Chapter 4! First, thank you to everyone that reviewed last chapter! So, last chapter, Neji popped the question to Tenten and this chapter y'all know the anwer! Enjoy & Review!
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Undesired Life...
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She had to give him an answer, but what answer though? She knew her answer and his, and that was the problem. She wanted to say no for many reasons, and one of the big reasons was because she was not ready for it.
Marriage had never been in Tenten's mind. The last time she even thought about marriage was three to four years ago with her friends. She and her friends had been talking about their future, and most of Tenten's friends love the idea of settling down with the right one. Tenten had never believed, and still doesn't, in marriage. Ever since her mother had died and her father had gone ill, she had told herself that the only thing she saw in her future was taking care of her father and the farm.
Another fact was giving the king his heir. Tenten wasn't ready for children at all. She has taken care of a few children from different ages and has had a hard time with them. She couldn't see herself being a mother at all. What would her own mother say if she were still alive?
Tenten knew what she would say…
Your body is too fragile to carry a child…
Or…
You're not ready to handle a child…
And most likely…
You don't belong to the king. I will not let you cry in pain for nine months and possibly bleed to death just to have his heir. He can find somebody else, but not my child.
"Well?" inquired the anxious king.
Tenten flinched at the harshness of his voice and looked at him.
"I-I….Please forgive me, sir, but I am not ready for marriage." she replied, shuddering as he glared at her.
"You don't need to be ready. You won't need to waste any money on anything-"
"N-No, it's not about the money, sir." she explained, "It's about me. I am not ready for marriage overall. I was actually on not getting married at all."
Neji's glare softened a little, but his stoic expression did not change. Tenten wanted to get up and run away so badly, but she knew that if she did such thing, he would stop her immediately by grabbing her arm and sitting her back down like a misbehaving child.
The king shifted his gaze back to the trees. "How much time do you want me to give you so you can be ready?"
Is this guy serious? I thought I explained to him that I wasn't ready to be married?
"I'm sorry, sir, but that won't be necessary. I don't want to get married, at all…to anyone."
"Why?"
"…Because, I simply don't."
The king looked at her again and grabbed her thin wrists. Tenten gasped at the sudden action and looked at him.
Oh crap is he going to punish me for saying no?
Tenten knew that he was going to leave a mark on her wrists.
"I want you to be my wife." he told her.
"…Why? I'm a poor peasant. I'm not the most beautiful girl out there and I'm busy taking care of my father and the farm. I dress badly and-"
"…You're one of a kind." he told her, grabbing her chin with his fingers.
Tenten's back shuddered as her breath quickened. She tried to make herself feel calm, but it was failing as the king untied the buns from her head and began to brush her long hair with his fingers.
"You really are one of a kind." he said. "Ever since I first saw you, I knew that you were somewhat different from the other women my uncle was suggesting me to marry. You seem more realistic than them. They're fake, and I can't see any light in them….But you…you're different. You look more alive even if your life is not as good as theirs. I rather be with you than with someone who I won't bother knowing."
I wonder if he rehearsed this before I came…
"I….I…" Tenten didn't know how to explain herself. "I'm sorry, but I don't feel the same way as you do. This is too sudden for me."
Neji pulled back a little and then stood up. "Forgive me for pressuring into this then." he said, slowly walking back to his palace. "However," he added, "I won't stop. No matter what, you will become my wife."
Tenten raised a confused eyebrow and her face reddened. The king turned to face her and stood very close to her.
"I will make you agree to marry me. You will be my wife, Tenten."
Before she could've replied to that, he spoke again.
"I'll prepare a carriage to take you home. Don't forget what I told you. I'll arrange a schedule for and I to talk more. I'm interested in knowing more about you, Tenten."
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The old man got up from his comfortable chair and walked from the kitchen to the living room. His body shook, which always scared Tenten, every time he walked, looking like his bones were ready to shatter and he was about to collapse. The man was over worried about his daughter. Lee had informed him that Tenten was helping an old friend with something, however, the man didn't believe, but he didn't question him either. Instead, he wants to question his daughter once she gets home. He knew something was going on, but he rather hear it from her.
"It's almost eight o'clock and my daughter still hasn't come." the man said, once reaching the living room, to Lee.
"I'm sure she'll be here any minute. She's smart, she knows that walking when it's dark isn't safe, especially for a young woman like her."
