Chapter 17

Haruno-san was truly puzzled by the whole situation. When he was dragged out of the comfort of his home along with every living being in his household to the Royal Manor, he thought he was a dead guy for sure. He was afraid of Yatsumoto, the insignificant general, and imagine his fear for the Royal Prince.

He was ready to say goodbye to all that's good in his life, when suddenly the storm passed and everyone was untied and being treated by doctors and bandaged up, and sent to very nice guesthouses. They also fed them very elaborate foods and make sure they're full and well rested until Riku-san, the elderly servant, informed him that Sakura's coming to see him.

He waited outside for her when his wives and children stayed inside to marvel at the expensive fabrics of the Uchihas Royal Manor.

"Father." Sakura asked, "Did anyone die?"

Haruno-san quickly shook his head, "Everyone's alive and well. Minor injuries. Skin abrasions and such."

Sakura let out a breath of relief.

"What happened?" Haruno-san asked her, "What caused all this?"

She doesn't want to tell him the real reason because he would not hesitate to strip her naked and send her to the Prince's bed in a heartbeat.

So she vaguely said something along the lines of, "The Prince's temper. Who knows, I don't know how I've offended him, it's probably one of this quirky things royalties have."

Haruno didn't buy it, but he didn't get a chance to press further because his wife came out yelling and cursing at Sakura, "What the hell did this child do? she's going to get all of us killed!"

Sakura ignored her and asked her father, "have you been fed?"

"Yes." Haruno-san automatically ignored his wife too, "We ate things we've never even heard of before. The things they feed to royalties. What a wonder! Who knew eggplants could be prepared 20 steps!"

Riku-san stepped in admist all of the crowd and said, "The Prince has ordered the Haruno family to be sent off tomorrow morning after a good night's rest. Sakura-san."

Sakura was puzzled. The Prince is literally treating her family with harsh punishments and then reward them with candy later on. Isn't this method used on Pavlov's dogs?

Riku-san continued with cryptic messages hidden inside, "Sakura-san, don't worry. The Prince said your family would be well taken care of."

And then everyone understood.

Quickly her step mother grabbed onto Sakura's hand and said, "Sakura, I cannot believe, in my entire life and being of existence, that anyone, anyone in my family would have this honour. You made sure you treat the Prince with utmost respect, you make damn sure he's comfortable every single second you're with him. Do you hear me?"

Haruno-san pushed her aside and said with extreme caution, "just pray things are meant to be. Be careful and don't make the same mistake again."

Sakura stared at them, and quickly said goodbye to them.

She then went to visit Sadaku and Tenten, and making sure they're all well before returning to her own room, only to be told that the Prince is waiting for her in his room.

She quickly rushed over, and everything was already dark. The Prince already was on his bed with curtains down. She climbed onto her little cot and whispered, "Is there anything your Highness need?"

Sasuke thought for a moment before mentioning, "I got a message from the Emperor, and he asked me to go to the country border, where Suna resides. The trip may take a while. Are you willing to come with me?"

Sakura immediately replied, "I'll go anywhere you need me to."

Sasuke smiled in the dark, and then quickly straightened his face and reached out a hand, "You have my permission."

Sakura was puzzled, "Huh?"

"I know your secret." Sasuke said, as if revealing something big, "you like to hold my hand when you're asleep. Otherwise you can't get a good night's sleep. I already know this. Come on."

Sakura honestly doesn't know what she's feeling at this point. She numbly moved the cot closer and held onto his hand. "Thank you... for blessing me with your... hand."

Sasuke fell asleep feeling pretty generous.

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The next day, even before the sun rose, everyone was already getting ready for the long journey ahead. When Sakura woke up, Sasuke was already gone. She was too exhausted from what happened before that she slept past her duties of waking up along side the Prince and help him dress etc.

Sasuke was in his weapons hall, debating which weapon to take along with him.

She quickly rushed back to her room and packed the few necessities she needed. Then she rushed to the main hall to get some breakfast.

Tenten was there, saving her a seat. "Are you coming with us?" Sakura asked her while munching down some buns.

Tenten nodded, "I have so, so does my team of dancers. I think we're going to perform in Suna."

"You don't look very happy." Sakura observed.

Tenten sighed, "That's because... Maybe you don't know, but Suna has been rumored to be a place of desert. There's nothing there that's fun, and the city isn't as rich as the Capital. Everyone's struggling to meet their means, there's no way I'd enjoy being there. Also, they have different customs and practices as people here in Mainland. I hear men actually wear animal furs and tooth as decorations."

Sakura wondered for a while before commenting, "are you worried they might not be as gentle as the people here in Capital?"

"Sort of. Safety issues and such. Also, what if I end up being traded... I'll have to stay there forever."

"What do you mean? Traded?"

"You don't know? The Master is able to trade any dancer he brings with the women over there. Traditionally trading of girls is done to establish trust among officials of visiting city and home city..."

Sakura stared, "Trading as in, trading humans?"

"Yes..."

"Oh my god!" Sakura exclaimed. "Is this the reason you're going?"

"Most likely." Tenten sighed, but then felt relief after a few seconds. "I've given it a lot of thought yesterday. I almost died, and now I'm still alive. I'm going to live everyday to the fullest and be happy. If I get traded then so be it. I'll try my best to adapt to Suna's culture and customs. Besides, as long as I live, nothing else matters..."

Sakura didn't comment. Instead she picked up another meat bun and munched it down. The will to escape this place became stronger.

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A/N: Hurray for stored back up chapters!