CHAPTER 54

"Where is she?" Sonic growled as he and the others of his traveling group waited in the library.

"And why can't we leave?" The prince of Lycans asked with a calmer tone, but still miffed over the issue.

"Let me in." The group looked passed those who had been keeping them in and saw a pink hedgehog push through them. "Guys!" She quickly went into a hug with Viper. "I was so worried about you all."

"What the hell's going on?" Sonic demanded.

"I would also like to know why we weren't invited to the party downstairs?" Marcos asked with his arms crossed in annoyance.

"It was the leader of those Lycans that attacked us when we first arrived here." Amy said as she and Viper separated. "They-" She was about to tell them what they were after, but she suddenly thought better of it. "They were making trouble in the city."

"It is a rare incident." They looked up to see Loom standing in the doorway. "Every now and then they show up to rattle those that have refused to follow their leader. He thinks coming here and showing off his power will inspire some of the others to join him."

"What does that have to do with keeping us here?" Marcos asked.

"If you were seen it would only raise questions." Loom pointed out. "The last thing we need is for Mephiles and his anarchists to see you and want to know what you're doing here or worse think we're building up ranks for a war that should never be brought to fruition."

"He's right." Amy agreed. "We're living in their home, and accepting their help, we can't cause trouble in return." She approached the semicircle of her friends. "They were just trying to keep everyone safe. Let's not hold it against them."

"She's right." Viper nodded. "I don't like to be held anywhere against my will, but I understand why they did it."

"If they would have just told us what was going on, it wouldn't have been against our will." Espio said with his arms folded.

"I may not know you all very well, but I can guess that if we had told you what was happening you would have stopped at nothing to find her would you not?" Loom motioned with a head tilt toward Amy. None of them could make a rebuttal to this very correct statement. "We should gather downstairs now, the King has called a meeting." The group began to file out headed downstairs, but Loom put a hand on Amy's shoulder, and waited till they were alone. "Is it wise to keep the truth from them?" He asked.

"I don't know." She said honestly. "If they knew what those Lycans were really here for it would make them way too willing to fight…if I can at least slow that down then I think I'm making the right decision." She looked up at the cat. "I'm always being protected. This is a chance for me to protect them."

"As you wish." Loom nodded. He wasn't surprised to see the resolve in Amy's eyes. She was the Wolf's Maiden, a sought-after prize for werewolves and lycans, and yet she always felt the weakest. This was her way of being strong, and protecting those who were always protecting her.

x-x-x-x American Werewolf Camp x-x-x-x

"This is a waste of time." Fiona folded her arms. "Those two are of no use to us, I still say we get rid of them. Even if what they say is true, there's nothing we can do with Marcos being away with Shadow and the others."

"They've done nothing wrong." Rouge said defensively. "They came of their own accord to warn us."

"They are just two more mouths to feed; we don't need them or their information. No one here trusts the forsaken Lycan prince, so what difference does their information on him make anyway?"

"Fiona has a point." Cutlass said as he looked at Rouge. "However, getting rid of them simply for being from the lycan legion goes against everything we as werewolves believe in. With no crimes to their name at this time all we can do is hold them as prisoners of war until Shadow returns for a final judgement."

"Thank you." Rouge nodded her head in gratitude.

"I think that the two should be put in your charge, and be made your responsibility." Guntiver said as he stood beside Cutlass.

"Agreed." The temporary leader nodded. "I think you have their best interest at heart, and you'll make sure they're kept in check until Shadow returns."

"What?!" The red fox was dumb founded at the decision. "She's the last one that should be trusted in making sure they don't escape."

"Calm down Fiona." Cutlass raised his hand. "Rouge maybe in charge of their care, but she is also responsible for them. If they escape, if they hurt anyone, or break any of our laws while here, Rouge will have to take responsibility for them. She's taking on the possibility of punishment for doing something that she can gain nothing from, at least not in the sentiment that you're set on." He was annoyed at her constant attack on Rouge simply for being a Lycan, but he had also had to admire her drive to protect her clan and serve Shadow as best she could.

Once all had cleared the room it was only Cutlass and Guntiver. Guntiver padded Cutlass on the shoulder. "Shadow was correct in choosing you to handle things in his stead."

"Only time will tell." Cutlass sighed as he hoped that his intuition on the two captives was correct.

x-x-x-x Ireland Kingdom x-x-x-x

'Amy. You must come.' The voice was but a whisper a voice she didn't recognize.

'Amy.' Another shrouded voice said her name.

