Prologue

(Set in Camelot)

She wept on her knees in the thick, cold mud, raindrops disguising her tears as their own. She let out a strangled sob as the whips lashed at her like the lightning slashing the sky above. A small rose hoglet about the age of five was nestled in her arms, sobbing openly and drawing the attention of the knights that were abusing her mother now. Though she could hardly understand a thing, she tried her best to hear the men.

The two hedgehog knights were obviously angry, and yelled to one another over the deafening roar of thunder around them. One of the men, the shorter of the two, was quick to back down in the argument with his fellow soldier. The small hoglet noticed that, but thought nothing of it as her childish innocence suggested.

The smaller male turned away from the other man and crossed his arms, but as he did this the other soldier gripped his shoulder, hard, and twisted him back around, only to punch him hard the gut. The small soldier crumpled in the dirt, and his seemingly superior drew to one knee and whispered harshly into his bent ear.

Thought the two females could not hear, they knew it was not a pleasant conversation. The taller superior male stood once again and the small soldier was quick to do the same. He wouldn't dream of turning his back on the other again.

The two men seemed to put their differences behind them as they nodded to each other and the larger male kicked her elder female onto her back and ripped the child from the mother's arms. He unsheathed his sword, which glinted after catching a lightning strike, shimmering in the mother's eye. She forced a gasp and tried her best to stand. The small soldier with the whip noticed and turned to lash at her again, which forced her to shrink back in shock, knowing there was nothing she could do to save her beloved daughter now. She closed her eyes and cried.

She cried for her family,

for her friends.

She cried for her home

and for her child

She cried for her horrid life

And she cursed her king. Aloud.

This action was instantly regretted as the taller knight leaned down near her face and slowly removed his helmet, the shiny metal glinting in the coming sunrise.

The King kneeled and glared his blood red eyes right into her pale green eyes. His mouth turned to a frown and if his eyes could have possibly narrowed more, they would have. She gasped and covered her mouth with her bloodied hand as even more tears stained her soft muzzle. He looked to the ground and let out a quiet chuckle before slowly lifting his head to look her in the eyes once more.

"We meet again, Elizabeth. I thought I'd never see you again after you escaped the dungeon. I see you've been busy in my absence. I know the child's not mine. You'll come to regret that, and leaving me, Elizabeth. I shall take the child and she will marry my son. You remember my son, right Elizabeth? Shadow! Come to me."

A smaller hedgehog appeared from thin air, holding a shimmering red gem. Elizabeth gasped as she looked at the boy. He was just as frightening as she remembered. His fur was an even darker black than his father's, and his body was graced with ruby red highlights instead of a faded teal like his father, King Mephiles. He wore a long red cape off his right shoulder and wore a small golden crown upon his head. He wore the same gloves and metal shoes as she remembered, but his eyes had changed from what they had been those six long years ago. He was four then. Now he would be ten.

His crimson eyes had once been innocent, almost tinted pink. They were full of wonder and curiosity, and just a little bit of hope. Now they were dark with fires burning deep inside them. Elizabeth could no longer read them. She could tell his innocent attitude had been forgotten, thanks to his father, and she feared more for her daughter's future than her own impending one.

King Mephiles looked back to his subordinate soldier and nodded toward the young girl. The soldier gripped the girl's arm and threw her at Mephiles' feet. The king held picked her off the dirt and handed her to his son. The boy gave a confused look to his father, but accepted the pink toddler anyway.

"What is her name, Elizabeth?" She answered carefully, already knowing her fate. "She is Amelia Rose. I call her Amy. She is five." "And she's not mine? You're certain?" "Yes, she is not yours. I met another." "And where is he now?" By this point Mephiles was glaring at Elizabeth.

"...He is dead. When I came home to warn him of your army, he was dead in our bedroom. I grabbed Amy and ran for the door, but that was when your soldier found me. I didn't get to say goodbye."

"Good. You should know I will punish you now. You never should have left the castle, and now you will pay the price. Your daughter now belongs to my son to do with as her pleases." Shadow turned to his father with a sour look at that comment. "As for you, I hope you find Hell to be as horrid as it is said to be."

Elizabeth had hardly enough time to widen her eyes before Mephiles angrily lifted his sword and bore it down on her with a crazed glint in his eye and a dark smirk over his grinding teeth. She sounded a gurgled gasp as her sitting body was pinned to the ground by the sword, which had sheathed itself through the woman, the hilt resting upon her head and the tip deep within the dirt. Her empty eyes stared straight into her daughters.

King Mephiles turned to his son with a frown, dusting off his hands. Shadow was used to the gruesome scene, and thought nothing of it as he followed his father to their horses. "It's a shame, of course," stated King Mephiles, "She was always one of my favorites."

Shadow let out a quiet snort as he mounted his horse and cradled the sobbing form in his arms. The two males turned to the Castle and disappeared in a whirlwind of dust.

So this was my first upload! I'm planning for this to be a long story with lots of chapters! I hope this prologue wasn't too short, but it's like one in the morning, so… Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this! Please favorite, follow, review, all that good stuff! Thanks for reading!

~MaverickEverest