Chapter 6

I'm so sorry again for the long delay! I swear I have NOT given up on this story! I have two people I would like to thank very much this time:

Purple Lurker for being the first person to figure out the Cardcaptor Sakura reference I threw in here. Shout out next chappie to the next person to get it!

Also to S2teennovelist cuz she wrote me a very, very, very lovely review! I appreciate it very much! Love ya!

And of course, to all my other reviewers! Even the ones who threaten me! -laughs- This story would not be possible without any of you, so yay!

To try and make up for the huge gap in between updates, this chapter is longer than the others! Yay! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Oh! I keep forgetting to do one of these: I don't own Danny Phantom. The shebang belongs to Billionfold, Nick, and Mr. Butch Hartman.

So, without further ado, here is chapter six of Lilacs…

"Samantha!"

Sam's face paled. Dr. Li's normally soothing tenor voice boomed from behind her. Doomed. She might as well kick the bucket now. "Li?" She stammered out, dropping the doctor title so Danny wouldn't know.

"Who?" Danny asked, stopping in the middle of the floor.

"What are you doing here? You should be resting!" The doctor chided.

"Li, please not here," Sam turned around, begging him.

"Sam, what's going on? Who is this?" Danny asked again.

Sam gulped. "Family friend," she replied quickly. "He's also my doctor," she admitted reluctantly, knowing that she couldn't take one more lie to Danny.

"Samantha, you really should be in bed, after what happened a few days ago."

"Sam? Why didn't you tell me you still weren't feeling better?" Danny interjected again, more worriedly.

"I knew if I didn't show up, I'd be disqualified… and… I don't know… I just didn't want to get kicked out just yet."

Danny smiled. "Well, you came. So you're not disqualified, you can leave now if you want."

"Thanks," Sam smiled gratefully back at him.

"Samantha, I really mean it, in your condition, you should be saving your strength. I told you not to act like you were-"

Sam put a hand over her doctor's mouth quickly. "I'm not and I'd really prefer it if you didn't talk about that here."

Dr. Li looked at a now confused Danny and a terrified, blushing Sam, then he smiled. "Of course, Samantha, but I would like it still if you went back to your room to rest."

"I will."

"Thank you," Dr. Li bowed to Danny, then Sam and left.

"What's going on?" Danny inquired, his brow furrowed with concern.

Sam gave him the best smile she could manage. "Nothing. Nothing at all. I'm fine, I just need some rest is all." She started to leave, but turned around, "Oh! What were you going to tell me?"

Danny blushed furiously and looked away. "Oh… um… nothing… I just… uh… just start looking for the library when you get the chance."

Sam smiled more at how cute he was. "Okay. I'll try. Thanks for the dance. And don't worry about me, okay? I'll be fine."

Danny smiled and kissed her softly, which made her blush and leave very quickly. His brow furrowed again as he watched her leave. "What's going on with you, Sam?"

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Tucker watched bemusedly as Danny paced the floor of his room. "You're going to wear a hole in the carpet if you keep doing that," Tucker said, a small smirk on his face.

Danny stopped, looked at Tucker and started pacing again. "I can't stop thinking about her, Tuck! I just can't! It's driving me crazy!"

"Yeah, 'cause you were so far from insanity anyway…" Tucker rolled his eyes.

"I mean it, Tucker, I mean, I know I'm eccentric, but… I can't sleep without her! Do you know what I did?"

"No. What?"

"I went into her room at about eleven pm and I held her all night…" Danny blushed slightly as he said it.

"And she didn't notice?"

"No… I think she was really tired and stressed. And she was having nightmares too…"

"Really?"

"Yeah… she kept muttering about the Grim Reaper and such, really morbid stuff…"

"Well, dude, she is Goth. Comes with the territory," Tucker advised.

"I know, but she sounded so terrified… so I just held her tighter."

"Dude, you better pray she never finds out."

"Why? It's obvious that she likes me. Come on, Tuck, I'm not that dense."

"Because she's a girl. Their minds work differently than ours do, in ways you can never even begin to comprehend."

"So? Come on, Sam wouldn't fly off the handle if I told her."

"Told her what? Exactly? That you're half ghost and so you snuck into her room and held her all night and by the way, you just so happen to use your ghost half to play the prince and the human half to play commoner? Oh! And then you could talk about how your arch-enemy is most likely trying to use her against you?"

