Warning: If you do not like boy x boy pairing then I'm telling you to leave right now.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and I don't own Cinderella either.
Chapter 1
'There she had to do hard work from morning until evening, get up before daybreak, carry water, make the fires, cook, and wash. Besides this, the sisters did everything imaginable to hurt her. They made fun of her, scattered peas and lentils into the ashes for her, so that she had to sit and pick them out again. In the evening when she had worked herself weary, there was no bed for her. Instead she had to sleep by the hearth in the ashes. And because she always looked dusty and dirty, they called her Cinderella.' -Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.
"Naruto, make sure you wash the dishes. They're starting to pile up."
"Also, make sure you wash the floors today."
"Don't forget to do the laundry. You have to be extra careful with those dresses for the ball! Be sure to wash them by hand."
"Start on lunch soon. I'm starving."
"The bookshelves are getting dusty. Have you not been keeping up with that?"
"Naruto, I spilled my coffee. Clean it immediately before the floor stains."
"Naruto, the trash needs to be taken out."
"Naruto."
"Naruto."
"Naruto!"
My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I am a servant of the Hyuuga's, a respected noble family in our tiny kingdom. They're courteous enough to let me serve them in exchange for food and shelter.
I'm lucky, really. I grew up without parents, and I guess for some reason that makes me a horrible person. No one wanted to even give me a chance, but the Hyuuga's were nice enough to let me step inside their house, let alone sleep in it. Not to mention they let me eat the food that they don't want.
Yeah, I'm still not treated with the most respect, but after I started working for the Hyuuga's, people started being a little civil with me, which is a nice change.
"N-Naruto?"
Most of the Hyuuga's see me as nothing more than a servant, and sometimes I feel like I'm treated even lower than that; like a slave, really. The only kind person in this household is Lady Hinata, a quiet girl about my age.
"Yes Lady Hinata? What shall I do for you?" I can't help but smile every time I talk to her. For some reason, she feels more like a friend than my employer.
"I… I wasn't all that hungry this morning and I was wondering if you would like the rest…"
The thing about Lady Hinata is that she wouldn't dare step out of the strict rules that her father has put her under when it comes to dealing with me. She just manages to find little loopholes in the directions she's given. For example, I'm only allowed to be fed table scraps. Thus, at least once a day, Hinata will eat only a small portion of her meal and offer me the rest in order to make sure I'm fed enough to sustain myself.
"I thank you for your kindness Lady Hinata."
But sometimes, I have to make sure that she's eating enough to sustain herself.
"However, I am not all that hungry. Are you sure that you are finished? I'll take your plate to the kitchen for you."
"Ah… Actually, I think I will eat a little more. T-Thank you."
I give her a knowing smile and return to scrubbing the floor.
…
"Remember Hinata, when you attend the festival tomorrow you must keep your chin up. Show off your face. Otherwise the prince will not notice you." Lady Hyuuga says, pausing in eating her dinner in order to make direct eye-contact with her daughter.
"Yes Mother."
"Speak up. No one can ever hear you."
"Yes Mother." Hinata replies a little louder.
"You should be more like your sister. Hanabi, teach your sister how to act properly." Lord Hyuuga cuts in.
"Yes Father." Comes Hanabi's dutiful reply.
Hinata only bites her lip and places her fork down, announcing through the action that she is no longer hungry.
…
The following morning is hectic.
Lady Hyuuga wants to insure that both of her daughters are properly dressed for the ball and that each girl looks her best. Thus, I'm instructed to help with tightening strings and laces. I feel especially bad when Lady Hyuuga calls me into the room and instructs me to tighten Hinata's already constricting corset. Apparently Lady Hyuuga could no longer pull it tighter and wanted to see if a man's strength could do a proper job.
Hinata, who already seemed on the verge of illness, now looks like she could pass out at any moment.
After Lady Hyuuga has left the room to attend to Lady Hanabi, I assist Hinata in loosening her constrictions enough so her lungs can function enough for her to breathe a little. She thanks me and I leave the room.
…
Several hours later Lord Neji arrives. Lord Hyuuga has arranged for Neji to escort Lady Hinata to the festival that will be occurring later tonight. It's apparently supposed to last three nights and the princes shall be choosing brides. Everyone wants Lady Hinata to marry Prince Itachi, but they figure if Prince Sasuke accepts her that it will still be an amazing accomplishment.
The King has fallen ill recently and it's easy to see that he's not doing well if he's trying to marry off his heirs. Prince Itachi seems to be everyone's main concern, seeing as he's first in line to take the throne. However, it's also well known that Itachi has been sickly for years and there is worry that he will not make it long enough to give and raise a new heir in time. Thus, Prince Sasuke has also been signed up for marriage as a back-up. The things you hear when you serve a noble family.
I remember meeting Prince Sasuke once, actually. Though, I didn't realize it was him until later. Honestly, he kind of seems like a prick. Well, maybe that was just part of his disguise, but he seemed pretty genuine to me.
I pay for the fresh fruit and leave the stall behind in favor of exploring the market some. I can't stay long, but I like being out of the house. It's refreshing… relaxing… peaceful-
At least it was.
"I'm really sorry!" I say almost immediately.
The hooded man glares back at me. His eyes are the color of coals. He seems pale, extremely so, as if he has never been touched by the sun before. He has flawless skin, and from what I can tell, his hair is dark.
"If you would watch where you're going you wouldn't have to apologize at all. Idiot."
