Chapter Text
The world hasn't gotten better, it felt as if it got much worse over time even..
Fantasy creatures or should I say creatures that held magic were believed to be extinct, last sighting of one was 4 years ago right before the clouds appeared.
Some kingdoms continued fighting their wars despite the lack of warriors or magical creatures that they brought to extinction with their own claws. Rose Kingdom was one of many who gave up fighting and lost but it was too late, no one needed a land that was cursed by the dark clouds.
The very little amount of peasants that lived near those kingdoms either left ages ago or starved to death, food would never grow in a place where sun never shines and cold never goes away, snowing became a common weather pattern and Rose kingdom now depended on wandering traders more than ever which the king himself would kill for such tactics but everyone needed to eat, even if it was expensive.
The castle was dark as well, the only sounds coming from torches that hang on the walls from flickering fire and servants rushed footsteps across the rooms.
King Thorn was a dark pink hedgehog with long beard and torn right ear, his emerald green eyes glowed brighter with authority and his silver armor with red cape behind him proved enough that his rank was highest in this kingdom.
But now when things were bad for his own kingdom he didn’t seem as eager to rule this kingdom as he used to just a few years ago.
Thorn waited over the balcony, staring at the gruesome state of his kingdom, this sight he knew very well, he saw it get worse since 4 years ago it started.
“Your majesty! your majesty!” the messenger closed in to the king
“What is it now? I thought I mentioned that I’m busy.”
The messenger swallowed with panic before bowing “I-im! sorry your majesty, it's important! K-king Alfred entered the kingdom, he expects to talk with you about some matters”
King raised a brow “King Alfred? The hell he wants from me?”
“I know as much as you do, I'm afraid…” Messenger stood up straight again
King hummed under his breath “Hmm” The gates to the throne room slowly opened with knights pushing them aside
A dark purple wolf with red like rubies eyes stepped in, being escorted by 2 knights clearly from his own kingdom. He wore a silver crown with a blue cape and a bunch of golden jewelry on his neck and fingers.
“Heey Thorn! Old friend! It sure has been a while!”
“What is the reasoning behind your arrival, Alfred.”
“Awh? Can’t an old friend just pay a visit anymore?" His smile faltered, his cover was blown
“I know you too well, you never walk up to someone unless you want something from them.” he growled
“Get to the point, why are you here.” sounded less like a question and more like a command, Thorn did not want to play games now.. not when his kingdom was in such gruesome state
“Fine, fine you got me.” The wolf sighed
“Let's get straight to the point. Your daughter and my son are all grown ups now, why not unite our kingdoms? Were neighbours anyway, think about it. We could support one another for years to come and your daughter can stay in a castle free from these stupid clouds”
The wolf circled the taller hedgehog, not giving him a chance to speak or think about it as he continued
“Think about it Thorn! Your daughter and my son, we can unite our kingdoms! It's a chance for the Rose Kingdom to thrive again, possibly survive for much longer, remember my kingdom wasn’t affected by this curse, we can figure something out!”
The proposition convinced the king enough, after all he didn’t want Amy to live her life forever locked in darkness because of these clouds and even more so he didn’t want her to get hurt by bandits that approached the castle each day.
“....Fine, I agree to the proposition.” King spoke out with slight hesitation but he made up his mind.
“Very well Thorn!~” The wolf cheered “i’ll be waiting for further instructions from you, we shall prepare everything for the marriage in 2 days”
“Sayonara, Thorn. Don’t mess this up” The wolf smirked before leaving through the massive gates as the knights closed them afterward.
The king waited there stunned, but his answer was clear, for the sake of his daughter’s bright future he will marry her to that prince.
Amy lived a silent life, ever since her mother passed when she turned 12 she had stopped seeing the world so brightly.. and then the clouds appeared above her kingdom which made her situation worse, her room was always silent that is unless the maid or servant walked in to chat with her.
Today was no different, Amy was settled on the big balcony, watching the world below, the darkness that never stopped.
Knock knock
“Amy, are you there?”
Amy’s mind instantly snapped back to reality as she heard the voice “Ah- yes Father! Come in!”
The knob of the door turned and the door creaked open as the king himself walked in
“You need something Father? It's not like you often come to my room.” The pink hedgehog tilted her head, keeping a light smile
The king looked around the room before finally looking at her
“King Alfred was here with a proposition, he and I agreed that you will marry his son.”
Amy’s smile faltered and eyes widened ”M-marry w-who?”
