Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She bangs her thick, golden bracelet against her night stand for what might be the millionth time. It remains both pristine and perfectly planted on her chubby wrist. The dent in the oak night stand gets ever so slightly bigger.

Amy Rose glares down at her wrist. It was a stupid wish and these clunky bracelets are stupid reminders. She doesn't know how her friends can so much as look at her. She has trouble meeting her own eyes when she brushes her teeth in the mirror.

Hasty thinking done by a child who didn't think out the consequences. Of course there weren't more Rings of Acorn. If there were more then Queen Alicia would've been cured immediately instead of everyone holding out for another way. And even if it wasn't used on Alicia, that power could've done so much more than what Amy wasted it on.

But no. Amy needed to hang out more with the big kids. With her then-crush. She wanted to be useful, sure, but in the end? She really just grabbed that ring because she felt left-out.

And everyone has been so nice about her mistake. Especially as the shock aged and Alicia recovered. "We really were mean to you," Sonic insisted. Were they? She proved herself too immature to be of any use when she stole the ring's power. When she held out her wrists for a willing handcuffing.

Tails assured her that it really wasn't fair for them to play favorites. To pick him over her. He apologized for not realizing sooner. Not helping her study or train. She felt pitied and suffocated.

She wanted to help. She's strong enough to help now. She's stronger than any robot or robian or anyone else. She can punch a man so hard he goes into orbit. But what is the point?

She restrains herself, arm inches away from the wood of her night stand. Amy has broken too many headboards, night stands, kitchen tables, and windows already. She bangs her wrist against the wall. There's no heart in it. She'll go out and bust her wrist against rocks, again. She'll come back sore, for the thousandth time. 

She steps into her slippers. Her feet drag across the floor as she heads for her bathroom. Her day starts with mundanity, but she knows that there's little chance it will stay that way for long. Someone is getting married in Knothole, some distant kingdom decided to send troops, Eggman roboticized his mustache to make the perfect weapon to end us mobians once and for all. Maybe something will finally strip Amy of her ill-gained powers. Maybe she'll finally do something that will make up for her mistake. Unlikely.

What she wants to know, most of all, is how Sally can still talk to her like a friend. Even back then, she forgave Amy so quickly. Why? Amy still remembers how much pain she saw in Sally's eyes when Amy announced, gleeful and oblivious, that she'd used the magical artifact. Amy feels a familiar ache in her hands. Like her bones are shaking. It shoots up to her wrists.

She shoots back a capful of mouthwash and swishes it around for just a little too long. Her eyes water due to the prolonged exposure to strong mint flavoring. She spits it out and doesn't bother to rinse the sink. 

Her quills are, probably, a mess. She doesn't check herself in the mirror. She knows what she looks like. Short, stout, sleepy. When she first underwent her transformation she was almost unnaturally slender. Like she'd literally been stretched up to her full height in a violent growth spurt. Over time she evened out. Got a body that matches her immense strength.

 She’s muscles hidden under a protective layer of chub. That is, the muscles are hidden until she puts on a gun show for someone's amusement. Usually Knuckles. He really thinks her thick arms are impressive. He's asked her to bench press the master emerald more than once. She might have done it before. On a good day. 

But today isn't a good day. She doesn't know if these muscles are hers or the ring's. She doesn't know how much of her strength comes from within and how much comes from her stolen goods. She doesn't know what she would've looked like at thirteen. 

Probably not that different than how she looked at twelve. Eyes wide and bright. Quills pulled back with a cutesy little bow. A band aid covering a scuffed knee or scratched arm. A little kid, not ready to fight robots or talk politics or save princesses.

She can save princesses now, as much good as it does her. In fact, she's frontline now. The heavy hitter. How many years of service will it take to pay off her debt, though? Does it take a sacrifice? Does she need to be scarred? Maimed? Dead? 

Is she the only one that still cares? 

In the end, there are a lot of magical items strewn about. And when those run out or get lost or get stolen by idiotic preteens, there's science. Scientists saved Alicia. The Acorns might not have ended up using the ring anyway. They didn't need it. But what Amy did still weighs heavy on her wrists.

Maybe the constant reminders have just gotten to her. The literal manifestation of golden bracelets that she can always see and always feel. That wake her up at night when she rolls over in her sleep and she touches the cold, curved surface to her flesh.

The knowledge that she's useful only by merit of her biggest mistake. She could have become strong in her own right, but now she's trapped by her magical enhancements. They will always be more useful than any other skills she could pick up. 

She shook it off before. Lived her teen years. Became a guard for house acorn. But... It's just hit her harder recently. Does regret come with age? Is stress or guilt the cause of her few prematurely white quills? Or maybe she's just aging faster because of the constant conflict in Knothole.

Chapter Text

Antione holds Amy Rose's arm up by the wrist for the newly initiated knights-in-training to see. His fingers rest delicately beneath her heavy gold bracelet, her hand flops limply as he uses her to gesture. "You zee, young ones, she ez a speci-al case. No? I need a volunteer to explain." Sally cringes as she watches from the back of the room.

She hates that he does this to Amy. She cannot get it through his head that Amy hates it. Every time he asks her Amy says it's fine. Sally knows for a fact that Amy doesn’t like it. But because Amy told him it’s okay Antoine dismisses Sally’s concerns. She could strangle him for being thick-headed sometimes.

A little skunk boy holds up his hand. "Miss Amy can't take those off," he says, though he sounds unsure of himself. Antoine nods, reassuring him. "Yes! Okay... So because she has an... Augment, she can't wear the full suit of armor other knights wear." 

Augment is a term that the Freedom Fighter forces came up with to avoid saying roboticized a long time ago. Antoine should know better than using one of their troops as a real-life example instead of just showing the diagrams. He should know that almost none of their “augmented” companions wanted big metal bits attached to them, replacing their limbs, or hanging from their wrists. He should especially know better because he’s dating Bunnie, roboticized rabbit extraordinaire. Sally can only assume he thinks that it’s fine to use Amy because she isn’t roboticized and just refuses to bother thinking past that. She wishes he would ask Shadow just one time, get chewed out, and see the error of his ways.

"Very good! Z'ese were gifted to Amy by zee Ring of Acorn," Antoine explains. Sally wishes he wouldn't bring it up, but is thankful that he phrases the story so generically. There are a lot of unflattering ways to say what happened. Amy stares dead-eyed at the far wall. "Zee augments make 'er quite powerful, phyzically. Zey also allow 'er to summon a weapon. Amy?"

Amy reaches into the air with her free hand. With a pop and a puff of smoke her piko-piko hammer appears in her hand. "Ta-da," she drones out, sounding more bored than upset. It’s a convincing facade put on for the students, but Sally knows better. The teens ooh and ahh, only a few of them sounding insincere. 

"Yes, fantastique!" Antoine finally drops her wrist. She lets it fall, her bracelet smacking into her thigh. Then she does demonstration swings in silence while Antione talks. "Like many of our troops, Mizz Amy's augments block 'er limbs. Because of zis, she can either wear what armor she can put on, or choose to forego it altogether."

"Then how would we know she was on our side, out on the field," a younger teen asks.

"Good question! Does anyone know zee answer? Anyone?"

Sally sighs and takes a few steps forward. The Freedom Fighters used to get gung-ho recruits pretty often, people who’d been studying the guides and practicing sword fighting with sticks since they were kids. Now it seems like most of their new sign-ups are just doing so out of some sense of obligation. "She would be stationed as a front-liner, away from the larger troops. Or she would wear traditional Acorn guard garb, which is cloth." The teens whisper amongst themselves, some surprised to see her, some just using the excitement as an excuse to chat. She’s pretty sure she catches someone complaining about their armored boots.

"Thank you Prinzess. Correct as always."

