"Normal Speech"

'Normal thoughts'

"Special speech"

~locations and transitions~

No Beta Reader

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or The Familiar of Zero

This isn't really a new idea. This is just an updated version of one of the chapters I have in my "One-shot and concepts" fic. That fic doesn't get much traction so I am putting this as its own thing to see how well it does

So technically it's not really a new story…

Chapter 1: The Ritual

Sparkling in the beautiful night sky were thousands of brightly lit stars which encircled the bright full moon that bathed the land in its soft light.

This was the scene that two people walked through by the lake that reflected the night sky.

One of these people was a young woman who had short purple hair and teal blue eyes that shined in the moonlight. She was wearing a silk white dress with sleeves that reached up to the back of her hands. Over her shoulders was a pink warmer that kept the chill off her as best it could.

This was Henrietta De Tristain, Princess and current ruler of the kingdom of Tristain. She had become the ruler of the kingdom a year after the death of her father when she was only fifteen. Her mother had become Queen regnant after his death but she couldn't take up the full monarchy as she was married into the family so the true ruler would be Henrietta. Despite her young age, and how many thought her too young to rule, Henrietta took on the task of leading her kingdom. There were a few that still thought she was not ready to lead but she had proven most wrong as she had done her utmost to be a good Princess

The second person was a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes. This was Prince Wales of Albion. He was wearing a simple loose dress shirt and black pants with boots

The two were enjoying a simple stroll to get their minds off the coming events.

Or rather, the princess was trying to calm her mind on the coming event that many in her court would watch vehemently.

"Your mind is wandering, Henrietta."

She looked up to see Wales had stopped walking to watch her. She stopped as well a few feet in front of him. "I'm sorry, I know I am being silly worrying about it but with how many have made it abundantly clear that what I do represents the kingdom, I suppose that I cannot shake the anxiety I feel about it."

Wales gave a reassuring smile as he walked up to her and took her hands into his own. He held them in between them as he looked into her eyes. "No matter what happens tomorrow, you should know that I will still be by your side." Seeing her smile up at him, he continued, "let's move the conversation away from tomorrow's event. How have you been doing recently?"

She was happy at the change of subject and brought up something that had caught her attention. "I had heard that my friend Louise Françoise will be summoning her familiar in two months' time. I am excited with what type of familiar she will gain."

He nodded as he knew of the youngest of the Vallière family. She was Henrietta's oldest friend and companion from childhood and he respected her for that fact alone. Though he didn't know the girl personally, he had heard many things about her from Henrietta. Even if this was still on a topic he was trying to steer away from, it was still way from the event that haunted the princess's mind. "What kind of familiar do you believe she will gain?"

Henrietta thought about the kind of person her friend is.

The summoning creature, most of the time, reflects the one who summoned them, but there are also those creatures that don't reflect the summoner but are what they require or one that is the opposite.

An example would be: a timid girl could summon a ferocious dragon that enjoys conflict which would be a complete contradiction to the girl.

The thing was that the study of familiar behavior was not that well sought out and everyone just accepted what they summoned.

Henrietta gained a nostalgic smile as she turned to look at the water and thought about her friend. "Whatever kind of familiar she gets, I hope it will help her in any troubles she has."

Wales nodded as he stood at her side. 'And I hope the one you receive will aid you when I am not by your side.'

The two stayed there, enjoying the scenery and each other's company with the upcoming event no longer in their minds.

Though it would not stop it from coming, at the moment, the princess let go of her worries.

~Next day~

In an elegantly decorated bedroom, Princess Henrietta sat on the sill of a large window, looking out to the kingdom as she nervously twiddled with her fingers on her lap.

She was wearing her normal white dress but now with the royal purple cloak over her shoulders. On her head was a silver crown and a silver collar decorated with teal gems.

At the moment, she was thinking about the event that had plagued her mind and nerves for the past few weeks. One that was going to start in a matter of minutes. This was required of her to do when she reached the proper age.

