Hey there, folks and folkettes! Been a while since I published anything, huh? Well, let's rectify that right away!
Oh, just in case anyone gets confused, Rosie and Drago are both from the Archie Sonic comics.
Once upon a time, there lived a little rabbit by the name of Cream. Cream was a sweet-natured girl, and everyone who saw her liked her, none moreso than her dear pet Chao Cheese, who had been adopted by the rabbit at a young age, and had taking to floating by her mistress's side day and night from that very moment.
Naturally, being such a good-hearted little individual, Cream had several friends in the village where she lived with her mother Vanilla, as well as in the surrounding area. One of these was Rosie, a kind and grandmotherly old woodchuck who had been a particularly close friend of the family ever since Vanilla was a girl, and who doted on Cream as though the girl really WAS her granddaughter. The feeling was mutual, and the highlight of Cream's week was when she and her mother would walk over to Rosie's little red-brick cottage deep in the heart of the woods to share afternoon tea and baked goods, as well as have a little talk about this and that. It had been on one of these visits where Rosie had presented Cream with a very special present – a beautiful handmade hooded cloak in a delightful, not to mention appropriate, creamy-white colour. Cream had loved it from the moment she received it, so much so that she wore it as much as possible whenever she went. As a result, it didn't take long until she was given the nickname 'Little Cream Riding Hood'.
One fine summer's day, while Cream was playing with Cheese, she heard her mother calling her from the door of their little house, and hastened to answer the summons. As she drew near, she noticed two things. The first was that Vanilla was holding a basket covered with a chequered cloth and packed with good things to eat and drink. The second was that she looked a little concerned.
"Mother?" Cream asked nervously. "Is something wrong?"
"I'm afraid so, my dear girl," Vanilla replied. Noticing the worried expression on her daughter's face, she hastened to reassure her. "Cheer up; it isn't as bad as you think. You see, I have just heard from the baker's lad that Rosie has fallen ill, so I was wondering if you would take this basket of goodies to her and cheer her up a bit. I'd take it myself, but I'm rather busy today, and besides I believe you're old enough to start walking there by yourself."
Cream nodded her head so fast it was practically a blur. "Oh yes, Mother, yes, yes!" she cried eagerly, clapping her hands in excitement. "I'll go right away and keep her company! We'll play games, and sing songs, and – "
"Alright, alright, calm down!" Vanilla laughed in amusement, before her face took on a more serious expression. "Now before you go, Cream, there's something I need to tell you," she said, leaning in a little closer to emphasize her point. "Whatever you do, do NOT leave the forest path, and do NOT talk to strangers. After all, you can never tell what sort of danger is out there, so it's better to be safe than sorry."
"Don't worry, I'll be careful, I promise," said Cream. "We'll BOTH be careful, won't we Cheese?" This last comment was aimed at her little pet, who squeaked in agreement.
So, after putting on her precious hooded cloak and hugging her mother goodbye, Cream set off down the path towards Rosie's house, Cheese fluttering in her wake. The sun shone, the birds sang, and soon the little rabbit was whistling a happy tune as she walked. But just as she had reached a part of the woods where the trees grew particularly thick and little sunlight reached the forest floor, she stopped with a startled cry, for a figure stepped out in front of her – a tall white wolf clad in a blue shirt with torn-off sleeves, a blue belt, blue pants and blue boots.
This was Drago Wolf, a good-for-nothing troublemaker who had been thrown out of his Wolf Pack for lying, cheating, stealing and generally being unpleasant. It was said that there was no low he wouldn't stoop to in order to get what he wanted, and he was disliked and feared throughout both the village and the forest. He had smelled the goodies in Cream's basket, and come to take them for his own, by force if necessary. But Drago was as clever as he was rotten, and he knew that attacking a child, even this deep into the forest, would only draw unwanted attention. So he decided to use cunning to get his hands on the delicious treats.
"My apologies, young miss, for frightening you," he purred smoothly. "But when I heard your delightful little voice, I simply HAD to come and see who was making that charming sound, and, well, now I have." He smirked inwardly as he saw Cream blush from the compliment he had given her. "I hope you'll forgive my asking, but – where are you and your Chao headed by yourselves?"
Cream forgot her mother's warning about talking to strangers. "Well, Mr Wolf, sir," she said, "we're going to visit Miss Rosie, who lives in the little red-brick cottage the heart of the woods. She's sick, and Mother has sent Cheese and me with a basket of goodies to cheer her up."
"Has she now! And what sort of goodies are they?"
"Oh, the usual, you know - cakes, cookies, cordial, fresh fruits, newly-baked bread – "
"And flowers, I presume?"
