Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto, just here for the fun of writing about our favorite pairing.

Summary: Sakura dreamed of adventures and the ocean and romance. The last thing she wanted to do was marry a cold-selfish egomaniac Prince. He empowered her and made her feel things she never knew possible. She planned to escape from him the moment she had a chance, so she could go find her dream place and be content, away from him. Only, she didn't think he would follow her and drag her back to his castle. She belonged to him, whether she liked it or not.

Pairing: Sasuke and Sakura

Rating: T+

Tropical Prince

By Tikanis and DreamDevourer

Chapter One

To marry a Prince

She always dreamed of seeing the ocean. She heard wondrous tales from the passing by travelers about the sky blue water. They told her about the mystical creatures that swam in the waters and the big waves that hit the mountain cliffs. She imagined it was a peaceful, serene place to live nearby. She would always press on with questions, trying to get as much information from travelers that visited the kingdom. They told her of the tropical fruits that grew in that land. She could only imagine what pineapples, oranges, or pomegranates would taste like. There was even one by the name of dragonfruit. How does one eat a dragonfruit? she mused.

She so badly wanted to go to that place. To meet the people there, to bask in the sun, and to swim with no clothes on. She blushed lightly at the thought. Of course, she would have some sort of water garment on. She was told that people there wore very little clothes because of the heat. She looked forward to that. She was always clad in so many layers of garments that she could hardly breathe.

She sighed. Her country wasn't bad; it just wasn't where she wanted to spend the rest of her life in. They had grand rivers and lakes, but no ocean. There were no creatures such as dolphins that lived in those rivers. They had apples and grapes but nothing compared to the tropical fruits she'd heard about. They had the normal four seasons, as did every other country nearby. But there wasn't anything extravagant here.

People were serious and dull. She wasn't allowed to go adventure outside the castle. When it snowed, she played outside, but within castle grounds. When it rained, she was rushed inside to her room, as if the rain would do her harm. During spring time, she helped plant new plants which brought some joy in her. In the summer, she was always shaded by an umbrella. God forbid her pale skin touched one bit of sunlight.

"Lady Sakura! You're wrinkling your gown!"

Sakura's head shot up from her pillow, startled. She had been lost in her thoughts, unaware that someone had come into her bedchamber.

"Oh, why fuss over it. It's not like I wish to be married anyways," Sakura replied, but didn't resist as her maid pulled her off the bed. She was frantic as she tried to brush off the wrinkles on her white gown.

"Now, milady, don't go around saying that. You know how gossip starts in these walls," her maid, Nana, warned.

Sakura adored the elderly woman. She looked after her as if she were her own daughter. Sakura's mother had died from an illness over ten years ago, when she was eight. The old woman was all she had as a motherly figure as she grew up. As for her father? He had grown as cold as the winters they had. The death of her mother did a number on him. She had an older brother, by two years, whom would eventually take over the kingdom once their father no longer could manage.

But for Sakura, there was no room for her in the castle. Her father had decided a week ago, just when she had turned eighteen, that it was time she wed. And now she stood in her room, dressed in a white gown that nearly took the breath out of her. Nana had tightened her corset so much, it made her dizzy.

"You must look perfectly presentable to your future husband," she proclaimed as she readjusted her curls and added small crystal pins to hold them up.

"Why is father doing this to me? Forcing me to marry a stranger? I've yet to lay eyes on the man!" Sakura protested. "Is he punishing me?

"Stop fidgeting," Nana said as she grabbed Sakura by her shoulders and kept her still on the cushioned seat in front of the mirror. "Your father adores you, milady. He's doing this because he knows it's best for you—"

"Best for me? How is it in my favor to marry a complete stranger! And he's been here for two days, yet I haven't had the privilege to at least meet the man!"

"That temper of yours surely isn't going to win you any favors at all, with your father nor husband—"

"Stop saying the word husband," Sakura warned. "The very thought of it makes me nauseous."

Nana's lips formed a thin line of displeasure as she watched Sakura's expression on the mirror. "Milady, please, I know you. Do not do anything you may end up regretting, for your sake. You know very well your father doesn't like to be embarrassed."

Sakura folded her arms over her chest and huffed. In less than an hour, she would be walking down the aisle to her new fate.

"And this fact should ease your worries a bit. The young prince is quite handsome. He has very dark hair, dark eyes and is very tall. He barely finished one cup of wine during last night's dinner, so at least he's not a drinker. He has very polite manners."

