I have left fanfiction for two years, but i'm finally back and inspired to write the many ideas that i have developed during my leave. Hopefully I can improve more and more and hopefully you can see my progress! :)
'A Crack In A Glass Slipper' is the newly REVISED version of my old story 'Castle Hassle' I decided to make this drastic change because i feel the story was so underdeveloped that I eventually lost interest in it. The plot itself is altered and the characters are much more different and developed than in the last. So why change 'Castle Hassle?'
1. The name was killing me after a year or so.
2. The story itself was so bad, I didnt bother to spell check.
3. The system I used didnt take most of the letters, meaning it was gone and incomplete when you even read the story.
4. My grammar back then was horrendous. Truly showing the little badass fangirl I wanted to be.
5. Not everybody can be a "badass"...(wink wink ;))
P.s. This is NOT a remix of the story Cinderella.
'blank' - Thoughts
"blank" - Talking
blank orblank - Exaggeration
When you hear the word 'princess', What is the first thing that comes to your mind? Do you see magnificent castles, that tower over the sky? Do you dream of endless riches beyond ones imagination? Can you imagine a perfect life, handed to you on a silver platter. While the most handsome man you have ever seen, on a shining white horse comes to sweep you off your feet, and becomes yours to call 'Prince Charming'?
When you hear the word 'princess', you think of the most elegant, beautiful and graceful woman ever to roam the Earth. To guide her people with such wisdom that her people just stop and stare at her in awe.
Does such a person exist?
Because that definitely Isn't me.
Chapter One
Princess In Vain
Rule Number 1 in Proper Etiquette; Always Be Polite.
"Please pass me my fan, Hinata-san."
Rule Number 2 in Proper Etiquette; Always Stand Straight and Proper.
She straightened up her back as she opened her fan with one swift motion.
Rule Number 3 in Proper Etiquette; Always Be Graceful.
Carefully, she took her first step down the long cascading staircase. Making sure her back was extra straight, hand gently holding her dress, and fan positioned perfectly covering half of her face. She smiled behind her fan as she almost perfectly executed her descend down. Almost.
And Always Remember...
Just on the fifth step down she tripped on her dress, with a sudden squeal the girl toppled over and began rolling down the stairs.
To Smile.
"Sakura-San!" Her companion from the top hurriedly rushed down to aid her friend who laid on the bottom. Quickly, the maid helped the poor girl up who swayed back and forth from the impact.
"Sakura-San! Are you okay?" Sakura continued to sway until she found her way to a nearby chair. The dizzy girl smiled at her worried friend and threw her a thumbs up.
"I'm good!"
Hinata sighed as she grabbed her handkerchief from her apron pocket and began rubbing away the dirt on the clumsy princesses face.
"Is there really a need to be working so hard Sakura-San? This is the sixth time you've fallen..." The pinkette pouted in return as she let herself be cleaned up again. She pushed her long bangs back and fixed her big rimmed glasses straight.
"Of course! I've got to work my best to become the 'Perfect Princess'! and plus today I'm meeting my...my..." A sudden blush crossed Sakura's face as she played with her fingers.
"Fiance?" Sakura's blush grew deeper as Hinata finished her sentence with a soft smile. Quick to change the subject, the pinkette jumped up to the stairs.
"Right, And I still have to get this routine perfect or else-!"
"Or else your prince will think of you as a sloppy, clumsy girl? Because its much too late for that."
Sakura quickly glanced up to the menacing voice on the top of the stairway. On the top, stood a tall, porcelain figure, covered in a deep purple flowing dress, her red hair falling perfectly behind her. Sakura cringed, she had never seen a more ugly person in her life.
"Karin..."
The girl smugly smiled at her little sister at the bottom as she herself, perfectly walked down the steps, making sure she added an extra hip movement. Behind her, Ino Yamanaka followed, who also walked down with excellent grace. Sakura stared at the two beauties descending down and couldn't help but feel jealous at how they could walk down so easily.
'Just look at her fan position! And her the rhythm in her steps! their just so perfect! God I hate her.'
Once eye level, Karin sent a chilling death glare from behind her fan as Sakura sent one just the same. In all her life, Karin was the one person Sakura truly hated. The two just never could get on the same level with each other ever since childhood, while everyone thought of Karin as the perfect daughter, Sakura knew how evil and manipulating she could be. Karin always just had to be on top, which meant Sakura would always be the one to take the end of Karin's bullying. Whatever Sakura had, Karin had to have or even better. Whether it was looks, things or even people, Karin won them all. And Sakura was just left in her shadow.
"That was perfect isn't it? Aren't you jealous of how easily I can become the Perfect Princess of the family?" Karin taunted in her tight, prim voice, as the pinkette just simply snarled her teeth at her. Sakura knew Karin had chose her words carefully, since she was fully aware of Sakuras obsession. Sakura crossed her arms and turned to her side, refusing to look at the redhead.