Cream blinked in surprise. "Flowers?"
"Well of course. After all, everyone knows there's nothing like flowers to make someone feel better when they're sick." Drago's secret smirk grew wider when he saw how worried the little rabbit looked. "Why, your mother didn't include flowers, did she?" he asked in mock surprise. "Still, never mind – I'm sure Miss Rosie will be pleased with what you have."
"Maybe," Cream muttered, feeling a little less happy than she had before. "But I want to REALLY make her feel better. If only – what is it, Cheese?" For Cheese was tugging at her mistress's cloak and gesturing towards a nearby oak tree. Glancing in the direction indicated Cream saw a huge carpet of all sorts of flowers – roses, tulips, bluebells, lilies, daisies, violets, carnations, etc. At once her face lit up.
"I could take some of those to Miss Rosie! She'd be so happy!" Then her face fell, as something occurred to her. "Oh…but I promised my mother I wouldn't leave the path. Oh well." She started to walk on, but she had only taken a few steps when Drago gently grabbed her wrist.
"Now hold on, little missy! There's no need to walk away with such a sad face," he said in a falsely reassuring tone. "After all, the flowers are only about three feet away from the path – if you need to run from something, it'll only take a matter of moments to get to safety. But in all honesty, I don't see what you might need to escape from." Other than me, he added to himself.
Cream thought about what he had just said, and then nodded. "You're right. Thanks, mister!" And with that, she skipped over to the flowers and began to pick the ones she thought were prettiest, assisted by Cheese. After a moment, she looked up to see that Drago had gone. She was surprised at this, but quickly shrugged it off and returned to her task. Perhaps he had something else to do, she thought.
Drago did indeed have something else to do, but it wasn't a good thing. Upon seeing Cream and Cheese engrossed in their task, he had turned and run down the path as fast as his legs could carry him. Within minutes, he spotted a little red-brick dwelling, and realizing that it could only be the cottage he had been told about, he hurried over to it and knocked on the thick wooden door. At the faint cry of "Come in!" he lifted the latch and entered the cottage, being careful to close the door behind him.
Rosie, who had been lying tucked up in bed feeling a little bored, sat up in surprise, her eyes as wide as saucers. "Good heavens! What's all this?!" she exclaimed, clutching the blankets tightly. A second later, she was forced to dodge as Drago charged towards the bed and attempted to grab her. Ducking under his arms, she grabbed the covers and threw them over his head, forcing him to pause in his assault in order to pull them off. While he was distracted, Rosie jumped out of bed and hurried towards the door. But in her haste she didn't notice that there was a wooden stool in her path and she tripped over it, banging her head against the surface of the solid pine table as she fell. She crumpled to the ground and lay quite still, her eyes closed.
Drago, having finally struggled out of the blankets, ran over to the elderly woodchuck and felt for a pulse - after all, this was just a simple matter of 'fool and grab'; there was no need for complications like dead bodies. Finding one he sighed with relief, before seizing Rosie's arm and dragging her over to the nearby wardrobe. He opened it, bundled her inside (pulling off her embroided nightcap as he did so), slammed it shut, and grabbed the bedcovers. Placing them back on the bed, he straightened them out as best as he could, then got into the bed and placed the nightcap on his head, before lying down and pulling the blankets up as high as they would go.
A minute or so later, Cream came skipping towards the cottage, happily swinging her basket in one hand and clutching a large bunch of flowers in the other. Cheese was now riding in the basket, holding her own bouquet and squeaking merrily. Reaching the door, the little rabbit knocked on it: tap tap tap."Miss Rosie! It's me, Little Cream Riding Hood!"
From within, a voice called out "Lift the latch and come in, my dear girl. I've been hoping you'd come to see me."
Cream was a little surprised at how hoarse and frail Rosie sounded today, but she put it down to illness. As she opened the door and stepped inside the cottage, however, she suddenly began to feel nervous for some reason. Her sense of unease only grew stronger as she laid eyes on the figure in the bed. "Miss Rosie? Is that you?"
A chuckle emerged from the bedclothes. "Why, of course it's me, dear. Who else would it be?"
Trying to shake off her bad feeling, Cream placed her basket and the flowers on the table, then picked up Cheese and slowly started to approach the bed. "Miss Rosie," she said carefully, "please don't take this the wrong way, but you look a little…different today. Are you very ill?"
"Yes," came the croaked-out response, followed by a weak cough. "Very."
Cream drew a little nearer, then stopped and stared. "Why, Miss Rosie, what big ears you have!" she exclaimed (she wasn't normally so tactless, but she was quite surprised).