Amy stops swinging her hammer and holds it loosely, close to the ground. She stares at Sally, obviously confused. "Antoine, do you mind if I steal away your example?"

"Of course not! We were just about finished anyway," Antoine assures her. Amy drops her hammer, letting it poof back into non-existence (or at least that's what Sally thinks happens, she's honestly not sure). 

"Thank you, Antoine. Amy, come with me." She motions for Amy to follow her, then leads her out of the room and through the (frankly oppressive) dirt corridors of Knothole. Amy doesn't say anything. Doesn't ask why Sally summoned her. Sally fondly remembers a younger Amy as quite the chatterbox. And truthfully, sometimes she still is, if she's caught in the right mood. Sally has seen her talking Cream's ear off about about the difference between scarlet and crimson. Relentlessly scolding Sonic about proper armor maintenance. Riffing Knuckles about who has the better biceps. But... Amy hasn't really talked to Sally in years. Not like she used to.

At first she didn't notice, Sally is ashamed to admit. Amy withdrew quickly, without warning. But Sally had been too caught up in Knothole politics and the then current set of Mobius disasters to catch it. Sonic had to be the one to point it out to her, even though he usually has the emotional intelligence of a tree stump. She'd originally assumed that Amy was angry with her, but quickly learned the truth when she happened upon the remains of one of Amy's headboards. It was splintered to bits, but the few in-tact parts had tell-tale round indents. It wasn't that hard for Sally to piece things together.

But she and a few of Amy's other friends have come up with a plan. Amy won't talk about what's wrong, so they just have to give her the opportunity to make it right. Or, more accurately, to convince Amy that she's made it right. Sally isn't holding a grudge against her for something she did as a twelve-year-old . They didn't exactly keep Amy privy to all of the serious goings-on at the time, she couldn’t have known how special the Ring of Acorn was.

"Amy, I've got an important assignment for you."

"Of course, Princess. Where do you need me to go?"

The formality stings. She wants to insist that Amy call her by her name, not her title. She decides not to push it. "You won't need to go anywhere, for the time being." Sally turns to Amy and puts a hand on her shoulder. "I want you to be a member of my personal guard." Sally looks her in the eyes, trying to make it clear that she's welcome.

Amy stares back at her, a conflicted expression obvious on her face. "I'll... Do my best," she assures Sally, despite sounding unsure of herself. 

Sally pulls her hand away after letting it linger just a little too long. She'll chastise herself for that later. For now she's just happy that Amy actually agreed to the arrangement. Sally had been worried that Amy would give her some easy let down. Insist that she serves better on the front lines. Suggest another guard deserves the promotion. 

“Thank you, Amy. I need to be certain I’m well protected right now. It’s really going to take a weight off of my shoulders to have you on board.”

“Yeah... Is something happening I should know about?”

Sally takes a quick peek around to make sure they’re alone. She leans in close. “My mother is getting older. She wants to retire soon. I’m going to be taking the crown.”

Chapter Text

Sometimes, when she's annoyed, Princess Sally's left ear will give a slight little twitch. It's easy to miss. But still, it happens, and Amy notices. Amy takes one quiet, threatening step forward. Her eyes are locked with the turtle guard in front of her. Some king from a distant land (at this point, why bother remembering their names?) is trying to form an alliance with Acorn. But first he needs something from Sally (typical). 

"Princess Acorn, it's as simple as taking my son's hand. Surely it's time you let your brother take care of things here."

"I appreciate your offer, King Shell. But I'm afraid your information about Knothole is outdated. Ellias is indisposed elsewhere. He simply cannot take over the crown for the time being."

It's too bad she has to be pleasant. A kick in the pants would be good for these royal pains. Sally doesn't deserve to have to hear out endless proposals from faceless princes with a smile on her face. And those princes don't deserve to be shipped off to the first royal lady who decides to say yes

"But, Miss Acorn-"

" Princess Acorn has important duties here in Knothole, sir ," Amy interrupts, barely containing a sneer, "We would still be happy to form an alliance, just as long as your son keeps his hand to himself."

He turns his head to Amy taken aback by her forward statement. "This is between myself and Princess Acorn. Are your guards all trained so poorly?"

Amy grins at him. Sally leans on one hand, resting against the table in front of her. "Only some of them,” she responds with an annoyed sigh. “She is right , despite her lack of tact. I am, for now, de facto ruler of Knothole. It's simply impossible for me to be courted and wed at the moment. I apologize."

That has to be plain enough for him. Amy gives just a slight little chuckle, holding the rest in. Maybe she’s not gotten any chances to actually guard Sally, but she can at least break up the drudgery of these useless meetings. Even if Sally acts annoyed by the outbursts now, Amy knows it’s to save face. Later, once they’re alone in the throne room or the princess’s chambers, Sally will flop down and groan about the latest diplomat or monarch and thank Amy for the rescue. Amy doesn’t mind looking like a jerk in front of some stuffy turtle king so Sally can catch a break. It’s the least she can do after stealing the ring. After everything.

“Mi- Princess Acorn…” He furrows his brow for a moment, contemplating. “I suppose if your kingdom needs you here, I cannot ask you to leave it. And to call off our alliance for such a reason would be... Cruel.”

“Thank you for understanding. I’ll be happy to get you and your son in talks with other kingdoms, I know there are other princesses who aren’t so bound by their duties.” This seems to perk the king up. Amy rolls her eyes, but doesn’t protest. She knows from experience Sally will just put the royal heirs in contact so they can see if they’d actually like to marry. She had too many unfortunate experiences with her father trying to get her wed to do that to anyone else.

“Thank you Princess. I’ll have an emissary sent over soon. And you’ll send your usual?”

“Yes, we’ll have a holo-bay set up at your castle. I’ll update Nicole with the details.”

“That sounds lovely. I’ve heard many good things about your electrical friend.”

Amy starts tuning them out at this point.It’s just the nitty gritty details and the floofy doofy pleasantries at this point. Nothing she needs to pay any attention to. Blah, blah. Amy never really cared for political intrigue. Being a princess sounded cool to her as a kid, but for the usual wearing fancy dresses reasons. And even that eventually didn’t sound so fun (also it’s really hard to get a nice ruffled dress on over her giant metal perma-bracelets). 

Amy just keeps her eyes casually on Sally, watching her expressions to try to catch it if she does need to intervene. When the Princess asked her to take this job, to be her guard, Amy thought she was going to hate it. Being so close to Sally all the time. She figured she’d just end up focused even more on the guilt in her stomach but... 

Sally grins and reaches out a paw to shake hands with the Turtle King in front of her. Really, Amy has just been grateful to help. She keeps trying to figure out what to do to pay Sally back, but never being in a dire enough situation to make any of her plans come up. She can’t take a bullet or pull Sally out of a fire or hammer away an assassin. 

And the more Amy can’t do those grand gestures the more she thinks maybe she doesn’t need to. Amy still gets those familiar aches. Still wakes up sore and sad. But when she drags herself out of bed she has a job to do for Sally . And when Sally sees her coming in the room she smiles so, so warmly.

“Amy?” Amy blinks a few times. The turtles have left the room and Sally is gathering her few things. “You didn’t fall asleep on me, did you?” She laughs, “I can’t blame you, those meetings are dull.” Amy wipes her eyes to wake herself up.

“Yeah, sorry. I don’t know what half the stuff you’re talking about means. I was daydreaming about lunch.”

“I have to double check with Nicole after I have these meetings to make sure my arrangements made sense. It’s hard to keep track of some of the terminology.”

“You’re lying.”

Sally looks up from closing her bag, surprised. “Huh.”

“What?”

“No, it’s just. You’re right. I wonder why I said that.”

