Author's Note: Wow, thank you, MissMJS, aliciathewolf45, jessicashadow, guest, aqua9597 and Sadlittledemon for your reviews! Much appreciated. I'm interested to hear what you guys think of the Finitevus/Rouge pairing, I decided to try it out in this story, but I'd love to hear your input. Anyway, enough of my rambling and onto the chapter! Enjoy. :)

•~•

At the castle, Rouge took up Finitevus' proposal and had afternoon tea with him in the garden behind the castle. Two guards stood post by the trees to watch over the two on their afternoon date. Rouge placed her cup onto her saucer after taking a sip. "So, this really is tea, then..?"

Finitevus sat across from her smiling proudly. "Mhm. Why would I have lied?"

"Perhaps because you've had no problem lying to Amy or Shadow in the past," she said rather pointedly.

He smirked by her remark. "Touche, my dear, but I have no intention of lying to you."

"What's so special about me that you feel you don't have to lie?" she questioned.

"For starters, I actually like you," he smirked.

She smiled in response then looked to her right seeing two targets and a section holding bows and arrows on display. Finitevus caught her glance and spotted what she was staring at. He smiled as an idea came to mind. "Care to try your skill?" he asked standing from his seat.

Rouge followed his lead by standing. "I've never even held a bow before," she replied following him.

Finitevus eyed the different bows on the rack. "Hm, let's see…your right handed, so…" he reached for a bow. "This one should do."

"How do you know I'm right handed?" she asked as he walked over with a bow and arrow in hand.

He handed her the bow and arrow. "I pay attention and have an eye for small details." He took her left hand and moved her sleeve down to reveal her forearm. Rouge gasped as he allowed his fingertips to trail down her arm sensually. She felt her arm tingle by his touch, something she hadn't expected to happen. Finitevus began to skillfully buckle on a piece of armor for her forearm. "This is a vambrace. It goes on the non-dominant arm because mistakes in this game…can hurt."

Rouge looked down at the piece, admiring the leather armor keeping her arm protected. "May I?" Finitevus nodded and remained behind her, watching her stance for correction. Rouge held the bow in her left hand and pulled back on the string with the arrow in her right. "Like this?" she asked.

"No, no," he spoke making his way closer to her. He lowered his head next to her ear, allowing her to feel his warm breath trickle down the back of her neck. "You're too quick." Finitevus fixed her positioning, allowing one hand to adjust her elbow and direction of the arrow. "The eye is more important than the hand. See your target?" he asked.

She nodded. "Y-yes," she replied in a shaky breath. For some unknown reason, this archery lesson was coming off a lot more seductive than she had anticipated. He was so sexy instructing her on proper stance and the fact that his body was closely pressed against hers, along with his touch, was driving her crazy.

He smirked, sensing her nervousness. "Understand what you're aiming for, don't just physically let fly. Now, sight the center. The rest of the circles are irrelevant." With that, Finitevus released his hold on her position and stepped back to allow her to release.

Rouge took a few moments, held her breath and released. The arrow whizzed through the air and struck the dead center of the target. Rouge seemed surprised by her first attempt, but nonetheless, was proud. She smiled as she looked to Finitevus for praise.

"Congratulations," he smiled. "—Of course, the beginning is often promising." He reached out and placed a hand on her lower backside, making her blush. "The trick is to keep it going that way," he grinned as his eyelids lowered suggestively.

•~•

Meanwhile in the countryside, Shadow and Cordovan rode up on horseback toward a lone female elderly pig sitting off the side of the dirt path. Dirty and weary, she sat in silence by a burnt farm. "Mistress, a royal carriage was attacked just down the road, did you happen to see anything?" Cordovan addressed.

The female looked up with a blank expression towards the royals but then looked away silently. Shadow sensed some reluctance on her part and cleared his throat. "You needn't be worried, I am the king of Mobius. I give you my word; no one will harm you."

Slowly, she looked up at him, puzzled by his claim. "You're not the king of Mobius," she spat. "The king of Mobius burned down my farm!" she pointed behind her. The royal's eyes followed where she pointed to the burnt, crisp, remains of a farmhouse. "We didn't give him enough money, he said," the female spoke rather annoyed. Shadow and Cordovan exchanged looks of flummox. "He made an example of me and me husband's farm last night! Besides, you don't even look like him."

It suddenly dawned on Cordovan what had taken place. "Imposters, doing evil in the name of the royals," Cordovan deduced. "And of course, they're doing it to discredit the king and queen to undermine the throne."

Shadow looked worried by this theory. "Whoever is behind it…we must hope my wife and Isabelle are nowhere near them." Shadow turned to his men. "Let us split up into groups. We must cover as much ground as quickly as possible!"

