I do not own Naruto, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"

'thinking'

Prologue: Lycoris

Naruto shivered as the sound of steps approaching got louder. The jingle of keys caught his ears and he forced himself to open his eyes. He saw the evil grin on the man's face as he unlocked the cell. "It's time," the man laughed. He grabbed Naruto's arm and pulled him into his feet. Naruto bit back a cry as fresh blood dripped onto the floor. The man's grin widened at the sight. He tugged Naruto up higher, admiring the puddle that was forming. Naruto remained silent, not wanting to show how much pain he was in. He knew this man would simply enjoy it. Getting bored, the man let Naruto go. Naruto wasn't able to stop himself from falling to the floor. The man then freed Naruto's ankle chains from the wall. He paused, wondering if Naruto would try to run, but Naruto knew better than to try. Although the chains he still had on him wouldn't deter him from running, there was another reason he couldn't run.

The man grabbed the chain connecting his hands and began dragging him out of the cell. He couldn't get to his feet even when he tried. He let himself be dragged, his knees slamming into every step and when they reached the top of the stairs, they were covered in cuts. His elbows weren't doing much better. His chains were handed over to another guard who frowned. "He smells."

The man rolled his eyes. "So what? It's not like he'll smell any better in a few minutes."

The guard narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything more to the man. Instead, he turned his attention to Naruto. "Get up." Naruto struggled to his feet, ignoring the smirk on the man's face. The guard tsked as he took in the blood. "You better not get any blood on me." He tugged on the chains and Naruto was forced to ignore the pain in order to keep up. The guard opened the door of the prison and Naruto quickly shut his eyes. Only seeing the darkness of his cell for the week had enlarged his pupils. He opened his eyes, squinting as they tried to take in his surroundings. The guard didn't give him more time for his eyes to adjust as he pulled on the chains. Naruto kept pace with the guard, ignoring his complaints about Naruto's smell. He started to hear the voices of several people. His eyes had finally adjusted to the light and he was able to see the crowd of people that awaited him. Upon seeing him, several people began to yell profanities. A few even threw things at him. Once he reached the steps leading to the execution stage, the voices died down. Naruto looked up and saw them.

She stood with her arms around one of his. She looked over at Naruto with a fake look of fear on her face before she squeezed his arm. He looked down at her with a smile. Then he looked up, locking his eyes with Naruto's. Naruto instantly felt the hatred coming off of Sasuke's body as he glared at the blond. Naruto suppressed a shiver at the coldness of those eyes.

Once more, Naruto was handed off to someone else. They gagged him before bringing him in front of the guillotine. This confused him. Usually the intended victim was brought behind it. He was then forced to kneel. The crowd got loud again as the two executioners tugged Naruto's head backward. It instantly became clear what was going to happen. Naruto was going to be forced to watch the blade come down upon him. It was cruel and Naruto wondered why they were doing this to him. He was locked into place, his back already beginning to hurt at the awkward position. He had to squint as his eyes looked to the sky. A prayer died in mouth as he knew it wasn't going to help him. One of the executioners pulled out a sword just in case the guillotine failed. The other held the rope, ready to pull it.

"Wait!" She called. There was a sense of concern and kindness in her voice, but Naruto knew it was fake. "M-may be this is too much." She took a few steps towards Naruto before spinning around on one foot. "God is forgiving, so at least allow me to send him off with a prayer!" Some people among the onlookers cheered, calling her a Saint. Naruto was a bit surprised that Sasuke allowed her to do as she wished. She began to pray, although Naruto knew there was no meaning or truth to her words. They were just empty. When she got closer to Naruto, he could see the happiness in her eyes. She was enjoying Naruto's situation.

"You should have stayed out of my way," she whispered, making sure no one except Naruto could hear her. "I warned you that trying to stand on the battlefield with me would only end in your defeat. Sasuke is mine. This kingdom is mine. I've won, Naruto. And your loss is about to cost you your life. But don't worry. I'll take care of Sasuke." Naruto glared at her. He tried to curse at her, but the gag muffled his words. At this, she smiled.