Amy shrugs and hefts up her hammer over her shoulder. She lets Sally take the lead out of the room. “I think… You’re still kind of used to people expecting you to know less. And find your prince,” Amy suggests. That’s true enough. The prince part still stands, but the expectation Sally doesn’t know what she’s doing has (mostly) faded as she’s aged and remained in power.

Sally makes her way towards her quarters. Amy knows from experience she’s just trying to get a moment to herself (well mostly, Amy will still be there) between meetings. “That’s a bad habit I’ve picked up, though. I’m going to be Queen someday. I shouldn’t downplay myself. Not about this kind of thing.” Sally pauses, “I’m glad you’re here to point these things out. I appreciate the honesty.”

It stings a little, in her wrists down to her fingers. But deeper down it feels nice.

Chapter Text

Sally Acorn sits in one of several offices in Knothole’s Great Oak. The air is fresh up here. She's used to the dirt tunnels below the city at this point, having holed herself up down there for weeks. It’s almost rejuvenating. It’s only almost . Partly, this is because of her upcoming (in maybe an hour?) speech to Knothole. Where she’ll finally make everything official and start the neverending string of Acorn family customs for ascending the throne. It will take forever, she knows. It will be a time when she is considered vulnerable, she knows. Eggman or Mammoth Mogul or someon e will try to attack during this time, she knows. But it must be done.

And besides that, Antoine called for an emergency meeting in the middle of her hair appointment with Bunnie (who, thankfully, is way too excited to play with Sally’s hair to pay attention to her boyfriend’s current woes). Bunnie fusses with the royal mane, trying to make Sally look fancy for her imminent announcement. Beyond the desk in front of them stand Antoine and Shadow, the former trying to retain as much dignity as he can with a black eye and disheveled uniform. Shadow’s arms are crossed as he pretends to ignore Antoine’s yelling.

“I ‘ad only asked ‘im for assistance, Prinzess! He attacked me for no reason!”

Sally struggles not to roll her eyes. She knew exactly what happened the second Antoine called a meeting with himself, Sally, and Shadow. Shadow found out that Antoine has been parading Amy’s augment around to his students. Shadow has always been protective of his friends and Amy is no exception. Sally was hoping that if Antoine asked him to replace Amy as an example for augment sensitivity training Shadow would just let him have it verbally . But clearly Antoine happened to be unlucky enough, or insensitive enough, to strike a nerve.

“Okay, Antoine. Tell me what you asked him, exactly .”

“I ‘wanted ‘im to assist me with training, much like Mizz Amy ‘ad so graciously done.”

Shadow shoots his eyes towards Antoine for a killer glare. It makes Sally shiver. 

“Shadow, do you have something you want to say?”

He huffs, holds his stance for a moment. Then, slowly, he lowers his arms from their crossed position and turns towards Sally. After taking a calming breath, he makes his case.

“Antoine asked me to show my inhibitor rings to his class. Which is a ridiculous request.”

“It eez not!”

“It is. But the real issue is that you made Amy act as your example. You know as well as any of us how she got her so-called augment . Don’t you ever think?”

Bunnie tilts her head in bemused agreement. Sally is thankful that, despite their relationship, Bunnie is clearly ready to let Antoine face retribution for this mistake. Well, the black eye is more than punishment enough. More that she’s avoiding defending him so he can learn from his mistakes. Sally knows from experience that Bunnie will comfort him once everyone has said their piece, so Sally doesn’t feel so bad about letting him have it right now. 

“Zat was a long time ago, Shadow. Amy eez fine with this. I ask her every time.”

Shadow snarls in response. Sally sighs. “Antoine. I’ve brought this up with you before. I don’t think you should use a living subject for augment training. That should be all diagrams. Even if it’s something like Shadow’s inhibitor rings, where he can take them off… People aren’t alway excited to show off those kinds of things.”

“Maybe not... But! He should not ‘ave hit me!”

“You’re such an annoying little man.”

“You see? He jus’ does not like me. It eez ridiculous.”

“Antoine, Shadow doesn’t dislike you. We’ve been fighting side by side for years. He’s upset about your augment training, clearly. About you asking him to be a subject for your class and the fact that you made Amy an example. Frankly, I’m upset at you for the same reasons.”

“But Prinzess…” Antoine starts to protest, then furrows his brow. “Yes, yes. I should think more on zis. But I do not appreciate zee punch!”

Sally gives Shadow a slightly pleading look, hoping he’ll get the message. Thankfully, he does. He groans, but reaches over and gives Antoine’s shoulder a single firm pat. “Perhaps I was... Hasty. To take violent action.” This seems to appease him, Antoine brightens up.

“Oh, it is no problem my dear friend. I see zat you are sorry. I will contemplate my own part in this. And I am sorry to ‘ave hurt you, or our dear friend Amy. If zat is zee case.”

Shadow bristles but doesn’t argue. Bunnie pins the last bit of Sally’s hair in place. She holds a hand mirror up for the princess. A small, tight bun sits on the back of her head and her crown is placed just before her carefully curled bangs. She doesn’t look as much like herself as normal, but Sally definitely looks like a princess. Or a queen.

“What do ya think Sal-gal?”

“It’s beautiful Bunnie. Thank you.”

Bunnie beams at Sally, then gives a gentle little laugh. “Aw, shucks. I’m just happy ya let me be yer royal hairdresser again. S’been awhile.” She packs up her supplies before taking Antoine by the hand.“Alright, Sugar ‘Twan. Let’s leave the Princess to finish gettin’ ready. I’m sure she’d like some quiet to read over her speech one last time.”

“Oh, yes Mon Amour. Zat is true. I do apologize for calling a meeting on such short notice! We will discuss things more later, non?”

With that, they leave the office, closing the door behind them. Sally does indeed reach into her desk and take out her speech notes, but Shadow interrupts before she can actually go over them. “Your guard is late,” he says, in a matter-of-fact tone. Sally has to work hard not to bite her lip and ruin her royal lipstick. 

Chapter Text

Amy stares out at the sunrise beyond her usual boulder filled hideaway. Around her is a practical quarry of fresh pebbles leftover from an early morning smashing spree. Her breaths are slow, steady, and heavy. She leans on her hammer with one arm and wipes sweat off of her forehead with the other.

Right now she should be brushing her teeth. She should be making sure there are no wrinkles in her uniform. There’s a lot she should be doing, but she absolutely needed to get this out of her system. She’d woken up several times in her fitful attempt at sleep last night. Finally, drenched in cold sweat, she gave up and got dressed and came out here.

She’d intended to do her usual stress and guilt relieving activity, smashing granite with her bracelets. But she ended up summoning her hammer and just wreaking havoc on the area instead. After her screaming and smashing spree there’s barely any intact boulders in the area. Amy sits down on the ground and lets out a tired sigh. Her piko hammer disappears with a pop and a puff of smoke as she flops onto her back. 

Sally is announcing to Knothole that she’s taking over as queen. Queen . That should be a good thing. A great thing. A wonderful thing. She gets to announce it at a peaceful time. She gets to take over and let her mother retire the throne. Alicia is old enough and healthy enough that she outlived her husband, ruled for years, and is now retiring. Sally, who has trained and worked and struggled for this day is finally getting to ascend to the crown.

But it makes Amy feel empty. She closes her eyes. Why can’t she be happy about this? Maybe something is wrong with her. Maybe she needs to see Dr. Quack. Maybe… She’s just so used to feeling bad about Sally she doesn’t know what to do with herself now.

There’s nothing to feel bad about anymore. Amy messed up big time years ago. And it meant nothing . Maybe that’s what the problem is. The dawning realization that it didn’t matter. That she smashed her wrists and suffered under the weight of her guilt for no reason. She feels like there should be something, anything.

