She sat on the dais next to the King and her sister. She smiled warmly at the King's subjects who walked up to the dias to pay their respects then return to the feast. They were celebrating her birthday — and this year was special, for it marked the year that she would have to begin searching for a suitor.

She glowed like moonlight in a silvery flowing dress made from silk. Her midnight blue hair was piled in ringlets on top of her head, and she wore long white gloves on her exposed arms.

She turned her head and found him instantly as he stood in the corner with his friends looking up at her. He nodded to her in greeting, and she smiled warmly in return.

King Hiashi glanced sideways at her and narrowed his eyes disapprovingly, the corners of his mouth twitching downward into a small frown only for a moment before resuming their flat, serious line of discontent that he held as he observed his subjects stoically. The king leaned close to her and whispered, covering his mouth with one hand. She remained firmly in place, but her eyes shifted to look at him as he spoke, and as the words came out of his mouth, Lord Neji could see fear, then pain, then disappointment flash in her eyes before she returned to normal.

Her eyes suddenly met his again, much to his surprise. She held his gaze for several long moments as she communicated a message that required no words or expressions.

He turned and muttered something to Lord Sasuke, who looked up at the dias and frowned in disgust, muttering words of refusal. But Lord Neji leaned close to his ear and whispered something to him, and the eyes of the Uchiha lord lit up with newfound determination. He looked at Lord Neji and nodded, smirking as he put his cup on a servants tray and turned to walk toward the dias. As he went, he passed by a pink haired Lady who smiled at him warmly. Though his expression remained stoic, his stomach filled with butterflies of excitement, and he nodded toward her — the only bit of acknowledgement he felt he could give her until Lord Neji fulfilled his end of the deal…

Lord Sasuke walked up to the dias and bowed low, then looked up at the king confidently - though he couldn't totally hide the bored expression that was starting to creep up onto his face. He knew his side of the bargain had to be fulfilled.

He glanced at her, then went back to looking at the king. He asked for a dance with her, and the king's eyebrow raised slightly before falling back into its normal position.

As if unable to hide his approval, the king very quickly accepted, nudging his daughter hard in the arm with his elbow. He glared at her with eyes that pierced her like daggers — a silent threat.

She rose and accept the Lord's outstretched hand. She smiled at him with all the trained grace of a princess, but there was underlying wariness in her eyes.

He lead her out onto the dance floor and more than once he pulled her close, muttering things in her ears. Her eyes widened, and twice she blushed or laughed awkwardly. But she maintained a pleasant smile and the worry seemed to fade from her eyes.

Lord Neji watched them for a few moments, then looked up at the king who was looking at his daughter hard. Soon the king smiled briefly with pleasure then glanced at Lord Neji. The smile then turned into a smirk as he glanced from Lord Neji to his daughter and back, as if trying to communicate some point. Lord Neji narrowed his eyes in anger, but showed no signs of being phased until he soon left the feast and walked outside — claiming to concerned friends that the heat of the room was getting to him.

Soon, the song ended, and Lord Sasuke leaned in to whisper something in her ear. She nodded, and took his arm, and he lead her outside. She glanced at her father only for a moment and nodded, to which he nodded back his approval before returning his attention to the feast — a very small smile painting his lips.

—

They walked down the stairs to the gardens.

"He is waiting for you by the lake, Your Highness," said Lord Sasuke.

"Thank you, my Lord. Oh, and I don't know how I will ever thank you for this. I hope things do work out for you and Lady Sakura. I will do everything in my power to make it so, I promise," said Princess Hinata, smiling appreciatively.

"Yes, well…do hurry, Hinata, we must get back soon — I fear our rouse won't hold up long," he said, looking at her irritably. He was allowed to call her that — he technically was a Prince and soon to be King in his own right of his own lands.

"Oh, you're right. Thank you again," she said as she turned, gathered her skirt in her hands and ran toward the lake.

She found him sitting on a bench looking out into the lake. She watched him at a distance for a moment, taking in the beauty of his face, his hair…everything, as the moonlight bounced off the lake and reflected back onto him.

She walked forward and before she could say anything, he turned.

She smiled at him, and he reached a hand out toward her. She ran toward him and slid onto the bench and up against his body to rest her head against his chest.

"Oh, my love," she said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Hinata," he whispered lowly in her ear as he buzzed his face against her hair. She smelled of lavender and vanilla. Lord Neji was the only Lord Princess Hinata ever allowed to call her by her name alone — and even then, it was only in secret for fear of angering the king and risking punishment.

"I am so glad you arranged this," she said, still sighing contently. "I have missed your touch over these last few days. I felt as though half of me was missing and that I was slowly starting to wither away and die."

Lord Neji frowned at that. He had felt a similar feeling — an emptiness and a terrible kind of agony while they had been apart. But he knew it had to happen — it was for the best.

They continuously risked scandal if they stayed together. Many already knew about their affair —including the king, who was not in favor.

"I have felt the same," he finally said, closing his eyes. "And seeing you with Lord Sasuke didn't help either."

She lifted away quickly and looked at him with concern in her eyes. "I thought you might have been privy to the script of that bit of theater. Did you two not come to some sort of agreement in advance?"

"We did, but those specifics were never discussed," said Lord Neji. "What did he say to you?"

She frowned slightly, but recounted the details, "Well…"

—

Lord Sasuke twirled her around once and then pulled her close. Her eyes widened in surprise at his brazenness. But then again, he was known for this trait.

