AN: I apologise for the long wait; I had some serious computer issues for awhile, but now I have a new one so updates will be much more regular. Yay! I actually really like this chapter. A lot happens, and there's quite a bit of set up, but the Twelve Dancing Princesses was my favorite fairy tale as a kid and I couldn't not include it in this story, ya know? (Which is why this chapter is like twice the length of the last one...sorry Rapunzel)
I hope you enjoy, and you all know how much I love reading reviews so I hope I get to hear what you guys think! :)
Warning: I brought sassy Sasuke back (minor ooc)
The Forest of the Dancing Princesses
Once upon a time there was a king who had twelve daughters, each more beautiful than the last. They shared a room on the top floor of the castle, and every night the door was securely locked. But one morning, a young servant who cleaned the rooms when the princesses had left to go about their business noticed that all twelve pairs of dancing shoes had been completely worn through. At first, no one in the castle thought anything of it, and twelve new pairs of shoes were placed in their rooms before the end of the day.
However the next morning, the same servant noticed that all twelve pairs of new shoes had been worn through again sometime in the night. This repeated three more times before it was brought to the attention of the king. The king was perplexed, but when he asked each of his daughters how they had worn through their shoes in one night, they did not answer. He placed guards outside their door to ensure no one entered or exited the room. The next morning, the guards claimed that, not only had the door remained firmly shut, no sounds of dancing had taken place inside the room either.
As the mystery of the worn-out dancing shoes continued to befuddle the castle, the king sent word out to all the land: any man who could discover the midnight secret within three days and three nights would become heir to his kingdom and could marry whichever daughter he chose. But if any man failed to discover the secret within the time limit, he would be put to death.
Naruto watched silently as the Witch of the Forest finished reading the story. She carefully closed the book and set it on the table between them, meeting Naruto's eyes with her own. "So," she said after a few moments of silence. "You've decided on your next quest then."
The blond prince nodded.
The Witch sighed, leaning back in her chair. She had a youthful appearance – no one knew her true age, though it was undoubtedly older than she claimed – which was accented by her smooth, nearly unblemished skin and large, perky breasts. The dot on her forehead between her eyes was the only mark on her body, and rumors claimed it was the source of her immortal life. No one really knew if she were immortal or not, they just all assumed it was true.
"I'm not going to lie to you, prince, this one is a bit tougher than yelling a girl's name three times and climbing a tower."
"I think I can handle it, Granny."
Her eye twitched. "Listen here, brat," she growled, dropping the formal business tone she'd spoken with before. "I am only helping you out of the goodness of my heart, and if you're just going to get smart with me, then I will gladly send you on your way without any advice at all."
Naruto pouted. "Aw, come on, Granny. You owe me, remember? That one time I completed your challenge in three days –"
"Alright, alright I get it." The Witch drew her hand over her face in defeat. "But if you're cashing in on this debt now, you can't take it back later."
The blond prince nodded enthusiastically. If this quest worked out the way he hoped it would – that is, if he got a princess – then he wouldn't need a second favor. "I'm cashing in the debt, Granny Witch. What's the secret? Tell me, tell me."
He wouldn't have come to her in the first place if this had been any other story in the book. After the Rapunzel incident, he hadn't put much more thought into what he wanted to do and ended up idly flipping through the book's pages without any interest. Sometime around his fourth or fifth "read-through", he noticed something strange; Rapunzel was no longer in the book. Instead, her story was replaced with one he'd never seen before.
As a child, he'd seen the stories change often; whenever a prince completed their quest and found a princess, the story would disappear and be replaced with another one. But in the few years leading up to his 18th birthday, the book had remained completely unchanged, and he knew the secret to all of them.
He supposed he shouldn't be surprised Rapunzel's story was gone; after all, she had been rescued already by the time he'd gotten there. The only strange thing was how long it took for the book to change. If it had changed while he was still journeying, he would never have climbed the tower and met the mysterious rogue.
"Patience, brat," the Witch cut across his thoughts. "I haven't Seen anything yet." She stood up and bustled about the cabin, gathering what Naruto supposed were ingredients so she could See into the story.
Naruto tapped his foot nervously on the ground. Ever since this story had appeared in the book, he'd felt an overwhelming sense of urgency. His fateful meeting with the pirate in Rapunzel's tower had taught him that not all quests ended as perfectly as he'd thought; sometimes other people got there first, and all that was left were a few looters and spells. He couldn't help but think that becoming an heir to another country and having the ability to choose between 12 brides was enticing to more than just him, and if he didn't move quickly then he would lose this one as well.