The guards nodded and split off into sectors leaving Shadow, Cordovan, and few spare guards behind. Shadow turned to look at the female once more. "Madam, I assure you once I find my wife I will make sure you have a new home built for you. I promise."

•~•

Back at the tavern, Amy and Isabelle made their way upstairs to meet with the imposters. As they approached the room they resided in, a fake guard blocked them from getting any closer to the open door. "Her Majesty wishes to be alone," he said assertively.

The two were about to back off until the fake queen of Mercia popped her head from around the corner after catching sight of her guests. "Oh, no, it's all right. You can let them in," she assured her guard.

Her guard shot her a questionable look, before ultimately obliging and stepping aside. "Of course, your highness."

The two monarchs walked inside, looking grateful for entrance. "Thank you, your highness, we were just hoping to get a word in with you?" Isabelle smiled falsely.

She giggled. "Ah, yes! Have a seat," she offered.

Amy and Isabelle sat down with the 'queen'. "Your majesty, my mother and I are ladies maids out of work due to the plague," she lied.

Her eyes beamed by the mention of their jobs. "Oh! I have always wanted to be a lady's maid!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Amy cocked a brow, troubled by her out of character response. "Really? But you're the queen of Mobius," she reminded politely.

The female imposter quickly realized her mistake. "Oh, of course! I meant that when I imagine being one of the common people, I think being a lady's maid would be fun," she clarified before taking a long sip of her wine to stall for time.

Amy and Isabelle shot each other looks before focusing on the panic of the imposter sipping away at her wine. Unfortunately, she too noticed their skeptical stares and placed her goblet down and sighed. "Chaos. You know, don't you? Is that why you're here?" she asked looking frantic. "I just made up the pond of milk back there, so why did you back me up?"

"Oh, I don't care that you're an imposter, I just didn't want to see you get hurt," Amy replied sincerely.

She blinked a few times in shock by her answer. "Really? Such a kind gesture from a stranger."

"I was just doing what felt right."

"My daughter tends to do that, a lot," Isabelle mumbled.

"Hey, being an imposter can be hard sometimes, but getting all the free stuff isn't so bad," she laughed. "My boyfriend and I have been doing it for a few weeks now and it's had its ups and downs."

"It's a genius ploy, if you ask me," Isabelle replied looking at her nails out of boredom.

Amy nodded. "She's right and you're a spitting image of Amy Queen of Mercia," she lied.

"You know, you seem like a really sweet girl. My real name is Rosy by the way," she introduced sticking out her hand.

Amy shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Rosy. I'm Am—I mean, Amanda," she lied.

Rosy giggled. "Nice to meet you, Amanda!"

Isabelle rolled her eyes at Amy's fake name but decided to play along. "And I'm Isadora," Isabelle finished.

Rosy clapped her hands together. "Well, I must thank you again for helping me back there, if there's anything I'd like to help!"

"Well, a trip back to Mobius wouldn't hurt," Isabelle, hinted lowly.

Rosy was giddy. "I'll help you get back to Mobius, then!" Amy smiled at Isabelle, now that their plan had worked.

But before they could celebrate too long, the door opened and the black and blue hedgehog playing the imposter king sauntered inside. Rosy immediately stood from her seat, suddenly looking rather frightened by his entrance. His cold eyes scanned the room, eying both Amy and Isabelle skeptically. "What are you telling these people?" he asked rather passively.

"It's all right, they're good people and I promised to take them to Mobius!" she smiled sheepishly.

Amy and Isabelle felt the atmosphere change and stood, feeling they'd need to leave the room soon. The king stared for a long moment at Rosy before closing his eyes and exhaling a long breath. His eyes opened and looked towards the two females. "Would you mind waiting outside? I need to have a word with my queen." Rosy's ears fell, suddenly realizing that his talk would not be used with many words.

The two true monarchs sensed the frustration in his voice but played along with it, acting like they hadn't sensed his anger. They curtsied in obligation and left without another word. The king pulled one of his guards towards him as they walked out the door. "Keep them from leaving," he whispered. The guard nodded then followed the two out and blocked them from the staircase.

Amy and Isabelle tried to smile at the guard, despite knowing they were in dangerous territories, "Allow us to pass," Isabelle demanded.

SMACK!

Amy and Isabelle turned to look back at the door when they heard a loud slap followed by a yelp from inside the room. It sounded like Rosy was getting a rather royal beat down from her king.

•~•

Back inside the room, the fake king gripped Rosy tightly by the arms after hitting her several times in the face. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Rosy?"

She cowered in his arms with a stinging cheek and bloody lip. "Please, Dexter, I'm telling you, they know nothing!"

