About midday, a knock at the door surprised Zero. His first thoughts were, it was going to be one of the Kuran men but he was surprised once again to see Lady Kuran. He bowed once he realised it was her. He felt slightly uncomfortable at her lustful stare. "Lady Kuran, how may I help you?" He asked.

"Is Aina home?" She asked as she stepped into the house without an invitation.

"Yes, but she hasn't awoken yet." He told her. "I can show you the drawing room and get you some refreshments while..."

"Which room is hers?" Yuki interrupted.

"Oh, ummm... Lady Hirano may not be...ummm..." Zero stammered, unsure how to tell her that Aina slept naked, let alone how he would know.

"She still sleeps naked?" Yuki then asked making Zero go bright red. "The maids told you so you could stop anyone from seeing her, I take it?" She then asked, looking for any hint of a lie. He nodded and rubbed the back of his head. "Don't worry, I've seen it all before." She then added making her way up the stairs. Zero's eyes widened in shock.

"Lady Kuran..."

"Oh stop fretting, you will not get any blame." She reassured him. "Aina! Aina!" She shouted as she carried on up the stairs. "This floor or the next?" She asked once they reached the first floor landing.

"Next, second door on the right." Zero told her. Something told him she would open every door until she found Aina. She kept shouting Aina's name as she went on.

"What!?" Aina shouted back just as Yuki reached her door.

"We're going to tea at Uncle Rido's today!" Yuki shouted back sounding a little giddy.

"Who's we?!" Aina shouted through the door.

"You and me, of course!" Aina groaned and opened her door. She had managed to get a nightgown on.

"My maids aren't here, I didn't expect to go now." Aina told her and glared at Zero for letting Yuki in. She could already tell her new friendship with Yuki was going to be a very short one.

"That's alright. I can help you, it's going to be so much fun!" Yuki beamed with delight. Aina sighed and let Yuki into her room. She glared at Zero who looked already sorry before she closed the door.

Yuki ran straight over to Aina's walk in wardrobe as no wardrobe would hold the size of the dresses that were of the upper class. She started looking at all the different dresses. She picked out a golden dress with black embroidery, designed to make large floral patterns from the gold material. The neckline was lined with lace, pearls and yellow gemstones. The sleeves puffed out about elbow height with lace and more yellow gemstones. Yuki then picked out a royal blue cape, lined with white fur to go with it. The cape had golden fleur de lis design all over it.

"Are you sure that these will go together Yuki. I mean, it looks like they will clash." Aina tried to convince Yuki as she laid them out for her.

"It'll be fine." Yuki reassured her and Aina gave in.

Yuki helped her get ready, having to call for Zero's help with the corsets as Yuki was too worried about crushing Aina's ribs to dust. Once again, Yuki was wearing a non-corset cream dress, very similar to the one she wore the night before. The cape was pinned to the top of her shoulders with two yellow gemstone brooches. Yuki helped her brush and pin back her hair. Yuki then picked out a jewellery set made of rose gold gems and gold. It was a bold floral design, something that Aina would have picked out for a dress with less of a pattern. She felt like she was standing out far too much. The final piece to her outfit was a small golden hat that was pinned so it sat slanted down on her right side.

"Are you sure about this?" Aina asked Yuki once it all done.

"You look amazing!" Yuki told her. Aina was just glad that pale skin was in at the moment, otherwise she was sure she'd be forced to deal with makeup.

"Off we go!" Yuki shouted excitedly and pulled Aina along.

Aina lopped arms with Yuki as they walked towards Rido's mansion. Aina took the opportunity to ask about Yuki's choice in dresses.

"Yuki, why don't you try a corset, you don't have to do it super tight but it will help with your shape, may be enhance some cleavage." Aina pointed out.

"What's wrong with my shape?" Yuki asked confused.

"Nothing, it's just without a corset the dresses make you look a lot younger."

"Isn't that a good thing? To look younger." Yuki asked and Aina shook her head.

"Not in your case. You have very young features, with this style of dress, it makes you look like a child." Aina told her, she wasn't going to pull any punches anymore. Yuki wasn't her friend and needed to be told the truth.

"Oh, I didn't realise. Why didn't anyone tell me?" Yuki asked confused.

"Maybe because you're Lady Yuki Kuran." Aina told her. "Everyone will do anything to please you because of who you are. They won't tell you if you're wrong or if something doesn't look good on you." She went on to explain.

"Are you sure you're not jealous?" Yuki asked, taking her arm from Aina's. She frowned confused.

"What have I got to be jealous about?"

"I have Kaname, I am above you in every way." Yuki pointed out with a rather smug look.

"You can have Kaname and I do not envy you. Yes you have power but even though you are surrounded by people, how many can you call a true friend? How many will do something without expecting something in return, without praise from her royal highness?" Yuki paused as she thought but by the time she went to reply, Aina had walked away.

Aina marched as quick as she could to Rido's home. She was no longer in the mood to entertain the spoiled brat. Rido was right about one of them being brats. As soon as she reached the door, the doorman let her in. "Do not let Lady Kuran in." She ordered as she spotted the brown haired woman walking down the path.

Before the doorman could refuse, Rido spoke up.

"Obey her order. Do not let Lady Kuran in." The doorman nodded and locked the door as Yuki got to it. Yuki knocked on the glass as Aina ignored her. Rido just turned his back and led Aina away.

"What happened?" Rido asked as they moved towards the ballroom from the previous night.

"The outfit or with Yuki?" She asked as she unpinned her hat and threw it on the floor. "Throw it away, burn it, do what you want." She added as she managed to unpin the cape and let it fall the floor.

"Both I guess." Rido stated as he watched her take off the jewellery and look at it in disgust. At least he was learning more about her.

