Mrs. Sally Hedgehog
By LazerTH
Author's note:
What can I say about all this? I enjoy writing my SIFF (Self Insertion Fan Fiction) and am encouraged by the reviews. This fanfiction is the sequel to "Brothers of the Rainbow". It covers the wedding of Sonic and Sally (apologies to all Amy fans out there) and what's in store for my two characters Lazer and Rebecca. I will try my best to make this story worthwhile.
Disclaimer: The only characters that belong to me in this story are Lazer T.H. and Rebecca Coriander. All other characters are either owned by Sega or are of my imagination.
Time period: Sonic is twenty-one years old in this story. Everyone else is also five years older.
***
"For the thousandth time, no!"
King Acorn had not taken well to the news of Sonic's proposal to his daughter.
"Daddy! Please!"
Maximillian leaned forward on his throne toward Sally.
"Sonic has landed you in enough trouble to last ten lifetimes. I can barely begin to count how many times you've come close to death. He is also not of your species!"
Father and daughter exchanged glares.
"I love him, father, as much as you love Alicia, your own wife."
King Acorn's mind was in a fever of mixed emotions. He wanted his daughter to be happy, but Sonic was… Sonic! Never-ending trouble would come of this marriage.
"What about the royal crown?"
"What of it?"
"You will not be married to royalty. That will mean you lose your place on the throne of Acorn."
"Father, what is a throne, when love is at stake?" she argued.
The King rubbed a paw over his eyes.
"By the Goddess, Sally, you don't have to be dramatic."
"What must I do, then? Be insulting?"
He shook his head.
"I cannot allow you to make this mistake."
Sally looked directly into his eyes and spoke measured words.
"If I cannot change your opinion, then no one can, but if I must choose between you and Sonic, I will choose, father, I will."
She turned on her heel and walked out of the throne room. Sir John, who had waited in the background during the argument, ventured forward.
"Sire, I…"
"Yes, Sir John, I know that I am standing in the way of happiness. I have my reasons," he grumbled.
***
The first snowfall powdered the Great Forest in white, and the citizens of Knothole prepared for winter. Sir John and the royal guards directed the felling of trees. The castle had many fireplaces. Now that Robotnik had fled, Sonic had nothing else to do but worry about his wedding and help around the village.
"That's enough, Sonic, thank you."
A woodpile seven metres high lay beside Sonic. He was wearing a black jacket and white scarf to keep warm.
"Okay. Need me to carry any?"
"No, you've helped enough."
Sir John went closer to Sonic and whispered.
"The King and Her Highness Sally had a disagreement. She went back to her hut, you should talk to her."
Sonic sighed and pushed back the green strands of his hair.
"I know he doesn't want me as family. Thanks, John."
The royal guard nodded and resumed his duties.
***
In Sally's hut, curtains hung closed over the windows while the fireplace crackled.
"He won't listen?"
"No."
Sally felt safer when wrapped in Sonic's arms. She could also cry without being judged.
"I tried everything. He's the only person in all of Knothole who thinks we shouldn't be together."
"We could elope."
Sally smiled and sniffed. She had thought of that.
"You're always so extreme."
"Hey, I'm serious. I can run on water, you know, we could live on an island far away."
"No. My mother and brother, and the Freedom Fighters, they would blame my father if we disappeared. I… we have to convince him."
"Let's do it."
"What?"
"Convince him."
"Oh! Okay."
She blinked and stood up. Sonic looked at her, in the semi darkness while the fire crackled in the hearth. The golden glow accentuated her curves against the shadows.
"Why are you so beautiful?"
"Come on, Sonic, save that for later."
She put on warm clothing and they went to the palace, together. Sir John was waiting for them by the double doors to the King's court.
"Good luck," he whispered, as the court was opened.
***
Forty-six miles south west of Knothole was the Cridon Base, established since the beginning of the war against Robotnik. At the end of the war many of its inhabitants had opted for life in the Freedom Fighter city, ten miles from the remains of Robotropolis. The dojo of Rebecca Coriander had fewer students this winter.
"Ten right arm punches. Begin!"