"Oh shut up, Tucker," Danny said irately. His eyes suddenly turned wistful. "I don't think she'll react the way other girls would, or the way you think she will. She might actually accept me… and maybe even still love me."

Tucker shook his head. "Do you ever have it bad…."

Danny shot Tucker a look. "Speaking of having it bad… I wish you could see the way you and Jazz look at each other. Priceless."

Tucker's mouth fell open. "What! How did you know!"

Danny smirked. "I told you, I'm not as dense as you think. Come on, Tucker, the two people in the world who are closest to me and you thought I wouldn't notice?"

"So… uh… are you pissed?"

"No. I just don't want to be you when you have to tell Valerie."

"What? I'm not going to tell Valerie."

"So… what then? You're just going to leave her standing at the alter?"

Tucker shrugged sheepishly. "Something like that… yeah…"

"That's low, man. I wouldn't sweat it too much, man, your relationship with her was never going to work. It'll save you both a lot of headache if you just tell her soon."

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The next morning, Sam actually felt quite a lot better than she had in awhile. There was a floaty feeling in the air she couldn't quite explain and she felt as though she'd slept in someone's loving arms all night. Dr. Li had told her that there was still hope, if only a shred and she was going to cling to it. She was going to live her life now.

She got up, suddenly realizing that Cherry and Madison weren't there. Another day with nothing to do?

Sam suddenly remembered Prince Danny's suggestion that she continue looking for the library. So, she began wandering aimlessly through the palace, just to kind of get her bearings. But it was only in beginning her search that realized how huge the place really was. A person could search for months and never find the library… and Sam didn't have months.

She wandered through the labyrinth that was Amity Park Castle for a while longer before declaring herself hopelessly lost. Worse, she could feel the fatigue that came with her illness setting in. Worse still, there were no windows in the hall where she was and she didn't have a watch, so she had no way of knowing what time it was.

"Sam?" came a warm familiar voice.

Sam whirled around to see blue-eyed Danny, whom she immediately launched herself upon. "Danny!" She kissed him quickly.

He smiled broadly. "Glad to see you're feeling better, but how'd you get so lost?"

Sam grinned shyly. "Uh… the prince told me to try and find the library, on my own…"

Danny made a great act of looking extremely confused. "Um, there's a library in this place?" He asked.

"I've lived here my whole life, I didn't even know there was a library… I thought the only one in Amity was the one in town." He smiled inwardly. Yeah, he loved Sam, but it was also quite a bit of fun to mess with her.

"Oh… yeah, I guess I could see that. How big is this place anyway?"

Danny shrugged. "No one really knows. Every generation who's lived here has added on at least another room, usually almost a whole wing and some of them are jinxed, so the whole palace is just one big enigma. Even the king and queen never fully see the whole thing."

"Weird… but I guess I should have expected something like that…" Sam sighed. She'd never find the library. Even if she were going to live a normal life-span, she'd die before she found it.

"The entire Fenton dynasty is, was and always will be… well… uh…." Danny twirled his finger around his ear and mouthed the word "cookoo."

Sam giggled. "So, you think even the prince is crazy?"

Danny folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I know so. Trust me. He's just as crazy as the rest of them. And his children will be too."

Sam laughed harder. "I'll be sure to send cards of pity to the future queen."

Danny put on the best little jealous/sad/disappointed look that he could and turned his head slightly away from Sam. "You're going to send cards to yourself?" he asked with the most irony he possibly could.

It took Sam a moment to register exactly what he meant, when it hit her, she blushed. Badly. "Um…" was all she could stutter. "I-I…"

Danny looked up at her and smiled. That was the reaction he had expected. His face fell again as it seemed to suddenly click with him how horrible he was being. He was messing with a poor innocent girl. Sure, the expected end result was that she fell as much in love with him as he was with her and that she would be able to accept the fact that he was half ghost and be able to love both sides of him, but, did the end really justify the means? She was so confused, anyone could easily see it. "Princess… I… really have to tell you something." He gulped when the princess stared up at him with big, curious violet eyes.

"Yeah?" she asked quietly.

