By the time you see Chapter 4, July will be over and NaNoWriMo will be finished. I am over halfway through this story, and I am crazy excited to share the rest of it with you all!

Chapter 3

"Prince Haruno," a guard said, approaching my table and bowing. "King Danzo requests your presence in the Throne Room."

"Thank you. You're dismissed," I said, not looking up from the book in my hands.

I was in the library studying. Though I was old enough I didn't need to attend a regular schooling program, I requested time to study in the library to keep my mind sharp. I also loved reading and learning, but I wouldn't tell my father that part. I finished the page I was on before stuffing a piece of paper in the book, ready to go.

The library was on the other side of the castle to the Throne Room, so my knights and I had a long walk before reaching the room. We didn't speak along the way, which had been our usual the past week. I didn't feel like talking, not with all the thoughts swirling in my head since becoming Sakura for a morning, and Sasuke and Naruto respected my silence.

When I opened the Throne Room, I saw my father on his throne, tall and made of dark wood. I remembered the day he got the throne. He heard of an expensive dark wood being shipped from the Mizunokuni Kingdom and immediately requested the entire shipment be made into a throne. We had to request another batch to rebuild the gardening shed that burned down, the very reason for the original shipment.

I dropped to one knee before my father and stood when he motioned for me to do so. "What can I help you with, Your Majesty?" I asked.

"Haruno," my father said, using none of the respect I gave him, "There is another suitor coming to visit. Lady Ino from Kirigakure will be arriving shortly." Kirigakure was the most prominent region of the Mizunokuni Kingdom.

I clenched my jaw. "Shortly" probably meant that day or the next, though he must have known for over a week. He always gave me shorter notice than he received.

"Duke Iniochi's daughter?" I asked. I had heard many things of Lady Ino, mostly her ability to charm men into her bed. It was doubtful she still held her virtue, though she must have tricked someone into confirming it if she was being offered to a Prince.

My father waved his hand, dismissing all guards from the room. They shuffled out into the hallway, leaving the two of us alone. "I understand your...reservations about women, but I would like you to consider Lady Ino."

I gaped at him. He had never directly spoke of my gender, but we both knew I was a woman — though at times I had my doubts. He never pushed for me to confirm an engagement. No one but the two of us could know my — our — secret, and marrying would cause all sorts of problems. For one thing, I could never produce an heir with my wife.

"Do you understand me, Haruno?" My father phrased his statement as a question as a courtesy. I had no choice. "If nothing else, act like you're considering her. We can't send another woman running from the castle the day she arrives. You're a healthy young man and need to act as such."

I was relieved with his clarification. He didn't need me to propose to Lady Ino, just act like I was interested in a woman interested in me. I could do that. "Of course, Your Majesty."

The corners of his mouth tightened, which was a smile by his standards. "Lady Ino will be arriving with her brother and two of her ladies. Once they are settled, I will have a guard sent for you. Perhaps you'll invite her to the Garden for a stroll. Women like flowers."

My anger flared again. He was jabbing at me, like always. Giving me tips on what women like and don't like, as if I wouldn't know for myself. I was just a clueless Prince who never gave women the time of day, so how would I know anything about them?

It stung.

My father called the guards back into the room, meaning I was dismissed.

"I want to be alone," I told Sasuke and Naruto when we exited the Throne Room. They said nothing as they backed-off several yards from me. When I entered my room, slamming my door shut, I heard them sit down against the door, letting me know they weren't going anywhere.

But I was.

-o-o-o-

My hands were shaking again when I tied the corset. This time is wasn't from nerves of dressing like a woman for the first time. This time it was many things: anger over my father's words, anxiety for meeting yet another suitor, and the creeping of Time's hands around my throat, daring me to make a move. Would I take a wife? Would I wait too long and miss my chance for an heir?

I shuffled down the halls quickly. I wanted away from my responsibilities, away from Prince Haruno. I suspected the only way to achieve that was for Sakura to find Kakashi. If he wasn't in the kitchen, I didn't know what I'd do.

Just before I reached the kitchen door, it flew open and Kakashi, Gai, and Karin stepped out, laughing. They all froze when they saw me. I offered a half-hearted smile, suddenly feeling shy. What if Kakashi didn't want to see me so suddenly? He expressed interest in seeing me again the week before, but he could have changed his mind.

"Sakura, how are you?" Kakashi said, smiling wide. My doubts slipped away. "We were just about to head to town for baking supplies."

"To town?" I had never been outside the castle before. I could only look out at the small towns dotting the horizon, imagining what they would be like. Did the servants get to go so freely?

Karin shoved a piece of paper in Kakashi's hands, their shopping list. "You two go," she said. "I'm sure Sakura would love to visit the town. You aren't from this region, right? I remember you said you traveled here to be a lady-in-waiting."

"Right," I said slowly, trying to remember what I told them before. I needed to keep my stories straight unless I wanted to get caught.

Kakashi was happy to take me into town. He told Gai and Karin goodbye, and the two went back into the kitchen. Kakashi grabbed the crook of my arm and started leading me away from the kitchens. I felt warm where he touched me.

"I need to go to my chambers for a cloak," he told me once we arrived in one of the main hallways of the castles. "Would you like to meet me here once you fetch yours?"

I nodded, and he smiled at me again before walking away. I waited until he was out of site before running towards the Princess's chambers. I needed to beat him back to the spot. If he arrived first and decided to find me, I wouldn't be where I should be. Though I didn't know where that was. Many ladies-in-waiting stayed with their Ladies, but some stayed in separate portions of the castle. I'd have to figure that out, another time.

