Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, Sasuke wouldn't be acting so stupid right now. Really.
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The journey to the Imperial Palace was long, but when you have someone like Ino chatting all day long right beside your ear, time flew by. Sakura would never admit it, but she was glad for the company, her only company.
Initially, Sakura wasn't sure why Ino had been sent to accompany her as her hand maid. They were not particularly close although Ino is privy to the fact that she is not actually TenTen. Sakura had never seen her before she went to train with Tsunade, and at first, Sakura couldn't help but feel that Kyoko, who she'd known almost all her life, would make a much better companion. But after listening to Ino talk for an hour, she knew exactly why Ino is the one chosen instead to accompany her.
Ino knows everything there is to know about the royal harem.
Within the first five minutes, Ino has drilled into her the hierarchy of the forbidden palace. Sakura had always known that the Empress Dowager is at the head of the hierarchy where the royal harem is concerned. She is the one keeping all the concubines in line and planning festivities upon occasions along with the current Empress. Then below her, the women most favored by the emperor have the most power… But apparently, she was greatly lacking in detail.
Ino informed her that indeed, the Empress Dowager is on top of the food-chain, the most powerful position a woman can dream to have. But below her, royal consorts are classified into 'Empress', 'Madames', 'Imperial Concubines', and 'Scattered Positions'. There is only one Empress, and the title usually went to whoever popped the first son. Madames are then classified into three separate categories: 'The Honored Imperial Concubine', 'Madame', or 'The Honored Lady'. The Imperial Concubines can be classified into 'The Decent Consort', 'The Decent Concubine', and 'The Decent Beauty'. And lastly, Scattered Positions consists of 'Beautiful Lady', 'The Talented Lady', and 'The Average Lady'.
Sakura thought the titles were incredibly tedious, not to mention extremely clichéd. It mildly reminded her of the long nights she spent memorizing different herbs and their uses, but at least those information were useful.
"It is what it is. You'll get used to it soon enough." Ino responded nonchalantly when Sakura voiced the thought to her.
"Do you know what position Karin is?" No doubt she will be assigned the same position as Karin should her hunches about the Emperor be correct.
"She's an 'Honored Imperial Concubine'." Ino replied, easily drawing forth the information. "It's a position reserved for those the Emperor especially favors, or those who know people in high places. Very high places if you catch my drift."
Sakura nodded in understanding. Ino is referring to Orochimaru and to an extent, the Empress Dowager, since it's a well known fact that Emperor Uchiha is as interested in women as water is attracted to oil - which is to say, not very much at all. Not that Sakura is complaining. She has no intention to sacrifice her virtue just so she can be an effective chess piece for him; and should her plan work, she wouldn't have to.
"Karin is probably aiming to be empress, but I doubt she will have any luck with that." Ino suddenly leaned in closer and cupped a hand around Sakura's ear in a gesture of utmost secrecy. Of course, there was no need since they were the only ones in the carriage. They were hardly in danger of being overheard, but the action certainly added to the scandalous nature of the news Ino revealed. "I heard… the emperor isn't interested in women." Ino paused for dramatic effect. "He's interested in men."
How she was privy to that information, Sakura would never know.
"Really?" Her incredulous tone completely betrayed her façade to appear uninterested in the matter.
Sakura had never considered the possibility although now that she thought about it, it certainly wasn't an impossibility. It would explain his lack of interest in the opposite sex…
"Yes, really." Ino reassured her, brimming with more scandalous news to share.
From then on, their conversation took an unexpected but certainly much more interesting turn.
It was dawn the following day when Sakura finally arrived at the Forbidden City and was promptly guided to the Inner Palace where the Emperor and all his Royal Consorts resided.
Sakura was given her own private living quarters, the Pavilion of Everlasting Spring, but the place was completely dilapidated. Judging by the appearance, nobody had lived in there for at least a good ten years.
Sakura heaved a sigh. How utterly boring and predictable. It was exactly as she had expected. They couldn't outright demean her by sending her to live in shared quarters with the lowlier concubines since she is, after all, the daughter of Tanaka. However, this old and dreary pavilion - which did no justice for its name's sake - located at the obscure corner of the East Palace spoke volumes of the imbalance in court.
It is better this way, Sakura told herself. The farther she stays away from the emperor, the less troublesome it will be. Besides, even though this place lacks the grandiose of the rest of the palace, it's quaint and peaceful. She would not be disturbed here. And look over there! Behind the living quarters was a nice little garden that she could cultivate some medical herbs…
"Mistress Tanaka-sama," Two servant girls called out to Sakura, kneeling respectfully. "We're Tomoe and Yukiko, and they are the Eunuchs of the Pavilion of Everlasting Spring." They gestured behind them. "It's an honor to serve you."
Sakura glanced behind them to see six eunuchs standing in a row, their heads bowed deeply.
"Welcome to the Pavilion of Everlasting Spring." The six eunuchs greeted in unison, their voices higher than any other full grown male that Sakura had ever heard. For a moment, Sakura stared at them in interest. She had heard of eunuchs before, but this is her first time meeting one … or six.
