AN: First of all, if you follow my other stories I am sorry I didn't update them first; my new year's resolution is to have at least one update a week, and I won't have a chance to write a lot this weekend. I have not abandoned my other stories though, never fear. As for this chapter, it will be split into 2 parts because a) it was getting too long and b) I really need to go to sleep because I have class in the morning and a quiz in the afternoon I haven't studied for. This fairy tale is sleeping beauty (obviously), and I kinda took Disney's...but I also kinda warped it into what I wanted. Hopefully none of you are upset with what I've been doing to the fairy tales...

Anyway: enjoy the chapter and drop a review if you so desire! I read them all :)

The Castle at Dawn part 1

Once upon a time there lived a gentle king. He and his wife had always longed for a child of their own, but for the longest time parenthood evaded them. When, at long last, the queen was pregnant with their heir, they held a large party to celebrate the new child's birth. Noblemen, faeries, and creatures from across the land came to see the new princess who was rumored to be even more beautiful than the famed Snow White.

The little princess had hair like the sun at dawn and pale blue eyes the color of the sky in the early morning. The queen named her "Aurora" after the dawn she resembled. The celebration was going well, the faeries giving the princess gifts of beauty and kindness, until an evil Witch arrived. The Witch Maleficent was offended at not receiving an invite and cursed the young princess to die at sixteen in her anger before disappearing once more.

The queen and king were devastated. After waiting so long for a child, they could not bear to lose her so soon. But one last faerie had yet to bestow her gift. She changed the Witch's curse so that, instead of dying at the age of sixteen, Princess Aurora would prick her finger on a spindle and fall into a deep sleep. She could only be awoken by a man worthy enough to challenge the Witch Maleficent and her pet dragon.

Despite the happier turn of events, the king was terrified to lose his daughter. He ordered all the spinning wheels, spindles, and even needles to be burned. Any person in the kingdom who was found with one of those sharp objects in their possession was put to death. And it seemed as though the young princess could avoid her tragic fate.

Years passed, and the princess grew more and more beautiful. On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Princess Aurora encountered a kindly old woman working with a strange instrument. Curious and unaware of her curse, the princess approached the woman and asked what it was. But as she got closer to the spinning wheel, her countenance changed and she walked as if drawn to it. Without realizing what she was doing, the princess touched the spindle and the curse was fulfilled.

The king was beside himself with fury when her unconscious body was discovered, but try though they might, no one was able to find who had been the owner of the spinning wheel. It was as if the old woman had disappeared into thin air. They locked the princess in a tower so no unworthy person could touch her and the king and queen visited her every day.

In despair, the king neglected to take care of his kingdom, and soon the land fell into other hands. Slowly, the castle emptied of its occupants until only the king, queen, and sleeping princess were left. They diligently guarded her until the end of their lives.

After the king and queen passed, the Witch Maleficent and her dragon moved into the castle. 100 years have passed since that day, and still the princess waits for her true love.

Naruto decided that it was fate for him to pursue the Sleeping Princess. After all, it was the only story that had remained constant since the book had been made. How many times had he opened it with the intention of finding a random story and it had fallen open to hers?

It was more likely, he decided, that he'd succeed in a story that hadn't been finished in over 100 years than one that had appeared mere days before he left.

He sighed in dejection, looking around his camp site. He wasn't far from where the castle was – he knew all the secrets to this story, including the location of the castle, after all – and if he waited any longer then he wouldn't have a full day to battle the dragon. Naruto packed up his bag, throwing it on his back and made his way down the hill he'd been sleeping on.

He hadn't gone home after the adventure in the forest, having chosen to move straight to his next attempt rather than tell his father he'd failed again. Immediately after leaving the castle of the twelve princesses – an awkward affair in which he narrowly escaped a jail sentence for breaking and entering – he'd travelled to the nearest town and bought supplies for his new journey. Naruto had a map the Witch of the Forest had given him on his sixteenth birthday which showed the locations of each story in his book as they appeared. It turned out the sleeping princess' castle wasn't far from where he was; apparently the family the twelve princesses belonged to were the ones who had taken over the kingdom all those years ago. Again, he thought it was destiny.

The sleeping princess had never been his favorite story. It wasn't because he didn't like the idea of waking a beautiful girl from her sleep with a kiss; it was more because of the dragon. He wasn't afraid of the dragon, per say, but there was a good reason no one had rescued the princess in over a century. Dragons were nearly impossible to kill. Their scales were tougher than the strongest faerie armor, and their fire was as hot as a volcano. They were also known for being greedy and unwilling to hand over their possessions. Wars between dragons was a fearsome thing.

Naruto knew he had a better chance than most against Maleficent's tamed dragon. He had an enchanted sword that could never be broken – though that made it heavier than most swords – and he had even defeated a Chimera before. (His father had been away on business and the creature attacked the castle. He had been sixteen at the time, and his victory was what originally sparked his nickname of "the Golden Prince" – Naruto never fully understood this, but he supposed it was because his sword had glowed a golden color when it sliced through the Chimera.)

