Watching as the sun drowned into the horizon, Silver was hidden well behind the evergreen leaves of a tall tree, which stood by the Old Willow the Princess had instructed him to go to by nightfall. The hedgehog could not help but ponder if this was a wise idea, after all, she was the daughter to Shadow, the new King who was focused on hunting down Silver. Then again, if she was against his thieving ways, she would of called the Knights to have him taken immediately when he was in her room earlier that day.
Pushing his thoughts away, Silver knew he was safe. He could see if the Princess would bring anyone along that could be of danger. And she would not be able to see him, his cloak blended him in well with the leaves. He watched as a golden leaf fell from a nearby oak tree, dancing in the autumn breeze before resting upon the ground. The thief looked towards the sky, watching as twilight became the dark of the night. Slowly, his eyes began to close.
Hearing the crack of something breaking a twig, Silver's eyes snapped open again. As his heart began to pound faster and faster, his honey gold eyes watched as a cloaked figure stood by the willow tree alone. The figured removed their hood, to reveal a lilac head. The Princess, as promised, had arrived. She looked right and left, looking out for any sign of Silver approaching. Taking a deep breath and checking one last time that the Princess was alone, he sprung from the tree and landed on his feet, slightly startling the Royal Daughter.
For a moment, silence was only broken by the hoot of an owl. Silver glanced at Blaze, noting her magnifcant black cloak, which was lined inside with a deep purple material. It looked as if had never been worn before, opposing to Silver's own cloak which was scuffed and patched up with material of a different shade of green. Besides her cloak, she was still wearing what she had on earlier. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting for words to be spoken, Silver finally decided to ask the Princess for her reasons of this arrangement.
"Princess Blaze," He begun. "Forgive me if I sound impatient, but may I ask why you wanted us to meet?"
"Please, Blaze will do fine. My title is nothing of importance" She spoke, her soothing voice hinted worry. "Silver - wasn't it?" The white hedgehog confirmed this with a nod. "I wish..." Blaze inhaled sharply. "I wish to accompany you on your quests."
Silver was shocked, and took a step back. "You want to accompany me? But you're the Princess, daughter of Shadow."
"What did I say about the title?" The lilac cat replied impatiently. "And I'm fully aware of who my father is. Just because we're related doesn't mean I agree with his actions." She looked from right to left, frowning slightly.
"Sorry, sorry." He raised his hands, signalling he was not going to press further into the subject. "But are you sure? This isn't easy, and a mistake could bury you trouble." Silver's eyes followed Blaze's gaze. "Are you okay?"
"Of course I'm sure. I wouldn't be here otherwise." Blaze sighed. "Well, truth be told, it is forbidden for me to leave the castle under any circumstances since our arrival earlier this year. I have, as directed, not left the grounds until now. I only knew of this Old Willow as it sat along the horizon, it was like a landmark in this woodlands."
"Are you serious? I can promise you, there are much more magnificant places to go than this old tree." Silver smiled, reaching out his hand as an offer. "Let me show you."
Blaze closed her eyes. As much as she wanted to take his hand and allow him to show her the beauty of the woods, she knew deep down she could not. If her father had gotten word that she had escaped the castle, she would be hunted and brought back. Then, for sure, he would never let her out of his sight. Her father was fearing what happened to her mother may end up happening to Blaze herself...
"I..." The princess sighed, desperately wanting to go with Silver. "I'd love to."
The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them. She begun to explain her words had been a mistake, but she had already mindlessly took his hand, allowing him to pull her through the forest. The young thief wasn't as much of a fast runner as Blaze was, but she didn't mind. Besides, what would be the point of over taking him, when he is leading her?
They ran into the darkness of the forest, Silver keeping a sharp eye out so he could spot any possible dangers. Sure enough, he suddenly came to a halt, and hid behind a tree. He pulled Blaze back, making sure she was completely out of sight from two oncoming knights, who leaped through the trees upon their steeds. After they were clear out of sight, Silver began to run again, but Blaze pulled him backwards, causing him to fall backwards.
"They're looking for me!" She whispered loudly, as she helped the hedgehog to his feet. "We have to go back!"
Silver hopped up and shook his head. "They come out here every night in search for criminals. Believe me, they are blind as bats at this time of night." He reassured the cat, before continuing onwards. "Come on, we're almost there."