Eunuchs were servants of the Imperial Palace. They clean, run errands for the emperor and the royal consorts, and perform various other nitpicky busywork that keep the inner palace running smoothly. Most of them were brought into the palace when they were young boys and castrated, which was why their voices sound several octaves higher than they should.
Sakura had winced at the process when the topic came up in her journey to the palace, but Ino informed her it was an absolutely necessary precaution to keep fraternization at bay. It was not uncommon for eunuchs to help the concubines dress or even help them bathe. As a matter of fact, it was the eunuchs' job to roll naked concubines in comforters and deliver them to the Emperor should he so desires. It simply would not do if the Emperor should bed someone tainted, so they removed the temptation. Sakura thought the whole ordeal was rather gruesome, necessary or not.
"Please, call me TenTen." Sakura bid them, after permitting them to rise. It would be wise to have good relations with these servants.
"Please forgive us, we can-," The eunuch who spoke up paused suddenly as he saw the hurt look in Sakura's eyes. And what pretty almond-shaped eyes they are … a bright jaded green that seems to pierce into the utmost depth of your soul and perfectly proportional to her face.
"…Is my request not to be granted…?" Sakura implored, widening her eyes a little more to look utterly innocent and helpless. Sakura was suddenly happy for this particular skill that she had sharpened when trying to convince her father to let her study under Tsunade.
"Of-of course not, Mistr-ah, I mean, TenTen-sama." The eunuch stuttered, a bit stunned. Who wouldn't be when they have such beseeching eyes upon them?
Sakura inwardly congratulated herself. It seems like she had already won over her servants' affections. They all seem a bit dazzled by her little performance and are evidently very taken with her.
Ino made a small unladylike snort, having seen through Sakura's little charade. The girl seems to have a brain in that ridiculously large forehead of hers after all… Ino inwardly nodded in approval.
"Well, let's get started, shall we? We have our work cut out for us." Sakura stated. "We should at least get the bedrooms cleaned so we have somewhere comfortable to sleep in tonight." This place is going to be their home for a long while, might as well makes it comfortable as possible.
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Pavilion of Phoenix – Palace of the Queen Consort
"So, the rumors are true then?" Empress Dowager, Uchiha Mikoto, demanded. "The girl is beautiful enough to be deemed the 'pride of the city'?"
"Absolutely, your highness." The eunuch replied. "Beautiful doesn't do her justice. She's like a goddess fallen out of the sky."
"You've done well." Mikoto waved her hand to dismiss the servant, mulling the information over and over in her head.
'… like a goddess fallen out of the sky.' Mikoto's brows furrowed a bit as she took a sip of her tea. What a troublesome development. This particular eunuch had been one of her most faithful servant for years and very hard to impress. For him to say that TenTen is beautiful is already a feat in itself, but to describe her as a goddess fallen out of the sky…? What kind of beauty must that be?
"What do we do now, your highness?" Karin questioned in consternation, her hands twisting the handkerchief in irritation.
Mikoto spared her a look. "We wait."
That is the only thing they could do. It would be unwise to draw forth any attention to the girl in the time being.
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Pavilion of Everlasting Spring
"TenTen-sama? TenTen-sama?" Ino had finally unpacked and arranged everything in the sleeping quarters, but Sakura is nowhere to be found.
"I'm in here, Ino-san."
Ino followed the voice, passing the back gardens until she came before a set of doors. Seeing that they are unlocked, Ino tentatively pushed them open. The doors groaned loudly, and Ino grimaced. "This is…"
"It's a storage room, mostly for books." Sakura said, picking up a random book from the shelves, browsing through it. She was very pleased to have found this place. She could now preoccupy herself with these books instead of waiting every day for the emperor to come grace her with his presence.
"How did you find this place?" Ino questioned.
"Tomoe-san told me about it. It's a nice place isn't it? Since not many people come here or even know about it all, there's nobody guarding it at all." Sakura then pouted cutely. "But, even though there is virtually nobody here, this place has been kept pristine, unlike our poor pavilion. Ah… I suppose this is the difference in treatment for 'knowing people in high places' ne?"
Ino rolled her eyes at Sakura's playful complaint.
"What time is it, Ino?"
"It's almost night time. The sun will set over the horizon any moment now."
"Ah, in that case, tell the others to have some dinner and dismiss them for the night. You should get some rest too; it's been a long day for everyone. Besides, I doubt the emperor will come tonight."
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Sasuke had felt a bit guilty summoning Tanaka's daughter to court. He had long heard the girl was of a weak constitution since her youth, but this decision was absolutely necessary. It wouldn't do to oppose Orochimaru directly, especially when his own mother had somehow been poisoned against him. With these thoughts in mind, Sasuke strolled towards the Pavilion of Everlasting Spring.
And for the first time in his life, Sasuke - ever confident Sasuke - hesitated.
What a strange greeting, or rather, the lack thereof. Nobody has heralded his presence even though he has long crossed the gates that separated the Pavilion from the rest of the palace. Normally, a servant would have announced his presence while another went to inform his master who would then undoubtedly come to greet him with warm smiles, pleasing words, and many cups of sake. After all, it was extraordinarily rare of him to visit any of his concubines or even step into the rear palace. His presence was viewed as a godsend, and the girls were more than ready to please him or coax him to a drunken stupor so that he might take them to bed.
