November 30th (9 days later).
The Castle, Solamar.
Blaze's Dimension.
Blaze the Cat was standing in front of a crowd. Not exactly something unusual for her, being a queen. That's not to say she liked it. In fact, you could say it had always been at the top of her things-I-never-want-to-do list. But she didn't exactly have a choice, now did she? After all, it wasn't every day that your kingdom celebrates its 300th anniversary since independence. And it's not every day that you're the Queen, and you're supposed to deliver some mushy gushy speech about the courage of the soldiers and all the effort that went into the creating of the kingdom and blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda.
The feline sighed. She knew she was being arrogant, and unfair to the people. But to be honest, she didn't really care. If they had any idea what she was going through, what she was always worrying about, what was constantly nagging at her from the back of her brain, then maybe they'd understand her frustration.
She wrapped her shawl closer around her as the trumpets began to blow and the Royal Advisor announced her: "Presenting…Her Royal Majesty, Queen Blaze the 3rd of Solamar!"
She stepped forward, keeping her chin held high, refusing to let anyone know the pain she was going through. She refused to show any sign of weakness. She refused to let her people know how truly unfit she was to be their Queen.
"Greetings, people of Solamar!" Her voice rang out over the crowd that stood beneath the balcony, looking at her with eyes filled with wonder, hope, and excitement. "Today is a great day in the history of our nation!"
A cheer erupted from the crowd, and Blaze rose her hands for silence. "Exactly three hundred years ago our ancestors fought for what they believed was right. They threw aside all odds and won a war that would forever change the future of this nation. The age of Solamar was upon them. And so, fellow citizens, I wish you fair festivities. Remember the battles our ancestors fought with each step you take, and remember this ground was not won without pain, loss, and suffering. Live the life our ancestors fought to give you. Long live Solamar."
"Long live the Queen!" The crowd chanted, bursting into shouts and whistles again.
Blaze waved a calm, slow goodbye, then turned on her heel and exited back into the castle. She ignored Gardon's call of "Your Highness!" and continued up the long flight of stairs to her dormitory. She needed some time to think, to be away from all these ridiculous festivities.
She entered her chamber, closing the door behind her, trying not to slam it. She stomped over to her bed, and fell upon the cushions, wiping her hands down her face.
"You didn't do a terrible job, considering it was about a minute-and-a-half long speech," came a smirk from the doorway to her bathroom.
Blaze jerked upwards, slamming her head against her bedpost in the process. "Damn!" she muttered, rubbing her skull. "Oh…it's just you," she sighed in relief, once seeing the person in the doorway. He was a very familiar face these days, and probably one of her closest friends.
He continued to lean against the doorway, watching her. "You alright, Blaze?" he asked quietly.
She sighed. "I'm fine, Shadow. Why?"
"You didn't exactly seem too enthusiastic about your speech today."
"No. No, I wasn't."
"Why not?"
She opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out. She closed it again, and her eyes found the floor. "…I'm not sure. I'm just sick of being a Queen right now."
The ebony hedgehog stopped leaning against the doorway, and stood straight. "Blaze," his deep voice began, "…this is about Sonic, isn't it?"
Blaze pulled her knees up, resting her head on them. "What's it matter to you, Shadow? I know how much you hate him. You won't even talk about him. I ask you how he is and all you say is 'fine'. Can you see how that might irritate me a bit?"
He didn't respond. It was true that the ebony hedgehog hated Sonic, but it wasn't necessarily for the reasons Blaze thought he did.
She sighed again, lying back on her bed and gazing at the ceiling. "…How is he?" she asked.
"…Sonic's doing great. He's a worldwide superstar; got about every girl in the nation after him. There was a big celebration in Station Square last night celebrating his final defeat of Dr. Eggman. He's dating Rouge now, though I don't know how much longer that will last," Shadow reported, his eyes warily watching the feline. He knew how much this information killed her. But he also knew how much it made him closer to getting what he wanted.
Blaze gritted her teeth, "So he's with Rouge now, huh?" She nodded, forcing herself to swallow this information. "Yes…yes, I can see them together," she lied.
"Don't lie to me, Blaze," Shadow muttered. "I know how much you're still in love with him."
She abruptly sat up. "You have any idea how unfair it is, Shadow?" she asked, her voice surprisingly angry. "It's damn unfair. That you, and you alone, can travel between the dimensions without causing some damn rift in time and space. It's unfair that only you have the ability to move fast enough, to keep the energy safe enough, that you can see both Sonic and me easily. It's unfair that I had to give up everything to keep the dimensions safe, and you…you have to give up nothing! It's effortless for you to travel between the dimensions! Effortless!!" Her voice had steadily risen, and she had now gotten off the bed and was moving towards Shadow, her hand alit with flames. The ebony hedgehog paid no attention to the fire that circled her palm, knowing that, even if she tried to hurt him, he would be able to move out of the line of fire minutes before she even thought about hurting him.