She was of the red hedgehog species, and wore a semi-circular patch of fur on her forehead. Rebecca was the refugee of another war with Robotnik, five years past.
"Ten with the left arm now. Begin!"
Apart from the class, the sensei of Rebecca sipped green tea, cross-legged on the floor.
The students belonged to various species, including seven of the twenty-one red hedgehogs that had enlisted in Cridon base. One of those hedgehogs was Patrick, whose V shaped forehead-fur was jagged and whose gray eyes never left his sensei. He was the most skilful of her students, with a third degree black belt (two degrees short of his sensei). His curly orange hair was matted from the exertions of the class.
"Stop. Class dismissed."
A general sigh of relief came from the karate students. Patrick knew why the class had been cut short: that other red hedgehog, hailing from Knothole, had arrived. His dark-rimmed eyes blazed with jealously as Lazer entered, and Rebecca turned to smile as he walked in, her brown eyes turning into pools of adoration.
"Lazer."
"Hello. You didn't have to stop the class."
She traced his sharp V-shaped forehead fur with one finger. He had no extra hair.
"They needed a rest."
Rebecca's sensei rose from the floor to greet Lazer.
"My student spoke often of you during her training, Lazer-san."
Lazer remembered Rebecca talking of her sensei. What first caught Lazer' eye was the sheathed samurai sword that hung from his waist. He was a dark purple rabbit with violet hair tied in a long ponytail. His amber eyes were narrow in a habitual frown. The tip of his left ear looked like it had been neatly severed. His gray kimono was a single piece of clothing that covered him to his feet, tied with a sash that also held his sword.
"Kazuo. I am pleased Rebecca was able to continue her training. Thank you."
They bowed to each other. With the power of his internal Chaos Emeralds, Lazer could usually feel another person's mind, their emotions and thoughts. With Kazuo there was a dense, white fog that alerted him: for the first time his emeralds had failed.
"Words of advice Lazer-san… do not wear your boots inside this dojo."
Lazer's boots had metal spikes beneath them. There was a trail of small holes in the wooden floor from where he had walked in. Lazer bowed again, trying and failing to see past the mental fog of Kazuo.
"Apologies. I have not entered a dojo for many years."
Rebecca cast her eyes over her students, most of which were leaving. Patrick grinned as she glanced in his direction, but she looked past him. He fumed.
Him, Patrick thought, Not only does he have her heart, he has five Chaos Emeralds. Why?
"Anyway, Lazer, what're you doing here?" she asked.
"It's been snowing for two days now. Have you seen what's happened to the forest?"
"All the small animals are hibernating. The birds are gone."
"Yes. Have you seen it from above, as well?"
Her smile broadened, making her face all the more beautiful.
"Show me."
Disregarding the stares of everyone in the dojo, Lazer lifted her in his arms and hovered above the ground, spurning nature's gravity.
"Sayonara, sensei," she said to Kazuo, who nodded with solemn face.
Carrying her, Lazer floated out of the doorway with her and she hugged him tight.
"Damn him," Patrick muttered. He wished he knew why Lazer was so blessed by Destiny to have great power and Rebecca. Most of all, Patrick wished Rebecca would at least return one of his smiles.
Kazuo stooped to retrieve the saucer and teacup. He gave one glance at the dojo, with its four concrete walls, polished wooden flooring and fireplace. He went outside, feeling the sudden, drastic drop of temperature. Without hesitation he walked toward the evergreen trees surrounding the base. He paused among them, all their leaves covered with a fine coat of frost. He saw in his mind's eye the expression of Rebecca's face as Lazer held her.
When Kazuo started walking again, he left behind the shattered remains of fine porcelain, mist rising from the remaining drops of green tea.
***
Maximillian had his face covered with one paw, and was looking between his fingers at the two creatures who stood before his throne. Sonic, the ruffian, with paw clasped with Sally, his daughter. Except for them, the court was empty.
"Marrying him will disrupt the royal line. How can you not understand the significance of that?"
"Can you think of anyone better, father?"
King Acorn wished very dearly that he could.
"I can think that he is not better, or the best, for you."
"Even if you are my king and my father, you have no say when it comes to whom I choose to love."
Between his fingers he saw their handclasp stiffen. Maximillian lowered his paw.
