Meera didn't really know where she was going—but anywhere was better than that stuffy room. She found herself wandering around aimlessly until she reached a large stone room she assumed was the kitchen.

She witnessed as Starling cleared dishes off a long table and dropped them down to Silver—who put them away. There was a very disgruntled look on the clock's face; he seemed to mutter under his breath. Meera tried to make out the words for a minute, but decided it was better to remain ignorant.

Finally, Starling gave a long-suffering sigh and looked down at Silver. "Alright—wot's your fuss?" she demanded. Meera noticed the teapot's accent became more pronounced whenever she was mad or frustrated.

Silver placed a scandalized, furious look on his face. "That…that…that…stupid girl!" he screeched. "When is she going to cooperate?!"

"Oh, come off it; it's not Meera's fault," Starling snapped. "If Shadow never curbs that temper of 'is, he'll never break the spell."

Meera frowned and twitched an ear in confusion. "What spell?" she muttered to herself.

Unfortunately, the two servants heard her. Starling's head snapped up, and the startled Silver jumped. Witnessing as Meera stood in the doorway, he tried to smile politely—but ended up failing in the end.

"Did—did I say 'spell?'" Starling stammered. "I, uh—I meant it's 'spell-endid' to see you here!"

Silver cut across with a strained laugh. "I am Silver: head of the household." He gave a deep bow—the likes of which forced him to stumble forward just to catch his balance.

"We've met," Meera replied with a curt nod. Embarrassed, she faced Starling and immediately asked herself, What was her name, again? "It's nice to meet you too Miss…"

"Oh," Starling piped with a smile, "just call me Starling, dear."

A small teacup came out from the cabinet. "She's pretty, Mama!" he exclaimed.

Starling smiled again. "Ringo, dear—you've grown so polite!"

Meera smiled and picked up Ringo, saying, "Well, aren't you just a cutie?"

A panting Flamiere entered the room—followed by a trailing feather duster.

"You okay, Flamiere?" asked Ruby.

He nodded. "I'm fine, Ruby. Thank you."

Meera crouched eye-level with the feather duster. "You look so pretty!" she complimented. "All of you ladies take good care of yourselves!"

Ruby blushed and smiled—as did Starling.

Walking up behind the candelabrum, Silver poked at Flamiere when he asked, "Why is it that she can say it and you can't?"

Flamiere blushed in embarrassment. "Shut up, Silver."

"I'm sorry," Meera apologized, "if I seem a little bothersome—but it's my first time in an enchanted castle."

"W-who said the castle was enchanted?" Silver chuckled.

The fox-girl smiled. "I had a hunch."

Silver pushed at Meera's ankles. "You need to go back to your room before the Master comes back!"

"Now, Silver," the candelabrum went over to the clock. "Meera is not a prisoner. She is our guest!" He turned to the fox. "Come. You must be hungry." Flamiere led her to the dining room, a protesting Silver following close behind.

Before Meera's bugged eyes sat a feast fit for several kings—no, several emperors. Everything was set up perfectly for her.

"Please, sit down," Flamiere commanded, beckoning the fox-girl to the nearest seat.

"This looks delicious!" Meera exclaimed. Various meats, pastas, sweets, and salads surrounded the fox girl; and this was just going to be shared between her and Shadow? Her nostrils flooded with delectable scents, she decided to stop wasting time and to start digging in.

~3

Never in her life had she eaten so well. At the end of it all, her mouth was covered in grease and sauce—the likes of which she had completely forgotten to wipe off. Her protruding belly made her look like she was pregnant.

"I am Flamiere," the candelabrum said, bowing down to Meera "and I am gratefully at your service." He straightened up and met the fox's gaze.

All the other servants briefly introduced themselves. Boys bowed and girls curtsied. Meera was so happy that there were actually people—or enchanted objects—treating her like a guest and not a prisoner.

"You're doing us a favor," Ruby explained while dusting off the remainder of the table. "We haven't had work to do in…well, years!"

"Really?" asked Meera, her eyebrows raised

"Yes," the feather duster replied. "All we do is lie around and be bored."

As Ruby spoke to Meera, Flamiere stared at the feather duster in awe. "Yet she still looks great," he whispered to himself.

Surprised, Meera and Silver all heard him clearly. They exchanged glances with each other before smirking at the candelabrum.

Flamiere looked back and—realizing what he said—blushed and shrugged. "What?"

Starling giggled when she sneered, "Looks like someone's got a crush on a maid."

Her eyes widening in shock, Ruby looked at her and then at Flamiere. "Huh?"

Silver smiled. "It's nothing, Ruby."

Pushing herself into the conversation, Meera let out a loud belch. "Oh!" she giggled, "Excuse me!" She giggled once more before asking, "Hey Flamiere?"

Nearly forgetting about his conflict between Ruby, Silver, and Starling, Flamiere faced Meera when he asked, "Yes?"

"While Shadow is gone, would you mind giving me a tour of this castle?"

Silver flinched at the utterance of such words. "What?" he snapped. "No, no, no—absolutely not! There is no way I'm going to let that happen!"

"Oh, Silver," Starling scoffed. "Don't be such a stick in the mud!"

"I'm not being a stick in the mud!" he snorted. "I'm just thinking of what's best for us."

"I agree with Starling," Flamiere pointed out.

"Of course you do," sighed Silver. "You agree with anybody who disagrees with me."

It was at that moment when Ringo started yawning. Seeing her son's tiredness, Starling piped in, "Well, boys—I'd love to stay and chat, but it's Ringo's bedtime."

