So...while I REALLY ought to be finishing up the next chapter of Belonging if I'm going to be writing at all this quarter, I fell into the nefarious clutches of this plot bunny, and wouldn't leave me alone until I got the first chapter done. I figured I'd post it to appease my readers and let you guys know that I haven't actually fallen off the face of the earth but rather got caught up in a very busy quarter and will write more fanfiction as soon as I have a spare minute XD
Sorry if this is kind of confusing. It's a rough draft and it doesn't get clearer for another chapter or two, so I put some notes down at the bottom of the chapter to clarify a few things for everyone. Other than that, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Naruto...then ItaSaku would be canon, girls would play a bigger part in the series, and many other things would be different... I must also admit that the Emperor and Princess thing stemmed from wanting Tamora Pierce to write a legitimate Kaddar and Kalasin book.
Imperial
Chapter 1: Mild Reservations
"You are fulfilling a grave duty, my daughter. You take with you a promise of nations and a more solid treaty for peace than Konoha and the Fire Kingdom have had in years. I wish you well, Sakura."
"I will do your bidding, your Majesty."
Her sleek, rose-hued hair pinned back in several intricate braids as opposed to her usual loose waterfall, Sakura bowed…and then flung herself into her mother's arms.
"Sorry, Mother," she apologized as she squeezed and let go, sliding beside her mother onto the couch where the woman sat. "It's still a lot to take in."
Tsunade's amber eyes softened. Sakura was only seventeen; in spite of having been betrothed to her fiancé for the last four years, this was still the first time she would be traveling to another kingdom without her brother and at least half the court. While the rose-headed girl was no coward, the changes would have daunted even braver souls than her.
"You know you won't be alone," Tsunade reassured her, slipping from the more formal Queen-speech to the way she usually spoke. "We wouldn't send you out on your own."
"I know," Sakura said, her laugh only a little forced. "I'll have both Neji and Shino of the Jounin Guard with me, as well as Yamato of ANBU and Ibiki's interrogation, sorry, inquiry team. Oh, and Ebisu."
"Plenty of people," Tsunade agreed with pride for her daughter clear in her eyes. "Now, let us go," she said, her speech pattern growing more formal again as she rose to her feet and smoothed the viridian-and-cream silk of her gown with calm hands. "Your departure time draws nigh and your brother would not forgive me if I gave him no time to bid you farewell."
Sakura sighed softly as she followed her mother to the door. "I wish you wouldn't talk so formally like this when we're alone. It's too strange."
"You will have to get used to it in a hurry," her mother informed her sternly. "This is a natural mode of speech for Fire Kingdom nobility."
"Oh, slugs," Sakura muttered under her breath.
"And no swearing!"
Making a very un-princess-like face, Sakura bit down on the retort that 'slugs' did not actually qualify as a curse.
Years ago, as children, she and her brother had been admonished for swearing, so they had decided to use everyday words instead to express their feelings. In retrospect, using the animal patrons of their parents had probably not been a terribly wise move. Still, to Sakura, using frogs and slugs as curses was a constant source of amusement.
"Sakura!"
The rosy-headed girl's head shot up from her perusal of the marble floor she'd been smirking at to see her brother bearing down on her from down the hall with an excited expression on his face.
"Sakura!"
About to reply in kind, Sakura had the breath knocked out of her as her twin brother cannoned into her midsection.
"Naru-Naruto!" she wheezed as soon as she could draw breath, "Let…go…"
"Sorry!" the rambunctious blond replied, loosening his grip on his sister a little and wincing as he realized he'd run into her in full chainmail armor.
"You really need to learn to grow up, dobe," a scornful deadpan intoned from farther down the corridor.
Glancing over her brother's shoulder, Sakura's viridian eyes connected with the obsidian orbs of the one who had grown to be as close to her as her family since he had first arrived at the palace four years ago.
