Chapter 5: Elise

I opened my eyes to discover that I was lying face down on some green grass. I pulled myself up to my feet and took in my surroundings; I was in a large forest filled with nature and life. A large castle stood a few miles away in the distance, giving me an impression of familiarity. I knew I haven't been there personally until now, but ... I swear I've seen this place before.

Gazing at everything in interest, I eventually set my eyes on a massive number of blossom trees crowding around a silvery-blue lake. I got out my pistol and clutched it tightly, just in case if anything threatening decided to jump and attack me. I walked cautiously, taking in every detail of the place I was in.

As I got closer, I noticed that I wasn't alone. A woman in her late 20s stood at the very end, presumably filled with as much interest as I was. She had long red hair flowing down, just stopping at her waist and wore a short-sleeved long white dress which reached her feet. To add a finishing touch, she wore a pair of two bright orange high heels and had a white feathery crown stored in her hair. I recognised her immediately.

Oh, it's her...

She then turned round, apparently heard my footsteps and her pale blue eyes widened in fright. I quickly placed my pistol on the ground and lifted my hands up, to show that I didn't mean harm. After a while, she eventually relaxed and addressed me with a smile. "Well, hello there. I haven't seen you around here before. What's your name?"

Like when I always meet new people, I became shy. I wrapped my arms around my small frame and stepped forward. "Megan... And you?"

Even though I knew who she was, the reason why I asked for her name was that I didn't want to freak her out by revealing that I was one of Sonic's fans, having played most of the games including 06. The woman saw that I was nervous and gave me a look of sympathy. "You don't need to worry, I won't hurt you..."

Well, that's a relief...

"My name is Elise." She said, finally.

I nodded in acknowledgement, still keeping my distance. "So..., what are you doing out here?"

Elise's smile widened slightly. "Oh, I'm just taking an afternoon stroll. Enjoying the fresh air. Today seems quite lovely, doesn't it?"

"Um, yeah... I guess..." I replied, shyly.

My new friend then got an idea and she gestured for me to follow her. "If you'd like, I can take you on a tour around my kingdom? Maybe show you what we do here?"

I'm in Soleanna, great.

"S-Sure..." I said after a small moment of thought. I then picked my pistol and placed it inside my jean pocket for now. After that, I began to follow Elise (who was only a few metres away), unwrapping my arms as I did so. To be honest, it felt really weird to talking to a Sonic franchise character. The blue blur himself was the first one I've seen and Elise was the first one who I've interacted with. My opinion of her was positive, but she had some moments which made me think: "I'm not sure if I can understand this..."

My only problem with her though, was that she was unable to defend herself. I understood why, because she had royal duties, but if she found herself in a threatening situation and no one was there to help, how would she get out of it?

I certainly wasn't a fan of escort missions and if our tour came to that, I decided that I was going to teach Elise how to defend herself. I guessed that she probably tried to help Sonic in his fights against Eggman, but still...

"So, um..., What is it that you do here?" I asked, curiously.

"Well..., when it came to special occasions, we used to hold the Festival of the Sun. Lots of visitors from all across the globe traveled here to celebrate with our citizens. There were fireworks full of radiant colours, dancing, singing and a glorious parade in the water." Elise explained. She seemed to be very happy as she walked with me.

Despite knowing this already, I found myself slowly growing interested. "Go on..."

"We worshiped our sun god, Solaris. He protected us from harm and watched over us, making sure that we were doing well." My new friend continued. "But then, a series of events occurred and he turned against us. Luckily, someone referred to as the 'Blue Wind' saved us from harm. He was really kind to me,"

Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. How the hell do you still remember all that when you blew out the flame...?!

I was shocked, but then decided to change the subject. "You mentioned someone named the Blue Wind?"

"Yes." Elise brightened at the mention of my idol. "I believe his actual name was-"

"Sonic." I finished for her. Hearing this, she looked at me with eyes wide as saucers. "You know him?!"

Duuuuh, of course I do!

"Yeah..." I replied. "It's kinda a long story but...where I come from, everyone knows him. I haven't met Sonic personally, but just a few minutes ago, he was outside my front door."

My friend listened with interest. "Oh, how is he?"

"From the looks of things, I think he's doing pretty good." But then, my smile faded. "I just wish I had the confidence to open my door and strike up a conversation,"

Elise gave me a sympathetic look and placed her hand on my shoulder. "Just wait for the right time... When it comes, walk up to him and say 'Hello'. I'm sure Sonic won't mind."

That's actually... a pretty good idea.

"O-Okay..." I said.

After that, we continued on and eventually made it into Soleanna New City. Tall buildings towered over us and numerous citizens strolled around the town, going on about their daily lives. I noticed a knife on the ground at my feet and picked it up, earning a worried look from Elise. "Hey, um... I hope you don't mind me asking, but do you know how to use this...?"

"Sort of,"

I then gave the knife to her, gesturing for her to take it. "Well, if you end up in a threatening situation, use this to defend yourself. I know this might sound weird, since we just met but, I just...would like to help you out if things go downhill."

My friend smiled and took the knife from my grasp. "That's alright, thank you,"

I returned the gesture and noticed that there was another hole punctured into the wall, near the entrance we just came from. "I ... I think I need to go check something quickly, do you mind me doing that?"

"No, not at all." Elise said, nodding to show that she understood.

"Okay, thanks," I then made my way to the hole, looking back at my friend. "I'll be back in a minute, don't worry,"

All I got was another nod and without hesitating, I crawled into the hole.

Let's see where this heads to...