It was the middle of october and nothing had happened in London. Sakura was dying of boredom, none of her friends had visited her because they supposedly took a vacation in the countryside. They wrote to her, but the letters were short and had not enough information. Sakura did really miss her friends. London was a big city with a lot of opportunities, but it was not as fun to be out and socialize without your friends.

She had been at a few balls and dinners, but none of them were exciting. They were mostly dinners with her father's associates and their families. She had not danced at any of the balls and at the dinners there were not a single interesting person to talk too. They were either much older or just plain boring. She did truly wish her friends were in town. Naruto, Ino or Hinata, one of them at least could have stayed with her in this boring time of the year.

As she sat thinking about what her friends were doing at that very moment, there was a knock on the door. She opened the door and a maid stood there holding a silver plate with a letter on it. Sakura thanked her and took the letter, she also closed the door before she sat on the bed. On the envelope it stood her address and name with a elegant handwriting. She could recognize this penmanship from a mile away, it was Hinata's.

She opened the letter and read:

Dearest Miss Sakura haruno,

I am sorry for the short amount of letters, but I have not had anytime to spare for these past weeks. I will make up for it by telling you rumors and news that I have picked up under the course of my journey throughout England.

I will start by telling you that I have visited Mrs Tsunade Senju, and she misses you dearly. I have also met several others such as Mr Might, Mr Hatake, Mrs Yuhi and Mr Sarutobi. They too wishes you well and luck. I have also encountered some of our mutual friends and they had much to tell, but I think you already know most of it.

I have some news regarding the big winter ball in December, some of the mightier families in England are coming, for example the Senjus, the Uchihas and the Sarutobis. Of course several other influential families such as mine and the Uzumakis. I do not know who in the different families are coming, but I think Lord Uchiha will be there.

Now to some of the few rumours I have gotten from Ino, you may have heard most of them but i wrote them down anyway. Mr obito Uchiha is back from India, it is said that he and Mr Hatake had yet another run-in and it has become even more bad blood between the families. Another rumour regarding the Uchihas, is that Mr Itachi Uchiha have become engaged to a girl within the clan, but there are no reliable sources except some conspiracies at the salons in the late morning.

There is also rumoured that there is an engagement between Mr Asuma Sarutobi and Mrs Kurenai Yuhi. But sadly I think that is not true, and it will take a while for them to become engaged. I do hope it will happen soon though, because not to be rude but they are both over the usual age to get married.

I do not have much more to tell, except that I miss you and long to meet you. I hope deep in my heart that we will meet before the ball.

Yours sincerely

Sakura laid down and thought to herself that she hadn't missed as much as she thought. But a little bit of her felt sad, she really wanted to be there, at the balls and dinners with her friends. But because of her father's business and her mother's resistance to travel, because she hates carriages, Sakura is stock here. She closed her eyes and longed for the ball where she would meet all her friends again, but it felt like a lifetime away.

Sakura woke up to the sunset outside her window. She got out of bed and saw that the clock was half past six pm. She sat there for a moment looking out of the window, her thoughts swirled around in her head. But she decided to get up and go down stairs.

Her father was in his study room writing some business letters and her mother was in the library. She sat in one of the armchairs in the middle of the royal like room. Many have admired their stylish house and commented often on the good taste her mother had. Sakura didn't see anything special about it, because for it has always looked the same in her eyes. But for people from the countryside, this was what they imagined a mansion to look like from the inside. Of course their townhouse were no way near the majestic style mansions could have. Sakura have only been in one house with such features, and that was the house of lord Uchiha.

Sakura's mother looked up from her book at her daughter. "It's not dinner yet, darling," said Mebuki in a loving tone. Just as Sakura were to go back to her room, her mother asked her about the letter.

"It didn't stand much of meaning, only that the mightiest families in England will come to the ball," Sakura paused and looked out of the window before she asked, "do you think all of my friends will come?"

"I'm sure they will come," answered Mebuki, "Otherwise I would be surprised. Almost all of your friends left London after the sommer season, and I think they have been gone long enough". Sakura sighed, she really hoped they would come.

"Do you think I will have time for them"? Sakura asked her mother, "Or will Lord Uchiha require my presence among his party"?

"Oh, my dear blossom", said Mebuki while she put away her book, "You almost sound bitter, In your age it will do you no good. Many women would praise very highly to be in the presence of a Marquess. You should be thankful for the attention he gives you", with that said Mebuki leaved her daughter in the library.

October passed by faster than Sakura thought, even if the daily routine was the same. She woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, went to the library and read, then lunch and back to the library. She often read philosophy or biology, but she could also enjoy a bit of drama time to time.

