CHAPTER 5

DAHLIA: elegance

The guests had started arriving the night before the coronation ceremony, and I had been blissfully ignorant of anyone who had not met me personally – which was all of them. The Emperor had offered to attend to the guests by himself if I preferred to wait till after ceremony, and I had very gratefully accepted his kind offer.

But then he went ahead and kissed my hand and whatever personal victory I had achieved by not once stumbling upon my words and looking at his eyes all the while was crumpled to ash. It was not just that he kissed my hand – I had been getting better used to his proximity after dancing with him every other day.

It was that he kissed the inside of my wrist, followed by, "As you wish, My Empress."

I swear my husband could not bear if I acted like a proper lady even for a day. He just had to go ahead and do something to shake my whole being.

Even now, twelve hours later, I was still blushing while thinking about that.

Akira, bless her, did not make a single comment over my lack of composure as she did my hair into neat braided bun. My coronation gown was laid out on the bed, waiting to be put on me.

It was a bold design, something I was not very proficient at: crimson off-the-shoulder top tucked into a crimson ball gown skirt, heavily embroidered with silver thread all over. Roses made of black diamonds bloomed on the embroidery. All my jewellery was made of black and white diamonds and platinum. Even my heels were black and silver with red soles. A long black trailing veil scattered with tiny rubies and red silk roses was fitted upon my jewelled and braided bun. Just wearing all of that was a staggering task, but worth it.

It was not the least bit what the Emperor had suggested. It was as far from my usual style as possible. And strangely, I loved it.

It was a strange emotion – loving something I had always run from. I was waiting for the nerves to slam into me, but for the first time I had hope that maybe they would not. Maybe I would be this calm and serene the whole time.

Shizune entered moments after I was ready. "Your Majesty, it is time."

I followed her through the corridors that I had witnessed get beautifully embellished in the past weeks, now lined with more guards than usual. The throng of nobles and royals were visible from yards away.

Women dressed is exquisite ballgowns on the arms of powerful noblemen. I watched them as I neared the ballroom, some mingling with other guests, others standing in lonesome along the walls. Servants and maids were scattered all throughout, serving drinks and light snacks to the guests attending. It looked much like the few balls I had attended in the Hyuga palace, but it did not seem right in this kingdom.

I realised, as I was almost at the entryway arch that I did not know a single person attending the ceremony. I had had absolutely no relationship with any noble or royal who was not in the Hyuga Imperial family.

We never had balls or events at the Hyuga Palace, and when we were invited to one, only Father and Mother went. Sometimes Neji, too. But I never went because I felt bad leaving Hanabi behind because she was scared of crowds. All I knew were the names of the kings of the kingdoms in Leaf Empire and their heirs.

The thought made me want to stop and run back – where, I did not know. My eyes lowered in self-consciousness but I did not let my steps falter.

Still, when I reached the Emperor – who had come for me at the entryway as soon as he saw me coming – he took both my hands in his and said, "Look up, Hinata. My Empress will not cower in front of anyone."

Fisting his hands in mine, I took a deep breath and looked up, but not at him.

He had told me a few days, or nights if must say, ago that an elder member of the royal family coronated the newest member. Seeing how almost all of the Uzumaki clan died during The Wars, I thought he might be the eldest of his family. But he told me about a Senju, the rightful heir to the throne he sits on, but one who refused to take on the responsibility and left the kingdom. He told me she would be coronating me, as she did with him five years ago. And also that there were still a few Uzumakis who worked as priests at the temples.

Of course, I had not met any of the people mentioned. I had not even known about them a week ago.

Linking my arm with his, the Emperor straightened and faced the other end of the ballroom, where the podium that I was to be coronated upon was built. The guests congregated in the front, in two groups, creating an aisle.

There were table arrangements for them but no one was sitting. No announcement of arrival was made, but everyone seemed to settle themselves without prompting, acutely aware of the Emperor's presence.

A chorus of welcoming tunes drifted from beside the podium, and the Emperor started leading me to forward. I could just feel everyone's eyes on me and it should have been something I was used to, considering the way everyone's focus was usually on me at the Hyuga palace. But as soon as I had the briefest look at the guests, I knew they felt nothing but curiosity – and maybe admiration, or surprise. I would not know. That was something I was not used to.

