NS: The Princess Bride 10

The Princess Bride
NaruSaku Style

Chapter 10: The Nightmare

After what seemed like forever, Naruto and Sakura reached the end of the Fire Swamp. They were now in pleasantly wooded area full of light. Both had changed in the Swamp, though, they knew, but it only brought them closer.
"We did it," said Sakura, looking around her.
"Now, was that so terrible?" he asked, smiling. He leaned in to kiss her, but before their lips could touch, the sound of galloping horses was heard. The Prince had caught up to them.
"Surrender!" barked Sasuke. Naruto put his arm in front of Sakura and drew his sword.
"You mean you wish to surrender to me?" he said. "Very well, I accept."
The Prince scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I give you full marks for bravery," he said. "Don't make yourself a fool."
Naruto glared at him. "Ah, but how will you capture us? We know the secrets of the Fire Swamp," he said. "We can live their quite happily for some time, so whenever you feel like dying, feel free to visit."
Sasuke glared at the blonde. "I tell you once again, surrender!" he barked.
"It will not happen," argued Naruto, matching his glare.
"For the last time, surrender!" growled Sasuke.
"DEATH FIRST!"
While the two men argued, Sakura began to notice that she and Naruto were surrounded by archers and knew that if he didn't surrender soon, her love would be good as dead…for real this time.
"Will you promise not to hurt him!" she cried.
"What was that?" asked Sasuke hopefully.
"What was that?" asked Naruto, confused. Sakura glanced at him and gulped. She couldn't believe what she was about to do.
"If we surrender and I return with you, will you promise not to hurt this man?" she asked with conviction. Naruto stared at her, disbelief clear on his face. Sasuke grinned.
"May I live a thousand years and never hunt again," he vowed. Sakura took a deep breath.
"He is a sailor on the pirate ship Revenge," she said. "Promise to return him to his ship."
"I swear it will be done," said Sasuke, placing a hand over his heart. Sakura turned to Naruto. Sasuke took this chance to whisper to the Count, "Once we're out of sight, take him back to Konoha and throw him in the Pit of Despair."
"I swear it will be done," hissed Count Orochimaru.
Sakura looked to Naruto. It hurt her to see the betrayed look on his face, but she kept reminding herself that she was saving his life, or so she thought.
"I thought you were dead once and it almost destroyed me," she whispered, trying very hard not to cry. "I could not bear it if you died again, not when I could save you."
Naruto watched as Sakura was scooped up into Prince Sasuke's saddle and they rode off. He couldn't hardly think. What had just happened? One minute they were about to kiss, and suddenly Sakura was ripped away from him again.
Naruto barely registered himself being steered towards the Count.
"Come, sir, we must get you to your ship," sneered Orochimaru. Naruto looked up at him and grinned half-heartedly. He knew he wasn't going anywhere near his ship.
"We are men of action," he said. "Lies do not become us."
"Well spoken, sir," said the Count. Naruto smirked and glanced down. Orochimaru had six finger's on his right hand. Naruto distinctly remembered a certain tidbit the swordsman had told him.
"What is it?" asked the Count, though he knew Naruto was looking at his deformity.
"You have six fingers on your right hand," said Naruto. "Someone was looking for you."
Orochimaru didn't give Naruto the chance to say anything else. He bashed the young pirate in the head with the butt of his sword. Naruto knew no more.


When Naruto awoke he was surprised to find that he was no longer in the forest. He was in fact, chained to a table. His shirt had been removed and a very odd looking man was dabbing a healing solution onto his wounded shoulder. The man wore glasses and had long grey hair pulled up into a ponytail.
"Where am I?" asked Naruto weakly. The man shook his head, but answered.
"The Pit of Despair. Don't even think…," he rasped, then he coughed and his voiced returned to a more normal sounding one. "Don't even think about trying to escape. The chains are far too thick. And don't dream of being rescued either. The only way in is secret and only the prince, the count, and I know how to get in and out."
"Then I'm here till I die?" asked Naruto, surprisingly calm.
"Till they kill you, yeah," said the man, still working on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto watched him for a while.
"Then why bother curing me?"
The gray-haired man sighed. "The prince and the count always insist on everyone being healthy before they are broken," he said.
"So it's to be torture," decided Naruto.
The man nodded enthusiastically.
"I can cope with torture."
The man shook his head with equal enthusiasm.
"Don't believe me?" asked Naruto.
"You survived the Fire Swamp, so you must be very brave," the man said. Then he grinned. "But no one withstands The Machine."
Naruto couldn't help but feel a little terrified.

In the castle, Prince Sasuke and Count Orochimaru were walking along the corridors discussing their evil plan to kill Naruto and Sakura and their plot to start a war with Suna. When Sakura passed in front of them, looking very somber, they stopped their chat and watched her until she passed.
"She's been like that since the Fire Swamp," said Sasuke. "It's my father's failing health that's upsetting her."
"Of course," hissed the Count. When they were sure she was gone they resumed their talk.

"The King died that very night. And before the following dawn, Sakura and Sasuke were married. And at noon she met with her subjects again, this time as their queen," read the young girl's father.  "'My father's final words were…"
"Hold it, hold it, Daddy," interrupted the young girl. "You read that wrong! She doesn't marry Sasuke, she marries Naruto. I'm just sure of it. After all Naruto did for her, if she didn't marry him it wouldn't be fair."
"Well, who says life is fair?" asked the father. "Where is that written? Life isn't always fair."
"I'm telling you, you're messing up the story," rasped the girl as loud as she could. "Now get it right!"
"Do you want me to go on with this?" asked the father, closing the book.
"Yes," said the girl weakly.
"All right then," said her father, opening the book and flipping back to where he left off. "No more interruptions. 'At noon, she met her subjects again, this time as their Queen."


"My father's final words: 'Love her as I have loved her, and there will be joy.'" Announced the newly crowned King Sasuke. "I present to you your queen, Queen Sakura."
Sakura appeared to the crowd at the sound of her name. She looked around and was shocked to hear someone yelling.
"Boo! Boo! Boo!" cried an old, ancient woman. Sakura stared at her.
"Why do you do this?" she asked with a fearful tone.
"Because you had love in your hands, and you gave it up!" cried the old woman angrily.
"But they would have killed Naruto if I hadn't done it," defended Sakura.
"You're true love lives!" barked the woman. "And you marry another! True Love saved her in the fire swamp, and she treated it like garbage. And that's what she is, the queen of refuse! So bow to her if you want, bow to her. Bow to the queen of slime, the queen of filth, the queen of putrescence! Boo! Boo! Rubbish! Filth! Slime! Muck! Boo! Boo! BOO!"
Sakura awoke from the nightmare with a gasp.
It was ten days till the wedding, and the King still lived, but Sakura's nightmares were growing steadily worse.

"See I told you she wouldn't marry Sasuke," said the girl.
"Yes, you're very smart," said her father. "Shut up."