Random Person: Before I go off answering your review, I just need to tell you something first. I read your review at around ten at night, I was just about to go to bed, and you had me crying. I know it sounds stupid but I was literally almost in tears. It made me really happy and I couldn't sleep for forever because I was too happy! Thank you so much. Anyway I'm glad you like Elizabeth and I'm happy you think that the OCs aren't horrible. I hate that also. Yeah, I really try to keep them in character as much as possible, but I also want them to act their roles. for example, Lancelot. I think he would still have the same demeanor but he would be softer with his own child. Yes, Cream will most likely be an important character in this story. I'm not planning on changing anything...yet. I'm glad you're a Christian. There should be more of those on here, right? My favorite character has to be the dark hedgehog himself, Shadow. I'll admit, I am obsessed with him, but Sonic and Silver are both in second place. Oh yeah, about Tyrone and Elizabeth! I know, I wonder what'll happen in the future between Tyrone, Elizabeth and Lancelot. *Smirks deviously* And I'll update as fast as I can. ;)

Musicalocelot: I wonder what's wrong with King Arthur? We'll just have to keep reading won't we? Haha, anyway yeah, keep a close eye on that king... And Elizabeth and Tyrone..."SQUEAL!" They're too cute!

Kegger98: Read on. ;)

Disclaimer: Lancelot and anyone related belongs to Sega. All OCs belong to me. Translation credits to Google Translate.

Chapter 10: Are they really that bad?

She couldn't believe she was going to go through with this. Her father would kill her if he knew. And not just kill her, but make sure to resurrect her and then kill her again. It was just what he did. She couldn't believe she was going to go behind his back and actually do this. But she had to. No matter how much he kept her away from them. She would always find a way to have it in her hands. The touch of straight metal and sliver never got old, to her. It was her passion, it was part of her soul and it made up 75% of her life.

Swords.

Yes, the swords. The same things she has been obsessed with ever since she could see. Those swords, big, small, thin, wide, they were all the same to her. They still served their one purpose, to fight. She wasn't big on violence, doesn't mean she doesn't agree with it on some levels, but if avoidable then she'd rather go that way. And she wasn't looking to do this just so she could know how to kill. No. She just craved the feeling. The feeling to know and hold these things. She wanted to know how to use it, each and every fact about how these things were used. Just to be able to hold on to one gave her unbelievable happiness. She didn't know why, and when she expressed these feelings to Tyrone he'd thought she'd gone off the deep end but still, he understood. If you have a passion about something, you go for it. And taking in his words, she was going to find out how to use such things.

Her uncle had agreed to teach. To help train her, but of course, she didn't give him an insight on everything. Her father, Lancelot, had made sure to let everyone know to keep her away from those things. Only when he was around was she able to even see them. But his strict rules and verbal warnings were never enough to keep her away. Each and every day, whiles her father, aunt, and uncle trained she would observe and watch how they each maneuvered their weapons in their own special way, but still had the same basic movements. Elizabeth had told Gawain her father gave her permission to train as long as she didn't get hurt. For a moment, he hesitated before compelling. Apparently saying, "Do you want me to go get him?" takes you a very long way.

Just to be fair, she had asked Lancelot multiple times if he could just teach her the basics. But each and every time he answered with a strict no and ended the discussion before she was able to further protest. And every time he said no, this only urged her to keep pushing until one day he, unexpectedly, blew. To Elizabeth's surprise he started screaming and then he just walked off grumbling to himself. Yeah, she cried, but just for about five to fifty minutes. Not much. It wasn't as if she could blame him either. He was just trying to protect her but sometimes she felt he was too protective. She felt the need to break his bondage, to emancipate from his holds. She couldn't live under his hold for forever. She was 13 now. By this age's standards she was technically old enough to marry even. (We all know Lancelot's not going to let that slide).

So, here she was now walking with a skirt and blouse. Not, very much, appropriate attire for training but her uncle said he would take her to be fitted for some. Elizabeth walked along the cement flooring watching in excitement as the men around her fought. Endless clanks and clashes had her mind buzzing with giddiness. One day, she would be as good as them, maybe even better!

