Okay so after talking to a reader I decided that this story could be really fun as a longer one.

Here you go!

Its an AU epic, everyone's different and all that.

Enjoy!

The palace was beautiful at sunset.

High vaulted ceilings anchored large windows designed to let in as much light as possible. As he walked down the marble floor his boots echoed all along the corridor. But that was the design of the palace. No sneaking about, especially not when inside the wing of the palace that house the Royal Family. He wore the uniform of the Guard, done in the black and whites that were the colors of the Kingdom of Las Noches. Strapped to his waist his sword was a comforting weight despite the fact that it had been some time since his blade had been wet with blood.

"Captain Schiffer."

Captain Ulquiorra Schiffer of the Royal Guard turned his head. The maid picked up her skirts and hurried forward, the sealed message clasped in her hands. Her cheeks burned. Ulquiorra Schiffer was the subject of much palace gossip, thanks to the fact that in addition to being a war hero he was exceedingly attractive. With his dark shaggy hair and bright emerald eyes, more than one person had tried to seduce the Captain of the Guard. Unfortunately every time that someone got close he pushed them away. In fact, the only person that anyone had seen him show anything but apathy towards aside from the men under his command was the Princess. But then again, he was in charge of making sure that she was safe so perhaps it was just orders.

"Here," the maid extended her and with the sealed message, "the King asks that you give this to his daughter."

Ulquiorra accepted the message with a curt nod before turning and continuing down the hallway, the message clasped tightly in his hand. He turned and walked down the hallway once more, along his original route to towards the Princess's chambers. Though there were windows in all the palace, the Princess's wing of the Palace was practically made of glass. Even on the cloudiest or stormiest of days her rooms were bathed in light. Ironically the place was probably one of the safest in the palace. It was high up, the glass was reinforced and he was the one who made sure that the woman who inhabited it was safe.

Or he had anyway.

Her engagement to the Prince of a neighboring Kingdom of Karakura had just been announced and soon she would be leaving the palace to go and be his bride. Though she was his charge, his responsibility, as Captain of the Guard he was bound to the palace and the Royalty. He would not be going with her when she left the halls of this place. He did not know why that made strange emotions coil in his stomach, just that he found the idea of her leaving only to return on the odd visit to be a wildly unpleasant idea. Not that he would dare to voice such a thing. It was not his place to voice such a thing. Besides, he would not know what to say. What plausible reason could she have to want to remain in the palace of her girlhood?

He opened the doors to her room with the ease and familiarity that came from their long relationship together. There she was, sitting curled up at the window seat, a book open in her lap. Princess Orihime Inoue. The last vestiges of sunlight poured through the windows, changing the color of the pale blue silk of her dress. The tight bodice was the only reason she was sitting upright, pale lace covering her arms and the tops of her breasts before the silk began. Her sunset colored hair was pulled back and held up by a few clips that sparkled in the bright light. At the sound of him entering her grey eyes went over to him. She brightened immediately, getting to her feet with grace that had been all but beaten into her.

"Captain Schiffer!" she smiled brightly, "I didn't know how long your inspections were going to take," she walked gracefully over to him, "I'm glad I got to see you before the ball."

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for it?" he asked. Her gown was beautiful and exquisite to be sure but it was not for the ball tonight. After so many years at Court he knew the difference between the two.

"I could ask the same of you," she said with a smile, "even I know that's not your dress uniform."

"I believe it takes me considerably less time to get dressed than you," he said.

"I suppose that's true," she said, "after all, you don't have to get laced into anything," she shuddered, looking over at the room where she would get ready, the room that her dress was laid out for the evening in, its intricate embroideries being looked over to make sure everything was perfect, "this party's going to be terrible."

"No worse than any other party," he said.

"You hate parties, Ulquiorra," she said.

"Exactly, I hate all parties," he said, "they are indistinguishable from one another. This will be no more, no less unpleasant than any of the other ones."

Orihime smiled at his blatant disdain for parties. Truthfully she didn't like being paraded around in front of people anymore than he liked seeing her paraded around in front of them, but she had long since become adept at hiding it. In fact, the only person she knew could see through the mask she put up was her emerald eyed bodyguard. Or so she hoped. She imagined it could create problems for her family if the rest of the Court knew that she hated the parties but if Ulquiorra knew, well, if it was just him she didn't think it was really such a bad thing.

