Chapter 22

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Sakura was a ghost the next two weeks.

No one talked to her; or rather, she didn't talk to anyone, whatever chore she was assigned would be magically finished under the hour, then the door to her bedroom slammed shut and no one would see her again.

She had moved everything in her room over a bedroom, so she would be alone. Hinata didn't know what she did wrong, so she went over and knocked on her door to see if she could apologize. But, the locked door would never swing open.

The manor's mood changed drastically once Karin came. She decided (not so helpfully) to stay in the castle, but she ordered around the servants so much, they despised her almost as much as Sakura did.

"She's like the evil stepmother I never had," complained Ino as she came back from Karin's room. Rin sighed, right next to her. "Did you know that she wanted to stay in Uchiha's room? But he said no, obviously. I don't even know why he lets her stay here."

"Right?"

And so, the joyous demeanor in the ball quickly diminished.

Sakura stayed locked up in her room, listening to the echoes of servants' feet and the chatter of hushed voices. It's like she's our new Master, she thought.

In the past two weeks, she wasn't eating as much as she used to eat. Maybe she was overreacting a little- he just rejected her, right? It wasn't even like... like they had anything go between them. But that was just it. She thought there was something going between them.

Her skin had become shallow, her cheekbones becoming more prominent and the usual plumpness in her face shrinking. Her usually sparkling green eyes had become a dull moss color, with the usual smile in her mouth a permanent frown.

Lately, she had felt like someone was stalking her... but she could've just imagined it, right? She hadn't been eating a lot for the past weeks, so it could've been that she was hallucinating. Or something like that.

The only signs of life Sakura showed was when she went to the library.

It was a place of wonder, the books, and it helped her escape the reality that she was living in. Stories upon stories that she didn't want to leave behind, until she found another book that she could be sucked into.

In comparison, she felt more alive when she read the books; she had lost connection with everyone else after all. Even if it had been a masquerade, she had a feeling that everyone knew who the maiden in pink was. After all, she was the only servant with pink hair.

Days upon days upon days of finished chores and reading books, eating, sleeping, chores, books, eating, sleeping. And that was her schedule for two weeks.

Until...

She pushed the door open and closed it shut, not even noticing that the lock was already open.

"Well hello, Sakura Haruno."

She jumped and dropped the book she was holding; it was days since she talked to anyone. "Don't be so scared," crooned Karin. Her eye glinted with a glare she didn't like. "I'm only here to talk, after all."

Sakura blinked and then picked up the book again. "You can have Uchiha." Her voice was raspy from the lack of use, but she felt something coil inside of her as she said those words.

Karin blinked, then laughed. "Don't think I'm that naive, Sakura. I'm not as dumb as everyone thinks I am. Besides, don't think that I didn't see that kiss that you two shared. It didn't go past me."

"I said you can have Uchiha. I don't care about him anymore. I know what he did."

"Oh? What exactly did he do?"

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