius, she suddenly became as quiet as a mouse… She suddenly became all submissive… she suddenly became 'not herself'. And that is what drove him nuts.

Tenten had become exactly the person that guard had wanted her to be. He tortured her mentally into this fragile person. She no longer felt safe and he knew it. This palace was supposed to be her home and brave as she was, that guard had made her afraid to be in it. He was right next to her when the guard came up to them and she still felt unsafe. Even if Neji could protect her physically, he realized that mentally it was already too late. That bastard had scarred her. She had been perfect the way she was and that man had changed that. His maid, who he loved for her flaws and imperfections, was hurting, and he, who promised to protect her, could do nothing about it.

With the Princes

The day passed and the boys were now putting on the finishing touches to their attire for the banquet.

"I guess we should go get our dates now. I'm actually kind of nervous to see what they look like." Naruto laughed awkwardly.

"Shut up dobe." The Fire prince replied, straightening his bowtie that some dumb wind maid had tied crookedly while ogling him.

"What? I've never seen Hinata dressed as royalty before!"

"Hmph… beside her usual outfit; I've never seen Sakura dressed as a girl before." Sasuke scoffed, remembering that day not so long ago when he had mistaken his maid for a boy.

Neji smirked before adding, "Yeah, Tenten was also a bit tom boyish when she arrived at the palace."

"I didn't meet Ino until after she had changed into her maid outfit." Shikamaru joined the conversation.

"Same with me and Hinata." Naruto inserted.

"Wow, the smartest person I know and the dumbest person alive actually have something in common." Sasuke couldn't help but bite out sarcastically.

"Hey!"

"Still," Neji spoke up, "I've seen the outfits that were brought in for our maids for tonight and I have to say…Tenten is not going to be happy about it."

And of course he was right.

With the Maids

"I can't wear this!" the wind maid shouted, holding up the long piece of fabric.

"I th-think it looks nice." Hinata replied as Ino helped her get into her outfit.

"That's easy for you to say! Why can't we wear something similar to what you have on? This is so flimsy!"

"She is supposed to be acting as the Wind princess right now." Sakura explained, "We happen to still be maids, so of course we're not going to be wearing something similar… or even traditional apparently."

"Besides," Ino interjected, "I'd say Hinata looks more… feminine in her dress. I wouldn't have thought that they'd be your style… No offense."

"Well it's not," Tenten defended, "but at least it provides more coverage!"

"That's priceless, being that all of our daily outfits show the same, if not more skin." The pinkette retorted.

"That's different!" the brunette snapped back, "Not that I was a big fan of those outfits either, but still, everyone tonight is going to be dressing up and I'm sure all of their dresses are going to be more on the modest side. I've seen attire like this before, but the girls wearing them were getting paid for it."

"I honestly don't think that they are all that bad." Ino spoke, giving a little twirl. So far, she had been the only one to get dressed and was now helping Hinata with her many layers. All three maids had been given a long dress that hugged the torso and flowed at the waist down to their ankles. The dresses were all bejeweled somewhere with a different gem and happened to have a similar cut in the back. A "v" cut that reached just below the waist, at the hips, leaving most of their back exposed.

Ino's dress was a shimmering, baby blue color that matched her eyes and had diamonds encrusted on the waist in a thick band, making a large belt across her taut stomach and a thin row of diamonds had been placed at the top of the dress, going across the top of her chest and up the thin band on her left shoulder, holding her dress up. In the back, a small "x" made with two strips in the center of the back pulled the fabric of the dress closer together.

Sakura's dress was a silky, crimson, red, halter top that crossed in the front. From the bottom of her breast up were covered with tiny ruby's that, once again went up the crossing straps wrapping around her neck. The back of her dress was pulled together with a simple two inch thick strip of silky fabric placed at her waist.

Tenten's dress was a strapless, dark, emerald green. Unlike the other two dresses, her entire bodice was showered with little emeralds. It was cut off in a "v" in the front, much like her maid outfit pants. A thin olive green belt covered the seam between the jewels above and the flowing fabric below. The entire back was crisscrossed with small laces down her back, tying the dress together.

Hinata, unlike the others would wear a more traditional dress, ruffled and wired caged at the waist, so that it puffed out and gave off the, 'higher' status vibe. It was a lilac purple and a subtle enough color that it shouldn't stand out too much.

After finishing helping Hinata with her wig, Ino stepped back to admire her work before turning to the other two.

"While I go work on my hair, you two should probably get dressed, then I'll help you with yours. I'm thinking buns, but maybe some tendrils framing the face."

"Well then I think that I'm all set." Tenten replied, causing Ino to shake her head in disagreement.

"You can keep your bangs, but double buns just seem too informal with that dress. We're definitely going single with you."

Tenten groaned in response.

"I look like a whore!"

"You look very nice." the Wind Prince replied calmly. Had she stepped out of the room all bashful like the three before her, he probably would've had a hard time keeping down the blush, 'not that he would ever admit it', but of course she came out kicking and screaming on how inappropriate she felt her attire was.