She groans and closes her eyes. Despite her messed up feelings she has duties to attend to. Amy decides to rest there for just a moment before getting up and getting her quills in gear. Unfortunately when she next opens her eyes she finds that the sun is high in the sky. Her stomach turns over itself as she realizes she fell asleep laying there. “No, no, no no.” She scrambles to get up, scratching her knees on rocks in the process. Amy ignores the cuts and starts running towards her house.

Why did she have to pick today to freak out and be late? She bursts through her own front door and does the bare minimum to get ready for the day. Splashes water on her face, coats her body in a light floral perfume, shoves herself into her uniform. Sally had it made special for her, with hidden zippers on the arms to allow her form fitting sleeves. It makes her look official and makes her feel something . But she doesn’t have time to sort out just what that feeling is right now as she gags on mouthwash instead of brushing her teeth.

She spits it out outside as she dashes as fast as she can towards the Great Oak. Well, as fast as she can without ruining her uniform. If she’s right about the time, which she’s too terrified to actually check on, it should be okay. She should be abysmally late for her shift but not too late to be there for Sally when she makes the announcement. To make sure nothing bad happens. To keep Sally safe.

The expected crowd of Knothole citizens is milling about around the base of the tree.  She relaxes when she sees that Sally isn’t up on the balcony yet; then groans when she realizes she has to push her way past the crowd to get inside. Unless… She takes a few steps back and scans the crowd, trying to spot her target.

Off to one side, away from the bulk of the crowd, Sonic and Tails are chatting. Neither of them are official guards, but it’s clear they’re keeping an eye out on Sally’s behalf anyway. Amy cuts around the bulk of the crowd and heads in their direction. “Tails! I need to go up! Now,” Amy demands. Almost like a reflex, Tails grabs her arms and lifts her off the ground. It’s only once they’re in the air that he processes what’s happening.

“Wait- Amy… Where are we going? Is something happening?”

“No I…”

“Did you spot Eggman or-”

“Tails! I’m just late, can you bring me up to the balcony? I’m supposed to be with the royal guard for the announcement.”

He takes a beat, then with a smile and a well-meaning laugh he starts flying her over the crowd. “Okay, but just this once. If you’re late to work again you’re on your own.” Amy sighs in relief.

“Thanks Tails.”

As soon as he sets her down she tries to head inside, but he stops her. “Wait, just a second. Let me…” He reaches over and adjusts her epaulets, which she’d just slammed on in her rush. “There you go. And… Amy? I heard Sally was looking for you. I know that’s where you’re headed anyway but...”

“But thanks for telling me anyway. I’m already mentally preparing for Antoine to chew me out later.”

Tails gives her a nod. There’s a flash of pity on his face before he waves and heads back towards Sonic. She hates that look. She gets it way too much. But that’s not important right now. She needs to hurry up and get in there.

Amy checks over the rest of her uniform as she sneaks into The Great Oak through a side door. She managed to get pretty much everything in order, despite it all. As she power-walks into the main chamber she finishes zipping up the left arm sleeve of her coat. “Amy!” She flinches as Sally calls her name. She looks up in surprise to see she’s running towards her, arms outstretched.

Sally pulls her into a tight hug that pins Amy’s arms to her sides. “Amy, thank Neo. I was worried.” Amy takes it in for a second, staring blankly beyond Sally’s shoulder to the guards that are already there. 

Amy swallows a lump in her throat. With a little struggle, she returns the embrace. “Yeah, I… I just overslept. I’m your royal guard. I couldn’t miss this.”

Chapter Text

“Darling. We should move along with the event.”

Sally pulls herself out of the hug with Amy and gives her formal dress a final adjusting. “Yes, right. Thank you for reminding me, Mother.” She gives a final nervous smile to her guards before turning to the imposing balcony doors. At a nod from Sally, two guards push the doors open outward. Sally steps out into the late-afternoon sunlight.

Alicia walks a step behind and beside her, ever graceful even as she balances on the cane she’s needed for the last few years. Sally breathes in to steady herself. “Citizens of Acorn! I’m thankful for your presence today. Queen Alicia and I have a wonderful announcement.” Sally feels herself switch into auto-pilot.

She’s gone over her speech so many times that she doesn’t need to pay attention to recite it. Right now, she’s eyeing the crowd for any rabble-rousers, interlopers, or obvious eggbots. Things are thankfully peaceful, for now. Out of her peripheral vision, occasionally, she also steals a glimpse at Amy.

Sally doesn’t know what made her late. Amy has been on time or early every day for the two months she’s been working as Sally’s personal bodyguard. No matter how boring the day’s assignment. It could be the pressure, maybe. This is the first day on this assignment that something could go very wrong. Sally is in a very public place, out in the open. She’s mostly been holing herself up underground to prepare for this day.

She doesn’t think that’s quite it, however. Amy should be used to frontline work. And Sally has seen how she gets in battle. If anything, the possibility of actual danger should have enticed her. It’s something else. There’s something going else on and Sally has missed it again . She can’t stand the thought of letting Amy down. Not after all this time.

Despite her worries, Sally pulls herself back into focus. “And for these reasons, my Mother will be stepping down from the throne. From here until further notice I will be taking on the responsibility of House Acorn. It is my joy and my responsibility to serve you.” There’s a whispering amongst the crowd but enough clapping to drown the biggest part of it out. Sally spots a few Mobians that are too busy waiting in line to buy concessions to really care what’s happening… Including Sonic trying to get the attention of a cheering chili-dog salesman. She barely keeps herself from rolling her eyes at the sight.

“I will be working alongside The Counsel just as my mother before me. And, for the next several days, The Counsel will be the sole leading body in Acorn. Queen Alicia and I will be taking this time to perform the traditional ceremonies required to pass down the crown. I thank you for your patience and understanding.”

With this, Sally gives a formal bow to the crowd. She takes a few steps back, switching places with her mother. Queen Alicia offers a similar, but both more feminine and slightly stilted bow. Once Alicia turns around to retreat back into the tree Amy comes over and takes her by the crook of the arm, assisting her as she goes. Sally finds herself smiling as she follows after them, despite her nerves starting to push down on her. The door closes behind them and Sally listens in just long enough to assure that The Counsel has started taking questions without any issue.

“We should move along, Princess,” Shadow notes, resting cross-armed against a far wall. “The faster we complete your ceremonies the faster you’ll be on the throne.” Amy gives him a glare.

“We’re not in a rush,” she chides, “I don’t want to make Queen Alicia walk further than she needs to…”

Alicia takes it on the chin. “I appreciate the sentiment Amy, but I’m only old . I’m not going to fall apart. And I can still make these decisions myself. It would be safer for the people if we move things along.”

Sally sighs and walks up to her mother. “Even so, Mother. Given how long a trek it is, perhaps we should make arrangements?”

“Yes, yes. You haven’t hidden it well from me. Go ahead.”

Sally places a hand over her Mother’s. “I appreciate you doing this, Mother. I know you’re not a fan of it.” At this one of her guards exits the room momentarily, coming back with a wheelchair. Alicia, with only the slightest frown, sits herself down in it, her cane resting on her lap. Shadow comes over and takes the handles, still eager to get going.

“We can leave, then?”

Sally gives him a nod. He lets a few other guards take the lead, ensuring Alicia won’t be pushed out in front of them all. Sally walks behind him with Amy in stride beside her. They start through a large staircase, unfortunately. It’s almost humorous as Shadow simply lifts the chair, Alicia and all, to get down. Once the last of their little caravan starts down the stairs the door is closed behind them, cutting off the guard members she’s elected to leave behind.

Sally made a point of not enlisting male guards for this particular mission. Well, outside of Shadow who volunteered himself, wouldn’t take no for an answer, and finally agreed to stand watch further away from the others. However, with the strange intimacy of her family’s traditions… Well, as school-girl silly as it may be in this situation, she’d like to avoid any of the men seeing her acting out these particular ceremonies.

