Once upon a time, in a small kingdom on the edge of the forest, there lived a beautiful young woman named Hinata Hyuga. She lived with her father, King Hiashi Hyuga her younger sister Hanabi and her cousin Neji, thus she was called Princess Hinata. She also lived with her stepmother, a woman named Queen Asami. This queen was very beautiful as well as clever, but she was also vain, spoiled, selfish, and cruel. Queen Asami possessed an enchanted mirror that spoke nothing but the truth. So every day, she would go to her mirror and say:
"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"
And every time, the mirror would always reply:
"You, my queen, with your beauty so grand, are the fairest in the land."
This always made the Queen very happy with herself as well as her mirror, for she never thought of anyone else who was more beautiful than her. In any case, Queen Asami was always known as the fairest of them all for many years. But one fateful day, all of that changed.
"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" The Queen asked as usual.
"Asami, my queen, you are very fair, 'tis true, but...but there is somebody else who is fairer than you," The mirror said nervously.
"What?" The Queen whispered. She winced, her eyes twitching as she breathed.
"Yes," The mirror replied.
Through her gritted teeth, the Queen slowly asked, "Who...is it?"
"It's...it's...Princess Hinata," The mirror winced in fright as he spoke, waiting for the Queen's reaction.
Queen Asami was enraged. How could her stepdaughter be fairer than her? A new hatred for Hinata began to form and grow in the woman's dark heart. Her eyes burned with anger as she glowered at the mirror before her.
"Hinata?! That pathetic, sorry excuse for a princess is fairer than me?! That can't be true! I can't believe it! I won't believe it!!" she shrieked.
"My Queen, I speak nothing but the truth! You know that! Please don't hurt me!" The mirror squealed in terror.
"Ugh! Spare me your exaggerated falsities, you worthless chunk of glass!!"
But then a thought popped into the Queen's head. When had her loyal and true mirror ever lied to her? She calmed down, then tried to think of a plan.
"But...if what you're saying is the truth, then I'll have to get rid of that Princess Hinata...and I know exactly how to handle it. I want the Huntsman!" she yelled.
And as if on cue, a man with olive skin, brown eyes, short black spiky hair and a beard came into the Queen's bed chamber fast as lightning. He wore a deep green leather vest and hat with a bow, a few arrows, and a knife tucked in his belt. He kneeled before Queen Asami.
"You sent for me, Your Majesty?" The Huntsman asked.
"Yes, I did," The Queen said, looking at the man before her. "Asuma Sarutobi, I'm glad you're here. I have an important task I need you to do for me."
"As long as you're the queen, your wish is my command, Your Majesty. What is it that you want me to do?" Asuma asked.
"That's good. Right now, I want you to find Princess Hinata."
"Uh-huh."
"And take. Her. Out."
"Yes, Your Ma-wait a minute. Wait. What?! But-but-but...but Your Majesty, surely you don't mean it! Do you?"
"Oh! Of course, I mean it." The Queen violently grabbed Asuma by the neck. "And if you don't want to get into any trouble with me, I strongly suggest that you do exactly as I tell you or else!"
"But Your Majesty, I can't hurt the princess! You have to understand! I'll get in serious trouble with King Hiashi if I do this for you!" Asuma managed to croak before his face nearly turned dark blue.
"Who gives a hoot about that old idiotic king?! I have told you this once, I shall say it to you again: Do as I say or suffer the consequences!!"
"Okay! Okay, you win! I'll do whatever you want! Just don't hurt me please!!"
"Excellent."
The Queen released her choke hold and Kiba fell to the floor, gasping and wheezing for air.
"Now go. And once you're done, I want you to bring me proof," The Queen said.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Asuma nodded his head and trotted out of the chamber.
In the castle gardens, Asuma was now searching for the princess and soon, he found her sitting on the grass playing with a few forest animals and singing a lovely tune in the most beautiful voice Asuma had ever heard. The princess looked so sweet and innocent. She couldn't hurt a fly.