"You could say it was almost perfect. Of course your smile is always a bit scary, right?" Sakura raised a smug eyebrow at her fuming sister who in return also turned her way.
"I rather have a scary smile then be a *megane that nobody likes besides her servants, who are payed to keep her company. How tragic." Karin sent another scary smile to Sakura and made her way to leave with Ino following right behind her. Sakura stomped her foot hard and stuck out her tongue childly at the retreating snobby princess.
"My Prince will be twice as better than yours!" She retorted, in which the redhead chuckled loudly at. Sakura continued her glare at the girl, god how she really hated her!
Just then, Karins blonde companion quickly turned to glance at the fuming pinkette. Sakura's glare turned into surprise as she stared back at the blonde, who once realizing they made eye contact, gave own quick glare back and turned acting as if nothing happened. Sakura frowned and turned away as Hinata approached her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"Don't let them get to you Sakura-San...You're stronger than that." Sakura smiled softly at her kind friend, she raised an encouraging fist and grinned brightly.
"Shannarooo! I can do this!"
"I can't do this!"
The spiky haired boy dragged out a sigh as he tried ignoring the (currently clinging onto his leg) girl's wails. This was the tenth time in the week the pinkette had came bawling to him, crying all day long about she could never become the "perfect princess" and how she wishes God would just "smite Karin in the butt". Now, he wasn't saying that he hated the princess and her constant complaining, as he tried being the good friend he was, but after the fifth time...things could get a little out of hand. Especially when he couldn't handle the pink girls tears.
"Shikamaruuu! I fail. I fail as a princess! Someone just dig me up in a hole and let me rot, just let me rot and let the kingdom be runned by Karin and her future evil little red-headed babies! I hope they come out ugly-"
"Sakura! You're overreacting, just because you fell down some stairs doesn't mean you fail completely as a princess-"
"Yes it does!"
"Can you please get off my leg and then we can calm you down?"
Sakura looked up to the troubled boy with tears dripping down her face. Slowly, she let go of the poor boys leg and sat in a futile position. Shikamaru sighed as the weight had been lifted off his leg and finally began to continue his work.
"Shika..." The girl whimpered softly as she continued to bawl and wipe excess snot on the sleeve of her dress. As Shikamaru changed one of the bins in the stables he grabbed a nearby cloth and then rubbed it against the girl's running nose. He threw her a slightly disgusted face as he cleaned her up.
"Geez, if you're going to complain about being a good princess, then don't wipe your snot on the sleeve of your dress, dummy." He teased lightly. Sakura's tears drawled out even more, clearly not taking the hint of the joke. She then quickly escaped the cleanup and jumped on top of a white stallions back in the stall next to her.
"Higarshi-kun! Shikamaru is so mean to me!" She sobbed into the horses mane, who simply continued his meal, most likely used to his masters antics.
Shikamaru sighed again and picked up another bucket as he began filling it with oats and apples.
"As if my job wasn't hard enough, now I'm stuck babysitting one of the great nations princess." He muttered to himself, surprisingly Sakura heard over her crying and stuck out her tongue at him as he continued to work and ignore her.
Shikamaru Nara, Head Horse breeder and Horse care taker of the Kingdom. For years the Nara clan has served under the Haruno clan in providing services to their horses, and two years after the death of Shikamaru's father, Shikamaru has currently taken over the job as the next heir. Though the new horse trainer has shown his outstanding skills and brains in Shogi, he still refuses to do anything more than take care of the horses, saying he's content with his life but mostly because the job only requires half a days work while the other half of his day was spent cloud watching.
"You know, you have a head like no others. Why don't you continue your studies being a doctor?"
Shikamaru dumped the bucket into an empty bin and filled it again as he gave the now calm girl a sideways glance.
"Eh, too much work. It wasn't cut out for me and plus," He gave a soft smile as he petted Higarshi's pure white mane.
"Who else would bother to listen to a troublesome girl like you?"
Sakura sniffled as she launched herself off of Higarshi and back to the defenseless boys leg.
"Shikaaa!"
Shikamaru sweatdropped as he attempted pulling the clinging girl off his leg before she cut all the circulation he had left in his now numb leg. After the third attempt of the day, the boy sighed and settled himself (and the still clinging Sakura) onto a nearby haystack. He looked up into the deep sky and watched as the clouds slowly shifted by, he then peeked down and found the princess slowly dozing off, but still somehow had found a permanent grip onto his thigh. He smiled down at her and continued his cloud watching as he gently patted her head until the girl found her tranquility.
"What a troublesome girl you are."
