Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The palace doors opened wide, allowing a cloaked figure entrance.
The doors opened to an extravagant room. Or perhaps a hallway would better describe it. It was a long corridor with a ceiling so high one had to look to find it. The silver stone walls were adorned with intricate embroidered tapestries, most of which depicted a powerful ruler and a prosperous kingdom. The floor was stone tile until the very end, which rose into carpeted stairs and then a cushy platform. On each side of the platform stood an advisor, and next to each advisor was a door. On top of the platform sat the king.
The king, perched upon his cushioned gold throne, watched with disdain as the figure walked slowly, reluctantly, forward. Finally the cloak was drawn off.
The head of the royal guard kneeled before the king’s throne. The king sneered.
“Tell me the news you have brought,” he demanded information from the prostrated guard. The man hesitated. When he replied, his voice was shaky and unsure.
“Your majesty, I have returned from a long and arduous journey… My soldiers and I have spared no effort for you, my liege. Your glory and importance are truly all we think of on the road, sire…”
“Cut the flattery,” the king interrupted with a voice raised in anger. “What has happened to my shipment? The gold and jewels you were meant to be protecting?”
The poor head of guard gulped. “My deepest apologies,” he gasped, bowing still deeper, “we were attacked while on the road with your shipment. Every coin and bangle was stolen by bandits, each one stronger than ten of my own men!”
A rotund adviser in fine clothing, standing to the right side of the king’s throne, spoke up. “Are these bandits known to us?”
“Yes, sire. They were the infamous Sonic Rogues. I am positive of it,” the head guard lifted his head slightly to meet the advisor’s gaze. The advisor’s cold glare made him quickly resume his previous humble position.
“This gang has caused us too much trouble! You are royal guards with decades of training. Yet you can’t handle a single hedgehog and his ragtag group of woodland bums. Surely you have an idea of how to apprehend them? Are there any ideas in that tiny brain of yours?!” The advisor, Sir Robotnik, berated him sharply.
“Leave this to me, Ivo. I can punish my guards myself,” the King took over coldly. He stared down his nose at the captain, who gulped.
Taking sudden confidence, the captain braced his shoulders and straightened up. He still knelt, but no longer faced the floor.
“My benevolent King, we do have one tip that may help us apprehend the crooks,” he stated boldly, “these Sonic Rogues have stolen from and incapacitated many a soldier, but... never a lady! We believe they abide by the laws of chivalry.” He watched the two powerful men excitedly, trying to read their expressions.
This comment served only to deepen the king’s scowl.
“So? I have no lady soldiers to send out. I’m sexist, it comes with being evil.”
The three men settled into a cold, awkward silence.
A knock at the side door interrupted their emotional air conditioning. The king motioned for a timid servant to open the large door to his direct left.
Framed by the ornate golden entryway was the beautiful Princess Rouge. A painted fan covered half of her face graciously. Only her curled hairdo and sultry, heavily shadowed eyes could be seen. She wore a fine pink gown. The bodice clung tightly to her chest and corset, leading down to a wide flared skirt adorned with rows of glittering gems and pearls.
She allowed her visage to be properly appreciated, then stepped into the main room, making her way to her father’s throne. She shot a disgusted look at the head of guard who immediately bowed deeply once more.
“DADDY! I thought my new jewels were being delivered today. Where are they?!” Rouge’s complaint rang through the large room.
“Darling,” her father coddled her, “the incompetent guards allowed them to be stolen. I’m so sorry for him babycakes, we’ll get you much better ones next month.”
Rouge pouted and huffed. “Your guards are useless! Even I could do a better job than them.”
The three men’s heads turned to her immediately. The king and his right advisor glanced at each other. They had a split second conversation with their eyes. This was the perfect opportunity.
“Of course you could, Princess!” Count Robotnik smiled widely and fakely. “In fact, why don’t you try?”
“What? I- I was only joking.”
“No darling, as a Princess you must never say what you don’t mean. Certainly you could do better than these stupid soldiers.”
“Daddy, you’re not seriously—“ she looked her father in the eyes and saw his seriousness. She made a desperate plea, gesturing dramatically all the while. “But what will I ride in? What would I wear? Where will I sleep? I can only sleep on silk and duckling down bedding! How could you send a Princess out to the cruel harsh world? Don’t you love me at all?”
“Don’t worry sugar, we’ll provide a carriage for you, and you’ll be protected by my useless men. Now run along and pack,” her father dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
“But—“
“I am the king and I command you to go pack!”
So the Princess was left with no option but to storm huffily out of the room, back to where she came from, and try to bring along any luxuries she could fit in a single carriage. She slammed the door behind her.
“Well, now that that’s taken care of,” the king chuckled, motioning for the head guard to stand up, “how are the farmers yielding this quarter?”
~~~~~
Rouge stomped so hard that by the time she reached her bed chambers, her feet hurt and she had to stop. Now that she was out of her father’s earshot, it was no use anyway. This only added to her misery.
She entered her room moodily. The maids inside all turned to look at her.
“Princess, how did the talk with your father go?” A brave but stupid maid asked.
“You all had better get out of this room or I’m going to have you executed,” Rouge growled in return. The maids all rushed out.
Her room was a giant circle larger than most peasant’s houses. Along the walls were the Princess’s bed, vanity, dressing area, and many collections of jewels. A few doors led to her luxurious bathroom and closets. On the opposite end of the door there was a huge window. This was her favorite feature of the room.
Now that she was alone, Rouge trudged to her third closet to get her traveling bag. It seemed woefully small all of a sudden. She would have to fit her way of life into this bag that was barely half her height.
Alright, the essentials first. She rushed to the bathroom and collected her shampoo, hair curlers, and toothpaste. Of course she took her makeup as well. If she was going to be galavanting across the kingdom she had better look (and smell) good while doing it.
Then she stopped by her closet to pack light dresses. She chose rather drab ones with less jewels, in case they got stolen. As she stuffed a boring brown dress into her pack, she reconsidered. Surely she didn’t want her subjects to see her so unglamorous. So she swapped them for dresses of more expensive colors. Red, pink, and purple were her go-tos.
Finally she got to her bed and tried to stuff her fluffy pillow into her pack. But it wouldn’t fit. Her clothes had taken up most of the space.
After a quick crying session, she swapped the pillow out for a few books and her embroidery kit. The pack was full to the brim now and she was ready to go.
A knock came to her door. “What is it?” She called.
Through the door one of her maids told her that the king had sent for her. The carriage was ready to depart.
Rouge groaned and pushed the door open. She shoved the heavy traveling bag into the poor maid’s arms and resumed her previous storming, down the spiral stairs and out of the castle.
The king, his two advisors, and the head of guard all waited for her approach smiling. They clearly found her distress to be hilarious.
Rouge ignored them and boarded her carriage (which was thankfully padded) silently. She was going to give everyone the silent treatment. The maid, who had trailed along behind, placed her traveling pack in the carriage with her. She tried smiling encouragingly at the Princess, but Rouge didn’t even look at her, so she excused herself. The king came to the door of the carriage to speak with his daughter.
“Now honey, remember the tax rate, and be sure to give those Rogues a good beating for me!” He laughed. She ignored him too, which was just the same, as the next moment he closed the door and waved to the driver to start.
With that, the head of the guards, ten of his men, and the disgruntled Princess started on their journey around the kingdom to collect that month’s taxes.

Chapter Text

A strange wind caused the forest trees to rustle. Or was it a wind? Tails the fox looked up from his position on the ground.
“Guys, I told you not to fidget!” He hissed just loud enough so his comrades, perched on the trees’ lower branches, could hear.
“You try balancing on a branch for hours,” Sonic grumbled back. “When is that carriage supposed to arrive?”
“Any minute now!”
“That’s what you said when we started!”
They stopped their petty squabble immediately once they heard a small “excuse me”. They both turned their heads to pay full attention to the speaker, Cream the rabbit.
“I just flew up the road. I saw a carriage. It was big and fancy, fancier than the ones the tax collectors usually drive,” Cream explained sweetly, flapping her ears to hover in place.
“Wonder how they got the funds for a fancier carriage? Thanks for the info Cream,” Sonic smiled at the young girl, then said to his men, “in your places everyone! They’ll be here soon!”
Another rustling in the trees let Sonic know that the ambush party was ready. Cream perched on a high branch, out of possible danger.
Sonic made sure to keep Cream out of danger. She was still a child after all. Life on the road with his band of rogues was hard enough for a grown man, never mind a little girl. Of course Cream still wanted to be helpful. So she got to be the lookout.
Soon the carriage and its entourage crested a hill and could be seen. All the Rogues hid in the shadows, barely daring to breathe.
The carriage was a stunning sight. It was a spotless white except where it was adorned with jewels of obnoxious color and size. This one was followed by three of the usual drab brown carriages. As it rumbled closer Tails tensed up. Once it was close enough he threw a big stick under the carriages’ wheels, creating a horrid cracking sound, and before anyone could look at the sound’s source Tails lay next to the road, holding his leg and groaning. He wailed in apparent pain as the startled driver of the fancy forefront vehicle stopped the carriage. The other carriages had to stop too, and a commotion rose. Several of the soldiers who had been riding in them wandered over to see what the holdup was.
This was the gang’s aim. The soldiers would be caught by surprise outside of their little shelters. On the ground, Tails gave the signal, and the rest of the rogues fell in.
From all sides, dropping from trees, they surrounded the soldiers’ party. The offense specialists— Sonic, Knuckles, Vector, and Blaze— rushed into the fighting, knocking out any soldiers they could reach. They worked quickly. The faster they got through them, the less soldiers they would have to deal with after the initial shock wore off. As the soldiers were preoccupied suddenly battling these assailants, the stealth team would infiltrate their carriages, searching for and stealing any loot they already had. This team included Tails, Espio, Silver, and Charmy.
Espio, Charmy, and Silver each searched one of the brown carriages, now devoid of soldiers. There was nothing in them yet.
“Looks like they haven’t collected anything yet!” Espio exclaimed.
“What a waste of a good ambush,” Charmy sighed in reply.
Silver stayed silent. His carriage didn’t even have seats for the soldiers inside it. This must be their loot carrier. If he could mark this one, it would make for easier stealing in the future. Silver quickly found a sharp rock and used it to scratch a large X on the carriage’s roof, then ran to rejoin the others.
Tails had gone to check the bejeweled one, but the door rushed open before he could even touch it. The soldiers around immediately stopped fighting, choosing instead to bow fervently to Princess Rouge as she descended from her comfortable carriage. The gang, shocked at the sudden cease, turned to look too.
Now that she had everyone’s eyes on her, Princess Rouge swept a scowl over the whole scene.
“YOU!” She thundered, pointing an accusing finger at Sonic, “You scoundrels are the ones STEALING the kingdom’s revenue!”
“Your majesty, nobody is stealing the kingdom’s revenue but you,” Sonic quipped back. He had recovered quickly from the shock of the Princess’s appearance. Now his men slowly gathered together around him. The soldiers stayed bowed, but their hands rested on the hilts of their swords.
“My family has to fund the running of a nation. You claim to know more about the financial needs of the kingdom than I, or the King?”
“The nation runs to serve its people. If the people suffer under your policies, they ought to be overthrown.”
“Are you insinuating that you are trying to overthrow my family?”
“Of course not, princess. If your family sees sense.”
The back and forth between Sonic and Rouge lasted a while. In the meantime, Tails slunk back to the group. He noticed Knuckles was watching the princess intently. But then again, most of the men were.
“We have nothing for you to steal yet anyway. So why don’t you just go back into the woods and leave my party be,” Rouge concluded boldly.
Sonic hesitated, then replied “Thank you for the lovely talk, your majesty, but my men and I really must be going. We’ll see you soon.” He motioned for his men to fall back. But once they had turned their backs, the soldiers became active again! This time they had the element of surprise, however small it was. The princess smiled mischievously.
The men, their objective now to simply hurt as many of the rogues as they could, swung their weapons erratically. Sonic yelled for his men to get away.
“They haven’t got anything of worth! No sense in sticking around and getting imprisoned!” He hollered, and his gang disappeared back into the forest, all of them gone within a few seconds. They were obviously skilled at blending into their home turf. The battle was over as soon as it had started,
“So they really do mind the ladies,” Rouge mumbled to herself, “or maybe they were just shocked”. She stayed out for a bit longer making sure the soldiers were ready to start moving again, then alerted her driver and mounted the carriage once again.
The ride was bumpy and uncomfortable. Her backside had been sore for hours already. She had to admit she was glad to have met the bandits. They provided a rest stop. They also made the journey interesting.
She thought back to what their leader, Sonic, had said. He was clearly delusional. What could he know about running a kingdom that she didn’t?
~ ~ ~
The gang had escaped the battle mostly unscathed. They gathered in a clearing to assess their losses. Tails had a few scuffs, Sonic had minor cuts on his back, and Vector got away with a black eye. Only Blaze had any real injuries. She had a deep slash on her forearm and something had hit her head.
“I feel kinda dizzy,” she grunted before promptly passing out. She crumpled quickly but Silver was able to catch her.
“Hey, that cut on her arm could get infected,” Vector said, “she needs some real medical supplies. I hate to barge in on miss Amy, but we might need to, eh Sonic?” Vector and Silver turned to Sonic hopefully.
“Lady Rose? Of course she’d help us, but her house is technically in town. We can’t all go, we would risk getting caught,” Sonic agreed.
“Okay, so a few of us go. We can wear disguises so we won’t be recognized,” Tails piped up.
“Who’s going?” Sonic asked the group.
Silver, Espio, Knuckles, Cream, Tails, and Sonic all wanted to go. That was too big a group. After a quick debate it was decided that Espio, Knuckles, and Sonic would bring Blaze to Lady Rose. While they were gone Tails would be in charge.
“Before you go, take this,” Tails said as he set something into Sonic’s hand, “could you give it to Lady Rose? It’s to thank her for all she’s helped us with.” It was a giant glittering sapphire, one of the gems that was on the Princess’s carriage. Somehow Tails had managed to pilfer it. Sonic grinned and promised he would deliver it safely.
The chosen travelers each patted Cream’s head, and with that they left, Blaze being carried jointly by Knuckles and Sonic. Espio turned invisible and went ahead to watch for potential danger. Along the way through the woods to the town, they stopped to dig up their chest of disguises. It was buried to keep it well hidden. Lady Rose’s property was on the very edge between the forest and the town, so the chances of the trio being seen were slim but too high to ignore. So they chose wigs and new clothes.
They made it to Lady Rose’s doorstep about an hour later. She opened the door quickly upon their knock.
Lady Rose was a vision of beauty as usual. She had on a simple red and gold accented dress that complemented her pastel pink fur wonderfully. She always smelled of roses and had a slight frown on her lips.
“What’s happened? Come in, come in,” she practically dragged them inside. Espio, still invisible, managed to slip in before she slammed the door. Lady Rose ushered them to a couch they could set Blaze on, then rushed to get her bandages and such. Espio and Knuckles found places to sit while Sonic went to assist Lady Rose. Now that they knew Blaze was in good hands, they could relax.
Lady Rose brought the bandages and an ointment in and started to dress Blaze’s arm. The boys tried not to stare as she worked. Once she was done focusing on Blaze, she turned sternly to them.
“You know how dangerous it is to come see me! Next time, please take my medical supplies with you.” She cried.
“My Lady, we couldn’t. With our lifestyle dirt and filth would cover the bandages, and what if you needed them someday?” Sonic replied softly. He was always softer when speaking to Lady Rose.
“Then stop getting hurt!” she replied, distraught. “I can’t stand to see you all suffer, and for what? You make yourself beloved of the people by putting yourself in harm’s way, a pattern with no end of anguish!”
Sonic shot a glance at Knuckles and Espio. That was their cue to leave. They shuffled to another room awkwardly, allowing Sonic and Lady Rose some privacy.
Knuckles and Espio made small talk so as not to accidentally eavesdrop on the two.
Eventually they were allowed to re-enter. It was obvious that Lady Rose had been crying, but she was stable now.
More importantly, Blaze was awake and eating a slice of bread with honey on it.
“We had better leave soon,” was how she greeted her friends. “We don’t want to cast Amy into suspicion.”
Lady Rose piped up. “Oh no, you must not leave in the daylight! The royal guard is staying in this town. It’s only safe to leave once they’re asleep or it’s dark. It’s a miracle you all made it here unseen in the first place!”
Luckily it was later in the day by then; the sky was a dusty blue, the way it is right before the sun goes down. Knuckles stared at the sky, thinking.
If the royal guard was here, and their gang had just had a run-in with the Princess, then the Princess was most likely staying in this town overnight.
“I’ve been thinking,” Knuckles started, “Maybe we could try to talk to the Princess.”
“WHAT?” The rest of the party stared at him incredulously, as though he had sprouted a second head.
“She could be a powerful ally! If we got her on our side, we could make some real change, and what better opportunity will we have then now?” He tried to explain.
“But if she saw you and called the guards you’d be caught. Probably sentenced to death,” Espio tried to sound calm but obviously wasn’t.
“She wouldn’t listen. She’s the one who benefits most from those taxes. Did you see her carriage?” Sonic added, gesturing wildly. Blaze looked faint again but didn’t comment.
Knuckles furrowed his brow and frowned. “But it’s worth a try!”
The others simply shook their heads. When Knuckles persisted with his idea, Sonic patted his shoulder and told him that if he wanted to try that, he would be on his own. Sonic, Espio, and Blaze were going to go back to their forest camp. If Knuckles wasn’t there by the next morning, they would assume the worst.
“Since you’re so intent on it, you can try. But if you get caught, that’s on you, and we can’t risk the whole team trying to save you. Got it?” Sonic asked gruffly, but there was concern in his eyes. Knuckles simply nodded.
He hoped gravely that the Princess wasn’t as bad as she seemed.

Chapter Text

Rouge sat on her inn room bed. It was lumpy, with a straw mattress and thin sheets. She thought longingly of her mattress at home in the castle, filled with soft down and covered in fine silk. When she and her entourage had arrived, the innkeeper and his family had boasted greatly of their business, claiming it was the greatest inn in the kingdom, even finer than the castle itself. Rouge would have demanded a refund, but she wasn’t paying to stay there anyway. The prestige of having the Princess stay with them was payment enough.
She sighed and started unpacking what she would need that night. At least her nightgown would be as comfortable as usual. While rummaging through her bag, her makeup case fell out and onto the floor with a crash! It startled Rouge so much she yelped an expletive.
Immediately there was a knock at the door. “Princess, are you alright? What happened?” A booming voice came from the door.
“Ugh, yes you cretin, I’m fine. My makeup kit simply fell,” she called back. A guard had been posted at her door. She didn’t think that was nessecary, but she did think it was funny that the man would have to sleep on the floor outside her room, so she allowed it. “And don’t listen too hard over there, creep,” she said.
“Of course not, your majesty!” Then he was silent again.
Rouge checked her makeup (none of it was cracked) and changed into her nightgown. It was light blue with flowing ruffled sleeves. The garment reached her ankles easily. It billowed out gracefully as she walked across the room.
Luckily the room they had given her was on the third floor and had a window, though it wasn’t nearly as large as her own window at the castle. She opened the shutters to look outside at the moon. She rested her elbows on the sill and leaned forward. The world was all indigo except for the stars and the yellow moon. She gazed quietly out. When she was little, she would always ask her father to buy her the moon. Even a star would do, she would say. They were the only sparkly things that had escaped her. So she gazed at them from afar every night.
“Psst. Hey Princess,” a whisper interrupted her. Rouge jumped, then looked around to find the speaker. There, on the ground a bit away, was a peasant. She huffed. The nerve of this peasant, to interrupt the Princess’s personal activities.
“Can’t you see I’m busy? I don’t have time to listen to your measly problems,” Rouge growled at the figure.
“But… you were just staring at the sky.”
“That’s my business, not yours. Now go away.”
“Surely you can spare one minute for your subjects.”
Rouge thought about this. She did want her subjects to think well of her, in a worshipping kind of sense. Plus, if she listened to this subject’s complaint for just one minute, maybe they would stop bothering her.
“You have one minute. Speak well.”
The peasant thanked her and then stepped closer, seemingly to be heard better, but it had the secondary effect of shedding light on them. He was a red echidna, with long quills framing his face. Though there was grime all over him, under the layer of dirt was a handsome, sort of pointy face with brows that looked as though he was consistently frowning though his mouth showed otherwise. He was attractive, in a plays-in-dirt, peasant kind of way.
“Princess, I was wondering if you really know what your father’s tax policies are doing to the kingdom? Your subjects live on the barest means possible. Sometimes they don’t live at all. Children starve in the streets for lack of substance.”
Rouge didn’t see how starving children were her problem. If their parents couldn’t feed them, that was their issue. The crown only charged money and jewels, not food.
“Nobody can buy from merchants if they have no money of their own. Farmers have nothing but what they grow, and they cannot sell it to the rest of us because we have nothing to offer in return. All of your subjects live in poverty.”
Obviously. She’d seen the town. It wasn’t the swankiest place. This is where she interrupted.
“What about those rogues? In the forest? Aren’t they supposed to give back to the poor or something,” she asked.
“We can’t travel around the kingdom and distribute those to everyone. This town is the wealthiest in the land.”
Rouge was startled by that. She had hoped this was the worst place she would be staying. This dirty rundown place? This was the wealthiest town around? She glanced out at what she could see of the town roads. Garbage littered the streets and animals scurried around it. The buildings were in need of repairs. Nothing seemed to be new or in construction. A child, or maybe a cat, was wailing somewhere.
“This place is a dump. No way are you right about that! My kingdom is beautiful and prosperous, surely, because the castle is. Papa always says—“
A knock at her door. “Princess! Are you talking to somebody? Who’s in there with you?” The bothersome guard demanded through her door.
“Uh, no! Nobody is here. I was talking to myself!” Rouge blurted out. After a second she yelled, “AND DIDN’T I SAY NOT TO LISTEN TOO HARD, CREEP!”
“Sorry, your majesty,” the guard replied, flustered.
Once he was silent, Rouge did some fast thinking. She could very easily turn the peasant away now. She didn’t like his obvious lies about her kingdom. But what was his true purpose for coming here? Surely he’d known the price if the Princess didn’t like what he said. She could have sold him out to the guards and he’d be executed on the spot just for the impudence of speaking to her.
Well, he was very handsome. Perhaps his true aim was to woo the Princess. She had certainly heard of playboys who would pretend to be interested in a woman’s personal affects, in this case her father’s policies, to get in with her. No matter. If that was his aim, she wouldn’t mind.
Rouge turned to look out the window again. The echidna had disappeared somewhere, but it only took the sound of rustling garbage to find him.
“Hey! Peasant!” She addressed him, and he returned from the side street he’d gone down to hide. Rouge lowered her voice. “I’d like to hear more about this. My guard will hear if I have to keep yelling down to the street, so you come up here. I shall open the inn doors for you.”
“I thank you for your gracious offer, but I’d rather not be seen,” the mysterious echidna replied. “I’ll just come in through the window.”
Rouge glanced at the inn walls. They were cobblestone. Still it would take skill and athleticism to climb them and get to the window. Which were two things the echidna had. He scaled the wall easily, hoisting himself onto the level of the window in a matter of seconds. Rouge stepped away from the window to allow him entry.
As he clambered into her room she got a nice view of his body. Due to their earlier positions she hadn’t seen much of it yet. He was solidly built with a broad chest. His lithe muscles could be seen moving smoothly under his thin tunic, as if he’d climbed through windows every day as part of his workout routine. Princess Rouge immediately decided that his biceps were her favorite part.
The echidna caught her staring. Misinterpreting this, he said “My apologies for the improper attire. I didn’t have anything fancier.” He bowed clumsily.
Rouge giggled flirtatiously. “I find nothing lacking in your attire, sir..?”
“Knuckles! Though I’m not a sir. I’m just a bandit.”
So he was one of the rogues. Rouge stumbled backwards a bit. She hadn’t paid attention to any of the brutes except their leader Sonic when they had met. Was he there to kill her? To take revenge? No, if that was the case surely she would be dead by now. His friends didn’t seem to be with him. So he had come here alone, to the Princess’s quarters, just to talk to her even though the consequences for failing would be monumental. All to woo her? She had to test if that was his purpose here.
He had been glancing around the room.
“I’m only staying here for one night,” Rouge yelped, in case he was trying to memorize the layout.
“Then we’d better talk a lot tonight if we want to make progress,” Knuckles replied casually, finally finding a place to sit, which he had been looking for.
Rouge caught her breath, then turned up the charm. She walked smoothly over to the plain wood chair Knuckles was in and rested her arm on it, leaning in.
“Wouldn’t you rather sit on the bed? I’m certain it’s more… tempting.” Rouge spoke softly, seductively, moving altogether too close.
Knuckles leaned away from her so vigorously that he fell off the chair.
CRASH!
KNOCK KNOCK.
“JUST MY MAKEUP KIT AGAIN! NO NEED TO CHECK IN!”
“I’m sorry Princess, I think I’ll just stand.”
Once the chaos was done, the chair was sideways on the floor, Knuckles stood rigidly against the wall next to the window, and Rouge knew he wasn’t there just to woo her. But any normal person would have taken the chance for that. His reaction had been strange. Did he find her revolting? Nobody had found her revolting before. Her pride had taken a blow.
“Just tell me what you came to say, then get out,” she muttered, walking past the flustered echidna and flopping onto her bed.
He went off on some tirade about how poor the people were. Rouge wasn’t really listening. She had turned away from him and buried her face in a pillow. Her face burned. How embarrassing that he didn’t want her at all. How boring that he wanted only to talk about politics. How impudent that he went against her wishes. How upsetting that such an attractive man would be her enemy.
That’s right, her enemy! She shouldn’t take her eyes off of him. She’d let her guard down. Quickly she turned back around to check if he was still standing against the wall.
He was. In fact, he seemed to be even farther away than he was before. Rouge checked her surroundings. Nothing dangerous had suddenly appeared. She caught a snippet of what Knuckles was saying.
“—so she had to stay with us. After hearing this, surely you feel for your subjects?”
Rouge sat up and nodded vaguely. Sounded like he was wrapping up the speech.
“You may not believe this because your father is the King, but as the Princess, you have a big impact on this country. You can improve the lives of thousands. If you would only talk to your father about his heavy taxes.”
He was starting to get on Rouge’s nerves. He was just standing there criticizing her and her family. She didn’t want him in the room anymore if he wasn’t going to do what she wanted.
She stood up and walked past the echidna, into the bathroom. There she found her makeup kit, in its heavy case. She walked back out, held it out, and dropped it.
The echidna jumped, the guard knocked, and Rouge said “come in!”
The soldier posted to her room burst through the door just in time to see the tail end of Knuckles scrambling back out the window. “INTRUDER!” He yelled. He rushed to the window and watched Knuckles disappear into the town shadows.
“Did that stranger harm you, Princess?” He asked immediately.
“He scared me terribly! Make sure that the next inn we stay at has better security. I don’t want more vermin getting in.”
“Yes, Princess.” The guard ran out of the room, presumably to chase Knuckles down. Rouge went under her covers and tried to get comfortable in her horrible, lumpy bed. She would be restless that night.

Chapter Text

Knuckles stumbled into the bandits’ forest clearing camp a little past midnight. The Princess’s guards hadn’t been able to chase him very far so it was safe for him to meet up with the others now. Most of the group members were asleep, leaning against trees, laying across branches, or just lining the ground. In the middle of the clearing sat Espio. Though he seemed to be meditating, his eyes opened when he heard Knuckles come near.
“You’re still alive.” Espio might have been relieved or surprised. It was hard to tell.
“No thanks to the Princess. You were all right about her,” Knuckles grumbled. He gathered a small pile of leaves and moss for a bed, settling down in a gap between Charmy and Silver on the ground. He realized that Blaze was with Silver, sleeping so close that he hadn’t seen her at first. Knuckles averted his eyes.
“So the Princess wasn’t as you expected. Don’t feel responsible, Knux. You have a trusting nature. That’s a good thing.” Espio closed his eyes again.
“Wish I wasn’t duped so easily though… She listened to what I had to say, but still set the guards on me. How heartless can a person be?”
“She actually listened?”
“She let me talk at least.”
“That’s progress. The Princess wouldn’t change her mind in just one night. Maybe it’s too early to give up.”
“If you think so, then YOU can talk to her next time.” There was a pause as Espio didn’t say anything in reply. “That’s what I thought,” Knuckles said. Then he turned over and went to sleep.

~~~

Rouge was glad she had brought her makeup. Nobody would be able to tell that she hadn’t slept a wink last night. Something about that echidna who had visited her had stuck in her mind. She decided it was probably just shock from all the horrible things he’d said.
Surely the kingdom wasn’t as poor as he’d told her. The King always said that a prosperous ruling family meant a prosperous country. She enjoyed all of the luxuries money could buy, which meant that her kingdom provided those luxuries, so they must be doing well. Besides, her father had always been kind and loving; surely he would not do anything so cruel.
If a few peasants were poor, it must be because they didn’t work hard enough, not because of her father’s laws.
Pushing these thoughts to the side, she dressed for the day. She met her guard outside her room door. He looked awful, tired and stiff. Rouge smirked at his discomfort. She and the guard walked down the inn’s rickety stairs to the dining room. Breakfast would be provided by the inn.
There was a wood table covered in an embroidered white tablecloth in the center of the ground floor dining room. It looked like the only new thing in the whole town.
The princess and her companions were the only guests, so the dining room was woefully empty.
The innkeeper’s daughter rushed into the room.
“Good Morning! Today we have a wonderful meal prepared for you— all of you! Pancakes with butter and jam, accompanied by fresh fruit and—“
“I don’t like pancakes,” Rouge complained aggressively. This was a lie, she usually loved pancakes, but her foul sleep-deprived mood made her want to lash out. Creating inconvenience for these peasants would suffice.
“Oh… I’m so sorry, Princess! What would you like instead? Anything at all?” The poor girl panicked and wrung her hands.
“Do you have foie gras?”
“Um, I’ll have to a-ask the kitchen,” she hurried off. It was futile, they obviously wouldn’t have it. The princess stewed in her foulness. This hadn’t helped so far.
There were muffled voices from the kitchen. Eventually the girl came back out with her head hanging. She set a bowl in front of Rouge that definitely wasn't what she had asked for. She had never seen this dish in the palace. It was some sort of lumpy thing covered in a brown crust.
"I'm sorry. The kitchen didn't have f... fwah? Frogs? So we could only give you the gratin part. Hopefully potato is a decent substitute for frog."
Rouge was about to blow her top. What the heck was gratin? It looked like a bowl of burnt bread crumbs with greasy cheese on top. This must be an insult. Her face burned. The innkeepers were making a joke of her for being picky. Maybe if she bit into it and faked food poisoning, she could get this insult of an inn closed down.
But once she tried it... it was delicious. The crumb crust added texture to the potatoes and cheese. It was cooked well. Though it wasn't exactly a breakfast food, it did make her feel better. The warm dish relaxed her somewhat.
The poor innkeeper's daughter trembled next to the Princess, wringing her hands so hard they were turning red. Rouge took a good look at her for the first time.
She was a tan tabby cat with long brunette hair. Her face had a somewhat squished look with small, droopy eyes and a large top lip. She looked scared out of her mind.
"What's your name, wench?"
"Caramel," she jumped.
"Well Caramel, give the chef my compliments. Have her prepare more gratin for my travels today." Rouge happily dug into her new meal. Caramel stopped trembling, instead skipping to the kitchen to relay her good news.
A few soldiers stared at the Princess with open mouths.
"You've never asked for my name," one stupid soldier said dejectedly.
Rouge glared daggers at him. Everyone flinched and looked away from her, focusing on their pancakes.
Once breakfast was over and the innkeepers had provided the travel meal, Rouge and her party climbed into their carriages once more, finally ready to start the collection process. Naturally they started with the innkeepers. Although they hadn't paid to stay at the establishment, they collected a sackful of coins from the family. The innkeepers smiled widely to the collector's faces, but Rouge noticed that their daughter, Caramel, had watery eyes.
Well, nobody would be happy about it, but taxes were mandatory.
The head of guard led their troupe through the town. They started on the lower outskirts and would work their way up.
The first house they came to was relatively well put together. There were no visible problems with it. The head of guard and a few of his men approached the door. Princess Rouge stayed in her carriage for now. She shouldn't have to interact with peasants any more than was necessary.
A grey mouse opened the door at the guard's knock. Rouge couldn't hear what they said, but the tax collection went smoothly.
The first few houses, on the edge of the town, were easy collections. This was where the wealthiest residents lived. They were closer to the nice forest scenery and farther from the absolute peasants. But that trend ended soon enough. Their first problem collection occurred around noon.
At the guard's knock, nobody answered the door. Through a small window on the house, movement could clearly be seen. A small head poked up only to be pulled down quickly.
The guards knocked again, more forcefully. Still no answer. "Princess, if you would," the head of guard gestured to Rouge to come out of her carriage. That she did.
The house they were at was rotting in a few places, but still held up well. It wasn't the worst building in town by a long shot.
"This is the Princess! I demand you to open this door, by the power of the crown!" Rouge bellowed. It only took a second for the door to open. A hunched-over old man in slippers greeted them.
"I was asleep, you see... Didn't hear you knock," he lied.
"That's forgivable. As long as you have your payment ready," the head of guard smiled at the man threateningly.
"Of course, I have it right here." The old man handed over a small handful of silver coins. The soldiers stepped closer together, creating a barrier around the door.
"This is not enough. Where are your three golds?"
"I don't have three golds. Please... let me pay you extra next month!"
"If I recall correctly, this is the second time you have said that. We let you off the hook last time. Perhaps that was a mistake."
A small girl popped up from behind the old man. She gripped onto his trouser legs. He moved his hand to her head in a comforting gesture.
"Say, that child... How much does it cost to raise her every month?" The head of guard smirked evilly. His gaze rested on the girl so that she flinched and hid closer behind the old man. Fear pierced the old man's eyes. After a stunned silence, the head continued, "simply a suggestion."
Rouge couldn't believe what she was seeing. The head of guard wasn't always a nice man, but here he was being downright cruel. It made her uncomfortable. But surely he was bluffing. Nobody would turn a child into the streets for three gold coins. Especially not in the name of the crown, her father, HER.
"Alright, you don't have the coins. Maybe I'd be willing to overlook this again. If only I had some incentive..." the head of guard raised his arm and the soldiers rushed into the old man's house. They caused chaos, grabbing anything they wanted off shelves, opening cupboards, smashing a few fragile pieces in the process. The old man crouched down to the small girl and hugged her close. He was completely resigned to this. As if he was used to it. Rouge felt a lurch in her stomach. She didn't know what to believe. Then all of a sudden it was over. The head guard whistled and his soldiers filed back out of the house, their arms full of trinkets.
"Keep that kid safe. Have a nice day," the head laughed and turned to leave. Shocked, Rouge just followed along. They left the old man and his child in their wrecked home.
She thought in the carriage while her party collected from the next few houses. What a scene. In the palace, all she had seen of the tax collecting was the riches that came back. She thought the people lived in excess to give so much. The head of guard was a terrible man. Well, maybe he was the problem, not the taxes. After all, the first houses had no problem paying. Everything would have been fine if that awful man hadn't threatened a literal child and stolen their things. That's right, the laws weren't at fault, it was that man. She would talk to her father about finding a new, better head of guard once she returned.
She wasn't called out to help with another collection, but something her carriage driver said caught her ear.
"Get ready for a fight on this next house, boys," he called to the other soldiers as he climbed aboard the carriage, "rumor has it that Lady Rose has close relations with the Sonic rogues."
"Yeah, I'm so scared of the little orphan tramp,” another one of the men laughed.
If Lady Rose, the next house’s owner, had ties with the Sonic gang... Then she had ties with Knuckles. Maybe she could help Rouge understand what was going on.
Once the carriages pulled up to the small mansion’s front, Rouge went to the door with the soldiers. Nobody questioned her.
Amy opened the door on the first knock. She had a downtrodden look in her eyes, but a flash of disgust crossed her face when she saw Rouge. She handed the head of guard her satchel of money silently and immediately tried to close the door. Without thinking, Rouge stuck her foot in the door to prevent that.
“Lady Rose, that’s hardly hospitable. The Princess herself has come to speak with you. Surely you can invite her in,” Rouge said with false confidence.
“Where are my manners. Apologies, Princess, please come in.” Lady Rose reopened the door and stepped aside to let her in. Only her. All the soldiers stayed outside by her order. “This is a lady-only conversation,” she asserted as she followed Amy into the mansion.
The two entered an inner room that couldn’t be seen through the windows. Once they entered, Rouge turned to Lady Rose but couldn’t find words to say.
“May I be candid, Princess?” Lady Rose began the conversation, startling the Princess slightly.
“Say what you need, then I’ll decide,” she answered half-heartedly.
“Why are you here? Have I done something wrong?”
“I heard you had ties with the Sonic rogues.”
Amy stumbled backwards. She tried to lean against the door, but it was slightly open, so she fell instead. Fear covered her face, but quickly she recovered. She stood up, brushed herself off, and laughed.
“My Princess! How could such a thing be true? I was so shocked at the accusation... completely out of the blue,” she exclaimed.
“Then do you share views with them?”
“... A few, you might say. Mostly no! I certainly don’t agree with their methods!”
“Then maybe you can help me.” Rouge told her what she had seen that day, and what she was trying to process. Something about Lady Rose was sympathetic. She felt like somebody who would be gentle, even to a Princess who had failed her country. Which, of course Rouge hadn’t failed anybody, a voice in the back of her head reminded her. She was great. But something was wrong in her kingdom. But not her.
Lady Rose listened quietly, looking shocked at several points.
“You really didn’t know what the kingdom was like?” She finally responded once Rouge had finished her story.
“I didn’t. Somebody told me about it before, but I didn’t believe him. But whose fault is this? My father is a wonderful man. He wouldn’t do anything to make people suffer.” During her talk, Rouge hadn’t shown emotion. She felt so conflicted that it all leveled out at numb.
Amy realized that the person Rouge was talking about was Knuckles. So he was right. There was more to the Princess than met the eye, and she would make a powerful ally. All Amy had to do was push her in the right direction here.
Amy stepped closer to the Princess, standing next to her. “This must be a lot to take in for you. I hope you realize that you have great influence, and you can change what happens in this country from the source. I know you can— OH MY GOSH!” She exclaimed.
“What?”
“So sorry, I just noticed something. That necklace you’re wearing...” Amy looked away anxiously. Rouge lightly touched the necklace she had worn that day. It was a thin silver chain with three tear-shaped rubies dangling from it. Her father had told her that it was imported from the neighboring kingdom, custom-made for her. “It used to belong to me,” Lady Rose finished her statement reluctantly.
Rouge gripped the necklace. Amy kept talking.
“It was a gift from my adoptive father, before he... and one day I wouldn’t pay my fees to the head guard and he took it. From right off my neck.” She teared up.
Rouge was at a breaking point. This was a gift from her father. Lady Rose was claiming it as her own. That voice in the back of her head came to the forefront.
Your father wouldn’t lie about that. Lady Rose realized you were in a vulnerable position. She’s trying to swindle the necklace from you, the voice said. She’s taking advantage of your newfound conscience. You can’t trust her.
“You must be mistaken,” Rouge said aloud. “This is my necklace.”
“Oh! Yes. Of course I could be mistaken. I’m sorry, Princess.”
Seeing Amy cower before her made Rouge feel awful. So much had happened. She had to get out of here.
“This is the end of our conversation,” Rouge grumbled. She stormed past Lady Rose, walking out the door herself back to the carriages.

