…

Amu gaped at the prince in disbelief. Was she hearing things or did he just propose to her? Her, a nobody of a seamstress? "M-Marry you? What, why? We don't even know each other! We just met the other day!"

Ikuto placed a finger on her lips before she could begin to shout, which would cause a scene in front of everybody, and led her into the empty corridor without being seen by anyone. "Shh, people will hear you. You want to have Tadase stop pestering you, along with all those other admirers from the village, right?"

"H-How did you know?"

The prince smirked. "It's not that hard to figure out; with your looks, you must have several annoying suitors chasing after you all the time." She blushed brightly. "I'm right, aren't I?" She nodded sheepishly. "It's not as if I'm really asking you to marry me. I'm just suggesting we act like we are so he'll leave you alone and my parents will stop bothering me to find a wife."

The pink haired maiden gave him a skeptical look. "You want us to lie in front of the entire kingdom? Do you know how badly it could ruin both of our reputations if anybody found out?"

Ikuto didn't look that concerned. "But they won't find out, so why worry? We both benefit from this so it's not as if I'm blackmailing you or forcing you in any way."

"You kind of are," murmured Amu, crossing her arms. "I mean, you're not the kind of person just to drop the subject so you'll just insist until I give in." He chuckled at her, hiding how impressed he was that she could tell that about him. "But won't people think I'm just marrying you for money or something like that? I mean, I'm just a useless and ugly seamstress and you're going to be king!"

"Well, to hell with what they think," replied the blue haired male. "Anyways, who said you were ugly or useless?"

"Um…nobody, I think, but I know they're thinking it," admitted the pinkette. "And, well, if you want a bride so much, why not just marry somebody like…" She quickly thought of higher class women in the kingdom. "…somebody like Lady Utau! She would be delighted to marry you!"

Ikuto scoffed. "I know she would; she hasn't left me alone since we were children. She is delusional, thinking that just because I saved her from falling into a pond, I love her and we're soul mates or whatever ridiculous rumors she's been spouting."

"Oh, she certainly believes you two are destined to be together," replied Amu, recalling the nonsense the blonde had uttered when her dress had been altered earlier. "And frankly, she scares me enough to not accept your horrible excuse of a proposal." She certainly wasn't expecting anything fancy, but being proposed to was certainly something every girl considered a big deal! "Even that useless kiddy king, Tadase, would have made some sort of show or made it more memorable…even if it is pretend."

Ikuto was highly amused. Any other girl would have jumped the opportunity to marry him, not even bothering to ask why he was agreeing to do so. They would be too busy gossiping with their friends and planning an extravagant wedding to bother remembering that he had proposed in the most unromantic way.

And yet, this pink haired girl continued to throw him off. Not only did she put him in place the first time they met, greeting him coldly, but she seemed to only want to marry him to help her younger sister without any intentions to actually be involved with him. And even if she didn't, she still wouldn't accept his proposal simply because it had been half assed.

Yes, this girl certainly interested him. Not only was she beautiful and charming, she was refreshingly original from the other snobs he had encountered and wasn't afraid to speak her mind in front of him. It didn't hurt that she wasn't a fan of Tadase either.

"Very well," said Ikuto finally, taking her hand and leading her back into ballroom. He ignored her weak protests as he stopped in front of where his parents and best friend stood, all wearing confused expressions. "Amu, you know Kukai. He'll be keeping you company temporarily while I run an errand."

"Excuse me, I'm not a damsel in distress," protested Amu. "I can quite perfectly manage on my own and do not need an escort, even though it is nice to see you again, Kukai." She smiled kindly at the duke before returning to glare at the blue haired male, who was giving her an amused look as he smirked at her.

"Well, if that's the case, you can go back onto the dance floor and be left vulnerable to Tadase's proposals," he remarked and she clammed up, though continued to glare viciously at him. "And you are making quite an impression on my parents, Amu."

The pinkette turned darker than her hair. "S-Stop saying my name like that! You make me sound as if I'm an answered prayer!"

"Ah, but you are," replied Ikuto, making her blush even brighter as he disappeared into the crowd.

"That man is insufferable," squealed Amu angrily, not realizing yet that she had lost her temper and snapped at the prince right in front of his parents, otherwise known as the king and queen. Kukai laughed and placed an arm casually around her shoulders.

"That would be Ikuto for you," he remarked. "It's good to see you again, Amu; did anything new happen?"

