Hedgehogs Of The Caribbean
Chapter 1
A thick fog filled the air, stretching far out over the midnight blue ocean. A large sailing ship cut through the water as it made it's way through the mist. A young pink hedgehog stood at the front of the ship, her long blue dress blowing slightly in the wind, her quiet, feminine voice calling out as she sang, "Drink up, me hearties, yo ho. We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot, drink up me hearties, yo ho. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. We extort, we pilfer, we filch, we sack, drink u-" she was cut short as a hand grabbed her shoulder. The girl gasped and spun round to see a green crocodile wearing a blue sailor outfit standing behind her, "Quiet, missy! Cursed pirates sail these waters. You don't wanna bring them down on us, now do you?"
"Mr Vector, that will do." said a voice, the pair turned to see a green hawk in a lieutenant outfit and an old brown hedgehog wearing a governor outfit and a long brown wig.
Vector pointed to the girl, "She was singing about pirates! Bad luck to be singing about pirates with us mired in this unnatural fog, mark my words."
"Consider them marked." said the hawk in a smug tone, "On your way."
"Aye lieutenant." said the Vector as he walked past the hawk, "It's bad luck to have a woman on board too. Even a miniature one." he said to himself as he took a small leather hip flask and took a swig.
"I think I'd be rather exciting to meet a pirate." said the girl, the hawk smiled slightly and walked over to her, "Think again, Miss Hedgehog. Vile and dissolute creatures, the lot of them. I intend to see to it that any man who sails under a pirate flag or wears a pirate brand gets what he deserves; a short drop and a sudden stop." he finished with a sly smile, the girl looked over at Vector, confused by the hawk's words, Vector held his collar and stretched it upward and pretended to choke silently, she instantly knew what he meant; hanging.
She gasped slightly as the brown hedgehog walked up beside the hawk, "Lieutenant Jet, I appreciate your fervour, but I'm concerned about the effect this subject will have upon my daughter."
"My apologies, Governor Rose." said the hawk as he turned and walked away.
"Actually, I find it all fascinating." said the girl
"Yes, that's what concerns me." replied her father.
A moment later he walked away, leaving the girl alone again, she gazed out at the sea for a little while until something caught her eye, she walked to the side of the ship and looked over, a parasol was floating alone, it had been opened and was upside down, making it float on the surface, she smiled as she saw this, but her smiling face suddenly became filled with shock as she noticed a chunk of wood floating not far behind, a young blue hedgehog unconscious upon it, "Look! A boy, there's a boy in the water!" Vector, Lieutenant Jet and Governor Rose all looked over at her and ran to the side of the ship and looked around, Jet saw the boy and yelled, "Man overboard!" he turned to the other sailors scattered about the deck, "Man the ropes! Fetch a hook! Haul him aboard!" several sailors gathered up ropes and hooks and cast them over the side of the ship, the girl watched as the wooden platform was pulled closer to the ship and Vector reached down and carried the blue hedgehog onto the deck and lay him down, "He's still breathing." said Jet as he studied the boy, Vector looked over the side of the ship and his eyes widened, "Mary, mother of God!" a few others joined him at the side of the ship and all stared at the inferno blazing not far ahead. Two ships drifted on the surface, burning, "What happened here?" asked Governor Rose
"It's most likely the powder magazine. Merchant vessels run heavily armed." replied Jet as the mast of one ship broke off and tumbled into the sea, "Lot of good it did them." said Vector, "Everyone's thinking it, I'm just saying it; pirates."
Governor Rose laughed nervously, "There's no proof of that. It was probably an accident."
Meanwhile the young girl approached the blue boy curiously, she heard Jet say, "Rouse the captain immediately. Heave to and take in sail. Launch the boats." the sailors began to run about the deck again, one sailor picked up the boy and carried him away, the girl was about to follow when she felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned and saw her father, "Amy, I want you to accompany the boy. He'll be in your charge. Take care of him." Amy nodded and followed the sailor who carried the boy up to the helm. Several small boats left the ship with at least eight men in each, and rowed towards the flaming ships.
Amy kneeled down beside the blue hedgehog and started to stroke his cheek, suddenly the boy gasped and grabbed her wrist, Amy gasped as the boy held her wrist tightly as he panted and gasped for air, "It's okay, "she said in a calming voice, "My name's Amy Rose."
The boy continued gasping as he struggled to speak, "S..S..Sonic Turner."
Amy smiled, "I'm watching over you, Sonic."
Sonic then passed out and went limp, Amy studied him a moment more, then she noticed a piece of string around his neck, she moved his shirt collar aside and picked up the item tied to the string; a gold coin with strange markings all around it, and the centre was moulded in the shape of a skull. She undid the string and held it closer to her face, looking over the symbols, "Y..You're a pirate." she said, shocked.
"Has he said anything?" Jet asked as he and a few other sailors approached from behind, Amy gasped and stood up and hid the coin behind her back, "His name's Sonic Turner. That's all I found out." she answered
Jet nodded and looked at the other sailors, "Take him below."
As Sonic was carried off, Amy walked to the side of the ship and looked out over the water, it was then that she saw a black sailing ship in the distance, it's black sails tattered and full of holes, and yet it sailed perfectly. She struggled against the fog to see the flag at the tip of the mast, her eyes widened when she saw it was black with a skull and two crossed swords on it.
