…

Amu suddenly realized how odd it seemed for her to change into her nightclothes when it was not yet ready for bed. It was something not peculiar for people back at the village, but apparently it was normal for people to wear evening clothes in the royal system.

Kukai had teased her for wearing such a short nightgown, which ended just at her knees, but Ami had reached over and tugged on his ear before he could continue. Their father did not look pleased by his daughter wearing such a thing-in front of boys no less, and was about to burst out crying, until Midori gave him a warning look. After all, the four of them were in their nightclothes as well.

"Jeez, you guys look scandalized," exclaimed Ami, laughing. "It's not as if Amu and Ikuto had come back from their date all lovey-dovey and decided to conceive a child on the table!"

Amu turned beet red as she grabbed a handkerchief and crumpled it into a ball, throwing at her sister as she screeched, "Ami!"

"What?" The eight-year-old asked innocently.

"You just made it even more awkward," exclaimed Amu, still blushing hard as she looked over at the rest of the party for their reactions.

Tsumugu had fainted, and Midori was standing over him with concern despite the clearly amused look she wore. Emiko had choked on her food, and looked as if she was trying not to laugh, unlike Kukai, who had also choked on his food but had then begun to laugh so hard that he fell off his chair.

Souko covered her mouth with her hand, and she tried to look disapproving but her own laughter betrayed her. Aruto was chuckling and teasing his son, who was massaging his temples and shaking his head as he muttered under his breath, and though his head was down and his hair fell to cover his face, it looked as if there were traces of a light blush on his cheeks.

Ami sighed deeply. "You guys were staring at us for wearing our nightclothes to dinner, right? For us, this is normal; well, not normal for us to be sitting in the palace, eating such extravagant food, but it's normal. With a peasant marrying a prince, it only makes sense for our traditions and cultures to merge. You cannot completely change Amu into a princess, just like Prince Ikuto cannot completely change into a peasant."

She looked much older than she was as she said firmly, "It is what it is; there is an 'in between' for everything, and this is the result of that."

Everyone stared at her in surprise as she continued eating, and the tense silence was broken when her eyes lit up suddenly and she exclaimed, "Wow, this food is good!" The young girl hiccupped cutely before devouring the rest of her meal. "Amu, you should have gotten engaged to a prince way sooner!"

That was the icebreaker needed and Emiko began to chuckle, followed by Amu, then Souko, then Midori and Aruto, and even Ikuto. Tsumugu finally regained consciousness and looked confused as he sat back down in his chair, though his wife refused to explain what had happened.

"So, Amu," started Emiko, glancing up at the pinkette. "Have you been fitted for your wedding dress yet?" The fifteen-year-old shook her head. "Perfect; I know a marvelous tailor and I think you will like what he has to design. Of course, as a seamstress, you will naturally want to make your own adjustments but will you look at the designs with me tomorrow?"

"I thought you were supposed to meet your future husband tomorrow," cut in Kukai, his voice oddly bitter.

The redheaded princess nodded. "I was supposed to, but there was an incident with the carriage he was riding in and they cannot arrive at the castle until the guards are assured the voyage is safe."

"What kind of incident?" Amu asked worriedly.

Emiko shrugged. "I do not know; they were too frightened to give many details, but all they had managed to say was that it had suddenly gotten dark and something crashed into the carriage, sending it down the hill and into the river. The driver and guardsmen ahead had all been killed."

Ami gasped. "What could it have been?"

"A dark creature, I suppose," replied Midori, stroking her youngest daughter's hand. "I think this a story for your elders, Ami, dear. Off to bed, come on." The two of them stood, despite the pout the eight-year-old wore, and they both curtseyed and thanked them for the meal.

"But, dear, Amu-chan will be will that boy…" Tsumugu whined, trying to convince his wife that it was a bad idea to leave her alone to no avail.

"That boy is a grown man who happens to be her fiancé; let's go, Tsumugu."

"…but that makes it worse! Men are awful creatures!"

"Funny; that's what my father said about you back when you proposed."