Despite how Wales had eased her worries last night, now that it was upon her, it felt like the world was now on her shoulders. She told herself that no matter what came of this, she would continue forward leading the kingdom as best she could, no matter if the aftermath had negative or positive effects on her standing. Though that was something she didn't really find attachment to even if she knew her standing was something she could use to improve the lives of her people.

She knew that there were nobles that would use their standing to loom over people, but she vowed to never do such a thing. She would strive to make the lives of her people, no matter who they are, to be better.

She was brought out of her swirling thoughts when there was a knock on the door. She turned her head toward the door and gently called out. "Enter."

The door opened to reveal one of the knights, who bowed once he saw her. "Your highness, everything is ready and they are all awaiting your arrival."

Henrietta nodded before she stood up and walked to her dresser. She looked at the item that lay on top of it before she picked it up. The item was her royal staff, a short royal staff that had a teal jewel that was encased in a three-pillar casing. "Very well, let us not keep them waiting."

The knight bowed once more. "Indeed, I shall escort you to the ballroom."

The princess smiled as she walked out of her room and began to follow the knight to the royal ballroom where all the visiting dignitaries would be and where the ceremony will be held.

The Royal ballroom was where many high-class events were held and where it was decided the ceremony would take place. The reason why there were visiting dignitaries, instead of just royals within the kingdom, was due to her advisors suggesting that they invite others to witness the ceremony. She would have liked it if it wasn't blown out of proportion, but the majority had said it was a way to show off her power.

Henrietta though, figured that this could be either a way to show off her power or to create a scandal among those who witnessed it.

She was under no delusion that there were still those in her royal court that did not approve of her sitting on the throne. Whether because they thought that she was too young, unfit to rule, or paid off by enemy kingdoms to sow distrust or chaos in her kingdom.

But she would not back down from this. It was all set and all she had to do was mingle with the people and then perform the ceremony with dignity.

The two made it to the large double doors that lead to the ballroom and Princess Henrietta could already hear the chattering of those who were invited.

The princess looked to her knight and spoke before he could open the door. "I want you and the other knights to be on high alert. We have dignitaries from other kingdoms and I do not know if they will attempt something while I perform my duties."

The knight nodded. "I shall relay your message to the others and I am sure I speak for all of us that we look forward to the end result."

Henrietta took a breath as she stood resolute. "I am sure." She did not mean this as a slight toward the knights, but she didn't know who to fully trust now. But she will trust them with her life regardless of the rumors of corruption.

The knight then pushed the doors open, which caused all the chattering people to turn to them.

The knight took a few steps forward and stood at attention as he called out, loud enough for others to hear. "Presenting: Princess Henrietta!"

She walked into the room and many of the people began to bow to her in a show of respect. She paused as one of the invitees smiled at her.

Wales smiled at her and bowed to her. "It is good to see you once more, my Lady."

Princess Henrietta smiled fondly as she did a small curtsy to him. "To you as well, Lord Wales." She continued to walk further into the crowd as she began to mingle with the people. She wished she could have spoken more to her dearest cousin but there were others that she needed to speak to first before she could have some small pleasantries with him.

For the next few hours, Princess Henrietta spoke with many others that had joined them for this event. There were small talks about further meetings and possible issues that could cause collaboration with the kingdom, but soon the time arrived, and the royal mages and knights asked for them all to create a space in the center of the hall.

Agnès, the captain of The Musketeer Knights, which were a corps consisting of female non-mages, had her troops stand at attention at the edge of the circle.

Princess Henrietta made her way to the center of the clearing and took a breath as she was surrounded by her people and potential unknowns. She stopped when one of her advisors came to a stop in front of her.

"Your highness, are you ready?"

Without hesitation, she nodded as she held her staff tightly in her hands.

"Very well, then we shall all be witness to your performance."

Princess Henrietta walked forward to stand in the center of the clearing as she felt all eyes on her. Once in place, royal court mages moved to form their own wide circle a few steps in front of the knights.