Chapter Text

Amy grabbed a cloak and rushed out her door. This was a big breakthrough, and she had to tell Knuckles what had happened.
The sky was a bold blue even though it was later in the day. Amy hoped the sun would stay up long enough for her to get home once she was done with her errand. The trees, even though they sat right outside her window, were unfamiliar to her. But as long as she kept to a straight path she would probably be fine.
Through sheer luck she found a clearing quickly. She glanced around and saw the rogues trying in vain to hide in the tree branches. Sonic hopped down from his tree and the others followed.
“Sorry about that, Lady Rose,” he chuckled, “We heard somebody coming. Thank goodness it was only you.” There was a slight pause.
“Wait, why are you here!?” Vector gasped.
“I simply had to find you all after what just happened,” Amy said excitedly.
“Why? Is somebody in danger?” Sonic replied quickly.
“No, the opposite! It’s amazing! Where is Knuckles?” Amy looked around again, and Knuckles stepped forward. Now he stood in front of her. The rest of the gang listened intently.
“Knuckles! Your talk with the Princess—“
“Was a disaster, I know…”
“No! It worked! Princess Rouge stopped by my house earlier, she was with the guards collecting taxes, but she had a private conversation with me. She’s concerned for the people. She’s trying to understand how the king’s laws are bad. She seeked me out in order to get the other side of the story, don’t you see? If we reach out to her right now… We could really win.” Amy’s words stumbled over each other as if each was trying to come out of her mouth first. Knuckles just looked stunned.
“REALLY?” Charmy couldn’t contain the reaction.
“Talk about a one-eighty,” Espio smirked, having heard Knuckles’ account earlier.
Everyone stared at Knuckles.
“...Please go talk to her again. She really wants to learn more,” Amy clasped her hands, pleading with Knuckles.
Knuckles frowned and looked away, but he finally responded.
“If you’re certain. She wasn’t exactly thrilled at my first visit, and I don’t want a repeat!”
A cheer rose from the bandits and Amy. Amy hoped dearly that this would mean the end of her friends putting themselves in danger. They would have no need to steal from the royal guard, to live in the woods, to exist in secret. This was their ticket to freedom.
Cream hugged Amy, who kissed the top of her head in return. Then Cream hugged Knuckles. Everyone said their goodbyes differently, but briefly, as Amy and Knuckles had to get back to town quickly if they wanted to catch the Princess.
The pair made their way back through the forest and through a bit of the town to find the Princess’s carriages. It was easy to find; a trail of ransacked homes lead them right to the tax collectors. Amy and Knuckles watched from behind a pile of discarded boxes.
The head of guard was busy intimidating some poor Rabbit. Rouge’s carriage driver was one of the soldiers by the door so the coast was clear to infiltrate it. Knuckles turned to Lady Rose.
“Wish me luck.”
“Good luck. Come back to us in one piece.”
He didn’t promise any such thing. He just slipped away, sneaking like a shadow next to the fanciest carriage. The side door opened and he was gone.
…
Rouge was sitting in her carriage miserable. She tried not to think about anything. If thinking was stressing her out then she shouldn’t have to do it. She buried her face in her knees, sitting in a curled position. Everything would have been better if she’d never seen her kingdom. If she’d stayed in her world of diamonds and gold. The necklace she had been wearing earlier— the silver one with three rubies— was in her luggage, on the opposite side of the space the carriage gave her (which was still pretty close). It somehow felt alien now. That’s how she stayed for hours as the guards ferried her around, collecting more treasures from the citizens.
Suddenly a beam of light fell across her eye. Flinching, she finally looked up.
In front of her, in her carriage, was the red echidna who had visited her the previous night!
“AH!” She yelped, jumping a little.
“SHHH! Please don’t alert the guards again!” Knuckles whispered urgently. Rouge caught her breath and nodded.
“Why are you here?” She asked bitterly (but quietly, so as not to be caught).
“I thought you’d like to see me again, Princess. Our last parting was so bittersweet,” Knuckles rolled his eyes.
“You’re here to complain about me? Is that it?”
“As much as I’d like that to be true, no. I’m here to talk to you again, about the same topic.”
Rouge just crossed her arms and resumed her previous moping position. Knuckles continued talking.
“My friends think you have a heart, and you’ll listen eventually. I’m just humoring them.”
“...I do have a heart,” she mumbled.
“Really? So why is the kingdom like this? Why do you get to sit in a cushioned, bedazzled carriage as your guards wreak havoc on innocent people?”
“I GET IT! Okay!? I’m a big stupid idiot who didn’t know anything about her own kingdom, and everybody hates me, and the guards are monsters and the kingdom is in ruin and IT’S ALL MY FAULT for being selfish and vain! Is that what you wanted me to say?” As the aggravated statement burst out of Rouge, a louder noise covered it. Something was happening outside. The carriage has no windows, so Rouge got up and peeked through the door.
The guards were standing around a pile of rubble and broken wood that, just seconds before, had been a house. An adult fox scrambled inside the wreckage. They appeared to be searching frantically for something or someone buried in it. The guards laughed and started heading back to the carriages, so the Princess retreated and closed her door again.
Her head hung low. She stood against the door, unmoving, her face hidden.
“...What happened out there?” Knuckles asked, not able to see outside.
“They destroyed a home. In the name of a few golden coins for the crown.” Rouge’s voice was small. “I really didn’t know how things were outside the castle. There is something rotten in this place. This is why I called on Lady Rose.”
Rouge finally turned to face Knuckles. There was something in her eyes that reminded him of his fellow bandits. Something they all had in them, sorrow hidden by rage and determination. The Princess wasn’t the same as she was the previous night.
“So the rumors were true. She’s connected to your gang. She went to get you after our little chat.”
“Yeah.” Wait, why was he telling her this? That could be dangerous for Lady Rose. A single fiery gaze from the Princess had made him trust her.
Rouge stepped closer to him, then gestured to one of the carriage’s benches. There were two, directly across from each other. He sat on the one in front, where her traveling bag was, and she sat on the other. They sat in silence for a while, neither sure of what to say. Finally Knuckles broke the ice.
“You’re different from before. What happened to you?”
Rouge explained everything to him. The innkeeper’s daughter, the faces of the people as their money was taken, the head of guard’s threat to a little girl, the ransacking of an old man’s home, her talk with Lady Rose. At this point she paused.
“Could you hand me that bag?” She pointed to her travel bag, and Knuckles obligingly passed it to her. She rummaged around it for a minute, then pulled out her necklace. The silver one with three tear-shaped rubies.
“This belongs to Lady Rose. When you see her again, please return it.” Rouge held the jewelry out to him. He outstretched his hand, and she pressed it onto his palm, but still held onto it. She didn’t let go of it. Her tired gaze rested on the necklace.
“Princess?” It wasn’t really a question. More of a wake-up call. Her grip tightened on the piece of jewelry.
“Rouge,” Knuckles said, a little louder.
She flinched, and finally released her necklace. Knuckles put it into his pocket before she could change her mind. Rouge rested her head in her hands.
“My father gave that to me as a gift. He said he had it custom-made. He said the kingdom was prosperous. Was my father a liar?” She hid her face but her voice was wavering, as though she might cry.
Knuckles rolled his eyes. For the sake of the country, he would have to comfort this bratty Princess. If he’d known this would be a therapy session he wouldn’t have agreed to come. “Well, I don’t know anything about the King. Maybe he didn’t really know where it came from? Look, the point is, you’ve done the right thing. Isn’t that amazing?”
She looked up. Knuckles had to stop himself from laughing out loud. Her makeup was smudged so horribly, her face looked like a painter’s brush-cleaning cloth. He faked a coughing fit to cover this. Rouge glared at him.
“S-sorry about that,” Knuckles calmed down. “Anyway. You’ve started to give back to the citizens, just like a real Princess. Keep it up.”
“I’ll try, actually. I think the head of guard is an awful man, but I’m the Princess, so he has to answer to me.” Rouge forced a smile. It was unlike her to let this man live after laughing at her, but this was an important conversation. To be honest, she had already forgiven him. “Once I tell him to stop wrecking the citizen’s houses, he’s got to stop.”
Knuckles recalled the cruel man from clashing with him many times. He didn’t seem like the listening type. A pang of worry hit him. Worrying for the Princess? What would happen to her if the head of guard didn’t heed her order? Before he knew it, he was warning Rouge.
“Be careful. That man is stuck in his ways and well-trained,” he expressed.
“He wouldn’t do anything to me. He would have to answer to father for it when we return to the castle… My father may not be the best King, but he is a good man, and he won’t tolerate harm coming to me.”
“If you’re certain…” After such an emotional meeting, it felt strange that the conversation was coming to a halt. He couldn’t think of anything else to say. He had begun to admire the Princess. She had the spirit and was even ready to act on it. Maybe they could be something better than enemies.
Rouge was looking at him strangely. Finally she said, “well, if that’s all you came to talk about…” she trailed off.
“Oh, yeah. Actually.” Knuckles suddenly had an idea. “I’m not sure that you’re really reformed.”
“What?”
“I don’t think you’ll stick to your word. So… I’ll be checking in on you! I’ll see you tomorrow and make sure you keep your word about standing up to the head of guard.” This was a lie. After what they’d talked about, and that look in her eyes, Knuckles was sure that Rouge was a changed woman. But he had to see her again. A nagging feeling told him to.
Rouge actually smiled.
“Alright. We’re going to Polfield next, it’s the closest town to the east, you can’t miss it. If you plan to follow me around the kingdom, you’re welcome to.” Now she was snickering. It was obvious she thought that Knuckles was being ridiculous. It was true he’d never been far from this town and its forest, but it was also true that making sure the Princess actually created the change she claimed she would was important, impossibly important for the kingdom and all its residents. So if he seemed silly that was okay. And if she laughed at him that was okay too.
Knuckles stood to leave. At the same moment, the carriage lurched into motion and caused him to fall, but he stuck his arms out to catch himself.
His arms fell on either side of the Princess, successfully stopping his fall but also blocking her in. His face stopped just a centimeter from hers. They were closer than they’d even been. Their eyes met in one electric moment.
He could feel the Princess’s breathing. Her chest rose and fell steadily faster. Her eyes, usually half-closed, were wide open in shock. And the most beautiful turquoise color he’d ever seen.
Rouge, once she was done being startled, frowned and half-closed her eyes again.
Knuckles retreated, now able to stand in the moving carriage. His face was burning red.
“...Accident?” Rouge asked harshly.
“Accident,” Knuckles affirmed quickly.
“Then we’re done here. See you later, bye.”
So he opened the side door. The carriage was going quickly now, and it would be dangerous for him to get out. He was considering this, then felt Rouge literally kick him out.
The ground was moving quickly beneath him. Then he hit it and rolled. Looking up, he saw Rouge wave at him, a smile on her face. Then she closed the side door. Knuckles was left astonished, laying on the side of the road watching the four carriages get smaller.
Guess she was upset about the accident, he thought.
…
Though he could feel quite a few bruises developing, that just made him more determined to see Rouge again. He rushed to the bandit’s forest camp. He arrived quickly, knowing his way around the area exceptionally.
“What happened to you? Looks like you jumped out of a moving carriage,” Charmy exclaimed once he saw Knuckles.
“That’s exactly what happened. The Princess pushed me out of hers!” He replied.
“Wow! So this meeting didn’t go well either?” Charmy winced.
“No, it went amazingly! I’ve got to get ready for travel. I’m going around the kingdom to keep an eye on our pet project Princess.” Knuckles collected all the things he owned (which wasn’t much, since he lived in the woods).
The rest of the bandits gasped and gave general exclamations of shock.
“You’re leaving?” Gasped Blaze.
“She pushed you out of a moving carriage?” Exclaimed Vector.
“It went well?” Asked Sonic.
“That’s ridiculous,” said Silver.
Knuckles quickly told them the story of the necklace, then showed them the piece of jewelry itself. The rogues were astonished and unsure, but agreed to let Knuckles chase her to the next town.
“Wait,” Silver exclaimed, “as long as you’re there with the carriages… I marked the carriage that carries the taxes with a big ‘X’ on top. We could steal them all back easily as long as we follow the Princess.”
“Nice thinking, Silver!” Tails complimented him.
“So Knuckles could sneak into the loot carriage and take the excess, and the rest of us could distribute it back to the people of that town!” Sonic pieced the plan together.
“We’re all going now!?” Blaze exclaimed incredulously.
“ROAD TRIP! ROAD TRIP!” The rest of the group chanted. Blaze rolled her eyes and joined in the chant.
It was decided— all of them would follow the Princess’s route.

Chapter Text

The Princess’s caravan reached the next town, Polfield, at sundown. They stopped outside another inn, this one even more ramshackle than the first, and allowed the Princess to get out before driving elsewhere to park the carriages.
Rouge surveyed her surroundings carefully. Her eyes would no longer be averted from the kingdom’s problems. This town’s buildings were lined up in rows, built so closely together that a cat could barely squeeze between them except for the roads. The roads were gravel, though they might not have been at one point, and were covered in rotting things. Rouge couldn’t tell what those things were, and didn’t want to.
But ignoring the problem, not looking at it, would be tantamount to saying it didn’t exist. She was the Princess. Her kingdom’s problems were hers. She stepped forward to take a closer look at the rotting thing on the street.
No sooner had she stepped forward than she stumbled back. The thing was a person. A person with barely any meat on their bones left to rot.
Rouge’s legs gave out and she crumpled to the ground. A place where starved bodies littered the streets. That was the second town on her kingdom tour.
Somebody came out of the inn’s doors and called to her. She was too shocked to register it fully. The innkeeper? Maybe. They ran up to her and saw the body too. The person started yelling something and grabbing at Rouge, trying to get her on her feet. Rouge threw up.
And everything went black.
When her eyes opened again, she was in a strange bed in a room made of wood. A single candle flickered beside her. Her luggage had been put in the room and her face had been cleaned up. This must be her room at the inn. Somebody had carried her to bed.
The blanket she’d been given was a quilt. It was very warm and comforting, so she tugged it over her head and started crying.
A soft knock came at her door. The guard post. So one of the soldiers could hear her sobbing. How embarrassing.
“Princess,” the guard called through her door, “are you awake?”
Rouge muffled her sobs and replied “yes, I am.”
The door opened. Rouge was startled, most guards wouldn’t dream of entering the room without her direct permission. This guard was tall and kept his helmet on, which covered his face. He walked over to the bed.
“The innkeeper told us that you’d fainted outside the inn. Has traveling exhausted you so much?” He spoke bluntly.
“Travelling? Um, yes. That’s what it was.”
“Really? Not the corpse lying just outside?” This man was sharp. Unexpectedly confronted with the statement, tears silently flowed down Rouge’s face again. She refused to sob in front of one of her men.
“Oh, there was a body? Haha. No, I didn’t even see it. So there are just dead people on the streets in this town? What’s up with that?” She sounded so stupid. Why couldn’t she just shut up? There was a pause before the guard spoke again.
“We think it was set there on purpose. People’s bodies do not usually rest in front of inns where the Princess is meant to stay. There were no others in the vicinity.” The man’s speaking was so matter-of-fact that Rouge couldn’t tell if he was lying or not.
“That’s a relief,” she sighed.
“So you did see it,” the guard said. Rouge jumped, but denied it again. The man changed the subject.
“If travelling has exhausted you so much, perhaps you should stay in your room while we collect the tax money tomorrow.” He reached out his hand and pressed it against Rouge’s forehead. She flinched at the touch, but he kept his hand there.
“I’m quite alright. I will be able to collect the taxes tomorrow, really.”
Now the soldier moved his hand down her face, onto her cheek, and wiped away some of her tears. Rouge quickly moved her head away from the man, breaking his contact. He stepped back.
“Then I will notify the head of guard. Sleep well, Princess.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that.”
Then the mysterious man turned and left, closing the door behind him.
“Thank goodness. I thought he’d never leave,” Knuckles said from the other side of Rouge. She whirled around to see him standing beside her bed, grinning.
“Knuckles!” She gasped, “how did you get in here?”
Knuckles laughed. “This is the only inn in town! I knew you’d be staying here so I just asked the innkeeper which room was yours and hid until you arrived… Actually,” his tone became serious, “I think the innkeeper let me in so easily because he thought that I was going to… hurt you. Or even kill you.”
A small “oh” fell from her lips.
“The people in this town don’t seem to like you. Heck, it’d be tough to find any citizen that does!”
“I know.”
“Look, Rou- Princess. You’re in danger here.”
Rouge curled up, pressing her head against her knees. Now that the soldier was gone, and Knuckles was here, her emotions seeped out. She began to tremble.
Knuckles picked up the quilt from her bed and wrapped it over her shoulders. He resumed his position standing respectfully at her side. She looked into his eyes and stretched her arms out to him. When he didn’t respond, she curled up again.
“I saw a dead body,” she started, her voice trembling as much as the rest of her. “It was starved, left on the street, is that how things are here? Was it just a horrible trick by the innkeeper?”
“It’s true the innkeeper wishes you harm. Maybe he did set out that body to scare you. But that doesn’t change the fact that a body like that exists.”
She sobbed. “When will this nightmare end? I get it, okay! This kingdom is in ruin! I don’t need that lesson hammered in any more!”
“Well, the rest of the kingdom doesn’t know that. This is going to keep happening, in every town. The best you can do is be prepared for it.”
Rouge’s crying calmed down and she was able to sit up. “How strange. The only person in this whole kingdom that’s on my side is the bandit that broke into my room.”
Knuckles smiled at the comment, but had to correct her. “It’s not just me. Lady Rose believes in you too, and so do my friends. Well, most of them.” Maybe it was best not to let the Princess know that his whole band of rogues had come along for the trip and were currently distributing extra gold to the townspeople.
“Lady rose! Did you return her necklace for me?”
“Yes, and she said to thank you. She wore it right away.”
Rouge sighed. “Thank goodness.” If Lady Rose could forgive her, she would be happy.
Knuckles was fidgeting, and kept looking over his shoulder. “Is something wrong?” Rouge asked.
“No,” Knuckles replied, “I was just wondering. How do you plan to make things right? To give back to your citizens? Now that you realize what is wrong?”
The question felt out of the blue. To be honest, Rouge hadn’t thought much about it. How could she help the citizens without outright stopping the tax collection? She hesitated to answer.
Suddenly the room’s wardrobe squeaked open. From inside the wardrobe stepped the man who Rouge had seen earlier, the one who had tried to pull her up after seeing the corpse. Knuckles immediately moved to face the man and shield the Princess.
“You’re not going to do anything. This country is in ruin because of you, and you’re never going to change it!” The man bellowed, and he charged at Rouge. She realized too late that he carried a sword. Knuckles stood directly in the man’s path, covering the Princess as much as he could.
“KNUCKLES, RUN!” She screamed. It all happened so fast, there was no way he could have dodged. He didn’t try to. Rouge closed her eyes. She didn’t want to see two dead bodies today.
There was a sound of metal clanging together. That didn’t sound like a sword hitting its target. Rouge opened her eyes a crack.
The soldier from before had blocked the innkeeper’s sword with his armored arm. He had entered so fast in the confusion, Rouge hadn’t even noticed he was around. The soldier knocked the sword back in the innkeeper’s face, and Knuckles used the opportunity to sweep the man’s legs out from under him. The innkeeper hit the ground as blood dripped from his face. The soldier placed his foot on the downed man’s chest, rendering him unable to get up.
“This man will be executed for his attempted attack on the Princess,” the soldier said, not looking away from the innkeeper.
“No!” Rouge cried out. “Don’t execute him!”
Finally the soldier looked up. He registered the fact that Knuckles was there.
“... Who are you?” He asked, addressing the echidna.
“I’m the Princess’s personal bodyguard. She hired me in the previous town, because she felt that the royal guards couldn’t protect her as well as I could,” Knuckles responded snappily. The mysterious soldier scoffed, then ignored him and addressed Rouge.
“Why shouldn’t we execute this man? He is guilty of attempted assassination.”
“Yes, but… I’d rather that nobody die in my name. He can just be locked up, right? Then he wouldn’t be a threat.”
The soldier didn’t respond for a while, but finally nodded. Then he slung the misguided innkeeper over his shoulder and headed for the door.
“Wait,” Rouge called. “Don’t tell anyone about my personal bodyguard. It’s unbecoming that I have such little faith in the royal soldiers.”
“... I won’t.”
“What’s your name, soldier?”
“Midnight.” With that he walked out the door, leaving Rouge and Knuckles alone— probably for the first time that night.
Rouge got out of her bed and rushed up to Knuckles. “Are you hurt? Idiot! Why would you get in front of me like that, he was only after me!”
Knuckles looked away. “It was just instinct. I’m used to protecting people.”
Rouge reached up and grabbed his cheeks, turning his head to look directly at her. The look in her eyes was frantic. “You could have been killed,” she said.
“Well, I couldn’t let him hurt you. We just got you on the right side; you can’t die now.”
Rouge stopped cupping his face just to hug him tightly. She wrapped her arms around his torso and hid her face in his tunic. Eventually, he hugged her back.
That day had been so stressful for Rouge. A corpse in the street, an attempt on her life, and now one of the soldiers had met Knuckles and knew that he visited her. It felt like the only person she could trust was Knuckles. His embrace felt secure. She never wanted to leave it. But she had to sometime.
Knuckles let go of her, and she released him, rubbing at her eyes though no tears came. It was late and she was exhausted. Knuckles led her by the arm back to her bed.
“You’ve really got to rest,” he said.
“What if somebody else tries to get me? I’m not too popular in this town. Or anywhere. You said it yourself,” rouge asked as she laid down.
“Midnight will be watching you. He’s already back outside the door.”
Rouge looked at the door. She couldn’t tell that anyone was behind it, but apparently Knuckles could. She turned back to look at him.
“So you’re leaving?”
“I’ve got places to be. Sorry I can’t babysit you, but I’ll be around.” He tried to lighten the mood, but it didn’t really work. Then he walked away, right out the door. Rouge caught a glimpse of a guard through the door that didn’t pay Knuckles much mind. So Midnight really was back at his post. That should have made her feel safer, but she just wanted Knuckles. She drifted off the sleep. The next day she would have to start giving back to the people. It was still unclear how she could without going against her father’s wishes.

Chapter Text

The innkeeper was nowhere to be seen that morning. His aging mother played host to the Princess and her entourage in his place. Nobody acknowledged that the original innkeeper had existed at all.
As the group set out to gather Polfeild's taxes, Rouge made up her mind as to how she would help the citizens. She would start slow and small. The first place they hit was naturally the inn they had stayed at. Perhaps it was petty, but Rouge didn't try to stop that collection. The first few houses they visited were able to pay, though there was some resistance and the citizens stared daggers at the soldiers. Finally, the seventh house was a bust.
The head of guard knocked on the ramshackle door. It seemed like the knock shook the whole building, it was so unstable. A thin, trembling rabbit opened the door. The poor being was so starved and hollow looking that it would have been impossible to tell it's gender without the ragged dress that clung to its frame. The head of guard glared at the poor rabbit with cold disdain.
"We're collecting the monthly taxes. You owe the crown three gold and ten silver."
The rabbit kept shifting her weight nervously. She tried to close the door on the guards, but one of the men caught the door before she could do so fully and ripped it off its hinges, then tossed it to the side. Now they could see inside the rabbit's house, which revealed four cowering children. The children were plumper than the homeowner, who could be presumed to be their mother.
"Surely you have the coins available? You have a house and four fat children. Surely you haven't lived past your means," the despicable head of guard scoffed.
"Ah," the woman sighed, speaking for the first time. Her voice was weak like a whisper. "No... no coins. We trade for what we have. We haven't had coins in a long time."
The head of guard's stare turned from disdain to wrath in a split second. He grabbed the woman's arm, preventing her from running away while also blocking the open doorway. She flinched and began stammering, "p-please, you can take any-anything we have. Grain, furniture, my b-bed, we don't have much, I don't have coins! Please!" The man shoved her to the ground and entered the building. The rest of the soldiers were about to follow when Rouge stuck her arm out in front of them.
"Stop," she commanded. The head of guard had to stop too. He slowly turned to look at the Princess. The wrath still hadn't left his eyes.
“She doesn’t have the coins. What difference will such a small amount make? The kingdom is not so desolate that it will break without one peasant’s meager debt,” Rouge stated loudly and clearly. The poor rabbit gazed up at the Princess from where she had fallen on the floor, her eyes enormous. The head of guard laughed.
“If we do not make an example of this peasant, the others may think it acceptable to hold back on their payments. We must keep these peasants in their rightful places,” he explained with a tone of voice as if she were five years old.
“Perhaps you didn’t understand me fully. This is a royal decree from the Princess. Forgive this citizen her debt until next month and move on. You are wasting everyone’s time.” She didn’t let his tone affect hers. She was an authority figure above him. He wouldn’t forget that quickly. The foot soldiers were more wary of Rouge than their chief, so they backed off immediately, scurrying back to the carriages. The head of guard gave in begrudgingly. He made sure to step on the Rabbit as he walked out, dealing her one last blow purely out of spite. She coughed, but made no attempt to get up or thank Rouge. The caravan went on to the next house.
This pattern continued through Polfeild. The citizens who weren’t able to pay fully would be forgiven by the Princess while the soldiers looked on in shock. They could hardly do anything against her; she was a member of the royal family, and they were employed by her father. At each house the head of guard's frown grew deeper.
Finally, at the end of the day, the entire town had been visited and the soldiers had collected only half of the owed taxes. It was too late now to travel, so the Princess and the soldiers would stay at the same inn they had the previous night. As the Princess entered her room, Midnight followed her in. She turned to face him.
“I don’t recall inviting you into my quarters,” she said.
“Well,” Midnight leaned against the wall casually, “I wanted to talk to you.” He seemed to remember his manners, adding “if I may have an audience with you, your majesty.”
Rouge was set a bit on edge by this forward man. How could he be so casual around her, the Princess? Keeping her eyes on him, she sat on her bed and told him to say what he wanted and then go.
“Seeing as you’re suddenly listening to your citizens, you may want to hear a soldier’s perspective of your… new methods,” Midnight explained, arms folded.
“Oh, you mean me stopping the wanton abuse of our citizens?” Rouge snapped.
“If that’s what you want to call it. I’d say you’re just interrupting our work. You think that this country can stay organized without the taxpayers? If you continue to forgive peasants of their debts, there will be no funds to run the kingdom on.”
“The kingdom is barely running as it is now. If the citizens aren’t able to live, I will soon have nothing and nobody to organize.”
“... You are making yourself an enemy of the troops. Those taxes go into our salaries. If we do not collect anything this month, we will not be paid, and we will go hungry instead of them.”
Rouge flinched. She hadn’t thought of the soldiers. They were people too, and as such they deserved to be paid for their labor and time.
“Well… What about the bandits? They have stolen most of the tax money from your troops for months. Isn’t it better that the money be kept by the citizens if it won’t be going to the crown anyway?”
“About the stolen revenue. Since the taxes aren’t coming in, the King doesn’t pay us at all anymore. Before the bandits, we had nice salaries that we could spend, we could keep families and boost the economy. Now we are just allowed to survive in exchange for our service. We eat, we travel, we take from the poor. You cannot honestly call that living.”
Rouge was developing a headache. Taking the taxes would help the soldiers but hurt the citizens. Forgiving the debts would help the citizens but hurt the soldiers. The bandits were on her side now and she couldn’t let them down, but her father was relying on her to go against the bandits and bring in the money. If no taxes had been brought to the king for a few months, and that was what made the soldiers suffer, then the bandits were responsible for so many soldiers' misery.
“Hey, wait! Are the bandits really at fault here?” She burst out, thinking out loud.
“...What?” Midnight was thrown off by the exclamation.
“The bandits, they only show up around the first town. That’s where they live and distribute what they steal, right?” Rouge’s voice rose excitedly. “So where are the funds from the rest of the country going?”
Midnight, suddenly understanding, stepped away from the wall and stood at attention next to the Princess. “You’re not saying…”
“The head of guard is the only one who reports the tax income to the King, and he’s already proven himself to be, well, not the most upstanding man. Could it be possible? Could the head be stealing those funds himself?”
Midnight scoffed. “If that were true, us soldiers would know. Face it. The bandits are simple thieves and their existence hurts the whole country.” He treated the Princess as though she were a kid, naive of the world, playing make believe. Her ideas were nothing in his eyes.
Rouge’s face burned, so she turned away.
“That is enough. Forget what we spoke about here, that’s a command! Begone!”
Midnight raised his hands in mock defense and left. At least he had the good sense to close the door behind him. Rouge buried her face in her blanket. She HAD to stop letting mysterious men into her room to talk about economics. It never ended well. Speaking of mysterious men, she wondered where Knuckles was.
As if on cue, a knock came at her door. Rouge, grumbling, got up and opened it. Obviously the caller was Knuckles, wearing a rugged travelling cloak and a thick tunic. Rouge checked outside her door quickly; her room was not guarded. Nobody was out there for once, so she let Knuckles in and closed the door again.
“Did anybody see you?” She asked.
“Nah, I don’t think so. The inn seems empty. Worryingly so,” Knuckles explained.
“I’m not sure what’s going on with the soldiers… Knuckles,” she turned to him, “Have the bandits ever gone past the first town? Before this, I mean.”
“I think Sonic went around the kingdom once, but that’s it. Why?”
“The king doesn’t receive any taxes at the end of the month. The soldiers haven’t been paid in months. If you all don’t go past the first town, then your friends are being used as scapegoats for some other reason that the funds are disappearing!” She stated this with conviction, trying to get Midnight’s doubt out of her psyche. Something more had to be going on around here, and she wouldn’t trust the head of guard.
Knuckles stared at her for a moment, astonished. “But… What? The King hasn’t been getting any money from the citizens?” he seemed truly dumbfounded. Rouge couldn’t believe that the bandits had anything to do with such a large-scale operation. Would questioning other soldiers give her more answers? Or would they all react to her idea the way Midnight had? She shook her head. She shouldn’t be thinking about that.
“No, that’s why I was sent out in the first place. To make sure the taxes got to the castle… Anyway,” she changed the subject abruptly, “Why did you come visit me?” Rouge pulled up a few chairs so they could sit down.
Taking his offered seat, Knuckles said “I’ve been around the town talking to the citizens. They told me some interesting stories. Like the Princess ordering the guards down with a single word.” His eyes twinkled with admiration as he leaned forward.
“Oh! You heard about that,” Rouge repeated, suddenly self-conscious. Was it really enough? Had she earned that warm expression?
“Sounds like you’re already helping the people. They’re giving you five star reviews out there! Absolutely gushing,” he chuckled, then straightened in his chair and began doing an impression. “The Princessss,” he cried in a comic,a high-pitched voice, “She stopped the soldiers in their tracks, picked up the head of guard with one hand and threw him out of my house! She blessed my baby and angels sang! I swear- I swear i saw a halo above her head...”
Rouge laughed and punched his arm light-heartedly. “Shut up! It was not that grand, I just told them to stop. They have to listen to me.”
He calmed down and resumed his previous tone of voice. “No, really! The people down there love you! I thought you might want to see them for yourself.”
Rouge was surprised. “You mean you’re taking me out?”
Knuckles blushed and cried, “Not in that way! No way! Ugh,” he hid his face and continued, “You can sneak out and talk to the citizens, is what I mean.”
“Obviously I knew that, dolt,” Rouge rolled her eyes, “That’s what I meant too. Way to make it awkward.”
Knuckles cleared his throat. “Then there’s no trouble. Do you want to go or not?” After the awkward misunderstanding, he spoke gruffly and didn’t look at her.
“...Sure.” Though she doubted it would be any fun with him acting aloof. After all, she wasn’t just in this for Knuckles.
The two checked the hallway again. There was still nobody around, so they walked right out. The town was shrouded in a deep darkness. From their position the moon couldn’t even be seen. Rouge stumbled slightly, but soon straightened herself out. Knuckles was walking briskly to wherever their destination was and not looking back, it was a struggle for Rouge to keep track of him and follow at a matching pace. He weaved between the tightly packed buildings with ease. It made sense; his hometown was much like this one, but Rouge had grown up in a spacious castle and never had to navigate anywhere before. Soon she lost all sense of direction or where they were. She could only focus on Knuckles’ back in front of her and try to keep up.
Eventually he slowed down and stopped in front of a house like any other. “Wait outside for a second,” he told Rouge, finally looking back at her.
She nodded. Now that she wasn’t moving around, the cold night got to her. She tried to cross her arms to warm up, but it didn’t do much.
In a fluid motion Knuckles threw his cloak over her. Shocked, she struggled to wear it correctly, and as she was wrestling with the cloak trying to position the thing, Knuckles commented “Geez, remember to bring your own coat next time, Princess! I can’t babysit you all the time.” Then he disappeared into the house, leaving Rouge standing outside. At least she was warm now. The cloak was a little too big for her and Knuckles’ body heat was still on it. It was relaxing.
She was made to wait outside for a few minutes until who she presumed to be the homeowner, a reddish-brown coyote, invited her in.
The house left the impression that it had been lovely before. It’s interior had a lot of warm colors and homemade decorations, and a lively fire played in the brick fireplace. Though there was some wear and tear on the furniture, it was still comfortable, and Rouge was shown to a cushy chair. The coyote sat on a couch with a yellow rabbit.
“Princess Rouge,” Knuckles introduced her, “This is Antoine and Bunnie D’Coolette. They’re citizens who you helped today, as well as old friends of Sonic’s.”
“I can’t thank you enough for today, sugarplum,” Bunnie gushed, looking Rouge in the eyes. “We haven’t had much since we moved to this town. This ain’t the first time we’ve been short on cash when the sheriff came!”
Antoine cut in, “Zat horrible man had threatened to hurt us ze next time we were cheap!”
“So it’s a good thing you came along this time, ‘cuz the sheriff was about to get the whoopin’ of his life if he stepped one foot in this house!” Bunnie huffed.
Rouge laughed. She liked these two already. “It was my pleasure. But I’m really hoping I can do more to help my citizens.”
“Well zat’s easy,” Antoine said, “simply tell ze King where he can stuff zose tax coins he hoards!”
“He means, talk to your pop about the taxes, try an’ get him to change the laws,” Bunnie corrected her husband. “To tell the truth, the peasants are gettin’ mighty uneasy about all these taxes. A few different cities are plannin’ to revolt if things don’t change soon. Polfield was one of ‘em.”
Rouge gulped. So it had come down to revolution. She would have to hurry through the kingdom and talk to her father as soon as possible. Her headache came back.
The fire was crackling, the cloak she was wearing was warm, and she hadn’t slept well for days on end. Everything caught up to her and she fell asleep pondering the logistics of her continued trip.
“Oh my, did she faint? Is she alright?” Bunnie asked in a hushed voice. Knuckles got close to examine the Princess.
“I think she’s just… really tired. It’s been a tough few days for her,” Knuckles explained.
“Well zen she can stay here for ze night. She just has to wake up in time to go back to her inn, yes?” Antoine said this while finding a blanket to put over the sleeping girl. “I can wake her up before I go to work.”
“That’s a wonderful idea! You’re such a sweetheart,” Bunnie kissed her husband. Knuckles looked away, embarrassed.
They all said their goodbyes and Knuckles went back outside to meet the rest of his gang, who were just returning from their night on the town.
“Thanks for distracting the Princess, Knux,” Sonic said. “We’ve got to keep her on our side.”
“What bad luck that those soldiers caught us making off with their loot!” Vector grumbled.
“At least we got away alright,” Silver replied.
“So? Were you able to steal the tax money?” Knuckles asked them. The others all grinned.
“Thanks to Silver’s quick thinking. X marked the spot! It was an easy steal,” Tails praised the hedgehog, who nodded in appreciation.
“And we already distributed the coins to some of the poorest peasants,” Blaze said.
They all congratulated each other on the successful run and told Knuckles how grateful the peasants had been. It sounded like a real adventure. Knuckles was sad he couldn’t go.
“Man. Why have I got to babysit that Princess? Can’t somebody else do it for once?” He complained.
“Now, Knux,” Sonic reprimanded playfully, “you were the one who decided to follow her around the kingdom.”
“We thought you liked spending time with the Princess,” Charmy teased.
Knuckles turned beet red and yelled at them, “IT’S NOT LIKE THAT!”
They were quickly shushed by Bunnie and Antoine.

