"He-Help!" Hinata screamed over the roar of dragon's fire.
The cruel beast had snatched her up while she had been singing beside a lake on her father's grounds and had flown her to its secluded castle in the mountains. The creature's servants—hideous trolls that made her skin crawl by the mere sight of them—had locked her in the tallest tower of the dragon's keep. The only consolation had been the small window that exposed the vast charred plain before the castle, which had given her some hope of rescue.
And in fairy tales, hope was all you needed.
"Don't worry, Hime! I'll save you!" Hinata could barely contain her joy as her Prince waved his sword at the dragon's underbelly when it flew too close to him. The monster's shriek was loud enough to make Hinata cover her ears, but her Prince was undaunted. He urged his gallant steed forward, blood from its master's sword dripping onto its gray coat as it followed in the dragon's shadow. Her abductor latched on to the side of his castle, claws digging into the stone walls as easily as if they were made of butter. There was an ominous rumbling before it let loose a jet of blue flame aimed at her savior, causing Hinata to gasp.
"Naruto-ouji!" She leaned as far out of the window as she dared and reached out to him on the ground far below. But he simply raised the shield on his arm, blocking the cold flames as they scorched the ground around him. He glanced at her and gave her a winning smile. Hinata's heart beat loudly in her chest at the sight of it, and she returned it with a shy grin.
"I'll rescue you, my Hime! Right after I kill this nasty ol' lizard!"
"B-Be careful!"
He just smiled again and spurred his charger onward. By now, the dragon was forced to climb higher to avoid getting sliced by the man's sword. It snarled at him, teeth dripping with noxious saliva and black scales slick with its own foul blood. The dragon's tail lashed out, knocking the Prince out of his saddle. Hinata screamed again, her cry wordless as her Prince grasped the spikes on the creature's tail and began pulling himself up its body.
The dragon, too, began climbing, making his way across the castle walls to his prisoner's window. Hinata was too frightened to move, too scared to back away when its great reptilian head leveled with hers. Her Prince was on its back now, his sword raised above his head as he prepared himself to stab the dragon. He looked up at her again, wanting to savor his victory. His brilliant blue eyes widened with horror as the beast rumbled. The blade arced downward, plunging deeply into the beast's back. The dragon writhed in pain, great blocks of stone falling to the ground as it thrashed.
But her Prince had made his move too late. Blue fire tore loose from the dragon's throat, seeming to come in slow-motion toward Hinata. And she stood obediently, staring at the blossoming flame and wondering if it would burn her away to ashes or freeze her in shards of ice. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see her own death.
All she could hear was her Prince's voice, yelling her name as the heat of the flames consumed her.
Death was oddly warm.
She had been told tales of the White Women, that came to claim the dying by whispering their true name and leading them into the Dark. But there was no darkness. Though her eyes were closed, she could see flickers dancing just behind the lids, coaxing them to open. And it wasn't cold. Actually... it felt quite comforting.
"Hinata-nee..."
She smiled, feeling tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. That was her Prince, calling to her. Even then, their love was unstoppable. Had he not said that he would conquer Death itself if it dared to take her the many times he had courted her? She sighed contentedly and tried picturing him.
Soft, sun-kissed skin that wrapped around her on cold nights, keeping her warmer than any fire could ever hope to try.
"Hinata-neechan."
Eyes so blue that they made even the sky jealous. And so bright that she could imagine they were stars.
"Hey..."
Spiky hair the color of spun gold. And the silken strands smelled strongly of all her favorite scents without being overpowering: vanilla and cocoa, lilac and hyacinth, mandarin and crisp apple, cooked meat and burnt dough.
Hinata's lips puckered into a frown as she wondered where that last smell had come from. But she heard her name again, and the smile was back. She could see him now, in her mind's eye, and her need for him was almost painful. Hinata reached out for him, ignoring the now overwhelming heat as she sought to touch him.
"Oneechan! Stop, you'll catch fire!"
