Summary : It wasn't often that Princess Sakura waited in a cage for some knight on a white horse to save her, and today wasn't any different.
Notes : I've rewritten this twice.
Characters : Sakura, Sasuke, Itachi; mentions of Naruto, Tsunade and Kakashi.
Rating : T for swears
Princess Standard
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It wasn't uncommon to find Princess Haruno Sakura in the strangest of places, caught in an unusual, but slightly amusing, situation. It was often when the girl awoke in a strange land with nothing more than the gown on her shoulders and a peculiar, but faithful crow familiar at her side. Rather than acting as a lady of the court should and waiting for a knight to come to her aid, she was more than happy to rescue herself. After all, she was a very busy woman and Father Hatake would hate if she were late to any of her etiquette courses – being born a gutter rat had many more disadvantages when you're next in line for the throne, she learned. Every lesson was one well spent, she reasoned with herself, as she had learned many a thing on how to be a lady, but there were often times where her gamine knowlege was more useful than having superb posture. Today, she realized, as she stared through the golden bars of her cage and seeing clouds underneath her, was a day where street smarts would be needed. Dainty hands gripped the metal bars with more force than was necessary as she looked at the horizon, where a field on endless blue met fluffy white coulds in what appeared to be a chaotic, but tranquil, harmony. The scene would've appeared nice, had she not been kept in the cage due to heavy brass shackles on her wrists.
"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear," she said to herself, her emerald eyes scanning the vast white, "What a tizzy I seem to have gotten myself into." Princess Sakura released a sigh of disappointment and fell back in her cage, rocking the golden trap slightly, and began fiddling with the silver locket above her breast. She looked down at the golden floor, and let out another sigh when she seen her distorted reflection. Long, pink hair was tousled and her once gray dress was grass-stained near the hem – Sister Tsunade would be most angry with her. She imagined that her fiance wouldn't be pleased, either. "Oh, dear!" she exclaimed, jumping up – the cage rocking again to her annoyance. Her shackles creaked and groaned with every slight movement. "How will I ever present myself to Sister Tsunade – let alone the crown prince of Mythica!" Quickly and with an aggravated huff, the girl kicked off her shoes – they pinched her feet far too painfully for her to keep on any longer. She strode across her cage, her arms at her sides and her fists clenched, desperately hoding back her anger. Her teeth grinded against each other behind pink lips and she took in deep breaths from her nose. With a glare in bright green eyes, Sakura yelled, "What do you want?" She folded her arms across one another and pouted, growling slightly under her breath. "I have places I need to be and I cannot go looking so unpolished! I'll be an embarrassment to the kingdom!" Her voice was loud and belligerant, and she was sure that it would cause some ruckus among the natives of this odd village where she was heald hostage. She had never seen anyone who lived here, but she assumed there must be someone watching her – it would be very irresponsible to do so.
You can imagine her disappointment when no one came to her side. Friend or foe, she didn't mind, as long as someone came to her side. Being on her own was something she was no stranger to, but whenever she was dire need of assitance, she always recieved some form of help. Before her mother died, she always told Sakura that it was the work of her Fairy God Mother, and that she would always appear in times of trouble. True to her word, Princess Sakura always recieved must appreciated help when she was in need. This time, no one was there to help her – and the more aware Sakura became of this, the angrier she got. It was no secret that the former waif had a temper like fire, and she coudln't stand being detained. With an angry growl, she slammed her restraints on the metal floor under her, making terribly loud sounds. "How dare they?!" she yelled as she pounded the metallic psuedo-ground. "I am a lady!" she grunted, "A beautiful, strong, talented, independant lady!" Her face was practically red with anger, and the girl was fuming. She slammed her chains against the cage repeatedly, her noise growing louder and louder. "Someone open up this bloody cage," she yelled, thrashing widly around, "NOW!" With fierce anger and eyes to match, she slammed her shackles against the golden bars, rocking the cage feverishly. To her annoyance, Princess Sakura was thrown mercilessly fromk side to side, the metal bars slipping through her grasp.
For a moment, the princess felt the cage still. Out of pure instict, Sakura closed her green eyes and braced herself for impact. Quickly, she was thrown to the other side of her cell, and hit the bars with a sickening thud. Groaning, the girl opened her green orbs and stared, finding nothing but endless green under her. The green twisted and turned, and numerous red thorns jutted out at odd angled. "A stalk," Sakura said quietly, "A stalk.." Surrounding the stalk were plentiful white clouds, soft and we under foot. Looking quickly, the princess noticed nothing more than what she was used to – no other way to escape. She focused her eyes on that green, thorny stalk and grew determined. With her eyebrows pushing each other and her lips in a small smirk, she laughed. I'm getting the hell out of here, she smiled, letting go of the bars. Still, her shackles were heavy on her wrists – she noted that in her stay at the castle she'd become very soft. When the cage tilted again, the girl looped an arm around one of the golden bars, clinging onto it for fear of crashing. Sakura refused to close her eyes this time, but wished she had. Before her very eyes stood a tall, ugly creature, with two glaring, red eyes. His notrils flared out angriliy and his mouth was thin and chapped, with bumps adorning a pasty grey face. The girl visibly gramced before letting go of the bars.
"Why are you making such a ruckus, Princess?" the ugly creature asked, red eyes wide, "You make yourself look less like royalty and more like trash." The princess gasped, but looked the hideous being in his eyes. With a fierce glare, she showed him her shackles and pouted. Messy hair clung to her being, hair pins falling from defying gravity so much,
"I demand that you release me!" she yelled, her voice confident. "As the unofficial crown princess of Tyriessian, it is in your best interest that you listen!" Her voice wavered slightly, but her resolve was absolute. She heaved a heavy breath and forced her eyes to lock with his, but said nothing more on the matter. When demanding, she remembered, you never spoke too much. It made you seem distractable and easy, so she held her tongue. The creature in front of her – some kind of troll, she reasoned – looked at her with intense, questioning eyes, but laughed.