"Shut up, teme," Naruto replied flippantly, using terms in the old language of the Fire Kingdom they had all learned from Sasuke in the last couple of years, remaining wrapped around the viridian-eyed girl. "I'm not going to see Sakura for a while; I need to get in my hugs while I can. It's not like Sakura minds, right?" he asked, turning blue eyes, full of conviction, on the girl in his arms.
"Of course not," Sakura reassured him with a beaming smile and a friendly squeeze, ignoring how the breeches and traveling gown she wore on top of those wrinkled as she did so.
Naruto continued to nuzzle her affectionately as the sarcastic, dark-haired teen and a snowy-headed man drew up to them.
"And this is our kingdom's future King, my heir," the man almost groaned, running a large hand through his bushy-white hair.
"Hello, Father," Sakura greeted, managing to pull off a curtsey with a blond attached to her shoulders.
Jiraiya, king and monarch of Konoha and a father of two, beamed down at his daughter. "Hello, girl. Ready to be off?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," she replied confidently, all traces of her earlier uncertainty gone.
"You seem to be forgetting just whose daughter she is," Tsunade said tartly, a tiny smirk teasing across her features, placing her hands on her hips with a sharply raised eyebrow to accent her point.
"Yours, yours, I'd never forget," Jiraiya hastily assured his wife, "And mine too," he added, winking at his son and daughter.
Sakura found herself laughing at the old joke that, on any other occasion, would have made her groan in unison with her brother. In the back of her mind, she couldn't forget that it might be months until she heard it again.
"Sakura, it is almost time."
The chatter of her parents and brother quieted, and even Sakura paled momentarily.
"Oh, good going, Sasuke-teme," Naruto growled. "You just ruined the mood."
"No swearing, Naruto," Tsunade admonished. "Sasuke is right, the escort should be assembled by now."
"We will take your leave, your Majesties," Sasuke said with reserved politeness.
"No, no," Jiraiya countered with equal placidity. "We will see you off."
And with a kind of grimness that was a little too unsettling for Sakura's tastes, the five of them set off through the castle's corridors, silent to the point that Sakura longed for the stable yards to bring some noise to the group.
The stable yard, when they reached it, was exactly as she'd expected it to be: loud.
Mounts were being checked for last-minute inspections by palace hostlers as the escort Sakura was to take with her to the Fire Kingdom stood around chatting with an air of excitement about them.
A blonde in purple laughed and gesticulated to a brunette in Jounin Guard gear in red and white to one side. In front of them, a trio of knights inspected a scroll, two thoroughly debating its contents while the third made lazy comments on the side. Next to them, a younger member of the Jounin Guard relaxed in the supplies wagon with his friend seated next to him munching on a heel of travel bread. On the wagon's other side, two more knights in forest green discussed the trip's glorious endeavor at the tops of their lungs.
It was such a relief from all the silence that Sakura couldn't blame Naruto for practically bounding into the midst of the green-clad knights with a cry of "Lee! Sir Gai!"
"Prince Naruto!"
Lee's voice carried well, turning everybody's heads to the new arrivals. "And Princess Sakura! Your Majesties! Lord Sasuke!"
"Hello, Sir Lee," Sakura greeted with a genuine grin as she used the title the young man had won only a couple of months ago. "Are we ready to be off?"
"We are ready to leave as soon as you like!" the young knight reassured her excitably.
'As soon as I like? Does this mean we're never leaving?' Sakura's mind quipped a little wryly.
=*~*~*=
"I'm really going to be fine, Naruto," Sakura assured her brother one last time. "I'll send word as soon as I arrive."
"As soon as you arrive," Naruto reiterated solemnly as he let go of the reins of Sakura's mount.
Chuckling to herself at Naruto's persistence, Sakura nudged her chestnut bay mare's head to the open road and followed the members of her forward guard out. She forced herself not to look back at the last minute. Seeing her family waving her off was a sight Sakura knew would not help to keep back her tears.