Chapter Text

Antione escorted the Princess back to her inn in the early morning. She made it in without being seen. The guard that had been posted to her room was asleep, and apparently hadn’t bothered to check if she was actually in the room before performing his duties. Though that was a stroke of luck for her. She snuck back into her bed, but quickly grew bored of just lying there, so she got dressed and read one of the books she’d brought along. Eventually the room guard knocked on her door.
“I’m awake. What is it?” Rouge called, setting down her book.
“Please prepare for the day, your majesty,” the guard had an unexpectedly soft voice.
“I’m already prepared too. Why don’t you come in?”
Obviously surprised by the Princess’s invitation to enter her personal room, the guard hesitated for a few moments before letting himself in tentatively. Rouge nodded encouragingly at him.
“I have a few questions that I’m hoping you can answer,” Rouge started. She got up and set a simple wood chair in front of the soldier, which he took. She set up another chair for herself and sat facing him. He looked incredibly nervous.
“I will do my best to answer for you, Princess,” he said. The interrogation could begin. Rouge was still thinking of her conversation with Midnight the previous day. She was determined to learn more about the head of guard and the bandits’ role in the disappearing funds. But what to ask first? How to phrase exactly what she wanted to know?
“Do you usually accompany the head of guard to collect the monthly taxes? How long have you been in this job?”
“Me? I have been a soldier, employed by the King, for five years now. I am usually on the expeditions to collect taxes, though I did miss a few when I was a rookie.” He proved to be a loose-lipped and honest man. He wouldn’t question the Princess on her motives for this information. Of course he wouldn’t; normal soldiers heeded her authority as the Princess.
“How often do you run into the Sonic gang? At what points on the route do they appear?”
“Those scoundrels! Please excuse my language, Princess...They are always at the beginning and end of the route. Because our journey starts and ends at the castle, they camp nearby and attack at night.”
“And you have personally seen them at both the beginning and end?”
“I see them all the time at the beginning. By the end, we regular soldiers are too tired to keep watch over the tax money at night, so Edge is the one who defends it.”
“Edge?”
“Apologies! Sir Edgar Stone, the head of guard. We all call him Edge because we think he is so sharp and cool.”
“Really? Why do you think he’s so cool?”
“He is always ready to defend our country! He offers to guard the taxes even at night, and he can face the Sonic gang all alone and get barely any injuries! He is a great boss,” the soldier’s expression became excited with a big smile.
“Really… Interesting,” Rouge frowned. ‘Edgar’ got more suspicious with every new thing she learned about him, but the Soldiers obviously held him in astronomically high regard. She might not be able to turn the troops against him, if that was ever needed.
The soldier continued gushing about his boss. “Sir Edgar personally trained a lot of us soldiers. He’s the toughest of any of us. If the Sonic gang didn’t outnumber him by so many, he would have cleaned this kingdom of them years ago! He’ll do it one of these days even with their dirty tactics. And once he’s defeated them, this kingdom will be able to progress again. I’ll be able to see my family and have vacations and we won't have to all come along to guard the tax money anymore. Sir Edgar is our best hope for the future.”
Rouge decided not to tell this particular soldier her suspicions about his idol. So the foot soldiers never saw the bandits at the end of the route? Sir Edgar “guarded” them all by himself. He was obviously stealing them himself somehow. Well, she would put a stop to that. Maybe she would insist on guarding the tax money with him this time around. She was about to thank the soldier for his valuable answers, but he said something else unexpected.
“You know, it’s funny,” He laughed a bit, “A rookie was going around asking almost the same questions last night.”
Startled, Rouge couldn't stop herself from asking “What rookie?”
“A kid named Midnight.”
So Midnight wasn’t sure about Sir Edgar’s honesty either. It felt like a victory for Rouge. She wasn’t as stupid as that gruff man liked to pretend. She thanked the honest guard for his time and answers, as she’d learned a lot from their interview, then dismissed him.
That day they would be moving on from Polfield. The next few destinations on thier route were small villages, so they could visit many of them in one day. Rouge just hoped that Knuckles could keep up.
~~~
The gang was able to keep up just fine. Each time they followed the carriages to a new village, they were greeted by fans who were all too willing to help their cause. Their little gang was well-known among the ordinary people of the kingdom. They were showered with new supplies with every person they met; bandages, clothes, food, clean water. As one young admirer put it, “I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but I wanna help!”
“Wow, you have fans everywhere, mister Sonic!” Cream exclaimed happily, holding onto the blue hedgehog as he carried her to the next village.
“They’re fans of all of us! That includes you,” Sonic smiled at her, “We’ve done a lot of good, and good is always repaid.”
Following the Princess’s entourage meant that Sonic was putting his natural speed to a lot of use. Tails could keep up with him, but everyone else was carried between villages. Sonic insisted this was good for him and that he enjoyed stretching his legs, but it did lead to some awkwardness between the gang members. Only Blaze and Espio were able to accept the transportation style stoically. Vector kept commenting on how heavy he must be, Silver fidgeted incessantly, Knuckles resisted so much that he had to be carried by Tails instead, and Charmy couldn’t stop laughing. Cream was usually carried by someone, so she didn’t have an issue.
Finally, after so many villages that the rogues had lost count, the Princess’s group stopped for the night.
“Finally!” Charmy yawned, “It got dark hours ago.”
“Are you tired, Charmy? Because we can always let you sleep while the rest of us take care of that gold,” Silver teased.
“No way! I’m wide awake!” Charmy huffed.
Vector hushed the two, then gestured for them to watch the carriages. The rogues hid behind bushes to watch the Princess and the soldiers. This village did not have an inn, so the tax collectors would have to stay at the local church, which was the biggest building. They watched as the Princess and the soldiers filed out of their carriages and into the church, most of them looking vaguely uncomfortable at their choice of quarters. One guard was put in charge of putting the carriages away behind the building and the horses away in the village’s shared stables. The gang watched as the hapless man did his job quickly and haphazardly to get back to his comrades as soon as possible. They were in the clear. Nobody was even guarding the carriages.
“That’s strange,” Vector said, scratching his chin. “Why wouldn’t they even set a guard for the tax money? Just yesterday they saw us stealing some.”
“Who cares? It’s easy pickings, let’s go!” Charmy flew out of the bushes and straight behind the church. The rest of the rogues, startled, collectively stage whispered “STOP” as they fell over each other trying to catch the bee before any soldiers did! Charmy reached the carriage with the big X on top with no difficulties, and nobody tried to stop him. The others looked at each other in disbelief, then joined their small teammate.
“What the heck… Let’s just get the loot quickly,” Tails whispered as he took out a lock-picking kit. He quickly picked the lock and opened the doors. Piles upon piles of gold and silver coins glittered at them from inside the carriage. Even with the Princess stopping half the collections, there were plenty of riches to be had. Sonic directed his men to each grab a bag from Cream and fill it with all the coins they could carry; some men’s bags were bigger than others, namely Silver, Vector, and Knuckles since they could carry more.
“Knuckles, shouldn’t you be with the Princess, distracting her?” Blaze asked quietly.
Knuckles jumped a little at the question, but quickly and gruffly responded “I don’t have to distract her if we don’t get caught. Can’t I spend a night with my friends for once?” Blaze simply nodded and continued filling her bag with coins.
Even with the bags filled, the carriage was lined with gold. There really was too much. They would have to make multiple trips if they wanted to redistribute all of the wealth that night. Once they all had what they could carry, Tails made sure to lock up the carriages as if they’d never entered and they ran away to a more secluded spot to organize themselves. Sonic divided them into teams strategically and gave them different villages to go to. Each team got one heavy carrier, one rational person to act as leader, and one young member.
Knuckles, Blaze, and Charmy would be staying in their current village. None of them could travel very far or very quickly.
Vector, Espio, and Tails Would be going to the next two villages before. Vector and Espio had wanted Charmy on their team, but the chance of him getting lost was too great, so they got the durable and organized Tails instead.
Silver, Sonic, and Cream would hit all the further ones they could that night. All of them could travel quickly and Silver was carrying the most loot with him using his psychokinesis.
All of the team members first bumped, then separated to do their individual jobs. Knuckles and Charmy turned to Blaze, their team leader, for directions.
“We should go in the same order the Princess did to collect, and ask the individuals how much they had to give up. Knuckles, just carry the bags, Charmy, you can be our scout and distributor. Make sure nobody’s going to catch us.”
“Yes ma’am!” The boys agreed. Knuckles was just happy to be there. He hadn’t been able to join the redistribution efforts since he usually had the job of talking to the Princess. He glanced up. The moon was a sliver, not providing much light for them. No issue; Blaze was a living torch. She led the way to the very first house. She knocked on the door.
A female pig opened the door, obviously surprised to have visitors so late. Once she saw Blaze her expression changed from confused to elated.
“Blaze the cat! I’m a big fan, what do the rogues want with me? I’ll do anything I can to help your cause!” The pig whispered excitedly, opening her door to let the trio enter her home. This they did.
“Thank you for inviting us in. We’re here to help you,” Blaze explained.
Charmy, buzzing around excitedly, asked “how much did you give those soldiers today?” The pig told him the amount; three gold, ten silver. Knuckles silently opened his bag and handed the woman her dues. She shed a tear and thanked the group, clutching the money to her chest. They explained they had many more houses to visit, said brief goodbyes, and headed to the next house.
A few of the houses had nobody answer the door. That was to be expected; it was the dead of night, after all, so they would just leave a few coins at the door and go on. During stretches of these houses, the assigned team was able to talk to each other casually.
“It’s getting a bit annoying to keep this flame going. I wish the moon was more cooperative,” Blaze sighed.
“Don’t worry about it, let me just turn up the moon for ya,” Charmy replied sarcastically. Knuckles laughed. Blaze rolled her eyes.
“I’ll bet somebody out there has moon-controlling powers. Our friends have super speed, flight, fire, mind powers, you name it,” Knuckles pointed out.
“Ok, you’re right.”
“Maybe Rouge does. She sure seems to stare at the thing a lot.”
Charmy giggled, “a whole lot of help that will be. ‘Sorry for taking your money, here’s a full moon.’”
The house they were at answered the door, so their conversation paused for a bit to talk to the villagers. It went by quickly and the trio kept on their route.
“Speaking of the Princess. Isn’t it too convenient that her mind changed so completely and so quickly?” Blaze asked.
“I was thinking that! How do we know she’s really changed?” Charmy exclaimed.
“She’s one heck of an actress if she hasn’t changed,” Knuckles defended her, “do you know how many times she’s cried for the peasants’ situation?”
“No, we don’t.”
“Yeah, we usually aren’t around when the Princess throws herself into your arms and cries her crocodile tears.”
“Crocodile tears—” Knuckles couldn’t speak for a second, he was so angry— “She’s had to witness so many horrible things in just a few days! It’s probably traumatizing!”
“Remind me whose fault it was that those horrible things happened?” Charmy still wasn’t willing to trust the Princess. Knuckles stopped walking to face the small bee, his brow furrowed deeply. Blaze, also stopping, stood between the boys.
“I’m certain Charmy doesn’t mean to be insensitive. Remember that the rest of us have not met the Princess for ourselves. You have to admit that she isn’t doing much to turn things around yet.”
“What can she do?” Knuckles tried hard to keep his voice down when he felt so explosive. “What do you suggest she does instead, huh?”
“Let’s stop talking about this!” Blaze burst out. She glared at both Knuckles and Charmy with a look that could make anyone back off and weaker men physically hurt. They reluctantly kept walking, leaving Knuckles to stew silently.
He would think that the rogues would accept whatever allyship they could get from a royal family member. How could they brush off her efforts so easily? Sure, he hadn’t expected her to come around at first either, but they had all witnessed her giving back to the citizens already. Was that not enough proof for them? Either way, it didn’t matter. He was sure she was really reformed by now. He knew how much the trip around her kingdom had affected her. How seriously she took trying to change it for the better.
They continued their duties in silence until their bag of loot was empty. They hadn’t yet visited all of the houses, so they had to make a return trip to the carriage.
Once they arrived at the church, Blaze said she would refill the sack, so Charmy and Knuckles would act as her lookouts. There still weren’t any guards posted near the carriages. As the boys loitered around the edge of the building, the sudden sound of window shutters opening startled them into hiding. They hid behind a few small buildings nearby, in positions where they could still see.
The window they had heard opening was on the second floor of the church. Princess Rouge’s head poked out and she looked around. She leaned against the window pane and began staring at the moon. Charmy and Knuckles, huddled together behind a cramped building, knew they had to alert Blaze that the Princess was looking outside… without letting the Princess catch on that anyone besides Knuckles was there. Charmy lightly shoved Knuckles out from their hiding place. He knew what he had to do but really, he hadn’t wanted to see Rouge that night. This would be especially awkward after the argument he’d had with Charmy. But Blaze had to be warned.
Knuckles snuck close to the church wall to the back, where he was able to find Blaze still putting coins into the bag.
“Psst, Blaze! The Princess is looking out the window. You can’t be seen.”
Blaze looked up, startled. “Well! How long will she be looking out?” She hissed.
“I don’t know! She’s just staring at the moon!”
“Then get her to cut her stargazing short.”
Knuckles sighed and headed back to the side of the church where Rouge could see him. “Princess!” He called up at her. Rouge looked down and smiled once she saw him.
“Knuckles! I almost thought you weren’t coming tonight,” she said. Knuckles could feel his face burning. He knew that his teammates were listening to the conversation impatiently, but he had no idea how to get Rouge away from the window.
“Um, yeah, just checking in. Hey, why do you always stare at the sky like that? It’s not like it changes much. I’m sure you’ve seen enough of it already.”
“That’s not true. The moon changes every night. It wanes.” Apparently Rouge wanted to stretch this into a conversation. Knuckles’ patience was also waning.
“Well, you’ve seen the moon and you’ve seen me. That’s your checklist done. Goodnight, Princess.” Knuckles started walking off, but Rouge said “Wait!” He could see Charmy from where he stood now. Charmy was cracking up silently.
“You’re not going to stick around for longer?” Rouge asked. She sounded a little sad.
“I wasn’t planning on it. I’ve got places to be, batgirl.”
“Alright, I won’t keep you long then, I just wanted to tell you. Thank you for showing me what the kingdom was really like. Thank you for making sure I didn’t look the other way and ignore the problems in my own country.”
Charmy had stopped laughing and now watched the Princess with interest. Blaze’s head appeared from the other side of the church, also watching. Rouge continued her small speech.
“It’s really thanks to you and Lady Rose that I’m trying to improve anything at all. If it was up to me alone I would have stayed stuck in my ways. Even though it wasn’t comfortable for either of us, and I’m sorry for inconveniencing you, I’m really grateful that you stayed with me.”
Knuckles was so embarrassed he felt ready to sink into the ground. With all the effort he could muster, he turned his head to look at Rouge’s expression. She was looking down at him with tears in her eyes and a smile on her lips.
“N-no problem. I’ve got to go now,” Knuckles muttered, hiding his face.
“Alright. Goodnight then.”
“Night.”
Rouge closed the window shutters once more, and Knuckles dashed to where Blaze was. Charmy joined them quickly.
“Wow,” he said, “she must be some actress. You really know how to pick ‘em, knux.”
Knuckles punched him in the arm. “I didn’t pick anyone!”
“Still. Looks like we can trust the Princess a little more than we previously thought, right Charmy?” Blaze smiled.
“...Yeah.”
“Anyway!” Knuckles exclaimed, tossing the sack of coins that Blaze had just stolen over his shoulder, “let’s get the rest of this money to the citizens already!”

Chapter Text

The next morning over breakfast, Sir Edgar Stone announced their next stop.
“We are nearing the lands ruled by Duke and Duchess White. Since we have the Princess and a few newbies with us, I’ll explain what that means. The Duke and Duchess graciously collect their lands’ taxes for us and allow us all to stay at their manor overnight. So today will be an easy day. You may actually enjoy it. Under no circumstances will you disrespect the Whites. They hold the most power in this kingdom under the royal family and the King’s personal advisors, and we are their guests.”
Everyone nodded, their mouths too full to respond properly. Rouge vaguely remembered the Whites, though she had not seen them for years. They lived together and were a Duke and Duchess, but they weren’t a married couple. They were siblings. The whites loved music and performing, and thankfully they were good at it, so the Princess looked forward to a concert during their visit.
She hoped they would also prepare a feast. The church didn’t exactly serve a five-star meal.
Once the soldiers and Rouge had piled back into their carriages, they set off on the road. It took quite a few hours on the road. Past the cluster of villages they had already visited was miles of farmland. On the ride, Rouge opened her carriage’s side door and stood on the edge. The wind blew past her, ruffling her perfectly-coiffed hair so a few curled strands stuck out. She watched as golden fields of wheat rushed past her. Her moment was cut short when one of the carriage drivers yelled at her to close the door.
The next time she opened her carriage door was when she was stepping out of it. They had finally arrived at the gorgeous manor. Rouge studied the grand stone building. It was several stories, four if she had to guess, and had many doors and windows. The grounds were immaculately cared for. They had an outdoor amphitheater. A servant ran out to greet the soldiers and take care of their carriages and horses. The servant boy did a double take when he saw the Princess there, but quickly averted his gaze and fulfilled his duties silently. Finally free of their vehicles, the soldiers and Rouge, led by Sir Edgar, filed into the manor through the gigantic double doors.
Once inside, the Duke and Duchess White greeted them formally.
“Welcome again to our manor, Sir Edgar, it’s an honor to have you here,” Duchess White said cordially. Duke White simply bowed.
“The honor is all mine. Thank you again for hosting us,” Sir Edgar bowed deeply. He then gestured for Rouge to step forward.
Looking at the brother and sister, Rouge suddenly felt self-conscious. They had extremely fine clothes, finer than any she had brought along on the trip. The Duchess especially had a gorgeous black gown with diamonds or clever imitations on the bodice, and she wore silver accessories on her wrists and ears. The Duke wore a matching black jacket, but had more earrings than his sister. Both wore large medallions. Rouge hadn’t seen the two for years, but they seemed to be the same age. She was the Princess, but she wore a purple gown adorned with a few white pearls, much less than their garb. Plus her hair had been all messed up from the carriage ride. She stepped forward to greet them awkwardly. They didn’t show the slightest sign they were surprised to see the Princess there.
“It is lovely to see you, Duke; Duchess,” she curtsied to both of them individually.
“Oh, you don’t need to curtsy to us,” the Duchess blushed, though it was hard to see on her pink fur. Her brother again didn’t say anything, though he stared at Rouge.
“Of course—” Rouge straightened up— “but I would like to. Take it as a sign of respect for your help and gracious hosting.”
“Oh my,” the Duchess grinned. A maid appeared next to her, and the duchess gestured to her as she explained “This girl will show you to your rooms. You may rest for an hour before dinner starts.” The Princess and Sir Edgar nodded and followed the maid as she went up a flight of stairs, giving each of the soldiers their own rooms on the second floor. The Princess was led to a larger room on the third floor. As she entered, she realized her luggage had already been brought in and a new gown laid out for her. She gasped; how kind of them to even give her a new outfit! She had been nervous, but Duchess White was such a sweetheart that it put her at ease.
Downstairs, the Duke and Duchess hurried to a side room and shut the door before both heaving big sighs.
“You did a great job keeping your mouth shut, Manic,” the Duchess complemented her brother… If you could consider that a compliment.
“I wish you wouldn’t make me, Sonia. I had a lot to say,” Manic nagged.
“Oh yeah? Like what?”
“Like, nice to see you again Princess, you grew into a real bombshell—“
“MANIC! Don’t you dare!”
“A hotcake. A real slice of prime beef.”
“Say one more thing and I’ll put tape over your stupid mouth for the rest of the evening,” Sonia warned. Manic shut up.
“Anyway, we’d better tell the others that the soldiers have arrived. They’ll have to be careful now.” Sonia led her brother through another door and up a tight flight of spiral steps. This small passage was the only one that opened to the fourth floor. It’s where they kept people who would need to be hidden.
“Bad news, bros. The soldiers just arrived, so you’re stuck up here for now,” Manic, already over staying silent, announced at the top of the stairs.
The Sonic gang all looked up at the two. A few groans of exasperation rose from the small crowd. Though they would have the entire fourth floor to themselves, the bandits were used to sleeping out in the open and being able to go anywhere whenever they wanted. Being cooped up was something few of them could stand. Only Cream was smiling.
“Thanks for the free night stay, sibs,” Sonic grinned. Sonia and Manic smiled back.
“We’d let you stay with us anytime,” Sonia said, “we missed you.”
“Maybe you did,” Manic teased. Sonia elbowed him in the ribs and changed the subject.
“You guys were right, the Princess was with them. Any idea why?”
“You’ll have to ask our Princess expert, Knuckles.” A few giggles came from the gang. Knuckles told them all to shut up, then addressed Sonia.
“Her dear old dad sent her to make sure we didn’t steal all the tax money. His plan backfired though, and she’s on our side now. She’s been pardoning the people all over the kingdom.”
“Wow, she sure is something, huh?” Both Manic and Sonia said, in very different tones. They glared at each other, then both said, “Princess expert? Is there something between you two?”
“Huh!? No! No way, why does everybody think that?” Knuckles groaned, starting to blush. The siblings looked relieved. Sonia, eager to change the subject, turned to Sonic.
“We’re going to give a concert at the feast tonight. Our sound just hasn’t been the same without our guitar. What do you think about it? Want to rejoin the family band for a night?”
“And don’t worry about it— we’ve already got a killer disguise for you,” Manic added in, winking at his brother. Sonic laughed and agreed. With that and one more warning from Sonia to stay on the fourth floor, the siblings walked back down the stairs together. In their small room they placed a wig that looked like Antoine's hair and some fancy musician’s clothes on Sonic. They all laughed at how frou-frou he looked.
“Nobody could recognize scruffy Sonic under all this,” Manic commented.
“Hey, I’m scruffy because I’ve lived in the woods since I moved out. What’s your excuse?” He shot back.
“Now now boys, you’re both equally disgusting,” said Sonia, using a compact mirror to reapply her makeup. “Come on— let’s go practice our song before dinner.”
…
An hour or so later, everyone was called down to the gigantic dining room on the ground floor. Rouge made sure to wear the gown that had been given to her; it was a pink off-the-shoulder look with a thinner skirt than most of her dresses. It showed off her natural shape well.
The room had a side stage (what room in this place wasn’t a performance venue?) and a gigantic table set for the crowd of guests. Dinner looked delicious; meat pies, warm bread, fresh fruit, and a whole roasted pig. Rouge was given a seat at the head of the table, next to Sir Edgar. The Duke and Duchess would sit on the other side of her once their performance was done. Everyone watched as the siblings and one other man, who appeared to be a musician, stepped onto the raised stage.
“Thank you all for tolerating our noise,” Sonia began, speaking to the audience while the men set up their instruments. “Dinner will begin right after the song.”
“Let’s rock on!” Manic shouted. He started the song off with the drums and soon the group was performing smoothly. Rouge didn’t know much about music, but it sounded good, so they must have been skillful. They seemed to be having fun too. Seeing their smiles was almost more enjoyable than the music. The performance was over all too soon, and the siblings took their places at the dinner table. The third performer also sat with them. They introduced him as their minstrel.
“Not the head minstrel? You only have one?” Rouge asked, as they seemed quite wealthy.
“We can only afford one, times have been tough lately. There has been a plague across our lands recently, and many have perished.” Sonia had a small moment of silence for those fallen citizens. “Not as many peasants to harvest and tend to the fields, you know how it is. Forgive us if the taxes are lighter this month.”
“Well, since there is a plague, it cannot be helped. I am so sorry to hear of your misfortune,” Sir Edgar’s smile was as fake as his condolences.
Servants filled everyone’s plates with the delicious prepared meal. The soldiers seemed to enjoy their food quite a lot. They stuffed their mouths immediately. Those at the head of the table were more civilized and held a conversation over their dinner.
“Your music performance was amazing. It seemed so fun,” Rouge complimented them.
“That was nothing,” Manic said, “if I had known you were coming, I would have prepared something even better.”
“Oh, my,” Rouge replied. She hadn’t had attention like this in a while. She fluttered her eyelashes at the hedgehog.
Sonia, seeing what was going on, decided to add some oil to the fire. “Princess, that dress really compliments you. You’re a vision of beauty.”
“The dress! Yes! I adore it, thank you for setting it out for me.”
“Only the best for you, gorgeous, I mean, Princess,” said Manic.
Sonic in his disguise and Sir Edgar looked extremely uncomfortable. Sir Edgar interrupted them.
“So, have you had any trouble with your peasants lately? We’ve heard some rumors of revolution.”
“Trouble? Oh no. All of our subjects are fine. We are flourishing,” replied Sonia.
“Except for the plague,” Manic added on in a hurry.
“Except for the plague!” Sonia repeated.
Sir Edgar narrowed his eyes, then said “I would like to pay my respects to all your fallen citizens. Do you have a memorial for them, or any gravesites?”
The siblings looked at each other, then quickly turned him down. “Not yet, I mean, it’s dangerous to get near them right now!” Manic said.
“We couldn’t have you going among the subjects and catching this horrible plague,” Sonia gasped.
“I see. This horrible plague. What does it look like? What are the symptoms, so that we may recognize it if it begins to spread?”
At the same time, the Duke and Duchess cried out a symptom.
“A high fever!” Sonia said.
“Blood squirting out of the eyeballs!” Manic said. Sonia looked at her brother in disgust, and he looked at her in panic.
“It’s, um, both,” the ‘minstrel’ spoke up for the first time, disguising his real voice. “It starts with a high fever, then the blood squirts out. Very gruesome. Let’s have a moment of silence…”
The head of guard stood up suddenly. Everyone stared at him.
“Duke, Duchess. I am beginning to suspect that there is no plague at all. Perhaps you have more citizens than you have reported to the crown.” Sir Edgar spoke in a low growl, but because everybody was watching him, he was heard clearly.
“Whaaat?” The Duke tried to play it off by laughing. “That’s ridiculous. Do you even hear yourself?”
“Do you? You seem unsure of your own subjects’ affairs. You didn’t know the symptoms of a plague in your own land. You went among the peasants to collect their money but still saw us into your home with no precautions.” Sir Edgar, though his sword had been left in his room, he reached into his jacket and took out a concealed dagger. Nobody else had a weapon.
“Hey now, this is a misunderstanding,” Sonia cried out.
“Then explain.”
Sonia wasn’t able to say anything. Sir Edgar grit his teeth and moved toward the Duchess. Rouge, startled, instinctively reached out to grab his jacket. This hindered him for a split second, long enough for her to sweep his feet out from under him. Sonic took the opportunity to rush over and take the dagger out of the man’s hand. Sonia and Manic stepped back.
Sir Edgar, on the ground, looked up with malice and grunted, “They are withholding funds from the crown.”
“They are our hosts!” Rouge yelled at the man. “We must not do anything to upset them! These two have the most power in the kingdom, after the royal family and their advisors.”
“But—“
“We are your superiors. Trying to harm any of us would be treason. We could charge you with treason right now just for your insidious accusation, so I suggest you keep quiet about any inconsistencies you think you spot in the future.”
Sir Edgar picked himself off the ground. Now daggerless and with three higher ranking officials facing him down, he couldn’t do anything. Rage burned in his eyes. He pointed at Rouge, who stood her ground.
“You,” he croaked, “I don’t care if you’re the Princess. This is going too far.” He stepped closer, but Sonic blocked his path to Rouge. The men stared each other down before Sir Edgar switched his focus back to the Princess.
“If you step one more toe out of line… Interrupt me or my men while we are following the King’s orders one more time… I will treat you like any citizen. You will no longer be the Princess to me.”
“Why don’t you go back up to your room quietly,” Sonic said, “and we’ll deal with you later.” Sir Edgar wouldn’t have budged, but Sonic had the dagger, so he begrudgingly turned and stalked up the stairs by himself. Everyone watched him leave, then sat back down somewhat awkwardly. The soldiers, every one of them, stood up when the Duke and Duchess sat down.
“What are you doing?” Rouge asked them. They didn’t reply. Instead they all followed their boss up the stairs.
“We’re sorry for making this harder for you, Princess,” Sonia exclaimed. “He threatened you because you came to our defense.”
Rouge, sitting back at her spot but now in front of an empty table, was very frightened. The soldiers were surely against her now. She had to continue traveling with them. This trip became more dangerous for her every day. “It was no problem,” Rouge lied and smiled at the siblings. “And thank you to your brave minstrel for the help.” Sonic nodded at her cordially. He then handed her the dagger he had taken from the head of guard. “For your self-defense,” he whispered to her. She nodded, then slipped the dagger into her dress pocket.
“I guess dinner is over then…” Sonia sighed. They all stood up again.
“Princess,” Manic said, “Perhaps you would be safer in a different room tonight.”
Rouge considered this, but Sonic spoke up, still using his assumed voice since the Princess didn’t know that he or his whole gang had followed her. “Even with switching rooms, she would need a capable bodyguard. Somebody strong and dedicated.” He gave his siblings a meaningful look. They agreed that she should switch rooms.
“Follow me to your new place,” Manic said, taking her hand to gently lead her there. They walked down a hallway and into a small room. It seemed to be a servant’s room, but it was still comfortable. More comfortable than the inns she'd stayed in up until then, anyway.

Chapter Text

“Well, here it is, Princess. Real sorry it’s cramped, but that awful head of guard won’t suspect you’d be in here,” Manic told her.
“What about my luggage?” She asked.
“We’ll get it secretly somehow. We got it.”
“About the bodyguard thing, I already have somebody that might work—“ this didn’t make Rouge happy, but Midnight was a soldier who didn’t entirely trust his boss, and if she could appoint him to be her bodyguard then the Whites wouldn’t be burdened by having to find one for her. Though her slight hesitation to mention her pick of bodyguard made Manic frown.
“Rouge,” he intoned, still holding her hand, “couldn’t I stay and protect you?”
“...What?” She was caught off guard. A blush crept into her cheeks. This seemed sudden.
“I’m actually pretty tough! Give me a chance?”
Rouge pulled away, uncomfortable. “No offense,” she fake laughed to try and play this off as a joke, “but your minstrel fought better than you did.”
“Ha! That’s true,” Manic backed off. “Then I’ll go get your stuff.”
“But I didn’t get to tell you who the bodyguard—“
“Don’t bother. I already know who you want.” Manic left, closing the door behind him. Rouge stood baffled for a second, then crumpled onto the floor, astonished. What just happened? Duke White was into her or something, how embarrassing. For him, that is.
Sonia walked in, startling Rouge out of her position and back into standing.
“I brought you a better dress, dollface,” Sonia said, holding a blue nightgown in her arms. “I’ll need to borrow the one you’re wearing!”
“Why?”
“I’m going to disguise myself as you to get your luggage out of your room. If you have any white makeup powder, that would help a lot too.” Sonia smiled mischievously and set the gown on the bed.
“Alright, I’ll change then.” Sonia backed out of the room to let her do so. Rouge emptied her pockets before taking off the pink dress and throwing on the new blue one. She did have some makeup powders and a compact mirror in there, but she had also been carrying the dagger. She wondered whether it was wiser to keep the dagger with herself, or to lend it to Sonia. Never mind, now that she was dressed, she could ask Sonia directly.
“Here’s the makeup. By the way, will you be needing this dagger?” Rouge asked after opening the door and handing the hot pink hedgehog her powders. Sonia considered the dagger for a moment.
“Nah, I’ll get a sword instead. This is my own house, I know where all the weapons are.” Sonia smiled at her. Somehow, Sonia made Rouge feel foolish. She was so dependable and had great style. She wanted to be like her. It left a burning sensation in her chest, for no other discernible reason. Sonia turned to walk away, but paused. She looked back at Rouge.
“Say, Princess,” she said, “Do you want to talk about love for a bit? Living with just my brother, I haven’t had a good girl talk in a while.”
Rouge couldn’t say no to Sonia, so they both stepped back into Rouge’s makeshift room.
“Mind if I change while we talk?” Sonia asked.
“Not really, I won’t look,” replied Rouge. She turned away from Sonia and stared at the wall. “So what did you want to say to me?”
“General girl stuff. Like, do you have a crush on anybody?” This situation was unbelievably awkward for Rouge. She could hear Sonia’s clothes rustling behind her. The way she could talk to her so casually made her feel even sillier for being nervous earlier.
“Not really, at least, I don’t think so.”
“Really? There’s nobody for an eligible, rich, hot young girl like you?” Sonia’s voice was light with exaggerated flattery. This did nothing to help Rouge relax.
“Of course. Who could be worthy of me?” she stated haughtily. She was actually thinking of Knuckles. But there was no reason to tell the Duchess any such thing. It was embarrassing.
“Princess, do you even have any friends?” That question seemed sudden.
“...I guess not, nobody I’m close to,” Rouge replied sadly. She wouldn’t be so bold as to call Lady Rose or Duchess Sonia her friends.
“Then please be careful. Sometimes when you're lonely, you can mistake friendship for love.” The rustling sounds stopped, and Sonia said “done! Wanna see?”
Rouge turned around. Now Sonia was wearing her pretty pink dress. She was a little flatter than Rouge, but once her fur was white nobody would be able to tell the difference from a distance. Rouge offered to help her apply the makeup since there were no mirrors in the room. Sonia happily agreed and sat down on the bed so Rouge could do her work.
“That’s true,” Rouge said while spreading white powder on her cheeks. Were friendship and love really so much alike? How could somebody tell the difference? Rouge decided to flip the script.
“How about you? You’re the one who wanted to talk about this, after all!” Sonia mumbled in reply, so Rouge told her it was okay to move her mouth.
“I’ve had a crush on this one guy forever,” she giggled. “My brother introduced him to me. He’s strong and kind and he even saved my life a few times.”
“Wow! Sounds like quite the guy. What’s his name?”
“Knuckles. You know him, right?”
Rouge stopped her makeup for a second. A thousand thoughts raced across her mind in that second. Sonia liked Knuckles? Heck, she knew Knuckles? He’d told Rouge he hadn’t been outside his hometown before. But apparently he had quite the history with the Duchess. The beautiful, stylish, graceful, polite, and perfect Duchess. The Duchess who was so much better than her. Why should she get bent up about this anyway? Maybe she didn’t like Knuckles at all. Maybe wanting to see him and talk to him and hold him so often was just friendship. Either way, she had known Knuckles for a few days, and Sonia had known him for years. She didn’t stand a chance.
“I have met him,” Rouge replied, starting to apply Sonia’s lipstick. “He’s one of the bandits, and we’ve talked… a few times.” Once she was done with the lipstick, Sonia rubbed her lips together and spoke again.
“Nothing else? He said he was following you around the kingdom or something.” So Knuckles had visited and talked to Sonia that day, but not Rouge.
“Yeah. He’s just keeping an eye on me. He doesn’t trust that I’m trying to be better. He said… He didn’t believe I had really changed. So that’s why he’s following.”
“Oh, okay,” Sonia grinned.
“Well! You’re done with your makeup! We could be twins,” Rouge straightened up and did her best to smile at Sonia. Sonia stood up and checked her compact mirror. “We could be… If I was half as gorgeous as you!” She laughed. “Thanks for the makeover and the girl talk. Have a good night, Princess.” Finally she left the room.
Rouge was left with nothing to do but sit on her bed. Her books and embroidery kit were still in her luggage. She was left with her thoughts.
Sonia was a wonderful girl. Rouge couldn’t resent her for that, or for talking about her crush on Knuckles when Rouge had told her that she didn’t like anybody. It was true that she had no experience with real love or friendship. Sure, Rouge would flirt around with the castle guards or even servants in her youth, but there wasn’t any feeling behind it. It was just fun to flirt. Somehow Knuckles didn’t respond to her flirting, but he did hold her when she was scared, and he told her she was good. The way she felt about him was new and she didn’t quite know the word for it yet.
She was startled by a knock at her door. She opened it to see Sonia, breathing heavily but smiling, holding her luggage bag.
“Oh, thank you for bringing that. Did you run into any trouble?” Rouge took the bag from her.
“A few guards saw me go in, but not out. See, we gave you a room with a secret passageway in it just in case. They’ll totally think you’re in your room! Success! I also brought your bodyguard for tonight.” Sonia stepped aside, revealing Knuckles standing next to her.
“Knuckles, you’re here?” She asked, astonished.
“Unfortunately. Now you’re stuck with me again,” he replied lightheartedly. Rouge cast her eyes downward. Though he meant that as a joke, it disheartened her. She just nodded and allowed him to come in.
“Alright, you just let me know if you need anything else,” Sonia told her. Rouge closed the door. She ignored the fact that Knuckles was even in the room and just went about her business. She began unpacking what she needed from her travel bag; her embroidery kit and her hygiene products. The room had a sink in the corner she could use. She went there and began washing her face. The makeup smudged and ran off her face. It occurred to her that Knuckles would see her without her makeup. She didn’t care at the moment.
After a few minutes she finished getting cleaned up and sat on her bed. It at least had a soft mattress. She picked up some fabric, her embroidery thread and a needle, and began poking through with no particular design in mind.
Finally Knuckles spoke. “... So what, you’ve forgotten how to speak? Or am I really just an ordinary bodyguard now?”
Rouge replied in a cold voice. “Why would I want to speak with a liar? You lied to me.”
“What?”
“You told me only Sonic had been outside your hometown before, but Duchess Sonia told me. You’ve known each other for years. So here’s the riddle, how is that possible?”
Knuckles’ eyes widened, then he looked down. “So she told you that. Bet she had some embarrassing stories about me.”
“No, she thinks quite highly of you. You saved her life?” It was like she couldn’t stop thinking about this, and so she couldn’t stop talking about it. Well, Knuckles deserved to know what Sonia thought of him. She hoped it made him so happy that he could leave her alone and let her forget him.
“She was falling off a cliff, anybody would have done the same thing! Besides,” He scoffed, “we were only kids.”
Rouge had to focus on her pointless embroidery to stop from getting too frustrated. If she spoke now, she might say something she didn’t mean. It was Knuckles’ nature to help somebody in danger. Maybe that’s the reason he had helped her so much.
Knuckles continued, annoyed. “You asked me if the bandits had ever gone past that town. I wasn’t a bandit at the time, I didn’t think it mattered where I went as a kid. Sorry for not reading your mind and spilling my whole life story!”
“Alright then, it was a misunderstanding so don’t get angry at me!” Rouge snapped back.
“Don’t get angry at you? You’re the one who was all bent up over such a small thing! Not even a thank you for giving up my time to look after you!”
“That was your choice. You can leave if you don’t want to look after me.” Rouge glared at Knuckles. He didn’t reply or leave, choosing instead to sit down right where he was and cross his arms. Rouge went back to her embroidery. They sat like that for a while. Rouge’s anger dissolved bit by bit. Once she was done sewing a few flowers, she’d calmed down and began thinking of other things.
She hadn’t been able to see the moon that night. She stared blankly at the wall next to her bed. There were no windows in here. She would have to skip her nightly ritual.
Knuckles caught her staring at the wall. “Done with your sewing?” He asked. In reply, she set her embroidery things on the mattress next to her and sighed. She wouldn’t raise a fuss about the moon. She would just go to sleep. She lay down.
“Come to think of it,” Knuckles said offhandedly, “you won’t be able to stargaze tonight.” Rouge was surprised and looked at him. He also seemed to have calmed down. She was glad; it had been a stupid fight.
“You noticed I did that?”
Knuckles laughed softly. “How could I not? Practically every time we meet, you’re staring out a window. What else could you be doing? Communicating with aliens?”
Rouge laughed too. “Tell you what,” she said, “I’ll tell you why I stare out windows so much, if you tell me about how you know the duchess.”
“That hardly seems like a fair trade!”
“Do you want to know or not?”
Knuckles considered this, then said “alright. It’s better than silence, at least.”
