It was a bleak day for the young girl. Her father had just come home with a new mother and two new sisters for her and he was going to be leaving her once again. Why couldn't he at least stay with her while she got to know her new family? Her new sisters were already pulling at her hair and teasing her for how pink it was and they had only known each other for an hour
"Papa, please please stay. I don't want to be left alone," she pleaded with her father as he readied his horse.
With a soft hand on her cheek, he gave one last smile and a kiss on top of her head. "You'll be fine Sakura. Ill be back in two days." With that, she stepped back so he could mount and watched him ride away. Her step mother, Konan had stood behind her to watch him go with her. Suddenly, with out warning, Sakura's father fell off of his horse. "PAPA!" Sakura screamed.
She rushed to his side and knelt next to him. "Please, papa, don't leave me!" With one last touch on her cheek, his eyes closed and he was gone.
Ten years later...
A beautiful, pink haired woman woke up to the sound of a rooster before the sun was up. Her green eyes scanned over the old attic that was her room before she decided to sit up. It had been cold that night so she had decided to sleep in front of the fire, causing her clothing to be covered in ashes. No wonder her step-sisters called her Cinderella. With a soft sigh, she dusted off the apron covering her simple brown dress before heading out to do her chores.
Ever since her father had passed, she had become a slave to her so called family. She was kicked out of her comfortable, not to mention warm, room and placed into the attic. Would have been better to sleep with the animals, she scoffed to herself, at least then she could get warm.
After tending to the animals, Sakura moved to the kitchen to prepare her families breakfast, fully expecting them to start frantically calling for her. Her step mother had gotten rid of all of the other servants due to lack of funds. All of her fathers money had been spent on the step families extravagant life style and they were now in debt. Now that it was only her, Sakura had to work double time in order to keep up with the three women and their demands.
"SAKURA!" Came a yell from the dinning hall. Snapping out of her thoughts, she grabbed the trays of food and began her walk out of the kitchen to the table. "Ino, Karin, Konan, I trust you slept well," she said in a soft tone. Karin only rolled her eyes and scoffed, scrunching her nose up in the process. "Have you been rolling around in the manure again? You have a horrible stench." Both girls giggled to themselves while Sakura kept her head down, not wanting to show any emotion to her two sisters.
"Now now girls, she may be an animal, but Sakura is still part of the family. Isn't that right dear?" Konan put a hand on the girls forearm, causing her to stop whom ever she was serving.
"Yes step mother," was all she said. "Now, I expect you to be on your best behavior today, Sakura. You will be accompanying us to the market while we get new dresses for the upcoming ball."
Both Karin and Ino squealed, but seeing the confused look on their sister's face, they rolled their eyes. "Prince Sasuke wants to choose a wife. So of course we have to look our best." Sakura only nodded before retreating to the kitchen and resting up against a table.
She couldn't help but think about what would happen if one of them ended up marrying the prince. If one of them were to, then all three of them would surely move into the castle, leaving her to tend to the manor. The thought put a smile on her face, though it soon disappeared as the other "what if's" came time mind. What if they wanted her to tag along and be the future princess's maid servant, just to rub it in her face? Or, what if she were to stay at the manor but the future princess made her life a living hell anyway with new laws and taxes? A soft sigh escaped Sakura's lips. There was no use allowing thoughts like those to consume her. After all, she needed to get ready to head to the market.
Using the water from a troth as a mirror, she brushed out her waist length, pink hair and french braided it so it wouldn't look so frizzy and not get in the way. After she finished that, she washed off the smudges on her face to reveal the creamy skin underneath. As a child, her father always commented how much she looked like her mother. The thoughts never ceased to place a smile on her lips at the memories...
Young Sakura sat on her fathers lap as he brushed out her long, wavy hair. "You are so beautiful, Sakura, and you will never cease to grow in beauty and grace," her father had told her that night. Her green eyes lit up as she turned to face her father. "You really think so, papa? Do you think I'll be as beautiful as mother once was?" The young girl never knew much of her mother, but what she did remember was of a beautiful pink haired woman who never stopped smiling. Her father let out a soft chuckle. "Even more beautiful, my pink blossom."
Sakura was jolted out of her thoughts as she was called to the front of the house to head into town. The carriage was waiting for them, but of course, she wasn't allowed to ride inside. She had to ride her father old horse behind them.
Once they were in the city, she couldn't help but marvel at some of the sights. Of course she came in twice a week, but it was her way of escaping what was at home. She had made friends with shop keepers and a particular tailor that had become like a mother to her. Once the carriage stopped, she tied her horse to a post and made sure her step family was set to shop while she did her own shopping, not to mention the stops she would make to see her friends.
The bell rang as Sakura entered the tailors shop. "What do you want," came a half drunken call from the back.
"It's me, Tsunade."
"Oh! My dear child come in!" A blond woman emerged from the back room with arms stretched out, bringing Sakura in for a hug. The pinkette shook her head with a smile, smelling the alcohol on her breath. The blond was wearing her usual peasants clothing, but her corset was always too tight. Her boobs were pushed almost up to her eyebrows, allowing the cleavage to spill out. If there were three things Tsunade couldn't live without it was her boobs, booze and her dress shop.