"What? Oh! Oh, all the better to hear you, my dear."
The little rabbit frowned. "And…what big eyes you have."
"All the better to see you and your goodies, my dear," the figure answered, sitting up slightly.
Feeling very uneasy at this point, Cream began to back away slightly. "And…what a big nose you have."
"All the better to smell your goodies, my dear," the figure replied, reaching up to remove the nightcap.
"A-and…" Cream swallowed heavily, ready to run. "And what big teeth you have, Miss Rosie."
"All the better to eat your goodies!" shouted Drago, throwing off the blankets and preparing to pounce on the now-screaming rabbit so that he could subdue her. Before he could do so, however, Cheese wriggled out of her mistress's arms and flew straight at him, ramming into his stomach. Winded, he dropped to his knees and clutched his stomach, which gave Cream time to snatch up the basket and pull Cheese to safety before running out of the cottage as fast as her legs would carry her. But Drago quickly recovered and raced after her, determined to get his hands on her treats. And as he was so much faster than Cream, it wasn't long before he caught up with her and grabbed the edge of her basket, trying to yank it away from her. Gasping, Cream held the handle with both hands and pulled it back towards herself, fear lending strength to her little body. Cheese tried to help, fluttering backwards while clutching her mistress's arm, but it was clear that the two of them were fighting a losing battle.
Happily, it just so happened that help wasn't too far away. Local treasure hunter Knuckles the Echidna was on his way home after a hard day's work, and he happened to hear a cry for help. Hurrying to the scene, he arrived just in time to see Drago successfully pull the basket from Cream's hands and push the little rabbit over. His strong sense of justice refusing to let such an act go unpunished, he stepped forward. "And just what's going on here?" he demanded
Startled at having been caught, Drago turned and ran. He hadn't gone far, however, when Knuckles slammed his spiked fist into the ground so hard that it caused the entire forest floor to shake. Drago was knocked off his feet, the basket slipping from his fingers and the contents spilling everywhere. He pulled himself upright, but Knuckles charged over and used his treasure hunting kitbag as a makeshift bludgeon to hit the wolf in the back of the head and send him sprawling once more. Opening the bag, the echidna took out a coil of rope and used it to bind the dazed wolf's hands behind his back, before turning his attention to Cream and Cheese, who had just finished gathering up the goodies and replacing them in the basket. "Are you two alright?" he asked in concern.
Cream looked up and nodded. "Yes we are, thanks to you Mr Echidna," she said gratefully. "I don't know WHAT we would have done if you hadn't come along! Why, when I saw that mean old wolf in Miss Rosie's bed, I -" Then she gasped, clapping her hands over her mouth. "OH MY GOODNESS! MISS ROSIE!" With that, she grabbed the basket and raced back to the cottage, Cheese hurrying to catch up with her mistress. Knuckles stood staring for a moment, then forced Drago to his feet and headed after the girls.
Bursting through the door of the cottage, Cream looked around frantically. "Miss Rosie! Miss Rosie, where are you?!" she called desperately, hoping that nothing bad had happened to her dear old honorary grandmother.
A muffled banging emanating from the wardrobe caught her attention, and she quickly ran over and pulled open the door, supporting Rosie as the woodchuck staggered out. "Miss Rosie, are you ok? Did that horrible wolf do anything to you?" she asked worriedly as Cheese chirped in concern.
"Calm down, my dear girl, I'm fine," Rosie said soothingly, before wincing a little and rubbing her head. "Well, I have a bit of a headache, but other than that I'm fine. Anyway, I should be asking YOU those questions. Did that beast -"
"Don't worry, he didn't get a chance to do anything," said a voice, and the two turned to see Knuckles and Drago standing in the doorway, the wolf prevented from fleeing by the echidna's hand on his shoulder.
"Mr Echidna!" Cream cried happily. "Miss Rosie, Mr Echidna helped me get my basket back from that mean old bully," she added to her elderly friend.
Knuckles dismissed the profusion of thanks he received with a wave of his hand. "It was nothing," he muttered, sounded a little embarrassed. "Now I'd better deliver this ruffian to the proper authorities." And with that he left, dragging Drago behind him.
Cream got Rosie settled back into bed and tucked her in, then presented her with the basket of treats and the flowers. The rest of the day was spent in peaceful conversation and food consumption, until it was time for Cream to return home. Vanilla wasn't very happy when she learned that her daughter had broken both her promises, but she decided that the scare Cream had received was enough of a punishment. And from that day forth, Cream never strayed from the forest path.
THE END
Yes, Knuckles is canonically a treasure hunter – it's something he likes doing when he's not guarding the Master Emerald.
So, what do we think?