Thank you to Lady-Sakura-Haruno-Uchiha for notifying me of the upload issues! Here is the actual chapter 8. Enjoy and sorry for the mix-up!
"Your Highness, you're making our guest uncomfortable," Itachi calmly said.
Akuma was doing all he could not to yank his fiance from the prince's uncle's embrace because he was entirely sure he wouldn't be able to hold himself back from attempting murder. Then, he'd lose control of this body, and his consciousness would disappear forever.
Madara Uchiha was forced to retire when Fugaku Uchiha ascended to the throne. After his and Mikoto's death, he was reinstalled as king and made it clear that he wouldn't give the position up a second time. The older Uchiha man released Sakura, who stumbled away to Akuma's side, obviously shaken by the informal behavior.
'She looks terrified,' he shared a glance with the pink-haired woman, and she covertly nodded to communicate that all was well. He turned his glare onto the prince's older brother and uncle, 'I'll cut off their hands once I've rid this body of that coward prince's soul.' How dare they lay hands so casually on her!
"Fear not, Lady Haruka. We'll be family shortly," Madara said with a charming smile, "Please call me Uncle, and don't hesitate to tell me if you need anything."
Sakura surprised Akuma by politely bowing with all the grace of a well-educated lady of high status. Her usually soft voice was firm and devoid of emotion, "Of course, Uncle. I fear there has been a misunderstanding, as my name is Sakura. I still thank you for your warm greeting. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She then directed her bow to the first prince, "Yours as well, Your Highness."
Akuma's eyes locked onto the prince's brother's, and he recognized the subtle look of confusion. Baron Haruno was a well-known man even in the royal palace. As a result, his children were prime candidates for political marriages, though until recently, only the eldest, a son named Hihara, was of age.
The Haruno name used to be affiliated with hard work and self-made wealth. Sakura's grandfather, Mitsuhide Haruno, built and maintained a small fortune with the invention of healing potions. After his death roughly ten years ago, though, Kizashi Haruno, his only son, took over and slowly began to run the family name into the ground.
The need for healing potions had only increased, yet the flow of products had slowed substantially to the point that rumors were beginning to spread that they were no longer being crafted and would disappear from markets once their surplus ran dry.
"Curse, you're being surprisingly well-behaved. Have you finally surrendered to the second prince?" The king asked almost sarcastically while leading everyone into the palace and through the halls.
Akuma scoffed, "We've a temporary agreement to co-exist. I'll earn my freedom soon." 'If I tell them it's because we both desire this female's affection, they'll try to separate us, and I'll be forced to murder everyone.'
"I see. How unexpected," The king stopped at a tall door on the second floor of the massive castle, opening it and gesturing inside, "So long as you remain docile, I won't enforce nightly subduction." He smiled at Sakura, "Are you confident this demon will bring you no harm? I can prepare a separate room if you so desire, Niece."
'Don't mistake my behavior for weakness, Sacrifice,' Akuma threatened inwardly, shooting a glare at the petite woman in question.
She noticed without even meeting his gaze and nodded, "Of course, Uncle. Thank you again for your hospitality."
The king and prince said their goodnights, and then the pair was alone in the large, extravagant bedroom. Sakura's composure faltered the moment the door closed behind the royals. She brought a trembling hand to her chest and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to apparently calm her shaken nerves.
"The mouse has a talent for keeping up appearances." 'I didn't deem her capable of fooling those idiot royals into seeing her as the average lady.' It impressed Akuma as much as it angered him because he suddenly wondered if anything she'd said or done in his presence had also been fabricated.
He sat on the edge of the bed and began taking off his shoes, red eyes in a glare. Sakura did the same on the opposite side. She didn't comment on his statement.
"Akuma, may I rest?"
She still had her back turned when he sat up and looked her way. He admired her slim figure and tilted his head, "Has traveling exhausted you?"
Sakura angled her body so she could look at the pillow, brushing her long hair behind her ear with low, tired eyes of emerald, "Yes."
He watched the petite woman sluggishly climb under the covers, turn onto her side with her back turned his way, and become still as she appeared to fall asleep. In the short time that they'd been acquainted, it was already noticeable how much easier it was for Sakura to fall asleep or relax in his presence. He found it odd that she could trust a demon because no other human he'd encountered had.
'I want to see the terror in her eyes that I see from everyone else. I want to taste the salt of her tears as she begs me to spare her.'
"...Thank you for not hurting anyone, Akuma. I appreciate you not breaking your promise."
Akuma's eyes widened on her turned back, 'Did she just…thank me? Surely she's aware that I have little choice in the matter.'
An unfamiliar warmth met his chest. His body moved on its own. With a furrowed brow, Akuma climbed under the covers behind her, loosely holding thick strands of her hair in his hand. "Don't misunderstand. I may be your master, but I'm not doing any of this for your sake." No response came.
At some point in the early morning, Sasuke's eyes crept open to land on Sakura's back. Soft pink hair remained loosely between his fingers. Akuma had fallen asleep shortly after lying down, which was rare. The prince studied his fiance's hair, shoulders, and back without moving a muscle.
'This woman is unlike any other I've encountered. I want to know everything she's experienced to become this way.'
