The next few days were full of discomfort.

Mikoto barely let me out of her sight and when she did one of the other Uchihas would be present.

The only time I had alone was at night when I would sit by the window and stare out at all of Konoha.

The town looked so small from way up there.

It was no wonder the Uchihas paid no mind to it.

I'd been given the grand tour of the palace once lunch was finished.

My bedroom was the only one located on the third floor.

Every one of the Uchihas were on the second floor: the two younger brothers on one side of the castle, Madara located in the middle, and the King and Queen at the far end.

The stairwell was located right next to Madara's room.

There was another room near his, but Mikoto had skipped over it and I was too nervous to ask her about it.

I suspected it belonged to the sixth family member that was in the giant portrait above the fireplace.

Would I meet him during my residency?

I'd learned that Sai and Sasuke were my main focus, which was odd because I never saw any maids or butlers other than me.

Did the royal family really clean after themselves or was there someone I wasn't aware of?

Sai and Sasuke were just as different as Ino and I.

Sai was just as bland as he was polite.

He often attempted to converse with me while I cleaned his room.

I replied to him when obligated, but ultimately felt awkward around him.

He always asked questions about me, yet never offered any information on himself.

I suppose that was to be expected since he was a prince and I was a servant.

I should feel privileged to even be in his presence, even if in reality I felt quite the opposite.

Sasuke wasn't as cruel as I'd initially thought him.

In fact, I preferred his presence above anyone else's because he left me alone.

Even if the air was tense when I cleaned his room, he didn't pry into my personal life .

The thing that I longed for the most wasn't to see my family, even though I missed Ino dearly.

No, the thing I wished for was simply silence.

Mikoto was a generous host who showed me nothing except kindness, but the woman never stopped talking.

She must've been telling the truth when she'd mentioned wanting feminine companionship.

It were as though she had years of pent up stories to share.

I'd learned more things about her children from her than from them.

Both were apparent playboys, but kept their sexual practices very private to the point that I hadn't even noticed a single woman come in or out of the palace despite Mikoto's promise that there had even been a couple in the few days I'd been here.

This also didn't surprise me.

They were royalty, and attractive royalty at that.

Ino would definitely jump at the chance to bed either of them.

It had taken me a full day before I'd come to the realization that there were no guards throughout the palace.

I could see them patrolling the courtyard from my window, but none entered the building with the purpose to guard.

It almost seemed as though they wanted to be sure the Uchiha's didn't leave, but I was sure that wasn't the case.

The light from the candle on my bedside table suddenly went out when a strong gust of wind blew in from the window.

I wrapped my arms around my knees and stared up at the dark sky.

The castle seemed more alive during the night than day.

I was always the first to retire to my room.

Mikoto had told me that after today I'd have my first day without her there to guide me.

With nothing to do but garden once my orders for the day were finished, I often just sat here in the window and looked outside.

I wasn't allowed outside alone.

I glanced around at my room.

It was easily the least flashy room that I'd been in throughout the castle, but it was still nicer than anything I'd ever had.

My bed had black silk sheets and down pillows.

Many pieces of empty furniture decorated the room, but I didn't have any of my personal belongings to fill them.

I only had a few dresses that Mikoto had given me to use along with some new undergarments that she had an unlucky guard go into town to pick up.

Every piece of clothing was black.

I felt as though the undergarments were borderline lingerie and much too mature for someone of my age and stature.

Necessity forced me to wear them regardless.

There was suddenly a knock on my door.

My eyes shot over to it.

That had never happened.

I soothed my black nightgown down as I tiptoed over to crack the door open only to be surprised by Madara's smiling face.

He raised a hand in greeting.

I opened my door just slightly more so he could see my bow, "Ah, what can I do for you, sir?"

He gave a quiet chuckle before reaching out to grab each of my hands gently, "Please, Miss Haruno, call me Madara. I couldn't fall asleep tonight and wondered if you'd like to join me for a walk?"

I glanced back at my dark room.

