An Unreasonably Long Author's Note

Ha! A last-minute update for me lovies. Je suis heading down to Phoenix tommorow. I love you guys, me dearest reviewers. This is for every one of you who asked so nicely for one more chapter, for the ones who are sticking with me, and for the ones who've declared they'd "wait forever"! You're awesome, guys!

Chapter Three of Faute de Mieux is dedicated to mtm123 (you'll like it, I promise), nhix and my awesome beta, -Out-of-Inspiration- (I. LOVE. Panic!! XD)! I hope you guys stick with me! Also dedicated partly to any reviewers who've faithfully reviewed every chapter, given awesome advice, and encouraged me! I LOVE YOU!

This chapter is a little slow in the beginning, so please bear with me!

.-.-.-.

OUT OF THE FRYING PAN BUT NOT QUITE IN THE FIRE

.-.-.-.

Sakura mostly stayed in bed for the next few days, leaving her feather-stuffed, blanket-walled refuge only for soaks in the tub, or at the very rare beckoning of Tenten. She took her classes in her rooms, refusing (with the decision and authority of a princess) point-blank to leave. A part of her mind rejoiced at making Manners Mistress trudge up to her rooms in the West Wing, but it was faint and dim. She was too busy preoccupying her frightened mind by helping with paperwork and working herself to the bone perfecting the geisha-like mask Manners Mistress, Postures Mistress and Speech Mistress were drilling into her.

Sakura did well. The women were pleased.

Ayame and Kikumo, however, were worried. After Tenten told her the real reason for the arranged marriage between Ino and Uchiha Sasuke, she had lost all appetite. But her closed-up mental state was improving rather quickly as the days became sunnier, the rain that had savaged the country only a day ago a long-lost memory. With all the extra ANBU Tenten was sending her with instructions to attempt to teach her to defend herself and to withhold information, Sakura doubted she would slip up even if she were drunk. (She was intolerant to alcohol, so she doubted she'd be drinking any, but hey, it could happen. A real princess, Manners Mistress had snootily told her, must always play consort to her husband, pour him sake, and, especially for the Uchiha, forsake all weaknesses and down the incorrigible liquid.)

Two days before she was shipped off, Kiba arrived at her door again. He had gotten too comfortable, Sakura decided, as he had only met her very recently, because he didn't even bother knocking. He merely swung open the door and dragged her out of bed, throwing her to her overjoyed ladies-in-waiting.

"Ten minutes, Sakura-chan," Kiba winked at her. "Tenten's expecting you outside."

"Where, specifically?" the pink-haired girl questioned, turning from picking between a soft blue sundress with a navy and white plaid pattern and a yellow one with large embroidered pink flowers. The tendency to pick between 'suitable' clothing chosen for her by Ayame was growing on her. She wondered distinctly how she got by before, throwing on anything that wasn't on the floor.

"West Garden, 44-52," he threw the numbers over his shoulder, to one of the ladies. Then he bowed, made quick, light conversation with the two girls, and exited with a flourish, abandoning Sakura in utter confusion as to where to go.

.-.-.-.

Kikumo dashed to her bedchamber, pulling out a series of maps of the castle grounds and pinpointing said garden the minute Kiba left. As she and Ayame proceeded to dress Sakura in the yellow garment and forced green clogs onto her feet, Sakura examined the laminated papers.

"It's pretty complicated, ma'am," called Ayame. "You have to be trained to read it. I can't even, really." The girl smiled at Sakura, who turned her head to see the servant girl toss her light orange curls over her shoulder as she finished lacing up the back of the light dress. Kikumo nodded in agreement, but Sakura shook her head.

"No," she replied, "It's rather simple. See, here's the castle, and the West Gardens, and the East Gardens and the North Gardens. Here's the manor, the stables…the fields, the riding area, the forest and the range. And the lake, and the shooting galley." She pointed to each in turn. Red-haired Kikumo stared at her in wonder, and Ayame abandoned her current task of lacing up the light green shoes to learn.