Rouge began her story. “When I was little, my father— you know, the King— gave me all sorts of jewels and gorgeous things.”
“Wow. How relatable,” Knuckles interrupted sarcastically. Rouge rolled her eyes and continued.
“So I loved the night sky, because it was filled with little sparkling diamonds. I asked my father if he could buy it for me. Every time he brought me something new, he would tell me it was a different star, but he could never get me the moon. The moon was something special that belonged to everyone. So I look at it so I can pretend it’s mine. That must seem foolish.”
With no hesitation, Knuckles said “Yep. Pretty selfish too.”
“I was a kid,” Rouge pointed out.
“But you still do it,” Knuckles rebutted. Rouge blushed and told him to shut it. “Obviously I’m not like that anymore! It’s just a habit.”
“Could’ve said it was just a habit without rubbing your privilege in my face, Princess.”
“Enough about that! You promised to tell me about when you were a kid.”
Knuckles groaned, but told his story anyway. “When I was younger, around 10, I lived in this town. I was friends with Sonic first, then Manic and Sonia. We would play and explore whenever the Duchess and Dukes had time off of their nobility classes. We would play around pretty dangerous areas, cliffs, rivers, snake pits. That’s why I always had to save their sorry butts!”
“And? How did you go from here to the first town?” Rouge was enjoying the story and wanted to know more, but Knuckles got a somber look in his eyes when she asked that. Quickly he fixed his expression.
“Telling you that wasn’t a part of the deal.”
“That’s true,” Rouge shrugged, “then let’s forget the deal and just chat.”
“About what?”
“Anything. I’ll go first. I like the sky, but I hate the outdoors. It has bugs and hot sunlight and sometimes even rain. How can you stand to live outside?”
Knuckles looked shocked. “How could you hate the outdoors? It’s so beautiful!”
“Those scraggly plants and the dirt? No way.” Rouge stuck out her tongue in mock distaste.
“Let me guess. You’ve never stepped foot outside the castle before now.”
Rouge turned red, grabbed her pillow, and hit Knuckles’ arm with it. “You—! You’re right, but don’t make fun of me for it!” He laughed.
“Bet you’ve never even had a garden!”
“Now that’s just a lie. The castle did too have a garden.”
“And you went in it?”
Rouge didn’t respond. She did not like going into the garden. She’d always preferred staying inside and admiring non-living things. Knuckles smirked. “That’s what I thought. Seriously, you’re missing out. This mansion has the greatest garden, if you saw it you’d agree. Oh!” Suddenly he perked up. He looked at Rouge excitedly, then spoke in a more hushed voice. “We could sneak into the garden.”
“Wait a minute. Aren’t you supposed to be keeping me in this room?” Rouge asked flatly.
“My only orders were to keep you safe,” he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Come on.” He extended his hand to her, which she took. Then they were off.
Once they saw that nobody was in the hallway blocking them, they rushed out. Knuckles knew his way around the manor and quickly led her out a side door onto the lawn. They ran across a wide stretch of grass and eventually found themselves in front of an ornately carved silver arch and fence. Vines climbed up the silver entrance arch. Knuckles let go of Rouge’s hand and spread his arms wide.
“Ta-dah,” he said, “here we are!”
Rouge looked into the garden. It was well-kept, just like the rest of the grounds. The place was set up like a maze of tangled plants. So many different types of trees and bushes and flowers. A few statues and a central fountain accessorized the space, making it classy. There was less of a path and more of stretches of grass where other plants weren’t. Among the plants were rose bushes, wisterias, foxglove, willow trees, blackberries, and a tree with out-of-season golden leaves.
Rouge gazed wide-eyed at the gorgeous display. Maybe it was the nighttime mystique or the tasteful decoration, but this garden was actually nice, not at all like most plants. She walked through the silver arch of her own will. She got a closer look at the flowers, picked a few blackberries, and finally settled on a bench looking at the central fountain. During this Knuckles had been following vaguely at a respectful distance. Now he sat next to her on the bench and smiled widely.
“So? Was I right?” He asked the question already knowing the answer.
“Hmm. It’s alright, I guess,” Rouge said, then offered him a blackberry which he graciously accepted. She looked up at the sky. The moon was still a small sliver, but the stars were just as beautiful as always. With Knuckles next to her, maybe they were even more beautiful.
A pang of guilt struck her. She was at the Sonia’s manor, enjoying HER garden with HER lifelong crush. Suddenly it felt wrong of her to be enjoying this. She looked down.
Knuckles, noticing this, asked “is something wrong?”
“I was thinking, we should go back to the room.” Her hands fidgeted in her lap.
Knuckles furrowed his brow. “What? You don’t like the garden after all?”
“No, that’s not it,” she shook her head, “the Duchess trusts that we’re in the room.”
“Sonia’s not a big worrywart. She’ll be fine as long as we come back in one piece.”
Rouge didn’t have an answer for this. She couldn’t tell Knuckles the real reason she wanted to go back. That she didn’t want to be with him in this beautiful place in case she betrayed Sonia’s trust. She felt a hand on her cheek and turned her face to Knuckles. His expression was concerned as he looked into her eyes.
“...What are you so scared of?” He whispered. To herself, Rouge knew what she was so scared of. She was scared of falling in love with him. She was scared of betraying not only Sonia, but her father, the soldiers who counted on the demise of the bandits for their livelihood, and the entire country. As he had one hand gently on her cheek and looked at her with those amazing amethyst eyes, she knew she couldn’t do this.
She took hold of his wrist and moved his hand off her face.
“Please don’t do that again,” she told him, standing up. “We’re going back now.” She didn’t remember the directions all the way back to her small hiding place, but she walked out of the garden knowing Knuckles would catch up. That he did, and began leading her back into the manor. Just inside, they heard footsteps approaching but couldn’t hide fast enough.
Manic ran into the pair. At first he was surprised, then angry.
“Knuckles! Princess! Wha— what are you doing out here!?” The two shifted awkwardly. Finally Knuckles told him where they had been.
“Took the Princess out for some private stargazing, eh? While her life is in danger? Classy, Knux,” Manic growled. He grabbed Rouge’s hand and started leading her to her hiding place. Knuckles kept up beside them.
“So what? Nothing happened, and I could have protected her if it had. Keeping us cooped up isn’t the end-all solution,” Knuckles said indignantly.
“If you were feeling ‘cooped up,’ YOU could leave!” Manic snapped. “You put Rouge in a dangerous situation because you wanted to see some flowers.”
“Manic,” Rouge cried, still being tugged along, “it was alright. Nothing happened to me. And— I can walk by myself.” Manic released her but still walked at his brisk pace. Finally they all arrived back at her room. Knuckles tried to go in, but Manic stuck his arm out and stopped him.
“You’re relieved of bodyguard duty,” he told Knuckles. They both looked at Rouge for confirmation. Rouge just nodded and walked past both of them into her room. Manic followed her in, and slammed the door shut in front of Knuckles.

Chapter Text

Rouge was woken up by Manic shaking her gently.
“Good morning, Princess. We’ve got to get you to the table before any of the soldiers.”
Rouge rubbed her eyes and sat up. She saw that Manic had dark circles under his eyes. He must have slept very little, if at all. She thanked him sincerely for the guard and asked him to leave so she could change. That he did, and she was soon ready to leave the manor; everything was packed again and she wore a day dress. She waited at the huge dining room table until the soldiers and Sir Edgar came downstairs. The Duke and Duchess stood close to her, creating a sort of barrier, but the soldiers all pretended like she didn’t exist. They glanced in her direction a few times but said nothing. Sir Edgar did not eat at the head of the table with her.
Sonia slipped Sir Edgar’s dagger into Rouge’s dress pocket and whispered good luck to her. She would need it.
After breakfast everyone filed into the carriages. The soldiers chatted among themselves. Rouge tried not to look at anyone and just boarded silently. She was glad that the soldiers weren’t trying to threaten or hurt her, at least. She waved to the Duke and Duchess before the carriage took her out of their lands. It would be a long ride before they came to a new town. Thank goodness she had a private carriage.
She didn’t know how long she had been riding— it felt like a few hours— when something ripped her carriage door right off its hinges.
Rouge pressed herself against the bench to minimize the splinters hitting her. She’d moved just in time, an arrow flew over her head, barely missing. Rouge shrieked.
Men were yelling outside; she stayed curled up on her bench. The carriage was still moving, she had to trust that it would take her to safety.
She heard footfalls too close to her. Rouge looked up to see a slender man in the doorway of her carriage with a knife in his hand. Rouge grabbed the dagger Sonia had given her and threw it at the man in panic. The dagger hit the man’s forehead and made him fall off. Another man came into her carriage, but this time it was a soldier.
“Princess! Are you all right?” The soldier was Midnight. Rouge was so overwhelmed that all she could say was “yes,” instead of the questions she had or the expletives she wanted to scream. Midnight turned around so he could see what was going on outside the carriage, but still spoke to Rouge.
“This town was always resistant, but not like this. Looks like somebody tipped them off that we had you with us this time. The citizens are actively attempting to assassinate you.” The way he spoke offered no comfort. Once Rouge found her voice, she asked him “is there anywhere I can be safe?”
“We’re going to check you into the inn early. It’s operated by citizens loyal to the King and we’ll lock you in.” That didn’t really answer her question of whether or not it would be safe, but anywhere would be safer than this. Rouge could hear everything going on outside. There was shouting from the soldiers as well as the townspeople. A chant was rising from the town.
“THE PRINCESS OR US! THE PRINCESS OR US!” Hundreds of voices yelled the phrase. Midnight had to push another citizen off as they tried to reach Rouge. Arrows, rocks, and rotten fruit made it through the doorway. The rotten fruit’s putrid juices splashed onto Rouge. The carriage’s drivers urged their horses to go as fast as they could to make it to the town’s inn. Finally they arrived, and Midnight rushed out with a few other soldiers, covering the Princess in a mad dash for the doors while the citizens threw more and more dangerous objects at them. A knife hit Rouge’s skirt, tearing it beyond repair. Finally, once inside, the noise was muffled. That didn’t mean rest. The Princess was rushed to a high level room with a metal door and unceremoniously shoved inside.
“Stay in there— we’ll all be back once the taxes are collected!” One of the soldiers told her.
“You mean nobody will be guarding me?” She asked, shocked.
“We’ll try, but we have our hands full.” Rouge had a distinct feeling that they were lying. Midnight hadn’t said anything, he just looked the other way. So that was their angle. If one of the citizens killed her, they would be happy, but they couldn’t make it look like they hadn’t been trying to keep her safe. So the soldiers were loyal to Sir Edgar to the end. Rouge’s hands curled into fists as the heavy metal door slammed shut.
The room she’d been given was large, with a bathroom and a bed but no other furniture. It was a wasteland of cold, empty space. It had a window, but Rouge wasn’t about to go anywhere near that window. If the peasants found out which room she was in, and that it was a room with an easily smashable window, she would be in big trouble. So rouge quietly sat against the wall furthest from the window and looked around for anything she could possibly use as a weapon. Inside the bathroom was a brush with a wooden handle. She could take one or two of the legs off of her bed and use them as blunt objects. Then a rock smashed through her window, completely shattering it and letting a rush of cold air in. Rouge, terrified that they had somehow found her room, scrambled into the connected bathroom and closed the door. Minutes passed by; she could hear more windows shattering, but nobody came into her room. It seems that the rock had been thrown at random, just hoping to cause some property damage. She cracked the bathroom door slightly and, upon seeing nobody, snuck back out. She was careful where to step, since broken glass littered the floor. Gingerly she picked up a large shard of glass. Now this was something she could use as a weapon. Quickly she put the wood-handled brush, the glass shard, and one of her necklaces together as a makeshift dagger. She regretted now how she had thrown her previous dagger at an attacker. She took her new weapon into the corner with her, got out one of her books, and tried not to break down. Freaking out wouldn’t help in that moment. She had to stay calm and be prepared to fight at any second.
Eventually the ruckus outside became calm. At least she couldn’t hear shouting anymore.
A gloved hand appeared on her window sill and she tensed up, getting ready to strike. But the next second she recognized the hand. Knuckles had climbed up to her room.
“Hey, stupid! You’re giving away my position!” She hissed at him.
“Aw, lay off me,” he groaned in reply, pulling himself into the room, “Nobody’s even out there anymore. They’re too busy fighting the soldiers.” Knuckles helped her up and showed her outside the window; nobody was in sight. Still, Rouge pulled her head in quickly, not dwelling on that. She heaved a giant sigh and slumped onto the floor again.
“You will not believe the day I’ve had,” She said.
“Bet I will.”
“The second we entered the town, about ten people tried to murder me. The soldiers refuse to guard me anymore! They want me to die!”
“Well, that’s why I’m here.” Knuckles sat next to her and placed his hand on top of hers. “The soldiers might not care about you anymore, but—”
Rouge pulled her hand away, staring at him. “Please shut up.”
Knuckles grew red in the face. “I’m trying to support you here,” he said.
“You can do that without the… the hand-holding, and the staring, and the flattery.”
“Excuse me for caring then! Guess that’s a one way street!”
“One way..? I care about you!” Their voices were rising.
“Oh really, you do? How could I not see that when you push me away and insult me! I must just be stupid!”
Rouge was stretched too thin. Fighting with Knuckles wasn’t worth this stress. Either she spilled things now, or she may go haywire. “Do you think we can be friendly without consequences? I’m the Princess, and you’re one of the most wanted criminals in my country. It’s better for everybody if we stay away from each other.” tears came to her eyes. “You think I’m doing this because I want to? It must be nice for you, living so carefree, but I have the fate of a nation on my shoulders.” Rouge tried to rub her tears away discreetly, but they were pretty hard to hide from a guy who was sitting right next to her. Knuckles’ expression got softer.
“You were thinking about all that?” he asked quietly. She didn’t respond. Knuckles looked at his feet and rubbed his neck. He spoke awkwardly.
“Princess Rouge, when I first met you, I thought you would never change from that selfish, ignorant girl. But as we met more, you became, like, better..? Passionate and angry, and you cared about your subjects. The truth is, I admire you, and you’re doing a great job. The fact that you’re thinking all that stuff. It’s proof that you’ve changed.” His confession was clumsy, but earnest. Rouge gave him a bittersweet smile.
“You don’t have to force yourself to cheer me up.”
“No, I meant it. Rouge, in the garden yesterday, I realized something… I think I really—“
“STOP! I know, okay,” Rouge cried, “I know what you’re trying to say. Please don’t. Don’t make this harder.” She took a deep breath. “I’m grateful to you for teaching me about my own country. Thank you for protecting me, even when your life was on the line, and for believing I could do so much. You can rest easy knowing that I’ll talk to my father to change the laws. You don’t have to do any more.”
Even though he was being praised, Knuckles looked hurt. He stood up, and Rouge thought he was going to leave, but instead he began picking up the glass shards scattered across her floor.
“What are you doing?” She asked, perplexed.
“What’s it look like? I’m cleaning this crap up. I don’t want you to get hurt by it.” This was his way of saying he would continue to help her. He wasn’t there just for the country. He was there for her. Rouge watched him work for a bit, then glanced at the sky outside. It was getting dark. The soldiers should be done with their collections soon. She wondered if they would come check on her at all, or if they would just abandon her there. Knuckles finished his job and took a position standing in front of Rouge, who was still seated on the floor.
“Why are you still here?” She asked.
“I still have something to say. You interrupted me earlier.”
“So what, you’re not going to leave until you say it? The soldiers might be here soon, you know.”
“I love you.”
Rouge’s jaw dropped. She turned immediately to look at Knuckles. She couldn’t see his face well from her position and the low light, but he seemed imposing standing over her like he was. She stood up to face him properly.
“I’m sorry. I won’t say the same.” Now that she could see his face, his eyes captivated hers.
“Won’t? Not can’t?”
“There’s too much at stake. The country, my father, Sonia—“
“What does Sonia have to do with this?” Knuckles asked, exasperated. Rouge looked down and crossed her arms.
“She loved you first. I can’t intrude on that.”
Knuckles was shocked at first, then thoughtful. He placed a hand on Rouge’s shoulder.
“Imagine for a second if it didn’t matter how Sonia felt, how the country would react, or what your father would think. I’m asking you, not them— how do you feel about me?” Knuckles’ voice was low.
Rouge croaked in reply, “I love you too.”
Knuckles pulled her into an embrace, and she accepted it. She pressed her face into the crook of his neck. It was warm and wonderful, it released all of the feelings Rouge had been trying to keep bottled up. All of the love and stress and sadness burned within her, finally free to be felt.
She broke the embrace slightly to look into Knuckles’ eyes. Tears fell silently down her cheeks, and Knuckles wiped one of them off. As he had one hand gently on her cheek and looked at her with those amethyst eyes, she leaned in.
Their lips met gently; then they became decisive. Rouge moved her hands up to rest on his neck, and his stayed wrapped around her back. In that moment, there was no kingdom; there was only them, standing in a cold room with a broken window but not feeling the slightest chill.

Suddenly the door slammed open, startling the two apart. Sir Edgar stormed into the room, all of his Soldiers behind him, and pointed an accusing finger at Rouge.
“YOU! You’ve been conspiring with the bandits to steal all of the tax money!”
“What!?” She gasped, stumbling backward a few steps. Soldiers rushed into the room and surrounded the pair.
“Not a cent is left! All of it, stolen! And here you are with one of THEM!” Sir Edgar screamed hysterically, “CAPTURE THEM BOTH!”
As the men closed in on the couple, Knuckles turned back to Rouge and whispered an apology. He kissed her briefly once more, then ran through the barrier of soldiers with brute force and escaped right out the window. Some soldiers made to follow him, but Sir Edgar stopped them.
“Don’t bother,” he breathed heavily, “we’ve got the one we need right here.” He beckoned one of the soldiers forward; that soldier happened to be Midnight. Rouge, in shock, looked to Midnight with pleading eyes. He stepped forward and locked her wrists into heavy manacles. He held her arms behind her.
“What’s going on?” She cried desperately. “I don’t know about any stolen money!”
Sir Edgar stood before her and slapped her squarely across the face. Her cheeks stung.
“All of the tax money we just collected was stolen by the bandits. All of us saw them. I thought it was suspicious when you were stopping our collections, but to imagine that you had brought that gang along as well… You really can’t stoop too low, can you?” He growled.
All of the bandits were following her around the kingdom. It wasn’t just Knuckles. They really had been stealing all of the kingdom’s money, and she had defended them like a fool. For what? A kiss from the enemy? A kiss that more than implicated her in the crime she was being accused of. She didn’t have any way to defend herself against the head of guard’s words. Every part of her went limp and she collapsed onto the floor. Midnight pulled her back up by the wrists. He and Sir Edgar led the entourage of soldiers, dragging Rouge roughly with them, down many stairs and into a dark, cold basement. Here they threw Rouge onto the ground, where she stayed.
“You‘ll stay here until we decide what to do with you,” one of the soldiers told her. She recognized him. He was the soldier that she had interviewed. The soldiers did not move for their conversation on Rouge’s fate; they discussed it right in front of her, as if she were an object.
“She ought to be executed right away.”
“No, the King needs to try her. She is his daughter.”
“If we kill her now, he may not understand.”
“I say we leave her on the road and claim she ran away.”
“We’ll have to capture her friends, the Sonic gang, as well.”
“We could use her as bait to lure the rest out.”
“No way would that work. We never could beat them.”
“We need to make certain she dies. That means we can’t leave her somewhere and we can’t give the bandits any chance to rescue her.”
“So here’s what we’ll do. We’ll continue on the original course and let the King deal with her eventually.”
“That’s too soft. We have to punish her somehow.”
“Wait— I’ve got it.” A nasty smile curled across the head of guard’s face. “We’ll let her ride with the gold and silver in the loot carriage, since she loves those coins so much. And if she wants to eat bandits’ faces, then she won’t need any of our food.”
Many of the soldiers laughed cruelly. One even kicked Rouge.
“We’ll have to plunder the remaining towns if we even hope to get back the amount of funds we’ve lost,” Sir Edgar sighed dramatically, “but that’s the price the kingdom has to pay for the Princess's… nighttime activities.” All but two soldiers retreated up the stairs to their comfortable rooms. The remaining two were to serve as her captors. One of them was Midnight.
“Midnight, you have to believe me. I didn’t know about the bandits being here. Or the missing money,” she pleaded with the man through her tears, still crumpled on the dirt floor, in a last-ditch effort to find some sympathy. The soldier looked down on her, but did not reply. His companion stepped on Rouge to shut her up. It hurt terribly. But nothing physical she had suffered that night matched the pain in her heart. Knuckles had betrayed her. What good was a whispered apology between sweet nothings?

Chapter Text

Knuckles received a few cuts from jumping through the jagged broken window, but they didn’t faze him. He hit the ground hard, but on his feet, and dashed off to find his friends. It didn’t seem like those soldiers had captured any of them, but they were seen; he hoped nobody was hurt. His heart was racing so fast it seemed like it would burst.

He turned a corner and ran into a rather solid man. Once he picked himself up, he realized it was Vector.

“Knuckles..! What are you doing running around like that?” Vector gasped, turning around. He was with Charmy and Espio.

“Vector—“ Knuckles had to catch his breath, bewildered that his teammates didn’t show the slightest sign of being panicked. “The soldiers, they said they caught you all stealing the tax money! I rushed out of there, they almost caught me too, I worried you might be hurt!”

Vector stumbled backwards a bit. “Huh? We were seen? Uh oh.”

“We’ve got to tell Sonic,” Espio exclaimed. Vector, Charmy, and Espio led the way down some winding streets and past late rioters, to the center of town where the rest of the gang was. Sonic, surrounded by villagers, looked up when he noticed Knuckles and the others running toward him. The villagers parted to make a path for them.

“Chaotix! Knuckles? What’s the trouble?”

“According to Knuckles,” Vector explained, pushing the echidna forward, “the soldiers saw us taking all of them coins today.”

“Yikes,” Sonic said, “But nobody interrupted us taking them, and we’ve already given them all out… How do you know, Knux?”

He took a deep breath and began his explanation. “While I was with the Princess, the head of guard and his cronies busted in and said they saw you all. They accused the Princess of being our accomplice, then tried to get me but I jumped out the window and ran here!”

One of the villagers spoke up. “You were with the Princess? And you didn’t kill her?” The atmosphere around him grew stiff. Knuckles addressed the people.

“For your information, Princess Rouge understands the people’s issues, and she’s already making steps to improve the quality of life for everyone. We need to get her to the castle alive so she can make the King change his laws! Killing her won’t do any good, in fact it would throw away our best chance at real change in this country!”

The townspeople whispered among themselves for a moment, then one of them said “too little, too late. The fastest way to change the King’s mind is to kill his daughter!”

Another one piped up. “Make the royal family feel the tradgedy we have!”

“They’ve brought this on themselves!”

“Actions mean consequences!”

“She doesn’t deserve our mercy!”

The calls of the people rose into the night sky. They shook their fists and shouted angrily. A speech from a single man on the Princess’s side wouldn’t calm their years of stewing frustration. Knuckles snapped at them still. Vector had to hold his arms back so he didn’t lunge at any of the people and make the situation worse.

“You don’t know anything! You don’t know her!” He yelled at them.

Sonic stepped in. “The Princess has been our ally for a while. We can postpone her execution just until next month, can’t we? Let’s see how this goes.” He addressed the people, standing in front of Knuckles.

“One more month?” They asked.

“Just one. If nothing changes, I’ll kill her myself,” Sonic said in a calming tone. Knuckles hoped that he was bluffing, but couldn’t be certain. Sonic had been hurt by the King’s policies too.

As Sonic shooed the townspeople out of the area so his gang could speak in peace, the rest of the bandits gathered around Knuckles.

“Tell us the whole story. I need a play-by-play,” Blaze exclaimed.

“What happened to Rouge? Do you know?” Silver asked.

Knuckles told them everything he could about the guards’ accusations, but left out the declarations of love and kissing. It didn’t seem important at the moment.

“I don’t know what happened to Rouge after I left… But it probably wasn’t good,” he finished. By then Sonic had joined the meeting. An astonished hush fell over his teammates.

“Poor girl,” Cream whispered finally as tears formed in her eyes.

“She was framed for something we did. Do you think she was… By the soldiers?” Tails asked, hands trembling. Blaze set a hand on his shoulder.

“No, they’re loyal to her father, no way they killed her. But I’ll bet they’re imprisoning her somewhere.” This was meant to be reassuring, but with Blaze’s reserved demeanor it didn’t come off well and Cream burst into tears.

“Don’t worry! We could rescue her!” Vector rushed to reassure Cream.

“You think that’s wise?” Silver asked seriously. “Right now it might be more dangerous for the Princess in this town than it is with the soldiers.”

“We could protect her. She’s safer with us than under that cruel head of guard,” Espio said, his arms crossed. A moment of silence followed as everyone considered this.

Sonic laughed softly. “Look at us. In just a few days we went from robbing the girl to rescuing her.”

“You’re the one who offered to kill her yourself,” Knuckles said in a low growl.

“You know that was just to stop the mob,” Sonic rolled his eyes. “So do we want to save her or not?”

“I’m in,” Blaze said it first. Everyone else quickly agreed, and they began formulating their plan to rescue the Princess…

They arrived at the town’s inn stealthily. Nobody was around anymore. The silence seemed eerie after a day of screaming and riots. Sonic waved his gang forward and they entered through a secluded side door. Once inside, they held another makeshift meeting. Sonic gave them the rundown.

“Blaze, Knuckles. You will disguise yourselves as soldiers and find out where they’re keeping Rouge. Take Espio with you as a lookout. If you need help getting her out, Silver and Vector will be on standby in this room.”

Knuckles felt awkward now that he was there. Yes, he was there to save the Princess, but he was also partly responsible for her being in this situation. He hoped she was still willing to trust him. He hoped she hadn’t changed her mind about her feelings.

“And the kids?” Vector asked.

“I’ll run Tails, Charmy, and Cream out of the way. I can make it to a safer town in no time flat,” Sonic replied, already putting Charmy on his back and picking up Cream. They all nodded to each other, and Sonic ran out.

The leftover bandits peeked from their small side room into the larger inn lobby. A few soldiers loitered around it. They would have to lure two towards them. Everyone looked at Silver. Silver rolled his eyes, then used his psychokinesis to throw an extra coin on the floor in front of their room. He let it roll toward a pair of soldiers, then once it caught their attention, swerved it back around. The two stupid cronies followed it.

Once they were close enough, Vector knocked them out cold and dragged them into their little hiding place. Quickly and as quietly as possible, the bandits undressed the two men and put their armor on Knuckles and Blaze. Blaze wrinkled her nose; the soldiers’ armor smelled awful. It was clear that the men hadn’t bathed for a long time. Nevertheless she braved it.

Knuckles and Blaze stepped out, now disguised. The helmets covered everyone’s faces pretty well. Espio, invisible, followed the two closely. Knuckles approached a group of men who were laughing together.

“— So I asked Sir Edgar what we were allowed to do with her, and he said nothing! Can you believe it?” One of the men with a gruff voice was saying.

“What’s the use of having a beautiful prisoner then,” another man complained nasally. A few of the others laughed.

“I might just go down there anyway. Hey, doesn’t this place have any more booze?” A third said, slumped over in a chair. He brandished an empty cup. At this point Knuckles interjected into the conversation.

“You’ve had plenty of booze already!” He laughed raucously. This was natural enough that the soldiers barely reacted to a new person joining in.

“Ahh, shut up,” the drunk soldier replied lightly. “You just haven’t had enough.”

“I prefer the sweet intoxication of a lovely maiden, myself,” the nasal-voiced man commented. Several people punched him.

“Unfortunately, the only maiden around here is the Princess and she’s…” Knuckles threw down the bait.

“Off limits,” the gruff man said.

“In the basement,” the nasal man said.

“Being guarded by mister stingy,” sighed the drunk man.

So she was in the basement and not one of the rooms. Knuckles left the group with the excuse that he was going to get more alcohol, then started immediately for the basement stairs with Blaze and Espio in tow. With their disguises they didn’t run into any trouble until the very bottom of the stairs. They entered the dark, cold basement. There was a single torch lighting the place. It showed Princess Rouge, sitting curled up in the corner with heavy shackles on her wrists and ankles. It also showed her single guard leaning against the wall.

“Hey man, your shift’s over. Can’t believe I got stuck working tonight,” Knuckles groaned, approaching the guard casually. The man didn’t move, but Rouge’s ears did.

“I wasn’t aware we had different shifts,” he replied coldly.

“You know how the boss is,” Knuckles said vaguely. The guard stared at him for a few more seconds, then just walked out. As soon as he was out of earshot, Knuckles and Blaze took off their stinking helmets and rushed to the Princess. Meanwhile Espio, still invisible, slunk a bit up the steps to act as lookout.

“Princess, are you alright?” Blaze asked, kneeling beside Rouge and setting a hand on her shoulder. Rouge looked up.

“... Who are you?” Her voice was quiet and resigned.

“My name is Blaze. I’m one of the bandits, and I’ve come to rescue you,” she replied calmly.

Rouge’s eyes shifted from Blaze to Knuckles, then back to Blaze.

“No thank you.”

“What?” Blaze exclaimed, taken aback. Knuckles, who had been hanging back semi-awkwardly, now burst out “Oh, come on Rouge! We’re trying to save your life so don’t be petty just because you’re angry with me!”

“I’m not being petty, thanks for assuming the worst,” Rouge shot back. “I’ve thought about it carefully, and staying here is my decision.” Blaze and Knuckles stared at her in disbelief, jaws dropped.

“Do you understand your situation, Princess?” Blaze asked incredulously.

“Perfectly.”

“Alright then, please explain it to us.”

“The thing is,” Rouge took a deep breath, “I have to make it to the castle and report all I’ve learned to my father. The simplest way to do that is to stay with the soldiers. They aren’t going to kill me. I know, they decided what to do with me right in this room. Right in my face.” She teared up but swallowed the emotions. “Besides, maybe I can get the head of guard fired for this.”

“You’re certain they won’t kill you? And you’re willing to bear with being imprisoned?” Blaze asked to clarify.

“Yes. This is my duty as Princess. I must see this mission out to the end.” Rouge had that look in her eyes, deep sorrow masked by determination and fury. Blaze understood, nodded, and turned to leave the room, explaining “I’m going to report this to the others.”

That left Knuckles and Rouge virtually alone. They stared at each other for a second. Rouge still looked furious. Knuckles wasn’t exactly sure what to do. Should he apologize? Explain the whole situation? Defend himself?

She spoke first. “Give it back.”

“What?” Knuckles asked, startled.

“Give me back that kiss I gave you. You don’t deserve it.”

Knuckles’ immediate reaction was to get angry, but he was at fault here, so he tried to stay calm. “Look, Rouge,” he started, his voice strained, “I had to escape to get my friends. We were going to rescue you. If I had been captured there would be no hope.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it,” she sneered, “you brought the entire gang along for a tour of the kingdom and were stealing money behind my back. The worst part is, I actually defended you! I said there was no way the bandits were really behind all that robbery!” She paused to wipe her eyes. “Well, I was wrong. You’re just a dirty thief after all.”

“I am a thief. I do steal. But I never lie. Rouge, it was not my idea to bring everyone along. I never meant for our actions to hurt you.”

“WELL THEY DID! So what now?”

Knuckles realized he was in the wrong. He realized what he’d done had really hurt Rouge, beyond the possibility of their relationship ever being the same. He would have to swallow a lot of pride to fix this if he really cared about Rouge.

Knuckles knelt on the ground and bowed his head low.

“I’m sorry… When I let the gang come along, it was a mistake. I didn’t know you then, but now I do, and I’m truly sorry. You didn’t deserve to be associated with me.” Knuckles couldn’t see her reaction from his position, only the ground. It took her a while to respond, but he didn’t dare to look up.

“Knuckles,” Rouge mumbled, “I’ll believe you if you tell me the absolute truth about this. Do you really love me? If I can’t change the laws, or if I do end up killed for this, will you still love me?” Her voice trembled.

Knuckles was surprised at the question. Faced with her grim future, the thing that mattered to her most was him. Even if she died. He was also surprised to see his vision had become blurry. He was crying.

“Yes. I promise for every day of my remaining life, I’ll love you.”

“Then give back that kiss I gave you.”

Knuckles looked up at the Princess. Beneath her tearful eyes was a somber smile, a ghost of the Princess who had flirted with the bandit on their very first meeting. She was so strong. As Knuckles reached for her now, he felt more admiration for her than ever before. Somehow a man like him had ended up with a woman like her.

Their lips locked for the third time that night. This kiss was more tender than the others, and as they broke apart, Knuckles buried his face in the crook of Rouge’s neck. She couldn’t hug him because of the shackles around her wrists, but leaned into him.

“I’m sorry I was born a peasant,” he rasped, “you deserve better than me.”

“To me, there is nobody better than you,” Rouge whispered in reply. “You’re the one who changed me.”

Eventually they broke apart, and Blaze came back. Blaze did not comment on how obvious it was that Knuckles and Rouge had been crying and kissing.

“We’ve got to leave then, since we’re not saving the Princess,” she told Knuckles.

Knuckles turned back to Rouge, who nodded and said “Goodbye then. See you later.”

“See you later,” he agreed. He put his borrowed soldier’s helmet back on and followed Blaze up the stairs. They collected Espio halfway up the steps and escaped the inn smoothly. Just outside, they met up with Silver and Vector, who were dying to hear what had happened.

“The little lady really stayed behind,” Vector said in astonishment.

“She wants to make sure the King gets her message,” Blaze explained.

“She’s tougher than I thought,” Silver complimented her. They all agreed.

“We’ll still follow the route and make sure she’s safe, right?” Knuckles asked.

“Of course! I’m sure Sonic will agree once he gets back too!” Vector assured him. Espio cleared his throat.

“Is there anything else we might need to know about the Princess, Knuckles?” He asked. Knuckles looked at him, a bit confused, until Espio clarified “I could hear everything from the stairs.” Knuckles turned beet red, but there was no real reason for him to keep it under wraps any longer.

“The Princess and I, we’re… in love…” it was difficult for him to say, he was so embarrassed. He hid his face.

His teammates reacted with shock, then support.

“About time!” Silver joked.

“I kind of thought so,” Blaze agreed.

“Good luck!” Vector said. “You’ll need it.”

Chapter Text

Everything around Rouge was dark. She sat uncomfortably surrounded by coins and jewels, each jostle of the carriage making a new edge jab into her. Her hands and feet were still shackled.
Every once in a while the big door at the end of the carriage opened, sending blinding light across her face and the sounds of the world into her ears. She hated when the door was opened. She could hear the anguished voices of citizens and see their meager earnings thrown into her prison. Sometimes a soldier would stick his ugly face in the doorway to jeer at her.
While they were moving, Rouge tried to sleep. Sleeping was the easiest way to pass the time. Although it did leave her stiff and even more hungry.
The soldiers kept their word and didn’t give her any food that day. Once they’d left the previous town’s inn, they’d shoved her immediately into the loot carriage, and that’s where she stayed. Hours passed, but they all blurred together incoherently. Eventually she stopped being blinded when the door opened; it had become dark. The carriages stopped for a long time, but nobody came to get Rouge out. She couldn’t hear any voices outside anymore, and the night chill set in.
Confident she was alone, she spoke to herself, testing out her voice. It was creaky from not being used.
“Ah, ah, ah. I’m going to my father’s house. I’m going to make it.” She cleared her throat, which barely helped, and sang a song softly. It was a childhood lullaby.
A clicking sound came from the door and it swung open to reveal Tails.
“Lovely song, Princess,” He commented, stepping over the piles of riches to get to Rouge.
“You’re one of the bandits, right?” She didn’t feel scared of them anymore, she could barely feel.
Tails chuckled. “Yeah, I brought you some food. Sorry it’s just me.”
Rouge told him she didn’t mind and accepted the bread and apple he’d offered her. After not eating for the day, it tasted like heaven. While she ate, Tails told her more.
“We’re still following you, just until you get to the castle. Then we’ll go home. So don’t worry— if the soldiers do anything to you, we’ll be there in a second! Well, I say ‘we’ as if I could do anything about it,” Tails mumbled, “I’m not actually a fighter.”
“I should hope not,” Rouge said between bites, “You’re, like, eight. I knew Sonic was a criminal, but child endangerment?”
Tails smiled. “It might seem dangerous, but Sonic takes good care of all of us. Now that he’s protecting you too, there’s nothing to fear.”
“The only thing I’m afraid of now is being sucked into Sonic’s fan club,” she replied jokingly. Rouge finished her food and leaned back. Tails gave her a light blanket and left, closing the door behind him and re-locking it. With the blanket it was much easier to drift to sleep.
The next day was more of the same. The confusing carriage ride was made only slightly more comfortable by her gifted blanket. At least now she wasn’t cold as well as stiff and hungry. The piles of coins around her got gradually taller, and the roads got smoother as they neared the castle. It seemed that she would be home very soon. She only had to spend one more night in the carriage, during which Espio brought her dinner. He wasn’t much for conversation.
Finally, after two and a half days being the soldiers’ captive, the carriages rolled onto the palace grounds. They stopped and Sir Edgar opened the doors.
He stepped forward and took the shackles off of her legs, but not her hands. He used those to yank her to her feet. Her legs shook, but she was able to stand, so he paraded her out of the carriage. Finally she was out.
The palace stood grandly in front of her; it seemed so much more grandiose than before. The giant double doors opened and the King, cape flowing behind him, walked smoothly toward the soldiers and his daughter. He caught sight of the shackles around his daughter’s wrists halfway to them and yelled.
“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?” He bellowed, running the rest of the way to meet Rouge. He cupped her face in his hands, and she was immediately relieved. He was still her father.
“Your majesty,” Sir Edgar started, “the Princess was caught red-handed conspiring with the Sonic gang. She attempted to run away, so we had to keep her securely.”
“That’s a lie,” Rouge croaked, “I didn’t conspire with anybody! Sir Edgar imprisoned me for no reason, he locked me up and didn’t even give me food!”
Anger flashed in the King’s eyes. He rounded on the head of guard.
“Take those chains off of her right now,” he growled. Sir Edgar stood his ground.
“You can ask all of my men,” he said, “We all saw her. She was even kissing one of those dirty street thieves.” The rest of the soldiers agreed, raising their voices in support of their captain. A few of them called Rouge uncouth names.
The King pulled his daughter behind him, then held his hand out to Sir Edgar, demanding the chains’ key non-verbally. Sir Edgar begrudgingly handed them over. The King immediately freed Rouge from the chains, then turned and locked them onto Sir Edgar’s wrists instead.
“Wha— Your Majesty! Your daughter has betrayed the kingdom!”
“Has she?” The King beconned one of the soldiers. Midnight stepped forward, arms behind his back respectfully, and stood at the King’s side. He took off his soldier's helmet and revealed himself to be Shadow the hedgehog, the King’s second advisor.
Rouge’s jaw dropped; Sir Edgar’s face fell. A hush fell over the group.
“I ordered Shadow to observe your behavior during the journey. He was only to observe, not to intervene with anything. So tell me, Shadow, what really happened?”
Shadow cast a glance over Rouge and Sir Edgar before answering carefully and calmly. “Princess Rouge became sympathetic toward the citizens during the tax collection. She forgave several of their debts. Sir Edgar imprisoned and starved her for that reason. He claimed she was getting in his way. He mistreated the Princess in several ways, including kicking her, insulting her, slapping her across the face, going against her direct orders, attacking her and other officials with a dagger, allowing her to be left unguarded in a hostile environment, imprisoning her, and leaving her without food, drink, or bed for three days.”
“What about the bandits? You saw the Princess with that echidna!” Sir Edgar cried in a last-ditch plea.
“What echidna? I saw no such thing.” Shadow showed no emotion on his face that would betray the truth. “The only thief I saw was you, Edgar. Your majesty,” he turned to address the King, “I investigated thoroughly and interviewed the soldiers. There’s no possibility that the Sonic gang was really behind the missing taxes. Sir Edgar has been stealing them all for himself. I advise you to order his execution immediately.”