But Asuma knew he had a job to do, and like it or not, he was going to do it. Slowly, he walked up to the singing princess and pulled out his knife. Just a quick job, nothing more. All he had to do was plunge the knife into her heart, and it would all be over. Simple as that. The man's heart was going a mile a minute as he inched closer to Princess Hinata. He was so close that he could reach out and touch her.
His breathing was so loud that Princess Hinata heard it from behind. She also noticed that most of her animal friends ran back into the underbrush and she wondered why. Soon, she turned around to see Asuma, knife in hand, staring right at her. She gasped in shock.
"Mr. Asuma?!" Princess Hinata exclaimed before standing up.
It was too much for him. The young princess's beauty and innocence blocked out the Queen's threats. He just couldn't bring himself to hurt a soul such as this one. Asuma sighed in defeat as he dropped the knife from his hand.
"I can't do it. Please forgive me, Your Highness," he said.
"I don't understand," Princess Hinata responded. "What's wrong?"
"I was sent by your stepmother, Queen Asami. She sent me here to...take you out."
Princess Hinata stared at him, confused. "What?"
"I mean, she wanted me to...she wants me to get rid of you!" Asuma finally blurted out. Princess Hinata gasped. "I'm so sorry! I was wrong to obey the Queen like this! Please forgive me!"
"What?! But I don't understand. Why does she want me dead?"
"It's...because you're more beautiful than she is. She's jealous of you."
"I always had a feeling she didn't like me that much. But I never thought my stepmother could ask for this. And why did you agree to do it in the first place?"
"I don't know. I guess I panicked. She told me to bring her proof once I finished the task. But I just can't hurt someone as innocent and beautiful as you."
"I understand."
"I'd like to help you out, but the Queen has to think you're dead."
"Oh, yes..." Suddenly, Princess Hinata had an idea. "I know, how about I run away and never come back? That way, the Queen will never have to hear about me again. What do you think?"
"That's a great idea! But you should do it ASAP."
"Great, I'll leave right now. But before I go, I just want to thank you for sparing my life," Princess Hinata said before giving Asuma a quick hug.
Princess Hinata didn't waste any time running into the forest when Asuma left. She had never really been through the woods before, due to it looking so intimidating, but she had to get away from the Queen's wrath. So, without even thinking, Princess Hinata headed into the forest without looking back.
Back at the castle, Asuma had told Queen Asami that her stepdaughter was dead. He gave the Queen a strand of dark blue hair and said that it was part of Princess Hinata's hair as proof. Queen Asami took the hair in her hands and looked at it, not knowing it wasn't Princess Hinata's.
"Splendidly done, Asuma. You've certainly proved yourself," The Queen said, turning away from the man.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Asuma said, bowing his head.
The Queen then waved her hand a few times before saying, "Now, get out."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Asuma said, trying his best not to laugh as he made his exit.
'Now I'll never have to see Princess Hinata's stupid little face ever again,' Queen Asami thought before bursting into maniacal laughter.
Meanwhile, after what felt like hours, Princess Hinata finally stopped running. She needed to breathe. She didn't know how long she was running, nor where she was. All she knew was that she had to keep going. She didn't want her stepmother to find out about her trick. As Princess Hinata continued down the forest path, she found a small cottage deep within a quiet clearing. As she approached it, Princess Hinata thought that this house was adorable. She gently knocked on the door, but nobody answered. She tried the door and found that it was unlocked.
"Hello? Is anybody home?" She called out but heard no reply. She then opened the door curiously and looked inside. "Nobody is here. Well, I do hope they don't mind if I go in."
The door made a loud creak as it opened to the small interior that matched the outside. Princess Hinata smiled as she looked around the cute pieces of furniture. The couch at the corner of the room, a medium-sized table with seven chairs around it, and even a little sink...almost overflowing with dirty dishes. The more she looked around, the more Hinata realized how dirty the place was. Apparently, the people who lived there didn't take good care of their residents.
"Oh my, what a mess. Maybe I should clean up a little," she said to herself.