Small but strong hands shoved her back. Hinata landed with a soft 'ooph', her eyes snapping open as she focused on what she had been about to hug: an oven. Blinking blearily, the eighteen year old slowly got to her feet and gave her sister an appreciative smile.
"Th-Thanks, Hanabi. I... I must have dozed off in the middle of my baking." Hinata laughed quietly, hoping her casual attitude would put her little sister at ease. It didn't. Hanabi crossed her arms over her simple brown dress, identical to Hinata's own, excluding the small adjustments in size and 'shape'.
She glowered at her older sibling, ignoring the embarrassed blush that crept along her features. Finally, she gestured airily toward the oven where Hinata's pot pies were baking. "I thought you were going to cremate yourself. Honestly, this is the fourth time this week I've caught you day dreaming and had to save you before you got killed." she glanced at Hinata and the Hyuuga did her best to look as conflicted as possible.
"I'm sorry, Hani-chan. It won't happen again." she murmured humbly and bowed her head in a silent plea for forgiveness. Hanabi stiffened and seemed to contemplate her answer for a few moments before sighing.
"Whatever," she scratched the side of her nose and scowled at her sister. "Don't call me 'Hani-chan'; it's degrading." Hinata had to hide her laughter in the form of a cough. 'Degrading', in Hanabi's vocabulary, was apparently synonymous with Hinata's definition of 'cute'. Hanabi's scowl deepened before she turned on her heel and headed for the great room door, no doubt intent on finishing hanging the laundry. "Oh, and your pies are burning." Hinata sobered immediately and quickly fished her baking out of the oven with a spatula.
Despite her status as the eldest daughter of a lowly farmer, Hinata's cooking was on par with that of the cooks at the royal court. Her sister called it the magic touch; that anything Hinata made, no matter how disgusting the ingredients, would turn into a delicious meal. The other members of her family simply thought it was one of the few attributes she had that made up for her lack of other skills.
She wasn't good at sewing or spinning thread. Whenever she swept the floor, it somehow accumulated more dirt and grit the longer she cleaned. Half the laundry she washed was always swept downstream, and the other half blown away when hanged to dry. She wasn't strong enough to handle the livestock, nor did she have the finesse required of one who planted seeds in the ruts left by the plow. But what she could do was cook.
And she was damn good at it too.
Hinata sighed as she laid the dozen small pies on the kitchen table. She sliced one open, her smile returning as a delectable smell wafted from where she cut. Hanabi had warned her that the pies were burned, but Hinata couldn't find any evidence. Perhaps her little sister was just trying to get back at her for drifting off while she was supposed to be working. But the meat was cooked to perfection, and the assorted vegetables and herbs that helped fill it steamed pleasantly as they cooled. No, Hinata was sure that if they had started to burn, she would have come back to herself. Call it her baker's sixth sense.
"Ah! Hinata-chan," her cousin, Neji, announced as he walked in from the back door. He took the time to pause and wipe the sweat off his brow with the back of a hand before taking an appreciative sniff. "Smells good! You must have been hard at work." Hinata blushed at Neji's praise, thanking the gods that he hadn't entered a few minutes earlier. Her cousin had always been critical of slackers, and had made the mistake of criticizing her lack of work after she had been assigned as the full-time cook. Needless to say, after spending a day with her in the kitchen, he realized she pulled her own weight and then some.
The Hyuuga farm was just a speck of land in the outskirts of Konoha, the capitol of Fire Country, but that 'speck' required all the members of the family to maintain and utilize it. Every crop they grew, every animal they raised was used for the betterment of the family. There was no such thing as disposable income. Hell, there was barely any income to speak of.
Which was why Hinata baked.
"N-None for you!" she scolded her older cousin and gently slapped his hands away with her loyal spatula from the pie he had been eying. He gave her a hurt look but backed off to a respectable distance, still staring at the mouth-watering pies. "I'm selling th-them at m-market today." Neji nodded, giving her a small smile as he started for the door.