"It doesn't even have any sleeves! How is it going to stay up? Someone can just walk up and yank it down for the entire world to see!"

Now the blush was pretty noticeable. To make it worse, the Earth maid came up from behind, grabbed a handful of fabric on each side and yanked down causing the dress to slip down until a decent amount of cleavage was showing.

Tenten screeched, clutching her sides, but the blonde didn't even bat an eyelash.

"I told you to quit pulling it up. Honestly, it looks even more weird that way and it only makes the material looser. It's already pretty tight, so you shouldn't have to worry about it falling down."

"That's easy for you to say; you don't have to wear this dress!"

"Tenten," Neji took her bare shoulders in his hands to face her towards him, "the dress looks nice on you." His eyes couldn't help but glance back down at her chest and to his horror she caught it. Looking affronted, she crossed her arms over her top and turned around.

"Even if the dresses look nice, I thought we weren't supposed to stand out. Everyone there is going to take one look at us and label us easy."

Neji watched as his maid actually pouted and couldn't help but smirk before gently turning her back around and raising her chin up so she was once again meeting his eyes.

"You're not one to care what others think, and if you really insist on starting tonight then just remember that you guys came with us. That makes you off limits. So technically speaking, you girls are the hardest to obtain in any of their eyes."

Tenten had almost gotten used to this comforting side of Neji and smirked back at him. The others in the room however were not. All three girls had blushes adorning their faces at the little romantic scene happening in front of them from one of the least likely couples to show affection. Hinata's blush was a couple shades darker than the other two at watching her heartless cousin showing so much caring. Both Shikamaru and Sasuke averted their eyes away from the scene and Naruto was staring head on at them, mouth hanging slightly ajar.

Naruto watched as the two Hyuga's stopped in front of him.

Just like they had planned, both he and Neji swapped dates. Although the Wind maid beside him looked stunning, his eyes couldn't help but wander forward to the Wind Princess. No one could compare to her in his eyes. The soft color of her elegant dress and her hair did up so intricately. The expensive ornaments that decorated her dark, silky coiffure; she looked absolutely perfect. Like the very definition of a princess. She was born as royalty and it suited her well. It was such a shame she hated it so.

He saw her tense up as they all stopped in front of the giant, closed doors that led to the throne room. He reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder. She glanced back at him and he simply grinned in comfort. He didn't have to speak for her to know what he was saying. Even if she wasn't his date and even if they wouldn't be next to each other, they would make it through this together. Feeling reassured, she turned back around and nodded at her cousin who in turn signaled for the guards to open the doors.

As if there had been a sound barrier; as soon as the doors opened, the music and chatter filled their ears. The giant room was bustling and decorations were everywhere. Many tables scattered across the large room and on one side there was a long table filled with food and beverages. One corner had a little orchestra which softened its tune as a voice rung out that the Princes had arrived. The chattering instantly stopped and Hinata couldn't help but tense up as all the eyes turned to them. The announcer then added that the princess had graced them all with her presence and she curtsied to avoid eye contact, causing the entire room to bow their heads back in respect. In return, the princes all bowed back leaving the other three maids standing awkwardly at their sides, not quite sure what they were supposed to do.

As soon as the prince's raised their heads, the chatter started up again and the group made their way down the small set of stairs. Within minutes, Neji was pulled away and the other princes followed, leaving the girls behind. They made their way over to the corner of the room next to a large window and at one end of the long entrée table. Hinata kept closest to the window as the others formed their small barricade around her.

Tenten was the first to receive a tap to her shoulder. She spun around to find Lee smiling brightly back at her.

"You look wonderful!" he exclaimed, grabbing her hand and planting a kiss on the back of it, "Such a bold way to dress and what a marvelous color!"

Tenten smiled back bashfully until realizing the shocked looks of the girl's around her. Well they were more horrified, and Hinata…! Tenten quickly blocked the view of the Hyuga and tugged the other two forward to help distract the boy.

"You guys, this is Rock Lee. He is…a newer addition to the palace. Lee, this is Ino and Sakura, maids to the Earth and Fire Prince."

Lee quickly grabbed Ino's hands, planting a chaste kiss on them before beaming up at her.

"Well aren't you a sight of beauty." he stated, "Pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine." Ino forced out a smile to the creepy looking boy.

Lee's head turned and a look of shock covered his face, causing Tenten to tense. 'Did he recognize Hinata!' No sooner had she thought it, he broke free from his frozen state.

Lee slowly walked up to the Fire Maid who blinked back at him questioningly.

"I have never seen something so beautiful." he spoke so soft, as if in a whisper as he grabbed both of Sakura's hands. Instead of bringing them up to his lips, he pulled her forward and placed a kiss on her cheek. The girl twitched in annoyance, but managed a sweet smile for him all the same.

"Thank y…"

"Your hair is such an exquisite color," he continued, still entranced in his own thoughts. He reached up and touched one of the loose tendrils, "It matches your equally beautiful name…Sakura."

The girl minutely shivered at the longing in the stranger's voice. 'Please let this night pass quickly!' she silently prayed to herself.