"Well this party's going to be different," she said brushing off her skirt nervously, "the Prince is going to be there."

Oh.

Well that changed things.

Prince Ichigo Kurosaki, sole heir to the Kingdom of Karakura and Princess Orihime Inoue's fiance. The two hadn't met since they were very young but by all accounts Ichigo Kursoaki had blossomed into everything a dashing future monarch should be. The two would not see each other until that night but Ulquiorra could see the nervousness written plainly all over her features. She was nervous about meeting the Prince, not that he could see much reason for the emotion. After all, there was absolutely no reason for him not to like her. And even if he did not, it was not like the two of them would be able to back out of the marriage. This was an alliance, a marriage done for the sake of peace for both their kingdoms. Their child's existence would cement one of the most powerful alliances in the world. With the alliance Karakura already had with the Kingdom of Soul Society two very large threats to Las Noches would be neutralized.

"There is no reason for your concern," he said, "the King asked me to give you this," he extended the paper towards her.

Orihime took it and slipped her thumb under the seal, breaking it and opening the piece of paper. Her eyes softened as she read the words on the paper. It was a note from the Prince. He must have passed it along through the King. Orihime smiled brightly as she read the words written there. His words were funny as he spoke about the annoyance of the ball but he seemed like he was excited to meet her again. Orihime felt excited as well, the nervousness in her stomach slowly ebbing as she imagined what it would be like to meet the dashing Prince. She looked over at Ulquiorra who seemed to be trying to figure out the contents of the letter from her reaction.

"Its from him," she said. His eyes narrowed, the most outright show of emotion she would get from him.

Orihime felt the excitement and nervousness she felt join with worry inside her. Ulquiorra did not like the Prince. In the last war between Karakura and Las Noches, the two had clashed repeatedly on the battlefield. They could have fought forever, if their Kings would have allowed it. Now they would meet again only it would not be at the point of swords, it would be at a ball where, most ironically of all, Ulquiorra Shciffer would have to make sure that his enemy was safe. There were many reasons that Orihime had to go through with the marriage but she hated to upset Ulquiorra, the last thing she wanted to do was betray her lifelong guardian, especially now that they were actually becoming friends. Orihime lowered the letter and looked over at him.

"I will return shortly," he said, his voice cool and curt.

"Ulquiorra--" she began. He fixed her with his emerald eyes, "never mind," she fingered the edge of her skirt, "I'll see you in a bit."

"Your Highness," he bowed and turned, walking out of her rooms.

Orihime watched him go, her fingers still gripping the letter. She knew that marrying the Prince of Karakura would be difficult but she didn't expect it to be so difficult so soon.

"Your Highness, its time to get ready," one of the maids said gently.

She nodded and turned, trying to push all thoughts of her emerald eyed guardian from her head.

"Alright Your Highness, you are ready."

Orihime nodded, standing seamlessly though her upper body was confined in an even tighter corset. Her dress for the festivities that night was nothing short of a work of art. Pale green silk covered her bodice, coming to just past her hips. Soft, shimmering pink silk started underneath the green before taking over where it ended. The entire dress poofed outwards thanks to the multitude of petticoats she wore underneath. Though the dress was held up by the corset, pale pink lace of the same color edged the top of the dress and made up two narrow straps that Orihime could not see much of a point to considering how much skin was shone. Resting in the elaborate style was the diamond crown that signaled her rank. Her eyes practically glowed, her lips were colored, she looked every inch the infamous Flower Princess that she was.

"Your Highness, Captain Schiffer is here."

"Thank you," Orihime said picking up her skirts and stepping into the main room.

There he was, as dependable as ever. The dress uniforms of the guards were white, from the boots to the high collar of the jacket he wore. Not that Ulquiorra would show distaste but Orihime knew he thought of them as ridiculous. She didn't though, in fact she would like to see them on them always if only for the way it seemed to make his green eyes stand out even more. His black hair just barely brushed the collar of the garment, a bit longer than most of the guards wore there's but that was just because he never had time for things so trivial as getting a haircut. His sword was at his waist, the one thing he would not think of leaving behind. Especially not at a party such as this.