"I'll get Juken ready for you while you pack them up."
"O-Oh! That's n-not neces..." Hinata's words died on her lips because Neji was already outside in heading toward the large barn. Hinata sighed and began packing the pies away into a nearby basket. This had been her last batch for the morning if she wanted to make it in time to sell them to hungry market-goers during the lunch rush. She had made three dozen, minus the damaged few that she had left on the counter for anyone who was hungry enough to claim them. She had planned on walking to the busy shopping district in Konoha, but Neji had all but insisted she ride there.
Hinata let a forlorn sigh slip through her lips before covering the fruit (or in this case, pot pies) of her labor with a cloth and going outside. She shielded her eyes with a hand from the glaring sun as she made her way to the road. Neji was there waiting for her, holding the reins of a stocky bay mare. Hinata hesitantly approached them, her eyes downcast as Neji helped her into the saddle and strapped the basket firmly behind her. "Be safe, Hinata-chan. We truly appreciate you working extra-hard to ensure we're safe from the tax-collectors." he smiled up at her before giving the horse a firm slap on the haunch.
Juken trotted stiffly toward the large castle in the distance. Hinata squirmed uncomfortably in the saddle, not from the awkward gait, but from her cousin's words. Being the one of the few cooks in the family, she had to make breakfast, supper, dinner, and light snacks for her large family, but she also managed to bake extra meals to sell for a profit. It was true that she was admired for this act. But her family didn't know that she wasn't the selfless porcelain doll they made her out to be; her own father would likely have a conniption if he knew that earning money was just an excuse. That she could care less about the money—the only reason she went was for the chance of catching a glimpse of her beloved Prince Charming.
His grandmother's, the queen, castle loomed right above the busy market where Hinata sold her goods. Each day, she would sling her basket over her shoulder and walk up and down the crowded main street, harking whatever food she had made. But her pace always slowed whenever she neared the huge stone building, and she couldn't help but stare longingly at the uppermost windows and wonder if her Prince was staring right back at her.
Hinata smiled dreamily and drifted off into another of her daydreams. She didn't pay any attention to her surroundings—who would, when they could be cuddling with one extremely handsome Prince in his lavish bedroom suite? But, thankfully, her family's horse was well-trained, and the old mare knew exactly where her rider needed to go, even if the girl didn't. The bay plodded easily along the dusty road, barely twitching an ear when the packed dirt changed to echoing cobblestone. The guards around the inner gates waved her through, and the plucky mare gave them a curt nod in response. She moved along the smaller alleyways, where it was less crowded, and eventually ended up in Hinata's choice spot: near the palace's gaping entrance.
Juken snorted loudly, snapping Hinata out of her musings. The Hyuuga girl frowned down at the mare, but the horse was oblivious. Hinata slid off her back and relieved the mare of her load. She tossed the saddle and bridle carelessly into a heap beside a hat shop and half-wondered if the grumpy old mare would take advantage of her new-found freedom and run off. But Juken simply yawned casually in Hinata's face and sidled over to a stray patch of grass to graze. Shaking her head, Hinata gripped her basket tightly and set off through the middle of the sea of people.
Hinata sighed and stared up at the bright sky. It was nearly time for her to return home, and she had only sold a few pies. Luckily, the covering on the basket was keeping them fresh and warm, but if she didn't sell them, that little blessing wouldn't matter anyway. Not that she cared or anything; she lived in a world of her own imagination, and the ethereal poverty of her family didn't impose any threat on her dreaming. Her only regret would be returning home without having spotted the love of her life, her one true destiny, the Crown Prince Naruto.
She sighed again and closed her eyes, imagining the warmth from the sun was actually her beloved's cozy body keeping the chill off of her. If she just barely cracked her eyes open, she could see the piercing blue staring down at her, his eyes. And the overpowering yellow was simply his hair, resting over his expansive eyes.