"What?" Amy suddenly sat up straight. She was sitting at a desk in Loom's bookshop. She had been there since the early hours of the morning. She hadn't been able to sleep in. Those same voices she'd been suffering from were getting worse. She had still not told anyone of them, and she just wasn't sure how she could. She was afraid the others might think she's going mad. She shook away the thought and returned to the book in her hands.

"I see you're studying rather early." Loom had entered his bookstore.

"There's not much time left before the full moon. Shadow will get what he needs and we'll return home. I can't let this time slip away." She was determined to become useful to her friends.

"I've someone I want you to meet today."

"Oh?" Amy looked up from the book.

"Yes, she's expecting us. Come." He said as he turned to the door and opened it for her to exit.

Amy followed Loom down the rows of homes and shops. "Who am I meeting?"

"You'll see," he said as he took another turn, Amy was in such a hurry to follow him she didn't realize he had stopped and she bumped into the back of him. "There." He stepped aside so Amy could see ahead of them. It was a lovely cottage-like home, and growing in the front were beautiful rose bushes. Amy realized that someone was tending the roses, it was a white hedgehog. She had long white quills, but most of them were tucked int a bun, and only two lonely bangs framed the sides of her face. She was wearing a brown leather skirt, a shoulder-less long sleeved black shirt, all supported by her gray leather ankle boots. "I want you to speak with her."

"Why?" Amy didn't sense anything particularly powerful or unusual about this hedgehog as she watched her water the greenery.

"I think she can help you with your friend Espio."

Amy's eyes widened at this and without a second though bonded forward. "Excuse me!" Amy almost stumbled as she made her way up the cobble stone walkway that led to the cottage. "Excuse me." She said again a little more calmly.

"Oh my, you must be Amy." The white hedgehog smiled as she sat down her watering can.

"You know me?" Amy was surprised at first.

"Loom told me he'd be brining you by to see me." She smiled. "He thinks that I can help you with something."

"Yes." Amy agreed quickly. She was about to rush into questions, when suddenly she pulled back blushing with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, I'm being so rude." She shook her head. "My name is Amy and I'd like to know your name too."

The hedgehog chuckled. "It's alright. I like your enthusiasm. My name is Bird." She was whipping her hands dry with a cloth she had pulled from her gardening basket.

"You see Ms. Bird, I have a friend…I want to help him." Her mood was a bit cloudier now as she thought about Espio.

"And what's wrong with your friend?" Bird asked.

"He's been hurt. Hurt very badly."

"Well I don't know much about healing, that's more in Loom's department."

"No you don't understand, it's not a physical wound." Amy said slightly clutching her hand to her heart. "He's recently lost someone." Her eyes closed. "His mate, she was killed."

"I see." Bird's head lowered just a bit.

"And well, he's…he's…" Amy was trying to find the words.

"He's dead too." Bird finished as Amy suddenly met her eyes. "It seems like he's just a shell as if he's breathing, but not really alive."

"Yes…" Amy was surprised at how well Bird had put it into words.

"I understand why you want to help your friend." She picked up her gardening basket. "But what he is going through is far beyond anything you could understand as a human."

"I know." Amy agreed quickly.

"Do you?" Bird asked softly. "Wolf mates are something far beyond what you can experience as human. It's not just spiritual, it can affect us down to our DNA. If we're not careful the bond can even kill us." Bird walked around Amy heading to the door her home.

"That's why I have to find a way to help him." Amy said with teary eyes. "I don't want him to die." She shook her head. "Especially like this. I knew his mate, she was my close friend, and I know that she would never forgive me if I stood by and did nothing."

"And what do you think you can do?" Bird asked as she opened her front door.

"I don't know." Amy answered honestly, but her hands turned to a gentle grip. "But I will not give up on him. No matter what." She turned and walked away without even giving Bird a chance to rebuff her declaration.

"She's really something isn't she?" Bird turned to see Loom standing on the other side of her yard.

"Is that why you sent her to me?" Bird asked. "Because her friend's mate was killed?"

"You don't think it wise?" He asked as he approached her.

"No, I don't. I'm still fighting this everyday." She said not wanting to meet his eyes.

"I know." He put a hand on her shoulder. "You do fight with it, but you also live. Don't you think he should too?"

It was dusk in the gardens of the Irish castle. There was a slight breeze that was rustling the trees and tickling the clumps of moss that were starting to grow over a stone statue that stood in the center of the castle eden. Espio was standing before the statue. It was the stone reflection of what the goddess Artemis was believed to look like.

