Wow, you guys, I dunno what to say...I'm really sorry if I made anyone wait to long for this chapter. I've been all busy with this and that and Color Guard Dx. And my worst nightmare as just started today and it all really sucks but I'm determined to write this chapter RIGHT NOW. For all of you who actually enjoy my story and I'm sorry if it sucks to the other some of you.

Thanks for all the reviews and alerts, because as I've said before it really is the only thing that makes me want to keep writing this. So I thank you all.

And once again I'm really sorry for the long wait.

"Her Majesties have arrived." A woman's voice called through the empty hallway leading towards the room Max currently occupied. Max froze in his frantic cleaning and lifted his head slowly. Dread began to course through his body as he studied himself, deciding on what to do. He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes, before letting his breath out. He opened his cerulean eyes again and looked to the entrance, waiting for the two royalties to arrive.

Both women walked into the room flanked by a few servants. Max stood himself up quickly, nearly knocking over his chair in the process. "U-um, hello." Max stuttered out and bowed to both women. He held his position, not really knowing what to do. He placed both his hands in front of him, strategically covering up his spill and he tried to keep his elbows back, so they wouldn't take notice of the cake.

Both women looked over the bowing boy. The Queen turned to the servants and dismissed them before placing her attention back at the boy. Koto smiled at him before noticing a bit of cream and crumbs on his arm. She whispered something to her mother-in-law and pointed at Max's arm. The Empress (I'm going to call Kai's grandma Empress and his Mom either Koto or the Queen cuz i'm just becoming lazy now, sorry.) looked from the mess towards the partially destroyed cake and let out a small chuckle.

"Straighten yourself up." Koto commanded. Nervously Max lifted himself into an upright position, but did not make any eye contact with either women. Both Kai's mother and grandmother walked to the other end of the table and took a seat, motioning for Max to do the same. Smiling awkwardly at the two, he slowly seated himself back on his chair and stared intensely at his tea cup.

"Max Mizuhara." The Empress addressed the blond. Max looked up when he heard his name being called, but stayed silent. "What a cute name for a cute boy."

Max blushed at the comment and stuttered, "T-thank y-you." The old woman smiled brightly at him.

"So, do you know Kai?" Koto asked.

"U-um, well he is the prince..." Max trailed off. Koto laughed quietly at his answer and pressed, "You go to the same school. Have you ever spoken to him."

"Er, well no, not really." Max answered. "We study different things, though I have seen him around a couple of times."

"He's really a handsome man." The Empress commented. "Yeah." Max agreed. But a total ass. "And he's so nice and well mannered." Max nodded his head in agreement with the Empress again. Depends on your definition of nice and well mannered.

"But enough about my son," Koto interrupted, "lets talk about you." Max smiled at them, the nervous feeling came back quickly. "It must be hard on you, still a student, but about to get married." The blond nodded his head, realizing the truth of her words. He didn't truly understand the consequences of his actions until he actually heard it from his "fiancé's" mother. He was only thinking about his family at the time.

"What age are you?" She asked.

"Well, I'll be seventeen in a few months." Max replied. Koto nodded her head and looked at the blond with pity. Her own son was only turning eighteen in a month.

"What made you decide to get married?" The Empress asked.

Max turned his gaze down. He felt unsure whether it was right to tell them. Deciding it would be too disrespectful to avoid such a question he decided to answer. After all they deserved to know why their prince's fiancée chose to get married, right? "Well you see, to be honest I didn't really want to at first," Max began, "I didn't think that living life here in the palace was something I wanted." Actually its because your son is a dick. Its always ok to tell a small lie. "But, I'm not sure how much longer my parents may be able to afford taking care of me, so I figured this was for the best."

"So this isn't out of even the slightest bit of affection?" Koto asked. Disappointment was clearly evident in her voice.

Max suddenly felt guilty, but chose to defend himself. "With all due respect, Your Majesty," he said, "I don't really know your son, so I don't feel as if I'm in a position to say whether or not I love him or would love him." Koto nodded her head in understanding.

"I suppose you have a point." She said. "This must have been shocking news to hear."

"Yeah," Max confirmed, "it kinda was."

"But you say your family cannot support you." The Empress said. "Are your current living conditions acceptable?"

