a/n: I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! (throws confetti out at reviewers)…now I can stop begging for reviews!

This is a message to anonymous reviewers: Thank you all for reviewing. I wish you guys had an account, because I can't respond to your reviews without one. (sniffles) But thank you so much, especially the person who gave me the reeeeeeaaaaaly long review. I love long reviews!

Kurenai looked at me, her eyes widening slightly. But her voice betrayed no surprise.

"Sakura. Why are you here? The feast only ended-" here she glanced at the clock, "- a minute ago."

"I went off early," I said, crossing my arms over my chest and straightening myself. "But that's a long story. I think I should hear what you have to say first. What was the Hyuuga heiress doing here? Is she why you've been off so mysteriously? And, Kurenai, she's a Hyuuga for heaven's sake!" This fact meant nothing to me, but it was yet another piece of the puzzle.

She looked me over, her eyes flicking across my determined face.

She sat down, suddenly losing every bit of her composure.

"I went to see him… the man who gave me the roses…" I opened my mouth to ask who he was, but she continued her tale.

"…. He's an advisor to the Hyuugas… in fact, his job is very similar to mine. When I came out of his room, there was a girl who'd seen me – Hinata Hyuuga, heiress to the greatest fortune in Konoha."

Here she paused, reluctant to finish the story.

"I was afraid she might say something… run off and tell her father. But she didn't. She simply blushed, told me she wasn't going to say anything, and ran off."

"The next day, I saw her in the hall. Although it was a bit of a risk, I had to tell her how grateful I was. We started to talk… and Sakura, I gained sympathy for this girl. She didn't say it directly, but it was obvious from the way she spoke that she had… problems. No," she said, catching the look on my face, "she's not crazy or anything of the like… she's just an average girl."

Here she inhaled deeply.

"An average girl who's been trampled on; broken by what other people want from her." Her crimson eyes, fixed on the floor, were full of pity.

Now I felt even more guilty for pushing Lady Hinata aside in the hall. Almost as if in daze, I made my way to my room, where I simply sat there, on the bed.

And I thought.

The gears of my mind were in motion. And soon it became apparent: everything was more than it seemed here at court. The princess and Shikamaru. Kurenai sneaking out to meet a man... and growing close to the Hyuuga heiress.

And still... there was the dark woman... come to think of it, I hadn't seen her at the feast...

There was a quick, authoritive knock on the door. I hardly even registered it, until Kurenai's call broke my reverie.

"Sakura! It's a page - for you."

Puzzled by what a page wanted from me, I made my way to the door and gave a quick curtsy.

The page bowed low, but I noticed him looking up at me curiously.

"Your presence has been requested," he informed me, standing upright. He was nothing like the page who'd given me the message about the feast… this one was self-important, well-groomed and professional.

"By whom?" I asked hesitantly. Kurenai looked on with confusion. She had no idea what this was all about, either.

"By her Majesty, Queen Tsunade," he replied.

I gave a quick gasp that could be heard out loud. Kurenai's eyes were wide with the turn of events.

"She requests your presence immediately," he added.

I looked about frantically. "Right now?"

He nodded solemnly. "Right this moment."

Kurenai came up behind me, gave me a little push into the hallway. "Go on," she urged.

He nodded curtly, and began to walk.

I walked behind him, thoughts running through my mind like bees in a hive.

It felt like an eternity, but finally he bowed low in front of a door.

"This is the queen's reception room," he said, "you may enter."

I felt my hand trembling as it touched the carved, silver doorknob.

I turned it.

It was dark; the only light in the room came from a dim candle on the Queen's desk. I could just barely make out her face.

I curtsied, then stood up, but kept my eyes down.

"Your Highness," I murmured.

"Sakura Haruno…" she said, letting the name roll of her tongue. She smiled. "Welcome to court. Congratulations."

It seemed odd to me that this should be her entire message to me.

"Is that all?" I asked, "You brought me here to welcome me to court?"

"And to wish you congratulations," she corrected… with a bit of a smirk.

There was a silence.

"There is more," she admitted, rising from her desk. She looked out of her window, out at the Konoha forest.

"I'm sorry that the Suna Princess was unkind to you," she told me, "but you've learned an invaluable lesson, haven't you?"

"Excuse me?" I exclaimed, "how did you know that?"

The corners of her mouth curled into a smile as she turned back to me.

"Who else put your place setting next to hers? Hmm? You think someone would put a former scullery girl next to a purebred princess by mistake?"

I was getting upset now. What was the queen doing? Why was she doing it?

"I don't know, your Majesty," I said humbly. After all, I didn't dare talk back.

"Then you're not as sharp as Kurenai told me," she said with a sigh, baiting me.

"Fine then. The answer to your first question is that I have to look out for myself," I said matter-of-factly., knowing that she wasn't expecting me to say these thoughts out loud, "The answer to the second is you. You were the one who put me next to her. It was no accident. The question is 'why?'."

I waited for her to scold me, to exile me from the castle. To send me back to the Uchiha manor as a scullery maid.

That one would be the worst. Not because of the scullery maid aspect… but because I'd miss working for Kurenai…and being near Sasuke all the time…and seeing Naruto…

Instead, her eyes lit up.

"Congratulations, Sakura," she praised, "You're a quick learner, aren't you? Now I may truly welcome you to court."