At the sound of her approach his eyes turned to her. Orihime tried not to bite her lip and searched for clues as to what he thought of her appearance. As always his face remained cool and enigmatic which, she figured, could not be a bad thing. If she looked stupid he would at least tell her that. Finally his head gave the barest inclination of approval and her heart soared.

"It suits you," he said finally offering his arm, "come. His Majesty will be upset if you are late."

"Alright," she said placing her arm on his as they walked out of the room towards the ballroom.

They walked down the hallway enveloped in the comforting silence that came from years of companionship, though ironically the two were not that different age wise. But experience wise, Orihime was a Princess who lived in a glass tower. Ulquiorra was a war hero who had been given a life of luxury from a war that had ended in peace--despite the fact that most of the people wished to defeat them soundly. Two lives that never should have intertwined but somehow did, something that Orihime would always be grateful for. Just because she was leaving and Ulquiorra would stay, they would find a way to stay close right? She glanced over at him, her brow furrowing at the idea that hadn't occurred to her before. She knew her people, her land it would always be a part of her, she had just assumed that the same would be true for Ulquiorra.

"H-hey Ulquiorra?" she looked over at him. His emerald eyes slid over to her, "what are you going to do when I'm in Karakura?"

"The King has not spoken of my next task," he said.

Orihime felt her heart ache. Task? Was that all she was to him? They had spent so much time in each other's company, even if at first he had been less than thrilled about his pampered life and new mission. She knew he thought he was a warrior, what business did he have in guarding a Princess? She had worked so hard to make sure that he knew the ins and outs of Court, how to eat at a dinner table without making a complete fool of himself--everything. She had even teased a smile from him once or twice. Though he wouldn't say they were friends, she knew she considered him one of hers. She thought he had too, despite not saying it, but now apparently she was mistaken. Apparently he thought of her as a task, not a friend.

"Well I'm sure he'll think of something," she said with a smile that felt fake even to her.

Ulquiorra frowned as he looked at her saddened features. A moment ago she had looked unsure, then she looked sad. He did not understand what had happened. When they left the room she looked like she was practically glowing with excitement. Now she looked as though all she wanted to do was cry. Inwardly he felt a surge of frustration. This was why she needed to go. His presence was starting to affect her, if he was the one that hurt her he did not think he could ever forgive himself. He was a threat and if there was one thing in the world Ulquiorra Schiffer knew how to do it was to protect Orihime Inoue, from anything, even from himself.

By the time they arrived at the doors that would lead to the ballroom he was more than ready to let her go off. He withdrew his arm from her, stepping back. She looked at him, opening her mouth to say something before she closed it quickly and shook her head, courage failing her. Ulquiorra bowed and turned, walking down the hallway. He had to make sure that everything was in place before she came downstairs.

"You'll do fine, Princess," he said softly, just loud enough so that she could hear him.

Orihime watched him go before turning back to the doors, her confidence renewed. She would do fine.

Ulquiorra hurried down the hallway, going as fast as he could without breaking into an all out run. He knew he had nothing to worry about, the guards were all in place. But there was so much nobility down there, enough Royalty that if they spilled blood he imagined it would run blue. He had to make sure that did not happen. Las Noches and Karakura had problems enough as it was. Ulquiorra slipped through a side entrance and into the main ballroom. Inwardly he winced. If there was one thing that the King knew how to do it was put on a show for people, especially if those people were potential enemies.

The entire place smelled like Lilies. Arrangements of the flower were everywhere inside the room and outside as well. Everything was in the white and black of Las Noches, though the black had been kept to a minimum. As usual most of the courtiers wore white which was an advantage for him since his guards had to wear that color as well. He picked some of them out easily but only because he knew them, for someone else a quick glance would not identify them if their weapons were concealed. The new faces belong to those from Karakura Town. They were far more colorful than most of Las Noches. He understood the reason for the soft colors in Orihime's gown instantly, she would have to toe an extremely fine line.

