40 years ago, in the Kingdom of Konoha in Fire Country…
"Your Highness, he is here."
A smile from a bearded man.
"Good. Tell him to come now."
Silence... And then the sound of footsteps. Another man, this time with unusually pink hair, enters, smiling too.
"Could you please leave us alone?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
Sounds of fading footsteps.
Uchiha Yasuke, the current king of the Kingdom of Konoha then embraced his bestfriend, Haruno Saburo, and laughed cheerfully.
"It's been such a long time, old friend." Haruno Saburo, a man in his mid-30s said, grinning widely while pouring a bottle of sake.
"Haha, you're right," Yasuke agreed, drinking the sake with his friend. "Ever since I became busy with the kingdom, things got a little… hectic? Heh!" He snorted noisily. "Such a shame none of us didn't give birth to a girl."
"Yes, yes. Shame indeed." Saburo nodded.
"If I had a daughter, I would make her marry your son!" stated King Yasuke.
"And if I had a daughter, I would also make her marry your son!" proclaimed Saburo.
The two exchanged looks. And then sighed. And then drank another cup of sake.
"Well, all I've got are my two sons. I love them dearly though." Yasuke said.
"My wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy, and I am mighty proud of him!" Saburo huffed his chest.
Another exchanging of looks.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, old friend?" asked Saburo.
"Why yes." Saburo snickered. "As they say, great minds think alike. And I'm thinking…"
"…that if our offsprings can't marry each other today…"
"…then in the next generation, their sons and daughters…"
"…would marry each other!"
More silence.
And then the sound of merrymaking.
The Princess Chronicles
SasuSaku. AU Because of a promise between their grandfathers, ordinary scholar student Sakura gets engaged with coldhearted prince Sasuke. A dream come true? Not! The problem? They hate each other's guts!
A gift for all SasuSaku fans. Keep on rocking!
A gift in advance for Sasuke-kun, whose birthday is on July 23.
A gift for everyone who read and reviewed my other fics. Thank you and I really appreciate all your kind reviews!
A gift for all Filipinos out there. Mabuhay!
A gift for YOU.
And on with the story!
18 years ago…
"AAAGH!"
Uchiha Fugaku, the 2nd son of Uchiha Yasuke, rushed in to see what's happening. He turned to the cowering palace maids "What is the matter? Did something ha- Oh my God!"
There lay the dead bodies of the current king and queen
The palace room of the king and queen was stained in blood. The stench of blood filled the whole place. The tapestries were torn and things were all over the place. And there, at the middle of the room, were the lifeless corpses of the king and queen of Konoha, along with the body of an impaled giant ninetailed-fox.
"N-No… This can't be…" Uchiha Fugaku stepped into the bloody room, horrified at the images. "The Kyuubi… It was supposed to attack at the next full moon. Why now?" He fell to his knees, unable to take it anymore. "My dear brother… I'm so sorry…"
"Waaagh! Waaagh!"
Fugaku looked around, hearing the cry of a baby. Suddenly, it dawned on him. "Naruto-kun."
He stood up and approached the body of the queen. His heart jumped when he saw her, still cradling Naruto in her arms, and in a position wherein she had been fatally wounded while Naruto was unharmed.
Pity took over Fugaku, knowing that the child would grow up without knowing a father or a mother.
"Waagh!"
"Hush, dear baby," Fugaku gently took Naruto into his arms. "Everything will be alright, you'll see."
15 years ago…
"Mommy, why are you crying?" asked a little girl holding a teddy bear. She had pink hair and wide, green eyes.
Haruno Azusa looked up, now aware of the presence of her 3-year old child. "W-What?"
"Mommy, you're crying." Sakura stated as-a-matter-of-factly.
Sometimes Sakura-chan would not act like a 3-year old, thought Azusa, wiping her tears with the hem of her skirt. "No, no. Sakura-chan. I just had some dust in my eyes. But I'm all better now." She forced a smile. "See?"
"I'm glad then!" Sakura ran to her mother and hugged her. "I love you Mommy!"
"I love you too, sweetie." Whispered Azusa as she stroked her daughter's hair.
10 years ago…
"That is the decision of the council."
"Please understand, Yashiro-san!" Fugaku begged, bowing respectfully. "Naruto-kun needs us. He's got the royal blood flowing within him. After I die, it should be him who would be king. After all, he is the rightful heir!"
"I understand how you feel about your nephew, Fugaku-san. And while I am touched with the kindness and concern you are showing for Naruto, the rules say that if his parents are deceased then he has no right to live in the palace." Yashiro proclaimed, pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose.
"If Naruto were above the age of 16 at the time of the incident, then he could still claim his throne as the rightful heir." said another elder.
"But if he'll be kicked out of the palace, where shall he live?" politely inquired Mikoto.
"Fear not, for we have already arranged that." Yashiro snapped his fingers as a young man appeared. "This is Umino Iruka. He shall be Naruto's caretaker until he turns of ripe age."
"I am pleased to serve the Kingdom of Konoha." Iruka then bowed as a sign of respect.