One of the main reasons that Sasuke avoided meeting his fiances, other than preventing The Curse from memorizing their faces, was so they wouldn't approach him casually. He was more than traditionally handsome and wasn't ignorant of that fact. The few women he did properly court during their engagements were smitten with him and often tried to tempt him into their beds. This sleeping young lady, however, had done no such thing.
No, Sakura had only asked questions about his curse and himself as though they were to become friends rather than lovers. She offered no information about herself unless first asked and seemed to hang onto his every word as though it was knowledge to be treasured. Somehow she did all of this without coming off as obsessive or uncomfortably eager. Instead, Sasuke almost felt flattered that she deemed him worthy of studying.
Most women see him as either a murderer or a pretty face with money to be taken advantage of. Sakura seemed to see him as a human being, something he'd rarely encountered since the age of twelve.
The prince found himself bringing his handful of her hair to his lips and closed his eyes as he took in the sweet scent.
For the past few days, he'd distanced himself from her because he felt himself growing too attached too quickly to Sakura. Not only that, but he was able to listen to her conversation with The Curse when he forced her to assist him in bathing. The young woman was either playing ignorant about sexual things or truly wasn't taught of them.
It scared Sasuke because The Curse was undoubtedly aware of it, too. Other than murdering the poor girl, there was one thing that the monster could do to harm her from which she'd likely never recover. What was worse was that there was little Sasuke could do to prevent it. All he could think of was to offer to make Sakura's first time a positive experience, but he felt they weren't nearly close enough for such a thing.
So, he was stuck between gathering the courage to talk to his fiance about it or trusting that The Curse wouldn't break their deal and rape her. It'd rid of the demon once all was said and done, but leaving a young lady so broken may be a fate worse than death. He had no idea what to do, and he was hesitant to ask anyone for advice because there was no one he completely trusted with something so sensitive.
"Little brother, I'm relieved to see you in such a state." Sasuke's eyes shot open, and he carefully pulled away from Sakura to sit up and see Itachi sitting at the tea table nearby with a sad smile, a teacup in hand.
The second prince glanced at the still-sleeping woman before climbing out of bed and whispering as his elder brother had to not rouse her, "Don't misunderstand, Brother. The nature of our relationship is not what you assume."
Itachi's smile spread into a soft, mildly amused one, "What is the nature of the relationship with your fiance if not affectionate?"
Sasuke's glare hardened as he crossed the room to open the wardrobe and fetch out clothing for the day, "I believe this is a conversation to be held with Lady Sakura and Uncle, not just us."
Itachi chuckled quietly while getting to his feet, "Be sure to wake Lady Sakura soon so she may prepare for breakfast, little brother."
Once the first prince was out of the room, Sasuke glared at the closed door that he'd disappeared through, 'We haven't seen one another in person in years, yet he only came here to tease me about Sakura. There wasn't anything else he wished to speak about?'
He'd never admit it aloud, but he'd missed Itachi greatly. They'd been attached at the hip as children. Itachi had been the best brother anyone could hope for and treated Sasuke as an equal despite their six-year age difference. He even visited the banished Sasuke a few times during his exile to the winter lands, but that all stopped when the first engagement notification arrived via post. It'd been almost five years since their last face-to-face encounter. There was no reason given, not even a letter responding to the few that a confused Sasuke had sent after being completely abandoned.
After freshening up and dressing, Sasuke hesitantly approached his sleeping fiance. He knelt beside the bed and lifted a hand to her shoulder, only to pause before it could touch. His head tilted unconsciously as he studied her vulnerable face, 'If only I could allow her to rest longer. She looks so peaceful.'
Sighing, Sasuke's fingers curled into a fist, and he returned his hand to his side, speaking to wake Sakura rather than touch her, "Lady Sakura, it's time to get dressed."
Her emerald-colored gaze opened slowly, not seeing anything. Her voice came quietly, "...that man had yellow eyes…."
The prince's mouth clamped shut in shock, 'Yellow eyes?' His own dark ones widened as he recalled the one time in his life that he'd witnessed such a color. Then, he temporarily forgot his caution and touched her shoulder, "Sakura, who is it?"
She seemed to snap out of her tired stupor and sat up, looking around before resting her gaze on him with a reddening face, "L-Lord Sasuke, good morning!"
"What man are you talking about, Sakura? The one with yellow eyes."
Sakura's face paled, "How do you know about that?"
Sasuke shook his head, rising to his feet as she climbed out of bed and soothed her clothing and hair, "You spoke in your sleep just now. You said there's a man with yellow eyes. I need you to tell me who he is."
"Hello. My name is Konan. I'll be tending to Lady Haruno during your stay," the door to the room opened to reveal a tall, straight-faced woman with bluish-purple hair and bright orange eyes.
'I can't talk to her about this with others around.' The prince bowed quickly to the maid and then to his fiance, mumbling so only she could hear, "We'll speak later."
He left the room so she could get dressed for the day, leaning against the wall near the dining room downstairs to take a calming breath and gather his thoughts, 'Is there a chance she met the wizard Orochimaru before he died? If so, maybe she knows of his colleagues. They might be able to offer insight about different options of ridding my body of The Curse.'