MONARCH
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor do I own this Chinese fairytale
A/N: I'm aliiiiiiive! I haven't been avoiding writing (believe me!), but, actually, I can't get access to a computer much. You see, I'm in China right now for my summer vacation. So I've been pretty busy visiting relatives, going site-seeing, buying souvenirs, and clothes, and jewelry, and bags, and shoes…(gets cut off). Right, so I haven't gotten much chance to sit down and type. I actually have 3 one-shots in progress right now, this is the first one I finished. Now, this particular one was rather frustrating because my first draft got deleted, so I had to retype it all! (T-T) It's not as detailed as the first version, but that's inevitable. This story is based off a Chinese fairytale, but of course, I changed quite a few things.
Anyways, hope you guys like it! Please review, it'll be worth the retyping for me!
Have you ever wondered why the Monarch butterfly travels so many miles each year across the American land? Why it endures harsh weather and bravely flies on towards it's destination? It is to fulfill the promise made between two people long, long ago.
This is the tale of two lovers, of how they overcame death and how the Monarch came to be.
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There once lived a young prince of noble blood. As one of the emperor's sons, he had everything anyone could possibly want. He lived in a grand palace overlooking a beautiful lily lake and had hundreds of servants under his command. He wore the finest clothes and ate the most expensive foods. The prince was also extremely handsome, with sleek black hair, smooth ivory skin and ebony eyes. He had a lot of admirers and many princesses proclaimed their love for him and longed to be his bride. However, the prince could not love any of them back, for they only saw the surface of him: his looks and his wealth. He could never accept anyone like that. So, even though the prince was constantly surrounded by people, he was lonely.
One day, the prince's advisor brought in disheveled looking boy before him. "My lord, I found this boy on the streets. He has no living relatives and has nowhere to go, I was thinking he would do well to be a servant here."
The prince looked at the boy. He was dirty and wore rags that barely covered his thin body, he hid his face beneath his straw coloured hair and struggled slightly against the advisor.
"What is your name?" The prince asked.
The boy stops struggling but stubbornly remained silent.
"I'm sorry, my lord. But it seems he is either mute or refuses to talk. I couldn't get a word out of him."
The prince gazed curiously at the boy. "Look up." He commanded.
The boy, once again, makes no move to obey. The advisor gave him a rough shake and he reluctantly shifts his head up, his gaze moves upwards and stares defiantly at the prince.
The young lord was suddenly reminded of the clearest blue sky during winter.
"Clean him up and give him proper clothes. Then bring him to me." The prince said..
"Yes, my lord." The advisor took the boy by the arm and led him away to be bathed.
Later that evening, the boy was brought before the prince again. This time he was dressed in the blue outfit of the servants, he was scrubbed clean and his tanned skin glowed, the straw coloured hair he had before was now golden. The prince now wondered how rays of sunshine could implant themselves on hair.
"My lord, where shall we situate him?" The advisor asked.
The prince said nothing, but continued to look at the boy. The longer he looked, the more he felt a pull towards him, the more he wanted to know more about him.
"He'll be my personal attendant. He can sleep in the room beside mine."
The advisor looked shocked. "But my lord, he is not trained yet! He does not know how to do anything, plus, he is quite insolent and disrespectful."
"No matter, just do as I say."
The advisor bowed. "Y-Yes, my lord."
However, the boy would not obey so easily. For the next few days, he refused to talk and refused to follow any of the prince's commands. Several times, he had tried to escape by climbing the palace walls. Every time the advisor wanted to punish him, the prince would intervene and say it was alright. The boy could not understand why the prince would protect him like that. The next night, he tried to escape once again. Coincidently, the prince was taking a walk by the same place and saw the bow climbing up the wall. He called out to him to stop. The boy, startled, lost his footing and began to fall. The prince, without thinking, ran forward to catch the boy and together, they tumbled down. The boy sat up and looked at the prince…he had broken his leg in the fall.
From that day on, the boy never left the prince's side. He stayed by his bedside and took it upon himself to overlook all his needs. One evening, while the boy was serving the prince his meal; he spoke his first words to the prince.
"Why did you save me?" He said faintly.
A bit surprised, the prince turned around to look at the boy. He smiled, happy that the boy finally spoke to him. "I don't know. I just did." In turn, the prince asked the boy. "Why did you stay?"
The boy fixed his blue eyes on him. "I don't know. I just can't leave." And then he smiled as well. The prince was suddenly reminded of a warm summer's day.
"What is your name?" The prince repeats the question from the first time he met him.
"Naruto. My name is Naruto."
Even after the prince's leg had healed, Naruto still continued to care for the prince. He would help him put on his robes, make his bed, and plan his meals (because only he knew what the prince's favourite foods are). Since Naruto did not understand any of the palace's rules and honorifics, it was refreshing for the prince to be around him. The boy did not try to gain his favour to get money nor fear him because of his power. He acted naturally and treated the prince as a true friend. Whenever the prince was stressed or upset, he would confide in Naruto and it would only take a few minutes for him to be reassured again. Often, they would take long walks in the grand gardens and the palace would be filled with their lighthearted bickering and laughter. Whenever Naruto smiled or laughed, the prince thought the sun was even dim in comparison. They had become inseparable and understood each other the best, and the prince felt he was the most happiest when he was with Naruto. Since the boy was no longer a servant, the prince specially ordered a robe made of orange silk for Naruto to wear, to show how important he was to him.
One day, Naruto asked the prince a question. "Sasuke…(for only he was allowed to say the prince's name) what is your biggest wish?"
The prince looked at the blond boy and smiled. "Tell me yours and I'll tell you mine."
"Hmm, I want to explore the world. I want to see what's on the other side of the ocean, I want to visit lots of different places!" Naruto stood up and gazed at the sky, his blue eyes twinkling. Suddenly, he sat down again and looked at Sasuke. "But at the same time I don't want to, because that'll mean I''ll have to leave you."
"Baaaka, who says I can't come with you?" The prince ruffled the blond hair. "I promise I'll personally take you to the other side of the ocean sometime."
"Really?" Naruto asked, his face glowed with happiness.
"You can take my word." Sasuke raised his hand up in a vow.
Naruto jumped up and ran around with joy. Suddenly he remembered that the prince hasn't told him his wish yet and he sat down to ask him again.
"No need to tell you." The prince waved his hand dismissively.
Through Naruto's shouts of unfairness and Sasuke's laughter, he thought to himself: 'It's already come true anyways, I'm not lonely anymore.'
One day, the emperor decided to pay his son a visit. It was the same routine, the same speeches and the same cold indifference; Sasuke hated these visits. However, during dinner, his father suddenly announced that he was to be engaged to a neighboring country's princess.
"It will form a powerful alliance between us and it'll do good for us in the future—"
Suddenly the prince stood up. "I refuse."
The emperor looked at his son in shock. "Refuse? This is not a matter of you wanting to or not. As a prince, you have the responsibility to form bonds between countries. Marriage is the strongest one."
"I cannot marry someone I do not love." The prince looked at his father, his gaze showed that he would not back down.
The emperor lowered his voice dangerously. "You do know that if you disobey me, you will face death."
"So be it."
Angered, the emperor stood up, eyes flashing.
"NO! Don't hurt Sasuke!" An orange blur shot across the room and placed himself in front of the prince. Naruto stretched out his arms and glared defiantly at the emperor. He had hidden behind a tapestry and was eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Who is this?" The emperor asked in bewilderment and rage. Who was this person that dared to call the prince by his name?
"Naruto, stop! Go back to your room." The prince said fearfully, his eyes flitted back and forth from his father to the boy in front of him.
Naruto shook his head and stood his ground.
Then the emperor suddenly grinned and nodded slowly. "I see what is going on." He stood up and turned to leave, all his attendants stood up as well to accompany him. "I will take my leave for now, but I will be back in a few days." He turned his head to face Sasuke. "I trust that you will change your decision by then, my son."
Naruto arms drew down weakly as he stared at the retreating back in confusion. However, Sasuke's heart thudded painfully, knowing that there will be no good outcome for angering his father.
After the emperor left, Naruto asked the prince. "Sasuke, will you leave me when you marry?" His blue eyes looked downcast and grey.
