Sorry for any weird commas or spacing. Document manager was being funky, and I tried to fix whatever weirdness I saw, but chances are I didn't get to all of it. Short chapter again, but better than nothing, right? -wince-
The Gate Amidst the Ivy
Chapter Seventeen
"The Lady Haruno has betrayed us."
Prince Sasuke gazed imperiously at Duke Orochimaru, his expression fixed. "What do you mean?"
"She has defected to the Hyuugas. Her friendship with the heiress was never a secret, as you know."
Sasuke leaned back in his chair, his obsidian eyes implacable.
"And there is one more thing, "added Orochimaru.
"Yes ?"
"The Hyuuga heiress ,when she escaped, took the demon container with her. "
His features impassive enough to be carved out of stone, Sasuke looked away from Orochimaru. He had honestly thought... Sakura had been different. She had been quiet and submissive around him, hiding behind a facade as everyone in this court did, but behind all that he saw a backbone. He saw an equal. She stood up to him, a rare occurrence anywhere in Konoha, and he'd found himself looking forward to their meetings. He looked forward to saying things, doing things, that made her blush or stare up at him in shock, because they were the very few unrehearsed, unplanned reactions he had ever received. Sakura had never been a simpering lady looking to please her prince, or an eager noble looking for an advantageous alliance.
But she was a threat to his country, and that was unacceptable. He protected what was his, and he avenged his people. Traitors were despicable.
"Very well. Send a squadron of the royal guard after her ,with Kakashi as the head. When she is caught, return her to the castle for questioning."
Orochimaru smiled.
A Few Hours Earlier
Taking a deep breath, Ayame stared at the door of the Green Room for a moment before knocking purposefully. Realizing belatedly that she should probably introduce herself, she added coolly, "Haruno, it's me, Fumiko. I have something of utmost importance to tell you."
She waited for a moment; then, the door swung slowly open and Sakura stared up at her with wary eyes. Her pink hair hung messily about her face, and her dress was wrinkled. There were dark bags under her eyes. Ayame was fairly certain that she looked similar to Sakura, but she would never lower herself to showing her fear like Sakura did. She wondered how exactly Sakura had managed to survive so long in the court with such open eyes.
And so she strode confidently into Sakura's suite, so much bigger than hers, and savagely clamped down on the surge of jealousy that flooded through her. "You are a fool, involving yourself in these intrigues," Ayame told her calmly, seating herself on a lavishly embroidered peridot-green couch.
A brief spark of rebellion flared in Sakura's eyes. "And you know what you are talking about, I presume?" she prodded, probing for answers.
Ayame shot her a glance that told her in no uncertain terms exactly what the older girl thought of Sakura's clumsy attempt at information-gathering. "Whatever the case, Orochimaru has decided you must be eliminated. He has planned for me to testify to Prince Sasuke that you were the one that attempted to poison Isabi and Ino—"
"But that's absurd—Isabi was the one who—"
"If you think that was a revelation to me, you are far behind the rest of us," Ayame cut in ruthlessly. "Now listen to me. You are in danger. Even my accusation would be enough to destroy your reputation, and Orochimaru will make certain that far more than that will be destroyed with it. You must flee to the Hyuugas."
Sakura recoiled. "What—"
Don't give them any time to think, to consider alternatives. Make them think the situation is far more urgent than it is, she heard Isabi counseling her. "There is no place with you here with the Uchihas; Orochimaru will be on you every moment, trying to destroy you. As it is, the Hyuugas are the only ones that would dare defy the Uchihas, and they are probably planning to do so already. You have already formed a close association with the heiress—"
"Friendship," interrupted Sakura. She glared back at Ayame with burning eyes. "What I have formed with Hinata is a close friendship, and it was never based on any political gain—"
"Call it what you may," Ayame said coolly. Sakura was an idealist, she realized, and Ayame knew all to well what the world did to idealists. Just give it time. "The fact remains that, despite her timidity, even her mere name is quite influential. You will be protected there, and eventually when this all cools down, you will be able to return to the castle." No, she wouldn't be able to return, not after seeking sanctuary with the chief enemies of the state, but otherwise, Sakura would refuse to even consider the idea.
A shadow of suspicion flitted through Sakura's clear eyes. "Why are you helping me? You've never shown the slightest hint of fondness for me."
(Such scandalous possessions should never be found in the presence of a future lady of the court.
Please. I'll hide it away. But just—give it to me. Give it to me!
I'll dispose of it myself. Consider this a favor that you ought remember. Besides, Haruno, it is not becoming of a lady to beg.)
Now time to show a bit of vulnerability. In order to gain anything from anybody, you had to give something of yourself. And it was best if what you gave was genuine, so Ayame searched deep inside her for her wellspring of doubt, and let a little drop trickle out of her uncaring mask. She gazed directly at Sakura, honestly, as though she had nothing to hide—the eyes were not the window to one's soul; they were quite easy to mask with lies, in actuality—and said, " Orochimaru wants me to condemn the life a woman I know to be innocent. I can't—I can't do that." Well, actually she could condemn an innocent woman, as she had done with Ino. She would be repulsed, she would be doubtful, she would be shaken, but she could reconcile herself to that idea. So a little part of her had rejoiced when she Ino survived the poisoning, but it was a little part she could easily overcome. Secretly, Ayame wondered if that meant that she was a bad person. She liked to think that she was superior to the utterly amoral Isabi, and in truth the way Isabi pined for Sasuke disgusted her, but when push came to shove, Ayame knew she was no martyr. Sacrifice someone else over her any day.
