There was a pit in her stomach which felt like it opened up that much wider with every step towards her soulmate that she took. It felt oddly like she was being led to her execution, and her steps became that much slower, prompting the elf lady to look back at her and arch an eyebrow. Impatience radiated around her, a weight lodging in her gut, but Sakura had by that point become somewhat immune to the annoyance and impatience – really any sort of negative emotion – directed her way. She wanted to meet her soulmate when she was good and ready. Though that would probably be fifty or so years beyond then. She wouldn't have fifty years unless she ran away right then and there but that would all but state that she wasn't some ordinary human. Or whether she was human at all. Sakura didn't quite know what she was anymore, what with being so far removed from the peoples of those lands. She wasn't ready for anyone to find out though.
She was bound to an elf. The repercussions of such a fate were slowly falling down upon her heavily, and she could only ponder on the years she would undoubtedly have before her. Such had been the fate of this 'Tuor' who had allegedly sailed west with his soulmate despite being of the second kindred. Truly, she knew little of that world, only having listened to some of the scholars' tales during her time with them. She was only fortunate that a bond between a human and an elf had been within one of the ones she had actually paid attention to.
"Come along," the elf – who still hadn't introduced themself – ordered, impatience only increasing. Sakura could practically taste it on her tongue, and she pondered on why. Elves, unlike humans, had plenty of time to spare. "We must leave before evening falls, and there is still some tasks which have yet to be completed. Though that is mostly due to the humans of this city who will be… accompanying us…"
"There are… men accompanying us…?" Sakura asked, peering at the elf lady then, meeting sea blue eyes which narrowed on her then and there.
"Has no one told you anything of what has been going on since our arrival?" she questioned, looking frankly perplexed by the notion of her not being informed of what was going on for her. Sakura supposed she hadn't been around the residents of Fornost Erain much in the last few years. Not that an elf would have had any reason to do just that. So of course she wouldn't have known that no one really liked telling her anything or even talking to her.
"No," Sakura said flatly, wondering why such a scenario was so odd to the elleth before her. She highly doubted there wasn't such a thing as shunning amongst the elves. Rather, she fully expected to be subjected to some form of hazing as soon as she entered Imladris. But maybe that would just be because she was human rather than an elf. "I have been kept in that room you collected me from since my arrival to the palace yesterday, and I have had limited contact with the… staff. Nobody has bothered to take the time to explain what exactly is going on," she added, hoping the elleth would get the hint and tell her exactly what she wanted to know – both about the situation before her and her soulmate too.
The elleth frowned at that. "How peculiar," she mumbled. "Nevertheless, we are set to return to Imladris as soon as possible. Lord Glorfindel cannot be away from Imladris for a great length of time – he is the Captain of the Guard, you see," the elleth informed her, and Sakura could feel the shivers roll down her spine at the dawning realisation that her soulmate was far more important than she had thought. That butler fellow had called him an 'elf lord', she realised belatedly. It was highly unlikely he was a normal, boring elf. If an elf could ever be such a thing as boring.
Her stomach twisted that much further, feeling as though someone had decided to wring it for one reason or another. "I see," she said, voice sounding so terribly distant all of a sudden, dread hitting her like a punch to the gut. No, she mused, more like one of Tsunade's punches to the gut. She felt so terribly small all of a sudden, what with being cast adrift in that world without home, name, or status. Well, the latter until very recently, that was. Her throat felt terribly dry, part of her wanting nothing more than to give into her fear and run away then and there. It was something she had debated on many a times – if she truly wanted to stay there and face the scorn, or whether she just wanted to run away and hide. But she didn't want to become that girl who cowered away from fighting, hiding behind the backs of two ghosts forevermore. So meeting her soulmate it was.
"He is well loved amongst my kin," the elleth continued, heedless to her fears and worries which were attempting to drown her. "Which is why it was so strange to hear his soulmate was found amongst the edain," she said, and Sakura wondered if the elleth realised she had switched to entirely Sindarin. Though she probably didn't care all that much whether or not she was able to understand. That was just generally how things were for her. A foreigner wherever she went. She would be a foreigner amongst elves too. Sakura didn't know why she had expected anything different – she was a foreigner to that world and everything within it. "Nevertheless, he has found you now, and all can go back to as it is meant to be."
"As it is meant to be?" Sakura echoed, frowning then at the odd wording.
The still as of yet unnamed elleth looked at her then, another eyebrow arched. "Do you think we often make visits to the realms of men besides that of the envoys?" she asked, and Sakura knew the answer to that was a big fat no. "We came here to bring you to where you rightfully belong, given how Lord Glorfindel's fate will be shared with you," she said blithely, evidently forgetting that Sakura had not been told much when it came to the consequences of being an elf's soulmate. Though that was nothing Sakura wasn't already used to by then. People had liked to keep her stupid wherever possible, if only so they could laugh at how uneducated and uncultured she was.
"I see," Sakura said once more, having a feeling she would probably be saying that quite a bit in the weeks to come. What with being carted off to Imladris because her fate was no longer aligned with that of mortal men. Breeze whipped through her hair as they entered the courtyard, and Sakura became acutely aware of the fact she wasn't dressed for travel. Though that was the fault of the people who had forced a dress upon her of all things when they knew she was set to be travelling. Her shoulders sunk, even as she caught sight of golden hair fluttering in the breeze, all but glowing in the light of the sun, and she could only look at his travel appropriate clothes, along with the armour he wore, and feel an acute sense of jealousy. A dress didn't suit her, she knew. Not like armour would. But she had given up fighting a while before, and even if she hadn't, she doubted she would have been outfitted with armour. She was an outsider there, and she was never allowed to forget such a fact.