I tried my best to hold my head high, and with every step I took, it became easier. My eyes flitted over the guests quickly, not really looking at them, and I noticed how the huge, adorned ballroom seemed much smaller and prettier with people in it. And there were so many people it was hard to see the other end of the hall.

As we neared the podium, I saw someone break off the crowd and step onto the stage. It was a woman, her blond hair loose around shoulders, fair skinned and with quite a… curvy body. She wore a light-coloured top that was perhaps not the most respectable thing to wear to a coronation ceremony, let alone when you were the one ministering it, with dark pants that hugged her legs prettily. But who am I to know how it works in this kingdom?

The Emperor helped me up the podium and I absently noted the music had blended into a low undertone. Looking at the stunning lady from this close, I saw she had lightly painted her lips and had the most beautiful brown eyes I had ever seen. And she was much more aged than I could have ever guessed from afar.

I smiled at her uncertainly in greeting. The Emperor started to introduce us but she held up a hand in a somewhat disrespectful gesture. He did not seem to mind it, though.

"Nice to meet you, Hinata. I am Lady Tsunade," she said and gave me a small, insincere smile.

And that was it.

The Emperor turned toward the crowd, bringing me with him and smiled. "My dear friends. I thank you for taking time to come all the way to my humble home and grace this ceremony of coronation of my beloved wife, your Empress, Lady Hinata Uzumaki.

"This kingdom has been plagued by wars and discourse throughout the history but the empress and I shall try our best to let the bloody history remain history and make the Empire of Leaf grow and prosper. With your love and support, all the kingdoms in this empire shall rise to feats yet unseen."

The Emperor looked at me, gave a small, encouraging smile and backed up to the side of the stage. He had told me I would have to go through the coronation on my own and while it would have been an understandable requirement, there was also a tradition of not rehearsing the ceremony. (Not understandable.)

I guessed they never thought there would be a royal as prone to embarrassing accidents as I was.

I wanted to request it anyway, but I was too afraid to break any traditions. So now, all I knew were some unhelpful suggestions from the Emperor – considering the only coronation he attended was of himself and it was rushed due to ending of The Wars, birth of a new empire and, I was told, absence of a true ruler in Uzumaki Kingdom for more than four years.

I stepped where I was told to – at the centre and facing Lady Tsunade. She held a tall, thick wooden cane, at the top of which a grisly mask was tied, ornamented with threads and small bells.

As the story went, the Gods of the Uzumaki Kingdom had grown so arrogant of their power that a sorceress entombed them in brittle earthenware masks. If any of the masks ever broke, the god imprisoned in it would be gone forever. In respect to the lore, the mask used during the coronation ceremony was the one which supposedly imprisoned the God who used to be the King of all Gods – the one who was the most power hungry.

I lowered to my knees as per the tradition, to show the humility that the Gods of this kingdom failed to show.

"Identify yourself, child." Lady Tsunade said.

Here, I was allowed to identify myself however I wished to, but I was not to use any titles for anyone, only bonds of blood and heart were honoured. I hesitated just a slightest bit before answering in a steady voice, "Hinata Uzumaki, wife to Naruto Uzumaki, daughter to Hiashi and Hiroko Hyuga."

When the Emperor had told me about this part of the ceremony, I had asked him how he had identified himself at his coronation. He told me about the previous king's, but not his. ("That's a long story, Hinata. But I promise to tell it to you one day.")

Lady Tsunade extended her hand and gave me a roll of thick braided thread. The same that were tied beneath the mask. I reached up to roll it around the stick once, beneath a cluster of it that looked centuries old. It probably was. Then the vows started.

"Will you, Hinata Uzumaki, be truthful to the Gods from now and forever?"

"Yes, I will." I said as clearly as I could and rolled the thread around the stick once again.

"Are you here, soliciting to be crowned the first Empress of the Empire of Leaf, by your own free will?"

"Yes, I am." Roll the thread again.

"Do you vow to treat your subjects with fairness, respect and neutrality?"

"Yes, I do." With each vow, I kept rolling the thread to bind myself to my oaths.

"Do you vow to put the good of the Empire first and foremost to everything else, including your own personal needs?"

"Yes, I do."

"Do you vow to protect the empire and its people with your life from any and all harms?"

"Yes, I do."

"Do you vow to use the power you are granted only, and only, for the welfare of your people?"

"Yes, I do."

"Do you vow to use any means necessary, if the need arises, to stop your partner from taking any action against the wellbeing of your people?"

