The murmur of conversation and an upbeat harp tune thrummed throughout the Royal Open Hall. Mobia's People Council had dismissed and now the gentry and their families mingled throughout the room.
Princess Sally stood next to the Queen, smiling, nodding and laughing at the comments her subjects made to her in passing. She tilted her head just right-brushed back a few strands of auburn hair—glanced up at them from beneath her dark lashes. But her eyes were hollow. Her stomach churned. A weight burned in her chest.
She had to get away. She had to think. She had to do something.
She balanced a cup of punch in one hand, sipping from it every now and then. Whenever she did, her gaze flicked across the room and alighted on Robotnik. The mecha human stayed around the perimeter of the room, cornering unfortunate dignitaries into conversations. He was occupied.
Sally took a deep breath. Once again she stopped herself from crumpling her skirt in her fist. She could feel the outline of her computer console in the pocket of the gym shorts she wore beneath her gown.
She would only take ten minutes.
Sally turned to her entourage, the four young Mobian guards staring at her in adoration from where they stood at attention behind her. Sally nodded to them, a sharp look in her eyes, and flicked her wrist.
At once, they stepped forward and Sally marched behind them and towards the back of the room. She moved behind the pillars lining the hall and strode into the back halls, safe and sound.
The minute she was out of sight, she snatched up the skirt of her gown and broke into a run through the narrow halls. With a running leap, she pitched herself onto a high window ledge and pulled herself through. She slid out the window and down the wall to the gardens below, landing on both feet. She ducked behind a clump of hedges bordering the open lawn, catching her breath.
Sally hitched up one side of her dress and pulled "Nicole" from her gym shorts. She ran her thumbs over the top of the gummed-up computer console and licked her lips.
She'd been trying to think all night of what she could do, carefully outlining numbered steps in her head. She still was not sure what they would do, but she could at least warn Sonic and go from there.
Sally dropped her skirt back over her shorts, looked up to check her surroundings, then made a running dash from the hedges. She hurried down a small footpath leading away from the lawn, glancing behind her.
She slowed and stepped out onto a tile balcony built into the cliff face overlooking Capitol Aero.
It was dark, quiet, and close enough that no one would question her being there. Far enough that no one would disturb her.
As she approached, Sally looked down on the moonlit-bathed city sprawled out below the palace cliff face. The wood-carved tree palaces and villages were almost disguised in the dark. A few stone parapets here and there gave away the location of the more prominent city buildings. A soft wind rushed through the trees, causing them to sway and churn. Multi-colored stars lay scattered across the sky, piles of diamonds and rubies and sapphires.
The wind played with her hair and she did not bother fixing it.
She heaved a deep breath and opened Nicole.
Sally pressed in the passcode to access her message files. Sonic had left her two. One two hours ago, another fifteen minutes ago. She pinched her lip and bent her ear against the speaker.
"Hey, Sal." Nicole's recorder played. "Save some food from the party for us three, okay? I'll touch back with you in a bit. We may be able to scrounge up something here instead. See ya."
The chipmunk took a deep breath, pained relief flooding through her eyes. They had gotten in safely. And if they returned, they would return to danger.
She clenched her jaw and opened message two.
"Hey Sal."
She frowned, worry lines pinching her brow. She could already hear the trouble in his voice, even though he was trying to sound just as positive and confident as ever.
"So…we didn't find any food. Well, actually, the stove got out of hand and Tails and I both burned ourselves pretty badly. Bunnie didn't get burned. We'll be okay, but we can't use the stove, so no food. Pretty hungry. Um-" She could hear scrambling noises and someone's panicked whisper in the background. "-So. We're not going to eat tonight. I hope you have good leftovers for us, because we need it…" he paused. "We found some really weird stuff in the cupboard actually…I may need to go out of town later tomorrow. Stock up on groceries for Grampa Chuck, you know. Ah well, thanks for looking out for us. Bet all those fancy people there are stuffed already. I'll try to talk to you after I deliver the rings to the Doctor tomorrow. See ya, Sal, over n' out."