Her prince wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling the crook of her neck and letting his warm breath fan over the sensitive skin. Hinata shivered, the action beginning to rouse her from her fantasy. She could hear voices yelling and the steady beat of a horse's gallop, but she ignored it in favor of delving deeper into her fantasy. Naruto's mouth pressed against her cheek causing another delighted shiver as he spoke. He whispered to her, his voice husky with desire.
"Hinata. I love you."
"I love you too, Naruto." she murmured back, giggling when he nipped at her ear.
"Marry me, Hime. I want you... badly." His teeth caught her ear and he tugged gently, causing her to gasp.
"Oh! Yes! Of course!"
"But you must do one thing, before we wed."
"A-Anything." she blushed, inwardly berating herself for stuttering, now of all times. But he didn't care, and she imagined him smiling that smile—the one that could make even the coldest heart melt into a puddle—and moving so his forehead rested against hers. She sucked in a sharp breath, already anticipating the feel of his lips pressed against hers.
"All you need to do is get out of the way." he crooned and brushed his thumb over her lips.
"Eh? I... I'm afraid I don't understand, Ouji-kun." she responded, frowning again as he started pulling away from her. She tried wrapping her arms around him (she wanted that damn kiss), but the attempt was futile.
"Get out of the way, Hina-hime." His tone was louder, yet somehow managed to sound distant.
"Get... um, get?—" she stammered, now reaching out to him as he steadily began to back away. He nodded, giving her one last glimpse of that smile before vanishing completely. Still, his voice remained, echoing around her until, disoriented, she fell on her knees.
"OUT OF THE WAY!"
Hinata's eyes snapped open at the sound of his voice, giving her enough time to register her Prince—not some cheap imitation, but the real, flesh and blood Prince Naruto—riding straight toward her at a break-neck pace. His smile, not the tender one she was used to but a manic grin that stretched from ear to ear, made her heart clench painfully at the sight before another, more demanding pain knocked her the rest of the way to the ground as his horse hopped carelessly over her.
Her basket flew high into the air and landed a few feet away. A few pies rolled on their sides, spinning around in tighter and tighter circles until they finally flopped to the ground. Hinata watched them with bleary eyes, her shocked body not allowing her to do much else. She could hear more hoof beats but those, thankfully, stopped before she was trampled again.
The world shifted as someone helped her up, and she slyly sneaked a glance at the man's face, hoping beyond hope that it was her knight in shining armor come to rescue her. But her hope vanished as her eyes adjusted to the suddenly searing light. It was not her prince; just a scary, dark-haired man that was glaring at her. Hinata whimpered from being on the receiving end of his frightening gaze, and slowly wobbled over to where her basket lay. She muttered a quiet 'thank you' as she gathered up the pies that had remained in the basket (most of them broken or crushed, she noted with some dismay).
"Hey! Are those pies?" Hinata started, nearly dropping the bundle in her arms at the voice, his voice.
"N-N-N-Na-Na-Na-ru-ru-t-t-to-s-s-sama!" she sputtered as the man of her dreams stood beside her and stared hungrily at her. Well, stared hungrily at the squished pies that were visible where the cloth had fallen. But it was a start.
He cocked his head at her, still wearing that manic grin from when his horse had run her over. She could feel her heart hammering away inside her chest as he draped an arm around her shoulders and plucked a piece of crust from an exposed pie. She didn't mind though; just stared wide-eyed at him as he flicked it into his mouth and chewed.
"Hey... these are really good! Better than what Cook makes!" If possible, his smile grew until it nearly split his face. Hinata nodded vigorously, regaining her bearings as Naruto grabbed the rest of the pie. "Sakura-chan, you have to try some of this!"
Hinata's heart constricted again, though this time, there was no accompanying joy. A girl walked over to him, her vibrant pink hair falling in waves down her back. Hinata knew her well—well, knew of her. She was Haruno Sakura, a wealthy noble-woman, and the object of the real Prince Naruto's affections. Hinata had always idolized the woman, and considered her a rival in her quest to win the Prince's heart.