"Three forests," the Witch said. Naruto looked over, unaware that she had begun the Seeing already. She was leaning over the open fire, burning a bright green, in the middle of the cottage, her eyes glassed over as she looked at something far away. "One of silver, one of gold, and one of diamonds. There is a lake, where twelve princes of old wait for the princesses. There is a castle on the lake. That is where the shoes are worn through."
"How do they get there?" Naruto asked. Knowing the answer is all well and good, but if he can't prove to the king how it happened, he'd be put to death for sure.
"There is a door in their room. A secret passage built into the floor. It takes them to the world beyond." The Witch looked at Naruto, her eyes still glassed over. "But beware, golden prince, for that world is not one entered lightly. The princes of old do not tolerate the living." She shuddered and stepped back, the fire returning to its soft orange color as it flickered and died.
"Well…" Naruto said. "That was ominous." The Witch looked up at him with faint amusement in her eyes. "So how do I get to the world then? I highly doubt the king will let me stay in a room where his hot daughters sleep."
She rolled her eyes. "You've been hanging around your father's old Warlock too long, little Naruto. Thinking of girls in their bedrooms." She shook her head. "No, of course I don't expect you to waltz in there. You're more the dramatic type anyway."
The blond grinned. "Believe it."
She ignored him, instead walking back to her cupboards and rustling through them. "I think I have something for you…here." She pulled out a small, black candle. It didn't look like it had enough wax on it to even light at all. "Hold the book in one hand, with the story open, and hold the candle in the other hand. As long as you're thinking about the forest, you'll appear there."
"Why can't I go straight to the castle?"
The Witch shook her head. "The castle is ruled by the princes of old, remember? I can't send you to a place governed by the dead. Even if it is still in the land of the living."
Naruto buckled his sword around his waist and placed his pack on his back. He picked up the book, flipping it open to the story before accepting the candle the Witch offered in his other hand.
"It's nearing nightfall." The Witch snapped her fingers, a flame appearing between them. "The princesses should arrive not long after you. Be wary, especially of their princes."
"I will," he promised.
She lit the candle as he stared hard at the book, trying to imagine what a forest of silver could possibly look like, and with a whooshing motion that made his stomach churn, he disappeared.
Naruto blinked his eyes at the sudden brightness around him. When he'd read about a forest made of metal, he thought maybe it was just the leaves or something. Instead, what he saw, were entire trees of complete silver. It was blinding in the setting sun.
He averted his gaze down to the ground, and saw he'd managed to land on the path. A glance behind showed no trees, so he moved forward with one arm over his eyes to block the glare from the silver and hoped the forest would get thick enough for no light to shine through.
Naruto had been walking for barely five minutes when he noticed the blinding light change. Confused he looked up. Somewhere in his walking, he'd managed to get from the forest of silver to the one of gold. He frowned. That couldn't be right; forests were a lot bigger than that. He'd describe what he walked through as more…grove-like.
The light was still blinding enough that he looked down. He wanted to find somewhere to wait for the princesses while still in the forests, but he could barely see any–
BAM. Naruto ran into something and crashed hard on the ground. He sat confused for a second, positive he'd been following the path and there couldn't have been any trees in the way, and then he looked up. His stomach flip-flopped unpleasantly as he recognised the person standing before him.
The raven-haired rogue smirked at him. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the little prince with the orange cloak. I see your fashion sense hasn't improved."
"You," he growled jumping up and ignoring his stomach.
"Me," the pirate responded. "I see you still sound like just as much of an idiot as before."
Naruto glared at him. "I'm not an idiot."
"Hm." The raven turned away, and Naruto just then noticed that he had a large brown sack similar to the one he'd been carrying in the tower. The man ripped a golden leaf of the tree and slid it into the bag.
The blond scowled. "Looting again, I see. You got here early this time though; the princesses will be down shortly."
The raven looked back at Naruto, his eyebrow quirked perfectly. "Rogues like me love looting for gold and jewels. This forest is a paradise, and despite what you may think the princesses won't be returning." He turned back to the tree, taking more leaves. "It'll be full of others like me in a day or two."