Sally lowered the console, arching her eyebrows in flat disapproval. She tried to shake herself, but the fear deepened in her eyes. She gripped Nicole with locked knuckles staring at nothing.
She had no clue as to what had happened thanks to Sonic's rambling, but she did know something was very wrong.
Sally closed her eyes. Her mind raced. "Going out of town" had to mean that Sonic could be in danger if he came back home…could he already know somehow?
"Enjoying the evening, princess?"
Sally snapped Nicole shut and turned her head.
Robotnik stood at the head of the path, his metal hands clasped behind his back.
She let her gaze linger on his red laser pupils for a second, her eyes wide.
"Yes," she finally blurted, lifting her chin and squaring her shoulders. She laughed and tossed her head. "I needed to get away for a moment. My entourage agreed to wait nearby."
Her heart pounded in her chest. She looked back out over the city. If he planned to kill her, mentioning her entourage might make him think twice about his timing.
Robotnik "hmm-ed" in his throat. "Were you talking to the hedgehog?"
Sally's eyes widened. She breathed out slowly.
"I thought I recognized his voice?" Robotnik said, stepping closer, behind her.
His claw-like metal hand clasped onto her shoulder, his "fingers" cold and sharp.
Sally's body stiffened at his touch and fire shot through her eyes. The pretending erupted. The fear erupted. The loss erupted. The weight in her chest erupted.
She jerked out of his grasp, whirling to face him. "Do not touch me-," she spat.
Then she cut short, remembering who it was she spoke to. She clenched her jaw.
The gears in Robotnik's hands clicked and he let out an automated hmmm.
"My father," Sally gritted out, "if he were here, he would never let you treat Momma or my people or Sonic the way you do."
"Darling, I am not afraid of any little Mobian," Robotnik said. "You or your father."
His hand shot up. Clutching onto her face, around her mouth. He yanked her around, holding her pinned backwards against his metal torso, his hand gagging her.
Sally tried to shout and kicked into a release maneuver out of instinct. She slammed her free fists back against Robotnik's chest—but her self defense training was useless on a robot. His other arm wrapped around her waist and he hefted her feet off the floor.
Sally changed her attack and grasped for the Mobium rings she always wore on a chain around her waist. Robotnik's hand closed over hers, squeezing hard.
"Shh, shh," his automated voice whispered next to her ear. "Do not worry, princess, I'm not going to hurt you or kill you. If I did that, I would have to go back into that hall and kill them all, and I'm not ready for that yet. I just wanted to give you a very clear, simple warning. Let's be honest with each other. You know this is my kingdom. Your father isn't coming back, and your mother doesn't know what she is doing."
Heat raged through Sally's body and her eyes burned with hate.
"It's very…cute, the way you put on your little authoritative protector of the planet act, but we both know I call the shots. I work through you all now, but someday, even that will be gone. Very soon, you won't have a Mobia to rule."
He paused. Sally writhed in his grasp.
"You know, I have had, what is it four years now? Four years to watch you…I would love to roboticize you."
Her eyes widened. She tried to open her mouth, but his metal hand pressed harder against her jaw.
"So since we know where this planet is going," Robotnik continued, "why not make the best of it? I would love for you to be a high ranking citizen in my model society. I know how these people look up to you. A lot less people will die if you give them an example to follow. I could make you into anything you would like to be in my new society, and I could certainly keep your looks. You are a very pretty specimen of Mobian," he chuckled to himself and his torso reverberated. "I've been around your species too long. Though, do understand, I find beauty very inefficient in most cases. I could make an exception for you though. You could perhaps be…an "attractive" robot who greets those visitors to my society who are still affected by beauty. People who might visit my planet to see if they want to adopt my ideal society for their own."
She let out a loud muffled scream in the back of her throat, shaking her head as hard as she could.