Green eyes piercing into green eyes. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows together as she stared at her petite frame in the mirror. She sucked in her cheeks, perked up her lips and even gave a little 'umph' to her chest. She stared at herself in that pose for a complete ten seconds before totally collapsing onto the mirror as she let out a big sigh. The pinkette took another glance, her eyes travelling all over her reflection. Sakura wasn't the most 'up-to-date' girl when it came to the latest fashion, nor did she own the most 'beautiful' dresses. Especially when her overbearing sister made herself a top priority over Sakura, she grew accustomed to always taking Karin's hand me downs. But seeing as how Karin would spend her majority of her time taking care of her looks or flirting with the neighborhood boys, Sakura decided to become the total opposite of her selfish sister. Sakura's strong sense of not wanting to become another Karin, lead her into endless hours of studies of the perfect etiquette a strong princess should have. She spent nearly every minute of the day hiding in the library, studying and reading books on all things prim and proper. Without much interaction outside of the Kingdom and her library, Sakura lost all interest in images, as she wore her hair in long braids and kept her bulky glasses to her comfort. Though her studies have gained her an amazing wide knowledge of everything she needed to know about being the perfect princess, she just could never put the skills to work because of her-
With a sudden slip, Sakura toppled over onto the wooden floor, her high heel stuck in between the fabric of her white summer dress.
Clumsy nature.
Sakura rubbed her sore head as she looked at her disheveled image. She frowned as she patted down a pink stray fly away and rubbed her long bangs back into their place. Sakura traced one long pink braid down to the tip as she adjusted her glasses. Hopefully her prince would like and marry her for her book smarts, instead of just her looks. Of course a smart girl like her knew better than to believe in all the those fairy tales, where the prince would come rescue the princess on a majestic stallion and carry her off her feet as they rode into the sunset where they lived happily ever after. Though she can never set her standards that high of a fairy tale, she would be content with just a kind, smart prince. But if he happened to wear glasses...that wouldn't be bad either.
A sudden knock was heard and a masked headed figure popped into the pinkettes room, interrupting her current daydreams.
"Sakura, Your fiance has arrived." The masked man's eye crinkled, showing an unseen smile as Sakura quickly sprang up from the floor as she patted the dust off her dress. Making herself presentable, she folded her hands and set her back straight as she gave a small smile to her visitor.
"Yes, thank you Hatake-San, I shall arrive shortly." Sakura grinned on the inside, complementing herself on her perfect response. The man nodded his head as he chuckled at the girls antics. Before taking his leave he quickly ruffled the pinkettes tresses lovingly and disappeared before the girl could unleash her wrath upon him for messing up her hair. Sakura pouted as she quickly released her braids from their tight bonds and began to retwine them evenly.
Now it wasn't the fact that she was just meeting her fiance for the sake of just getting acquainted. Of course, Sakura only agreed to the terms of meeting her future husband because she wanted to meet the man to see if he was even qualified to rule the Kingdom. A perfect princess has to have the perfect prince (On terms that he is an outstanding leader) for her kingdom. Nothing more, and nothing less.
Sakura smiled as she set her two long pigtails to the side and straightened out her bangs once more.
Rule Number 5 In Proper Etiquette; First Appearances Are Everything.
"Ah! My lovely-lovely cherry blossom Sa-ku-ra-Channn!"
Sakura smiled as she (very carefully) descended the stairs to meet Karin and her father at the bottom, waiting patiently for the entrance of their guests. Taking her place next to her awaiting sister, she quickly took notice of the great difference in appearance the two shared when next to each other. While dressed in her favorite white summer dress and satin heels, received from her late mother for this special occasion, Sakura couldn't help but feel...bland, next to her brightly clanned in purple, red and gold trimming dress with extra inner lining to give the dress a more 'poofy' feel. While Sakura's dress was more in one simple pattern, Karin added an extra black corset over her chest and opened her fan inside, revealing only smug looking red eyes outlined in smoky outliner. Sakura deciding not to bring a fan to the occasion, thinking her fiance would rather see her face than stare at a fan, had nothing to hide behind as she felt Karins deathly gaze over her.
With a small sneer, Karin roamed over the tight standing pinkette.
"Well little sister, I couldn't have thought of an even more boring outfit to meet your Fiance in." She smirked and fluttered her eyes innocently as Sakura gave a sideways glare and then continued to look forward.
"May I say how well you dressed today." Karin shot a look of sheer surprise. Taking the opportunity of her silence Sakura added;
"Your Fiance will never guess that you are actually a man behind all those layers of clothing." Karin growled as she tightened her hold on her fan.
"Just you wait, you may be acting proper at the moment but I know you won't even get through dinner without you even-"
"Now announcing the arrival of the Uchiha Clan from the Country of Fire, Prince Itachi Uchiha and Prince Sasuke Uchiha accompanied by Sir Orochimaru."