"You know, no matter how long you stare at her she will not come to life." The werewolf turned to see a white hedgehog standing behind him. He could tell she was a Lycan by her scent. He didn't respond as he turned his eyes back to the stone figure. "You're Espio aren't you?" She asked as she moved to stand next to the chameleon. "I'm Bird." She said as she looked up at the statue. "Amy tells me you don't speak much these days." She held her hands behind her back. "I also hear that it is because you've lost someone close to you." His eyes narrowed slightly as if the mentioning of such a thing caused him annoyance. "You don't have to worry. Words will be easy. They will come to you when you have something to say."

"Why…" He said finally as his brow furrowed. She turned from the statue to look at him as she hadn't expected him to speak. "Why did she have to curse us like this?" His voice was a mix of loathing and anguish. "She should have forgiven him." He gritted his teeth. "Because of her, all of the decedents of the cursed hunter have been punished with war, hatred, and murder." His fists began to clench. "If she had forgiven the hunter none of this would have ever happened!" He growled.

"Yes." She agreed. "None of these horrible things would have happened." She tilted her head slightly. "But none of the good would have happened either."

"What good?!" He demanded as he looked at her angrily, obviously taking out his frustration on the hedgehog.

"Your mate." She prompted, catching him off guard. "Would you have preferred she never existed? That you never existed, that you never experienced her love at all?"

"How could I say that?" He demanded. "I love her with my whole heart, I would have left my clan for her."

"And yet you're wishing her out of existence." Bird pointed out as she turned to face Espio fully as his eyes widened. "Your so focused on the pain, that you've forgotten all the good she brought to your life. All the good she could still bring to your life."

"Still?" He said as if such a concept was inconceivable. "What gives you the right to say such things?"

"Because I know the pain you feel. My mate was also murdered." Espio's stunned silence was not unexpected to her. "You think you're the only one who has ever experienced loss? Who's mate was taken from them?" She shook her head. "I'm not surprised. When we lose them all we can think about is ourselves, it's as if no one could ever know the pain we feel when it's a pain so horrid it can't possibly be of this world." She was teary eyed. "You think it's the end, because she's gone, but it's not. Life goes on."

"How can it possibly go on?" He demanded as her words felt like a knife to his broken heart.

"Because it must." She said as she subdued a tremble of sad pain. "If things were reversed. If it had been you that died, is this how you would want her to live out the rest of her life? Dead but breathing, forsaking everything that was ever important. Could you live in the afterlife knowing that this would be her existence until death?"

"No…" He answered as he felt the tenseness in his muscle loosen at the thought of Mina suffering.

"Then grieve." She said crossing her arms and hugging herself. "The pain is part of you now, but don't destroy the memory of your mate by refusing to live."

x-x-x

"Sir this is a most unexpected anomaly." Quinn said as he watched Loom, who was sitting at his desk scanning quickly through a leather-bound book. The two had returned to his study in the castle as a meeting would soon take place.

"Have you considered that this is not an anomaly, but an endowed skill?" Loom asked as he stopped on a page that seem to catch his interest.

"You actually think he could do such a thing again?" Quinn was utterly surprise by Loom's notion. Shadow's attack on the anarchist leader had surprised everyone who witnessed it, and talk of it had already spread through the kingdom. Many believed that though it had been an impressive feat, it could not be repeated.

"Our species and its descendants have always been full of potential, after all the blood of our kind is what made Mephiles, would it be such an impossible feat for a rival to rise from the same blood?" Loom didn't look up as he seem to be re-reading the same page in the book.

"I suppose it's possible." Quinn admitted as he thought about the point Loom had made. "But he's not even a lycan, he's a half blood, the odds of that being true are astronomical."

"Sometimes you have to bet on the long odds Quinn." He stood from his desk and began to make his way towards the door that would lead out of his office. "You may even come to learn that they weren't such farfetched ideas in the first place." Quinn inched closer to his master's desk and looked at the book he had been reading. He only had a moment to see that it was a reference on enhancement powers for Lycans and werewolves. "Come Quinn, we've been summoned." Loom called.

x-x-x Lycan Palace Convening Room x-x-x

"There are only two days left before the full moon." The Lycan king stood before his throne, and beside him his queen sat on hers. "And we have a serious problem."

Before Flade stood Loom, Thorn, Shadow and Quinn. They had agreed to discuss their concerns with Shadow and he could convey what information he wished to his own clanmates. "So it's true," Loom asked.

"It can't be." Thorn growled with annoyance. "No one has ever been able to execute a surprise attack on Mephiles, and you want me to believe that outsider could do it?"

"Believe what you want, it doesn't change the fact that it happened." Quinn pointed out with his usual matter of fact tone.

"Mephiles will surely not let this go." Flade took a step down from the rise on which the thrones sat. "We'll be lucky if he gives the three days now. Before that happened he was fully confident, after Shadow's attack it's possible he could be shaken enough to do something sooner."