"I know, the thought of being a robot is off-putting to some," Robotnik said. "But really, princess, you are a robot now, just a robot made of flesh, with programmed instincts and responses. Except your current design is flawed-you die, and there is vast inefficiency in the array of emotions you experience—even love, considered a very positive emotion, is not really efficient. It's distracting, and most social ills stem from love or a perceived lack of love—forgive me, am I rambling again?"
Silence.
"You know, I feel as if people never understand. That if I just keep talking enough, maybe someday they will…," he sighed. "Sally."
He never called her by her name. Her ears flicked back.
"You are still young," he continued. "And it seems to be the young ones who defy reality. But I wouldn't push too hard. Sometimes giving nice little speeches can put dangerous ideas into your subjects' heads. It makes them more prone to make bad decisions. Decisions that could get them killed. I would hate to have to go after them or you because people started opposing me. Or my society. As for that hedgehog," he spat out. "Go ahead and warn him, if you haven't already. Tell him all about my plans for him. If he runs and doesn't bring my rings to me tomorrow, the truce is over, and the first one who will suffer will be your mother."
The two stood in silence, Robotnik still holding Sally pinned. She had stopped fighting, taking shallow breaths.
"And if you tell anyone—anyone—that we had this little conversation, I will find out. And again, your mother will be the first to pay. I know it must be a tricky balance for you—trying to fight me and trying to keep me from crushing your little world out there at the same time."
He turned her head so that she could see the open balcony and the city below.
"One of them has to go some time…either that city, or your ideas to undo my work. Cooperate with me, or this kingdom will fall," He sighed. "Don't scream, please."
He flung her to the balcony floor, against the rail.
Sally snatched the rail, panting for breath, her clenched fists shaking.
Behind her, he stared, his laser eyes fixed on her back. Then he turned and strode back to the lawn.
Sally bent against the rail, listening to him leave. She tried to unclench her fists, but could not. They were shaking too much. She pressed them against the rail, trying to steady them.
She dragged herself up to her feet, hissing through her teeth, blinking back the tears threatening to burst free.
She began her breathing exercises. Pulling it all back. The pretending, the fear, the loss, the weight. Pulling it all back, inside her.
She had to be brave.
She had to stay strong.
She stood there, looking down at her city, the tears beginning to drip down her cheeks.
"Daddy, do not worry, I will make sure the kingdom is safe while you are gone." The seven-year old princess clung to her father's waist, still wearing her nightdress, her auburn hair tied back in messy braid. In one hand she clutched the sheathed short sword she always kept by her bed. In the other, she clutched Nicole.
He picked her up. "Thank you, Sally…"
He was a handsome king, with his fine, dark facial markings—his thick, long red hair—his intelligent blue eyes. His robe flowed from the clasps at his shoulders, enveloping him and his daughter.
His voice was confident and safe.
"… You are my strong little princess. You are going to need to be very brave while I'm gone. Remember that. You might be scared sometimes, but you need to listen to your mother and keep doing the right thing, even if it is scary or hard."
"Yes, Daddy," Sally said, her blue eyes burning with understanding. "I will never be scared."
Her Daddy did scary things all the time. It was part of his job, and now it was part of her job too.
"You should exterminate that evil human man." she said. The human "doctor" was doing something wicked in New Mobius. She did not know what, but it must be terrible if it meant her father had to go fight it.
He smiled at her, then glanced over his shoulder. "I need to go now. Goodbye, Sally." He kissed her, ran a hand over her hair, and then turned to his escort, a fleet of Mobian dragons. They strode across the open balcony, the dragon's wings extending for take-off.
"Goodbye, Daddy!" the princess shouted.
She stopped, biting her lip. She felt like she wanted to cry, but she knew she couldn't. She could not cry in front of Mama and the rest of the palace entourage. Then they would know she was afraid.
And a princess could not be afraid.
