4:30 am. The alarm clock went off, bantering and chiming about for me to wake up, get out of bed and start the day... Or morning, if you prefer. The air was frostbitten and my blankets were a nice safe haven from the icy weather that crept in through my open window. Mother always scolded me for open windows in winter, said one day I'll pay for it. Figuring that my heating bill is always so high, guess she was right. If it were any other day, I would have thrown my alarm clock at the wall, breaking the fourth one this week, and would snuggle back into my cozy, warm covers to drift back to sleep. But not today. It was the day. My day. My special day. My wedding day.
I slid my legs to the edge of the bed and dropped them to the deadwood floor, slowly planting my feet on the ground. It was so cold that I had to keep taking my feet off the ground, until they were used to the chill. My body was aching for the comfort of my blankets as the winter breeze floated into my room. It wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the fact that my room was dark, too. All such perfect conditions for sleep... But, like I said, it was my day, so I had to woman up, drop my feet to the floor and get out of bed. (It took me two tries and a lot of mental scolding. I didn't get out of bed until 5:45.) After an hour and fifteen minutes of mental preparation, I stood in the bathroom of my one bedroom apartment to start getting ready for my day.
I told everyone that I wanted to be alone until the carriage came to pick me up. At first, everyone thought I was crazy for wanting to be alone; every woman wants to be pampered on their wedding day. Take Ino for example: she had everyone waiting on her the week before her wedding. She had maids, butlers, servants and carriers of every kind catering her every whimsical desire... It was sickening. I still can't believe Chouji proposed to her, though… They do make a beautiful couple, and beautiful children. But, unlike her, I wanted to be alone. This wedding would be different, so I wanted to be treated different. I wanted to be left alone, to prepare myself… Alone…
After I stepped out of the shower, back into my steamy, little bathroom, I wiped the mirror clean and wondered about what I would do with my hair. Tenten had worn hers in two buns, like usual, but, since her hair had grown so long, there were long trails falling out like ribbons. Sounds kind of crazy, but it worked for her; she had to outshine Neji's flowing locks of loveliness somehow. He also wore his characteristically pulled back into a loose, long ponytail. Hell, if Neji had his way, everything would have been traditional, proper and boring. Then again… If Tenten had had her way, it would have been a parade down golden streets of Konoha, with dragons, confetti and sharp objects as far as the eye could see. In the end, they came to some kind of an agreement: Tenten still got her dragons and parade, while Neji kept his traditional attire intact, which, together, made for an amazing wedding. But, because of his traditional attire requirement, everyone who attended had to buy their own… Oh, 'outfit' isn't the right word, but 'costume' would be mean… Still, it was great and I'm glad they invited me. I wonder if they feel the same about my wedding…
Two hours later I finally walked out of the bathroom with my hair back in a neat bun and one stray curl falling down my face. I told myself that I'd be more elaborate and beautiful, but nothing I did looked good enough. I probably spent ten minutes doing my hair and the rest yelling at myself for not thinking ahead of time. I had planned on being prepared, but circumstances prevented all of that, leaving this entire wedding to be thrown together in the last minute. I really wanted something better than this… But, you get what life gives you.
It was 12:23 pm, after I ate breakfast and stared aimlessly out my bedroom window for a few hours, being jolted out of sub-consciousness when I remembered that the carriage would be here at 1:30. The wedding was originally intended to be at sunset, but with rain in the forecast, we had to push it sooner. Regardless, I had a little over an hour to squeeze into my gown, put on my make up, throw on my veil and get out of the house. At least with this task, I was prepared. My dress was simple; inside the house, the only color in it was the rose pink sash that wrapped around my waist. It was floor length and strapless, just the way I liked it but definitely not what I expected. I wanted a dress like Temari's. It was a full, pale green, halter-topped gown with forest green star-like figures descending from her breast and pooling at the bottom of her gown. Once again, sounds crazy, but it worked. In fact, everyone thought Shikamaru was mad when he announced that the colors would be pale and forest green; he never explained why. The word around Konoha was that he had knocked up Temari once when he had to deliver some important scroll to Gaara and that Gaara, though unhappy, was forcing him to marry her because they said 'I do' only three weeks after they brought their relationship to the public. However, they have yet to have children, so everyone must have been wrong… Can't say I didn't believe it for a while.
By the time I had applied the little make up that I wanted to wear, the carriage was knocking on my door. They wanted us to hurry because the weather was changing again and it could start raining at any moment. I was still a little angry about the fact that my mother scheduled for a carriage to bring me to the wedding, but she said that she didn't want me to have to walk their alone. I at least got the right to ride alone, so I could think of my future. It would be a hard one, I knew, but love would see me through it…
When I arrived, everyone was already seated and in position, waiting for me to walk down the aisle. I could see Neji and Lee standing next to each other, holding the other up. Ino and Hinata were standing opposite them in dark blue gowns, with white sashes around their waste. Kakashi-sensei stood beside Gai-sensei, across from Kurenai-sensei and Anko. Tenten stood in between Ino and Hinata, her hair still in buns, across from Sai. Gaara, Kankuro and Temari were standing in the front row next to Iruka-sensei and my mom; Iruka-sensei was already crying. The last person I saw before I covered my face with the veil was Sasuke, standing at the alter set before everyone, his eyes fixated on me.
I took my first step down the aisle.
I remember that he told Kakashi-sensei that he would marry me one day, even though at the time, none of us were thinking of love or our future. He always said that he would marry me, that I would be wearing his favorite colors and that the skies would be so happy for the two us… So happy…
I don't know if everyone was watching me, or looking straight ahead; I had dropped my head to try to hide my tears because a shinobi was never to show emotion or tears in any situation. Tsunade-sama must have known because she whispered that it was okay before she began the introduction. I kind of blanked out while she was talking and came back only when she asked, "Do you, Haruno Sakura, take this man to be your loftily wedded husband?" I choked the answer 'yes' through my tears. The next thing I heard was 'please kiss your husband to seal this union of everlasting love.' Sasuke raised my veil out of my face and I slowly bent over the coffin to kiss the cold lips my Uzumaki, my husband. The sun shined through black clouds, showcasing the actual colors of my gown: midnight blue with a pale orange sash.
He always said that he would marry me, that I would be wearing his favorite colors and the skies would be so happy for the two of us… So happy…