Sakura pointed at the numbers lining the outsides of the map. "Coordinates," she said simply, putting one long finger on 44 and another on 52, pulling them both to a pinpoint in a shaded area labeled Rose Garden. "See? There's where I'm supposed to go."

She rolled up the pieces of parchment and handed them to Kikumo, who hastily stored them away. Ayame dug up a long 8 ft by 4 ft elbow draping and handed it to Sakura. "It's a nice day," the princess commented as the two produced a curler and proceeded to turn the last three inches of her pink locks into a wavy mass, "You guys should come outside with me." Sakura turned to them with a smile. "Come on, dress up. We're going into the garden."

She sent Ayame and Kikumo away to take off their blue uniform dress and white apron, and put on something decent. She found herself a green and pink hair comb, twisted it into her hair, and felt quite accomplished. The two girls returned five minutes later, Ayame in a white top like Tenten's and a jade-colored skirt with an edge of embroidered butterflies, and Kikumo in a white cheongsam number edged with gold. Sakura smiled, pleased, pulled the elbow-drape around her shoulders, and opened the door.

"Come on. I think we're over the time limit…"

.-.-.-.

They found they were, in fact, well over the ten minute time restriction given by the brunette royal.

Tenten stood on a boulder in the middle of a patch of roses, with her thick hair up in two large buns, wearing a white top and burgundy sweats, her feet clad in white heeled sandals. She had what looked like a three-foot, fancily decorated metal pole in one hand, from the top of which protruded a long silver chain connected to a rather sharp looking scythe held in her other hand. The butt of the weapon had another, non-retractable chain, at the end of which there was a sharp, heavy looking counterweight. Sakura swallowed when she arrived, for Tenten had been twirling the instrument with ease, with Kiba standing nearby on the walkway, a large pile of weapons beside him, in a pair of black shorts and a non-weather-wise white fur-lined jacket. Beside him was Hana, her brown hair pulled into a low pony hair, wearing a sleeveless black turtleneck and a blood red skirt slit up to her thighs. All three looked ready to train; Tenten looked ready to bite Sakura's head off.

"Ten minutes, young lady," she said in a severly pissed-off tone, "Do you know how long you took?"

Sakura looked nervously from Kiba to Hana, and then to Ayame and Kikumo. She shook her head.

"Half an hour. Half a GODDAMN hour! Tell me, Haruno Sakura, do you have a problem with telling time?"

Sakura shook her head again.

"Oh, really? The first time I call you, you were permitted a thirty-minute time slot, and you came in ten. This time, I gave you a ten minute time slot, and you come in thirty. Has that chicken-haired Manners bitch taught you nothing? NEVER keep a princess waiting."

Tenten glowered down at her, waves of tangible fury rolling off of her. Sakura swallowed and summoned up her voice.

"Chapter 27, clause 3 of the textbook says that a princess must not be kept waiting," she replied steadily, "but chapter 27, clause 5 says a princess is always permitted to be waited for."

Sakura waited for a minute for the information to sink in. Finally, Kiba burst out in snorts of laughter, and seconds later Hana joined him. Feeling triumphant, Sakura tilted her face to meet Tenten's eyes, only to find the bladed end of the silver weapon slicing past her ear. Sakura winced.

"Twenty laps around the garden!" Tenten roared at her, though it was somewhat apparent that the anger was now replaced by amusement. "Kiba! Hana! Sakura! GO!"

The Inuzuka siblings sped off in a blur of black and white, the taller one gaining a few feet on the shorter in a matter of seconds. Then Tenten was gone, too, in a blur of burgundy, catching up to Kiba easily, leaving Sakura standing in shock, staring at the dots in the distance.

Tenten's voice came floating back, taunting her. "Twenty laps! Ten minutes! Start running, princess!"

.-.-.-.

Tenten stopped her after three laps around the mile-long pathway that wound through the West Gardens, but only because they (Tenten, Hana and Kiba) were already finished. Before Sakura could catch her breath, she was given (read: forced to procure) a weapon.