"I did not intend to cause trouble." Shadow said as he stood before the Lycan court.

"Don't misunderstand." Flade shook his head. "I am not chastising you at all. In fact, your abilities are to be praised. It is as I said, such a thing has never happened before. Mephiles has always had the ability of foresight in combat, no known fighter has ever been able to surprise him."

"The reason we are so concerned now isn't simply because you are not a Lycan of this kingdom, it's because you have no intention to remain here." Noxuna finally spoke. "And this all could not have been more ill-timed. The purpose of you visit is to seek the dream caverns, and to do so you require the full moon, which as my husband has pointed out will not rise for another two nights, whilst we have only been given three to decided how to save our kingdom and Artemis from the anarchists."

"Rest assured." Flade promised. "We will do everything in our power to make certain you see the cavern, and return to your home. We will not shy away from a battle with Mephiles if it is needed. A battle between my clan and Mephiles's has been long in the making, tipping the scale was always a matter of time."

"Yeah don't worry to much." Thorn butted in. "We'd hate to see them get their paws on Artemis, the consequences would be dire. I couldn't imagine any of them being any stronger than they are now, but if they devour her we won't have to imagine it any longer."

"He will have nothing of mine." Was Shadow's retort. "Let him try to take Amy from me." His eyes glowed red. "It will be his blood that runs in the streets of this kingdom."

"You seem rather attached." Loom said pointedly.

"What'd you say?" Shadow said as he looked over his shoulder at the black cat.

"Is she not just a means to an end for you?" He asked directly. "From what I've gathered of your story, your intentions have always been to become more powerful. She's the key to that."

"Loom!" Noxunas was outraged by his accusation that Shadow should do such a thing to Amy, however her interruption was halted as her husband who held up his hand to silence her.

"She is the reincarnation of Artemis. If you simply devour her yourself you will not only become stronger, but it would help us as well. Mephiles is only pressing this little war of his because he is after Amy. Why do you cause yourself so much trouble? She's just a simple tool-"

"Shut your mouth or I'll do it for you." Shadow turned to face him fully. "Who are you to tell me what to do with my own possessions?" He questioned as his eyes glowed brighter.

"If that is all she is too you, a simple possession, then why act so childish about it all? You can't be much of a leader if you intend to put your own wants ahead of others. If she is indeed just a thing to you then you should take the best course to ensure that your possession can never be stolen from you. Devour her, make her part of you forever."

"Stop it!" Shadow's growl was loud and his breath heavy with anger. "Don't you think if I could devour her I would have done so long ago!?" He clinched his fists. "If I had done so when we first met things would be different now. But I can't change the decisions I made back then. Many have been paying for them ever since…"

"So you think it's a mistake? You wish you could devour her after all?" Loom pressed.

"I could never wish that!" Shadow suddenly grabbed Loom by the collar of his cloak. "Why do you think I keep her so near? Because she's a source of power? I don't give a fuck about that. I stopped caring about that long ago. The person she is, is what I want to protect. She's beautiful and selfless. She's always thinking of others first, the light that shines from her isn't because she's a reincarnation of a goddess or because she's a Wolf's Maiden, she'd have that light even if she were just another human. It's because it's her. That's why I have to protect her." Shadow's face was unflinching as he spoke; he had meant every word he said.

"It's surprising that you are only just now realizing this." Loom said calmly, not even taking note of the fact that Shadow was holding him a few inches off the ground. "Perhaps you didn't realize, but she has made you stronger." His words surprised Shadow as the black and red hedgehog realized he was holding the cat up off the ground, despite the fact that Loom was taller than him. Shadow's chest still heaved up and down from his previous outburst, but he slowly began to put the cat back on his feet. "I don't pretend to know why you've chosen to behave this way, but I do know that if you continue to deny what you feel for her, you will be all the weaker for it. And you will lose her."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Rah!" Viper crushed a wooden dummy under her as she landed in a crouched position on its chest. The meeting called by the royals had ended hours ago, but Shadow had not divulged anything. His clanmates wondered if he ever would. Viper had been training for hours. Her body glisten as another bead of sweat ran down her temple. She kept thinking about the green hedgehog that had saved her back when she and the others had first arrived. She'd tried several times to approach him, but each time seemed more pointless than the last. He either ignored her or only gave a sarcastic chuckle at her attempt to thank him, and even going as far to say that any pup would have been able to fend off the attack that almost took her out. She was infuriated by him. How could have ever thought he was the least bit attractive? She growled as she unleashed a punch into the wooden dummy's face.

