His Royal Highness Has Just Been Engaged!
“Are you serious?!”
“I’ve never lied to you, Sonic.”
“I can’t believe you would do this, mother! This is outrageous!”
“Sonic, you must calm down. This tantrum of yours is unbecoming of a future king.”
“CALM DOWN? TANTRUM?” Sonic let out a short laugh to convey his disbelief at the situation. “You tell me that I am to be married to a random prince on today of all days! My eighteenth birthday is ruined and expect me to calm down?”
Sonic was beyond mad. He felt enraged at the piece of information that his mother, Queen Aleena, had just given him. Today was his eighteenth birthday, and he was more than excited to celebrate before his mother dropped the news on him. Sonic, Prince of Mobotropolis and next in line to the throne, was to be married to some random prince that he didn’t know because of some stupid agreement that his mother had made without telling him.
“It is your duty to your kingdom and as your mother I am ordering you to stop behaving like such a child!” The tall, purple hedgehog snapped, before composing herself and letting out a deep breath. “The king of the Doom Kingdom has agreed to make an alliance with our kingdom. The contract states that for the alliance to work, each of us are to arrange a marriage between our eldest children and they are to be wed when both of you are of age, which you finally are as of today.”
“This is unfair, mother. I don’t even know this man and you expect me to just up and marry him because I’m the oldest.”
“Prince Shadow will be a fit husband for you.” Aleena tried to look her eldest son in the eyes but he refused to meet her gaze as he turned his head away with an angry pout, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. She found herself letting out a soft sigh before placing her hands on his cheeks and turning his head to make him look at her. “Sonic, you have no choice. The other neighboring kingdoms have been dealing with conflict over the last several years and in order for us to protect our kingdom, we must form an alliance with the Doom Kingdom. It was the only way to keep our people safe and save our kingdom from falling to the ground.”
Sonic let out a huff before he broke out of her gentle hold to turn away from her gaze again. She lets out a deep sigh and straightens her posture and speaking again.
“You’ll be meeting Prince Shadow tonight during your party. I expect you to act like a proper prince.”
With those words, he stormed off towards his and his bed chamber. He ran down the long hallways of the castle before finally making it to his room and slamming the door behind him. He let himself flop down stomach first on his bed before reaching for a pillow and let the held in sobs take over his body. She couldn’t do this to him! There was no way he was going to be forced into a loveless marriage with some stuffy prince from another kingdom.
A knock interrupted his tears, but Sonic made no move to lift his head up and greet whoever it was. A gentle hand was soon rubbing his back, trying to soothe his cries. After a while, his sobs turned into sniffles and he finally lifted his head up to see the face of his sister and brother. The purple and green hedgehogs looked at him with concern and Sonic felt a lump in his throat start to form again.
“Are you okay? Manic and I heard you crying when we walked by your room.” Sonia’s hand didn’t stop its soothing motions on his back.
“Mother is making me get married.”
“An arranged marriage? To who?!” Manic voiced his disbelief and anger loudly, wildly gesturing with his arms.
“Some prince from the Doom Kingdom. Mother said that her and the King have decided to force an alliance, and that the best way to do that was an arranged marriage between me and his eldest son.”
“And she decided that it was a good idea to tell you this on your eighteenth birthday? Mother could have at least waited till tomorrow.”
“I’m meeting him tonight. She says that he’ll be attending the party and that I’m to act like a ‘proper prince.’”
“This is bullshit!” Manic yells out in frustration. Sonia lightly scolds him for his language, and he mumbles out a small apology before continuing. “Just because you’re the oldest doesn’t mean you should have to marry some random prince.”
“There’s nothing I can do about it. It’s for the good of the kingdom to form this alliance.” Tears begin to prick the corners of his eyes again before he quickly stands up from the bed and heads for the door.
“Where are you going?”
“I just need some time alone.”
