I have revised this chapter! I wanted to make Thomas less of a jerk for reasons that I can't tell you yet! I hope you enjoy! I revised this chapter quite a bit with her interactions with George and Thomas. Just an FYI for those of you re-reading!

"I'm going to go play more games, feel free to mingle." She told George before leaving quickly.

Tamaki glanced at the boy and left to find Olivia. He needed to know. She walked past the festival and was leaning on one of the booths. Tears stung her face, her royal life would never leave her alone.

"Olivia?" She heard Tamaki and patted her eyes, trying not to smear her makeup.

"Y-yes?" She said and he rushed over to her, "I'm okay."

"Who was that?" He asked as he handed her a tissue.

"George is a friend. Thomas, he's…" She didn't want to say it.

"He's your betrothed, isn't he?"

She nodded and more tears formed in her eyes. She didn't want to see them here. Tamaki knew she didn't love either one of them now, this is not what love looks like. Love isn't running and hiding in the darkness, it's bright and beautiful. Just like Olivia.

"They can't know I like you, I'm sorry. It's important. If they find out they might make a huge fuss and I'll never hear the end of it."

He stood next to her, she was having to face reality right now. She was having to deal with part of her future and she didn't want to.

"Olivia? Lady Olivia?" Eugene called to her and she turned.

"My lady, are you alright?" He asked her, taking her hand in his.

She nodded, she didn't want to talk about it. She sighed and put on her biggest smile before turning to face them both.

"Well, I guess I've got to make the best of this situation."

Eugene nodded and Tamaki wasn't sure what to think, he was still in shock himself. She walked back towards the festival, towards Thomas.

"There you are! Where did you go off to?" He asked her in a semi-annoyed tone.

"I had to take a phone call. My apologies." She replied plainly.

Eugene and Tamaki walked up to their conversation, Olivia looked frustrated. Eugene took her hand and lead her to some of the games again.

"Why don't you win Mimi some fish?" He said with a warm smile.

Thomas stood net to her, his hands in his pockets. He seemed a little annoyed with being there, almost as much as Olivia was annoyed at him. There were quite a few girls that noticed the two strangers at their festival. Olivia heard a few of them whispering about it. She grew more and more irritated. A few of the kids came up to her and dragged her to play ring toss with them. Thomas walked after her. Tamaki grew annoyed with this guy, why wasn't he happy to be around her?

"Don't say anything." Eugene told Tamaki in a flat tone.

"Yeah but…." he sighed, "She's not even happy. Doesn't she deserve at least that?"

"She does, but this isn't our call. The only thing that can stop their wedding is proving to the royal that he is unfit to wed her." Eugene told him and left.

Tamaki thought about it for a second, was Eugene giving him a tip? The twins walked up to Tamaki and pointed to Olivia and the stranger.

"Who's that?" they asked in unison.

"That's her future husband, unless we can stop it." Tamaki said as he made a fist.

"Uh, come again?" Kaoru asked and Tamaki dragged them away hastily.

"She isn't happy! Look at her, she hates that creep. They're here with his brother to prepare her birthday party back in her home city…"

"How do you know all this boss?" Hikaru asked.

"I was listening to them talk!" He shouted in a hushed voice.

"So…. you want to stop their wedding?" Kaoru asked inquisitively, "but how?"

"I don't know yet, but Eugene gave me the idea. He said that the only way it'd be cancelled is if Thomas was proven to be unfit to wed her by the royal family."

Tamaki stroked his chin as though he had a beard. He was deep in thought. He sighed and shrugged, rubbing his head in frustration.

"I'll think of something, for now… let's entertain our new guests."

The twins glanced at each other and grinned. The game was afoot.

The festival began to wind down, the children were picked up and the guests all had begun to leave. Olivia smiled and waved to everyone as they passed, thanking her for hosting the event.

"Are you ready to go?" Eugene asked and she nodded, stretching her arms above her head and yawning a little.

"It's about time, I'm exhausted!" Thomas groaned.

"Looks like he's not had his beauty sleep today." George said as he sighed.

The group walked up to them, everyone looked equal parts pleased and tired. It seemed as though it were snowing a little more. Olivia looked up, the snow melting as it hit her warm face.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think we've met." Kyoya said, adjusting his glasses.

