With the royal wedding being only a month away, everyone was crazy. Even though the preparations started immediately after their engagement was announced, the tasks the organizers needed to complete didn't diminish even now. If Sakura thought that they were going overboard with the preparations for the engagement ball, then what they were doing now was plain ridiculous. Of course since Kakashi was the king of such an influential country, the need to show off was bigger than ever.

At least Sakura didn't have to worry about becoming bored during the free time she had between two dress fittings. All thanks to the council. Since she will be the queen of the Land of Fire, she had to know the nation's culture and history by heart. Her lessons began the day after she arrived. Her teacher, Sarutobi Kurenai was one of the few people that she liked in the palace. She didn't judge her because of her family or country, which was refreshing after her daily confrontations with the council members.

Sakura was currently sitting inside the library, reading a book, which was so thick and heavy, that she had to carry it with both of her hands. It contained Fire Country's history from the early times up until now. She was educated in the history of all the Five Great Nations but not to the degree of a know it all.

The words in the book were written so nicely, that it took her a few pages of reading to get used to them. She observed with childish glee the illustrations in it, noticing and appreciating every detail they had.

In the beginning, several tribes lived across the territory of the Land of Fire. The initial peace between them got disrupted, each leader wanting to gain absolute power. The Uchihas and the Senjus were the most powerful ones, so it was no surprise that the weaker tribes united under their lead. Initially they wanted to divide the land between the two groupings, but this was not in the favor of many. It was decided that a battle between Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, both leaders of their respective clans would decide the fate of the land. Their battle took place at the Valley of the End, a place so legendary that two statues were erected in the honor of the two opponents.

They fought for three days and nights without stopping, there wasn't even one onlooker who watched the battle from beginning to end, since they all fell asleep eventually. The two rivals moved so fast, that only blurs could be seen to normal people, their swords clashed with such ferocity, that they emitted sparks. The aftershock of one of their clashes was so great, that water penetrated the surface of the earth, tumbling down from the edge of the cliff and forming a waterfall. Both of them were equally strong; it was evident that the victor would be the one who had more stamina. Eventually, Madara gained the upper hand and defeated his enemy.

Hashirama and his followers sought refuge on the Land of Whirlpools, which was governed by the Uzumaki. To seal their alliance he married Mito, the daughter of Uzumaki Ashina, the island's lord. The couple was well-known; an epitome of what true love should look like. Even though their marriage was an arranged one, they loved and cherished each other passionately. It wasn't the kind of love between two friends...it was a true kind, one which could move mountains and defeat any enemy. Mito helped her husband in building a modern country, and always stood by his side. When her mother told these stories to a young Sakura, the little girl wanted nothing more than to have such a love story as well. To have her prince charming one day and live happily ever after.

The Uchiha clan became the royal family of the newly established Land of Fire, and so an age of prosperity and peace started with the reign of Madara. It all stopped, when Setsuna became the new king, after his uncle passed away. He started an aggressive foreign policy, threatening the surrounding countries with an invasion. Up until that time, the Land of Whirlpools had a neutral relationship with Fire Country, but this soon changed. Setsuna had the desire of occupying the island, claiming that it belonged to his country in the first place. The Land of Water, an ally of the small island threatened to intervene if the Uchihas invaded. Decades passed with the tension in the region never really subsiding.

Meanwhile the Land of Fire tried to gain as many allies as possible, but they rarely succeeded in doing so. Their kings were arrogant, aggressive and stubborn. The kings of the region wanted to form the alliance by marriage, as a guarantee that the loyalty of the Uchihas won't disappear. The only problem was that the latter one didn't want it. It was often said that it was easier to conquer a nation than to marry into the Uchiha clan. The Uchihas valued the purity if their lineage more than anything. Cousins married each other, nieces and uncles, aunts and nephews tied their lives together, all in the means of keeping the bloodline pure.

Sakura stopped turning the pages when a portrait of the last Uchiha king and his family came up. Fugaku Uchiha looked like any member of his clan, with his dark hair and onyx colored eyes. The stern look on his face made the lines under his eyes very prominent. He was sitting on a golden chair, wearing a deep blue kimono with rich embroidery. Fugaku held a golden fan in his right hand, symbolizing his family's crest. His wife, Mikoto was standing next to his sitting form, with her hand resting on his right shoulder. The dark haired woman radiated with kindness. Their two sons, Sasuke and Itachi stood at their parents' side. While Itachi had a frown on his face, his younger sibling was smiling. Both boys were handsome, too bad that one was a psychopath and the other disinterested in everything but revenge.

Five years ago Itachi massacred the whole clan, except for his little brother, who somehow managed to escape. No one knows the reason why he did so even now. Sasuke left the country, desperately searching for his brother in order to revenge the death of his family. Since he didn't have any interests in ruling, he renounced his title, leaving the country without a leader.

The clans started battling with each other, each one trying to win. Chaos engulfed the whole country, villages were burnt down or robbed, and thousands of innocent lives were taken. It was evident of the Council by that time that the new leader shouldn't belong to any of the currently battling clans. Having a king who was responsible for the perish of his own people would be unacceptable. With the nobles out of the question, there was hardly anyone left to choose from.

