.
.
She saw him standing there,
Regal and intimidating ever,
He watched her stare,
Her eyes green with power,
Asked each other coincidentally,
"Are you not lonely?'
.
.
"I feel lost."
"I feel lost."
COAT
OF
ARMS
IV.
The maid bowed upon accompanying the pink-haired princess to the dining hall. Her green eyes wandered for a minute observing the interior of the hall. It was grander than she expected, the black chandeliers were lit with candles. The walls were white, with dark gray fleur-de-lis pattern. There was a long black table and at the end was she assumed to be the King's seat for it had a much-detailed wood designs and black and gold paint that outlined the said seat.
Then she saw him, standing near the arc, he had his crown that rivaled her Queen's. He was tall, he would probably tower her if she came to stand near him. He wore a black button up long sleeve shirt, dark gray vest, black pants and black leather shoes. He wore no color except for the crimson cape, which currently he was removing.
He was fair, for a King who was frequented in the fields or traveled, she noticed. He looked better than the last time she had seen him, if that was actually possible. Before she realized it, she asked,
"Why am I here?" His black eyes shifted to her, made her hold her breath. It mesmerized her – he mesmerized her. The next thing she heard were his footsteps from across the hall as he made his way to him.
"For safe-keeping."His deep voice answered, breaking her out of her own world.
What safe-keeping? She thought never had been so confused in her life. She looked at him, he was closer and just as she thought, he towered over her. She smelled his scent, forest and rain. It wasn't a bad smell, it was very masculine and fitted him.
"You should eat." He said, his fair strong right hand extended for her to take and absent-mindedly she took it with a bit of reluctance. He led her to the chair, adjacent from his seat to the left. And as if on cue, the servants stepped inside with silver tray and kitchen wares.
It wasn't grand, she noticed, but it was more than enough. Settled in the table was a tray of different fruits, pasta, cheese breads, beef steaks and mashed potatoes. He probably noticed that she stared at the food brought to the table.
"If you like something else, specifically, you can tell the servants." His smooth and velvet-like voice that rivaled the chocolate she loved broke her from her reverie.
Suddenly, she was embarrassed. The pink hue dusted her cheeks and replied,
"It's more than enough," it was like a whisper, then she straightened up and repeated confidently, "It's more than enough, Your Majesty."
"Hn." He grunted and started to eat, the pinkette took it as a sign and began to eat as well.
Sakura felt surreal. It's not every day she can dine with a king, much less with an Uchiha king. She felt overwhelmed rather than intimidated. And she didn't understand why her heart raced at the mere sight of him. They ate the meal silently and it took all of her willpower not to say anything awkward. The mere clinking and clanking of the utensils were the only one heard.
The silence was shattered by the clicking of the heels and greet of a brunette lady
"Sorry, got held up by my cards." She took the seat besides the pink-haired princess who merely gave a small smile to her. The king did not make any comment to her statement he merely paused when she arrived and continued eating when she sat beside the princess.
When lunch passed, the King excuse himself from the ladies and went to his office where he saw his adviser, reading an orange book he loved so much. Half of his face covered with a makeshift mask that extended from his long sleeve dark blue top tucked in his black trousers and wore his brown leather boots. When he noticed the King's presence he closed the book and bowed before he took a rolled parchment from a pocket in his trousers.
"A letter from Queen Tsunade." The king raised an eyebrow at this and took the parchment form his adviser's hand and inspected the seal, dark green melted wax, with a leaf and crown outline in the middle. A personal letter? Immediately he opened the enveloped and read the letter with haste yet calmly. The letter appeared as a blank parchment and immediately he knew of its importance. His onyx orbs followed every line of the Queen's personal letter against his left hand as he held the delicate letter over the white candle from the candelabra his advisor probably lit earlier.
As he read and read the letter given by the neighboring kingdom's ruler, his eyes widened at the last sentence,
She must not know, at least not yet. Tell her when the time comes. I trust your judgement, you shall know when.
Without any hesitation, he handed the letter to his awaiting advisor and hid the small smirk that formed on his pale thin luscious lips which was gone as soon as it was formed. It was quiet in the room, the maroon curtains blown by the wind was the only sound and his advisor's breathing.
"What do you think?" The King's deep baritone voice asked as soon as Kakashi placed the parchment on the King's desk, the paper returning to its blank appearance, its message hidden from the world.
"She's wise." Kakashi commented, "A very wise Queen indeed." Slowly, the gray-haired older man took slow strides to place a hand on his King's left shoulder,
"The important question, Sasuke is what do you think?" His advisor only called him his name when they are alone after all, he raised the King like his own child. Sasuke, as well, preferred to be called by his name. He rarely hears it nowadays, they call him: 'Your Grace', 'His Excellency', 'King Uchiha'
"To be honest, Kakashi." He started with a small smirk on his face, "It's high time that I should do it. I accept."
Kakashi smiled under his mask, "Indeed, a win-win situation."
He clapped his hands once, "I'll send out your reply at once, Sasuke."
The pink haired princess found herself in the room she woke up from earlier that day and with the brunette woman as her companion. She sat on the soft bed and watched with her bright evergreen eyes as Lady Tenten ordered the maid to bring layers of clothes she bought yesterday. She sighed and wondered for how long she was going to stay in the palace and she didn't even know for what purpose she was being kept.
Sakura was so bored as she observed the brunette lady. Tenten was sorting out the dresses by colors while the maid was beside her, arms stretched out with clothes higher than her head. The pinkette gathered her skirt and stealthily made her way outside the room without them noticing.
She wandered around for several minutes after she asked one of the servants for the library's direction but declined the servant's offer of accompanying her to said place. She wanted to explore and feel a small bit of freedom. Though they kept insisting that she wasn't a prisoner, she felt a bit like one. Sakura can feel their eyes on her and guarding.
She turned to the left when her small frame collided to something hard that caused her to stumble back a little and rubbed the tip of her nose in an unladylike manner. Just when she was about to say her apologies, the familiar warm smooth baritone voice resonated, "My apologies, Princess."
She looked up and saw the King without his cape and crown. His midnight-hair spiked at the back and she wondered what it would feel like. His onyx eyes looked smoldering as it clashed with her green ones. His brows were perfect, down to his pointed nose and attracting lips.
He's the most beautiful man she had ever seen in her life.
"It's my fault, Your Grace." She gave a small bow, "I apologize."
"Sasuke." She looked confused for a moment but then got the message.
"I don't want to be rude."
"I insist." The King persuaded with his deep smooth voice that left no room for arguments.
Sakura thought that she could use this as an advantage. She thought quick as always, expected from a medic, befriend the king and maybe, just maybe she'll know why she was kept here.
"If you insist. You can call me," Sakura smiled not knowing that it lit up the dark halls of the King's castle, "Sakura."
I took too long to update again. I know. I've been depressed lately. haha.
Thank you for your patience.
~SA