"Oh I'm sorry!" Olivia said quickly, "Everyone this is Thomas and George Eccles."

"Thomas, George. This is Honey, Mori, Hikaru and Kaoru, Haruhi, Kyoya and Tamaki."

She smiled as she named them off, each of them waving slightly. George smiled and bowed his head, placing his right hand over his heart. He looked almost like a Knight doing so.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, and might I say thank you for treating my lady Olivia with such care."

Thomas, on the other hand, was on his phone and didn't notice they were introducing themselves. "Oh, oh! It's nice to meet you."

It would have to suffice, Olivia smiled at everyone and stepped into the car. George, Thomas and Eugene followed her. She glared at the two boys.

She crossed her arms and didn't say anything to anyone in the car. Eugene sat next to her, carrying on small talk with George. They really didn't understand how George turned out to be charming and perfect for Olivia but not accepted as the one for marriage. Thomas was. Maybe it was some sort of test, she had always wondered that. Maybe they were using her to soften him up. She felt it was the only reason. Her phone vibrated and it was the twins in their group chat.

'How are you holding up?' Kaoru asked.

'I'm fine, I can't really do anything about it other than endure.'

'That guy is a creep.' Hikaru said and Olivia smiled and laughed softly to herself.

'You're telling me…' she replied before putting her phone away.

She sighed and stared out the window. The snow was falling harder, she worried about everyone going home. Hopefully they were safe. When they arrived she quickly went inside and to her room. She ran the bath and waited for it to fill up. There was a soft knock on the door. She wanted to ignore it, but she knew it wouldn't be fair to them. They traveled all this way to see her, and to ignore Eugene was impossible.

"Come in!" She said frustrated, "Eugene, I don't want to talk about this right no—."

"It's me." George said shyly as he walked towards the bathroom door.

"Oh, sorry. I figured you were Eugene coming to check on me." She said and he sat on her chair next to the bath.

"I'm really sorry for surprising you." He said with a sigh, "It wasn't my idea, it was your parents. They thought you'd be more accepting if we came rather than ten charter you home unannounced."

Olivia sighed and nodded, "Unannounced… Yeah that's probably why I'm in this situation, isn't it?"

She noticed he was acting a little strange, usually he was a chatterbox with her but today he was almost silent. George rubbed his head and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small little box.

"I got this for you, as an early birthday present."

Olivia walked towards him and took the box, she examined it closely. There were no label names, it was a small black box with a pastel pink bow. She looked at him and he nodded for her to open it. She undid the bow and opened the box. Inside was a ring, it was a small opal set between two crescent moons. There were three small diamonds above and below the opal, they almost looked like Orion's Belt. She gasped at it, nearly dropping it to the floor.

"George, this is…. I can't accept this." She told him, tears forming in her eyes.

"Olivia, all I want is for you to be happy." He stood and pulled her into a hug.

The ring he'd given her was the wedding ring she'd drawn when she was little. He'd made it for her. He couldn't marry her, but he wanted her to have as much happiness as she could find in the world that was being forced upon her.

"Don't worry my lady, I'm not proposing to you. I'm giving you the ring you always wanted because you deserve everything you dream."

She smiled up at him, Eugene was listening on the other side of the door.

"George, why did you really come here?" She asked him, pulling away from him and putting the ring back into the box.

"I came because…" he sighed and rubbed his head, his cheeks were tinted pink.

"I came because I missed you. I miss hearing about your plays and your dreams, I miss seeing you light up at the mention of anything interstellar or extraterrestrial."

She shook her head, "George this can't be happening, we can't happen. You know that. Your father would have your head, I think that literally too—!"

"I know, I just came to see you and make sure you're happy."

There was an awkward silence, she stared at the ring. She so desperately wanted to say yes to him so she didn't have to marry Thomas, but what about Tamaki? Her feelings for him were growing by the day, if he'd asked her today she might be inclined to say yes. Everything was so confusing now, she had too many suitors and not enough love to share. And not enough experience to make a wise choice. She was nearly overwhelmed by all of this, she loved George. She always had, but she had vowed to never show emotion towards him or make a pass accidentally. He'd always been the one she was chasing and now he's here but she still can't catch him. Even worse, she wasn't sure how she felt about him anymore.