His hands were warm against my colder ones.

I slid my door shut behind me quietly before walking side by side with him through the halls of the palace.

"How are you settling in?"

In all honesty, I felt more uncomfortable than anything.

The only person I could talk to was Mikoto and even with her I had to think twice about what I'd say before saying it.

Everyone else seemed to feel the same way towards me.

I glanced at Madara's smiling face.

He seemed kind and sincere.

With a boost of courage, I answered as honestly as I could without being insulting to his family, "I hope the princes warm up to my presence sooner rather than later."

He let out another light chuckle, "There is a reason they treat you this way, Miss Haruno. Didn't you know?"

I shook my head, but gave him a curious look as if to ask him to explain.

He led me down to the second floor where we headed past his room, "The princes fell in love with their previous servant."

I was in disbelief, "Both of them? With the same girl?"

He nodded and put a finger to his mouth, motioning to the princes in question's rooms that were further down the hall.

I winced, not realizing my voice had risen, and nodded with a finger to my mouth to mimic his motion to be silent.

He stopped in front of the door that Mikoto had skipped over during our tour, "This is Itachi's room."

Itachi?

Is that the last family member in the portrait?

He leaned against the door with his hands in his pockets and a sad look on his face.

He looked near tears when I gained the courage to lay a hand softly on his arm.

Did Itachi die or something?

Madara looked so grieved.

The man in question lay a hand gently on top of mine and offered me a small smile, "Don't worry about me, Miss Haruno. I simply wished to give you a warning."

His smile vanished and was replaced with a serious frown, "Itachi violated and murdered the previous servant girl."

Fear rocked through my veins and I froze in disbelief.

He did what?

Madara pulled my hand from his arm and held it firmly in between his two bigger ones, "Itachi is returning home tomorrow from a trip Mikoto had sent him on. With him being an Uchiha, his crimes were concealed from the public and the girl's family hushed with money. Please, Miss Haruno, promise me you'll come to me if he approaches you in private. I wish nothing more than to keep you safe."

My heart beat quickened at his kind words.

His face was serious in a way I'd never seen a man look.

Unable to find words, I nodded in reply and allowed him to lead me back to my room.

Once we arrived, he knelt down to place a chaste kiss on my hand, "Good night, Miss Haruno. Remember your promise when tomorrow comes."

I shyly pulled my hand away from him and nodded with a red face.

He was too kind.

Come morning, I woke up an hour earlier than usual.

Nightmares of this Itachi plagued my dreams.

I have never had sex with anyone and the mere thought of someone stealing something as precious as a girl's virginity felt taboo.

I felt more annoyed than anything.

Being in this damned palace had me acting like someone else.

Did I really have a choice other than to adjust myself according to my setting?

I just need to survive the next three months and then I'd be free to return to my life in the lower-class.

With a new determination to just do my job and make it through my sentence, I got dressed and headed downstairs to start my chores early.

The halls were dimly lit with the light of sunrise.

I hummed a light tune to amuse myself as I swept and mopped the long hallway.

A door opening pulled me from my trance and I turned to greet whichever brother was leaving their room, only to be faced with a red-headed female stranger.

She was obviously of high-class, but the red on her cheeks told me that she didn't expect to be caught leaving Sasuke's room.

I bowed respectfully to her, despite her obvious annoyance.

She huffed and stomped past me and towards the staircase to leave the palace before anyone else could spot her.

With a sigh, I finished up mopping and headed towards Sasuke's room to collect his clothing from yesterday for cleaning.

When I stepped into the room, he was sitting up in bed with no shirt on and a comforter draped over the bottom half of his body.

There was a book in his hands that he looked away from momentarily to shoot me an annoyed glare.

I bowed before beginning to pick up his messy room.

Each morning his room would be in disarray.

How could a grown man be so bad at picking up after himself?

As I got closer to his bed, I was hyper aware of his nakedness.

It was unclear if he was wearing any bottoms because of the blanket, but his bare torso was hard enough to ignore.