The royal mages were just there to make the ceremony look fancier. So they were to do nothing to aid the princess.

The room became silent as all eyes fell on her.

She was used to many eyes on her when she did her royal duty but this was a magical ceremony that everyone does. For some reason, this made it a bit unnerving as there was this small voice in her head that was saying she might fail this or summon something that would bring shame upon her. So, she felt a bit of nervousness run through her, but she shook away those thoughts as she mentally reminded herself that no matter what, she will continue as the princess of the kingdom.

She then thought about her friend; Louise and what she would tell her friend when next they met. She wanted her friend to be proud of her so she would do her best in this.

She rose her staff to be vertically held in front of her and spoke as she channeled her magic. "Spirits of magic, I call upon you to grant me one that is suited for me….." She slowly spun her staff and pointed the top forward. "...One that will be my companion through the trials that I may face."

Appearing on the ground in front of her was a spinning circle of magic with wisps leaking off it.

Everyone watched as the circle appeared with many of them staring in confusion as it shouldn't be happening like this. Normally, the magic would take the form of a ball before reshaping and gaining the color of the creature that would appear. But the circle continued to spin for a good few minutes with it still not taking any shape.

Henrietta was also confused as she had seen the ritual be done before and not once has she seen it be done this way. 'Could something have gone wrong?' As she had this thought, the spinning circle of magic sped up before a gust of wind shot up from the circle and spun in the same direction till it became a twister of almost gale-force winds.

The audience had to cover their eyes due to the strength of the winds and they all did their best to stay rooted in place. Questions began to be shouted in order to be heard through the wind.

"What's going on?!"

"Is she the one doing this?!"

"Is this an attack?! Is she planning to attack those from other kingdoms?!"

Henrietta began to worry since someone could be hurt by the wind and tried to pull back her magic. She lowered her staff in an attempt to stop but the twister became self-sustaining and continued on. She had to duck as the sparks of magic began to join the wind and shot out at random.

The people panicked as they dodged the magic lightning. The room suddenly grew dark as if the light itself was fleeing.

The royal mages tried to help their princess but were blown away by the wind's power.

Wales attempted to make his way to Henrietta as he wanted to protect her from the magic twister but he could barely take a step. He was using all of his strength to stay where he was. He looked up and saw that the princess had yet to move from her spot. The only effect the wind seemed o be having on her was causing her clothing to flutter harshly. Looking around, he saw that the others were doing their best to stay on their feet yet… It was almost as if the wind was avoiding harming her.

Henrietta had to hold down her hair and skirt as she tried to look through the harsh twister. Through squinted eyes, she saw a silhouette form in the center of the twister.

Afterward, the twister changed its color from pure white to a deep shade of orange.

Soon, a glowing set of blue eyes stared back at her. There were no iris or pupils, it was just glowing scleras looking deep into her eyes.

The twister then imploded and sent everyone sans Henrietta to the ground as smoke covered where the twister and princess once stood.

It had become deathly silent as everyone pushed themselves off the ground and looked at the smoke. They couldn't see anything within and wondered what had happened.

This caught the attention of a few in the audience and they got up to their feet before running into the smoke, pulling out daggers from their robes.

This action was caught by the knights and Wales giving them the incentive to get to their feet in order to intercept them. But before they could move, they heard screams coming from the smoke.

None of them were female, which gave them a small amount of relief knowing that it wasn't the princess.

Within the smoke, a large muzzle opened up with large fangs appearing from the opening mouth as a hissing growl could be heard.

The hissing growl was heard by everyone and it caused all of them to freeze as it was clear that the one that made it was not human. Not only that but it was massive.

Henrietta was in shock as she could see what was summoned. Her head was tilted back as she looked at the slitted pupils within the glowing blue irises staring down at her.

The smoke was then blown away by a gust of wind and everyone was able to see the new addition to the room.