Most of them are just embarrassingly gendered. Curtseys and tiaras and singing for female rulers. Which she doesn’t mind doing, but she also doesn’t like the idea of them ruining her tomboyish persona. The final ceremony, however, is actually quite personal. Thankfully, outside of a single witness, it’s restricted to Acorn eyes only. Which Sally is grateful for. And while she’s not officially named which guard it will be she’s already made the decision. Amy is going to join her in the Source room. That may be what Sally is the most nervous about, even more than officially taking the throne.

She’s been involved in Monarchy politics since she was a young teen. This is just an obvious next step for her, making official what was already practically true. Allowing Amy to participate in such a particularly intimate ceremony… She hopes it will help mend that gap that had formed between them. She wants it to drive home that Amy has been fully, completely forgiven.

Chapter Text

Amy regrets her morning rock smashing escapade about half a mile into her royal trek through the secret dirt tunnels beyond Knothole’s normal dirt tunnels. Well, regrets it more than she already did. She hated running late to Sally’s speech. Hated worrying Sally, letting her down. But now her sore shoulders and aching legs and the crick in her neck from falling asleep on the ground are punishing her. She doesn’t complain, though.

The walk is calm, at least. It’s quiet, if tense. Sally had to voice activate a Nicole-based lock about ten minutes in and they’ve just been going in silence ever since. It’s clear from the cobwebs (that one particularly cleanly vixen-guard keeps swiping at with her spear) that these tunnels are basically unused. From what Amy gathered a scout was sent in a few days ago just to check on the place, make sure it wasn’t broken into or dangerously run down (and to drop off some ceremonial necessities so they wouldn’t have to be carried in later). But they probably didn’t care about how clean it was.

And, even though she didn’t bother asking, Amy knows it was probably Sonic. Who she has seen with the same chili stain on his jacket for a week. Amy holds in a sigh so as not to break the silence. She likes loosening the tension at Sally’s endless royal-nonsense meetings. But those are different. This feels… Heavier.

Amy has gathered some of the odds and ends of Sally’s secretive traditions as plans were made. Amy guarding the door while Sally and Nicole discussed who would be in charge of what in her stead, even though this is only supposed to take a few days tops. Sally is always trying to be ready for the worst, anymore.

The ceremony for queens is different from the one for kings, and apparently hasn’t been updated in a long while. Not used as often, or whatever. She’s gotta get everyone in a big room, dress up in some old garb, light some candles, blah blah. It’s a bunch of nonsense and Amy doesn’t really understand the point of going through with it. Maxwell isn’t around anymore to complain about backwards tradition, as callous a way to think about it as that is.

And she doesn’t know what it’s for, but she’s certain there’s a special guest or helper or whatever just like with the king’s ceremony. When they did this for Elias (as long as that lasted) he had brought Antoine along. And for once Antoine was quiet about something. Amy hasn’t heard a peep out of him about whatever went on since it happened. And the problem is, Amy is pretty sure that’s what Sally is bringing Amy along for.

She carefully steals a glance over at Sally. Sally has a stern, determined expression as she walks on. Staring forward, walking forward, moving forward. Amy looks down at the ground in front of her. It should be someone else. It should be Nicole or Bunnie. Someone who has grown and can understand the weight of this ceremony. Despite everything, Amy is still just a stupid kid. She can’t move on from her own mistakes, she can’t just grow up. She doesn’t have it in her.

So there’s absolutely no reason for Sally to pick her. She’s only been Sally’s royal bodyguard for like, a month. There’s other people the Princess has been much closer too for years and years. It feels like Sally is just doing this out of pity. To make sure Amy feels forgiven, or useful, or to give her a chance to make up for her big stupid mistake. Sally shouldn’t be bothering, not with her, not when there’s something so official and important happening.

“We’re almost there,” Shadow says simply, breaking the silence. Amy feels the air relax around her, but her body stays rigid. Everyone seems calmed by the idea that they’ve just about made it, that they haven’t been interrupted. Amy swallows down a lump in her throat. She doesn’t know if she can stand it. Her instincts are telling her to turn around and run, but she forces herself to keep stepping forward instead. 

“Amy, I’d intended to ask you earlier.” Sally looks over at Amy as she walks. Her face is hard to read. Nervous, almost. Amy bites the inside of her cheek. She keeps just her eyes turned in Sally’s direction. “For the second stage of the ceremony I’ll need a witness outside of House Acorn. I’d like you to join me.” There it is. And if Amy hadn’t been an idiot this morning she could just plainly say no, because Sally would have time to pull someone else. But now…

“Of course.”

Chapter Text

It's ridiculous, the whole ceremony. Sally steadies her mother's hands as they light candle after candle together. Making the chamber a ceremonial fire hazard, as is Acorn tradition. Maybe they should have brought the instruction books along with them and balanced a candle on each one. One 'accidental' hip-check to a candelabra could save future generations a lot of trouble.

Sally forces herself not to glance over at Amy, who is mixed in somewhere with the other guards, definitely watching her. She's been second guessing her decision to ask Amy to help here. But Bunnie thought it was a good idea, Tails agreed to it. Everyone knew they had to do something about Amy.

This is all too obvious, that's the problem. No matter what Sally says or how thoroughly they've rekindled their friendship or how long she keeps Amy on as royal guard; Amy will think this is out of pity. And maybe it originally was and still kind of is, but at this point Sally wouldn't want anyone else in her with her anyway. It has to be Amy, she can't picture anyone else escorting her to the inner sanctum. Reaching out and helping Sally back out of the golden pool. Laughing when she spots some glowing stain on her outfit.

Alicia smiles as the final candle is lit. The room is almost distractingly bright now. Sally steps up to a pedestal in the middle, carefully dodging the flicker of candles on the way up. She looks down and her eyes inadvertently meet Amy's. Amy looks up at her like she's… A princess. That mild, reverent awe Sally is used to spotting in young children.

She feels her cheeks redden and she quickly averts her eyes, staring at the flicker of shadows on the wall behind Amy's head. This isn't the time to get nervous or embarrassed. Sally forces her mouth open and makes herself sing the ceremonial song. A wordless ballad that she hopes sounds natural.

Her mother comes behind her and drapes a delicate cape over her shoulders as she joins in on the song. Sally turns towards her, away from the guards. Alicia lifts an ornate circlet off of her own head and holds it out towards Sally. Sally stops singing to bow low enough that her mother can place the circlet on her head.

She rises back up slowly and turns towards the guards once more. Her eyes meet Amy's again. There's a sudden gust of wind that flutters her dress and blows out all but a row of candles that light the way to the next chamber. Sally walks to the end of her pedestal and Amy wordlessly comes to meet her. This was not written about in the instructional tomes.

Amy picks Sally up by the waist and Sally steadies herself by holding onto Amy's arms. They stare at each others' faces for far too long before turning and walking towards the next chamber. Sally knows Alicia must be walking behind them in the same direction but she doesn't hear her footsteps. Her mind is occupied. 

The door is closed behind them by another of the guards, sealing them in with the source until the ceremony is completed. The room glows a warm, familial gold. Much more welcoming than their candlelit approximation. In the center of the room is the shimmering source pool. The tiles around the lip are smooth carved quartz and carry on out of the pool along a small path to a dark wood lectern. 

Alicia walks along the source around to the lectern and up a few stone steps to stand behind it. She looks down at them, regal as she's ever been. Sally meets her mother's gaze, feeling suddenly quite unsure if she should be here.

Amy takes Sally's hand and gives her a small but reassuring smile. "Alright, Princess. It's time." Sally stares at her for just a moment, then nods. She pulls her hand away and takes off her flowy, fancy outfit.