I quietly slipped into the Princess's chambers then to my own, the Prince's. I frantically looked around my room, trying to think of something to wear. If I didn't wear a cloak at all it would be suspicious, but so would wearing one of the Prince's. I would take money with me to buy a new one and tell him I ruined mine on the journey to the castle, I decided. I stuffed a handful of gold coins in one of the pockets of my dress, slipped out of the chambers, then raced back to the main hallway.

Kakashi came moments after me, and I tried to calm my racing heart. I would have been embarrassed if he knew I was running. He didn't seem to notice and asked if I was ready.

My heart only seemed to beat faster as we walked to the castle gates. If I ever left the walls of the castle, it was only to the Gardens in the back. I had never been out the front. I knew guards would be posted, but I had no idea if I could slip through. Did I need paperwork showing my clearances to leave? Would I need papers to get back in? Had any of them seen Prince Haruno up close and could recognize me?

There were only two guards on the ground — the rest were on the castle walls — and Kakashi smiled and waved at them. They waved back before turning and chatting with each other again. And just like that we were through.

"Sakon and Unkon. They always work as guards during the day," Kakashi explained. "I see them every time I go into town."

"How often do you go?"

"Most supplies get delivered weekly, but if we run out we have to go into town. Usually every two or three weeks I get to go a day. Today we ran out of some baking supplies because of the ruined cakes."

I knew he meant the cake he dropped when he ran into me and the one Karin had burned the week before. She may have even burned more since then. I didn't know for sure, but I wasn't going to ask, either. It didn't matter how many cakes she burned, and I didn't want to make it seem like I cared.

"Don't you have a cloak?" he asked.

"Mine was ruined on my journey to the castle." I was happy he asked, not just because I had planned the story already. "I brought gold with me to buy a new one."

"Then we'll get you a cloak first. It'll get chilly as the afternoon wares on. It might even rain soon, from the looks of those clouds."

I looked up at the sky and saw the gray clouds in the distance. I hadn't paid much attention to the weather — why would I if I never went outside? — but even I could tell they didn't look good. We had plenty of time, he reassured me. I doubted it but didn't say so.

When we got to the town, I couldn't hold back a gasp. One moment we were walking along a field and the next we were in the heart of the town. Most of the buildings were falling apart and the cobblestone roads were cracked, but that only added to the charm for me. I knew that anything in this town was built by the hard work of the people, not just handed to them like the beautiful castle I lived in was handed to me.

People were whizzing around me, no order to how they moved. Men stood in the doorways of their shops, shouting the day's deals. Women walked around with large baskets full of goodies, and people grabbed from all directions to buy from them. I didn't know how she managed to collect all the money in the craziness, because surely someone could slip a hand in her basket without her noticing?

And the children. Oh, the children. They laughed and squealed, weaving around people and buildings, playing some tagging game. The girls and boys played together, unlike how I was raised.

"It's wonderful," I told Kakashi.

"You haven't even went inside any shops yet," he said, laughing at me. I knew he wasn't laughing at me, so I laughed with him. "Let's get that cloak."

He seemed to be an expert in the town. And a celebrity, too. Many people shouted at him and waved, happy to see him. He briefly chatted with everyone, asking how their families were. I found myself wishing I knew someone so intimately. The closest people to me were Sasuke and Naruto, and I barely knew anything about them.

Kakashi pulled me into a shop stuffed with women's clothing. Tables were spread all over the shop with stacks of dresses, linen shirts, corsets, and stalkings. One entire while was filled with shoes of all kinds, some flat and others with heels. My bare feet burned against the dirt floor, screaming at me to buy a pair.

"How about this one?"

While I was gawking at the store, Kakashi had already found a cloak. He held it out to me, and I tried not to cry when I touched it. The cloak was made of a thick material, sure to keep me warm. It was a deep blue color. It was a shade I'd worn a dozen times, but this cloak was all feminine. An intricate pattern was stitched with white thread, adding a brightness that wouldn't be there otherwise. I also noticed several lines of black stitches that brought the dress in certain places to hug around my shoulders and waist.

"Is it too much?" he asked. I saw his eyes sweep over my dress. He probably thought I was a plain girl. "I can find one with less detailing or—"

"It's perfect!" I grabbed it from him and hugged it to my chest. "It's perfect, really."

He smiled at me again. I realized I was becoming addicted to his smile. I never wanted him to stop smiling. "I want to try it on," I told him.

He took the coat back and stretched it out so I could slip inside. I turned my back and reached to put my first arm through its sleeve, and I felt his hand between my shoulder blades. I shivered, surprised at the warm feeling that spread through me.

"Your corset is all twisted," he told me.

Without asking permission, he dropped the cloak and his long fingers started untying my corset. My cheeks heated up until I thought they would start a fire. When he reached the bottom, my hands flew to my chest to catch the corset before it slipped off my arms. He chuckled, and his breath tickled the back of my neck.

"If you can't tie your own corset, how will you help your Lady with hers?" he asked. His voice sounded hoarse. I didn't know if it was intentional.

I didn't trust my voice, so I stayed quiet as he began lacing my corset back together. He seemed to lace slower than he unlaced, and I started to feel dizzy. I was thinking about how he knew to lace a corset and how he unlaced it so fast. And could he do it faster?

"All done," he said. He stepped back, and I felt the tension lesson around me. I let out a shaky breath.

"You need another dress. Your Lady will laugh at you if she sees you in a servant's dress. New shoes, too."

I waited until my breathing calmed — as much as it could be calmed — before following him around the store. He kept his distance the rest of the trip, even during the carriage ride he purchased to get back to the castle with my purchases and his sacks of baking ingredients.

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