I Made A Promise To A King

Deidara x Sasori; Deidara x Itachi ; Sasuke x Shikamaru; Kakashi x Iruka, aaand whatever else happens :P

Chapter One:

Knight Sky

{*XOXOX*}

There was nothing but the wind in his golden yellow hair.

And the taste of sour wine still stinging his tongue.

"Deidara!" Sasori's voice was so disruptive in the silence. "Where are you, brat?"

Deidara tilted his head back to look out at him. He was such a small shape, red and silver, bobbing in the distance beneath the endless grassy hill he sat on.

"Deidara!" He yelled tiredly.

Deidara threw his voice back out at his knight. "I'm up here, Danna!" Only person in the world he would bother reveal that to. He waited till Sasori glanced up at him. "That party blows."

He was referring to the legions of guests, who had gathered themselves in the castle's main halls, to celebrate yet another royal triviality. Most things that royalty did seemed oddly trivial. He wasn't even sure what they were celebrating.

"Mind your mouth, brat," Sasori chided him, frowning perplexedly. "How did you get up there?"

"I flew, Danna."

"You are such a guiltless liar."

"But I did," Deidara said. He pointed a royal hand to the sky. "On that."

A giant shadow engulfed Sasori where he stood. He followed Deidara's gaze into the clouds and noticed the clay bird circling the air above him. Sasori frowned. "That's not funny. Get rid of it, brat."

"But I made it…" Deidara began in astonishment, knowing he meant to keep his work of art until he was through admiring it.

Sasori's glare suggested otherwise. He lifted his proud knight head and pointed out backwards to the towering castle. "Don't you remember what you did the last time?"

Deidara's mind visited the unpleasant memory. His father's glowering red face afterwards. Sasori's helpless face palm. He flicked his chin away to evade the topic. "No."

"I do," Sasori murmured, and then proceeded to chant, "Ningyō no jutsu."

"What're you gonna do?" Deidara leapt to his feet, too late to guide his clay bird from harm's way as he would have liked to.

Sasori's puppet string attack landed just in time to grab the white bird and fling it into the density of trees in the wood just behind them. It disappeared from view moments before a man riding a gaining stallion materialized before them, heaving.

"Your father wants you," The exasperated knight informed Deidara, adding with bitter reluctance, "Your majesty."

Deidara felt the weight of his title descend on him again. He was a prince with every object in the material world, and yet he had none of the things he wanted. He stole one last fleeting glance into the wind again.

"Go with him ,Deidara," Sasori said.

Deidara looked to him desolately, as though he'd been betrayed. He was still speechless from the loss of his bird, but gathered himself in time to answer his knight. "Do I have to, Danna?"

'Of course, brat. The party isn't over yet. Those guests are your family. One day, you will lead them. You should know them first,' Sasori thought, but he said none of those things. He merely tipped a smile up at his dissatisfied friend. "Yeah, you have to, brat."

Deidara and the fidgety, newly arrived knight were both startled as Sasori suddenly undid his jutsu and let the white clay bird go free from its forceful concealment. Sasori was unable to destroy anything Deidara had crafted. The bird broke from where it had been hidden in the trees, flurrying up in big excited strokes of its wings to meet the sky again. Deidara burst out laughing as it rushed over head, into the air above the surprised knight that had come to collect him.

"Is…that a bird?" the confused knight began, squinting.

Sasori nodded helpfully. "It's the Prince's jutsu, he…"

"Katsu!" Deidara yelled unexpectedly, alarming even Sasori. He knew they'd hate him for it, as the bird spat and blew into a thousand ribbon-like pieces atop their heads, charging the air with a rain of fire. It was a little reckless, granted. But it was just too pretty to resist the temptation.

{*XOXOX*}

Three Days Later…

Deidara's mouth fell open at the proposition his insistent father had just given him. "You want me to marry a what?"

"An Uchiha," his father gladly inserted. "You have to understand the political dynamics, Deidara. If we can't land this alliance with the Royal Uchiha Court, then we'll have war to face." His father's expression tilted to anger, "That's death if we weigh the odds."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Deidara raised the question suddenly. He sat as politely as he could manage at the elaborate table in his father's study. He maintained his father's gaze even though it frightened him. "I'm a boy."

His father sighed reluctantly, eyeing Sasori as he leant casually on the wall behind Deidara. The Knight's assessing gaze made him appear to be in constant guard of Deidara. It sometimes felt as though employment as the Prince Deidara's Knight was not a matter of servitude to his Kingdom, but a matter of wish.

The King inhaled again, sweeping his focus back into his son's ocean blue eyes. "Deidara…"

"Aren't the Uchiha descendants all Princes?"

"Yes, Deidara, but the thing is…"

"I don't even understand how they found out about us. We're the Hidden Stone, hn. We've been hidden for so long from all the other Kingdoms that I thought…"

"Just hear me," His father looked on him intently. "The eldest Uchiha boy is going to attain the throne at some point."

"And?"

"And he is queenless if he does. The Royal Uchiha Household has made the terrible mistake of unleashing war on all their problems. None of the other Royal Houses will marry their daughters to the family due to bad blood between every one of them."

"But we will?" Deidara asked unguardedly, forgetting he usually made it his mission not to delve into politics.

Sasori took notice of his interest quietly from behind him, shifting his weight against the wall.

Deidara's father pressed his gaze to his son. Deidara looked so vulnerable when he wore that confused expression. "The Uchiha came looking for other Royal Families," the King said. "They stumbled onto us. We are hidden no more."

"So what can we do, hn?" Deidara interrupted his father.

