AN; I'm actually in a lot of love with this chapter. I think it's because of the interactions with this, as well as the fact that I finally get to use Proteus. I have a thing for characters with glasses, lawl. I wrote this entire thing in my notebook and typed it up here, fixing things where ever I saw fit. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
gxFANGIRL XD; Really? Well I'm glad that my story has you that interested! X3 Compliments like those make me happy, so you have no idea how much your comment lifted my spirits. Thanks for the kind review!

JamesBirdsong; You've been reviewing on nearly every chapter so far, it's quite nice. C: and yes, I've been getting lots of positive feedback for those two chapters, haha.

Petiyaka; Thanks for the reviews! Yes, I agree, Haruka is digging herself a hole right now. xD

Haruki97; Haha, yes, he definitely needs to get off that high ego. xD

algida2; I don't speak Italian, but I do speak Spanish, so I was able to read your review with barely any problems. C: Thanks for the kind review though. Yes, I don't like the Prince myself either, haha.

Thank you everyone else for the reviews!

-0-

"So, what do you think of the Prince?" Michiru shrugged in response to the question as she sat down next to Naiad on the stone steps. Naiad's chewing was loud and obnoxious, though Michiru was sure it wasn't of his own accord. He was never careful with manners around his family, only when visitors were over did he bother with them. The slab of bread he had only recently gotten was diminished to a quarter of it's size, leaving Michiru wondering how he hadn't choked on it yet. "Not much," She finally admitted after a minute, having to hold back a giggle when he stopped chewing to look up, bread crumbs clinging to the edges of his mouth while he wore a questioning look.

"Huh?"

Playfully nudging him, Michiru leaned back slightly, closing her eyes as wind toyed with the locks of her hair. "Of course you'd be slow at this. What I meant was, there's not much to think of him, right?"

A chuckle bubbled forth from Naiad's lips and he leaned back as well, though there was nothing to lean on in the first place. "Except for the fact he looks arrogant, cocky, and rude? Yeah, not much." A pause and then he frowned. "Hey, don't make fun of me!"

"See? You are awfully slow today." She smiled when she heard him give an audible huff, only stopped when he stuffed the bread into his mouth. She listened to his messy chewing for a few more seconds.

"You don't really want to marry him, right?" Michiru turned to look at her brother, smiling weakly at the concentrated look on his face. "I mean, that guy, he doesn't… he's not…" Naiad struggled with his words, only stopping when he felt Michiru grasp his hand.

"I can take care of myself, you know. I'm not a little girl. In fact, I should be the one worrying for you!" Naiad laughed slightly in response, nodding. He paused when he felt someone's hand on his shoulder, turning only to look into the gaze of his other brother. Michiru turned to him too, in question.

"Proteus? What's up?" Proteus flicked his gaze onto Michiru for a moment, before sighing and pushing his glasses further up.

"You missed training today." He stated, watching Naiad flush in embarrassment at being caught so easily. "I came to get you. Be at the training grounds in 5 minutes, we're sparring." Proteus finished firmly, turning to walk back inside, pausing at a blond blur in the reflection of his glasses. He narrowed his eyes, continuing forward while tying his long, aqua hair in a ponytail.

"Jeez, Proteus will have my head if I don't leave now." Naiad said, stumbling for second while rising, tying up his own unruly locks. He grinned slightly, patting his sister's head. "See you later, Michi." He waved, walking off into the castle.

Michiru let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Honestly, she felt as if someone was near her, sensing it. Scanning the field of plants, she swore she saw a head of blond, only to scold herself when she realized it was only a plant from Jupiter. Wonderful, now she was sensing things and imagining things that weren't there? She didn't think she could be that desperate for what was coming.

The Princess was actually glad when her brother said he had to leave. The reason was because she was meeting up with someone. The meeting wasn't a bad one, of course, nor was it forbidden. The only thing was that it would probably strike her brother as completely odd and she knew it. She was talking with a certain Uranian, and not the one people would expect she'd be talking to. It's probably strike a rumor within the palace servants… a stupid rumor that made her laugh inwardly, one like 'Sercret lovers' or something along those lines.