"Cute little girl," he chided, tapping her cage, "I need that locket before you get to go anywhere." His tone was light, but the words behind it were serious. Green eyes widened substainstially, and she clutched the small silver tinket around her neck. Sharp nails dug into her skin and a fierce snarl was on her lips. She stood on woobly legs, a furosious stare in her face.
"You'll never get this," Sakura said, pointing to her chain. It glittered in the light and she smirked at the oaf, feeling proud of it. She puffed her chest out at him and with a loud laugh, ushered him away. "Go on, I'll find a way out by myself," she said smugly, causing the troll to drop her cage. As the cage fell down, the princess fell up, hitting the top of the dome with a loud crack. Her chains pulled at her wrists and nearly snapped, causing her wrists great pain. As pain shot throughout her enitre frame, she refused to let it show, instead closing her eyes and gritting her teeth. She couldn't help the water that collected in her eyes and how teh seeped through the corners, but she refused to cry out. The felt the cage come to a halt, but she held onto the top. With a defiant look in her eye, she yelled, "If you want to break me, you'll have to hellovalot more than that!" The troll stomped away, and she heaved a sigh of relief.
When he was out of earshot and too far away to see, the princess bit her thumb, breaking the skin. She watched as droplets of blood spilled, counting three small, bright red spots. They arranged themselves in an odd fashion, forming the Senju seal of summoning – the very reason Sakura became a princess. Once fully arranged in a diamond of impossible lengths, she called out, "Oh black bird, oh black bird, I'm in need of your help!" Her voice was weak and her arms were growing tired, but she determined to stay on the top of the dome, no matte how her wrists ached. At once, a large crow appeared before her, his eyes red and spinning wildly.
"You've gotten yourself in trouble again, I presume?" the crow squawked, tilting his head. After she blinked a few times, the bird turned into a fine young man, with a serene, albeit serious, look on his face. Sakura looked helpless to him, but he bit back a smile.
"Yes, Itachi," she said softly, feeling a little embarassed, "Has Father Kakashi sent anyone after me yet?"
"Yes, he has sent the top knight to retrieve you –"
"Top knight?" Sakura interrupted, her green eyes growing wide. "No, no, that certainly won't do!" she said, yanking her wrists upwards, causing the chains to creak and groan under the pressure. She felt the links getting weaker, and pulled more, with growing strength. "I cannot allow Sasuke to see me in such a state!" she said, explaining herself to Sasuke, "How embarrassing that word be!" This time, Itachi let himself laugh.
"Princess," he started, laughing a little, "Sasuke is near the bottom of the stalk already, it'll only be a few moments before he starts climbing. Please, just conserve your strength," he said, his voice cool and calm. It was only a moment later when the chains snapped, though Sakura was still sporting the cuffs. She gave Itachi a teasing look, but smiled at him.
"What's the point of strength if you don't use it?" Sakura quipped, climbing down the side of the bars, which she noticed were as thick as herself. When she finally stepped foot on the, it came to her just how big everything was around her – just how small she was. The thought overwhelmed her, but she strode over to a side of the cage, intending on escaping the foul contraption. It was to her joy when she discovered that she was slim enough to squeeze through the bars, though narrowly. Quickly, she slipped through the bars, and smirked at the crow left inside. "See?!" she smiled, sticking her tongue out at the man, "I made it out just fine without the help of that 'top knight'!" Itachi smiled at her, but clapped his hands slowly.
"Yes, Princess Sakura, you escaped. Not the average princess feat, I'll tell you," he said, before shifting back into a crow. Perching himself on Sakura's bare shoulder, the grey fabric stopping a few inches under, he cawed. "Your dress is ruined, and your hair is a mess," he spoke blunty, "Mistress Tsunade will be most displeased."
Cringing, the princess spoke, "I'm not your average princess." Quickly, she grabbed the hem of her dress and ripped it, causing a jagged, horrid mess to appear around her knees. "It won't get wet this way," she said to herself, pulling out the rest of her hairpins. Pink hair was slowly released from the strain of the thin pieces of metal, and she instantly felt better. She looked to the crow and petted his head, a small smile on her face. "The stalk is the way out?" The crow squawked in approval and Sakura nodded softly. "In that case, you are dismissed." In a puff of smoke, the bird disappeared, replaced by emptiness.
Confidently, Sakura made her way to the thorny stalk, staring down it. With keen eyes, she could see a black horse – Avalon, she recognized – and a pale figure dismounting him. "Oh no!" she said, teeting on the edge of the cloud, "He can't see me up here! I'll die of embarrassment!" She looked over the edge, and seen that this cloud was high above the Earth, though the stalk reached. "I have to get down and fast," she mused, getting a hold on the green plant. She attempted to climb down, but this proved to be a difficult feat, especially without shoes. She looked over the edge and seen the knight preparing to climb the stalk and made a choice, quickly and unreasonably.
She jumped.
"Sasuke!" she screamed, catching the man's attention. He turned his face towarsds hers and stared in confusion, wondering what the princess could be doing. "I've got it under control!" she yelled again, ripping her chain off of her neck. She dropped it and when it hit the ground, a silver dragon appeared, whirling it's way back up to the falling princess. The dragon caught her in it's palm, and lowered itself, setting her on the ground. The man stared at her with a confused face, though she smiled at him. Quickly, the princess dusted herself off and mounted the horse, who gently nudged her.
"You're the princess, Sakura?!"