The soldiers burst out; a cacophony of noise came from the men, ranging from exclamations of denial to curses toward Sir Edgar. Fear flashed across the captain’s face. He would finally have to meet his consequences.
The King ordered the soldiers to take Sir Edgar down to the dungeons, which they did hastily. They hadn’t taken kindly to being tricked. Then it was just Rouge, her father, and Shadow standing outside.
“Let’s go inside and clean you up, darling,” the King said to Rouge as he led her into the castle, “We can have lunch as soon as you’re ready.”
Stepping back inside her palace was surreal; after three days imprisoned, it felt like a dream. Had the ceiling always been so high? It was so warm and filled with intricate decorations. Just inside, her maids greeted her, gasped at her state, and took her up to her room. The stairs were difficult but she made it. The first thing she did was take a bath; a warm bath with luxurious soft soap that smelled like roses. It made her think of Lady Rose. Her maids came in every so often, offering to wash her hair, scrub her back, or get her a different soap. She accepted all of their offers immediately.
Once she was done, she got dressed in one of her favorite dresses, a black gown with a pink bodice and long, flowing sleeves. The maids all clapped and gave exclamations of how beautiful she was, as they usually had to.
“Thank you,” Rouge said. The maids stopped clapping, they were so shocked. The Princess had thanked them? They looked at each other uncertainly, then back at Rouge, who smiled at them. They all beamed, then escorted her back down the stairs to the dining room where there was a huge, steaming feast waiting. Her father sat not at the head of the table, but on the side, so he could sit across from his daughter. When she entered the room, he hugged her soundly.
“Tell me all about your journey,” he invited.
“I will, dad,” she giggled, “after I eat something!”
“Of course, darling.”
They sat down and dug in. It was much like the feast at the Duchess and Duke’s with meat pies, ham, white bread, fruit and cakes. Rouge ate quite a bit. She wondered how best to bring up her topic to the King. He had asked her to tell him everything, but just for her safety, she may leave out her encounters with Knuckles. Finally she swallowed her nerves and spoke.
“The kingdom was not how I expected,” she began. “I thought it would be rich and flourishing, but everyone was poor. The streets were littered with filth. Children without homes, corpses in public, terrified citizens… They don’t have any money of their own. Father, while I was out among the people, I realized two things were making it that way. One was the heavy taxes, the other was Sir Edgar, and you’ve already taken care of the latter. Please lower the taxes.”
Her father stared at her, then began to laugh.
“Darling,” he said, waving her aside, “that travel really did a number on your brain, didn’t it? Oh, hilarious. Why don’t you get some rest, you’re clearly tired.”
“No, I’m not tired! Our citizens are close to death! We need to help them or we won’t have anyone to rule!” Rouge slammed her hands on the table and stood up, staring at her father.
“Sit down, Rouge. Our citizens exist to support us.”
Rouge didn’t sit down. “How can you say that? They’re people, they have lives!”
Now the King stood up to match her. “They are our peasants. Their lives are dedicated to me. The tax rate is perfectly fine where it is. Surely you don’t want to give up your luxuries? Your jewelry and dresses and feasts.”
“I would if it meant saving the kingdom.”
“You don’t know anything about the kingdom. You really think a tour around the land made you understand everything? Running a country means making hard decisions sometimes. In the end, it’s us or them.”
“It doesn’t have to be! Do you even hear yourself? We can live humbler if it means everyone else can live at all!” At this point both of them were yelling. Suddenly the King grabbed the tablecloth and yanked it up, flinging dishes and food onto his daughter. Rouge tried to shield herself, but she ended up toppling over with meat pie in her hair and smashed fruit covering her. Stunned, she sat there silent while her father stood over her.
“Hypocrite,” he breathed, “this food you were eating comes from those funds. That dress you’re wearing. How dare you speak to me like I’m a criminal?”
Rouge sat in a mess of meats and tarnished silverware. Fury welled up in her chest. She was stupid to think he would change his ways of years, even for her. When she looked up, the father who had raised her was gone. Only a sad, twisted man stood in his place now. She was tired of crying, so she got angry. Rouge grabbed a fistful of ham and hurled it in her father’s face. As he wiped his eyes, she picked herself up.
“Are a few coins worth this to you?” She exclaimed.
The King glared at her, looking more dangerous than he ever had. “you’re not my daughter,” he told her.
“Too bad! I AM! So why won’t you listen to me!?”
“GUARDS!” In an instant, soldiers who had been outside the room rushed in. “Take the Princess to her room. She needs to rest.” The King turned away and began walking toward his throne room.
Two soldiers each grabbed one of her arms. She fought back; she stepped in their toes and squirmed, but they overpowered her.
“Coward. Face me!” She yelled at her father. He didn’t even pause. Her father had never been kind. Rouge realized now that the King was just as flawed a person as any. She was dragged away and locked into her room.
Her maids, who had been watching the ordeal while huddled against the far wall of the Princess’s room, cowered at the sight of her. She looked horrible. One of the maids, a squirrel, ran to kneel by her side.
“Your Majesty,” she said softly, “Are you alright? What can we do for you?”
Rouge stared at the ground, still fuming. “Draw me another bath,” she told the maid, “and get my small travel bag ready.”
“Your travel bag? But you just returned.”
“I’m leaving again.”
The maids filled her tub again and laid out a new outfit. She asked them to make it a simple outfit, easy to move around in. They did everything she asked somberly. They probably all realized what was going on. Fulfilling her requests was their way of showing support. Once Rouge was cleaned up again, she swept into her room and checked that her light pack had everything she needed in it. Outfits, first aid supplies, pocket money, her toiletries. Silently she slipped her makeup kit in too. Somehow she couldn’t bear to leave it behind. Finally she stood before her team of maids, pack over her shoulder and her huge window open.
“Ladies,” she began, “thank you for serving me. If anyone asks, I told you all to get me a new dress, and I disappeared while you weren’t watching. This isn’t your fault.”
Her maids had teary eyes, but agreed. They wished her good luck.
Rouge flew out the window. Talking to her father hadn’t done anything and she doubted it ever would. She would benefit the kingdom some other way.
Just outside the palace walls, she touched down to catch her breath. She was breathing heavily not from the exercise, but from the emotional evening she’d had. She was choosing to leave it all behind this time. Whatever happened in that place didn’t concern her anymore. She began walking away from the palace, but stopped when she saw a figure emerge from the surroundings.
“Shadow,” she gasped. Would he cut her escape short?
The hedgehog stood in her path. “Princess, what are you doing?”
She strengthened her resolve. “I’m running away,” she told him, “I can do more good for the kingdom elsewhere. My father isn’t going to listen to me and he certainly isn’t going to help the citizens. If he won’t, I will. Don’t get in my way.”
Shadow stepped toward her and she flinched; but he just handed her a bandana.
“It’s not my job to keep you in the palace. If you order me not to take you back, I won’t.”
“Then I order you not to take me back. Forget you even saw me.”
Wordlessly, Shadow nodded and walked past her. Now that he was gone, Rouge took the bandana he’d given her and tied it to cover the lower half of her face. A disguise. She flew back into the air, not wanting to be interrupted any more, and decided where she would go. The bandit’s home town was close by. She wouldn’t be able to find them in the forest, but maybe she could get Lady Rose to help her out.

Chapter Text

Lady Rose was relaxing in her room, embroidering a handkerchief with a scenic flower field, when a knock sounded at her door. She began calmly putting her embroidery thread and fabric away, but whoever was knocking started banging on the door even harder so she had to rush.
“What is it?” She asked irritably, opening the door.
Outside was Rouge, but not like Lady Rose had ever seen her. She wore a very plain dress with no jewelry, not even any makeup. Her hair was windswept and her jaw was set. Amy leaned a bit outside to see the surroundings. It was getting dark and nobody seemed to be accompanying the Princess.
“Lady Rose,” she said, grasping one of Amy’s hands with both of her own, “may I come in?”
“Of… of course,” Amy replied, flustered. She stepped aside to allow Rouge past her and into the living room. “Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be back at your castle by now?”
Rouge, sitting on the couch, sighed deeply. “Here’s the thing. I kind of ran away.”
“What!?”
“Look, I tried to talk to my father! I told him about the kingdom’s issues and he just started spouting off some junk about how the peasants only live to serve his needs. Instead of listening to me, he threw food all over me and yelled. It’s a lost cause. So I ran away. No way am I going to tolerate that kind of treatment.”
Amy sat down next to Rouge and put her arm around her shoulders.
“I’m so sorry about your father,” she told Rouge, her voice soft and comforting. “I think you made the right choice. But what will you do now?”
“Be honest with me this time, Lady Rose. Do you have ties with the Sonic rogues?”
Amy rolled her eyes. “Okay, you got me. I do,” she said.
“In that case. Are there any positions open on the team?” When Amy didn’t answer, just staring at the Princess with her jaw dropped, Rouge continued. “I may not be trained to fight, but I can fly and I have pretty good ears! I could be a stealth operative.”
“Well, we’ll have to ask the guys,” Amy responded, “but they live in the woods, you know? They don’t even have food some days. Would you really be alright living like that?”
This did make Rouge pause. Maybe she’d been hasty to leave and hadn’t fully thought about what joining the bandits would mean for her way of life. She shook her head. Anything would be better than being imprisoned in a carriage, and she had survived that, hadn’t she?
Amy, looking concerned, stood up and said she would make Rouge a hot drink. While she was busying herself with that, Rouge looked around the living room. It was a square room with white walls. Along the walls were a few wood shelves with delicate keepsakes on them. There were childhood dolls, family portraits, and was that one of the jewels from her carriage? Wait, she shouldn’t care. It wasn’t her carriage anymore, since she ran away.
Amy came back with some hot chocolate, which Rouge gratefully accepted.
“You know, you can stay with me tonight, and we’ll find the guys tomorrow,” Amy said.
“What fun, a sleepover,” she joked, then added sincerely, “Thank you, Lady Rose.”
“You can just call me Amy!”
“Then call me Rouge.” The girls smiled at each other.
Amy let Rouge use some of her pajamas and share her bed. It was big enough to fit five people on it, so they had no trouble with space. As they laid down, Amy giggled.
“What’s so funny?” Rouge asked.
“Just thinking about the last time you visited. I was so scared of you!”
“Well, no need to be scared anymore. I have less power than you.”
“That’s true… Hey, what makes you so sure that the gang is gonna let you in?”
Rouge blushed slightly. Had nobody told Amy? “Around the end of the route, I got close to some of the guys. Well actually I’m only close with Knuckles, but I’ve talked to the others a little bit and they’re all really nice, so they’ve got to help me, right?”
“Since that’s the case, I’m sure they will,” Amy yawned. “We’ll see tomorrow. Good night, Rouge.”
“Goodnight.”
…
When Rouge woke up the following morning, Amy was still fast asleep, so she tried her best to get out of bed without jostling her and get dressed quietly. She wandered outside and found a well. She used the well water to wash her face, then took a bucket of it inside. She thought of using it to make Amy some breakfast, but looking around the meager kitchen, she realized that she didn’t know how to cook for herself. She knew it involved ingredients and probably had to be cooked over a fire, but other than that, it was a mystery. She decided to rummage around the cupboards; Lady Rose probably had some fruit or a leftover loaf of bread around.
She heard a door open, but didn’t pay it much mind, figuring that Amy had just gotten up.
“Hey Ames, I’m coming in. That you in the kitchen?” Sonic’s voice rang out. Rouge jumped. When Sonic came into the kitchen, he did a double take.
“Who the heck are you? Where’s Lady Rose!?” he exclaimed, drawing a sword.
“Put that thing away and lower your voice! She’s still asleep,” Rouge hissed in a half-whisper. Sonic did not lower his weapon, but he did talk quieter.
“You didn’t answer who you are.”
Rouge rolled her eyes. “Gee, sorry, I just didn’t think you were blind enough to not recognise me. I’m Rouge the bat, former Princess.”
“Oh, Rouge!” He put the sword away. “You look different without the makeup and fancy dresses… Wait, former Princess? And why are you here!?”
“I’ll tell you the sob story if you help me out. How do you common folks make breakfast?” Rouge huffed, gesturing vaguely to the surrounding kitchen. Sonic laughed, but agreed to her terms and started rummaging through the cupboards. He took out flour, oil, sugar, and a covered pot full of some thick offwhite liquid.
“This is a starter, it’ll make the bread rise,” he explained, showing the ingredients to Rouge. She nodded and watched carefully as he began to bake. Once he got to kneading the dough, he asked Rouge again what she meant by former princess. When she told him she had run away, he had the same shocked reaction that Amy had.
“What were you thinking? Did you even speak to the King?”
“Yes, I did! I told him about the kingdom and that he should lower the taxes, but he flipped out and wouldn’t listen to me, so I figured that if he wasn’t going to listen, it was useless for me to be there. And I refuse to be useless.” Rouge took a deep breath. “Sonic, would you let me join your gang? I’m pretty stealthy and I can fly, and I really don’t mind living in a forest.”
Sonic considered this for a while. “I’m not sure,” he said finally. “I think the others would accept you with open arms, but to tell you the truth, I still don’t like you.”
“That’s fair… I have been horrible,” she looked at the floor.
“It’s not really because of anything you did. It’s irrational, I know, but the fact that you’re the King’s daughter is what stops me from liking you. He’s a monster.”
“I agree.”
Sonic set the bread into the stone oven and turned to Rouge, waiting until she looked at him to continue.
“Still, whether I like you or not isn’t a big issue. The rest of the gang will accept you, and you can help us out. So you’re in. Just don’t expect us to be chummy overnight.” Sonic extended his hand to Rouge; she caught her breath and took it. Their handshake sealed the deal. She was part of their gang. A smile of relief crossed her lips.
Just then Amy walked into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes and stretching. “Good morning, Rouge, did you sleep well… Sonic!” She noticed the blue hedgehog, immediately straightened up, and tried to smooth the wrinkles from her pajamas. “What are you doing here? Need help?”
“Not really. I came to see you, my lady.” Sonic’s face lit up when he saw her.
“Oh, how unexpected, I’m sorry for my appearance,” she cried.
“It’s no big deal, Ames. You look about the same either way.” This was probably meant to be a compliment, but Amy looked mortified and ran back to her bedroom. Sonic stood there awkwardly, dejected.
“Tsk tsk,” Rouge remarked snidely, “real sauve, hedgehog.”
“You know that’s not helping your case?” He snapped.
Rouge laughed. “How about giving you a few tips? Would that help my case?”
“... Go on.”
“She probably tries to look extra nice when you visit. So telling her she looks the same then as when she just woke up? Not a good move. What you should have done is complimented her natural features. Her eyes, her hair, her cute rosy cheeks.”
“Ok great, I can’t change the past, so what should I do now?” Sonic tapped his foot impatiently. Rouge would have commented on this, but decided not to get on his last nerve.
“Easy. Tell her how gorgeous her outfit and makeup is. That’s what she’s putting all her effort into right now. If that’s too much for you, just smile at her when she walks in. Then talk to her like a normal person about whatever it was you came for.”
Sonic nodded. When Amy came out of her room, red dress and light makeup on, Sonic’s cheeks became pink. He tried to say something, but swallowed it and just smiled at her. While they talked together in the living room, Rouge took care of the bread. She made sure it didn’t burn and sliced it. She let it cool for a few minutes, with the extra advantage of letting Sonic and Amy have a bit more time together.
Once everyone had eaten some bread and Amy complimented Sonic profusely on his baking, Sonic led Rouge into the forest. It was so lush and dense that there was no way Rouge could have navigated it on her own. The pair walked for quite a few minutes in total silence, until finally Rouge heard high-pitched squealing in the distance. Grateful for her excellent hearing, she stopped walking and flew toward the voice. As it turned out, the squealing was coming from Cream, who was elated being carried around on Vector’s shoulders. Rouge touched down in their clearing camp. It was, for all intents and purposes, a completely ordinary forest clearing. A large patch of dirt and grass surrounded by a circle of trees. Except it happened to have a large band of rogues in it.
Sonic ran up beside Rouge. “Geez, give a warning before you fly off!” He grumbled.
“Mister Sonic!” Cream cried in delight, then noticed Rouge beside him. “Princess?”
“A little girl,” Rouge gasped, having not met Cream before. “So Sonic does practice child endangerment.”
Sonic rolled his eyes, but used his fingers to give a loud, shrill whistle. All of the bandits’ heads popped out from the surrounding shrubbery. Several voices began clamoring to be heard, mostly saying things about “the Princess” and “what the heck” and “what a way to wake up.” In a few seconds they’d all gathered to stand in front of Sonic and Rouge. Rouge gave a small wave to Knuckles, who looked completely perplexed.
“Guess who I found in the trash outside Lady Rose’s house,” Sonic said, gesturing toward Rouge. She punched his arm.
“Nice to meet you all. I’ll be joining the team from now on. My name is Rouge,” she smiled to the others.
“Well, we knew that. What’s going on, Princess?” Knuckles asked.
She shrugged. “I’m not the Princess anymore. I ran away, disowned my dad, he was being a real bigot. I don’t really want to get into it.”
“Well, you’d BETTER get into it.”
Rouge sighed and told them the in-depth story. At the end, the opinions of the bandits were mixed.
“You only talked to him once, He could have changed his mind if you stuck with it,” Silver argued.
“I think she made the right choice. She doesn’t have to stay when she’s been treated that way,” Blaze retaliated.
“I’ll bet your dad misses you,” Vector said, and Tails added “you’re lucky to have a dad at all.”
“I wouldn’t call her lucky to be the King’s daughter,” Espio countered.
“Look, what’s done is done. We’ll welcome Rouge into our gang, won’t we?” Knuckles said, shooting a dangerous look at his teammates so they would get the message. They all agreed to that, at least.
“I’ll make you a membership badge!” Cream exclaimed, then skipped off into the woods.
“Is it alright to let her go alone?” Rouge asked, unnerved.
“She knows her way around. She’ll just find you a flower or something and come back. She’s made everyone a membership badge,” Charmy explained, floating lazily by.
“I always keep mine on me,” Vector said, showing Rouge a pine cone with a tattered strip of ribbon on it. She thought it was adorable. Cream came back with a wild rose and put it behind one of Rouge’s ears. Rouge thanked her and she beamed.
Everyone separated to do their own things for the day. Vector was going to set up traps, Silver and Blaze set out together to find clean water and firewood respectively, Espio would monitor news from the town, et cetera. A little unsure of what to do, Rouge decided to follow Knuckles. She snuck up behind him while he was preparing to leave camp.
“So,” she said, relishing in the startled jump he did, “you’ve been awfully quiet. Aren’t you happy to see me?”
Knuckles, face bright red, tried not to look at her and started walking out of the camp. Rouge followed close behind.
“I didn’t think I’d see you again so soon.”
“Well you’ll be seeing a lot more of me. Since we live together now.”
Knuckles immediately tripped over a root and face planted. Rouge kneeled beside him and offered her hand to help him up. He sat up on his own.
“Here’s the rules,” he told her, his voice slightly different from having hit his nose, “we’re not gonna be all lovey-dovey at camp, and you’re not gonna flirt with me like that in front of the gang. Got it?”
Rouge giggled. “You’re cute when you’re flustered,” she said, helping him up. “If it makes you happy, I won’t do that stuff around the gang.”
“Thank you,” he grumbled.
“Which means that it’s free game when we’re alone! Did I ever tell you how handsome you are?”
Knuckles groaned. Would this be his life from now on? Well… It did embarrass him, but hearing her compliment him made butterflies take off in his stomach. It wouldn’t be too bad to have Rouge around.

Chapter Text

Rouge had been following Knuckles for quite a while now. Finally she asked him, “What are we doing today?”
“I was going to collect some reeds and weave them into baskets. Maybe even beds if there are enough.”
“Beds made out of weeds..? Well,” Rouge sighed, “I guess this is what I signed up for.”
“If you can’t stand to rough it, we could always take you back to the castle,” Knuckles teased.
“Knuckles—! Trying the get rid of me already!” Rouge laughed in response.
Soon Rouge could hear the rushing water of a creek. She walked more briskly, Knuckles a bit behind her, eager to be able to find her own way around the forest. The creek was thin and clean; Rouge could see the smooth stones at the bottom clearly as the water played over them. She stared at the creek until Knuckles caught up.
“What’s the big idea, running off on your own? You couldv’e gotten lost or stuck somewhere!” He huffed.
“You’re forgetting I’m a bat. Super-good ears. As long as I can hear the creek, I won’t get lost,” she scoffed. Within the statement was a promise that she would be safe. She dipped her fingertips into the cold fresh water.
“Sure, that’ll be fine until your ears drive you over a cliff.” He stared at her for a second, then continued “We’re not here to play in the water, we’ve got to find some reeds.”
“Right,” she picked herself up and looked around. They quickly found some thick reeds upstream. Knuckles took out a knife and started cutting their stalks.
“You didn’t happen to bring a knife, did you?” He asked her over his shoulder.
“It must have slipped my mind.”
“Stone ages it is, then. Get yourself a rock.”
There were plenty of rocks around, so Rouge found an appropriately sharp one with no issues. Her hands started to sting after cutting down only a few reeds; as the Princess she’d never had to do physical labor before, and her hands had never known work. But she didn’t want to look like a pansy, so she sucked it up and ignored the pain. While they harvested the plants, the two talked to each other.
“So, is a bed of grass comfortable?” Rouge asked.
“More comfortable than the ground,” Knuckles replied. “Though there are some things you can use to cushion it. Moss is really soft.”
“My old pillow was filled with feathers. Surely there are lots of those around.”
Knuckles laughed. “How many birds would you have to pluck for one pillow?”
“Just one, if it was big enough,” Rouge joked.
“A bird that big would feed us for weeks…Unless we left it alone with Charmy!”
“Speaking of, how do you catch and cook birds?”
Knuckles looked up, surprised. “You mean you want to learn?”
“Why not,” she shrugged. “I might as well learn something.”
“That’s fair. First you’ll need a bow and arrow, we have some extras at camp.” Knuckles went on to explain how the bow and arrows worked, how to aim, and then how to cook the animal. “Of course you’ll need to practice to get it down,” he finished.
“Sounds simple enough.” Rouge gathered up her bundle of reeds, now quite large. Knuckles did the same and they carried the bundles back to the clearing, continuing to discuss survival techniques on the way.
When they entered the clearing again, most of the bandits were back and cooking lunch. Blaze was relaxing near the cooking fire, shooting extra flames into it whenever it threatened to go out. Silver, Vector, Charmy, and Tails had some mystery meat on sticks that they rotated slowly over the fire.
“Got enough for two more?” Knuckles called to his friends, and they smiled at seeing him.
“Sure thing! I trapped a ton of squirrels, just grab your roasting stick,” Vector told him excitedly, gesturing to a basket with the already-cleaned squirrel meat in it. Knuckles went by his little part of the clearing to get his roasting utensil. Rouge wandered sideways, a little bit into the forest, to find her own stick. Suddenly she picked up the sound of somebody crying. She swivelled her head, but couldn’t see anybody, so she followed her ears. The sound led her farther away from the camp until finally she arrived by a thick bush. Looking past it, the crying person was revealed to be Cream.
“Cream! What’s wrong?” Rouge asked, kneeling to the girl’s level. Cream glanced at her and tried to stifle her sobs.
“I was following mister Espio,” she sniffed, “but he turned invisible and I lost him.”
Rouge was surprised. “You mean Espio didn’t check on you? Do you not know the way back to camp?”
“Mister Espio didn’t know I was following him. I was being bad and sneaking around… I wanted to go to town to see my mama!” With this she burst into tears again. Reflexively she reached out and hugged Rouge. It was awkward for the bat at first, but she patted Cream’s back until she stopped shaking and pulled away on her own. Cream rubbed her eyes and explained everything.
“Mister Sonic and everyone are nice, but I really miss my mama. I haven’t seen her since she gave me to the gang to take care of me because she was too poor. I know I’m supposed to be strong and do as I’m told. Everyone’s doing their best to help me. I tried not to tell anyone how much I miss her, I didn’t want to make them feel bad, so I was going to sneak off on my own.”
Rouge flinched and looked at the ground. This poor girl was younger than ten, and she’d already suffered so much hardship. It was heartbreaking that she couldn’t even see her mother.
“If you want,” Rouge offered, “I can take you to town.”
“No thank you, miss Rouge. I already decided not to see her. It would make her sad when I had to leave again.” Cream flashed a brave smile through her watery expression. Rouge stood up and offered her hand to the girl, saying “then shall we go back to camp?” Cream nodded, and they walked together back to the clearing.
“Rouge! Where have you been? How long does it take to find a stick in a forest?” Knuckles exclaimed when he saw Rouge, but he was silenced when he saw Cream just beside her with red, teary eyes. Vector immediately ran to pick Cream up.
“What happened to you?” He asked frantically.
“I was lost,” the little girl lied innocently, “miss Rouge found me!”
The present gang members all clapped Rouge on the back and thanked her. Tails congratulated her on already knowing her way around. Though she knew it wasn’t true, she found herself smiling at the compliment. Since she hadn’t come back with a stick, Knuckles gave her some of his lunch. Squirrel meat wasn’t the most delicious thing in the world, but she ate it without complaints. It wasn’t like they had an extensive menu to order from. Once the hubbub around Cream settled down and lunch was over, Rouge was brought face-to-face with Blaze.
“I heard you wanted to learn archery,” she said.
“I can guess who snitched,” Rouge sighed in reply. Honestly, Blaze intimidated her a bit. The cat was cool and collected, not to mention gorgeous. And apparently she was the resident archery expert. Blaze gave Rouge a bow and a quiver of arrows, then led her down a winding trail. Soon they came to a row of trees that were in a straight line, each one riddled with holes from being shot with hundreds of arrows. Blaze demonstrated how to shoot an arrow first, then when Rouge tried it, corrected her position and aiming as she saw fit.
The bow was so stiff, it was amazing that Blaze could pull it back with a fluid motion. Rouge strained to bend it, but that could have been because her hands were already hurting from cutting the reeds. They seemed to scream in pain every time she pulled an arrow back. She tried to soldier through, but after an hour of archery practice, she dropped her bow.
Blaze picked it up for her and Rouge held her hand out to take it back, but Blaze just stared at her hand. She didn’t give the bow back, instead tucking it under her arm.
“Why didn’t you tell me it hurt?” She asked.
Rouge looked at her own hand now. It was raw and red, with several blisters starting to bloom. She felt stupid; in an effort to make herself more useful, she’d neglected her own well-being. It was as if she’d been a kid caught with the broken pieces of a mother’s prized vase. When she didn’t answer, Blaze linked arms with her and steered her back in the direction of the camp.
“You won’t learn anything when you’re in pain. You need to take care of yourself if you want to be able to do anything. Archery lessons are suspended until you’re better,” she explained. Only Knuckles and Charmy were still in the clearing, weaving mats and baskets out of the previously-gathered reeds. Blaze walked right past them casually, so that neither of the boys looked up. She took some bandages from her pile of stuff and wrapped Rouge’s hands tightly.
“Lady Rose entrusted these to me on the sly, so don’t tell Sonic I’ve got them, okay?” She whispered to her. Rouge agreed not to tell.
“Don’t do anything hard on your hands for a few days.”
“But Blaze..! I still want to do SOMETHING,” Rouge burst out. This made the boys look up.
“There you go, weaving shouldn’t be too difficult. Why don’t you help those two,” Blaze said, turning Rouge around by the shoulders to face them. Knuckles finally caught sight of her bandaged hands. He got up and rushed to her, grabbing one of her hands in one of his own and examining it.
“What the heck did you do!?” He asked, exasperated.
“It’s nothing to get upset about,” she tried to blow it off, “I’m suffering from former-Princess-wimpiness, but I should be fine in a few days.”
“You’re hurt.”
“Wouldn't be the first time. I’ve gone through worse.”
A dumbfounded, slightly offended look crossed Knuckles’ face. From behind him, Charmy tuned in, “you’re sorta stupid, Rouge.”
“Excuse you!?”
“Just because you’ve been hurt before, doesn’t mean it’s okay to keep being hurt. That doesn’t make you tough. It makes you stupid,” he clarified, shaking his head. Okay, so maybe he had a point, but Rouge couldn’t go back in time and change what she’d done or hadn’t done, so it was a moot point. Though seeing the hardened gang of criminals worry over her was very endearing. She couldn’t help but smile.
“What am I going to do with you..?” Knuckles grumbled.
“I can think of a few things you could do with me,” she responded, winking. Either the comment went over his head or he chose to ignore it, because he gently lead her to a seat with him and Charmy instead of retorting angrily. Charmy stuck his tongue out at Rouge playfully before going back to the weaving he’d been doing before. Rouge picked up a few plants. She was planning on watching Charmy to learn how to weave, but Knuckles took the reeds from her.
“You can’t use your hands for the rest of the day. You’re here so I can keep an eye on you,” he said, as he began to weave.
“Well isn’t that boring,” she commented.
“Doesn’t matter if you’re bored! That’s better than getting into more trouble.”
“Fiiine,” she finally conceded, “if anyone has to keep a close eye on me, I’m glad it’s you. Feel free to admire what you see.”
Knuckles rolled his eyes. “Didn’t I tell you not to do that?”
“Yet you don’t seem too bothered.”
“I’m getting used to it. Besides, we’re practically alone.” He grinned and pointed at Charmy, who was completely focused on making a basket. “Once Charmy’s hands are occupied, it’s like he's not even there. I don’t even think he can hear us.”
Rouge waved at the bee, trying to get his attention. His gaze didn’t change. “Wow, some tunnel vision,” she giggled. “I was wondering why he was so quiet.”
So Knuckles and Rouge got to talk uninterrupted for the rest of the evening. It started off simple, light talk about weaving and the woods accented with flirting, but it got around to Rouge’s fears about living in the wild and what Knuckles missed most about living in a town. Knuckles told her that snakes almost never attacked, there was no quicksand, and food was plentiful. Rouge told him that well water wasn’t nearly as good as the creek’s, parades hardly ever happened, and the forest was cleaner than any street. Eventually the weaving was all done and Charmy tuned back into the conversation, ending the nice atmosphere.
They’d made four beds, two baskets, and a sort of doll. It looked like a voodoo doll to Rouge, but apparently it was for Cream to play with.
“Only four beds, huh? Well, I know who I want to—“ Rouge didn’t get to finish her dirty thought as Knuckles put his hand over her mouth and reminded her that Charmy was actually listening now.
“About that,” Charmy laughed, “I could totally hear you guys the whole time.”
Both Knuckles and Rouge blushed furiously. Sure, the flirting was embarrassing, but some of their conversation had been emotionally intimate. Now Charmy knew their insecurities. That was the worst part.
Just then Sonic, Silver, and Vector came back into camp. Between them they carried a big basket of wild raspberries.
“Check it out! We were picking berries for hours and we barely put a dent in the bushes,” Sonic exclaimed, putting the basket in the middle of the clearing.
“We’re gonna feast tonight!” Vector called out happily.
Charmy, Knuckles, and Rouge went over to see the spoils. The berries were bright red and very fat.
“They look delicious,” Rouge said, “but judging from the juic all over your faces, you don’t need me to tell you that.” The boys quickly attempted to wipe off the berry juice around their mouths that had given them away.
“Anyway. Let’s call everyone for dinner,” Silver smiled. Sonic did his loud whistle again, and they only had to wait a few minutes until everyone was back in the clearing.
“Your whistle scared away the deer I’d been stalking,” Blaze complained, putting her bow and arrows away.
“That’s just another deer we can save for later. Check out all these berries we got,” Silver told her excitedly. She congratulated him on the great batch. Everyone began eating their dinner and a lively chat sprang up among the gang. They wanted to hear the news from town that Espio had gathered.
“Nobody was talking about the Princess being missing. Looks like the castle is keeping it hushed up for now,” Espio explained, “but there is a summons for new recruits to become soldiers. Looks like they’re low on troops.”
“Who’s gonna sign up?” Sonic joked. Everyone laughed.
“If they came to me personally and begged on their knees, I wouldn’t join up again!” Vector scoffed. Murmurs of agreement came from Charmy and Espio.
“Oh, so you three used to be soldiers?” Rouge asked. All eyes turned to her. Vector slapped his hand to his forehead.
“That’s right,” he gasped, “miss Rouge doesn’t know us that well.”
“I kinda forgot she was new,” Silver admitted. Tails nodded, a bit bashful.
“The gist of it is, Vector, Charmy, and I used to be a local band of soldiers. Our own small regiment. But we got laid off once the tax funds got thinner,” Espio told her.
“And so rudely too! We just stopped getting paid, and we had to go to the castle ourselves to get the news we were fired!” Charmy huffed.
Rouge had to admit she hadn’t thought of it much before. It’s not like these people were born bandits, they had all been different things first. Suddenly she was really curious.
“Though we got off easy. Our story is tame compared with everyone else’s,” Vector said.
“It’s not a competition of who’s gone through the most trauma,” Blaze told him sternly.
“Hey, can we change the subject?” Tails asked, looking uncomfortable. Immediately Sonic started talking about a cool plant he’d seen that day, and the conversation swerved away from tragic backstories. Once everyone was done eating, they got ready to sleep. One of the reed beds went to Rouge, and she was given a space close to Knuckles’. She made kissy faces at him when their teammates weren’t looking. He rolled his eyes, but smiled. The other three went to Sonic, Tails, and Silver and Blaze (who shared one). Everyone else had their own sufficient cushioning. As the night got completely dark, an eerie hush fell over the campsite. Rouge had never heard so many sounds at night before. Insects chirped, leaves rustled, and the wind whistled. She stared up at the stars. They seemed a bit brighter than usual here. The moon was as beautiful as ever, but somehow she didn’t enjoy looking at it. It reminded her of her father, and the man she had thought he was. She looked away, but couldn’t fall asleep. She was cold, the reed bed really wasn’t that comfortable, and the sounds were creeping her out.
“Still awake?” Knuckles’ whisper surprised her. She flipped to her other side to look at him. He was on a bed of dried moss, half-leaning against a tree.
“Yeah. It’s super creepy out here.”
“Why? The noises?”
“No, because there’s a guy watching me.”
“Ha ha. Very funny,” Knuckles said sarcastically.
Rouge laughed softly to herself. The conversation paused, and she shivered.
“...You’re cold?” Knuckles asked, his voice soft and deep. “Sorry. Not much I can do for you there.”
“That’s alright. It was my choice to live here,” Rouge reminded him. “I can just tough it out.”
“We both know what ‘being tough’ did to your hands today.” He didn’t look at her while talking. Maybe that was his way of managing his emotions. But it did make him seem a bit distant. An idea came to Rouge.
“Hey, Knuckles? Can I sleep next to you?”
“Is that a euphemism for something? Because I’m not about to—“
“No, it’s not a euphemism. I’m just cold. I promise not to try anything,” she assured him, sitting up. He seemed to consider this for a moment, then conceded.
“Well, I guess I already proclaimed my undying love to you. Serving as your heater for a night can’t be much worse.” He shifted over a bit to make room for her, and she hurried over to lay next to him. The dried moss was much softer than she’d expected. Knuckles was very warm, but that might have been because he was blushing so much; Rouge couldn’t tell in the near-total darkness. Being near him was immediately calming. The tension left her tired muscles and she snuggled into him, her head falling onto his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her waist.
“This is a one-night deal, okay?” He breathed.
“I thought your love was undying,” she whispered back.
“Just go to sleep.”

Chapter Text

Rouge wore the bandana that Shadow had given her to hide half her face as she flew close to the open roads. She had been a member of the gang for a month now, so she had been put in charge of looking out for any carriages coming toward the forest. There were supposed to be some lower-ranking officials riding through that day. Hopefully they would have some nice fat purses. Rouge snickered to herself. She was really thinking like a bandit.
As she swooped over some edgewise trees, she spotted a bright blue carriage cresting the distant hills. Whether it was boldness or stupidity that made those officials paint their carriage such a bright color was yet to be seen. Rouge flew back into the forest, dodging the trees and their errant branches as if she’d been doing it her whole life. She found her fellow members in the trees on the path, perched readily.
“They just came into sight,” she reported, hovering just in front of Sonic, “their carriage is neon blue, you can’t miss it.”
“Nice work, Rouge,” Sonic replied, then called out to the rest of the bandits “They’ll be here in a bit! Take a few minute’s break!” A muffled cheer came from the surrounding area. They knew they had some time to spare before the officials were close enough to hear them. Rouge took the opportunity to sit on a high-up branch and rest her wings. She was excited; it was actually pretty rare for them to be stealing things. Most days they just had to stay alive in the forest. It wasn’t her first mission with the gang, but the adrenaline rush was the same. Once they took the extra money off their unsuspecting victim, they would distribute it to the poor in the city.
Tails got in his position crouching by the side of the road, big stick in hand to disrupt the carriage’s wheels with. A hush fell over the bandits again as they waited with bated breath. Soon they could hear the droning of wood wheels on the dirt path. The carriage was plain as day, and a pompous-looking driver in a black suit steered the horses forward. Tails threw his stick in the spokes of the carriage’s wheel, it made a horrible cracking noise, and he ran to appear injured in the time it took the driver to react and look around. The driver, seeing the fox on the road, became flustered and stopped the vehicle.
Two nobles stepped out of the carriage to see what was going on; they both had ridiculously flamboyant outfits on. Since it was only three people in all, only Sonic and Silver leapt down from the trees to fight them.
The hedgehogs made quick work of the carriage driver and the nobles, and once they were knocked out, the rest of the bandits swooped in to search for any money they were carrying.
Tails and Cream rifled through the noble’s pockets and found thick stacks of coins. Cream even took a ribbon off the noblewoman’s hat. Espio, Charmy, and Knuckles checked out the inside of the carriage, taking anything of value. They looted three bags of coins, many pillows, some fine silk, and several books.
“Nice. Those books can go to the school in the next town over,” Tails said, taking inventory of all their prizes. “Pillows can be given to street orphans, the silk we can sell, and we’ll distribute the money as soon as possible. We’ll donate some to the graveyard.”
“Man, then we’ll have to GO to the graveyard. That place bums me out. Why can’t we donate to the petting zoo for once?” Charmy complained.
“There are no petting zoos,” Espio reminded him.
Charmy sighed dramatically. “Just another problem with this kingdom.”
This all took very little time, just under a minute. The bandits were professionals, after all. Silver used his mind powers to stack the nobles back into their carriage, a little poorer than they had been before. The driver was set in the carriage as well. He might have fallen off if they!re put him anywhere else unconscious.
“Anyone know how to drive a carriage?” Sonic called out.
“You just slap the horses’ butt, right?” Charmy replied.
Rouge rolled her eyes. “No, you don’t just slap the horse. I can drive it.”
“Great! Turn it around and send them right back to where they came from,” Vector exclaimed. Rouge nodded and flew up to the driver’s seat, taking hold of the reins. The horses, of which there were four, had remained remarkably calm through the attack. Rouge steered them in a U-turn and began leaving the forest.
After a few minutes, she heard a commotion from inside the carriage. The rich people must have woken up. The horses barely needed to be steered anymore, since the road was a straight line and their original driver would be there soon, so Rouge just dropped the reins and flew off.
She met the other bandits at the village.
“Welcome back, here’s your disguise,” Knuckles said, tossing her a brown wig. He himself was wearing a fake mustache and a large-brimmed hat. Everyone was wearing ridiculous disguises since they were going out into town.
Stealing was only half the fun. Giving out their spoils was the better half.
They were each given an armful of supplies and sent in different directions. Rouge got a pillow and the silk to sell. As she walked to the seamstress’s shop, she ran across a little urchin boy, whom she gave the pillow to. He smiled so hard that his cheeks turned red.
The seamstress was a portly woman. Looking at her drab outfit, nobody would assume her occupation, but the clothes she made didn’t have to be fancy for this town. When she saw Rouge coming, she initially scowled, but her expression changed once she saw the silk in her hands.
“Good morning,” she gushed in a sickly sweet voice, “what a treat to have a visitor!”
Rouge held out the silk. It was deep sapphire and very smooth. “How much would this be worth?” She asked.
“How much it’s worth and how much I can pay for it are two very different things.”
The seamstress rifled around in a chest of drawers and brought out a wooden lockbox. She offered a good sum of money for the silk, but just as she’d said, it wasn’t what the cloth was worth. Rouge accepted the payment anyway. She had to take what she could get.