Hana took it upon herself to teach (read: yell at) Sakura about chakra, not explain what the hell she was yelling about at all, and waited patiently (read: waving a kunai around) as Sakura quickly (this is actually true) mastered it. She taught Sakura a few simple jutsus, had her tussle with (read: get her ass beaten by) Kiba, before handing her to her mistress.

Then Tenten proceeded to train (read: beat the shit out of) her for the rest of the afternoon. They switched weapons at least fifty times until Sakura managed to lift up the thin rapier, block the claymore Tenten was smashing down at her, and deliver a nearly-successful punch.

With a tremendous effort on her part, Sakura's knuckle nicked the side of Tenten's face. The brunette blinked twice, scowled, chucked the claymore in Kiba's general direction (ignoring the terrified shrieks of Sakura's ladies-in-waiting, and their applause as he caught it easily) and tackled her to the ground. Sakura gave up and surrendered. Tenten stood triumphant.

"That wasn't bad," she commented, "I don't think you're good with hand weapons, though. Kiba, go try her on the throwing projectiles."

.-.-.-.

Three hours later, Sakura felt dead. Ayame and Kikumo flitted and fretted as Tenten huddled and muttered with the Inuzukas. There was a lot of sudden yelling, several hard punches to Kiba's head (courtesy of Tenten), and lots of shifty-eye crap. Finally, Tenten broke the huddle with a smack on Kiba's forehead and walked towards Sakura, explaining that they believed she was more of a hand-to-hand combat type, and that she was rather good with chakra. When she also explained rather regretfully that none of them were hand-to-hand combat types specializing in chakra-related attacks, Sakura almost died of relief.

"But," Kiba cut in with a much too happy grin, "Guess what? We'll still train ya on kunai and the easy jutsus. You'll have to wait till we get to Honoo for proper combat training, though."

Sakura blinked through her exhaustion.

"What? Why?"

"Well," Hana spoke, "You need to be able to protect yourself in Honoo. And just in case they do find out what they aren't supposed to, that is, that you're not quite who you say you are, the King and Tenten want to give you a chance to defend yourself until help gets there."

Sakura blinked again, ignoring the sick feeling burrowing itself to the pit of her stomach at mention of possible death. "Wha…? Who's help?"

"Oh," Tenten grinned, twirling the large claymore around her body rapidly in her ecstasy. "Didn't I tell you? We're coming with you to Honoo." With flick of her wrist, she sent the claymore through the middle of a tree. "And Tsunade of Kusa, will be there. She'll train you with us!" With that, she dashed off happily, leaving Kiba and Hana behind, observing their now pinprick-sized mistress dryly.

"Wonderful," Hana said to Kiba as they helped Ayame and Kikumo pick up Sakura, "he's going to be there, isn't he?"

Kiba snorted, walking towards the castle beside his sister, in front of Sakura and her handmaidens. "Duh. That's why she's almost bouncing off the walls, stupid."

Hana smacked him. Sakura, however looked from her to Kiba in undisguised curiosity.

"Who's going to be there?" she questioned, "Who's Tenten-chan so happy to see?"

The four others stopped and stared at her.

"No way," Ayame giggled. "You don't know?"

"Come on," Kikumo stared at her bemusedly. "Really? It's everywhere."

Sakura's pink brow furrowed in her annoyance. "Out with it already. Who is it?"

Kiba smirked. "Haven't you heard, Your Royal Highness? Yamanaka Tenten is over her head smitten."

Sakura looked ready to pound him into the ground (something they learned she was rather skilled at). Kiba put his hands out in a mock shield and quickly continued, "It's Hyuuga Neji of Haku. He didn't even know she existed until he needed her. Tenten's head over heels in love with that bastard Hyuuga Neji."

.-.-.-.

Sakura wasn't about to rest until she found out who this Hyuuga Neji was. At six o' clock the next morning, she leapt out of bed, woke her poor ladies-in-wating, dressed herself (or, taher, was dressed by a half-asleep Ayame) in a heaping pile of forest green, and all but darted towards her first class.