I did not know why, but I hesitated. My head almost turned to look at my partner who stood a few feet behind me, but thankfully I answered correctly nonetheless. "Yes, I do."

"Then I, as the eldest of this kingdom and empire, declare you, Hinata Uzumaki, wife to Naruto Uzumaki, daughter to Hiashi and Hiroko Hyuga, as the Queen of Uzumaki Kingdom and the Empress of the Empire of Leaf. Seal your vows with your blood."

I tied the thread around the stick and broke off what was remaining. The mask was painted a hideous red with black face markings and had fangs, with eyes a swirl of different shades of browns and two sharp horns. I raised up on my knees to cut my thumb on one of the horns, and smeared my blood over the thread I tied.

Lady Tsunade handed the cane with the mask to a priest who had come to stand beside her, and placed the crown he had brought on my head.

It was light, and had a few braided tendrils rolled together in what felt like a tiara.

Lady Tsunade's hands extended forward, and she said, "You may rise, Hinata."

The next thing I knew, I was with my husband, and stepping off the podium while he talked about greeting the guests. And then, one by one, he introduced me to every guest who was present.

There were some nobles of the Uzumaki and the closer kingdoms. The royals were all present. It was the first time I met the princes and princesses of the other kingdoms. It seemed most of them were quite good friends with my husband, specifically the prince of the Uchiha Kingdom, Prince Sasuke. In the Emperor's own words, they were 'thick as thieves back in the days.'

The past of my husband might just be the thing about him that interested me the most.

Considerably present in the ceremony was the absence of anyone from the Hyuga kingdom. I noticed a few guests being curious about that, but no one asked direct questions – except Princess Ino, who was swiftly elbowed by her childhood friend (so I was told), Prince Shikamaru.

Even though I had known they would not come – I had essentially uninvited them myself – it still hurt. My feelings over the matter were so unexpected that I was not sure what to make of them. Perhaps it hurt so much because somewhere in my mind I had expected them to at least send Neji.

I missed him so much. And Hanabi. They both would have been so happy for me today.

The short lull in the music was over in about an hour. Soon it was picking up again and then my husband was turning toward me and bowing with the most charming smile on his face. "May I have this dance, my lady?"

He always asked that, despite the fact that there could be no other appropriate answer than 'yes'. I was tempted to answer with something else, anything else, but I resisted.

He led me to the dance floor set beside the open glass doors for the customary first dance. A dance was not required at coronations, but this was also supposed to be a late celebration of our marriage by the guests.

I started the dance as my cue came and this time, I maintained the eye contact with him almost the whole time. He was smiling so happily that I could not stop my own smile that threaten to break free. My head ducked abashedly once and I had to relax myself to look up at him again. Because apparently, his face – and his neck – were interesting me even more than his past.

Too soon, it felt, the song ended and another started. A few other pairs joined us on the floor but neither of us stopped. We danced and danced to the soft and slow songs, and to the slightly louder and faster songs.

I noticed, after about five songs, that somehow, we were closer than we had ever been, his hand was tighter and lower on my waist, and my hand around his neck was clutching his coat so tightly I was sure that I would have deep indents on the side of my forearm from the medals on his shoulder. He seemed oblivious to any of it, swaying lightly as his jaw grazed my temple and there was no way I could bring us back to how we were during the first dance without him noticing what I was trying to do.

So, I took a deep breath and moved my hand lower to clutch the front of his collar rather than the back. A sudden urge to call him by his name came over me, but I ignored it. "Your Majesty."

He straightened and stepped back, taking too much of the comfort away with the action. "Yes, Hinata?"

Now what? I did not think of anything after him stepping back and I opened my mouth, hoping something would come out. Fortunately, it did, "I am thirsty."

And though it came out more like a demand than a request, all he did was smile and held my hand and led me out of the dance floor. We stopped near a corridor by the west wall and he waved a servant to get me some lemonade.

"How do you feel?" he asked me as he leaned on the wall behind him.

I shrugged, unsure as to how to answer to that.

"Do you feel tired?" he rephrased his question. "If you do, you can go rest for a while in our chambers. This is almost over now."

I shook my head, "I am fine, Your Majesty."

"Alright. But you should probably eat something. It is going to be a long day."

I looked out of the ballroom and saw a few servants setting up tables and a bonfire on the lawn outside and thought, yes, this going to be a really long day.