"Yuki came by and forced her way in, my butler won't let anyone in unless I say but he isn't one to man handle a woman." Aina stated.

"Of course, your butler gave me a rather warning look when I stopped by last night." Rido interjected.

"Yes, I've had issues in the past with humans. He has always kept his guard up no matter who is at the door. Anyway, Kiryu, that's the butler, he tried to keep her in the drawing room as I had not yet decided to get out of bed. I was awake but I didn't want to deal with anything yet. But she started running up the stairs and shouting for me. Then she found me and did this." She gestured to the dress. "But that's not all, I asked why she was wearing children's style clothing and she said I was jealous because I told her the truth."

"Well, Yuki was always a brat." Rido said with a smile and Aina nodded.

"I hate this dress." Aina muttered to herself as she looked down at the dress.

"I might have something you can have." Rido told her and she looked at him confused.

"Why would you have women's clothes?" She asked, concerned about him.

"Your aunt and I tried courting for awhile and it was a terrible idea, we both realised that soon after. She left some dresses here, some she hadn't even worn." He explained and she stared at him.

"You courted with Shizuka?!" She was in disbelief. She hated the woman.

"Yes, it was on the orders of my siblings. I didn't like it." He told her, hoping to reassure her.

"Just show me what she didn't wear." Aina huffed and followed Rido.

After a short look at what was there, she picked out a dark blue dress with large pink and silver floral pattern with a matching cape at the back. Rido's maids nervously helped Aina into her dress.

"Feeling better?" He asked when she remerged.

"Much." She smiled.

"Aina, have you had any thoughts about us?" Rido asked nervously.

"No, I'm still not sure. I mean, I have been very happy on my own and haven't thought about a relationship." She told him, a small lie. The only relationship she wanted was with Zero.

"What can I do to at least forge a friendship?" He asked, seaming to be disrupt to be in her life.

"Keep Yuki away from me. Never talk about Shizuka. And if you ever come to my home, listen to Kiryu, he may be a turned human and a butler but I trust him with my life. He has been my only trusted staff for a century." She told him as she followed him through the mansion.

"It's good to know you have someone you can trust." Rido said, hiding his jealousy. He wanted that role, to be someone she trusted and have her talk about him in such a high manner.

"Yes, I'm sorry about stopping Yuki from joining us, I didn't know you invited her." She apologised as they reached a drawing room with large windows. The windows gave a full view of the garden under a blanket of snow.

"I didn't." He told her and she looked at him confused.

"Then why?... Kaname..." She huffed annoyed as Rido pulled out a chair for her.

"Kaname?" He asked curiously as Aina sat down, being careful about her dress.

"He asked about our conversation, I told him I was coming by for tea today. He asked if I needed Yuki or him to accompany me but I turned him down."

"So he took matters into his own hands." Rido added as he sat down opposite her. "He was always a trouble maker." Aina smiled and look out at the undisturbed snow.

"Appears so." She sighed.

"Would you like me to talk to him?" He asked her and she shook her head. Rido frowned lightly as he spotted a light mark on her neck, a very light bruise. He wondered if it happened when she pulled the necklace from her neck.

"He'll come by soon enough, now that I've upset Yuki. If needs be Kiryu will do the talking for me." She paused when she realised when Rido was staring at her.

"Is something wrong?" She asked and he stood up and approached her. She looked up at him confused.

"You have a bruise." He finally spoke and gently touched it. Aina knew immediately what it was from. Zero had bit down hard in his lust but despite the lust he still controlled himself.

"Must have been from the necklace." She explained away. Rido knew she wasn't telling him everything, he felt her flinch from his touch. It wasn't pain that made her flinch, it was the reason for the bruise.

"I suppose." He responded, he won't push anything yet, he still had to build some trust with her. "You know, despite my reputation, I can be a good person, even kind and generous." He suddenly said out of nowhere.

"I don't doubt that." She told him as he still stood next to her, his hand now resting on her shoulder. "What is wrong?" She asked as he stared off into the distance.

"Your family is worried about you spinsterhood." He told her.

"They want you to marry me, it will be a show of power for them." She sighed and rubbed her face.

"I told them I would never force you, it had to be what you wanted. I promised them friendship with you. Mainly because I already hoped for that myself." He reassured her.

"What happened to make you look at me twice?" She had been curious as to what started it all off, what made him want her.

"You came by one day in a blood red off the shoulder dress and suddenly you weren't a child anymore. You were a woman. I didn't think much of it until..."

"Until what?" She asked curiously as she tried to remember that day, that dress.

"You looked at me. You actually looked at me without grimacing, you smiled at me. You looked at me for so long that Kaname scolded you for the first time since you were probably a toddler." He said, his back to her. Worried about her reaction.

"I remember." She spoke quietly. "It was the first time I was brave enough to look at your eyes. I have always loved your eyes." She admitted. "Kaname got so annoyed that you took all of my attention for all of what? A few seconds." Rido smiled, it filled him with hope when he heard that. She loved his eyes.

"I was mean to you when you were younger and I'm sorry. You were not the target of my anger." He told her, now facing her.

"Children can be awful, I know." She reassured him with a smile.

"I was harsher than I should have been."

"Rido what do you feel so guilty about? You were a little grumpy if we started making noise."

"I was more than grumpy and you know that." He gently touched her cheek. Aina's mind flashed back to just before she moved away. She had walked into the library where Rido was relaxing and hiding from them. She tried to talk to him and he struck her across the face. It was the only time he had ever laid a finger on her, before it was mean words and glares.

"It was only once." She reassured him.

"I know but I am truly sorry for it. I saw you walk in and I wanted ravish you, I kept it to myself. But then I heard you voice and I just snapped. I did the one thing that I knew would drive you away." He admitted. "I should have never have done it."

"Rido, I understand..."