The pain shot through me in spasms, I couldn't remember how long it'd been since we began. Was that the thirty fourth or the forty third lash? I could feel the skin of my back tearing open, the blood streaming down the sides of my mid drift. How long would I have to endure this agony? I knew I was being punished that much was clear, but for what? I couldn't remember. My knees slipped on the vast crimson puddle forming between my legs. Was I naked? I couldn't see through my half lidded eyes, was I blind? No, I remember now. I was beaten; my eye was just swollen shut.

Finally, the lashings stopped, I could feel the last one tear a chunk of my skin away. I grimaced but bit my lip to hold back the shriek piercing through my esophagus. I felt two burly arms drag me across the floor; I was thrown into a room or was it a cell? I felt my consciousness begin to fade away, the pain coursing through me in waves, exhaustion set in.

I felt a chill and awoke with a start. I felt a soaked cloth rub at my wounds.

"Who are you?" I called out hoarsely.

"I'm here to help you; we're going to escape tonight."

I opened my eyes as wide as I could get them and saw a girl. She looked about my age, her hair was cut short. She soaked the cloth again and kept wiping; she winced when she saw my back. I was laying on my side, as she began to pull out a needle.

"Whoa, wait what are you doing?"

She smirked as she pulled some thread and cut it with her incisors.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of a little needle after what they did to you."

She pulled a bottle out of her pouch and poured it onto another cloth and after on the needle.

"I'm afraid this is going to sting some."

She applied pressure with the cloth over my gaping wounds and I stifled a scream. She worked quickly, stitching me up where she deemed looked the worst, I suppose. I couldn't see her from this angle, the warmth emitting from her hands confused me. I wasn't used to human contact unless it involved pain. I wouldn't cry. I absolutely wouldn't cry, after the last suture the stiffness in my muscles languidly relaxed.

"The worst is over, I'm sorry; I promise I'll get you out of here."

I wanted to turn over but I couldn't. She stilled me with the palm of her hand, "You should take it easy, if you move around too much, you'll just reopen the wound."

I was fatigued; I didn't know how much longer I could take this.

"I'm not going to ask you again, who are you?"

She crawled around my body to stare face to face with me. She smiled faintly, caressing my swollen cheek with the back of her hand. I felt a shudder run up my spine but I couldn't quite place the feeling she elicited out of me. I examined her closely; the faint bruises on her face didn't go unnoticed. Her appearance over all wasn't that bad, she looked better off than I was.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. What's yours?"

I stared in disbelief, she didn't even know who I was and she was helping me; what an odd girl. "Sasuke, Sasuke Uchiha."

She grinned then, "Well it's nice to meet you Sasuke. I have to go now but I promise I'll come back soon."

I gazed at her retreating form a part of me was terrified she was lying to me and she'd never return only to leave me here with open promises of escape. I should've never let her touch me; her words were like a beacon calling to me in the dark dank hell I was in now. I couldn't let her raise aspirations within me, I needed to think cryptically. Who was she to help me? What made me so special? I closed my eyes attempting to squash the overbearing faith crawling within my chest. I expelled any thoughts pertaining to her. Finally after staring at my crepuscular surroundings I fell asleep.

That night I dreamed of the ocean and freedom. I dreamed of her, the sparkle in her malachite eyes, her roseate colored hair, and her soft unblemished hands touching my cheek.

-%-(()

(Sakura's POV)

I walked hastily to my quarters, which wasn't all that luxurious but it was better than the cold dungeons. I was also a prisoner here; waiting impatiently for my mother to realize how much power she actually held over her kingdom. She would never listen to me, no matter how many times I tried to explain to her that the times were changing, she was ruler; why all the hesitation? Though I do concede that woman still don't play a dominant role in society, she has to realize that keeping this kingdom in order is her blood right. Her denial and outright refusal to pay me any heed, is one of the reasons why I was beaten; she let it happen.

Unfortunately, it was a few years ago if I recall, that lord Orochimaru came to our household, my mother let him stay here, for what reason I have yet to learn of. She calls him her acquaintance but as of lately she lets him do as he pleases, others even going so far as mistaking him as the head of household. It bothered me, like an itch I couldn't reach, a prickling feeling that warned me. I tried to tell her how I felt but she disregarded anything I spoke of. Then there came a time for when I really lost respect for her. One evening I came to her bruised from an array of hits lord Orochimaru had bestowed upon my person. If I recall, I was coming back from a ride on one of our horses, after coming out of the stalls I was awarded a hit to my face, a bruise darkening the side of my eye. I was lucky enough it didn't swell but I was outraged. Who was he to put his hands on my person?

