=Chapter Two=

Amy followed Rouge down the long hall. Like before, it was really quiet. Finally, they came to a stop.

"This will be your quarters, Amy." the Empress announced.

She slid the door open and revealed a bright scarlet room. Everything inside was so breathtakingly beautiful. Amy was left very astonished. Slowly she entered the room in a rather timid manner.

"Arigato, sister." the cherry-pink female said, bowing her head.

"Is there anything you might need?" Rouge asked.

Amy gave a short thought.

"If it's not too much, may I have a loom?" she politely requested.

"Not at all." Rouge replied with a slight grin. "Sister Tikal has one in her quarters as well."

"Arigato."

"Well, I'll leave you some privacy so you can get settled in. I'll be back to show the rest of the palace shortly."

Amy nodded and with that, the albino female left. Amy was finally alone. Her knees started to shake. This whole thing in general was just way over her head. How was she supposed to do this without really screwing up? Amy's legs buckled underneath her and she fell to her knees. Tears instantly began pooling in her brilliant jade eyes, and she buried her face into her hands. A few seconds later, the young flower collected herself. She couldn't behave this way. She had to stay strong.

Then she heard a delicate rap on her door.

"Hello? Sister Amy?"

"Oh! Um...come in!" the sakura hedgehog called out while quickly wiping her face on her sleeves.

Her door partly slid open. On the other side in the hall, was a young, elegant looking female echidna. She had light orange almost terra-cotta fur and cobalt eyes.

"Konichiwa!" she greeted cheerfully. "I'm Tikal! You must be Amy!"

Amy blinked in surprise. The echidna appeared to be a little older than her and yet, she was hyper like Amy's younger siblings back home.

"Oh, um...hello!" the cherry-pink female meekly greeted in return.

"Welcome to the palace, Sister!" Tikal squealed while taking Amy's hands into her own.

Then the light brown female noticed that Amy was looking really upset.

"Is everything alright?" Tikal asked. "You seem kinda down."

Amy made a face and looked away.

"Yes, I'm alright." she said softly. "It's just that I'm a little-"

"Nervous?" Tikal finished for her. "Don't worry. I was too when I first came to the palace. But you'll like it here and you'll be fine. And Lord Shadow isn't as stern and scary as he appears to be, he's got a real soft spot for the wives."

As Tikal was mindlessly babbling, Amy felt her face heat up with a blush. Having a relationship with someone who was quite older than her and hardly knew, wasn't quite the topic she wanted to discuss right now. But Tikal's bubbly attitude made her feel more at ease.

"He's got pet names for us too!" the female echidna continued with a giggle. "I'm his ruby emerald, hee hee hee."

The blush on Amy's muzzle got even redder.

"Hey! Maybe I can show you around the palace! I mean, it is easy to get lost around the palace." Tikal suggested.

"Um...that sounds fine, but Lady Rouge already told me that she would do that herself." Amy said softly.

"Oh, it's alright! I can do it. Besides, Rouge is always very busy anyway. She's the crown Empress after all."

"Um...okay then."

"Great!"

Then coming down the hall, was Rouge herself. She had returned to make good on her words about giving Amy a tour. However, she was slightly displeased finding Tikal in the room along with the young flower.

"Tikal! Amy's trying to settle in!" the ivory bat said sternly. "It's rude to barge in on her like this."

"It's alright. I don't mind." Amy calmly interjected.

Tikal on the other hand, marched right up to Rouge, bold as brass.

"Rouge, I'm going to show Amy around the palace." Tikal declared in a dignified voice. Then she took Amy's wrist and dragged her along as she shooed Rouge away. "You just go ahead with your duties and leave Amy to me."

The cherry-pink female felt as if she were in the middle of the game of Tug-O-War. Too much family drama and it hadn't even been 24 hours yet.

"Oh...very well then!" Rouge ranted. Then she turned to Amy. "By the way Amy, your things will be brought up shortly."

"Oh...arigato!" Amy replied politely.

With that, the Empress left again. Leaving Amy with the terra-cotta echidna.