"Okay, then," Flamiere said with a smile. Seeing as the mother teapot put her son to bed, he called, "Goodnight, you two!" before turning over in Silver's direction. It was then when he continued, "Whether you like it or not, I'm giving Meera a tour."

The clock sighed. "Why do I even bother?"

"Oh, thanks guys!" Meera exclaimed, a smile on her face. She picked herself off her dining room chair—finding a slight difficulty in standing. After struggling to balance herself on her feet, Meera started following the candlestick as he led her out of the dining room.

Upon exiting the room, the objects started taking her all around the castle—watching carefully for Shadow. The last they wanted was for the Master to wring their necks on this day.

Only about a minute of touring had come to pass when a small flight of stairs caught the engorged fox's eye. Even though she was just now noticing it, she couldn't help but wonder, Why have we been passing it? Keeping the thought in mind, she broke away from the group and walked toward the stairs—her footsteps light like a butterfly's.

Ruby was the first to notice. "I think we lost her," she whispered, pointing over her shoulder.

"Huh?" Silver asked, growing suddenly nervous.

"What's the matter?" wondered Flamiere.

Both turning around at the same time, Flamiere and Silver caught sight of the fox climbing up the stairs. Their fear getting the better of them, they rushed back over to her.

Acting as if she hadn't even noticed the candlestick and clock, Meera stared up the dark stairwell. Shadows obscured everything—shrouding the room in mystery. "I wonder what's up there…?"

"Nothing!" Silver exclaimed, jumping in quickly. "Absolutely nothing of interest is in the West Wing!"

Meera was intrigued. "So this is the West Wing?"

Flamiere gave the clock an unimpressed stare. "Nice going."

Glowing red in the face, Silver grumbled, "Why you—!" With barely any warning coming their way, the boys started arguing in French.

Meera snorted at such a sight. I guess boys will be boys, she thought, glad she couldn't understand them. Keeping the thought in mind, she furtively slipped past them—careful not to let her bulging belly hold her back.

As she climbed up the stairs—letting the door to the West Wing cloud her eyes—she realized it was the second tallest door in the castle, engraved with mythical images. Upon reaching the door, Meera gently pushed it open—and gasped. The sight before her made her jaw drop in total awe.

The room looked as though it was once a magnificent, richly furnished room—but now it was in total shambles. Furniture bent down every which way; curtains exposed their holes to Meera's eyes. A huge portrait painting was crooked and slashed through the middle—obscuring the person's face.

In the midst of Meera's awe, she felt something pulling at her dress—the sensation of which made her gasp. Taking a look down, she realized it was her feather duster friend.

"Now, miss," Ruby began. "Surely you would like to see the library instead?"

Meera scowled before pulling away and wandering further into the room. Going further, she realized the damage was much more severe than first thought. The wood of the walls had been splintered and cracked; a mirror sitting near her had been smashed.

But what intrigued her most of all was a small glass dome—the likes of which held a shining object within it. What is that? the she-fox wondered, letting her curiosity get the better of her.

As Meera got closer, she realized the object in the dome was a red chaos emerald. It's beautiful! Her eyes bugged at the marvelous sight—but her daze didn't last long.

A loud voice made her jump and turn. "What are you doing here?!" it screeched.

Upon turning around, Meera let out a gasped when she realized Shadow was lingering in the doorway, his eyes ablaze with anger. "I—I—" Meera could only stutter.

He closed his eyes and softly ordered, "Get out"

Hoping to calm him down, she murmured, "But—"

"GET OUT!" Without warning, Shadow threw something at her.

Unable to see just what this object was, Meera dodged and quickly burst out the door, wrapping her shawl around her.

Flamiere—who was desperately hopping up the stairs—witnessed as Meera ran past him, weeping all the while. "Oh Mon dieu. Madamoiselle!" he yelled while chasing after her.

But he was too late; he watched as she ran out the door and into the snow—where Knuckles was fighting off a pack of robotic wolves.

Startled by the echidna's sudden appearance, Meera asked through her tears, "Knuckles?"

"Meera!" he growled, punching one of the wolves. "Uh—now's not the best time."

Shadow—his fists clenching in sheer rage—watched Meera and Knuckles from the balcony. I don't need her, he thought. She's just a trespasser.

"Seriously, Meera!" Knuckles insisted. "Get outta here before you—"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Meera snapped, tears leaking from her eyes. "Don't EVER tell me what to do!"

Feeling as if those words were directed toward them, the metal wolves turned toward Meera and started snarling.

Just try it, Meera silently called out to them. I dare you.

Almost as if they had heard her silent words, the robotic wolves snarled once more before charging toward her.

"Meera!" Knuckles cried, not believing what he was witnessing. "Move out of the way!" Letting out a grunt, he realized, I can't run up and save her; those wolves are too fast.

Still standing at his balcony, Shadow watched as the wolves turned on poor Meera. The hedgehog was ready to watch her get what he thought she deserved…

But did she really deserve it?

Shadow couldn't help but feel something for that girl. Something inside him couldn't stand to see her get hurt. It was this same urge which drove him to jump off the balcony; it was this same urge which drove him to charge; it was this same urge which drove him to protect her from the pack of wolves.

In the midst of her agony, Meera witnessed as Shadow defended her against the metal beasts. Such was enough to drive her out of her mentally-paralyzed state. He's—he's fighting those wolves, she realized, for me. The tears on her face now frozen, she stood in awe as he valiantly fought for her.