(Art from @Myxtic_art)
Cursive is flashback
Her fingers trembled, picking at her hangnails nervously while she stared at her reflection. Although she could have been looking at someone else's reflection, or at least that was how she saw it. How she saw herself. She could barely see herself in the girl of the mirror. That girl had her hair carefully and perfectly up. It even had a delicate string of tiny white flowers surrounding a low bun. And that was only the tip of the iceberg.
Her dress... Not even Kurva's girls wore stuff like that. For starters, this one wasn't as revealing. Instead, it was just as delicately mature as her hairstyle. In fact, the only thing that could be seen of her was her back thanks to the not-so-subtle opening it had; and her arms. But in any case, the quality and royalty of this dress just couldn't compare to those her co-workers wore. However, it luckily didn't look like it was straight out taken from a princess book, something she was thankful for. She was self-conscious enough as she was, there was no need for the dress to have flamboyant clothes, sequins, or any other eye-catching ornament. And still, the dress was for certain made to catch everyone's attention. Especially because of how well it fit (Y/n).
She wore other complements too, like a pair of golden rose earrings, or a fine bracelet of that same color. But the more she looked at herself, at that beautiful girl in the mirror, the worse she felt. Her skin was getting colder and colder, and her stomach was starting to turn. The more time that passed, and the closer she was to the set time, the less air she got in her lungs. And not even when she was heavily trying to breathe with her mouth fully open was she able to feel the oxygen in her body.
"Hey," a voice sounded behind her. The door had creaked open, but (Y/n) didn't hear it. Just like she couldn't hear Kakashi's voice softly calling for her. He noticed her absent-minded state and how her back and arms seemed tense. He knew the feeling, the somewhat familiar sensation of an invisible force, pulling you down, pushing everything deep inside the body, and out of it at the same time. Panic attacks were no mystery to him, so he stopped peeking in and stepped inside the room, approaching her so she could see him through the mirror "(Y/n)," he called her again, a little bit of worry present in his eyes.
Finally, her gaze moved from her image to look at the silver head's reflection instead. But just for a moment, then the nerves came back and she looked down, at her hands once again.
"I don't think I can do it," she admitted, swallowing hard when she felt a growing ache in her throat.
Kakashi's frown deepened and he approached her even more. He laid both hands on each of her uncovered shoulders. The touch of their skin against each other made her eyes snap to him again. She felt her breath even more caught up when she realized how his dark eyes were looking at her through the mirror. Then, her skin started to heat up when his hands gripped what he hoped was soothingly.
"You can," he said calmly but really confident "I believe you can; and Soo-Yun does too," he spoke again. But it only made her more nervous, afraid of letting both of them down. He realized he wasn't helping at all and after pulling off his mask for her his hands gripped a little bit tighter "I'll be with you. He will be too. You won't be alone on this"
"What if I mess up?" she finally said, turning around to look at him directly and not through the mirror.
And this time, it was Kakashi's breath that got caught up in his throat. At first, it was because of her worried expression and distressed (e/c) eyes. But then, it was her stunning looks that stunned him.
"What if I get discovered?" she continued when he didn't answer, her eyes looking down dejectedly again. But they soon looked up to him when one of his hands moved from her shoulder to her cheek, forcing her to look back at him.
"You won't," he said when he was certain she was staring right at his eyes. Although then he started to get a little bit nervous under such mesmerizing beautiful (e/c) eyes "I won't let that happen" he said, caressing her cheek with his thumb and giving her an electric buzz all through her spine. And on top of that, his hand wandered to her waist on its own "You look amazing," his voice sounded softer this time, making her feel her blush inside her chest, as weird as that might sound "You're already taking the part of a princess perfectly," he added, even lower while he neared her shoulder, thus making it sound near her ear. Then he placed on her skina kiss as delicate as her. The hand on his waist traveled to her back, doing tender caresses with the tip of his fingers over her visible skin. For a moment, (Y/n) forgot about her worries, and instead, she just melted on his touches and kiss, placing her own hand on his chest as support "Anyone would easily believe you are to be a queen," he said one last time, placing another light kiss, this time closer to her neck.
But then a knock was heard, making both of them separate; although only slightly. Kakashi looked back towards the door, while (Y/n) stared at his lovely features and profile.
"Miss? It's time," the servant's voice sounded from the other side of the door.
"I'm coming!" (Y/n) said from inside.
Kakashi turned to her, about to pull his mask up again and let go of her. But he was stopped when her hand was placed over his, preventing him from covering himself again or separating from her. She stood on her tip-toes and kissed him, this time on his lips.
