A Rose With Thorns Still Smells Sweet

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Naruto

Summary: AU NejiTen Neji discovers that not all of the ladies at court are the same, and that not all changes in custom are bad.

Chapter 1

Neji frowned slightly, bringing his hands up to massage his temples nursing an impending headache. The clamour around him was enough to make his head burst! Yet, Neji withstood this – it was not often that he had to come to court (between the Queen's orders and avoiding social gatherings) so he made an effort to at least keep his discontent from marring his features and to remain expressionless.

Still, he had eyes and ears. He knew that others sometimes regarded him as socially challenged. His reluctance to come to balls and gatherings was palace legend. He also didn't care that some found him intimidating. In fact, it was during these banquets that Sir Neji put this knowledge to good use. Evening after evening, his uncle His Grace Duke Hiashi of Hyuuga would arrange for his young nephew to be seated with different maidens in hope of finding someone suitable for him to wed. Neji had earned some land for some of his brave acts for Konoha, and in Hiashi's opinion Neji needed a wife to tend to them (and his nephew) whilst the young knight continued to fight for his country (and also give him a well-earned kick up the rear end, though the Duke kept this particular reason to himself). Neji, it seemed, had no choice in the matter, though this was often the case in matters between main and branch members of his clan.

And as Neji did not attend any other form of social gathering, whenever present at a banquet, ladies were constantly thrust into the displeased Hyuuga's presence.

It was throughout these encounters that he applied the awareness he had of his impact on others. He could turn notorious court gossips into a gibbering mess at a mere glare. The slightest "Hn" from him could belittle even the most self-important of women.

So as Neji waited at the long table, fingering the rim of his glass idly, he found himself wondering when life had gotten so damn complicated. The main purpose of a banquet was to eat, yet there were so many strings attached! Having to sit through them with a potentially air-headed lady was only one of such. Having to greet all of the nobles present to keep from falling out of their favour where he would rather not even spare them half a glance was another.

His musings were interrupted by the arrival of a woman about his age. She was slightly shorter than he and had an aura about her that warned that she was not quite as delicate as she would have others believe.

Knowing that he had no other choice, really, Neji swept his hand out to indicate she took a seat.

Smiling a little, she inclined her head graciously and sat down, sweeping the skirt of her olive green dress about her as she did so. From the way that her skirts settled, it seemed as though she was concealing some sort of weapon on her person.

Well. Good for her. Having primarily acknowledging her presence, Neji proceeded to ignore her, staring at his plate moodily. He no longer cared if he was behaving rudely – after over a week of attending various boring banquets and 'entertaining' mounds of annoying women he thought he deserved at least a little peace.

Although he had wished for some quiet, he hadn't thought of the whim being at all attainable. Whilst the hall still rang with activity, the lady beside him seemed content with letting the silence stretch between them. Indeed, this silence was not an awkward one (the type that Neji had experienced often). Although Neji radiated indifference and disapproval, she seemed unaffected; daydreaming (or at least preoccupied by some trail of thought).

Taking another glance at his dinner partner, the knight noted the way her chocolaty hair had been ornately twisted into two buns with ornamented sticks fastening them to her head.

She caught his eye. Contrary to what he had expected, the lady had not quickly averted her gaze (as was taught at the convent). Maintaining the eye-contact once established she smiled again. The simple action caused her face to brighten and her muddy orbs to shine. It was not superficial, but a genuine sincere smile.

Neji raised an eyebrow. This was new.

She blinked at him. Then she gasped in dismay.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I just came here and sat down as instructed without even introducing myself!"

She lifted her gaze to the ceiling, the corners of her lips twitching up at her own folly.

"I am Tian."

She extended a hand, though it was not the usual palm-facing-down gesture that ladies generally went for when introducing themselves. No, this was more like she expected a handshake.

'That can't be right,' thought Neji. Her actions had startled him more than her abrupt words (though he had not let it show). Uncertainly, and not knowing any other way to respond, he simply took the offered hand and shook it firmly.

To his surprise her hands were as calloused as his own, not petal soft as was expected of her. She shook his hand exerting confidence but no arrogance. It was clear that she felt that she was not to be trifled with though it was also obvious that she did not lack grace or elegance.

As was custom, he realised that he was obligated to introduce himself to her too (though he barely thought it was necessary – he wasn't being arrogant when he said that most knew of him, even outside of Konohan borders).

"Sir Neji of Hyuuga," he grunted.

As pages stumbled into along the tables bearing finger-bowls and towels, Neji absorbed the new information.

"…Tian," he tried to pronounce the unfamiliar sound. It seemed as though the name was of a foreign tongue.

She stifled a giggle at his efforts with a hand, eyes sparkling.

"Most people just call me Tenten here."