His eyes found Prince Ichigo Kurosaki's form far too easily. He looked every inch the dashing prince/hero. His hair was the same violent shade of orange but his amber eyes showed an open, genuine warmth that made Ulquiorra slowly plot the ways he could murder the bastard. Whatever his companion said he obviously found amusing because he started to laugh, the sound coming so easily to him. There were no barriers, no walls--it was not as if someone would think of Prince Ichigo as holding the world at an arms length. Though bile rose in the back of his throat, Ulquiorra grudgingly had to admit that Orihime would do well with him. After all, if one sun was bright, two would be even brighter. Their kingdoms would flourish.

He still wanted to kill the bastard, slowly.

Suddenly all eyes went to the stairs where Orihime had just entered. Ichigo's amber eyes widened in surprise, his lips parting as Ulquiorra knew he took in the sight of his future bride. Ulquiorra glanced behind him to see Orihime standing there looking absolutely perfect. His eyes swept over her form as she glided down the stairs, a smile on her lips. She did not look doll like, not like most of the woman who got dressed up. She looked alive and beautiful. Orihime's eyes found Ichigo's. Both their cheeks turned pink as the entirety of both Courts seemed to hold their breath as the two met for the first time in a long time. Ichigo moved through the crowd to greet her when she came down the stairs, coming to stand in front of him.

"Welcome to Las Noches, Your Highness," she said curtseying, "I hope you will enjoy your stay."

"I'm sure I will, Princess Inoue," he said taking her extended hand and brushing a kiss to it.

Both Courts sighed in relief.

The music started up again but all that Ulquiorra could think was that the trouble hadn't begun yet. His eyes scanned the room before he saw her. She looked like she blended perfectly, far too perfectly for it to be coincidental. She wore her dark hair piled on top of her head and secured with silver ornaments. Her dress was lilac and silver, bringing out her almost luminescent purple eyes. She was laughing with a few men who seemed quite enamored of her, despite the fact that she was much shorter than any of them. Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed. The hairs on the back of his neck seemed to be standing up. He turned and grabbed the arm of the nearest guard he could spot.

"Whose that?" he demanded nodding towards her.

"Just another member of the Karakura Court, sir," the guard said.

"Someone is to keep an eye on her at all times," he said looking at the guard, "I don't want her out of sight."

"Alright sir," he said turning and walking over to her, plastering the same love-struck grin on his face as all her other suitors wore.

The woman's violet eyes found Ulquiorra's emerald ones over his shoulder. Just the slightest narrowing of them, the all too devious curve of her lips and Ulquiorra knew she was onto him. He turned his head to see the Princess and Prince talking over something, their stiff postures giving way as they became comfortable with each other. When he turned around he was suddenly toe to toe with the petite, violet eyed woman, much to the disheartenment of her suitors. She raised an eyebrow as the song the band was playing wound down.

"If you are going to keep an eye on me, the least you can do is dance."

"Of course," he said cooly extending an arm. She accepted it with grace and they walked to the dance floor, beginning to move as a new song was struck up, "and your name?"

"Is that important to you, Captain Schiffer?" she asked with the same devious smile, "you are obviously suspicious of me."

"I am just wondering why Soul Society is brazen enough to send just one woman to spy on us," he said, acting on his gut instinct.

"You are not as astute as the rumors suggest," she said, the smile not not slipping.

"Is it wise to risk your alliance with Karakura?" he questioned.

"While touching, that is not your concern," she said.

Ulquiorra tried to run through the list of people he knew from Soul Society who would be foolish and brazen enough to accept the mission of coming to a place like this. Obviously this woman was not Nobility, not by birth very good at blending into such parties it was clear that she was far more comfortable with men who had gotten their hands dirty once or twice. From the thinly masked glares the women were giving her it was clear the family she was in was high ranking enough that alienating her would not be wise at all. Her tongue was clearly sharp, though he knew she had judged him just as well before she had talked with the informality that she did. The music ended and the two moved apart, their eyes not leaving each other. Hers kept moving from his face to his chest, judging if he was going to go for his sword. This woman was a fighter, in more ways than one.