It caught him so much by surprise, that his previously tender caresses on her back had transformed in his complete hand on her skin, pressing her closer to him. And of course, his red cheeks were now on pair with hers. She separated as unexpectedly as she kissed him, leaving him even more entranced.
"I can do this," she said pulling his mask up again and trying to sound confident, but especially trying to believe it herself.
Then, she disappeared out the door, forcing Kakashi to snap out of his trance and follow her. Although as soon as they arrived at the ballroom he had to step further away from her, leaving her with her 'soon-to-be husband' Soo-Yun, who like her, wore very elegant clothes.
Everyone's eyes inside the festive and ample hall turned to Soo-Yun and (Y/n) as soon as they got inside, making her even more nervous. Soo-Yun extended his hand to her, having a charming smile, and as soon as her hand held his he made a soothing caress on it.
"We'll nail this," Soo-Yun said to her, hoping to ease her nerves. She didn't look as anxious, but he knew her enough to know she had been probably restless ever since they discussed today's plan.
"We will host the engagement party" Soo-Yun announced to (Y/n) and Kakashi, the only ones inside his office that hadn't heard of the plan yet.
"The idea is to make Lord Soo-Yun seem focused on his bride and not his enemies," Soo-Yun's closest advisor, the same that followed him everywhere explained "And given our recent victory against Suna's ninjas it will give out a look of overconfidence"
"In other words," this time Soo-Yun's cousin and right-hand man spoke "it will be the perfect opportunity for them to try and infiltrate" he explained as if (Y/n) and Kakashi needed it in easier words. It wasn't that he thought they were stupid, it just was that he was stupid and had needed other words when the plan was explained to him.
"(Y/n)," this time Soo-Yun spoke directly to the (h/c)-haired girl "Do you remember when I told you I thought someone from the palace was a traitor?" she nodded "We'll use the party to confirm it. I've narrowed it down to three people" she nodded again, invested in whatever it was that managed to unveil the conspirator. Although she wouldn't be as thrilled soon.
Unluckily, the ways of royalty didn't help (Y/n) with her nerves. As a Lord, and a Lady, there was a lot of paraphernalia and superfluous chats to be held. Soo-Yun, of course, was more than used to and made for it. He was an expert on favorably driving his counterparts into the conversation. But Soo-Yun knew what he was doing when he chose (Y/n) for the job, and although she didn't have the same experience she had a natural charm and way for words that left a very good impression on those she spoke with, even him.
Their walk of greetings and vain conversations seemed to get to an end, or rather a pause, when they got to their first objective. (Y/n) had already seen him from afar, and the handshe had hooked on Soo-Yun's arm tightened when she did. Rver since, she had been trying to discreetly locate what she had to get from him.
"This," Soo-Yun said, taking a ring off his finger and passing it to (Y/n) "My father made a ring like this for everyone in the court to signify they were from an elite group: the men that were close to the king and got to advise him," he explained. Meanwhile, (Y/n) inspected the piece of jewelry. It was from a dark silver, quite a thick ring in fact. A dark ruby was in the middle, surrounded by two chiseled eagles that symbolized Soo-Yun's noble clan "You will have to steal this from the three suspects"
"Ah, such a lovely pleasure to meet you at last," the youngest man and 1st objective said when he found (Y/n) alone. She smiled, bowing her head to him. He quickly bowed back "Oh please no, I should be the one, please" he repeated "I'm Dal," he introduced himself, politely holding (Y/n)'s hand to lay an even more polite kiss on it. It lasted less than a minute, but that had been enough for her to deftly take the ring off his finger.
"(Y/n), although perhaps you already knew," she giggled. Even if she did it more out of awkwardness due to having such a big ring hidden in plain sight.
"Why?" she asked, starting to feel the enthusiasm being replaced by nervousness.
"My father was a cautious man. He didn't trust most of the people around him so he got that ruby in the ring infused with chakra" Soo-Yun explained "It was made with a special technique from my mother's family and that I only know how to undo. Once I have it, I will be able to see what the carrier has seen during the last few days. This way, we will for sure see who is the traitor, where he has been, and who he has seen"
"Does it have to be her the one to steal it?" Kakashi asked with a frown.
"Ah, here you are" Soo-Yun suddenly appeared, interrupting the fleeting meeting between Dal and (Y/n) "May I take her for a dance?" he humbly asked Dal who of course, didn't refuse. After all, this was their ball.