I glared at his ghoul-like face, "And what pray tell was that for?"

His eyebrows rose, "You would do well to hold your tongue in the presence of a man; who let you out of the grounds?"

I sneered at him and walked away but it did nothing but provoke him. He had swiftly tripped me until my backside slammed against the floor; he kicked me near my face only inflicting a shallow cut above my brow. He looked upon me with spite; I hated the look on his face as if he were better than me. I felt disgusted that a mere lord deemed himself of more worth than I. I bit my lip in frustration, my blood was searing with hatred, I would have liked to put him in his place but knew better than to risk the well-being of both my mother and I. After he got his last few snippy remarks and a few more kicks to my person, I knew I had to go to my mother with this.

After that fiasco, I pleaded to my mother beaten and bloodied that she should expel him from the kingdom but she refused. That's when I had had it. I rarely spoke to her ever again. I knew that something had to be wrong, something horribly wrong, she was never so easily manipulated. I knew her to be strong willed and determined. That is when I started to plan for my escape; it was going to be a challenging task, so I befriended one of the guards. He was a friend of my mother's, his name was Kakashi. Presently I hadn't found an opportunity to speak with him of my fascination with escape; recently I was unfortunate enough to have happened upon the torturing of a prisoner. Usually they did it in a cell, but this time under Orochimaru's request it was done at the square, where people walked through hallways to get to the other side of the castle.

As my gaze settled upon him, the churning of my stomach became evident, as the guards whip came into contact with his pale white skin. I wanted to intervene, his back had already constituted more than enough damage by now, anymore and he'd bleed to death. Unfortunately, that's about the time when Orochimaru came out to take in the boy's mutilated appearance. I hid behind a supporting base. Peeking around the corner, I exhaled in relief as he sauntered off to do Kami knows what. I wasn't able to overhear his conversation. I peered back at the boy and saw as the guards dragged his broken body across the grounds to the dungeons.

I raced back to my room to collect some medical supplies. I gathered all the materials in a pouch and headed towards the dungeons. As I slithered my way through the few snoozing guards' defenses, I was caught last minute before I reached the cell. I flirted a little with the guard mentioning how I had to practice my skills as a medic and that these lowly scum prisoners were perfect subjects since they were going to die anyway. He agreed wholeheartedly, sickening me, I smirked triumphantly as he let me through. Once I saw his condition, tears gathered in my eyes; hopefully my skills would be up to par.

I made my presence known stating who I was and out of near desperation promised I would set him free. When the alcohol contacted with his raw flesh I commended him for his high tolerance of pain, any other patient would've fainted from the affliction. I told him to prepare himself as I disinfected a needle and began to manually stitch up his wound. When the deed was done I applied a cooling salve to aid with the process and prevent infection. I smiled down at him as I combed back some loose strands covering his sweaty face. My eyes widened in surprise at how handsome he was. I coughed and got up abruptly, which lead me to my situation presently. I scoured through the castle searching for Kakashi, I needed to alert him of my escape plan, it wasn't really much of a plan I just hoped to walk out of here with his help. Hopefully Orochimaru hadn't gotten to him yet and discharged him. As I became deep in thought an audible 'oof' escaped me as I bumped into a hard chest; looking up into grey eyes I smiled.

"Just the man I was looking for," I smirked with obvious intention.

His face was covered, he was a mysterious man. I never really did get to know him much but I looked up to him as a teacher and I also knew that he wasn't a loyal lapdog to Orochimaru, so that was a plus. I retold him about the prisoner Sasuke, his location and about how I planned to escape together. He was reluctant to accept my objective on the basis that I didn't know this man and that my safety was at stake but after some of my rebuttals and reasonable opinions that my safety was still at risk just living in this castle he approved of my decision to leave, I knew that I could leave him to care for my mother. We would escape tonight; he would guard the entrance hall where he'd let us slip away. Most of the guards were fool hearty at night so they wouldn't be as alert, I could definitely outwit them. Now the only task left was to bust out the wounded man that I promised to rescue, that definitely would not be a simple task.

