My Prince (BOOK 1)

Chapter 34

Naruto laid Anastasia in her bed. The sixteen-year-old already on her way to sleep. Izumi stood at the door as Naruto pulled the tie from Anastasia's hair and laid her sword across the desk.

"Is something the matter your majesty?"
Izumi flushed as Narutos eyes drifted toward her.
"I—" Izumi cleared her throat. "Itachi and I would like to speak with you.. if you have a moment." Her eyes drifted toward Anastasia for a moment.
Naruto looked at the girl and nodded. She held her hand out for Izumi to show the way. They walked out of Narutos chambers, with her shutting the doors behind them. Izumi walked Naruto through the corridors until they entered Itachis office.
He was reading something that seemed to unnerve him, but when Naruto shut the door, he looked up and dropped the file.

"I thought you were going to get her in the morning."
"I couldn't sleep thinking about it."
Itachi sighed as Izumi sat on his leg. Naruto rounded her hand on her popped hip.
"What is gnawing at you so that you couldn't sleep Izumi? Itachi your also usually in bed by this time."
Itachi sighed. "We were planning on talking about this in the morning."
She hit his chest and crossed her arms. "It's about Anastasia."
Naruto waited.
"And the child." Izumi continued awkwardly.
Naruto only raised an eyebrow.
"Izumi was wondering if, and the "if" is strong, Anastasia does pass away after giving birth..." Itachi trailed off.

Izumi had brought this up after Naruto told them about the percentage of Anastasia dying. Of course it was a fragile topic and she didn't want to seem insensitive but the child would need a home. And on the chance that the teenage girl did pass away... well she had wanted to ask Naruto if it be at all possible they gave the child their name and adopt him or her.
Itachi had said it was too soon to ask and there was a possibility Naruto knew the Anastasia girl before she had ran from her family. He just didn't know if Naruto would be okay with the topic while they just met the girl two days ago and she still hasn't given any signs of labor.

"You want to adopt the child if Anastasia does die on the fifty chance she does?" Naruto took the wild guess.
"Yes." Izumi nodded frantically.
"Izumi don't nod so quickly." Itachi scolded his wife.
Naruto watched as the two bickered about the situation before Izumi huffed with a childish pout.

It was true the rulers of the Fire were trying to de-escalate it and make it look as if they hadn't been thinking of the good aspects of Anastasia dying. But truth was Naruto already reassured Anastasia the couple would be more than willing to take in the child if such a thing happened.
The reassurance was half to get Anastasia to shut up about dying and what would happen to her child; the other half was because Naruto knew Izumi would think of adoption as soon as she heard Anastasia had a chance of dying in child birth.
None of it was ill will, but the thoughts weren't exactly saintly either.

Naruto ran a hand through her boy-cut hair and folded her arms.

"If I'm being honest with you two it'd be concerning if you hadn't brought this up to me." The couple looked at Naruto, having been intrigued easily by her words. "Anastasias already curtain she's going to die giving birth to the child and I had reassured her I knew people who have wanted a child since a few years into their marriage." She looked at them. "Talk to Anastasia, her child isn't mine."
"You think she'll be fine with it."
"All she wants is for her baby to be safe and happy. That's why when I got her all she felt was remorse for what her brother did to Sasuke. She may be sixteen but that child means more to her than her life."
Izumi smiled and nodded. "We'll talk to her tomorrow."
Naruto nodded and turned on her heel. "It's real amusing hearing you talk as if your hoping someone dies Izumi. I never thought you the type."

Naruto opened the door and began to step out when Izumi shouted through her blushing embarrassment.

"T-that's not it Naruto! Not it at all!"
She chuckled and began to walked to Isamu.

When she got to the infirmary, Isamu was leaning on the wall, practically cuddling his armor with a nodding head.
She kicked his shin guard. Watching with full amusement, Isamu jumped ten feet from the ground and held onto his winter sweater. His eyes caught Narutos and he visibly relaxed before leaning on the wall again.

"General you scared the crap out of me."
"That's the point." Naruto nudged her head. "Go. I've got watch until morning."
Isamu nodded and quickly walked away. His bed on the next level down was practically calling his name.

Naruto entered the room and sat in the chair beside Sasuke. Pulling out a book, she flipped to her saved page and crossed a leg over the other.

~~**~~

Anastasia sat up in Narutos bed with the generals help. She placed a tray on her lap and Anastasia smiled.

"Eat."
Anastasia looked out the window when Naruto opened the curtains and was amazed to see the heavy rain fall. "Wow... it's been a while since I've seen rain."
Naruto looked outside. "You were in a rain storm with me five days ago."
"Yes but I was under a tarp. I hadn't been able to see it."
Naruto grunted and tucked her clean pair of jeans into the old boots she seems to never take off.

"I woke up last night."
Naruto looked up at Anastasia as she began to eat the oatmeal.
"You weren't here. Were you with the prince?"
"Mhm." Naruto put on her skin-tight short sleeve shirt and strapped her chest plate over.
"Are you scared he won't make it?"
Naruto stopped putting her winter sweater on mid-arm and looked at Anastasia.
"What?"
She froze at Narutos cold tone, and looked at her.
"Well... just what I heard when I visited him that one time.. ya know, about how bad his injuries were."
Naruto clicked her tongue and threw the sweater over her head. "You must've missed the part where all of that was healed. It's pre-caution to have day round security over Sasuke." She checked all of the armor under her sweater before putting on her shin guards. "Finish eating, I'll have to carry you to the bathing room before going to the dining hall."
"Why? Is something wrong?"
"It's getting to that time when civilians are becoming desperate for shelter. One way to do that is say their daughters are pregnant with the youngest princes child."
Anastasia coughed on her oatmeal and Naruto took the tray from her.
"Why would someone do that?"
Naruto lifted Anastasia in her arms and walked from her chambers.
"It's getting closer to winter. By next week we should get our first snow storm and desperate times call for desperate measures."
"Yeah but saying your pregnant with a man's child." Anastasia murmured from Narutos sweater.

Naruto lowered Anastasia onto the floor as Hinata filled the tub with warm water.

"Has Sasuke eaten this morning?"
"He has not woken up Sir Uzumaki."
Naruto sighed and threw Anastasia's gown into the hamper and lowered her into the warm water.
She shivered and ran a hand over her baby bum.
"I'll be back in ten minutes. Take your time Hinata."
Hinata smiled. "Of course. We wouldn't want to hurt that baby now would we?"
Anastasia smiled as Hinata giggled. Naruto walked out and headed for the dining hall.

Of course she hadn't made it when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her into their chest.

"I told you to leave. Get the hell out of the palace before I kick your ass out Gaara."