Danny gazed at her intently for a moment, thinking of all the times he'd seen her face light up when he was around, both his ghost side and his human side. Maybe she was a little confused, but it seemed to be a game she was enjoying… "Never mind," he kissed her softly, slowly increasing pressure against her lips.

Sam moaned softly against his mouth. She'd missed that.

Danny wrapped his arms gently around her waist and pulled her closer to him and kissed her just under her chin, moving slowly down into the crook of her neck, where he settled and nipped at her soothingly. It occurred to him for a moment that it was strange how easily he lost control over himself whenever she was around. One little smile made him melt, the simple feel of her skin made him insane, her lavender eyes shining at him made him feel like he was on top of the world; no matter how cliché it sounded. He then decided for the moment that he didn't care how crazy she made him and continued devouring her neck.

Sam sighed breathily, "Danny…" she whispered elatedly. His hold on her tightened and Danny continued kissing the nape of her neck. Sam breathed another shuddered sigh. His lips felt so soft and warm against her skin and Sam melted. She lifted his head back up and kissed him again, moving her lips fiercely and passionately against his. Sam melted a little more as Danny slipped his tongue inside her mouth; she pressed herself closer to him, slipping her arms easily around his neck. Danny's arms tightened around her a bit more.

After a few moments, Danny could feel both of them losing air and pulled away from Sam, smiling lightly at her. "Princess…" he muttered breathlessly. His next words sat on the tip of his tongue and refused to move: I'm in love with you. Five simple words that just wouldn't come out. Instead, he stroked her black hair back from her face and smiled as Sam's amethyst eyes closed and she leaned into his hand.

"Sam, come on, I have something to show you," Danny took her soft pale hand in his and led her down the hallway.

"What?"

"You like the lilacs, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then just follow me."

Sam just smiled and shook her head. "You and the prince are a lot alike…" she muttered.

Instead of getting upset like Sam thought he might, he just winked back at her. "So I'm told," he replied mysteriously.

They walked down the corridor and Danny would make turns Sam was sure she hadn't seen. She was really starting to believe him about the palace being very strange, maybe even jinxed, by magic or science, she didn't know. After a little more walking, he opened one stained-glass door.

"My-" Danny stopped himself. "The prince's great-grandfather added this room on. He was a botanist and zoologist." The door swung open to reveal an enormous glass conservatory, the sunset streaming through every wall. Inside, it was almost exactly like a tropical rainforest. "He hated how the forests were being destroyed, so he built the greenhouse." Danny smiled as Sam's face lit up. "It's about a five mile radius, so it's pretty big."

"This is amazing…" Sam breathed. "I didn't know anyone cared about the forests or anything anymore… I thought I was the only one…"

"No, no, this conservatory is very important to the prince and Jazz still. The King and Queen are a little busy with... er... other things, but they let the prince and princess keep it up."

Sam looked up at the sky, through the top of the greenhouse. The moon was already peeking out. "It's late, I should probably be heading back to my room."

"Can you get there by yourself?"

Sam smiled. "I'll be fine."

Danny looked at her worriedly. Somehow, her face had gotten paler than and her breathing wasn't as even as before. "Okay," he said reluctantly, pretending not to notice.

Sam smiled a little more and then made her way back down the hallway.

Danny waited for a moment, watching the perfect way her hips swung ever so slightly when she walked. The second he was sure she wouldn't notice, he turned invisible and followed her, hovering just below the ceiling.

Sam seemed to be okay for awhile, she was going exactly the right directions, but after a few minutes, she started swaying as she walked, keeping one hand on the wall and making a bunch of wrong turns. Finally she collapsed. It was a combination of getting over another bout of sickness and disorientation and exhaustion, so she just collapsed.

Danny smiled fondly at her tired, limp form as he scooped her up into his arms and flew off to her room. "I don't know what's going on with you, Princess, but I love you and I'm not going to let anything come between us," he whispered, barely audible. Danny laid her gently on her bed and pulled the covers over her. He kissed Sam softly on her forehead and began to leave, but turned back around. Before he could even stop himself, he slipped under the covers with Sam, pulled her into his arms and fell asleep.

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Tucker smiled with a mixture of fondness and exasperation at Danny when he practically floated into the private dining hall that morning. "You did it again, didn't you?"

