Sakura, in typical ninja fashion, bypassed the door in favour of jumping through the window. Once again she had stayed away from her room all day. Last night she hadn't even returned to sleep, instead finding a nice secluded place under the trees in the garden and sleeping under the stars. It was an altogether pleasant experience, waking up to the warmth of sun on her eyes and early-morning birdsong. Apparently Elrond had sent out invitations to his 'council' earlier, or else news travelled uncommonly fast, as already parties had begun arriving – despite his only telling Gandalf of it yesterday.
Sakura had skulked around the treetops and roofs all day, constantly amazed at the sheer number of different races that populated Middle Earth, as they arrived group by group. After all there were only humans in her world, albeit chakra-powered ninja ones. She had seen parties of elves, which she guessed to be from other elf-settlements. She saw human men and a large group of what looked like taller, stockier hobbits with incredibly overgrown beards. She later overheard that these were dwarves. To say that she was intrigued would be an understatement. Only her protesting stomach broke her away from her watch, and upon realising that she'd eaten nothing since last night, she finally made her way back to her room.
Sakura was only slightly surprised to –once again – find someone in her room. This time it was a harried-looking elf-maid, who was agitatedly making and remaking the bed, and wringing her hands from time to time. The very moment Sakura stepped off the windowsill the she-elf turned to her with a relieved cry of "Lady Sakura!"
Sakura was, to be frank, a bit stunned at being addressed as such. She stood a little awkwardly in front of the window.
"Um…can I help you?"
The maid look appalled, "I am here to help you Lady Sakura," Sakura received a mildly reproachful look, "I have been looking for you all day."
Sakura gave her what she hoped was an apologetic smile. "I was in the garden…um…sorry?"
The maid eventually, after many 'Lady Sakura's and stammerings and general fluster, managed to relay that Lord Elrond was expecting her company for dinner, and that she –the maid- was to help her lady to prepare. She finished with an expectant and somewhat eager-to-please look.
Sakura was about to reply that she didn't need help, when she caught sight of that look. It reminded her a little of Rock Lee actually, and suddenly turning her maid away seemed a little like kicking a puppy; especially since the poor woman had been looking for her all day. Sakura gave a resigned sigh and glanced over herself uncomfortably; looking for something the maid could do for her. She looked up with a bright grin as a thought hit her. She wanted a bath. And a change of clothes.
A relatively short time later, Sakura found herself blissfully sunk up to her chin in warm water. She admired the ornate bathroom lazily, before her gaze landed on a plain white bar of soap. She wrinkled her nose slightly – the old-fashioned kind of soap, no doubt made with fat and all the works. Still, soap was soap, and she soon set about removing the layers of dirt and grime from her body. As she did so, she became aware of just how awful she must have looked for the past two days, and felt a fresh wave of embarrassment flush through her before she tamped it down. After all Aragorn hadn't looked much different yesterday either, and Lord Elrond was cultured enough to make no comment. She took a minute to reaffirm the 'I-don't-care-what-you-think' attitude she'd taken from her very first chuunin exam, but scrubbed with renewed vigour all the same.
Once her skin was to her satisfaction – that is to say, pink with all the scrubbing – Sakura looked around for something to wash her hair with. Nothing. She sent a longing glance at the pack she had brought in with her, wishing that she had thought to pack some shampoo in there before running off after Sasuke and getting stuck in another world. She huffed with irritation and glanced at the soap, but how was she supposed to wash her hair with that? The dilemma was easily solved when the maid returned, stepping into the bathroom with a dress carefully folded over one arm and a large drying-cloth over the other.
"Does my lady require assistance?" She asked, and Sakura found herself thankful for communal hot springs – being naked in front of another woman would have been incredibly embarrassing otherwise.
"Uh…my hair," Sakura waved a hand at it absently, wondering how exactly you went about asking how to wash it. The maid took the matter out of her hands. In much the same way that Sakura had bathed a patient in the hospital, the maid set about washing her hair for her. She lathered up the soap in her hands and rubbed the suds into the pink locks.
"Such an unusual colour," she murmured, "Like the spring flowers." Sakura pretended not to hear, concentrating on the nurse-washes-disabled-patient type scenario to make the whole thing less awkward. It didn't work so well. Still, it was over relatively quickly, and Sakura was left spluttering as a bucket of water was dumped over her head to wash out the suds.
