Chapter 4: The Escape

Sakura tried to pull away from him but Sasuke firmly gripped her arms. He pulled her closer to him, their skin lightly touching each other.

"Hmn… Un…" She whimpered.

She put her hands on his shoulder, summoning all her strength to push him away. The need for oxygen arrived. She desperately wanted to free herself from him.

She scratched, pinched, hit his arms but it didn't affect him. There was no other choice.

Sasuke pushed her away, causing her whole body to crash on the water. His hand covered his lips.

"What was that for?" The Prince angrily asked the girl. "You bit my tongue!"

She finally regained her balance. She glared at him.

"And what was that for!" She retorted. "I was trying to push you away! I needed air, you know! And besides, I thought you hate me so why did you…" She paused. "… kiss me?"

Sasuke frowned.

"And now you're thinking that I like you?" He said.

"You haven't answered my question yet, Sasuke!" Sakura angrily told him.

"I don't need to answer your question. I'm not about to take orders from a slave." Sasuke answered.

Sakura gave him a last look then turned around, wore her new clothes and gathered her used clothing.

"Fine," She said. "But it doesn't mean that you can own and control all the ladies that you want because of your wealth, power and looks."

Sasuke said nothing. Before leaving him, she said:

"I forgot to tell you, it was really disgusting…" She paused. "… but it strangely felt nice and warm. It was my first, you know."

Then she left.

Sasuke looked at the huge door. A smile formed on his lips then soon he was laughing softly.

'She's really interesting, different, true to herself… Wonderful, desirable…' He told himself. 'Why did I even kissed that girl, anyway?'

The Prince rose and put on his robe.

"What was I thinking?" He whispered to himself.

Sakura had a big smile on her face when Gaara saw her sitting on a bench near the garden.

"Your eyes tell me that you are really happy today." He told her. Gaara sat beside her.

"Oh, do they really?" Sakura asked.

"Your eyes can never lie." Gaara answered.

"So, is the Prince involved with your happiness today?"

Sakura flashed him a big smile then stood up. She breathed deeply before answering him.

"I don't know. I'm just happy today. I can't explain why. I think I'm going for a walk around the garden."

"I think that would be good for you." He answered. "Enjoy while you can, Sakura." Then he left her.

'Sure, I will.' She mentally answered.

Sakura finally got bored of the green surrounding. Naruto was talking to her the whole time, babbling about the different kinds of medicinal plants.

"And that..." He pointed to a tree with reddish leaves. "...can cure illnesses such as fever and headache."

'I think I need to take that,' Sakura told herself. 'Because Naruto, you're giving me a headache.'

"Oh and Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "An old lady I once met told me that the fruits of that tree.." This time he looked at a tree with light green leaves with pinkish heart-shaped fruits. "..can make the person you like to love you in return."

That caught her attention. She has never heard of such a tree before.

"But then," He continued. "You will have some sort of a cursed life with that someone. A life full of dispair."

She sighed.

"No one would want such a life." Sakura said. "So no one would even dare to eat the fruit."

Naruto looked at her with so much sincerity in his eyes.

"Maybe. Love is so complicated, I can't even understand it." Then he smiled. "You're really smart, Sakura-chan! You're right. Maybe I should just let that tree die. It wouldn't want to bring misery to people, would it?"

Sakura smiled back at him.

"Naruto, I got to go now. I guess I'll just see you later." She told him.

"O-Okay, Sakura-chan!" He cheerfully answered.

"It's so boring…" Sakura told herself while sitting under a tree at the back part outside the palace. "I wonder how mother and Ino are doing right now."

She sighed deeply while looking at the pure white clouds slowly drifting across the azure sky. 'I miss them.' She mentally told herself.

She slowly closed her eyes, feeling the warm afternoon breeze touching her face. Then after a minute, she opened them with a grin on her lips.

'I've got a brilliant idea!' She stood up and dusted her skirt.

"Now, how will I be able get out of this place?" She whispered.

She looked around and saw a maid holding a basket with fruits inside it. Her eyes followed the woman until she opened a door and entered a small room.

Sakura's smile turned from happy to an evil one.

While on his way to his next lesson, something caught Sasuke's attention. The Prince looked outside the window and spotted his pink-haired slave slowly and carefully walking. She was really silent. Some more steps and she was out of his sight.