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When you live in a castle for your entire life, you learn all of the nooks and crannies that lie within it. At the young age of five, Sonic found a secret spot in the far side of the castle gardens. Hidden behind the gazebo was a small patch of daisies and rose bushes that created a small cove for Sonic to escape to on the days when the castle and everyone in it became too much. Nobody knew of his secret hiding spot, and he planned to keep it that way for as long as he lived. It was here that the cobalt blue hedgehog spent the rest of his day, stuck in a routine of crying and thinking of his future.
Sonic wasn’t ready for marriage. Not at all. He’s only eighteen! He just barely became an adult and now his mother expected him to get married to some man he doesn’t know. Now, for the rest of his life, he’ll be stuck in a loveless marriage, and seeing as this is the prince of the Doom Kingdom he’s supposed to marry, Sonic already knows that his soon-to-be husband is a jerk. Anyone from the Doom Kingdom that has ever entered the castle has always been a massive jerk to him. Life hadn’t been fair to Sonic thus far, and would continue to be unfair it seems.
He knows others would think him to be a spoiled brat at the fact that Sonic thinks his life hasn’t been fair, but he’s not overexaggerating when he says that. He was born into royalty as the eldest child of his mother, Queen Aleena, which meant that one day he’d become King. But being a future King means always holding a certain image. Not being allowed to leave the castle, never slouching, constant behavioral lessons on “how to be a proper prince,” no roughhousing with his siblings, not being allowed to play in the rain or mud, and the list goes on and on. Every aspect of Sonic’s life was following rules and anytime he acted out of line, it would result in a scolding from his mother because if he was to be King one day, he’d need to act like it.
Footsteps alarmed him to stop his crying, and he peeked over one of the rose bushes to see who was nearby. A group of guards joined in a huddle and talking, and Sonic’s ears twitched to try and pick up what they were saying.
“His royal highness must be around somewhere, and Her Majesty has requested we find him and send him to get ready for the party. Once he is found, someone must personally escort him back to his room. Understood, men?”
“Yes, Captain.” The huddle of guards responded in unison, before they all dispersed and started searching the big garden for the eldest prince. Sonic immediately ducked down behind the bush again and tried to formulate a quick plan to escape. He crouched down and got on the ground in order to crawl his way to the backside of the gazebo. After jumping through the open wall and into the gazebo, he quickly ran through the rest of the garden, hearing the shouts of the guards telling him to stop, but he was far too fast for them.
They chased after him as he ran through the castle, and Sonic gave quick apologies to a few maids he bumped into. After hiding behind a dark hole in the wall, he watched as the guards stupidly ran past him and around the corner to the South side of the castle. He snickered quietly to himself and left the hole and calmly walked in the opposite direction of his room. The hyperactive hedgehog soon found himself in front of a large door, that had the words “blacksmith” written on a wooden sign that hung on a small hook. Sonic didn’t bother to knock before opening the door and swiftly closing it behind him.
The sound of clanging and the roar of a fire sounded throughout the room as he made his way around the machinery lying around. He was about to call out before his sight locked onto his target. A young, yellow fox with two tails, wearing a welders mask and brown leather gloves to protect his hands from any injuries. The blue hedgehog quietly made his way over to the boy before lightly tapping his shoulder. The young kit was startled by the action before he lifted the welder’s mask up to face the intruder.
“Oh, hello, your Highness.”
“Tails, for the millionth time, you can just call me Sonic. You know how much I hate that formal stuff.”
“Sorry, heh.” Tails rubbed his neck sheepishly before taking a proper look at Sonic. “I don’t mean to pry but…are you alright? You look awful.”
“All I’ve done today is cry. My mother set up an arranged marriage without my knowledge.”
“An arranged marriage? That doesn’t sound fun at all.” The inventor and blacksmith states, not even looking away from the fiery oven as he uses a pair of tongs to pull out a sword.
“Because it’s not, Tails! I’m about to be locked into a loveless marriage for the rest of my life and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.”
“I’m sorry, Sonic. What do Manic and Sonia think of this? I’m sure you’ve told them by now.”
“They hate it as much as I do.”
“Who are you getting married to anyways?”
“The prince of the Doom Kingdom.”