Danny would have glared at Tucker, but he was to wrapped up in his own little cloud nine to notice much of anything, so he grinned at his best friend. "What can I say? I couldn't help myself."

Tucker shook his head. "You have got it so bad."

"Can you blame me?" Danny sighed happily. "She's amazing."

Thankfully, Tucker and Danny were the only ones there, Jack and Maddie were off in the lab and Jazz was still sleeping. "So you keep telling me."

"I mean it, Tuck. I've never met anyone like her… everything about her is just… so unique and amazing!" Danny got so caught up in his daydreaming that he didn't notice his elbow fazing through the table until his chin hit the mahogany. "…Ow…"

Tucker just laughed. "That hasn't happened in awhile…" he mused.

"See what she does to me! It's exactly like when I first got my powers, I can't control myself around her."

"You need to seek professional help, man."

"Says my best friend who's doing my sister," Danny retorted dryly.

Tucker actually looked shocked and offended for a moment, then smirked. "Well… not yet, exactly."

"I do NOT want to know," Danny stopped him. He was happy for both of them, really, he just didn't want to think about it.

"What doesn't my dear brother want to know?" Jazz asked with a smile when she entered the room.

"He doesn't want to know if we-" Tucker began, but he was cut off by Danny shooting a small blast of ectoplasm at his shin. "Never mind…"

"It was nothing," Danny said, smiling back at her.

"Okay, whatever," Jazz walked over to her brother and kissed the top of his head affectionately (to which Danny replied with a shudder and an "ewww!"), then she walked over to Tucker and kissed him on the lips, for about ten seconds as well.

Danny smirked but when they looked at him he cringed.

"Oh grow up, Danny. It's no different than you tonguing Sam every chance you get," Jazz scolded before kissing Tucker on the cheek and sitting down next to him and waiting for the maids to serve her breakfast.

Danny smiled dreamily again at the thought of Sam and he began fazing though the chair until he hit the floor, hard.

Jazz and Tucker laughed.

"Has he been like that all morning?" Jazz asked.

Tucker sighed. "Every time anyone mentions her."

Danny barely seemed to notice he'd hit the floor and continued smiling dreamily.

At that moment, Maddie walked in and sighed exasperatedly at her son's head, which was sticking up through the seat of his chair. "Danny, you've gone intangible again."

Jazz took the opportunity of Maddie being concentrated on Danny to jump into the chair one seat away from Tucker. For now, their love was a secret shared by only four people, Tucker and Jazz obviously, then Danny and Sam as well.

He grinned at her. "Sorry, Mom," he pulled himself back up through the chair and turned solid.

"Since when did you start losing control of your powers again?" The queen asked her son.

Tucker smirked. "Since he met a certain violet-eyed princess," he said.

"Danny, I know you really like this girl, but do you really think putting all your hopes on her is wise? There are plenty of other young girls here who would certainly love to be your queen. You should give some of them a chance."

Danny smiled at his mom, knowing she really had nothing against Sam, she just wanted to look out for him. "Mom, I know that there are other girls here… it's just… it's Sam or no one. I love her more than you could ever possibly know and if she's not my queen then I won't take the throne," he declared passionately.

Maddie stared thoughtfully at her son for a moment, then she smiled. "Very well, but you'd better hope Sam agrees to marry you or else Jazz will rule the kingdom and I don't even want to know what that will mean…"

Jazz glared and pouted at her mother. "That wasn't nice, Mom! Why are you always encouraging him!"

Tucker and Danny laughed.

"It was just a joke, dear," Maddie said playfully, "Lighten up."

"Yeah Jazz," Tucker and Danny said in unison, "lighten up!" Danny was taking his initiative as a brother to torment his sister and Tucker, though he loved Jazz, he still liked to poke fun at her.

Jazz glared at the both of them.

"In all seriousness, Danny," Maddie interrupted. "What are you really going to do if Sam turns you down?"

"In all seriousness?" He looked his mother dead in the eyes. "I'll choose someone else," he said. "Someone I probably won't care about as much…" he meant what he said, but the thought of having to do anything without Sam made him feel sick.

"Damn…" Jazz said. "I really wanted to take the throne too…" she joked. Of course, Jazz had never wanted to be queen. She was perfectly content to spend her days studying the human brain... and of course, now hanging out with Tucker.