History Mistress almost had an aneurysm at Sakura's sudden, unabashed interest in the Crown Prince of Haku. But she wasn't going to pass up the chance for good gossip, or the fact that her student suddenly wanted to learn.

"Hyuuga Neji, eh? Hmm." The tall, snowy-haired woman tapped her long, aristocratic nose with her pointer as she thought. Sakura sat patiently (after her overly-polite obeisance of pleases and thank-yous that had Speech Mistress weeping for joy), her hands folded neatly in her lap, hanky clasped between index and middle fingers, the skirt of her gown tucked down neatly around her (bare, but don't tell anyone) feet. Manners Mistress would have been proud.

"Well. Where to start?"

"Anywhere, please, ma'am," Sakura simpered prettily. "I would truly, sincerely love to know."

Speech Mistress smiled contentedly from her armchair in the corner. History Mistress opened her fish-lipped mouth and began her speech.

"Hyuuga Neji is the son of the current ruler Hyuuga Hiashi-sama's deceased brother Hyuuga Hizashi-sama.

"The Hyuuga clan is divided into two branches: the Main House and the Branch House. The Branch House serves only to protect the Main House. Members of the Branch House are branded with a terrible cursed seal, never permitted freedom, never allowed to rule. This is the root of much hatred for the Main House in the Branch House. Though Hiashi-sama and Hizashi-sama were twins, Hizashi-sama was born a second later, and, as a result, was cast into the Branch House.

"Hiashi-sama's first daughter, Hyuuga Hinata, has abdicated (or, as some suspect, was forced to abdicate) her place as heir to the throne of Haku and head of the Hyuuga clan. Now, Hyuuga Hanabi, her sister and five years her junior, is next in line to the throne. But the only support Hanabi has is of her father and the Council of Elders. The rest of the Hyuuga believe the throne and place as head of the clan belongs to Neji. Neji is of age to inherit both places, while Hanabi is still a child. This is the main conflict in Haku at the moment."

History Mistress paused for a moment.

"Why do they call Neji the Crown Prince, madam?" Sakura inquired.

"Well," History Mistress smiled at her kindly. "That's just it. Though Hanabi's blood claim to Haku is stronger, because she is of the pure Main House blood, Neji has many times more support than she could ever hope to obtain. He is more powerful, mastering the greatest arts of the Hyuuga Byakugan without ever being taught it, a genius; and he has friends in very high places."

Again, History Mistress paused for effect.

"Hyuuga Neji is strongly allied with Suna's King, Sabaku no Gaara-sama; he is also a very close friend of your betrothed, Uchiha Sasuke. He will be at Honoo's court for a few months to win the favor of the monarchy of Kusa and of our own Mizu."

The old woman smiled coyly and shared a sly glance with Speech Mistress. "Though," she smirked, "I doubt Hyuuga Neji-sama will have much trouble gaining the latter."

Sakura interrupted gently, thinking back to the day before. "So Hyuuga Neji-sama will be looking for the support of Tenten-san, and…Lady Tsunade?"

History Mistress shook her head vehemently.

"Oh, no! Not Tsunade-hime, no. He'll be looking for friendship from the Crown Prince, Uzumaki Naruto-sama. Tsunade-hime is just the steward, a caretaker of the throne." She leaned in, and continued in a whisper. "I hear there's some great scandal in Kusa about the Crown Prince. Something terrible."

"What?"

Both women laughed.

"Child, you don't expect us to know?" Speech Mistress scoffed. "No, no. No idea."

History Mistress spared a glance at the large mahogany grandfather clock between the two bay windows in the room.

"Oh! It's already time for you to go, princess. Well. Time flies when you're having fun, no?"

Sakura smiled politely and performed a delicate curtsey. Both Mistresses looked pleased, before Speech Mistress turned and opened a drawer in the corner beside the large grand piano whose bench History Mistress had sat on. She emerged with a folder, which she handed to Sakura before patting her on the confection of pins, flowers and curls Sakura unfortunately had to call her hair that day.