"What brings you in today," the blond woman asked.
Sakura only gave a soft shrug. "My step family came into town to shop for the ball, so I thought I'd stop to say hi." Even though Tsunade could very easily make her family the most beautiful dresses, she hadn't made the best impression on them. The first time Sakura met the woman was the first time her family had wandered into the shop. They trashed everything. Tsunade's temper eventually got the best of her, causing them to huff out with out another word. Sakura had stayed behind, however, to apologize for their behavior, causing the woman to instantly take her in as her own.
"Well! Then here," she held out her hand and placed a few coins in Sakura's. "I want you to get yourself some food. You're nothing but skin and bones!"
Knowing she couldn't refuse, she nodded, gave her another hug and headed out to the bakery to say hello to a few other people and buy bread. As she walked, she came across a small child that tugged on her skirts. When Sakura looked down, seeing a small, dark haired girl. Her hair was matted, her face was dirty and she looked hungry.
"Where are your mother and father," Sakura asked softly. When the girl only looked down, she could only tell they had suffered the same fate as her own. Only this girl was left to the streets. Her heart wrenched for this girl and she sighed. "Come with me, Ill buy you some food."
She took the girl's small hand in hers and walked her over to a food stand, buying her a bowl of meat and bread. "There, now don't eat too fast or you'll still be hungry afterward."
"Thank you," the small girl squeaked and skipped away to god knows where, leaving Sakura to smile after her.
Unbeknownst to her, three pairs of eyes had watched what she had done. "I will never understand how those with so little could still give away to others," a soft but regal voice said. That day, the royal family had decided to take a ride out to get some fresh air as well as inspect the marketplace. From their carriage the queen, king and prince had seen Sakura give what little she had to a young orphan. The queen and king had marveled at her while the prince simply stared out of the window, wishing he could be back inside the confines of the castle.
Of course he hated to be couped up in such a "small" area, but it was better than making a public appearance where he was bound to be attacked by adoring fans. He had noticed what the pink haired woman had done and it made a slight impact on the man. She was beautiful, he would give her that, and generous. But what the hell was with the pink hair? She could be spotted from anywhere in a crowd and it didn't help that she had striking green eyes.
"Sasuke, you must be sure that she attends the ball." The said man looked at his mother with a blank face. "How do you expect me to keep track of who attends and who doesn't? You're the one who wanted it." A smile graced the queens lips at the thought. Yes, she did want it indeed. She also wanted grandchildren already! The queen lifted a gloved hand to call out to the pink haired woman.
Sakura turned around at a voice calling to her, only to have her jaw drop when she saw who exactly was calling her. Hurriedly making her way to the carriage, she curtsied low and addressed her. "You're majesty," she said with eyes down. A soft chuckle came from the womans lips as she ordered her to stand.
"What is your name, child?"
"Sakura Haruno, your highness."
"Haruno?" The last name made the prince shiver. "Your mother is Konan then?"
"Yes, she is my step-mother, ma'am."
"I see..." there was a pause before the woman spoke again. "I would like you to grace me with your presence this evening for tea. Do you think you could do that?"
Tea? The queen wanted her to have tea? Sakura's eyes practically popped out of her skull. "I-I do not believe my step-mother would approve, your ladyship..."
"oh oh oh," she waved a hand, "I shall deal with her. You just arrive at 7 o'clock in your finest dress. I will see you then." And with that, the carriage was gone. Sakura was frozen to the spot for what seemed like eternity before she felt a hand pull her up from the ground. Once she was turned around, she came face to face with Karin, demanding to know who she was speaking to.
"No one ma'am, I... I had just dropped something and could not find it in the mud." With a skeptical look, Karin raised her head. "Well, mother is waiting for you. We are ready to go home now."
Sakura nodded and looked over her shoulder one last time before heading back to her horse.
"Come on, teme. You're making this way too easy for me. The least you could do is act like youre interested in this chess game." Sasuke glared at his friend for a moment before moving his knight. "Check mate." The blond's face contorted into confusion as he stared at the board. "What did... how did you... aaarrggghhh" The prince scoffed and stood up from his seat to walk to the window.
"What's gotten into you," his friend asked. The prince shook his head, causing his spikes to move along with him. Silently, his obsidian eyes watched as the pink haired woman rode off towards the country. Who was she and why had he never heard of her in previous conversations? Of course he had been "graced" with Ino and Karin's presence, but they had never mentioned a pink haired step sister...
Noticing his friend, Naruto, follow his gaze down to the woman he instantly walked away to pour himself a glass of wine. "Oooohhh, so the royal bastard found himself a woman."
"I did not find a woman." Perhaps his voice was a little too harsh, but he honestly didn't care.
Naruto laughed and lounged into a chair. "Oh come on, Sasuke. You have women throwing themselves at their feet and you never even give them a second glance. The least you could do is find someone you're at least attracted to. And the girl that just rode out seemed to be pretty nice looking."
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "My mother invited her to tea this evening and demanded my presence." A sly grin spread across Naruto's face "Then you'll have to make your move then."