Toned muscles glared openly at me.

I couldn't even lie to myself.

He was the most beautiful person I'd ever seen.

It was too bad he hated me.

With a frown, I tore my gaze away from his toned body and leaned down to grab a discarded item of clothing, only to jump in shock as I realized I was holding the redhead's forgotten underwear.

My face heated up and the unfamiliar sound of Sasuke chuckling met my ears.

I glanced at him in surprise and he had a small smirk on his lips as he purposely kept his gaze on his book.

A glare slipped onto my face before I could control it and I snatched the lacy panties back up before continuing my chores.

The next few moments were silent until I was about to leave the room, when Sasuke suddenly blocked the door I was headed towards.

He was wearing a simple pair of black trousers, thank God.

I dropped the armful of clothing I was carrying in shock and a small squeal of surprise slipped past my lips.

With a hand to my heart, I took a calming breath before leaning down to regain the items I'd dropped, "Do you need something, sir?"

Despite his face still holding an expression of distaste towards me, his words were spoken precisely, "Stay away from Itachi."

Without giving me a chance to respond, he stepped to the side and opened the door for me to exit his room.

I did so with no complaints. Sasuke was by far the most intimidating member of the family, even more so than the king himself, to me anyway.

Once his clothes were in the washing machine, I headed up to Sai's room only to catch him on his way out.

"Ah! Hello Sakura. How are you today? Are you sleeping any better?"

I paused mid-bow.

I hadn't mentioned that I hadn't slept well.

Did I have dark circles under my eyes that gave me away?

Regardless of how he received his information, I replied, "I'm just fine, sir. Do you have any special requests for me to attend to today?"

I hated being so damn formal all the time, but I was literally serving the royal family.

If I acted casual around them they'd probably react badly.

He smiled that same blank smile at me and said in a matter-of-factly voice, "Come get me if Itachi approaches you while you're alone."

My fear of this Itachi character was growing more and more as the day progressed.

Every member of the Uchiha family that I talked to today warned me to avoid him.

I simply nodded and waited politely for him to leave the area before entering his room to do my daily chores.

Once I was finished cleaning, ironing, and placing the boys' clothing on hangers, I headed back upstairs to place them in their respective rooms.

As I was hanging up Sasuke's trousers in his closet, a voice sounded softly from behind me, "Excuse me, miss?"

I jumped and turned to see a very attractive man standing a yard or so away with his hands behind his back.

His eyes were a dark red with black dots dancing around in them and that alone had me frozen in fear.

This was Itachi.

Sasuke was no where in sight and I had no clue where he or Sai had gone.

His black hair was tied back in a neat yet loose ponytail and his face was serious as he studied me.

I greeted him shakily, "H-Hello, sir. You must be Itachi. It's a p-pleasure to meet you."

I was shaking in my hypothetical boots.

Would he kidnap me here and now and take me away to violate and murder me like he did the other girl?

Tears filled my eyes and I fought to pull them back before he could notice, but it was all in vain.

"Please do not be frightened. I have no intent to harm you."

Of course a murderer would try to convince his possible prey to trust him.

I'm no fool and I won't be falling for it.

With my best foot forward, I forced back my tears and nodded, "O-Of course, sir."

He stared at me with those calculating eyes for a silent moment before releasing me from their hold and glancing around the room, "Do you know where my brothers are?"

I shook my head and finished hanging up Sasuke's clothes, gathering Sai's from the bed to take to his room, "No, sorry."

Itachi stared at me again for a moment before silently turning on his heel and leaving the room.

Relief rolled over me and it were as if I could breath again.

I'd survived my first encounter with the famed Itachi.

That night, well after I'd had my bath and could be found sitting in my favorite spot at the window, there was a soft knock at my door.

Would this become a habit?

It's the middle of the night, yet this is the second evening in a row that I had a visitor.

I padded my way to the door to find that it was Madara visiting again.

He greeted me with a kind smile, "Good evening, Miss Sakura. How was your day?"