"There now," Speech Mistress smiled. "Indulge yourself."

"Run along now, dear," History Mistress ushered her out of the set of double doors, no doubt wanting Sakura gone so she could gossip with Speech Mistress.

With the manila folder clutched tightly under her arm, she proceeded to her room.

.-.-.-.

When Sakura reached her rooms, the first thing she did was fling herself into a plush velvet chair beside her bistro table. Setting the folder down onto the small, round table, she sifted through two dozen rough, handwritten papers containing notes on the countries of Kusa, Honoo, Suna and Haku, and a new, fresher, typewritten one on Oto. Finally, she reached a thin sheaf of around six photographs.

The first few were of a blond boy. He had big blue eyes and wild hair, and markings on his cheeks.

In the first (and obviously oldest) photo, the blond boy was a mere child, wearing an ugly orange arrangement, his hand pointed at the cameraman as if to block him out, eyes squinted shut and mouth set in an annoyed pout. He was sprawled on a large red sofa, instant ramen bowls in a messy pile beside him.

In the second photo, he was older, around sixteen. His outfit didn't change much, except that it looked much neater and more mature. He stared right into the camera, a big grin on his face, one hand on his hips and the other pointing a thumbs-up at the camera, the picture of freedom and youth.

In the third photo, the perspective was from the side. The blond boy was a young man, and the man was a solemn one. He wore a jade colored summer yukata lined in shades of yellow. He stood on a field overlooking a large city, a golden circlet barely visible among the wild, untamed locks of straw-colored hair. His arms were crossed in front of his chest. Beside him was a busty woman in a green robe, a white shift and black pants. She faced him, a worried expression on her face. On her head was the hat of the Kage of a ninja village.

Weird, Sakura thought. Don't kings wear both the crown and the hat of the Kage? Her uncle sure did. She flipped the photo over in search of an explanation, and found the words Uzumaki Naruto-sama, Hokkou Tsunade-hime in a neat hand. Looking back at the previous photos, the first name was printed on their backsides, too.

The fourth photo was of a different man. His eyes were a strange color -- they were completely white, even the pupil. The man's hair was inky black, long and silky looking, flowing down his back. He wore a simple white haori and black hakama. He was half-turned, as if just leaving, his face expressionless, the tiniest of frowns on his lips. He was tall, elegant; his opal eyes piercing Sakura's heart.

He looked so…cold.

Sakura shuddered a little and flipped over the picture. Just as she has suspected, the words Hyuuga Neji-sama were written across the back.

The fifth picture was of a redhead, his hair tousled by the wind, perched on a massive sand dome. Gaara of Suna, she thought. The picture was not clear--the King was distant in the picture. All Sakura could make out was red hair, black-lined green eyes and rather tribal looking clothes. She could not distinguish any expression, so she put away the photo of the cross-legged boy after a few more seconds.

She turned her eyes to the last picture, and her breath caught in her throat.

The man had the deepest, darkest eyes she had ever seen, a wonderful coal color, though completely devoid of emotion or expression. His hair was black, jutting out behind him at the strangest angles. He also wore a white haori, and his face was so handsome, so hauntingly beautiful, that Sakura thought she was going to hyperventilate.

Hands trembling, she turned the photo.

Uchiha Sasuke-sama.

"Oh Gods," she breathed, "Oh, my God…"

How was she going to live with this...this godly creature for...

For the rest of her life?

GLOSSARY

yukata : a thin full-body garment worn by both men and women in Japan

haori : a sort of wrap-around shirt

hakama : loose fitting pants

hime : "lady" or "Princess"

.-.-.-.-.

So...I'll be gone on Sunday. (waah...I have a bigg fevah today. DX)

Remember, me lovies:

Reviews -- Love

Love -- Inspiration

Inspiration -- Faster updates!!

(summary: Reviews -- Updates. Yes, I'm trying to bribe you. Those of you who write, PROMOTE FAUTE DE MIEUX!!)

Till next time!