He waited for a little while until he could see her again. This time she was wearing the maids' uniform and she was carrying an empty basket on her right hand. Her hair was pony-tailed and she wore a white bandana. This time she was walking confidently.

Sasuke gave her a final look before walking.

'What is she up to?' He asked himself.

Sakura ran cheerfully until she reached the town. It took her longer to reach the place that what she had expected. She was laughing when she escaped the palace.

"My acting worked!" She happily said. "I made those dumb guards believe that I am a maid who was assigned to buy vegetables."

She looked around the town. There were a lot of merchants and consumers. She missed that noisy place. She remembered the times when her mother would ask her to buy some bread and fish then she would go there with Ino.

"Oh, yes. The reason why I came here-- Ino and mother!"

She walked fast, excited to see her mother and best friend as soon as possible. Sakura looked left and right to see if something changed. She was walking too fast that she didn't notice a man carrying a big box of apples slowly pacing. She bumped onto him hard enough to knock him on the ground and send the apples on the box to roll on the street. People stared at them.

"I-I-I'm really sorry, sir!" Sakura fearfully told the man.

He grumpily stood up and looked at the girl who was still lying on the ground, rubbing her left shoulder.

"And you expect me to sell those dirty apples to the people!" He picked an apple from the floor. It was full of dust and soil. He frowned and threw the apple and hit her back.

"Ow!" Sakura whimpered. She looked at him with teary eyes. "I-I'm really sorry, sir! Really, I didn't mean it."

"Then you'll have to pay for it, you clumsy girl!" He shouted at her.

"W-We're only poor. I can't possibly pay for all those apples." She answered, tears rolling down on her cheeks. "S-Sorry…"

The man grabbed the collar of her clothes and forced her to stand up.

"Your pathetic sorry aren't good enough for me!" He said followed by a hard slap on her cheek that made her fall back really hard on the dirty ground.

She wanted to defend herself but she just said nothing. The pain was unbearable for her and she knew that she would faint if he hit her one or two more times.

The man kicked her stomach and blood came out from the corner of her lips. Again, he grabbed her collar and was ready to slap her cheek again when a voice stopped him.

"If you ever lay your filthy hand on her again I swear I'm going to get you and make you suffer twice as hard."

The man threw her back on the ground. Sakura summoned all the strength left in her body to look at her savior. Everything was blurry but she was quite sure that it was a boy slightly taller than her with black hair and ivory skin.

"Oh yeah? And what could a kid like you do to someone like me, eh?" The man boastfully asked.

Her 'savior' was really fast and soon he was behind the man. He kicked him hard on his back and sent him flying on the ground. The boy knelt beside him and took out a kunai from his pocket and held it close at the man's neck.

"If you ever come close to her again I will do more than that. I'll slit your throat and cover those dirty apples with your blood." He looked at the man with fierce and angry eyes, his canines showing. "Got that?"

"Y-Yeah…" The man fearfully answered. "J-Just let m-me go!"

Her savior stood up, watching carefully as the scared man quickly ran away.

That was all Sakura had seen then she fainted.

There was something cold and wet on her forehead. She felt something warm on her cheek. She slowly opened her eyes and everything around her was blurred. Her vision slowly became clear only to see someone very familiar to her.

"S-Sasuke?" She weakly said.

He was sitting under a tree, his legs stretched. Sakura's head was on his lap and a cloth soaked in cold water was on her forehead. His hand cupped her cheek.

"What are you doing here, slave?" He asked, frowning.

Sakura suddenly felt a sharp pain on her stomach when she sat up. The soaked cloth fell on the grassy ground. She put her hand on her tummy.

"Ouch! Wh-What happened?" Sakura asked him.

"You got beaten up when you bumped into a man who was carrying a box of apples." Sasuke answered.

"Now I remember." She said when the pain subsided. "Where are we?"

"I don't know. My feet just brought me here. I needed water to wet that cloth." Sasuke told her. There was a small river some meters away from them.

She looked at Sasuke. He was wearing a peasant's clothing. His navy blue shirt had little holes in it while his brown pants had dust and stitch marks.

"Are you sure you're Sasuke?" She asked with a small smile on her lips. "There is no way that the arrogant Prince Uchiha Sasuke is going to wear such clothes."

"Well, the arrogant Prince Uchiha Sasuke is currently wearing one." He answered. "He even saved his slave's life. You owe him."

Sakura crossed her arms across her chest.