It took her a bit to process things he just said
“W-WHAT!?”
“Marriage!? and you didn’t think of talking with me about it before making a decision for me!?” She yelled, her quills bristled
“It was a decision we both agreed on. Besides, I wouldn't want you to remain in these 4 walls forever, Amy.” He reached his hand to rest it over her shoulder
“I want the best for you dear. Alfred’s kingdom is one of very few that wasn’t affected by the cloud curse, you’ll finally see the sun again and live happily as a queen.”
Amy pushed away from the king “No.. no no. I’m not agreeing to this.”
She looked up at him with tears “Father i don’t want to marry him, Alfred is a dirty liar! Who knows what his son truly is lik-”
The king interrupted
“I can’t allow you to marry a random peasant either, Amy. He’s from royal blood, and so are you. There are rules you must follow as a princess and soon a future queen, end of story.” His eyes narrowed as he turned away from her
Amy gasped watching him retreat “Father.. father wait!” The door slammed behind him
“Father!” She rushed towards the door trying to open it but the door was already locked.
“DAMN IT.” she slammed her fists against the door
She could hear very little of the talk behind the door
“Don’t unlock the door until I say so.” The king commanded
“Yes, your majesty.” Knight replied with a bow
Amy sat there against the same door she was hitting earlier, she didn’t realize just how quickly the time went by, overthinking about the whole marriage and all that.
She didn’t want to accept it but to her the whole thing felt like she was traded like a toy.
Her cheeks dry of tears she poured just few hours ago but she got snapped out of her trance when she heard a maid speak to the knight
“Goodnight Sir Trace” The feminine voice spoke
“Goodnight Daisy” the knight replied
Amy thought to herself “Is it night? Already..?”
Amy got up off the floor and headed to the balcony, she couldn’t even tell if it was night due to the forever darkness she used to live in.
Standing there for couple minutes she decided to do something.. reckless
“I’m not gonna let anyone toy me around." rushed towards her closet and opened it, sorting through the various dresses and clothes she had in there “Found it..”
She pulled out a dark cloak that belonged to her mother, her father never really threw her mother’s stuff away and it was one of many things she was allowed to keep.
Amy quickly changed her clothes to a simple red dress, something she would find shameful walking around other nobles, hell even peasants, she had to wear it now to make sure nobody recognizes her outside of Rose Kingdom.
“Where could it be..?” she shuffled through the drawer and closet until she found the little bag she was looking for “aha! there it is.. i didn’t realize it was so small..” she thought to herself “I need to put in only necessary items before heading out.”
She put inside some golden coins she kept hidden as well as some simple shirts to change to if needed.
“okay.. now that this is sorted…” She looked at herself in the mirror, especially paying attention to her beautiful long hair. She always wanted to be the prettiest in the castle but now..
“I can't believe I have to do that, but it's not like I have much of a choice, it's best that they don’t recognize me right away.” She grabbed scissors from her drawer and without hesitation cut her hair just enough to reach her shoulders
“My poor hair..” she whined but quickly went back to her senses
“Okay Amy, calm down, you can mourn your hair later.”
She put the dark cloak on and grabbed her bag over her shoulder then quickly approached the open balcony and looked down
“I..might’ve forgotten how high my room actually is..” she gulped and tried to keep herself together, her gaze locked on the forest right behind the metallic fencing separating the royal garden with the forest itself.
“Okay Amy, if you could climb when you were younger, you can climb now as well.” Her hands held onto the cobblestone of the castle walls. She held on tightly while climbing slowly down. Ensuring she wouldn't slip and fall.
“Okay.. don’t look don’t look down..” she thought to herself as she climbed, gaze focused on the cobblestone.
After a few nearfalls she hopped down on the grass “phew- i did it..” she looked up at the balcony from below
“You heard something here?” Amy’s ear twitched and heart nearly stopped as she heard voice and footsteps, she quickly dived in some bush nearby, keeping herself hidden
“You must be hearing things again, c'mon we have to return back inside, it's gonna snow soon probably.” the other knight huffed
“Okay..” the duo made their way back to the castle, their footsteps fading in the distance
And when their footsteps entirely went silent, she moved out of the bush and headed for the fence right away, with a tight grip and swift move she crawled over it and hopped down on the grass
she looked back at the castle one last time with a frown “I'm sorry mother, im sorry father.”
She put on the hood and began to run into the forest, not looking back.