Stares were the thing she noticed first, and there were a lot of them. Sakura was fairly certain every elf in that courtyard had to have turned to stare at her. They bore into her like holes, emotions and other feelings radiating from them then. Disappointment was as prevalent as per usual. Sakura was growing accustomed to that though. Slowly but surely, like she had to many other feelings which those of Fornost and now beyond radiated. It wasn't hatred at the very least, just the distinct sensation of being judged and found lacking in almost every aspect. Her shoulders slumped, part of her whispering about how very alien and beautiful those elves were as they all but surrounded her as she was led towards what was meant to be her fate.
How was one supposed to greet a soulmate for the first time? Sakura could only ponder on such a question a little too late as he stiffened ahead of her then, someone whispering to him of her arrival in that place. The courtyard felt suddenly that much smaller, and Sakura felt the overwhelming urge to flee. Coward, something whispered in her ears, and her spine straightened, green eyes narrowing on the golden locks before her, feet slowing down until she was barely shuffling towards her soulmate. Part of her wanted nothing more than for the ground to swallow her whole if only to delay that which was said to be inevitable.
He turned then, staring at her with those golden eyes which were so very different to what she was used to. They seemed to glow from within, their gaze almost as piercing as the disappointment and concern which emanated from him. Of course he would be concerned over the frail human. Or maybe concerned over the fact she wasn't dressed for travel and thereby looked like an unprepared, airheaded idiot. Her teeth clenched, and she fought the urge to let her eyes drift away from that golden-eyed gaze which reminded her of the setting sun. Warm, bright, and ever out of reach.
Her toes clenched within her boots with every step he took towards her, looking at her like she was something strange in a strange land – which Sakura supposed was entirely accurate. Though that didn't mean she liked being looked at like that. Like she was being weighed, measured, and found wanting. Her hands shook then. His eyes followed the movement, a frown appearing on his brow in response because of course he saw the nervousness she hadn't been able to conceal. The dread of going someplace different and new, yet likely with the same, if not worse, kind of shunning she had already been subjected to within Fornost. Humans there were strange to her. She had little doubt elves would be even more so within Imladris, a hidden valley, a hidden realm of the elves. A soft sigh escaped her at the thought, her soulmate's eyes narrowing that much further, frown becoming that much more pronounced. Sakura glanced at their ears then, noting that pointed tip and wondered if the altered shape of those ears gave them better hearing. Probably, she mused. That was if her luck said anything.
She was ever the unlucky one. The unlucky one to survive the destroying of her old world. The unlucky one who had woken up beside a city of strange folk who were undoubtedly xenophobic if their reactions to her and pretty much every other foreigner – except the elves that was – were anything to go off of. And, she thought to herself, gaze drifting to that matching soulmark on 'Lord Glorfindel's' forehead, she had always been destined to survive such a thing. That was a bitter pill to swallow. A bitter thought which would always linger, or so she mused as her soulmate smiled at her hesitantly. At least she thought it seemed hesitant. That would line up with the disappointment and concern he all but radiated like the sun. He was certainly golden enough that such a comparison worked. Sakura bit back the laughter which wanted to burst out at such a thought. It had been too long since she had last laughed, humour having escaped her for quite a while after everything. The deaths, the strange stars, and the scorn. Truly, it was surprising her laughter and good humour was coming back then and there. She doubted the fact her soulmate was standing right before her had anything to do with it though.
"Your name is Lothris they tell me," he said, smiling only widening, and Sakura felt as though she might need to reinvent sunglasses at some point in the near future. Her soulmate was undoubtedly dazzling and very bright. His skin even looked to be glowing somewhat from within. Sunshine, a voice reminiscent of Naruto's whispered, and Sakura felt her heart ache as she remembered sunshine blonde hair which had been more of a neon colouration than her soulmate's golden locks. His smile fell somewhat then, and Sakura became acutely aware that her face probably hadn't shifted in its expression from it's normal, default, neutral one. She tried to smile then, though if her soulmate's expression was anything to go off, then she failed in that endeavour epically. "You may call me Glorfindel," he added, and Sakura blinked, wondering what exactly she was supposed to say in response to that. Years of being quiet had erased any social skills she might have had.
"Thank you?" she tried, knowing it was the wrong thing to say as her soulmate abruptly felt confused behind the veneer of a bright smile. Elves, she was learning, had magnificent poker faces, and it almost made her want to try and introduce them to the game. Almost. She hadn't forgotten the likelihood of them shunning her, and truthfully she felt as though it had already begun. The stares, disappointment, and confusion hadn't stopped as of yet. She doubted they would.
"You will be travelling in the carriage," Glorfindel said, finally explaining something of what was meant to be going on to her. "It is safest, and will likely be the most comfortable," he continued, glancing up and down at her once more. Sakura wondered if he noticed the boots which probably didn't quite match the rest of the princess-like attire she had all but been forced into – what with the only other option being going there naked or in her undergarments. It really was the lesser of two evils, or so she mused to herself as she found herself following her soulmate to the carriage which had finished being loaded sometime between the night previously and then. "The journey will be long, just over a week is our estimate," he added, and Sakura could only consign herself to such a method of transportation. Though she had little doubt she would be able to outpace them easily enough should she just have revealed how very unnatural she was, although admittedly she had no idea where the elven stronghold was, protected as it was rumoured to be by elven magic. Her chakra would have probably been called magic by the folk of there. And would have probably made them mistake her for one of the fair folk had she her pink hair too. Sakura just wanted to be as normal and boring as possible, something which had become rather moot as of late, what with how she was the soulbound of an elf. That was as abnormal as one could truly get, and part of her was glad to be leaving, what with how such gossip would reach the ears of everyone eventually.