She knew it was going to be a busy job, but Princess Hinata didn't mind. There was much work to be done, so Princess Hinata grabbed a broom and started to clean. A few hours passed and the tiny house was neat. She wiped some sweat from her brow and yawned. She decided to look around the house to find a place to nap when she discovered a bedroom on the second floor. In this room, there were seven tiny beds, too small for Princess Hinata to fit. Her eyes widened and she smiled. For she had an idea.
Hours passed and the sun had already set. It was almost completely dark in the forest clearing and soon, the owners of the house were coming home. They were the seven hedgehogs who were just the size of children. They were all carrying either a pickaxe or a shovel and they each had a knapsack strapped to their backs. They all traveled in a single-file line as they trotted down the path to their humble cottage.
"Hold it, guys!" The lead hedgehog shouted out suddenly.
The others came to a screeching halt as they looked forward to see what was going on. The lead hedgehog, who is an anthropomorphic hedgehog with blue fur that covers most of his body and peach skin that covers his arms, muzzle, and front torso with green eyes was looking towards the cottage. They looked and saw that the front door was open.
"Did somebody forget to close the door before we left?"
Everybody turned around and looked at the hedgehog in the very back, who was a bit shorter than the others, but had a shocked expression on her face. She was a Fuschia pink-colored anthropomorphic hedgehog with pink spikes and hair of the same color, peach-skinned, and black eyes.
"Don't look at me, you guys. I wasn't even the last one out this morning!" she said.
"You're ALWAYS the last one out, Sonia!" another hedgehog said. She was a pink fur anthropomorphic hedgehog with green eyes, peach skin on her muzzle, and arms with a bob haircut.
"That's not true, Amy! I was the last one a few days ago," a light gray (almost white) anthropomorphic hedgehog with tan skin and white fur on his chest surrounding his neck and gold eyes said.
"Never mind that. All we know is that there's an intruder in our house!" The lead hedgehog said.
"W-w-w-what if it's a monster?" A frightened short brown fur anthropomorphic hedgehog with peach-skinned, blue eyes with glasses asked.
"There's no way it could be a monster. Those things don't even exist." The green fur anthropomorphic hedgehog with peach skin and light blue eyes sighed.
"There's always a first time for everything, Manic. What if Nicky is right and it's just waiting in there to catch us and eat us for its dinner?!" A teal anthropomorphic hedgehog with peach skin and green eyes shuttered.
"C'mon, you guys, don't be scared. I say we go check it out and kick them out," the lead hedgehog said.
"Yeah, let's go," the light gray and pink hedgehogs agreed.
The others shrugged their shoulders and reluctantly agreed. They slowly approached their house and looked inside. When they got in and turned on the lights, they saw that their house was completely clean. The floor was swept, the table was scrubbed, the windows were washed, the trash was picked up, and there wasn't even a single thing out of place. The group's eyes widened in surprise as they all walked around the room.
"W-w-w-what happened to this place?" the light gray hedgehog asked.
"I don't know. It...it's so clean," the blue hedgehog said.
"Are you sure this is our house?" the green hedgehog asked.
"I think so," the blue hedgehog answered.
"It must be," the pink hedgehog with the bob haircut added.
"I'm not so sure," the teal hedgehog said.
"It doesn't look like our house," the brown hedgehog with glasses commented.
"Doesn't smell like our house, either," the fuchsia pink hedgehog added.
"Hey, guys!" the green hedgehog exclaimed as he pointed his finger at the staircase. "I hear something coming from upstairs. Come on!"
The group of seven made their way up the stairs in a single-file line until they made their way into the bedroom. Lying in three of the seven beds was Princess Hinata sleeping peacefully. They each let out a silent gasp as they walked toward her.
"Oh my gosh. Who is that?" the teal hedgehog whispered.
"I don't know," the pink hedgehog with the bob haircut answered.
"Where'd she come from?" the light-gray hedgehog asked.
"How'd she get here?" the blue hedgehog added.
"She's beautiful," the brown hedgehog commented.
"Maybe she's lost," the fuchsia-pink hedgehog added.
"Maybe we should let her sleep, guys. We'll find out more in the morning," the leader said.