"There you are Bessie. I was starting to think you ran out on me," Gawain said, his voice cutting her amazement short. But the sparkle in her eyes flew back as he smiled and handed her armor. She blinked.

"Uncle Gawain, aren't I supposed to be fitted for this?" she asked holding the charcoal colored suit up. The design was almost like her father's, save for a few details, but something different about it was that there was a purple wrist band where hand and arm connected. She shrugged not knowing what it was for, but admired it. It was everything she expected. As she observed her armor, forgetting about her previous question, when she heard this sentence from her uncle, her entire body was filled with dread.

"Somehow the king had heard of this and offered to have your suit made. He claimed he'd already obtained your measurements so that wasn't needed. Mighty thoughtful of him, huh? Though, I wonder how he knew? I didn't even bring it up."

Elizabeth swallowed the spit in her mouth. It moved down like a massive lump hurting her throat as it felt like it was constricted. Sonic knew. No, King Arthur knew. The king knew all about this. He and her father were as good as any friends could be, he was bound to find out about this. No, not now. This couldn't be happening. Her one chance at finally learning what she craved for her entire life and before she even gets the chance to begin, it's over.

How did he find out about this anyway? Not even Percival knew. Like Gawain had said, he hadn't even brought it up. Was King Arthur around while she and her uncle made the agreement? Did some hear about it and spread it around. She would die if her father heard about this. Actually, she would be dead before the next day. This was not good. She needed to find out how and when King Arthur found out about this. Now.

"Hey Bessie," Gawain said smiling with a twinge of concern, "everything alright? You look as if you're in trouble."

I'm going to be if I don't get to the bottom of this.

Elizabeth shook her head, holding the suit close to her side. "Yes, uncle, I'm fine. I'm just a bit light headed," she acted, holding a hand to her head, "I-I don't feel too-" she stumbled before finishing. The red echidna ran to her side holding her shoulders.

"I don't think we should start today," he said, voice etched with worry. Elizabeth's eyes turned a light purple, "But uncle-"

He shook his head sternly. "No buts Bessie. You head home and I promise, if you're feeling well, we'll start then. But, for now, get some rest, alright?"

"Oh, alright," she sighed sadly.

Gawain nodded at her. She said her goodbyes before taking her leave, still holding onto her armor. She'd learn how to make her eyes change color, but it only worked at times. She had to think of something in order for it to work and even that sometimes didn't work. 85% of the time it failed but surprisingly it worked there. Boy, was she happy. Right when she was out of eyes sight she broke into a sprint, the metal suit hitting her legs with a thwamp. Elizabeth, like her father was fast. She couldn't run at incredible speeds, but she ran faster than the average Mobian and that was okay with her. Anyways, she was sure she would face plant more times than she could count. She was just clumsy like that.

Her feet took her to the entrance of the castle. Her breathing was patterned into short gasps for air. Her legs slightly ached and a bead of sweat rolled down her temple, but at that moment, her appearance wasn't important. With a heavy sigh and nod she walked in. The moment she entered a guard came up to her asking why she was there. The brown bear was tall, very tall, and his expression was stern. His scowl intimidated her greatly but she needed to talk with the king it was important.

"U-um-"

"State your name and why you are here," his deep voice boomed, impatiently. She was pretty sure his voice was deeper than her father's, and that was pretty deep.

"M-my name is Elizabeth Ann du Lac, daughter of-"

"Sir Lancelot. I'm well aware. Now state the reason for your appearance!"

She fumbled gripping her armor tightly. Her eyes darted to floor, no longer having the courage to look the brown bear in the eyes.

"I-I n-need to s-speak with the king. It's import-" she gasped as his hand suddenly latched around her wrist. Elizabeth dropped the suit causing a loud clank to echo out into the empty palace hall ways. The bear's eyes bored right into hers, giving her the most chilling glare she's ever witnessed. A shudder of sheer terror rolled through her eyes giving them a glowing pale purple. His razor sharp teeth and then displayed as he growled made the fur on her body rise up.