“PRINCE SHADOW?!” Tails yelled out in disbelief. “You’re getting married to Prince Shadow?”
“You’ve heard of him?”
“You haven’t? Sonic, he’s one of the most powerful beings in the world. He was created to be some kind of ultimate lifeform by some scientist that King Black Doom hired. He’s been learning how to fight since he could walk along with learning the art of spellcasting from one of the most powerful wizards known to all of Mobius.”
“He sounds like a real jerk to me. I’d bet that he has a huge ego being as powerful as he supposedly is. Sometimes I wish I could just run away.” Sonic sat down on a wooden stool and let out a sigh. “I have this fantasy, that I’d run away from this life and live in a cottage in the woods, or by the sea. I would live a nice, quiet life and I wouldn’t have to follow any of Mother’s stupid rules. Sonia and Manic would come with me if they wanted, and you as well. You are my best friend after all.”
“I wish you could live that life, Sonic. Maybe one day when you’re King, you could make a cottage like that as a holiday home.”
“When I’m King, I’ll never have freedom like that again, Tails. When you rule a kingdom, you don’t get holidays.”
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Sonic waited outside the ballroom as he stood beside his mother, sister, and brother. The party was in full swing behind the closed door and Sonic could hear the talking and laughter of his guests. Sonia came over to him and patted down his green velvet suit, smoothing out some of the small creases and straightening out his gold tassels that lay on his golden shoulder pads. His cobalt blue quills had been smoothed back and his gold crown was neatly placed atop his head. He kept his eyes on his black heeled boots and the excess fabric of his velvet suit pants that were neatly tucked into the boots, while fiddling with the white gloves on his hands.
“Alright, children, in position.” His mother spoke, and the three siblings lined up behind their mother, with Sonic in the front, Sonia behind him, and Manic behind her. She gestured to the guards to pull open the doors and the sounds of trumpets played around them.
“Now announcing the arrival of Her Majesty Queen Aleena, His Royal Highness Prince Sonic, Her Royal Highness Princess Sonia, and His Royal Highness Prince Manic.” The trumpets sounded once more and by then, the family had finished their walk up to the thrones at the other end of the room, the guests applauding their arrival. Sonic’s mother took her seat on the largest throne, while he and his siblings also sat down on their smaller thrones. The music continued once again, and Sonic could feel himself getting antsy. This had to be his least favorite thing about being royalty. It was his party for crying out loud and he wasn’t even allowed to dance! Sonic was only able to dance if someone asked him to dance with them but otherwise, he was to sit in his chair like a good little prince. Everybody was usually too scared to ask a prince to dance anyways.
Several guests came up to him throughout the night and bowed before him with a wish for him to have a “happy birthday.” Yes, this had to be the happiest birthday of them all. His mother gave him the greatest present a son could ask for; an arranged marriage! Such irony was Sonic’s life. Hours passed and Sonic felt ever more bored. Sonia and Manic didn’t look like they were fairing much better either as Sonia had taken to picking at her dress and Manic was idly tapping his hands in a steady beat on his knee.
“Mother, may I be excused for a moment? I have to use the bathroom.” He tried to keep his gaze locked with his mother to show that he wasn’t nervous. His plan was simple. Say he was using the bathroom and then disappear for the remainder of the party. Would he be reprimanded by his mother for it? Of course he would, but that was a risk he was willing to take. Anything to get away from the stuffy walls of the ballroom.
“I suppose but try to be quick. Prince Shadow will be arriving any minute now.”
“Yes, Mother.” He stood up and made his way down the center of the room, guests parting the way for him before he made his way to the big double doors that were opened by the two guards. Once the doors closed behind him, he let out a breath that he didn’t know he was holding in the first place. The halls of the castle were mostly empty, with one or two guards scattered about each individual hallway. For the second time that day, Sonic found himself in the large castle garden, but instead of hiding in his secret cove, he let himself sit on one of the benches and gaze up at the starry night sky.