"You know it's not something I can control," Shadow replied, his voice deep and calm. "I can't help the fact that I was created the way I am. I can't help the fact that I can't take you back and forth between the dimensions. It's just impossible."
"I thought you were the Ultimate Lifeform," Blaze retorted. "I thought you could do anything."
He met her gaze steadily, crossing his arms. Not at all because he was angry, but because he was concerned. He hadn't seen her this angry in a long time. "Well, apparently I can't," he replied simply.
Blaze groaned, extinguishing the flames. She walked over to the sofa in the middle of her chamber, collapsing onto it and putting her face in her hands. "God…I'm sorry, Shadow," she whispered. "I just…I don't know what to do."
Shadow sighed, coming to sit next to her. "You know…you could always try getting over him."
She shook her head, moaning. "You know it's not that easy," she mumbled, closing her eyes and thinking, No. It's so much more than just getting over him.
Shadow decided not to respond. That was probably a good thing. He didn't want to frustrate her more than he already was. His eyes slowly rose from his hands to her face, noticing how exhausted she looked. "You have been taking care of yourself, haven't you?" he asked. "You look…tired."
She laid her head against his shoulder. "Go ahead and just say it. I look a wreck. I look like Marilyn Monroe woken from the dead."
"I never said that," Shadow replied, though something akin to that of a smirk appeared on his face.
"Why do you come around, Shadow? What's the point of visiting me? All I do is make you more depressed than you already are. You have to admit I haven't exactly been the most lively person."
"I like spending time with you."
"But why?"
"I just do. You have much more common sense than the others," Shadow shrugged. "Most days I end up spending with a bunch of girls who won't shut up about which dress to buy that will impress their boyfriends most."
She smirked, "How is everyone else?"
"Same as always. Amy's in Law school. Silver…I dunno. Haven't seen him in ages. Rouge is in the modeling business—no surprise there—and Knuckles is still on that island. Dunno when he'll finally settle down. Heard he has his eyes on Shade. Doubt it." The ebony hedgehog decided to leave out the parts about Marine.
Blaze chuckled, saying, "What about Cream and Tails?"
"Tails is currently working with Bill Gates," Shadow said, looking at Blaze, glad to see she was smiling. He liked it when she smiled. "And Cream is in college. Majoring in psychology. Seriously. She's…" he nodded to himself, "she's a good kid."
"Psychology…" Blaze repeated, her eyes finding the floor. "…A lot has happened since I…left…"
"Not really," Shadow replied, closing his eyes and reclining on the sofa, "at least not in my book."
"Of course not," the feline snickered.
Shadow opened an eye to look at her, and asked, "You feeling any better?"
Blaze stood still for a second, then propped her head up with one elbow. She exhaled, answering, "…It's gonna take more than a little conversation to fix me, Shadow. Trust me."
"Guess I'm not the best at conversation. Not really my thing."
"Really? I hadn't noticed," the lavender feline rolled her eyes.
"I try."
"…I know."
The two were silent for a few minutes. Shadow glanced over at Blaze, seeing that she was passively rubbing her stomach and gazing out the window. The sun was setting, a brilliant shade of pink and orange lighting the sky, the sun's rays coming through the window and illuminating Blaze's face.
He stood up. "I need to get back to my dimension. GUN has me doing some mission stuff, I dunno."
She nodded, without taking her eyes away from the window. "Alright. Thanks for stopping by, Shadow."
"Hey," he said, taking her face in his hands and turning it so that she was looking at him. "Take care of yourself, alright? Get something to eat; you look like you've starved yourself for days. If not for yourself, just do it for me."
A slight smile twisted her lips. "Okay, Shad. But you don't need to-Oh, God."
A hand flew to Blaze's mouth, and she pushed him away. Rather roughly, one might add. She jumped up, racing towards the bathroom, leaving Shadow with a slight 'WTF?' face. He cocked an eyebrow, following her slowly. "Blaze?" he asked, confused.
A horrible retching sound came from inside Blaze's restroom. Shadow blinked, perplexed, then knocked on the door. "Blaze, what's going on?"
"Nothing! I'm fine!" Blaze called back to him, but this claim was instantly thrown out as soon as Shadow heard her begin to retch again.
His eyebrows furrowed together. "You, um…coughing up a hairball, or something?" he called.
When he got no response, and the sound of vomiting stopped, Shadow slowly opened the door. His eyes widened a bit when he found Blaze crumpled on the floor, tears streaming down from her eyes.
He was instantly beside her, one hand on her knee and the other on her shoulder. "Blaze, I want you to tell me what's going on right now," he told her, his blood red eyes intensely watching her.
She sobbed, collapsing into his arms and burying her face in his chest fur. "Oh God, Shadow…I'm ruined. I'm ruined. I was so stupid! So damn stupid!" she moaned.
"What are you talking about?!"
"I didn't think anything would happen, I swear!" she cried, her whole body wracking with sobs. "It just…he just started kissing me and before I knew it we-"
"Blaze, what the hell did Sonic do to you?"