"If they know nothing, then why did that girl back you up downstairs?" he growled. "I was there, I heard her. They have to be onto us…unless."

She whimpered as he released his hold on her from his revelation. "Unless, what?" she mumbled.

"Unless, she's the real queen of Mercia," he theorized. "What do they want from us?"

She shook her head. "Nothing other than a ride back to Mobius," she replied, backing away from him.

"What did they tell you about themselves?" he interrogated.

"J-just that they're a couple of lady's maids of the duke," she replied timidly.

"No," he dismissed. "They're more than that," he spoke analyzing the information. "They're putting on some sort of act themselves."

Rosy fiddled with her fingers. "You're just paranoid, Dexter…"

"If they're the real queens we could hold them hostage for money, or, better yet, kill them and get paid for their assassination," Dexter contemplated rubbing his hands together.

"Please, don't," she begged. "They're so nice!"

He shoved her against the wall causing her to squeal. "Listen, Rosy. You and I are going to pretend to take them back to the castle. You will play along and if I hear one peep from you telling them about our plan, I'll kill you myself," he threatened. Rosy swallowed the lump in her throat.

•~•

After an hour into their journey, Amy, Isabelle, and Rosy had been quiet for some time during the ride. Amy peeked out of the carriage window past the curtain but couldn't see much now that it was dark. She turned to look to Rosy, who still seemed rather frazzled with her encounter with her partner. "We should have hit the main road by now." Rosy whimpered and shut her eyes, unable to look in Amy's direction out of guilt. "What's wrong, tell me?" she probed.

Rosy shook her head. "No, I can't."

Amy furrowed her brows, becoming firmer. "Come on, please?"

Rosy looked back towards the small window behind her head before finally turning towards the two queens. "Dexter, my partner told me to keep quiet, but when he sees that I can't keep myself together, he's going to kill me too," she said fearfully.

"Kill you, too? Your lover plans to kill us?" she spoke exasperated.

Rosy nodded timidly. "He told me that he believes you are the real queen of Mobius and he wants to get payment for your assassination." Amy and Isabelle looked terrified by the information. Rosy sensed hostility aimed towards her. "I-I tried to talk him out of it, but he did not want to hear anything of it!" she explained, tears streaking down her face.

"We should kill her and make a break for it," Isabelle deduced, not buying her claim.

"No," Amy spoke. "I believe her." She reached for something near her ankle hidden under her dress hem and pulled out a dagger. "If I learned anything at Mobian court, is always keeps a dagger on you." Isabelle eyed the weapon ponderously before she began to search around her own pockets. She revealed a gold pin with a flower embellishment. "Poison?" Amy assumed, looking at it.

Isabelle rolled her eyes by her statement. "Oh, you say that so hopefully now, but sadly, it's not." Amy looked saddened by this, only causing Isabelle to grow more irritated. "I don't carry poison everywhere. I might accidently kill myself!" she exclaimed.

"Dexter has guards out there," Rosy chimed in. "You'd never get close enough," she whispered.

"He might let you get close enough," Amy theorized.

"And what about the other guards?" Isabelle pointed.

"Once we get rid of Dexter we'll have only two guards to the three of us. It's the only chance we've got," Amy argued.

Rosy began to sob more, anxious on their plan. "No, no, please! I'm a coward!" she cried silently.

Isabelle smirked. "Good. Cowards want to live." Quickly she snatched Amy's dagger out of her hand and snapped her fingers to get Rosy's attention. "Now, the quickest," she noticed Rosy looking away again. "Hey!" she snapped grabbing her attention again. "The quickest route to the heart is through the fifth and sixth rib," she explained using Amy as a demo. She jabbed at Amy's side with the handle of the knife for demonstration, causing Amy to grunt in response.

"Hey, ow!"

Isabelle handed the dagger over to Rosy. "Take it."

Reluctantly, Rosy accepted the dagger, looking at it in her trembling hand. Amy placed a reassuring hand on top of hers. "It's our only chance of survival."

A few minutes later the carriage pulled to a full stop. The door was opened and one of Dexter's guards allowed the two queens out. Amy was the first one to step outside and noticed they were stopped on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. The only thing she could see was a valley of tall grass on either side of the road. They were literally out in the open and in the middle of nowhere. Amy gulped but remained confident as she was instructed to meet the male imposter waiting at the front of the carriage. Isabelle walked out behind her and the two stopped a few feet away from the fake monarch. "What is the problem? Why did we stop, your highness?"

Dexter smirked, amused by her act. "Amy, Queen of Mercia…Did you really think you'd have any chance of claiming the Dragon throne from Conquering Storm herself?"

