Fallen King: A New Beginning

I looked out my window, lights glinting around the dimly lit field. No one could tell what time or day it was, all was there was thick fog. I strained my ears as I sat rigid, listening to repetitive screams. Some were battle cries, many were not. I could hear knights rushing past my door, their loud and heavy armour clashing to the ground with every step. My heart was thumping hard in my chest, spotting my father kneeling next to a downed horse. It struggled to stand, and my father was desperately trying to do something with it. A second passed, and the horse was suddenly in two; It had been laying on Doom's sword.

I was wearing my armor. I didn't know why, I knew, in the deepest part of my mind, that there wuld be no need for me in battle.

An arrow whizzed past my face, and I didn't notice it until it thumped into the wall behind me.

I clutched a rag until the fabric began to tear, my eyes wide. I felt horrible, seeing all the death laying our castle grounds. We had been swarmed, a large army of the opposing kingdom rushing us a week before the war. We fought back, leaving almost a mile between the castle walls and the raging battle. A scream finally tore my gaze from the window, and I turned to see my human (half) sister reach out for me, someone holding her back. I stood and rushed for her, but the armoured figure holding her was faster. He sliced her neck opened and tugged her hair back, further opening the wound.

My heart snapped, I tasted blood in my mouth.

I grabbed my sword and rushed him, pinning him to the wall. His sword whailed at the force I was scrapping it, and I yanked my own down. It ripped off his armor covering his stomach and some off his legs, taking a thin slice of his flesh. I struck again as he hit me with his sword's hilt, this time cutting a deep gash in his leg. I noticed that he had blue fur, but he hit me with the sword's hilt again on accident- I could tell, he stopped to glare at his sword. I swung at his leg again, and he screamed in agony, his blood pumping onto our clean floor. I swung yet again, and he barely dodged it by running off. I went to Maria's side, kneeling down. Her wound was fatal from the beginning, and there was no possible way of saving her.

I grabbed my sword tighter, noticing that the rag was only fibers now.

I'll get revenge for her; That, I can promise.

I dived out the window, landing on a pile of bodies littered with arrows. I yanked a few good arrows out and stole a bow, frowning down at it. It was in poor condition, and even more poorly made. With a deep sigh, I closed my eyes and breathed in death. I opened my eyes, looking down to my bloodied sword. I rushed off and stabbed someone in the stomach, dragging my sword up to cut through his body as if it was melting butter. I felt sick, for I felt his flesh parting and giving to my strenght. I yanked my sword out and I broke an arrow sticking out my side. Funny, it didn't hurt, and I didn't remember when I got it.

I was shoved backwards, but I caught myself using the flat of my sword. I exposed myself on accident, feeling my armor part and show my back. Her sword cut through my back and pierced through my stomach. I screamed bloody murder and collapsed upon myself. It hurt, but i would not give up. She yanked out her sword and I kicked down, feeling a crack under my foot and hearing her scream. I stood and clutched my stomach, beheading her and saving her from her shattered ankle.

I jumped into a ditch to catch my breath. I didn't care that I sat near someone's arm. Someone else was with me, I think his name was Ebony or something. He had grey fur and was pissing himself. I laughed and pointed my sword at him, so he looked over and cried. I frowned. Who was I to kill a wounded, unarmed soldier? "Get your act together." I barked. I stood and climbed out the ditch, leaving the scared-to-death dog.

I spit up blood and trudged on, mostly attacking. Only mongrels constantly blocked. Fight when you can, and fight until you die. I sheathed my bloody sword and climbed to higher grounds, bleeding out too much to stand any longer. I pulled out my bow and some arrows.

A badger fell to the ground.

A squirrel blindly looked around, moving his mouth as he slowly fell.

Someone screamed, I took them down too.

I saw the leader, atop his bloody and dirty white horse. I smirked and grabbed my sword. He had too much armour for a arrow to take effect, and unless you had the strength of a cannon, you could not break it on your own. I placed my sword into the bow. A few people had stopped fighting to look at me. Don't blow away my cover. I pulled the string until I was sure the bow was to snap.

I let go.

My sword cut clear through my bow and the air alike, slicing it in half as it sped towards the moving target.

The leader looked up.

There was a laugh. Did I laugh?

