Chapter 3
The trembling fear shook through the silver hedgehog. She had to go to school again. She felt sick to her stomach as she got up from her bed, slipped on her clothes, and headed downstairs. Selene's day went by in a blur. Aurora, her sister, had approached the ghostly figure and looked down at her. "Selene, do you want to go dress shopping for prom with me? My friends are busy," she said, looking around as if someone was watching her. "I don't want to look lonely since mom's coming along too."
Selene knew that if she had shook her head in disagreement, her mother would probably scold her and Aurora would find a way to manipulate her into going anyway. "Okay," she said, then walked by her side.
"Mom's outside waiting," Aurora notified, then spun around. Her golden locks fluttered in the wind as she opened the door, and she smiled at her sister. "Do you have a date to prom-wait…never mind," Aurora stated in a disrespectful manner. She then just sat by herself and Selene turned to her side, watching the scenery. The car parked in a large garage area and the three hedgehogs got out, walking towards the mall. Selene crossed her arms in boredom but her eyes seemed interested. She looked at many of the dresses in curiosity but knew none of them would look good on her. That, and she couldn't show much interest since her date to prom was supposed to stay secret.
Selene sat down and watched her sister go into the changing rooms, her arms full of colorful dresses of all sorts of styles. One of the employees had approached her and asked if she was going to look for a dress, but Selene kindly declined.
After an hour wait Aurora found a dress that complimented her shape rather well. Selene gazed at her sister and smiled. "You look great," she said, but Aurora just brushed it off, like she usually would. Selene just looked down and kicked her feet up and stood, looking around and then she sighed. It was time to go home, another hour wasted, still a week left until prom.
Meet me in the forest behind your house.
"Huh?" Selene mumbled to herself. She was wondering off and then figured it was probably important. "It probably won't hurt to go out…"
Selene's alarm went off at midnight, and, like planned, she quickly slipped on a jacket that went over her silk night gown. She pulled on her trademark shoes and, being as quiet as a mouse, she sneaked out of her house. She felt nervous as a few of the panels in the wooden flooring were creaky, but after living there for a long time, she knew which ones to step on to avoid any sort of noise. The rococo-styled door too was as loud as ever, but Selene managed to barely pull it over, slip out, and run through her backyard. As she did, she focused on herself and felt her body levitate a bit, but it wasn't enough. She grabbed onto the edge of the pointy fence and pulled herself over in a slow matter to prevent herself from being scratched or any of that. She jumped down, landing on her feet and then ran forward.
Under the moonlight, a dark hedgehog stood, waiting for her. "Shadow!" Selene called out, then came to a stop right in front of him. "What did you call me out here for?" she asked in her usual, silent voice.
"Selene, I came to warn you about something," Shadow replied. "It's about…me." Selene fell silent and he avoided eye contact with her. "You clearly must not know who I am," he said.
Selene nodded in agreement. "I…really…don't…" she murmured, thinking it through.
"Do you pay attention in history?" Shadow questioned, turning around and facing away from the other hedgehog. "You may remember a character that had treaded this earth about 180 years ago, named Sonic." Shadow turned back around. "Sonic was a rival of mine."
"Wait…then how are you alive?" Selene asked in shock. She then scratched her head in confusion, raising an eyebrow.
"I…this conversation will be saved for later on," he said. "Right, onto Plan B. I brought you something." He walked over and pulled a box which was hidden in the grass. "Make sure no one finds this…" he warned. "I know you can't dance, so my second plan was to go ahead and teach you." Shadow moved over and next to the box Selene noticed a small speaker. A beautiful violin cover of one of Selene's favorite songs had come on.
Shadow hesitantly moved his hands to Selene's, and he guided her hands to his shoulders. From there he moved his hands down to Selene's hips, gazing down at her with his half-lidded crimson eyes and a rare smile appeared. "I hope you don't mind," he said, then began to guide her. "I feel more comfortable confronting you like this." He still avoided eye contact, keeping his eyes on the moon. "I'm an artificially created hedgehog, made by Gerald Robotnik. He inserted some of Black Doom's DNA into me – assuming that you had paid attention to history class," he laughed. "You'd know who Black Doom is.
Selene's ears went back and she shrugged, giggling nervously. "Sorry, I really do not care for that class…So you're famous? And worked with Sonic the hedgehog?"
"Basically," he laughed. The song came to an end and then he looked down at her, letting go of her. "I just want you to know that I'm immortal, and that you will age and I will never," he said, looking away and Selene could sense sorrow in his aura. "Look, sorry to open up this much to you, I really can't help it," he said, turning away.
"Shadow…" Selene murmured. "It's okay, really…" She moved a hand to the side of Shadow's cheek but Shadow pushed her hand away. "Shadow, please…" she politely demanded. "Please listen to me. I care about you no matter what."
Shadow looked back at her and then nodded. "Alright," he said. He then looked down. "In that box is your prom dress," he said. "I bought it for you, I hope you like the color choice."
Selene opened the box and then pulled out the dress. It was a long white dress with tiered layers made of bridal silk. "Oh Shadow, this is beautiful!" she exclaimed. She went over and pressed it against herself. "Thank you thank you thank you!" she squeaked, moving over and hugging him.
"Selene, listen. You will have to go to prom and change on the way there. Bring a few sets of clothes and all your money."
Selene gave him a strange glare. "Why?"
"We're going to run away. Just like how you wanted. It's no longer safe to stay at home, I'll explain more on our journey." Shadow looked around a bit, as if someone else was watching. "We're going to move to Selstice city. I have a mansion there," he whispered.
"O-okay," Selene said. She knew this was for the right reasons, after all. "Shadow…thank you…" she responded.
Protect her.
"Wh-what was that?" she asked.
Protect him.