Once she's stripped down to just a simple slip she takes a deep, calming breath. She reaches out for Amy's hand again, even though she should be stepping down alone. Amy obliges. Alicia doesn't comment, doesn't interrupt to insist on tradition. She starts reading from the tome on the lectern.

Amy leads Sally to the pool and then stops *just* short of the edge. She keeps hold of Sally's hand as long as she physically can. Their fingers linger together when they can't keep the grip anymore. Then, finally, Sally dips down far enough into the pool that all she can do is look back at Amy's face for comfort.

She takes a breath and sinks the rest of the way in.

Chapter Text

Amy can imagine what Sally is thinking. This is too showy. It's a fire hazard. It's a backwards tradition. And the problem is that even though she's totally right, none of that matters. It doesn't matter because seeing Sally bathed in the overpowering, ethereal, flickering light of a hundred candles is wonderful. 

Amy just stares at her as she goes about the ceremony, unable to peel her eyes away for even a moment. She’s almost mesmerized as a warm energy pulses in her wrists. It’s the opposite of that old, throbbing ache she got from trying to bust the bracelets off. It spreads through her whole body when Sally's eyes meet her own. It's almost how she felt when she first used the Ring of Acorn. Except then it was only a wave washing over her and now it feels deeper, all-encompassing.

Sally opens her mouth to sing and the sound is ominous and angelic and sends a shiver through Amy's body. The rest of the room is melting away in the candlelight. It feels like butterflies in the best way. She breathes in and her lungs are filled with the glow of the moment. She doesn’t want it to end.

Sally stands and faces Amy, really faces her, once Alicia has put the circlet on Sally's head. Their eyes meet and there's a sudden rush of wind and Amy realizes she's stepping forward to meet Sally at the edge of the platform. It's predestined, she knows it as surely as she knows her quills are pink. It feels like no one but Amy could be where she stands right now. Like she's really, truly special. Like there's nothing weighing her down. She hefts Sally up by the waist. Sally grips her arms for stability. It's wordless. Amy reluctantly sets her on her feet and stays close to her as they and Alicia walk to the next chamber. 

The brightness of the room is both all-encompassing and subdued, somehow. It touches every inch of the space but doesn't feel overly bright at any one place. There's a big, regal book on a big, regal lectern that Queen Alicia is already standing behind. She's composed as usual. Amy follows her gaze over to Sally.

Sally is staring back at her mother. She looks confident as ever but Amy feels the tension forming in the air around them. She grabs Sally's hand and gives it a careful, measured squeeze. "Alright, Princess. It's time," Amy offers. Sally relaxes, she can sense it. After a nod the Princess lets go and removes all the flowy, extra bits of her ceremonial outfit. She’s left in a simple shift of a dress. She turns to walk towards the Source.

Then she reaches out to take Amy's hand again. Amy doesn't know every detail of this ceremony, but she knows that Sally is supposed to walk into the pool alone. That Amy should just be witnessing and not participating. That walking her in is forbidden in the text. She expects Alicia to pipe up, at least to give a fake cough to let Sally know that this isn’t how things are done. But she doesn’t.

Amy takes Sally’s hand. Alicia starts reading from the tome, but Amy can't make herself focus on the words. Sally steps into the pool. She keeps going further, further back. Amy leans over, strains to keep their fingers together until the last moment. Sally stares up at her from the water. Trusting, caring, warm. The Princess slips beneath the surface of the shimmering gold pool. At that moment Amy is suddenly certain that she's in love. That she's been in love for a while and hadn't noticed it.

When Sally steps back up out of the water she's dripping with the ethereal golden glow of the Source. Amy could almost cry, looking at her. It's not fair, her walking out of the water like that. Vulnerable and soaked to the bone. Dignified and exuding power. Beautiful and just out of reach.The magic that emanates from the pool and the princess alike is starting to make Amy feel woozy.

Amy pulls herself together and walks to a table at the side of the room. She takes up the towels left here ahead of time, they’re luxuriously soft and pure white. She dutifully holds them out to Sally, who gives her a grateful nod when she takes one. Sally gets changed off to the side before they exit the inner chamber. There's still a slight golden sheen to her, a few droplets of shimmering Source sprinkled through her fur. The other guards greet her and Alicia excitedly. Amy lets herself lag behind, taking up the rear as they start the trek back to Knothole. She keeps an eye on Sally, but gives her space to lead their procession like the queen she is.

Shadow produces a wrist communicator for Sally before he gets back to Alicia in her wheelchair. Overprotective as ever. The usual blue, glowing hologram of Nicole shines out of the communicator. Amy can only vaguely pay attention to the updates Nicole lists out. She gets the jist of it. A few badniks showed up to one of their posts, but they're already taken care of.

It's habit that makes Amy peer down at her wrists. She cringes, then just turns her gaze to the ground. Amy processes how hopeless she is. The feeling in the air, the mystical pull to Sally's side. It was real in the moment, but now that the moment is over those are clearly embellishments. A way to convince herself that her previously buried affection for Sally could be reciprocated. It stings, but she keeps herself from faltering into a frown. This is still an important ceremony. She is still here to support her friend. Her queen.

Even if Sally only brought her here and played along out of pity. In the hope that Amy would feel better about how stupid she was and move on and stop dragging everyone down with her sour moods. It hurts, but she has her duties and she plans to fulfill them. The further her thoughts spiral downward the closer she gets to just openly crying. But she doesn't. She keeps a dignified expression and clenches her fists to keep calm.

Chapter Text

Sally sits on the edge of her bed, hands on her knees, staring hard at the floor. She's trying and failing to pay attention while Nicole reads off notes on the construction status of a training facility on the Hive. She can't focus, though. It's too much to think about. Everything is too much.

It's not that the transition from Princess to Queen was particularly difficult. Sally was de-facto ruler anyway. She's only taken up the title more officially. Sure, there's a few meetings and correspondence that her mother had been taking care of, but nothing too difficult.

Some of the trouble is that she's felt strange since the ceremony. The magic of the Source is now a part of Sally. An innate sense for danger, an aura felt around artifacts, the way she knows the mood of the land around her. Her mother warned her about these changes. She said that after some time Sally would become so accustomed to the sensations they would feel as natural as breathing. And, of course, what Sally is experiencing now is just a sliver of what her forebears felt when the crown and sword of Acorn were still intact. She's at least having an easier time getting used to it than Elias or her Father had, those factors considered.

What is really causing her distraction is the loneliness she's felt since the ceremony. She'd never felt closer to anyone, for those sparse moments. The way Amy lifted her, held her hand, looked in her eyes. The clear connection. Then Amy closed herself off again. It's Sally's fault for asking her to be the witness. For springing that on her. It was too much, even if it made the ceremony bearable. No, not just bearable. Enjoyable. Magical. But far, far too obvious of an attempt to help Amy assuage her guilt. And perhaps a bit dangerous, with Amy's magical augmentations so close to the Source. But there was no one else she could picture herself there with.

Sally flinches, startled, when Nicole's projected hand comes to rest on her shoulder. "Apologies, Queen Sally," Nicole offers as her corporeal form continues to load into being. She takes a seat next to Sally on the bed, keeping a comforting hand on her. "You are distracted. Perhaps you should take the morning off? I can attend your early meeting in your stead."

Sally shakes her head before turning it slightly to give Nicole what she hopes is a convincing smile. "I can shake it off. Just drowsy still." Nicole doesn't smile back, meeting Sally's gaze with a concerned frown instead. "I mean it, I'm fine. You were mentioning Queen Bee?"

"I was, but it can wait." Nicole turns her eyes to the door. She looks to be thinking hard about something. "Amy is late again."

"She just started up the East stairwell, she'll be in soon." Sally states it confidently. Nicole tilts her head slightly, processing the information. She lifts up her free hand and another projection lifts from her palm. A green screen with lighter green notes 'typed' on it. Sally furrows her brow at it.

