I do not own Naruto, nor do I make any money off of this.
"talking"
'thinking'
Chapter 1: Bellis
Naruto closed the notebook, setting his pen down. He had just finished writing everything he could remember about the future. It was a lot, since it contained the knowledge of things to come in the next five years. He had to figure out what he needed to change to escape his execution. Grabbing the book, he moved to his bed, laying down. 'I was accused of committing murder and attempted murder. But I wasn't the one who killed King Fugaku, Queen Mikoto, or Prince Itachi. Their carriage went off a cliff on the way to the Haruno Duchy.' Naruto paused, expression changing to one of horror at the realization he had just made. 'Queen Sakura killed them? But why? She already had their blessing. They weren't in her way.' He suddenly stood up. 'That's not true. Prince Itachi was against Sasuke's marriage to Sakura. He believed that giving the Harunos any more power could cause the fall of the Uchiha royal family. And if Sakura really did plan their deaths, then he wasn't wrong. Can I stop it? Can I save their lives? Am I even allowed to? I… I need to try.'
There was a soft knock on Naruto's door. Naruto quickly hid his journal under his pillow. "Come in."
Ino walked into the room holding a tray of food. "You have to eat. Everyone is concerned about you."
'Sasuke and Sakura aren't,' Naruto thought. "I'm fine." He accepted the tray. It wasn't anything extravagant, but it was still an amazing meal. He ate it slowly as Ino began to spill the gossip she'd heard. Naruto took in all of the information Ino so easily gave him. If his calculations based on what she said were correct, they would leave for the Haruno Duchy in a week. Naruto had to form a plan to save the King, Queen, and Prince. It was going to be difficult. He couldn't just come out and say that someone was trying to kill them. He had to make it seem like it was a coincidence that he found out the carriage was damaged. The question was, how would he do it? He smiled as the plan began to form.
"Naruto-sama?" Ino asked. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," Naruto said. "Everything is alright."
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"...and so, she said that my dress was one of a kind," Sakura said.
"It is very beautiful," Mikoto agreed.
"Mother," Sasuke called. "Shouldn't we be leaving soon?"
"I'm sure Naruto will be ready soon," Mikoto said.
Ino hurried down the stairs. "I'm so sorry. It took awhile to get the Baronet ready."
"Where is he?" Sasuke asked.
"I'm here," Naruto said. All eyes turned towards him. Naruto wore an orange and black dress medieval-style dress that showed off his shoulders. A lighter orange shawl hung over his arm. He was wearing short black boots. His hair was kept back with a black ribbon. He was clearly dressed for travel. "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting." He walked down the stairs. Itachi stepped forward and took Naruto's hand. Sasuke gave Itachi a look, but Itachi ignored it. Mikoto had a smile on her face. As she let her husband escort her outside. Sasuke did the same for Sakura. Ino followed them with a large trunk that held Naruto's clothes. Three carriages were waiting for them. Ino carefully placed Naruto's trunk in the retainers' carriage. Kakashi bowed. He was the leader of the Uchiha Knights. Mikoto and Fugaku got into the lead carriage while Sasuke and Sakura got into the middle one.
Itachi turned to Naruto. "This is where I must take my leave."
"Wait," Naruto said. "Can I not ride with you?"
"Usually a consort isn't allowed to ride with the King and Queen." Itachi said. "But I'm sure they'll make an exception." He once more took Naruto's hand and helped him into the first carriage. Fugaku looked like he was about to say something but Mikoto stopped him. Naruto took a seat across from Mikoto. Itachi sat down next to him.
Sasuke was pissed. He didn't understand why Naruto didn't want to share his carriage. He glanced over at Sakura who was still holding his arm. The girl had been talking his ear off. Sasuke didn't really like Sakura, but his parents wanted this wedding so Sasuke had agreed to it. As for Naruto, Sasuke had to wonder why he was still around. Sasuke thought that Naruto would have been given to someone else since his status was so low. In Sasuke's opinion, being an Omega was the only thing Naruto had going for him. Still, that didn't stop Sasuke from wondering why Naruto wasn't begging Sasuke to stay beside him.
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The carriages continued onto the mountain road. Naruto was looking out the window, matching up what he was seeing with his memories. He wiggled a little, catching Itachi's attention. "Is everything alright?" Itachi asked.
Naruto blushed. "Yes. It's just…" Itachi raised an eyebrow. Naruto cupped his hand to Itachi's ear and whispered something.
Itachi nodded. "I think we should stop the carriage."
"Why?" Mikoto asked in a concerned voice.
"Something seems to be sticking out and hurting Naruto's poor rump," Itachi said. He called for the driver to stop. The carriage came to a stop. When Sasuke's carriage also stopped, he got out quickly, wondering what was going on. Itachi helped Naruto out of the carriage first, Mikoto and Fugaku following them. Itachi then stepped back into the carriage then came out holding a small wire. "This seems to be the culprit." He showed the wire to everyone before pocketing it.