"Oh hush, Jazz, you know you never wanted to," Maddie told her. "Anyway, I came in here to tell Danny something."

"Yeah?"

"If your ghost sense goes off, ignore it. Our beloved," Maddie said sarcastically through gritted teeth, "Lord Masters is working in the lab… as our equally beloved Plasmius."

"Mom, if we all hate him, why don't we just kick him out?"

Maddie heaved a heavy sigh. "Because your father still thinks they're the best of friends. Plus, he helps with new technology. He's indispensable, as well as completely despicable."

Danny swore under his breath as he left… then his ghost sense went off. His currently green eyes alit with rage.

Maddie shot a look at her son. "Danny, ignore it."

"Mom…" he whined.

"Ignore it."

"Think about Sam!" Tucker suggested, still smirking.

Danny's eyes turned back to their normal shade of luminescent green and then turned wistful once again.

"He's got it so bad…" Jazz said.

"Tell me something I don't know," Tucker replied. "Do you really think he loves her that much or is it just him being a seventeen year old boy?" He asked.

"I think he really loves her that much," Maddie grinned.

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"How did you keep the bumbling King out of the lab?" The Fright Knight asked Vlad.

"Easily, I told him I saw a ghost somewhere else and with the palace jinxed the way it is, he could be looking for the fake spirit for months."

The Knight laughed. "What a moron… I can't believe the Queen ever agreed to marry him…"

Vlad growled under his breath. "Yes… me neither. However, I plan to make sure that Daniel never gets his happily ever after either. It's too late to do anything to Jack, but I can still fix it so Danny lives the rest of his life in misery…"

"And once he's miserable, he'll send the kingdom into the toilet and then you'll take over?" The Knight guessed.

Vlad shot him a glare. "No. This is only about revenge. Jazz will take over the kingdom if Danny ruins it."

"My lord, please, am I ever going to get to fight him?" The Knight begged of Plasmius.

Vlad smirked. "Probably not. I think I can take care of this one using only psychological warfare… and that precious little princess and her tragic illness…"

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"Oh Danny!" Paullina cried in surprise as she walked out of her room. Danny was standing in front of Sam's door, his hand poised to knock. "Why are you standing in front of her room?"

"I wanted to talk to Sam," Danny said.

"Oh, I'm sure you probably just got the wrong door," Paullina purposely ignored him. "Just so you know, my room is 2618. That little whore is room 2619."

Danny bristled. "She's not a whore." He told her firmly.

Paullina waved him off. "Oh, I think she is. I've seen her running around with some black haired-blue eyed boy. He looks like some sort of slave or some other nobody."

Danny paled. "W-what? Wh-where did you… uh… see them?"

"In the garden… that lovely lilac grove."

"What were they doing?" Danny asked tentatively.

Paullina frowned. "Well, as far as I could tell, they were just talking…"

Danny suddenly came up with a plan and pretended to look relieved. "Oh! That boy! That's one of the interviewers. They're part of the contest. They go around, asking each girl questions, just so I can find out more about each one."

"Well, I certainly haven't had anyone come up to me."

"Not even your assigned escort?"

Paullina got a look of realization over her face. "Ahh… you're a very clever boy, Daniel. I think it's sexy." She batted her eyelashes at him.

Danny frowned inwardly. Did she really think he was falling for the act? But then he looked back to her. "But you can't tell anyone, okay? Absolutely no one or you will be disqualified."

Paullina nodded fiercely. "Of course, my prince."

"You can't even hint that you and I… uh…" Danny gave her a seductive look, "shared this little secret, okay?"

Paullina blushed and smiled and nodded again. She giggled and ran off down the hall somewhere.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Sam's no whore, she's twice the woman you'll ever be," he mumbled. He knocked on the door. "Sam? It's Prince Danny," he made sure to make himself clear this time.

"Hang on! Cherry and Madison are getting me ready for the ball tonight!"

"Already?"

"Yeah, they're crazy, huh?" Sam called back.

Danny could practically hear Cherry and Madison pouting. "Come on, you're beauty is already blinding as it is, if they make you anymore beautiful, I'll never be able to see again!" Danny called with a smirk.