Sasuke watched as a creepy looking man walked up to Sakura.

Sure, he didn't look as creepy as Orochimaru, but Orochimaru wanted nothing to do with Sakura and this boy was obviously already infatuated with her which made him far creepier in the Fire Prince's eyes. The strange boy leaned in and kissed her on the cheek and the Uchiha's temperature spiked. 'Was that boy blind! Did he not see how clearly out of his league, Sakura had been for him!'

The creep then reached up to touch the girl's hair and Sasuke blew a circuit. He was ready to send someone through a wall… Preferably the dobe because he would be the most understanding about it.

Neji felt the dark aura beside him go from "murderous" to "the flames of hell" and turned to find the Fire Prince sending telepathic daggers through the castle guide's assistant's unsuspecting head. Selfishly, he was glad that the boy was showing romantic interest in someone other than his own maid but decided that he might want to calm the Uchiha down before the Pinkette Beauty's beast went on a rampage and slaughtered the townspeople and quite possibly his closest friend, seeing as the prince's eyes were shifting suspiciously towards the blonde Uzumaki as if it was his fault the Fire maid was getting hit on in the first place…Which was pretty logical, being that anything that went wrong in any of their lives could usually be blamed on the blonde. Even now, the reason they were separated from their dates was because his date couldn't be found out.

The Hyuga leaned over and patted the simmering Uchiha on the shoulder.

"He's harmless." he reassured although he must not have sounded convincing enough because it had zero impact on the Fire teen's mood.

Finally, Lee decided that he needed to entertain the other guests and bid his adieu.

"It was really such a pleasure meeting you ladies, and you…" his intense gaze met Sakura's once more. She could almost swear she had a permanent tick in her eye by now, "I do ever so hope, I will see you again one day my fairest angel." With that said, Sakura finally received her kiss to the hand and he was off.

Tenten came up from behind, chuckling nervously, "I know this might not be the right time to say this, cause this was a bad example and all, but he's actually usually not that creepy."

Sakura glared back at the girl before Ino spoke, "For once, I'm glad I wasn't the center of attention."

"He's actually a really sweet guy." Tenten defended.

Yeah, well I think he just made us go from "off limits" to "open for business." Sakura replied, nodding her head toward the crowd as yet another couple of guys made their way forward.

"Leave this to me." Ino smiled as she politely greeted the two teens who were distracted by the seemingly flawless girl in front of them to even bother with the princess in the background.

Now it was Shikamaru who was tapping his foot in annoyance. Ever since the creepy looking kid left, the girls had been swamped with guys. Sakura and Tenten would switch turns talking to the guests and guarding the princess, almost as if they were some professional tag team duo. His maid however, never caught a break. So far, twenty-three guys had gone and talked to her. He knew…He counted. Thank goodness that the evening was almost over.

"I thought you said they'd be off limits." he ground out to the Hyuga Prince.

"It was a slight miscalculation."

"Slight!" he hissed indignantly, "You call this slight! They've been fighting off guys all night! I'm sure Ino has already talked to over half of the single, male population here!"

"Well then, she is doing a great job." Neji bit back, slightly annoyed, the only prince who hadn't bothered him yet happened to be Naruto, and that alone was shocking, "Our goal was to get through the night with one person unnoticed, and so far we have succeeded, much thanks to your maid. However, if it bugs you so much, then perhaps you should've chosen a less "outgoing" maid in the first place."

'Woah!...Was this anger he was feeling?' Shikamaru glared as the stoic Hyuga, "Ino is the perfect choice."

Neji couldn't help the haughty smirk as his patience wore thin, "Apparently you aren't the only one who thinks so." He nodded back over to the girls as a couple more boys made their way over to speak to the blonde.

Shikamaru would've actually lunged at him if they hadn't been interrupted by a hand upon their shoulders.

"It's wonderful I could catch you all at the same time." the elderly man replied, catching the attention of all the princes. Neji recognized this man as the elder that had attended his maid ceremony choosing.

"What do you want?" He couldn't help but grind out.

The elder paid his impoliteness no heed, "The elder council has had a discussion and have come to a unanimous decision that we were to discuss with you all. To our great luck, you all happen to have gathered here today."

"Something is telling me this isn't just coincidence." Shikamaru interrupted.

The old man's smile turned sly as his attention reverted to the Earth Prince, "You always were the smart one weren't you my liege."

A cold chill went up Neji's spine at this and he could tell that the other princes were catching on. This was the reason behind this "mystery" banquet. Whatever this man had to say was the reason why they had all been gathered here today… And he could tell whatever it was; it wasn't going to be in their favor.

"What do you want?" he repeated, this time his tone was much sharper. The elder's attention reverted back to him, a fake smile creased on his wrinkly face.

"I have been chosen by the council to come here today and state our conclusion to our recent discussion. I have come to inform you on some changes we have made... regarding you and your maids."

And there it is! That was a hard chapter to figure out… haha. Please Read, Review and Enjoy! Until next time! =)