A/N-Hey! It's me. Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter-Puppy444219, Kyiri Makrono, and Seyann. Read and review and READ THE A/N AT THE BOTTOM!
Disclaimer-I don't own the Naruto characters.
Chapter 4
The sound of a car horn drew her from her unconscious state. But it wasn't a modern horn as she was accustomed to, rather the type of horn that had been on cars such as the Model T at the turn of the…
At the turn of the century.
That jolted her out of her sleep and she shot up in bed, pink tendrils of hair trailing behind her. She clenched at the thick lace coverlet that kept her body warm and she looked around a room that was entirely unfamiliar to her.
The bed she lay in, for starters, was as big as the queen that her parents slept in every night-and she was the only one lying in it. Four large, wooden and finely carved posts rose from either corner, supporting a canopy that, unless it was her imagination, looked like heavy rich scarlet velvet. To prove it was, she got out from under the covers and stood on the mattress (which felt like a featherbed) to brush her fingertips against the rich material. She sat back down onto the featherbed and felt silk brush against her legs. Looking down at what she was wearing, her eyes widened as she saw the silk nightgown move with her movements.
Now she chanced look around the room. On one side was a dresser made of wood that was such a dark shade it practically screamed 'mahogany' or 'ebony'. There were white patterns on the drawers so Sakura got out of bed and padded on the thick Oriental rug to the dresser where she saw that the patterns weren't just white but many different colors. "Mother-of-pearl…" she breathed. She opened one of the drawers with the little ivory handle and saw, inside, a whole bunch of undergarments from the early 1900's. One of which was a corset. She winced. "I'm going to have to wear that aren't I?" she said quietly, to herself.
Sliding the drawer closed, she walked over to the massive wardrobe that was on the opposite wall and ran her hand over the fine grain of the dark wood. This was obviously custom made to match the dresser, or the dresser had been custom for this piece. She took the ivory handle in hand and pulled it open. "But I won't mind wearing half of these." She said in awe as she ran a hand over the materials-brocade, silk, netting, not to mention the hats that went with the ensembles, which were lined up for selection on the top shelf.
Going over and drawing a curtain she looked out, over the streets of London. She could see the Model T that had awoken her turning left at the end of the street. Down on the cobblestone, the rest of the city appeared to be just waking up as the flower girls and farmers began going by in procession, headed for whatever market was open.
Turning back to the magnificent room, she noticed something she hadn't before. Hanging beside an elaborately carved fireplace was a finely woven rope with a tassel on the end. She walked up and brushed her fingers against it before abruptly jerking them back. She laughed when she realized what, exactly the rope was for.
It was a call rope. If she pulled on it, her maid would come. There was a similar one next to her bed so she went forward, climbed back into bed and gave it a tug. Almost immediately a maid walked in and went to the window, tying back the curtains. "How did you sleep last night miss?" asked the maid politely. "Fine…I'm actually quite hungry if you could bring me some food." "I've already informed the cook that you are awake miss, she will have your toast and hot chocolate ready soon."
The maid turned her back to the window and looked at Sakura, as the latter sat up in bed. The maid's cropped blonde hair caught the early morning light and her blue eyes sparkled as she waited.
Sakura sighed and shook her head. "I don't believe you." She swung her feet out over the bed and stood on the rug, hands on her hips. "Destiny."
The maid burst out laughing and plopped onto the bed holding her sides. "So what, am I going to be seeing you now…like every day?" Destiny caught control of her emotions and said, "Well, as you know, in this time period it was unseemly for young girls to travel on their own so you will be escorted by two maids, Delilah and Faith." Sakura sweat dropped and sat back down on the bed next to her 'maid'. "Let me guess."
Another maid walked in, one with long brown hair and gentle brown eyes, bearing a tray. "Fate," greeted the girl with a nod. "Dessy's already told you everything I see," Fate handed the tray to Sakura. "Okay then, the details. Right now, it's April 9th 1912. Tomorrow the Titanic set's sail and you will be on it as a first class passenger. You're two maids-" she gestured towards herself and Destiny "Shall be on board with you to serve you."
"And on board the ship I will find my soul mate?" Fate and Destiny nodded in unison. "Okay…now what am I going to do for the next 24 hours?" "Well you have a going away party tonight…"
Sakura froze. "Wait. That means I have to get dressed." Fate laughed. "Were you planning on staying in your nightgown for the entire voyage?"
Destiny walked over and picked up the corset from the drawer. "Corset it is." "Can it wait until tonight?" asked Sakura tersely. Destiny and Fate both laughed. "Yes, sure."
That night, Sakura found herself facing one of the poles of her bed, fingers clenching the wood so hard that her knuckles were turning white. "THAT HURTS!" she shrieked as Destiny pulled the stays on her corset tight. Destiny only responded by pulling the thing wrapped tightly around the woman's torso tighter and saying, "It's necessary. Women in this era needed to be toothpicks, especially those as well off as you."