"Ah, Ambassador Kuchiki, I see you've met Captain Schiffer," a woman in a dark sapphire dress and short hair said with a smile.

Ambassador?

"Yes," she said, her smile widening, "Captain Schiffer and I were just talking."

"Well I apologize, but I must steal you away for a moment," the woman continued.

She nodded and the two walked off into the crowd. Ulquiorra grimaced and looked through the crowd for the mop of violently colored hair. This time instead of orange he was looking for blue. He found him, surrounded by a gaggle of girls as always. He would never understand why he dressed in muted colors considering the fact that his hair was like staring into the sun for too long. But right now he needed his help enough to try and push the unpleasant thoughts from his head.

"Your Grace? May I speak to you?" he asked cooly.

"Ah, ladies, I'm sorry but I gotta go," he said. They all pouted, "I know, I know, but your favorite Duke will be back in a minuet and then two of you can play Duchess tonight."

The unpleasant thoughts were back. Duke Grimmjow of the House of Jeagerjaques was a hard partying playboy if there ever was one. Unfortunately he also happened to be a good solider and someone that Ulquiorra was forced to give grudging respect too--and with enough alcohol, he could even find him tolerable. The injuries he had sustained in the war, at the hands of Prince Ichigo, had ended his military career and forced him into a wonderfully plush retirement. He was Ulquiorra's second eyes at Court, though the two would never admit it to anyone. Most of the Court still though they hated each other after their infamous brawls while in the service.

"Whose the Ambassador?" Ulquiorra asked, "purple eyes, dark hair--"

"Oh her," Grimmjow grinned, "saw you two dancing. That, my unfortunate friend, is the Lady Rukia Kuchiki. Her brother is Prince Byakuya Kuchiki, one of the many in line for the throne of Soul Society."

"Kuchiki doesn't have a sister," he said.

"Apparently he does now," he said, "adopted by the looks of it."

"Why would the Prince risk his sister to come here?" he asked, his brow furrowing.

"Who knows. But whatever it is, I'm guessing its not good."

Though he was loath to admit it, Ulquiorra had to agree. With a curt nod he turned and walked off. Grimmjow watched him go before he turned and walked back to his potential 'Duchesses'. Ulquiorra made his way through the crowd. He had put men to watch the Ambassador but he was not going to let Orihime Inoue out of his sight for the rest of the night. She was not hard to find, dancing with the Prince, completely unaware of the potential threat. Though he continued to receive reports throughout the night, Ulquiorra made sure that the Princess to to remain blissfully unaware, at least for a little while longer.

"Oh he was wonderful," Orihime sighed, her eyes star struck, "I was so nervous but it was all for nothing."

If Ulquiorra hadn't wanted to murder the Prince before, he sure as hell wanted to do so now. The two of them were walking back to her rooms. Thankfully propriety demanded that Prince Kurosaki leave her side at the ballroom entrance. He had done so with a kiss to her hand before she slipped out of the room. Ulquiorra had been waiting for her on the other side of the doors intent on making sure nothing happened to her from there to her bedroom. There were enough guards to protect her there. Orihime had taken his arm without a thought and immediately started talking about the Prince with the enthusiasm of a girl in love. Ulquiorra let her talk, figuring if she was distracted enough the stars in her eyes would keep her from seeing that something was very wrong. Apparently it was working. As long as he let her speak and tuned it out, he could keep his eyes out for any activity.

"What did you think?" Orihime asked looking at him. Ulquiorra looked at her blankly, "have you been listening to a word I said?" she asked, a pout coming to her lips.

She had been drinking. Orihime only pouted when she drank. She wasn't drunk but she was certainly tipsy. Ulquiorra felt frustration surge through him as another factor slipped out of his control. He heard something--or someone--move behind them. Instantly his hand was on her waist and the other on his sword.

"Ulqui--"

"Step in front of me," he ordered, his voice low.

Orihime obeyed him as he turned around, his eyes looking out for the target. Nothing but an empty corridor greeted his sharp emerald gaze.