After 10 tiring moments of continuous running, an opening became visible. Grinning widely, Silver pushed himself to run even faster, clutching Blaze's hand firmer to make sure he didn't lose her. Making their way through the last of the trees and shrubbery, they stood still. Blaze gasped, and the telekinetic boy grinned at her. "Amazing, isn't it?"
Before them rest a great lake, the almost full moon's beams reflection glimmered in the water. Autumn leaves both covered the ground and swirled in the air. A soft breeze brushed against Blaze's muzzle, making her shiver. It was eerily quiet, not even the birds chirped. As she looked up, she could quite clearly see stars spread across the black-satin like sky.
"Wow." She breathed airly, had this what she had been missing, cooped up inside the castle? Looking to her right, she was about to speak to her new companion, but he was gone. "Huh? Silver?" She asked into the silence, turning around trying to find him.
"Down here." Silver said lazily, and she looked down to see the hedgehog relaxing upon the dead golden and brown leaves. "Just watching the stars. I could for hours." He nodded as he spoke. "Have you?"
"Watched the stars? Not exactly." Blaze would sometimes look out of a window for a brief moment, and whilst the twinkle of the stars would catch her eye, she wouldn't purposefully stop and stare.
"Well, come one then." He offered, his golden eyes glowing. Silver watched as Blaze worriedly felt her cloak. "Are you worried that you're going to get that mucky? Well, if you really want to be my Partner in Crime, so to speak, then unfortunately it will become tattered." He explained, but then sat up. "Here." The hedgehog removed his green cloak and laid it out next to him, gesturing for her to sit.
Hesitantly, she did so, her orange eyes followed as he layed back down. "Are you not going to become cold?" Blaze asked.
Silver shook his head. "I've been colder."
For a long while, there was complete silence as the two occupied themselves. Silver continued to watch the stars, and Blaze stared out into the water. The blissful peace was suddenly broken by an outcry from the white hedgehog.
"A shooting star!" He exclaimed, hopping to his feet and pointing directly above the two. Sure enough, a streak of white flashed across the sky. Blaze grinned, but she noticed Silver doing something strange. He had his eyes closed, and muttering something inaudiable. Confused, Blaze stood up by him and waited until he opened his eyelids again.
"What were you just doing?" The princess questioned curiously, her hands on her hips.
Silver frowned, as if he expected her to know. "Making a wish of course. You know, when you see a shooting star you're supposed to make a wish. But you can't say what your wish was, that will curse it."
Chuckling slightly, Blaze shook her head. "For someone who's on the King's most wanted criminal of England, you're not exactly the type who'd seem capable of that. You are very..." She trailed off, realizing however she may say her words, it might sound different to what she intended. "Never mind." The Princess said quickly. "We should return. I suspect dawn soon."
The thief put back on his cloak, and nodded. Wordlessly, he lead the way back through the woods, checking often to make sure Blaze was behind him. Not one of them spoke during the journey, they simply focused on returning back, listening to only the songbirds of the early morning, and the twigs breaking beneath their feet.
Stone walls finally came into view. Pink and blue streaks began to appear in the sky as sunrise approached. The castle was quiet, it almost seemed as if it was abandoned. Blaze walked ahead of Silver, and turned around. "Same time, same place?" She asked him, and he agreed. "Alright. I shall see you then." Then, she turned back to face the castle, hopped up onto the wall and back into her window. As her abilities allowed her to jump high and far, it made sneaking in and out quick and effortless.
Hanging back, the Princess watched as Silver turned and ran into the woods, not a single trace left indicating he had even been near the castle. The night that had just passed seemed surreal, yet, she loved every minute of it. The great legend of Robin Hood, she never expected she would come face to face with him. Not only that, but he was much different from what she had previously thought. His excitement over a simple shooting star still brought a smile to her face.
Sighing, she turned away from her glassless window, slipped into her nightwear and forced her cloak into the chest that Silver had stolen from last morning. After hopping into bed, her mind began replaying the night over and over. At first, she seemed weary of accompanying Silver on his thieving quests. At that moment, however, whilst she laid in her bed, she knew her decision was a great one. Delighted, she closed her eyes. Finally, she felt as if she could do something to change the Kingdom for the better.
A slow chapter, but some of this will become important throughout the story. Hope you enjoyed it!