Once upon a time, there lived a princess named Amy Rose. She was the fairest in the land, and was incredibly wealthy. She had everything she could ever want—except a friend. Despite how wealthy and pretty she was, she didn't have a single friend. She spent her days on the balcony of the castle, wishing she had a friend to play with. She had been so lonely, and begged her father, the king, countless times to let her go outside of the castle walls and play with the children that lived in the village. And countless times her father had said, "But my dear, darling daughter, I cannot allow you to play with dirty peasants. You are much too precious for that kind of nonsense."

And more often than not, men would come to the castle to take Princess Rose's hand in marriage. Amy had always wanted to get married, but alas, her father turned every one down. Eventually Amy had stopped expecting to get married; there was no reason to get excited about it anymore. No matter how many times she told her father that she loved the idea of getting married to these men, he always rejected them. He refused to, as he put it, give away his most beloved baby girl to a man who could afford nothing but a loaf of bread. But the princess cared not how wealthy the man was. She only cared for looks and love. She wanted to marry a man whom she could gaze upon for hours and who would love her no matter what she did.

She used to go for walks, but that soon ended. Three times a day, every day, Princess Amy would go for a walk. Her father would watch her from the balcony and made sure that nothing happened to her. If he suspected that something bad was about to happen, he would send his guards to bring her home. One day, Princess Amy went for her morning walk. She was walking around the stores and houses, when a bat came up to her. He had gray fur, blue eyes, and was very tall. He looked down at Amy and said, "Hello, Princess."

Amy had wondered what this handsome man wanted. They talked for a while, then the bat pulled out a knife and pointed it toward the princess.

"Now hand over those jewels or I'll cut you!" he said.

Princess Amy was frightened. She began to take the rings off her fingers. Suddenly, three large guards ran up to them. Two of them grabbed the bat and the other accompanied the princess.

"Damn you, Princess!" the bat said as the guards took him away. "You and your guards! And you father too!"

The guard led Amy to the castle. When she got back home, the king was waiting on his throne, his arms crossed. Amy gulped; she didn't like it when her father was mad. She went over to him and said, "What is the matter, Father?"

He replied by sighing, then said, "My dear daughter, you know that I love you very much, and I would never let anything happen to you. Furthermore, I cannot allow you to take walks anymore."

"Why not, Father?" the princess asked.

"Because, darling, I cannot allow what has happened this morning to happen again. You could have been injured, or even killed. I'm sorry, Amy, but that's the way it must be."

"But, Father—"

"No buts, princess," the king said sternly. "You are no longer allowed to take walks, and that's final."

The princess was crushed. Now she would no longer be able to walk around in the peaceful village. She loved smelling the fresh bread in the morning, tasting the free samples of cinnamon buns, hearing the angelic choir outside of the church. She had been fairly pleased with everything in the village. Why had her father taken the joy away from her? Just because of some little incident? The man had surely been sent to the guillotine for threatening the princess, and Amy was certain that it would never happen again. Why was the king being so unfair?

That had been over two months ago, and Amy had grown ever so lonely since then. She had tried sneaking out, but the king's guard always caught her. She hated all of her father's rules and just wanted to be free. She was 17, and if she had had a normal king for a father, then she would have married by now. It just wasn't fair!

One day, Princess Rose was on her balcony, looking out at the horizon among the village. She let out a long sigh.

"Oh, how I wish there were someway I could escape this prison and explore again," she said sadly.

The king overheard this, and walked up to his daughter. He placed his large hand on her shoulder and said softly, "My darling, if you wish so desperately to see the village up close again, I can deny it to you no longer."

"What are you saying, dear father?" Amy asked, pretending not to know what he meant.

"Amy, you are allowed to continue your walks in the village."

"Oh, Father, thank you so very much!" the princess exclaimed as she hugged her father.

She ran off to greet the village personally, and the king watched. He smiled to himself and knew that he had done the right thing. His daughter was so happy now, and so was he.

The Princess skipped all the way to the village. How happy she was to frolic in it again! She walked around and admired the beautiful town. It had not changes one bit since the day she had been banned from it. People saw her walking about and whispered to each other.

"Is that the Princess?"

"Unbelievable!"

"She's out of the castle."

"Does her father know about this?"

She smiled at each of the people that watched her. The baker immediately came up to her, holding a plate of fresh cinnamon buns.

"Greetings, Princess! Good to see you are finally out of the castle!" he beamed. "Would you care for a cinnamon bun, m'lady?"

"Of course, Garson," the princess said with a smile, and took one of the cinnamon buns. "You know how much I adore your cooking."

She took a bite of the bun and went of her way. She passed many things on the way: the butcher shop, the church, the local shopping market. She also saw how the townspeople's faces lit up when they saw her out of the castle. She was so glad to see smiling faces again. She had forgotten how long she had been away, trapped in the castle. She had been imprisoned so long, that she had lost track of the days.

She walked around a while longer, then came to a dock. She stood near the edge and closed her eyes, feeling the wind blow through her hair. She missed the smell of the air on the dock. And now that she thought about it, she had missed a lot of things.

She sighed and then turned around. She walked towards the village in an attempt to return to the castle. She was watching the town as she passed by it, but not watching where she was going. She ran into someone who was also not watching where they were going, and fell back onto the ground. She looked up and her eyes glimmered.

There, standing in front of her, was a blue hedgehog, dressed in a long brown robe. He extended his hand and said, "Sorry about that. I'm never watching where I'm going."

His gleaming smile hypnotized her. Princess Rose had never before been smitten like she was being now. This hedgehog was extremely handsome, and she didn't know what to do. Her brain finally found itself and she took his hand. He helped her up and watched her dust herself off. After her dress was clean, she looked at him and smiled very acutely.

