Chapter 5: The Flower of Life
The sun began to sink low in the sky, its orange glow blossoming the clover blooms of the low cumuli. The sounds of the squawking low-flying birds filled the air as the frantic scribbling sounds of quill on parchment filled Silver's house.
He'd been at it for hours, as he always was. If one were to look for the wordsmith, odds were they'd find him locked away in his office, covered in his messy scrawlings. Silver wrote everything; from poetry to history to fictions. However, more often than not he was writing essays on better ways to govern the citizens. He'd write about serfs toiling away in the fields, and the political unrest of waring nobles constantly slicing up the lands year after year in a never ending battle to expand borders. He'd write about the travellers that came to sow dissent in Deyfros, and of rich merchants that would bring new ideals with them on the tides – ideas that tugged at Silver's intrigue.
He was a smart man, but a deeply loyal one. He'd lived under King Mephiles' reign most of his life, and he saw with his own eyes the peace and prosperity that followed. Yet, he was aware of the contentedness that plagued the ageing king. Their country was stalling, and Silver's head was always filled with new ideas from conversing with the merchants, sailors, and travellers that visited the bustling Ashorus.
He tore the parchment and neatly folded his new set of scribblings – outlining his new idea of how to better spread the royal coin that Mephiles had dedicated to keeping Ashorus prosperous, in an idea that some would call radical, but that Silver knew would stem the bleeding trade that threatened Ashorus. Silver could see the disaster that his city was marching headfast into underneath Mephiles' current policies. A change needed to be heralded, and like he always did, Silver intended to send his ideas to the king, unbeknownst to him that his impassioned words, as always, would never reach the king.
Pouring the hot wax onto the envelope to seal it, Silver finally allowed himself a moment of respite when knocking sounded from the wooden door. With a sigh and a stretch, Silver made his way to the door when his day was immediately brightened by Blaze's kind eyes and soft smile.
"Blaze," Silver bowed. "A pleasure to see you, as always."
"Why Silver, how formal of you," Blaze giggled softly into the back of her hand, feigning the curtsey of a princess. "I can see by the ink staining your fingers that you've been hauled up writing again."
"Perceptive as always," Silver admitted. "That man we met today, Sir Scourge, instilled some interesting ideas from afar which have ticked my imagination, Blaze. The king simply must hear of this."
"Silver," Blaze sighed, leaning against the doorframe. "You know the king never reads your writing, as beautiful and wise as it is."
"We can't treat that as fact," Silver retorted. "Until disproven, something however unlikely cannot be deemed as a falsehood."
"Then you, my dear Silver, are not a gentleman." Shock decorated Silver's tired face, tracing the lines that ran along his forehead beneath his hair. "You see, a true gentleman would have invited a weary woman into his house and offered her something to quench her thirst. And yet, you've let me stand here for minutes, thus disproving that you are a gentleman and that falsehood has come to light."
"Blaze," Silver's smile grew wider than he thought possible. "Of course if there was anybody to overcome my wit it would be you. Of course, you're always welcome inside this house," he stepped aside and granted her entrance. He led her to the table, sitting beside her as he turned his attention back to the real reason she'd paid him a visit. Finally, her smile faded, and worry filled her pupils.
"As much as I enjoy your company, I'm not here for you," Blaze admitted. "I'm worried, in truth. Tails has not yet returned, and he's always made it home for dinner. Has Sonic come home yet?"
"Sonic is still away too, I regret to admit. But do not worry – they are teenagers after all. Who knows what they get up to, but I'm sure Amy is with them, and I feel little fear for my boy when she is around."
"That eases my concerns slightly," Blaze admitted. "I'm glad Tails has your boy and her to spend time with. I often find myself worrying about him, and what sort of man he'll become now that he is almost of age."
"Tails is a smart boy, and he'll make a fine man. That I have no doubts," Silver said with confidence, placing a hand on top of Blaze's. She looked up at him with something he found unreadable in her eyes, but before he could speak again the door flung open, almost blown from its hinges, and Silver pulled back in shock.
"I'm home," Knuckles bellowed as he stomped through the kitchen, snatching the leftover bread from the counter top.
"Knuckles, could you go fetch us some water for tonight?"
"I just got home. Could you not have asked me earlier?"
"No, I could not as you've been out all day," Silver fired back.