Cherry and Madison giggled and Danny visualized Sam blushing. "Sam?"

For a moment, there was no response, but then the door panel lit up. "Access granted," and the door swung open.

Sam was sitting in front of a vanity in a plum silk robe that was neither very thick, nor very long and exposed quite a lot of her slender thighs. Her hair and make up were all done and she looked absolutely gorgeous.

Danny's mouth fell open and he stammered for words. Any words. Finally, he managed to breathe out a stunned, "Wow…"

Sam blushed horribly. "Shut up…" she muttered.

"My lady, Cherry and I will be back later to help you with your dress," Madison said quickly, nudging a giggling Cherry with her elbow, trying to suppress her own mirth. With that, she pushed the other maid out of the room.

"Wow…" Danny sighed again.

Sam blushed worse, if it were possible. "Hush…" she chided.

Danny took her into his arms gently and kissed her cheek. "No, I mean it. You look so beautiful."

Sam smirked and whispered purposefully heatedly in his ear, "You're just trying to get into my skirt."

"So?" Danny asked with the same tone.

That made Sam laugh and she pushed out of his gentle grip. "I knew it," she scolded. "I always knew it."

"Oh, you wish it was that simple, don't you?" Danny said, grinning. He wrapped his arms around her again and kissed her lips softly.

Sam was frozen until he pulled away. In her head, she thought, You have no idea how much…

Danny just smiled at Sam.

"Danny, why… why do you pay so much attention to me?"

The green-eyed prince gulped. What could he possibly say that wouldn't ruin everything? He couldn't tell her he loved her, not yet. He couldn't say anything that could be remotely misconstrued as disrespectful or perverted. "Because I'm intrigued by you, Prin- Sam. There's something about you that makes you so different from all the other girls I've ever met. I want to figure you out."

Sam's cheeks remained. "Danny's right, you are crazy."

Danny grinned with lunacy at her. "Who do you think tipped him off?" He pretended to suddenly be a little hurt and jealous and let his smile fade. "So, you're still seeing him too, huh?"

Feeling ashamed suddenly, Sam lowered her eyes. "I- I told you, I'll stop if you want me to."

"No," Danny said, trying to make sure he didn't say it too quickly. "No, I want you to do whatever makes you happy. Because whenever you're happy, I'm happy," he hadn't really meant to say the last part, but supposed it was too late now.

All of the blood in Sam's body seemed to whoosh to her face at that moment. "I-is that… is that true?"

Danny's cheeks turned slightly pink and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah…"

Sam suddenly threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. This action threw Danny completely off guard for a moment until he kissed her back. He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to her. Sam was suddenly overcome with a weird sense of déjà vu and jumped back. "I-I'm sorry… I can't…" Something in the prince's kiss was too much like the gardener's and it scared her.

A crestfallen look came over Danny's face for a moment, but then he smiled at her. "It's okay… really."

Sam smiled weakly at him. "You'd better get outta here before someone finds out."

Danny grinned at her. "I'd just have them executed."

"You wouldn't."

"Why not? If it came down to a choice between getting rid of someone and being with you or letting someone live and never seeing you again. I'd take choice A."

Sam raised an eyebrow at him. "I would never let you kill anyone for my sake."

"I don't know if I'd give you much choice in the matter."

"If you ever did that, Danny, I would never speak to you again. I don't condone killing the innocent."

Danny smiled peacefully. "Neither do I," he said softly, but with such conviction, Sam was almost taken aback.

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Danny watched for Sam to come down the stairs into the hall. When he finally saw her, he nearly fell over and he did drop the glass of wine he was holding.

Sam was wearing her hair held back into a small bun, considering how short it was, while strands of hair fell curled around her head. Her dress was a deep purple, with a hint of blue in it and it shone with glitter. It was a sleek and hugged her all the way down to her knees, at which point it flared. In keeping with what seemed to be her Gothic theme, a darker purple corset was laced tightly, but comfortably around her torso and the dress was strapless because of it. Danny was certainly not complaining though, the more of her milky white skin he could see, the better, he thought. The dress had obviously been made just for her and clutched at her slim frame perfectly, accentuating all the right curves (though Danny doubted Sam had any wrong curves). Black gloves covered her arms to the halfway point of her upper arms and the dress was so long Danny couldn't see what shoes she was wearing, but he could hazard a guess that they were boots. The pendant that her grandmother had given her hung delicately from her swan-like neck. Danny felt himself fazing through the floor, but caught himself in time. Of course, then came the challenge of stopping himself from rushing toward her and taking her into his arms and kissing the hell out of her right then and there… or worse.

