The cursed prince

{36}

The dining hall was starting to fill with people as both princes shuffled in first with the princess, her lady in waiting and the prince's coadjutant to follow in after, then the king and queen walked in last as the guards and the maids started to move in with their jobs. As their breakfast was in the process of being served, both the heir and the princess were attempting their best to keep their snickering to a minimum, watching as the Queen was glaring intently at her youngest son.

"Mother... I-" Naruto started in an attempt to sooth her down, yet his attempt was immediately dashed as the queen's hair started to float around her, causing him to nervously chuckle to himself. Every non-royal member in the dining hall exchanged looks between the queen and the prince, wondering what their mischievous prince have done to get on his mother's bad side.

However, before anything quickly escalated, the king placed a soothing hand on his wife's arm which quickly managed to calm her down to send only a worried glare at her youngest son rather than a flip of the table like last time. "Naruto! I have been worried sick! You can't just skip out on dinner like that and not inform us! If it wasn't for your father, I would have broken down the door." Kushina lectured as she glanced intently at her youngest son, clearly showing how deeply worried she has felt for him. And it doesn't only seem as though it was just his mother but also his father, brother and cousin.

"I apologize mother, I promise that this won't happen again." Naruto apologized with an attempted reassuring smile which only managed to heighten Kurama's annoyance and worry and his parent's disbelief. With a sigh, the Queen finally relented and turned to greet her children plus her niece properly before settling down to enjoy her breakfast. "You are not escaping your punishment Naruto. I love you dearly my baby fox cub, but you really should calm down on your craziness." Kushina's finally informed her son before continuing down with her meal, reveling in the socked expression gracing her youngest son's face.

Dinner went by rather quickly and quite bumpy as Naruto - regardless of his punishments- continued to jokingly provoke not only his older brother and cousin but also his mother. Minato, the usual calm and easy going king and father, remained quiet with a small smile on his face, watching as his family grew and bonded together while casually keeping his wife placed on her seat from time to time before she went on on another illogical and harmless rampage against her two sons.

"Minato, I would really appreciate it if you stopped trying to keep me down and actually talk to your sons about behavior. Naruto! Put your brother's food back on his plate. Kurama, please eat your food and quit picking on it." Kushina complained to her husband before quickly turning back to her two sons and lecturing them both on their behavior.

Karin couldn't help but chuckle softly to herself at her family's antics. Living in the Fire kingdom isn't quite the same as per say... Ever since she has been revealed to the Fire's royal family as Dr. Orochimaru's 'apprentice', she has been invited to attend the meals with the royal family.

As expected, each of the two power kingdoms rely on one sole method to rule and to behave accordingly. The Wind being a peaceful kingdom with an easy going royal family whereas the Fire being a kingdom ruled with an iron fist and a strict royal family.

If the princess would vote over which kingdom is better, she would pick her own without any hesitation, regardless of her loyalty towards her family and kingdom.

"Alright Naruto, Kurama, settle down. Give your mother a break." Minato finally chimed in which almost instantly, cause both royal princes to quiet down which immediately caused the queen's expression to do a complete 180 in offense. Before Kushina could even attempt to start her rampage, Minato slowly started to rub his hand on her arm in an attempt to get her to calm down.