He could faintly hear the music from inside the castle, the band and castle bard playing one of his favorite songs that was rightfully dubbed Holding Out For A Hero. He focused his ears to listen to the beat of the drums, the shake of the tambourine, the whistling of the flutes. The castle musicians were always so talented. Sonic sometimes wondered what it would be like to learn an instrument and be skilled at it. He was more skilled with “princely” things like balancing books on his head, perfect cursive, or how to look graceful. Oh, to yearn for things he would never get in life. Maybe that was why he liked this song so much, because he was waiting for his hero to come and rescue him.
“Excuse me,” A deep, gruff voice interrupted his train of thought. Sonic tore his eyes away from the shining stars above and was met with possibly the most attractive being he’d ever laid eyes upon. A tall hedgehog, with fur as black as tar and stripes of crimson red that ran throughout his quills that curled upward. He was wearing a stunning, red, long sleeve shirt that had a deep V-neck that revealed a patch of white chest fluff. A velvet black vest was buttoned over his shirt, white gloves and thick golden bangles on his wrists along with a pair of black slacks and brown leather boots with a very slight heel. And God, Sonic couldn’t just forget about his eyes, those deep crimson orbs that made him want to drown in those pools, never coming up to the surface for air again.
“Uhm, h-hello.” He cringed at how meek and shy his voice sounded. The other hedgehog didn’t seem to pay too much attention to it though.
“Would it be alright if I joined you? While the party is nice and all, I needed to step away for a breath of fresh air.”
“You and me both.” Sonic pat the empty space next to him on the bench, inviting him to sit beside him. There was an awkward air around them for the first few minutes, Sonic looking back down at his boots and picking at a stray piece of fluff on his suit.
“Have you enjoyed the party so far?” the mysterious stranger asked.
“It is hard for me to enjoy my own party when I am not allowed to participate.” The cobalt blue hedgehog let out a weird sound, a scoff mixed with a laugh of some sort. “Mother doesn’t believe it to be proper behavior for a future king to dance anything more than a waltz, or stuff my face with chocolate.”
“Ah, you must be Prince Sonic then.” The ebony hedgehog fit the pieces of the puzzle together. “My best birthday wishes to you.”
“Thanks, but you don’t need to flatter me with that stuff.” He got a nod in response before the man spoke once more.
“So, did you do anything special for such a joyous occasion? Eighteen only happens once, you know.”
“My mother decided to give me the most devastating news I have ever heard in my life as a present. Some birthday this turned out to be.” Sonic pulled his knees onto the bench and up to his chest, willing himself not to cry in front of the ebony hedgehog.
“I’m sorry to hear that. What exactly did she tell you?”
“That I am to be wed to some jerk prince from the Doom Kingdom before my nineteenth birthday.” The other hedgehog let out a short snicker.
“He mustn’t be all that bad. Have you even met your future husband yet?”
“No, but Mother says I am supposed to meet him tonight since he’s attending the party. My hopes are that I’ll be able to avoid the rest of the party so I will not have to meet him.”
“How do you know what kind of person he is until you meet him? He can’t be as bad as you say, surely.”
“My friend, the castle blacksmith, tells me that he believes himself to be the ‘Ultimate Lifeform.’ Nobody with that big of a head deserves my heart, if you ask me.”
“Hmm, it seems you truly have your priorities straight then.” The music from inside changed to that of a classical piece, a waltz. Sonic recognized it as a piece titled Over the Waves made by Sir Juventino Rosas, one of Sonic’s personal favorite composers to ever exist. The gorgeous ebony stranger stood up and held out his hand toward Sonic.
“May I have this dance, my Prince?” Sonic couldn’t help but gulp, swallowing the lump in his throat down before nodding and letting himself be pulled up by the other hedgehog. A black hand wrapped itself around his waist, while the other held his hand up to lead him through the waltz. Sonic let himself intertwine his fingers just slightly with the black-furred hedgehog, relishing in the warmth of another person. His other hand was placed on the man’s shoulder, and he could feel the muscle underneath his shirt. He couldn’t help but feel like they fit perfectly together, like two halves of a whole. They way their hands and bodies seemed to slot like the Gods had destined for them to be together. The song hit its peak, and the handsome hedgehog in front of him began twirling them around, and Sonic laughed in surprise. He hadn’t had this much fun since he was a child, and he would wreak havoc with his siblings throughout the castle.