-%-(()

(Sasuke's POV)

I slowly came to and realized with a start that the girl was gone, I thought back to what she told me, her name if I recall was Sakura. A part of me knew that she couldn't stay forever but somehow her presence elicited a sense of calm. I felt entirely sore for sleeping on my side for too long, so as not to harm my tender back, which surprisingly stopped stinging, taking into account that the wound was recent. I think the blood had finally coagulated, and most of my back was wrapped and sewn. I cringed at the thought but began to pick myself up so that I could sit upright. I gently began to flex my arms and stretch my neck which were both incredibly stiff. I sat for a while and pondered if the girl from before would keep to her promise. My brows furrowed, I didn't want to dwell upon it too much, and I especially didn't want to give myself a false sense of hope. It was nightfall already, if she'd come she would be here tonight. I exhaled and closed my eyes. A loud clang alerted me and I cringed as I stood up abruptly, through the metal bars of my cell I could see her, she was there. She actually came for me. I was deathly afraid that I was probably hallucinating, but as the cell door opened and she came forth with a large knapsack I knew that this was it, I'd gain my freedom.

"Hey, I'm here just as promised! We have to move quickly though, do any of your injuries hinder you from walking at a fast pace?"

I gazed at her a few minutes more before responding, "No."

She smiled and took my hand within hers, leading the way. Her pace wasn't as fast as she claimed to be, it was more of a trot really, but I hoped she wasn't slowing down for my sake. As we walked faster I noticed a few of the guards unconscious bodies on the floor, I could only imagine how she was able to get passed them. We managed to avoid confrontation with a few drunken guards as we turned a corner.

"I have someone meeting with us at the main entrance; he'll definitely keep to his word."

I nodded halfheartedly; I'd never met him so I can't evaluate his trustworthiness. After a while of more dashing through the pillars, we finally made it to the front entrance. A tall man with silver starlight hair wearing a cloth over the bottom half of his face was waiting with a black steed.

"Kakashi! I knew I could count on you!" she called after him.

The corners of his eyes crinkled from what i could determine; he was probably smiling.

"So, this is he? The prisoner you planned to break out Sakura?"

She nodded and smiled softly, "Are you coming with us Kakashi?"

"I'm afraid not, but rest assured I will be here to welcome you back when everything settles down. I know why you're really leaving Sakura-hime", he spoke with a serious tone. He handed me the reins and looked over back at the pink haired maiden. I was shocked when he called her princess, I thought she just worked in the castle, but if she were the daughter of the queen then, she would be the heir to the throne of Konoha.

"If you realize Kakashi, why it is that I'm leaving then you must know that this place isn't safe anymore, I can't stand being here knowing my own mother can't protect me as she stands by and does nothing to protect her title," she spoke with desperation in her tone.

Kakashi sighed in understanding, "Then I hope you will be able to award me with the utmost trust. Please make sure to send me updates on your journey, so that I may at least assure your mother that you are safe Hime-Sama. Until then I will stay here and inform you of any changes. I must say that I do feel you are acting a bit too rashly but you are not misinformed about Orochimaru, he is quite the cunning lord. I also believe he is up to something. Until then make sure to lay low, wouldn't want all that pink hair to draw too much attention ne?"

She softly smiled and shook her head, "We have to get going Kakashi, I will never forget this; I owe you one."

He then looked to me with a grave expression, "Please, whoever you are, take great care of her. She is the future of this country and I can't live with knowing that she would throw everything that she has lived for just to save some criminal."

I grimaced at the word criminal but what else was new? Of course he would distrust of me. I nodded stoically but felt a nervous buzzing within my belly, a princess. How the hell did he expect me to take care of a kingdom's princess? Of all the people in that castle it had to be the Queen's next in line to have taken pity on my tainted soul. She climbed atop the horse with the aid of Kakashi. I was tense with worry over my recent injuries; if I made any sudden movements to bend would my treated lacerations afflict me? I hesitantly bent my leg over the horse and exclaimed a shout of surprise when I felt the princess help me up the rest of the way, well technically it was Kakashi's helpful push but I recall remembering her touch more vividly as she grasped my arm.

Once the gates were open, I snapped the reins and we left at an abrupt pace. I felt flustered as the princess sat in front of me, my arms enclosed around her torso as I held the reins. Along the way to the main travelling roads I dared once or twice to lay my forehead against her shoulder, where I inhaled her scent. I felt bewildered and absolutely panic-stricken that she could elicit these emotions out of me. I felt open and vulnerable, she could have asked anything from me and I think I would have done anything in my power to accomplish any and every desire.

