Chapter Text
Shadow sighed as he finished the last of the paperwork. He’d been drowning himself with work all day to avoid his father. Now that he was done, he decided to check and see if he was still in the area. Standing up to stretch, his back making a deathly pop (maybe he should get that checked out), Shadow walked cautiously to the door, avoiding any creak spots on the floor, since this was a very old castle.
He slowly opened the door, wincing as it creaked. Usually, he wouldn’t be so rattled and nervous like he is right now. But, whenever the King, Shadow’s father, was around, it made him queasy.
His mere presence makes Shadow a bit nervous, but he never shows it. Deep down, he really couldn’t give a shit what his father has to say about how he runs things as the crown prince. If he ever did at least.
The workload he’d been given, well it was actually buildup from the past weekend’s workload he had to get through and/or finish. Now why would be put it off until now, when the King is inspecting the castle?
Well, it was planned of course. Shadow wanted to stay out of the sight of his father until he left the property, carriage far far away from the courtyard.
It wasn’t like he despised the guy, he just never takes him seriously. Every visit is the same scoffing, putting him down, putting his ideas down, the list goes on. Then he rides on him about having to be more responsible as he is supposed to take on his role once he goes, complaining that he never does the work to prove himself worthy of being taken seriously as a ruler.
But the thing is, Shadow does do the work. He works very hard. In fact, he worked so hard, that he was asked to pass a law in his father’s place as he was unavailable at that moment. So to avoid the criticism he could receive from him at any moment, Shadow had to hide himself in his work. It was the only way to distract himself from his anxieties anyway. And it’ll show his father how hard of a worker he is.
Slowly, he opened the door and peered out into the hall. He let his senses reach far out into the halls, using his Chaos energy to sense any trace of other Chaos energy, which would come from the King. He could sense him in the courtyard, probably about to leave.
I’ll wait a little longer until he leaves
Shadow closed the door and walked back to his desk, pulling a chair up to the window and looked out to see Gerald and Black Doom, his father, talking nearby his carriage. The faster he leaves the better .
Black Doom comes back each month to check up on the castle, well, Shadow’s castle. Before his creation, The Black Arms Kingdom invaded the quiet and wealthy kingdom of Mobotropolis, overthrowing the queen from her throne and forcing all citizens to live under the King’s rule, overly monitoring their side of the kingdom to prevent a rebellion. Shadow had only read about the former kingdom in books, he’d heard that it was fairly rich and had a unique language.
When the queen was banished from her throne and the kingdom fell, Black Doom gave their old castle to Shadow, with his own staff of course. Rouge, his advisor, by his side almost constant, his creator and court mage, Gerald, and his daughter, who Shadow has always called his sister, Maria. Those three were the only staff in the castle he bothered talking to and has even grown a close bond with them. They make this castle feel a little less empty.
He watched the Carriage drive away with his father inside of it. As it drove through the gates and away, Shadow stood and headed for the door, pleased that he had completely avoided his father successfully.
. . .
“You went the whole day not speaking with him.”
Maria was almost in shock, walking in step with him in the garden. Shadow snorted. “He gets the silent treatment after shooting down my other idea for something so small.”
Maria frowned. “It must be very frustrating for you to be constantly told that you’re not good enough to help out.”
Shadow looked up at her and shook his head. “Don’t feel bad, this is just something he does. I’ve gotten used to it by now.”
“We both know that you’re not all the way used to it,” the girl pointed out. “I can see your fists trembling every time he does it, whenever he patronizes you, I can see it in your face that you want to punch him.”
“I wouldn’t go to such lengths,” Shadow looked back ahead of him, shrugging. “But, yeah, I’d like to hit him.”
“You and me both,” Maria bent down to a garden patch where she grew her own flowers. It was only reserved to her and Shadow, a place for them to pass their time. Usually on sunny days like this one, they check up on their garden together, mainly for Shadow to get a chance to see how the flowers are faring since he’s always busy.
Shadow ran his fingers over the leaves of a flower that was more droopier than the others. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, it just grew like that. Maria liked to say that it was just Shadow in flower form. A droopy grump. Shadow smiled slightly at the thought.
They stayed until the sun began to lower, neither of them wanting to waste a minute of the wonderful day it was out. And Shadow had been cramped in that room for so long, it was time for some fresh air.
. . .
Once they were called in for supper, Shadow took a minute to wander the halls a bit. He was still a little pensive after this morning, he could thank his father for that. The servants were still on edge from today, so they were a little stiff with their greetings towards the dark hedgehog.
He ended up in the relic room.
The relic room was a guarded room filled with the relics and scriptures of the former kingdom of Mobotropolis. He observed every one of them, curious of what these meant to the people that were once under their queen’s rule. He was then met with a familiar voice at the door behind him.
“I knew you’d wander here.”
He replied with a grunt, Gerald took a step to stand beside him, admiring the relics.