For several miles the travel was decently fast-paced to make up for their loitering earlier, and it wasn't until mid-afternoon that a halt was called.
"Drink, princess?"
Sakura smiled easily as she slid out of the saddle and turned to face the man who had known her since childhood.
"Thanks, Kakashi," she coughed, accepting the flask he offered gratefully. "I forgot just how dusty the roads to the Fire Kingdom are."
Swallowing a few mouthfuls of water to clear her throat, she handed the flask back to the older man.
Her senior by fourteen years, Lord Sir Hatake Kakashi, Duke of the White Fang, appeared nothing like the imposing figure of his reputation. His soft, silver-white hair was messily spiky and fell into a single dark eye. The other was covered by an eyepatch that, Sakura knew, concealed an eye that gleamed crimson and channeled Kakashi's considerable magical talent. His clothes were plain for a duke, cut in the serviceable fashion of knights who commonly took to the field, and definitely strange wear for the man who was Commander of the Jounin Guard. He had taught her much of the basics of controlling her magical powers before Shizune and her mother had taken over when her talent in healing was discovered, and trained her in swordplay along with other members of the Jounin Guard when she had been younger.
"Nervous?"
"Huh?"
Jolted out of her thoughts by Kakashi's question, Sakura felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. "Sorry Kakashi, I didn't mean to be so distracted," she apologized, still pink. "I'm fine."
"Of course," Kakashi replied, not in the least taken in by Sakura's words. She had never been able to fool him, as a child or even now as an adult. "Well, we're going to start off again soon, but we'll be going at a slower pace so that the boy glowering at me can stop and talk to you," he said, cheerfully flippant as he gestured with a thumb over his shoulder.
Surprised, Sakura glanced behind the man to notice that Sasuke was, indeed, glaring daggers at the back of Kakashi's head.
"Um…"
"Oh, I don't mind," Kakashi remarked, flashing Sakura one of his trademark serene smiles. "I knew he wanted to talk to you."
'And you decided to talk to me and take up my attention anyway??' Sakura wondered a little incredulously, unable to keep her lips from curving into the mischievous grin that Kakashi found most amusing.
With an answering smile, Kakashi turned away, pitching his quiet voice so that everyone in the clearing heard him without a problem.
Watching the knight commander walk back to his mount, Sakura mused how somehow the slump-shouldered figure drew command on himself like a mantle in a way that rivaled her parents. A shaky smile crept across her pale features, her riding gloves protecting her from digging her nails straight into her palms as her hands balled into fists. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to relax.
'Didn't think I'd be such a crybaby,' Sakura chided herself as she followed after her former teacher to where the horses stood waiting. 'I'm not going to cry. I'll see Kakashi and my family again eventually.'
But it wasn't until she was back in the saddle and the entire train was on the trail that she could smile without the expression wobbling.
Once she had her feelings under control, she nudged her horse forward to match pace with the still grim-looking Sasuke on his jet-black gelding.
He turned a little in his saddle to catch her gaze as she rode to his side.
"Sakura."
The girl fixed him with clear, viridian eyes, purpose in their depths. "Sasuke, I want to know more about my fiancé."
The dark-haired male looked only slightly perturbed as he nodded in acquiescence to her request.
Sakura took a deep breath. "Tell me about Prince Itachi."
=*~*~*=
"Itachi-kou."
The Imperial Prince turned away from the window to face his older cousin, his ivory-pale face nearly emotionless.
But Shisui could see the hint of tension around Itachi's eyes.
"Shisui. Do Mother and Father need me?" the prince asked, taking several steps towards his cousin that, of course, had everything to do with his dutiful behavior as Imperial Prince and nothing to do with the view outside….
"Yes, the Empress wanted to speak to you about the delegation from Konoha before they arrived tomorrow," Shisui informed his younger cousin, sharp jet-black eyes trained keenly on the Imperial Prince's face.