The seven hedgehogs were good hosts so they let Princess Hinata have the three beds and they doubled up for the night. In the morning, they were all up and bright and early and Princess Hinata woke up to fine seven little ones looking at her with curious eyes.
"Good morning," the lead hedgehog greeted softly.
Princess Hinata abruptly sat up and gasped when she saw the little creatures before her. "Oh my goodness! You startled me!"
"It's okay," the brown hedgehog said.
"If you don't mind me asking, who are you?" Princess Hinata asked.
"We're the Seven Hedgehogs," the blue hedgehog said proudly. "My name's Sonic, the leader of the group."
"I'm Manic," the green hedgehog said.
"Silver. A pleasure to meet you," the light gray hedgehog said.
"I'm Sonia. Nice to meet you," the fuchsia-pink hedgehog said.
"Nicky! At your service!" the brown hedgehog with glasses introduced.
"My name's Amy," the pink hedgehog with the bob haircut said.
"And I'm Rob," the last hedgehog said.
"Well, it's nice to meet you all. My name is Princess Hinata Hyuga," Hinata introduced with a sweet smile. "It's nice to..."
"Princess Hinata?!" the seven hedgehogs suddenly exclaimed with surprise. Hinata nodded.
"We've heard about you! You're one of the nicest girls in the kingdom as well as the princess! What are you doing here?" Sonic asked.
Princess Hinata's expression dropped a bit. "I'm running away. My stepmother, the Queen, wants to get rid of me and I need a place to hide from her. I didn't mean to let myself into your cottage."
"Are you kidding me?" Manic proclaimed with a smile. "We're honored to have a real princess in our cottage. And if it's to get you away from that wicked queen, then you're welcome to stay as long as you'd like!" The other six nodded excitedly. Princess Hinata smiled and nodded in return.
Back at the castle that night, Queen Asami was staring into her magic mirror, admiring her beauty before asking it, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, now who is the fairest of them all?"
"My Queen Asami, you are very fair, 'tis true, but Princess Hinata is still much fairer than you," The mirror answered nervously.
Queen Asami's eyes widened in shock as she backed away from the mirror. "What?! But how can that be?! Princess Hinata is dead!"
"Isn't it obvious, Your Majesty? The Huntsman lied to you."
"But how could he?! He gave me a strand of dark blue hair for crying out loud!"
"Ugh, it's from a wig."
"But he said..."
"And you believed him?"
"Yes!"
"Well, I don't know what else to tell you, except that you've been tricked. Duped, fooled, played for a sucker. Nothing more."
The Queen screamed and threw a jewelry box against the wall in a rage. "That bastard of a huntsman had tricked me?! I'll have his head for this! Ooh, when I find him, he'll learn to never trick me again! I can't believe him! He said he was going to take care of it, but he's been pulled in by that brat's 'sweetness'! Well, I wasn't planning on getting my hands dirty, but if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself!" She turned back to the mirror.
"Where is she?" she asked, gritting her teeth.
The mirror sighed in remorse. "She's currently at a cottage in the Summer Forest with the Seven Hedgehogs."
"Well then, you're lucky I already have a plan." The Queen thought for a moment, then she smiled wickedly. For she had indeed the perfect plan.
The next day at the Seven Hedgehogs's cottage, the group of seven was about the leave for work, but not before telling Princess Hinata something important.
"Now listen, pardon our paranoia, but that ol' Queen Asami could be anywhere. People say she's a tricky and sneaky one," Sonic said to Hinata.
"Right! So don't let anybody in," Silver added.
"Nobody whatsoever," Amy said.
"No one knows you're here, but you have to promise you'll be careful," Manic assured her.
"Of course. I promise," Hinata said, nodding her head.
"Great. See you tonight, Hinata," Sonia said.
"You know where we'll be," Nicky added.
"Don't worry about me, everybody. I'll be fine," Princess Hinata said before waving goodbye to her little friends as they headed toward the mine for work.