Rouge pocketed the money and walked to Lady Rose’s house, making sure to give a coin to each person she passed. Lady Rose’s manor was where the bandits met back up after they’d distributed their winnings. When she arrived, most of the others were there too. Lady Rose was serving light sandwiches. She offered one to Rouge, who gratefully accepted it. Rouge found where Knuckles was sitting and sat as close as possible to him without being on top of him.
“Geez, you two. I’m trying to eat over here,” Charmy rolled his eyes dramatically.
“How was the graveyard, by the way? I just know Sonic made you go there after what you said,” Rouge shot back. “Surely this is less objectionable.”
“No way. Your PDA is scarier than any ghost.”
“Yeah? You’re about to see how scary I can be, punk!” She rolled up her sleeves and made to get up, but Knuckles caught hold of her waist and stopped her.
“No offense, Rouge—” Blaze chimed in— “You couldn’t scare a skittish squirrel.”
The entire band burst out laughing at the inside joke. Lady Rose asked what was so funny, and Silver was all too eager to share the story as Rouge crumpled in embarrassment.
“A squirrel was hanging around on the archery equipment, and Rouge wouldn’t get close to it. She was afraid of a tiny little baby squirrel!”
“So I told her to just yell at it and it would run away,” Blaze interjected.
“Right, so she yelled at it, but the tiny thing jumped on her! I’m surprised you didn’t hear the screams from town, Amy,” Silver finished.
“It’s not THAT funny,” Rouge pouted. “I had scratches on my face for days.”
“It was kind of funny,” Knuckles smirked. “But not as funny as when Silver dropped that rock on his own head.”
“Ugh, not that story. It was an accident!” Silver gasped, pretending to be highly offended. “Everyone drops things sometimes.”
“Not everyone drops things because they were distracted by Blaze walking past, and not everyone holds boulders right above their heads.” Everyone laughed, including Silver, who admitted that was a good point.
Once the laughing subsided, Rouge looked around. “Anyone know where Sonic, Cream, and Espio are?” She asked, not seeing them.
Espio fizzled back into the visible spectrum, positioned between Charmy and Vector, to answer her question. “I’m right here, Sonic and Cream went to Polfield and should be back soon.”
“Maybe if you stayed visible more often, we’d know where you were,” Tails pointed out. Espio scoffed.
“But then I wouldn’t get a moment of quiet.”
“You wouldn’t get anyone tripping over you either.”
Soon Sonic and Cream came back. They told everyone how Polfield was doing (still poor) and accepted sandwiches from Lady Rose. With Sonic’s arrival, the conversation turned to serious topics. They discussed future nobles and officials that would be traveling, which communities needed the most help, and how best to distribute their spoils. Vector brought up that it would be getting colder soon, and they would need to construct shelters and get heavier clothing. This topic carried them into the night, when they finally said goodbye to Amy and went back into the forest. Rouge felt the chill in the night wind. She wondered how everything would work out.

Chapter Text

King Cerulean sat on his throne as he usually did, but he slouched considerably. He marinated in his guilty conscience. His daughter, the only Princess, had run away. Last time he had seen her, she yelled at him and called him a coward. Sure, he had thrown a few dishes at her, but did that really warrant such harsh words… and running away?
His advisors sat on their own, less extravagant chairs beside him. Sir Ivo Robotnik listed off the schedule for the King’s day.
“9 o’ clock, we have a meeting with the royal guard to discuss their search. 10, we meet with Baron and Baroness Duemos. 11 is lunch, and at 12 we have a meeting with the seamstress to order your winter wardrobe.”
King Cerulean perked up slightly. Perhaps the guards would bring good news about the Princess. “Well, what are we waiting for? Bring the royal guard to me immediately,” He ordered. His right hand man bowed and left the room, presumably to fetch the men. The King turned to his other advisor, ever-stoic Shadow, who was sitting perfectly straight.
“Shadow, do you have any clue where Rouge might be?”
The hedgehog answered immediately, “I have no idea where she might be. Though she was a help to many citizens, one couldn’t call them her friends.”
“She never mentioned a place she liked particularly well?”
“... Well, she did seem to get on well with Duke White. But we have already sent men to search there. Neither the Duke nor his sister know where she is.”
The King sighed deeply and turned his attention away from Shadow. Sir Robotnik opened the double doors into the throne room, allowing the new head of guard entrance. Since Sir Edgar has been fired and imprisoned, the band of soldiers had to be completely revamped and none of the soldiers who had gone on the expedition or who looked up to Sir Edgar could be selected for the head position. The new guy had literally been recruited a month earlier. He had only been at the top position for a week.
“Sir Mighty, let’s cut to the chase. Have you found my daughter?” The King said.
“Not yet, your majesty,” the armadillo replied respectfully, “and we haven't heard any rumors about her either. Wherever she is, it must be outside of a town, away from other people.”
“Perhaps she ran away to a neighboring kingdom. I hear the Kingdom of Acorn is lovely this time of year,” Shadow suggested. A twinkle came to Sir Mighty’s eyes when he heard about the possibility for further travel, and he agreed with Shadow.
“Well,” the King said, “We do have the funds for that trip. If you cannot find her after the next week, you may make preparations to search other kingdoms. Shadow, you write to Queen Acorn and let her know to expect them. A war is the last thing we need right now.” Shadow nodded and took out parchment and a pen. Mighty was told to search Duke and Duchess White’s land again, then dismissed.
“Well, that was a waste of time,” the King proclaimed. He left his throne.
“Where are you going, your majesty?” Robotnik asked.
“To my room. Get me when the Baron and Baroness arrive.” With that the ruler swept out of the room. Robotnik turned to Shadow.
“I’ll bet we never find the Princess. Eventually that old bat will die, and then who will the kingdom go to?” Shadow didn’t respond, simply inclining his head to indicate that he understood Robotnik’s concerns. Eventually the first advisor left the room as well, leaving Shadow to pen the letter to Queen Acorn.
Once ten o’clock rolled around, everyone gathered in a comfortable living room and welcomed the visiting Baron and Baroness. The couple had a tendency to talk too much, which was always an annoyance, but this time they had a story to tell.
“Thank you so much for accepting our audience request at such short notice,” the Baroness gushed, “We’ve had a horrible misfortune befall us, and we had to report it immediately!”
“Yes, we were jumped by the Sonic gang in the woods nearby! First they lured us out, one of them pretended to be hurt, the little snakes…” the Baron droned on with his retelling of the events. To hear him tell it, he single-handedly felled half of the bandit gang until Sonic knocked him out from behind (“a cowardly tactic!”) and then they ransacked everything he’d ever owned. Somehow the man could make even this embellished story sound boring. King Cerulean, Shadow, and Sir Robotnik were fighting to keep their eyelids from drooping when he finally mentioned something interesting.
“One of the bandits, a brown-spotted bat, grabbed me by the neck and flew me above the trees—”
“Wait,” Robotnik exclaimed, “A bat?”
The Baron blinked, surprised at being interrupted. “Why, yes. A young woman. White with brown spots. She was simple to knock out once I tore a hole in her wing with…” and he continued lying unabashedly. No matter. His audience wasn’t listening in the slightest anymore. The three men exchanged glances. Could this bat be the Princess, or at least a clue to her?
Finally the seamstress arrived for the King’s measuring, which gave him a good excuse to hurry the Baron and Baroness out of his castle. The seamstress was the very same portly woman who serviced the first town. She brought with her a roll of very fine silk.
As the Baron and Baroness were exiting, they caught a glimpse of the seamstress with her roll of good fabric and stopped.
“That silk was OURS!” The Baroness shrieked, grabbing it from the woman suddenly. “The bandits stole it from us just yesterday. You must be one of them!” She pointed an accusing finger at the seamstress, who became offended.
“Me, one of them..? A baseless accusation! I bought that fabric,” she put her foot down.
“From whom?” The baroness asked.
“My sources are none of your business,” the seamstress replied, trying to grab the silk back. She failed at this as the Baroness clutched to it as though it was a lifeline. They would have gotten into a fight if Shadow hadn’t stepped in to separate the two. He turned to the seamstress.
“Where did you buy that silk from?” He asked calmly.
“One of the town residents, a bat girl. She didn’t seem much shabbier than anyone else. I figured she was just selling a family heirloom for quick cash. I see her around sometimes. If she was a member of that gang I had no idea!” The woman folded her arms while defending herself.
“It doesn’t matter where you bought it or what you thought, this belongs to us,” the Baroness countered. This earned her a dirty look from the seamstress.
The King finally stepped in. “I shall provide you with a replacement. Since this silk does belong to the Baroness, she shall keep it.”
The Baroness turned up her nose haughtily and stalked out of the room with her husband by her side. The seamstress was miffed but quickly pretended not to be for the sake of politeness in front of the King. She set up a stool for him to stand on and began taking his measurements for new clothes. As she did this, she rattled off a list of materials she would need to make the clothes while Shadow made a note of them all.
After a half hour she finished her measuring and listing. As she packed up her materials, the King began asking her questions.
“Tell me more about this bat you bought the silk from.”
“Certainly, your majesty. She’s a young one, barely an adult I would say. White fur, but she’s dirty, as if she bathes in dust. Come to think of it, she looks a bit like you.”
“Keep in mind you’re comparing me to a suspected thief.”
“On second thought,” the seamstress quickly rectified, “there aren’t many similarities.”
“And? Did she, perhaps, move in recently?”
“I think she did. I had never seen her before a few weeks ago.” Finally the seamstress was ready to leave. The King dismissed her with a promise that they would deliver all the materials she needed to her shop within the next few days. She curtsied deeply and thanked the King for his patronage, then scurried off before her welcome could wear out.
King Cerulean sat down. His two advisors gathered around him.
“I guess we won’t have to search the Kingdom of Acorn after all. That white bat has got to be my daughter.”
“What a shock… I never thought she would have joined the bandits,” Shadow said, faking shock.
“Well, how do we get her back!? My poor darling, living in the woods with those ruffians. We need her to return!”
“We have no chance trying to take her by force. Even when our troops were at their strongest, they couldn’t beat the gang.”
Finally Sir Robotnik spoke up. “I have an idea. We should set a trap for her.”
The King shifted forward in his seat, attentive. “Go on.”
“We can’t defeat the bandits on their terms, so we capture them by surprise. We could lure the Princess in with jewels. She’s always had a weakness for them, probably even more so now that she’s a thief.”
“Ivo,” the King grasped one of the man’s shoulders, “you may be on to something.”

Chapter Text

Espio returned to the clearing in the late evening. He was shivering from the outside chill, but he clutched a scarf around his neck and a piece of parchment in his hand.

The others had just finished setting up a large hut out of wood. It was going to be their primary shelter for the autumn. Vector spotted the chameleon running into the clearing and waved to him.

“Hey Espio! Any news from the town?” He asked by way of a greeting.

Espio stopped to catch his breath, having run a long way. The air was so cold that his exhales were visible. “Yeah,” he gasped, “I’ve got real important news.” He showed the parchment to Vector.

“Everyone’s inside. We’d better tell them about this.” Vector and Espio entered the wood hut.

The inside was rustic and rather cramped. Some old sheets donated from Lady Rose lined the ground. There was a small stone fire pit in the middle of the structure. The bandits got little space to themselves, but since it was primarily for warmth and everyone was cool with each other, this wasn’t a bad thing. Everyone turned when Espio entered, many of them saying hi.

“I took this poster from the town. There’s one on every door,” Espio explained, passing the piece of parchment around.

The poster read: JEWEL AND GEM EXHIBITION. The King invites all peasants to see the kingdom’s wealth through a public display of the Royal Jewels and more. Open to all for the next week.

“Wow, that’s… bold,” Tails commented.

“Or stupid,” said Charmy.

“The nerve of this guy!” Vector huffed. “Gonna rub his riches in our faces, huh?”

The paper had been around the whole group now, and it came to Rouge. She held the flyer in her hands and stared at it for a while. In a way, this was the first communication she’d had from her Father since she’d run away. Jewels, they were here favorite, and he knew that.

“This has got to be a trap,” She said.

“For once I agree with Rouge. That old man has never held an exhibition before, much less let commoners onto his land. He’s trying to lure us in,” Sonic affirmed. A serious hush fell over the bandits. Rouge couldn’t tear her eyes away from the paper. Her mind was flooded with thoughts and emotions that were difficult to put names on. There was guilt over leaving her father, melancholy over her past, indignation that the King would try something like this, and worry for her friends.

Knuckles tapped her hand, so she handed him the paper. He promptly ripped it in half.

“Wha— Knuckles!” She cried out, startled.

“We’re not going, so we don’t need this,” he explained, tossing the halves on the floor.

“Let the King waste his time on that trap. We won’t get caught that easily,” Silver agreed, shrugging.

“Well,” Tails chimed in softly, “it could have been an opportunity for Rouge to see her dad. Maybe if she went in a disguise?”

Rouge disagreed. “No, I never want to see that old man again. Knuckles is right, It’s better we don’t go. Though,” she glared at her boyfriend, “he could have said that without destroying our evidence.”

A general voice of consensus came from the bandits. Except Blaze.

Silver noticed she was holding her tongue. “What do you think, Blaze?” He asked.

She furrowed her brow. “Maybe we should still go.”

Her teammates stared at her incredulously.

“What part of ‘trap’ didn’t you understand?” Sonic cried out.

“Hear me out,” Blaze continued, commanding all attention. “Even if it is a trap or an ambush, the King does not have the resources to capture us. The royal guard was shaken up so they can’t fight us.”

“That’s right— even at their most powerful, those soldiers could never hold a candle to us!” Vector interjected to boast.

“Exactly. Sonic, Knuckles, and Silver could break any cage working together. There is no way the King or his cronies could defeat us.”

At this point Tails caught on. “Plus all those jewels will just be out in the open!”

“How much do you wanna bet that all of those jewels were stolen from citizens?” Spat Rouge. She still remembered the mishap with Lady Rose’s necklace.

Sonic considered all these points. A mischievous grin spread across his face. “Alright, Blaze. I see what you’re getting at.” He addressed the whole gang. “Who’s up for stealing every cent we can at this exhibition?”

The hyped gang members yelled their approval. Rouge turned to Knuckles.

“See? I knew you shouldn’t have ripped up that flyer.”

Knuckles groaned. “Yeah, yeah. It’s still a trap.”

“Obviously. But the King is the one who’s going to pay for it.”

After they settled down, it was decided that the bandits would infiltrate the castle grounds in disguises while it was open to the public, then they would hide on the grounds until night fell. Then, once they were certain no average citizens were around, they would sneak into the exhibition room and steal everything they could carry. Just in case something went wrong, Silver was to stay out of sight the entire time as backup. He was a good sport about this decision. They all prepared to leave.

Sonic assigned them all with supplies to gather. The chaotix would prepare food, Blaze and Tails would ready weapons, Silver and Cream would get bags to carry everything, Knuckles and Rouge would collect the disguises from their buried hiding place. Sonic put himself in charge of “supervision,” which was another way to say that he would be taking a nap. Everyone separated to do their jobs.

Knuckles and Rouge took their route leisurely, holding hands as they walked. The spot where the disguises were buried was on the far edge of the forest since they usually only needed them when going into town. That just meant more time for the two to be alone.

Knuckles complained about the plan. “If we all get caught, it’s not my fault.”

“So what, you’re not coming along?” Rouge teased.

“Huh? Of course I’m coming!”

“Then surely we won’t get caught. Or are you saying the rookie soldiers are too much for you to handle?”

“No way, I could take the whole fleet if I needed to!”

Rouge laughed and winked. “I’m just teasing you! I know you’ll protect me.”

“...And everyone else,” he reminded her stoically.

She rolled her eyes. “You have to take the fun out of everything, don’t you?”

Suddenly he seemed to get serious. “There’s one thing I can’t protect you from.”

Rouge became slightly nervous. “What do you mean..?”

He turned the look into her eyes. “One thing I can’t stop.”

“What is it? You’re freaking me out.”

“This KISS ATTACK!” He exclaimed, then rapidly kissed her cheeks and forehead. She was so surprised she couldn’t suppress a giggle. Once the attack was over and he pulled away, she blushed furiously.

“Geez! What a way to flirt. You were really scaring me, Knuckles!” She cried out.

He snickered. “Then you can consider it payback. You kiss attacked me last week.”

“Well, yeah, but I knew it was coming then—“

“So you can dish it, but you can’t take it.”

“Rude. It’s just weird when you flirt. You’re usually so serious.”

“I prefer the term ‘the only one with any common sense or responsibility’.”

Rouge shook off her discomposure. “Is flying fists-first at any problem common sense?” She asked.

“It is when you live in the woods!” He replied confidently.

They continued bantering until they reached and retrieved the box of disguises.

“I hope I don’t have to wear that brown wig again. It itches,” Rouge commented, brushing dirt from the box’s top.

“That leaves the fluorescent green hat or the mustard yellow headscarf,” Knuckles replied.

She considered this and chose the green hat. “It’ll bring out my eyes.”

“Are you sure that’s wise? We’re trying to hide your identity. Won’t the castle workers recognize your eyes?”

“Don’t worry. Most of the staff are new.”

“But won’t you look similar to—“

“No, my father has blue eyes,” she cut off his thought. He shifted awkwardly.

“Okay then… Your father. Are you going to try to see him when we go to the castle?”

“No way! Or… maybe. No. Yes?” Rouge sighed. “I’m not sure. On one hand, he raised me and I love him. But I also don’t want to endanger anyone else, our mission, and plus he yelled at me the last time I saw him. He’s a garbage person, I can see that now, but the past didn’t just get erased. I miss him. Just a bit.”

They walked in silence for a bit further.

Eventually Knuckles responded, “if you really want to see him, we can branch off from the group. He’ll probably be asleep when we go in.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. I won’t compromise the heist. I was just saying.” Rouge gazed at Knuckles, who was avoiding eye contact. He was so considerate. Strong and kind and especially handsome in the sunlight.

“Thanks for listening to me, Knuckie,” she mused.

“Well, sure,” He replied easily, “anytime.”

“Good. There’s one more thing I have to say.”

“What?”

“Kiss attack!”

Chapter Text

The bandits set out the next day in the early morning. They were relatively close to the castle, but they still had to spend hours walking together. Sonic kept grumbling about how much faster it would have been if he had carried them there individually, but the other bandits would never let him do that. They didn’t want him to get worn out before the action began. Plus, some of the members weren’t comfortable being that close to Sonic, or being held up by only two thin arms while the ground rushed below them at the speed of sound. Sonic would pretend to hold a grudge about this, but he could never stay passive-aggressive at his friends for long. As the group walked, they played word games. They created stories and poems and songs together. The time passed quickly. Once the castle came in sight, the bandits realized how long it had been since they started walking and suddenly felt hungry. They stopped on the side of the road, where there was slightly crunchy grass and a few buttercups, to eat their lunch. The lunches had been packed by the chaotix, and they consisted of squirrel sandwiches and wild strawberries. The sensible Espio had packed the meat, Vector had asked Lady Rose for the bread, and Charmy had convinced them to include the berries for a treat. Once the lunch was all gone, the group continued on the trail. Every step they took made the castle appear bigger than before. Rouge felt herself getting more nervous. She tugged her hat lower and considered using the bandana that Shadow had given her. She snuck a glance over at Knuckles and had to stifle a laugh.
He looked like a nervous wreck, wringing his hands and fidgeting with his disguise jacket. He caught Rouge looking and stuck his tongue out at her.
“Nervous, Knuckie?” She asked, her voice light with humor.
“How are you not?” He countered.
Rouge shrugged. “I’ve been all over the castle, it’s not strange to me.” When he didn’t respond, she admitted “okay, I am nervous, I just hide it well. I don’t want to run into my father.”
Knuckles sighed, “I don’t want you to run into the King either. He’d try to take you and execute the rest of us. Some way to meet the father, huh?”
Rouge moved closer and took his hand. “With any luck, we won’t have to deal with that.”
From next to the couple, Charmy mimed gagging with disgust.
Finally they were outside the castle gates, which were being guarded by two newbies. Not many civilians were going in to the exhibition; who would want to see the King’s wealth rubbed in their faces, especially when most were too poor or ill to travel there in the first place? This made it difficult for the bandits. They would raise a lot of suspicion if they went in together or even acted like they knew each other once they got in. Sonic led them all to a patch of trees just out of the guards’ view and dispatched them in small groups to infiltrate the grounds. The first group to go in was Rouge, Vector, and Cream, posing as a family.
“Here for the exhibition?” One of the guards called to them casually as they entered the gates.
“You bet! Wouldn’t want our precious daughter to miss this once in-a-lifetime display!” Vector replied cheerfully. Rouge lowered her head and didn’t speak. Cream waved to the guards with one hand, but the other clutched onto Rouge’s dress. The young girl was participating in her first real mission with the gang, so she was tensed up. She had been grouped with Rouge because she knew her way around the grounds best and would be able to look after Cream, and Vector had insisted to go in the same group as Cream,
Rouge began to lead the group directly to the front doors, but Vector warned her against this.
“We can’t look like we know our way around,” he chided Rouge, “meandering like tourists would be more deceptive!” He was right, of course. Cream ooh-ed and ah-ed at the gardens and the grounds, followed closely by her temporary guardians. Rouge tried to play along, but seeing the castle grounds held many memories for her, and she eventually resorted to staring at her feet and allowing Cream to tug her around by the skirt.
The next group to enter was Blaze, Silver, and Charmy. They gave discreet nods to Rouge’s group before hurrying to a different area. Then came Knuckles, Espio, and Tails, posing as apprentices who were skipping their duties together. Sonic entered last, alone. The emptiness of the exhibit meant it would be much harder for the bandits to seem like they had left while actually staying on the grounds. Still they kept to the plan. They all meandered into the main entrance at different times. The giant doors were kept open, exposing the extravagant interior of the castle. Inside there were three rows of tables laid with jewelry, exotic gems, golden statues, and fine embroidery pieces. The bandits had to grit their teeth and swoon in awe at all of the surely stolen goods. The King was nowhere to be seen during the exhibition— neither were his two advisors. The only others around were the new guards, who were actually gaping an awe at all the glittering objects. Sonic slipped into Blaze’s group and whispered something to them. They nodded.
While Rouge was wondering what they could have communicated, she felt a tap on her shoulder.
“Have I seen you before, miss?” One of the soldiers was staring at Rouge with a slight smile on his lips.
She was surprised. She didn’t recognize this man, but maybe he recognized her. She tugged her bright-colored hat lower over her eyes and stammered “no, I- I don’t think we’ve ever met!”
The man squinted at her. “Are you sure? Maybe we grew up in the same town?”
“I really doubt that,” Rouge muttered, stepping back. Doing so, she bumped into Vector.
Vector stepped in between Rouge and the soldier, extending his arm to protect her from view. “Hey buddy, what are you bothering her for?” He growled menacingly.
The soldier gulped. Vector was a lot larger than he was. “Nevermind,” he squeaked, then walked briskly away. Vector turned to face Rouge.
“Maybe this mission was too dangerous for you after all,” he said softly, worried.
“Well, I’m already here,” Rouge replied, “there’s no changing that. Thank you for the save, though.”
At that moment Blaze pretended to drop something so she could stoop down and wait for Rouge’s group to pass by her. When they did, she whispered “I’m going to cause a diversion. Run away and hide when it happens.”
Vector winked at her to convey that they got the message. Blaze straightened up and ran back to join Silver and Charmy.
After a few minutes, the diversion began. Smoke filled the air and Charmy screamed.
“FIRE! THERE’S A FIRE HERE!” And if that was too subtle, he added “EVERYBODY RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!”
Rouge turned to see a giant wall of flames at one end of the room (the end with the least flammable treasures, but still, it would spread without intervention). She let out a dramatic scream, picked up Cream, and ran out of the castle with Vector on her heels. The rest of the bandits followed close behind them, making a great show of running away and being afraid. The soldiers were busy panicking and trying to find buckets of water for them to pay too much attention to the guests. With the commotion, the guards that had been posted outside rushed to help and the grounds were left free for the bandits to roam and find suitable hiding places. A few of them high-fived Blaze before dispersing. Rouge showed them a few good places to hide, including a secluded balcony, an empty room with a huge window, and hollow topiary sculptures in the gardens. Rouge decided to hide out on the balcony with Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails. Cream, Vector, Charmy, and Blaze had chosen the empty room. Silver had gone into the topiary alone since he was their solo backup. It occurred to them that Espio was nowhere to be seen, but this did not particularly alarm the others. He had no need to hide, so he could be safe anywhere.
The balcony was shielded by a blanket of ivy vines. It was on a side of the castle that had been neglected and was almost never used. They all sighed out of relief.
“Maybe,” Tails said, “the diversion could have been a little less destructive.”
“Sure, but where’s the fun in that?” Sonic countered with a grin.
“I hate to go against you, oh wise leader,” Knuckles replied sarcastically, “but aren’t we supposed to steal those things rather than destroy them all?”
Sonic pouted, upset that his joke wasn’t taken well. “Bring it up with Blaze.”
Rouge didn’t participate in the discussion. She was thinking. Where was the King? The whole exhibition had seemed thrown together with no real thought. Surely they knew how easy it would be for anybody, not just seasoned thieves, to steal a few artifacts from them. She had expected it to be a trap, but they hadn’t been caught yet, or even looked at too much. Sure, one soldier had noticed her, but he hadn’t even recognized her fully.
Plus, being around her old home was disorienting. She had to act like she didn’t recognize any of the surroundings. She had looked at jewels she had owned for years, some of them were even presents to her, and acted like she didn’t know anything about them. Memories came back to her when she saw the grounds, but she realized none of them were very happy. Her life in the castle had been a solitary one, and she had been fine with it at the time, but now she knew how being part of a group could feel and she wouldn’t want to go back. She glanced at Knuckles.
He was already looking at her, but looked away skittishly when their eyes met. Sonic and Tails were still having a conversation, and Knuckles had never gotten the hang of interacting with Rouge while others were around. He kept glancing at her and making pained faces as if he wanted to communicate but couldn’t.
Rouge wasn’t in the mood to talk, so she just let it be and stopped paying attention to him. Eventually the sky grew dark and they could hear the giant gates closing.
Sonic became serious. “Alright, it’s go time.”
Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge nodded. Sonic jumped down from the balcony, then waited for the others to follow to sneak back toward the room the others were in.
Blaze, Charmy, Vector, and Cream were asleep, but were quickly woken up.
“Sleeping on the job?” Sonic joked.
“We’re pulling an all-nighter. Any rest is for the better,” Blaze chided him. Rouge led the way out of the room and down winding hallways through the castle. Darkness shrouded the cold stone building. The only light came from windows that the moon shone through. Rouge couldn't stop to look at it. She flew ahead of the group, moving silently through her old home, guiding them through back routes and secluded passageways to the main throne room.
All of the jewels were still in the room. There was a large char mark on the side of the room that had been torched, but it looked like the soldiers had taken swift care of it. Cream handed out bags to the others and they all started shoving gems and gold pieces in. They tried to strike a balance between speed and noise, but it was nearly impossible to make sure the spoils didn’t clink in the bags.
Rouge wandered to one of the tables closest to doors. Knuckles followed her.
“Rouge,” he whispered, “are you, um, doing okay?”
Rouge smiled at him. “Sure I am. Why?”
“Oh, that’s good, I just thought you might not be. Since we’re in the castle. It’s so much nicer here than in the woods.”
“Aww. Look at you, were you worried about that this whole time?” She leaned toward him and landed a tender kiss on his cheek. He let her, but turned stiff.
Suddenly a loud noise came from the middle of the room. Rouge and Knuckles turned toward the sound, but it was dark, and they couldn’t really see what was going on.
Then they heard Cream crying, and they rushed to the scene.
Cream was kneeling next to Sonic, who was crumpled on the floor. Blood was oozing slowly from his head. Blaze rushed to bandage his head, Vector sheltered Cream, Charmy and Tails started looking around for how Sonic how been hurt.
“Cream, what happened? Did you see how Sonic was injured?” Rouge asked the girl.
Through her sobs, Cream pointed upward and said “I don’t know— something hit mister Sonic from up there!”
They looked up just in time to see a large cage falling over them. It had been suspended from the ceiling, much too high for them to see when they were focused on the riches in the room. The cage fell over them with a large CLANG.
The bandits were completely still for a second as the reality of what had just happened washed over them. It didn’t surprise them that it had been a trap, but...
“We were caught,” Tails finally said.
“Sonic,” Blaze groaned, turning back to the hedgehog, “it’s my fault you were injured… I said everybody should come here.”
“And we all agreed. It’s not your fault, Blaze. Let’s focus on getting out of here!” Vector tried to get her spirits up.
“Vector,” Knuckles said, “cover Cream’s ears.” He immediately obeyed, and Knuckles started punching the metal bars of their prison. It made a terrible noise, a repetitive and loud clanging, but the bars barely budged. He continued to berate the bars, so the others gathered in the corner farthest from him and covered their ears as best as they could.
Eventually the clanging slowed down and Knuckles stopped to gasp for breath. As he was gasping, a shadow moved close to him.
Fwooosh…
A cloud of dust blew into his face, and with his heavy breathing, it hit him heavily. He swayed on the spot, then fell.
“KNUCKLES!” Rouge gasped and ran to his side. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him, but there was no response. His breathing was constant, at least.
A soft chuckle sounded from where the dust had come from.
“Finally! That racket was getting annoying.”
“Robotnik,” Rouge recognized the voice,
A candle flickered to life, shedding some small amount of light onto the attacker’s face. Yes, it was Robotnik, but the King and Shadow were with him. The King stepped forward.

“Rouge, darling,” he said, “welcome home.”

Chapter Text

“What do you want with me? I’m not your daughter, remember?” Rouge spat at King Cerulean.
“Yes, I did say that, but I didn’t mean it!” He exclaimed in response, “I’ve been worried sick about you, only to find that you have been galavanting across the land with a gang of thieves. Completely unacceptable behavior for a princess.”
So the whole trap hadn’t just been for the bandits, it had been for her specifically. Rouge gripped Knuckles’ shoulder. She should have come alone. Now all of her friends were captured.
Her father continued with his monologue.
“Bringing you home was almost too easy. You’re still my Rouge, obsessed with jewels. I suppose after living in the dirt for a few months you were dying to see something sparkly. I knew you would come crawling back eventually.”
Robotnik added “the rest of your gang is an unexpected bonus, but we were still prepared for it!”
The rest of the bandits rustled indignantly behind Rouge. It was humiliating that they had been caught, but they couldn’t deny that they had been outmaneuvered. With Sonic and Knuckles both unconscious and Silver nowhere to be found, escaping seemed impossible.
“Yes,” King Cerulean agreed, “We have you all right where we need you. These criminals will be executed for their many crimes against the kingdom. How soon can we execute them, Ivo?”
“We could have three done in the morning, and the rest done in the afternoon.”
“NO! Don’t kill any of them!” Rouge yelled. She glanced down at Knuckles’ quiet body and stroked his cheek vaguely before standing up. She stepped over him to face her father. The candlelight flickered across her face, throwing her defiant expression into dramatic contrast.
“Rouge, listen to sense. These people have stolen thousands in important funds.”
“Only a small fraction of what you’ve stolen,” she snarled, “what would you have used that money for? A new throne?”
The king rolled his eyes. “We’ve been over this. That money goes into giving you a better life. When you ran away, you wasted all of those peasants’ sacrifices.”
“They didn't have to make those sacrifices. Not if you hadn’t forced them to.”
“Come on! What’s a little peasant suffering compared with the comfort of a Princess? Those people are worth less than the meager taxes they pay. You are more important than a thousand of them combined!”
“I’m not, and you aren’t either—“ she pointed a harsh finger through the cage bars onto his chest— “Any peasant is worth more than you. The bandits you want to kill have shown me more care and love in a few months than you did in my entire life! This castle is no home. This kingdom is in shambles. If you don’t face me and the reality of the mess you’ve caused, nothing will improve, everybody in the country will perish, and you’ll eventually be left alone to rot.”
The king flinched, then frowned deeply. At first Rouge thought her words had gotten through to him, but he quickly proved her wrong.
“Fine. I’ll strike you a deal. I won’t kill the bandits… if you agree to live in the castle and return to your old self, just like before.”
Rouge stared at the man in disbelief. He wanted to sweep it all under the rug. He was fine with the way things were. He was fine if the peasants all died, if his kingdom fell into ruin around him, as long as he and his daughter ignored it all. Well, Rouge couldn’t ignore it. Not after everything she had seen and experienced.
“No.”
Cries came from her friends behind her—
“Come on, Rouge!”
“What part of execution didn’t you understand?”
“You tell him!”
“How delusional can someone get?”
“Just knock him out through the bars! Can you reach?”
There was also a scuffle as Vector had to hold Blaze back, who looked ready to fry the King into a crisp.
Speaking over the commotion, Rouge explained, “You won’t execute these people whether I stay with you or not. if you kill them, you’ll have to kill me too. I stole things with them, I attacked noblemen, I snuck onto castle grounds. So execute me too.”
It became completely silent. An ugly expression twisted the King’s face, the bandits had stopped moving, and the advisors looked shocked. Finally, the King replied.
“Fine. No threats. You’ve pushed me to the limit, young lady.” Slowly, as if it pained him, he took the crown off of his head and kneeled in front of the giant metal cage. “I am asking you as your father. I made some mistakes. I just want you to come back home.”
Rouge was surprised. Her father had never kneeled to anyone, much less her. She considered him. For a second, he seemed like a real father again, not a strange enemy. But she couldn’t cave in that easily.
“Promise me,” she said, “you’ll listen to what the bandits and I have to say. You’ll help us fix the kingdom. If you accept me as your daughter, you need to make serious changes.”
Her father answered quickly. “Yes, I’ll listen. I can’t lose you, darling.” He straightened up again, but left his crown on the floor by his feet. He took a large key out of his jacket pocket. “Nothing is worth this. I’ll let you out.”
Rouge stepped away from the edge so her father could unlock the cage. She turned back to her friends, whose mouths hung open in shock or awe.
“Good job,” Charmy whispered to her with a smile.
“Thanks,” she couldn’t help but smile. “Vector, can you carry Sonic out? Tails and I can probably handle Knuckles.” Vector happily agreed.
The lock clicked and Cerulean pushed the door open with a creak. Rouge faced her father again, this time with a smile. They moved closer to each other and met in the middle with a tight hug.
“Thanks, dad,” Rouge said softly.
“Never do that again,” he replied, sounding resigned.
Suddenly, a force pushed them both, and they toppled over inside the cage. The motion startled Rouge, but her reflexes were good from living in the woods and she recovered quickly, just in time to see Robotnik slip the key into his own pocket. The door was closed again,
A horrible laugh came from the wretched man. He picked up the crown that the King had left on the floor and set it on his own head.
Behind him, Shadow’s eyes widened in horror, then shifted between Robotnik, the crown, the King, and finally his eyes met Rouge’s. His hand hovered above his sword hilt, but Rouge shook her head subtly. She glanced at Robotnik’s pocket which held the key, then raised her eyebrows at Shadow. He nodded, took a deep breath, and returned to normal, no longer paying attention to Rouge.
Regardless of how he acted, Rouge decided then that she would trust whatever Shadow decided to do from that point on. He was working on her side. With any luck, he could be an inside man and help them escape before Robotnik did anything drastic.
Like, say, take over the kingdom.
“Cerulean, you’re a fool,” Robotnik smiled, “to give up your absolute reign for a little girl.”
“Ivo, what is the meaning of this? Open this prison immediately!” The King gripped the cage bars and raised his voice at the treacherous advisor.
“Let me think about that… No, I don’t think I will! This country needs a leader that won’t be swayed by a few ragtag kids from the woods.”
“I AM THE KING! YOU ARE MY ADVISOR!”
“Let’s face it, batty. You weren’t a great king. A change in management was long overdue. Shadow,” he called to the hedgehog, “go fetch the guards. Tell them we’ve captured the bandits. Oh, and the King was found to have conspired with them. They’ll need to be taken to the dungeons.”
Shadow left immediately. While he was gone, Ivo went to admire his new throne and riches. The bandits and the King were left with each other, still trapped.
The King sat silently, staring into space for a moment until he cleared his throat and faced the bandits.
“So,” he said, “how do we get out of here?”
The bandits stared at the man with disdain. Nobody answered him, but Tails beckoned Rouge closer to the rest of them. When Rouge came close enough, the bandits formed a huddle and began discussing their situation in hushed tones.
“Alright. Sonic and Knuckles are out of commission. Blaze, do you think you could melt the cage bars?” Tails began.
“No, my fire can’t get that hot, and even if it could I would have to be uninterrupted for a long time. Sorry. I’m really sorry,” Blaze replied, rubbing her eyes.
“That’s alright, nobody blames you.”
Blaze stopped her nervous rubbing for a second and asked “Do you think I should… you know, cremate Sir Robotnik? I could.”
“No, Blaze! We are not about to become murderers!” Tails exclaimed incredulously. Blaze sighed and nodded.
“Look on the bright side, Blaze,” Vector interjected, “Silver and Espio weren’t caught! I’m certain they’ll save us soon enough!”
“That’s another thing, though. Where are those two? Does anybody know?”
“We haven’t seen Espio in a while, but Silver was in that hedge statue. He should still be free, or else Robotnik would have rubbed it in our faces that he was caught too.”
“Those two are our only hopes now,” Charmy sighed.
“Actually,” Rouge whispered, “The second advisor, Shadow, is on our side too. He can help us get the key from Robotnik!”
The others looked at her for a beat, then Tails asked her how she knew that.
“He cleared your names from the stealing charges, he helped me escape when I was running away, and just now he agreed with me to help. I’m going to trust him. What other options do we really have?”
The bandits seemed apprehensive. Cream set her hands on Rouge’s arm and said “I’ll trust him too. If he helped you, Miss Rouge, he must be a good person!”
Rouge patted Cream’s head. She was handling the situation more calmly than one would expect from a six-year-old, but then again, her eyes were red and puffy, and her voice was hoarse. She may have simply cried all her tears already.
The rest of the gang reluctantly agreed that they would trust Shadow as well as Silver and Espio.
“But that means we’ll have to stay imprisoned with… him,” Charmy gestured toward the King, who couldn’t hear their conversation and was staring into space again.
“Think of it like this— he’s stuck with us. He wouldn’t listen before, but he can’t escape from us now,” Rouge grinned.
They all heard the rumble of footsteps coming towards them, so they left their huddle to look despondent and not like they had just been conspiring together. Rouge sat next to her father and hung her head in apparent despair. Judging from the amount and directions of the steps, the guards, Robotnik, and Shadow were coming back.
“So, you finally caught the little pests?” A familiar voice said triumphantly.
Rouge didn’t look up, but she knew who it was, and she was shocked.
How was Sir Edgar still alive? She had assumed he would be executed for stealing from the taxes and framing Rouge for the crime. She glanced at her father, who looked just as surprised, confirming that the disgraced head of guard was supposed to be dead. Or he still hadn’t recovered from the betrayal of his first advisor. Either way, this was bad news for all of them. Sir Edgar had a grudge against them all.
“SILVER!” Blaze’s voice was wrought with emotion. This made Rouge look up.
Silver was slumped over at Sir Edgar’s feet, blood trickling from his mouth. He was completely beaten with bruises and cuts on every visible place. Blaze almost moved to check his pulse, but Sir Edgar set his foot on the Hedgehog and warned her “don’t get any closer; in the time you could reach him, I could crush him so hard his inwards would spill from his mouth.” Everybody froze.