Blaze lifted her face to look Shadow in the eyes. A tear dripped down her cheek, and she shouted, "It isn't his fault! He didn't mean this to happen either! He never wanted to hurt me…"
"Would you just tell me what's wrong so I can try and help?!" Shadow grunted, far more worried than he was upset. She was having some sort of mental breakdown.
"Isn't it obvious, Shadow?!"
"Unless I'm missing the entire picture, no, it isn't!"
"I'm pregnant!" she yelled in his face, her eyes seeming to seethe with flames. Then they disappeared again, and all he could see was hopelessness, as she whispered, "I'm not married…and I'm pregnant. I've ruined everything, because I fell in love with some hot shot hedgehog who was probably the most charming man I've ever met. And I was foolish enough to follow him into bed…"
Shadow sat back, having released his hold on her knee and shoulder. He blinked at nothing in particular.
She continued to moan. "I've got to get a grip on myself…I have a kingdom to rule, for God's sake! But I can't hide this forever! You can't hide pregnancy! Especially when you're a Queen, and you're single! My reputation will be ruined…my people will no longer trust me…"
"…How long has it…been? Since…" Shadow asked, his voice hardly audible.
"Since the child was conceived?" she asked, almost angrily, and on the edge of accusingly. "About two months. I'm getting dangerously close to people noticing I'm getting bigger."
"About two months…" Shadow repeated. "That bastard…"
Blaze whirled on him. "What did you say?!"
"I'll kick his furry blue ass for this. For what he's done to you. Bastard doesn't deserve you," Shadow muttered, gritting his teeth.
"Don't you dare touch him, Shadow! It's my fault, not his!" Blaze snarled.
Shadow's hand clenched into a fist. "How is it not his fault? Don't you know all he's been doing these days is sleeping around with girls he's never met before? He doesn't care about you; he never has," he snapped.
Blaze wasn't the kind of girl who would be hurt by Shadow's statement. She knew he was lying. "That's a lie, Shadow. He loved me and I loved him. Separating broke both our hearts."
Shadow knew she was right. But that didn't stop him from wanting to rip the hedgehog to pieces. He chewed on the inside of his cheek, looking away.
"Please don't do this to me," Blaze said quietly, her eyes finding the ground. "You're the only friend I have left, and you know it." She raised her eyes to look at him. "You're the only one I can trust."
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and sitting back down beside her. He took her hand in his, a sign of silent resignation. "I'm not going anywhere, Blaze," he said quietly.
It was a few minutes before the question that was replaying over and over in both of their heads was finally asked. "…What am I supposed to do?" Blaze whispered, her voice exhausted again.
Shadow didn't respond. He didn't like questions he didn't know the answers to.
"I'm just going to have to suck it up," the feline said, more to herself than to Shadow. "I'll find a way through this…I have to. I mean, after all," she slowly glanced down at her stomach, and Shadow was disgusted to find that she was looking at it almost…lovingly. A slight shiver of repulsion fell down his spine. That was Sonic's kid growing in there. Sonic, who Shadow had hated for as long as he could remember. "After all…it's Sonic's child," Blaze finished, the ever so slight smile appearing on her lips.
"…Does he know?" Shadow muttered, staring at the red tips of his boots.
Blaze shook her head. "No. I didn't find out until I got back here. I'm glad he doesn't know, though. I don't want to break his heart any more than I already have."
Shadow grimaced. Break Sonic's heart. Puh. The Blue Blur deserved quite a bit more than a broken heart.
"…Is he still mad at you and Tails?" the lavender feline asked, sighing. "I guess that's my fault. He blames you guys for sending me back here, doesn't he?" She glanced at the ebony hedgehog beside her.
Shadow nodded slowly. "Yeah. Doesn't really bother me, though. He can call me whatever he likes; doesn't change the fact that you had to leave."
"S'pose so," Blaze replied, closing her eyes. "Hey, uh…can you…can you get me a watermelon? I'm, like, in desperate need of a watermelon."
Shadow turned to raise an eyebrow at her. "You…you serious?"
She nodded. "I'm pregnant, Shadow. Us pregnant gals kinda have strange food tendencies."
"Oh," Shadow blinked, nodding slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, alright," he replied, and stood up, walking out the door.
As he left her chamber, he wiped a hand down his face and exhaled, thinking,
And so it begins.
Author's Note:
Meh. So, here's another update for you guys. Not entirely pleased with it, but I still hope you guys will enjoy.
As you can see, I'm doing this slightly different from Bureizu za Vampire's version, as Blaze is only now pregnant, and Shadow is playing a much larger role. Oh, yes, in case you don't understand what Blaze was talking about earlier, here's a bit of an explanation:
Apparently, only Shadow can travel between the dimensions without causing any trouble to time or space. This is what frustrates Blaze, as he can't take anyone with him. Only he can travel between the dimensions.
Anyway, this is the first part of my three-part holiday gift to all my fabulous readers out there. You guys know I'd be nothing without you. :)
~Star
P.S Please tell me if anything was rushed, or cheesy, or whatever. I'd really appreciate it. Thank ya much!