"What are you talking about?" Naruto hated how the raven always seemed to know so much more than him about his adventure.
The raven leveled his gaze at Naruto over his shoulder. "Surely you aren't stupid enough to show up late twice." At the lack of response from the blond, the other's eyes widened incredulously. "You are?"
"What are you talking about?" The blond repeated, gritting his teeth.
The other man placed the new leaves he'd gathered in the sack and crossed his arms over his chest. "The princesses are gone. A soldier, I think, solved the mystery and now all the princesses have been married off and sent away."
Naruto's mouth dropped, at a loss of what to say.
"You really didn't know?"
"No." Naruto found his voice again. "The story just appeared a few days ago…"
The raven shrugged. "Well you're a day late, little prince. Better luck next time."
Naruto could've slammed his head on the stupid golden tree trunks. How could he be late twice? This was ridiculous. He continued down the path, brushing past the rogue without looking. He wasn't sure what to do with himself now, but he knew he didn't want to be anywhere near the stupid raven with his stupid smirk and his stupid perfectly quirked eyebrows.
"Where are you going, little prince?"
"None of your business," Naruto growled. "And I'm not little. I'm at least as tall as you." He added almost as an afterthought. He continued to follow the path, not waiting to hear a response.
Naruto wandered aimlessly, no longer averting his eyes. The sun had dipped past the horizon at this point, and the trees weren't blinding him anymore. He noticed passively that the golden forest was more like a grove as well, giving way to diamonds in a much shorter time than he would've thought it should. The diamond trees seemed to dance, reflecting the setting sun around themselves and creating the illusion of being in a forest of rainbows. He stopped and admired the sight as the sun sunk further, and the trees grew dark.
The moon began to rise at some point, the faint glow of it enough to light the path through the trees. Once it was visible, Naruto continued on his way. He wasn't sure how long he was walking before the trees cleared and he found himself standing on the outside of the forest, gazing at a calm lake.
It was larger than the ones in the Fire Country's forest, ending somewhere beyond Naruto's vision. The water was crystal clear, reflecting the moon above without any distortions at all. But that wasn't what held Naruto's attention.
In the center of the lake, floating seemingly on nothing, was a castle. In his mind he knew it was the very castle the princesses had visited every night, wearing holes through their shoes as they danced, but he'd never imagined it would be so…enchanting. He'd never wanted to step foot inside a building as badly as he wanted to go into that castle.
He didn't realize he was walking until his leg bumped something. Confused, Naruto looked down. He was stopped at the edge of the lake, and the only thing that had prevented him from falling in was a small brown row boat sitting half out of the water. It rocked merrily as he hit it again, and the sudden urge to get into it and row to the castle overwhelmed Naruto.
Without a second thought, he shoved the boat into the lake and leapt in, allowing it to sweep him away. The lake was still perfectly calm, and there were no oars in the boat with Naruto, but it moved swiftly and silently towards the castle regardless. A small voice in the back of his mind whispered that something that moved without aid was bad, but the sight of the beautiful castle getting closer squashed it.
As the boat approached, Naruto noticed that the windows appeared to be lit from the inside. It bathed the castle in a golden light and made it all the more entrancing. The boat tapped against something, stopping abruptly, and Naruto tore his eyes from the castle itself long enough to notice a courtyard leading to the entrance.
He leapt lightly out of the boat, onto the solid ground – strange, he thought, that the ground felt so solid and yet it didn't appear to be an island – walking without glancing sideways toward the entrance. The doors loomed over him, wooden and carved with a pattern of roses. He didn't have time to wonder about this before they opened. There was nobody inside, but Naruto stepped into the entrance nonetheless.
His happiness and enchantment disappeared the moment the doors slammed shut behind him. He spun around to see what caused it, but only saw the candles framing the door blow out, casting darkness throughout the room. He turned back slowly, not sure he wanted to see what had made the candles go out. The only light was from the moon outside. Naruto squinted when he saw nothing, a pit of worry growing in his stomach. He should not be here. Hadn't the Witch of the Forest warned him about something in the castle…?
"Young man…" A voice that could've been no softer than a whisper yet boomed loudly in Naruto's ears called out. "You are not welcome here."
"Sorry!" He yelled, backing up cautiously and glancing around to either side of him, searching for the source of the voice. "I was just leaving…" He spun around to the doors, pulling on their handles. As he suspected, they didn't budge.
