Hey guys, I know it's been awhile and unfortunately a lot of this is going to be me fighting against writer's block and forcing myself to write, which usually isn't a good thing. You've been warned.

Market Place

Rouge and Cream were walking around the Market Place early the next day picking up more supplies for Vector, to his amazement. They walked through the mile long road full of fruit stands and food shops with their horses in tow. Cream walked ahead as Rouge trudged on behind gloomily.

"Why did both of us have to come? You know I hate the Market Place. On top of that I'm hot as hell." Cream sighed in frustration and just kept walking. "Well, maybe if you hadn't gotten so dressed up just to go shopping you wouldn't be so uncomfortable." Cream said.

Rouge let out a 'hmph' placing her hands on her hips as every man who passed by stared and drooled at the sight of her body. She wore a sleeveless, midnight blue dress with a plunging sweetheart neckline that flowed down to her ankles. Black heeled boots and matching black belt with a gold belt buckle. A fake black lily on the top of her left breast. Metal clasp bracelets and a silver choker with a black flower. Her hair was in tight curls and she wore seductive red lipstick.

Cream on the other hand wore a simple orange, flowy princess dress with brown off the shoulder sleeves, a brown belt, and brown flats. Cream just shook her head at Rouge and went to the nearby fruit stand, leaving Rouge with the horses. Rouge ignored her as she leaned against a nearby wall and took out her hand held mirror and checked her lipstick. Suddenly a hand slammed on the wall next to Rouge's head. Rouge jumped as she dropped her mirror and saw a green hedgehog with seductive blue eyes, three scars on his chest and a black jacket. "Hello he said with an alluring voice coming a little closer to Rouge. "What's your name beautiful?" He overstepped her boundaries when he took a gentle hold of Rouge's chin so she would look straight into his eyes. It was very gentle but something about his touch made Rouge's skin crawl.

Most women would have been putty in his hands in just a few seconds, but Rouge knew better. With a glare Rouge pushed his hand away. "You're not worthy of my name." She tried to walk away but he slammed his other hand on the wall, trapping her. He seemed calm but the way he stood in front of her spelled out frustration.

"Don't be like that sweet heart." He said as he stroked her cheek. "My names' Scourge, now you owe me yours." Rouge brushed his hand away and diverted her eyes away from his. She tried to move away but Scourge grabbed her by the waist and pinned her body against his own. "You know," he said staring down at her chest. "If you didn't want any attention you shouldn't dress so… alluringly."

Scourge moved in closer, leaving a seductive kiss on her neck. Rouge let out a growl as she tried to punch him but he grabbed her wrist and pinned it to the wall as he placed a few rough kisses near her chest. Rouge struggled against Scourge trying to get out of his grip as he slowly moved up her neck and inches away from her lips.

Suddenly Scourge was pulled away by his collar. He stumbled back before catching himself. When he turned back to Rouge he saw Knuckles glaring at him as he wrapped his arm protectively around Rouge's shoulders. "This guy bothering you sweetheart?" Rouge looked up at Knuckles in shock with a bright red blush on her cheeks.

Knuckles gently pulled Rouge towards her horse. Lifting Rouge up by her waist, and Rouge marveling at how strong he is, he placed her on the horse side saddle. He turned back to Scourge and slowly approached him, looking a little scary. Knuckles stopped just a few inches away from him, staring at him intently. "You know when a woman turns you down you could at least take it like a man and walk away."

With that Knuckles turned away from Scourge and took the reins of Rouge and Cream's horses and lead them away. Rouge stared at Knuckles in amazement. "Why did you help me?" Rouge asked once Scourge was out of ear shot. "You hate me."

"Well for one thing I hate that guy. No one deserves to be tortured by his presence. And two, Sonic and Amy are friends, and Sonic would kill me if I let something happen to someone close to her." He said emotionless, never turning to Rouge.

Rouge's expression of awe disappeared and was replaced by annoyance. "Oh, so you're just being a good errand dog." She crossed her arms over her bosom and looked away. Surprisingly Knuckles didn't have a witty retort and just kept walking with a blank expression on his face. Rouge was shocked but refused to say anything else. She looked up to see Tails with Cream at the fruit stand.

Without a word Rouge stopped her horse and got down. With her head held high she walked passed Knuckles but he gently grabbed her arm to stop her. Rouge turned to him trying to look annoyed but it was hard when he looked at her with a face of utter seriousness and sincerity. "I'm not playing," he said. "Stay away from that man and try to be careful."

