[SAKURA]
An assembly.
That was what she had been woken up for and she hated it so much.
Sakura was home again and she couldn't stomach the sight of everything. It is like she had come from the light and had been thrust into a side of darkness that she had never thought possible.
It was insane, truly, seeing that she had always been the cold one to everyone. But then again, there was no denying that she couldn't stay away from home for so long.
Doiwa was a great kingdom, one that was filled with people who wanted her spot and were trying to do everything to get rid of her. Sakura had been nearly poisoned more than acne in the palace and she didn't even care anymore.
After all, she didn't have anything to lose, and no one to live for.
'I have you now,' the Lycan queen thought to herself as her mind drifted to that girl.
Sakura had seen so many things along the way that she was never one to hold onto anything, and yet this morning, as she stood in front of her people, she couldn't help but think back to the pretty doctor who had a Kimura-Watanabe tag on her scrubs.
She imagined the beautiful woman standing beside her and helping her with everything. The lavender-citrus scent that had bonded along the way made her want to run back to Odanera and stay there forever, but she knew that she had to stay.
If she wanted her erasthai beside her, she had to deal with the chaos at home first, oh, Sakura.
"Your majesty… it is time," Otaru said to his queen who seemed to be lost in thought. She had been like that since the time she had come back home and Otaru knew it had to be because of the rogue she had left back there.
He didn't mention it because he had seen the way Sakura had grown protective of the rogue, so he wouldn't try and risk his life when he knew she could wring his neck without feeling any sort of remorse.
It was an unfortunate truth that Otaru had come to terms with in the past months and frankly, he knew that change was here with them.
"Greetings, Doiwa," Sakura began, without even acknowledging the fact that Otaru had snapped her back to reality. She wasn't in the mood to play nice with anyone and she couldn't even be blamed for that because there was nothing she wanted more than Kiyomi.
"I have no news for you, so if you are expecting anything, forget it. I am here to remind you that I am back home and that you need to be careful in the way you handle the plots against me as always.
"Do what you must, but let me not catch you, because I won't show you mercy. You are dismissed," Queen Sakura said coldly and the Lycans just sighed.
They had known that she had left for Odanera and some of them knew what she was doing there and yet even then, despite the fact that some of them had thought that she had a weakness, she had still managed to come back to Doiwa acting all high and mighty.
She seemed to not give a fuck about them as usual and it was interesting but sad at the same time. Perhaps that's why she wasn't even bothered.
"That was quite the short address," Otaru said as the Lycans dispersed and his queen still stood at the dais like she was hoping to see someone. A part of Sakura already knew that Kiyomi wasn't going to have an easy entry back home, but fuck was it messing with her mind.
"What did you want me to do? Give you a standing ovation for doing your job as my second in command and the enforcer of the kingdom? What, Otaru, what do you want from me this morning?" Sakura asked, her voice getting irritable with every word that came from her lips.
It was like she had woken on the wrong side of the bed, but no one could blame her. She had been used to waking up and being with Kiyomi and suddenly she was reduced to this lonely mighty queen who had pets waiting for her to go to them.
What the fuck was she even supposed to do with them? Of course, Sakura was tempted to completely dismiss them, but she knew that that would raise even more questions and the girl she left back in Odanera would be in real danger this time.
Oh, she was frustrated alright.
"Hey, hey… same side, remember?" Otaru said she took a step back to give his queen the space she needed.
He knew she didn't like coming home alone but then she had to do it. It was the only way for her to get through all of this and fix the mess that had been around her and her erasthai.
When she had left home, an erasthai wasn't even a part of her mind and now that she was back home for good, that good doctor was all that he was thinking of. It was frustrating her and she hated how she was feeling.
"Why does everything have to be so difficult? Why the fuck can't things go right for me even just once?" Sakura asked as she punched the nearest wall, not caring that she had left a dent in it. Her emotions were running high and she needed a release.
"Want to go for a run?" Otaru asked and Sakura stared at him like he had also lost his mind in the process. This wasn't what she had hoped to come back to, but then it was like Doiwa was the best part of the life she had lived anyway.
Nothing had been right for her and nothing had been wrong for her. She had lived a careless life and suddenly she had someone she cared about. And she didn't know how to live life without her anymore.
What the fuck was she even meant to do with all the feelings that Kiyomi had evoked in her?
"What? Unless you want to start murdering people on your first day back home?" Otaru shrugged and Sakura glared at him like she didn't already care too much about her enforcer than she should have.
She trusted Otaru with her life and honestly, she considered him a best friend of sorts.
However, right now, she doesn't feel like going for a run.
"If I say no, you're going to make me, aren't you?" Sakura sighed in defeat.
"I have gathered a few ways over the past ten months. And I am pretty sure most of them will either have you wanting my head or going for a run. So can we skip to the good art—
"... and by that, I mean the part where we go for a run… not the part where you kill me," Otaru chuckled nervously and Sakura sighed again. She couldn't believe that Otaru knew her so damn well.
Then again it was like she was an open book for people to read through with ease, right?
"I hate you. Come along," Sakura said, giving in and Otaru fist-bumped as he followed her away.
Meanwhile, in the distance, there were new eyes that knew of the queen's adventures in Odanera and they held a determination that the queen wasn't aware of yet. But she would.
The eyes would make sure of that.