A cold wind whooshed by his ear, and Naruto turned so his back was pressed against the door, drawing his sword warily. The voice from before let out what sounded like a breathy laugh. "Your mortal weapons will do nothing against us, boy."
Naruto swallowed and yelled foolishly. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, Golden Prince of the Fire Country, and you'd do well to let me go!"
At first the thing didn't respond, and Naruto hoped against hope he'd said the right thing. "It has been ages since we last feasted upon a prince's soul. You bring us great joy."
Naruto gulped. Well that probably wasn't good. A crack sounded throughout the hall, and twelve men appeared. They were gaunt and appeared to be missing bits of flesh in some places. The blond wondered wildly how the princesses could've possibly wanted to dance so badly they'd looked past the clearly monstrous forms of their partners.
One of them stepped forward. "Come, prince. Let us taste if your insides are as golden as you claim." As one, they charged.
Yup, Naruto thought wildly as he darted past them, swinging his sword uselessly, definitely not good.
Sasuke placed the last of the diamond leaves he'd gathered into his bag. He'd filled it up with as much as he could fit, and he was pleased with the results. He hoisted it over his shoulder, a nagging suspicion that he was forgetting something playing at his brain.
He shrugged it away, deciding it was nothing, and glanced around. The forest was beautiful, and it was almost a shame that it would be looted beyond recognition within the week. Almost. He supposed he couldn't feel too bad; after all, he'd already started it by taking his share.
He was sure the blond prince wouldn't feel the same way; he'd seemed to take personal offense to the raid on the tower several weeks ago. Sasuke almost dropped his bag in shock. The blond prince! That's what he was forgetting!
The raven dropped his bag on the path, rushing out of the trees so he could see the lake. He didn't approach it, knowing better than to enter the domain of the dead, but there was no one there. He supposed the blond could've just left after finding out he was too late once again, but for some reason he doubted it.
Why did he even care anyway? He was here to get the goods, plain and simple. Babysitting idiot princes was not in his job description. But the uneasy feeling stayed in his gut as his eyes scanned the lake. There was no sign of anything amiss on it; the castle in the middle looked as empty and dark as usual, and –
Sasuke's eyes widened as he noticed a small brown boat bobbing in the water at the edge of the castle. He wasn't sure if it was a trick of his mind, so he stepped closer. As soon as he was out of reach of the trees, the boat shot away from the castle, speeding back to the shore he was standing on. That motion was enough for Sasuke to put two and two together, and he worked out what had most likely happened.
Cursing, the raven stepped back into reach of the trees, but the boat's progress didn't slow. Soon it was sitting on the shore, completely still as if it hadn't moved in years. He shuddered, not approaching it. He knew better than to mess with dark magic.
A mental battle raged inside Sasuke's head as he stared at the castle in the lake. It looked untouched, but something in him knew the blond prince was in there. Cursing, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a tall black candle. He reminded himself that saving idiots wasn't his job, but he'd already encountered this particular one twice, and somehow he felt responsible.
Staring at the castle and picturing the prince in his mind, Sasuke lit the candle and vanished from before the diamond trees, the leaves rustling in his wake.
He blinked his eyes a few times as he landed, gathering his surroundings. He appeared to be standing at the top of a large stairwell in a dark castle. He couldn't see anyone near him and silently cursed the stupid blond prince for getting himself into this mess in the first place.
Sasuke descended the staircase, his eyes adjusting to the lack of light. If he managed to get this prince out of harm's way, he was going to demand a reward so big he'd never have to go on these stupid raids again. Sounds reached his ears and Sasuke paused. Someone seemed to be whispering and yelling at the same time. And they were getting closer.
He continued his descent, keeping the candle tight in his grip, taking the stairs two at a time. The stairs curved, and he paused, darting his head out to see what was going on before he decided to jump in the middle of it. A single torch at the bottom of the stairs was lit, and the blond prince seemed to be trying to use it to ward off the beings approaching him. They looked like rotting corpses, and Sasuke realized with a sinking heart exactly what they were. He'd read about them once before; there was no way to defeat them.
He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a match, concocting a plan in his head. This would have to work perfectly in order save the prince and get out himself. If he fumbled at all, they would both be dead in moments. The torch went out.
"Stop struggling, princeling. You cannot escape us." The beings approached the prince, and Sasuke made his move.
