Welcome to chapter 2. Hopefully this one will be a bit longer then the first one (more prologue-ish) .

Fuu Hououji~ thanks for the review. Like the manga side story, my fic is AU. And anything is possible in the kingdom of Kurata.

Arcticflames~ thanks. ~_^

Ch2 the Hayama Prince

            Sana sighed as she watched the boys, led by Gomi, goof off in class again. 'Luckily Mama is going to take care of this soon. Today will probably be the last day.' She watched and Mitsuya-sensei talked about proper banquet etiquette. Those attending the formal dinner tomorrow would need to brush up on it.

            "Yes mom," Tsuyoshi answered, suddenly realizing his mistake.

            "Tsuyoshi is a mama's boy" Gomi howled with laughter, the other boys echoing his actions.

            "I AM NOT A MAMA'S BOY!" Tsuyoshi shouted while raising his desk over his head.

            "Stop it!" Aya commanded in as loud of a voice as she could, blushing while she did.

            Suddenly a mallet landed on Gomi's head, causing all the boy's laughter to stop.

            "What's going on around here?" Queen Misako asked while putting the mallet away into thin air.

            "Tsuyoshi called the teacher "mama"" Gomi said, rubbing the bump on his head.

            "So," was Misako's reply.

            "Gomen nasi, your highness," he said while bowing to the queen, and then he sat back down.

            "No more of this nonsense," Misako commanded before leaving the room.

            "Mitsuya-sensei, what do I do if there is more then one fork on the table?" Sana asked, wanting to get back to the lesson.  She wanted to make sure she didn't make a fool of herself in front of the Hayama royal family.

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            "Aya-chan, can you help me with this dress?" Sana asked her attendant and best friend. She had managed to get the gown on, but it hung haphazardly over her slender figure.

            "Sure Sana-hime." Aya laughed softly to herself as she helped straiten the layers of the blue gown. "Did you want help with your hair as well?"

            "Can you Aya? I'm too nervous to do a good job myself. I don't want to make a fool of myself."

            "Don't be nervous. Even if you do something, um, different then what others do, everyone likes you anyways." Aya talked as she brushed Sana's hair into to flowing pigtail and buns.

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            Sana nervously twisted her hands behind her back as she waited for the Hayama royal family.  Somehow her twisting her hands around kept her from bouncing off the walls.  Sana, Misako, and other Kurata kingdom members were waiting in the ballroom for the other family to be introduced. From there they would go into the formally dinning hall for the feast.

            "Attention Lords and Ladies, your highnesses." Came the voice of the official introducer. "I now present to you the royal family of Hayama." Three shadows could be seen behind him.

            "King Fuyuki..." The king of Hayama walked into the room after his introduction. Somehow his presence seamed to fill the room, despite his thin figure.  He stopped in front of the Kuratas and bowed.

            "Princess Natsumi…" Natsumi gracefully followed her father's lead. Her short brown hair framed her face nicely, while her pink flowing dress flattered her tall willowy figure.

            "Prince Akito…"  Akito didn't have any grace like the rest of his family, he had something.  He strode into the hall, looking like he was just walking down any old street. He stopped next to Natsumi and simply said "yo" to Sana and Mariko.

            "Welcome to Kurata," Misako bowed and led everyone into the dinning room.

            Sana wasn't pleased to be sitting next to Akito. There was something about his manner that bothered her. 'He so does not fit the image of a prince. So much for dashing. Must sit still' were some of Sana's thoughts as they ate.

Sana realized she was being watched as she ate, and looked up to see Akito staring at her. "Do I have something on my face?" she asked him, a little too loud.

"Something wrong Sana?" Natsumi asked her as most of the people stared.

"Oh nothing, nothing." Sana did a nervous little laugh before continuing. "I'm fine. I thought I felt something on my face, a moth maybe."

All three Hayamas sweat dropped after that and Misako added, "There are no moths this time of day"

"Right, I knew that." Sana smiled at everyone then went back to eating her dinner. Ignoring those around her, and trying her best to contain another rap session.

Dinner was over all too soon, but not soon enough for Sana. Misako announced that the ball would be starting and walked into the ballroom. The dinner guests started following her. Sana stood up quickly, causing her chair to almost fall, and then walked to the ballroom a little to fast for a princess.

"Rei-kun!" Sana ran up to the Queen's advisor and hugged him. "I'm glad to see that you decided to come to the ball. You must dance with me first."

"Sorry Sana-chan. Your mother wants you to help entertain the Hayama family. I'll dance with you later if I can." Rei started over to the other side of the ballroom. He moved a bit faster after he spotted Lady Asako, leaving Sana standing wondering why he left.

"Gero Gero" Sana muttered as she saw her mother and the Hayamas coming towards her.

Misako stood behind Sana and nudged her over in Akito's direction. "A good time to practice your ballroom dancing."

"Would you care to dance, Akito?" Sana tried her best to keep sarcasm out of her voice as she asked him.

"I don't dance." Was all he said to that.

Sana rolled her eyes, and started dancing by herself. "Fine, then watch me, Akito. Look at my Komawari skills" She jumped up and spun around a few times. Most of the guests decided it wasn't worth it to stare, it's not like they were seeing anything new. Akito simply shrugged and wandered off to the punch table.

"What is Komawari?" Natsumi asked Misako.

"Komawari is an ancient performing art form in the Kurata kingdom. Dancing is a part of Komawari, though it is not usually preformed at balls."

"And you let your daughter learn this Komawari?" King Fuyuki asked Misako.

"Well, she has the energy for it, and it is an art form enjoyed by the nobility of the kingdom." Misako smiled to herself before joining the dance with Sana. Upon seeing their Queen and Princess doing Komawari, many lords and ladies started Komawari dancing also. Soon the musicians joined in with the appropriate music.

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Sana laughed as she got ready for bed. 'The look on Akito's face when I started dancing was funny' she did a few more Komawari steps, and ended up in her bed. 'I hope everything goes ok for the next few days while the Hayamas are still here' was her last though as she fell asleep.