Ending their tauntings abruptly, the two went back into their previous stance as they watched the giant double doors open. With a cool summer breeze of the night coming in to play with the ends of Sakuras dress, she tiptoed slightly to get even the first slightest glance of her future husband. From the cracks of the opening doors she first glanced upon a midnight black carriage in which they travelled in. With gothic patterns outlined in silver, Sakura couldn't help but feel the early chills crawl up her spine at the mysterious looking carriage. As Kakashi finally opened the doors with a gentle bow, three figures just as dark looking as their carriage slowly revealed themselves in the warm, gold glow of the palace lights. Was it the fact that it was the nerves from the day making her heart skip beats? or maybe it was the fact she was actually encountering her betrothed since birth? the fact of the thought that this was the person she was destined to spend her life with? She lowered her eyes down to the tiled floor as she placed her hand on top of her pounding heart. She couldn't look up from her spot, even as she heard the unknown voice of the accompany introduce themselves as well. Sakura shyly glanced sideways to her sister, from her angle she could see the girl's face become just as red as her hair. But behind her fan the guests could only see her flirtatious eyes. It made the pinkette quickly regret not bringing a fan for herself, the pride of thinking she could have faced him without one had gone to her head.
The tall man in front of Karin made Sakura's eyes widen with sheer shock. He was gorgeous beyond comparison, his long, raven tresses tied into a ponytail laying behind him. With every small movement they would follow perfectly with silky motion. His eyes, a piercing black with a hint of dark maroon, to Sakura it was such strange color but it oddly fit him perfectly, as if any other color would be no match. His pale skin contrasted with the golden lights as it glowed dimly as he grabbed the red heads hand into his own. It was a shame he was wearing such a dark, long cloak. She wanted to have a better look at his tall build. Sakura quickly shook her head to get rid of her delusions, she was eyeing her own sisters Fiance, who she hated to admit, was drop dead gorgeous.
'The Perfect Prince!'
"Good evening Princess, I am Prince Itachi Uchiha. It is such a pleasure to finally meet you." Sakura glanced back and watched at the beautiful man softly placed his lips onto the tip of her knuckle. Karin blushed deeper as she slightly fanned herself, she batted her lashes and acted calm, like she had been through this routine everyday.
"The pleasure, Is all mine." Lust dripped on her every word as the man simply gave a small smile and gently released her hand. Just as he adjusted himself in a straight stance, Sakura caught a glimpse of eye contact with the gorgeous man. He gave her a small smile as she quickly blushed deeply, before she could even give a response back her hand was harshly grabbed, making her spin around and face another handsome cloaked figure.
She stared into deep obsidian eyes, glinting with slight annoyance and something exactly she couldn't put her finger on. She roamed over his slim, pale face and admired how long the lashes of his eyes batted over his well sculpted features. His hair, not as long as his brothers, spiked up naturally in the back and fell perfectly on the sides of his face that she thought was cute. He towered over her in great height and kept a tight hold onto the tips of her fingers, the touch of his smooth skin sent electric waves from the tips up to her toes. With his tall height and black clothing, his aura was chilling with mystery. Though she knew she had never met him before, the clouded mystery sent her wandering into what exactly he was hiding. She watched with pink adorning her cheeks, as he lowered his lips on the center of her hand. The cool was foreign to her as she stood stiff as a board, waiting for him to finish his introduction.
"I am Prince Sasuke Uchiha, I will be your future husband." Just a name, and a fact. He was more straightforward than his brother and brutally honest. Sakura twitched her eyebrow, the moment totally ruined.
'That Second Class Prince!'
Sakura nodded irritated as he quickly released her hand, she tried keeping a calm facade. Just as she was about to quickly make an escape to the dining hall, the loud echoing voice of her father stopped her.
"Sakura-Chaaaan, Where are you going?" Sakura turned around and gave her grinning father a confused stare. The King only grinned wider as motioned for Sakura to go back into her place next to Karin. Wondering what her playful father was scheming, she never got the chance to even ask as another cool breeze flowed into the room.
"Now announcing the arrival of the Uzumaki Clan from the Country of Fire, Prince Uzumaki Naruto accompanied by Sir Jiraiya and Sir Umino Iruka."
In walked in the brightest man Sakura had ever seen. Literally.
The prince walked in with confident swagger as he approached the two girls in with a wide, warm grin and striking blonde hair and stunning blue eyes. His long orange cloak cast aside as soon as he entered and long forgotten. He filled the room with a sudden warmth, like the cold air had been nothing but a memory.
'A Clown Prince!'
Sakura stood surprised at the fact of how the blonde could easily change the sudden atmosphere into his favor and the fact that he was even there in the first place.