Towering over the princess was a massive orange fox looking down at the princess. Yet its size was not the only thing that struck them as odd. The other part of it was the fact that it had multiple tails swishing back and forth behind it, with five of them wrapped around the five assailants.

Henrietta stood still, with her staff held against her chest as she looked up at the eyes staring back at her. She couldn't find her voice as the sight was something beyond her imagination.

But someone decided to disrupt the silence.

"Who are you and where am I?"

Everyone in the room jumped at the fact that the large fox spoke. Many of them knew that there were summoned creatures that could learn the ability to speak but that took time after the summoning creature gained experience and power. This fox was already speaking fluently, despite his mouth not moving to the words.

This brought the princess out of her shock and she swallowed down the slight fear she felt. This was the familiar companion she had summoned, she should not fear what would be her partner from now on. Regaining her composure, she spoke. "I am Princess Henrietta de Tristain. I am the one that has summoned you to be my familiar companion."

The large fox narrowed his eyes on the girl and straightened more, towering even more over the girl. "What do you mean your 'familiar companion'? And how did you summon me?"

Everyone felt nervous as they have never heard of a summoned creature questioning the one that summoned them. Most figured they were mindless when first summoned and would obey without question. The fact that it was questioning her, made them nervous as they were starting to think that she might have angered such a creature and it would attack.

The knights tensed as they grabbed their swords, ready to attack to protect the princess. They felt unnerved at the booming voice the fox had as it was almost like they could feel it in their bones

Henrietta on the other hand could tell that the fox was not angered by her statement. Despite the growling tone in the voice, there was clear confusion about what was going on. Choosing to be diplomatic she spoke. "Today I was to do a sacred tradition of my people to summon a companion that would be of aid to me. A companion I may rely on in endeavors that I may have."

The fox tilted his head and seemed to be in thought for a second before asking. "Why summon me, though? This is the first time I have heard of such a tradition. Not to mention that you pulled me here at random when I was in the middle of something."

Henrietta felt surprised that the fox told her that he was pulled away from other matters. She had never thought about if the summon creatures would have matters of their own before. They were thought of as living beings but they are usually thought of as animals. Creatures that do not have many big personal issues. This fox though was much different from other creatures she had heard of. But that was clear from the second she saw it. "I did not personally choose you to be summoned. The ritual chooses for the summoner the one most suitable for the person. I had no say in you being brought here."

The fox eyed her for a second before looking around at all the people staring at him. He could see the fear in their eyes when he looked at them and the knights tensed when his gaze shifted to them. "I can see that no one expected me when you did your summoning. And I don't feel any real hostility towards me, just fear." He then shifted his tails, bringing the captured people forward. "These, guys though, I could feel the hostility the second I got here. I reacted and captured them but I don't know if I should let them live or die. Since this is your place, what should I do with them?" He narrowed his eyes at the girl as if awaiting her answer.

She looked at the struggling people before looking toward her knights. "Would you please hand them over to my knights so they may be taken in for questioning?"

The fox gave a fanged smile before he moved his tails to a group of knights that flinched at the action. He dropped them onto the ground but immediately slammed his tails on two of them as they tried to run away while the knights stood there in shock. This caused everyone there to yelp in fear and the knights to pull out their swords. "Didn't she just say to take them in? MOVE IT!" His shout caused all the people to jump back in fear and the knights to pick up the dropped people before they ran out of the room in fear. This is why he wasn't showing any concern about the people around him. He could feel nothing but sheer terror and he knew he could handle anyone in this room. The girl was the only one that didn't show fear and was standing firm. He couldn't help but respect her for that since she was standing in front of a being of great power. But he was also filing away details he saw as he looked around. These people were odd, as they all looked like civilians. Even the guys he caught weren't showing much strength since they weren't putting that much into their struggles

Wales and Agnès were finally able to stand in front of the princess as they held their swords at the ready.

Wales looked over his shoulder and asked her. "Are you alright?"

