The Weight of Shadows

Chapter Four: he said go dry your eyes

Life #3000

She was swept up in a swirl of silken fabric, the near silent rustling of her dress drowned out by the music suffusing through the hall. Had she not been who she was, then perhaps she would have been laughing and singing along joyously with the other ellith. Exchanging gossip on the comings and goings of the Lords and Ladies of the court. Politics was a minefield and a half, though by that point Sakura was an old hand at navigating the tenuous waters. Elves had problems with kin slayings, unlike the courts of the Elemental Nations, meaning the waters weren't as treacherous as others she had waded through before. Though it certainly didn't make small talk easier. If anything, it made it harder, given that her company were... older in the grand scheme of things.

Truly, the lifespan of elves was somewhat mindboggling when she compared it to her numerous other cycles. Dimly, some part of her wondered whether her elvish life would once again be cut short by blade or foe. Probably. Sakura could only sigh, a neutral expression plastered on her face as she danced with her fourth partner for the night who was evidently unnerved by her colouring far too much. He had yet to speak to her, and Sakura knew he was only dancing with her as a formality. She was Lord Rog's Seneschal, and it was rather well known that her authority in the House she helped govern was second to none. Even Rog knew that much – hence why she could ensure he was punctual for once in his life.

Sakura chuckled privately inside her mind at the thought of her beloved lord. He was an incredible smith, and mighty in battle, but one of his failings she was privy to was his terrible habit of becoming too absorbed in his work. Or his attention wandering as he rested in the privacy of his chambers. Then again, that was why she had risen to the position she had. She cared for him, deeply. Nothing of the romantic sort – she knew her own feelings well enough by then. He was... akin to Naruto in a way, particularly as to how she felt him. A dear friend. A brother in arms. Wisely, she didn't linger on the thoughts of the lifetimes where she had actually gotten married to the whiskered blonde.

There had been a happy contentment in those lives. Her eyes lost the sharp glare they had in them, softening ever so slightly as she caught sight of his red hair within the crowd of dancers, there one second and gone in the next. So full of energy and life. It was strange how incarnating in the many versions of that world of elves and men made her nostalgic, yet not miserable or grief-stricken when she thought of how much she had lost to reach that point. Of how many cycles she had been through. Of how much she had loved and lost.

Her dance came to a conclusion then, the both of them gliding and spinning their way to the outer eaves of the dancing crowd, and Sakura bowed in acknowledgement to her partner before they parted ways silently. She glanced towards the various groups milling about, some discussing heavy matters, and others discussing who was dressed the most sharply out of all of the bachelors there that day. Sakura steered away from those groups – partly because Lord Rog came up in conversation there, and partly because that sort of talk made her think of Ino. She didn't want to think of her first friend on a night like that one, when there was supposed to be talk and cheer amongst them all. It was a celebration. That didn't warrant her thinking morosely on friends long dead. She had never found herself in the same sort of relationship with Ino again. They weren't the same as the first life.

Still, it didn't stop her from procuring a glass of elven wine and sliding away into the shadows. The stillness and quiet was a welcome relief from the bustle of music, song, and silk within the ballroom of the palace. Sometimes she just needed that – a moment of quiet. She had never been particularly outgoing, and more often than not she liked her own company every now and then. The perks of being a centuries-old being, not that anyone else knew that. They simply thought she had been born in Gondolin – a short while before its completion and the move of Turgon's host, was actually the more correct answer. They knew nothing of her past cycles.