Why do I have to do the disclaimer again...?
I DO NOT OWN NARUTO AND/OR THE CHARACTERS. THEY BELONG TO MASASHI KISHIMOTO.
There done. YAY! No disclaimer until the next chapter!
"Finally! We're done!" Tenten declared.
I looked around my closet confusingly. "We are?"
"Ino! Of course we're done packing your clothes! How much do you plan to bring anyway?! How much do you have?!"
I peered into my trunk. It was stuffed. I hope my dresses won't get wrinkled…back to Tenten's question. "Um…I have about twenty-five dresses in there already…? I think more then that…?" God, I sound so stupid….
Tenten stared at me in exasperation. "Twenty-five?! Ino…!"
I repeated what I said earlier, "But I am a princess…"
She just rolled her eyes at me. Me! A princess. I should have Deidara throw her into prison for that…!
"I need to pack my stuff, okay, Ino?"
"Sure."
So she went off to her chambers while I sat in my room. Ah ha! I know exactly how to get back at her for rolling her eyes at me! Let's hope that the Uchihas throw their balls like we do…
*~*
"Is there anything in the world to do?" I whined as I walked through our gardens with Tenten.
She looked at me, "Well…you could do a lot of things…but your father and the servants would be horrified if you did do some of those things…"
"Things like…?"
"Planting flowers, gardening, cooking, and all that," Tenten answered, waving her hand, "According to your father, a princess doesn't do those things; those are what servants, maids, and cooks are for."
I frowned. If that was the case, if we royals had no maids, servants, and cooks, then we would be dead. Seriously. We wouldn't know how to cook or wash our clothes. Goodness, we are so hopeless.
I crossed my arms, declaring in a very determined voice, "Well, I'm going to learn how to do cook and all that whether Father likes it or not!"
Tenten glanced at me, sighing, "I knew you would say that…but how will you learn?"
I stared at her. Is she seriously that dense? "You'll be my teacher. Isn't that obvious?"
"Why am I just not surprised…."
"Well, Teacher, when will our first lesson be?"
My teacher just stared at me, "Don't call me 'Teacher'."
"Why?"
"Well…one, it makes me feel incredibly old. Besides, your father and the others might grow suspicious."
"Okay, Teacher!"
"Ino…" Tenten growled dangerously.
I laughed, "Fine, fine. But I get to call you 'Teacher' when we're alone, okay?"
"…Fine."
"By the way, you never answered my question. When is my first lesson?"
"That's a surprise!"
"Tenten…!"
"For now, we'll just look at the flowers that are blossoming in the garden, okay?"
I nodded, content with what we were about to do. Now that I think about it, I really want gardening to be my first lesson with Tenten. I know you don't need to know how to garden and work with flowers to live…but for some odd reason, I'm drawn to the idea of tending flowers.
"Tenten?"
"What?"
"I want to learn how to garden!" I dramatically declared.
"…What?"
"I want to learn how to work with flowers," I clarified.
"Okay…but why?"
I shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't know."
Tenten sighed as she shook her head, and asked herself, "Why am I her best friend again?"
I glared at her, "Because I am wonderful, beautiful, and just awesome."
"Riight…."
"You know I'm telling the truth here!" I defended.
She just rolled her eyes at me. Again. I really need to punish her for doing that…!
"Well," I started, trying to change the topic, "who do you look forward to seeing when we arrive at the Uchiha's castle, Tenten?"
Her eyes hardened, "Let's see…like you, I do look forward to meeting Inuzuka Hana. Other then that…I really don't know."
I stared at her in exasperation, "Come on, Tenten! There's got to be more people you want to meet!"
Glaring at me she retorted, "You shouldn't be talking; you only want to meet Inuzuka Hana."
"But I've already met a good deal of them!" Goodness, I fail at debates like this.
"What about the Sand Siblings?" Tenten questioned.
I cocked my head quizzically, "What about the Sand Siblings?"
Tenten face palmed, clarifying, "Temari, the eldest and only girl, is being courted my Shikamaru. Don't you want to meet her? I mean, Shikamaru willingly courting a girl? And the youngest, Gaara, was the only other person that your father could've given your hand to. Don't want to know how he's like?"
"Tenten…you're scaring me. You seem to know me more than I do myself…and that is really creepy."
She just smiled innocently at me.
I continued, "Besides, you still haven't replied to my earlier exclamation. There's got to be others that you want to meet, right?"
"Well…"
"Go on…" I drawled.
"INO!"
"HOLY CRUD, DEIDARA…!" I screamed. "There was absolutely no need to scream my name like that! You nearly scared me to death!"
My brother looked a bit disappointed, "Aww…you didn't die…?"
