She grew up the way any normal girl would grow up - fairly happy. But to remain that way through all the hardship in her life – the death of her mother and father, the life of a scullery maid – required grit and a strong spirit. But that was not to say she was content... She always wanted something more.
That determination would serve her well in court.
I tried my best to balance the silver tray, but to no avail. I was tripping.
All I could feel was the hard thump of my body on the floor and my humiliation. I faintly heard the smash of china.
I sat up, utterly embarrassed and frightened. I looked around nervously, and managed a slight smile of relief. No one was around. I would clean up the mess… and, well, the broken china was a bit of a problem, but perhaps the Uchihas wouldn't notice…
"Pick it up," a flat voice said.
I whipped around. I felt my face turning red. It was Sasuke.
"M-master Uchiha," I said trying to be as apologetic as possible, "I'm so sorry-"
"Go on, pick it up," he said.
I cleaned up the mess as quickly as possible. By the time it was done he was back, making sure I'd finished the chore.
I curtsied deeply before him, not daring to look at his face.
"I'm so sorry, sir," I mumbled.
I felt his hand on my shoulder. I looked up, surprised. There was a glint of amusement in his eyes.
"It's fine, Sakura," he said. I felt the red in my face deepening when he said my name. I was surprised that he even knew my name. "But… you really should be more careful."
He walked away, turning around slightly to face me as he left. "You've been here long enough to know what we do here during the midsummer holiday?"
I nodded eagerly, though I didn't know what his purpose behind this was.. "The household goes to Queen Tsunade's court to celebrate."
He nodded thoughtfully. "Correct." He gave me another slight smile. "Has the news reached you yet?"
"Excuse me?"
"You will be coming with us to court. You're an attendant to Lady Kurenai."
I could only manage another elaborate curtsy.
"Thank you. It's an honor." It truly was.
He was already gone, so my words were wasted. I didn't mind.
My face broke into a huge smile. I grabbed the tray of broken china, and danced all the way back to the kitchen.
I hummed as I skipped back, adding little turns to my little impomptu routine. This... this might be lifechanging. I felt - no, I knew - I could accomplish great things, or at least rise above my birthright with this promotion. This was unusual... and wonderful. Most people never got this life-changing chance, but I had it. Me! What had I done to deserve this?
And then, just as I entered the kitchen, I froze. I remembered. I remembered it clearly...
"Are you alright?"
Someone grabbed me by the shoulder.
"Sakura!"
I bit my lip. With just an edge of irritation in my voice – just enough not to be scolded for being impolite– I replied.
"Yes?"
Anko put her hands on her hips. She really wasn't an unkind woman, and we could be called friends, but she was picky about the servants she oversaw.
"What happened?"
"Well, I was going to bring Master Itachi his tea.."
"Hm."
"And I tripped on one of the carpets. You know how they are, with the fancy tassels on the ends."
"You didn't get any tea or jam on the carpet, did you?" she said sharply.
"No Ma'am. It was on the wood, and I cleaned it all up."
She sighed with relief. "Good. Then we might have had a real problem on our hands."
She surveyed the china in my hands for a moment more. I stood there, fidgeting a bit.
"Well," she finally said, "I can take care of the china. The Uchihas have so much that they wouldn't notice a set missing anyway…"
I smiled. "Would you? Thank you, Anko!"
She just looked back at me with a weak smile on her face. "Yes, well, this never happened. It's just between you and me."
"There's just one thing," I said hesitantly.
"Mm?"
"Master Sasuke saw me."
She exploded. "Sakura!" she hissed. She took a couple deep breaths.
"But he didn't seem angry about it. And he told me I was coming along to court for the summer holidays, as an attendant to Lady Kurenai."
Now she just looked stunned. "He- after you just –"
She shook her head.
"Congratulations," she said, dazed. "So that's why you were so cheerful when I found you…"
"Thank you," I said. It was an awkward situation. My enthusiasm suddenly dropped. How could I bear to leave Anko? And the other servants...
Suddenly Anko sprang back to life.
"We're going to have to get you a suitcase… I'll ask Miss Kurenai for better clothes…." She rambled on about all of the chores that would have to be done for my new job.
Kurenai was an attendant to the Duke, Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's older brother. Their parents were dead… it was often rumored to be poison on Itachi's part, and I only half-doubted the rumor's truth.
I was snapped out of my reflection by the pitiful look on Anko's face. "We'll miss you," she said gently, reaching out and stroking my cheek.
I looked down. I felt ashamed. Anko was the one who had raised me, almost like a mother. My parents were long dead. I'd never known them.
She smiled brightly. "Just remember to keep that fighting spirit, all right?"
I smiled back and nodded. It was our connection. The reason Anko had taken me under her wing was because she said I had a fighting spirit underneath it all.
She lowered her voice. "Just remember… it's going to be very important to hang on to that while you're at court. Even for servants, court is a dangerous and catty place."
Suddenly a thought came to her.
"Oh no, that tray was for Itachi, wasn't it?"
"Don't call him that!" I said, mildly shushing her. I didn't want her to get in trouble.
"He's not around, and we know that no one around here will tattle on me." She gave me a jaunty, friendly smile. She was only in her early twenties, not too far from my sixteen. She quickly looked worried again.
"He'll be angry…" she muttered, then she shouted:
"KIBA!"
Kiba stumbled out of the kitchen. He was a dirty, tatty boy from off the street. He was a nuisance, barely able to earn his keep, but Anko tried her hardest to keep him on for simple jobs, such as serving food and cleaning up.
It was because he was so cheerful. With his jokes, optimism, and good spirit he brought a little light to the kitchens each day. He had his moments, though…
"Yes, Ma'am?"
"Prepare a tray for Master Itachi, and give him all of my apologies for the inconvenience."
Kiba glanced over at me. "Wasn't Sakura supposed to do that?"
"Yes, but Miss Sakura will be Lady Kurenai's attendant from this day forward." Her voice lowered to a whispered snicker. "Besides… She dropped it."
He raised a speculative eyebrow, but grinned.
"Wow, Sakura, I would've never thought you'd get a job advancement. You're such a klutz-"
I kicked him in the shin. "Hey!"
He looked down at his shin, surely sore from the force of my kick.
"Fine, fine, I'll do it."
On the way out, he gave me a huge, grin.
It was obvious - even Kiba was proud of me.
"You're going somewhere now," Anko said proudly, "you might become like Lady Kurenai if you keep this up."
I looked down at my worn wooden clogs, and I played with the hem of my brown skirt. I felt embarrassed, almost, of this promotion.
I couldn't help but feel her excitement. Yet somewhere in my heart I had the feeling that from this day on, things would never be the same.
a/n: Review!