Robotnik appeared beside Sir Edgar and began pointing towards each of the bandits, counting under his breath. “9 of them— we have everyone. Excellent work, Edgar,” he said, gazing approvingly at the unconscious Silver.
“Yes, nine of them, since the little Princess decided to join their gang and become a thief. What do you think of that, Shadow?” Sir Edgar called laughingly to the black hedgehog behind him. “Imagine that. The Princess conspiring with the bandits.”
Shadow didn't say anything.
“Now, Edgar, there will be plenty of time for gloating later. We have to make sure these nuisances—“ Robotnik gestured to the cage— “never threaten my claim to the throne again. Take them to the dungeon. I will decide what to do with them in the morning.”
“Immediately, your majesty,” Sir Edgar bowed and waved his old soldiers forward. One by one, the bandits were escorted by the guards out of the cage and down to the dungeons. Knuckles, Sonic, and Silver were unceremoniously slung over the guards’ shoulders and given no further regard. With each step the guards took, more blood spilled from Silver’s mouth, making a horrible trail marking the path they would all take to the dungeons.
Rouge was the last to be escorted down. She followed obligingly, but was still handled roughly. As she walked, led by the soldiers, she recognized less and less of the castle. She had never been to the dungeons before. The surroundings grew colder and darker with each step.
Finally they arrived and she was shoved behind more bars; she took in her new setting. The dungeon walls, made of dark grey stone, had moss and some mildew growing on them. Rouge was in a cell with Tails, Blaze, her father, and Knuckles. The dungeon was a large square with two cells on each side and an empty space in the middle. The rest of the bandits occupied the cell directly across from hers.
Rouge scrambled to Knuckles’ side and checked his pulse. It was still going steadily. Whatever powder had been used to knock him out must not have been overly poisonous, as he seemed to just be asleep. Sonic and Silver were in more danger. They had been injured heavily.
“How are Sonic and Silver?” Rouge called across the dungeon.
A pause followed as Vector checked the two hedgehogs’ pulses. Finally he responded “Do you have anything we can use as bandages?”
Blaze immediately took off her overshirt and threw it to Vector. He ripped it up and began bandaging Sonic’s head.
Blaze, now with just a homemade sports bra, folded her arms in an attempt to preserve some warmth. Rouge moved next to her and offered a hug. Blaze sank into Rouge’s arms gratefully, both for warmth and comfort. It would be a difficult road ahead for them, and the day had been devastating.
Their only hopes now were Shadow and Espio.

Chapter Text

Espio shifted out of the visible spectrum and walked calmly away from the diversion while his friends made a commotion and ran away dramatically. The fire was impressive, but it did worry him— if the royal guards knew that Blaze had fire powers it would be easy for them to put two and two together, and they would soon realize that the bandits were there.
While Espio was invisible, he could hide anywhere he wanted. He decided against staying with any of his friends. It would be too easy to capture them all at once if they stuck together. He decided the best course of action was to find a secluded place and meditate until night. He strolled around the grounds for a while until he found a lovely bench in the gardens. He figured this was as good a place as any, so he sat down. He crossed his legs and closed his eyes, ready to start meditating, when the topiary behind him sighed. That didn’t seem right. Bushes didn’t generally sigh.
Cautiously he whispered, “Who’s there?”
The bush rustled violently, then Silver poked his head out from it.
“Espio?” Silver looked around. “I could have sworn I heard..”
“You did hear me. I’m invisible. What are you doing in a topiary? Weren’t there any better places to hide?”
“Oh, well, sure. There were other options…” Silver trailed off, then pushed some branches to the side, opening the hollow sculpture as an invitation for Espio to enter with him.
Espio considered this. He wasn’t sure about staying with Silver, but he looked a little restless and besides, Espio WAS invisible. So he climbed into the sculpture as invited.
All the light that filtered into the bush was green, giving Silver a strange new color scheme. The sculpture was a simple swan shape which allowed the two boys to sit across from each other in the body of the bird. One couldn’t call the interior of twigs and leaves comfortable, but they were used to it from living in the woods.
“I’m kinda relieved you showed up,” Silver sighed to Espio, “I know I’m the emergency backup and shouldn’t be around the others, but I was already getting bored by myself… and a little lonely,” he mumbled the last bit.
“I can’t promise I’ll be much for company,” Espio replied. “I was going to meditate.”
Silver nodded and pantomimed locking his lips and throwing away the key. Espio smiled to himself. He usually hung out with Vector and Charmy, but he genuinely liked the other bandits, and he had to admit that Silver’s boundless energy and willingness to be vulnerable was admirable. Not that he had ever said that.
After a few moments of silence, Silver began fidgeting and looking around.
Espio fizzled back into being visible. “I’m still here,” he said.
“Oh! I knew that. It’s just strange being around so few people, I guess.”
“...Do you want to meditate with me?”
Silver looked surprised, then smiled. “If you’ll teach me!”
Espio showed him the meditation position and told him how to focus his mind and what to focus on. At first he had trouble with his thoughts wandering, but with some patience, Silver was soon able to sit still and calm. The two meditated for an hour or so. Then they talked to each other in hushed tones. It had been a while since just the two of them were together.
Eventually, Espio noticed that it had gotten dark. “Do you think the others have already left their hiding places?” He asked.
“I’m sure they have. I can’t, though… I have to stay here just in case.”
Espio hesitated. He’d come there to join in the raid, but it suddenly didn’t seem fair to leave Silver there alone. Besides, the other bandits could handle stuffing jewels into bags without him.
Silver must have picked up on what Espio was thinking, because he continued “You can join them! I’ll be fine.”
“Alright, I—” he stopped mid-sentence and tensed. “did you hear that?”
Silver strained to hear something too, but couldn’t. Espio put a finger to his lips, telling Silver to stay silent, then turned invisible.
Espio knew he had heard something. It was a swish of fabric. Neither he nor Silver wore much clothing. There had to be somebody moving very close to their topiary. Using the skills he learned as a stealth operative for the King, he silently exited the plant sculpture to observe the outside. Not a leaf rustled.
It was very dark outside. The stars were barely visible. Each bush and tree created a strange silhouette, but none of them were moving. Only one of the shadows was moving. And it had a tacky cape.
Espio snuck closer and was able to see that the visitor was Sir Edgar, the disgraced ex-head of guard. His energy was more discernible than his face. The man was leaching arua arsenic into the atmosphere. Chills ran up Espio’s spine. He had to get himself and Silver out of there, now!
He waited for Sir Edgar to walk in a different direction from the topiary where Silver was hiding, then he rushed back inside.
“Silver,” he cried, “We need to get out of here.” Still invisible, he grabbed Silver’s hand and tried to pull him out of the shrub.
“Espio? What’s going on?”
“Just move!”
Silver wasn’t the most graceful hedgehog. He allowed Espio to pull him out of his hiding place, but he didn’t know how to exit a twiggy, leafy place without some rustling. That was alright. As long as they could run faster than Sir Edgar, they would be fine.
Espio and Silver sprinted as fast as they could. Their feet hit the ground hard, but they still tried to make as little noise as possible. Espio couldn’t see Sir Edgar anymore. He didn’t know if that was good. He kept running until he turned a corner that seemed secluded. There they took a break to catch their breath.
“What was that about?” Silver gasped.
Before Espio could reply, he felt that energy again. Edgar was too close. He tried to reach for Silver again, but Edgar was much faster than the exhausted chameleon.
“So,” The villain croaked. He had one hand around Silver’s neck pinning him to the wall, and the other on his sword hilt. “Your friends left you on your own, huh?”
Silver couldn’t reply except with choking noises.
Espio looked around frantically for a weapon to use against Sir Edgar, but now that they were out of the gardens, there wasn’t much around but flat lawn.
Silver’s eyes wandered. He could have been looking for a weapon too, or he was looking for Espio. His hands raised weakly and began glowing. He used his Psychokinesis to grab the enemy’s arm and tear it away from his neck. Edgar stumbled back, and Silver gasped. Before he could recover from having his windpipe nearly crushed, Sir Edgar was back at him with a sword. He slashed Silver’s shoulder. Dark blood gushed onto the grass. Silver tried to use his psychokinesis again, but Sir Edgar stepped on one of his hands and began punching him incessantly. He wouldn’t stop; the sounds Silver made were nightmarish.
Espio stared in horror. He realized he couldn’t take on Sir Edgar, monster that he was, alone. He had to find the other bandits. Doing that meant turning his back on Silver in his time of need. Yet, what else could he do?
Sir Edgar stepped back. Silver lay unmoving on the grass, his chest rising and falling with effort.
“If all of the bandits are this easy, I should have no trouble with the rest,” Sir Edgar bragged.
With a shuddering breath, it seemed like Silver was about to retort, but he just said “Go… Away,” haltingly.
Sire Edgar laughed and picked Silver up in a fireman’s carry. “I’m not going anywhere. But you will,” he replied cruelly.
Espio got the message. Silver wanted him to escape instead of trying to save him. He turned around and ran. He was going to try to find the others before Edgar did.
Then a sickening repetitive banging broke the air. It was coming from the main entrance of the castle. Looking inside, Espio could see the rest of his friends trapped in a giant cage, Sonic already passed out.
Espio leaned against a wall , then sank down to his knees. He was the only one left. He couldn’t go against the forces that had trapped and nearly killed the others. He would have to run back and gather backup from the kingdom. There was already a revolution stirring. Perhaps the capture of the infamous Sonic Gang would be what pushed the kingdom into full-blown chaos. If that chaos could be used to save his friends, then so be it.
Espio knew he had to move. But his legs had seemingly stopped working, and he started to shiver all over. He had witnessed too many awful things that night. After having to leave Silver, he wanted to stay there— even if he couldn’t help them, just to see everyone— as long as he could.
So Espio stayed there, invisible, and watched the whole thing go down.
Once Robotnik told Shadow to get the soldiers, he walked to the exit which Espio was next to. No problem, he was still invisible.
Shadow walked out of the castle, but he didn’t go to get the soldiers immediately. He glanced around and began searching. Under his breath, he muttered “one of the bandits was missing… One of them is still out here.”
Espio stiffened. Rouge had told the other bandits that Shadow was on their side, but he had never witnessed that himself. Now the hedgehog was looking for him. He wasn’t sure if Shadow could be trusted enough to know how close he really was.
But he knew that Rouge could be trusted, as she had told him to trust Shadow. He reached out a hand and tapped Shadow’s shoulder.
Shadow whirled around, startled.
“Looking for me?” Espio introduced himself by becoming visible again for a brief moment, then returning to invisibility.
“You’re the last bandit,” Shadow said.
“I am, and I just witnessed you stand by while my friends were captured. Care to explain?”
Shadow sighed. “I might be an advisor to the King, but I don’t have the power to stop Robotnik and Sir Edgar myself. I had to stay on their good side for now.”
“What’s the plan after that?”
Neither of them spoke for a while. It was clear to Espio that Shadow had no idea what to do, but would never admit that. So Espio offered his plan.
“I’m going to tell the subjects that the Sonic Gang was captured. That should help everyone rally together in a revolution of the people, we’ll all storm the castle and save the gang.”
“Are you crazy?” Shadow exclaimed. “Those people don’t know that Rouge and I aren’t with the King… ex-King. That plan is too messy, it will go awry, and more people will die than is necessary.”
“So what else can we do?”
“Get some allies to fight with you. People you can trust, not just random subjects. I can give you a horse to travel around the kingdom with and collect them. Come back here in a week.”
Espio considered who he could ask to come back with him. There were some close allies he could rely on, but they wouldn’t be enough alone to defeat all the soldiers, Sir Edgar, and the new “King.”
“If I go along with that, you have to do your part,” Espio told Shadow sternly. “You have to get the keys to bust my friends out of the dungeons, make sure they’re still alive and can fight with us in a week. You need to get rid of most of the soldiers, too. There’s no way we can defeat all of them in our current state.”
Shadow bit his cheek nervously as he considered Espio’s demands. Finally he nodded.
He held out his hand, and Espio shook it.
Shadow had to get the soldiers, so he told Espio where to find his horse and left. The horse was a black beauty, held in a private stable for official’s horses. Espio exacted calmly around the animal and it didn’t seem to question the difference in rider. They rode out of the castle grounds undetected. Espio knew exactly where he needed to go. The horse’s hooves fell into a steady rhythm. It helped him focus.
Finally they reached the first town. Espio tied the horse to a tree and rushed to Lady Rose’s house.
He knocked on the door frantically, praying that she hadn’t yet gone to bed. The door opened almost immediately.
“Espio? Where is everyone else?” Amy asked. Her eyes had dark bags under them, and she looked extremely worried. “What happened?”
Espio didn’t know what to say at first. He didn’t even know if Sonic and Silver, or any of the bandits, were still alive. How could he break that news to the sweet woman who always worried for them? To confirm her fears seemed top he cruelest thing he could do. Yet he had to do it.
“Amy,” he cried, “everyone’s been captured.” Once that piece was out, everything else came tumbling after it. “Sonic and Silver are severely injured, the King has been overthrown by his advisor, I think everybody is being kept in the dungeon. You’re one of our closest allies. You have to help me save them!”
Amy’s eyes widened in horror. She looked ready to cry, scream, or collapse. “Sonic… He’s hurt?” She uttered in a small voice.
“Yes. But if we don’t hurry, he could be executed.”
Amy ran to her room. At first Espio was afraid she was going to break down or refuse to accept what had happened, but she returned quickly. She was wearing a traveling cloak and carrying a bag full of weapons and food.
“Then what are we waiting for?” She snapped, grabbing Espio by the arm. “We’ve got to fight back! We can make it back to the castle before morning!”
Espio grimaced. “Actually, we have a few more stops before we can go back…”

Chapter Text

There was a small scraping sound as the guard pushed Rouge’s small meal through the bars of her cell. It had some sort of gruel, stale bread, and a cup of water. She took it quickly.
She dipped a strip of her own shirt, which she had ripped off earlier, in the water and placed it on Knuckles’ forehead. He was still out cold. No light came to the dungeon, so none of them knew how much time had passed since they were thrown in, but they had been given two meals so far.
Rouge began stroking Knuckles’ head, hoping the contact would help wake him up. She stared at him. His face was relaxed, so at least he looked peaceful, but she knew he would be filled with angry energy as soon as he woke up. Of course he would wake up. He had to. She tried not to think about the possibilities, instead she retreated to sit against the wall and eat her food.
Her cellmates, Blaze, Tails, and Cerulean, had also received their food and were eating. The former King had been stealing glances at his daughter the entire time.
“Where did you learn that?” He finally asked.
“Learn what, to care for anyone other than myself? My friends taught me. Thanks for asking,” Rouge replied sarcastically.
Cerulean looked hurt and didn’t reply. Was Rouge supposed to feel sorry for him? She tried not to pay too much attention to her father, but he was the elephant in the room at the moment. She sighed. As long as they were stuck in the dungeon together, they would have to make nice.
“Sorry… Dad. I learned it when Charmy got a fever last month. Vector taught me.”
“Charmy is..?”
“The little bee, and Vector is the big crocodile. He’s surprisingly gentle.”
Another voice joined in from across the dungeon.
“Talking about me behind my back?” Charmy called teasingly, then added “not-so-nice to finally meet you, your majesty. My name is Charmy Bee. You fired me a year ago, leaving me with no income and no place to live.” He scoffed. “I guess that doesn’t narrow it down a lot, huh.”
Cerulean bristled at this. “I don’t recall that,” he replied coldly.
“It happened too much, so you can't recall individual cases. Don’t worry, I understand.”
Rouge interrupted the bee. “We’re trying to get him to see sense, not turn against us. Antagonizing him won’t get us anywhere.”
“Rouge!” Cerulean exclaimed, hope in his eyes.
“Which isn’t to say that you can’t tell him exactly what he’s done wrong,” she continued, “He might need to hear it. Goodness knows I did. Just try not to make him our enemy.”
“I will gladly tell him what he did wrong,” Charmy sounded almost distraught. They couldn’t see each other through the low light, but his voice was strained, and he sounded on the verge of tears. “Vector, Espio, and I were special forces in your military. I’ve lived with those two for as long as I can remember. They’re my family. We all went through the grueling military training together, and we were stationed together, and we looked after a little village, just us three. Vector was the greatest detective the kingdom ever had. Espio was the sneakiest special ops in the business. I was an interrogation specialist. We were some of the best soldiers your stupid military had ever seen.”
“One day we were locked out of our headquarters without so much as a warning. We thought maybe that was a mistake, and we went to speak with you personally. Vector insisted on going to you alone, he thought you had a good impression of him, but when he came back from your little conversation he was unrecognizable. He was a broken man. You have no idea, do you? You have no idea how much it hurts to see your family, who you’ve always relied on, crumple to the floor sobbing because you no longer have a job or a home. We had to live in the woods and join the bandits to survive.”
Charmy stopped and gasped for breath. Vector added a few words in a soft voice.
“I had to rely on teenagers to take care of Charmy, Espio and me. You have the gall to say that you don’t even remember tearing our lives apart?”
Cerulean was close enough that Rouge could see his expression. His brows were furrowed, and he stared into the darkness trying to see Charmy and Vector.
“I do not remember you three,” he admitted seriously. “Many cuts had to be made in the military budget.”
“And what did those cuts go toward?”
The former king considered this for only a second before responding without remorse, “they went toward training for tax collecting soldiers. Useful, multipurpose.”
It was silent. Rouge stared at her father in disbelief.
He seemed to be bothered by the silence, so he kept talking. “Any one of you would have done the same thing, I’m sure. The kingdom can’t run without taxes. We were not and are not at war; tax collectors are more important than specialized forces.”
“Shut up and listen,” Blaze spoke up. “You’ve taken too much from the citizens. Without money to renovate or build new homes, all of your subjects live in dilapidated, dangerous housing.” She paused. “Silver and I, we grew up together in a little town just west of Polfield. We were all so happy. Everybody in the town was close. But the buildings were old, built closely together, and one night somebody forgot to extinguish their fire… The entire place burnt down. Silver and I barely escaped with our lives.”
“Do you think everyone chose to live like that? They didn’t have the money for anything better! That was your fault!” Blaze cried. Because she was in the same cell as Cerulean, she was able to grab him by the shirt collar with one hand as she started a fireball in the other. The fireball illuminated their faces. Blaze looked determined, while Ceruleun looked terrified.
“Do you know how much I hated my powers after that? Do you have any idea how many people were lost, how much pain you caused, how much tragedy could have been avoided if you were just a competent ruler!?” The flames threatened to catch on Cerulean’s fur. Rouge pushed Blaze back, separating the two.
“Don’t do anything you’ll regret, Blaze,” she warned.
“Oh, I won’t regret it,” Blaze growled back.
Cerulean started trying to escape, but he couldn’t. He shook the cell bars so they rattled.
“GUARDS! GUARDS! HELP ME!” He yelped as he rattled the bars, making a terrible racket.
“They won’t help you! You’re a prisoner. You’re no better than us,” Blaze reminded him. Still, she extinguished the fireball in her hand, throwing the dungeon into darkness once again.
Cerulean collapsed to his knees, cowering against the bars. “I swear, I didn’t know about that,” he said, “I never heard of a burning town. I am sorry such a tragedy happened to you.”
“SORRY doesn’t fix ANYTHING!” She yelled.
“Blaze, please!” Rouge exclaimed.
“Defending him because he’s family?”
“No— he may still be able to rewrite the laws. We need him alive, if only for that. To prevent even more from happening.”
Blaze was silent for a while. She stood, tensed, while thinking. Then she retreated to the cell’s back wall and slumped against it.
Tails, who had been watching the entire ordeal from the sidelines, spoke softly.
“Your majesty,” he addressed Cerulean, “Please listen to my story. When I was barely four years old, I supported my family by selling whatever scrap metal I could find on the street. I was so young, I can’t even remember my family’s faces. My first clear memory is coming home from rummaging in the streets to a completely collapsed house. I remember dropping my metal scraps and trying to search for my family members in the rubble, I tried for hours, but I couldn’t find any trace of them. I don’t know whether they escaped or died that day. Do you know what the worst part was?”
“The worst part was, I was only one of many homeless orphans of that city. So many children have stories just like mine. If Sonic hadn’t welcomed me into his gang, I would probably be dead by now.”
“But you survived, so it all turned out fine in the end. Besides, I don’t see how your house collapsing is my problem.”
Tails didn’t respond. It seemed he was done talking for a while. Rouge sat beside him and offered her hand to hold, which he took. Blaze was left to deal with the King.
“You’ll never get it, will you,” She sneered. “You haven’t had to suffer at the hand of your own policies. You just don’t feel anything for the plight of others. You’re hopeless, cruel, unfeeling, idiotic, and cold.”
“I am not!” He responded indignantly. “You took my daughter from me, so as far as I am concerned, anything that happened to you as an… unfortunate side effect… to my laws was justified.”
Tails’ grip tightened on Rouge’s hand.
“Nobody took me. I’m not a coin that could be stolen,” Rouge said, “I chose to leave because you pushed me away. My friends were there to support me when you weren’t. I never realized how terrible you were before I met the bandits.”
Her father balked. “Terrible? I raised you! You were happy here!”
“Yes, I was happy here, because I was ignorant! I thought that jewels and riches were everything, and I had no idea what was going on outside the castle walls! When you sent me with the tax collectors, I saw firsthand how it is for our citizens. When was the last time you left the castle, father? When was the last time you saw what was going on? You were the King. You were supposed to protect your citizens and help the kingdom prosper. And you just didn’t. Now you’ve missed your chance, all your allies have turned against you, you’re not the King anymore— and it’s nobody’s fault but your own.”
“... I haven’t been outside of the castle walls in thirteen years,” Cerulean admitted, more subdued than before. It seemed that hearing these things from his daughter made him more perceptive of them. “Rouge, Darling, believe me when I say I never meant to push you away. I just wanted to live happily with you.”
“I don’t want that,” Rouge replied, shaking her head. “Not if it means the rest of the kingdom is miserable. The best thing you can do to make me happy is to fix this country.”
During the conversation, Blaze had been tending to Knuckles. She made an exclaimation of surprise and called to Rouge, “He’s waking up!”
Rouge turned around immediately. Knuckles’ eyes opened slowly, and he seemed confused. He looked around vaguely.
“Where… am I?” He asked with effort. “I can’t see.”
“It’s just dark in here, your eyes should adjust soon,” Blaze told him calmly as Rouge rushed to his side.
Rouge kneeled beside him and leaned close.
“Knuckles,” she said softly, “It’s Rouge.”
“Rouge! Thank goodness you’re here,” he sounded a bit more awake now. “You’re not hurt, are you? What happened?”
“No, I’m not hurt. You were knocked out by some kind of sleeping powder. We were all captured and thrown in the castle dungeon. That’s where we are now. Sonic and Silver are still unconscious.”
Knuckles groaned. “Guess I was pretty useless out there. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. ARGH! I should have done better!” He sat up. At least he could move freely.
“Nobody could have done better, Knuckie.” Rouge kissed him on the cheek, happy that he was awake. He blinked, his eyes adjusted by now, and looked at Rouge with a frown.
“So sorry for showing affection. I forgot you hated that after being unconscious and making me worry,” Rouge rolled her eyes.
“It’s not that. Blaze, if you don’t mind..?” Knuckles glanced at the cat, who obligingly looked away and went to sit with Tails. Knuckles never did get the hang of public displays of affection. He had to have some illusion of privacy.
Knuckles pulled Rouge close to him and she buried her face in his shoulder. The dungeon floor wasn’t the most comfortable place to hug, but they didn’t care. As long as it was them two together, it was perfect.
Then again, maybe Knuckles was on to something with the whole wanting privacy thing. The former King gasped loudly upon seeing his daughter kiss and embrace one of the bandits so familiarly.
“Wha- when did this happen? Who is that? Young lady!” He exclaimed.
Rouge released Knuckles and sighed. “Father, this is Knuckles. Knuckles—”
“Oh, I know who he is,” Knuckles said unenthusiastically. “What’s he doing in the dungeons with us?”
“The first advisor, Ivo Robotnik, turned out to be a traitor. He imprisoned my father here with us so he could take over as King. We’re trying to get my father back on the throne after we escape.”
“We are?” Knuckles sounded disgusted.
“We are. If he can change. We were just talking to him about that.” She addressed her father next. “Knuckles is the one who showed me the truth about our kingdom. It’s thanks to him that I’ve been able to join the bandits and help so many people.”
Cerulean’s eyes flickered between Rouge and Knuckles as his mouth hung open. “Well,” he finally said, “if that’s what makes you happy. Darling.” He gave the couple a strained, obviously fake smile. “But,” he continued, “I’d like to know how— THIS— happened. Would you mind telling me what happened on your trip? From the beginning.”
So Rouge did. She told her father everything that had happened to her. How Knuckles tried to talk to her, how she hadn’t believed Knuckles at first, everything she had seen on the road, how they revealed Sir Edgar’s true colors, the many assasination attempts against Rouge, her imprisonment and her return to the castle. She told him how she had run away and how her life had been living with the bandits. While she spoke, Cerulean didn’t interrupt. He listened intently.
“Oh, my dear daughter,” he said when Rouge had finished her story, “You’ve been through so much. I suppose, when you put it that way, I haven’t been the best ruler… or father.”
A murmur of aggravated agreement rose from the other prisoners.
“Look, you can feel sorry for yourself all you want, but that doesn’t fix anything. You need to listen to us— and the rest of your subjects— from now on. Got it?” Knuckles told him.
Cerulean nodded. “I will. You all don’t want to kill me, do you?”
“Whether we want to and whether we will are two different stories.” Knuckles said it lightheartedly, but he still got an elbow in the ribs from Rouge. “Which is to say, of course we don’t, your majesty!” He finished.
“Right… I appreciate that,” Cerulean replied nervously. He then turned to Rouge. “Will you ever forgive me?”
“I’m not the one you should be asking that.”
“Right.” Cerulean faced the other bandits through the cell bars. “Will you all ever forgive me? I’m going to do my bets to fix this country, if we ever get out of here.”
Vector, Charmy, and Cream looked uncertainly at each other. Cream spoke first.
“I’ll forgive you, mister,” she said. Charmy and Vector begrudgingly agreed.
Cerulean faced Blaze, Tails and Knuckles next.
“Not yet,” said Blaze. Tails didn’t respond.
Knuckles glanced at Rouge before groaning and saying “Fine! Whatever.”
Even though the bandits had given him such a cold reception, and some didn’t accept him, Cerulean began to tear up.
The bandits exchanged panicked looks, unsure of what to do.
“Thank you,” he cried, “You all shared your stories with me… It’s time I shared mine with you.”

Chapter Text

CERULEAN’S POV

25 YEARS AGO

I had escaped the castle again! Those guards were idiots if they thought they could catch me. I had been trained by masters of combat since I was three, masters much better than that crusty old head of guard. He really should have retired by now, I thought.

I ran through the tall wheat fields just outside the castle walls. I would mess around, tip over some cows, and then go back to the castle just in time to miss all my classes and get dinner. It was mostly the thrill of escaping that I wanted. That I had already gotten. The satisfaction of having outsmarted the castle staff spread through me as I rushed through the wheat.

When I parted the next section, i was startled to see somebody there, I couldn’t stop in time, I crashed right into the poor peasant.

I landed on my butt hard. “Hey! What’s the big idea getting in my way?” I sputtered, then got a proper look at who I had crashed into.

She was a bat, slightly younger than me, with blonde tresses that fell over her shoulders gracefully. I sat stunned at her beauty. I had met many Princesses over the years, but none who looked like her.

“You ran into me! Who are you? Father didn’t hire another useless farmhand, did he?” She shot back, picking herself up and dusting off. Then she extended her hand to help me up, which I accepted with a roll of my eyes.

“As if you don’t know who I am,” I scoffed, “I am the crown prince. I’m due to become the King in just a few years!”

She looked at me disbelievingly. “Sure,” she turned away and picked up her farming tools again, “and I’m Queen of the Acorn kingdom.”

Suddenly I was desperate for her to believe me. “I’ll prove it to you! Come with me to the castle!”

She sighed. “I have to finish my chores, stupid. I don’t have time to go on a wild Prince chase. Just get off my family’s farm.”

“I’ll help you finish, then we can go,” I insisted.

She looked at her field, probably thinking about how much work she had to do, then accepted my offer.

We worked together harvesting the grain far past the time I had intended to return to the castle. We finished around sunset.

She sat with me, observing our work approvingly as sunset cast the golden wheat into an orange glow. Sunset looked good on her.

“Are you sure you’re not a farm hand? You did pretty well,” she teased me.

“I’m sure.” I held out my hand. “You promised to follow me to the castle when we were done.”

She took my hand. “Let it never be said that I’m not a woman of my word.”

When I returned far too late with a peasant girl in hand, I got the scolding of my life, but the look on her face was priceless.

We continued to meet after that, and I fell completely in love with her. She was comfortable in my presence, as if I was any other guy and not the Prince, which made me determined to impress her.

My parents were completely against our relationship. I was never one to listen to my parents. Being with Crystal was another way to rebel against them. She was attractive because my parents didn’t want her to be, she was freedom in a figure. Still, my parents were the King and Queen at the time, and I had to tell them some nerve-wracking news…

I entered the throne room slowly. It seemed so much larger than it ever had before. My parents at the end of the long room beckoned me forward.

“What do you want now, son?” My mother rolled her eyes. “We’ve already given you plenty of time to spend with your little girlfriend.”

“Again, Her name is Crystal, and I actually have to tell you something about her.”

My father guffawed. “So! Did she reveal her gold-digging nature? Say you should break up? You look awful, so spit out the good news!”

The way they spoke about her usually infuriated me, but I was too nervous to shoot back at them this time. I gulped.

“She’s pregnant. With my child.”

A strong silence filled the room as my parents looked down on me with disgust.

“Do you know what this means for us?” The Queen finally muttered.

“I know.”

“You are the crown Prince. This child will have royal blood and be next in line once you take the throne.”

“I know.”

“And it will be birthed by a simple peasant girl! Out of wedlock, no less!” She threw her hands up indignantly, completely beside herself.

I already knew that. Crystal had told me all of it in tears just the night before. I was young and had never considered the ramifications of a child before, but I knew that I would have to protect Crystal and take responsibility for what I had done. I would give both Crystal and our child the best life I could.

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” I told my parents. “We have the power to give her a noble title. She and I could get married before the child is born. Then the birth would be honorable.”

“Or,” my father said threateningly, “we could banish her and hide that such a thing ever occurred.”

“No! I have to take responsibility for this. That’s what a King should do, right?” I looked my father in the eyes with resolve. He held my stare for a minute, then resigned.

“I suppose so. Fine. Being the girl here. We will give her some land… We will marry you… she may stay here long enough to bear the child, but then she will have to be sent away.”

Before I could object, he cut me off. “I will not live with that woman longer than I have to! We are being more than generous!”

I thought perhaps his mind would change once he lived with her for a few months, so I agreed to his conditions.

Crystal was given the title of Duchess and came to live with me in the castle for the months of her pregnancy. Our sudden wedding caused some confusion among the citizens, since they had never heard of or met the new duchess, but nobody outright objected.

Finally our precious daughter was born. We named her Rouge. My parents were immediately taken with the little girl and christened her a Princess. But their dislike for my wife never subsided. They allowed her to stay for a week to recover from the birth, then sent her away to live on the patch of land they had given her. My parents claimed this was to help with her health. It was far from our castle so I wouldn’t be able to see my love for a long time. We kept in touch through letters while I took care of Rouge at the castle— with the help of a wetnurse.

Her letters told me that she was doing well. She had made friends with the other local duchess, and they often took carriage rides together. She had a garden. But most of all, she was inconsolable over being separated from me and our daughter. After a few years, I was able to find a gap in my schedule to go and visit her.

Around this time, my parents were getting old and making increasingly questionable laws. This coupled with the strange woman who had just married into the royal family made the subjects uneasy.

I rode through the grain fields on my way to the Duchesses’ lands alone on my most trusted horse. My parents had refused to finance the trip or give me guards for it, so I went alone. Still, I couldn’t wait to surprise my beautiful wife.

A commotion was rising in the town when I arrived. I hopped down from my horse and left her at a stable. I hailed down the stable boy.

“Excuse me. What is going on in this town?”

The stable boy looked at me with shock and sadness. “So you haven’t heard,” he said. “Then it’s not for me to tell you. Go to the town square and see for yourself.”

Confused and afraid, I ran to the town square. There was a crowd of people there, but they parted to let me through.

On the road was Duchess Aleena’s carriage, surrounded by soldiers, with two covered bodies next to it. It was as if I was walking through water. Going forward was so hard. I stepped slowly toward the bodies and recognized them.

One was my wife and the mother of my child, Crystal. The other was her friend Duchess Aleena White. Neither of them moved.

I stood in disbelief for a while.

Eventually three maids approached the scene, each holding the hand of a little hedgehog— Duchess Aleena’s children. Their crying snapped me out of my stupor, and I told the soldiers there to explain what had happened.

“A group of anti-tax rebels broke into the Duchesses’ carriage and killed them both. It was a political assasination. They are demanding lower taxes and threatened to kill again if their requests are not met.”

The three children, not much older than my own daughter, cried behind me. My world shattered. Those rebels thought that the taxes were too high? Then I would capture them and raise the taxes. They had murdered my wife. I had to get revenge. With those extra funds, I would create the best life possible for my daughter whom they had left without a mother.

I spent the next years obsessed with finding and executing the entire gang of anti-tax rebels. When my parents died and I assumed the throne, my obsession didn’t stop. As long as Rouge and I were comfortable, I didn’t care about the peasants. I knew the damage my heavy taxing was doing. I continued it as revenge…

BACK IN THE PRESENT

“It just got out of hand,” The former King sighed to his unsympathethic audience.

Rouge was surprised to hear all of this. Her father had never told her about her mother or how she was born before. Now it made more sense why he had freaked out when he realized that his daughter had run away with a gang of anti-tax criminals.

Cream was crying. “How awful. Your wife must have been a lovely lady.”

“Right, it’s tragic that she was attacked,” Blaze agreed, “but that doesn’t erase everything you did, Cerulean. You can’t fix everything you’ve broken.”

“I know that,” Cerulean resigned. “However, I will work with you all to make sure it never happens again.”

Rouge turned to Knuckles. “You said that something happened to drive you and Sonic away from the Duke and Duchess’s land. Was that it? Duchess Aleena’s death?”

Knuckles nodded solemnly, but declined to say more. “That’s Sonic’s story to tell,” he said.

Just then, they heard an exclaimation from the other cell.

“Ouch! It feels like I was hit by a ton of bricks… Where am I?” Sonic rubbed his head with one hand as he looked around the dungeon. Then he groaned. “Let me guess. It was a trap, and we’re all in the dungeon.”

“Yep,” a chorus of voices replied.

There was much celebration at Sonic’s revival, but also much worry. He assured them all that he was going to live, his head just hurt. Sonic was then brought up to speed on the King’s situation, Robotnik taking over, and Espio being missing. He considered these things for a minute, then shrugged.

“Hey, looks like there’s not much we can do right now but trust Shadow and Espio. In the meantime, may as well share my tragic past too.”

“When my mom died, my siblings were determined to rule our little patch of land fairly so no more tragedies happened. At first I was on board too and we all studied like crazy to be good rulers. After a few years, I noticed how the King was running the kingdom into the ground and decided to take matters into my own hands. I was gonna move closer to the castle and stop the tax collections. Knux here was loyal enough to come with me, but Sonia and Manic decided to stay behind and keep their people safe.”

“Amy and her adoptive parents housed us. At first, my plan was just to inconvenience any tax collectors enough that they would give up, but that wasn’t working and I decided to steal from them instead. Eventually Amy’s mom and pop passed away naturally. She was distraught. Ames could barely take care of herself, much less two freeloaders, so Knux and I moved out. Since we were criminals, nobody else wanted to help us, and we ended up in the forest. Eventually I came across Tails, the Chaotix, Silver and Blaze. Vector brought Cream to our camp a little before we first met the Princess.”

“Well, you know the rest of what happened from Rouge,” he finished.

The King apologized to Sonic and thanked him for taking care of Rouge. Sonic didn’t forgive him, but he accepted the thanks and made peace with the plan to put Cerulean back on the throne.

With everyone caught up, the conversation became easier and less dramatic. Still, uncertainty loomed over them all. Silver still hadn’t woken up, they had no idea what was happening to the kingdom outside, and Espio was still missing.

Chapter Text

Shadow walked with purpose down to the dungeon. He found that if he just walked with authority and knew where he was going, nobody would question what he was up to. He had just finished sending half the soldiers on a wild goose chase to the Acorn Kingdom. He had convinced them that the Acorn Kingdom was creating a new type of weapon, and the soldiers should spy on them and learn the made-up weapon’s secrets. He expected that they wouldn’t create too much trouble. It was supposed to be a top-secret discreet mission, after all.

Shadow stopped at the dungeon entrance to speak with the two guards. They saluted him.

“Bad news, men,” Shadow sighed, “King Robotnik has cut your salaries.”

“AGAIN?” One of the men cried indignantly. “Any lower and he won’t be paying us at all!”

Shadow didn’t say anything, he just raised his eyebrows.

“No way. He can’t do that. We’ll quit!” The second guard bristled.

“Yeah! We won’t stay where we aren’t appreciated.” The first agreed.

“Actually,” Shadow said with a glint in his eye, “I have a better idea.”

~

The door to the dungeon creaked open, shedding light on the bandits and Cerulean.

“Is it already time for dinner?” Charmy asked, surprised.

“Not quite. It’s me,” Shadow replied, “I came to let you all know what the plan is to get you out of here.”

“Shh!” Rouge reminded him. “The guards are just outside the door, they’ll hear you.”

“Actually, I just talked with them, and they’re in on the plan now.”

Knuckles smirked. “Shadow, you really are on everyone’s good side, aren’t you. It’s anyone’s guess who you’re really with!”

Rouge elbowed him lightly, but Shadow took it as a compliment and continued with his announcement.

“I’ve been in contact with your friend Espio, and he’s collected more allies for you from around the kingdom.”

Vector gasped, “So Espio is safe!”

“Yes,” Shadow assured him quickly. “Anyway. I’ve been able to send away half the soldiers and most of the rest have turned against Robotnik because of their low salaries or his evil new policies. I’ve got the head of guard, Sir Mighty, on board. The only people against us at this point would be Robotnik, Sir Edgar, and a handful of their cronies. Are any of you in fighting condition?”

Knuckles, Rouge, Vector, Blaze, and Charmy said that they were strong enough. Sonic was still recovering, Cream had no business being in a serious battle, Tails said he would be more useful helping the physician, and Cerulean hadn’t fought in years.

A few of their eyes fell on Silver. He still hadn’t woken up. If he didn’t wake up from his coma soon, he would starve to death. They had covered him in all the extra clothing they could and his heartbeat was constant, but they still had to worry about him.

Shadow called their attention back. “In that case, I will get you out of your cells just before my group meets with Espio’s. We’re meeting on the grounds first and then storming into the throne room. You six need to be ready to go at midnight.” Shadow spared a glance for Silver. “Espio is also bringing a physician,” he told them and left.