So now that her brother was gone and the person she was waiting for wasn't here yet, what was she going to do? Michiru let out a soft sigh, standing up and walking deeper into the garden. What she was looking for was nearby, and luckily, after a few moments, she caught sight of it. The sight of an easel and canvas made her lips turn up in a smile, another calm sigh leaving her as she continued towards it.

Michiru's fingers gently grasped the paintbrush that had been laying on the ground, taking such care with it that one would have thought she was cradling a baby. Brushing her fingers over the wooden handle, she paced over to the simple palette, sighing in relief that the required paints were there. At least she didn't have to go all the way inside to get them. What a hassle that would be.

Michiru loved being here as much as she loved sneaking out to the beach. Most of the time the gardens were free of people, leaving her peace and quiet in the lovely place. Just hearing the rustling of the exotic plants against each other and feeling the soft rays of the faraway sun was enough to calm her as well. Here was where inspiration hit her hard, and her hands were only tools for her running mind, using color after color to paint beautiful pictures. Right now she was allowing that to happen, and within just minutes, she had gotten to work, the beginnings of a swirling ocean playing out on the rough canvas.

-0-

Teal orbs carefully analyzed through the plants of green, body as still as possible as the person stayed hidden behind a thick plant. The female's entire body tensed up when one of the aqua-haired males paused, and when he continued walking, she let her body relax again. The next thing she saw was the other messy haired male bounding up, waving goodbye before stumbling in clumsily. The blond let herself roll her eyes; she couldn't remember either of the male's names for the life of her, but she could already tell the messy haired one was the clumsiest.

Once the two were gone, she nearly froze in her spot again when her target's head snapped towards her direction, eyes searching. She swore she was going to be caught for her, only to raise an eyebrow when Michiru just sighed and turned away. How in the world didn't she spot her, she had been looking right at—oh. Now that she looked at the tree she was hiding behind, she noticed that it's top was the exact same shade as her hair.

Okay, so Haruka was currently stalking Michiru. Well, she didn't really think of it as stalking at all. In fact, she had just been about to reveal herself, until she had seen Michiru with her brother. She didn't think it would be wise to just randomly pop up in front of them and demand to talk with Michiru. That would be pretty odd, honestly, and she didn't feel up to dealing with this seemingly overprotective brother either. Now, she should have probably shown herself, but as she watched Michiru walk deeper into the garden, she couldn't bring herself to do so. Especially when she caught sight of the aqua-haired female walking up to a canvas.

She was a painter?

Haruka watched carefully while Michiru readied the materials as if she had been made to do so, professionally adding paint to the palette and then grasping the brush gently. Her fingers brushed against the canvas as if she were testing the material, and then after she resumed holding the brush, bringing it to the paint.

Haruka had heard of painters before, of course. She had just never seen them before. The "painters" she had grown used to seeing were nothing like this; they just drew tactics on crude sheets of paper. She had never really seen a painter – no, an artist paint freely like this. Her eyes stayed affixed on Michiru's delicate hands, watching as they slowly and even sweetly applied paint to the canvas. They moved slowly and easily with the paintbrush, making different sized strokes. Deep blues and soft greens mixed together and for a while Haruka was left wondering how in the world Michiru could know what to do so easily. It looked like it was an everyday thing to her, like she was born with it and it came as easy as breathing did.

However, with all the things Michiru was drawing, Haruka was more intrigued by the attention to detail. The details were sharp yet soft and subtle at the same time, the calm sea and soft wind easily seen. The strokes of the paintbrush against canvas became harsher and Haruka shut her eyes, only listening to the sounds of Michiru's work. Just seeing the intensity of the painting… it was honestly amazing.

For a second she could really feel the wind rushing into her ears as the sweeping of the paintbrush became erratic, and she took in a soft breath, concentrating on the sound.

