𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

60

As much as [Name] had wanted to run away, she just couldn't. 

"Here. Have some more tea."

Madara poured the Kouhage another cup of tea as they sat in the dining room, neither one of them speaking. Tajima had long ago retired to his quarters, and the servants diligently waited outside for their masters to leave so that they could clean up.

"Thank you," said [Name] quietly, taking her cup in both hands and raising it to her lips. 

As the days passed, the thought of running away seemed even more lurid and absurd to her. Where would she run to? Her family would soon all be here, so the possibility of returning to the Land of Rivers was ruled out. And after the treacherous impression she had left on Hashirama and Tobirama during their peace meeting, she doubted she would be welcomed by the Senju or any of their allies. 

Out there, it was a great unknown. Anything could happen to her out there.

But here? As Madara's wife, she was untouchable. Revered among the other clan members, even more so than when she had been married to Sasuke. She was revered to the point where other clan members feared her, feared speaking around her in case they said something wrong, and Madara would hear of it. She was revered to the point where she was lonely, but [Name] had everything she needed here. A life full of comfort, where she was safe and secure as long as she was submissive and did what was expected of her. A life full of unhappiness, yes, but even she wasn't foolish enough to falsely hope that she would miraculously regain her happiness if she were to desert the clan. What would running away achieve? Now that she thought about it, it felt like running away from her problems would make them worse, not solve them or magically make them disappear.

In deafening silence, [Name] downed her cup of tea, and Madara gently set the teapot back down on its respective tray.

"Shall we head to bed now?" asked the Uchiha kindly, offering his dispirited wife a small smile. With a curt nod, [Name] rose to her feet alongside Madara, and followed him out of the room as he led the way to their now shared bedroom.

"Good night, Madara-sama, [Name]-sama."

The servants outside the dining room bowed to the couple before scurrying in to clean up the remainders of their meal, but went highly unnoticed by [Name] as she glumly made her way to the room.

Following her marriage to Madara, she had obediently moved into his room, but still slept on a futon separate from his. For now, he was content with the arrangement, but he knew that eventually, they would have to officially consummate their marriage.

"Do you need the light?" asked the Uchiha as they reached their bedroom, with [Name] standing still at the door and staring blankly at their futon. Usually, they would be set up on different sides of the room; however, tonight they were pushed together in the middle of the room, making up one big bed for the two of them.

"Why is our bedding like that?" asked [Name] with a frown, feeling a wave of irritation at the servants who had prepared their room. With a sigh, Madara reached out and placed his arm around [Name]'s shoulder, gently ushering her into the room.

"At least get used to sleeping beside me," he said sulkily. "How can we be together if we're on opposite ends of the the room?"

With a sigh of defeat, [Name] duly made her way towards the futon, just wanting to get her long, tedious day over and done with.

"I don't need the light."

***

"Sorry, [Name]. I can't let you skive off of your lesson today."