The second the Seven Hedgehogs were gone, Queen Asami crept out from her hiding place in the tress. She always had a few tricks up her sleeve, and now she was going to take care of Princess Hinata once and for all. Inside the house, Princess Hinata was sweeping the floor when she heard a knock at the door. She then heard an unfamiliar voice say:
"Excuse me, could someone please open the door?"
"I'm sorry, but I'm not supposed to let anybody in," Princess Hinata whispered.
"It's alright, dear, I understand. But why don't you come to the window instead, hmmm?" The voice asked.
"A-alright," Princess Hinata replied as she walked towards the nearest window.
She opened the window and she saw a peddler she didn't recognize walking closer to her. The peddler seemed to be an old woman wearing ragged clothes and carrying a basket filled with different kinds of apples. What Princess Hinata didn't realize was that it was Queen Asami in disguise.
"Good morning, miss," the Queen said in a disguised voice.
"Hello," Princess Hinata said nervously.
"Can I interest you in some fresh, delicious apples today as a housewarming gift?"
"Oh! No, thank you."
"Are you sure, child? These apples are fresh from my farm."
"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but I'm not supposed to let anybody in."
"I understand. But you should at least try one of them. Why don't you just take a quick peek?"
The Queen set her basket of fruit down to let the princess look inside. Only one of them caught Princess Hinata's eye. It was a big, bright, and beautiful-looking apple that was sitting right smack in the middle. It looked ever so peculiar to her. One side of the apple was as white as snow while the other side was as red as rubies.
"Oh, I see you've seen my extra special treat." The Queen said before taking out the apple and showing it to the princess before her. "I found this one at my orchard this morning, and I thought it was only worthy of a beautiful young woman like yourself. Won't you like to try it?"
"It does look good, but no thank you," Princess Hinata said.
"It's alright. It's safe to eat. See?" the Queen said.
Queen Asami cut the apple in half with her knife and took a bite out of the white side. She swallowed the apple before she said, "Mmmmmm, delicious! Won't you like to try it?"
"Well...I don't know," Princess Hinata said hesitantly.
"Oh! Come now, child. It's perfectly harmless. Just one little bite. Pretty please?"
"Well...alright, if you insist. It does look good. Just one taste."
"Wonderful. Here you go. Take it. It's all yours."
"Thank you."
"Enjoy."
Princess Hinata took the red side of the apple in her hand, raised it to her lips, and hesitantly took a small bite. But as soon as the dark blue-haired princess tasted the apple, she fell to the floor and lost consciousness. For the apple the Queen had given Hinata was poisoned and it had no known antidote. The Queen ripped off her disguise and laughed at the catatonic princess at her feet.
"Now we'll see who's the fairest in the land," she said as she ran away from the cottage, laughing triumphantly.
When the Seven Hedgehogs came home later that day, they were shocked to find Princess Hinata lying on the floor. When they saw the red half of the apple next to her, they knew exactly what happened: Queen Asami had poisoned the princess! The Seven Hedgehogs were devastated. They thought Princess Hinata was dead but they couldn't stand to bury her because of her beauty.
Instead, they built a coffin out of glass and they laid her down in a small clearing in the forest under a willow tree, which they frequently visited. Time passed and the clearing Princess Hinata laid is never changed. It was always springtime.
One fateful day, about a year after Princess Hinata's supposed "death," a young handsome blonde prince just happened to pass by and he discovered the strange sight. He walked towards the clearing, looked inside the coffin, and saw the lifeless princess inside. The young man instantly fell in love with her.
'Hey. You alright, miss? Who are you? Are you asleep?' The stranger thought.
As the prince sat there gazing at the sleeping maiden, the Seven Hedgehogs arrived and they quickly discovered him. He looked, saw the group of seven tiny hedgehogs, and his eyes widened in surprise.
"Who are you?" Sonic asked, stepping forward.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki," The young man simply answered.
"Wait. Are you some kind of a prince?" Rob asked, stepping forward with Sonic.
"Yes."
"What are you doing here?" Silver asked.
"Nothing."
"You want to know who that girl is?" Sonia asked.
"Yes."
"That's Princess Hinata Hyuga," Amy said sadly.
"A princess?"