I returned his smile, "Fine, thank you. What can I do for you?"

He answered without hesitation, "I don't want to lie to you, Miss Sakura. I wish to learn more about you."

My face heated up just slightly.

How did he say such embarrassing things with a straight face?

He spoke like he was from a different era and it gave him a certain prince-like quality that made sense given his status.

Even if Madara was a very attractive man that had done nothing to make me feel as if he has ill-intentions, it would be stupid for me to not consider it odd for a grown man wanting to hang out with a seventeen year old girl.

I reluctantly allowed him to lead me out of my room and towards the family room.

He made us both some tea and we sat on the soft rug in front of the fireplace.

"Tell me, Miss Haruno. Is it alright for me to call you by just your first name?"

I nodded politely as I sipped my hot tea.

The sweet liquid warmed my body as it flowed down my throat.

Almost immediately I felt dizzy with heat.

"Sakura, have you heard anything from your family since your arrival?"

I shook my head slowly.

Everything was moving in slow motion.

Did he put something in my tea?

"I'm sorry..um..I feel a little dizzy. Maybe I should-!"

When I looked back up all I could see were red eyes with little dots swirling around in them.

I couldn't pull my eyes away and found myself dropping my tea cup.

As it clattered to the floor, the hot liquid left inside burned my lap through my gown, but I still couldn't move to tend to it.

It was as though I was being hypnotized.

Fear froze my muscles as the eyes came closer to me.

These eyes were the same as those Itachi had.

Had Itachi made his move so quickly after returning?

Where was Madara?

I felt my body being lifted bridal style, but still could only see those red irises.

Mere minutes later I felt a hard surface under me and realized I was being laid down on the ground.

A whisper as soft as the breeze blowing in from an open window somewhere in the castle spoke the words, "Close your eyes and stay silent."

My body did as told without my consent.

My inner consciousness fought and fought against the order, but to no avail.

I don't even have the power to feel the panic that I should.

Fingers roughly pushed my head to the side and there was a sharp sting on my neck before everything stopped.

Someone rubbed my shoulder roughly to try and wake me and my eyes shot open in shock.

It was morning.

I was laying on the floor in the hallway where the Uchihas' bedrooms were located.

My mind was still foggy as I finally lay eyes on whoever was shaking me.

It was Sasuke.

There was a clear look of panic in his eyes as he spoke, but I couldn't hear the words he was saying.

He seemed to be struggling to look at me so I looked down to see that my dress was torn to pieces, leaving my undergarments almost completely visible.

That wasn't what had me shooting up and screaming in terror.

There was dried blood on my neck, shoulder, arm, and torso.

My shrill scream finally broke whatever barrier that was blocking my hearing and Sasuke's words met my ears.

His deep voice was the opposite of what I'd heard in it before. He sounded concerned, "Stop! Stop! Stop yelling! What happened to you?"

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I glanced around at the floor around me.

There was a small puddle of blood on the ground where I had been laying.

When it was clear that I was in too much shock to respond, Sasuke placed a hand over my mouth and pulled me to my feet by my arm.

His hands were rough and strong against my cold skin.

A wave of dizziness rolled over me and I knew I was about to throw up so I shoved him away and rushed into the only open room in the area, Sasuke's.

Just in time, I made it into his en suite to vomit into the toilet.

I didn't realize he'd followed me until I finally stopped emptying my stomach and fell exhausted onto the cold linoleum floor.

He reached over me to flush the toilet before starting to run a bath.

While it filled, I lulled between consciousness and unconsciousness.

A sheen of cold-sweat coated my skin and my labored breath left a little fog circle on the floor under my head.

I felt Sasuke remove the remainder of my ruined dress with ease before he rolled me onto my back and lifted me up to a sitting position, "Sakura listen to me. Who did this to you?"

Through my dizziness I tried to think back to what had happened last night, but all I could picture were those red eyes. Had it been Itachi? I could only make out the word, "Red, " before falling completely out of consciousness.