ACT ii
scene I: feelings in blush
Her feet are sore, as she inspects her gown one more time before dipping it in detergent water, in the wooden bucket. The sun burns her skin, as sweat accumulates in her forehead but the house is a mess with all the girls lining up with their forty dresses and their stockings and she just cannot stand being in a room full of girls gossiping about everything; from men to clothes.
Konoha has not been so kind to her with its weather. Even so she does enjoy the scenery it provides. Ino had once jokingly mentioned that Konoha was the place for hot knights when she had arrived here a year earlier than her and Sakura had giggled after reading her letter.
The vision of the man she saw time ago plays in her mind. She had hoped to catch a glimpse of him when she had tagged along with Shizune to the only greenhouse in the city. However, to golden her bad luck; luck that somehow only favored her when it came to her forehead, she was not even able to catch a single glimpse of him!
Sakura pouts to herself, as she gets rid of the excess water from her gown. She twists and turns, and turns again, her mind still on the handsome stranger with dark locks and a built physique and thinks how good it would feel-
"Sakura! Let the dress live!" Ino calls out from the yard, hanging her own gowns on the ropes.
Sakura blushes and turns away.
scene II: the hues of destiny
She paints the canvas in colors that are so familiar to her, the purple-pink skies, the orange-yellow daisies, and the warm tones that usually scatter her mind. Nevertheless, when she reaches for the yellow to paint the wall for the still life on her canvas, her hand stops. Sakura wonders why she suddenly feels like dipping her flat paintbrush on the dark hues of gray, the ivory at the center of her palette. She doesn't want the purples, the yellows, she wants the blues and its hues.
scene III: muted gossips
After three weeks one humid afternoon Sakura manages to finish the golden daisies she was working on. The yellow and white flower contrasts beautifully with the blues and the greys that occupy the background. It's a different take from all her works, the blues remind her of that man, the man she dreams about on her wildest nights. She has not told a soul about her feelings, however she wants to give this man a name. A name to remember him by, a name for the first man she ever fell for.
So she does what Ino does best, she engages in hushed gossip among the girls.
scene IV: that moonlit night, o' darling
That day after dinner at the Iwa royal palace, Sakura roams around the carpeted hallways aimlessly, mesmerized by the expensive oil paintings that decorate the silver-grey stone walls. The moonlight bathes the ancestral portraits and they look full of life, every contour and every infinitesimal detail beautifully captured through brush strokes.
She is suddenly startled when the guards start running to the gates, as she hides behind one of the pillars. Her heart beats erratically in her chest and Sakura wonders what are the consequences of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. She dreads the scolding she might have from Tsunade, the disappointed and desperate look on Shizune's face, and the hidden smirk in Ino's face.
Nonetheless, her heart stops when she looks up, her hands clammy as she bunches up the skirt too hard in her grip, her fingernails threatening to tear the fabric when she sees him. That's Uchiha Sasuke, the youngest knight of the kingdom, on his ebony horse and proudly showcasing the silver breastplate with the Uchiha insignia.
Sakura has never seen a man so beautiful.
tbc
a/n: THANKYOU for all the support you all have showered me with for the first chapter, especially Maren aka thefangirlslair, Mika aka connectedfeelings and Shannon aka soulaire the three amazing people who cheered me on for this fic. Would have never made it here without them T-T