His cheerful expression made him seem even more of a gentleman. Finally, he said, "Again, sorry about that. I'm not from here and where I'm from, you never have to watch where you're going because there are barely ever any people outside. I hope I didn't hurt you."

Amy shook her head and said, "No, no. Of course not. I'm just fine, thank you."

"You talk very formally; and what a pretty dress you have on! You must be rich."

"Yes, I am a princess," she replied, feeling proud of herself.

"Wow. I've always wanted to meet a princess," he said. "Oddly, though, I never thought of a princess being so beautiful."

Princess Rose blushed. "Oh, good sir, I am only fair-looking. There are other princesses much more eloquent than I."

"I doubt that," he replied, and smiled again. It took her breath away.

"Might I ask your name, lovely Princess?" he asked, bowing as he did so.

"I am known to the village people as Princess Rose," she answered. "But you may call me Amy."

"Nice name," he complimented. "A-m-y. I like the sound of that."

Just then, two guards came up to them.

"Princess, the king requests that you return home immediately," one of them said.

"Yes," she replied, and curtsied to the handsome hedgehog. "Good day to you, sir."

With that the guards led her home, and the hedgehog was left standing there alone. He watched them go, and as soon as the princess was out of sight, he let out his breath. The Princess was stunning. He had never seen royalty so attractive before; certainly not in the kingdom whence he lived, where the princess be so ugly, that she hide out in her castle and forbids anyone else to show their face in the village.

"Which is why I left," he said to himself. "And I never want to go back."

The Princess stepped into her chambers and lay on her bed. Her father walked in and sat down next to her on the edge of the bed.

"Princess, I must speak with you," he said.

"Father, I think I'm in love," she said without looking at him.

"What's this?" he asked, and edge of anger in his voice. "My daughter? In love? What makes you speak such nonsense?"

"Father, I met a man today. While I was out on my walk," she told him.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" the king asked.

"No, no, Father," she replied calmly. "Of course not. He was handsome, and gentle, and polite. Father, I am telling you, he is the one I want to marry."

"Enough!" the king shouted. "You have known him for but a day and you wish to marry him? Do you even know his name?"

"No, Father, but—"

"Just as I thought!" His eyes were full of rage. "You don't even know his name! Does he know yours?"

"Yes, Father, but—"

"Amy, do not try to argue with your father any longer!"

"Yes, Father…"

He took a while to calm down, and in a gentle voice said, "My dear Amy, you are growing up too quickly. I do not wish to lose my precious baby girl just yet. You must never speak to this boy again—it's not right. And if he tried to speak with you, ignore him. No matter how hard it may be, you must not let him get inside your head. Please, Princess, I beg you."

"Yes, Father. I promise."

Across town, the young blue hedgehog was happily strolling along. Just think: he had fallen in love with a princess. Of all people, a princess! What luck! He had never before believed in love at first sight, but he had now realized that it was possible after all.

"Love really does exist!" he pined, and exited the village into a meadow. He jumped a few rocks and ducked under some tree branches, then finally came to a hut against a large boulder. He knocked three times on the bamboo door and it opened. He walked inside, the smile still on his face.

He passed through a curtain and stopped before a table. On the table, a crystal ball was placed, and there was a tall chair on the far side of it. The hedgehog went up to the table.

"Fortune teller, my fortune came true! I met a princess today!" he beamed.

An old woman came from behind another curtain and sat in the tall chair. She spun her hands around the crystal ball.

"Of course it came true, my dear," she said in a scratchy voice. "All fortunes come true."

The hedgehog hurriedly took out a gold coin and handed it to the woman. "Please, I must know if she loves me."

The fortune teller took the coin and put it in her sleeve. "Of course, dear boy."

She closed her eyes and twirled her hands around the crystal ball again. Images appeared in it.

"I see the princess," she said. "She is thinking of you. Dreaming of seeing you again."

The hedgehog smiled. The princess did love him!

"Oh, thanks you, fortune teller!" he said gleefully, and was about to run out of the hut, when she raised her hand.

"Wait, for there is more."

The hedgehog turned around. He walked over to the table and waited to hear the rest.

"I now see her father," she started. "He is most upset."

"Oh, come on," the hedgehog mumbled to himself. "There's always an obstacle."

"But," she continued, "if you should get past him, you shall get to the Princess."

The smoke in the magic crystal ball whirled and showed an image of Princess Rose. Then the image disappeared.

"But, how do I get past the king?" the hedgehog asked.

"Come, my dear, I shall find something to help you."

The old woman gestured for him to follow her into the back room. He followed her behind the curtain.

"I think I have something here," she commented as they approached a shelf. She ran her finger across the various bottles and finally stopped on one. It was filled with orange liquid. She took it from the shelf and popped off the top, then handed it to the hedgehog.

"Drink this, and you will become invulnerable," she said. "And you will easily get past the king and his security."

The hedgehog took her word and grabbed the bottle. He drank every last drop and gave the empty container back to her. He felt ultimately powerful, as if he could wipe out an entire army on his own—and not get a single scratch.

He turned around and headed towards the door of the hut. On his way out, he turned to her and said, "Thanks you, fortune teller."

With that, he closed the door and a crooked smile appeared on the old woman's face. Then she let out a wild, screech-like laugh and went back to her seat. She again twirled her hands around the crystal ball and an image of the blue hedgehog running appeared from the smoke.

She laughed again and said, "Little does he know that by drinking the elixir, he has gained not only the ability to survive the most impossible tasks, but also has gained a curse upon his lips."

The image slurred and reappeared as the hedgehog kissing the princess—the woman was foreshadowing the events to come.

"And when he kisses the princess, she will die."

The crystal ball showed Princess Rose dying, then the old woman transformed into a beautiful young sorceress.

A smile appeared from her lips. "And Sonic the Hedgehog will be mine."