"I'm not your slave." She frowned. "So if you are Sasuke, how did you get out of the palace without getting caught?"

He smiled at her.

"The same method you used. I searched for these clothes and disguised as a boy who delivers goods to the palace."

"Why did you do it?" She asked.

Sasuke looked at the sky and deeply sighed.

"It's so boring. I do the same things everyday."

"I think so too." Sakura sighed. "Why don't we have some fun, Sasuke? No one will recognize you because of your disguise. Besides, being an ordinary person is more fun than having those boring lessons everyday and the long meetings with the other leaders. You can move freely because today you're not Prince Sasuke but just an ordinary person."

Sakura stood up and ran a little then stopped. She looked back at Sasuke.

"So what do you say?" She asked with an inviting smile.

He didn't answer but still she waited.

"No," He finally answered. "We can not have fun. You are hurt and might get it worse."

"Aw, I appreciate your kindness, your highness." She said sarcastically. "But you don't really need to be so concerned about my current condition. I'll be fine, trust me."

Sasuke looked away from her and shook his head. Sakura frowned. She grabbed his arm and forced him to stand up.

"Just trust me, okay?" She almost shouted at him. She started walking, pulling him with her. Sasuke had no choice but to trust the girl.

The two finally reached the river.

"Nice place, Sasuke!" Sakura happily told him. She finally let go of his arm. She removed her shoes and dipped her feet on the clear, cold water. The water was a little above her knee so she had to raise her skirt so it won't get wet.

Sasuke sat on the ground while looking at her. She looked really happy while walking back and forth the river.

"Oh Sasuke, the water is so cold! Why don't you join me?" She invited.

"I don't want to." He answered. "The water is dirty."

Sakura chuckled.

"Are you making an excuse or you're just blind? Can't you see? The water is so clear you could even see the small fishes. Besides, you are an ordinary person today, remember?" She said. Sasuke didn't answer her.

"Fine. I don't want to waste my time forcing someone who doesn't really want to do it." She didn't sound angry. She continued 'playing' with the water while Sasuke watched her.

Sakura wasn't talking to him and he got tired of watching her childish act. He laid himself on the ground and watched the clouds slowly blown by the gentle wind.

She looked at him. She could say that he was a little bored so she thought of a way to somehow amuse him.

"Hey Sasuke," She said. "When I accidentally lost my balance and uh, you know what happened, why did you pull me and kissed me deeper?"

Sasuke knew that she was teasing him. He sat up and looked at her again.

"You liked it?" He asked her. Two can play in that 'amuse me' game.

"That doesn't answer my question." She answered.

He smirked. His look sent shivers in her spine.

"I don't know. Maybe I just want to do it. Don't worry you're not that bad for a slave." He answered. Sakura knew that he was lying. She splashed some water on him.

"Hey!" Sasuke wiped the water off his face. "What was that for?"

Sakura had an evil grin on her lips.

"I know you like me…" She teased him.

"Really? That's absurd."

"Oh, the smart, handsome, rich Prince Sasuke fell in love with a peasant!" Sakura mockingly said while dancing, splashing more water on him.

"You have become insane. Me falling in love with a slave? Forget it. It would never happen, not even in your dreams." Sasuke answered, trying to be calm. The girl was getting more and more annoying.

"But your eyes tell me otherwise. The eyes can not lie." Sakura remembered what Gaara told her.

"If that's so, then you are reading my eyes wrong."

Sakura frowned. She didn't want to argue with the Prince anymore. That wouldn't make him have fun with her, anyway.

"Fine then!" This time, she was angry that she stumped her foot hard on the rocks under the water. "I was just trying to make you happy but you wouldn't let me. Go back to that palace of yours and have those lessons and-- aaaagh!"

She lost her balance and fell on the water landing on her bottom. Sasuke immediately stood up and ran to her. He tried to help her stand.

"Can you stand?" Sasuke worriedly asked her. She tried to stand up but she just fell back on the water. The Prince touched her foot.

"It looks like you have sprained your right foot. Does it hurt a lot?" Sasuke asked her. She only nodded.

He put his left arm on her back and his right arm behind her knees and carried her away from the water. He laid her on the ground.

"I'll be right back." He said. He gathered some leaves from a short tree then went back to her.

Sakura watched as he tore a little piece of cloth from the white apron she was wearing. He gently massaged her ankle with his thumb, put the leaves on it then wrapped the cloth around, holding the leaves together.

