Of Her Portrait

xcherrytoes

Chapter V: Sincerely Yours

My eyes felt like fifty pounds on each side, both accompanied by unattractive redness and bags. I saw my vision blur again as tears about. My nose, also unattractively runny too. I had made sure to cover my mouth with my blanket to muffle out my cries, I didn't want to wake Hinata up, and she must have been exhausted. I feel another sobbing choke coming as I burry my face into my blanket. I knew, right from the start, that this wasn't over. That I had been doing all too well with dealing with my parent's death. It was just the eye of the storm. It's about five in the morning now. I've been crying none stop. I've managed to avoid everyone after dinner. I have been able to succeed all that well. I take deep but quick breaths as quietly as I can.

"mmm… Sakura-chan?" she says as she flips on the lamp near by. I guess I wasn't as quiet enough. I keep quiet, maybe she'll think I was sleeping and heard nothing.

"Sakura-chan, are you awake?" she asks again. I sigh and pick my head up from the blankets.

"Y-yes, I am." My own voice sounds awful from all the crying fit, it completely gives everything away. Traitors.

"Oh dear…" she gets up from the bed and walks over to mine and sits down. She knows a lot better and jumps to the point.

"I just want you to know, it's okay to cry. You're supposed to." I know that.

"Actually, I've been worrying that you haven't." I know that too.

"So… I want you to take a day off today. I'll tell everyone you're too sick to work. "she says as she gives me a nice pat on my shoulder.

With some sniffles out of the way I mange to say

"But…"

"Don't worry, I can handle the chores, I've done it all before." She says. She was too kind, really.

"Thank you…"

I downed another cup of ginger tea for the fifth time. It helped me clear my sinuses, and also made my stomach feel a ton better. It must have been around the afternoon by now, I can tell because the house is a lot quieter with Lady Karin gone. She usually goes out around this time to shop or have tea.

Then suddenly, I heard three knocks from the door.

"Come in."

It was Lady Ino, she looked beautiful as always, even when she wasn't going out. She had some things in her hand.

"Sakura-san, how are you feeling?" she asks as she sits at the edge of my bed.

"I'm feel better." I reply.

"You know, when Sasuke-kun lost his parents, he hadn't painted for years."

Oh, so she knew.

"When did he start painting again?"

"When we had the garden created."

"Then I imagine it was the garden that gave him hope."

She looks at me for a moment.

"Actually, it's the other way around. He made the garden because he had hope. Because he needed to move on. The garden can be considered… I guess the final resting place for the memories of his parents, especially his mother."

He must have been deeper than I thought.

"I also imagine that his mother is beautiful as the garden then." I said.

She gives an airy laugh.

"She was an extraordinary woman, beautiful and elegant from the inside and out. Growing up in this house, she was my idol. "

I can sort of picture her now, if Lady Ino had modeled her self after mister Uchiha's mother, she must have been equally beautiful, or maybe even greater.

"Oh and his father, as handsome as they come that man." She said looking off into the distance.

"Taught Sasuke how to be a true gentleman. He was a very stern and domestic man." She spoke boldly about him.

"I see." I can only wonder.

"Anyway, I have brought you this." She hands me what was in her hands. I accept with care and steadiness, no need to drop it and embarrass myself. It was in a folded piece of delicate silk, it felt heavy. I removed it layer by layer until a beautiful comb came to view. It was gold. It had thousands of teeth with rubies and pearls embedded into it like flowers. It was crafted into an elegant perfection as vines of crystal shards dangled off it. I let out a ghostly gasp.

"L-Lady Ino, I cannot accept this." I say as I place my hand out to hand it back to her.

"Why not?" she simply asks.

"Well, it is made of gems and gold! Someone such as myself should not hold this." I answer.

"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Someone beautiful as you, should own something beautiful." She folds my fingers over and it pushes it back to my chest.

"Surely you must favor this piece madam, it's absolutely stunning." I trace my thumb over the pearls.

"I do, but it has no use for me. Pink accentuates my hair, don't you agree?" she says with a smile. I give a small one back.

"I must say, the ruby definitely brings passion to your unique hair. I have never seen anyone with such color." She says as she grabs a lock from the end and examines them.

"Neither have I." I reply.

"I assume you take great pride in them?"

"Yes I do. It is apart of who I am."

"Sasuke-san admires them greatly as well you know." She says with her eyes hinting something.

"He does?" I feel a blush creeping up.

"Why yes, and your eyes too. Pure as mint leaves itself. I remember the first night you arrived, he asked me about them that night. Wondering if I had seen anything like it."

"Madam I'm flattered." I say with a blush definitely present now.

"I know, that's why I have told you. Here, take this too." She hands me a bag this time. I look inside; it's tea leaves.

"Tea?"

"Yes, they're supposed to make you fall asleep instantly, and I assume you haven't gotten much sleep, your eyes are losing their shine. You certainly don't want him see them like that." She said as she stood up.

"Madam, I cannot thank you enough." I say a little ashamed.

"Please, there is no need. One day you'll repay me, even when you don't even realize it."

I believe her, her and her wisdom.

