Chapter 1: Into the Woods
Six-year-old Uzumaki Naruto stood behind a tree at the edge of the training grounds watching a young Genin team train.
"I'm gonna be a ninja, dattebayo." He whispered in awe as the Genins' Jonin Sensei managed to hold off two of them with only a kunai. And he was winning. Suddenly, the bewhiskered blond felt a hand on his shoulder.
"What do we have here?" A man's cold voice asked softly. The hand spun him around to face the speaker. Instead of a ninja, like Naruto expected, a silver haired, tall man clad in a greenish tunic stood in front of him.
"Oh! You leave him be, Tally!" A girl cried, appearing as if from nowhere. The girl had the same ageless face as the man, but her hair was brilliant red, her eyes a warm brown and her freckled cheeks crinkled in a smile as she knelt before Naruto.
"What is your name, Sprite?" She inquired.
"Naruto."
"Awh! He's adorable! Can we keep him, Tally?" The girl squealed. The man glared at Naruto.
"I will not bring a disgusting human into our fair glen." The man spat.
"Then I will." She declared, "Come, Sprite."
"Um… I don't even know your name, Miss." Naruto said quietly. He was nervous because of the strange people.
"Oh! Right! How very silly of me. I'm Misrial, but just call me Misty." The girl- Misty smiled at him again. "And killjoy over there is Talwor, but call him Tally." she added in a conspiratorial tone.
Talwor looked at Naruto as if to say 'Call me that and you will not be able to call anyone.' Misty grabbed the boy's hand and led him deeper into the Woods.
Misty stopped in a clearing in the Woods.
"Come on out and play, my friends! The Unseelie court shall dance to-nite!" She called.
Various people and animals came out of the trees. Naruto looked on in wonder as a man who appeared nearly identical to Misty began playing a melody on a small wooden flute.
The rest of the night passed in snapshots, with Naruto unable to identify in which order things had occurred or if they had happened at all.
A beautiful woman talking to him, asking him questions about his life.
Sitting beneath an Ebony tree, petting a purring two-tailed cat.
Dancing with a green haired girl beside a giant oak.
A blue-haired man taunting Misrial for having Naruto beside her.
A five-tailed fox eyeing him curiously from a distance.
Falling asleep underneath the Ebony tree with his head cradled in the lap of the beautiful woman who had talked to him.
When Naruto awoke he was lying in a bed covered in silken sheets far nicer than anything he'd ever owned. He got out of bed and glanced around the room. A full length mirror caught his attention and Naruto sauntered over to check his reflection. He looked different. His body was clean and his clothes were not the rough orange jumpsuit he had always worn. Instead they were made of fine cloth and fit him perfectly, both tunic and trousers. Naruto got another shock when he caught a glance of something on his collarbone, courtesy of the swooping collar of the tunic. It was a tattoo of what looked like a clan symbol.
"Ah… You are already awake, My Prince. Good. Thy mother wishes to speak with thee." A brown haired kid about Naruto's own age said.
"Mm..my M..mother?" The blond stammered. The other child looked at him curiously.
"Yes, I am to lead you to her."
"Uh. Lead on… I guess?" The boy led Naruto down an elegant corridor and to a fancy pair of wooden doors. Naruto pushed open the door, not quite sure what was happening or what he was doing. He took a deep breath and entered the throne room of the Unseelie Court.