Sakura took a sip of her tea, keeping her eyes cool and focused on the fidgeting Uchiha before her.

"I admit that perhaps, I acted to rashly." He scratched the back of his head, his dark eyes, so familiar to his brothers, refusing to make eye contact with her. "I uhh, apologize."

Sakura had expected his apology, he probably heard the rumors over the past two days that Itachi had fallen for her and was going to choose her to be his queen. She had heard the gardeners talking amongst themselves as she made her way to the greenhouse.

"Come on Sakura, talk to me."

As fun as it was torturing Sasuke, now was not the time. They needed to take control of this situation.

"Everyone thinks that Itachi sending me these gifts means he wants to marry me." She said.

"I know, maybe I should've come myself."

"That wouldn't have helped Sasuke."

"Then we can start a new rumor!"

Finally he said something smart. Leaning forward she asked,"Okay fine, but how."

"We need one of the other girls to do something, and as much as I don't want to, we need my brother to be a part of it." She watched as Sasuke closed his eyes and crossed his arms as he began to think. "What do we know about them so far?"

"To be completely honest I haven't had time to see any of the others." She admitted.

"Then maybe we should do some research on our targets before we decide on our plan. Mother has tea with the other girls every now and again, you should join them."

Sakura had avoided those invitations for a reason. She didn't have a lot of patience for the game noble's played and to avoid making a scene she kept herself away from them. Plus these meetings were not mandatory so she didn't feel the need to attend them, but it seems like that was going to change.

"Only if you come with me."

Black and green eyes met as silence settled over the two of them.

It was Sasuke who broke the silence first.

"Sakura I don't think that's a good idea."

Raising a brow she leaned forward, "Sasuke, most of those girls know that the chance of them becoming your brothers wife is low, but if they managed to catch your eye maybe they can settle for just being a princess, versus the queen."

"Sakura-"

"If I go by myself I'll be seeing a completely different side to them compared to the kind they will show to someone whose interest they're trying to catch. If you come with me, we can observe both sides of them."

Frowning, Sasuke glared at her but she knew he wasn't going to refuse.

"Now, here's what I need you to do."

The next day Sakura had her chambermaid help her get ready for an afternoon tea. She wasn't going to go overboard, but something prettier than the plain cheongsam she wore during work. Letting her hair down and clipping in some jewels, she was ready to go.

When she arrived in the queen's personal garden, she was greeted with the amusing sight of Sasuke forcing himself to listen to Lady Kurumi. His hands were tightly gripping the fork in his hand and she wondered how the metal hadn't bend under that much tension.

"Sakura!" Looking away from her best friend, Sakura smiled and curtsied gracefully at Mikoto.

"Your highness, forgive me for arriving so late."

"Nonsense, I'm just glad you accepted one of my invitations." Mikoto motioned for her to take a seat across from Sasuke.

"I apologize, I spent my first two weeks here in the greenhouse getting used to the ways your healers work." When Sakura arrived at her seat she smiled at the other four people at the table. "I don't believe we've had a chance to speak before today, my name is Sakura Haruno."

The rest of the table greeted her as a servant helped her settle into her seat. The queen was obviously at the head of the table, with Sakura and Sasuke on either side of her.

The dark haired girl next to Sakura was none other than Lady Satsuki, a distant relative to the royal family. Though the Uchiha features were present very strongly in Satsuki, the dark hair and eyes matched with the pale porcelain skin. She was the ideal Uchiha noble. Her father was in charge of the treasury funds that came in through tax collection and from what Sakura had heard, he was really good at his job. It made sense why she was here.

Beside Satsuki sat Hana, the daughter of general Kuma, leader of the first infantry. He rose to power and rank fairly quickly, despite having to earn his title, rather than being born with it. He is said to be one of the kings more trusted advisors. His daughter, Hana, was skilled in all forms of combat thanks to her father and his rigorous training. Despite her gentle name, Hana is hotheaded and is quick to act. Her wavy brown hair and bright blue eyes made her stand out amongst the dark haired beauties of the Uchiha kingdom.

Lady Kurumi was beautiful with her blonde hair and blue eyes and flawless skin. An avid member of court life, she knows exactly how to deal with any kind of situation. Kurumi's mother is an uchiha noble, but her father is a rich merchant with many fingers in many different markets. Her family's political ties are no joke.

And then there was Sakura. She of course is the apprentice of the empress. The leader of the fire nations and greatest healer of all time. Of course, by Lady Tsunades own words, Sakura was going to overtake her teachers skills within a few years. Born to commoner parents who worked as servants for the royal family, Sakura met and befriended Naruto and through him met lady Tsunade. It wasn't easy for a commoner to get the attention of such a powerful figure, but Naruto literally pushed her into the empresses office and she had no choice but to beg the blonde woman to take her in as her apprentice.

All four of Itachi's potential marriage candidates were good choices. All of the women knew how court life was and had their own strengths. Sakura had no doubt that Queen Mikoto chose the four of them for specific reasons.

"Lady Sakura I didn't realize you were an actual candidate for the position of his highness's consort." Kurumi smiled at her, turning her attention away from Sasuke, much to his relief. "I was beginning to think you were just here to grow some plants."

"You must forgive me for missing a lot of the gatherings, I have a hard time staying idle." Sakura responded. "Plus my teacher has given me a task and I intend to complete it before I return."

"What is your task Lady Sakura?" Satsuki asked, and Sakura could see the honest curiosity in the other woman's eyes.

"Sakura is updating our medicinal stores to match the empires." Mikoto answered, "We're grateful for her presence here as a candidate and as a precious resource from the empire."