A crease formed across his brow – how hard could it be to pronounce a word, after all. Shoving the thought aside (for now) he pondered… Tenten (or Tian) had said just that, Tenten – there was neither a title nor fief attached to the name… From the way that her voice held a slight lilt to it she would not feel out of place if talking to common folk, but her posture, etiquette and mannerisms betrayed her and her casual way with words; revealing her noble upbringing and that she was indeed a noble. Neji had to admit, he was curious – what sort of noble had no fief or title?

The page assigned to their section of the table arrived, positively quaking as he offered the bowl to Neji. At least this time, the anxiety was more about trying not to embarrass oneself in front of so many powerful and important people. He dipped his fingers into the lukewarm water for a few moments before withdrawing them, drying them on the towel supplied. As the page extended the bowl towards his dinner partner, he corrected himself – the combination of being thrust into the public eye and having to serve someone from the Hyuuga's (an extremely influential family at court with several of its members already famous from both divisions of the clan) may have invoked a more nervous reaction than was normal for pages.

Tenten dried her hands delicately, whispering something into the page's ear. He left with a departing, grateful smile though his hands remained tremulous as he made his way back to the kitchens.

As the nobles awaited the appetisers, small clusters of people; influential or not, young or old; floated by Neji's table to greet or introduce themselves to him. He highly doubted that any of them actually wanted to get to know him despite all of the small talk that they made. Soon tiring of the pointless conversation, he apologised (stiffly) for having to cut the conversation short, but he seemed to be neglecting his dinner partner. Replying with a "Well we can't have that now, can we?" they bustled away to prey on another.
With an inward sigh of relief, Neji turned to the mentioned dinner partner – she didn't seem very neglected. She had struck up a rather lively conversation with the Lord on her left hand side. He seemed to be delighted that this damsel did not find his action-packed war stories boring, unlike most other ladies (who would deem them to be very un-ladylike).

Taking a look around the room, Neji spotted their assigned page who was taking great care carrying some sort of exotic delicacy. The knight noted how the boy was able to focus on his task without his former feelings of terror. His steps were more assured and as he set the dish down his hands didn't quiver.

Having finished her conversation, Tenten turned to the page and thanked him. Turning at least three different shades of red, he bowed and murmured something along the lines of "Not at all, my lady" before bounding back to the kitchens (probably to boast to his fellow pages).

Shaking her head in amusement, Tenten adventurously selected a rather odd looking savoury bite and offered some to Neji. He peered at the peculiar food suspiciously, then accepted some. He watched Tenten nibble at it thoughtfully as she tried to calculate exactly what it was that the thing consisted of.

Interrupting her thought process, the Hyuuga asked; "What brings you to court?"

Being from one of the most prestigious families in Konoha Neji was at the palace often, and when he was not, he was kept regularly informed of the court's current affairs. He had never seen her there before, nor had he ever heard any foreign noble ladies attending court of late.

Tenten shrugged, green silk wrinkling slightly from the movement.

"I aspire to join the Royal Ladies" she explained, taking a small sip of her spiced apple juice. "The selection process will begin soon, and my brother… convinced… me that being formally presented at court beforehand would be a good idea… So here I am!"

The Royal Ladies were a group of highly trained noble women who waited upon the Queen at social functions as well as having a few less conventional extra duties. The Queen of Konoha was not the conformist confined-to-the-palace female royal; she took complete control of her lands, riding to any destination that she may be needed at – she held a very firm belief in ruling all parts of her country with an iron fist without letting the small parts around the edges break away. Another required quality needed to become a Royal Lady was to be swift on horseback in order to keep up with her majesty Queen Tsunade of Konoha. Being able to wield a bow well was also mandatory, though any additional knowledge of use of other weapons was also valued.

It was rumoured that at this time, Queen Tsunade would be 'scouting' (for lack of a better word) for a new apprentice.

When Neji mentioned this, Tenten's face lit with interest (as he'd known it would). Tenten had been glancing up at the front of the hall where the Queen herself sat on the dais atop her throne, with a mixture of admiration, respect and awe mingling in her gaze.

"And what exactly would she be looking for in a prospective candidate?"

Neji shrugged nonchalantly; being of no particular interest to him, he had not really been paying too much (if any) attention to the news when told about it. Trying to remember just what he had heard (or rather, what he was supposed to have heard) and began to reply;

"I would imagine that the general requirements to become a Royal Lady would apply, coupled with skills and a keen interest in the ways of medicine and healing; before she became the monarch, Queen Tsunade was known mainly for her talents in healing."

Tenten nodded slowly at this, and bowed her head in consideration.

"One thing that she is not quite so well known for outside palace walls is her unnatural ability to consume ungodly amounts of sake." Neji added as an afterthought.

Tenten grinned a little in response before biting her lip again, allowing herself to immerse herself in this information.

