And finally we have an update! Sorry for the wait- New Years all that... -by the way, I hope your's was nice!- anyway, here's the next chappie!

Chapter: 4

-x-

Shuichi had found himself being led down a gloomy hallway, lit by torches mounted upon the stone wall. He limply followed the cheery candelabra without a word.

"Ah!" The golden man exclaimed, gesturing to a surprisingly large door, its golden doorknobs glimmering brightly even in the dimly lit area. "Well," He chuckled sweetly... a little bit too sweetly, Shuichi thought. The candelabra couldn't be as nice as he let on... he would make a good business man, the pinkette thought. "Go on! Tell us how you like it!" The teen reached for a knob, pushing open the door with a gasp.

The room was huge. Up against the wall sat a lavish bed, with so many fluffy-looking pillows- enough to swim in, even! A large window let sunlight spill upon every visible surface of the room, flooding the guestroom with a light that no other room in the castle had seen for a very long time. He stepped in, currently unaware of the situation at hand and began smiling in wonder. "This... wow." The pinkette chuckled. At home he'd shared a bed with his father until the age of twelve! It was almost too big of a surprise to process correctly. He suddenly leapt onto the big bed, rolling onto his back and laughing loudly. "This is so great!"

Tohma let a prideful look upon his face, "I knew you'd like this room!" Suguru, who stood beside him, rolled his eyes and let a disgusted sound slip from his mouth. "Monsieur," Tohma started dramatically, "I believe it is time for us to start preparing dinner- please make yourself at home!" And with that, they left one by one while murmuring their goodbyes.

It was when Shuichi was left all alone in the unfamiliar room, that everything came crashing down upon him once again. "Oh no..." He said to no one in particular, letting a hand thread through his own hair. He sat up and paced around the room while trying to conjure up a plan. Shu sighed and picked up a- thankfully non-enchanted- tea cup that Ms. Potts had left behind for him and took a sip of tea to clear his mind.

"Wow," He heard a giggle, "You don't look so good!" He glanced around and sat down the tea cup.

"Who... who was that?" The teenager stammered.

Suddenly the doors to a nearby wardrobe slammed open- Shu could have sworn that he heard said wardrobe silently yelp an, "Ow". The pinkette shouted and took a few steps back. "HIYA!" A strange rag doll greeted him. It lunged forward and hooked onto the pinkette's shoulder, making the teen run around the room while trying to pry the laughing thing off of him.

After a good ten minutes of that Shuichi managed to yank the doll off of him and hold it out at arm's length. "What's the big deal you little shi-" He stopped and sweatdropped when said rag doll started to tear up and whimper. "Er- don't cry..." Shu said while sitting down on the bed to study the new person.

Brown button eyes, stringy green hair and a cute little doll's outfit... Shuichi was assuming he was a boy. "Um... my name's Shuichi, what's your-"

The rag doll brought stuffed limbs around the boy's neck with a face of adoration, crying, "Shu-chan!"

"Or... or you can call me that, I guess." Shu said with only a bit of annoyance. "What's your name?"

"Eheh, I'm Ryuichi!" The rag doll said happily.

Eiri groaned as an enchanted brush ran through his blonde hair, he truly hated baths. He guessed that it was just a side effect of that wretched curse, because he used to enjoy them immensely. He then felt a brush force itself under his arm, making him growl and in turn the brush scampered away in fear.

Yes, baths were truly a sick method of torture.

"But Master!" Tohma exclaimed, scrubbing the man's back so roughly that it made Eiri wince, "You have to impress our guest- how do you suppose he'll fall in love with you if you act so distant!"

"This isn't about him liking me!" The blonde countered in defense, "It was a mistake letting him in..." He trailed off.

Tohma hopped down from the man's back and looked at the blonde sympathetically as Eiri was drenched with water, soap suds sliding down his pale body and into the bath water. "Master... Time is running out... why else would the boy appear at this time? He is the one."

Eiri pretended to ignore his favorite servant and kept silent.

Shuichi chuckled as his new friend told him stories about the young Master- when he was a little boy, Ryuichi had just begun serving at the castle, patching up old clothes and fixing various things. "Did you know that young Master was afraid of the dark until he was eleven?" Ryuichi chuckled, the shine in his button eyes intensifying.

The pinkette laughed loudly at the thought- such a man used to be like that? He wondered... what made the Master of this castle so... devious?

The rag doll then let his smile slip a few notches, "Of course, that Master is gone now. He doesn't laugh or smile... or really do anything anymore. All he does is stare at that stupid rose..."

"Hm?" Shuichi hummed in confusion. "A rose?"

Ryuichi laughed it off, "Oh- nothing! Don't worry about it- forget I said anything, 'kay?"

Shuichi gave his friend a suspicious look. "But-"

Knock. Knock knock.

The two turned their heads to the door, which a fist hesitantly knocked on.

Eiri couldn't believe that he was doing this! What could have possibly possessed him to take advice from TOHMA? The Master's silent rant was interrupted as the golden candelabra edged him on. "Go on, ask him to dinner!" The 'matchmaker' pushed.

"Um... Er," The blonde started shakily, "W... Would you like to come to dinner?" Eiri asked reluctantly.

Shuichi rolled his eyes. "NO!" The pinkette shouted, flopping back down onto the bed.

On the other side of the door, Eiri's eye twitched as the servants around him sweatdropped. "I am trying to be kind to you. If you'd stop being a brat for just a few seconds, your stay here would probably not be so bad-"

The candelabra scolded Eiri. "No no no! Calm. Ask him to dinner like a gentleman!" Tohma whispered.

Eiri scowled. "Will you please come to dinner?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"No way!" A muffled voice responded.

Losing his temper, the blonde growled and shouted, "Then STARVE to death for all I care!" And with that he stomped down to his study, leaving the few servants that accompanied him alone.

Tohma furrowed his eyebrows and clanked up to the door. "Shuichi," He called out. "The master... he's just not used to being kind." He chuckled at the sentence sadly, "He's trying, though. I promise."

Shuichi hugged a pillow to his chest as his scowl softened. "I don't care." The teen said.

Tohma sighed and turned to his comrades. "I suppose we should start cleaning off the dining room table?" He asked. A few brief nods, and the servants headed down the opposite end of the hallway with their heads hung slightly.

"Are we all just wasting our time?" Tohma thought darkly.

I hope this one turned out okay. :3 Please leave a review if you think so, reviews mean quicker updates! I love you all, my beautiful readers. Until next time.