Sasori kicked his chair as a gentle reminder from behind him. "Be quiet, brat," he muttered fondly.

Deidara's father settled his irritation by gritting his teeth. He had been standing the entire time, staring across at his nineteen year old son. At last, he gestured to a chair opposite Deidara, and an assistant rushed out of nowhere to pull it up for him. He sunk down gracefully. "Deidara. Itachi Uchiha, and his family, don't know you are a boy. They've seen you sitting on that hilltop, with your hair loose. Talking to yourself. They are under the impression that I have a Princess…" A glinting light touched his father's expectant gaze. "A valuable trading point to a queenless castle."

"But they're wrong!" Deidara said dazedly, unsure he'd understood. "You don't have a daughter. They'll know that the second I walk in there, won't they?"

"I do have a son that looks like a daughter," his father returned honestly, making no effort to veil the crux of the matter. "And they won't know anything when you walk in there in a dress, Deidara."

Deidara's mouth sprung open in immediate protest, his horrified expression spewing all of the words his father cut him off from saying.

"You will marry the Uchiha Prince under the pretense of the Princess of the Hidden Stone. When war is ruled out, and settlements agreed upon, then we will have you return home again. Unnoticed for a lie," His father's tone was cold and implicit. "This all relies on you, son."

{*XOXOX*}

"I won't leave, Danna," Deidara said, plunking down on his crisp clean bed sheets.

Sasori took one look into his meaningful gaze and accepted the adamancy in the statement. He shrugged, "I know, brat. But what can you do?"

"This is the worst plan ever," Deidara went on. "I'm supposed to dress as a Princess? To win over a Prince? Then what, play at being a pansy for just long enough to throw them off the scent while father gets his legal act together? Then get pulled from the Uchiha household like I haven't just been bound to them by marriage?"

"I will rescue you myself, if it comes to that," Sasori said. He walked up to stand before Deidara, dipping his head to face him. "I have to. I'm your knight, Dei."

"Danna…"

"What is it?"

"I can't do this," Deidara flicked his fringe behind his ears, but it spilt back over again. He tried to appear calm and collected, but he knew he was panicking. "They want to send me far away. To a violent nation. With no one I know there."

Sasori agreed with the fear inwardly. But he banished the idea on the outside air. "Don't let that throw your game. You're plenty of violent and stranger for them to contend with."

Deidara let a smile escape him. "Hn."

"I'll come with you," Sasori added as an afterthought, not sure he knew how to exist in the castle halls without Deidara's incessant presence.

"You'll come?" Deidara threw his head up, quick to snatch at hope. "You'll come with me, Danna?"

Sasori acted as though the thought were unbearable, even though he wanted to. He bobbed his head. "I have to, brat. I told you."

"You have to why?"

"I…just told you why."

"You're my friend, that's why, hn!" Deidara hugged him from the height he was level with, catching his waist.

Sasori blushed slightly at the surprisingly firm grip. "It's just orders, brat. Geez." He tried to wrestle Deidara from holding him, but the feminine looking prince was stronger than met the eye.

"Good luck to this Itachi person," Sasori changed the subject hurriedly, having mused on the concept of Deidara's betrothed.

Deidara's laughter fluttered between them as he let go. "Are you gonna wear a dress with me, Danna?"

"No."

"But you said you were my friend."

"You said that!"

Deidara laughed again, still concerned about the marriage. Still doubtful of his acting abilities. He hoped the Uchiha family would be unobservant. Although from what he'd heard… they'd see right through him.

"Which one am I unlawfully marrying again, Danna?"

"Itachi Uchiha."

"He's worrying, right?"

"Yeah, he's worrying alright, but Sasuke's the one you really have to worry about." Sasori elaborated when Deidara's eyes prompted him to. "Sigh. Just stay away from Sasuke and stay close to me. If anyone's gonna get you caught out, it's Sasuke. And if anyone's gonna keep you from getting caught, it's me."

Deidara withheld a small smile of irony. Wasn't going to be hard to keep close to Sasori, considering Sasori ensured that he was always around.

{*XOXOX*}

Author's Note:

This is a story about Deidara, based in medieval times, but obviously a little less realistically considering they're all ninja etc. =P Homosexuality was a serious offense in those days...so the concept of this story is really playing with fire.

Deidara's father, King of the Hidden Stone, is obliged to make peace with the Uchiha Royal House or risk war with them. And what they need most is a Princess to marry one of their Uchiha Princes so that he will have a Queen when he reigns.

Deidara's father doesn't have a girl, but...he does have Deidara. He conjures up a plan to have Deidara marry Itachi Uchiha(who is on his way to becoming King and needs to have legitimate heirs soon after) under the pretense of being female, since he appears so feminine anyway, in order to save his kingdom. The plan is to retrieve Deidara later, once the Hidden Stone stands a better chance.

With Deidara in the dangerous game of court life in the particularly hostile Uchiha Royal House, it becomes partly the duty of his knight, Sasori, who happens to love Deidara a little too much, to help ensure the secret remains hidden. Problems develop as the day of the wedding consummation draws nearer.

This story features most of the Naruto characters, as I've tried to assign almost everyone in the show a place in Court life based on what I assume they might end up as. Including randoms like Haku =P

The pairings in this are listed at the top of the chapter...but like I said, anything can happen!~

~MadeOfSunshine

Please comment and fave if you're reading this :) It really helps motivate me, and I love to hear what you're thinking.~

P.S. Also, I'm not really very into cross dressing, so the Deidara in a dress concept will be lighthearted :)

P.P.S. Preview image not mine!~