I've been brainstorming about this for a while, so I'm glad that I finally started writing this and uploaded it to fanfic. I got inspired by Jessica Day George's "Princess of the Mignight Ball", but I wanted to give it and the traditional story of 'The Twelve Dancing Princesses' a bit of a twist, and of course, in a Naruto style. Well, enjoy!

I don't own Naruto or any other fairytales mentioned in this, but hey, it's fanfiction! ;)

~sappheiros

Prologue

"Sakura, why are your slippers so worn out? You're not dancing in private are you?" Jiraiya chuckled good-naturedly as he picked up his five-year old daughter. She giggled as he twirled her around and started doing a waltz around the child's room. A blonde woman stood at the doorway, smiling at the scene before her. "If you want to dance, you should save it for your daddy! Isn't that right, Tsunade?" He asked as he did another turn.

Tsunade just smirked in reply. Once the impromptu dance was over, she took her daughter into her arms despite her husband's childish protest. Sakura just laughed.

"I don't know how my slippers got like that." She said as her laughter settled down. The sun began to set, casting the room in an orange and pinkish glow.

"Well, I suppose it's nothing to be so worked up about. It's getting late, let's put you to bed shall we?" Tsunade said as she tucked her daughter in. Both father and daughter answered with a disappointed 'Aww', but complied nonetheless. Despite the cocoon of blankets, Sakura could not lay still. She squirmed and puffed out her cheeks in annoyance, much to her parents' amusement. Once she caught her father's eyes, she broke out into a grin.

"Daddy, tell me a story!"

"Alright," Jiraiya replied as he ruffled his daughter's pink tresses.

Once there was a princess, with golden hair and eyes like honey, who accidentally dropped her necklace as she was playing near a well. She was sad and began to cry. Out of nowhere, a voice spoke to her.

"Why are you crying beautiful lady?"

The princess was shocked to hear a voice, but thought she might as well answer―

"Was the princess crazy, daddy? Mommy said it's a bit weird if you talk to yourself."

"Yes, honey, the princess was a bit crazy. But it was okay since there was a voice talking to her. Anyway,"

"I'm not crying! I'm just angry since my necklace fell into the well," the princess denied. She glared at the well, but was surprised to see a toad jump out. Even more surprising was that the toad spoke to her.

"I can get your necklace back if you want. But what are you willing to give in return?"

She thought she was becoming delusional. After all, toads didn't talk. But, there was no harm in playing along with this hallucination and so the princess rolled her eyes and scoffed in reply, "My eternal gratitude."

"Sorry, but as pleasant as that sounds, I'm afraid it won't be enough," the toad chuckled. "I'll get your necklace, but I will be the one to choose my reward." And so the toad hopped back into the well. A minute later, it came back, holding the necklace in its mouth. The princess was relieved to see her necklace and took it back from the toad.

"You actually got it back!" The smile on her face was breathtakingly beautiful. However, it disappeared as soon as it came. "What is it that you want in return?" She turned to the toad, but was caught off guard. The toad jumped to the princess' face and stole a kiss from her pink lips! Suddenly, the toad turned into a handsome man, with long hair that gleamed like starlight. He took a step back as he held her by the shoulders and grinned boyishly.

"Just a kiss from a beautiful girl such as yourself."

Now, the man thought that the princess would surely fall in love with him after that kiss. Unfortunately for him, he didn't know that the princess had a huge temper and monstrous strength to match.

"The princess was a monster?" Sakura cried, hysterical at the idea of having monsters in a story. Tsunade winced while Jiraiya tried to calm down his daughter.

"No! If she were, then the man wouldn't have kissed her. The princess was just as strong as a monster. Now if you want me to finish the story, you have to stop interrupting."

"Okay."

Instead of melting into the man's loving kiss, the fair princess punched him and sent him flying into a nearby tree. Angered and embarrassed, she left the area, stomping all the way back to her home. The man, who had a large bump forming on his head, realized two things that day: Never underestimate women. And another was that he fell in love with the princess who could knock him unconscious with a single punch.

It took many tries and many bruises, but the man eventually won the princess' heart. They married and it was a long time before the princess-turned-queen could bear a child. But the new king and queen prayed for a miracle, and soon their prayers were answered. When the cherry blossoms first started to bloom, the queen gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. And that is where I can say that they lived happily ever after. The end.

"So what did you think of the story?"

"It was nice, but it can't be over yet!" Sakura argued as she sat up. Sometime during the course of the story, she managed to break free of her blankets.

"Why is that, Sakura?" asked Tsunade as she quirked a brow. She tucked her daughter back in, but this time gave the girl some space to move.

"The new princess didn't get to find a prince yet!" Her parents glanced at each other and chuckled.

"You're right. It's not over yet, because the new princess' story is still being made. However, I think you should be the one to continue her story. When you can think of a proper ending, make sure your father and I will be the first to hear it. Deal?" Her daughter nodded vigorously, already planning on how the new story will continue. Tsunade smiled at her beloved child's enthusiasm. "Now go to sleep Sakura, it's already way past your bedtime." Tsunade said as she kissed her daughter goodnight. The sky had turned a midnight blue with stars dusting every inch of it. The five-year old soon fell into a peaceful slumber as her parents left her room.

Once out in the hall, Tsunade turned to her husband and gave a light punch to his shoulder. "I was not crazy."

"Yes I know. But if anyone else were there at the time, then they'd think otherwise." Jiraiya laughed. As he took her by the waist and led her to their room, a thoughtful look crossed his features. "How do you think she'll continue the story?"

"You mean Sakura?"

"Yeah. She's got a great imagination like me, but her personality seems to take after you." Jiraiya shuddered a bit. This went unnoticed by Tsunade.

"You're point?" She asked with a tight smile, already feeling a vein popping. Jiraiya just grinned cheekily at her.

"I almost feel sorry for her inevitable prince."

I debated with myself on whether or not to add more, but decided that this is enough. It is a prologue after all. Compliments, critics/flames, opinions, and just reviews in general are welcome, but please maintain some level of respect, as is fair. Thanks for taking the time to read!