"Well, come on! Let's get going!" Tikal said excitedly and yanked Amy into the hall.

XXXXXXX

A half hour had passed and Tikal and Amy had already covered about two thirds of the palace. The sakura female was nearly overwhelmed. She would probably need a map to get around.

"There's so much space." Amy rasped.

"Don't worry!" Tikal reassured her. "Even if you're still not sure about where to go, I'll give you an escort until you're really sure. Okay?"

"Okay. Arigato."

They continued down the ground-level hall and went outdoors.

"And this, is the garden!" Tikal declared.

The garden was just absolutely breathtaking. There were flowers of every size and color. The grass was cut finely short and brilliantly green. At every corner there was a little waterfall and a small shrines and Buddha shrines.

"It's so...so beautiful." Amy marveled.

"Isn't it?" Tikal added. "It's the loveliest garden I think I've ever seen."

Amy felt her spirits rise a little bit. Perhaps staying here wouldn't be so bad. And Tikal said so herself that Lord Shadow wasn't as fearsome that he appeared to be.

'But I'm still the new girl.' the young flower tonight. 'I'm still liable to screw up.'

"Okay! Let me take you back to your room so you can get ready for dinner." Tikal announced.

Amy made a blank face.

"Dinner?" she asked.

"Oh yes." Tikal replied. "We're going to be eating at a small dining hall just for us, Sister Blaze and the children."

The sakura hedgehog made an even blanker face.

"The children?" she asked again.

"Indeed." Tikal confirmed. "Lord Shadow's children. Sister Rouge will be dining with him alone."

"Oh I see."

"See, the way it works, is that he devotes his time to one wife for two months. So it's Rouge's turn."

Amy then went back into thought as her face went red again.

'...I wonder how long it'll be before it's my turn.'

Tikal led Amy back to her quarters, where the young flower found that her belongings were neatly place inside. And to her small surprise and delight, there was even a loom-a brand new one no less-sitting in the corner and with all the materials needed. The light brown female was also surprised to see it there.

"Oh, you weave too? How wonderful!" Tikal exclaimed.

Amy felt a warmth of feeling welcome in her new home. It made the transition a little easier than she first imagined.

"Go ahead and get ready, I'll be back in 15 minutes, okay?" Tikal told Amy.

"Okay. Arigato." the young flower said.

With that, Tikal left her alone with some privacy to herself. As she dressed, Amy started thinking about what the children were like.

'I wonder how many Lord Shadow has by now.'

XXXXXXX

True to her word, Tikal came back to Amy's quarters to escort her to the dining hall. Amy was just barely finishing dressing up when she heard a gentle knocking from the hall.

"Amy-chan? Are you decent?" Tikal quietly and politely asked.

"Just one minute, kudasai." Amy called out, trying to tie her sash.

"Do you need any help?"

"Um...I think I can manage."

A few seconds later, the door slid open. Amy was in her most colorful kimono.

"Oh you look so lovely, Amy-chan!" Tikal exclaimed.

Amy slightly blushed.

"Arigato."

Then, she noticed that Tikal wasn't alone. Beside her and partly hugging her hip, was a little echidna with bright round and sky blue eyes. His fur was an auburn shade and the tips of his dreadlocks were a light shade of black and more of a really dark brown. The little one was a boy and a toddler looking up at Amy with curious gaze.

"This is Satoshi, Amy." Tikal told the sakura hedgehog. She then turned to the toddler. "Can you say hello to Lady Amy?"

The auburn echidna looked down as if thinking or trying to remember what to say.

"Oh...oh-hai-yo." he squeaked out.

The two females giggled. Amy thought Satoshi was absolutely adorable.

"Kobanwa." the cherry-pink female replied while bowing her head to the little prince.

Tikal then took Amy's hand.

"Come on. Let's get going before they get mad at us for being late." Tikal said in a sarcastic and joking tone.


AN: I had a really hard time trying to come up with a name for Tikal's son. I already had names for the other kids, so I finally gave up and named him after the hero in the Japanese version of the PokeMon anime T-T

Anyway, I do hope I spelled all the Japanese words correctly in Romaji O.o