One day in the middle of november, a maid came into the library carrying another letter. She thanked the maid and read the envelope, it was from a person she hadn't seen for a long time. The handwriting was utterly perfect and the address of the letter did Sakura recognize. She opened it and read:

Miss Sakura Haruno

As you probably already know I have been away on business trips over the course of the year, so I have had little time to spare for writing while I was away. I have missed our conversations and I long to hear your voice again. It has been quite miserable without any kind of intelligent company, and you have no idea how boring it can be to spend most of the evenings with men that has no manners or any good traits.

I hope that you will allow me to ask you to visit me once I'm in London. I also require your presence at the ball in December with my entourage, which I hardly believe you had any other plan for.

I have also heard of your fathers success in the tobacco industry, which I proudly take responsibility for introducing to him. Your family are in good health, I hope? Especially you Miss Sakura. I heard you had fallen ill shortly after I traveled, but I think you can survive a cold without me around.

There is some rumours I have heard under my travels that seem utterly ridiculous to me. first one is that you are supposedly to be engaged to Mr Naruto Uzumaki. I know that you have a very close bond to that brat, but I sincerely hope that is no more than friendship for the sake of your friend. Second one which made me furious was that you had meet Lady Tsunade last May without my consent, you know that a Senju woman has nothing good to give. So if I hear any more rumour about your supposedly engagement to the brat, or that you have meet with the witch Tsunade, you will regret it.

Yours Sincerely

Sakura just sighed, it was almost incredible that she even could be in the same room as that man. He always insult her acquaintances that didn't fit his standards. He had many times introduced her to his own clan's women, who he deemed acceptable for her rank and coming. The only reason why she did socialize with him was because of her mother's insistance and the bright future her family could have if they were to be wed.

She knew that Lord Uchiha had taken interest in her since a long time back, but she was 'too young' he said to become his bride. She didn't like him at first, but the more she got to know him the more tolerable he became. Now she can even enjoy spending time with him, but she still doesn't have any feelings for him except comfort and respect.

Sakura can still recall the evening she was introduced to him. He was polite as men always are to her, but when she got to sit alone with him - which means in the back of a room - he was very kind and seemed to have natural interest in her. She was fluttered by his curiosity for her, and her fifteen year old self told him everything he wanted to know about her. Minutes later Naruto came into the room and was his typical self.

It wasn't til a couple of days after the ball she got to know Lord Uchiha for real. He called Naruto childish, stupid and utterly ridiculous. He demanded that Sakura would break the friendship that she had with Naruto, but she refused and called him proud and mean. Days later she received a letter from Lord Uchiha, apologizing for his behavior towards her, but that he stood for his opinion of her friend.

Sakura didn't want to see that evil man's face ever again, but because of her parents expectations from her acquaintance with Lord Uchiha, and that she can admit she was curious about him, she continued to have contact with him through letters.

At her sixteenth birthday, he visited her and her family. He stayed for quite some time and even brought a present to her, so she felt that she could leave that time he insulted her friend behind. Months later Lord Uchiha's brother died, she did mourn him because she had been fond of his brother, but when a letter came from his lord require her in his home in Somerset she was surprised.

The time she spent there with his lord and his social circle, Sakura became much more comfortable around him. She even started to consider him a person to admire, he was arrogant and prideful at times, but at the evenings when it was just the two of them and some others, he was entertaining and even funny. But the time the Senju family - especially Lord Senju, His wife and His brother - visited Lord Uchiha, he was at no means happy about it. Sakura understood at under that visit how much the Uchihas and the Senjus hated each other.

Lord Uchiha did even blame Lord Senju's brother for his brother's death, for reason that she doesn't know. So when Lord Uchiha found out that she had a very close bond to Lady Tsunade, he was furious. He forbade her to ever meet or write to her Ladyship, Sakura could understand his anger but it was to far for him to command her. But she obeyed anyway, because she was under his roof and she could always write or meet Lady Tsunade once she came home to London.

She became closer to Lord Uchiha even when she was home, he sent her letters every month and in november last year he visited her before he was going on his business trip over eight months. He did yet a again apologize for his behavior towards her, but Sakura couldn't stand it any longer. It was then that she started to think he was an asshole, but because of his statues she couldn't ignore him. He kept demanding her presence in his townhouse and her attendance of dinners and balls.

Sakura felt free when Lord Uchiha traveled away, she had almost forgotten him if it wasn't for the letter she just received. But a nuisance as him is hard to forget, Sakura only hopes that Madara has changed a bit next time she sees him. Which will be very soon.

Author's note: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please let me know what you thought about it. And just for the record my plan for this story is to improve my english, so I won't have a beta reader.