Sacrificed To The Banished Prince

Chapter 3

"My Lady, if you'd please follow me." Sakura obeyed her handmaid, a tall blond named Ino, wordlessly.

If the Haruno woman was defeated upon her arrival at the Uchiha prince's manor, she was obliterated beyond repair when he made it clear she was not going to become his wife or be killed. As twisted and toxic as the thought may be, the pinkette couldn't see herself as worthy of living a life outside the orders of what her family demanded. Either she'll die or marry the prince. There were no other options.

This task was all she was good for. Years upon years of abuse and neglect convinced the woman of that. So, she was stuck trying to come up with a way to convince the second Uchiha heir to change his mind, if not to become her husband, then to at least take her life.

Not a single night in the four days that had passed since her arrival had she slept soundly. If she left her bedroom, her body felt strange. The butlers named Sai and Yamamoto made it clear that the third floor of the manor was completely off-limits, but her feet wanted nothing more than to climb those marble stairs. Why that was, Sakura had no clue. She'd never felt something like this before. She wondered if perhaps it was magic, something she'd only heard of in passing and never witnessed.

If she remained in her bedroom and tried to sleep, strange scenes would play on repeat. In them, she was young again, maybe ten or twelve years old, and she was holding hands with a boy. His name and face were unknown, but somehow she knew they were kindred spirits. They were friends.

In the dream, they were walking through a thriving and beautiful garden when a terrifying man with yellow eyes suddenly appeared. Sakura was scared of the man, and so was her friend. In fact, her friend shoved her away. She could hear his voice, barely above a whisper in her ear, saying, "Run! Get help!" Then she'd wake up in tears, terrified, and breathing heavily.

'It feels like a memory, but I don't remember ever visiting a place like that. It was obviously not the Haruno estate, and I wasn't allowed to leave home, so it can't be real.' Sakura's hands shook as she clasped them together and continued following her maid. 'What can it be, then? A vision? No. That's impossible. Only those with magical abilities have premonitions like that.'

"Here we are, Lady Haruno. The lord of the house wishes for you to help yourself to the library. Additionally, please inform me of any hobbies you enjoy so I may prepare the necessary materials."

Sakura nodded silently, stumbling toward the first massive bookcase in awe. This was the largest collection of literature she'd ever seen! It was beautiful! Hesitantly, she lifted a hand toward the closest tomes, only to freeze in realization, 'What am I doing? I'm not allowed to enjoy myself here. I should be focusing on how to change the prince's mind.'

"Is there a problem, My Lady?" Ino asked, her pretty blue eyes sparkling with concern.

The pinkette shook her head and wandered over to one of the large window sills to sit and watch the snow falling. Her spirits were only dampening with each passing moment.

That was when she suddenly recalled the one rule she'd been given upon her arrival. Do not go onto the third floor of the manor, no matter what.

'If I break this rule, will they punish me severely?' She glanced over to see Ino speaking with Sai, the duo glancing at her while doing so. It was obvious she was the topic of their discussion. There was only one way to find out how harshly she'd be reprimanded, and that was to give it a try.

So, for the remainder of the day, Sakura tried to sneak away from her handmaid but failed. Ino was fantastic at her job. In fact, she was the nicest girl the Haruno woman had ever met. If the circumstances were different, she'd consider herself blessed to have simply met someone so pleasant.