"That's unfortunate," Knuckles shrugged. "Call me when dinner is ready," Knuckles dodged passed his father and climbed the stairs to his bedroom, ignoring Blaze entirely.
"What am I going to do with that boy?" Silver shook his head.
"Now that, Silver, is something I cannot help you with."
Before Eclipse had known what had hit him, he was on his bottom, sword meters from his grasp plunged in the thick mud. Amy stood over him, brandishing her own sword to his chest, her face decorated with a victorious smile. She was almost disappointed. That had been too easy.
Amy looked down at Eclipse with pity. How could somebody who travelled with the Prince be so inept with a sword? However, before she had a chance to contemplate what to do with him she recalled Sonic's situation. Jumping over Eclipse, Amy rushed over to help out Sonic, but she was too late as she watched helplessly as Shadow ripped the emerald from Sonic's grasp and he fell to the mud with a thud.
"Sonic!" Amy cried as she hurled herself at Rouge with her sword raised. For somebody untrained, Amy's leap would have been the end of them, but Rouge had decades to build her craft and hone her reflexes. Instinctively, Rouge brought her blade up to meet Amy's blow. Steel clashed as Amy was held aloft before Rouge reeled back and pushed with all her might against Amy. She went flying backwards, her sword thrown from her grasp, and splashed into the mud beside Eclipse.
"Not so tough now," Eclipse taunted as he rose from hands and knees and hurried back over to Shadow's side, but the prince stopped him with the shake of his head.
"While you're over there," Shadow said to Eclipse, adopting his regal tone that had been stripped away in the heat of battle. "Could you kindly take that green emerald from that boy?"
Eclipse was confused, but obliged, nonetheless. As he passed Amy still on the ground, fur brown with dirt and mud, she hissed up at him and called for Tails not to give up the emerald.
"Hey, kid, do as she says and we won't harm your friend," Eclipse said as he gestured over to Sonic who had only just regained his senses and sat up, rubbing his forehead. "Please, I don't want anybody to get hurt." Tails' gaze flicked from the green emerald that he held to Amy, but her defiance was fervent as she shook her head.
"Don't you dare," Amy warned, but as Tails looked over to Rouge's domineering and, frankly, frightening presence looming over Sonic's helpless frame Tails sighed and relinquished the green emerald. Amy snorted in disgust. "Figures."
"Thanks, you did the right thing," Eclipse whispered, but Shadow called to his friend and Eclipse quickly scampered back to hand the emerald to his prince.
"Finally," Shadow sneered as he sheathed his sword and took the green emerald from Eclipse with his right hand, his left still clutching the red emerald he'd stolen from Sonic not moment's prior. "I told you this would be the outcome. If you'd just given them to me when I asked then we could have avoided all this unnecessary violence."
"What are they, my prince?" Rouge asked.
"Very powerful objects. Just listen," Shadow began as he closed his eyes, held out the green emerald and concentrated… but nothing happened. "I don't understand," Shadow bellowed, his patience evaporating as he snarled with anger. "Why can't I make it play any music? Nymph!"
The bushes surrounding the clearing rustled, and out popped Aldar, who'd retreated to sanctuary as the fighting had commenced. He admonished fighting, and hated witnessing it almost as much as he hated partaking in it.
"I can explain," Aldar nodded with unblinking, unflinching hollow eyes. "Those emeralds are two of the seven cursed chaos emeralds, and the duty to protect them all these years has fallen to me."
"Cursed?" Eclipse asked with worry.
"Protect them?" Rouge asked with intrigue.
"Two of seven?" Shadow asked with desire.
"Indeed," Aldar nodded his round head. "Those emeralds I have been entrusted to guard are one of three groups that make up the seven emeralds of Creation that were forged in the volcanoes at the beginning of time. These two, red and green, are the emeralds of vitality and, like all three groups do, they hold a duality.
"The red emerald is the emerald of discord, and has the ability to grant the wielder immeasurable strength and stamina that can be matched by no equal. The green emerald is the emerald of harmony, and has the ability to read the purity of the wielder's heart."
"The purity of somebody's heart? What in Chaos' name is that supposed to mean?" Shadow asked in frustration, his patience wearing thin.
"The music. Only somebody with a gentle soul can hear the melody. Furthermore, only somebody with a pure heart and good intentions can force the emerald to elicit a melody in the first place. Some can hear the emerald's melody, but few can produce one on their own."
