WARNING(S): N/A

(Features platonic SaiSaku)

A/N: This chapter was HEAVILY inspired by the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, especially the first book Dealing With Dragons. I highly recommend it if you enjoy fantasy, dragons, and princesses being badass.

"Your highness!"

The princess rolled her eyes with a heaving sigh. The dragon lightly slumbering next to her stirred, cracking open an inky-black eye.

"Another one?" He murmured, deep voice filling the cavern. "Should I handle it?"

"Nah, I got this one." Gathering up her skirts, she made her way out of the main chamber of the cave and to the entrance.

Peering over the cliff to the soldiers below, she bellowed, "What do you want?! I've already told you, I'm not going back!"

"But your highness, this little spat between you and the prince is ridiculous!" One of them she recognized as one of the royal advisors. She rolled her eyes again; she never liked that guy. "Stop acting like a child and come back to the castle!"

"Oh, piss off, would you?" She snapped, making some of the men below stare at her in bewilderment. "How many times do I have to say it? I'm not coming home, my parents know I'm safe, and you can tell Prince Sasuke that he can shove it where the sun doesn't shine!"

Without bothering to hear their reply, she stormed back into the cave in a huff, skirts slithering across the rocks behind.

As soon as she was back in the chamber with her dragon, she sat down with a loud groan. Picking up her discarded book, she began trying to read through it as the young male let out a yawn.

"When are you going to forgive him?" He inquired calmly, blinking drowsily at the princess.

"As soon as he gets his royal pain in the ass over here himself to apologize," the teenager replied hotly. "I'm sick and tired of dealing with servants and advisors - we're supposed to be getting married in six months yet he doesn't even seem to care about me!"

The ink-black dragon hummed in thought, propping his chin up with one massive clawed hand. "But he chose you."

"Yeah, but it was out of desperation," she said. Her voice was pinched with anger, yet there was a note of sadness as she stared down at the thick-bound book. "It was either me or some foreign princess he didn't even know. I'm not even supposed to be a princess, y'know… I was a baker's daughter before he asked me to marry him."

The dragon nodded slowly. "You love him, right?"

Sakura heaved a sigh and lowered the book into her lap. Gazing sadly at her companion, she nodded. "Yeah, Sai… I do. I love him too much, I'm afraid."

Sai looked her in her weary face for a little while longer before lowering his hand to the ground again and closing his eyes as he nestled his chin atop one scaled arm. "Read to me again. Where did we leave off before they interrupted…?"

A gentle smile spread across her face. Leave it to Sai to know how to distract her. "I believe we left off on chapter fifteen. Ahem. Chapter Fifteen: How to Stall For Time…"

Night came faster than either one of them realized, and a yawn from the young lady made her glance towards the tunnels, only to discover no sunlight.

"Huh," she mused. "I suppose we should leave off there, then."

"I suppose," the dragon drawled, another wide yawn showing off his razor-sharp teeth and forked tongue. "Good night, Sakura."

"Good night," she answered, picking herself up from the ground. She stumbled forward a bit, but Sai's tail quickly broke her fall, and she braced herself on the scaled appendage.

As she made her way out into the main tunnel, she could hear Sai shifting and getting up, his thundering footsteps meaning he was making his way into his personal chamber - as well as his treasure horde. She picked up her pace, the torch in her free hand lighting her way as she tried to get to her own room.

But as she turned the corner, she could hear someone approaching from outside. Cursing under her breath, she made to call for Sai - and then stopped, noticing a familiar cape billowing away from a familiar young man.

Her eyes narrowed, and she propped her hand on her hip as her fiancé, looking worse for wear and bearing a lantern as well as his sword and shield, approached the cave's entrance. "Took you long enough to get here. Did you finally get tired of me sending your gophers home empty-handed?"

"Sakura, please," he wearily responded, looking her up and down. He seemed minutely surprised that she wasn't in rags. "Come back to the castle. I'm sorry I made you so upset-"

"Do you know why I'm upset?" She demanded.

With a heaving sigh, he sent her a look. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry that I spoke badly of the commonfolk. I know that's a sensitive issue, and the last thing I want is to hurt you."

"Well, you'd better get some new habits then. Otherwise I think I might stay here." She sniffed. "Sai treats me very well, thank you very much."

"Sai?" Her fiancé's nose wrinkled. "The dragon has a name?"

Sakura gave him an incredulous stare.

"Right, right, stupid question." Shaking his head, he held out his free hand. "Please come home. I do miss you."

The young lady looked at the offered hand skeptically.

"I do hope you aren't planning to fight me for her," Sai's lazy voice drawled as his heavy footsteps rattled the walls and ceiling of the cave. The two looked up as his dark form came into view, half-lidded eyes inspecting the newcomer. "So. You're the fiancé she's so worked up over."

"I am," Sasuke carefully answered, ignoring her hiss of embarrassment to the creature in question. "And you're the dragon she ran off to."

"I am," Sai mimicked with a tight smile.

Sakura looked between them, her face twisting into something concerned. "Sai, I…"

"Go, princess. You need to be with people more than me." He shrugged his giant shoulders. "Besides, you know you have somewhere to go if loverboy makes you mad again."

Sasuke scowled up at him, hand twitching towards his sword.

The young lady heaved a sigh before fixing her fiancé with a look. "Let me go pack my things. Heaven knows your father will throw a fit if I let you stay the night instead of bringing me back."