"By the way," she got ever closer, lowering her voice so that Naruto could barely hear her. "It's a boy." Naruto's eyes widened while she pulled away, screaming. She put on an act as if Naruto had done something to harm her. She wrapped her arms around Sasuke's arm, pretending to cry. Sasuke's glare intensified, before he gave the signal to begin.

Naruto wanted to scream, to yell, to cry, but he couldn't. Even if he could speak, his words would have fallen on deaf ears. No one cared about the truth. They just wanted to see him die. He refused to shed any tears, even as the last thing he saw was silver…

…

Naruto shot upright, sweat matting his hair. He shook as he wrapped his arms around his body, trying to calm himself down. It was that dream again. No, it wasn't a dream. At first, Naruto had thought it was nothing but a nightmare brought on by his worries about his engagement to the second Prince of the Uchiha Kingdom. He had been engaged to the Prince since he was six, as his parents were friends of the King and Queen. They spent a little time together until Prince Sasuke presented as an Alpha. Once he had presented his parents thought it would be better if Naruto and Sasuke stayed away from each other in fear they'd mate too early. It was also uncertain what Naruto would present as. If Naruto had presented as an Alpha as well, the engagement would be broken as two male Alpha could not have children together. Luckily, or unluckily depending on who sees it, Naruto presented as an Omega. This meant that not only was the engagement still on, it was heavily desired by the King and Queen. Omega were rare, especially males. They were more fertile, with their heats further increasing their chance of pregnancy.

Naruto was forced to wear a collar to prevent anyone from trying to force a claim on him. He also wore scent blockers and took daily suppressants. All of these were provided by the Royal Doctor. Sasuke also wore scent blockers and had a monthly shot that lowered his desire to mate. He still entered a rut just as Naruto still entered a heat, but neither had anyone to help them through it. Their marriage was put off until after Naruto turned eighteen. It was almost canceled with the news of Minato and Kushina's deaths, but Queen Mikoto insisted that King Fugaku didn't give up on the orphaned Naruto. Naruto was taken in by his aunt and uncle, who were more than happy to sell Naruto off to the Royal Family, even if Naruto would no longer be a Prince, but a concubine. Naruto's uncle only had the title of a Baron. This lowered Naruto's status to a Baronet. Queen Mikoto argued about this, but King Fugaku stuck by the laws of their Kingdom. Still, being a concubine of the second Prince was still better than being a commoner. Commoners, especially Omegas, were usually captured by slave traders and sold to the highest bidder, which was usually a much older Alpha that just wanted a play thing. Naruto's uncle and aunt saved him from this fate. It was the reason Naruto accepted the role of future concubine and allowed himself to be taken away on his fourteenth birthday to start his training.

Naruto glanced out of the window, glad that the sun was up. He got out of bed, ignoring the coldness of the ground. He stretched before walking to the mirror and frowning. He looked horrible. The nightmares were happening more frequently and they were getting darker. The worst thing about them was how realistic they seemed. But Naruto didn't want to admit that he was on the path to that future. After all, it was impossible to dream about the future.

A maid didn't bother to knock before she walked into the room. Upon seeing Naruto, she frowned. "Another nightmare?"

"The same one," Naruto admitted.

"Honestly, maybe we should talk to Lady Tsunade after all," the maid said.

"No," Naruto shook his head. "I don't want to bother her."

"Fine," the maid said. "Let's get you cleaned first. We can't let the Queen see you like this."

"The Queen is coming?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Did you forget?" the maid asked. "I reminded you just yesterday!"