So, when someone came with lemonade and scones, I happily ate a few of them while I hopelessly hid from the guests behind one of the pillars. At least I amused my husband.

When I was done, we stayed behind for a bit so I could ask him to remind me of a few guests whose names and titles I had forgotten. And then we stepped into mass of guests and proceeded to talk to them and thanking others who were ready to leave.

…

The evening celebration (or rather, the after party, as the servants liked to refer to it) would start a few hours later. Just before the sun set. The Emperor advised me to change into other clothes – "less restrictive" – and perhaps, take a rest.

I did change into an airier light blue gown with a slightly loose top and flowing sleeves to just below my elbows. I was not tired enough to sleep, I thought, and sat on the bed with a new sketch of an ankle length dress. I already had quite a few, but I have yet to give any of them to Shizune.

I was gently woken a few hours later by my husband, whom I was surprised to find sitting on his side of the bed, with his fingers stroking softly through my ruined hairdo. I felt embarrassed, but it was hard to stay that way when he looked at me so goofily and adoringly.

I sat up. "I am sorry. I did not mean to fall asleep, Your Majesty."

He wanted to touch me, I could tell by his body language, but he kept his hands to himself. "Don't apologise, Hinata. Never apologise to me. And I told you to rest, anyway."

"Please, let me just change and get ready. I will be ready in a few minutes. I just need Shizune." I slipped off the bed, and he followed.

"Wait!" he said, and gestured me to step away. "Do you mind stepping back a bit?"

I did – step back, that is. "Of course not, Your Majesty."

He looked me up and down, slowly. "You look fine, you don't need to change."

I did not feel fine, but I was not about to argue with him. (Not that I had ever done that, or even came close to, in all my five weeks with him.)

My hand went to my hair, the braided bun now lopsided at my neck. "Even still, I need to fix my hair."

He was smiling – he was always smiling – and rounded the bed until he was in front me.

"May I?" he asked as he gestured his hands toward my hair.

I nodded, as if I could have done anything else. Though I did not think I would have refused if I had the choice. It was surprisingly easy to feel safe in my husband's presence, even if I was more intimidated most of the time.

He stepped closer into my personal space, smelling nice like always. His hands went to my jumbled hair, removing the pins gently, and I bowed my head – partly to make it easier for him, and partly to hide my flaming cheeks.

"Hold them for me." He handed me the pins and went back to my hair, undoing the braids and combing his fingers through the free locks of hair.

Then he walked to stand behind me, at a better (or worse?) distance, and swept back some hair along my right temple, including the bangs framing the side of my face. I was so surprised that I almost turned my head around.

It felt like he was trying to braid them. The he spoke, "Tell me if it's too tight or if I am pulling your hair."

I could not nod, so I had to speak. "Okay."

A hair or two did get pulled, but I stayed silent. A few minutes later he stepped closer, and I realised he was looking over my shoulder when he pointed a finger and said, "Can you give me that pin?"

I was too overwhelmed to work out which pin he was pointing at, so I just lifted my hands higher toward him and he picked whatever he wanted himself.

He pinned the braid to my head, and started working similarly on the left side too. He picked up another pin, this time not even warning me before he reached over to take them himself.

He pinned the second braid, then leaned over to take another pin and, I thought, pinned both of them together at middle. Then he did something else to my hair, picked up a couple of pins again to secure whatever he did. Finally, he took one of the small stones that are only used as adornments and stuck it somewhere in the hairdo.

He stepped in front of me, looking very much pleased with himself, took the remaining pins from my hands and dumped them on the bedside table. "There, you look gorgeous. Let's go."

As soon as we were out of the room, he suddenly said, "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Prince Sasuke and Princess Sakura decided to stay. They'll be here for a few days, probably."

There were so many questions from that statement that I wanted to ask and of course I went with the least important one, "Probably?"

"Yeah, well, they are always invited to stay however long they want." He shrugged.

I was about to ask why, but he continued, "They used to be – are – my best friends. Sasuke wasn't the crown prince, so he was always dallying here and there, living up his life as well as his brother's. And Sakura was a rebellious daughter of a noble of our kingdom, before they married. I was always with either, or both of them.

"Even now, if Sasuke doesn't have anything urgent to do, they would either visit me, or someplace else. That is what made me take that vacation where I–" he stopped suddenly, then continued after an exhale. "Well, it makes me want to take some vacations too every now and then."