"Yeah, pretty awesome," Manic answered.
"She was the most beautiful and the kindest girl in the land," Nicky said sadly.
"Is she sleeping or...did something happen to her?" Prince Naruto asked.
Though it caused them great emotional pain to remember the tragic tale, the Seven Hedgehogs told the prince what happened to their dear friend. When their story was finished, Prince Naruto felt as if he had known Princess Hinata forever.
"I'm sorry," he said as he stood up and turned his head to look at Hinata again. "But if it's all the same, I'd like to give the princess a little kiss before I go. Just to say goodbye."
"I don't see why not. Guys? What do you think?" Nicky asked.
"Okay." The rest of the group said, nodding their heads.
The Seven Hedgehogs walked to the coffin and carefully removed the translucent lid to allow the prince to kiss their friend. He walked closer to Hinata's face. He looked at her longingly and softly touched her cheek with his hand.
'Oh Hinata, if only I could've met you sooner, none of this would've happened. Goodbye,' he thought.
Prince Naruto then leaned in and kissed Princess Hinata on the lips. After he pulled away, however, the piece of the poison apple was dislodged from Hinata's throat and she opened her eyes. Everybody gasped and looked at her as she sat up and rubbed her head.
"Hinata! You're back!!" The Seven Hedgehogs cried with joy.
"Ugh. What...what happened?" The confused princess asked. Then she saw the blonde male in front of her and she gasped. "Oh, my goodness. Who are you?"
"That's Prince Naruto, Hinata! He kissed you and broke the spell!" Sonia said, smiling.
"A spell?" Princess Hinata asked.
"Yeah! It was the Wicked Queen who poisoned you," Amy said.
"But we don't care about that now. We're just so glad you're back," Manic added.
"My princess. I've found you! Will you please come with me to my home so we can get married?" Prince Naruto asked, holding Hinata's hand in his own.
"But Prince Naruto, we just met and I hardly even know you as it is," Hinata said.
"Please say yes, Hinata!!" The Seven Hedgehogs chanted behind the prince, smiling excitedly.
"Well...I know it's a bit sudden, but...oh whatever! Of course, I'll marry you, Prince Naruto!"
The Prince was so happy that he took Princess Hinata in his embrace and they passionately shared a kiss while the Seven Hedgehogs excitedly cheered and jumped for joy. Later that day, Prince Naruto took Hinata back to his kingdom, where they were married that very afternoon. The Seven Hedgehogs were even the flower girls and the ring bearers at the ceremony. It was the biggest and grandest wedding in all the land.
Back at the castle, Queen Asami heard all about the royal wedding and was invited. But before she left, she asked her magic mirror:
"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"
"My Queen, you have been most fair, quite true, but the Prince's new bride is far fairer than you," The mirror answered smugly.
"What?! That can't be!!" The Queen screamed.
"Oh it can and it is. If you don't believe me, go to the wedding and find out for yourself," The mirror insisted.
"Alright, I will!"
At Prince Naruto's castle, the reception to the royal wedding had already begun and everybody was having a splendid time while watching the newlyweds dance in the middle of the ballroom. But then, Queen Asami arrived. And when she saw the new royal couple dancing together, she was shocked and enraged to see none other than Princess Hinata herself, alive and well.
She gasped. "Princess Hinata?! How can she be alive?! My spell has failed?!"
But as she was about to approach the dancing happy couple, two guards came out of nowhere and grabbed her.
"What?! Hey! What is the meaning of this?! Let go of me! What are you two doing?!" The Queen demanded.
"You're in big trouble, Your Majesty. Princess Hinata and her little friends told us everything that you've done. You're coming with us," One of the guards said.
"What?! No! Stop! Let me go! You're making a huge mistake!!" Queen Asami screamed.
Nobody knew what happened to the Queen after she was dragged out of the ballroom by the guards and no one cared. The important thing was that Hinata Hyuga was safe and her evil stepmother was long gone. Princess Hinata Hyuga and Prince Naruto Uzumaki were married, and Queen Asami could never bother them or anyone else ever again. And they all lived happily ever after.