With a shout he flew down the stairs. The hand holding the match scraped it on the railing as he went, lighting a flame. He reached the stunned prince, grabbing him around his waist. "Diamond trees!" He yelled as he lit the black candle.
His stomach dropped and before he could blink his feet were back on solid ground. He released the prince immediately, and the blond doubled over on himself, gasping for air. Sasuke sucked in a few breaths, not used to the rushing of the candle, as he observed the blond silently.
"Thanks," the prince panted straightening up and stowing his sword into is sheath.
A sudden surge of rage overwhelmed Sasuke and he lurched over, grabbing the prince by his collar and shoving his back against the nearest tree. "What the hell did you think you were doing?!"
The prince's eyes widened in shock, and Sasuke noticed just how blue they were for the first time. The pale moonlight seemed to emphasize their color as well, casting enough light so the diamonds around the prince all reflected the blue of his eyes. Sasuke dropped the prince's collar as if burned and backed away. He wasn't sure what had just happened; he never lost control.
"What's your problem?" The prince growled.
Sasuke scowled, looking at the ground rather than meeting those entrancing eyes again. "I don't have a problem."
"Well, it kinda seems like you do. I just thanked you and you attacked me! Are you insane?" The other's voice sounded wary at the last one, like the prince wasn't sure if he wanted to continue yelling at him or run away.
Sasuke took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down and looked up at the prince again. This time, he focused his gaze on the strange scars on the blond's cheeks. "Only idiots charge into a castle owned by the dead. Your soul was almost eaten, and then you would've turned into one of them."
"Ah…" The prince looked away uncomfortably. "That sounds…thanks for saving me anyway."
Sasuke bit back an angry retort, reminding himself that the prince was thanking him, and it would be uncalled for to punch him in the face. He really needed to get a handle on this anger thing; it was starting to get out of control. "Don't mention it," he bit out instead.
Sasuke spotted his bag sitting by a tree to the prince's left. He approached, and the blond flinched – probably thinking he was going to be slammed against the tree again – but Sasuke ignored him. He snatched his bag up and gave the blond a level look. He had control over his emotions once again.
"Next time you decide to get into trouble, don't drag me into it."
"I didn't mean to," the other argued weakly. "I'm sorry."
The apology moved Sasuke more than the gratitude from before. His shoulders relaxed. "Just don't do it again, ok? The next rogue you run into might not be as nice as I am." He quirked a smirk at the blond who looked up, confusion all over his face.
Sasuke grabbed one last match from his pocket, deciding it was best to leave before he said anything else stupid. He nodded to the prince, who returned the gesture, before lighting the candle once more and disappearing.
Naruto stared, flabbergasted, at the place where the rogue had been standing. Only a few hours had passed since he'd first arrived in the silver forest, but in that time he'd been nearly blinded, ran into the last person he'd ever wanted to see, nearly died, and then been saved by that same person. He'd actually forgotten why he was here in the first place.
That reminded him, and a scowl settled on Naruto's face. His second adventure was a failure just like the first. At this rate, he was never going to find his princess.
He kicked a rock as he wandered down the path back the direction he'd come. If he remembered the story correctly – which he did – there would be a door to a secret staircase around here somewhere, leading to the princesses' old room. He could climb out and find a way home. There were always peasants willing to lend horses to a prince in exchange for a few gold coins or – he thought as he pulled a few leaves off the trees as he passed by – golden leaves.
Just outside the silver grove, a large oak tree stood. It was clearly out of place in the area, and Naruto determined that meant it was magical. Sure enough, when he pressed on the right knot, a door opened revealing a spiraling staircase that went higher than the tree.
Naruto ascended the stairs, finally starting to regain his senses from the shock of being nearly killed by those dead things and then again by the raven moments later. More than his displeasure at not finding a princess – yet again – he felt ashamed that he'd needed to rely on another person. He was a hero, wasn't he? A hero never needed to be saved. After all, a hero was the one who did the saving.
The blond prince was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice he was reaching the top until his head bumped sharply against the trap door. He glared at the offending object, rubbing circles on the bruise and threw the trap door open. There was a soft squeak of surprise as he ascended from the floor into the former bedroom, and he absently noticed a couple of servants staring at him. They appeared to be in the middle of packing when he'd literally burst through the floor. He nodded politely to them but didn't say anything as he walked out the door.
