Red Blood
**Author's note; I do not own any of the characters affiliated with this story, nor do I own Naruto. Thank you.
Hinata stared blankly down at the clear, running river. The sun beat down on the young princess. Although it was December, it was still mildly warm out, due to the warm climate that her kingdom was well known for. Her reflection glared back at her, the pearly orbs emotionless. The ink colored hair cascading down the watery counterpart's head was long and glistening, suggesting that it was properly cared for. The twin's face was pale, like a porcelain doll. The lips were plump and red, and the dress the female sported was a bright lilac color, lace adoring the sleeves and collar. Hinata sighed and looked up from the water, instead turning around and resting her eyes on the castle looming above her, a castle she had learned to call home. She stood gracefully and began the short trek back to the palace, her father probably questioning where she was. As she reached the castle doors the guards nodded at her and let her pass. She wandered through the halls and navigated her way back to her room, throwing herself onto her bed and gazing at her snow colored ceiling. She turned and looked at her alarm clock. It was 11:30 in the morning. Hinata's stomach rumbled, hinting that it was lunch time.
The princess grumbled and sluggishly crawled off of her bed; she blew a piece of indigo hair out of her face and trudged to the dining room. The maids she passed all uttered a 'Good morning hime-sama' as she walked by. As she took a seat at the long, crystal colored dining room table she politely asked a nearby servant if he could prepare her a meal. The servant nodded and set off to the kitchen. Left alone in the dining room, Hinata had time to think.
Her 16th birthday was next week, a day that most teenage girls would be looking forward to, but Hinata dreaded. That was the day that her father had arranged for her to marry a neighboring kingdom's son, Sasuke Uchiha. Just thinking about the upcoming event Hinata could feel tears spring into her eyes and a lump grow in her throat, but she quickly composed herself. Sasuke Uchiha was a cold man. When they had first met, he was very rude, even suggesting that he be too good for Hinata to wed. Although he was very handsome, his ego was very large and his manners needed quite a lot of work. Hinata would rather die than marry that sort of man.
Not noticing the servant come in with her food, she jumped when he spoke. "Hinata-sama," The servant spoke gently, "Your meal is served."
"A-ah, thank you." Hinata smiled weakly and quietly ate her food, the servant leaving to tend to other needs. When finished, she stood and left the room, wandering the halls aimlessly. She finally decided to go to the palace gardens. As she entered the outdoor greenhouse, she smiled at the smell of all the flowers. She took a seat on a nearby bench and silently admired the beautiful sight, unaware that she was being closely watched.
The lanky redhead stared at the princess from behind a nearby tree, his eyes blank and his expression stony. Tomorrow night his plan would be set in motion, and everything would fall into place. He was risking everything for this, but he was sure that the prize would be worth it. After all, this kind of job paid very handsomely. He smirked and whirled around, venturing into the dark forest. He was not scared of any beast or thief that was hidden here, because he knew that he could easily defeat them. After all, he was the infamous Red Bandit.
He trekked back to his makeshift camp, hidden behind an array of pine trees. He sat down onto the grassy ground, grabbing his nearby notebook and looking over his plans. He wasn't quite sure yet what he would do with the princess when he caught her, but he definitely had to move fast and silently. He would have to burn down this camp before he left to hide the evidence that he was ever here, and he still had to write a ransom note. Regarding the girl, he didn't plan to injure her unless she put up a fight. The King might not hand over the amount of money he asked for if his 'darling daughter' came home missing a limb or two. Of course, he didn't want to hurt her, but he didn't think she should get so attached to her arms just yet. After all, he was known as one of the bloodiest and most cunning thieves out there.
At a nearby kingdom, in a nearby castle, a dark haired prince was brooding in his room. In approximately seven days he would be married off to a neighboring kingdom's princess, Hinata Hyuga. Now, she wasn't the ugliest being that he had ever laid eyes on. No, in fact, she was quite attractive. He smirked to himself, resting a palm under his chin. The thing that bothered him about her though was her shy and bashful nature. He was more into the type that would quickly climb into bed with you, and she took him as the complete opposite. His smirk turned into a grimace. He was far too good for her. He was known as not only his kingdom's prince, but the prince of the ladies as well. He had bedded more than half of his country's subjects, and he didn't plan to give up his life as a playboy for some mousy girl. Maybe there was something more about her though that he wasn't seeing. After all, she did have quite a large pair of… assets. He smiled and sat up on his bed, staring into the mirror opposite of it and combing back his messy hair with his fingers. Maybe being married off to that royal pain in the ass wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.