"How dare you tell me I don't have a pure heart!" Shadow grumbled. "Your stupid emerald must be broken."
"I assure you, the emeralds can't break," Aldar responded, and Sonic and Amy could do little to mask their chuckles as Shadow's face grew redder and redder. "But be warned," Aldar continued. "Each emerald has a drawback. The emerald of Harmony can see into somebody's heart, but if somebody who it deems unworthy tries to force out the music it will ignite the volcanic ash dormant within that was used to construct it and explode with the force of an erupting volcano."
Shadow's eyes went wide at Aldar's admission and he quickly handed the emerald to Eclipse, realising he'd silently been trying to force the emerald to elicit a sound while Aldar was talking. Eclipse cast his eyes down on the emerald, but was too scared to test its abilities and instead held it dormant.
"And the red?" Rouge asked.
"Perceptive. Yes, the red emerald, too, has its own drawbacks. You see –"
"Father!" Shadow quickly shouted, as if he'd been bit by something that roused him. "Enough talk about these emeralds. We've got them now. We can give it to our royal scientists to understand their powers fully, but we need to get back to father and give him the flower."
"You found the flower of life?" Rouge asked hopefully, earning a nod of pride from Shadow.
"Of course I found it," he boasted. "But we've not much time. I picked it a while ago before I stumbled upon the emeralds. We need to get it back to father before… before…" Shadow trailed off as the colour drained from his face. His hands fumbled his belt, but the leather pouch he had fastened to it was empty. He noticed in horror a small rip had torn, slashed by Sonic's sword, and the vial was nowhere to be found.
"It's gone!" Shadow shouted as he fell to his knees and rummaged around in the filthy mud, searching for the vial of golden liquid that was his father's only chance of survival. "Rouge, don't let that boy go. Eclipse, search for the –"
"Looking for something?" Tails found his voice, and for the first time a smirk crept across his face. There, cradled between his muddy fingers, was the corked glass vial containing the nectar of life.
"So that's what you were doing," Amy nodded in understanding. "Sorry I doubted you," she flashed Tails a respectful glance, the first one she'd ever given him. Maybe he wasn't as stupid as she thought.
"You, boy!" Shadow shouted as he jumped back to his feet. "Give me that vial now!"
"Or what?" Tails threatened, overcome with a strange bravery he didn't know he had. Shadow stepped closer but Tails rose his hand in defiance. "One more step and I'll smash the vial."
"That vial is what your king needs to survive. Break it and I'll ensure you three, and your families, will all be trialled for treason and sentenced to a hanging," Shadow threatened.
"J-just give us the emeralds and let us go in peace," Tails stuttered, a hint of fear creeping into his voice. Amy could see he was faltering. She scrambled to her feet and hopped over to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Her presence beside him helped quell his nerves.
"Enough of this nonsense," Rouge grumbled with a cool head, picking up Sonic's discarded sword. She hauled Sonic up by the scruff of his neck and positioned the smaller, sharp blade against his neck, it's steel drawing a small trickle of blood as Sonic swallowed hard. "Give us the vial or I kill the boy."
Tails hesitated again, and began to lower his hand, but Amy wasn't going to be beaten by these royal brats again. They'd been handed everything to them their entire life, and she wasn't going to just sit by and let them get away with the emeralds and the vial. As nervousness kindled within Tails, defiance erupted within herself.
"Don't you dare hand them the vial, Tails," Amy warned. "You already handed him the emerald, but it was because you knew we still had the upper hand."
"But… Sonic."
"They won't kill him," she reiterated. "It's just an empty threat. They can kill him, and us, but it would only put the nail in Mephile's coffin. They need the vial, we don't need the emeralds. We hold the power, and you can tell that brat can't stand that I'm right," Amy sneered at Shadow's reddening face.
"Smash it!" Sonic yelled. "Smash it n–" Sonic's outcry was silence by Rouge's tightening grip on the hilt.
"Give me the vial right now!" Shadow bellowed, stamping his foot like a petulant child. "I'll have you hanged for this treason."
"And it'll be your first action as the new king," Amy bared her teeth.
"My prince," Rouge regained her stalwart composure, easing the blade away from Sonic's throat. "Are the emeralds really worth all this turmoil? These three are just teenagers, but we are talking about our king. Give them the emeralds and let us return with the vial, as was our initial mission."
