A/N I know I know Sonic is suffering a lot. This isn't some one hour Disney special. I will say that it gets better after this, but not quite in the way you might think, unless you know how my mind works. Please read and review.

Chapter 8:

Madness at the Market

Sonic woke up the next morning with the sound of Annabel kicking the foot of her bed ringing in her ears. She yawned and muttered groggily then focused her emerald eyes on her stepsister, who was now trying to pull her from the bed. Sonic resisted, clutching at the covers and squirming.

"What the hell Annabel?" she asked. "What is going on?"

"It's breakfast time, and you need to get us some things from the market," Annabel replied snootily. "Get up already. Breakfast won't make itself and we're all hungry."

"I would, if you'd let go of me," sonic grumbled, trying to get her feet under her. "Why don't you make your own breakfast? You all have two hands and two feet. There's cereal and bread and oatmeal. Why do I have to do everything myself? (In head) I miss Freda."

Annabel huffed primly and flipped her hair. She began opening Sonic's drawers and throwing clothes at her before slamming the drawer shut. Sonic grudgingly pulled on the simple jeans and t-shirt, then looked for her shoes. Annabel held them above Sonic's head, wiggling them back and forth. Sonic tried to grab them but Annabel jumped onto Sonic's bed and giggled loudly.

"No shoes until you make us breakfast," said the dark pink hedgehog as she flounced out the door.

Sonic burst out of the room, the door slamming against the wall as she left. She was livid, and saw nothing but red as she walked to the kitchen. The floor felt strange under her bare feet as she entered the kitchen and walked to the counter. No one took her shoes, no one! If Annabel wasn't her new stepsister, she would have torn her a new one, with some bruises thrown in for good measure. Maybe she'd pull out all those lovely quills of hers, or… Sonic tried to calm down as she put on an apron and got out a frying pan.

She quickly scrambled four eggs and buttered eight pieces of toast. In less than five minutes, breakfast was on the table. Lisa and her daughters sat down and began to eat, taking big portions for themselves. Sonic was about to sit down too, but Lisa's voice cut through the room like a knife.

"After you wash the dishes you can have breakfast."

Sonic washed the dishes, seething at the fact her feet were bare and vulnerable and she was very hungry. Once the dishes were washed, dried, and put away, Sonic sat down and looked at what was left of breakfast. A meager pile of eggs and half a slice of toast sat there, cold and soggy.

"I guess I'll have to make more," she said as she finished off the small portion of food.

"No time for that," said Lisa. "We need you to gather some items for us from the market. Remember to get tea cakes. We're expecting someone over tomorrow afternoon."

"Can I have my shoes back now?" Sonic asked as Lisa gave her a large basket. "It is after breakfast."

"Not until you come back," said Lisa firmly. "Be back by dark or no shoes for you until the next day. If you keep acting up, you will continue to go without shoes."

Sonic tried not to cry as she opened the door and slipped out into the foggy morning. She ran along the path, her feet seeming to hit every stone and sharp bit of gravel in her way. She was careful not to run too fast. She could already feel a slight burning as she moved. She tried to hold it together, but it was very difficult as she clutched the handle of the basket which swung at her side.

The leaves of the trees rustled as she passed, and the sweet scent of honeysuckle tickled her nose. Sonic ignored it all as she walked to the fair where the market was being held. It would be there for one more day, then would be moved to a new location inside one of the larger buildings. It was turning to autumn, and it would not be wise to have an outdoor market then. She ran on, everything moving past her at normal speeds as she approached the fair.

Sonic entered the area where the fair was being held and moved past the sellers of popcorn and candy apples. She moved past the rides, even though she loved rides. The market was on the other side of the large area and Sonic was almost there when someone flew up to her and hovered near her shoulder. She ignored whomever it was and kept walking until a tug at her ear caused her to skid to a stop. She winced as splinters dug into her feet.

"Hi Sonic!" Tails exclaimed as he finally got her attention. "You came to the fair! Where are your shoes? Your feet look all cut up. Are you bleeding?"

Sonic growled lowly and Tails flew back a little. He frowned and whimpered slightly, then plucked up his courage and continued to fly next to Sonic. Sonic headed straight for the vegetable stall and began picking out cucumbers and peppers. While she was doing that, Tails disappeared behind the counter and had a conversation with the rabbit lady running the stall. Sonic waited a little impatiently with her half full basket for them to be finished. Finally the rabbit left and a new rabbit took her place. He must have been her husband.

"Half price lass," he said. "We've also got some delicious broccoli here."

"Half… Half price?" Sonic asked, looking up? "Are you sure?"

"It's no problem young hedgehog," said the man, adding the broccoli to Sonic's basket. "You're Tails' friend and we have no problem helping you out. You look rather ragged. Do you need some help? I'm sure my wife has some salve in the back for your feet."

"No… No… I'm fine," said Sonic warily, picking up her basket.

She moved on to the butcher and was almost knocked over by an over eager flock of children. She huffed and tried to maneuver past them. This was turning out to be a horrible day, even worse than the days before it. Tails flew above her head and shouted encouragements and Sonic tried to smile. The little fox was so carefree she couldn't help but like him. Once she was done at the butcher's stall, she had to duck low to avoid a swinging basket of apples. She crouched as much as she could and scuttled sideways to the bakery, carefully choosing some buns and cookies. By this time, she was thoroughly frazzled and needed to get out of there.

Sonic suffered the most when a giant tomcat tripped over her and sent her and her goods sprawling over the ground. Unseen by her, Tails flew back to his parents' stall and told them all that happened. Sonic did her best to pack everything up, but the fruit was bruised and the buns were squashed. The meat was ground underfoot.

Sonic picked up her basket and ran. Her bloody footsteps left prints on the path as she moved, not caring where she went. As her feet began to burn the ground, she did her best to slow down. She just managed to once she had reached the forest. By this time she was hopelessly lost and her face was streaming with tears.

Sonic walked aimlessly through the forest, the undergrowth leaving twigs and moss for her feet to step on. The moss was soft, and so was the earth if it wasn't littered by rocks. She managed to stop sobbing and hiccupping and got her breath back. Her face was a mess with snot and tears and her body was bruised from her fall. She wandered aimlessly, not caring where she went, not wanting to go home. It was only the sound of soft harp music that got her foggy mind to think again.