Prologue - Beyond Prophecy
There were many people scurrying around the hallowed halls of the palace today.
Functionaries, chambermaids, ladies-in-waiting and not a few Knights were all jockeying to be the first to see Queen Aleena's newborn children. All wanted to be the first to be called into the Queen's chamber, to be given the great honour of announcing to all of Mobius the names of the new royal brood.
Shadow the Hedgehog, First Knight of the Realm and personal bodyguard to the Queen, did not bother to engage in the petty posturing the rest of the household staff were participating in. He had no interest in their power games. If the Queen wanted him to attend, she would call him, simple as that.
Instead, he sat on a comfortable couch in the parlour, presenting the appearance of someone perfectly relaxed and comfortable, his ruby-red eyes half-lidded as if in torpor, but everyone in the palace knew better than to sneak up on him, as doing so was liable to end up with your head being removed from your shoulders.
There was a reason Queen Aleena kept him as her bodyguard.
Feeling as comfortable and relaxed as he ever did, Shadow allowed his mind to drift. It had been almost forty years since he had first taken a position at the Palace. He had not been accepted elsewhere, branded a freak and an abomination pretty much everywhere else, the easy acceptance granted him by the Royal Family had come as no small surprise to the black hedgehog. His skills and abilities being what they were, he had risen rapidly from squire to apprentice then on to full Knight, gaining much honour in his defence of the kingdom and the Royal Family, eventually gaining the much-coveted position of First Knight of the Realm.
Until that blasted Prophet had appeared.
The Oracle of Delphius, hailed as the greatest and most accurate Prophet on Mobius had appeared in Court fifteen years ago, first going into private consultations with the King and Queen, as well as young Princess Aleena. The Oracle had caused a big stir among the Court. Speculation had been rife, and it had doubled when the Royal Family emerged from their discussions with the Oracle, all looking pale, their eyes filled with grief and fear.
While that had certainly not endeared the Oracle to Shadow, things quickly got worse when the Oracle had requested a private meeting with the First Knight of the Realm.
Shadow felt his fingers clench into a fist at the thought. The Oracle had told Shadow that he must remain close to the Royal Family, because it was destined that Shadow's Life Mate would come to him through them, and Shadow would then gain what few Mobians ever had - a true bonded mate.
It had been fifteen years of waiting and watching and hoping, and still nothing. He had not found a mate among the Royal Family's allies, friends or advisors. All he had gained were tortured dreams about a pair of beautiful emerald eyes, taunting him with their impossible brightness. Eyes in a face that didn't exist.
His rising anger was abruptly quashed when he heard signs of a greater commotion near the doorway to the bedchamber. The middle-aged Stoat who had been acting as midwife stepped out of the chamber, hey eyes scanned the hopeful crowd, searching for one person until she locked gaze with Shadow.
"Sir Shadow," She called, "Her Majesty requests your attendance,"
Shadow pushed his way through the gathered nobles and senior servants, returning the spiteful and envious glares sent his way with a satisfied smirk. He entered quietly, as was his habit, bowing gracefully before the Queen and her children.
"Hail Queen Aleena and hail to the new life-sparks that have blessed us with their arrival." He spoke the ritual phrase softly, but precisely. Aleena smiled at him as he rose from his bow.
"Hail Sir Shadow, Knight of our Realm. We thank you for your blessings and your service," Ritual formulas dutifully said, they exchanged a grin,
"Now that's over with, would you like to meet the brats who put me through agony for the past nine hours?"
A low chuckle was the response as Aleena scooted to the edge of the bed, picking up a bundle out of the large, ornately carved cradle.
"This is Manic, my youngest," She smiled, turning aside the blanket to reveal a tiny, green-quilled hedgehog.
"He looks like his Father," Shadow said quietly, regretting the words when he saw Aleena's eyes darken with grief.
"Yes," She replied sadly. Her husband - Jericho, the Crown Prince - had died of a rare fever seven months previously. He had never even known he was going to be a father. Quickly, she returned Manic to his crib and picked up a second bundle, "This is Sonia, my second child," Holding out her newborn daughter for Shadow's inspection. Shadow saw the purple-pink quills and fur and smiled,
"She looks a lot like you, Your Majesty,"
"Which means she will be a hell-raiser when she grows up, no doubt!" Aleena chuckled wearily, putting down Sonia and picking up the final bundle, "And this is my eldest, Sonic."
As she turned aside the blanket, Shadow got only a momentary impression of cobalt-blue quills and obsidian-dark eyes before his entire world reeled as if he had been struck.
Gasping desperately for breath, Shadow felt his heart thump painfully against his ribs, his head felt full of noise as his vision slowly went fuzzy…but he couldn't look away from the child's eyes.
"Shadow!" Aleena's voice cut through the confusion, and he felt everything suddenly snap back into focus. He felt dizzy, shaken, adrenaline coursed through his veins as though he had just emerged from a battle, "Are you all right?" The queen's voice seemed to come from far away.
"I…" The automatic 'I'm fine' died on his lips. He didn't feel fine, not at all. He felt…confused.
"What happened? Do you want me to call the doctor?"
"No," Shadow said firmly, raising his eyes to meet those of his queen. He swallowed hard, "I know what happened. It is…no threat to my health."
Shadow stared at the tiny baby in Aleena's arms, looking into the dark eyes of the child, feeling cheated by fate, "I think I may have just found my Life Mate," He said, his voice sounding hoarse.
"Oh…Shadow…" Aleena murmured. She knew Shadow had waited for fifteen years to find his mate, and now he would have to wait another sixteen at least before he would even be able to court his life mate. "Destiny is truly a cruel mistress, isn't it?"
"Yes, my Queen," Shadow sighed. He had found his life mate, but had no fewer frustrations. More years of waiting lay ahead, for him. And what of those dreams or emerald green eyes? Were they just dreams, or were they a sign of some other disaster to come?
"Destiny is even crueller than you think, Your Majesty," a new voice said from behind him. Shadow whirled around, dropping automatically into a fighting stance. He didn't have his sword, but he was perfectly capable of fighting without it. His red eyes blazed when he saw the intruder.
"Delphius!" Shadow snarled, "Come to peddle your cheap promises again?"
The prophet held up a hand, "I gave you no false promise, Sir Knight. Nor am I hear to fight you."
"Then why are you here, Oracle?" The Queen asked, keeping her composure impressively well.
"I am here to warn you. You and your family are all in terrible danger,"
"What is this danger?" Shadow demanded.
The Oracle bowed his head,
"Robotnik." He said.
To Be Continued in 'Run Through the Light'
--
Author's Notes: Yes, I know. It's short, it ends on a cliff-hanger and nothing much actually happens. I just couldn't get the idea out of my head. Oh, and I know that in canon, Sonia is the oldest, but Sonic as the eldest makes more sense in the larger context of the story I'm building here.