"Thank you." She smiles as she shuts the door behind her.

After Hinata had kindly made me the new tea, I instantly fell asleep just as she promised.

He was in my dream. He just stood there, his back facing me and looking off into some distance. He was there. I tried to reach out to him, tried to stand next to him, but no matter how fast or long I ran, the distance between me and him remained the same. I start tearing up for some reasons that I didn't understand. Was it because of frustration that I couldn't reach him? Was it because he didn't even know I was there? Was it because I felt like such a failure? I didn't understand, but I started crying anyway.

Then I woke up. I woke up because someone's hand was on my face, someone's thumb moving across my cheek. I woke up to his face.

I didn't say anything, I just stared at him. So he spoke first.

"Why are you crying?" he asked.

I don't answer for a moment, I just stared at him.

"Uh… I just had an uneasy dream." I finally answered.

"hn." He sits down next to me on the bed. I look to the side of my bed, and a new tea cup sitting on the lamp post.

"Did you bring that for me, sire?"

He looks away.

As if that would prove anything.

"Thank you." I said with a smile.

After a moment of sipping my tea and him just staring no where from my bed, he finally asked.

"Was this the sunflower field you spoke of?" he hands me my picture.

"ye- wait, how did you get that?" I asked a little too loud. No one has seen that picture.

"che, it was about to fall out of your pillow." He said, rolling his eyes.

He takes the picture back and looks at it. It seemed a thousand thoughts were going through his mind.

"How old were you in this picture?" He asked.

"I was sixteen, sire."

"How old are you now?"

"I am seventeen."

He continues to look at it.

I almost hesitate to ask, but I do it anyway.

"… How old are you, master Uchiha?" I was taking a bold step. Maids weren't allowed to ask personal details of their masters.

"I am twenty-two."

He was older than me, like I expected.

"Um, not to be rude sire, but why are you here?" he's never been in the maid's room.

A look of realization from a forgotten thought passes through his face for a second.

"I wanted to show you something, come." He walks out the door. I got out of my bed and headed out side. I had to run a little to catch up to him. We ended up outside for a second to go to the west wing of the house, a place I have never been in before. It was already nightfall, sort of a chilly night, my thin sleeping yukata barely provided any warmth. Then we finally reached a room. The room seemed to be located in a place where no one would ever be able to see it. It was small, untaken care of and out of any light. We walked in, and it was pitched dark. I was scared I would trip and then fall on my face or something. He walked around the room like he knew every inch of the place; he probably did actually. He turned on a small lamp in the corner, then another one and another one after that. Soon the room was lit as daylight.

I had never been so awe-struck, so astounded with what I saw. The walls were all painted, painted of sunflowers and the sky, all four walls. It felt real, like I was in the sunflower maze already. He had gotten each angle, each petals just right for each of the possibly hundreds of flowers that was drawn on the wall. I looked all around, slowly making a full circle. Then he finally asked.

"Do you like it?"

My mouth was agape from it all.

"You… did all this for me?"

He doesn't say anything. I'll take it as a yes.

"Master Uchiha, thank you so much. It's so beautiful." I said quietly, too distracted to actually talk. Then I finally broke my gaze at it and looked at him, he was looking at his own work too.

"Master Uchiha, this means so much to me. How could I ever repay you?" I was mind blown, I've never had this much kind-ness, this much sincerity given to me.

"You can stop calling me Master Uchiha first of all. It's a mouth full." He says in almost a grumpy tone.

"Then… how should I address you sire?"

"Sasuke." He plainly replied.

"Of course." If that's what he wanted, I'll give it to him. I would give him anything.

"Why did you do this for me?"

"… I wanted to give you a home." it took him awhile to answer, like he actually had to think about why he did it in the first place.

"A home? But sire- I mean… Sasuke, I am home." he looked at me strangely.

"This is my home now. Where I cook, where I sleep, where I serve you in your studio, that is my home."

I knew I was saying the strangest things. I am nothing but a simple maid. But I also knew that I had nothing to give him in return, so I gave him my words, a share of my heart to match up to his brilliance and artistry.

"When I'm next to you… I'm home."

"I don't know how I will ever show you my feelings of gratitude… " I said in a quiet voice. And while I was saying all this, he got closer and closer to me with each step.

He touched the ends of my hair that rested on my chest with his right hand and brushed it aside. He moved up to place his hand on my neck, his thumb resting on my jaw line. I felt his even and calm breath fan on my forehead, and I knew it was coming.

Our lips touched lightly for the first time.

And I also knew what I've been doing all this time, creating memories with him was wrong, because I was just a maid.

I knew sharing my feelings with him was wrong, because I was just a maid.

I knew having feelings for him in the first place was wrong, because I was just a maid.

And I knew I was breaking my promise to my passed father as I kissed him back endlessly.

But all the wrong things I've done, felt so lovely.

C'mon guys, did you all really think Sakura would be that cold towards the death? We all know she's a little unstable, hence the raging chakura pumped fist towards Naruto all the time. Smileyface smileyface. Honestly guys, I'm offened!

Review darlings, they totally make my day, more than eating cheesecake for breakfast!