"Mother should have no reason to worry," Itachi murmured softly, his brows drawing together in a faint frown that melted into a wry expression that might just have bordered on a smirk. "I am not Sasuke-kun."
"Regardless," Shisui laughed. "The Empress wishes to see you. You know better than I that it is best not to keep her waiting."
With a curt nod, Itachi strode past his cousin, vacating the room with surprising alacrity. Watching him stride away, Shisui mused how that stride would have constituted as running away had it not been Uchiha Itachi who had been vacating the premises.
Still smiling at the thought, Shisui moved to the window that Itachi had been gazing out of not five minutes ago.
The vista was lushly green, the maples on the forest fringe rustling in the late spring breeze. Between the trees, a wide carriage path was just barely visible from the window. It was not lost on Shisui that it was the same path that the Konoha envoy would travel on to make their way to the Imperial Palace.
'Who is it you're waiting for, Itachi?' Shisui mused to himself thoughtfully as he pulled back from the open window. 'Sasuke-kun…or someone else?'
So, here's some information to clear up any confusing points you might have had.
Princess vs. Hime: You might have picked up on the fact that, while Itachi and Shisui have used honorifics like -kun and -kou (that means prince in Japanese according to the Denshi Jisho), Sakura and everyone in Konoha doesn't. The reason behind that is because I wanted to give Konoha a more...medieval Europe type feeling as opposed to the Fire Kingdom's obviously Japanese aura. Basically, everyone from both Konoha and the Fire Kingdom speak the same language, but the Fire Kingdom dialect is peppered with words from their own archaic language (Japanese). I just wanted Itachi to be able to call Sakura, "Sakura-hime" and have the constant "dobe/teme" thing stay in place.
Konoha Armed Forces: There are three levels to the armed services in this version of Konoha. There's the Jounin Guard, which basically translates to knights. They're the ones who get called "Sir" and are led by Kakashi. Then there's ANBU, who are the Elite Guardians to the royal family of Konoha. The only member of Sakura's escort who is a current ANBU member is Yamato/Tenzou, but Kakashi has obviously been in ANBU before...as you'll see in the next chapter. I think. I haven't written it yet. XD Finally, there's the Irregulars, who basically function as agents of the Konoha spymaster (I picked Shino's dad. I seem to be favoring Shino lately...). Members of the Irregulars include Ibiki and his Inquiry team (Shika-Ino-Chou), Anko and Genma, and a few other people we may or may not hear of in future chapters.
Itachi and Sasuke: Sasuke's obviously been staying in Konoha...and Itachi is obviously still in the Fire Kingdom. What happened? That'll be revealed soon so I won't say much, just that the brothers are NOT estranged and have a decent relationship as can be expected for two people who have seen each other maybe a handful of times in the last four years.
Itachi and Sakura: Sakura makes it obvious that she's been to the Fire Kingdom before, and that was nearly six years ago. The betrothal between herself and Itachi four years prior to the beginning of this story was done entirely by courier. The two individuals in question didn't actually say a word to the other the entire process. Exactly three letters were sent back and forth between them while it was happening. But who did the sending and who did the receiving will hopefully be revealed later.
The Why and Wherefore: I decided I'd try my hand at something a little more dramatic, though there'll still be ample humor in this fic. I wanted a fic where Sakura and Itachi were going to have to work through their differences to survive the hurdles of the Imperial Court of the Fire Kingdom to keep the peace between their two countries and leave their engagement intact. After all, we want them to actually GET to the altar, right? In case you were wondering, yes, the rating will go up to T for, possibly, language or gore or situations, and if the muse makes me do it, I may flirt with the line of M. I don't actually know since I feel I probably wouldn't do it any justice ^^; We shall see though.
And now that I've probably written as much in explanations as I did in storytelling, I just have one more thing to say (right after my creative little quip about feeding the muse by reviewing which I would put together if only my brain wasn't swiftly turning to mush because it's 1:30 in the morning and I've been up for eighteen hours straight).
TBC