Rouge nodded and slowly but awkwardly got out of his grip. Knuckles, still holding onto the horses, and Rouge walked over to Cream and Tails who seemed to be talking. When they got closer Rouge realized that Tails was handing Cream an envelope.

"Hey Cream," Rouge said as she tried to avoid eye contact with Knuckles as he tried the horses to a pole and stood next to Tails. "So Sonic actually wrote back?" Rouge said, her usual attitude returning.

Tails looked at her seriously, almost offended. "We told you that you can trust Sonic and us. And I meant that."

Rouge stared at Tails and Knuckles for a second before stomping towards the horses and getting back on hers to leave. "Let's go Cream."

Cream gave a quick nod to Tails and Knuckles. As Cream got on her horse Rouge never looked back at Tails and Knuckles, keeping her eyes forward. Once Cream was on her horse Rouge began walking and Cream followed behind. As they rode away Knuckles kept his eyes on Rouge till they were out of sight. Off in an ally way he could see Scourge watching them ride away as well. With a final glare Knuckles turned away and headed back to Mobius with Tails.

Rose Palace

Amy stood on a small podium, her arms spread out wide as a crow hemmed her unfinished white ball gown. In the corner her mother sat watching. "You look gorgeous Amelia." She gushed.

"It's not even finished yet." Amy pointed out as another woman, an orange cat, tightened her corset, causing Amy to lose her breath for a moment. Her mother Scarlett stood up and took Amy's hands into her own. "You make the dress gorgeous."

Amy gave her a small smile before the breath was squeezed out of her again. Scarlett gave a soft giggle as Amy caught her breath. "Why are we doing dress alterations now?" The Winter Ball is still a little over a month away." Amy stated as Scarlett smoothed out Amy's dress a little.

"We want you to look you best; who knows maybe you could meet a possible husband." Scarlett said giving Amy a small grin. Amy blushed as the statement brought on thoughts of Sonic for a second but she quickly dismissed them.

Suddenly from down the hall they could hear fast footsteps pounding on the floor coming towards the seam stress' room. Rouge and Cream burst through the door out of breath, but ready to give Amy their news. But they forgot about the seam stresses and the Queen. Scarlett and the seam stresses stood there stunned as Amy stood looking on curiously.

"Is something the matter girls?" Scarlett asked as Cream and Rouge stood respectfully at attention. "Nothing is wrong; we just have something for Amy, that's all." Cream said looking towards Amy who looked very confused. "Remember that thing we talked about?" she emphasized 'thing' trying to get her point across. Amy looked to Rouge for some help. Rouge shifted her eyes down to Cream's pocket where Amy could see Sonic's letter sticking out. Realization came to Amy as she played along.

"That's right, I forgot." She said as she took off the ball gown to reveal her white underdress. "Sorry mother; can we finish up later?" Amy asked as she inched towards the door but didn't give her mother a chance to speak as she ran out the door with Cream and Rouge.

When they got to Amy's room she closed and locked the door. "He wrote back?" Cream nodded and handed the letter to Amy. Amy took the letter into her hands and held it as if it were the most precious thing in the world. Slowly she opened the letter and read to herself.

Dear Amy,

I figured since you told me a little about you, I'd tell you some things about me. My birthday is July 19th, my favorite color is green, I love sword fighting and running, and my biggest fear is water. Unlike most men I want a woman who can speak for herself and is intelligent. And, I've never told anyone this, but I can't wait to have kids of my own. What would you rather have, a girl or a boy? Me personally, I don't think it matters which.

So you know a little more about my past; I'm an only child but I had an older brother Shadow who died, but I was too young to really know him. My dad is very traditional and only likes royals being with other royals. My mother is traditional but she's a little less strict. And ever since I was little I've been a hyper active handful for my parents.

I hope I hear from you soon. I love being able to learn about you and talking to you. I've never really talked and got to know a girl before. It's different than I thought it would be.

Sincerely,

Sonic

Amy smiled at the sheet of paper before putting it in a drawer with the others. Immediately Amy sat down and started writing back. Rouge sat quietly on Amy's bed, not making her usual comments, while Cream stood beside Amy as she wrote her letter. Looking out the window to the Market Place Rouge thought about Scourge, Knuckles, and why her heart seemed to stop when Knuckles helped her.

I apologize for how long this took. I think it's very obvious that I wrote this with writers block but it was also because I just hadn't gotten a chance to type it up after I wrote it down. The next chapter will be longer so I expect it to take longer. Thanks for being patient and reading.