A fully grown Amy woke with a gasp to find herself in a lavish bedroom with paintings and varnished drawers, her bed was king-sized with thick white sheets. She looked over at the table beside her bed and saw an oil lamp still burning, the small flame flickering before her, she took the handle and climbed out of bed, brushing her long white silk night gown as she did. She walked over to a set of drawers on the other side of the room and opened the top drawer. All manner of items were inside, most of which were letters and other pieces of paper, Amy set the lamp on the drawer and picked up all the letters and set them down next to the lamp, she looked back down at the drawer and lifted a small handle at the bottom and the floor of the drawer came up revealing a secret compartment containing a small round object covered in dust, too thick to see what it was. She picked the item up and brushed off the dust, letting it's gold shine through, it was the coin she had taken from Sonic. Amy closed the drawer and gazed down at the coin, she then looked up at the mirror hanging on the wall over the drawers, she held the string attached to the coin and tied it round her neck, letting the coin rest on her chest.
She stared into the mirror at herself for a few moments when suddenly there was a knock at the door, Amy gasped and frantically opened the drawer and put the letters back before running over to her bed and hurriedly put on a thick dressing gown with a floral pattern. She could hear her father outside calling to her, "Amy? Are you alright?…Are you decent?"
"Yes," answered Amy as she pushed the coin down the front of her night gown, "Yes?"
Her father entered the room, he was wearing a blue coat and a white wig. He smiled at his daughter, "Oh, still abed at this hour?"
Two women came into the room, a light brown rabbit and a small white mouse, they were both wearing red and white maid outfits, they walked over to the window and pulled the curtains open. Sunlight poured into the room, Amy covered her eyes before looking out the window, a busy harbour lay down at the bottom of a hill. The sounds of people talking and bells and other noises were heard from the docks, "It's a beautiful day." said Amy's father as one of the maids carried a box into the room and stood near Amy holding it out to her, "I have a gift for you." he said
He lifted the lid off the box to reveal a yellow dress inside, Amy picked up the dress and held it up so she could see it; it was long and pale yellow with a floral pattern, "Oh, it's beautiful."
"Isn't it?" said her father, Amy turned to him with a sly smile, "May I inquire as to the occasion?"
"Does a father need an occasion to dote upon his daughter?"
Amy grinned broadly and walked behind a screen with the two maids following her, "Actually I uh…I had hoped you might wear it for the ceremony today."
"The ceremony?" asked Amy from behind the screen as she undressed.
"Captain Jet's promotion ceremony." her father answered
"I knew it!" said Amy as she momentarily stuck her head out from behind the screen.
"Commodore Jet, as he's about to become." he said proudly
Amy gasped as one of the maids help tie a corset tightly on her, "A fine gentleman, don't you think?" Governor Rose asked, "He fancies you, you know."
As the maid pulled at the corset strings, Amy let out a small cry.
"Amy? How's it coming?" her father asked
"It's difficult to say." Amy answered
"I'm told it's the latest fashion in London." he said
"Well women in London must've learned not to breathe!" replied Amy, struggling with the corset
Just then an old grey fox walked into the room, Governor turned to him, smiling, "My lord, you have a visitor."
Downstairs a tall blue hedgehog paced around a large pale white room, decorated with varnished tables, golden sconces (candle holders on the wall ;) and a large staircase leading up to a dining room and bedrooms. The hedgehog studied one of the sconces as he held a long thin box under his arm. He reached up and slid his fingers over the golden finish…the sconce suddenly broke off, landing in his hand. He gasped and panicked, he looked around frantically trying to find a place to hide it. Down beside him was an umbrella stand near the front door and quickly threw the sconce into it just as a man carrying a silver tray of cups and teapots walked into the room.
The hedgehog smiled nervously as the man walked through the room and left through a door at the end of the room.
"Ah! Mr Turner! Good to see you again." a voice said, the hedgehog turned and saw Governor Rose and the grey fox walking down the stairs.
"Good day sir, I have your order." said Sonic as he placed the box he was holding on a table and opened it, revealing a long sword with a gold hilt, he held it up and handed it to Governor Rose who unsheathed it and examined it, "The blade is folded steel." said Sonic, "That's gold filigree laid into the handle….if I may?" Sonic humbly held his hand out, Governor Rose handed him the blade. Sonic held a single finger just at the point where the blade met the hilt, the sword wonderfully balanced, "Perfectly balanced. The tang is nearly the full width of the blade." he then threw the sword upwards and spun it around his hands before holding it out to Governor Rose, who gasped and took a step back,.
"Impressive. Very impressive." he took the sword and glanced up and down the blade one last time before placing it back in it's sheathe, "Commodore Jet's going to be very pleased with this." he handed it back to Sonic, who smiled broadly as he placed it back in it's box, "Do pass my compliments onto your master."
Sonic's smile faded, "…I shall….A craftsmen is always pleased to hear his work is appreciated."
Sonic's ear twitched and he looked up the stairs; Amy was making her way down the stairs in the beautiful yellow dress, "Oh, Amy, you look absolutely stunning." Governor Rose said, Amy looked down at them, her face lit up when she saw the blue hedgehog, "Sonic! It's so good to see you!" she rushed down the stairs and stopped in front of him, "I had a dream about you last night."
"About me?" asked Sonic, stunned
"Amy, is that proper?" her father asked
"About the day we met. Remember?" she asked, ignoring him
"How could I forget, Miss Rose?" Sonic replied.
"Sonic, how many times must I ask you to call me Amy?" she said with a smile
"At least once more, Miss Rose. As always." he answered
Governor Rose smiled as Amy's faded into a cold stare, "There, see?" Amy's father said, !At least the boy has a sense of propriety. Now, we really must be going."
"Good day, Mr Turner." Amy said coldly, Sonic stood silent as Amy and her father walked out the large double doors and out onto a set of white stone stairs and climbed into a carriage.
"Good day…..Amy." Sonic whispered to himself as he watched the carriage trundle away towards the port.