The sword cut clear through the leader's head, knocking him back and off his high horse. He crumpled on the ground, atop a body of his soldier. My sword stuck out of his head, glinting in the dim light. The gold and black handle, the stainless double edge that lead into a diamond cut, the blood and dirt that slid off and dripped on the leader's head. I could see my insignia etched into the hilt of the blade. I was laughing.

I don't know when I passed out, but I awoke in my room. Or somewhere like it, it wasn't quite the same. My stomach was bandaged tightly, I had something digging into my side. There was something around my ear that tied around my head, I don't remember getting injured there. I coughed painfully and stood. A war's a war, but I must keep up my cleaning duties. Yes, I'm merely a worker. I was supposed to still be a knight at the round table, but with some fiasco about a woman and her unborn child, I got demoted harshly.

I went outside into the main hall, trying my best not to limp as I carried my bucket and new rag. People watched me as I passed them, some staring, some smiling, some nodding. I felt out of place, but I ignored it. I dropped to the ground at my usual spot, already seeing the faint shade of dirt from the recent hall-walks after a victory. I rinsed out the rag and slopped it on the ground, scrubbing quickly but not too fast for my wounds. A knight, Scourge was his name, walked up to me. "Get up, you're disgracing yourself. Don't get demoted again." With that, he left. What the hell? I looked up, seeing the job board. I limped towards it, searching for my name.

Where was my name? I grew panicked. I read over, backwards, again and again. My name wasn't there. I shook, blinking slowly. Was...Was I kicked out? Was I put in exile? They must've found out that I skipped my duties to fight..."Shadow the Hedgehog, report to the Throne." I gasped in air. I was going to be killed...in here? Well, if I'm going out, I'm going out with pride. I puffed out my chest and raised my head high, walking with an air that spoke "Holy shit Iam going to die"

I stepped inside, lowering into a bow with a grunt of pain. "Rise, Rise, New King," was chanted, and I quickly stood rigid. The room was full to the brim with knights, fighters, and soldiers. There was Black Doom in the middle, crossing his arms with a pedestal in front of him. There was the crown atop it, and I shook my head. "My...dear...ugh-" I later found out that I had collapsed, but they only moved me to the chair and set the crown atop my head. "Shadow," I opened my eyes and jerked awake, breathing heavily. "Welcome to kingmanship." Black Doom stared at me, his wispy quills hanging to the ground like torn, dusty strips of fabric. I looked into his third eye, watching myself. He wasn't lying. "I can't be king!" I suddenly shouted, jumping forward out the chair. I could not be King! What if people found out my secret? I'd be in exile, that's what.

"Shadow, come, my son." Black Doom whispered, and I walked up to him. He took the crown off my head and examined it, as though he didn't make it himself. "I know you're hiding something from me..." he started, and I froze up. He knew? For how long? "I know you went out to battle. That was both very noble and very, very stupid." I blinked, looking down. So he didn't know. "Sorry, sire-" "Ah-ah-ah, let me finish. Although it was stupid...you made us win the Chaos War. It was your sword that stuck out of the king's head, and it was your broken bow that we found. Not a single one of us would've thought of using our sword as an arrow, so that's why we need you as a king."

"I..." "Good, you start tomorrow!" Black Doom left, leaving the crown atop my head and my sword next to the throne. "Oh," He came back for a moment, and I saw a deep glow in his third eye. He wanted to talk about Maria, but I shook my head and he left.

I...am a king?

I am king.

...I am the king.

I felt my power build up, but luckily no one was around. "I am the KING!"

-Other Kingdom-

-Different POV-

I sat at my father's throne, laying my head on the ground there. Too many knights had been killed. Even if I became king, there would be about five people to rule over. I crossed my arms above my head, weeping deeply. Father was dead. Dead dead dead. I only had three choices now: Become king anyway, leave and become a wanderer, or try to join the winning kingdom. I looked up, seeing the bloodied crown sitting on the red chair.

I couldn't stay.

I got up and limped outside, holding only my sword. I looked around for any horse to take me there, but I only saw a mule attached to a cart, carrying a mail messenger and bags. I ran as best as I could, barely catching up to the mule. The messenger looked out to me. She was a black wolf, her lips pursed as if she was thinking about something that irritated her. "Please take me to the Black Doom Kingdom." I gasped, she paused, her lips returning to normal. "Uh, it's now called Black Shadow Kingdom. There's a new king." I frowned at being corrected, then nodded anyway. "Please hurry, I'm injured." She nodded, pulling me into the back. "HA!" She yelped, and the mule took off.