"Hm, well I heard from Miki that Yoru proposed," replied the pinkette absently, finding herself comfortable in the duke's hold. "Ah, and I would say it's nice to see you as well, but we're still not quite friends yet…speaking of which, please don't embrace me so casually." The brunette chuckled as he obeyed her request, bowing mostly to amuse her.

"Of course, forgive me, oh beautiful pink haired mistress," he said dramatically, making her roll her eyes at him. "Ah, since the insufferable idiot has left his date alone, I suppose it is my duty to entertain you. However, before I do, I would like to introduce you to his parents and the good people who looked after me as a child. Miss Hinamori, it is my pleasure to present the rulers of this fine kingdom, King Aruto and Queen Souko."

It was highly entertaining for the two rulers to watch this beautiful young maiden interact with their son, who had acted quite uncharacteristically towards her. They knew of his true personality, which he only showed to his parents and close friends, so it wasn't his actions that startled them, but the fact that he was allowing his mask to drop in front of a girl he barely knew. And the way she had reacted made them see why their son took interest in her. The way she reacted to realizing she had unknowingly made an impression, good or bad she didn't know, to the king and queen was also very entertaining.

"M-My apologies, I had no idea," sputtered Amu as she bowed repeatedly to the amused king and queen. Aruto chuckled, making her look up in confusion.

"My dear, any sin you commit will be looked over in my book," he remarked, earning a swat on the shoulder from his wife.

"What my idiotic husband is trying to say is that if you can make my son act like that in front of so many people, then you are already a close friend of our family," explained Souko, trying to comfort the young girl. "May I ask what your name is?"

"And if you plan to marry my son?" Aruto added, earning yet another swat from his wife. She glared at him warningly. "What, who knows when that boy will take interest in any other girl?"

"Hinamori Amu," replied the seamstress, blushing. "And I just turned fifteen, the proper age to wed, but I haven't given it much thought…mostly, I have been trying to avoid Tadase since he insists I am the perfect bride for him. I honestly don't believe I am the perfect bride for him or your son. I am not a princess or from an extravagant family who can offer you jewels. I am a mere seamstress and the only reason I am here at this ball is because I had helped a young girl when her sister abandoned her in the shop I work at."

"How did helping some girl get you an invitation?" Kukai asked curiously, though he wasn't complaining if he got to see this pink haired wonder again. Though he knew that Ikuto would never let another man have her, he couldn't help the way his heart fluttered around her. She was certainly like no other.

Amu blushed prettily. She seemed to do that a lot. "Well, she was distressed so I let her stay the night in the shop with me with the promise she could return to her home the next day. While I knew of who she was working for, I could not help but think what a wicked person her sister was for simply leaving her. I honestly had no motives to help her, other than she needed help. I was genuinely surprised when she showed up and handed my friends and me extra invitations her mistress had been given."

"And, may I ask, who this maid was?" Souko asked kindly. She simply hated it when good people were taken advantage of. "And who she was working for?"

"Well, I don't want to be a tattletale," started Amu cautiously. She wouldn't disobey the queen's orders, but she wasn't going to rat on her friend. "She is my friend, after all, but she is also loyal to the family she works for. She puts up with the neglect and abuse willingly because she owes her life to them."

"We won't do anything," promised the queen. "We are just curious, that is all, but we understand if you do not want to tell us." She already had an idea though. Very little servants followed their masters so blindly while being kicked around like dogs, only to scurry back.

The pink haired seamstress sighed. "Very well…the maid's name was Angeru El; she worked for Lady Utau of the Hoshina household."

"Ah, as I suspected," muttered Souko before smiling at the maiden. "Thank you for having the trust to tell me. And do not think we have forgotten your previous statements. You being a seamstress has little effect on us. As long as my son, and yourself as well, are happy, then we do not mind."

Amu smiled at the queen. "That means a lot, your Highness," she said softly.

"Hm, what are you gossiping about with my mother?"

The fifteen year old maiden jumped as Ikuto reappeared behind her, a smirk on his lips as she tried to get her heart rate back under control. "How do you keep sneaking up on me like that?"

"I like to consider myself cat-like," replied the prince, making his father and best friend chuckle while his mother rolled her eyes. "Kukai, I specifically asked you to keep her company so she wouldn't have to suffer and actually interact with my parents."

Amu rolled her eyes. "Oh, honestly; I wonder how you can be related to such sweet people."

He scoffed. "You clearly haven't been around them long enough." He then took her by her hand and began to lead her away once more. "Come, I want to show you something."