Sakura spun around agape. The King just shrugged his furry cloaked shoulders and greeted the company with a smile. The two men following the bouncing boy were both middle aged men, or so Sakura guessed as she couldn't exactly tell with the white haired man. He walked with tripped feet as he stumbled in with the help of the tanned man holding him by his arm. Sakura scrunched up her nose as the familiar smell of liquor carried in with him. He was drunk-no, Wasted. If it wasn't for his disheveled appearance or his slur on words, it was definitely the tall bottle of hard liquor in his left hand that confirmed her right.
The man guiding the drunk, smiled politely and shyly. A little embarrassed of the state of his friend, he quickly apologized to the King who merely laughed it off and even patted the intoxicated man on the shoulder hard, like old childhood friends.
Before Sakura could even question the King, her hand again was grabbed for the second time today.
"Sakura-Chan? I'm Naruto! Feel free to call me Naruto-Kun." He ended with a wink as Sakuras lip twitched upward into a half smile. No manners, no politeness, just friendly greetings and childlike antics. He held her hand in a firm handshake as if they were making a contract deal, he stared eye to eye with sparkling expectation and warm smile. For a moment, all things prim and proper; actually became dull to Sakura. She pushed away the negative thoughts about his behavior and smiled back, his mannerisms were refreshing to her.
But that didn't stop from her suspicions.
While Karin faked a smile behind her fan in disgust as the new Prince introduced himself, she quickly grabbed Kakashi and took him to the side for a 'secret' meeting.
"Hatake-San! What is Prince Uzumaki doing here? Aren't I suppose to be just meeting my Fiance?" The man gave her a surprised eye.
"Sakura, You know that Prince Uzumaki is your Fiance, right?" Sakura stood rigged as she hung her mouth open wide. Kakashi sighed to himself.
"The King told you nothing did he? And sometimes I wonder how this Kingdom hasn't fallen apart already." Sakura grabbed the man by his front collar and pulled him into a whisper.
"Isn't Prince Uchiha my Fiance?"
"Which one? Because they both are." Sakura stood rigged again as she felt a sudden weight of dread fall upon her shoulders. She was in complete shock, she had only dreamed and knew of only one Fiance, one new King and one husband she were to marry. The Kingdom only needed one ruler, So why were there three Princes before her?!
The pinkette cautiously glanced at the scene, Naruto grinned brightly as Sasuke scorned at the whiskered boy who took him into a tight headlock, Itachi who she had thought to be Karin's only Fiance watched amused at the two's bickering, Karin stared dreamily at the long haired man as she acted like none of the other people in the room were even alive, and her Father (who she was about to mangle) conversed calmly with the accompanies.
Everyone knew, Everyone knew but her. How could they leave her out of an important topic like that?!
"Now announcing the arrival of the Hyuuga and Lee Clan from the Country of Water and Earth, Prince Hyuuga Neji and Prince Lee Rock accompanied by Sir Maito Gai."
Kakashi quickly spun the princess around and tapped her back as a gesture to stand straight and presentable. She quickly maintained the perfect princess stance; until two men in bright green spandex waltzed right it.
"Oh! Bushy brows!" The orange Prince quickly draped his arm over the bowl headed Princes shoulder. He popped his thumb up and gleamed a smile just as bright to his friend.
"Where are they? My beautiful Rose and Cherry Blossom Princesses?!" Sakura felt chills draw up her spine. As if on cue, the spandex cladded boy turned to Sakura with sparkles in his eyes. With a quick leap Sakura stood nose to nose with the New Prince. Immediately, she noticed the enormous eyes staring back at her, He had long lashes reaching up to his equally big eyebrows. His smile beamed 100 watts and almost blinded the poor girl, and those spandex...where did they even make those?
"Hello my Princess! I promise I will make you the happiest woman in the world!" With a quick chaste kiss on her hand he was off to her sister who was gravely regretting his greetings to her.
His doppelganger accompany raised the same thumb in and screamed something on the lines of what a Perfect Prince he was turning out to be. Sakura sweatdropped.
'Delusional Prince.'
Through the twos endless rants, the clack of *Tabis filled the room. Sakura tuned into the steady clack of his wooden Tabis as another mysterious looking man entered the noisy room. A high tension weighed on Sakura as she faced the eerie looking figure. Something crawled into the pinkettes stomach as emerald clashed with pearl eyes, she had never seen such a color on a person. She felt herself being sucked in by the clear white as it connected straight into her. Not only was his eyes an attention grabber, but his clothes as well definitely drawn in the eye. Instead of a cloak, the man wore traditional Japanese clothing. His *Yukata a soft grey with patterns of white and purple evenly printed with trimmed lining of silver. His long hair flowed back into a low ponytail, following him with every slight step he made. He walked tall and proud, not a bit of shame or disgrace for his accompanies, as if he held himself together on a whole different level. The man held a different type of class than a regular Prince and If it weren't for the cold touch of his hand on hers, she might of thought he had walked straight out of an old Japanese script. Slowly, the beautiful man kneeled in front of Sakura and bowed ever so slightly.