I laid in the back among piles of sewn bags, all filled to the brim with letters. I looked over my wounds, hissing in pain at my leg's cut. She turned back to me and smiled. "My name's Millie. What's yours?" I managed a smile "I'm Sonic." She grinned and stood, letting go of the reins and walking over to me. "Why are you going there?" She asked a bit slowly, and I sighed "I have no where else to go." She pursed her lips. "You think you can get me and my mule a job there? I'm working for scraps." She rubbed her stomach, and I held out my hand. "Sure, I'll try. How can I contact you?" She laughed, pointing around her with a strange smile as she shook my hand. "I work for the messenger company! Use your head!"

The mule grunted and snorted, and I looked up. We were in front the castle, the mule stopped at the gates with two people looking confused. Millie came out and barked a laugh, handing a small sack to them and moving through. She was stopped nearly a foot in, a tall tiger standing there. He was buff and held double swords, one pointing at her. "You know you can't be in here. Just drop what you brought and leave." Millie frowned "I told you that I'm no longer a traitor." The tiger huffed and cut the sack, making the notes spill out. She gasped as she was pulled backwards, and I took the chance to sneak in. I snuck her a glance as her mule was pushed backwards and turned around.

I winced and snuck around, dashing between houses. I saw the main castle and breathed in, making a mad dash for it. Although it pained me to no end, everyone just looked around like a gust of wind just blew up everything. I ran towards the main door, running in and stopping. It was like a freaking labyrinth.

-Shadow's POV-

I sat in the throne, holding my head. What was I to do, now that I was king? I never thought of watching Father work, because I always had work of my own. I sighed and got up, going to the bathroom. There was a guard, standing near the door. She smiled at me and I blushed. "I'm just taking a bath, no need to stay." She purred, being a cat, but laughed anyway and went to leave. "I'll be nearby, just call if you need me." "Thank you, Blaze." I nodded, turning on the hot water and stepping in. I laid down as the water slowly forced me to float up from the bottom. I smiled softly to myself, sitting up and reaching under the tub. I focused and my hand went ablaze, heating up the tub more and more until the room was filled with steam. I snuggled into the water as if it was a warm blanket, stopping the water from overflowing.

Blaze knocked on the door, and I growled. "What is it?" She yelped "T-there's someone here to see you..." I sighed in annoyance, not willing to get out the tub. "Who is it?" I heard her whisper and ask "Who are you?" She sighed before replying "He's Prince Sonic, sire." I sat up and glared at the door. "I'm not leaving the tub. If he has enough balls then he'll come in." I snapped, laying back down in the deep water. There was a pause, and the door creaked open. He stepped in, and I blushed. Why did I say he could come in?! He had scars and a few wounds, the major one being on his leg. He was a royal blue, his chest, arms, and muzzle a soft peach color. I sat up some, the water sloshing around me. "You're dirty." I stated, and he looking down. I could tell he wanted to sit. I stood up from the tub, and he covered his eyes. "My member isn't out, stop covering your eyes." I scolded, and he blushed. I stepped out the tub and pointed, and his face fell.

He looked both disgusted and disbelieving. "You're filthy, I'm not. Take a bath and then we'll talk." I left the room then, shaking my fur dry.

-Sonic's POV-

I walked around, admiring the beautiful castle. The only complaint I had was the fact that it was huge. Speaking of huge...I opened one large door and was met by a pretty purple cat, her hair tied up atop her head. She was either a guard or a knight, but she wore a short dress and padded white gloves that went to her elbows. She was surprised to see me, and asked what I was doing here. "I want to see the king." I breathed, and she glanced off to a far door. "Uh, this is a bad time..." "I need to see him, now." I repeated, so she sighed. "Fine." She walked up to the far door, knocking to a beat I didn't know.

