I could hear the music begin to play as the huge doors opened. At the alter stood Sasuke in his kingdoms royal uniform. Next to him stood my father, not with a single emotion showing on his face. Hanabi, Sakura, Ino and Tenten all stood beside the alter as well, all looking pained. The music had no hint of a joyous occasion, or maybe that was just how my mind understood it. I slowly walked up to the alter. There were no guests excepts the staff of the castle. As I stood beside Sasuke all I could think about was Naruto-kun. Did they manage to save him? What if Shikamaru-kun and Kiba-kun had been killed or taken prisoners while trying to save Naruto-kun. The fear alone of never seeing any of them moved me to tears.

"I now pronounce you, husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride" I was surprised at the words as I had not focused on any words being said. I looked Sasuke in the eyes. They were filled with such hatred and sorrow. He leaned his head towards me. No… this isn't what I wanted.

"… stop it…" I could only whisper through my fear and sorrow. No one heard me except of him. He only smirked as he leaned even closer. Our lips were almost touching as the sound of the doors being slammed open stole our attention

"GET AWAY FROM HER YOU ASSHOLE!" Everyone turned their heads toward the yelling voice. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, it truly was him

"Naruto-kun!" I yelled out in relief as the tears of joy ran down my cheeks. I was about to run to him but was stopped by two guards.

"Get lost Naruto" Sasuke said.

"What is the meaning of this interruption?" My father suddenly yelled at Naruto.

"I hereby claim my right to marry the princess" Naruto proclaimed as he held the letter up in the air.

'Thank god he received it' I thought to myself.

"You are nothing but a stable boy. You have no rights" Naruto only ignored Sasukes words and spoke to my father instead.

"Your majesty, I think that this belong to you."

-

I handed over the letter and was soon attacked by Sasuke. Luckily I managed to block his sword with my own.

"How dare you" He snarled at me

"Naruto-kun!" I heard Hinata yell

"Don't worry Hime" She smiled at the nickname I haven't called her in a while.

"I won't let anyone take you away from me" I shouted as I pushed Sasuke back.

"What makes you think you can come here and make such proclaim?" Sasuke asked as he swung his sword right and left. I parried his attacks with ease

"I am Uzumaki Naruto, the lost prince of the land of fire"

"I don't care if you are the king of the world, I am not letting you take this away from me" He continued to attack me from all angles, frustrated that he couldn't get a hit in.

"What happened for you to turn out this like this?"

"My whole family was killed by the man I once called my brother" I said nothing but let him tell his story instead as I continued my defense.

"I will not rest until I have gived him justice in form of death, and for that, I need power"

"So your plan was to Marry this kingdoms princess in order to obtain that power?"

"Exactly, and I won't let you get in my way" he smirked and motioned me to look in the direction of a sudden scream.

"HINATA!" As I saw Hinata being threatened by one of the of Sasukes guards, he saw an opening to slice my arm and knock me back. I sat on the floor, far away from my sword and my hand holding on to my deep wound. Sasuke threw his sword and reached out for a guards bow and arrow .

"Prince or not. I will end you here and now.

-

Everything seemed to move in slowmotion. Sasuke pointing an arrow at Naruto-kun. Father on his knees crying. My friends all hiding Hanabi from the scene in front of them. As Sasuke tightened the bow I managed to break free from the guards grip and move to shield Naruto from the arrow. At that moment, all I cared about was the safety of the man I loved. Hanabi would be Queen instead of me and the kingdom would still be safe with her on the throne. Naruto would live his life in safety and all would be good, if I could take this arrow for him. I stood hovered above him and could hear him screaming my name as Sasuke released the arrow. Seconds passed by and I felt no pain. Was everything still moving slowly? Had the arrow simply not hit me yet? I opened my eyes to look at Naruto who cried.

"I love you" I whispered to him. I readied myself for the pain of the arrow. I heard it hit, but felt no pain. Shortly after a body hit the floor, the arrow from Sasukes bow piercing through his chest. I looked behind me and recognized the person right away.

"…. Neji-nii-san….. no…."

"Enough!" We all heard my father shout.

"Guards, grab that man who dares to hurt my family!" He commanded as he pointed at Sasuke. While the guard dragged away a resistant Sasuke, the rest an over to Neji's body. Sakura was the first to arrive as she was an excellent medic.

"Why Neji?" Naruto asked

"Because… you told me… to stop… being selfish…"

"The arrow didn't hit his heart. With care right away, he will survive." My father nodded in approval and Neji was brought to the castles medical room. I turned to Naruto-kun and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"I feared that I had lost you forever" I cried. With his one good arm he hugged me tightly and whispered in my ear

"I will always come and save you. No matter what challenges might be in my way" We sat on the church floor feeling like the only people in the world.

"Hinata… don't you dare ever do that again…" I moved my head to look him in the eyes. I cupped his cheeks with my hands and smiled

"I can't promise you that. I will always protect you, no matter what." As I leaned in to kiss his lips we were reminded of the presence of the others by a cough. We both blushed and looked at the source of the cough, that being Kiba-kun. Naruto-kun pouted as he looked at his friend. He was indeed cute, that stable boy of mine. I pressed my lips against his cheeks making him all flustered.

"So, what is this deal about Prince Naruto over here?" Ino asked.

"Allow me to explain" My father said as he walked towards us.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Son of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato. Minato and Kushina were the king and queen of a great kingdom. However, the kingdom fell and the royal family made it to safety as the sole survivors. Kushina was a dear friend of my wife and they would often visit us with their son who would become a dear friend of my eldest daughter." Naruto took my hand in his and smiled as my father continued his story.

"However, as tragedy would have it, Kushina and Minato was found by the enemies and ended their lives fighting for the safety of their son, who they had managed to hide away from danger." I looked saddened at Naruto-kun as I learned of his backstory.

"No one knew wether Naruto was dead or alive or where he was hidden for that matter, making him the
'lost prince of the land of fire'"

"It must have been a traumatic event since he couldn't remember his royal life" Tenten said as she looked at Naruto.

"Yeah, it was all thanks to the letter to his majesty from her majesty the Queen that I remembered the promise I once made with Hinata" He looked sweetly into my eyes which made me blush as I was well-aware of said promise.

"Naruto" my father said as he walked up to us.

"I am sorry that we couldn't save your parents or give you a better life at court"

"No need to apologize your majesty." Naruto replied

"I learned some things in the village that you can't learn anywhere else." My father nodded in agreement and moved on to myself and Hanabi who stood next to me.

"Hinata… Hanabi… Please accept my apology" He said as he bowed his head deep before us. We were both shocked as it was the most humble way to apologize.

"I am sorry for all the pain I must have caused the both of you during all these years. When your mother passed away without as much as a departing letter, I fell into deep despair and forgot all about who I was and how I was supposed to be. My dear daughters, can you ever forgive me?" I could hear on my fathers broken voice that he was crying. Both Hanabi and I had begun crying as well, as we have waited for many years for this moment with our father. I released my hand from Naruto's grasp and lifted my fathers head up.

"Of course we forgive you father. That is what families do, even royal families" The last part I said jokingly.

"Do you remember the story about the sleeping savior?" I asked our father

"Of course I do, your mother and I used to tell it at bed time. It was both of yours favourite story."

"Then, do you know who our sleeping saviour is?" He looked at me confused

"Mother." He looked at me in surprise

"I found the letter in the book. She must have known that we would read the story when times were tough and hid it there." We all chuckled

"That sure sounds like your mother" He said. I looked at Hanabi and smiled. Before we knew it, we were trapped in the arms of our father who whispered four words we hadn't heard in years

"I love you both"