"Are we leaving soon?" she asked, staring at the carriage determinedly, avoiding looking at Glorfindel then, not wanting to be reminded of that strange beauty and the otherworldliness his features seemed to exude. Her wish to live a normal life there was practically going up in smoke, and Sakura didn't know if she just wanted to stick her middle finger up at the world and prance around growing trees with pink hair on display or whether she wanted to try and be as normal as possible. Being different invited scorn and hatred, more so by the denizens of that world, and the former option made a deep seated fear rise up within. Billboard Brow, the ghost of Ami whispered mockingly, and her stomach turned then. She felt sick at the thought of sticking out like that, of being different and being ridiculed or feared for it. Sometimes both. Sakura didn't want that. She just wanted to live her life and be as happy as one could be beneath stranger stars and around stranger people. Though she didn't know if happiness was really an option anymore. She didn't know if anyone could be happy, knowing their once and probably only home was nothing but ruin and ash behind her. Why did you leave us, Sakura-chan? Kakashi whispered in her ear. Those who abandon their friends are nothing but trash. Her heart throbbed, stomach twisting, and Sakura wanted to be able to put it behind her. She wanted to be able to laugh and eat ramen at Ichiraku' with the rest of her teammates, old and new. The latter was nothing but a pipedream. The former she didn't know if she had the mental fortitude to accomplish.
"We are leaving now," Glorfindel told her, and Sakura could only blink at that. She so hated being kept in the dark. "Has no one told you this?" he asked, looking perplexed at the very thought of no one informing her that she was to be leaving. "Is this why you are dressed so lightly?" He tilted his head, staring at her and her state of underdressed. Her shoulders sunk then, grateful for the question if only because she had a chance to clear up any misunderstandings before they grew any larger. Like her being a stupid airhead who knew nothing of travelling or the hardships of the world.
"No," she said. "Like I told the elleth who guided me here – no one has explained anything to me since my arrival in the palace. I have merely been shunted from place to place while preparations were made without my knowledge," she mumbled, feeling terribly bitter still about her treatment there. Just as she always had about the folks who lived there. The same folk who had been cold and downright awful and sceptical of her since day one of her arrival in those strange lands, and not even peaceful years had swayed any of them to a different mindset. She was allowed to be bitter about that. In fact, Sakura would go as far to say she was justified in her bitterness.
"Did Sadril not tell you her name?" Glorfindel murmured then, more to himself than anyone else, hand on his chin as he glanced towards the brunette who was evidently going to be riding more towards the rear of the group. "There is no time for you to change, besides, all of your clothes seem to be dresses of a similar sort to the one you wear," he said, and Sakura could only blink at that, realising he must have overseen the loading of the carriage in some respects. "I would have thought they would have kept a ward of the king more well-informed of the situation…" he trailed off, and Sakura decided to spare him some of the worry he seemed to be feeling.
A bark of bitter laughter escaped her for a single, short second before her expression returned to her default emotionless one. Or so those of Fornost Erain had termed it. "I was only made a ward of the king yesterday," she remarked, all but certain her bitterness was seeping into her voice ever so slightly. "I believe the butler I spoke to claimed they could hardly present an elf lord with a street rat for a bride, so a ward of the king they made me." She folded her arms, continuing to stare holes into the carriage in front of her – the one Glorfindel was undoubtedly waiting to help her into, if he was lingering beside her for any purpose other than to try and speak with her.
Glorfindel tilted his head, something he seemed to do when he was confused. Or perhaps curious, Sakura mused, filing those little things away in the back of her brain because of that little part of the original Sakura which remained. The one who would have been so eager and happy to meet her soulmate. The one who could have undoubtedly smiled the way she wanted to and probably captured her soulmate's heart in an instant. "A street rat?" he echoed, undoubtedly unfamiliar with those words, and Sakura could only wonder what kind of a society elves lived in that they didn't ever use such words to describe someone.
"They are words used to describe someone who has no home and dwells in the roads and alleyways instead, and they are not kind words either, rather, they are something to be spat in passing, an insult," Sakura said, ignoring the way he looked at her then once more, as if seeing her in a new light. "I have a home here, small as it is… they are just words used to try and remind me that I am lesser because I am not of numenorean blood, nor am I native to these parts of the world. I am a foreigner, and I am honestly surprised you haven't noticed. Though I suppose humans perhaps all look rather similar to your eyes," she mumbled, fingers digging into her arms as she recalled all the slurs which had ever been thrown her way in that place for so many years on end. No matter how much she tried to tell herself their opinions meant nothing, the words still hurt the same way seeing senseless violence against her people did.