"Does this mean that I'm not getting a birthday party?" she finally asked, breaking the silence.

He laughed and bowed, "You can have anything your heart desires my lady."

She smiled and Eugene knocked softly, "May I come in?"

"You're always welcome Eugene." She said with a warm smile.

"Sorry again for barging in on you two like this. It means a lot that you'd take us in so abruptly." George told Eugene with a sheepish smile.

He was pretty sure Eugene had heard the whole thing, but wasn't too worried. He too was fighting for the happiness of Olivia, she deserved it.

"I'd better be off then, I'll show myself out. Good night Eugene, good night my lady." He bowed respectfully and ducked out of the room.

Once he was gone Eugene turned around and looked to the bath.

"I need to talk to you, but I can tell you want to take a bath."

"You can stay in here. I'll throw more bubbles in for extra coverage!" Olivia said with a trusting smile.

He walked out and gently locked the door, turning the knob slowly as to not make a loud click. He didn't want the boys to become suspicious of his presence in Olivia's room. He heard her get into her bath and walked in once she told him it was okay.

"Olivia, I'm so sorry I wasn't aware of this—."

"Eugene, it's okay. It's… unexpected, but it's not the end of the world." She smiled at him letting the bath relax her.

"Did George propose to you again?" He asked as he looked at the ring on her vanity.

"Sort of, I think he knows it's not going to happen… but he still wants it to. I just… I don't want to marry Thomas."

She sighed heavily and Eugene looked at her, all the happiness had drained from her face. Her eyes stared into a void infant of her. He knew her mind was racing with way s to get out of this whole ordeal.

"I think I'm going to announce that I won't marry Thomas… I think I'll do it at my birthday party. I know he doesn't care one way or another."

"I might have set a plan into motion with Tamaki…" Eugene started.

"What do you mean?" she asked, leaning on the edge of the tub, listening to him.

"I told him if Thomas was proven unworthy, the wedding would be called off. I gave no details so if it backfired we would be in the clear, but he took it. I saw him talking to the twins about it. I know they're very fond of you as well…"

"So…. I have an army?" She said smiling.

"You have the makings of one." he told her, smiling back.

She almost jumped out of the tub to hug him but realized it would be awkward… again. She blushed at the thought of everyone working to help her.

"This is the most wonderful thing, thank you Eugene." She said and leaned forward, he met her and she kissed his cheek.

"I'll leave you to your thoughts, good night." He stood and bowed, "if you need anything you know where to find me."

She smiled and reached for her phone. She quickly began to text Haruhi, if it wasn't snowing outside she'd have gone over to her house and talked about everything. Maybe tomorrow once it was light out. She made plans for coffee if the weather was permitting. The twins were also texting her, Tamaki too. They all were making sure she was alright, they figured she was shell-shocked over the uninvited guests.

She got out of the tub, tired off and got into her pajamas. After texting for another hour, she went to bed. In the morning she was awoken by knocking on her door, it wasn't Eugene. The knocking was too, unusual. She slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"C-come in." she told the knocker sleepily.

George opened the door, he had a cup of hot cocoa in his hand and a smile played across his face. She was adorable with her pajamas and bed head.

"There is fresh snow outside, if we hurry we can make a fort before anyone wakes up."

Olivia perked up at the idea. She quickly moved to the window next to her bed and looked out, it was like a winter wonderland outside. She turned back to him and he was holding her mug out to take.

"Let's do it." She told him as she gulped down the hot cocoa and leaped out of bed.

She went through her closet and found some thick leggings, she grabbed a sweater and ran to the bathroom. George sat on the edge of her bed and smiled at the door where she had just disappeared to. She was something else. He stood and went to change as well.

Olivia put on the leggings, an undershirt, a thick light pink sweater and a dark red cardigan over it. She grabbed her black scarf and wrapped it around her neck before pick up a yellow beanie grabbing her boots. She put them on and rushed to George's room. He was sitting on his bed, tying his shoes and she ran in.

"Come on then!"

Before he could get a word in, she bolted out the door and was halfway down the hallway when Eugene heard her. He poked his head out the door and saw her running down the stairs happily. He raised a brow.

"We're going to build a fort, you want to join?" George stopping at Eugene's open door.