Princess Henrietta smiled at the concern he showed before she nodded and stepped forward. "I am fine. And it is alright, I do not think he will harm anyone."

Agnès narrowed her eyes at the beast. She looked over her shoulder to ask. "How can you be so sure? I have never heard of a summoned creature acting in such a way."

"How about you nottalk about me while I am standing right here."

Agnès looked back forward only to see her reflection in the eye of the large fox. It took her a second to register what it was and she stepped back while swinging her sword in an upward diagonal slash. But she was surprised that her sword hit the side of its snout but made no noticeable damage to it. Not even the fur was cut.

The fox's eyes shifted to the spot the sword hit before going back to the woman. "That's just rude."

Agnès pulled back the sword but kept it at the ready, just in case. She put a good amount of her strength into the swing yet it didn't do a thing. She could already tell that this creature was powerful but she would protect Henrietta and Wales with her life if she had to.

The fox rolled his eyes at the stance before pulling back his head and looked down at the three. "You don't need to be so jumpy around me, even if I am a bijuu." He saw confusion appear on their faces and raised an eyebrow at that. "Do you not know what a bijuu is?" Seeing them shake their heads, he looked around at the people, and despite the fear still evident on their faces, there were signs of confusion at the word as well. This was extremely odd since the bijuu were known everywhere in the elemental nations. He then chose to ask a question he was originally holding off on. "Seriously, where am I, exactly? I've seen a lot of the Elemental Nations but I've never seen a place like this before."

Henrietta stepped forward and asked. "Elemental nations? I have never heard of those lands before. None of the kingdoms I know of have ever had land called that." She could not help but find it amusing to see a look of shock on the large fox's face.

The fox closed his eyes and spread out his senses before they shot open at what he discovered. "None of you have chakra."

Wales tilted his head as he was the one to ask. "Chakra? What is that?"

The fox stared at him in shock for a few seconds before, to the surprise of the others, he crossed his arms in a very human-like manner. He closed his eyes in thought for a minute before opening them again. He was about to speak when he heard whimpering coming from the people. "Sheesh, this is getting old." Thinking of the best way to continue a conversation without the people around him close to fainting in fear, he decided. "Alright, I should change so that everyone isn't so twitchy around me."

Everyone in the room was shocked at the sight of the fox shrinking in size.

Henrietta watched in awe as the massive fox began to shrink in size and she noticed that the tails that were swishing before began to fuse. It was as she watched that she finally noticed that the fox had eight tails in total, which soon became smaller. She was stunned when he started losing fur and the skin began to show as he became the size of a human. When the fox became about ten feet in height, he was engulfed in a poof of smoke

Once the smoke cleared, everyone was shocked once more to see that instead of a fox, there stood a boy that looked around the same age as the princess, wearing a black sleeveless skin-tight turtle neck shirt, a burnt orange sash as a belt, dark blue baggy pants that had several pockets, and black knee-high boots with silver clips.

It was his facial features that got their attention. He had strikingly ocean blue eyes, much like his fox form, three whisker marks on each side of his cheeks, and a headband with a metal plate that had a symbol in the center of it that held back the bangs of his spiky blond hair.

He crossed his arms as he looked at the princess. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, now do you mind answering my questions?"

End of chapter

Just to say this first, I had a pilot/prototype version of this on my "One-shots and concepts" that one is a first draft just to get it out of my head. There is a slight difference between the two but it is overall the same.

This idea came to me cause I really don't like Louise's treatment of Saito but if I made it so she was the one that summoned Naruto, the relationship between the two would just be bad. And I had not seen one where Henrietta was the one to summon him

I'm kinda using Fox guardian Naruto in this but if I continued this, it would be an AU where he didn't end up with Ino and Hinata.

I also made it so that this happens two months before Saito comes into the picture. I am doing this as I want to work on character development with Naruto and the others. I have an idea for Naruto to join the academy but not really as a student. You will see when I get to it, but that is a few chapters away.

Hope you like this chapter and look forward to reading the rest when it comes out

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