"I've been logging incidents such as this," Nicole explains as words form themselves on the screen. "I initially wanted more data before I made mention of it, but…" She flicks her wrist and the screen slides to hover in front of Sally before enlarging itself.

It's a series of incident logs. The first one listed is a few hours after her confirmation ceremony. 'Amy Rose is seen to bump into a guard on her return home. Concurrently, Sally Acorn apologizes while alone in her bedroom and moves as if to let someone by.' Sally frowns down at the screen.

"That is a weird coincidence, but I don't understand why you're showing me this."

"Don't you? I'm certain that you've taken notice. Just now, when you told me where Amy is; how did you know?"

"I… Just guessed."

"But you didn't guess. When I asked you answered immediately. There was no hesitation. " Nicole makes a circle and then a swiping motion with her index finger. The screen splits in two, one side cutting to a camera feed of Amy catching her breath at the top of the stairs. "And she was exactly where you said she was." 

Sally watches the feed in disbelief for a few moments, then scrolls through more of Nicole's log notes. 'Sally Acorn bumps her knee against a table in the kitchen. After a momentary delay, Amy Rose grimaces and rubs her own knee two rooms away.' Everything listed would mean nothing on its own, but reading them back-to-back makes everything seem obvious. 'Sally Acorn notes the smell of chocolate and vanilla in the library just as Amy Rose takes a sip of cocoa outside of the bakery.' The logs make the unbelievable suddenly true. They force Sally to confront a strange feeling she's had since her dip in the Source and a thought she's pushed deep down into the back of her head.

"That's all weird ," Sally hesitantly admits. "There must be some magical residual effect from the ceremony. It's not unexpected for something like this to happen, right? Amy was my witness, the whole Source room is filled with magical energy. I'm sure it's temporary, something that happens to every witness. We could ask Antoine."

"I am not so certain that this is a typical phenomenon, Sally. I have devoted some of my spare processing power to research on the subject, and… Well, look." The camera feed and the log screen both cut to a few scans from the Acorn royal library. The Source, Acorn artifacts, Rings of Acorn.  "I understand that this is a touchy subject, but you should consider the possibility that her bracelets are still magically attuned to the Source. We should consult with Amy and-"

"No!" Sally's eyes widen at her own outburst. She clears her throat and uses two fingers to pinch-zoom in on one of the documents. "Sorry. I just don't think we should tell her, not yet. I know how this will look to her." She sighs and flicks the page up to keep reading. "She can't think she's messed things up again. I don't want to risk hurting her until we're absolutely sure." Nicole closes her eyes and breathes in, slow. 

"You can't hold off on this any longer, Sally. You need to talk to Amy about this."

Sally stares over at her. Processing. "You… Knew that I'd already figured this out, didn't you?" Nicole nods. Sally lets out a stressed laugh. She wonders if Amy can sense how nervous she is, from down the hall. How guilty she feels, having invited Amy into the Source room without considering the consequences.

"I knew this is what had been a distraction to you. I was attempting to give you space." Nicole taps the screen and it dissipates into nothing. "But you need to resolve this. For your sake as well as for Amy's."

Sally turns her eyes to the door. Amy knocks before letting herself in. "I'm sorry, I know I've been running late a lot recently, I just…" The door clicks shut. Amy pauses at the sight of the two of them on the bed. Her expression shifts from a nervous smile to confused concern. "Did something happen? Is everyone okay?"

Nicole looks at Sally, letting the Queen have the final say in if they let Amy know. It makes Sally's stomach churn. "No one's in trouble, but…" Sally sighs, then pats the bed next to her. "Come sit with us."

Chapter Text

Amy takes a seat next to Queen Sally. The air is tense. After a nod from Sally, Nicole spreads a screen out in front of them. Notes on the Source, a log of strange coincidences, a scan from a book on the Ring of Acorn. An ache spreads out from Amy's wrists to her hands. She doesn't have to read much to know what they're getting at, she already knew something was up.

It started when Sally and Alicia finished lighting the candles for the ceremony. More than she could just from knowing her, Amy knew how Sally was feeling at any given moment. When Sally tripped a room over Amy felt it happen and was over fast enough to grab her by the back of her vest before she hit the ground. When Amy gets home after work and sinks into her bathtub she smells Sally's nutty, woody shampoo instead of her own strawberry bubble bath. She’s been closing her eyes and pretending the queen was there with her.

But Amy assumed it was a one-way street. She was thinking of herself as a bound servant, a knight magically sworn to duty and unable to stray. She was really starting to enjoy the thought of it. It would give her a chance to be a better guard, assuming she could stop herself from staying awake too late turning her frustration into gravel. Or staring up at the ceiling, trying to sense if Sally was in danger, or in a good mood, or… Thinking about her as much as she was thinking about Sally. The idea that Sally could sense any of that makes Amy feel vulnerable.

Amy fingers through a few of the tabs on Nicole’s screen, scanning for anything of extra importance. Crossing her fingers that none of the logs relay something embarrassing. Nothing pops out to her, thankfully. But if this keeps up Sally might find her out. "I thought it was just me," she sighs, "But if it's affecting you, too, we should try to put a stop to it." Nicole frowns at her, then looks to Sally.

Sally stares Amy down, her face stern but her eyes betraying how much pity she feels for Amy. Amy clenches her fists. She can't stand it. Sally takes a deep breath before she speaks. "You knew and you didn't talk to me about it," she asks, sounding disappointed. Amy bristles, her quills standing on end.

Nicole puts a hand on Sally's shoulder. "Respectfully, Sally, you were acting much the same way." Sally shoots her a look. "You were both keeping it to yourselves. What's important now is that you both know and can work on this together."

"That's different and you know it is."

"Sally, that's not-" Nicole attempts to mediate.

"No, I wanna know what's different," Amy interrupts. They both look at her, clearly surprised by the question. She wouldn't normally be so assertive, not about this kind of thing. Between her coming to terms with the pending loss of this connection, her usual frustration with her augment situation, her stupid crush on Sally, and the mortifying thought that Sally might know because their connection was two way the whole time, Amy isn't doing well keeping herself in check. She knows there are tears welling up in her eyes. She bites her lip to try to hold them back. “Why did you keep quiet about this?”

"Amy," Nicole starts, before just turning to look away.

Sally holds Amy's gaze. "I… Was hiding it because I was afraid of this, of upsetting you." Sally tries to offer a comforting pat on Amy's shoulder, but Amy flinches away. The flash of hurt she feels through their connection makes Amy immediately regret the rebuff. "I know you were keeping it to yourself because you're still trying to make it up to me," she says, motioning to one of Amy's wrists.

Amy pulls her hands up onto her lap and turns them over, looking at her bracelets. "It's not like that,” she starts. She knows her tone is defensive. “I didn’t want you to try to fix it.”

“Right, but because you’re treating it like a punishment or a repayment or-” Sally cuts herself off and grimaces. She rubs one of her own wrists as pain pulses in Amy’s.

“This isn’t a punishment . I just…”

“Just?”

“I… I like it. I feel like I’m your knight.”

“Then why are you pulling away from me again?” Sally grabs one of Amy’s hands before Amy can react to it. She holds it between both of her own. Her cheeks are tinged red and she looks near tears. Amy’s stomach drops. “I thought we were friends again. I…” There’s an electrical blip and they both turn to see Nicole’s solid form disappear with an awkward wave, giving them some privacy. Amy can’t help but let out a short, nervous laugh.

“I’m sorry,” Amy chokes out. Sally looks back at Amy. Amy swallows hard, nervous. If she doesn’t fess up she’s just going to look like an asshole. If she tells Sally the truth then Sally won’t want anything to do with her. She’ll think Amy is pathetic and desperate and-... And Sally doesn’t think like that about anyone. She's nicer than that. Amy is just panicking over nothing. She smiles as she pulls herself out of her mental spiral.

