Prince Charming [ON HIATUS]

Migraines

"You better wake up right now, or I'll punch you so hard you'll have to take a carriage back to the castle!"

Naruto groaned sleepily into his sheets.

"Just five more minutes please, Sakura."

"You said five more minutes an hour and a half ago! It's eleven-thirty! I already let you sleep in enough. Get up. The whole kingdom is awake except for you, lazy pants."

He probably would have gotten up at that point, but he had a raging headache, and he knew the second he got up he would fall right back down and pass out again for another 2-3 hours.

"You know what? Sakura, I'm not feeling too good. I think I might have caught something from those old ambassador coots at that conference last week. Let me stay in bed today, will you? Don't want your beloved prince to get sick now, do you?"

That excuse probably would have worked on any other maid, but this was Sakura that he was talking to, and even though he tried, he knew she wouldn't let him off so easily.

"Don't give me that Naruto! I already know what you were doing last night, so don't even try to hide it from me."

Naruto froze.

How did she know where I was last night? I absolutely made sure nobody was following me. Fuck, I'm so screwed. What if she tells dad?

"Seriously, you really think I wouldn't have found out that you snuck out to the waterfall last night? You've done it enough times where I can see right through you, Naruto."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief he didn't know he had been holding in.

Phew!

The truth was, he didn't actually go to the waterfall. Yes, he had snuck out last night, but not to where she had been thinking. But he was not about to tell her that.

He actually snuck out to eat at his favorite ramen restaurant. He had visited once with an old friend as a child and fell in love with the food ever since. They never served ramen in the castle ("ramen isn't high end enough for a prince" his father would always tell him), so he would always sneak out at night to get his share. The owner was extremely kind, so he would always be willing to whip up a bowl just for him, even if it was past closing time.

But that wasn't the problem here.

Yesterday, his father, the King, gave him a huge ass lecture about appearances and responsibility, when he came back inside with mud on his shoes. Normally, he would have been able to tolerate it, but this was the third time this week that that had happened. He was turning 18 in less than a year, and would soon be crowned king. He could understand why his father was really hunkering down on his behaviors, but now it was starting to give him a headache.

So, to give him an outlet to his stress, after inhaling his ramen, he decided to try drinking.

It was not a good idea, that much his hungover self could tell.

So now, he had a raging headache and a large sack of guilt steadied on his shoulders.

He was seriously starting to consider asking Sakura for some medicine, but he knew if he did, she would figure out the truth, and he would never hear the end of it, if he didn't die from one of her kicks to his face first. In the past, she knocked him so far back that he learned to steer clear from her bad side (sometimes she scared him more than his father, and he was the king, for Kami's sake).

"Now get up, before I tell your dad."

(Before you ask, no, Sakura is not a snitch. She works as Naruto's personal maid in the castle. She may be considered a good friend by Naruto, but her loyalty to the king comes first, and Naruto knows and respects that perfectly clear)