"Good evening, Hime-Sama. My name is Hyuuga Neji, It is an honor for me to have made your acquaintance." A hint of a foreign region accent in his voice, the girl really couldn't help but bow her own head as she still was skeptical of the eerie man. His voice was cold and held no hint of emotion and his face had not shown any change, not even a small smile. His image, his mannerisms and the way he spoke, cliche as it was he was definitely a;
'Traditional Prince.'
Sakura watched the graceful man approach and repeat the exact same words to Karin, with a peek she could immediately spot the tint of red on her cheeks, just like when she met the older Uchiha brother. Sakura rolled her eyes at her sister and grabbed Kakashi by the arm once more.
"Uzumaki-San, Hyuuga-San and Spandex twins are the last of the bunch, right?" Kakashi scratched the back of his silvery head as he avoided her surprised gaze.
"Now announcing the arrival of the Sabaku Clan and the Inuzuka Clan from the Country of Wind and Earth, Prince Sabaku Gaara accompanied by Sir Baki and Prince Inuzuka Kiba accompanied by Yuhi Kurenai."
Heavily white and beige cloaked men entered the room, their feet dragging grains of sand into the velvet carpet as they approached them. Behind them, a man with a heavily fur trimmed coat raced hot on their trails. The man in fur stopped the taller of the two, and spinned him around so he could sneer dirtily at him face to face. He then quickly walked around the two cloaked men and proceeded to Karin with a wicked smile on his face.
"You're not meeting her before I do, *Atsu-me."
Sakura watched as the obnoxious Prince swiftly grabbed Karins hand and kissed it as he smirked flirtatiously. He reeked of cockinees and heavy Pride. He carried himself confidently and with an arrogance that just stank the whole room. He ran his fingers through his spiky wild brown locks, and showed his toothy grin. Sakura felt this routine had been used many times, as every slight movement had a perfect gliding feel, like he had done it so many times before. Sakura could say the man was handsome, if it wasn't for the lack of proper etiquette and respect she actually would have said he could possibly had been one of the top. Before she could examine the furry Prince more, a head of red blocked her view.
She watched as the shorter of the two beige cloaked men approached her, his sandals scraping against the marble floors made a scratchy sound that hit her ear wrong. He stopped a good couple of feet in front of her, he was half a head taller than her, until he got on one knee and bowed his red locks. Sakura couldn't keep her eyes off the bright fiery hair as it glowed with the golden lights of the room, it was a contrast color to her own soft pink, and when he looked up at her with piercing light moss green eyes outlined in deep dark black circles. She couldn't help but again to compare it to her own dark green ones, and think that his dark circles were the culprit of the furry Princes remarks. She watched as his eyes stayed on her for a moment, before quickly looking down again to the floor, pretending like nothing had happened.
"I am Sabaku Gaara of the Country of the Wind, youngest sibling of the Subaku Clan, I am happy to have met you tonight Haruno-San."
His voice was deadly monotonous. Sakura felt he wasn't as happy as he said he was, since he made no clear emotion just like the Hyuuga Prince. He gave her a soft aura, though she felt he hid it behind such boring words. She felt the need to just steal him away from this place and just sit down and talk to him endlessly, maybe it was a mother instinct inside of her that made her feel the need to protect him. Or maybe it was the fact inside deeply she wanted to know what he was hiding out of curiosity.
As he stood up from his position, she caught a quick glance of what seemed to be writing on the left side of his forehead. She squinted her eyes in an attempt to get a better view, but he turned too quickly before she could even make out the Kanji, and a quick thought ran through her head of how the young boy could possibly get a tattoo on his face for the matter.
The flirty Prince from before threw a dirty look at the retreating red head. He grabbed Sakura's hand and kissed it roughly as he kept the dirty look on his face. His mood fouled from the redhead as her greeting wasn't as flirtatious or smooth as Karins. At a closer look, Sakura could fully take in the boys wolf like features. His hair dark wild hair, and his eyes a dark brown and highly slanted on top. His skin was a nice dark tan and by the strength of his hand he most likely was very active. Though he regained his flirty grin, Sakura couldn't help but want to run away from the Prince. She felt herself being closely examined as his eyes roamed every part of her body, she shifted under his heavy gaze as she tried to find some sort of comfort. It was like little red riding hood, meeting the big bad wolf for the first time.
How ironic she would be afraid of the friendly, easy to smile man instead of the quiet glooming redheaded Prince.
Sakura quickly pulled her hand away from the tall man on instinct. Kiba, unfazed by her actions just gave a smug smirk at her as he crossed his arms in a dominant position, as if he won an important bet.