"Should we perhaps be celebrating your leaving then?" he asked, and Sakura had the oddest of suspicions he might have been trying to make her smile. An infinitely difficult task, or so she was coming to acknowledge as she looked at him then, wondering how he could be oblivious to the disappointment and judging looks the rest of the elves were giving her then and there. He smiled at her then, and Sakura wondered how true of a smile it was, what with the disappointment and slight tinge of sadness he gave off. Because obviously she had to make miserable, ever the bringer of misfortune and misery that Fornost Erain claimed her to be. Sakura supposed she was living up to a reputation the elves would probably soon come to know well. Though she doubted they would ever understand. Give them a chance, Sakura-chan, Naruto whispered in her ears, and Sakura felt herself grit her teeth together because she couldn't. She wasn't Uzumaki Naruto, with his sunshine hair and whiskered cheeks. Uzumaki Naruto was dead, and she was forever to be reminded of such a loss thanks to her gaping, wounded heart and her lack of a smile which she felt only he could bring out.
Sakura hummed under her breath then, proving her suspicions that elves had better hearing than humans. "Perhaps," she said, bitterness pulling at her expression then, and Sakura thought it probably looked something like a sneer. "But tell me… how am I to know I am not heading into yet another similar situation?" she asked, turning to look at him, meeting that golden-eyed gaze which felt as though it ought to be able to pierce right through her. "Here I might have been a girl from a different land, but I was still human nonetheless," she continued, unflinching from that golden gaze which was so different to that which she was used to. Sakura supposed she would have to get used to it – he was her soulmate, after all, and so she would be seeing those golden eyes quite a lot. "Now I am to enter a den of elves, those of the first kindred, and they are rumoured to be far removed from the second kindred who I have been living amongst… and I am bound to someone so respected by his own kin that it was a shock to learn that their soulmate was human. Tell me, do you really think the situation will be that different to that which I have been living up until this point in time?" she asked, part of her feeling so very correct at the swell of dread and resignment which rose up within him at that. "Perhaps I have dwelled too long in lands which despise me so for nothing more than my own existence, but I find myself so very sceptical as to whether I can truly trust your words – because know this, to me, they are merely empty promises until they are fulfilled." She stared up at him then, unrepentant and unwilling to look away in fear of his reaction. After all, the worst he could do was hit her or try to stab her, and she could easily avoid or survive both. Just like she had many a times before.
She flinched at his sudden movement, an instinctive reaction she cursed herself for as those golden eyes narrowed and a flicker of anger rose within her soulmate. Angry at such weakness no doubt, or so she mused, after all, Lord Glorfindel's soulmate was supposed to be so much more than that which she was. But rather than a hit or a slap for doubting in his kin, he instead merely shrugged that silvery grey cloak of his from his shoulders and wrapped it around her own shoulders. "I hope this will keep you warm on our travels," he said, rather than replying to her words with any vehement protests or claims as she had thought he might. "I will be riding at the very forefront of our… convoy, should you have need of me," he explained, smiling brightly at her despite the myriad of emotions both light and dark which swirled about beneath the veneer of his pleasant expression, and Sakura could only wonder on how bad of a start to their so-called fated relationship that had been. She wasn't particularly good at reading elves or their pretty faces as of yet, and so only had those swirling emotions she doubted they knew she could feel to go off of.
"Will you not be cold?" she asked, fiddling with the clasp which had been so swiftly done up around her much narrower shoulders. "I will be inside the carriage – at least protected somewhat from the wind and the elements," she said, blinking as his larger hands came to stop her own from undoing the clasp on her shoulder.
"I am also dressed far more warmly than you," he remarked, and Sakura could only eye the gleaming armour. Not good for stealth, part of her whispered, but then, taking in his glowing, golden countenance again, she doubted he was really made for such a thing as stealth. Unlike her. Though Sakura supposed in actuality she did have pastel pink hair, which was probably as unsuited for stealth as her soulmate's glowing golden locks. Still, she liked to think she made it work. Plus there was the fact that her hair was currently dyed a perfectly ordinary black. Like Sasuke's. The thought made her heart ache, even as Glorfindel climbed up onto the carriage then, offering her a hand which she blinked at and took with barely the slightest of a pause. She wasn't used to people actively wanting to help her, and she was all too used to doing things herself. Carrying a heavy box of silks which should have required two people to lift was a case in point. "Consider the cloak but a gift," he told her then, smiling sunnily still, and Sakura was only grateful she could sense the emotion of others beyond their expressions, otherwise she had a feeling she would have been blissfully oblivious to the storm of emotion which raged about behind that pretty face as he leapt down ever so gracefully from the carriage, landing with barely a sound on the paving below.
The next few minutes were marked with the rustle of clothes and armour as she sat primly just inside the carriage, on a backed bench behind the driver's seat. Chakra pulsed over her skin, emotion carefully removed from it so the trees and wildlife didn't start acting up as they always had whenever she had succumbed to her emotions in that new world. The air there was strange, the trees older and more lifelike in what they felt and did in response to that which radiated from her. In comparison, the trees of the Elemental Nations seemed like babies and they had been that much more silent. The trees there… they spoke, as oddly as that sounded. But the trees there were probably the only sorts of friends she had. They had, after all, protected her when she had first come into that world there, and she loved them for it. The few occasions she had ventured into the forest around Fornost Erain had been like a breath of fresh air from all the cloying hatred and misery of the city. Sighing Sakura could only watch as the odd procession began, elves on the outermost sides of whatever formation they rode in, while the men on horses rode that much closer to the carriage. They would be the guards on the way back, Sakura knew. After they had dropped her and the rest of their payload, she likely wouldn't see hide nor hair of them ever again. She didn't need to wonder on why she felt no sadness at that. Though there was a part of her which would miss the city, despite its less than savoury people, and the small room she had been getting used to in that place.