"Knothole Kingdom is in a time of change. It is a change that will expand the kingdom, and form new alliances previously made impossible by Robotnik's tyrannical rule. If you marry Sonic, the Acorn family will be looked upon as one that mixes with… peasants, thus jeopardizing our standing with new world powers."
Sally's blue eyes flared.
"Oh, I see now. You want to keep the lineage royal so that it looks good in front of other kingdoms or governments. I know of a way. You can disown me, cut me off the family tree altogether."
"Evil is attracted to him like moths to a flame. When you dated less than a month past, your life was put in danger."
Sonic blinked once, his other paw curling into a fist.
"That danger is gone, it was eliminated because Sonic helped to the end!" Sally argued, and then cried out, "Why can't you just let us be happy?"
The King's eyes burned as he looked at the engagement ring on Sally's left paw.
"I…"
There was perfect silence for almost five minutes. Only the king moved, placing his paw over his face again. He looked at his court, to the ceiling, the floor, and the two lovers. His paw dropped to his lap, and Maximillian rose from his throne. He stepped down to the polished floor of the court, facing the two.
"You say that you are in love. I know how important love is. After all, I do have a wife."
He walked, his kingly robes waving gently around him. He stood three feet away from his daughter and Sonic.
"Many things in this world pull us away from the fundamentals of life, that is, happiness, peace, and love."
Summoning his reserves of courage, he spoke again.
"Thus shall it never be said that I denied my daughter happiness and love, due to affairs of state."
"In other words…" Sally began.
"In other words," he interrupted, "I will allow your marriage."
"That was a top notch speech, your highness," Sonic spoke for the first time as Sally hugged her father. Maximillian stared at the blue hedgehog over Sally's shoulder.
"If you make her unhappy, believe me, Sonic Hedgehog, I will make you much, much unhappier."
"Daddy, don't say such things to your future son in law."
The king sighed. He watched Sonic take Sally out of the court, and Sir John boomed the doors shut. The guard chose to remain with the King awhile.
"Congratulations, Sire! I can tell by their faces you accepted their modest proposal."
"Sir John, if you speak another word to me for the rest of the day, I shall have you expelled from my service forever."
The King retired from the court for that day and walked past the silent guard, opening the doors himself. Alicia would be in the gardens at this time. He would have a long chat with her.
***
Sally fussed around her hut, rearranging things for no particular reason. She did not fix the sheets on her bed where she and Sonic had sat earlier, though. Instead she paused to remember the warmth of him and what he had said.
"Why are you so beautiful…" she repeated, and sighed. A fortnight of preparation, and they would be wed. Sally opened one of the drawers of her dressing table. In it lay her journal, which she had confided in for years. When Sonic and she were married, she would seal the journal forever and confide in him.
Now, Sally lifted the leather bound book and carried it to her desk. She pushed aside articles concerning the politics of Mobius (for such were her studies) and set the book down, thumbing the pages until she arrived at the last entry, which resembled a short essay. She had described her experience on the night Sonic asked her to marry him. Her words were filled with joy and the love she had for him.
After happily updating her journal about her father's consent, she replaced it in her drawer. A shadow fell across the light in her room. She whirled around to look, but only sunlight was at the window. She frowned; thinking of the laser gun hidden in her dressing table, but forced herself to relax. There was nothing to fear from Robotnik, and she was going to marry the most perfect, blue hedgehog before the month ended.
***
Keri's heart was racing. She sheltered beneath a tall pine tree, near to Sally's hut. Had the squirrel princess seen her? She hoped not.
"Ooh, why am I so pathetic?"
She slid to the cold, hard ground, a rather overweight raccoon. Why was she doing this? Tears soaked her facial fur.
"Kyle…" she whimpered, remembering him. Although a raccoon, Kyle was the complete opposite of her. He was popular with the opposite sex, with an ego almost as large as his muscles.
"Why am I the only girl in Knothole without someone who loves me?" she wondered, making herself more miserable in the process. She knew that her figure was less than desirable, and that Kyle would prefer any other girl.
"I can't even talk to him. I always hide whenever he looks my way."