"Right," Naruto looked to the side. It was that reminder that brought out the recent nightmare. Naruto's dream started out with him meeting the Queen who introduced him to Princess Sakura of the Haruno Duchy, which in turn led to the dream of his execution. Naruto had met Princess Sakura before, so seeing her in a dream didn't surprise him, but what did was the attitude she had towards him. As far as he knew, he and Sakura got along just fine. So what could have made her hate him so much? 'No, it was just a dream,' Naruto reminded himself.

"Naruto!" the maid yelled. "She's already on her way. We don't have time for you to stand around and daydream."

"Sorry, Ino," Naruto said. Ino nodded and led Naruto to the bathing chamber. Naruto stripped himself of his night clothes before stepping into the tub. Ino instantly got to work, scrubbing away. Naruto hated how hard she was scrubbing, but didn't say anything. He was used to this treatment. Ino didn't mean any harm. She just wanted to make sure Naruto was presentable for the Queen. Naruto quickly closed his eyes when Ino brought a bucket of water up to pour on his head. She did this twice more before helping Naruto out of the bath. She was a beta, married to another beta. This meant she felt no attraction to Naruto, and never would no matter how many times she saw him naked. She then dragged him over to dry off. His outfit was already set for Ino to help him wear. She stepped back, admiring her work.

"Isn't this a bit much?" Naruto asked. He tugged at the cloth around his waist, not liking how clingy it was.

Ino smacked his hand. "We have to show the Queen how beautiful you are. Besides, it shows off your Omegan body nicely. It isn't too showy either though." Naruto hummed before he truly looked at himself. His eyes widened at the familiar dress. It had been the same one he'd seen in his dream! "Hurry up! We are behind schedule. The Queen will be here shortly."

"Ino?" Naruto asked, stopping the other. She gave him a look. "Is there anyone coming with the Queen?"

"Not that I know of," ino said. "Only her handmaid and a few guards. Now, let's go." Naruto nodded, taking one last glance at himself before following after Ino.

The two blondes found the butler bowing as he apologized to the Queen who was trying to get him to calm down. She kept telling him that "it's ok" and "I should have informed you about my guest." Naruto's eyes fell on the girl standing behind Queen Mikoto. Her dress was a darker pink than her hair with flowers decorating it here and there. Several forms of jewelry covered her skin as well as a crown that sat on her head. Her hair was tied up with a pin, showing off her earrings. Overall, she looked beautiful. However, this wasn't what made Naruto stare. It was the fact that this guest was none other than Princess Sakura Haruno, a fact that made Naruto faint.

Naruto woke up in his room a few hours later. Ino was in a chair by his side, a look of concern on her face. "Are you alright? Lady Tsunade said you fainted from a mix of stress and lack of sleep."

"I'm fine," Naruto said, sitting up. "I was just surprised."

Ino nodded. "Princess Sakura is beautiful. But I don't think you have anything to worry about. You are still the Prince's future concubine."

Naruto wasn't worried about that. He didn't even care about the marriage. What concerned him was the fact that his dreams were slowly becoming reality. But if that was really his future, then why? His hand went to his stomach. Why would he allow his unborn child to be killed without a fight? Was that just how he was in the future, complaisant and acquiescent? Was he really that much of a coward that he couldn't fight back against the falsehood Princess Sakura created?

"Naruto," Ino interrupted his thoughts. "Does your stomach hurt?"

Naruto removed his hand from his stomach. "No. I'm fine."

"Alright," Ino said. "I'm going to get you some food. Lady Tsunade said you should rest. Queen Mikoto and Princess Sakura have already had lunch and are relaxing. The Queen said it was alright to meet them later, when you're better."

"I'll see them after I eat," Naruto agreed. Ino nodded before leaving. Naruto got out of the bed and walked over to a picture on the wall. "Mom, Dad, what should I do?" He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the picture. "I don't want to die, not like that." He took a step back as a wave of confidence filled his body. "I won't allow it. It's clear that the gods sent me these visions for a reason. I'll change the future." With this sudden bolt of determination, Naruto got back into his bed and waited for Ino.

Lycoris is a flower that symbolizes death and reincarnation.