Sakura pretty much turned a deaf ear to her. She could care less who the supposed prince was. Getting married was not what she wanted. She wanted to taste the tropical fruits and swim in the sky blue ocean. She didn't want to be stuck in yet another cold stone castle.

"I think I look presentable enough, you may leave now," Sakura said in a cold tone. She felt guilty when she saw the hurt look on the elderly woman's eyes, but she shrugged it off. Nana simply nodded and walked out the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

Sakura glared at her reflection. She couldn't even recognize the person staring back at her. She had face powder on, making her complexion look whiter than it already was. The red lipstick Nana made her wear scared her. She didn't understand how anyone found it attracting.

With a frustrated growl, she knocked all her items from the table onto the floor. Her perfume bottles broke, along with her hand mirror. She glared at herself one last time before she placed her hands in the washbowl and splatted water on her face. She repeated the motion a few more times, until her skin felt clean. She grabbed the towel that lay near the bowl and dried her face.

One by one, she removed the hair clips Nana had placed in her hair. Her curls started crumbling down, against her shoulders. Nana had spent all morning curling her hair, she was going to kill Sakura for what she had just done. Next, Sakura grabbed at the ties behind her back. She would get herself out of this dress, if it was the last thing she did! And then she would go and give her father a piece of her mind. He had kept her locked away in this room all week, wouldn't even once hear what Sakura had to say.

She pulled the string from behind her dress and worked her fingers threw it, to loosen the bondage. With a smile of relief, she slipped one arm out from the sleeve of her dress and was going to do the same with the other when a cough came from the door.

Startled, Sakura twirled around, only to see a young man leaning against the door frame. His arms were crossed over his chest and a smirk like smile graced his face. Sakura was mortified as she quickly snaked her arm threw the sleeve again and adjusted her dress. "How dare you enter my room unannounced!?"

He grew frustrated as he went down from one hallway to the next, and still couldn't figure out how to return to the guestroom. He had only wanted to take a small stroll, to clear his mind, yet he was lost in this godforsaken castle. He would've asked for some help, but no one was around. They were all busy preparing last minute details for the wedding.

His wedding.

Yes, Sasuke Uchiha, the heir to the Uchiha empire, was getting married. Unbelievable.

This sham of a wedding wasn't his idea, but his mentor's, Kakashi. What better way to have an allegiance with the grand Haruno kingdom, than to marry the princess? He had told him a little over two weeks ago. All year, he had been out patrolling the North and East with his army, conquering and forming new allegiances under the Uchiha name.

There was a war brewing in the West, and he wanted to make sure he had a strong army to fight once it came to their lands.

The last stop was the Haruno kingdom. It remained neutral for the most part, but the grand army it held would be useful to him. Unfortunately, the King wasn't one to pick sides. He'd rather stay out of all matters outside his kingdom. He was delusional if he thought the war wouldn't reach his walls. So Kakashi told him to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage, and make no talk of any allegiance in terms of war.

At first, Sasuke was appalled by the idea. He didn't want to get married. He had no need of a wife. He had half the mind to not even attempt to gain an allegiance with the Haruno Kingdom. Of course, Kakashi scolded him, and reminded him that they needed access to the rivers that went through the Haruno Kingdom.

With a grim look, he had agreed to Kakashi's preposterous idea.

And so, here he was, an hour away from his wedding. He'd only been here for two days, and already he wanted to leave. He missed the ocean, he missed his home. He missed the hot sun. His usual tanned skinned had paled over the months of being away. He had been away for over a year, and desperately wanted to return as soon as possible.

A loud crash of broken glass snapped him from his thoughts as he neared a room with its door half opened. He wasn't one to sneak around, but this might be the only adventure he would find in this boring place.

Sasuke peered inside, only to come to a shocked halt. Low and behold, he found his bride. She was doing something to her hair that was causing them to fall down loose on her shoulders. She then stared at the mirror for a silent moment. She preceded by washing her face numerous times.

If he wasn't mistaken, the girl was undoing the work that some maid did on her. His thought was proven correct when she started to reach for the strings on the back of her dress. She fussed for a few minutes until she loosened the ties and suddenly he had a pleasant view of her porcelain shoulder.

He was leaning against the door frame, in awe. The girl should be getting ready for the wedding, not undressing out of her wedding gown. When her arm slipped out of the sleeve of the white gown, he knew should turn around and leave.