Keri felt the flabby folds of her stomach and wept. That journal Sally kept would have love inside its pages. She had seen some of Sally's writing somewhere before and knew how well the squirrel princess could express herself.
If I could read some of her writing, maybe then I'd know what love is.
Keri did not know of any other way to ease her suffering. Telling her parents would not help, they would just tell her to wait for the right raccoon. She had no close friends, either, to talk with. Now that a hope for happiness was within her reach, she could not resist.
***
Lazer had not been a member of a congregation for six years. He was uncomfortable sitting on the hard wooden pew, in the barely heated place of worship, while the priest delivered a sermon about the goodness of Destiny: the almighty goddess. He looked at Rebecca. She had prayed many years for his safety, and he felt obligated to attend at least one service.
"How much longer will he be talking?" he whispered.
"Shh! Don't talk during service."
Lazer fidgeted even more when the priest asked the congregation to stand. The songs of praises to Destiny were in hand-written booklets the congregation shared among themselves. He stared at the words blankly.
"I don't sing."
"You'll catch on."
It started. The voices rose in harmony; the hymn was familiar to them. Lazer heard only Rebecca's voice, rising and falling in volume as she sung, while he stood silent, not wanting to intrude upon the beauty of the tune. When the voices faded he committed the hymn to memory, and began to think of how he could please Rebecca with it. Even as they walked outside, free from the priest's rambling, Lazer was singing the song within his mind, replacing words with his own.
"Lazer?"
She had an uncertain smile on her face when he turned to her.
"You haven't said anything. Did the service touch you?"
"It was unforgettable," he affirmed, and placed an arm around her waist.
"My prayers were answered," she said.
Without even knowing it, they found themselves walking through the woods that surrounded the base. This accident of meandering often happened when they were together, a lifetime ago.
"Do you know where we're going?"
"No."
It was that simple.
"I was scared of the forest for a while," she began to say, "I heard things that weren't there. Sensei always used the forest to practice with his sword, and also to train me."
"That was before the dojo was constructed?"
"Even after that. He doesn't like the noise around the base."
"Or, he wanted to be alone with you."
"Are you jealous?"
"Always," he admitted, "But only because he was able to spend time with you, while I was thinking of vengeance."
"That'll change now," she said, and they hugged. She sighed with pleasure.
"You're warm."
"That's the same thing…" he started to say, but shut up a bit too late.
"Same thing what?"
"Nothing," he said too quickly.
She released her hold of him, and eyeballed him in a way that made him want to dig a hole in the ground and hide.
"Tell me. Now."
"The same thing that… Hannah Nyress… told me."
Her eyes could not open wider.
"She hugged you?" she whispered.
By the Walkers, she's the only person who can scare me.
"I didn't hug back. The demon in her body was killing her, and she was still afraid when I freed her."
"What else happened?" she carried on in a hushed tone.
Why must she torture me like this?
"After that, she was taken away by the elders. I never saw her again, in fact, it was the same day I found you."
Rebecca spent a few seconds absorbing this: the same sorceress who had caused thousands of Freedom Fighter deaths had hugged her boyfriend.
"She didn't do anything else?"
"No," he lied.
After a few moments of searching his impassive face she shrugged.
"What's done is done. Dwelling on trivial events is futile. Kazuo taught me that."
Ouch.
"You're wiser than I am."
Their walk together was ruined, but still they trod onward. The murmur of running water reached their ears.
Good one, Lazer. First you let Robotnik escape and now you mention that Hannah hugged you.
The words of the hymn crept into his thoughts even as he reproached himself in silence.
My heart's desire… Yeah, why don't you mention that Hannah kissed you; that would lift her mood, after she breaks your body in several places!The tune was revolving in his mind, as the sound of lapping water came nearer. They had found a river, winding its solitary way through the trees. Rebecca sat on her knees and dipped a paw into the cold rushing water.
"Care for a drink?"
He sat beside her, but cross-legged.
"I've never seen you sit like that."
By the Walkers, I can't believe how much Kazuo has changed her!
"I take that as a no."
She tasted the water. Lazer felt a wall being built within her, its bricks were suspicion and its cement was doubt. He began to reach out to her, to touch, her, to make her understand.