Amu shook her head as her family exited the dining room, reaching for her glass. "Oh, honestly." She took a sip, smiling and saying goodnight to Souko and Aruto when they excused themselves from the teenagers. This distracted her from the peculiar taste that her drink had.

"I get the feeling your father doesn't approve of me," said Ikuto dryly, looking amused.

His fiancée rolled her eyes. "What gave you that idea? Nevermind that; Emiko, I never answered your question, did I? I do not have any plans for tomorrow, as far as I am aware of, so I will certainly go with you to the tailor's. Do you mind if Miki and Rima come with me? They will want to look at the work of a competitor."

"I don't mind," replied Emiko. "You said some of your other friends are getting married too, right? You can invite them if you want; I'm sure the bride would appreciate looking at the dresses."

"A girls' day out, then?" Amu confirmed, receiving a nod. "Oh, it can be like a bachelorette party!"

"Yes, I suppose it could," agreed the princess, turning to her friend's fiancé. "And that means you must have a bachelor party too, Prince Ikuto."

"I'll host it," exclaimed Kukai excitedly.

"A party with just the two of us?" Ikuto raised an eyebrow. "You'll understand if I refuse to spend an entire day with you, Kukai."

"You can invite Nagihiko and the other guys," offered Amu. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind; and besides, Ikuto, something tells me you could use some 'male bonding time' to make friends. You don't seem like the kind of person to go out and socialize."

"That's because he isn't," snorted Kukai. "That'd be great! I can give my cousin some advice on how to make sure his lady stays pleased with him!"

"Yes, because you have absolutely mastered the study of the complex being that makes up a woman," said Emiko, dryly as she raised an eyebrow.

He grinned at her. "Don't be silly, Red; that's uncharted territory that no man will ever understand." Emiko smirked in return.

Amu finished up her drink, beaming. "Alright then; it's settled!" She clasped her hands together. "I just adore shopping!"

"Girls," stated Ikuto, shaking his head. "Goodnight." He walked over, passing Amu and gently patting the top of her head. "Pick out a sexy dress for me, Amu."

The pinkette blushed, standing. "A-As if I would dress up for you!" He turned back and smirked at her before leaving the dining room. "I am not dressing up for you!"

"You kind of are," stated Emiko and Kukai unanimously.

The soon-to-be queen turned and glared at them before she huffed, leaving the dining room as well, leaving behind an amused princess and duke.

…

"Oh, I love shopping," exclaimed Ran, squealing as she and the others girl approached the palace gates where Amu and Emiko waited by a carriage. "Oh, and look at how fancy that is! Amu, I still cannot believe you got yourself engaged to such a handsome person!"

"Are you implying that I'm more likely to attract someone ugly?" Amu demanded, placing her hands on her hips. "At least I'm not engaged to a man-child!"

"Alright, that just described all of our boyfriends," cut in Dia, stepping in between the two pinkettes. "Ran, I warned you to watch what you say; I know you like being honest with others, but consider your words carefully. Amu has a terrible temper, you know, which she needs to keep in check. This is a day to celebrate being unmarried, not to argue until your faces match your hair."

Ran pouted. "Fine, you're right; sorry, Amu-chan. I didn't mean to offend you."

Amu sighed. "I know; I always take things personally."

"Are you two done?" Rima asked. "Because I want to know who this redhead is."

"I'm Momoka Emiko," introduced Emiko, curtseying and smiling politely at the gathered group of girls. Amu had sent a messenger out late last night to inform everyone she wanted to invite, despite Emiko's warning to include only a handful of girls or else the whole village would take advantage of them.

"The princess from the Lunar Kingdom desu?" Su questioned, earning a nod. "Wow, you are even prettier than I imagined desu! It's nice to meet you; I'm Amulet Su desu." This incited the others to introduce each other as well.

"Amulet Miki."

"Amulet Dia."

"Amulet Ran."

"Mashiro Rima."

"Melodia Temari."

"It is a pleasure to meet friends of Amu," said Emiko kindly. "Shall we get going? The carriage ride will not be long; the tailor's shop is just outside of the kingdom's borders. He enjoys solitude most of the time."