But despite all this, the blond couldn't say he was looking forward to battling a dragon. Rampaging Chimera were much easier to kill. Nevertheless, he marched dutifully toward the forest of thorns which was just now visible.

If Naruto wasn't looking forward to defeating the dragon, then he was dreading the forest of thorns. From what his Witch had told him, the forest grew thick and sharp, and there was no way he could make it through unscathed even with his enchanted sword. She had instructed him to cover his face at all times; allow his arms to be sliced up rather than risk going blind.

As he approached though, doubt filled his mind. The forest of thorns should've been dark and foreboding; he shouldn't be able to see the castle beyond. But what he saw made him stop short.

Before him stood a wasteland. The forest had been burned away, leaving nothing in the area except for some charred bits of wood that barely came to his knees. He drew his sword, holding it in front of him in case it was just an illusion, but his sword sliced through the air revealing nothing that he couldn't already see.
Something was wrong. Nothing could destroy the forest of thorns; if he cut a branch down it would regrow, if he burned it, then each tree would return thicker and sharper than before. He racked his brain, trying to think of what could've done this. Nothing could've wasted this forest except…except…Naruto's heart dropped.

Except dragonfire.

Dread filled the prince as he picked his way – never loosening his hold on his sword – toward the castle. He couldn't see from the distance he started at, but as he grew closer he could tell: the castle was a wreck.

Naruto stopped in front of it, gazing warily at the giant doors. They were still standing, but they were charred black, and the wall to the left had a large, gaping hole in it. Carefully, Naruto climbed up the rubble and made his way inside.

The inside wasn't much better than the outside. Bricks and bits of the wooden supports lay scattered all across the entrance, and the main staircase was missing some stairs. Skeletons, looking as if they'd been flung around by a giant child, were in various states of decay along the floor. Naruto tip-toed around them – he knew better than to mess with the dead now – and stopped outside the main ballroom.

From what the Witch of the Forest had Seen all those years ago, the ballroom was where the dragon slept. If it were still there – which Naruto suspected it was not – then he was bound to hear it breathing before he saw it. Silence reigned throughout the castle, and so the prince stuck his head into the room.

Nothing.

Naruto couldn't think of a single reason he liked that the dragon would abandon its post, but he continued to try as he climbed the stairs. The answers got less and less desirable with each gap he jumped, until he finally ended up resorting to listing off every single story that had ever appeared in the book in chronological order.

That didn't make him feel any better.

Fortunately, he reached the top before he was forced to go through proper stances for each style of swordplay he'd been taught. Unfortunately, the last gap he had to jump to reach the room the princess was sleeping in was too wide for him to jump. He glanced around until he saw some ominous looking chains nailed into the wall. They looked recent, and a quick tug revealed they could hold his body weight.

He took a running leap, using the chains to help him swing over to the other side, barely making it. He landed, falling to his knees, breathing heavily, and thinking that it was going to be so much harder with a princess in his arms. For a second, he almost wished the princess was gone just like the last two. Naruto mentally slapped himself for thinking such a thought. No. He was on this journey to find a princess, not to doubt himself.

A rustling from inside the room drew his attention. He gripped his sword tighter in one hand. This was it; clearly Maleficent had sent her dragon away after it rebelled, and now she was guarding over the princess herself. This was the battle Naruto had been training for all his life. He approached the door silently, not fooling himself into thinking the Witch wouldn't have already seen him coming, before kicking the door open in leaping in.

No Witch.

The blond blinked, looking around the room. All around him were piles of gold, jewels, and other riches, and in the middle there stood a large, canopied bed. He didn't have to approach it to see it was empty.

The rustling occurred again, this time directly to his right, and Naruto spun around holding his sword in front of him with two hands – the best starting stance when fighting against Witches. A figure appeared out of the piles of gold, and he nearly dropped his sword in surprise. It was the rogue. Again.

"Why are you here?!"

The rogue looked him over once, not looking surprised at all, before continuing on his way. It seemed like, just as in Rapunzel's tower, he was gathering what he planned to take on the bed.

"Hey! I'm talking to you, you know!"

The other didn't even slow down. Naruto sheathed his sword, running up to the raven, grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around so they were facing each other. The rogue dropped half the things he was holding in the turn and simply glared at Naruto, but still didn't say anything.

"Are you deaf or something?" The blond growled angrily.

"Hn." The other responded, deftly twisting out of his hold and continuing on his way without picking up what had fallen.

"Bastard!" Naruto grabbed the nearest thing to him – a golden cup encrusted with rubies – and threw it as hard as he could across the room. The clanking sound it made when it hit the wall was strangely satisfying, and he grabbed a few more items – a crown and a tray – and threw them too.