"Hello Megane-Hime, I'm Kiba, Be pleased to know i'll be winning your hand in marriage." Sakura sneered at the cocky man as he gave one last wink to Karin and then strutted off. She couldn't believe this obnoxious man was deemed a 'Prince' whatsoever. He was more like a mutt in heat, as she caught a glimpse of him also winking at an innocent maid in the far corner. Sakura rolled her eyes.
'Harley Killer.'
Sakura could feel her own mood foul, he didn't even deserve the title of Prince. Behind him, she watched as a woman with big red eyes and long layered dark hair bowed to the Sabaku's accompany. The beige cloaked man raised a polite hand and shook his hand as he tried to smile nicely. Though Sakura could only see half of a smile, since he kept only half of his face visible with long veil.
"Now announcing the arrival of the Tenzo Clan from the Country of Lightning, Prince Tenzo Sai accompanied by Sir Tenzo Yamato."
Sakura couldn't help but drop her head a little as her sister happily awaited the entrance of the new Prince. The pinkette was just about done with all the Fiances lined up for her.
Two more grey cloaked men entered the busy room. The first thing Sakura caught was how deathly pale one the two men were. She guessed that he was the Prince, as he carried himself over with a smile. The man behind him was much taller, with short brown spikey hair and a kind smile on his lips. She felt herself more comfortable with his accompany than the Prince himself. Sakura kept a blank facade as the Prince approached her with light steps, one thing that bugged her endlessly, was that smile. That smile that he kept as soon as he walked in just gave her the chills. It didn't reach his eyes but at the same time it didn't look forced. He looked like a happy person-just freeze framed and could never let his smile drop. Sakura slitted her eyes towards him as he stopped in front of her and took her hand in a ghostly handshake.
"I am so glad to meet you Sakura-San, I am Prince Tenzo Sai, Please call me Sai. I hope we do get along in the future since I am so happy to have one beautiful Princess as yourself as my Fiance."
It was a fake smile.
His hair was long and straight and perfectly positioned. His black eyes just dark as his hair, showed no light and some hidden emotion she couldn't put her finger on. He was just as tall as the Sabaku Prince, if not maybe an inch taller she guessed. His pale skin a ghostly white, contrasted with his hair. She could say he was a handsome man, but she was intrigued with the fact how pale the boy was, even though she knew the Lightning Country barely got any sunlight, it was still impossible to be that pale. Not even the light in the room made his skin glow. And that smile, his most distinct feature, just kept bugging Sakura so much that she just wanted to walk away from the whole scene.
Or maybe just give him a good punch in the face.
Rule Number 4 in Proper Etiquette; Always Remember To Smile. A True smile. She felt he was making a mockery to her studies whether he was aware of it or not.
So she gave him one big, gigantic 1000 watt smile of her own. To which he actually stopped his own to give her a slightly surprised look.
"I am just so happy to meet you. I've always been expecting you! Please treat me kindly Sai-kun." She made sure to sugar coat her sweet words as she shaked his hand happily. For a second, he seemed genuinely surprised at the girl's antics and then he showed her an amused side smile. She had to blink for a second to comprehend if he slipped and actually showed her an emotion before he quickly covered it with the same fake smile. She scowled fully at him.
"I am very glad to hear that Sakura-San." He quickly released her hand and moved onto her older sister, who took the same greeting genuinely. Sakura scoffed to herself. She didn't like him remotely one bit.
'That dirty Fake Prince.'
She then roamed all the men in the room, stopping first at the Uchiha siblings who she had thought in the beginning had to be their only Fiances.
'The Perfect Prince.' Glancing at the handsome long haired man who kept to himself with a slight blush on her cheeks. He was so far her favorite. He was on a high position to be the next candidate as her husband.
'That Second Class Prince.' How sad he couldn't be just as perfect as his brother Sakura thought. She was willing to give him away to Karin. Forsure.
She then glanced over the loud blonde, who currently had his arm around the Inuzuka Prince, making fun of how competitive he could be when it came to the Sabuku Prince.
'The Clown Prince.' She giggled to herself, feeling much better as she remembered his funny antics. He wasn't marriage material, but he would be a fun person to talk to she thought.
Sakura looked over to the irritated boy in Narutos grip.
'*Harley Killer.' A vicious scowl covered her previous smile. She couldn't help but have a bad aftertaste after meeting the horny dog of a Prince. He was definitely at the bottom of her list. A person she wouldn't enjoy talking to in the future; and hopefully not having any interaction with would be good too.
The Spandex cladded Prince came to stop the two from their bickering. Claiming loudly that two Princes shouldn't fight in the presence of the King and his Princesses.
