Deprivation

Chapter 6

Author's Note: Alright, I apologize for the delay. I've had Writer's Block and other things. It may almost be December, but rest assured, I haven't forgotten about this story. I can't say the chapter below is one of my best but I tried. I'm not sure how well I got any message across in this-this chapter was more of a spur of the moment thing. Some of this may seemed rushed and drifted, but know I put some effort in. For those reasons, this chapter has potential for being redone. But for now, I could use some general feedback and help. Please review and enjoy. I apologize for grammatic/spelling problems, I can't catch everything..

Disclaimer: Obvious.


The wind blew fiercely in the dark, night sky. Glittering snowflakes tussled and turned about, letting the breeze manipulate their every move.

Manipulation. It was funny how one person's influence could control another's power without them even being conscious of it. Such was the case between Princess Sally Acorn, 'leader' of the Freedom Fighters (though on several occasions, this position had been credited to the influencer himself, the egotistical 'True Blue') and Sonic the Hedgehog. It was even funnier, the fact she had shrugged off her suspicions as illusions. That she betray her own trust in her mental ability for the trust she had in another. That she let him use her to get to her power, like a reckless tyrant.

Like Robotnik.

She could recall vaguely the events that led up to the Great War. It was the fact that her father put his trust into that madman-that fiend-that JERK that Robotnik was able to get as far as he did. And it enraged her all the more to see that she herself had made that same mistake. It wasn't the same price, it was much less. But she was aware of what happened and yet it slipped into one of the back corners of her mind. Sonic was a friend, not a traitor.

More than a friend.

She didn't look at Sonic the same way she looked at others, like her good friend Bunnie Rabbot. She saw him differently-as a slight annoyance, as a charmer….as something else. She saw a bit of what she wanted to be in him, which of all things, shocked her most. Her? Wanting to be like that brainless goon?

Was she diving into the pits of insanity?

Of course not. What she saw in him, what everyone else saw, was freedom. He was elusive. He was free-spirited. He was independent. He was careless. Not all good traits, she had to admit, but what he had that she didn't was no restrains. Even if the war had never occurred, she would always be chained to politics. She would always be chained to the house she was born into: the Royal House of Acorn. While other girls would fixate and dream of being a princess, it was her own desire not to be treated like one.

And he didn't treat her in that respect. He didn't call her princess or give her the same 'regal' treatment as everyone else did. She was Sal to him. Plainly Sal.

It was his simplicity that endeared her.

Life continued to complicate for her, but his life didn't seem any harder for him then it did ten years ago. When he was a child; when they both were children; he took the entire thing for granted. But she?

She saw it as gone. Childhood would have never made its way into her life, either way she looked at it. War or no war, she was always given atypical treatment. She would always be given atypical treatment because of a name, because of a title.

It seemed silly, how one single word could change the course of a lifetime. How one single attribute could make someone the caste they were; how a last name could determine someone's career without their consent-could determine their friendships, social life, work, personality…everything about them.

One word, one silly little word…

One word could slaughter freedom in the same way as war.

By the time night had fallen, she was still as mad at that hedgehog as she had been earlier. Setting her thoughts and feelings aside, however, Sally found another matter she had to attend to: Tails.

When she entered his hut for their little 'bedtime story' she could see the smile pasted on his face. Snow drove out a different side in children. The joy and excitement seemed to explode throughout them, like a jack-in-the-box finally being sprung open. It popped, it shone. It was contagious.

Even with all that happened in that week, the failed raid, the 'manipulation' as she liked to call it, lost trust, heavy work…all those events; all those burdens, she found herself smiling. And it was amazing, the feeling it sent through her.

"Isn't it pretty, Aunt Sally?" the fox chirped. "I love snow! Sonic promised he'd play in it with me tomorrow. Isn't that cool?"

"Way past…" she joked, in the words of her hedgehog comrade. "It seemed to be getting worse when I walked over here…I THINK we might be getting a blizzard, Tails."

"A blizzard, Aunt Sally?"

"Yes, a blizzard. You'd better bundle up tonight, honey. It's supposed to be freezing cold…I wouldn't want you getting a cold. You remember what happened LAST year…" She exaggerated some of the words-she exaggerated the entire situation.

"I was only sick for a few days…"

"A few days? You were miserable, sweetie…"

"But it wasn't because I didn't bundle up. I did, Aunt Sally! I did! SONIC gave it to me…"

"What doesn't that hedgehog give?" It came out a bit bitter, the rhetorical, joking question.