"What is going on?" Sasuke demanded. Sakura came up behind him. She wasn't happy that Sasuke had left her behind.
"Oh Naruto, sweaty," Mikoto said. She hugged him, rubbing his back. "Is your bottom alright?"
Naruto was as red as a tomato. "Yes."
Mikoto pulled back and turned to the driver. "Can you tell me why Naruto was forced to suffer?"
"Your Highness, I swear that I had no clue…" he cut himself off. "I'm sorry. I'll make sure that it never happens again."
"Right you are," Mikoto said. "I suppose we can take a break while you double check the carriages."
"Your Highness, is there anything I can get you?" Ino asked.
"Tea would be nice," Mikoto said.
"Of course," Ino bowed. Kakashi joined her and the two managed to find some things for tea. Sasame, Sakura's maid, was laying out some blankets and pillows. Everyone sat down and enjoyed the tea.
Naruto glanced at the carriage. It was time to put part two of his plan into action. "These carriages are quite beautiful."
"The Harunos actually sent them," Mikoto said. "Usually we use our own, but we couldn't really turn down such a wonderful offer."
"It was our pleasure," Sakura said. "I'm sorry to hear that you were uncomfortable, Lord Naruto."
"It isn't your fault, Lady Sakura," Naruto said, taking a sip of his tea. "Mistakes happen." He set his cup down and got up. He walked over to the lead horse and began to pet it. Naruto moved his arms so that his shawl would fall off his shoulder. When it did, he let out a noise of surprise.
The driver was nearby and he went to grab the shawl. The shawl got caught on part of the carriage. The driver gasped at what he saw. "Your Highness!" He dropped to the ground. "The turning peg has been damaged. It would be a bad idea to continue riding in this carriage."
Kakashi walked over to the carriage and took a look. He nodded. "I'll ride back and get another one." He turned to the driver. "Can you move it enough to get it out of the way?"
"I can't," the driver admitted. Kakashi turned to the other two drivers, but they shook their heads.
"Can we push it?" Naruto asked. He motioned to the cliff. "There isn't anything down below, so what if we just pushed it over?"
"Then we'd only have to switch things from the last cart to the new one," Itachi said. "And we'd have an extra horse." Itachi nodded. "I think that's a good idea. But there is another option. We can break the carriage enough to move it out of the way. We can always have someone clean it later. Mother and Father can join Sasuke and Lady Sakura in their carriage. I'll ride the extra horse." He turned to Naruto. "If you don't mind, you can ride with me."
"That is a fine idea!" Mikoto clapped her hands. "Sir Kakashi."
"I'll get right on it," Kakashi said, bowing. He walked towards the carriage. "Please step back." Naruto rejoined the group. The driver quickly unclipped the horse from the carriage, bringing it several feet away. Everyone watched as Kakashi swung his sword several times. Soon, the carriage was in pieces. Itachi took the ruins of the horse while the drivers moved the pieces of the carriage to the side. They retrieved Naruto's shawl and handed it to Ino. Since it was dirty, she put it away. Ino was about to get a new one when Itachi removed his jacket and placed it on Naruto's shoulders. Naruto thanked him, not seeing the glare Sasuke was giving it. When all of the pieces of the carriage were out of the way, Ino and Sasame took care of the blankets and the pillows, making sure to not leave anything behind. They then got back into the last carriage. Mikoto, Fugaku, Sasuke, and Sakura got into what was now the first one. Itachi helped Naruto onto the horse. Kakashi took the lead. Naruto secretly smiled to himself as his plan played out perfectly. Naruto prayed that whatever happened next, he'd be able to face it.
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King Fugaku, Queen Mikoto, and Prince Itachi died due to a damaged turning pin on their carriage. When the carriage turned a corner, the pin broke and the carriage went over the cliff. It dragged the driver as well as the horse with it. Four deaths, five if you count the horse, that's how many Naruto had been blamed for. But the truth was that Naruto had nothing to do with it. So Naruto had to make someone see the turning pin before coming across the cliff. The question was when and how.
Naruto glanced over to a container holding a few bobby pins. Naruto used them when he made small versions of the dresses he wanted to make. He took one of them and bent it. The plan began to form in Naruto's head. It should be easy to hide the pin on Naruto's body. He would just have to get it on their carriage.
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Unknown to Naruto, Sakura was pissed. Her plan to get rid of Itachi had failed. King Fugaku and Queen Mikoto's deaths would have been collateral damage. It was something Sakura wasn't really happy about, but if they died as well, there was nothing she could do. When Naruto got in that carriage, Sakura had been ecstatic. Naruto dying too would make it much easier for Sakura to become Queen. But now, here Sakura was, alone in the carriage with Sasuke, like she wanted, but the others were still alive. She silently cursed. 'I'll get rid of Itachi and Naruto, no matter what.'
Bellis represents innocence, purity, rebirth and new beginnings.