"Why is that?" Temari asked curiously as the eight girls piled into the carriage, which was luckily very roomy on the inside or else they would all have been dreadfully squished together.

The redheaded princess shrugged. "Jame Kaoru is absolutely terrified of being around too many people for a long period of time; he is claustrophobic too and the village he lived in became too much for him." She smiled reassuringly. "He can be very jittery and peculiar, but he is quite excellent at what he does."

"You have met him before?" Dia asked.

"I suppose you could say that," replied Emiko. "His father used to be my family's tailor before he died of a stroke; Kaoru would usually tagalong with his father whenever he was needed. I do not know much of what had happened, but evidently someone had pulled a cruel prank on him and locked him in a storage closet with several dressed mannequins for countless hours when he was very little. The mannequins had strongly represented actual humans and it traumatized him."

"Poor thing," sympathized Ran, frowning. "Who could possibly do such a thing to a young boy?"

"There is evil everywhere," replied Miki. "And there is also evil in everyone; some people simply express it more than others."

"Speaking of evil, did you hear of the creature that attacked Prince Himachi Yuko of the Elixer Kingdom the other day desu?" Su piped up, looking at the surrounding girls. "The rumors are quite outrageous."

"Yes, but how did you find out?" Dia asked, frowning disapprovingly. "You haven't been milking information out of that solider boy, Musashi, have you? You are much too young to learn of such details, Su."

The green haired girl returned the frown as her older sisters gave her disapproving looks.

"I am eleven; in just four years' time, I will be declared old enough to marry desu," said Su. "I am old enough to begin preparing my wedding vows desu; I should also be old enough to know about something as alarming as a dark creature possibly being a threat to the kingdom's safety desu. Would you rather I continue to remain oblivious to reality for the rest of my life desu?"

Her sisters continued to frown but they backed down. Emiko was eyeing the youngest female with interest.

"Su-chan, if you ever want a career as an advisor," she started. "I can personally vouch for you." The green haired girl blushed lightly. "But nevermind that; what exactly did you hear from these rumors?"

Su shifted nervously. "Well, people in the village know of your reputation, Princess Emiko…and, well, they believe that you truly are a devil's spawn that is desperate enough to kill the prince so you do not have to marry him."

Emiko rolled her eyes; she was clearly used to those kinds of farfetched rumors.

Rima snorted. "Now that is ridiculous; I heard those rumors too, and they are also saying that a dark wizard is rising from the ashes of a battle that took place many years ago to seek vengeance and destroy every kingdom in the land."

"That's the most popular rumor," said Ran. "The dark creatures are supposedly the wizard's familiars and had been put to a deep slumber when their master died so they are waking up now as he begins to reform."

Temari frowned. "There is an old dance that tells the story of a similar wizard's fate; he had apparently gone mad with power after failing to resurrect his family so he took his frustration out on a whole kingdom before a magical force-assumingly a witch-finally brought him down."

Miki nodded. "Yes, there are various old paintings like that; they usually show that both the good and the bad were oblivated, but the wizard managed to cast a spell that would have him resurrected once he recovered from the battle while the witch simply died."

"If the witch died and the wizard is presumably coming back to life, then who will protect the kingdoms from him desu?" Su asked.

"I'm glad Ami didn't come along," said Amu, suddenly cutting in with a concerned expression. "She had been so interested in the news of the attack yesterday; I do not want her involved in anything like this."

Emiko saw the worry in her friend's golden eyes and reached over to squeeze the future queen's hand gently.

"Perhaps we should change the conversation then," she suggested. "We do not want to have this gloomy atmosphere when we see Kaoru; this is a day to celebrate Amu's good fortune, after all."

The others girls nodded in agreement, shooting apologetic looks towards the pink haired seamstress.

"Right, of course," agreed Ran. "I still cannot believe that Amu is getting married before any of us!