Yes, more than any moral repulsion she might have had, she feared what Orochimaru would do next, what he would do to rid himself of Isabi and Ayame herself, because there was no way he would let liabilities like them walk around free after his use with them was finished with. There was no way Ayame would dare lie to a prince of the nation; they had ways to determine the veracity of one's statements. And how easy it would be for Orochimaru to, quite sadly, reveal with horrified shock Ayame's duplicity (after Sakura had been neatly executed for the attempted double murder of members of the royal court, of course), and then have Ayame herself executed for high treason—lying to the crown prince of the nation was nothing less than that, after all.
So it would be much safer for everyone involved if Sakura fled to the Hyuugas; Ayame would be safe (for now, her doubts whispered insidiously), Sakura would be far away from the castle and unable to meddle, and Orochimaru would be satisfied (but of course he wouldn't stay that way). After all, either way his nuisance would be out of the way, and, why, he'd have yet another reason to go after the Hyuugas.
Ayame smiled as Sakura relaxed. Sakura, so naive, so quick to believe that everyone around her had to same moral standard that she did. Idealists. Her mind spat at it as though it was a curse word.
"I've already told a stable boy to prepare the fastest horses in the stable for you. He won't speak of it"—he loves me, you see, and I promised him a quick tumble later for it. It's the only way for a girl to get what she wants in this world—"and you'll have to quick. You do know how to ride, don't you?"
Sakura nodded. "Yes, but not side-saddle. Though I have a feeling that I'll be doing very little side-saddle riding this particular night."
Ayame snorted, marginally amused, before speaking in a businesslike tone, "Pack your valuables in a light sack, then go down to the stables. Ask Raiki for the horse Black Fire. He's one of the faster horses, but not so valuable that he'll be unduly missed. And be quick about it!"
"Thank you," said Sakura in genuine gratitude as Ayame stood to leave. "I'll never forget this."
Save your gratitude, thought Ayame cynically, but she said nothing.
"I swear," continued Sakura, "if ever a chance comes up for me to help you, I'll take it."
You are a fool, Sakura Haruno.
"And, Ayame, I can see in your eyes how scared you are—"
Ayame recoiled. How did Sakura see? She had hidden her emotions so well, not even Isabi or Orochimaru could tell what she was truly thinking these days—
"—so please, remember. None of these people are giants. They are men on stilts, trying desperately to tower over us mere mortals, but in the end they are just men. They are not gods. So thank you for helping me, despite your fear of him. I know it's not really me you're doing this for, that you have reasons of your own, but still: thank you for thinking of me. You don't have a single kind bone in your body, Ayame, but I accept you for who you are." And Sakura smiled in a way that told Ayame that she had seen everything and still wasn't disgusted, and Ayame couldn't handle that at all, she had to go—
Shaken but too proud to show it, Ayame left, Sakura's smile haunting her. It was small and knowing, not radiant or innocent, and Ayame hated it she couldn't get the sight of it out of her mind, what business did anyone have smiling like that...
A few hours later, after she was certain Sakura had gotten enough of a head start to escape, Ayame went to Orochimaru and informed him with shocked horror that it seemed the Lady Haruno had packed up her belongings and fled, and look, here was a note confessing that she had ran off to the Hyuugas (1)—and goodness, didn't that change everything? She had played the fool while Orochimaru smirked and gloated, then waited dutifully outside while Orochimaru informed Prince Sasuke—
—All the while cursing the idealists, the people like Sakura who saw far too much and yet managed to be so blind. No, Ayame wasn't kind at all. It would be foolish of Sakura to accept her, so why had she?
Happy Halloween! :D
HA. YOU ALL THOUGHT AYAME WAS GOING TO BE ALL BUDDY BUDDY WITH SAKURA, DIDN'T YOU! Or maybe you didn't. Who knows. I actually had planned for Ayame to start genuinely helping Sakura out, but then I realized Ayame doesn't really strike me as the warm and fuzzy moral type (yes, I know I created her, but still, some characters basically write themselves! ...Unlike Sasuke grrrrr). And actually, character development-wise, I think this turned out better than what I originally had! Actually, I kind of like Ayame. She sort of reminds me of myself (take that how you will :P).
The Macbeth reference last chapter was "the milk of human kindness" that Isabi mentions. Lady Macbeth uses the same exact phrase when she's trying to convince Macbeth to assassinate King Duncan, and I thought it would be fitting. ;D
On the SasuSaku front: clearly there won't be any actual interaction for now, considering they're separated by quite some distance. But Sasuke is going to start becoming quite a major character from now, so have no fear! ;D I prefer to go very slowly, building up some character and tension before I delve into the romance, and as you can see I've got quite a few other viewpoints to handle besides Sasuke's and Sakura's. Yeah.
(1) In case it wasn't clear enough, Ayame forged the note.
Review or you won't get any candy this Halloween when you go out trick-or-treating!
posted 10/30/10