Yeah, right, he thought. He hadn't been given rights to see his bride until the wedding day. At first, he thought it was because the girl lacked any attractiveness. The King probably didn't want him to see his ugly daughter until it was too late to cancel the wedding. But the King was quick to assure him that the girl was in fact as "beautiful as the morning sunrise."

Well, if she was that beautiful, he had the right to see for himself. Still, she never appeared at supper nor any other events that were held in festivities for the upcoming ceremony. If she was being locked away, he had the right to know why. Maybe she had some sort of disease no one was telling him about.

Shaking his thoughts away, he turned his focus back to the young girl that was getting ready to remove her other arm from the sleeve. He sighed. He had to do the gentlemanly thing now.

Sasuke cleared his throat with a loud enough cough so she could hear him. He held his breath as she turned around, stunned. He couldn't help but grin at her shocked expression as she fumbled with the dress and tried to readjust herself.

"How dare you enter my room unannounced!?" she shouted, her cheeks turning a light shade of red.

By god, she truly was beautiful. Her father wasn't exaggerating when he compared her beauty to a sunrise. If she was what he had to wake up every morning to, he didn't think he would mind. Her stunning green eyes pierced through him and her lips pursed into a pout. She was getting ready to yell at him again.

"Well, don't just stand there! Leave!"

Looks like his bride had a serious temper. Was that what the King was trying to hide from him?

"Are you deaf?" she huffed as she came closer to him.

The rose smell drowned his senses.

She stopped a few feet away from him as he stood up straight. His grin only grew as she bent her neck to look up at him.

"No, I'm not deaf. I'm simply lost," he told her, which was the truth. He didn't purposely stumble into her room.

Her brow arched in disbelief as she crossed her arms over her chest, causing her breasts to uplift and give him a pleasant view.

"You're lost?" she scoffed. "And so you walk into my room? Do you have a death wish?"

It was his turn to raise his brow in question. "Why would I have a death wish?"

"My god, you are a dimwit, do you not know who I am?" she questioned, this time her arms fell down and her hands rested on her hips, such a womanly thing to do. "My father will have you hanged for walking into my room."

"Ah, you must be the princess," he replied as if he had no idea who she was all this time.

She huffed and rolled her eyes while he grew more amused.

"Why are you still standing there? Please be on your way," she demanded as she waved her hand at the door. He didn't reply, instead he leaned on the door frame again, this time with his hands in his pockets. He wondered if he should tell her who he was, maybe then she would be more pleasant and less demanding.

Just as he opened his mouth to set her in her place, he stopped, her eyes became alert as she let out a small gasp.

"Oh my god, it's you!" she pointed an accusing finger at him.

He straightened up and walked towards her. He took hold of her outreached hand and bowed his head, placing a light kiss on the top of her hand. "I usually go by the name of Sasuke," he said in a direct tone.

He wasn't sure if she was blushing from the kiss he placed on her hand or if she was mad at him for imposing on her.

He received his answer when she slapped him with her free hand. He was taken by surprise. No one had ever dared to touch him, much less slap him. His cheek stung, but he tried to keep his cool. For a little girl, she had a strong arm. "Careful Princess, I may indulge in many things, but such behavior I will not accept. Let this be the first and last time you do that."

It was a simple warning, a true warning. If that was how she was going to behave in his presence, he wouldn't condone it one bit.

"Or what? My lord, you are going to beat me?" she replied in a snarly voice. Man, the girl sure had guts. She was testing his patience. She had no idea who she was messing with.

"There are things far worse than beating," he said, dropping her hand, and grabbing her chin instead. He looked into her defiant emerald eyes and gave her a grim look in return. So she wasn't going to be an easy person to live with, it would appear. She definitely was going to be a handful, but Sasuke was always up for a challenge. "And if you are planning to runaway," he muttered, already figuring out what the girl had intended to do. It was clear she hated him. "Rethink it, because I will find you," he warned, staring intently down at her. "So I suggest you compose your self and await for the hour to finish." With that said, he moved away from her and left the room.

"Arrogant bastard!" he heard her yell, causing him to chuckle as he walked down the hallway. One thing he had feared was that he would marry a dull, weary girl, but the princess was definitely the opposite. There was no way he would get bored of her. She would probably do her best to anger him, but definitely not bore him. Ah, things were going to get interesting.

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