"This wasn't quite how I expected my evening to go," murmured Amu before she realized something. "Those little toads, they promised to meet up with me and they never did! Oh, they are going to get it!"

"I assume you're talking about your friends?" Ikuto asked absently as he made a sharp turn, focused on getting to his destination. "Do not worry; you will meet up with them by the end of the night."

"Hopefully," muttered the pinkette. "They're my ride home." It was then that she noticed he had dragged her to a beautiful garden, vibrantly colored flowers of all kinds appearing like a rainbow after a storm. "Oh…my…"

"This is the Royal Garden," said Ikuto softly. "If you notice, this is the very same garden you landed in when you jumped off my balcony." He couldn't help but think how even lovelier she looked when she blushed like she did, and he felt himself feeling delighted as he realized it was him that made her turn that color. "It looks different than it does in the daylight, doesn't it?"

"Very," agreed Amu, still looking around in awe. There was even a fountain nearby, the water sparkling under the moonlight in the most enchanting way. "But I wonder why you would bring me here. It must be very special, and yet you have brought a stranger."

"It is special," agreed Ikuto. "I used to play here often as a child with my companions and it has brought many memories. However, time has come and gone, and not many people visit this garden now. Other than my family and the gardeners, there are not many people who even know about this. As for your second remark, you are not a stranger to me and you will soon not consider me a stranger for I plan to become closer to you."

Amu raised an eyebrow, finally turning towards him. "Oh? How so?"

The prince smiled kindly at her, making her widen her eyes in surprise. "Amu, are you not the one who wanted a memorable night?" He got down on one knee and she nearly fell back in shock, looking at him in panic as he got out a beautiful diamond ring from his pocket. "You are the one who wanted a romantic and memorable proposal. What is more romantic than being proposed in a lively garden under the stars by a handsome and desirable prince like me?"

"Desirable?" Amu repeated, cocking an eyebrow as she struggled to find her composure so she could reply. "Firstly, that was still not romantic, but seeing as how this is basically a forced marriage since you are so persistent, I will accept your proposal if only to make you stop pestering me."

"Pestering? I believe if it weren't for me, that Tadase would have been proposing to you publically instead of privately like any man should," replied Ikuto, ignoring how his heart skipped a beat when she agreed. He had no idea that hers had nearly stopped. "Any good man should propose privately unless he is absolutely sure she will say yes, or there will be too much pressure on the poor maiden. This is why he would try to propose in front of everybody, and leave you with no room to say to no."

"You don't have to explain that to me," said the seamstress. "Now, I must ask…you just turned twenty and I am barely fifteen; doesn't this concern you at all?"

"No," said Ikuto, making her roll her eyes as he slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her hand gently. Her cheeks became a lovely rose color. "You seem to blush a lot, my darling fiancée."

She didn't bother to respond or deny it, knowing very well his ego would only grow if she told him it was because of the way he made her feel. "Don't you dare use any of those ridiculous pet names most couples use, or I cannot promise that you won't wake up missing your favorite organ."

"Aren't you enchanting?" Ikuto remarked as he placed his hands on her waist, carefully pulling her body close to his. They were close enough that her head rested on his chest, though she wasn't necessarily complaining. Because he was so much taller, she had to lean back her head to look up at him. "Now, I believe this is the part where you kiss me."

Just when her complexion started to return to normal, he had said that and she turned yet another shade of red. "W-what? I-I've never…I mean…" She sputtered to reply and he chuckled before planting a kiss on the top of her head softly.

"You are such an easy tease, Amu," remarked Ikuto, reluctantly pulling away. "Even though you have agreed to marry me, I know your heart is not fully in it so I will not make you do anything you do not want to." She smiled in relief as he began to lead her back into the ballroom, no doubt to announce their engagement to his parents. There would be no need to announce to anybody else, seeing as Kukai would certainly scream it in surprise. "Instead, I will wait until you fall for me and initiate these things on your own. And if these things happen to occur near a bed, then it is even better."

He was not surprised when she yanked her hand away from his to hit him. "You are such a perverted person."

"You are the one who agreed to marry me," reminded the prince.

Amu huffed, crossing her arms. "In any case, your bed is far too large to have anything happen in it. One would certainly get sucked into the mattress and never be found, although many girls would be thankful if it meant getting away from you."

"Oh, Amu, how you wound me," remarked Ikuto as they approached the ballroom, making their way towards his parents. "Mother, Father…" He had barely finished his announcement when his best friend began to shout, just like he had predicted.

