Naruto: Chosen

Girls like me aren't princesses. And not even Sasuke, with all the time we spent together, was able to truly love me. So why was I suddenly convinced that the prince could do it? A Four knows her place.

A shadow then drew my attention away from the flowers. It was Itachi Uchiha. Tall, imposing, incredibly handsome, but with a gloomy countenance.

- You should join the others, miss.

I pursed my lips in anger at the man. Izumi loved him, but I didn't. And for that, I could be cruel. My friend had stopped living, waiting for letters.

- She's still waiting for you," I said angrily, and for a moment he didn't seem to understand. I turned my back on him and went to join my group.

Ino grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into a corner as soon as I arrived.

- I talked to the prince. He asked if I wanted to see him this week.

I was torn between sadness and happiness, but I smiled. I had to smile. Ino was my best friend, and she deserved to be happy. Naruto was wonderful, and he deserved a woman who loved him.

***

When the confusion finally subsided, Private Obito accompanied me to the bedroom. When we opened the door, we found Rin crying on the floor, in Samui and Shizune's arms.

- Rin! - Obito accidentally pushed me and knelt down beside the maid, wrapping her in his arms.

- What's going on? - I asked, fearing the worst.

- Close the door! - Obito shouted, and I slammed the door without realizing it.

He was kissing Rin's brown hair and murmuring words of comfort as he held her tightly. I sat on the bed, watching the scene, still not understanding. That's when Samui sat down next to me, also looking at what was happening.

- Shizune was born here in the Palace, her parents still live here. I'm an orphan, I was recruited because the Palace needed manpower. But Rin was sold.

- Sold? No... There is no... There's no such thing as slavery.

- Not exactly. Do you know the Uchiha? - The surname gave me goose bumps. - Rin was born in the Village of Wings. When she was a child, her mother fell ill, and she and her father went into debt to the Uchiha to buy medicine. It was years of slavery, without being able to save her mother. They had no better life than that of stable animals. The thing is, a son of that family fell in love with Rin.

I looked at Obito, and for the first time, I felt I really saw him. He had black eyes, the same eyes as Izumi and Sasuke, the eyes of the Uchiha.

- Obito...

- When his grandmother found out, she sold Rin and his father to the castle. But some loves don't see caste - Samui smiled slightly. - He came after her.

For a moment, I felt envious of Rin.

- He has nothing left, no money, no prestige, but he has a surname and a caste. But six months ago, the Palace was attacked and Obito wasn't there. Rin was dragged away and raped, and since then, she hasn't been able to behave during these attacks. Being a maid is an honor, we are always well dressed, we must be clean and polite. Rin's health is fragile and she would end up chopping wood if anyone found out that she couldn't control her emotions. Luckily, Obito is always here to calm her down. Madam... - Samui took my hands in his. - Don't give her up, don't let them take her away from us.

I nodded and turned my eyes to Rin, asleep in Obito's arms.

***

The day after the attack, he was standing in front of my window with her. Karui, with her long blood-colored hair braided perfectly, was wearing a lovely lilac dress. The prince wasn't far behind, wearing a light blue polo shirt and white dress pants.

They were sitting on a bloody red and white checkered picnic tablecloth, laughing together as the cameras panned around, capturing the best angle of Karui, who, unfortunately, seemed to have all the right angles.

I even glanced at Ino in our internal conversation, but the dear prince seemed to have an irresistible attraction to going in exactly the opposite direction. If there was anyone in that group who definitely couldn't be Queen, it was Karui. Even I would feel more qualified than her.

- Are you thinking? What happened? - Kakashi came by that morning to check on me. The attack had been really frightening, but not fatal, so Kurenai had only given us permission to write a short letter home.

Checking my health seemed more like a pretext for the designer to rummage through my closet and take possession of my office supplies to bring at least half a dozen new dresses to life.

- I almost died yesterday. I think I have a right to be pensive," I replied, without looking away from the couple posing in the garden. Would he try to kiss her? What if, at some point... Damn it, I didn't want to think about that. Angrily, I closed the curtains tightly.

- Can I have your attention, please? - Samui and Rin stopped making the bed. Shizune frowned, while Kakashi just brought his cup of tea to his lips.

- It's normal to feel jealous, but you have to understand that the prince's job in this competition is to get to know as many girls as possible.

I opened and closed my mouth several times, counted to ten and even considered choking that man. Would anyone miss him?

- WHAT? WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? - and everyone laughed at me. I collapsed into a soft armchair and let out a smile, despite their laughter.

That's when Shizune, with a mischievous grin, pulled out a deck of cards from one of her apron pockets and we started playing.

I didn't know how my three maids spent their time, but from the five consecutive rounds I lost to Shizune, I knew that at least one of them was a pro at cards. The conversation flowed naturally, even Kakashi put down his drawings and, to my amusement, shamefully lost to Shizune.

I learned that for every ten people I saw in the Palace, there were at least a hundred or more hiding somewhere. I knew about the cooks and laundresses, but there were also those whose only job was to keep the windows spotless. This team would take a whole week to finish the job, and by the time they finally finished, the dust had already crossed the Palace walls.

The goldsmiths, meanwhile, spent their days making jewelry for the royal family, and Kakashi accidentally let it slip that, thanks to the princess, they were busier than ever. Then there were the fashion designers, like Kakashi. Some of them didn't create anything, but were responsible for finding the best fabrics to dress the royal family and, now, the selected ones too.