Inwardly, the man agreed with him as he sat down and stared at the clock. He had never yelled at Tenten before, nor had he ever had the feeling of doing such thing -- but now he does. Tenten knew the dangers of a seventeen year-old girl walking by herself at night.
"Do not worry much about Tenten, sir." Lee said, "Both of us know how strong she is and how she won't let any guy harm her."
"Yes, you are right; but," he said, and then added, "what if it's five men…ten…fifteen! Tenten won't be able to fight them! Get Naruto, Kiba, and Shikamaru and tell them if they can walk around and see if they find her. I do not believe that she is in a friend's house. But, I'm going to question her about it, not you, Lee." he said.
Lee let out a relieved sigh and opened the door, and shocked, a smile appeared on his lips.
"Tenten, you're back!"
The peasant smiled as she opened the gate to her house and ran inside.
"Hey, Lee. How's my father?"
"Your father is worried." replied Tenten's ill father.
The brunette groaned and walked inside the house, meeting her father's angry brown eyes.
Here it comes…
"Where were you, Tenten? Lee told me that you were helping a friend with some emergency, but I don't believe that. Be honest with me and tell me where were you."
"I was at a friend's house," she lied, "Her sister was in pain, she's pregnant and gave birth today."
"Who is this friend of yours? Do I know her?"
"No, I met her a week ago. Her name is Yin."
"If you met her a week ago, how come you didn't tell me a week ago about her?"
"…Because I thought I wasn't going to see her again. Her family moves a lot, so I'd figure that it wasn't a big thing not to tell you." she explained and then knelt down beside him, "I'm sorry I worried you, father. I promise I won't do it again."
The man sighed and smiled at her. "I'm just glad that you're alright. Most likely I would've committed suicide if I ever find out that you were kidnapped, raped, or killed."
"I'm not a little girl, father, I'm always going to be on high alert."
Her father nodded, still knowing that she was lying.
"Do you need something?"
"No," her father replied.
"Alright. I'm going to take a shower now." she said, and then turned to her friend. "Thanks, Lee."
"No problem, my dear friend!"
Tenten climbed up the short staircase and walked inside her room. Her smile disappeared and tiredly she threw herself on the bed. She was supposed to arrive two hours earlier, but the king had made her have dinner with him and the rest of the family.
This is the worst night ever, She had stared at everyone eat and ate a little herself. That was so embarrassing,
However, a few people had chuckled at what had happened and the king had smirked, something Tenten has never seen in her life, and she also thought of as sexy.
His words swam around her mind, and she didn't know how the heck she was ever going to tell her father about it. King Hyuuga wants her as his wife and he was going to make that happen no matter what. Tenten feels nothing towards the king. If she told her father about this, he would stomp over to the palace and demand the king to leave her alone, and knowing the king, that was something he wasn't going to do.
What would mom do if she was still here?
Her mother was the only person she trusted with these type of problems.
What am I going to do? No matter what I say, I'm going to end up being the king's wife and Father won't like it. If I talk to the king, he won't care and if I tell Father he'll get himself in trouble. God, what do I do?
Following morning…
Tenten turned off the stove as breakfast was finally finished. Her father sat down and she placed the plate if food in front of him.
"Did you sleep well, father?" she asked, sitting in front of him with her breakfast.
"Not really," he answered, "I took my medicine five times and I couldn't stop coughing. I drank three cups of water too and it went away for a few minutes."
"The medicine isn't helping you, then. You need something better."
"I know, sweetie, but with what money?"
"I'll get another job and-"
"No, I don't want you overstressing yourself just for me. I'm turning old and my time is coming for me to-"
"Father don't say that! You'll get better, I'll make sure of that."
The man smiled at Tenten, but their conversation was interrupted with a knock on the door. Swiftly, she got up and opened the door, and immediately, her eyes widened.
"Wh-What are you doing here, sir?"
"Call me Neji," the king said with a slight smirk, "and I'm here to take you on a trip."
Finished with chapter 5! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Rigt now, my friend and I are reading lik 100 articles at the same time about what's going to happen in 2012! I don't know what t believe! I hope y'all know what I'm talking about.....ya know.....world supposedly ending in 2012....Mayan Calendar finishing...and other stuff. DX
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