I've normally been pretty good at keeping my temper, being harassed by the entire kingdom since I was born, but this guy… There's just something about him that makes me want to strangle someone, preferably him!
"What did you just call me?"
"What, are you deaf and dumb?" I growl at this.
"Are you looking for a fight?"
"I wouldn't want to embarrass you." The man –though he looks about my age- mocks, giving me an arrogant smirk.
If looks could kill.
I nearly throw down my forgotten fruits and lay into this guy, but I need to get back to the Hyuuga house. If I don't get back soon I'll be looking at even more work to do.
I don't give him a reply and simply storm off towards the Hyuuga household, leaving behind the market and that cocky jerk.
I found out about a week after I met Prince Sasuke that he was actually the Prince. I was in the market again when he passed by with about five body guards, dressed in royal attire that would catch anyone's attention. I know he recognized me because he gave me that same arrogant smirk. If he wasn't heavily protected I might have actually tried to rip his stupid mouth off his face.
I think about him every now and then. I mainly wonder how in the world he managed to become such an asshole. But sometimes I think of how much it must suck having to possibly be taking responsibility over an entire kingdom at this age.
I pity the Prince in a way, because I know what it's like to have so much expected of you, but you can only do so much. Like now, I'm always expected to keep this entire house functioning, but I'm only one person and I can only do so much. We are similar, in a way, but his circumstances are much more dire.
"Shit!"
"Naruto!"
Oh great. What now?
I rush over to where I'm being called, still holding the broom I had been using to sweep the kitchen, and find Lord Hyuuga kneeling next to a grimacing Neji. From what I can gather from the fact that his leg looks like a boomerang and our location, I'm going to guess that he fell down the stairs.
"Lord Hyuuga." I say, alerting him of my presence.
"Naruto, what on earth did you do to the stairs?"
"Sir?" Please don't tell me he's trying to blame me.
"I just can't see Neji just falling down the stairs like that. They're slick. What did you do to them?" He's totally blaming me.
"I washed them like I was instructed, sir." I reply, trying to be as courteous as possible.
"And was that all?" Lord Hyuuga asks, standing from his position next to his nephew to move in front of me.
"Yes sir." I say, trying desperately not to be intimidated.
"I think you lying." He growls dangerously low.
I feel my eyes widen as panic sets in. What did I ever do wrong? Okay, there was the time that I accidently dropped some dishes a couple weeks back, but I tripped! He couldn't seriously still be mad about that, could he?
"F-Father?"
Another reason why I should worship Lady Hinata; she saves me when I get myself into sticky situations with her family.
It takes a minute before Lord Hyuuga shifts his attention away from me and turns it towards his daughter who is carefully picking her way down the stairs in her elegant ball gown.
I have to remind myself that this is the same Hinata; there is such a drastic change in her appearance. Her long hair has been curled and her lavender dress is simple yet sleek, embroidered with what looks like diamonds. Her earrings are almost long enough to brush her shoulders. They match the embroidery of her dress. Her shoes look as if they'd been dipped in silver, as if they weren't made of the precious metal entirely.
She's beautiful, I have to admit. I would be surprised if she didn't catch anyone's eye tonight.
"We need to get Neji to the nearest doctor." Lord Hyuuga announces after a moment.
"Will I be accompanying you?" Hinata asks.
"No. You will be attending the festival. I would feel more comfortable if you had an escort, but I doubt we will find one in time."
"W-What… What about N-Naruto?"
The entire room freezes. I feel like the ground has just given out beneath me and I'm falling. Lord Hyuuga looks like his daughter just asked him to strip naked and run around the town. Hinata ignores our reactions. She's strangely determined.
"Hinata darling… He's a servant boy; he couldn't possibly look the pa-"
"He could help him clean up. He could wear Neji's suit. They're about the same size." She hasn't broken eye-contact, but her lack of stuttering speaks volumes alone.
"I just don't think it would be a good idea, Hinata."
"W-Why not? It would only be for tonight, until we can find someone to take his place."
"No, Hinata."
"Please."
"No!"
"You know I can't do this by myself."
"I don't care, the answer is no!"
"Then I'm not going!"
There's another pause. The tension is palpable. Hinata has never raised her voice before.
"Can we please just get a damn doctor!" Neji grits out and I realize I'd been holding my breath.
"Yes, of course." Lord Hyuuga replies before turning to Hinata. "I don't have time to deal with you."
As Lord Hyuuga carries Neji out, Hinata motions for me to follow her up the stairs. We pace down the hallway towards her room and once inside she lightly pulls me over to one of the chairs and makes me sit down.
"I'll be back, I'm sure Father has an old suit that will fit you." She says.
I open my mouth to protest but Lady Hinata leaves the room before I can.
I'm still shocked by her actions. I never thought in a million years that Hinata would ever go against Lord Hyuuga's will.
However, despite this shock and confusion, one thought seems to find its way into my head.
Prince Sasuke will be attending the festival, and it's entirely possible that we will meet him there.
AN: Whew! Hello there. Welcome to this random story that I decided to start writing. Sorry if this seems rushed, I'm just so excited to get to the festival.
I have no idea how long this is going to be, by the way. Again, this just randomly came to me. Though, it should only be about 5. I don't think it will be terribly long. And if it is, then we're all in for quite the ride.
Sorry if there are any typos. I went over it and fixed most of them I think, but I'm pretty sure there is still a couple in there.
Anyway, thank you for reading. I hope I will see you next chapter. I a lot will be happening.