"But I…" Shadow trailed off as he met Tails' bravely defiant eyes. Peering deep within them, Shadow knew this boy had been pushed to his limit and was just crazy enough to smash the vial. With heavy reluctance, Shadow ordered Rouge to stand down. With a nod, Rouge removed the sword from her throat and kicked Sonic down into the mud. He spluttered and coughed, but crawled away from the towering woman.
"Can I get my sword back at least?" Sonic asked, but the growl he'd elicited from her said more than any answer could, and Sonic rushed back to the safety of his two companions.
"Happy? Now, give me the vial!"
"F-first, give us the emeralds," Tails continued to surprise himself, and Amy.
"Fine!" Shadow gave in. "Eclipse, Rouge, hand them the emeralds." Eclipse reluctantly handed the green emerald to Amy's outstretched hand. She took it gently, not unlike it was a precious, fragile egg. She cradled it in her hands, studying its majestic glow. She thought about trying to pour some of her energy into it, just to see if she could make it sound, but the look Aldar gave her made her hesitate, and instead she pocketed it.
"And th-the other!" Shadow nodded as Rouge strode confidently over and dropped the red emerald into Sonic's hand. Immediately he pulled on its strength, and the delightful feeling of power swelled through his veins, igniting his muscles and restoring his emptied stamina. He let out a satisfied sigh – one that Aldar took notice of.
"Now the vial," Shadow demanded, but as Tails took a step towards the prince, Sonic seized his hand and shook his head.
"I don't think so," Sonic tutted. "We've got the emeralds, so we'll be going now."
"What?" Tails asked.
"How dare you?" Shadow fumed. "We had a deal!"
"Deals change."
"It's for your king. He'll die without it."
"He's not my king," Sonic fired back. "My father might defend the monarchy, even though his writings are by far greater for the people of Deyfros than anything Mephiles has ever done. He silenced my complaining, but it's clear he's wrong. You've proved that to me today, my prince," Sonic mocked, imitating Shadow's regal tone. Confidence swelled red within him, and Rouge's hand fell to the hilt of her blade.
"Sonic," Tails' voice rang through the air. Sonic turned back to him. "This isn't the way."
"We have the upper hand now," Sonic insisted. "We've got the vial they need, and I've got the emerald of Discord. That brat has been sitting in his palace, living the life of luxury as our town slowly dies. I've heard my father. Ships haven't been coming as much, and winters get tougher every year. Mephiles might have brought peace and heralded a new age, but his age is over!"
"It will be over if we don't give them the nectar," Tails said quietly. "We're not murderers, Sonic, and we never will be. We're not royals, or monarchs. We're just kids from a merchant town."
"We're not kids anymore," Sonic turned away from his friend, readying to fight regardless, but the next voice that spoke shocked him.
"Tails is right," Amy said.
"I never thought I'd hear those words come from you."
"I'm just as surprised as you," Amy chuckled. "But he is. We've got the emeralds, and we've got our lives. Let's not ignite the fury of the kingdom. We might win this battle, but we don't want a war we can't win. Do we?"
"Listen to your companions," Rouge said. "They speak wise words." Sonic tore his gaze from Amy and glared at Rouge, her steadfast glower unflinching. His eyes flicked from the royal advisor to the prince, and his glare bore daggers into Shadow's skull. The anger in the look was mirrored back at him.
A few tense moments passed before Sonic sighed, and allowed the stream of power run down his arm and swell back into the red emerald, its light dimming.
"Okay. Give them the vial." Tails released the breath he'd been instinctively holding, and handed the vial to Eclipse, who rushed it over to Shadow's waiting fingers.
"I won't forget this," Shadow growled, his words more those of warnings than thanks.
"Let's get out of here," Sonic spat as he turned heel and together with Amy and Tails they disappeared into the dense foliage of the thick forest. Shadow went to give chase but Rouge held him back, shaking her head. There wasn't time to chase teenagers. Their king needed the nectar, and Shadow knew she was right, as she always was.
"Nymph," Shadow turned to shout at Aldar, but the small creature had vanished from the spot he'd been rooted in. With a sigh, Shadow removed the string from his pouch, tied it around the vial, and placed it around his neck. The glass clinked against the skin of his chest as he held it protectively. "We need to get this to father."
"Right away, my prince," Rouge bowed as the trio retreated back the way they came.
"Curious indeed…" Aldar croaked from deep within the bushes, only his eyes visible from the clearing.