Forevermore ~Gaara~

Chapter 17

Honiji took several deep breaths as she waited outside the grand hall. Day one of convincing the elders of her ability to act not only as a village relation tie, but also as the Kazekages wife was about to begin. Gaara had entered the hall ahead of time to give his case. Soon, she would have to enter herself, tell her story, her reason for wanting this, convince the council of her worthiness. This would come in the form of many sessions with the council.

The biggest hurdle in Honiji's case would be the fact that she is not the daughter of the king and his wife. If she was, she would only have to get by on her character. Thinking about this was only causing more anxiety. She pulled out her phone and sent a group text to her friends, asking about the possibility of them wanting to hang out later in the day. But almost as soon as the text had been sent, the door opened.

Gaara gazed out at her calmly and motioned her in. She put her phone in the pocket of her dress and followed him in. Inside, fashioned in a circle of seats, were the seven council members of Sunagakure. Each had a stern and serious expression as they calculated her. Even from her entrance, stance, and attire, they began to judge and grade her.

The member in the center started the process. "State your name."

"Honiji Maya Etamae." Honiji said in as clear and confident a voice as she could muster.

"Your parents?"

Big moment here. "King Ichiharu Etamae of Konohagakure and Shizuka Watanabe."

One on the left end leaned forward with his eyebrows raised. "Shizuka is not the name of his wife."

"Yes." Honiji agreed. "My parents were never married, but I maintain a great relationship with both my Dad and my sister, Junko."

Murmurs bounced around the room like sticky super bounce balls. The echo's were making Honiji's anxiety go nuts. Thank God for drugs. But she took a big breath and gazed at Gaara from the corner of her eye. He had taken a seat at the end of the table and had his hands carefully folded in front of him. She had never seen him act in the roll of Kazekage before and was surprised at how confident and natural he appeared as a leader.

It really shouldn't though. Even though they have known each other a short time, Honiji knew that Gaara was a serious person. But he was also very kind, He would do anything to protect his people and those he cared about. She began to wonder if he had always been like that. "Miss Etamae." Honiji snapped back to attention when she heard her name.

"As an illegitimate child of the king, have you ever acted in the role of princess of Konohagakure?"

"No, my sister is older than me and always acted in the role. My stepmother never allowed me to be presented as my fathers child either."

"But you still take his last name?"

"In a great act of defiance to my stepmother, father was at my birth and signed my birth certificate. I am his child in private only."

The elders began to murmur again. It didn't sound good, not at all. Gaara leaned in and seamed to be making a case for Honiji, however several of the elders did not look happy. Finally, they all straightened up and looked back down at the terrified child. "Miss Etamae, why should we accept you?" The middle elder all but spat. "You are the definition of bastard child, born of an affair, not publicly claimed. Allowing someone like you to marry our esteemed leader would make our village a laughing stock!"

"Now Elder Soh, there is much more to a marriage candidate than who her parents are. Even as an illegitimate child, she could have the perfect character desired of a leaders wife." There was a strange sense of deja vu between the somewhat maybe couple. Like they had heard this same conversation somewhere. Actually, it made them both smile.

The elders continued to argue, until the one who had been the most vocal slammed his fist against the desk. "Enough! This is an insult against our proud village! To think that THIS is the best they could offer us as proof of our alliance."

"Elder Soh." Gaara's voice was low, a growl. He was angry. Everyone in that room knew of Gaara's past, except for one. "I do not appreciate you speaking of Honiji as if she is a object merely given as a gift."

Soh clicked his tongue and stood in a huff. "We will reconvene in two weeks!"

The elder who had stood up for Honiji sighed and gave a tired smile. "For the time being, please get to know each other better. Perhaps you can sway him with emotions."

Doubtful, Honiji thought as her shoulders slumped. she knew this was going to be difficult, but everything he said was the words that haunted her past. She hadn't heard it in awhile due to avoiding her stepmother and the station girls like the plague. It was painful.

Gaara lead her from the room and sat her in the hallway. Honiji leaned back and closed her eyes. "Thank you, Gaara."

"I'm sorry about Soh."

"It's fine. We have a few of him in Konoha too." She reach in her pocket for her phone which had several text messages from her friends. "There's a festival tonight?"

"The starlight gala. It's our annual friendship festival. There's games, food, music."

"Kaita and them are going tonight. Can we go?"

Gaara felt his lips curl ever so slightly. He knew she was looking for a distraction, but this could also be a good way to prove Honiji's character. Almost everyone goes to the festival, including Soh and the other elders. If they could see her in a natural light, maybe they would change their tune just enough to allow the union.