His eyes narrowed, "Why did your eyes just change," she blinked, not understanding his confusion. "Wha-what do you mean-" and then she gasped as he roared, "Who and what are you!"

Her body was so tensed up and in shock she couldn't hear King Arthur's voice from ahead. He was suddenly at their sides, in less than a second.

"What is going on," he said eyed Elizabeth who only stared, eyes wide with alarm at the bear, "here…." His gaze sauntered over to their hands. One holding another's in a tight grip. He noticed the feeble hand that was in such a tight hold was shaking terribly. He could barely see anything but a blur of black fur. Immediately King Arthur's anger flared. His forest green orbs glowed with rage and he glared at the guard.

"Unhand her," he seethed, trying his best not to explode.

"But your majesty, this girl just intruded-"

"Now." That was all he needed to say when the guard hesitantly let go of the girl. "Go back to your post Borris," Arthur stated keeping his eyes on Elizabeth who still shook. The bear stood straight and left without a word said. He angrily mumbled as he went.

As soon as he was out of eye-shot King Arthur hurried to the trembling form. Elizabeth had her hand gripping her arms as she bowed her head lowly. The king couldn't see her eyes. The same eyes that filled with small tears, threatening to fall.

"I'm sorry if he scared you," he said chuckling, "Borris can be frightening at times." When a few seconds had passed and she hadn't answered Arthur tilted his head. "Are you alright, Elizabeth?" With no answer his brows scrunched together. His gaze then averted to the armor on the floor beside the girl. He smiled picking it up.

"I see you have received my gift to you. Have you tried it on yet? I do hope it fits. Vanilla had said she obtained your measurements from sewing a dress for you back then. Hopefully they were still accurate?"

Again, the answer he was given was silence. He placed the armor down carefully eyeing the girl who shook terribly. His hand smoothly ran over her shoulder in hopes of comforting her. What was wrong? He sent Borris away? Did he say something? His irises widened as a tiny gasp escaped her lips. He was about to question her when more showed up until a violent sob tore from her throat.

"Elizabeth!?" he exclaimed, alarmed.

The ebony hedgehog put her hand over her eyes and darted away. Arthur caught her arm, making her stop. She tried struggling out of his grip but found it no use. He flipped her over so she could face him. The azure hedgehog silently gasped as the hot tears trailed over her face and eyes were terribly red as her cheeks. He tried to wipe away oncoming tears but was merely surprised as she slapped away his hand. He immediately contracted both hands giving Elizabeth the chance to run.

King Arthur looked at his hand in sadness and then off to the direction she ran. "Elizabeth…" he whispered, letting her name run smoothly off his tongue.

What was the matter?

That was the same question Lancelot wanted answered. Right away. If anyone knew him, they would know having his daughter violently sob on his lap wasn't something he took a liking too. Let's just say if he were to find out someone did this to her, they better pray to the Lord that they don't even hear his name.

Lancelot rubbed circles on Elizabeth's back as she cried. His eyes were half-lidded as he whispered hushes and loving coos into her ear. His shoulder was wet with tears but, as of right now, he could care less. The crimson stained hedgehog waited patiently for her cries to turn into sniffles before questioning her. He first made her sit upright and looked into her lavender eyes. He wiped away some of the tears.

"Tell me what has made these awful tears appear on this beautiful face. I'll make sure to pound it to the ground," he said, smirking, although he wasn't entirely joking. A small smile cracked through Elizabeth's lips but it quickly left. She shook her head laying her head back down on her father's shoulder. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he encircled his around her body, cradling her.

"Watashi no ai wa, oshietekudasai," he pleaded, stroking her quills.

Elizabeth's grip tightened on his neck. She buried her face into his chest fur, the hairs caressing her teary features.

"M-my eyes," she replied, throat clogged with mucus.