“It really makes you wonder what kind of a society these people have lived in.”
Shadow nodded in response. “I’ve tried to read the scriptures and translate them, but the books on their language make it so confusing to learn. I can never find out what these meant, what value they had.” Shadow turned to the court mage, who listened intently to his troubles. “I don’t understand, it’s as if…nobody’s supposed to translate it. Their alphabet is so different from ours and other kingdoms.”
“Don’t get too worked up over it. You are a smart one, Shadow, whatever strife may find you, you’ll always pull through till the end. Remember that.”
Gerald’s reassuring words picked up his mood. Shadow and his father were never close. Close in resemblance, debatable, but it was no doubt that the crown prince and the King were not the best in their own relationship as father and son. They butted heads, one would avoid the other, one would criticize until lashing out that the other is not a good fit. It was a tense cloud that hung over the castle whenever Shadow came for political meetings. He never really grew up beside his own father either, he was just…existing. He’d show up, then he’d leave. That was it, that was the relationship.
If anything, Gerald was more a fatherly figure to Shadow than the King. He listened and respected him, he gave him guidance through his life growing up as a crown prince. He’d never shoot him down, never raise his voice at him, and gave him the attention a father would give to their son. Shadow had a deep appreciation for his creator, because he had no other parental figures other than him.
“Let’s head to the dining room, Maria and Rouge are waiting for us at the table.”
Shadow nodded, walking with the court mage out of the relic room. Before the doors closed, he took one last glimpse of the relics, putting his focus back in front of him to the dining halls.
. . .
That night, Shadow had a hard time falling asleep. He stared up at the ceiling, unblinking, hoping that by some miracle, he’d fall asleep. But it never worked.
He sat up, sighing. Technically, since he is an artificial being, he doesn’t really need to sleep like most living beings do. But, even an ultimate lifeform (as Gerald would call it) like him has their limits. He swiveled his legs around the side of the bed and stood. Might as well go take a walk around the halls until he tires himself out. He headed to his closet, turning on a light.
This place wasn’t like the dark candle-lit castle where Black Doom resided. This place had a magic in it that he couldn’t place. There were levers and switches that allowed for objects and appliances to do their jobs. It fascinated Shadow.
He looked through his closet for quite some time until he came across a red vest, a charcoal undershirt, black pants, and some dark boots. Something easy to take back off when he’d grown tired and finally want to go to sleep.
Once he was dressed, he stepped out into the hallway. By his standards, it wasn’t all that late. He wandered the halls, letting his body absently take him wherever it wished. He wasn’t really paying much attention, maybe pausing a couple of times to admire the clear night sky. It didn’t take long for him to venture out into the staff halls. He paused by Rouge’s door. The bat was usually up during these hours to take charge of the guards. But she decided to turn in early after dinner, leaving the duties to the head guard, Omega.
He continued down the halls, stopping by an open window. Putting his arms on the window sill, he stared out into the stars. It was a beautiful night tonight. If Maria was feeling herself, which tonight she wasn’t, she would’ve drug her telescope up to the roof, Shadow included, to observe the stars. She loved astrology, most of Shadow’s knowledge in constellations came from her.
He felt himself doze off then and there, gazing up at the tiny twinkling lights, reminiscing of happy days and…
…
Shadow jolted awake at the sound of crashing echoing in the castle. He looked around frantically, now standing upright, the feeling of sleep replaced with his fight or flight instincts. He turned his head over to see guards running past the other hallway.
Just before he could go see what they were running to, the lights went out and it was dark. He could hear a few guards stumble, armor clashing and hitting the floor hard.
He was able to see in the dark well, so the sudden drastic change in lighting. Expanding his hearing, the shouts of Maria could be heard in the hall where her bedchambers reside. He made a beeline for the shortcut to her door. Swerving out of the way of frantic guards, Shadow wound around the maze of the halls and finally skidded to a halt in front of the door to Maria’s bedchambers.
“Maria!” he exclaimed as he slammed the door open, almost breaking it off it’s hinges.
The girl was leaning against her bedframe, trying to stay upright, her face twisted up in worry. “Shadow, what’s happening?”
“I don’t know,” he guided her back to her bed. “Stay in this room until it passes, it could be a break in.” Maria sat upright, glancing anxiously towards the door. “Shadow, you’re not going out there are you?”
Shadow sighed. “I have to, I need to defend this castle, father wouldn’t want to lose it so easily.”
He could hear an exclamation in the distance. Running out the room, he ordered a passing guard to guard Maria’s room until safety was ensured by the head guard. Running down the halls once more, he scanned every hall or any sign of intruder. While running, he made sure to keep his hearing expanded. From what he heard running around, they were in pursuit of three intruders. But there was word of a fourth one, Shadow was looking for the fourth.
He turned into every room, checking every corner and crevice. He continued to run down the hall, not stopping for anyone. He’d checked the relic room already, nothing was stolen. He slowed his pace, until he came to a complete stop. He bent over, panting. Where the hell is that damn fourth intruder.