"Sasuke, why are you being nice to me?" She asked while watching him.

"I'm not. I'm just doing what is right. I can't just watch a lady crying in pain." He answered, not looking at her. "The leaves will help reduce the pain." He looked at her when he finished. She was smiling at him.

"You like me." She said.

"No."

"Then why are you doing this?" She raised her voice a little. "Look at yourself! You are dirty and soaked! That isn't the way a prince should look."

"Because I told you, this is the right thing to do." He calmly answered. "Besides, I am not a prince right now. I'm just an ordinary person helping his injured friend."

Sakura put her arms around his neck and pulled him into an embrace.

"Do you really mean that? Thank you for saving me twice…" There was sincerity in her voice. Sasuke pulled away from her.

"Don't think that I would still be treating you like this when we return to the palace. I would still be your master and you are my slave. Let's go back to the palace; they might be looking for us right now." Sasuke said. He squatted down, his back facing her. "I'll carry you."

Sakura shook her head.

"You can't. Look…" She pointed at her legs. She was wearing a skirt and it would be difficult for her to be carried that way.

Sasuke sighed. There was no other choice but to carry her the way grooms carry their brides. Sakura blushed when he did that.

"Let's go now." He said then started walking.

Sakura nodded a little. She didn't really want to leave because when they reach the palace, everything will be back to normal.

She will miss the ordinary Sasuke.

Sasuke made his way to his room, carrying the girl in his arms. Thank goodness she was light or he would not have made it back there.

"Slave, we're back." Sasuke said. There was no answer. He looked at the girl's face and noticed that she was sleeping. He laid her on his bed and smiled at her.

'Should I wake her up or not?' He was debating with himself. 'If she wakes up and finds out that she's been sleeping on my bed then she might do something stupid again.'

Sakura stirred a little. Her eyes slowly opened and saw Sasuke staring at her with a small smile.

"Hey, where are we?" She asked after a yawn.

"We are back in the palace, in my room to be precise." He answered quickly turning his smile into a frown.

"Oh I forgot!" She suddenly exclaimed. "I forgot to visit Ino and my mother!"

"So that's another reason why you tried to escape?" It was more of a question than a statement.

"Actually, that is the main reason." She looked deeply at him with her sad eyes. "And now that you know what I've done, I can't do it anymore. You will tell your guards to be more careful."

"Why would I do that?"

"B-Because… I… You… M-Me…" No more words came out from her mouth.

"You can't find a reason, can you? Is it because you are my slave; that I own you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I.. No.. Well, yes.. I.." She can't talk straight as if her tongue was tied up. "I really don't know."

The Prince smiled at her again.

"I wouldn't do such thing." He said. "It's getting boring here and Itachi wouldn't let me go out wearing a peasant's clothing." He paused looking at her emerald orbs.

"Besides, today I learned that it isn't that bad to be an ordinary person. I think it is nice being just Sasuke and you as my friend."

Sakura blushed after hearing that. The Prince has a good side after all.

"I think so too," She paused. "I wish I could let you see the simple yet wonderful world I live in but that wouldn't happen anymore because we will not be able to escape the palace the second time."

He smirked.

"I believe that if a person desperately wants something he will surely find a way to get it."

That chased Sakura's worries away.

"You need to rest now so your foot will heal faster. You would not be able to run fast with an injured foot." He continued.

She energetically nodded. She looked at him as he left his room. Sakura tried crawling away from his bed and into the floor but the pain caused by her sprained foot wouldn't let her and she had little energy left in her body.

"One more night wouldn't hurt a lot." She convinced herself. Some minutes later, she finally slept.

After a few hours, the Prince entered his room. With him were a pillow and a blanket. He closed the door as gentle as possible and walked to the corner of his room where Sakura usually slept. He put the pillow on the floor then he settled down and covered himself with the blanket. Before sleeping, he looked at Sakura who was sleeping soundly.

"Thank you for showing me a little of your wonderful world, Sakura." He whispered. "Thank you for showing me true freedom."

Sasuke asked himself why he was doing it-- thanking her and even sleeping on the floor. He shrugged and smiled to himself.

He already met his match. Someone who would shout at him and would just speak her mind. Someone who would dare insult him, the Prince of their country.

He already met the one he will truly respect.

What would tomorrow bring them?