Before the song stopped, he twirled just one last time before he found himself being dipped. The striped hedgehog’s hand that had been curled around his waist shifted to his lower back in order to support him better. Sonic could see the moon hanging above them, casting a beautiful glow around them and perfectly highlighting the edges of the ebony hedgehog’s quills. He looked so dashing, handsome, eloquent. Before he knew it, he felt his head slightly leaning up, as if it was out of his control. His breath mingled with the strangers, noses brushing-
“Prince Sonic!” A voice called out. Sonic turned his head just slightly and found one of the guards, a burly red echidna named Knuckles, had interrupted what was about to be his first kiss.
“Hey! Knuckles!” Sonic let out an agitated laugh. “What gives?” He manages out through gritted teeth, trying to not let his frustration at the situation show.
“I apologize, but the Queen has requested your return to the ballroom at once.” The hand on his lower back helped him stand, and Sonic sadly distanced himself from the charming an he had danced with seconds ago. He brushed himself off and turned to face his dance partner.
“Th-thank you.” He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, before willing himself to keep his hands to his sides. “I haven’t danced like that in a long time. You’re an excellent dancer.”
“It was my pleasure, my Prince.” He leaned in closer to whisper in a cobalt ear. “You weren’t so bad yourself.” Sonic felt a hot blush on his peach muzzle, and he smiled at the words of the other hedgehog. “Would you mind if I escorted you back?” An ebony arm was placed out, and Sonic looped his arm through to let himself be led back to the ballroom.
“I wouldn’t mind one bit.” The stranger gave him a nod and a smile that took Sonic’s breath away. Knuckles walked in front of them as they navigated the hallways of the castle to return to the ballroom. He couldn’t help but wonder if his future husband had arrived yet. He most likely had, and he already knew his mother would have a fit seeing him enter the room with another man that wasn’t his soon-to-be husband. When they made it back to the doors, Sonic held up a hand to stop Knuckles from opening the doors just yet, and turned to the ebony hedgehog.
“I don’t believe we’ll be seeing each other again, although I find myself wishing that I could. My mother would have my head if she saw us together, so this must be goodbye.” Sonic leaned up a bit on to the tips of his boots, laying a short, yet sweet kiss on the other’s tan cheek. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, and he pulled away and entered the ballroom before he could be swayed into staying with the handsome stranger. After making his way back up to the thrones, he had willed his tears to go away and sat down beside his mother in his own throne. She quickly leaned over and muttered quietly to him.
“I told you to be quick, dear. Prince Shadow arrived nearly an hour ago! Where have you been?” Sonic didn’t say a word as he looked around the ballroom to see if he could catch sight of his mysterious dance partner, but there were far too many guests to be able to scout him out. He could tell that Sonia and Manic were looking at him with worried eyes, and he already knew that they would be asking him about it later. Sonic zoned out for the next half hour, not even listening to the music anymore as he just wished for the party to end so he could sleep his sorrow away.
“Ah, Prince Shadow, there you are!” His mother cheerfully said, and Sonic tuned back into the world around him. The ebony hedgehog that he had danced with earlier was right in front of the thrones, and that’s when his brain registered what his mother had said.
Prince Shadow.
His mysterious dance partner, that he had such a casual conversation with, twirled him around and dipped him as if it were nothing, and made him feel something he had never felt before. That was his future husband.
Sonic felt as if his heart had dropped straight to the floor.
“I apologize for the absence of my son earlier.”
“It is not a problem, your Majesty.” The stranger—Shadow—walked up to him, and kneeled down on one knee before drawing Sonic’s left hand towards his lips and placing a chaste kiss on the back of it. Those crimson eyes never left his sight, staring deeply into his soul as that charming smile showed up on his tan muzzle again.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, my Prince.”