Both Amy and Isabelle were appalled by the revelation. Were Dexter and Rosy working for Conquering Storm? "Conquering Storm is behind this imposter act?" Isabelle gawked.

Dexter nodded staring at Amy. "Yes, and she's paid us quite well to destroy you and your husband's creditability." Rosy suddenly made her way over towards her abusive lover and stood by his side, trying to play up her role. "I wonder how much more she would pay me to rid her of her rivals," he examined. He reached for his sword on his side and brandished it. "Who knew I'd manage to find the Queen of Mercia herself, alone, unarmed, with not a single guard to save her," he boasted.

Isabelle smirked herself. "Not entirely alone." Dexter furrowed his brows at the queen, confused by her comment until Rosy took the cue to shove Amy's hidden dagger into Dexter's side causing him to yelp.

"Ah!" He swatted her away, causing her to fall to the ground. "Damn you, wretched slags!" Rosy tried to scramble away but he plunged his sword down into her back, ultimately killing her.

"No!" Amy screamed trying to lunge forward, but Isabelle held her back.

Dexter smiled wickedly, not feeling a single drop of remorse for his doing. He drew his sword out of her back and pointed it in their direction. Amy and Isabelle stared at the blood-drenched tip. "Wait, wait!" Isabelle interrupted. "Before you do anything else, you could make so much more money if you held us for ransom." Dexter lowered his sword slightly, intrigued in her pitch. Seeing that she had caught his attention, she continued her plea. "You could bankrupt Mobius! Shadow will pay any price for his wife and stepmother!"

Dexter pondered on the thought for a moment, then took another step towards them with his weapon drawn. "I don't trust you."

Time was running out, but Amy had another plan in action. She pulled out Isabelle's decorative pin, holding it out towards him. "Stay back, it's poisoned!" she warned.

Dexter remained unfazed by her threat causing Amy to utilize it in a different way. "Is this a joke?" he laughed.

She stabbed it into the ass of the horse to her left causing it to rear up in response. Dexter stumbled backward to avoid its rise but fell backward into the dirt. As he laid on his back, he looked up and saw the reared up horse make its way back down but was unable to move out of the way in time as its hoofs came down. A loud crunch along with his scream echoed into the night as it crushed his skull.

Amy and Isabelle held each other in comfort, fearing the worse after destroying one of their assailants, but turned after realizing they had two more guards to deal with. The two guards drew their swords ready to attack but then stopped when they caught sight of something behind the two queens. "Step away from the queens, in the name of Mobius" a booming, authoritative, voice demanded.

It was King Shadow and Prince Cordovan. "It's Shadow!" Amy smiled in relief. Four of Shadow's guards dismounted their horses and ran over to detain the fake guards.

Shadow dismounted and ran towards Amy embracing her immediately. Even though they hadn't been on the best of terms, she was relieved to be back in his arms. "Amy, are you okay?" he asked, looking her over.

She nodded. "Yes, I'm fine."

He held her, stroking the back of her head. "I'm so glad to see you safe and sound," he smiled kissing the top of her head.

"I'm just as happy now that you've found me," she smiled.

•~•

Once they arrived back to court, Shadow helped Amy off his steed and back onto the ground. It had been a somewhat awkward journey back to the castle, once Amy remembered their argument was still very palpable between them. Shadow stared at her, wanting to apologize for everything he said after realizing how close he was to losing her. "Amy I wanted to…"

"—I'll retire to our chambers," she said cutting him off. "I'm very tired."

He frowned by her disinterest. "Of course," he responded in defeat. Shadow watched as Amy walked inside the castle leaving him with Isabelle, who had witnessed the entire awkward exchange go down. The matriarch sighed in annoyance and approached the black and red monarch. "You're a fool."

"Excuse me?" Shadow shot her a perturbed glance. "This is none of your business."

"Amy risked her life today and she was out there because she wanted to please, you," she said pointing a finger to his chest. "And you want to know how? By seeing a physician who could help her have a baby!" Had Amy really gone to that length to please him? It made him feel even worse by the thought. "Shadow, I for one, know that desperation and your pressure isn't helping." Isabelle sighed, lowering her aggression. "I was reminded today that she's a good fighter to have around when your back is against the wall."

"Is that it?" he asked, hoping she was nearing her point.

"Whatever is going on, trust her. Be honest! If you don't… she'll end up a thousand miles away from you, playing her role out of duty," she warned.

He practically scoffed. "And you would care? You hate Amy."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "She has a childlike belief that a female should trust her husband. I only wish it were true," she finished before walking off to leave him with his thoughts.

•~•

AN: Remember to leave a review! ;)