Another chapter you all. Please give me some feedback if you can. It's very much appreciated!
"Knock, knock Princess! I reckon I got news for ya, sugah!" Big the Cat pulled at his black vest, Tiny sitting on the ground next to him rocking side to side.
Subject #14 scratched his head, hiding behind Big, "So, this Princess. Is she nice?"
Big turned back and pat his large stomach, "Nice? Woo-wee, I reckon she's the kindest, warmest cowgirl in all the Free World! I tell ya, it's only because of her that I'm not on the streets downtown right now! She let me stay here in the Resort in exchange for collecting fish for the Resort's marketplace."
Tiny jumped up and punched the air, "Yeah, she's so cool!" He blushed, sliding his foot against the carpet bashfully, "And pretty, too!"
#14 rolled his eyes, "Oh come on. The chick can't be that cute…"
The door to the suite ahead of them opened, revealing a tall leopard with a white dress on. She wore a few feathers in her red hair and smiled down towards her visitors, "Big. Tiny. It's so good to see you boys."
Big winked at the sovereign, "G'day to you, Princess Elise. Tiny and I just brought in the best haul this mornin', I reckon!"
Tiny pulled a bento box from behind him wrapped in blue foil, "H-here you go, Miss Elise. I made you some yellow-tail sushi!"
Elise accepted the box and knelt down to kiss Tiny on the forehead, "Why thank you! I'm sure it'll be delicious come lunchtime!"
Tiny blushed hard, his head rocking from side to side as if he were drunk, "Hehe, anything for you, Princess."
Elise giggled, then turned her attention to Subject #14 who was whistling, his back turned from her, a bit flustered from her presence. He'd never met royalty before. She titled her head, standing straight up, "Oh, and who are you, mystery boy?"
#14 slowly turned around, his gaze towards the white carpet, "Umm, I'm a, uh…"
Big coughed into his hand, "This here is newcomer to the country! He's a, umm, drifter – that's it! And he wondering if he could get a job and maybe stay here in the Resort temporarily!"
Subject #14 mentally thanked Big for his assistance as he looked at the Princess, rubbing his arm, "I mean, if that's okay. I totally understand if it isn't. I can just keep passing through, no biggie…"
Elise folded her arms, then looked up at Big and nodded as Tiny hopped on his companion's shoulders, "Right. Big and Tiny, thanks for the fish. Could you make sure the rest is stocked up at the marketplace for the lunch rush? I'm sure Mighty and Ray could use your help down there right about now."
Big pounded his chest, "No problem, sugah! We're on it!" He looked up at Tiny, "Ready to make some cash, little guy?"
Tiny hopped up and down, "You know it, big guy!" The two of them waved towards the princess and headed back down the hall, humming a merry tune.
#14 continued standing there, looking at his feet as he felt an awkward air pull at the hallway. He was alone with this country's current sovereign. What if he says something that offends her? Would he get put into a prison cell? Cast out into the ocean? Executed in the city square? The implications made his fur crawl.
"Well?" Subject #14 looked up to see Elise with her hand gesturing inside of her suite, "Don't you want to come in?"
#14 was rooted to the spot, unsure of what awaited inside. He wasn't a fan of confined spaces, but she was the Princess. Maybe he should just comply. She seemed nice enough. He slowly walked inside, his damaged feet tracking blood onto the carpet. Elise noticed this and gasped, racing over to a desk and pulling out a first-aid kit.
"You're hurt…" The Princess walked over to him and guided him to a soft couch within the den. Subject #14 lifted an eyebrow as the Princess sat him down and opened the box, pulling out a bandage and isopropyl alcohol.
#14 shook his head, "It's nothing."
The sovereign protested, the beads around her neck rustling as she rushed to heal him, "Don't say that." She poured the alcohol onto a cloth and applied it to his cuts. Subject #14 gasped at the stinging sensation, alerting Elise who softly apologized. After a few seconds, the pain subsided, but the awkwardness of the situation remained, leading #14 to rub his muzzle with his finger, looking away from the Princess.
"I'm sorry…" #14 lifted an eyebrow, looking down at the Princess. She looked up at him, "Whatever happened to you, must've been terrible. Big and Tiny…they were drifters too. No home to call their own. They had been found sleeping in an alleyway Downtown. A member of the Soleannan National Guard alerted me to this and suggested that I throw them out…" She shook her head, "It's people like them that make the Upper Class look like a group of selfish pigs. My mother – Elise the Second – was much like that…"
Subject #14 shook his head, seeing the sad expression on Elise's face, "But…you are so kind…I'm just some bum that was found in the water, and…instead of being disgusted at me…you're sitting here at my feet, healing my wounds…"
Elise looked up at him, a tear running down her face. Subject #14 closed his eyes and grinned, "You seem like a great person. Puts a smile on my face, you know? Maybe it should do the same to you?"
The Princess wiped at her cheek, a smile growing on her face as well, "Thank you…Umm, what was your name?"
The blue hedgehog shook his head, looking away, "Number 14…"
"Pardon?"
"My designation…is Number 14…I…I'm not just some drifter, as Big and Tiny told you…" He stood up, walking from the couch and towards a window behind it. He looked out towards the clear skies and fresh waters visible from the resort, "I'm…an escaped experiment…"