Lancelot's eyebrows scrunched together in a scowl. "What about your eyes?" he growled, confused and angry. Many answers she could give flowed through his mind causing his calm breathes to escalate into angry pants. What about her eyes? Just because they changed color doesn't mean that something was to be feared about. In fact, that tiny characteristic was what made her absolutely fantastic, beautiful. He would have her no other way.

Or maybe they weren't about her eye color. Maybe they just hurt. He looked down at the weeping form. They must hurt really badly, if that was the case.

Seconds turned into minutes and a full five of them passed without an answer. All that the 13 year old girl did was cry. She held onto her father, nearly choking him, not that he minded. With each terrible cry she would try to cover her mouth in order to quiet herself down but it never worked. After the first few tries, Elizabeth gave up and just poured her tears out. Her breathing, eccentric, and her body, trembling, had the poor girl feeling miserable. Her eyes, the source of the problem, were shut close, away from the world so no one could see them.

It was better that way, right?

No one would have to be exposed to the freakishly disturbing view. No one would have to witness the shiny orbs change color with emotion. No one would have to be a subject to such horrifying changes. It was just right to close them. Just shut them away. The world would be better without them.

He wanted it to stop. He wanted to make it stop, the pain that is. But how do you do that if you don't even know where to start? It was as if asking someone to find gold for them. Well, where? Someone can't just blindly go out there and search. It was illogical. It was hard to take away the pain from the person you love the most if you don't know where the pain originated from. It was hard for Lancelot to just sit there and keep quiet. But that was all he could do. Just soothingly rub her back and kiss her head.

After 13 years you would think he would at least know how to calm her down, huh?

So for the next hour, the two ebon hedgehogs sat there, holding each other as if life depended on it. One was weeping and one held the other with comfort. Father and daughter using only their arms to bind them together. It was actually funny really. Every time Elizabeth would mumble, "daddy," the word only picked at his heart. It seemed that as the years were going by that simple word held more meaning. He wouldn't admit this to anyone, but Lancelot savored each and every time Elizabeth called him that. Now that they were out more and about and as she grew older, that word became increasingly scares. It was surprisingly hard for him but he would learn to move on.

(0…)

He was a bit worried about her, Lancelot was.

Elizabeth refused to do anything; eat, sleep, go to school. Okay, so it hadn't been exactly that long since she's last eaten and she had school tomorrow, but when he suggested it she shook her head. He'd tried given her a fruit but she pushed it away mumbling she wasn't hungry. After suggesting getting some rest, she flat out ignored him. You couldn't really blame him for worrying.

After she was finished with her crying she climbed off of him and put quite a distance between them. She walked, silently, straight to her room and sat on her bed. Just sat there, crossing her arms and glaring at the wall a few feet from her. She barely moved, barely made a sound, Lancelot had to check a few times to see if she was breathing. Her stature was cold and still and her red eyes reminded much of his. The hard scowl upon her face made him cringe. There was definitely something wrong with her and he could rule out that her eyes hurt. Pain in someone's eyes could not form them into an angry statue.

This was his fourth time peeking into her room. The cold atmosphere filling the empty spaces sent a shiver down his spine. What could have made her this upset? Elizabeth wasn't one to get this angry, at least he thought so. He's never witnessed her be so angry at someone or something that she wouldn't even move. It was a frightening experience for him, being a new father despite how many years it has been. He was still learning, after all.

"Elizabeth?" he whispered although he knew not why.

She didn't even acknowledge him. The hedgehog teen continued to glare at the wall. By now, Lancelot thought there would be a hole there. He sighed after a few second of silence and walked over to her, sitting at least two feet away on the mattress. He looked at her hoping for her to at least look at him, but nothing happened. The only thing that filled the space between them was cold air and this made him anxious. Lancelot never figured out why he always felt nervous when she was angry, especially when she wasn't angry at him. It made him feel….off. It was rather peculiar, to say. Wouldn't one feel more nervous when the other was upset at them? He didn't know, but he did have something important to tell her. Something he found off.