Much to her relief, the conversation turned away from her and onto more general subjects. It wasn't hard to keep up with, but Sakura could tell everyone here had their own schemes and it would be in her best interest to stay on guard.

"I heard Prince Sasuke and Lady Sakura are good friends." Satsuki said, "During the prince's time in the capital I heard you two were constant companions."

"The empress did ask me to keep an eye on Sa-Prince Sasuke and we became friends." Sakura knew there was no point in denying her connection with Sasuke. They had done too many things together as a trio to ever hide that...but maybe she could use this to her advantage.

"I didn't need anyone to keep an eye on me but Lady Tsunade insisted, Naruto, Sakura and I were trained together by the same teacher so it just worked out." Sasuke said. "Though this lady was very bad at keeping an eye on us."

"Oh, what was his highness like when he was younger?" Satsuki asked.

"He was shy-"

"Sakura!" Sasuke hissed, interrupting her, a cute flush in his cheeks.

Giggling at his discomfort, Sakura took this chance to note the reactions from the table. The wheels were already turning in their heads as they probably began to assume about her relationship with Sasuke. Sasuke was not known to keep the company of many females outside of his family, so Sakura was often assumed to be his lover.

Maybe this could work to their advantage, Sakura thought. If the other ladies believed that she and Sasuke had a thing, the rumor could spread, making her seem like less of a threat. That seems to be a good idea.

"But too proud to admit it." She continued, ignoring his unpolite glares. "It took Prince Naruto and I a while to get him to talk to us."

"I remember receiving letters from Sasuke around that time." Queen Mikoto grinned, "He was so happy to get along with you two. Every letter would be filled with details about your adventures together."

"Mother." Sasuke cleared his throat, his eyes obviously begging his mother to stop.

"I still have them, such earnest letters, Sakura you should come by and read them-"

"Anymore teasing mother and I believe my poor brother will never join you for tea again."

"Itachi!" Mikoto smiled, rising to greet her son.

Sakura and the other girls got to her feet and bowed to Itachi.

"Will you be joining us Itachi?" Mikoto asked.

"I was just passing by and I thought I should say hello." He turned his charming smile at them, "Please take your seats," Sakura and the others sat back down. "I hope your day has been pleasant so far."

"Much better now that you've graced it with your presence your highness." Kurumi smiled, and Sakura couldn't help but smile at the smooth delivery of that line.

"You flatter me Lady Kurumi." Sakura couldn't read Itachi's response, he was just so good at keeping that calm facade.

"Well don't let us keep you from your duties Itachi." Mikoto said.

Itachi nodded, his eyes catching Sakura's for a second and she could've swore his lips twitched. "If you don't mind mother, I need to speak to Sakura privately."

Sakura, who was in the process of taking a sip of her tea, froze. Her green eyes darting across the table to Sasuke who had a scowl working its way onto his face.

"Of course, take your time!" Mikoto said, maybe a bit too enthusiastically.

Sakura kicked Sasuke under the table, spending him a sign to stop his reaction before getting to her feet. "Excuse me." She could feel the glares against her back and knew they had just taken two steps backwards.

Itachi, the gentleman, held out his arm, which she took, and silently walked out of both ear and eye shot.

"What can I do for your highness?" Sakura asked once they came to a stop.

"I listened to my doctors orders and took a bath with the lavender and limited work time before bed."

Sakura couldn't help the small laugh at the words 'my doctor.' She honestly wasn't sure if he would heed her advice but it was good he did. "Have you seen positive results?"

He nodded, "Such a simple change and I sleep much more soundly throughout the night."

Sakura looked up at his face and noticed the darkness around his eyes was lighter, but not entirely gone. "I can see that, but is that all you wanted to tell me?"

"I was hoping you would prepare me some more lavender."

Brows furrowing, Sakura began to say,"Your highness you can just ask any of the servants to-" Her eyes widened as he placed one long finger against her lips, effectively shutting her up.

"Sakura." Turning her gaze to his face, she watched as his lips stretched into a smile as his finger slid down her lips and slowly down her chin. "I believed I asked you to call me Itachi."

Color bloomed in her cheeks and she found herself stuttering. "Of-Of course for-forgive me Itachi. But you can ask any of the servants to fetch you some lavender, you know they even make lavender oil specifically for baths along with perfume satchels and candles for your bedside. I'm sure someone can fetch some from the market or even make them for you."

She almost jumped back as he leaned his tall form towards her, his face coming within inches of hers. "Is it too selfish of me to want you to deliver them to me?"

What was he saying! Of course it was! Those three girls and one idiotic brother just a couple of yards away were going to skin her for Itachi's selfishness.

But...could she refuse the crowned prince?

"Is it too much trouble?" He tilted his head a bit to the side, his hair shifting with him and Sakura found herself shaking her head.

What was she DOING!

"Excellent, I'll notify my chambermaid of these deliveries." He leaned back and held out his arm. "Allow me to escort you back."

Did he just use his looks to distract her…

As they walked back to the table, Sakura peeked up at Itachi, who caught her gaze and smiled innocently back at her.

He was a very dangerous man indeed.

I didn't expect this story to get as much attention as it has, thank you so much for reading and here is a little preview of the next chapter!

"B-But you don't even like her or know her. Itachi you can't just make a rash decision like that! Sakura has a temper and is stubborn and won't listen to anything you have to say if she puts her mind to something and-"

"Sasuke." The cold tone to Itachi's voice made Sasuke freeze up. "I know when you're lying to me, and unless you have a good enough reason as to why I shouldn't marry Sakura tell me now or forever hold your tongue."

I've been out of it recently, so excuse any mistakes you may have encountered in the chapter!