"Hinata," he whispered lowly, nuzzling her ear, "act as if I am speaking sweet nothings to you. Blush if you must."

You are not making it difficult for me to do so, she thought, cheeks warming considerably as his breath tickled her neck.

"I have been instructed to escort you outside by a mutual friend of ours," said Lord Sasuke. He pulled away, then began more moves of the dance.

"Who," she whispered, mouth unmoving.

Lord Sasuke crosses his arms around her, pulling her close to his body again and whispered, "Neji."

Butterflies of excitement filled her stomach and she tried to keep her expression calm.

"How," she whispered, mouth unmoving. She knew he would understand.

He pulled her again again, "I will take you outside."

He pulled her in again — a bit more forcefully that time, "now blush again, Hinata. Must I find some way to make you?"

She quickly thought of the last time she was with her lover — he pulled her into a vacant room off of the East Wing and made love to her against the door, covering her mouth to keep her quiet.

She instantly blushed when she remembered the loud moan she made at the height of her climax and the servant to pounded at the door telling them to "be quiet, you filthy animals." She had likely assumed they were two fellow servants.

"Good," said Lord Sasuke with a slightly smirk, "you're even making me look good with that one — What is it that say about me? 'One look ruins ladies bloomers?'"

Lady Hinata laughed genuinely that time — and Lord Sasuke rolled his eyes before his smirk widened briefly before falling back down again.

He pulled her close again and said "Neji is going to secure a room for me and Lady Sakura tonight," he said. "Can you make sure that happens? That is why I am doing this — it is a great risk to us all, Hinata."

"Yes," she whispered, lips unmoving.

"Good," he said. He dipped her low and said close to her ear, "I will escort you to the gardens and stand watch. I will warn you if anyone comes. You must dismiss your guards."

She nodded once and smiled warmly.

As he pulled her up, he said, "your love for one another…I understand it, Hinata. You feel a connection. A bond. I will always honor that, no matter what happens." He looked at her hard, then glanced up at the dias. "Now, you must take the lead. Ask to go outside."

"Thank you," she out loud. "For the lovely compliment and the lovely dance. Would you mind escorting me outside for a walk? I do not want our evening to end, and I fear I am a bit warm," she said, a blush painting her cheeks.

"Of course, Your Highness," he said, smirking and holding out an arm to her.

—

"I see," said Lord Neji, a small smirk rising in the corner of his mouth. "Very clever."

"Sasuke has done us a great kindness, my love. He has put himself at great personal risk. But I am thankful that he believed our love strong enough to take the risk," she said, smiling.

He laughed sarcastically and said, "my love, I beg to differ. Sasuke was enticed by the prospect of sharing a bed with a fair maiden. He did not do it out of any real favor toward you or I."

"I am aware of that, too, my love," she said, smirking as a blush painted her cheeks. "But you did not hear the words he told me as we walked away from to party and out into he gardens. He has great respect for our relationship."

"Perhaps," he said doubtfully, smirking.

But his smile faded and he sat back in his original seating position, his eyes resuming their scan of the lake. "However, I fear that our little rouse only satisfied your fathers wishes even more of hoping for your marriage to Lord Sasuke. You know how long he has wished for your two kingdoms to join. He is hungry for that power."

"I am full aware of that risk. Let me deal with my father, Neji," she said, voice firm but her eyes downcast.

"It seems you have been struggling on that task, my dear," he whispered.

She looked up at him quickly, eyes wide, then looked down again, sadness falling over her face.

"You saw that, I would guess," she said, not needing to hear his answer.

"I could have told you what his answer would be," he said with a long sigh.

"I had to ask him, my love. It was the honorable thing to do — for my kingdom and for my father. But…" she said, starting to trail off as she turned to look out onto the lake herself.

"He refused to let you and I join hands in marriage," he said. "It is not surprising. I am nothing. I am of a lower class than you. The match would not be advantageous for the crown." He sighed, then looked at her and said, "you should marry Sasuke. It would be mutually advantageous. And he's a good lad…most of the time."

"He cares not for me," said Hinata bitterly. "As you yourself said, his affections are for…another."

Hinata turned and looked at him, her eyes pleading. "And I care not for him. Or anyone or anything else but you."

He gave her a small smile and said "you know I feel the same, but we cannot be together."

"But we must," she said a bit breathlessly. "I know you feel the connection that I feel. When I walk into a room, you are the first and only face that I see. When you are absent, I feel as if a piece of me is missing. When you are hurting, or happy, or angry, or feeling anything at all…I feel it to. We are bonded, my love. And I know you feel the same way."

He suddenly leaned in and kissed her — their lips lingering only for a moment before he pulled away. A pained expression came over his face.

"Duty is more important than love, Hinata," he whispered. "You must think of your kingdom—"

"Oh, bollocks my kingdom, Neji! This relationship we have goes beyond duty. It is life…and death. It is everything," she said, pulling away angrily.

She turned to look out onto the lake again, then she sighed — closing her eyes momentarily then opening them to look at him again.

"I would give up my entire kingdom for you, don't you get it," she said quietly, looking at him sadly. "You and I are connected. We always have been and always will be. Without you, I don't want any of it. It means nothing. Life means nothing."

They looked at one another for a moment, then they suddenly grabbed at one another, pulling the other as close as possible into an embrace.

"We…we will find a way, my love," he said quietly, "one way or another." Then he said more quietly, "I will find a way…"