Then, he heard the clack of a window opening and he looked up sharply.
A blue hedgehog, one hand on the edge of the window sill, one propping the door open, sitting back towards the outside of the window. He made eye contact with the stranger, dark rubies meeting bright emeralds. For a minute, they stared, silent. The individual was wearing all black, black hooded tunic, black gloves, black pants, dark boots.
The fourth intruder.
The hedgehog put a finger to his lips slowly, shushing him, before leaning backward and disappearing below the window sill. Shadow tried to catch him, internally panicking because he might’ve just witnessed a literal suicide.
He leaned over the side, scanning the ground below him, but to his surprise, he saw him running across the roof of the castle. He didn’t look back, full focus on getting to where ever he and his friends crawled out of to get here.
Shadow wasn’t going to let him escape. In fact, he was going to tackle him and bring him to his father himself, maybe that would make the bastard take him seriously.
With no hesitation, he jumped the window, propelling himself onto the edge of the roof. What that trespasser wasn’t aware of was that he was just as nimble and quick as he. And it didn’t take long for him to catch up to him. He wound around obstacles and jumped several gaps in the building until the hedgehog stopped by the railing of the roof.
His journey ended here.
Shadow took the opportunity to attempt to tackle him, stopping him from jumping the railing. He grabbed him by his hood and pulled him down, shoving him onto the floor. The hedgehog coughed from the force of how hard he fell, winded. Shadow took that to his advantage and pinned him to the ground with an arm, straddling him.
He finally caught him.
“Please,” he had stopped wheezing, his eyes blinking weakly up at Shadow. “Please let me leave…”
Did he seriously think that was going to work?
Shadow stared down at him, observing this trespasser. His quills were more than just roughed up, it looked as if life had taken a beating on him. The harder his arm pressed against his neck, the less he struggled, almost as if he was just at the edge of fainting. Shadow could take him as prisoner and transport him to his father’s castle, where he will rot in a cell for breaking and entering the castle.
And starting up a revolution. Shadow could see the seal on his hood while he was chasing him. This wasn’t any resistance, others were easier to take down and disband. This was the Freedom Trident Resistance. His father had been trying to take them down for two years now. They were very clever and known for their ambushes towards the castle.
And they were former civilians of the fallen Mobotropolis.
If Shadow brought in one of the Freedom Trident’s members into Black Doom’s castle, he’d be rewarded. It would be a huge stepping stone for him - they would finally take down the resistance and arrest those involved, putting them behind bars for life for conspiring against the King.
He’d be respected by his father - even the citizens of the Black Arms kingdom would see him as a fit successor. Maybe it’ll mend the relationship, as strained and as distant as it is, with his father.
But, something didn’t sit right with Shadow when he thought of all the outcomes. When he even considered the idea of turning him in. He wasn’t like the King, he didn’t have a lack of empathetic bone in his body. He had a heart, though he’d never admit to anyone but himself. He could see the fear in the trembling hedgehog’s eyes, eyes do tell a lot about a person, Maria told him that.
With a huff, he stood, releasing the hedgehog from the trap that was his arm. He stood frantically. He began to edge toward the railing, putting the hood over his head. Shadow could hear the guards behind him with his extended hearing. They were getting close. He nodded his head towards the rail. “Go,” he whispered. “And don’t come back.”
The blue hedgehog, hood over his head, nodded back at him in acknowledgement. He turned towards the rail and leaned back just as he did with at the window cill, and disappeared under from Shadow’s sight.
Feeling a twinge of concern, the dark hedgehog peered over the railing, wondering if he had made it from falling from such a great height. He could see a dark figure fall into the bushes, two others catching him and taking him towards a hole in the ground, which Shadow could assume be the drainage system from the bars that sat beside it. He stepped away from the railing, finding his own way back to a lower window that was conveniently by the library. He could make his way back to his room from there.
One his way back, he spotted Rouge speaking with Gerald. His footsteps alerted her and she turned her attention towards him, running and pulling him into a tight hug.
“Shadow! The entire guard was worried sick! Where were you? Maria said you’d run out. Were you trying to find the intruder by yourself?”
“Calm down, I’m not wounded,” he tried to pull her off of him and walk back towards his room. “And where were you? I couldn’t find you in the halls, I had to grab Omega to guard Maria’s door.”
Rouge was quiet for a moment before she answered back. “I was with the other guards chasing down the intruders.”
Part of him had a hard time believing that. Even if she was, he would’ve heard her give orders with his hearing. But, he could only hear the sound of armor stumbling in the dark halls. But, then again, he was too focused on catching that hedgehog to notice. He looked back at her, his hand on the doorknob. “Thank you for checking on me.”
The bat smiled, returning his gratitude.
The rest of the week, security was at its highest until they were sure that the threat was officially gone.