"I'll be down momentarily." He said, questionable about George's intentions still.

Olivia run outside and face planted into the snow, she rolled over and looked up at the sky. George walked to her and smiled down at her. She laughed and sat up. She looked around and it was all white, she hadn't seen snow like this in years.

"Let's make an igloo."

She began packing snow and trying to make blocks out of it, it wasn't working too well. She started to just pack snow together to form a mound, it was working for the most part. She crawled inside and sat. She heard some movement outside and poked her head out to see a snowman standing in front of her door. She crawled out and began making one of her own. As she finished Eugene walked out to her ad smiled at the snowman she'd made.

"Lady Olivia, your friends said they'd like to come visit. They'll be here shortly."

She smiled and nodded. She pointed to her fort and crawled into it happily. Eugene followed. He gave her a look and ushered his head outside, she knew he was meaning George.

"Be cautious." He said and crawled out.

She knew she would have to be around George. She made a few small snowmen inside of her igloo. She heard some cars pulling up and she poked her head out. Everyone was walking towards her family of snowmen.

"Oh wow! These are pretty cute!" Tamaki said with a smile.

They were all dressed warmly, scarves around their necks and hats covering their ears. Olivia waved and they walked to her igloo. Honey smiled at it and then jumped into the snow and made snow angels with Mori.

"You made this?" Haruhi asked and Olivia nodded.

"I tried making one you see in movies but it didn't work out too great. This worked a little better, though it isn't the sturdiest thing."

The twins crawled inside and Tamaki followed. They sat and she showed them her little snowmen. They laughed and began making some of their own to add to her collection. After a moment she heard Mimi call them and they all went inside to eat breakfast. Thomas was sitting at the table reading on his tablet.

"Morning Thomas." Olivia said with a soft smile.

His face reddened a little and he nodded, sipping on his coffee. She walked into the kitchen and mimi had made parfaits for breakfast.

"Oh these look amazing!" Tamaki said as he picked on up.

"Thank you, I wanted to do something quick since everyone was over. I didn't want to keep you all waiting."

Olivia smiled and kissed Mimi on the cheek, "They're delicious! Thank you so much."

Thomas stood and walked into the kitchen, you could nearly feel the air thicken with tension from everyone. Olivia handed him a glass. He stood next to her and ate. There wasn't much spoken while they were eating. Everyone felt weird around Thomas and George, they didn't know them at all.

"So… where are you from?" Tamaki finally spoke.

George smiled at him, "We are from the same area as Olivia. We've been friends since we were kids actually."

"Oh. She's never really mentioned you." Hikaru said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"She hasn't really told us much about herself honestly." Haruhi said, rubbing her head, "We know where she is from and her place in her country… We know about her grandparents but other than that we don't know a lot."

Everyone thought about it, Haruhi was right. They knew very little of her personal life. She had done this deliberately to avoid secrets and gossip.

"George and Thomas were the only ones that Eugene would let me play with when we were little." She smiled as she reminisced, "Thomas used to push me around and take my toys…"

He lowered his head and she smiled, patting him on the back. Everyone looked at them, they didn't look unhappy together. They could tell that she didn't love him in a romantic way, but she did like him as a person to some degree. She treated him more like a little brother than a lover.

"That was years ago Olivia!" Thomas said, his face hot.

She sighed and smiled at them, "So you came to talk to me about my birthday?"

He nodded and Thomas walked back and began reading on his tablet again. Everyone else went into the parlor and sat down.

"You're having a party?" Kaoru asked and she nodded.

"Yes! It's a grand spectacle usually. I do it for charity, so there is an admittance fee but it all goes to various places for relief and aid in places and groups that need it."

She smiled and they all nodded, "What is the theme this year, my lady?"

George looked at her and she rubbed her head. She hadn't given it much thought.

"How about a masquerade? I think people would like to dress up! And it gets everyone to get out of the normal suit and gowns."

Everyone nodded and Kyoya helped flush out some of the ideas. At the end of the day, they had the makings of a beautiful masquerade ball. Olivia smiled and nodded at it all, giving it her seal of approval.

Next time! A piano recital and an escape plan!
As always, please review, rate and follow. It means a lot to me :) And thank you all for everything! You are awesome!