CHAPTER 1
Crowds. Noise. Fake smiles plastered on painted faces. Shadow hated all of these things, so a grand event that required the presence of every lord and lady in the kingdom, such as the one he was currently in, put him in one of his moods. Don't get him wrong. The setup was gorgeous- the ivory marble floor glistened like diamonds underneath his feet, the golden stairs beside him were a waterfall of sunlight, a grand chandelier hung above the dance floor, and ribbons of all different colors decorated the large Ballroom.
A clear night peeked through the glass windows that stretched from the floor to the ceiling all around the place. The music was slow- a waltz for the ladies to flirt and man, did they flirt. Shadow sneered at the sight. They all looked like dolls. Beautiful dolls, yes, but still lifeless. They moved and spoke and laughed, but all Shadow saw were dancing dresses of different styles and color. Souless. Empty. That's what he thought of the social world in which he found himself in.
It was at times like these where his mother would scold him for the frown and glaring eyes that always seemed to accompany his tormented mind. Of course, no scolding would ever tumble from those lips again. Not when she lay cold and buried in the dirt right at the edge of the Royal Orchard, the only place he was allowed to bury her. It wasn't the Royal Gardens, but it suited him just fine.
Since her death, no one blamed him for hating the world.
But enough of that. It was better to focus on the sophisticated chaos in front of him than remember the death of an unfortunate maid.
Yes, an unfortunate maid indeed.
Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink.
"Excuse me, but may I please have everyone's attention?"
Shadow looked up and nearly sighed with displeasure. His father, the Great King Williams, was about to announce his half-brother, Sonic, as the crown prince. Was he jealous? Of course! He was faster, stronger, and brighter than Sonic and had proved it many times over the past few years. Did he ever think he had a chance on becoming crown prince? No. He was the unwanted prince born from a lowly servant's womb- a curse cast on the King for being disloyal to his wife- Sonic's shadow, which is exactly why he was named Shadow by his father.
Every day in the sixteen years of life he had lived so far, Shadow watched Sonic be loved by everyone and felt himself falling into a dark, stone well full of loneliness and anger. The only thing that kept him sane all this time was one song- Maria. A beautiful song for certain, but its singer was unknown to him...
"Pouting again, Shadow?" a charming voice echoed in his ears.
Shadow turned around to see a white bat, a lady from the House of Wings, glide down the stairs. "Rouge, as lovely as ever."
Rouge smiled brazenly at Shadow, batting her eyelashes in a way that turned a few heads their direction. Shadow rolled his eyes as if to say 'Knock it off!'
They both turned their attention back to the stage where Sonic was just about to be given his crown.
As the silver metal settled onto Sonic's head, the applause began. Two females walked up to Sonic and kissed his cheeks- a pink hedgehog on the left and a brown squirrel on the right, Amy Rose and Sally Acorn, both ladies from prominent households, competing to be Sonic's wife and the next Queen.
"Disgusting filth." Rouge muttered under her breath. "How can a lady just throw herself on a male like that?"
Just then, a red echidna knight walked by, probably doing his duty by protecting some important noble.
Rouge smirked and strutted away, stalking the knight. Shadow sighed. She did this often, so he had grown used to it.
As he tried to keep Rouge in sight, which was a bit of a challenging since she blended so well with the crowd, his eyes fell on emerald mirrors. They locked him into place and he and their owner exchanged fire.
'Flirting with a Lady of the Wings, again? She'll only bring you trouble.' the emerald eyes sighed.
'Not as much trouble as you bring.' he shot back.
'Trouble? Me?' she laughed. 'If anything, I'll be bringing this kingdom paradise once I become Queen.'
'Lady Acorn might win. She seems to be trying her hardest to please the crown prince over there by the fountain. And he's falling for it. I can see the stars in his eyes...'
The connection was severed for a brief moment as the green eyes flickered over to Sonic and Sally, confirming Shadow's hint.
'You distracted me.'
'I'm so sorry my handsome face caused you to be distracted, Lady Rose.'
Amy rolled her eyes. 'Don't flatter yourself.'
'Didn't have to.' Shadow smirked.
Amy stomped over to Sonic and by forcefully pulling him onto the dance floor, began to dance. After watching them twirl a few times, Shadow returned his gaze to Rouge who had finally caught her prey. No doubt she would be missing for the rest of the night.
The party had started to wind up with people getting drunk and Shadow desperately wanted to go back into his rooms and fall asleep. An impossible task to accomplish when his father was headed straight for him.
"Shadow." King Williams called.
