There was a castle hidden in the sand beyond the forest, where the trees ended. The journey there was harsh and treacherous. But many sought to reach the village hidden in the sand.
The king there had three children, two sons, and a daughter. When the princess became of age to marry he found himself in quite the predicament as she was choosey finding something wrong with each viable suitor. They would leave if not with a broken body, a bruised ego.
Years passed and the princess had yet to find a suitable husband. Many attempted to win the princess’s hand in marriage but their attempts were futile. After her second year of being eligible for marriage, the king demanded that she come up with one criterion for marriage.
She smirked back wildly at her father pulling her golden hair into ties. “Father, the men here are terrible and have no sense of humor. I will marry the first man who can make me laugh.”
The king rolled his eyes and sighed. But he figured how hard could that be? Certainly, a man of good caliber could get a rise out of Temari.
…
It had been two years since then and his daughter had yet to be married.
A soft sigh escaped her lips as she sat down on the edge of her bed. She took her unruly hair out of its ponytails and glared at her brother Kankuro who approached her with a hairbrush. “Be gentle,” she growled and he snorted at her.
She swatted at his hands as the brush pulled at the strands. “If you brushed it every day then I wouldn’t be pulling at your hair every time. You made this whole ordeal difficult for father. He wanted you ready hours ago.”
“Well, I didn’t want to show up in the first place. I don’t care to get married but if I am going to, what’s the point in a marriage with no smiles and laughter. It’s not like I need a husband to protect or support me.”
Kankuro snorted in laughter, “You? Smiles and laughter? Wouldn’t that be quite the treat?” Temari flung her hair tie at him and crossed her arms.
“Watch it, I have the brush,” he threatened and she muttered to herself.
“Yes but neither of us have ever seen you smile at a suitor. at least not because they made you,” Gaara commented dryly.
“Well there was that one time she smiled after beating Daimaru in combat,” Kankuro mused with a smirk.
“But it wasn’t at him,” her youngest brother pointed out.
Temari snatched the brush out of her brother’s hand and began running it through her hair herself, “Men are hopeless, present company included.”
…
After hours of shaking hands with the several suitors, Temari found herself exhausted. Not a single one caught her eye.
Marriage didn’t completely sound terrible, depending on the man. She didn’t want to shackle herself to another man who was just like her father—controlling and cruel. If she was going to leave her life behind she would rather she do it by her choice. And frankly, this was the only thing Temari had any ounce of control over since her mother had passed.
Temari climbed up to the roof and was shocked to see someone already lounging in her favorite spot with his eyes shut softly.
She took in his appearance and was rather shocked. He had to be one of the men she was expected to meet today. He was handsome, perhaps a few years younger than her. His hair was pulled into a single ponytail and his sleeves were rolled up in a relaxed fashion. He looked rather peaceful lounging there. Temari never had much of an appreciation for peace and quiet.
“You aren’t supposed to be here,” she said giving his boot a nudge.
“Says who?” he said with a low grumble.
“Says me? Says the king,” she growled back.
The man stretched his arms lazily and tucked them under his head. “Funny he didn’t say a damn thing to me,” he said with a yawn. “It is almost as though he is incapable of dragging himself up here to yell at me. Besides I am only here because my mother demanded it. I couldn’t care less about you king.”
She stomped her foot near his head and narrowed her eyes, “Shouldn’t you be trying to make an impression on the princess rather than lazing above her bedroom? What are you some pervert?”
“Maybe I couldn’t care less about the princess,” he said with a shrug, opening one eye to look at her. “Do you mind you are blocking the clouds.”
She found herself snort and leaning back out of his sight. “If you are not here for the princess’s hand then why are you here?” she asked, giving up and sitting down next to him.
“Did I not make myself clear? I have no choice in the matter. I would much rather watch the clouds.”
“Oh to be the clouds under your watchful gaze,” she teased and found the corners of her mouth pulling at her cheeks. She looked down at him waiting to finish her sentence and huffed. “Hmmm what is your name?”
“Shikamaru Nara. Now, why are you here princess?”
“I never said I was the princess,” she countered.
“You didn’t have to Temari,” he responded dryly and she found herself shaking her head with a wicked smirk.
“I am supposed to be finding myself a husband…my father demands it and well I suppose nothing could be worse than living with him forever. So I came up here to escape, even if only for a little bit.”
“Marriage is troublesome. You should just run away and become a witch. Live in the forest, cast spells on children, it seems more befitting for a woman like you.” She growled at him and noticed the smile pulled at his lips. “I’m just teasing but not about the first part, marriage is troublesome.”
“Careful you gave me an excellent idea. In fact, I should make my first charm turning you into a frog,” she said with a snicker.
“Ah, so you can laugh? Huh princess?” he said with a sly lopsided grin. Temari’s mouth gaped open and she stared back at him. She did laugh. He was irritating and infuriating but he made her laugh. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell. It can remain between us.” He dusted off his shirt and sat up.
She pulled him by his shirt into a searing kiss. The sly smirk fell from his face as Temari’s lips moved over his and his face colored scarlet red. “And what if I told? Would you take me to the forest with you?”
“Are you asking for my hand princess?” he teased with a snort, rubbing at the back of his neck.
Her smile deepened, “Now, wouldn’t that be quite funny?”