Max looked surprised at the question and answered, "Well, yeah. I mean, its not like we're hobos." An image of his parents in tattered clothes and begging for money flashed through the blond's mind briefly. "But my father's business went down the drain, and my mother's research isn't getting any funding."

The Empress leaned towards her daughter-in-law and said lowly, "I don't quite understand his language." Koto furrowed her eyebrows and nodded in agreement. (Everyone's nodding in this chapter! HOORAY FOR NODDING PARTIES.)

"I can only understand a few things." Koto admitted. The Empress pursed her lips together. She looked over to the woman next to her and asked quietly, "What exactly is a hobo?"

Koto furrowed her brows and thought for a moment. She replied, "Probably...it probably means living as an average citizen."

"Ah, I see." The Empress said. Both women looked back towards Max who was giving them a confused look and smiled at him. Max returned the smile brightly.

"We'll have a couple of attendances show you around." Koto informed the blond. To girls walked in then and pulled Max's chair away from the table. The blond stood up and bowed to the Queen and Empress once more. "Oh, and perhaps we should get you a towel to clean yourself up with." The Queen said as she gestured to the the blond's cake covered elbow and tea stain.

Max blushed furiously as he followed the two attendances out, leaving the two women to chuckle to themselves.

--

The two attendances led the boy through the hallway until they ran into Mr. Dickenson. Max bowed, greeting the man. He bowed in return and said, "Please follow me." The girls bowed and left as Max followed behind Mr. Dickenson.

The blond kept his eyes to the floor, thinking to himself about what he had done to himself. Did I make the right choice? Maybe I just should have been firmer with my parents when I said no. All these thoughts ran through his head as Mr. Dickenson led him out towards an elevator that headed down towards the cars.

The man pushed to button and turned back around to face Max as they waited. He smiled warmly at him and said, "I can still see a child in you." Max looked up at that, curiousity written all over his features.

Mr. Dickenson tilted his head, seemingly studying to boy before him. "I can see a little bit of your grandfather in you."

Max did a double take at that. "Do you...know me?" He asked. Mr. Dickenson answered with a smile. "And my grandfather?" Before he could reply, another voice cut into the conversation.

"Hey, blondie." Kai walked up to the duo. Mr. Dickenson bowed to the prince but Max only turned his gaze downwards.

The prince came to a stop in front of the blond and looked him over. He snorted and turned to Mr. Dickenson. "You can leave now." He said. The old man bowed before taking his leave. Kai once again faced Max and looked him over one more time before scoffing at the blond.

"What's this?" He questioned as he tugged on Max's shirt. "Cake?"

Max ripped his arm away. "Its not cake." He said in denial.

Kai rolled his eyes. How much more of a baby can you get? "Oh, you're right, I'm sorry, I guess its just part of the design."

Max fumed as he glared up at the prince. "What is with you?" He yelled. "Why are you such a jerk?!"

"Jerk?" Kai repeated. "Am I a jerk?" Kai leaned down towards Max as he asked the question. Max took a step back before Kai grabbed his arm and pulled him closer. "What are you then? A baby?" He asked as he pulled Max against him and leaned down until he was next to his ear. Max flushed at the contact and, through all his mind's denial, couldn't help but feel satisfied by the way Kai's muscular body felt.

"You better raise yourself to my standards." Kai whispered into his ear. Max shivered slightly before glaring at the prince once his words registered into his mind. The blond struggled to get away from Kai's grip. Kai smirked and let go of his fiancé's arm, allowing him to put some distance in between the two of them.

"What?" Max bit out furiously. "Your standards?"

Kai snorted at Max's idiocy. "Yes, my standards. Royalty and the average citizen live differently and considering the fact that you've decided to live as royalty, you better raise yourself up to meet my standards." Max, if possible, glared even harder at the prince now. Murderous thoughts began racing through his mind as he glared at the egotistical prince.

"I know it must have been hard on you, but I think you made the right decision." Kai said. He twirled a piece of golden hair between his fingers as he continued, "Your a completely ordinary kid." He smirked at the evil eyes the blond was attempting to give him. "I think you'll be fun to have here at the palace."

Ordinary? Fun?! Max thought angrily. I'll kill this guy, I swear it! I'll kill this guy!

Sorry, I have to cut it a bit short. My wrist is starting to hurt again. Woe is me! XDDD

Please R&R and I'm sorry again for the late update!

Thankies