Apparently not this one. Sasuke mused to himself. If the girl hadn't garnered his interest before, she certainly had now with this unique greeting.
As a matter of fact, not only was there not a proper announcement, there was nobody in sight at all, and only a sparse few lanterns were lit. They illuminated the path well enough, but the lighting could hardly compare to the rest of the palace.
Maybe he was at the wrong place. That must be it. This place looked too rundown anyways, hardly fitting for someone like Tanaka's daughter.
"Are you sure this is where Tanaka's daughter resides?" Sasuke decided to make sure.
"Positive, your highness." Jūgo, his personal guard replied, although he looked somewhat perplexed as well.
Sasuke sent him a look, and Jūgo took the silent command to further investigate the place. It didn't take him long to report back.
"Your highness, it appears that everyone has retired for the night." Jūgo paused for a moment when Sasuke made no reply. "Should we head back then?"
"Wait here." Sasuke commanded before walking towards the back gardens.
He really doesn't know what compelled him to move towards the old storage room. It was one of the most obscure forgotten places in the entire palace, but he swore he felt a flicker of something in the room. It was no surprise then to see dim candlelight illuminating the window panes of the room.
Who would be in there so late at night?
Sasuke promptly pushed the doors open, heading towards the source of the flickering light far back in the room.
Sakura became alert immediately when she heard the old doors creak, her hands clutching the book she was reading tightly. Who could it be? Ino and the others had retired hours ago, and they would have announced themselves were they the ones to come in here. Her back straightened painfully, defensive mechanisms overcoming all her senses as she turned her head towards the incoming footsteps.
Piercing onyx orbs met jaded green ones.
Both stood rooted to the spot, unable to drive their gazes away.
Sakura inwardly berated herself for her miscalculation. The tension between Sasuke and Orochimaru must have been worse than she thought for Sasuke to visit her tonight. Sakura has no doubt that the man who stood in front of her right now is the Uchiha Sasuke, the current reigning emperor. Even without his telling wardrobe, customized with the royal sign of the uchiwa fan, everything about him spelled royalty. The way he holds himself, his regal countenance, and the air about him left her with no doubt.
To her chagrin, Sakura realized Ino had most definitely been wrong about his sexual orientation. There is something undeniably masculine about him. Perhaps it was his domineering presence, or perhaps his dark, smoldering eyes, or maybe it was his straight nose and strong jaw lines … What was she thinking? She mentally slapped herself. This is no time to feel attraction. She should stay as far away from him and plan if she wants to survive this whole ordeal in one piece. Sakura forced herself to break their gazes before bowing her head and performing the customary greetings.
"Your highness."
Keeping her head bowed, a small blush graced her cheeks as she realized how inappropriate this whole situation is. She was hardly dressed with only the white, inner most layer of her clothing, having shed the many layers of beautiful silk earlier in the night. If only she had the insight to know he was coming tonight…
Sasuke was stunned when he first saw her, his heart beating rapidly against his ribcage. She was ethereal, clad in practically only her nightgown with the gentle candlelight illuminating her face. Her almond-shaped eyes seemed to glow, and he could easily see the various emotions running through them. He suddenly had the strange urge to run his hands through her soft, pink locks which trailed all the way to the small of her back, but he quickly quenched the desire. It was most inappropriate of him to give into such vices.
He had also found her reactions strangely amusing. The girl had stared back at him intently in the beginning, unable to turn her gaze away. And then, as if she just realized what she was doing without even having given him a proper greeting, she bowed gracefully, kneeling slightly and folding her hands by her lower right side.
And now she was still bowed slightly, but he could see the slight blush that painted her cheeks. He wondered why for a moment.
"What is your name?" Sasuke asked her. It felt strange to continuously refer to her as Tanaka's daughter.
"TenTen, your highness."
TenTen. Her name signifies the heavens, and Sasuke decided it was a suitable name for her. Her presence was otherworldly to him, almost like a goddess who had mistakenly wandered down to earth when he first set eyes on her. Although, he couldn't help but think that Sakura would be an even better name for her. She certainly has the hair to match.
Sasuke took several steps towards her until he was right next to her. He felt her tense up almost immediately as she went back to staring at him intently, but he ignored her reactions. Gently, he took the book she was perusing before he came out of her hands.
A jolt of electricity ran through both of them as their hands brushed against each other. Sakura blushed again at the foreign sensation and quickly shifted her eyes to somewhere other than his face. Sasuke felt inexplicable pleasure seeing that she was so affected by him, but kept a calm demeanor as he inspected the book.
Mastering Life and Death Situations. Sasuke raised one elegant eyebrow at the title. How strange of her to be reading a Go book of all things. He didn't know many girls who could read or even liked to read, and even fewer who are interested in a game like go. How completely intriguing.
"Would you like a game?" Sakura offered, sensing that Sasuke has no intention of leaving for the night. Better steer him into a battle over the boards than try her luck with him in bed.
Sasuke tilted his head slightly to give her an almost imperceptible nod.
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