Chapter Twenty: Talk of royalty. An extreme decision

Blaze found herself reluctantly walking through the hallways of the palace, heading to the throne room. The king had summoned her to the throne room right after the mission, but she hadn't wanted to leave Sonic's side. She feared even now that he was going to die. However, she was persuaded to go to the throne room despite Sonic's injury, and at first she managed to push her worrying aside. Now, it was returning to her. She asked herself, "Am I going to have to watch him die? I've grown to love him...just to see him die so early in our lives?"

She reached the throne room doors and briefly stopped. Something in the back of her head told her that something drastic was going to happen when she entered. She took a deep breath and stepped inside. She found the king sitting in his throne, currently reading a book. He looked up, and said, "You've finally arrived. I was wondering if you were even coming or not."

Blaze walked in and said, "I apologize. Sonic...we think he may die. He sustained a very bad injury during our mission."

The king seemed surprised by this news, and said, "Unfortunate. Most unfortunate. Well, the doctors will do what they can to keep him alive and save him. Until then, we have important matters to discuss. Please, take a seat."

A servant pulled up a chair for her to sit in, and she sat in it, facing the king himself. He looked down at her and said, "Now, I have heard about your heritage, Blaze. If I remember, you were the next in line to take the throne several years ago. However, something happened, something that even my wisest and most knowledgeable sages don't know, happened to cause you to lose your place."

Blaze replied, "I...I think so. Shadow told me about that."

The king said, "Yes, and now I wish to speak with you about what you think about your heritage. There are several options you can take as of now. You can accept the offer of the throne, and take it when I die of old age...which isn't that far from now. You can-"

Blaze interrupted, "You? Die of old age? You're not that old, are you?"

The king replied, "I may look young due to the magic of this place...but I am, in truth, over ninety years old. Soon, even the magic in this kingdom won't be enough to sustain me. Now, going on...you may choose to be with your friends and not take the throne, in which case this kingdom would die out, as I have no heir. Or, you may do both in a fashion."

Blaze began thinking, and then asked, "What are the consequences of these choices?"

The king took a deep breath, and replied, "The first option would leave you under no obligation to directly help your friends. You would have control over this entire kingdom, something which I am not sure you are quite ready for. The second option would leave this kingdom with no ruler after I die, meaning that it would crumble. The third...you might already guess what dangers lie there. You might die out in battle, and then that would have the same effect as the second. Or, something bad may happen in this kingdom while you are away in battle, and you may lose control."

Blaze found that she was hardly listening to the king's words. She was too focused and worried about Sonic to even think about trying to pay attention to what was being said. Even now, she couldn't make up her mind on which of the options to take. She asked, "Can I make up my mind later? I'm...worried about Sonic right now."

The king replied, "Take all the time you need. However, don't forget about this. Your answer will determine the fate of this kingdom...and your life."

Blaze stood up and turned to leave. The king said, "One last thing."

Blaze turned around to face him again, and he said, "The Sol emeralds...we've found where they are. If you can gather them, you might also be able to use them to find the Chaos Emeralds. Just keep that in mind..."

Blaze replied, "Alright, I will. Thanks."

She turned and left. She walked down the hallways, her mind fixed on Sonic. She couldn't focus on anything else. She didn't want him to die...and she was highly worried that he would. Her worries, her fears, kept escalating the more she thought about it. Her heart was an iron weight, waiting to drag her down. She tried to fight thoughts of him dying, but they stuck to her. Then, much to her relief, a voice asked, "Are you alright, Blaze?"

It was Amy Rose. Blaze turned around and let out a sigh before saying, "No...I'm sick with worry. I can't help worrying about Sonic."

Amy said, "I know...I'm worried about him too. However, he's in good hands. The doctors here have some of the best surgical technology in the world here. Apparently, they had stolen some from G.U.N before."

Blaze replied, "That's great! Maybe they can repair his skull without hurting him!"

Amy replied, "Yeah...but that's not the main problem. I've heard that the frontal lobes affect personality to some degree. If he does survive, there's a chance he won't be the same Sonic he was before."

Blaze stared at her, stunned. She asked, "What do you mean? Do you mean that he could go from nice and easygoing to someone more serious and maybe even evil?"

Amy replied, "The doctors said it has a high chance of being that major."

Blaze nearly fainted, but she kept her ground, stumbling back a bit. Amy gasped and rushed over to support her, asking, "Are you alright?"

Blaze replied, "I'm...fine. At least, I think I am."

Amy said, "Well, as long as you aren't going to faint..."

Blaze straightened up and asked, "Where is Sonic right now?"

Amy replied, "I'll show you."

She led Blaze to one of the rooms where Sonic was being kept. Blaze could see through a window on the door that Sonic was perfectly fine. The surgery had been completed without any problems. One of the doctors walked up and asked, "Are you worried about him?"

Blaze asked, "Will he survive?"

The doctor, an older gray wolf, replied, "Yes, he will. I can guarantee that. However, the chances that he will have a change in personality are extremely high. How drastic it will be...we don't know."

Blaze replied, "As long as he's alive...that's good." She felt a wave of relief sweep through her. She let it out in a sigh.

Amy said, "Alright! Now Sonic can come back to help us! When will he be ready?"

The doctor replied, "Surprisingly, he didn't go into a coma because of this. He'll back by tomorrow."

Blaze was suddenly filled with a excessive joy. Sonic was going to be up and about extremely early, all thanks to a miracle. She wanted to cry out for joy, but she kept it in herself. She said, "Thank you, doctor. You don't know how grateful I am."

The wolf replied, "It is my duty to help those in need."

He walked off, and Blaze said, "Well...now I know."

Then, she remembered what the king had told her about the heritage, and said, "I'll be right back..."

If Sonic was going to be alive, she figured, she might as well take the third option. She still wanted to be with her friends, and if Sonic married her, he would become king and be by her side. That would give her enough strength to rule. She walked back into the throne room, and found a horrifying sight. The king, young as he seemed before, now was dead and appeared extremely old. The servant ran to her, and said, "Miss, please! You must make your decision now! The king, he's..."

Blaze looked over at the king, and at first stepped back, horrified. However, she gained her strength and walked over. She placed her hand on the crown and said, "Even though I will not leave my friends...I will still take the throne. I choose your third option, your majesty."

Me and my slow uploads nowadays...hopefully, I'll be able to pick these back up soon.