Sakura winced as the carriage rattled, hating the fact she hadn't had the foresight to steal one of the cushions from the room she had been sitting in only a few minutes before. The room she had been hidden away from the events going on around her. It would have been satisfying to take something from there, and there would have been nothing they could have done – what with her going to that hidden settlement of elves. Though it would take about a week's worth of travel to reach said destination, and she had a terrible feeling she would be ever so grateful for such a thing, what with how badly her backside was beginning to ache. And they weren't even out of the city as of yet. Sakura only prayed the roads outside the city were better, what with them being dirt and track hopefully worn smooth by passage rather than the cobblestone of the city she was being subjected to right then. As it was, she could only pray they would exit the city soon enough and traverse hopefully more comfortable roads on the way to Imladris. Humming under her breath, Sakura mused on how she was meant to entertain herself on the journey, wondering exactly what there was to do beyond staring into the sky in absolute boredom. It wasn't like she had a deck of cards, and she was on a moving carriage, so card games were out. She was no good at Go or Shogi and she didn't have the equipment, nor could she do a Shikamaru and mentally play a game in her own head as a way of entertainment. All she could do was look out of the front of the carriage, what with the back of the carriage being full of the gifts for Imladris or her soulmate. Probably in an effort to make up for how lacking she appeared to be, she thought with a snort of laughter which went unheard amidst the rattling of her mode of transportation.
She could tell when they reached beyond the city gates, relief and nervousness surging through her at being beyond the walls of Fornost Erain and on slightly less bumpy roads. Nervous, because she had heard whispers of terrible creatures which preyed on travellers and relief because she was away from that den of hatred and misery. And she would likely never be going back. Off to the elves she went and then everything would go back to as it was meant to whereby elves stayed in their hidden realms and didn't interfere outside of them. And she would be tied by whatever fated string or connection to one of those elves, she thought, gaze absentmindedly settling on the flash of golden hair she could see a little ways ahead. Her heart ached at the sight, and she wondered all the while what it would mean to give out yet another piece of her heart. Elves didn't die as humans did of old age, and neither would she now, what with her life bound to that of an elf's, but battle and blade could fell anyone. She had learnt such a lesson very well, amidst trees dripping red and beneath a brighter red moon which had made her feel ever so strange.
Dimly, she could remember her screams, lost to the wind and the creaking and rumbling of trees as they grew from the earth, heeding her call as she glowed with the force of every last drop of her chakra. A silver light amidst the red, in place of the silvery light which should have shone down upon from above rather than the crimson hue which had blanketed the horror scene before her. She ran a hand through her dry, black hair, frantically trying to scrub the image from her mind. She didn't want to remember it. She doubted anyone would want to remember such a thing. Especially not when they were the sole survivor of such a tragedy, as she was.
Instead of her memories, she decided to focus on what was around her instead. There were the trees, her dearest companions in those lands, the carriage, the carriage driver who did not look like he wanted to talk to her, the human riders, and the elven riders. Her attention lasered in on the elleth whom Glorfindel had called Sadril – the same elf who had fetched her from her room what felt like hours ago, and judging from the sun's position, it had been. Ah, how time could fly by when one was stuck in a carriage by themselves with nothing to do… Her brown hair flew behind her, a silver helmet on her head, and Sakura wondered how she had even recognised the elleth, what with how similarly she was dressed to the rest of the elves barring Glorfindel. It was enough of an indicator that his status in Imladris was somewhat different to the rest of the elves travelling with them. Enough of an indicator that she would soon enough be judged as being unworthy of him by the rest of the elves who resided in Imladris. Her stomach twisted at the thought of that, part of her terribly tired of it. The same part of her which wanted to throw her head back and scream as she called upon the trees once more – but all that would do was cause another tragedy, and she would be the Kaguya in that kind of situation. That was something she never wanted to be, if only because she would never be able to look Naruto in the eye ever again. Because he would forgive her, she knew. Because he was just that kind and beautiful, and Sakura knew that she was neither. It was why she could never be like him, and such a thought always burnt her like scalding hot water. Sighing, she sat back as best as she could, backside sore and aching as she relaxed as much as she was capable and watched as the hours trickled by like the sands of an hourglass.
Evening came sooner than she thought it would, the sun low on the horizon by the time their company was called to a halt by her soulmate himself. Eager to be free of that seat in the carriage, she leapt down, ignoring the way she could all but sense Glorfindel heading towards her then. She wondered if it had something to do with that mystical, magical connection between soulmates. Her smile probably looked like a grimace by the time he reached her, happiness, sadness, and a whole other cocktail of feelings radiating from him by that point. Probably because he had been away from her and her disappointing-ness for as long as he had managed. Sakura wondered why he didn't bask in being free from her for a while longer. She doubted she could have blamed him if he had. By then she wasn't particularly nice to be around, and her social skills had long since left unlike some others.