"I am never going to hear the end of this, am I?" Amu asked, groaning when her friends all shook their heads. "You do realize that I have a say in what my bridesmaids are going to wear, right?" She smirked lightly. "And as a seamstress, I know exactly what your style isn't."

Emiko chuckled when the other girls shut their mouths. "You are certainly are more mischievous than you look, Amu."

The pinkette flashed the princess a smile before the conversation shifted to something else. She glanced out the window and looked at all the trees and plants they passed.

I wonder how Ikuto and the guys are doing…

…

Ikuto stared at his childhood friend in slight disgust, trying not to throttle him. He and Kukai had met with Yoru and Amu's other male friends at the harbor, where they were led onto the same ship that Daichi had been handling when Ikuto and Amu went out on their date.

After being properly introduced to Rhythm, Daichi, Nagihiko, and a younger boy named Musashi, the Souma cousins had decided it would be great to start out the night by gorging themselves with the luxurious seafood and wine.

Nagihiko caught sight of the prince's expression and chuckled as he took the seat next to the blue haired male. "I suppose you can see why we make sure Daichi is always too busy with work to spend time with his cousin; alone, they are both very energetic and a bit much to handle; together, they are nearly impossible to contain."

He offered Ikuto a glass of wine, which the prince gladly took as he finally tore his eyes away from the gruesome scene that Kukai and Daichi had created.

Yoru could not handle alcohol easily but his pride had been wounded by a tipsy Rhythm, so he drank much more than he should have and now the blue haired advisor was passed out on the ground; and it was not even dark out yet. Musashi was constantly checking on him, making sure to avoid the alcoholic drinks.

Rhythm had a flushed expression on his face as he giggled and joked with himself as he used one of his sister's porcelain dolls to sway around the room almost as gracefully as Temari.

Ikuto tipped back his glass, swallowing the bitter drink before placing it on the nearby table. He was not an easy drunk, but he was not much of an alcohol person.

"How does Amu handle being around these people?" He muttered. "And here I thought just being near Kukai was enough to get a migraine."

Nagihiko chuckled. "Well, to be fair, Amu did grow up with them and actually spent time with them; you may have grown up with Kukai, but from what Amu's told us about you, you're more likely to leave the room when he gets too rambunctious."

Ikuto raised an eyebrow as he glanced at him. "Wouldn't you do the same thing?"

The purple haired dancer merely smiled before taking a drink from his glass, turning back to their drunken companions. "Well, as long as they do not attempt to charge into the village and hope to get lucky with some nearby women again, there is no need to lock them in the ship's cellar for hours."

The prince stared at him for several seconds.

"I don't say this often, so appreciate it when I tell you that I think we could have been great friends as children."

Nagihiko chuckled and was about to respond when the door slammed open and Ami came charging inside. Her bright topaz eyes scanned the room, ignoring the guys' protests that this was a bachelor party, before they finally landed on Ikuto.

"Prince Ikuto, you have to come quickly," she exclaimed running over to him with a frantic expression. "It's an emergency!"

Ikuto straightened, getting into his 'professional' stance, and looked at her. "What happened?"

Ami's eyes filled with tears and she choked back a sob.

"Amu's been poisoned!"

…

Dun, dun, dun!

I don't own Shugo Chara!

I am so sorry for not updating lately; school is just so insane right now and I have no time to do anything really other than homework and studying. Of course, I do have occasional freedom but not much. I usually spend that time sleeping or looking at fandom related stuff.

Anyways, back to the chapter; this took a while to write due to writer's block. I knew what I wanted to happen, but I couldn't put it into words.

I hope the sudden plot change didn't throw you off; though, to be fair, I did warn you of this story becoming darker in a previous author's note.

Can't have a medieval love story without poison and dark magic, right?

And also, I've officially decided on who should be with whom by the end of this story; I won't tell you, but a majority of them will be canon. NOT ALL OF THEM, but a majority, okay?

Anyhow…don't hesitate to mention what you thought of this story or if you found any mistakes! I'll try to update as soon as possible!

(I normally hate doing self-advertisement, but don't be afraid to check out my other stories as well!)