This fanfiction you're reading is a rewrite of the Black Lions Chronicles for those who've read the original version and enjoyed it. I'm sorry for discontinuing the story, but the amount of stuff I wanted to do made me feel like I had to go back, and it would have been too much to simply keep the original version of the story. There was a lot more I wanted to do, and one character in particular changed how I wanted to write the story: Sakura. She is not the main reason for the rewrite, but she's the catalyst for it.

I couldn't help but think about when I was writing the chapters how much better it would have been had Team 7 been in separate houses. This thought wouldn't leave me. I was writing the newer chapters to the point where I spotted other issues as well—problems with characterizations of characters and a lot of filler that I felt could have been left out.

There were plot holes and things I wanted to do that foreshadowed a future twist that I have not yet written, and I feel like none of these would work to my satisfaction if I continued with the current version of the story. This isn't a complete rewrite where nothing from the original version remains; I use what works and disregard what doesn't. The redux of the Black Lion Chronicles is a complete overhaul of the original. I haven't completely finished the second story arc as of this writing of the rewrite, and it's not a revision of the second arc of the original—it's a brand new arc entirely.

Every week, I will upload a new chapter. until I have nothing left to publish if you don't want to wait for the latest chapters, go to Archive of Our Own, because that's where the story is being posted first. The prequel story, The Blue Raven, will not be posted here until it's completely finished. I'm sorry for those who enjoyed the original, but that's how it is; it will still be up for those who want to read it, even though I think the redux version is better.

December 31, 1162

Rodrigue looked at the woman who had given birth to a stillborn child. How could he tell this woman that her son was dead? He thought Sophia deserved better than to be lied to about her son, but what else was he going to do? He paced around, wondering where his friend was—where was Lambert? He had been gone for weeks and hadn't explained why. Sophia was asking for her son; what the hell could he tell her? He was running out of excuses. There was no way he could simply say the child was going to be seen; there was a limit to the kind of lies he could tell, and he wasn't going to lie to this woman. She deserved the truth.

Before he could head to her room, he heard the door open. He turned and saw it was Lambert, holding an infant in his arms. Rodrigue looked and couldn't believe it.

"I'm sorry for taking so long, old friend. I had to make sure that nobody noticed," Lambert said, exhausted from weeks of travel. He looked at the child in his arms, so much like Lambert—could it be?

"We have to keep this between us, Rodrigue. Nobody can know that Dimitri wasn't born in Faerghus, but that's not the only thing that not many of us can know." He was silent before another person entered behind him; it was Matthias, Gustave, Gunner, and Lambert's wife, Anastasia.

They heard the baby cry. What were they going to do with baby Dimitri?

"What happened to my son?" Lambert asked Rodrigue. Rodrigue's grim look was all it took for Lambert to know what had happened.

"Sophia doesn't know what happened. She doesn't have to know. With Dimitri here, we could give him to her and let her think Dimitri is her son," said Matthias, which caused Rodrigue to feel sick about lying about the existence of a child. But what else was there? If Sophia found out, it would destroy her. Perhaps not knowing what happened was for the best; she could believe Dimitri was her son.

"I can't believe I'm doing something terrible—bury all evidence of my stillborn son. It must be done for Dimitri's protection," Lambert ordered, which caused the men to obey without hesitation, as much as it made them sick to do so.

A few hours later, the men were in Lambert's council room, discussing a course of action on what to do.

"There's more you haven't told us, Lambert. Who is Dimitri's mother?" asked Gunner.

"You already know, and I will not say her name out loud," Lambert replied. The queen that was never crowned; her departure was painful for him, and the fact that Dimitri was her child was even more so. He was angry just thinking about it.

"But that's not all, is it, Lambert?" asked Matthias, knowing there was more.

"The bastards have my daughter. There was nothing I could do—her eyes; she couldn't pass for being my child. I had to leave her," Lambert said with sorrow.

"Wait, are you telling me that Konaha has our princess? This is an outrage!" said Anastasia, angry that a friend's child was far from home.

"She will come in time; she will eventually come home. Then I'll have to wait until she's old enough to attend the academy," Lambert said, looking toward Konaha with longing.

"So what do we do in the meantime, Your Majesty? If Dimitri's true origins are ever discovered, they could bring his legitimacy into question," Gustave said, voicing what was on Rodrigue's mind.

"I never dissolved my marriage with my first wife," said Lambert, shocking everyone in the room, including Rodrigue.

"What do you mean?" asked Matthias.

"Exactly what I said. I never dissolved my marriage. My children are my heirs, regardless of what that brother of mine tries to do. Our laws dictate that no matter how many wives a king has, all their children are legitimate until stated otherwise," Lambert said in the calmest tone he could muster. Rodrigue was surprised; how could his friend be so calm?

"There is nothing in our laws that says you can't have more than one wife, my Lord, but you know how this will look to your political opponents, who are already looking for a reason to remove you. This cannot get out until Dimitri and his sister come of age," said Anastasia. But there was one thing that Rodrigue wanted to know: What was the princess's name?

"You must make a vow—all of you—that you will not—and I do mean will not—reveal anything we say does not leave this room. I want all of you to make a blood oath, so you will never violate this vow. If you're not willing to do that, you will leave," said Lambert, his serious tone promising consequences if it ever came down to it.

One by one, everyone cut their hand, blood dripping on the floor. Blood oaths were sacred; those who made a blood oath were obligated to keep it. If they violated it, they would lose their honor—worth less than nothing. If you weren't willing to commit to a blood oath, then you weren't worthy of trust. Simple as that.

"Okay, what's the name of the Lost Princess?" asked Rodrigue.

"The name of the Lost Princess is..."