"We will be resting here for the night," Glorfindel informed her then briefly, and then he was off, undoubtedly making preparations for their camp for that night, because apparently elves were something of masters when it came to camping outdoors with little equipment such as tents and matches and other commodities she associated with camping. Bowers were made cosy, a few bedding rolls being lain out, a fire in the process of being started as Sadril came over and led her over to one of the bedding rolls with a pointed look. Sakura took that to mean it was where she was sleeping, and so made herself cosy as best she could, leaning with her back against the tree with a sigh. She could feel the hum beneath her skin, something in her rejoicing in how she was leaning back against that which was her element though technically the mokuton was a combination of two. The fact brought an amused curl to her lips, a gentle hum of amusement escaping her even as she watched the proceedings before her. Part of her wanted to help with them, not wanting to mooch off them, but the more sensible part of her acknowledged that she was wearing the most impractical thing: a dress. The same dress she would probably have to wear for days yet. Sakura winced as the realisation hit her. She was going to stink by the time that journey was over. She only hoped she would be able to get the chance to bathe before she had to visit anyone important in Imladris, otherwise she might knock them out from stench alone. Another somewhat smile escaped her at the idea, and she went back to watching as the amber and purple sky gave way to a cool dark blue one which was enlaced with the shining, stranger stars she had grown used to – the moon radiating its silvery light down upon them making her feel at ease once more. A body sat down beside her, the slight golden glow giving away exactly who it was before she even looked at their armour and face. "I see you like the stars," Glorfindel said, smiling at her then, and Sakura could only wonder how he could smile so tirelessly.
"They are quite beautiful," she mumbled. "But so is the moon," she added, peering up at the silvery orb through the gaps in the foliage above. It was better than the last moon she had seen in her old lands, and it made her relax as such which was eerie in some ways but happy in others. Ever the proof that she was underneath stranger stars and stranger skies and she would never be getting back to her old lands. Not unless she got her hands on a Rinne-Sharingan and knew how to get back to her original dimension. Somehow Sakura doubted that would happen, and even if though some bizarre twist of fate it did, there was nothing waiting for her back in the Elemental Nations. Nothing besides death and misery and memories she would want to leave behind. It had been years – the corpses of her friends would have decomposed, or the animals would have gotten to them, and that wouldn't be a sight she wanted to see. She liked the sights before and around her right then and there. Those were nicer – what with her apparent fated partner being there, and the fact that the moon was a silvery white. A good colour. As long as the moon wasn't red, Sakura was fine with it. The red moon brought back bad memories which she wanted to let lay rest, memories which she hoped would stay buried and not come out to haunt her dreams as they had before in years long passed.
"Indeed," he murmured, sitting only a handsbreadth away, seemingly ignorant to the stares they were receiving from humans and elves alike. "My people are very fond of both the moon and the stars, so there may be more in common between us than you perhaps think," Glorfindel said, still smiling, and Sakura could only envy his endless supply of good cheer. Hers had long since dried up.
She hummed in acknowledgement of that, rather unwilling to go any further into such a topic on the differences of elves and humans. She already half failed at being a human of that world. Half of her had decided she might as well wait and see how things went upon her arrival and admittance into Imladris. After such a time, how the situation would roll out would be that much clearer, along with the level of scorn and hatred she would receive for merely existing as the soulmate of Lord Glorfindel and for being human. "Perhaps," she mumbled finally. "I think I will wait and see…"
Nervousness radiated through the air then, a sharp taste on her tongue, and Sakura could only snort softly at that and look back to the sky. Because even her soulmate worried over how she would be received despite his reassurances otherwise. Sakura wondered if he was trying to convince her, himself, or maybe the both of them. Golden eyes all but drilled a hole into the side of her face then. "I think you might like Imladris more than you believe currently," he said, still smiling despite the myriad of emotions swirling beneath which weren't happy in the slightest. The disappointment was back. Though she couldn't say she wasn't surprised by it. "Many who have seen Imladris have been ensnared by its beauty," he explained, "and it certainly will be a sight to see after our time spent in Fornost Erain."
Sakura turned then, meeting those golden eyes which were starting to unnerve her less and less the more she stared into them. "I find there tends to be more to a place than how beautiful it is… because sometimes the most beautiful of places can hide the darkest of secrets," she said, thinking of Konohagakure and how pretty it had once seemed to her eyes, and the many secrets which had lurked beneath the surface. "Besides, it will be the people, not the place which will make me hate it so," she added, somewhat hating the bitterness which seeped through into her words. Truly, she was so far removed from the girl who had once made flower crowns and laughed with Ino. Yamanaka Ino was dead. The thought always burnt, and Sakura thought it always would.
Glorfindel only smiled at her words, sadness, anger, happiness, and other conflicting emotions flickering through him. "I think you might find good company in elves, Lothris," he reiterated. "Truly, you already sound alike in some ways…"
She tried to smile at that, but she was all too well aware her smiling skills were terribly rusty and she had grown too used to having to keep up that emotionless poker face. "That is good to hear," she said, uncertain of whether she truly meant it. Because she was supposed to look and talk like a human, wasn't she? A low, long breath escaped her then. You're so strange, Sakura, Sasuke whispered to her, and she could only feel the familiar throbbing of longing and loss and love. Her team had all but been her second family, and now she had lost them both – yet there the universe was, throwing her into the path of her soulmate like he was supposed to be some sort of consolation prize. Sakura didn't want that, not for either of them, and so there was a whole mess, a whole knot of tangled emotions to unwind. Those golden eyes continued to stare at her then, and Sakura felt herself pondering over what she felt towards her soulmate right then and there. Glorfindel had been kind to her. If she really thought on it, he had probably been the kindest person to her there as of yet. Nobody else had given her their cloak to ensure she stayed warm, even though she was fully capable of using her chakra to do so. It was the thought – the kindness behind a simple gesture – which made him seem the nicest. At least on the surface that was. He was, after all, disappointed to have a human soulmate. Perhaps had she been more like Uzumaki Naruto she might have relished in the challenge to prove herself. But she wasn't like him. She was nothing like him, always too angry and bitter those days, all the while wondering why nobody could simply accept her at the drop of a hat. Wondering why she had to prove herself.