He was furious; three times he'd gone on his journey to find his princess, and three times he'd been too late. It was beyond frustrating at this point. And to top it all off, he kept running into this same…raven haired…

Naruto paused in his throwing, staring instead at the man who was pointedly ignoring him and continuing to pack his bag. Three times he'd arrived too late, only to run into the same man. This was more than coincidence.

He dropped whatever he was holding and closed the distance between them in a few strides. The other either didn't hear him or didn't care, because Naruto reached him uninterrupted. He grabbed the raven and spun, throwing him against the nearest pile of jewels with his hand wrapped around the other's throat. He leaned in closer to the other, not letting him out of the space, and dropped his voice to the tone he only used when he was especially pissed.

"What are you playing at?"

The raven stared levelly back at him. "I'm not playing at anything. If you'll kindly let me go."

Naruto snarled and responded by tightening his grip. A look of shock briefly crossed the other's face. "Don't play dumb. You've been here all three times I've arrived too late. That's not coincidence."

The other glared but didn't respond. Naruto loosened his hand, so he could talk. "And you've shown up all three times I've been trying to collect from a recently evacuated goldmine. Perhaps you're the one trying to interfere with me."

"What? Why would I care about your stupid looting?"

"And why would I care about you getting a princess?"

Naruto's sour expression slipped off. He had a point. If the raven really cared about getting a princess then he would've stopped at one, and if he wanted to prevent Naruto from finding his princess then there were better ways. But he didn't lower his hand or back away. From the way the other was standing, he could've easily gotten out of Naruto's hold, but chose not to.

For the first time, Naruto noticed the other's eyes. They were a deep grey, nearly black, and for some reason they were intoxicating. He could probably drown in them if he stared too long…

A roar from outside startled him from his thoughts. "What was that?" He turned to glance out the window, but didn't see anything.

"Shit," the other muttered, and Naruto looked back at him. The raven was wearing an expression of alarm that Naruto had never seen on him before. It unnerved him. "I took too long," the raven said as explanation.

"What are you –"

But Naruto never needed to finish his sentence, because another roar filled the air and suddenly he knew exactly what it was. He paled and turned to look at the rogue once more.

"Please tell me you have another one of those candles on you."

The raven shook his head. "And even if I did, they don't work inside the forest of thorns."

"But the forest is gone." Not that it mattered. They were out of luck either way.

"The dark magic is still there. It would render them useless." As the other spoke, his head swiveled around, looking for an outlet.

A third roar, closer than the other two, rang out, and Naruto grabbed the other's wrist, pulling him further away from the window. He weaved in and out of the piles, navigating the maze with an ease he wouldn't have been able to accomplish had he not memorized all the secrets in his book. At the far end of the room, they encountered the wall, made of brick like the rest, but smooth and circular.

"Idiot," the raven hissed. "What good is it going to do to stand here? The dragon will smell us before too long."

"Shh." Naruto ran his hand along the wall until his finger caught on an invisible imperfection. He pushed and the wall swung inwards with a creak. He tugged the raven inside before shutting the wall once again.

Inside was a secret staircase, lit with enchanted torches. Or at least it should've been lit. They were standing in complete darkness – which meant Maleficent was dead, Naruto thought absently. Suddenly there was a hiss and fire lit the room. Naruto turned and stared at the raven, who was now holding a candle in his free hand.

The blond realized belatedly that he was still holding onto the other's wrist and dropped it. "I thought you said you didn't have a candle?"

"I don't have a black candle, idiot." The other responded, staring at the steps that spun their way downward. "So what's the plan?"

Naruto started. "P-plan?"

"Yeah. You're the one who pushed us into this staircase. What now? Wait here until some other hero comes and kills the new dragon then leave before a third shows up?"

The blond scowled. "Of course not. That could take years."

"Exactly," the raven hissed.

"I'm going to defeat the dragon." Naruto started to descend the stairs. He stopped when he noticed the light wasn't following him and turned around to see the rogue staring at him open mouthed. "What?"

"You're going to defeat the dragon?"

"That's what I said."

"I left you alone for five minutes last time and you almost got eaten by dead princes."

"That was different!" Naruto yelled, affronted. "I was never trained to deal with the dead!"

"Oh but you're trained to fight dragons?" The raven was smirking, his eyebrow raised. Naruto knew he was being sarcastic, but he didn't really want to play along. Not when he needed to conserve his energy for his battle with the dragon.

"Yes, actually, I am," he responded calmly. He may not have wanted to battle a dragon today, but he was more than capable of handling one. And now that Naruto's mind was developing a plan, he felt calmer and more in control of his emotions than he'd been since he'd arrived in that forest days ago.

The raven seemed to be at a loss for words. Naruto gestured to him and once more descended the stairs. This time the light from the candle followed.

"I have a plan," he said as he walked. "But I might need your help."

"Hn," the raven responded, and Naruto took that as a yes.

"Ok. Listen close…"

To be continued…