I did not know how to respond to that. It was the first time I saw how burdened and tired he was with all his responsibilities. He was always so bright and buoyant, I never thought he might feel differently deep inside. I squeezed his hand, and said what I thought would be somewhat helpful, "You still can, maybe one day."

He looked at me sideways, now smiling his one-sided smile again, "I won't, Hinata. We will. One day."

…

We met Prince Sasuke and Princess Sakura at one of the tables scattered throughout the lawn. They were laughing at something when we arrived, and took no time at all to include both of us into the conversation.

I gathered quickly that they were really close to my husband, very much in love with each other, and certainly avoiding their king, King Itachi.

King Itachi had not been at my coronation earlier and it was supposed to be because he was needed in his kingdom. We did not know much about why, but Prince Sasuke said he would tell us the next day. I got the impression that King Itachi would not want us to know, whatever it was.

The people of the kingdom started coming in after an hour. The first few – hundred, it seemed – came up to the Emperor and me personally to extend their well wishes. After that there were too many people and all of us faded into the crowd. A lot of them brought gifts – food, handmade trinkets, symbolic objects – and they were all collected on a table set up beforehand.

My husband treated each of them as if they were long-time friends, so I tried my best to be as genial as I could be to the people of a kingdom that I hardly knew. It showed me what kind of ruler my husband was – and he was so unlike anyone in the Hyuga kingdom, it would have been unfathomable to me had I not seen it with my own eyes.

Soon, people became engrossed in the food and drinks and music and each other. I noticed that even though a lot of food and drinks were already provided to them, many had brought some with themselves, too. And I knew there were no musicians provided by us. But a few groups with all kinds of music instruments were scattered here and there.

These people know very well how to celebrate.

Most of the musicians gathered at the centre of the lawn after a few hours and everyone instinctively came around it, like moths to a flame.

Prince Sasuke and Princess Sakura had joined the celebration as soon as the crowd was big enough, while we sat around the table engaging with the people as they came in groups as small as a single person and as large as ten.

Gradually, we were forgotten, or maybe ignored, in favour of revelries. The Emperor turned his attention to me, and told me stories about the people he could point that he had known well previously – like the old lady with a bakery shop, the daughter of the man that makes the best ramen in the world (his words, not mine), the ironsmith who would give him knives and smallswords at cheap prices, and a lot of people he pranked one time or other when he was a child.

I glimpsed someone at the very end of the lawn, almost into the woods. I was confused and tried to focus before I realised there were two people there, doing things that belonged behind closed doors. My cheeks flamed and I immediately diverted my attention from them and kept it away from the woods after that.

A few people still congratulated us every few minutes, but it was not overwhelming anymore. The Emperor got us some cold ale and breadsticks and we talked – or, more accurately, he talked and I listened. His words progressively became less savoury the more ale he drank, though not offensive. It seemed like, when sober, he chose his words carefully before he spoke, at least to me. But naturally, his words were more suited to a common soldier – I might also have recognised a couple slangs I had heard some soldiers use.

After three glasses of ale – and one for me – he stood up, extending a hand. "Will you give me the pleasure of a dance, my lady?"

I took his hand and stood up, but did not move. The dance that common people apparently did was a lot different from the dances in royal balls. A large group of people was dancing in a large circle around the musicians at the centre of the lawn, with quick and bouncy movements and changing their partners every few seconds. I had absolutely no idea how to do any of that.

For once, I spoke what was on my mind, "I do not think I can do that, Your Majesty."

He grabbed my other hand and pulled me from the table. "Oh, come on. You can do anything you want to. I'll teach you the dance."

And so I was led to a group away from the larger crowd, where I recognised Prince Sasuke and Princess Sakura having some kind of dance competition. The prince was performing increasingly complicated moves and the princess was matching them step for step. People were cheering them in two groups, and my husband joined the prince's group. I smiled, and internally cheered the princess. She matched him every step until he had to give up and they collapsed in a heap of breathless laughter.

People moved to fill the space surrendered by them and the Emperor pulled me along. He then released me, stepped beside me and said, "Follow me."

It took me six tries to do the first set of steps he showed me properly enough. Princess Sakura came to my other side to help. I felt so accomplished after that that I actually laughed. The steps that came after that were easier every time and soon, I was not even minding what I was actually doing. The only thing I knew was that we were dancing and laughing and I thought the Emperor and the Prince might have been trying to make each other trip.