"I believe dinner will soon be ready," Glorfindel said, stirring her attention from the rabbit hole it had fallen down, and she watched as the catch the ones sent off to hunt went through the final stages of preparation, a stew of some description being made. It smelt wonderful. Perfect, even. Sakura could only wonder on how much perfection the elves would demand of her.
The days followed in a much similar pattern to that one, with lunch on the road being trail mix and leftovers sometimes from the evening before, provided it was able to be stored easily enough. It was all calm and peaceful, the birds chirping in their trees which surrounded the road they travelled on both sides – until it wasn't. Warnings were called out amidst the bushes from scouts who occasionally patrolled the bushes, Glorfindel breaking off from the front with a group following close behind to circle around as the black arrows soared out from behind the bushes closest to her. Green eyes narrowed, long buried instincts surging forth, even as she realised the fact it was an ambush, aimed mostly at what had to look like supplies. She stepped forwards, slipping from behind the canvas covers of the carriage then, hand closing around the black shaft of the cruelly barbed arrow which would have otherwise killed the carriage driver. Likely the aim of such a shot – a classic target of bandits. Wincing at the slight friction burn, glad chakra had prevented any splinters, she tossed the arrow behind her then, grateful none bar the alarmed carriage driver had spotted that which was probably an impossible feat amongst humans and perhaps elves there. Kunai and shuriken were harder to catch than arrows, and the practice of doing just that with the boys was all but ingrained into her body, never to go away. And it would have been problematic if the carriage driver died, because she doubted any of the others were trained in how to drive a two horse carriage. She would have been no help there either, admittedly.
Distinct sounds of trees and roots moving had Sakura sighing, even as she cast her gaze towards the forest where their would-be ambushers were undoubtedly being killed. If not by the elves, then by the trees themselves, she knew. Trees, she had well learned, would not stand for harm to come to her. None of nature would – which was in part, the reason she had to keep her emotions in check in those lands – and ever there was a whisper on the wind whenever the nature around her stirred into action.
Princess of Trees.
Sakura thought a real Princess of Trees would have been able to save them all in the world before. So she could only grit her teeth at the whispered call and slink back inside the safety of the carriage then, ignoring the pale-faced carriage driver all the while. There wasn't long until they were due to reach their destination – what with the misty mountains being rife with beings called orcs in their tunnels, an ever present danger to Imladris, or so Glorfindel had claimed the night before, always sitting down beside her at every opportunity. Though the disappointment and nervous curiosity never really went away, or so she was finding out. Sakura didn't know how she felt about that, because on one hand, she could see why people didn't like her – she was all but a spiky hedgehog in words and action thanks to the residents of Fornost Erain – but on the other hand this was her soulmate. The same one who was supposed to bring her happiness for the rest of their days together. The same happiness she wondered about whether she would be able to attain. She slumped back in her seat, content in the knowledge that the enemy was dealt with. The trees wouldn't have let such a threat escape to come back with reinforcements.
"The trees are awake," came an elven voice she didn't recognise, hushed and only audible to her chakra-enhanced ears. "We should move on quickly after we have dealt with the bodies remaining above the earth… I do not know what has stirred them or their rage…"
"I doubt any would bar themselves," her soulmate murmured, and Sakura mused on why the trees being awake was so concerning to the elves. The secondborn on the other hand looked less than pleased at the mention of trees and their being awake. But then again, most in Fornost hadn't realised that the trees in some sense were very much alive and could kill them easily enough if they cut down the wrong tree. Sakura thought she might as well keep them in ignorance to that fact, not that any would have believed her about such a thing.
They were back on their merry way to Imladris soon after though, moving away quickly so none of them smelt the burning flesh of their recently defeated enemies. Sakura had seen the smoke rising a short while away as they left, a pyre to dispose of the corpses of their enemies. Likely orcs if what she had heard was correct. The black arrow had been a clue in that respect, because orcs were said to be the most common servant of the enemy beyond men of the furthermost North and men of the southern deserts. The latter being the main reason she was so very despised in Fornost Erain – merely because she came from the same area as that of their enemies, or so they believed. She hadn't quite been able or willing to explain that she came from beneath different stars, a refugee of a cold, dead world thrown away by their enemy because she was a nuisance which just wouldn't die.
Her stomach twisted and turned, the knowledge that they were less than a day's travel away from Imladris striking the fear and dread buried deep within her back to life. "You will be welcomed there, Lothris," Glorfindel promised, but they were nothing but empty words in the face of the nervousness which arose whenever he said such a thing. Still, those golden eyes bore into her, even as she lay down, silence being the only thing which had greeted him in response to everything he had said. She had thought herself braver – she had thought that moving to Imladris couldn't make the derisiveness and shunning any worse. She had been wrong – so very wrong in such a line of thought. Because that was her soulmate there, meaning if she couldn't find happiness there, then she really had no hope amongst the rest of the world there.
By daylight, the feeling of dread and doom had only grown that much worse, not that her face showed it, but the feelings were pervasive and invading and they were tainting her chakra ever so slightly. That was a lie, they were tainting it a lot. Glorfindel kept looking back at her, growing that much more concerned each time, and even the other elves were looking at her strangely by that point in time. Like she was a curious, odd puzzle they had just come across in their boredom. Sakura was thankful for her excellent poker face by that point which didn't show how unnerved she was by such a reaction to her invisible nervousness of all things.