So the Queen was looking for an apprentice…

More plates were cleared away to be replaced shortly by other dishes as the banquet progressed. Snapping out of her reverie, Tenten blinked. She could ponder her eligibility to become her majesty's apprentice later; right now she had to keep her counterpart (for that night, at least) suitably entertained (thus keeping herself from becoming bored as well).

As the pair of them began to pick at the less suspicious looking dumplings brought to them, Tenten surprised the knight besides her by asking what weapon he preferred to use when serving in combat.

Thinking that she must have completely run out of conversation topics and had forced herself to turn to a last resort, he sighed – they were only halfway through the banquet yet!

With these thoughts in mind, he replied indifferently "Sword."

Tenten clicked her tongue impatiently;

"I gathered as much" was her flat retort. "What type of sword?"

So he told her.

Neji found himself being educated about his chosen weapon, learning things he'd never even heard about before. If Tenten's enthusiasm and sincerity was anything to go by, she had a keen interest in all things sharp and lethal; he had absolutely no doubt that all of this information was completely accurate. Two more courses flew by as the two of them argued the advantages and disadvantages of the kodachi and just how good pole-arms were in combat.

By dessert, Neji was testing Tenten's vast knowledge of archery; topics of discussion ranging from the numerous different types of bows to which the swiftest and most effective arrow would be to pierce armour. They were still arguing about longbows and crossbows when their assigned page returned with the final fingerbowls. He was now calm enough to look faintly amused as Tenten began to gesture animatedly, trying to imitate the correct stances in her dress whilst still remaining seated.

Neji found the corners of his own lips quirking slightly in response to the lady's odd (for a proper damsel, at least) behaviour even though he could see that the point that she had made was completely valid.

Still in the middle of her detailed explanation, Tenten started as she felt a hand on her shoulder. The look of complete surprise on her face was enough to make Neji smirk.

Turning towards the hand's owner, Tenten grinned. Following her gaze, Neji found his year-mate, Rock Lee, who had trained and become a knight alongside him. It surprised him that Lee and Tenten should know each other at all considering that Lee had spent a lot of his life at the palace (to become a knight) whilst Tenten had only just arrived at court (and perhaps, had only just arrived at Konoha as a whole…)

Meeting his (sometimes) friend's pearl eyes with his own obsidian ones, Lee said "Sir Neji of the honourable Hyuuga Clan, it is wonderful to see you attending the banquet!"

Neji eyed Lee warily barely concealing a grimace; although he was now used to the other knight's flamboyant speech he could not miss the mischievous glint in the other's eye.

Turning away from the Hyuuga slightly, Lee addressed the girl beside him.

"Lady Tenten-" he began, only to be swiftly cut off by a delicately raised brow. Chuckling, he amended himself: "Okay then. Tenten," she smiled her approval and indicated that he continue, "How did you find your very first day at our court? Is not the atmosphere here glorious?"

Hiding another grin and resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she replied "It is indeed, Lee."

Neji frowned. How could they speak to each other with such familiarity? Though it was not as though either of them seemed to find it hard to converse with strangers – neither of them were at all shy (especially Lee). It was just that they conferred as though they had known each other for a number of years. But how could that be?

Tenten was speaking to Lee again, "So what brings you to this side of the hall?"

A slight crease formed between both Lee's and Neji's brows. It was Lee who asked the question that was on Neji's mind –

"Is there anything wrong with this side?" was the light enquiry.

Tenten shrugged. "No. I had thought that you would be with Gai-sensei."

So the girl knew about Gai as well; the man who had overseen him and Lee through their days as pages and occasionally when they were squires too.

"Tenten – I wanted you to meet the magnificent Lady Sakura; she is as beautiful as her name indicates and is also hoping to join the youthful Royal Ladies."

Turning to Neji with a combination of resignation and curiosity fused in her eyes, she smiled wryly. "It has been a pleasure to be your dinner-partner tonight. I hope that we meet again sometime."

"And vice-versa."

Lee had already began to make his way to the corner of the room that he had come from, Tenten following; when Tenten turned and said teasingly "maybe by then you will have reconsidered some of your views on using pole-arms."

Offering a last, small smile, she allowed herself to be tugged away by Lee who had come back hastily to inform her that Lady Sakura was planning to leave soon.

As Neji watched the girl with odango hair wander away, the embroidered silk of her dress rippling as she moved, with a thoughtful look on his face.

No, she definitely wasn't the same as the other ladies at court.

The fact that he could actually hold a conversation with her without having the mad urge to bang his head against something was proof enough.

Maybe this banquet hadn't been so bad after all…

-Hollyrose-

A/N: Yay! Another AU (and my first try at NejiTen) :D If you love AUs as well at the moment, check out my C2 community "Parallel Worlds". Reviews would be greatly appreciated. Hope you enjoyed reading this!