The time it took her and Tucker to walk to him seemed to be longer than usual. She and Tucker were talking and laughing and if Danny hadn't known that Tucker was madly in love with Jazz, the prince would have been insanely jealous.

"Hey man," Tucker greeted.

"Hey Tuck."

"Hi, Danny," Sam grinned shyly. She seemed really self-conscious tonight.

Danny took Sam's hands in his own and pulled her into his full view. "You look absolutely stunning…" he smiled comfortingly at her.

Sam relaxed and as the band started she waited for Danny to lead her to the dance floor.

"Daniel!" came Vlad's stern voice.

Danny groaned. "What?" he growled.

Vlad took a moment to look Sam up and down. "You look very nice to night, my dear."

Sam just muttered her thanks. She didn't like Vlad at all. He scared her.

"What do you want, Vlad?" Danny demanded.

"Well, it's just, my boy, that you've been dance in with Princess Samantha at every ball we've had and the point of this whole thing is for you to get to know as many girls as possible, so I'm going to prohibit you from dancing with Princess Samantha tonight."

Danny glared at Vlad. If looks could kill, Vlad would have been hung, drawn, and quartered a thousand times over. "WHAT!"

"Daniel, son, please be reasonable. Just honor me this one request. I'm getting so many complaints from the other girls and their families."

"I don't care!"

Sam put her hand on Danny's shoulder. "It's okay. Relax, Danny, it'll be good for you to meet some other girls."

Danny took her hands again and turned away from Vlad. "But Sam, I don't want to get to know them, I want to spend more time with you…"

Sam flushed bright cherry red. "Danny, please, do it for me. I don't want you to make a mistake. I care about you too much for that."

"I'm not-"

Sam put a finger to his lips. "Please," she begged. Sam had a strange feeling that if Danny didn't do what Vlad asked, there would be hell to pay later. She had no idea what it was about Vlad that freaked her out so much, but... something about him just wasn't right. He just exuded evil.

Danny's face softened into a smile. "Okay, but I won't enjoy myself, I promise."

Sam laughed lightly.

"Okay," Danny said turning back to Vlad.

"That's my boy."

Danny looked Vlad square in the eyes and hissed, "I'm not your boy," he walked off to find another girl to dance with, not seeing anyone he considered as fascinating or as stunning as Sam. It was going to be a long night…

Sam, on the other hand, spent almost the entire night sitting at a table, covering for Jazz and Tucker, who were off in some more private part of the palace, probably making out. She chuckled at that. It was really cute, the two of them together. She almost wished she were with Danny somewhere, making out. Which Danny? Her mind nagged. Sam didn't even want to go down that road.

Eventually, she left, knowing that since she had shown up, she could leave. She left, though, missing Prince Danny very badly.

Danny saw her leave and his face saddened as he twirled a girl named Helen around on her toes.

From some shadowy corner, Vlad smirked.

Immediately after the ball was declared over, Danny rushed up to Sam's room and fazed his head through the door, she was laying tucked in her bed, eyes closed, her dress thrown on the floor, gloves at opposite ends of the room and boots in a similar manner. Suddenly, he was yanked back through the door, back into the hallway. He whipped around to see Vlad, smiling fatherly back at him. "What the hell?" Danny hissed.

"Now Daniel, I can't have you going into one of the girls' rooms in the middle of the night."

"Why the hell not? I'm not going to DO anything."

"I can't be sure of that."

Danny fumed and stormed off to his own room. Upon reaching it, he threw himself onto the bed and fumed some more.

Sam, meanwhile, rolled over, eyes wide open. For some reason, she couldn't fall asleep and she had no idea why.

Neither one of them, the Prince of Amity, nor the Princess of Casper, slept at all that night.

There ya go! I nearly got murdered for the cliffy in chapter five, so I hope the ending of this chapter is a little better… maybe?

Read and review please! Pretty, pretty please!

Hasta luego, kids! Love ya!