Calming breaths helped her somewhat there, as did the sight of Imladris, not that her face showed it, unlike some of the men's' faces. Evidently it was their first time there. She took in the beauty of the place, the distraction being enough to shove that nervousness back down inside her. The trees stopped creaking somewhat ominously by then, and Sakura was only thankful none of the elves made the connection – if they could hear the trees creaking that was. It had barely been audible to her chakra-enhanced ears, and she had yet to figure out if her chakra-enhanced hearing or the elves' natural hearing was better, though she strongly suspected the former. The elves remained staring at her somewhat like she was a fascinating puzzle they had yet to figure out, which was admittedly an improvement on the disbelief, disappointment, and downright ignorance they had displayed towards her in those first few days of travel. Sakura figured she would take what she could get there. And maybe it was a sign that their attitudes towards her could change, she mused for but a moment before she cruelly crushed the flicker of hope which had dared to stir. There was no guarantee their opinions would change, and thus there would be no need to feel miserably disappointed when they failed to change, she told herself, even as they clattered into the main courtyard, or so Sakura presumed it to be.
The House of Lord Elrond, or so Glorfindel had relayed it was sometimes called, stood there amidst the valley, other, smaller buildings surrounding it – the entrance to Imladris, and undoubtedly the main hive of activity, if the elves which swarmed out of places unseen were anything to go by. It was built from stone undoubtedly locally sourced, a pale grey in colour, imposing as the elves who had undoubtedly built such a settlement, yet somehow suiting the scenery around it. It didn't stick out like a sore thumb unlike Fornost Erain, and so Sakura gave it credit, what with it being a hidden realm of the elves. The same hidden realm she would undoubtedly have to get used to with all its differences to Fornost Erain.
She wondered where abouts she would be staying. Close to her soulmate – that was a given. Beyond that, she wasn't sure, what with how she knew where literally nothing was located in that place. A fact she would soon have to remedy.
"Lothris!"
Sakura blinked at the sound of her name, meeting those golden eyes as he offered her a hand. She took it and leapt down before her ever so helpful soulmate could get any ideas on how to better help her down. "Thank you," she mumbled, ever polite with her manners even if her face displayed none of her emotions properly.
"Lord Elrond wishes to greet you," he said hurriedly, taking her hand which he still held and pulling her towards the steps towards the largest building there where what was undoubtedly a family waited to greet the arrivals. "What with you being the newest resident of Imladris along with being my soulmate," he added, concern still written on his face as it had been for the last fraction of their journey there. "He is very kind," Glorfindel felt the need to say, and Sakura could only spare a flat stare at him. Admittedly, she was terrified and nervous inside, but he hardly needed to announce such a fact to the world. Not that many would likely believe him, what with her excellent poker face.
All too soon she was out from the pack of horses and the swarm of elves who had descended upon them all, and she could feel stares on her once more. "Is there some kind of ceremony to this?" she asked, looking upon the elf with the silver circlet who seemed to her to be looking upon her as though she was an interestingly shaped ball of dust he had just found behind the sofa. Sakura abruptly wished she could be as uninteresting as a ball of dust.
"No, you simply need to stand there beside me and be greeted," Glorfindel told her, and Sakura felt herself relax somewhat, even as the golden elf beside her hummed in what could only be amusement. At least that was what he radiated for the split second he locked eyes with her as they went up a set number of those stairs before Glorfindel stopped abruptly. She followed suit with every drop of grace she could still muster, though she still felt like a baby deer amidst a pack of wolves. And there were five wolves, six, if she included her soulmate, looking upon her then. Sakura could only stare at the elves before her in response, each of them looking cold and utterly unhuman, and she was reminded once more that humans were not the same as elves. They were completely different to the folk of Fornost, though she doubted they would be much different in attitude. Already, she could feel the confusion and disappointment of all bar the one who summarily introduced himself in the vaguest sense – what with her having already been informed that it was a Lord Elrond who presided over those lands and that realm.
"Lothris of the desert," he said, and Sakura automatically stiffened at the address, hating the confusion she felt wafting from her soulmate then and there. Because no one had evidently told him that was where everyone assumed she was from. Probably because they had worried he wouldn't take her with him if he knew where her supposed origins lay. Though word had certainly found its way to Lord Elrond. "I welcome you to Imladris," he stated, and out of all of them, Lord Elrond was undoubtedly her favourite, what with the fact she didn't feel the insidious feeling of wariness and suspicion from him at the announcement that she was of the desert. "These halls welcome you for as long as you wish to stay," he continued, staring at her then, four other sets of silvery grey eyes boring into her as she stood there, either narrowed in suspicion or set upon a face which smiled kindly while suspicion brewed behind the veneer of friendliness.
"Thank you, my lord," Glorfindel said, apparently speaking for both of them then, even as they were summarily dismissed because the baths awaited them, though they were separated by gender, though unlike the cold little showerhouse of Fornost Erain she had grown so very used to. But it was before the separated bathing that she found her hands being clasped, golden eyes staring into her green ones. "I will meet with you when the dinner bell sounds," he told her, before turning to the same elleth who waited off to one side – evidently under some instruction from someone. "Sadril will show you to the baths, given they may be slightly different to that which you are used to."
Sakura only blinked at that, turning once Glorfindel had gone his separate way to look at the familiar elleth by then, sea blue eyes finding her green ones, before she spoke once more. "Come," Sadril ordered, seeming ever as unfriendly as she had originally as she walked ahead of her there, and it was by following Sadril that Sakura learnt something.
Elves had hot water readily available.
Already an improvement on Fornost.