"Father." Shadow replied.
"I know that you feel as if you had deserved to be crown prince. So in order to dispel any cheated feelings, I will give you the honor of marrying the lady Sonic doesn't. Now, Amy Rose and Sally Acorn are both wonderful ladies, so whether you marry Amy or Sally, you are guaranteed a good wife!"
Shadow clenched his teeth and took quick, sharp intakes of breath to calm himself before replying. "Thank you, father."
The king beamed at him before moving on, never noticing how Shadow's clenched fists trembled with anger.
He had to get out of here.
Turning sharply around, Shadow stormed past the guarded doors and into the stables. The horses whined at the force of his frustration and stomped the ground with nervous energy. With jerking movements, he readied a palmetto horse for a midnight ride, but just as he was about to get on, a hand gently settled over his own. Shadow flinched away at the sudden contact and turned to face his intruder.
No one was there.
Shadow blinked and for a moment, he thought he saw his mother, but he stared hard and saw a moving shadow. His focus all went to the little open field he could see through the small cut-out window on the other side of the stable. Cautiously, he approached it and saw the shadow again.
Suddenly, a dark monster slammed against the window, causing Shadow to flinch away. As fast as it came, it disappeared. Shadow drew out his sword and rushed outside to confront the beast, but the area was clear.
"Ahhhh!"
Shadow faced the castle and bolted his way back. Upon reaching the ballroom, he skidded to a stop at the entrance.
Most of the lights were blown out and the whole place was covered in night, which made it harder to see the monsters that seemed to blend in with the darkness. He spotted his father being ushered on top of the stage to be protected by a circle of guards. The females stumbled in all directions as the males with weapons charged the beasts. Then, he found Sonic, trying his best to protect both Amy and Sally.
Shadow raised his sword and ran straight into the chaos. They were everywhere. No matter how many times he swung, the beasts would regroup and lunge again. Slowly, he made his way towards Sonic.
"Sonic!" Shadow shouted.
"Shadow!" Sonic huffed. "Glad to see you here."
They swung in a coordinated motion and scarred the beast in front of them.
"Good-" Shadow spun around and slammed the hilt of his sword into an exposed belly. "-to know."
"Sonic!" Sally screamed.
Sonic and Shadow turned around to see three monsters attack Amy and Sally. For a moment, it seemed as if life was over for them, but then Amy swiftly stepped in front of Sally and summoned a hammer into her hand. With one blow, she disintegrated them from the air just as their open jaws reached for her flesh.
A beast roared and a few minutes later, they were gone and the lights returned.
"What the-" Sonic started, but was interrupted as King Williams shoved through the crowd to stare at Amy.
"Amy Rose! Explain yourself!" the King bellowed.
Amy just stared at him calmly. "It's what you see, my King. The Golden Weapon is in my hands."
The crowd murmured with shock.
Shadow watched as Amy's muscles tensed as if she was about to fight a war all by herself.
"Exile her!" someone shouted.
"She's bad luck! As long as she's here, those things will continue to attack us!" a rich lady to Shadow's left cried out.
Shadow felt his own anger rise. Not at Amy, but at the people around him. Couldn't they see that she got rid of them?
"You are the reason they came! What have you got to say for yourself?" Sally spat.
That did it.
"In case you forgot, Amy just saved your life, you miserable squirrel!" Shadow barked. "She may be the reason they came, but she's also the reason they left!"
For a while, everyone was silent. Then, Sonic spoke up. "Shadow's right. Amy was the one who drove them away."
King Williams scratched his head in thought. "Fine. She may stay, but if those things ruin another party, she's gone!"
'Typical of the King. Only thinking about his grand parties.' Shadow thought.
As soon as the crowd dispersed, Amy hopped into Shadow's line of view.
"Thanks for helping me." Amy said.
Shadow grunted. He didn't really help her, he was only thinking of himself, but if she wanted to think that way it was fine with him.
Amy stared at him with her shimmering eyes and Shadow did a double take. There were golden specks in them.
Beautiful...
He clenched his teeth before he said so out loud. Sneering, Shadow turned around and marched away before he did something stupid.
Amy watched him leave and sighed.
She had blown her cover. Now, there was no possible way that she could become Queen. The King would never allow Sonic to marry her even if he fell desperately in love. Still staring at Shadow, Amy wondered about him. He was the second prince whose mother was a dead maid. Just because of that, he would never belong to high class.
'Too bad,' she thought. 'His looks are similar to Sonic's, but there is a powerful air about him.'