"Ah…" A soft gasp was heard from near Haruka, and she snapped her eyes open, turning to look at the artist again. The paintbrush had been dropped on the ground and a slightly surprised look marred that female's face, making Haruka wonder what happened. She dragged her eyes along the ground, and only then did she realize the erratic bristling of the plants together. 'Oops,' The thought rang in her mind as she registered that she must have made the swirling winds that were slowly dying down.

"…" Haruka stepped out of the bush with a sheepish grin on her face, hand rubbing the back of her blond head. She looked at the fallen paintbrush, at the canvas, then at Michiru's bemused expression.

"You were spying on me?" Michiru accused, but with good reason, seeing as her intruder had obviously been hiding. The amusement and surprise was only slightly evident in her voice.

"Uh, not exactly…" Haruka went to defend herself, the sheepish grin never leaving her lips. She had to think of how she was going to explain, before giving up. "Your painting is beautiful. Are you an artist or something?" Now it was when Haruka noticed Michiru's paint stained hands.

"It's just a hobby, actually." Michiru replied, letting go of the past subject easily. For whatever reason, the aquanette didn't seem to care much. Haruka wasn't about to complain about it either, the last thing she wanted was for this beauty to think she was a stalker.

Haruka walked over to Michiru, bending down to pick up the abandoned paintbrush, mixed tints of colors painting her fingers. She handed it over to Michiru, looking at the canvas. "A hobby?" Haruka snorted, putting her hands on her hips while she examined the art. "This should be in an art museum."

Michiru let a soft, small laugh escape her as she took hold of a smaller paintbrush, dabbing it into a golden color and signing her name at the bottom corner of her painting. She added a date next to it. "You still intend to flatter me, even though you know who I am?" She dropped the brushes and put down the palette, turning to look at Haruka.

Inwardly scowling at the remembrance of the entire princess thing, Haruka only shrugged and stretched, an impish grin forming on her face. "I doubt it changes anything. Hell, it makes it better." She pursed her lips, holding back a low laugh. "Run away with me, Princess, I'll be your knight." A sweet laugh from Michiru entered her ears. So things weren't all that different from when they had unwittingly met.

"A knight? More like a dragon, I'll say." Haruka chuckled softly, moving to lean against a tree while she watched Michiru carefully sit down on the grass.

"But really. Your art is beautiful. " Haruka said after a minute, hearing Michiru sigh in response. She looked at the sitting girl, raising an eyebrow at the sigh she heard.

"Thank you, but it's not like I can do this all the time." Michiru murmured, shaking her head as Haruka gave a soft frown. "Hm," The blond responded, knowing exactly what the girl meant. Being a Princess was never easy, despite what many thought.

"You should draw me some day if you're lacking inspiration," Haruka sought to lighten the mood with her playful statement, sending a rather charming grin towards Michiru. Michiru's lips quirked up in an amused smile as she replied, tone just as playful as Haruka's had been. "Draw you? But then there's nothing special to draw, is there?" She laughed at the faux offended look Haruka wore.

"Aw, how mean are you today?" Haruka said with a fake pout, holding back a smile at Michiru's lightened look. She was actually glad she had been able to wipe that frown off of her face, and she'd do it again if she needed to.

"… so, I came, obviously. What did you want to talk about?"

"The obvious. So, you're the Princess of Uranus, huh..?" Michiru mused the last part mostly to herself.

"And you're the Princess of Neptune, huh?" Haruka shot back sarcastically, only shutting up when Michiru sent her an ice cold glare. She shivered. That gaze was definitely chilling enough that Haruka didn't want to run into it again. "Sorry."

"I can't tell if it's a good or bad thing, honestly." Michiru admitted, Haruka looking at her with a raised eyebrow again. The Uranian walked closer to her, her fingers lingering at the edges of the painting.

"It's good because we can… talk often, right?" Haruka stated, brows furrowing at her own next words. "Bad because…" She didn't know how she would state her feelings to the Neptunian, nor did she really want to. Those feelings were just stupid feelings of attraction, weren't they? They'd leave soon enough, she thought.

