Chapter three is done, and there's only two left to go! Enjoy!

I don't own the rights to Naruto.

Part Three – The Beast And The Prince

Invisible hands tugged at the bags she carried, and Sakura could only stare as her things floated off in mid-air. Once they disappeared from sight, she returned her gaze to the demon before her, and waited for him to drag her off to the dungeons. He simply stared at her for awhile, and she began to feel nervous under his gaze.

"Come," he eventually spoke. "I will show you the room where you will be staying."

He turned and started to walk, but stopped and looked back at her when she didn't move. "B-but I th-thought I'd be going to the dungeon?" Sakura stuttered, and the beast sighed.

"You will not be staying in the dungeon," he assured her. "I admit that, had your father come, I would not have hesitated to throw him in there. But you are not the one who committed the crime, so you can stay in one of the guest suites. Unless you'd rather stay in the dungeon?"

"N-no!" Sakura exclaimed, still stuttering slightly. "A proper room would be nice."

This time when the beast began walking, she fell into step behind him.

As they walked, they happened to pass by the gardens, and Sakura surmised that this was the same spot that her father had stolen the rose from. Already she could smell the heady perfume of the different varieties of flowers, and she stopped to inhale deeply. The demon noticed that she was no longer following him and turned to her, then moved through the gardens instead. Sakura followed, marvelling at everything that she saw.

After a short while, they came across the place where the roses were, and Sakura took out the rose her father had given her. She was quite startled when it jumped from her hand and reattached itself to the rosebush, but since she'd already figured that there was some kind of spell over everything, she just took it all in stride.

Finally, they reached the place that she was to stay, and when she stepped into the room, she turned to find that the demon was gone. Sighing, Sakura closed the door and went inside, looking around and wondering at the riches in the room. Looking out the window, she could see a pale pink and orange stain on the horizon and knew that dawn was not far away. A yawn caught her off guard and she decided to get some sleep. Sakura pulled the covers back on the bed and lay down, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

She dreamed.

She was standing in the castle's gardens and it was very bright, the sort of bright that you only find in pleasant dreams. Looking around, Sakura saw a handsome Prince standing near her, and as she watched, he came towards her and grasped her hand, lifting it to meet her lips. She'd known instantly he was a Prince because of the circlet he wore on his head.

Never in her life had she seen anyone so handsome. His unruly rust red hair immediately captivated her, as did his beautiful jade eyes. There were rings around his eyes, and she wondered what had caused them. Perhaps insomnia? Her eyes flew to his forehead where a kanji tattoo for love stood out. Love. That was something she'd wanted all her life. For a handsome Prince to sweep her off her feet and for them to fall head over heels in love with one another. Was this her Prince?

"Beautiful Sakura," the Prince whispered, and she blushed. "I am Prince Gaara of the Sand. I am glad you came."

Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but before any sound could come out, she felt herself being torn away from him, and a moment later her eyes snapped open and she found herself back in her new room, alone with no handsome Prince around for miles. She sighed. She felt cheated, somehow, and figured this was what her mother often complained about when her father came home exhausted from work. Apparently he was useless when he was like that, and the next morning their mother would be in the foulest mood until their father woke up, then they would disappear into their room for a couple of hours until he went back to work.

Sakura spent the day wandering around the castle, and in the evening the beast made an appearance. "How did you like the castle?" he asked as they sat down to dine together.

He was incredibly civilised, she noticed, using the proper utensils for his food, though she kept her eyes averted from what he was eating.

"It was nice," she told him, and from there, they made polite conversation until they were finished.

After they'd eaten, they took a walk around the gardens, then he surprised her with a question, "Beautiful Sakura, will you marry me?"

Sakura was shocked, and that was saying the least. In her shock, she answered without thinking, "No! How could I marry a demon?"

The demon sighed and vanished, and Sakura felt really, really bad for being extremely rude.

Once again that night she dreamed of the handsome Prince Gaara. This time he held her hand and gazed at her with adoration, causing her to blush even harder than before.

"You truly are beautiful, Sakura-chan," he whispered, and she reddened further.

"My sisters are much prettier than me," she spoke self-consciously.

"Nonsense!" he told her. "There's no one in the world more beautiful than you."

She'd thought it was impossible for her to blush more, but somehow she managed it. Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but Gaara leaned forward and lightly placed his lips over hers, startling her. He pulled back quickly, then stood, pulling her up with him.

"It's nearly dawn, Sakura-chan," he whispered. "I shall miss you until tonight."

Then he faded away as she slowly opened her eyes to face the real world.

The days passed quickly into weeks, and every night the beast would ask her to marry him, and she would say no, though more politely now after her little outburst. Then when she went to sleep, her Prince would come to her in her dreams and tell her how beautiful she was and kiss her. Then one night she managed to kiss him back, and her heart was irrevocably lost to him from that moment on. Not that he didn't already hold it.

"Sakura-chan," he whispered (he always whispered to her). "I think that I've fallen in love with you. Do you love me as well?"

Sakura smiled happily. "Oh, yes, I do!" she told him, and he returned her smile before leaning in to kiss her once more.

This was when she kissed him back. Returning the kiss as much as she could, she was overwhelmed with happiness when he deepened the kiss, his tongue brushing over her lips which immediately parted. He dove in, exploring inside her mouth, pulling her closer to him in the kiss. Sakura moaned at the contact, and grabbed his arms to steady herself as she completely lost herself in the sensation of kissing this gorgeous man.

Her hands came up to his hair, her fingers clenching and unclenching in his surprisingly soft tresses, and she felt him pull her much closer to him in response.

Eventually they parted, and she looked up at the one who'd stolen her heart, even if he was just a dream. "Stay with me forever," Gaara whispered. "Never leave me."

"I never will," Sakura promised him with all her heart, closing her eyes as she slowly drifted out of her dream.

Sighing in frustration, Sakura sat up in bed, but then flushed with embarrassment when she felt a thrumming sensation run through her. Her body was reacting from her dream's kiss, she knew. What would happen if things went... further? She blushed at the thought.

The day passed as usual, and Sakura spent most of it in the garden. The rose that had brought her here called to her, and she spent a good three hours just staring at it. There was something about the flower that made her stare at it, and eventually she realised what it was. The petals were the exact same shade as Prince Gaara's hair!

The thought kept her preoccupied for the rest of the day, causing her to be rather vague and not entirely paying attention to the conversation during dinner. Naturally, the demon noticed that something was going on.

"Are you alright, Sakura?" he asked, concern in his usual grating voice. Sakura had long since decided that his voice reminded her of sand, rather apt considering that they were surrounded by a desert.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm rather distracted tonight. I'm being a rather poor guest."

"Nonsense!" the demon said in a tone that sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it. "You're obviously not feeling well, so we shall cut tonight short."

Cutting the night short meant that the beast disappeared after dinner. It wasn't until she was slipping under the covers of her bed that Sakura realised that he hadn't asked her to marry him, and she felt empty all of a sudden. Shrugging it aside, she lay down, closed her eyes, and was soon in the company of her very own Prince Charming.

"I missed you, Sakura," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear.

Immediately he started to kiss her again, and as she'd predicted, things went further. His hands roved her body even as hers travelled over his, and soon they were doing something that, had this not been a dream, would have had her embarrassed and worrying. After it was over, she stole a glance at her Prince, noticing he had a troubled look on his face. Why? Pushing it aside, she curled up to him and he responded by tightening his hold on her.

Slowly Sakura's eye slid shut, and just before she returned to the real world, she heard her Prince whisper, "Ashiteru, Sakura."

Ok, so like I said, two more chapters to go, and then I'm finished. Review please!