- What if he's kissed half the room and they're all keeping it a secret? - Mei suggested, raising a possibility that made the atmosphere even more tense.
- What if it's a lie? No one will have the courage to ask the prince, will they? Is that her strategy? - Pakura raised another doubt.
Me, Pakura, Hinata, Tenten and Mei watched as Yugito told the story once again to another group, now in more detail, as if she was enjoying every word.
- Do you think she would do that? - I asked, doubt reflecting in my voice.
- If that's the case, I wish I'd thought of it before," Pakura said, biting the inside of her cheek, visibly irritated.
- This is complicated... - I sighed. - I like almost all the girls in this hall. I don't want to see them as competitors.
- I know... - Hinata sighed deeply, her eyes reflecting a slight frustration. - I don't want to see them as rivals, but every time someone mentions the prince and what they did together, I feel something tighten inside me.
- That's what I was saying to Pakura the other day. She's so refined, she'd definitely make a great queen, but... I want that crown. - Hinata's eyes met mine for a moment. In the silence, we realized that we were thinking the same thing. Tenten had said crown, not prince.
Two days later, the next piece of news arrived. Yugaõ appeared in the hall. Normally calm and reserved, never raising her voice, that day she came up to us and shouted.
- Look at those earrings! - she exclaimed, pointing to her ears adorned with dark, shiny amethysts. - They're Nadeshikino amethysts. The prince said they reminded me of my hair. He gave them to me.
His words provoked a new wave of murmurs and disappointed looks. The confidence I had been trying to sustain simply crumbled.
As the stories multiplied and the presents piled up, my desire to disappear, to hide in my room, grew more and more. It was a great day to play cards with Shizune and let her let me win, just to dispel the uncomfortable feeling.
I was about to leave the hall when Kurenai entered. Her countenance was a mixture of tiredness and excitement at the same time.
- Ladies! - she exclaimed, trying to attract attention and impose silence. - All here?
We answered in chorus, confirming.
- Thank heavens! - she said, relieved. - I know this is very short notice, but we've just received word that the king and queen of the Land of Waves will be visiting us in three days' time.
"Suigetsu's brother and sister-in-law" - an inner voice reminded me.
- And it doesn't stop there. The prince and princess's cousin and aunt are on their way. We'll soon have a full house. Cancel everything you had planned for this afternoon. Etiquette lessons begin immediately.
***
Anyone would think that the Palace staff had had months to plan the event. Tents were set up in the gardens, and tables laden with food and wine were spread out on the lawn. The number of guards was considerably higher than usual, and there was even the thunderous reinforcement of King Mangetsu's personal guards. I'd say even he knew how dangerous the palace could be.
One of the tents housed thrones for Queen Tsunade, Princess Karin and Naruto, as well as the monarchs of the Land of Waves. The queen of Kiri, Ajisai, was lovely, small and delicate like a flower - in fact, she was even more beautiful than Princess Karin, and the two of them seemed very friendly. Everyone was comfortably ensconced under the tent, with the exception of Naruto and Suigetsu, who, in the company of Naruto's cousin Nagato, were laughing uproariously while holding glasses of wine.
- Sakura - someone called out to me. I turned to my right and saw Yugaõ and Mei talking to a woman who looked almost identical to Queen Kushina, which scared me a little. - Come and meet the queen's sister.
Something in Mei's attitude, I don't know exactly what, made me uncomfortable with the invitation.
I joined them and bowed to the lady, who, smiling, said with a laugh:
- Kushina's not here, beautiful. I'm the only one left. And please, no bowing to me. You can call me Lady Mito, or simply Mito, as you prefer.
She held out her hand and I took it, feeling her hand tremble slightly during the greeting. Her posture was perfectly upright, and her long red hair, similar to Karin's, fell softly over her shoulders. Her eyes were black, and at that moment they were downcast. I understood why when I saw that she was holding an almost empty wine glass in her hands - not for the first time.
- Where are you from again? You look like you come from a small town... Fronteira Village? Village of the Wings? - she started to guess, but I laughed and denied it.
- Tea Town, ma'am. Where are you from?
- Vila da Brisa. Right on the coast. Kushina and I grew up in the humblest house there - she said, making a gesture with her hand, as if showing the size of the house with her thumb and forefinger, to emphasize her point. - And look at me now. Kushina also enjoyed her part.
- My parents took me to the seaside once, I loved it.
- Oh, no, no, child. You need to visit Brisa beach. It's like no other in the world. Ask my son, when he's not bragging about the women he's met around the world, he brags about the beaches.
I agreed with her, I'd love to see more of the country. I'd love to meet more people, but it was unlikely that I'd get the chance. Just then Mito's son appeared and made Yugaõ almost faint. He had large, calm eyes, red hair a little longer than usual and an adventurous air that could seduce even the most faithful of mortals. Nagato took his mother with him to talk to Naruto, but not before giving Yugaõ a wink.
- She's not hilarious," said Mei, snapping Yugaõ out of his trance.
- She seems nice," I commented, trying to lighten the mood.
- Very vulgar," condemned Yugaõ, with an expression of disdain. - You should have heard what she told us before.
- What's wrong with her? - I asked, narrowing my eyebrows.
- It seems our dear has forgotten a few etiquette lessons," Mei said with a mischievous smile.