"I have just received a word from one of the messengers that the king would like to see us."

For the first time, in what seemed forever, Lancelot had gotten a reaction from his daughter. It was a small one, but it still counted. Elizabeth's brows scrunched together making her look as if he had just spoken in a foreign language to her. He was delighted yet confused, but still happy she hadn't turned to stone.

A smirk played on his lips. "Although, I do not know the reason why he would need us. Perhaps," he studied her expression, "you could inform me?"

The smirk on his lips left and his features turned confused. As his eyes slanted and he moved closer, to the hedgehog's whose eyes were wide, alarmed, and light purple, Lancelot spoke, "Elizabeth, what is the matter? Does the king have something to do with what hap-"

Elizabeth looked at him. I mean, really looked at him. It cut him off and left him gazing back, eyes wide. Her eyes, a deep fuchsia, gazed at him with warning. "No. I know how you are, don't do anything stupid, father. The king had nothing to do with what happened today. Sore o doroppu," she stated irritated. She looked away from him uncrossing her arms and folding her hand on her lap.

This was not good.

If they went over there, King Arthur was sure to give her back the armor she left there. How was she supposed to explain herself if her father saw? She couldn't tell him she planned to go behind his back and learn the ways of the same things he never wanted her going near. The trip there was sure to fall into quick disaster and she already had enough to deal with. She didn't even want to go back there, where that bear was.

He made her so insecure. At first she had no idea what he was talking about. But when it clicked, it suddenly turned her emotions into a jungle. She didn't know how to feel about herself anymore. You have to consider that she was now entering the stage where her hormones were acting up. Any little thing she was told about herself deeply lowered her self-esteem, but it was always at full height the next day. Once her father had said one of her old dresses was too tight on her and she broke down stating how he was telling her she was over-weight. It was definitely an interesting moment between them but that was nowhere compared to what that bear did.

It didn't take a scientist to know her eyes changed color. Secretly she was always a bit self-conscious about them but because no one had said anything about them, she had forgotten about her issue. But because that bear had yelled at her, basically telling her she wasn't a normal being. Well, it hurt. A lot. It made her doubt every compliment she's ever gotten about them. Were they really that ugly and weird that other's had to make up nice things about them in order to get her to not notice their appearance? It was rather upsetting to be lied to and taking pity upon! She would rather have someone tell her the cold hard truth. It would've been better.

But wasn't that what the bear did, and look how she took it.

Here Elizabeth was, being disrespectful and upset at her father who had nothing to do with the ordeal. He was just trying to be just that; her father. And she wouldn't allow him. This was her problem to deal with. It wasn't fair for her to make the others she loves miserable just because she was. So, when Lancelot's lids lowered to their half–way mark and sighed she felt a pang in her heart. He mumbled an apology before getting up to leave. Elizabeth grabbed his arm flipping him around. She stood up and gazed at him, apologetic. The young girl embraced him quickly and pulling back, never letting him return it. She whispered her apology before saying, "I'm going to freshen up before we go."

Lancelot only nodded as he stepped out of her room closing the door. Elizabeth fell on her bed, face first. She had surely just ensured her own death by the hands of her father by going. Gosh, it much easier when she was younger, picking her own happiness over anyone else's. It was much easier when she didn't have a conscience. It was much easier when she could pick pastries over her father's happiness.

Translations:

Watashi no ai wa, oshietekudasai-Please, my love, tell me.

Sore o doroppu-Drop it.

Well, Elizabeth has aged. Yes, she now understands Japanese and can speak it. Well, some words. I'm still deciding when she would understand everything there is to know about Japanese. As you can see, a major problem about Elizabeth's eyes had been created. Speaking of which, the title of the chapter has to do with her eyes. Just saying because I've realized that it can get confusing and I really don't feel like changing it now. back to Elizabeth, this is around the time that she more self-conscious about herself and appearance. It's what happens during changes. I can't really say much right now because I don't think my brain is working anymore so...yeah. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you for the reviews also!

Thank You. R&R

~God Bless You~