"If I do so remember correctly, your name is Sasuke-san, yes?" she turned her head slightly to look back at me.

I nodded once shyly, so far we haven't spoken much along the journey.

"I have a question, although I am the one with the reins, it seems I haven't a clue at where we are headed."

She laughed boisterously the sounds of ringing bells echoing in the recesses of my mind.

"That is indeed quite an important question, well Sasuke-san, how about we just go where the wind takes us ne?"

I shook my head, how irresponsible for a princess, but I could only imagine what it must feel like to be cooped up in a castle all this time, this was her only one true taste of freedom.

I was trying to formulate a plan, what country's land could we go to? The sun was already setting and there appeared to be no nearby town. As time progressed and the horse raced on I realized we'd have to stop and rest.

"I think we should stop and rest here among the foliage. Is that okay with you?"

She hummed softly in agreement. I stopped the horse and tied it to a nearby tree.

"Guess we'll just rest here for the night." I sighed and sat under a large oak tree. My wounds ached with the motion but I dealt with it.

She came and sat down next to me leaning against the tree, "You know we know each other by names but I don't really know much about you. How did you become imprisoned?"

I slightly frowned, but didn't say anything just a 'hn' escaped my lips. In truth, I didn't really remember why I was put there; my memory would turn hazy every time I would try to remember the reason as to why I was sent to that castle. I only remember of where I came from, my name, a distant relative. I basically remember every aspect of my life except as to why I approached that foreign land, and why I was tortured.

The princess pouted and grunted, she crossed her arms stubbornly and turned her face away. "Well, you know of where I come from and my lineage. And yet you remain an entire mystery; hardly seems fair if you ask me."

A smile crept itself onto my face, she was just too odd. I'd never met anyone like her before; it was interesting and also confusing. We would be travelling together but I expected not for long, we'd have to go separate ways eventually.

"I'm sorry princess, but to be truthful I don't quite remember how I came to become imprisoned within your kingdom."

She tilted her head, "That's quite interesting, you don't know? Like memory loss?"

"Yeah something like that, I wanted to ask you something since we've left, why me? Why did you decide to help me escape even though you had no idea who I was or what I've done." The question had been gnawing at my side from the moment she came into my cell.

Her smile made my stomach quiver, I just abhorred these feelings, when would they cease?

"Actually, there wasn't much going through my head, I guess I just knew I had to leave, and when I saw them torturing you in the square I just knew I had to do something. Sorry it's not much of an answer."

I nodded, it was fine. Her answer was more than I could ask for, she pitied me and it was expected. My face scrunched up as I felt a slow aching pain make itself present upon my back. The pain began to spread like wildfire and I clenched my teeth, biting back a groan.

I felt her abruptly get up and approach me; her questions came in a flurry barely able to give me a chance to answer.

"Are you okay? Where does it hurt? It's probably infected; we haven't changed your bandages!"

I doubled over, and I felt a sense of vertigo take me. I covered my mouth with my hand as a wave of nausea gripped me.

She began to pull my shirt over my head; I could feel her peeling the damp bandages as they tugged my skin. She had apparently taken a satchel filled with medical supplies with her. I can't remember what had happened next, everything was seen through filmy eyes, and I think eventually I passed out. As I awoke, it was already morning; I groaned feeling relieved of the pain of the night before. I turned on my side and took note of the princesses exhausted form. She lay beside me upon the grass, with her hair in disarray. I remember the way her lithe form curled against the earth as if she knew exactly where she was, no fear whatsoever. I sighed and closed my eyes, I'm sure a little more resting time couldn't hurt.

I turned towards the princess and gazed at her until eventually my eyelids began to feel heavy and that was when I knew sleep was imminent. The only thoughts circulating through my brain that night, was the image of the princess, and if she would ever take notice of a common lad as myself. I recall picturing a life of adventure with her, our hand clasped as she beamed at me. That night I fell asleep with a smile donning my face.

~It was a time that I would soon come to regret greatly. ~

AN: alright guys, I know that I'm just a horrible person and can't tell when I should really stop writing especially if I suck at updating I'm sorry. Blame the plot bunnies, otherwise please review, I'd really like some feedback on this one C: