Hello, everyone! Here's something to keep you busy as I finish the third chapter for Red Eyes, Take Warning.

It's the holiday season here and of course, it's also our holiday vacation. I might finish updating a few times before it ends. *cross fingers*

So here you go, an idea I got over a simple sentence! Enjoy!

(Disclaimer applies)

The Queen's Knight

Chapter one

Naruto Uzumaki knew that by sunset, he would be hanged by the king himself.

At a young age of 10, his life would come to an end once the palace takes notice not of his absence, but of the absence of the king and queen's only daughter. He was going to die on this day and the fault wouldn't even be of his.

On this day was the king's annual tournament where men from all over the kingdom came in joy to mercilessly hurt each other for the glory of being a knight of the king. It was an event anticipated by the whole kingdom and one where the princess was strictly banned from seeing until she becomes of age. The king had hoped to preserve the princess' innocence from violence as long as he could.

Well, the princess had decided that she would not wait six more years if she can see it for herself today. There really wasn't much choice for him, unfortunately. Stubborn as a mule, she refused to heed his words and was set on discovering why she was forbidden from seeing the tournament herself. He can't very well let her leave the palace on her own.

Thus, here he is now, clad in a brown cloak similar to her highness, making his way to what would ultimately cause his death.

It was apparent that she had prepared for the day with cloaks and commoner clothes at the ready and a plan to take advantage of the commotion surrounding the event to slip past the palace guards. He took note to report their negligence once this ordeal was over. They found it beyond effortless to get out of the palace's premises.

Naruto kept a close eye on the young princess. With the crowd this large, it would be too easy to get separated. With their cloaks on, they blended against the commoners a little too well for his liking. Yet, he couldn't help a chill down his spine whenever he sees a passing guard. The symbol of his majesty taunted him, he was sure of it.

He found it immensely ironic, however. The princess was of vibrant colors and brightness. Her hair pink as the blossoms of their garden was barely noticed by the people. Taken, it was under her cloak, but do people really not see a girl with pink hair and think that only one other person in the kingdom had that and that was their queen?

"Naruto," he heard her whisper, a tinge of annoyance in her voice. "I gave you my word that I would only see one match then you can happily take me back to the palace with no complaint. You need not to worry for I intend to keep it."

"Similar to how you kept your word to your father that you will not see the tournament?"

The princess turned on him sharply, green eyes flashing in warning. "Do you wish for your death to come sooner?"

"Perhaps. I would rather die in your hands than in your father's," he glared back.

A deep frown etched on her delicate face. Hastily, she took his hand and continued walking again, taking guidance from the string of colorful banners to lead them to their destination. "I promise that no harm will come to you for this. I will never allow my father to hurt you. You will be by my side for as long as I wish it."

For the life of him, Naruto's heart swelled. It was one thing to know that the princess tolerated his company, but it was another to know that she actually cared enough for him.

"Please keep that in mind when the time for you to choose your knights come."

He could practically feel her smile as they continued on walking.

The tournament field was filled to the brim with both participants and spectators. The makeshift benches for the commoners were close to giving way to the weight, whereas the royalty, as to be expected, were comfortable in their spacious boxes. How Naruto wished he could be there.

A few years back, the king had been kind enough to bring him along to the tournament and he would be lying if he said that it had not changed his life. The tournament, though primarily for entertainment, was an opportunity for any man of any status to become a knight of the king. It was customary for the champion to be knighted, but it was not unheard of for some who had lost to be knighted. The king was just and he took it upon himself to select those he deemed are individuals that would do justice in serving not only him, but also the kingdom.

The faces of the men who were knighted on that day would forever stay with him and he hoped one day to don the same face of pride and humility when he gets knighted. He will become a knight and serve under her majesty, even if her majesty is more trouble than she is worth.

Sighing to himself, Naruto took the princess' hand and led her to the stands farthest from the king's sight. It was easy to keep hidden from the eyes of the commoners, but not to his king. The beauty of his daughter would surely catch his sight.

The princess immediately resisted. The idea to just announce the princess' presence here and get himself killed was becoming too much of a temptation by the minute to Naruto.

"One more person and that is going to break and I for one do not wish to be a part of it," she spoke, tugging him towards the participant's tents. "We can watch the next match once there are a little less people."

He really could just shout and put himself out of his misery.

The participant's tents were akin to that of a carnival. Every tent wore the banner and the colors of the family it honors. Some were easily recognizable, while others barely had tents over their heads. Every royal house in the country wanted a son as part of the king's knights and every peasant wanted to escape their lives through it.

The princess was fascinated by all of it. It was never her intention to watch the matches, but rather, she wanted to see for herself what goes on during these tournaments. She was aware that by her sixteenth year, she would hold her formal introduction and hold her own tournament to select her first set of knights.

She knew that she will never be able to see them as this, men, both young and experienced, with fear in their eyes and braveness in their stance. What she will see in the battlefield will never compare to how they are mere minutes away from their bouts. They were human, unbloodied and proud.

Naruto and she weaved through tents, looking at each set of armor, at every horse being groomed with amazement in their eyes. She found herself most impressed with the white armor of the Hyuuga's, a family deeply close to hers, and the wonderful horses of the Nara, the family of her father's advisers.

As she neared a tent of black and red, instead of being met with horses and armor, she was met with the sound of clashing swords. Curious, she took her skirts in hand and rushed towards the source. Naruto quickly followed her footsteps.

Behind the tent, in a patch of grass meant for the horses, was a young man clad in the darkest armor she had ever seen and a young boy around their age with a white and red fan emblazoned on the back of his shirt, exchanging blows with their swords.

The man stood smiling with one of his hands behind his back as he effortlessly blocked every move the young boy made. With every block, the scowl on the young boy's face deepened.

From the looks of it, Sakura believed them to be brothers. They had the same dark hair and matching black eyes that were immensely complimented by their pale skin. She was used to handsome men in the palace, but she was never as enamored as she is now with them.

The boy grew tired of the man's toying and lunged, sword extended in front of him. The man quickly side stepped out of instinct. For a mere second, she saw the boy smirk before he shifted his sword to his other hand and made an arc with it. The sound of metal against metal and the scratch on the man's armor was a gloat to his favor.

The man smiled widely and surveyed what little damage was done to his armor. Amusement danced within his eyes. He finally acknowledged their presence, smiled even wider, and went after the boy. As fast as he had moved, he had disarmed the boy with a swipe of his sword. Naruto couldn't believe his eyes at the display. If he had blinked, he was certain that he would have missed it.

The young boy huffed and took his sword from the ground. He sheathed it with a loud clang and turned to them, his dark eyes in a glare. She shivered under his gaze.

"What do you want?" the young boy rudely asked. It took quite an effort for Naruto to not throttle him for his unintentional offense to the princess.

"Now, Sasuke, mother would be disappointed to see how you treat guests. Most especially ones who are as pretty as her." The man chastised earning him a grunt from the boy. The princess' blush was immediate.

"We were just looking around before the start of the next match. We're sorry for any interruption." Naruto spoke, frantic. He needed to get the princess back to the palace as soon as possible without men taking notice of them.

"Do you mean my match?" The man asked.

Naruto's eyes widened in realization. The dark armor, the black and red tent, and the fan on the boy's clothe. How could he not recognize it. "Is it… Are you… Would you be Itachi from the house of Uchiha?"

"My father prefers it to be called a clan, but yes. I'm glad to hear that there is recognition to my name," Itachi spoke, a smile still to his face. "I really do need to start preparing, shouldn't I, seeing as my brother refuses to help me?"

"Tch," Sasuke answered, crossing his arms in defiance.

It really was him. The man was Itachi Uchiha, the one everyone was certain would be knighted today. As the older son of the Uchiha clan, knightship was to be expected, but to see him here in person was something Naruto would never even dream of. The Uchiha family had been a close ally of the king himself with them leading the military efforts. Every set of knight that the king had always had an Uchiha in it.

"I'll assist you!" Naruto offered before realizing the implication. Helping out Itachi would mean leaving the princess. He turned to her, uncertain of what to do.

"Go," she spoke softly, enough only for them to hear. "You will never let me hear the end of it if you lose your chance to assist who you claimed as the greatest swordsman in Konoha."

A grin broke on Naruto's face as he turned to the Itachi, blue eyes reflecting his giddiness.

"Come on, then. We need to see to covering up Sasuke's handy work and the horse needs to be saddled," he instructed, walking to the inside of the tent with Naruto in tow. The princess smiled as Naruto, lost in excitement, forgot all about his cloak and his head of spiky blonde hair was met the afternoon breeze.

With the both of them gone, an uneasy silence settled between the two left in the small field. Sasuke cursed his older brother for leaving him, but couldn't really blame him. He was stubborn in not helping his brother. He was to be a knight, not a squire, and so will never act as one.

Although it is but one more day of putting up with Itachi. He joyfully awaited for the end of the day and his return home. By the end of the day, he would be rid of Itachi. He would be tasked to be in the castle for the rest of his life and it would be years before he would join him there as a knight himself.

If he was still alive, Sasuke thought, morbidly.

"That was a very impressive move that you did," he heard her speak, breaking him from his thoughts. He turned to her and saw her sitting on the grass, her lips in a soft smile.

"Aa," he could only answer. He did not need yet another girl to be clamoring after him.

"But not impressive enough," she spoke, looking up to him from where she sat.

Sasuke's temper flared. "I do not think you can judge what is impressive or not in these manners, girl."

"Perhaps," she began, challenging him with her vibrant green eyes. "But a scratch is barely something one can be proud of."

"What is it that you want, girl?" He bit out.

"I need you to surpass him," she answered, immediately.

"And why is that? Too old for your tastes?" He spoke, venom in his words. From their tent he saw the girl's blonde companion exit, calling to her with a wave of his hand. Itachi got out next, his armor fixed and his sword strapped to his hip. He did not want any more additions to the long list of people who preferred his older brother over him. He had enough of that from his clan.

"On the contrary, he is the right age. By the time of my introduction, he'll be most fit to be my knight," she mused, standing up. She brushed the grass from her robes and turned to him with seriousness. "However, he is not who I want as my knight, it is you."

"What is your name?" Eyes narrowed, he asked.

Just as she was about to answer, a gust of wind took them. Sasuke's eyes widened at the sight before him. With her cloak's hood discarded on her neck, Sasuke saw before him what he thought was the embodiment of spring itself. She was beautiful with eyes as bright as the fresh grass from their hills and hair as soft as the petals of pink roses against the wind.

"Sakura Haruno," she spoke, barely above a whisper. "In six years, I expect you to be here for my tournament. Do not keep me waiting."

With that she replaced the hood on her head and left him. Sasuke could only smirk, new determination in mind.

So what did you guys think? Was I too pretentious with it? I only have a slight idea of how Medieval English is so I hope I didn't butcher it too much. Feedback would be nice so I can fix it by the next chapter.

I was thinking of making this into a three-shot at best. We'll see, depending on the overall reception. Might keep it to a two shot if ever it's not okay BUT I WILL FINISH IT YES.

Love lots,

Poseidom.