"DEIDARA!" I yelled.
"Oh crap…." My dear brother muttered as he saw me surrounded by a very dark aura. Yes. He should be very scared right now.
"Um…" Tenten interrupted, "Deidara, I think you should run now…?"
"You. Wouldn't. Dare." I seethed.
Deidara gulped. Serves him right for trying to "kill" me. I'm going to kill him instead! The killed becomes the to-be-killed. Insert evil laugh. I glared my most evil glare at me brother, my sky blue eyes drilling holes into his body.
Deidara chuckled nervously, "It was just a joke, Ino…"
Like that's going to save him. "Some joke that was…" I growled dangerously.
"Ino…!" My brother exclaimed. "Don't get any closer then that…!"
"Why…?" I asked.
"Because I have news to tell you!" he declared dramatically.
"…What news…?" Tenten and I questioned in one voice.
"You're not going to the Uchiha castle two days from now!" My brother revealed dramatically.
Goodness. He's so dramatic at times…how are we related again?
I shook my head, clearing my mind of the thoughts that once occupied it. "Um…if I'm not going there in two days, then when am I going?"
Deidara was reluctant to tell me. "Er…in an hour…?"
Both Tenten and I stared at him. After a good four minutes and a half, I burst, my voice venomous, "What?"
He shrugged, looking extremely uncomfortable. "Yeah…everybody that's supposed to be going is leaving in about an hour from now. I think the Uchihas and Father want the marriage done as soon as possible."
Confusion replaced the anger and shock in me, "Why do they want it as soon as possible?"
Once again, Deidara just shrugged, "How am I supposed to know, hmmm…?"
Tenten spoke up, "If that's the case, shouldn't we all be preparing for the trip?"
Deidara replied, "Father already has that under control; the servants and maids are getting ready for the trip."
"Oh…well then…"
How could Father do this to me? All I've ever wanted was to marry for love…! I don't get that wish; I've already agreed to this marriage with Uchiha Sasuke! Couldn't he allow me to cherish my freedom for a few more days? Even an hour or two would have been enough. No, Father wants this done as soon as possible, and I only have an hour – probably even less then that – of loveless-marriage-life left! I hate being a princess…how I would do anything to trade places with a mere peasant girl right now…!
"Ino…!" Tenten called. When I didn't respond, she walked over and snapped her fingers in my face. I didn't react to that either, so she –
"Huh…?" I murmured as I arose from the land of thoughts.
Tenten sighed in relief, "Thank goodness!"
I tilted my head in confusion, "What…?"
"You've been standing there for the last fifteen minutes, staring into nothingness. Do you think that I wasn't worried about you…?!"
"Oh…." I said, "Sorry. I was just thinking…"
Tenten smiled sadly at me, "I would be doing the exact same thing if I was you."
Tears started to escape from my eyes; tears that were never to fall again fell down my face. I swore to myself that I would never cry over the arranged marriage; it wouldn't change a single thing. But this was just too much for me to handle.
Tenten's eyes filled with concern. "Ino…"
I wiped the tears furiously with the hem of my sleeve. No. I was not going to cry. I'm strong enough…I'm not going to cry.
"It's okay," I managed shakily, "But can we go talk in the privacy of my room? Discussing something like this in the gardens where anybody could eavesdrop just doesn't seem right."
"Of course, Ino."
*~*
I flung myself into the comfort of my bed as soon as Tenten shut the door to my room. I gripped the lavender covers that coated my fluffy bed as I willed myself not to cry. It didn't work. My salty tears streamed down my face, wetting my covers as they did. They kept coming, and I couldn't stop didn't say a thing as she sat on my bed and rubbed my back, attempting to comfort me. After a few minutes, my breathing became less harsh, and my body had no more tears for me to cry. My face was now devoid of tears and I felt much better.
My best friend broke the silence that fell upon us, "Are you alright, Ino?"
I nodded, afraid of how I would sound if I spoke. The room was free of any sounds until I decided to speak, "I'm jealous." Before Tenten could ask why I was envious, I continued on, "I'm jealous of Hinata, Temari, and Hana. They're royal and important like me, but they've managed to find true love. Hinata found Naruto, Temari and Shikamaru are seeing each other, and Hana is engaged to Uchiha Itachi…how come I haven't found that yet? Tenten tried to speak but I didn't give her the chance, "And I'm most jealous of you, Tenten. It's nothing personal; it's just that you have so much freedom…something that I obviously don't have. You can fall in love and marry anybody you want…" I trailed off.
Tenten smiled bitterly, "Ino, you're overlooking a few things. You have the right be envious of Hinata, Temari, and Hana since they're all Ladies or Princesses. You have everything that they have – except one thing – true love."