As Destiny finished lacing up the corset, Fate showed Sakura the dress she would be wearing that night. It was a simple design; with a square cut neckline, and short puffy sleeves. The entire thing was made of a light pink silk to match her hair and was long enough that some of it trailed behind her as she walked. Her short pink hair had been piled on top of her head and just a little bit of makeup had been applied to bring out her eyes. Long elbow length white gloves adorned her arms.
When she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror, she didn't recognize herself. Fate and Destiny had done a good job of making her look every inch the early 20th century woman. "Now, how do I behave?" "I'll tell you this," said Destiny firmly. "When it comes to cutlery start from the outside and work your way in."
Sakura laughed and slipped her feet into shoes that matched the dress. "I'm amazed that you guys managed to get all of this stuff." Fate smirked. "It's easy when you have the connections that we have. And the wealth…"
Sakura made her way slowly downstairs, holding the railing with a gloved hand and holding her head high like a wellborn girl would. The women in the room all turned around and applauded as the guest of honor came downstairs, smiling. She sat down with the guests and they all began to eat. As she studied the complexities of the flatware, she chatted lightly with one of the women beside her.
As the evening wore on, and dinner moved onto light chatter in the living room with tea, Sakura found it harder and harder to breathe because of her corset. She took shallower and shallower breaths until…she saw black at the edge of her vision. Putting her hands lightly on the arms of her chair, she said, "Forgive me, my guests, but as I am feeling rather ill I'm afraid I must call the festivities to an end. I've never liked ocean travel and the thought of getting on that boat tomorrow is making me feel faint. Thank you, all for coming to wish me well on my voyage and good night." Sakura stood unsteadily and thanked her guests profusely for coming as they respected her request and trickled out of the door.
As soon as the last guest was out the door all thoughts of decorum went out the window and Sakura collapsed into a brocade chair gasping for breath. "DESTINY! FATE!" she yelled as loud as she could, given her compressed lungs. The two came into the room quickly and, upon seeing her collapsed into a chair, rushed to her side. "Dessy…" she gasped. "If you ever put my corset this…" she paused to gasp for breath "Tight again….you'll need a new job…" Fate stepped forward and knelt in front of Sakura, a hand on either armrest. "First of all, you can't fire us. And second of all…"
Fate was about to continue but stopped when Sakura's emerald eyes closed and she slumped forward suddenly. "Dessy catch her!" said Fate quickly as she leapt out of the way. Destiny complied and, after unfastening the tight corset, picked up the girl and took her up to her room.
"What do you think is wrong with her?" asked Fae, concerned. "Well there's the fact that I did probably put her corset too tight but then, I think it could be that it's all only just hit her. That she's in 1912 and that, tomorrow morning she'll be getting on a doomed ocean liner. I mean, the girl is strong but not that strong." "Yeah I guess…Dessy do you think we should tell her?"
"About the other guy? No, no I don't think so. She needs to be able to figure it out for herself, and having someone else there to attempt to confuse her will only make her more sure about who she loves." Fate nodded and pushed the door to Sakura's room open.
Sakura woke up several hours later, finding herself dressed in her silk nightgown. She could finally breath easily, grateful to be out of her prison of a corset. Something was bothering her though…she remembered just before she had succumbed to total unconsciousness; Fae had dodged out of the way so as to not catch her. Reaching out to the pull chord, she gave it a tug and waited. Soon, both Fate and Destiny stood in front of her.
"Fate I have a question. Why is it that you jumped out of the way when I fainted?" Fate rolled her eyes. "It's an old saying…ever hear that expression that you should never fly in the face of fate? Well it only applies if it's literally happening…but if it does literally happen, the one who flies into the face of fate dies. That's why I couldn't catch you."
Sakura blinked. "I see…" she was about to say more when Destiny's right hand flashed. The blonde raised her hand up so that she was staring at her palm before she heaved a sigh and said, "Not again. Fae I'll be home later." Before she left she changed, in a blink of an eye, into a long shimmering blue evening gown.
"What…just happened."
"Well…you know how I have the whole 'fly in the face of fate' expression? Well…you might've heard this one…"
Then it hit Sakura, which caused the time traveling girl to burst out laughing. "Don't tell me…don't tell me."
"Someone somewhere had a date with destiny." When Fate nodded, Sakura burst out into another round of wild laughter. "Well at least someone's having a good time." Said Fate dryly.
A/N-I didn't really like this chapter. It's kind of just a filler for in between when she goes back and when she boards the ship, just kinda to show how her relationship is with Fate and Destiny and that she's well off. The whole 'fly in the face of fate/date with destiny' thing was in the original so I thought I'd stick into here some place. And for those of you who don't remember, the reason that Destiny's right hand glowed was because of the prophecy-she holds destiny in her right palm.
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