"What is it?" was barked through the door, and we both flinched. She yelped slightly, then tried to speak "T-there's someone here to see you..." she whispered, and I heard a sigh. "Who is it?" She turned to me, looking surprised. "Who are you?" She whispered, and I looked towards the door. "I'm Prince Sonic." "He's Prince Sonic, sire." The king made some sort of sound. I think this room is a bathroom, or a half-bath or something. "I'm not leaving the tub. If he has enough balls then he'll come in."

I blushed darkly, glaring at the door and then the cat.

Damnit.

-Shadow's POV-

I waited outside the door for him to come out, slowly falling asleep. My power was nearly bursting out of my skin due to how freaking BORED I was. I tried whistling to pass the time, but a few guard birds showed up instead and argued over who I called first. It was funny for a while, and then even that annoyed me. I got up and paced the room, stopping suddenly to look around. There wasn't anyone around, and there wasn't anything that could be knocked over easily...I took off in a sprint, dashing out the door and curving sharp corners. I slid under a table and forced a rug to ball up. I jumped and ran over the wall, trying to quell my laughter. Then, I got cocky. I got back to the ground and dashed faster, running up the wall and getting to the ceiling. What I didn't count on was the lack of a wall where I planned to step.

I accidentally turned a corner.

I let out a yelp as I fell at high speeds, hoping to high heaven that I could save myself. At the last second, I curled into a ball and ingulfed myself in tight, endless flames, landing hard on my back. I stopped as soon as I fell, only feeling a sharp pain where I landed. Black Doom was standing over me, watching with wide eyes.

Oh...crap.

"H-how...My son...You ran so fast you caught on fire!?" He yelped excitedly, and I chuckled slightly. Thank Chaos my dad was an idiot sometimes. I grabbed his hand and he pulled my back quills out the floor, creating two slits in the hardwood. "...Whatever, we'll get it fixed. How come you never told me you could run so fast?" He grew estatic, nearly jumping up and down. "I never had the chance to run anywhere. Since there was no one around...I kinda took that chance." Father didn't remotely seem upset, but instead sprinted off yelling something I couldn't understand.

I shrugged and ran back to the Throne Room, finding Prince Sonic meandering around. He was probably looking for me. "Hello." I bellowed, borrowing Black Doom's 'Special, one-of-a-kind deep voice'. Sonic flinched, turning around and folding back his ears. I stayed silent, waiting for his move as I crossed my arms. Finally, his ears pricked up and he sighed, standing tall. I was still taller than him. "I want to be a part of this kindom. I want to be a knight at the round table." I was still silent, then drew my sword and held it at his neck in less than a second, the blade touching his adam's apple. I felt him swallow, the sword dipping in my hand. "You understand that you have to fight me, correct? You have to at least put up a fight." Sonic nodded, but I could see the fear in his eyes.

"We will not wear armour, we will not go easy, anything goes. Low blows, sliced eyes, but no death. The winner has to disarm the other; However, once you fight me, I decide when the fight ends."

Sonic froze, and I held back a laugh.

"Wait...I'm not just fighting you?" I shook my head "No. You wanted to be a knight at the round table, so you must fight every knight I own."

Sonic nodded stiffly, then looked down "W-when do I start?" I ignored him for a bit, walking up to my throne "Whenever you are properly healled. Until then..." I grabbed a coned pipe that was connected to the side of the throne, lifting it to my muzzle. "Father, report to the Throne Room. Do not be alarmed." I couldn't call Father "Black Doom", I could only call him "King" or "Father".

Black Doom stood in the middle of the Throne room, ignoring Sonic so harshly that even I mometarily forgot he was there. "Sonic here wants to be a knight here. Please let everyone here know to not touch him and cater him to...his needs, to a certain point." he nodded, leaving the room with a small glance to Sonic. "And you," I spoke "You are to stay in my room until otherwise. For some reason, there seems to be a lack of rooms..." I trailed off, thinking of the rooms that somehow became locked from the inside on random times, sometimes during the day.

Sonic stood there, shuffling his feet and watching me. "What?" I growled, and he sighed "I don't know where your room is."

I sighed and stood, grabbing his hand and leading him off.

-Sonic's POV-

We walked forever until he found his room, which was odd, because he had "Knight: Shadow The Hedgehog" atop it. "It...hadn't been changed. Even when I was...not in here, the name never changed. I have a new room of my own, but you're just staying here until you heal up." I nodded a bit and went inside, looking around. He had a sharpening stone, a wardrobe, a desk with a large candle, a bookshelf, and a large bed. "Rest up. I'll check up on you in the morning." He grumbled behind me, and I nodded. "Bye." I sighed, sitting on the bed.