Soo-Yun looked at (Y/n) with a smile and pulled her into the space for dancing. She swallowed when their hands entwined, remembering that she had absolutely no idea how to dance. Soo-Yun had told her to just follow him, but she was obviously still uncertain. Surprisingly, it went smoother than she believed, and Soo-Yun's hands and feet were able to guide her and even make it look as if they had danced together a million times.
"It does," Soo-Yun answered Kakashi, holding his stare like they hadn't during their stay in the Land of River. In fact, they hadn't even spared each other a glance since (Y/n) and Kakashi got there "They're always wearing the ring so it can only be stolen from them personally. They are also old men with an even older mindset, they will stay on guard as soon as a man approaches them. But they won't suspect anything from her. To them... women are meant for nothing else than to be women and bring heirs to the world. They will let their guards down with her while not a single man would be able to approach them" he explained, annoying Kakashi more than the jonin would admit.
"I can steal it," (Y/n) spoke with a sudden and short outburst of confidence "But they will realize it's missing if they're always wearing it like you say they do..." Soo-Yun looked at her and smiled softly, bothering Kakashi even further.
"We will give you copies to replace them"
(Y/n) slid the stolen ring between Soo-Yun's fingers while they danced. His turquoise eyes didn't part from her (e/c) ones while they danced, and although her eyes kept his stare, she didn't seem as calm as him. Especially when he slid the copy in her hand in return. She looked around, afraid someone would see and getting even more and more uncomfortable the more she saw people were indeed staring at them. But of course they were, after all, they were the couple of the event.
"Look at me," Soo-Yun's voice sounded peaceful over her, making her look at him again "If this is to work," he said, so close to her that her eyes almost stopped looking at his turquoise ones to look at his lips instead "we must appear madly in love," he finished with a similar feeling. His words, voice, and calm expression made her finally relax, and perhaps, even enjoy the dance The way his body held hers, swaying with the slow melody of the music... She almost smiled.
But of course, the dance came to an end with the song, and with it (Y/n) slowly became nervous again. She found Dal, and this time dancing with him she managed to slip back the ring on his finger unnoticed.
After that, and after a few more people that she was introduced to, the 2nd objective appeared. And similarly, when he introduced himself to her, she slipped the ring off his finger. This time, however, she wasn't interrupted by Soo-Yun, or anyone else. Instead, after having a conversation with the 2nd man, a silver-haired young man wearing a simple yet also elegant clothes approached her. Kakashi extended his hand to her as a way of asking her for a dance, which she quickly and gladly accepted, feeling relaxed now that she wasn't alone again.
"Do you have it?" she ushered after giving him the ring. Unlike with Soo-Yun, she didn't try to mask her anxious state with him. He held her steadier, his proximity making her feel his peace.
"I do," he said, sliding the other ring into her hand like the Lord had done before.
Once again, she couldn't help but look around, but Kakashi just looked at her. He felt bad for having to make her go through something like this on top of having to pretend to be Soo-Yun's bride. But seeing her so anxious for so long just made him feel even worse. Why did it always seem like she was having a bad time? Why couldn't she just be happy? He kind of felt guilty for it, and thus he always wished to make it up to her. To fix it, even if he was normally clueless about how to do it.
"You're doing great," he said, making her finally stare right into his eyes. And for a moment, she forgot of the situation she was in.
Lost in the depth of his dark eyes, and the way he looked at hers, she forgot of everything and everyone around her. She forgot about the music, about the curious looks she had on her, about the chatter surrounding them. Everything just came down to him and her while they span around the dancefloor.
"You're amazing," the words came out of Kakashi's lips on their own, softly while he held her hand better. She was tempted to bury her face on his chest in order to bury her faint blush, but she had to keep a relative distance from him for she was 'promised' to someone else. But anyway, Kakashi wouldn't notice her red cheeks, he was too occupied falling in love with her to notice.
Again, the song finished, and with it his moment of calm with Kakashi. She had to find the man again to somehow slip the copy ring into his hand. But when she was about to look for the 3rd man Soo-Yun appeared unexpectedly. He hooked his arm with hers without saying anything else and walked away with her, leaning into her ear with a happy smile.
"We got him in one of the other rings," he whispered over her ear, causing goosebumps all over her body. Especially because of what it meant "Dal and he are the traitors," he smirked, referring to the 3rd objective they still hadn't got the ring from "I knew you could do it" he finished, slipping his hands into hers while they walked through the sea of dancing people.