Thank you to everyone who has read, watched, faved and reviewed my story. It's because of so much support that I enjoyed writing it as much as I did. I never once imagined that something I had written could have been so popular or so enjoyed.

However, I must regret to inform you that I have decided to discontinue Desert Flower.

It was a hard choice that I made months ago, but I don't want to leave everyone hanging. It's not simply that I'm lazy and have chosen to give up this story. I had a vague story line sketched out, which involved multiple confrontations between Sakura and Gaara, where eventually Gaara would realize he was wrong and didn't understand the concept of love at all. It sounds a little cliché without all of the detail. Eventually, Gaara would have (a bit forcefully, I won't lie, but not violently) Sakura train with him to help her do well in the next round of the chuunin exams, so that she could 'fight for him', in a more symbolic and less creepy way than he'd previously make her. Over that month, it would be a little strained, but they would eventually fall into place with one another.

In the meantime, Temari would have survived, and Sasuke would have made her tell him everything, and he would have confronted Sakura and told her that he would protect her at all costs.

The next round would roll around, and low and behold, Sakura would have to fight Sasuke, but before they could get more than a few moves in, the signal would be given and the Sand invasion would start. After that, pretty much all of the canon Invasion of Konoha events would take place, until the end where Gaara would force his siblings to take him back to Sakura after Naruto's speech gives him a change of outlook, and he sincerely apologizes for all he is done to her. Sakura forgives him, seeing the state that he's in, and kisses him.

Months later, during the Rescue Sasuke arc, Sakura would be fighting Kimimaro, and Gaara would save her, their eyes would meet, and the story would end then and there.

You see, this is what I planned. However, I will not be writing it out. I felt that because you've all stuck by me for the three years I actively wrote this, you at least deserved to hear how it would play out. And now I guess you deserve an explanation as to why I stopped writing it.

First of all, I dislike this story. I really do. Once upon a time, I lived for angsty, sadistic fanfics. Nowadays, my interest has been pulled to other places, and I'm really not as interested anymore. It's not the kind of fics I like to write anymore, and rarely the kind of fic I'd like to read. I also feel that the quality of the writing (from grammar and word choice to plotlines and in-character writing) isn't up to my personal standards. I don't feel that I've come light-years, but I think I've improved past my 8th grade writing level, which was when this was started and when most of this was written.

Next, I've pretty much left the Naruto fandom. I can't keep up with the plotline to a point where I feel I know it well, and as far as the people in the fandom, I just feel like I don't get along with them as much as I used to. I've moved on to the fandoms of Hetalia and The World Ends With You – a very popular fandom, and a somewhat smaller one XD; - and I will likely not be making a return to the Naruto fandom any time soon, if not for a quick suddenly inspired one-shot.

I hope you've all enjoyed the journey, and I'm sorry I have to bring it to an abrupt end, but I would rather give up on this story than force out chapters of something I didn't enjoy writing. Thank you for the inspiration, everyone, and I hope you find other fics you enjoy.

~Princess of Thieves