The fights continued on, the Council sending the royal army to stop them. Their leader, Hatake Kakashi was able to stop further civilian bloodshed. With the battles soon coming to a close, it became more and more evident that the people wanted Kakashi as their king. His courageousness and kindness earned people's love. They saw a hero in him, the person who saved them from death and tragedy.

The Council though was reluctant. Once the Hatake clan was an influential family. Their heads were always the most successful military men, often becoming marshals. But as time passed, they became a middle class clan, though they still held power in the army. Because of a series of events, the Hatake clan had only one member left alive: Kakashi. He was still unmarried and didn't have any offspring, though he was still young enough to have a family in the future. The Council was afraid that if he dies without an heir, the struggle of the other clans for power would start yet again. But then again, if they chose a ruler that the people didn't want, a civil war would break out. In the end they chose the lesser of the two evils.

Thus began the reign of Hatake Kakashi, who got crowned five years ago, becoming the first king of the Land of Fire, who wasn't an Uchiha. He rebuilt the villages which were destroyed because of the war. He gave social aid to those families who lost their bread winner and founded orphanages for children. His diplomats visited the surrounding countries in order to establish new relations.

Kakashi proved himself to be an excellent ruler. He was caring and intelligent. He wasn't the leader who only represented the wishes of the nobles, but the whole countries. Some even said that the kingdom didn't have such a great king since Madara.

Sakura read the pages of praises about Kakashi with a frown on her face. Too bad that these people didn't know about him attacking a country out of the blue, and forcing an innocent woman to marry him. The court historiographers were a little bit blind… Sighing, she closed the book, preparing to leave the library.

She was about to head out, when she saw Kakashi sitting in one of the plush armchairs. He was reading a book with an orange cover, completely oblivious to her presence. Sakura hoped that s he'll be able to exit the room without him noticing, since she wasn't in the mood to talk to him. Though to be honest, she was never in the mood to deal with him.

"Hello there." She heard him say, though the book still hid his face from her.

"Oh, hi…I didn't even see you there."

"I'm sure." Kakashi still had his gaze on the book, turning a page.

They stood in silence after that, both of them feeling really uncomfortable, at least Sakura did. The pink haired woman's eyes narrowed when she saw the all too familiar orange cover of the book Kakashi was holding. For a split second she gave the benefit of doubt, after all, there were hundreds of books that had orange covers. Like, she could certainly enumerate a dozen instantly…

Or maybe not.

"Is that Icha Icha Paradise?" She asked, with a hint of doubt in her voice.

Kakashi furrowed his brows, her question completely catching him off guard. She was probably the first woman he knew that recognized the book. "Yes. How did you know?"

"It's because the author, Jiraiya-san is a…" She paused, searching for an adequate word. "a family friend."

"You know him?" He started sitting more upright in the armchair, clearly showing his interest.

"Yeah…he actually used me and one of my friends to write the sequel. You know, women really like children, and he took us with him whenever he wanted to pick up a girl." She chuckled. "Tsunade would get sooo furious when she found out."

Her eyes twinkled with fondness when she recalled that memory. This was probably the first time he saw her so pleased in his presence. It somehow gave him hope, that maybe…maybe in the near future their relationship would become happier.

"You know, he might come to the wedding. Jiraiya-san."

"What?"

"I invited him, since he's an important person for me. Though, he might not come, since he's really busy…and he's constantly travelling." Sakura stared at the carpet, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the attention he gave her.

"I see…And what were you doing here?"

"I've been reading the history of the kingdom. The Council is really adamant about me learning everything that's connected to this country."

"If they are being difficult or insulting you, tell me." Kakashi closed his book.

'They are being difficult.' She thought, but she didn't voice out her opinion. Sakura didn't want to be seen as a weakling, someone who couldn't take on challenges. She knew the reason why these old people gave her such a hard time. They wanted to test her, to see if she's good enough. Well, she'll show them how damn good she is. Running instantly to Kakashi for help won't improve her situation at all. It might not have been her choice to become queen, but she sure as hell wants the respect she deserves from everyone.

"Thank you…" She cracked a small smile.

Kakashi stood up from his seat, walking to a nearby bookshelf.

"You know, those history books you must have read are really boring." He ran his fingers along the spines of several books, clearly searching for one. "But there's one that's quite interesting, even exciting…but where did I put it? Oh, here it is!" He pulled out a maroon book, heading towards where she was standing.

"It might not always be historically accurate, but it's a fairly good read." He handed it over to her, his eye crinkled.

"Thanks." She nodded, smiling back at him.

"Now, if you don't mind, I have to go to some kind of meeting, before they send someone after me." He said, not so cheerily. "Bye." She heard him say before closing the door.

Sakura looked at the book in her hands once again. "Kaguya's Tears." She read the title out loud. With curiosity getting the better of her, she occupied Kakashi's previous seat, opening the book.

Hello there to everyone who still remembers this story...

I am soooooooo extremely sorry for taking like forever to update. I was busy with finishing my research for the competition (for which I surprisingly earned third place, though I still can't understand the reason why they thought I was worthy enough...) And then exam season kicked in, with a bunch of subjects I could care less about... so yeah...

Thank you for those who read, reviewed and put my story into their favorites, or followed it. Each and every one of them motivates me to write better chapters and update faster!