She dismissed the maid as politely as possible, reasoning that she preferred to dress herself. A vigorous towel-drying and a flare of chakra later (a neat trick for missions) her hair was completely water-free, albeit stuck up at odd angles. Clean and dry, Sakura stood nude in the bathroom, holding up the dress the maid had brought her. She eyed it with distaste. It wasn't ugly by any means, in fact it was a rather becoming shade of green which would undoubtedly bring out her eyes. But it was long, she certainly wouldn't be able to run or fight in it. She sighed, remembering her thoughts from the garden and thinking that she really should have seen it coming. 'Still', she thought as she held it close to her body, measuring it against herself, it was unlikely that she'd be fighting anyway, and she hadn't really worn anything pretty since her gennin days. What the hell. She pulled the dress over her head.
It looked even better on, and for the first time in a long while Sakura found herself admiring her reflection in the mirror. Even so, after wearing shorts for so long it was disconcerting to feel air brush across her thighs when she twirled, and after a long moments deliberation she slipped her spandex shorts back on underneath. Sakura instantly felt much better. After a glance at her feet to confirm that yes, the dress did reach all the way to the floor (in fact it pooled a bit there and dragged behind her as she walked) Sakura strapped on her combat boots too. It was enough to make her feel like a Kunoichi still even in the dress, and no-one would be any the wiser. She let the maid back in to brush her hair, but refused to have it pinned back or styled in any way, preferring to have it let down and brushing her shoulders as it usually was.
The maid relented relatively easily and Sakura soon found herself being ushered down a hallway and stranded in front of an imposing pair of double doors. She gently (that is, without chakra) pushed on the left hand one, and it swung open smoothly to reveal a grand dining hall, in which many people milled about talking to their own party or other members of their own people, and very occasionally others. Elrond stood with Aragorn and the old man Gandalf, who still bore his pointed hat, 'meeting and greeting' as Tsunade would say, with a kind of general diplomacy. Sakura paused unsurely for a moment, before a hand at her elbow drew her attention to Arwen, whom she had not noticed moving toward her.
"Good evening," Sakura greeted her politely, making a mental note: Diplomatic dinner – be on best behaviour.
Arwen replied in kind, and seemed to gather her courage for a moment. Her light touch at Sakura's elbow told the Kunoichi that she was somewhat nervous for all her outward composure, her pulse was a little fast.
"I apologise," the elf said quickly and softly, "At the river, I did not realise you had not cleared the water."
Sakura was shocked, she hadn't expected an apology from Arwen, and if anything had blamed herself for not clearing the water in time. She was…touched.
"Do not blame yourself," Sakura said, but any further talk was interrupted by the appearance of a smiling hobbit by Sakura's side.
"His Lordship requests your presence Ladyship's" Merry declared with a sweeping bow, he took each of their hands in his own, "and may I say how beautiful you two Ladies look tonight?"
Sakura found herself smiling, and thought that perhaps she might enjoy this dinner after all. Merry herded them over to Lord Elrond, and Arwen slipped in to fill the gap between her father and Aragorn. Sakura found herself standing next to the Old Wizard, who gave her a wrinkled smile.
"Ah my dear, you must be Sakura."
She returned the smile, despite the disappointment that reared its head at the sight of this old man who could not send her home.
"I am," she replied, but their conversation went no further when Aragorn addressed her.
"May I have a word, Sakura?"
As they stepped out of the doors and back into the hallway, Sakura had an idea as to where this conversation was going. Aragorn's face shifted into an expression of weary disappointment, and even guilt.
"I spoke to Gandalf," he said, watching her face. To his surprise she merely gave him a sad-looking smile.
"It's ok that he can't help me Aragorn," she whispered, "I know that you tried."
"Elrond said that he will offer you a home here, in Rivendell, until Gandalf has time enough to examine your situation," he added quickly, "All is not lost."
Sakura smiled oddly to herself, recalling those words herself.
"And I may enjoy his trees as much as I wish," she murmured, but seemed not to realise she'd spoken aloud until she caught Aragorn's shocked expression. Then his eyes narrowed at her.
"You were listening!" He accused, and she instantly replied defensively.
"I didn't mean to!"
Aragorn stared hard at her for a moment before breaking out an exasperated laugh.
"I hesitated to tell you for fear of your reaction, and here you already knew." Sakura looked somewhat offended at this, and he clarified, "I did not wish to see you saddened again."
"Well," she said lightly, "If I am going to be here a while, I might as well enjoy the party." And with a swish of her dress and a cheeky grin, she disappeared through the doors and back into the crowd.
He shook his head in helpless amusement.