Leaves rustled on the opposite bank. Out of sheer habit, both hedgehogs were on their feet in an instant. They glanced at each other and then the disturbance. A deer pushed its way out of a bush, stared at them with almond eyes, and then warily lowered its head to the river. Rebecca breathed again.
"I keep forgetting that we're not fighting a war any longer," she remarked. Lazer, however, was staring and staring at the deer as it drank.
"Lazer?"
Slowly he faced her. There was a small, gentle smile on his face as his coal black eyes found her brown ones.
"What's the matter, Lazer?" she said, and did not know why she was whispering.
"Rebecca."
Every syllable was touched with reverence. Hesitating at first, but in a rather good contemporary tenor, Lazer did the unthinkable: He began to sing.
"As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after thee! You alone are my heart's desire, and I long to marry thee."
Rebecca would not utter a word.
"To you alone I express how I feel, to you alone may my emeralds yield."
He was holding her paws.
"You alone are my heart's desire, and I long to marry thee."
After the last word faded into silence Rebecca resembled a statue.
"All that I have said is true," he told her, which was the literal translation of the word "Amen".
After an eternity she found the words to say.
"I didn't just hear the song. I… I felt it."
Lazer sensed a change inside her, which shocked him to no end: her soul mirrored what he felt within!
"Your mind… so wonderful… was open to me the whole time."
This revelation bloomed within him, opening a new horizon: the wall had been broken down, forever and ever, Amen.
"Then… you know…"
Inexpressible joy. The only perfect thing in the universe, love, was revealed in its true glory to both Lazer and Rebecca in that moment. Mutually, they knew that their relationship had ascended to the highest level. There was no doubt. There was no fear.
They embraced, sharing in their souls something that was greater than all things mortal.
***
"Sonic!"
The blue wonder became very alert and very worried at the tone of Sally's voice. He sat up from the table, smoothing his spiky green hair and wiping grease from his mouth.
"Hi, Sal…"
She gripped his forearms with steel paws and bodily lifted him off the ground. He flinched, not from the rough treatment, but the tempest of anger in her eyes.
"Why… did… you… read… my… diary?"
He protested innocence.
"You liar."
She dropped him, and he found that his knees were weak and shaking.
"I left my hut, and when I came back it was in a different draw. You should have paid more attention!"
"I swear I..."
"I bet you do," she spat back at him, the storm in full blast, "The same way you swear you never did a billion and one things I hesitate to mention."
"Sally," he said again, regaining a semblance of control, "I never read your diary."
She glared, but found that both his face and voice were serious.
"Hmph," she uttered, and turned away. She took a few steps but looked over her shoulder. Sonic could feel her glacial blue stare.
"I'll be watching you."
He slumped dejected onto the bench when she was gone. Tails had been watching the scene with great interest.
"Your arms must be killing you."
"No. Her eyes were. I'm dead and buried already."
"Cheer up. I could tell you were innocent. Finish your lunch."
Sonic was walking away. Tails shook his head.
"Even when they're engaged, it's the same."
He munched at the chilidog.
***
Hiding behind the same pine tree, Keri's eyes were still tearing from the remembrance of Sally's journal. She was elated, saddened, exhilarated and exhausted at the same time. Such beautiful words! What a striking contrast to my own life, she thought. Then her tears shifted to melancholy, and she could not prevent the sobs from racking her body. Tomorrow, after Sally wrote more, she would read the journal again. It was the lighthouse amidst the tormented seas of her existence.
***
The day aged into evening. Lazer and Rebecca somehow managed to release their embrace. With help from his Chaos Emeralds, they found their ways back to their respective homes, with the knowledge that they would share one home very soon.
Sonic and Sally had come to speaking terms after the earlier disagreement, and were at their special spot in the forest, chatting on the large tree stump.
"Whoever snuck into your hut will do it again."
"A thief returning to the scene of the crime?"
"They always do. I know; I've done it before."
Laughter. It was impossible for them to remain angry at each other for very long.
Evening gave way to dusk. Paw in paw they returned to Knothole. They shared a tender moment before going to their separate huts, perchance to sleep, to dream.