“Amy?”

She clasps her free hand over Sally’s. “I just got embarrassed. When we were at the ceremony I realized… I really like you." Amy squeezes her eyes shut tight and laughs. She knows she's going to end up crying, but wants to fake being strong for just a little bit longer. "I know it's stupid, I'm stupid. I like the connection because I feel closer to you. I was worried you'd find out or already knew when you and Nicole said it went both ways. And I didn't want you to pity me more or station me away from you."

"Amy…"

"I know it's not what… I know you don't hate me or anything, I just get panicked and then-"

Sally pulls her into a hug, cutting her off. The floodgates fail. Amy starts sobbing into Sally's shoulder. Sally pets her quills. "It's okay. I think a lot of that is my fault. I shouldn't have… I mean." She sighs, shakily. "I know you think I made you my guard because I felt bad for you and… I was worried about you, I still am. But I also just missed my friend." She shifts and presses a kiss to the top of Amy's head. "I should've been more upfront with you from the start. It shouldn't have been a scheme."

Amy can only make herself nod. Now that the tears are coming she can't stop her lip quivering long enough to respond. "And… Maybe we can leave the connection alone. I'm sure Nicole is going to scold us for playing with magic we don't fully understand." Sally laughs, the sound is a warm wave over Amy's body. "When you held my hands and walked me into the Source… That was the closest I ever felt to anyone."

Amy sniffles, slowly calming down. She's still crying, but manages to respond, "Yeah, I felt it too. And like… Everything felt like it had to happen that way. Like it was falling into place."

Sally nods. "I… Don't know what I would have done if I didn't have you there. It had to be you." There's a slight pause, then she shifts to press a kiss to the side of Amy's head. Amy stiffens, caught off guard. "It still has to be you. I want you to keep being my guard. My knight."

Amy bites her lip. Sally can't mean that, mean all of this. But she does. She wouldn't lie about it. Amy swallows down her nervousness. "I want that too." 

"Amy?"

"Yes?"

"Can I treat you to something at that cake shop you like?"

"Like… A date?"

Sally laughs. Amy finally pulls out of the hug. Sally's cheek fluff is wet with tears and her smile is warm. "Yeah, a date."

Chapter Text

It's been one year on the dot since Sally bought Amy a new headboard. Amy marked it on her calender on the suggestion of Dr. Quack (who apparently has had a psychology degree for years that Amy never knew about). He knows about her rampant destruction of headboards (and side tables and rocks) and thought it would be a 'fun' way to measure her progress. Fun isn't how Amy would put it, exactly. Nerve-wracking, upsetting, or silly sounds more like it.

She marked the date anyway, in her planner with a holographic chao sticker that Cream gave her. Set an early alarm, even. She swallows hard before turning on her lamp and then turning in bed to examine the headboard. It isn't demolished, which means she's doing much better than last year already. She slowly fingers the grooves, dents, and scratches. They're more sparse than she expected, less intense, not so deep. Some of them are just from her bumping her bracelets against it in her sleep, she's pretty sure.

Instinctively, she rubs at her wrists. There's still guilt, still sadness; but it's much more manageable. She's still holding on to those emotions but she's made a conscious effort to loosen her grip. She swallows hard, then pushes her feet into her slippers and stands to go get ready for her day. She's given herself more than ample time, but doesn't want to risk laying back down and stewing in her negative feelings. Besides, if she gets out of the house early enough, she can stop and grab breakfast for herself and Sally at the bakery. Not that castle food isn't good, but it's usually more hearty than sweet, and she wants a pastry.

Her shower is quick but steamy-hot with a minty shower fizzer bubbling near the drain. It’s a special enough occasion to break into the package of them. Besides, she wants her lungs and sinuses nice and clear; a royal bodyguard can't afford to get sick. She takes just a little extra time in the mirror to put on tinted lip balm and mascara. Her uniform is starched and ironed, epaulets pinned firmly in place. After one last pass with her hands to make sure she's lint-free; Amy grabs her work bag, opens the door, and starts towards the bakery.

She places her usual breakfast order; an iced strawberry danish and white chocolate latte for her, a banana-nut muffin and hazelnut coffee for Sally. The cashier giggles as she hands the order to Amy. She sips at her latte as she walks and can feel the warmth of it hit her empty stomach.

"Is it a special 'ccasion today, Sugar Plum," Bunnie asks, sidling up to walk with Amy to the castle. She's bright eyed and bushy tailed, as usual.

"Not really, just got up early and wanted something sweet."

Bunnie offers a warm smile and a little chuckle. "Well, I hope you and Sal have a big appetite," she teases.

Amy smiles, amused and confused in equal measure. "I don't think I'm gonna need too much room to finish one danish."

Bunnie changes the subject and they chatter a bit. Amy’s quills need a trim, Bunnie can fix her up this afternoon before she heads home. She and Antoine are going on an anniversary trip soon, they plan on visiting Antoine's home kingdom. Nicole has been forcing Amy and Sally to take more time off than they'd like, but Amy reluctantly admits that getting to relax has made their work and moods better. Bunnie is testing a carrot cake recipe she's sure will blow Amy's quills clean off.

Amy enters the small dining room where she meets Sally most mornings and finds her sipping a hazelnut coffee from the bakery. After an awkward pause and a little laugh, they get the pastries sorted and send Bunnie off with the extra sweets and coffees for her and Antoine to split. They make sure that Amy has the Danish Sally bought and that Sally has the muffin Amy bought. Silly as it is, it feels important to Amy.

It's quiet as they eat their sugary breakfast. Because they're both going over the papers Sally has spread all over the table, certainly. But much more because of the doctor recommended milestone that feels too awkward to talk about. What's there to say? Sally can't just come out with, 'Congratulations, you physically harmed yourself less than normal!' Amy doesn't want to tell Sally, 'Great news, I only sometimes beat up my furniture now!' It's just a strange, embarrassing thing to put into words. It's better that they don't breach the subject, that they keep their minds on work.

"I'm proud of you," Sally pipes up, ruining Amy's avoidant plans. "I know it was today and I've seen the headboard recently enough, and… I'm proud of you."

Amy stares down her cup at the leftover foam coating the sides in uneven swirls. She starts to count the bubbles as they slide uselessly around. There's an urgent, stabbing ache in the roof of her mouth, spreading to her throat. She should respond but she can't. Even if she had any idea of what to say, which she doesn't, there's no way she could force the words out. She wants to break something, which is stupid. She wants to prove that, no, there's nothing to be proud of. At this moment, she wants something to hurt.

She feels Sally's arms around her before she feels the latte foam splattered on her face before she sees that she's crushed her cup and is gripping the remnant cardboard absurdly tight. Sally kisses the top of her head and Amy takes a slow deep breath to center herself. "Sorry," Amy says as she sets the busted cup down on what she hopes is one of the least important pages of their paperwork.

"Don't apologize. This is… A sore subject."

"I know it's just, it's frustrating. I was- am freaking out for no reason. I should be happy about this."

"You are. You got up early and got sweets to celebrate. I know you finally opened those shower steamers you got for special occasions, I can smell the mint in your quills. You can be happy and stressed at the same time."

Amy reaches up a hand and lightly holds onto one of Sally's arms. She sniffles, trying to hold it back, but quickly caves in and cries. Really, truly cries. It feels good to let it out and it feels good to have Sally hold her and pet her and it feels good to know there's been progress. Real, tangible progress.

It hurts but it’s gotten better and will get better still. She doesn’t feel that aching guilt or burning desire to break things nearly as often or intensely. She can manage it, they can manage it together. When her tears finally dry up she turns in her chair and kisses her girlfriend and feels just fine.