My eyes clearly spelled out the confusion that I was feeling. "What am I overlooking?"
"Well, you believe that being a peasant girl will allow you to fall in love with anybody in the world, right?"
I just moved my head north and south, "Uh huh…?"
"You're wrong, Ino. You're very wrong." Tenten said. Before I could state my confusion, she went on, "What if somebody like me fell in love with a lord or prince? They will surely not allow such a thing…so, you are wrong, Ino."
She was right, and I was wrong. How come I didn't think of that…? "How did you get that, Tenten? It's not that I think you're not thoughtful enough to come up with something like that…. Have you experienced it yourself or something? Or did a friend of yours got through that?"
Tenten paled. It was not hugely noticeable, but I was always with her so I saw the difference. She left the topic completely alone and breathed, "I believe it is time to go, Ino."
Huh. That was odd. Tenten rarely pales…she's always the optimistic girl, you know? Tenten's been acting strange lately. The sewing and paling of the face is just not her. I want to know what happened…but I don't think pressuring her into telling me anything will work…oh, what in the world am I supposed to do?
Since I was so occupied with my thoughts, I didn't notice that I had arrived at my destination until I nearly crashed into my brother.
"Oomff!" I exclaimed.
"You alright Ino?" my brother and best friend asked at the same time.
"I'm fine," I said curtly. Ugh. More acting in front of the servants…
"As you say," Deidara replied. "Come, you and Tenten will be in that carriage, and my fiancée and I will share that one."
I dipped my head quickly and climbed into my carriage with Tenten following closely behind. I sighed softly as one of the servants closed the door. I think Tenten and I will be able to talk in here quietly without being heard.
"Tenten…" I murmured.
She looked at me, "Yes, Ino?"
"Can we talk…?" I inquired cautiously.
This time, instead of paling, she stiffened a little. "About what?" she asked, her voice sharp.
"About what we were discussing in my room. The part about the other girls' matches; not about you." I explained.
Tenten now seemed more relaxed, "Of course we can."
"So." I started. "As I was saying earlier, Hinata and Hana are beyond lucky."
Tenten rose an eyebrow, "What happened to Temari…?"
I rolled my eyes, stating the obvious, "She's stuck with Shikamaru. Do I have to explain more…?"
Tenten's eyebrows only got higher.
I sighed in defeat. "Fine, Temari's lucky too, even if she is with Shikamaru. As long as they're both happy, then everything is fine with me."
Tenten nodded her head in agreement.
"They have all the luck, finding true love in royalty…but what about me? I get all the bad luck, stuck in an arranged marriage with Uchiha Sasuke…!"
Tenten's eyes softened, "I think you'll be able to break it off."
I gaped at her in amazement, "Really? How?"
"It might upset you all over again…"
"How, Tenten, how?"
Tenten stared me right into my eyes while saying "You'll have to fall in love with another noble."
"…What…?"
"I knew it." Tenten muttered to herself. "I knew Ino would be like that…guess I'll have to explain it to her." She cleared her throat before starting. "Your father wants to become more powerful, right?"
I responded with a nod.
All the other nobles that will be attending your wedding are about as important as Uchiha Sasuke. If you fall in love with one of them, you may be able to break your engagement to Uchiha Sasuke off and marry your one true love. It's a win-win situation if you do find your love." Tenten finished.
I stared at her. "Are…you…serious…?"
Tenten just tilted her head to the side, answering, "Of course I'm serious, Ino. I would never give you false hopes on something as serious as this."
"Okay. So I have to fall in love with another noble to break off the engagement with Uchiha Sasuke, right? If that's the case, then who are some of the nobles that I can fall in love with, Tenten?"
Tenten stared at me, "You're the princess, Ino. You should know this stuff."
I shrugged, "Well, I don't."
She sighed before naming them, "There's Inuzuka Kiba, brother of Inuzuka Hana. Both brothers of the Sand are fine too."
"Anybody else, Tenten?" I asked.
"Well, you could always fall in love with Uchiha Sasuke. There's no one else that I can think of since Shikamaru, Uchiha Itachi, and Uzumaki Naruto are already with the other girls."
I gazed at Tenten, puzzled, "What about the Hyuugas?"
"Oh. Right. There's Hyuuga Neji too." Was it just me, or did she have to force out the name…? Nah, I'm pretty sure it was just me. Tenten looked at me and said, "Don't worry about me, Ino. I'm perfectly fine. Just rest or sleep for the rest of the trip to the Uchiha castle, okay? You'll need the energy when you get there."
I nodded before closing my eyes to go on a different journey, the journey to dreamland. Oh well. I'll figure out what's bothering Tenten when we get there. And then darkness enveloped me.