"I don't know, Aunt Sally. His chili dogs?"

She let out a giggle on that one, something that had seemed foreign for a while. Laughing? With serious manners to attend to? She really didn't let go enough. "Alright, Tails, it's getting late. What would you like me to read tonight since we finished that other story?"

"Hmm…" Getting out of his bed, he retrieved another book, heading it to the princess. "This one, Aunt Sally! If you start now, I was really hoping we could finish tonight…"

"But what about tomorrow, Tails? Did you have something else in mind?"

"Well, you SAID there was going to be a blizzard outside. So I thought we oughta get two night's reading finished in one…"

"I don't-" she cut herself off. "Alright, honey. But I have something I need to talk to you about first-something important."

He froze slightly. The frown vanished from his face as he got back into his bed. He didn't like what she just said, that she could tell. "Wh-what, Aunt Sally?"

"Well, you're getting older…" she begun, biting her lip. "And I was thinking, well, maybe it's time I gave you a chance to go to Robotropolis. You'd like that, wouldn't you? I could have Sonic train you after the snow clears up and then-"

"I don't wanna go to Robotropolis, Aunt Sally."

"Why not? You seemed excited about it before."

"It seems scary."

"Everything seems scary at first, dear. But we need to conquer our fears. The princess would never be saved from the dragon if the knight didn't conquer his fears, would she?"

"No…b-but…"

"It takes time, sweetie, time and patience. The knight; the hero conquers his fears for the greater good. There's success and failure in between but in the end, when he comes out victorious well, then what can we conclude?"

"They live happily ever after?"

"And that it was all worth it."

"Is there a such thing as a real 'happily ever after', Aunt Sally?"

"I don't-I don't know, Tails. But if you believe, anything is possible. It's what's in here that will take you places, honey." She stated softly, placing a hand on his heart. "Not how much strength is in your fist-or-or how much knowledge is in your brain. You'll be a great Freedom Fighter someday, Tails…that I know. But today isn't that day. You aren't ready and I-I'm not either. You have something special, Tails. You have time to think about it…and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for more time. I want you to enjoy it. You don't need to know combat positions. What you need to know, well, you need to find for yourself. If you don't want to be a Freedom Fighter anymore, I understand. Think for yourself, sweetie, don't let Sonic do the thinking for you. It's hard for me to even rely on HIS brain…"

"But I've gotta. You guys need me…I saw it earlier, Aunt Sally."

Her eyes widened slightly. "Of course we…need you, but you're too young, Tails. You're too young to be thinking like that. Do you have the flu? Did Sonic give you cooties?"

"Cooties? I thought you said cooties didn't exist, Aunt Sally!"

"With Sonic, I can't help but be suspicious. I was doing some research on Nicole, Tails, and-"

"You're making this up, aren't you, Aunt Sally?"

She smiled. "Was it really that obvious?"

"Well…" he stopped himself. "And-and I really saw it, Aunt Sally. I saw it in Robotropolis. S-Sonic, when those SWATbots came he-he wasn't paying attention. He needed my help Aunt Sally or who would've known what happened!"

"So you DID come with him…"

"He said it was okay if I stowed away in his backpack…"

"Oh Tails…"

"And then my tail got hit and-and I don't wanna go back there ever again. I don't want to be the knight, Aunt Sally. Don't you think the princess could save herself?"

"I only wish it was that easy, sweetie. But it isn't…"

He sighed. "It isn't fair, Aunt Sally. Why does there have to be war? Wh-why did Robotnik have to take away my parents? I miss my Mom, Aunt Sally, I really miss her. And when I saw tho-those SWATbots…I was really scared that I might've been hurting her. It wasn't right, Aunt Sally, none of it was…"

"Not everything can be right, Tails. And life isn't fair, you know that…bad things happen to good people, sweetheart, but it's how they persevere and rise above them that-that defines their character. I-I'm sure this war happened for a reason Tails and when it's over, Mobius will be a better place."

"What if it's not? What if Robotnik wins?"

"Well…I don't know, Tails. But I don't think about it like that…I have what matters to me right here…" Wrapping an arm around him, she pulled him into a hug, letting him rest his head on her shoulder. With a smile, she stared down at him. "And as far as I'm concerned, not even the worst can take it away from me."

Words. Some so little, some so big; some spoken, some unheard. It was the meaning put on them that made them what they were. And amazing, wasn't it? What they could do to a person. A rare tear streaming down her cheek, she eyed her companion. Words, hmm? Words could mean so many things, but with him, they always meant love.