"You know, I've never really had a best friend." Michiru mused again, fingering the bristles of her paintbrush. She continued talking, oblivious to the questioning look Haruka held. One that held interest as well.

"Even if I do, it's not someone I can really be free with. I always feel the pressure of royalty, and… I wanted someone I could really be free with, that's why when I met you…" Michiru stopped talking, unsure of herself for a second. She was about to apologize when Haruka stopped her.

"Now you can't, right? Since you found out I'm the sister of your…" It strained her to say the next word. "… fiancé." Haruka ran her hand through her hair, uncaring of whether the paint on her fingers was dry or not. She finally continued after a minute. "The closest thing you got to a best friend is that kid, your brother, right?"

Michiru took a while to respond, her gaze falling on the painting Haruka seemed to be currently caressing. "Naiad. Yes."

Michiru was surprised when Haruka suddenly waltzed over to her, teal gaze serious though a faint smile played on her lips. "I can still be a best friend, you know." She winked playfully at Michiru, extendning her hand out to the girl. "It might not be the same, but hey… I'll still try."

Michiru hesitated for just a moment before smiling slightly and grasping the blond's hand. She gasped softly when she was tugged off the ground, her hand being brought up to Haruka's curved lips as teal eyes glinted playfully at her. She felt Haruka's hand slip around her waist to steady her and her breath hitched of it's own accord, Michiru's wide eyes staring into the teal orbs of Haruka's gaze.

"Haruka Theoi Uranus. It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'm."

And Michiru understood what was being done at once. "

"… Michiru Neptune, it's definitely a pleasure."

Haruka's white teeth showed in a wide grin.

"A pleasure it certainly is."

-0-

"Enough." Proteus' low tone made Naiad pause mid-attack, elbow having been poised to strike the elder brother in the side. He grinned and moved again, making Proteus grasp his elbow roughly and throw him off to the side with ease, making Proteus sigh at his whine. Both of their training tunics were stained with dirt, Naiad's having been stained considerably more.

"Why'd we stop so suddenly?" The messier haired brother questioned while standing up, brushing his clothes off in a pointless attempt to rid it of dirt.

"That blond…." Proteus said, watching as Naiad stared at him in question. He rolled his eyes, cleaning his glasses before slipping them back on. "In the garden." When Naiad kept up the confused look, Proteus released a huff, crossing his arms.

"Stop the fool façade, Naiad. I know you understand." At the low demand Naiad only let out a slow breath, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his clothing.

"I thought I was just seeing things, and that I was just sensing things that weren't there."

"Impossible," Proteus snorted, pulling out his sword to stare at it, gazing at his reflection in the blade. He ran his fingers along the blade, swinging it to test it's strength. "I know you're trained for that."

"So you sensed it too?" Naiad questioned with a raised eyebrow towards his brother, leaning against the wall as he watched Proteus' mouth tug down in a frown. "I know you can sense things just as easily as I can."

"I didn't just sense it. I saw it." Proteus responded easily, sheathing his sword. He looked up at Naiad, pulling out the hair tie he was wearing, his straight, aqua-hair falling to his mid-back. He ran his fingers through the kinks and knots it had accumulated while training.

"So the Prince was stalking her? Unreal—"

"Not the Prince." Proteus cut in with an amused smirk as he watched Naiad's expression switch from confusion to understanding, and finally, disbelief.

"Not the Prince..? So you mean it was the…"

"An amusing thought, yes? Very odd." Proteus chuckled softly, licking his lips. "Perhaps she was just curious." Naiad could only nod in response.

'Or perhaps more…'

-0-

A/N: Like I said, I really enjoyed writing this chapter. It was pretty fun, even though at first I had a bit of trouble. I finally got it though. I'm glad that everyone is enjoying the story so far, and I hope this chapter was to your liking too. Haha, stalker! Haruka. Can't help but love it. xD
Reviews are appreciated!