~~~~~~

As the stars shone in the sky above them, Espio’s group showed signs of restlessness. They were waiting, secluded and hidden, in a field of wheat near the castle.

“I wish midnight would swing on by already, I can’t stand this waitin’!” Bunnie complained. Her husband, Antoine, held her hand in a vain attempt to calm her down.

“Well it’s too bad we can’t control time, what do you want us to do about that exactly?” Manic replied quickly. His tone was lighthearted, but Antione shot him a dirty look and a scoff anyway.

“Aw Manic, don’t antagonize our teammates,” Sonia reminded him and knocked on his head playfully. Addressing Bunnie, she apologized on behalf of her brother.

Bunnie accepted the apology.

Espio didn’t pay attention to the conversation. He stood stiff as a board, eyes squinted, staring at the sky.

The rest of the group— Lady Rose and Vanilla, Cream’s mother— sat calmly while organizing some bite size snacks. They had already sharpened and organized the weapons, after all.

The hedgehogs and the married couple ended up starting a word association game to pass the time. It became very absorbing.

Lady Rose, too worried to focus fully on the frivolous game, noticed that Espio still hadn’t moved and went to stand next to him. She placed a gentle hand on his elbow, just to get his attention.

“What are you watching for?” She asked sweetly.

Espio looked down and frowned slightly. “I’m just waiting for midnight.”

“Nothing else on your mind?”

“Too much on my mind,” he sighed, “but that’s my burden to bear for escaping.”

Lady Rose was unsure of what to do next, Espio was sometimes hard to read. Should she comfort him or leave him alone? She could relate to what he was feeling— or at least, what she thought he might be feeling. Right now, she was worried sick about Sonic and the others in the castle dungeon, not knowing how hurt they were or even if all of them were still alive. She had also experienced guilt over simply being alive after her adoptive parents had died years ago, and she assumed Espio would be feeling the same over being able to escape while his friends and family were held captive and beaten so severely. Over the course of their journey through the kingdom gathering allies, she had caught small bits of what had happened that night. Silver had fought with the vicious Sir Edgar, and Espio was there to watch. Lady Rose had never seen a violent battle up close. That was one matter she couldn’t relate fully to. She couldn’t imagine how an experience like that would make him feel.

She simply stood beside him. After a while, Espio turned and called to the rest of their group.

It was nearly midnight— time to storm the castle.

The motley crew of seven snuck like the wind through the fields and onto the castle grounds. Espio lead them behind the stables, where Shadow’s group was waiting. Once they were all gathered, the troops included Rouge, Knuckles, Vector, Charmy, Espio, Blaze, Shadow, Bunnie, Antione, Manic, Sonia, Vanilla, Sir Mighty and Sir Ray the soldier generals, and three castle guards who introduced themselves as Jet, Wave, and Storm. They had 17 rebels to overthrow the current king and his loyalists with.

Vector and Charmy fussed over Espio as they reunited. “We were so worried!” “We’re so glad you escaped and you’re safe!” Espio teared up.

Vanilla asked to be lead to Silver. She was a licensed physician, though she hadn’t been able to find paying work for years, she’d had plenty of free practice and was prepared to take on Silver’s case. Storm escorted her to the dungeons apart from the group.

Everyone else kept their reunions short, then finally the chaos died down and Shadow was able to tell them all the plan.

“It may seem like Robotnik has the upper hand, but we have more skill than any of his cronies. Most of the soldiers have been sent on a wild goose chase to the Acorn Kingdom. We really only need to worry about guards, Sir Edgar, and Robotnik himself. He will be in the throne room— he stays there 24/7. Knuckles, Vector, and Blaze will come with me. Rouge, Mighty, Bunnie and Antione can be a team too. Everyone else will run ahead of the teams and take care of any preliminary threats. Then my group will focus on defeating Sir Edgar, and Rouge’s group will focus on Robotnik. If a teamless member thinks they can help the teams, you can’t, you will only get in the way.”

“Once Sir Edgar and Robotnik are apprehended, we will swap them for the remaining bandits and the rightful King in the dungeons. Vanilla and Storm were already briefed on their jobs to prepare the dungeon… right?” Shadow glanced at Espio, who nodded to confirm.

Everyone understood their roles. An excited energy seemed to fill the air around them as the rebels grew restless, but also nervous. Lady Rose, Charmy, Manic, Sonia, Espio, Ray, Jet, and Wave chose their weapons and advanced. This was it. They were prepared to topple the fake King from his fools’ gold throne.

As soon as the first wave of rebels stepped out of the shadows, dozens of palace guards met them. They seemed to materialize from nowhere, but it was certain that they had been anticipating an attack and waiting. The rebels were experienced fighters, but so were these troops. Lady Rose, though she was only prepared by a week of training, fought with a vengeance that made up for any gap in skill. She wielded her chosen spear cleverly.

The teams took advantage of the chaos to run through the fighting crowd. As Rouge passed, she saw Lady Rose take out two guards at once. Was it pride or pity that welled up in her chest?

As the teams rushed past the initial attack, they encountered a smaller group of soldiers. Leftovers from the king’s battalion. Shadow called to his team, “They’re all new recruits. Don’t even bother with them.”

The soldiers left them little choice in the matter, however; they yelled and charged at the eight elite team members. A fast glimpse of their faces showed that they were nervous and unsure.

Shadow scoffed in annoyance. “We can’t be distracted from our goal. One from each team, break off and rejoin us when you’re done. This won’t take long.”

Rouge immediately flew away from her team and above the crowd. She saw Knuckles break off from his team. The final six forged on toward Sir Edgar and King Robotnik. Knuckles and Rouge would have to finish off these leftover men quickly if they wanted to help in the final battles.

Beneath her, the men churned like a bloated creek. They peered up at her with wide and desperate eyes, flailing swords that had no hope of reaching her. With their eyes on Rouge, Knuckles was able to knock out nearly half of them before they had the chance to refocus. Once they were focusing on Knuckles, it made an opening for Rouge to swoop down and attack. She kicked one over the head and grabbed another as she swooped back up. She intended to drop the man once she got high enough. The soldier squirmed in her arms and shouted.

“Please— just go away! If we can’t defeat you, we may as well be dead!”

Rouge stopped her ascent and hovered, with some effort, at a safe distance.

“What do you mean by that?” She asked, a hint of impatience on her voice.

“Sir Edgar will punish us severely, far worse than you could hurt us. Nobody has a chance against that man, not even your gang, for everyone’s sakes just stop trying,” he blubbered. Rouge looked closer at the man. What exposed skin she could see of him was covered in fresh scars from vicious slashes. She remembered the Sir Edgar from months before, a horrible and violent man, but he was adored by his soldiers. Now the facade was over, and his men were no longer spared from his cruelty. Rouge flew slowly to the ground and let her passenger off.

“We will defeat him. You have my word.”

The soldier turned and grabbed a sword from the ground. He ran toward Rouge, who sighed and kicked his temple, knocking him out.

“No gentler way to take care of that type—” she straightened out her clothes, then looked up— “Oh Knuckles, I see you’ve made quick work of them. Good job, sweetheart.”

Knuckles and Rouge ran alongside each other to catch up with their teams in the throne room ahead.

“What was that guy blabbering to you about?” Knuckles asked.

“Aw, jealous?” Rouge joked, then told him, “it seems that Sir Edgar is violent with his soldiers. They’re terrified of him.”

“Just another reason we have to end his and Robotnik’s reign of terror.”

“You’re going to be fighting him. Be careful, Knuckie. You and I both know how terrible he is. Attack from his left or above, remember to work with your team, and please remind Blaze that murder is not—”

“Alright, Alright!” Knuckle interrupted her. They had reached the throne room door. They could hear the sounds of battle from inside. Once they opened that door, they would have to part for their respective teams. “I promise I’ll come back to you in one piece, and then we can put your father— and you— back on the throne where you belong.”

“Right.” Rouge opened the door. They were immediately thrown into the fray.

Rouge joined Mighty, Antione, and Bunnie against Robotnik. He was armed with a weapon they had never seen before, like a crossbow but much smaller and it seemed to be self-loading. Robotnik took shelter behind the throne as he shot arrows at them. The team had obviously already been hit. They didn’t have time to discuss strategies or regroup: they would have to defeat him on the fly.

Mighty charged with his back toward Robotnik. It may have looked foolish, but his armor prevented him from getting grievously hurt.

Bunnie also charged, but used her prosthetic leg to block as many arrows as she could.

While those two took up the attention, Rouge and Antione ran off at an angle. Once they were out of Robotnik’s line of sight, Rouge picked Antion up by the armpits and flew him over the throne. She dropped him just behind Robotnik.

Antione, being an expert swordsman, cut the new weapon in half before setting his blade against Robotnik’s neck, all in one smooth motion.

“We do not want to kill you,” Antione breathed.

“If only I could say the same,” Robotnik countered, and kicked Antione in the knee. While Antione winced, Robotnik made a grab for his sword. He gripped the blade easily because he was wearing thick leather gloves.

Rouge grabbed the handle of the sword just as it was wrenched out of Antione’s hand. She pulled with all her might, but arm strength wasn’t her forte, and she was stuck in a tug of war with the false king for a moment.

She got an idea. Rouge suddenly switched from pulling to pushing. Robotnik’s own strength helped her plunge the sword right into his chest.

This all happened so quickly, Mighty and Bunnie just reached the throne and saw what happened.

“Tarnation! Is he still alive?” Bunnie gasped. Robotnik answered that by sneering weakly. He tried to get to his feet, but was too weak to do so.

“He’ll live, it’s nowhere near his heart— but he won’t be fighting us anytime soon,” Mighty replied. Antione made to retrieve his sword, but Rouge stopped him, and Mighty explained “we shouldn’t take that out, he’ll bleed.”

Deciding that the battle against Robotnik was over, Antione, Bunnie, and Mighty went to help against Sir Edgar. Rouge lingered a moment.

Robotnik groaned. “Here to gloat? Scold me, maybe?” He let out a half-laugh, half-cough.

“... I am, actually. If you had really wanted to improve the country, you could have easily done so as an advisor, but you only really wanted power. Now look at you. Powerless. Alone…”

“And locking me up is gonna fix this country?”

“No. But it’ll be a start.”

Rouge noted again that he wasn’t going anywhere, then turned her attention to the opposite side of the throne room.

Even though it was now seven against one, Sir Edgar was holding his own. He had a sword in each hand and had proven to be ambidextrous as well as deadly skilled. As Rouge’s friends charged at him, he deftly blocked them, and he attacked at any opportunity.

Blaze hung awkwardly at the edge of the battle. She was obviously out of her element with a close-quarters team fight. Rouge approached her with an idea.

In a moment where nobody was close to Sir Edgar, Blaze rose a ball of flames around him. The gang was startled and drew back. Blaze kept the flames going for only a few seconds, and they weren’t close enough to Sir Edgar to burn him.

“What was that? Climate control?” He exclaimed incredulously as the wall of fire was extinguished. “Pathetic!”

Blaze didn’t reply and the battle continued. Suddenly, Sir Edgar’s legs collapsed beneath him, and the gang quickly grabbed his limbs and tied him up.

“What was that? Blaze, what did you do? Vector asked.

“I raised the temperature around him, and he was doing serious exercise. It was just a heat cramp. His legs are fine.”

The gang carried Robotnik and Sir Edgar, who was cursing loudly, down to the dungeons. There, the cells were already vacated, and Vanilla was ready to patch up Robotnik.

Everyone was there, including those who had occupied the castle guards outside and…

“Silver!” Blaze gasped, and ran to hug her childhood friend. Silver was sitting against one of the walls, and he returned Blaze’s hug in earnest. Everyone was thrilled to see him awake and responsive!

Once he was released from the embrace, Silver smiled and continued the meal he had been eating, his first in days. He was wrapped in fresh, real bandages now.

Vanilla reminded everyone not to excite him too much and to give him time to eat.

Rouge looked around the room. Most of the people were celebrating. Cream was clutching to her mother’s waist as she worked mixing a medical poultice. Sonic was being fussed over by Lady Rose, but he didn’t seem bothered by it. The chaotix and the former castle guards Jet, Storm, and Wave were mingling as if they were old friends. Rouge couldn’t help but smile. Everything was looking up.

She felt each of her hands being held suddenly. On her left was Knuckles, and on her right was her father, Cerulean. The two men locked eyes awkwardly for a second.

“Uh, Rouge,” Cerulean said, “I’m really proud of you. I know I wasn’t the best father, or the best King, but that all changes today. Thank you for fighting so hard, precious.” He lifted up his arms, and Rouge accepted the hug. Once they broke apart she once again held Knuckles’ hand.

“Sure, dad,” she smiled. “Welcome back to your rightful position! I know you’ll be a good King now… As long as you listen to me!” She winked.

Cerulean nodded, then left the room with Mighty and Ray to retake the throne.

“You’re not going with him?” Knuckles asked.

“I’m kind of over the whole throne thing,” Rouge replied. “Besides, I’m exhausted. Everything can be resolved tomorrow. I want to sleep.”

Knuckles laughed. “You want to sleep through a historical moment? Haha! Well then, Princess, shall I carry you to your bedchamber?”

Rouge blushed at being called Princess again. “Well, since you offered so gallantly… I’m simply too tired to walk all the way there myself!”

Knuckles picked her up like a bride and carried Rouge out of the dungeon. His body heat combined with the gentle pattern of his footsteps made Rouge relax for what seemed like the first time in weeks.

She gave him directions to her old room, since he didn’t know his way around the castle. “Don’t worry, you’ll learn,” Rouge told him.

When they arrived, the sight of her room seemed nostalgic. There it was, the circular room with many closets, fine tapestries, and a giant window. Knuckles set her down gently on the bed.

It was so plush, and her pillows were even softer than she remembered. The last time she had slept in this, she had been ignorant and vain, and hadn’t even met Knuckles. Now it was a warm welcome home, and an invitation to a better tomorrow.

As she dozed off, Knuckles ventured toward the gigantic window at the far side of the room and looked out.

“What a beautiful moon.”

Chapter Text

The castle courtyard was bustling with activity. Messengers of all types, all the craftsmen that could be found on short notice, and anyone who was someone in the kingdom were gathered, curiously chatting among themselves. The old King had been reinstated a week ago, and this was his first big announcement since. Most of the attendees anticipated some new laws. Perhaps the taxes would get worse so that he could fix the castle.

A makeshift stage had been erected in a central area. The hubbub hushed as the King and the Princess approached and stepped onto it. The King, in his fine robe and his polished crown, faced the crowd and spoke proudly.

“As you all know, I have reclaimed my throne— but this will not be a simple continuation of my previous rule. This is a new era of the kingdom. Messengers, are you ready?”

There was an audible rustling as a third of the crowd grabbed their paper rolls and ink pens.

“My first new policy. The citizen’s taxes—“ The crowd drew their breath— “will be completely abolished!”

Once the cheering quieted down (this took several minutes), King Cerulean continued.

“The crown will be getting its funds from taxing imports. We have made a trade treaty with the neighboring Acorn Kingdom, and will soon be receiving basic building materials, food, and fabrics. In return we agreed to send the Acorn Kingdom wheat, jewelry, and fine art. Artists, architects, doctors, seamstresses, and wheat farmers are now offered the opportunity to receive a generous salary from the crown to help rebuild the kingdom. They may drop by the castle at any time to claim this opportunity.”

The craftsmen in the audience were in tears. The messenger’s pens were moving so fast, they could have been producing smoke.

“We also have some changes in my court. Sir Shadow will still be one of my advisors, but he will now be joined by Duchess Sonia and Duke Manic.” Shadow, Manic, and Sonia, who had been in the crowd before, now stepped onto the podium to stand beside the King. Manic was smiling, but Sonia and Shadow had determined expressions. Sonia stole a glance at Rouge and grinned briefly.

“The Duke and Duchess have proven to be much more capable rulers than I was. They will be guiding me in the best way to move our Kingdom forward.”

Cheers rose from the crowd. The Duke and Duchess nodded their acknowledgment. Then they all moved aside to let Rouge stand in front.

The Princess has never spoken directly to the Kingdom before, but she was prepared to do so— more prepared than she had been for anything before.

“Please part the crowd. Several very important guests are arriving, and they will need to stand in front of me,” she spoke loudly and with authority, so the crowd obeyed almost without thinking.

Several large carriages pulled up behind the crowd and released their passengers. Bathed and dressed in fine clothes, Knuckles, Sonic, Espio, Vector, Tails, Silver, Blaze, Bunnie, Antione, and Cream stood in the newly made part in the audience.

Everyone stared at them strangely. Weren’t those the bandits that had terrorized the King so much? They were infamous.

Sonic took the lead, and the others formed a line behind him, as he walked confidently to the podium. He kneeled right in front of Rouge. The others stayed respectfully at a distance.

“These brave citizens completely turned around the trajectory of our Kingdom. They kept the kingdom alive when we neglected it. They put hope in a hopeless Princess, exposed the corrupt head of guard, put their lives on the line countless times for the good of the Kingdom, and they are the reason for all the new tax, trade, and repair plans. They deserve to be officially recognized.” Rouge drew the ceremonial sword and held it in front of her.

“Sonic the Hedgehog,” she announced, “You are pardoned of all crimes, and now Knighted. You will dedicate your leadership skills and cunning to improving and protecting the kingdom.” She tapped his shoulder with the ceremonial sword.

“I will,” Sonic replied, “as I always have.” Have straightened up and stepped back.

Tails stepped forward next. He was also pardoned of all crimes and appointed a knight. Everyone in the group was, one by one. Blaze became the country’s first female knight. Cream was the youngest Knight in history, but she was more than prepared for the title. Finally, Knuckles kneeled before the podium.

“Knuckles the Echidna,” Rouge said, the name rolling off her tongue as if it had been waiting to be said her whole life, you are pardoned of all crimes, and now Knighted. You will dedicate your strength and dedication to improving and protecting the kingdom.” She lowered the sword to tap his shoulder, then sheathed it. The knighting was finally finished.

Knuckles stayed kneeling.

“You may rise, Sir Knuckles,” Rouge accidentally giggled while saying his new title.

“Not yet, Princess,” he grinned sheepishly, “I have a question.”

“What is it?”

A blush crept onto Knuckles’ face, and he began fumbling with his hands. “Can a Knight marry a Princess?” He asked.

While Rouge was shocked, he pulled out a ring. It was a simple silver band with an oval sapphire in the middle, modest, but somehow it was the most gorgeous ring Rouge had ever seen. One of her hands flew to cover her mouth. She was so happy, she was speechless.

After a few moments, Sonia nudged her. “Well? Answer him!” She was beaming.

Rouge laughed. “Certainly a knight COULD marry a Princess,” she mused, “but I don’t recall any Knights asking nicely…”

Knuckles, who had been so tense, relaxed a bit. “My mistake,” he grinned, “Will you marry me, Rouge?”

“Yes! Of course I will!” She smiled from ear to ear.

Knuckles finally stood up, and he outstretched his arms. Rouge jumped from the podium into his arms. He picked her up and twirled her around, both of them laughing infectiously. Finally he slowed down and lowered her, and they were so close and so happy.

The crowd of messengers, nobles, craftsmen, and the other bandits was focused completely on the pair. Noticing this sort of halted the mood. Knuckles was glancing back nervously at the audience. Rouge sighed.

“Could you all please close your eyes for a second?” She called out. She being the Princess, they had to obey.

“As my husband, you’ll have to learn to perform under pressure. You sure you can do that?” She whispered playfully to Knuckles.

“I’ll have plenty of practice,” he whispered back, then closed the gap between them in a sweet kiss.

~ ~ ~

Mini stories: tying up loose ends

The announcement kicked off a new prosperous age for the Kingdom. Citizens were finally allowed to keep their wages, the economy rose back from the dead, and happiness spilled from every street corner. Street urchins were reunited with their families or adopted into capable new ones. Antione and Bunnie adopted a few themselves. The former bandits, now an elite force of Knights, were revered as legends and flocked with fans anywhere they went, the citizens didn’t forget their kindness.

Cerulean stepped outside of the castle grounds for the first time in a decade, and nobody tried to kill him. Of course that could have been because of his three new personal guards, Wave, Jet, and Storm.

Rouge stayed at the castle while her father travelled so she could take care of logistics. She filled her role as Princess well now that she had some common sense. Through all of it, her lover Knuckles and her father’s advisors were by her side to guide her. They made an excellent team.

Vanilla became a famous doctor overnight because of her role in the overthrowing. With plenty of new, wealthy clients, she could easily support Cream and keep her daughter with her. With this came an unexpected merge of Vanilla’s physician service and the Chaotix’ detective skills. Vanilla, grateful for Vector’s help, had offered to marry him— but he had suggested a business partnership instead (or more accurately, first). When she had a mysterious case to treat she would bring the Chaotix in. Along the way, Cream tagged along. She was inseparable from her mother, and her mother from her.

~~~

Though Sonic was being asked to make public appearances anywhere, the first place he went after he was knighted was Lady Rose’s house. Lady Rose had been offered the Knight title, but she had preferred to return to her home and live a peaceful life rather than having to fight for a living or be famous.

When Sonic opened the door, she seemed to have been waiting for him.

“Welcome home,” she smiled softly.

Sonic sat next to her on the couch. “Home, huh?” His gaze fluttered around the room, then landed and stayed on Amy. “I guess kicking back a little wouldn’t be so bad. Hey, just saved the Kingdom, we deserve a little relaxation!”

“We? You were the one who did the most, Sonic.”

“Ames, you rode across the kingdom, gathered up soldiers, and learned how to fight in one week to save the kingdom.”

She looked down through her eyelashes. “That wasn’t really to save the kingdom,” she blushed, “I did all that because… I heard that you were hurt.”

“Wha— really?”

Lady Rose looked him in the eyes. Gone was her perpetual frown, now replaced with an easy smile, though she still smelled of roses. “I wasn’t not aiming to be some sort of hero,” she mused, “I only wanted you back safe, here, with me. Sonic. Promise me that no matter where you go or what crazy things you do, you will return here to me at the end of the day.” As she spoke, her hand snuck up onto his shoulder.

Suddenly Sonic was aware of how close she was, leaning on him from the side. He was aware of how long her eyelashes were, and how her lips trembled slightly.

“Well,” he placed a hand on her jaw and traced her bottom lip with his thumb, “you don’t give me mush choice. How could I say no…?”

~~~

With their new salaries and some help from the rebuilding initiative, the Knights bought one of the old hotels and converted it into a communal home for them all. They called it the barracks, but it was a very cozy home for them all. After their adventures together in the forest, the former bandits couldn’t possibly separate. Only Sonic, Knuckles, and Rouge didn’t have permanent rooms there— but it was made abundantly clear that they would have spaces there if ever that was necessary.

“Or even if you just want to visit,” Tails had said sheepishly.

~~~

After half a year when the kingdom had become relatively stable, Knuckles and Rouge held their wedding. Knuckles was mortified to learn what a huge ordeal a royal wedding could be, and Rouge was making sure it would be as huge as possible. Anyone who wished to attend was invited. They gave plenty of business to the kingdom’s florists and chefs in preparation. Finally the day arrived.

The crowd was naturally huge. Everyone who was able to make it was there— either for the experience of a royal wedding, or simply for free food. The event was being held in the castle’s ballroom, but the overspill was all over the castle and its grounds.

The front seats were occupied by those closest to the bride and groom. Knuckles stood, fidgeting, at the end of the long aisle in front of all the guests. He wasn’t used to wearing a suit, he was incredibly nervous, and all of his friends were watching. So no pressure. A light breeze of conversation flowed between the guests, but when Princess Rouge stepped into the aisle, it immediately fell into hushed awe. Rouge and her father walked with dignity toward Knuckles.

Of course the Princess looked resplendent. Rouge’s wedding gown had been tailored by the seamstress from the first town. As a gift, or perhaps as a joke, the fabric that she had previously stolen from those stuffy nobles was incorporated as an accent on her dress. Her gown was white silk and lace. It had a tight bodice that accentuated her curves tastefully. The sleeves started on the upper arm, leaving her shoulders exposed. The skirt was full, and the top layers was accented with a braided texture, the fine blue silk weaved through the pattern. A tiara and veil covered her face but didn’t obstruct her vision.

As she reached the end of the aisle, she let go of her father and faced Knuckles.

The priest performed the ceremony, the couple both said “I do,” and it was time to seal their bond with a kiss.

Knuckles gently lifted the veil off of her face. His breath caught; seeing her face completed the picture, and he was overwhelmed with her beauty for a moment.

She rolled her eyes, grabbed Knuckles by the waist, and— before he could react or resist— dipped him low and kissed him deeply.

The audience seemed to disappear, even though they were cheering uproariously, they melted into the background. Knuckles and Rouge didn’t have to focus on anything but each other.

Once they broke apart, they laughed, and then cheered with their friends and their citizens.

The celebration afterwards lasted a week, with dancing and feasts hosted almost constantly. Knuckles and Rouge would often join in and mingle with the guests, but sometimes they would find a simple corner where they could be alone and escape from the noise. On one such occasion, Rouge was feeling nostalgic.

“To think all of this was possible because you saw the good in a selfish Princess,” she told her husband.

“You mean, because I was stuck babysitting a royal pain?” He jabbed at her playfully.

“Hmph! It sounded better the way I said it. Besides, now we’re BOTH royal pains.”

Knuckles struck a dramatic fake-shocked pose. “No! I’ve doomed myself!”

Rouge giggled. “At least the title comes with some perks,” she hinted.

Knuckles almost didn’t get it until she moved closer.

He chuckled and wrapped his hand behind her head.

“You’ve got a point.”

He kissed her forehead, then her cheek, then her lips. There he lingered before moving down to the neck.

Rouge felt her face getting hot. She was reminded of her first night meeting Knuckles, how badly she had wanted him after he had refused her advances and seemed completely uninterested. After all, out of her jewels and finery and her worldly possessions, she had stopped caring about them all. She had found the one thing she truly wanted. Now she had him forever, all to herself.

Sometimes, she thought, it was okay to be selfish.

THE END
THANK YOU FOR READING!