Yo! Chapter one is now up! (insert applause here) Read and review, guys! It helps me with my fanfic skills. AND, as a bonus, I'll even give my reviewers a shoutout! Which reminds me, shoutout to my girlfriend! Me lurrrrrvvvvzz yhu! 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or Sega. I do, however, own Forest and this fanfic. My girlfriend owns Samantha, Victoria, Andre, and Adrian.

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Day 1: Arrival

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"But, father…!" A dark blue sixteen-year-old hedgehog with light blue streaks pleaded.

"I've made my decision, dear." Her father stated simply, finalizing the conversation. "The city is in a time of great depression. People are willing to do anything for money: rob others, break into and loot houses…break into the palace and kidnap the princess for ransom." He made sure to emphasize his last statement.

"Dad, I can take care of myself! I don't need some old knight dude to babysit me!" The girl insisted. Sometimes, her father was just beyond unreasonable. Then again, one could say the same about her. "Besides, I was perfectly fine last time a bandit broke inside the palace."

"It doesn't matter. I've made my decision." The aged man said before seeing his daughter make her usual pouting face. It was, in a way, childishly cute. With her arms crossed and her lower lip protruding, who couldn't think that she just looked adorable? The father chuckled and placed his hand on top of the girl's head. "You'll see, Samantha. It's better to be safe than sorry. Besides, your guardian is actually quite young!"

"I'd hardly call 31 and single 'young', Dad."

"He's not 31, Samantha."

"What? He's older? Dad, don't do this to me! How can I have fun if some middle-aged oldie is holding me back?"

Samantha's father merely sighed. "I think you're missing the point, honey." He was about to explain when a palace guard entered the room. "What is it?"

"Your Highness, there's a kid at the palace gates claiming to be a high-ranking knight." The guard stated, "We've tried to get him to leave, but he continually insists that we let him in. We were wondering if you could take care of the situation."

"Well, let him in, you idiot! If he says he's a knight, let him in!"

"But Your Highness, he's not even 20!"

"Let him in!"

The palace guard would have argued further, but he realized that he was talking to the king of Morobo City, and he would have his head detached from his body if he continued the conversation. He sighed, defeated. "Yes, sir." The guard left the room and headed toward the gates.

The king turned back to his daughter, grinning slyly. "Come. I want you to meet someone." He told her, getting up from his throne and heading out the door, exiting the throne room and leaving an oblivious Samantha behind.

"W-wha-?" Samantha asked to herself, clueless as to what was happening.

Meanwhile, a young 19-year-old black hedgehog with green streaks stood at the other side of the gates, demanding entrance. "Oh, so you're saying I'm not a knight just because I'm not even old enough to drink?" He demanded, not amused one bit at the prejudice.

"No, we're saying that you're a stupid kid." A pit bull, much older than the hedgehog, stated. "Do you think we're idiots or something? To be a knight, you gotta be a man, not some immature kid. Now get out of my sight if you like your head where it is." The guard drew out his sword and put the blade to the hedgehog's neck.

Bad choice.

In what seemed like an instant, the supposed knight disarmed and threw the pit bull to the ground, placing the guard's own blade to his neck. "You were saying?" the black hedgehog smirked, satisfied with the look of fear in the poor guard's eyes. As if on cue, the guard that previously spoke with the king returned and opened the gates for the unknown boy.

"The king will see you now." He said, not even caring about the pit bull guard.

"Thanks." The hedgehog said, walking past the gates. "And tell that asshole there on the ground to stop crying like a baby." With that being said, he entered the palace without another word.

Samantha had followed her father to main room of the palace to meet her new protector. "Dad, I'm seriously confused right now. What's going on?" She asked before seeing the double doors leading to the outside open. Instinctively, she hid behind her father, shyly looking past him to see who had entered. "W-what the…?"

The hedgehog approached the king and instinctively got down on one knee and bowed his head, "Your Highness," He greeted before getting back up, "You summoned me?"

Samantha was wide-eyed. Her father had actually found someone in her age range? No…there HAD to be some angle he was playing at. Maybe this guy was a total drone, or some anti-social nerd!

"Welcome to Morobo Palace, Sir Forest." The king greeted right back, nodding. "As you would assume, I'm aware that you're already an exceptionally high-ranking knight at such a young age."

"Thank you, sir."

"That's why I summoned you here. I want you to protect my daughter during the time I am busy ridding the city of its poverty and famine. It should take about one month time, so it would be best if you became familiar with the palace. My daughter will show you around, uhhh…Samantha, you can stop hiding behind me now."

Samantha slowly came out from behind her father, waving shyly at Forest. "H-hi, I guess…" She greeted.

Forest was, needless to say, surprised. He had expected the princess just to be a little kid. Right now, he was (quite fortunately) looking at the exact opposite. What he was seeing was an extremely cute-looking princess that around his age! 'Maybe I could get used to this assignment.' He thought to himself before snapping back to reality, 'No! What the hell, Forest! She's a PRINCESS!' The black hedgehog shook off his thoughts and turned to the king. "Don't worry. She's safe with me." He said, grinning confidently.

The poor kid didn't know what he was in for.

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Forest: Really? You ended the chapter like THAT? .

Fatal Pride: Hey, shut up! I was in a hurry to finish this! .'''

Sam: Surrrrre, ya were. Or maybe you're just a bad writer~! ^^

Fatal Pride: You two are so freaking mean! D:

Forest & Sam: And so, here's the preview for the next chapter! :)

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Preview

Day 2: Every Princess Needs a Knight

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"You've never been outside the palace...?"

"Is there anything you might need, princess?"

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Can we come here every day?"

"I'm not seriously taking a liking to her…am I?"