"What, Ikuto, you're engaged?!"

The music came to a screeching halt and many people gasped as they turned to the royal family to stare, their eyes immediately landed on the pink haired stranger who was so obviously their next queen from the gleaming ring on her finger.

El dropped her glass in shock before quickly attending to Lady Utau, who had become red in the face while glowering at the seamstress she had been so quick to belittle and screech at. Il was right by her side; nobody wanted to see any casualties that night, especially at the hand of their mistress.

Rima choked on her drink, forced to catch her breath seeing as her lover was too busy gasping for air as well. Honestly, they leave that girl alone for an hour and she gets herself engaged to a prince! Not that that was necessarily a bad thing. Amu was definitely getting a talk from them later on.

Tadase tore his eyes away from one of the princesses who had been speaking with him, making her pout, but he couldn't care less about Saaya's opinion as he stared wide-eyed at the newly engaged couple. The glass he was holding shattered from the tight grip, his ruby red eyes turning dark as he realized that the one girl he ever took interest in had been trapped by his mortal enemy's false promises. He would rescue her, and certainly then would she fall in love with him.

For, who wouldn't?

Amu pinched her nose, not believing she had gotten into this mess. Already she could see that trouble was brewing. The jealous maidens in the room would only grow even more furious when they found out their beloved prince was marrying a commoner. Although, in all honesty, that wasn't what worried her. No, it was her parents' reactions she feared, especially the dramatic one she was certain to receive from her overbearing father.

At least Ran and the others would stop asking when she was going to find a boyfriend.

…

I don't own Shugo Chara.

Right…so…this was mostly a filler chapter. Nothing exciting happened, in my opinion, other than Ikuto properly proposing and whatnot.

Now, before you all freak out and say that this is happening way too fast, let me clear things up.

Firstly, don't you dare judge me when Shakespeare did the same thing with not only Miranda and Ferdinand, but also Romeo and Juliet. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, go and study your literature…although I don't blame you if you don't since I didn't know myself until last year…just Google it, alright?

Secondly, this is not a real engagement. Ikuto wants to get engaged to her so his fangirls will stop chasing after him and so his parents will stop pressuring him to find a wife. Plus, he's clearly interested in Amu. Speaking of Amu, she agreed to this proposal because she wants the best for her family, especially Ami, and knows that they will be treated well under the royal family's care. Plus, she's protected from Tadase's advances.

Will this become a real love? Psh, duh; like I wouldn't make that happen. I won't even try to be coy about that. I mean, if you think I would do that, what do you expect would happen? People realize the engagement is fake, they break it off because they realize they don't love each other, Ikuto marries Utau or Saaya, Amu is forced to marry Tadase and leave her friends, and they all live miserably ever after?

Or, what-Amu's family dies, Ikuto tries to comfort her but she kills herself, and he dies lonely? Or, even, the castle is ambushed by Tadase and everyone dies?

Actually…those are pretty good…hm…ideas…

See how I inspire myself by joking cruelly? I wonder if this is how JK Rowling and Rick Riordan felt while writing…those two can be pretty cruel to their readers. I mean, really…cliffhangers and tragic deaths that tear into the reader's soul…

Anyways…I just realized I made Tadase and Utau villains in this story, and in my other story, Fantasy. I honestly didn't mean for that to happen. I just meant to have them as annoying cockblockers for Amuto…which is what they are, in my mind…

Ah, excuse my language there.

And this is totally random, but I was playing this interactive game, My Candy Love, when I realized something. The characters, Nathaniel and Castiel, are pretty much exactly like Tadase and Ikuto respectively.

Nathaniel is the somewhat shy and kind student body president, but he's no pushover. He can be assertive at times as well, and has a younger sister also at the school who is protective of him. Except, he likes cats not dogs.

Castiel is the school's bad boy, or delinquent, however you look at it, and certainly lives up to it. He comes off cold and rude, but he can actually be sweet and caring too. Nathaniel's sister, Amber, is in love with him because he had fixed her doll when they were kids but he just sees her as an annoyance. The only thing is that he plays guitar, not violin, and he prefers dogs over cats.

That was random, sorry; I just needed to say that. Call me crazy or weird, but I think they're basically the same general characters.

Anyways, don't hesitate to tell if you found any mistakes or what you really thought about this chapter. And relax, relax, I'm not killing off Amuto…I can't speak for anybody else though.