The room was comfortable, and very big, but it wasn't at all like me. I wasn't much of a reader, and I barely learned how to read when I was 10. I looked out the window and stared at a purple albatross, who was attacking a wooden dummy quickly. She stopped and a green hawk came out from under the window, clapping and saying something to her. I watched other knights come about, some sitting around and talking, while others fought the dummy. In my father's kingdom, the knights barely knew each other and I didn't talk to any of them, except to ask where my father was. I sighed again and looked back at them, trying to recognize their species.

A silver hedgehog as a knight, a yellow fox as a blacksmith, a pink hedgehog as a maiden in waiting, a grey and blue hedgehog as a knight- but he was secluded from everyone else, a purple chameleon without armour, a green hedgehog that looked somewhat like me, and a red...echidna? I thought their clan had died out. I yawned and laid back in bed, closing my eyes and falling asleep.

I woke up to a constant sound, like loud thumps. I got up and left the room, wandering the hallway until I found the source. The King's door. There was also something like crying along with it. I grabbed the handle and pushed the door, hearing a creaking noise. I pushed it harder and heard a small snap, the door swinging open and hitting the wall.

A chair fell to the ground, one of it's legs broken.

Shadow was sitting up in bed, staring at me with wide, tear filled eyes. There were pillows thrown around the room, some with lost feathers, others torn to shreds, and very few that looked burned. The cover was half off the bed, halfway torn. The sheets were gone, chairs and the table flipped and tipped over, and the window barred down. He was still crying, the only light shining on him being the moonlight.

I walked up to him, but was assaulted harshly by a pillow to the face. I groaned, standing back up. The way he threw it really hurt, and I didn't even know that pillows could hurt. "Leave me alone!" He growled, covering his eyes. I walked up to him and set my hand on his shoulder, making him flinch. "What's wrong?" I whispered, and he shook his head. I tightened my grip on his shoulder, slightly shaking him. "Tell me." He just looked up, staring hard at me.

I let him go and stood fully, sitting on the bed and looking forwards. I knew he was still looking at me, but I know that he's also looking through me. "...Why are you here? This is the first time I was caught." He mumbled, and I sighed "I'm a light sleeper when it comes to distress, like someone crying." He looked over to me, folding down his ears. "I...I have night terrors. My sister used to hold me when I had them, but they weren't so bad then. But...She..."

I looked down, then picked up a burned pillow. "Why is it burned?" He shivered, so I put the pillow down. "My night terrors..." he whispered, then suddenly looked up. "They got worse..." I wrapped my arm around his cold body, hugging him close. He struggled to pull away, but started crying mid-fight and went limp. I hugged the crying king until he went to sleep, but I didn't have the heart to leave him alone again.

Hours into the night, I woke up to him squirming. He quickly sat up, crying and screaming at once. his quills flared out and I sat up, grabbing him and bringing him back down. He screamed and shouted, but soon calmed down and curled into me. "Shh...calm down, Shadow." I nearly cringed for calling him by his real name, but shrugged it off.

-Shadow's POV-

I sat up in bed and looked around, sighing to myself. Another one, huh? I shook my head and laid back down, just to get a face full of blue fur. I jolted up and held out my hands in defence, but when he continued to breathe softly, I relaxed and stood up. I checked his scars and wounds, but they were nearly healled. I left him be and went down to the Throne Room, thinking about my sister.

She was held backwards, and that...that knight sliced her throat. His sword was strangely curved, meaning that the wielder didn't have much training and only relied on the weight of the sword.

My thoughts were drawn back to Sonic, and I remembered his injury. He was cut on the same leg as the attacker...He had blue fur as well...

The mother fucker.

I raced to my door to find it locked, and growled deeply. I forced the lock and looked inside, but he was gone. I was in a blind rage. Flame sprouted from my quills as I rushed to my old room, finding it locked as well. I set the door on fire as I broke it down, glaring inside. He wasn't there! "Where the fuck are you!?" I shouted, growing out of control. With a sigh, I started to calm down.

If I kept this up, I'd burn down this damn castle.