"Naruto would leave the palace tomorrow. Kindly tell the maids to start packing Naruto's things. Meeting adjourned."
Two months later…
Uchiha Itachi's room was empty.
"He's gone now, isn't he?" Uchiha Mikoto murmured. There was no sadness in her voice, but rather, only understanding. "I told you that he'll rebel. It'll only be a matter of time. And look what happened. You were being so strict on him and-"
"How can he rule the kingdom when all he does is skip his classes?" Fugaku stated harshly, banging the entrance door.
"But he's got a good reason! He's a genius, one of a kind! Maybe he was just bored with his lessons." Mikoto defended, making Fugaku laugh mockingly.
"Oh, he's bored then? That is no excuse!" Fugaku barked at his wife. "Without any effort then his brains and talent would be lodged useless! Have you ever thought of that?"
Mikoto remained silent, knowing that what her husband said was true.
"It's all up to Sasuke now." Fugaku said. "I just hope that he won't follow in his brother's footsteps."
Unbeknownst to the royal couple, an 8-year old Uchiha Sasuke was hiding somewhere, listening to their conversation.
9 years ago…
9-year old Sakura stared at the coffin of her father, crying.
"I don't want Daddy to leave me!" She cried, trying to jump inside the hole where her father's coffin shall be buried. "Let go of me! I want to see my Daddy!"
"No, Sakura, no!" Her mother was trying her best to restrain her daughter. "Sakura, listen to Mommy!"
"You're not my Mommy!" shot back Sakura, glaring at the woman fiercely.
Everyone attending the funeral froze. All of them knew that when Sakura's mother died after being diagnosed with breast cancer, Sakura's father remarried another woman.
"Sakura, honey, please calm down…" Her stepmother sweetly asked.
"Stop that!" Sakura covered her ears. "I hate it when you act like my mother when around with other people! I hate it when if my Daddy's still not home, you'll spank me and spank me until I cry. I hate it when you always compare me with Ichigo, calling her beautiful and bright while I'm ugly and stupid! I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU!"
"ENOUGH!" Sakura's stepmother slapped Sakura hard on the face, her anger about the child's revelation taking over her.
Sakura fell down the ground, still crying. Murmurs filled the whole place.
7 years ago…
Hinata bit her lip, staring at the floor.
"You are a disgrace to the Hyuuga family, Hinata." Hiashi uttered softly. However, the severity and harshness was clearly imprinted in his voice. "The party we prepared was just for you. A lot of time and money was put into it. And yet, where were you?"
"At school, F-Father." Answered Hinata meekly.
"Yes, seeking education before fame is a noble thing." Hiashi said. "But what were you doing in school?"
"I-I was… taking a special quiz…"she admitted with a visible wince.
"Go on." The frown on Hiashi's face was getting more and more noticeable.
"I-I fainted because I suddenly became dizzy and then… a-and then… I was rushed into the clinic where I spent 4 hours." Hinata bit her lip again. "I took the exam again and…"
"Did you pass?"
"…No, F-Father."
"Then that just proves what kind of daughter you are, Hinata." Hiashi concluded. "You are irresponsible and dull. You shouldn't make your weak heart a reason why you're a failure in life."
"I-I'm sorry F-Father…" Hinata bowed her head, apologizing.
"Don't call me your Father."
Hinata looked up, surprised.
"I only have one daughter, and that is Hyuuga Hanabi." With that, he turned around and walked away.
The day of Haruno Sakura's 18th birthday…
"Today is the day, Fugaku."
"Yes. So it is."
"It's the girl's 18th birthday today, right?"
"Yes."
"It was stated in Father's will clearly. That our son should get engaged with the girl from the Haruno family."
"It was Father's last request. It should be done."
"What do you think would the girl be like?"
"… I don't know."
"And how do you think would Sasuke-kun react?"
"Knowing him, he won't take it very well."
The King and Queen nodded, agreeing with each other.
A/N:
Woohoo! I'm done! –dances to the tune of Don Romantiko-
About the Naruto part of the prologue, don't fret if you think this is going to be a NaruSaku. I admit, there will be some NaruSaku and SasuHina, but that would only be for plot purposes. Also, Naruto's past will play a very important role in the future.
Secondary pairings are ShikaIno and NejiTen (the bomb!). Actually, NejiTen is what I'm looking forward to write, along with SasuSaku.
There are a lot of differences in this story when compared to the canon. Here are a few: Itachi leaving to join Akatsuki gang instead of killing his clan, Kyuubi a sort of demonic fox that appears every 150 years to prey on those with royal blood, Naruto having Uchiha blood (and Sasuke's cousin no less!) and so much more.
By the way, in case you haven't noticed, this was based on Goong. I only watched an episode so don't worry because this won't be a clone of Goong.
I know I might sound shallow or super vain this way but I'm really asking you to review. If I get enough reviews, then I'll continue the story. If not, then I won't update this one anymore. Sorry, but with school being hell and me having a lot of extracurricular activities, I can't afford wasting my precious time writing something people don't like. Sadness. Hope you guys understand!