"W-what's going on?" Orihime asked, her fingers tightening in the folds of her skirt, "Ulquiorra--"

"Stay close," he ordered her. Orihime nodded and stepped close enough so he could feel the silk of her skirt brush the back of his legs, "we need to get you to your rooms," he said, "quickly."

Orihime nodded, her fingers pulling the heavy material up into her hands. Ulquiorra took a step back and looked at her. He gave a curt nod. With speed that would have done his soldiers shame she pulled up her skirts and took off running. Instantly two men appeared in the hallway. Ulquiorra moved forward, his sword flashing as he blocked one strike before quickly impaling the two men. Turning he ran after the Princess, intent on keeping her in his sight. Even in her heavy gown Orihime managed to move quickly through the darkened palace. Suddenly the entire structure seemed to shake violently. Orihime's feet stopped as she turned, horror in her eyes. Ulquiorra kept running.

"The palace--" she inhaled, "we're under attack--" she looked at him, "father--"

"Come on!" he grabbed her arm.

"But the people--"

"The people will be fine! Your priority is to stay alive!"

Orihime looked at him, horror in her eyes before she stuffed it down and nodded, knowing his words were correct. Her father would have said the same thing, even if she did not want to admit it. The two ran down the hallway as Ulquiorra opened one of the many secret tunnels. Orihime dove in as he jumped right after her. They raced down a long set of stairs, down to the ground floor of the palace where two horses were kept for occasions such as this. One was obviously for the King and the other for his daughter. But Ulquiorra knew the King would not be leaving this way, not tonight. He helped Orihime onto her horse and climbed onto the Kings. He felt warmth on the side of his face and turned his head towards it.

The palace was burning.

"Ride!" he ordered her, his voice giving her the strength her limbs seemed to lack. Orihime gasped and buried her heels into the side of her horse. The animal bolted. To her right she could see Ulquiorra riding just behind her. There was a whistling sound in the air "stay low!" he called. Orihime flattened herself as an arrow went sailing over her head, "ride for the woods!"

The two horses raced for the tree line, arrows and nightmares at their back. Finally her steed broached the tree line and rode through the forrest. Ulquiorra was hot on her heels. There was a trail in the forrest he had cleared, one that was hard to see if one did not know that it was there. They raced along the path for as long as he thought was safe, at least long enough that the people who were sent after them could get to the woods and try to find them. He did not want to risk giving their location away, the pale colors they wore were enough to make it even easier to spot them in the darkness. He pulled his horse up and Orihime quickly did the same, seeing him out of the corner of her eye. He got off his horse and came over to help her get off hers.

"Thank you--Ulquiorra you're bleeding," she gasped.

He looked down to see his jacket was torn. One of the arrows must have grazed him. He pressed his fingers to the wound. It hurt but it wasn't deep--or, he imagined, poisoned.

"I'll be fine," he said, "we need to abandon the horses and keep moving. Take off your dress."

"What?" she gasped looking at the garment.

"You are wearing enough underneath to preserve your modesty," he said, "we need to mislead them," he said.

"A-alright but you've got to help me," she said turning around.

Adrenaline made it easy to undo the buttons of her dress and not to think about the fact that he was undressing the Princess. The dress fell to the ground with a soft sound of heavy silk as she stepped out of it. He picked it up and looked at the limp thing. They needed to make it stand up. Orihime's fingers were already reaching behind her and undoing the ties of her petticoats. They came off easily as well. Uqluiorra took them and stuffed them into the dress, tying it on with the reins. It looked misshapen but it was bright enough that it would throw them off for a bit. He sent the horses running off in one direction and turned to face the Princess.

Apparently the undergarments for such a dress were a bit more compromising than he had originally thought.

Her bottom half was alright, completely covered anyway. But the corset ended dangerously low on her breasts. Pink stained her cheeks as she tried to figure out the best way to cover herself, though the night was by no means cold. Ulquiorra quickly undid his jacket and offered it to her. Red faced she accepted it and pulled it on, doing up the buttons to preserve at least some of her modesty. The rip in the side was unfortunate but at least she was covered.

"Come, we need to keep moving," he said.

Orihime nodded as the two of them made their way deeper into the woods.

Alright so I just transfered the oneshot to here.

Updates soon!