Sakura scowled at him but picked up a piece and tried it. Her green eyes lit up and spared a glance for Hinata, who was blushing madly and trying to will away her shyness. The two women locked eyes for a moment before Hinata looked down at her toes. "These are really good. I see there's still some left... How much are they, Miss?.."
"H-Hinata! H-Hyuuga Hinata!" she squeaked and curtsied sloppily. "Th-They're free for you, M-M'lady." Sakura smirked approvingly and swiftly took the basket out of Hinata's arms.
"Eh! Sakura-chan, I wanted those! Oh, I know! You're going to give them to me as a gift! Maybe even feed me. How sweet of you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto chuckled.
Sakura's face contorted in horror for a moment before she collected herself and smiled sweetly. The prince, taking it as affirmation, closed his eyes and opened his mouth wide with an expecting grin. Still smiling, Sakura picked up one of the more whole pies and shoved the entire thing into his mouth. Naruto began choking, clutching at his throat as he tried to swallow.
"I didn't get them for you. And there's only one man that I'd ever hand-feed." her expression took on a dreamy quality (much like Hinata's when she thought of her prince), and she batted her eyelashes at the dark-haired man. Hinata was shocked that she would turn down Prince Naruto's affections so readily, and more than a little miffed that she had endangered his life, but didn't intervene when she skipped over to the other man and offered him the basket. His glare switched between the basket and her face before he slowly took one of the proffered goods and took a suspicious bite.
"Um... sorry about before. You know, the whole 'running you over' thing," Hinata turned around, inwardly shrieking with joy as Naruto spoke to her. "Rasengan just gets a bit excited when we come home." he shrugged and laughed, pointing at a chestnut horse that was bothering a large, black stallion while a third, smaller grey looked on with distaste.
"Th-think n-nothing of it, M-m-m-m'lord." she squeaked in reply, silently cursing her stupid stutter and that Kami-awful blush that turned her entire body an unflattering red. But he seemed to overlook her flaws, and gave her another brilliant grin that made her knees wobble threateningly.
"Naruto! Stop flirting with Hanabi and get your ass back in the saddle. I have to consult with Tsunade-sama about the upcoming ball you're supposed to be planning." Hinata frowned at the pinkette as her prince hurriedly rushed to his horse and mounted. Not only had she gotten her name wrong, but she had said her sister's name, whom she didn't even know. Am I really that forgettable?
The trio resumed their ride, with Prince Naruto leading them back to the palace (he said "Bye, Hinabo", which made her want to praise the heavens and crawl in a corner and cry at the same time). Sakura followed behind him on the gray horse, both of them giving her haughty glances as they passed. And finally, the scary man on the huge black stallion, who didn't even seem aware she was on the same planet as he. But she heard something clink as he rode past, and, glancing down, Hinata found a small bag had fallen from his saddle. Golden coins spilled out of it, and she hurriedly picked them up and started running after him.
"S-Sir! You dropped s-something!" she called, hiking up her skirts with one hand and the other thrusting out the bag of coins. But he was going too fast for her to catch him up, and even if he did hear her, the only inclination he gave was a careless wave of his hand. Hinata gave up when the troupe crossed the drawbridge of the castle, and stood panting in the middle of the street. There's no harm in keeping them, I suppose. He didn't even know he lost them. She mused while tucking the weighty bag into her brassiere. Besides, father will be happy with the extra money. And there's no reason that I couldn't keep a few coins for myself; no one would know, and I deserve a new dress. A bright pink one, maybe. Smiling slightly, she fetched her discarded tack, and after taking a few minutes to track down Juken, climbed into the saddle and let the old mare pick her way home.
A/N This is a little idea that's been in my head for a while now, and I only recently just found enough muse to finish this. It'd be a multi-chapter side project, but one I can foresee myself enjoying immensely. Anyway, hope it sounds interesting enough for y'all, and don't forget to let me know what you think of it!