"Baaka, who said I was going to marry?"
"But your father said—"
"Who cares what my father says. I won't ever marry some princess I've never met. I want to be with you, I will never leave your side."
Naruto smiled brilliantly. "I don't want to ever leave you either."
That night, the emperor, in order to get rid of the little blond nuisance, sent assassins into Sasuke's palace to kill Naruto. Fortunately, the prince's advisor had overheard this plan and woke the prince up before they could arrive. Worried, but not surprised, Sasuke went to Naruto's room to wake him up. He had a feeling something like this would happen, he knew his father wouldn't let things go so easily.
"Naruto!" The prince shook him.
The boy groggily sat up and rubbed his eyes, "Sasuke? What is it? Why are you up?"
"Get dressed, we're leaving."
"Huh? Right now, why? What's going on?"
"Don't worry about it. Just get dressed quickly."
He looked at Sasuke in confusion but he smiled back in reassurance. Not quite understanding the situation, he put on his robes anyway and together they snuck outside.
"Sasuke, where are we going?"
"You'll see when we get there." The prince wasn't sure himself wasn't sure where they were going to go. No matter where they hid, the emperor was bound to find them sooner or later.
He hoisted Naruto up onto the palace wall, and he in turn helped Sasuke up; together, they jumped down. Sasuke took Naruto's hand and then ran towards some trees for cover. Suddenly there were shouts coming from the palace and he could hear the gates being opened. In desperation, they both ran blindly ahead into the trees. Finally they reach a clearing, which was actually a cliff overlooking the ocean.
Sasuke took a moment to catch his breath and then looked nervously at the trees behind them for any signs of movement. Suddenly, about a dozen black-clad figures emerged from the shadows of the trees. Naruto noticed them too, he looked towards them nervously and then turned to look at the prince.
"Who are they? Why are they chasing us, Sasuke?
The assassins started to advance and the two of them backed up to the end of the cliff. Behind them laid the glittering ocean with the reflection of a full moon.
The prince grabbed Naruto's hand. "Don't be afraid. Don't look at them, look at me!"
Naruto looked at Sasuke, his blue eyes full of tears. Gently, the prince wiped the salty trails away.
"Baaka, why are you crying? Didn't I say we'll never be apart? I won't let them hurt you." He kissed Naruto on the forehead and whispered three words into his ear. Naruto's eyes widened and pink dusted his cheeks.
"Now…I seem to recall that I have a promise to keep. I said I was going to show you what's on the other side of the ocean. I always keep my word, so we're going there right now." Sasuke cupped Naruto's face in his hands. "Do you trust me?"
Naruto nodded fiercely.
"Close your eyes."
Naruto shut them. The men were now only a few meters away from the two.
Sasuke let go of Naruto's face and took a hold of his hand. He led him to the very edge of the cliff.
"Do you want to be with me forever, Naruto?" 'hand tightened around his.
"Of course! Why would you ask such a thing? I love you too…" Naruto smiled, eyes still closed. Suddenly the sun rose over the ocean.
Sasuke smiled as well. "Then let's…let's be together for eternity." His hand gripped Naruto's and he looked at the expanse of blue water whose colour could never rival Naruto's eyes. "We'll leave this place, let's cross the ocean."
Naruto squeezed Sasuke;s hand as well. "Let's fly away together."
Together, they took their last step.
Their black and orange robes billowed behind them, the colours mixing with the rising sun as they fell towards the ocean.
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In is said that their bodies were never found, but the assassins reported that there is no doubt that they both fell to their deaths. However, nearby villagers have claimed to have seen hundreds of butterflies fly out of the ocean during sunrise the next morning. The most peculiar thing about them is the black and orange design of their wings and the direction in which they fly. From rumors and bits of information, they pieced together this tragic story and passed on this tale through the generations. In remembrance of these pair of lovers and how they overcame death, the Monarch butterfly stands a symbol of their love and the fulfillment of the prince's promise. Their very essence and soul and intermingled in the wings of the Monarch.
When you see one of these brightly coloured butterflies, listen closely…you may be able to hear the joyful tinkling of their laughter as it flutters playfully among the flowers.