'The Delusional Prince.' Sakura sweatdropped. As polite as he was, those green spandex with matching big brows and eyes just killed her. She couldn't help but feel like this was a giant prank her father set up.
Lee's Prince accompany patted him on the shoulder and politely asked the boy to keep his voice down. Though a slight glare could be seen in his pearl eyes.
'The Traditional Prince.' He had the most points on his looks to Sakura. She was completely fascinated by how flawless the boys features were and how polite he was. He was a close second on her list. A Perfect Prince popping right out of a story book.
The younger of the Uchiha brothers taunted the loud Uzumaki Prince of how annoying he could be and how embarrassing it was that they shared the same Country. The blonde quickly retorted back (loudly) of how much of an 'ass' the Uchiha Prince could be. When suddenly and surprisingly the Tenzo Prince joined into the conversation, saying shamelessly how 'gay Naruto-san was for looking at Sasuke-Sans butt.'
'The Fake Prince.' Sakura scoffed as she watched the Blonde pounce on the smiling Prince. She didn't expect him to be so brute and she still disliked the mystery of why he always kept that annoying smile of his. He was also on the bottom of her list.
In the midst of their little fight, Naruto accidently bumped into the quiet red haired Prince, who then turned around with a scary scowl that made the blonde instantly bow over and over, though he was of Noble blood himself. Sakura caught the Kanji as Gaara turned around to strangle the clumsy oaf. It read Love.
'The Ai Prince.' She was surprised at how the Kanji read, as she couldn't figure out a name for the quiet Prince when they met. At the same time she would had never guessed the quiet boy would have a tattoo with the Kanji Love on his forehead. Like on motherly instinct, Sakura felt like lecturing the Prince as if he was her son, Saying tattoos were neither good or appropriate for a Prince such as himself. She pushed aside the thought, she would rather avoid his wrath unlike the blonde.
Before the Sabuku Prince could kill the blonde, Sakura's father clapped his hands and immediately the men positioned themselves properly in front of the King.
"Now that all Introductions are done, Shall we have dinner?"
.
.
.
At the stroke of midnight, Ariel became human for her love.
At the stroke of midnight, Snow White took a bite of a poisoned apple.
At the stroke of midnight, Jasmine took her magical carpet ride.
At the stroke of midnight, Sleeping Beauty was awoken with true loves first kiss.
At the stroke of midnight, Pocahontas met her foreign lover.
At the stroke of midnight, Thumbelina emerged from a piece barley corn.
At the stroke of midnight, Tiana kissed her frog Prince.
At the stroke of midnight, Rapunzel was trapped in a tower, waiting for her savior.
At the stroke of midnight, Beauty fell for the Beast.
At the stroke of midnight, Mulan began her journey for honour.
At the stroke of midnight, Meg cut the string of her fate.
At the stroke of midnight, Tinker bell drank the medicine.
At the stroke of midnight, Juliet died for her Romeo.
At the stroke of midnight, Cinderella fled from her fated Prince, only leaving behind a glass slipper.
And at the stroke of midnight, Sakura met her eight fated Princes, In which she had tied her red string to tightly.
It was going to be a long night.
-End-
*Megane - A person who wears an old fashioned style, mostly in braids and thick glasses.
*Tabi - Traditional shoes worn with Kimonos or Yukatas. Mostly made of wood.
*Yukata - Traditional wear in Japan, a "male version of a Kimono".
*Atsu-me - "Thick eyes" In which Kiba is referring to Gaaras "thick eyeliner".
*Harley Killer - If you're confused about what Kiba's nickname means, Its short for "Harlette Killer", Meaning he's a shameless flirt.
-I didn't really want to add this but just incase 'Ai' means Love in Japanese.
Dont kill me if these are bad definitions. I was way too lazy to google the actual thing.
I think the most fun i had writing this was actually using the word "swagger". Haha that really made my day as i figured out a way to actually incorporate it into the story :)
This stork took exactly 1 week and a half! lots of work. I actually came across some writers block in and out of the story but im glad I could atleast finish the first chapter.
Now you're probably thinking this first chapter was really boring. But it was made as a big introduction to all the main characters and how Sakura attitude is towards them, the second will be more about the minor characters.
And as for the nicknames? Its just Sakuras personality :). This Sakura is very much different from the Sakura in other stories. And if you dont like her now, well i hope you continue reading and see how she changes.
As for the ending parts, they're like little sneak peeks into the future chapters. And if you dont know what a red string is and why Sakura tied it to them. Its a sign of 'fate', saying she tied her fate to all of them. Considering that usually the red string is suppose to only lead to your one destined person, it makes it more interesting if its tied to all of them.
My favorite line in this chapter: "It was like little red riding hood, meeting the big bad wolf for the first time."
I couldnt get it out of my head :).
Thanks for reading! R&R soon! :) Cookies to you!