"You've certainly been logging a lot of hours in our training hall." The white fox turned to see none other than the queen standing behind her.

"Your majesty." Viper suddenly stood up.

"Please, we're alone." The she wolf waved her hand. "Just call me Noxuna. I get enough of the queen business from everyone else, I come here to escape it once in a while." She was dressed to train.

"I can go." Viper offered.

"Not at all." She shook her head. "It will be nice to train with someone." She looked at the fox. "Unless you are afraid." She smiled jokingly.

"I could use someone to spar with." Viper said confidently, her hesitation gone.

"I can see that." The queen noticed all the broken wood dummies. "Your previous opponents didn't stand a chance." She was impressed. "They aren't made of just any wood you know." She knelt down picking up a shard of wood. "This is enchanted oak. Loom prepared these himself. They're meant to hold up against more than a single blow." She smiled at the fox. "Whatever's motivating you is doing an amazing job." Viper subdued a sigh as she looked to the side. "Men will do that to you." Noxuna smiled as she stood back up.

"What?" Viper was suddenly caught off guard, her eyes widening to reveal her surprise.

"That's the thing about living in a castle." Noxuna pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "The walls have ears. I heard about your attempts to thank Torin."

"He's a jerk if you don't mind me saying so." Viper said with distain. "I was wasting my time trying to thank someone like him."

"You give him too much credit. You're not familiar to him, and he's cautious at the best of times, and that caution has always gripped his judgment firmly." Her eyes rested on the white fox. "Ever since we found Torin as a pup, he's always been like that. Keeping his distance from everyone, accept when he's fighting. With this in mind, how receptive do you think he'd to the attempts of someone from outside these kingdom walls?" Viper's eyes shifted slowly from side to side in thought. Each time she'd tried to approach him she hadn't noticed till now, but no once did he ever meet her face to face. His eyes were always looking elsewhere. "Lycans and werewolves are social creatures by nature, we have a pack mentality." She could see Viper was putting the pieces together. "He's a sparrow living in the nest of doves."

x-x-x-x-x-x

"Something isn't right around here." Marcos grumbled as he stood in front of a large shelf of books. He was browsing the vast library that was kept within the castle.

"You can say that again." Sonic agreed as he set in chair with his legs crossed and resting on top of a table.

"Hm, guess the impossible is possible after all." Marcos said with one hand on his hip as he looked over at Sonic.

"What are you talking about?" Sonic raised a brow.

"We just agreed on something." He pointed out with an uninspired countenance. He didn't wait for Sonic's cockeyed expression to change. "There is more going on than they're telling us, and it has something to do with those three outsiders that came."

"Pretty sure I heard the guards calling them anarchists." Sonic said as he held his arms behind his head.

"They're part of a splinter group." Marcos pulled a book from the shelf. "Part of a group of rebels." He emphasized the term rebels. "A concept you should be very familiar with."

Sonic growled slightly. "I'll never be sorry for living my life the way I want too." He said putting his feet back on the floor and turning so he was facing Marcos. "And I'm not the only one here who lives according to his own will."

"touché." Marcos agreed. "I never consider myself a rebel, but you're not wrong." He agreed. "Guess now we're seeing firsthand what the consequence are for that choice." He seemed to dwell on that thought for only a moment before thinking better of himself. "If it wasn't for that we wouldn't be here now." He opened the book in his hands. "And I think life would be a lot more boring." He noted as he flipped the pages. "And I hate to be bored."

"Uh," Sonic scoffed. "I'm certain I use to be as self-centered as you." He thought of himself prior knowing Amy.

"You think you've changed so much?" Marcos said as he scrolled through the text he was reading. "I'm here because I'm bored and Amy always manages to make things interesting. Selfish? Sure. You're here because you confessed to love her, she turned you down, but you can't stay away, you can't even bring yourself to return to your pack. Sound a little on the selfish side to me." He said with a nonchalant tone. Sonic's scowled at the Lycan prince, who only rolled his shoulders. "The pot shouldn't call the kettle black unless its ready to receive the same words in kind."

"Why you-" Sonic growled.

"This conversation isn't getting us anywhere." Marcos interrupted. "Let's go back to something we can agree on." He suddenly held the book up to Sonic. "This is who we need to watch out for." On the page was an image of mouthless hedgehog. "Remember Amy said he's the leader." He pointed at the picture. "His name is Mephiles." Sonic took the book from Marcos and studied the image for a moment. Marcos folded his arms and leaned back against the bookshelf. "And if he's a leader worth his salt, he'll be after something he didn't have before."

Sonic closed the book. "A Wolf's Maiden."