Chapter 1

Blaze sat by the lake, her tail swishing in the water gently, watching as the ripples distorted her reflection. She found it a challenge to sit still for a length of time; her personality always demanded that she be doing something. No doubt Eggman Nega was up to his usual tricks, plotting a way to steal the Sol Emeralds from her again. But if he was, he was doing so quietly as she hadn't had any trouble from him in months. She thought about Sonic and the others frequently, especially Cream. The little rabbit and her Chao companion had become her first friends. Or at least the first friends she was aware of. Much of Blaze's childhood had become hazy, and she couldn't recall ever having any friends when she was younger. She sighed deeply and flicked a few droplets of water at her face. It seemed hard to believe that a catastrophe such as Eggman Nega's theft of the Sol Emeralds had brought about such pleasant results.

Perhaps the old coot has some uses despite his meddlesome ways, she thought to herself.

Blaze looked up at the violet sky. Night would fall soon. And night always brought sleep. And sleep always brought dreams. And her dreams were far from pleasant. A few months ago she had had some excitement in her life. Now, however, it had returned to its usual mundane routine. It bored her to tears on numerous occasions.

I need to get out of this place, she thought, I need to take a vacation. But, where can I go? My duties follow me everywhere.

As she stood, one of her guards rushed to her side, a warm towel in one hand. With a flourish, he bowed down low.

"Your towel, my queen."

Ignoring him, Blaze strode back through the garden and up the stone steps to her palace. It was a truly beautiful structure, glowing now in the last rays of the sun, but to her it held no appeal. The palace felt to her like her prison. All she wanted was to get away, to live in a simple little cottage, fend for herself rather than be waited on hand and foot. Her footsteps echoed around the antechamber as she made her way to her quarters. She knew there would be a warm, scented bath waiting for her when she got there. There always was.

Perhaps a bath would be good, she mused, it would certainly help me clear my head.

Pushing open the door to her room, a warm breeze floated through, carrying with it the aroma of arecae leaves used for scenting her bath. It was a rare herb but, being a queen, one of the many things readily available to her. She hated it, but it was apparently a tradition for the queen's bath to be scented with it. On more than one occasion, she had spoken to the staff and asked for them to change it to something similar in scent to oak, but each attempt had apparently fallen on deaf ears. She closed the door behind her and pulled the red hair band from her hair, letting it fall to her shoulders. This was definitely not like her. She had once been cool and collected, an emotionless queen devoted to ruling her kingdom. All that had changed once she had met Sonic. Now she found herself overwhelmed at times. She threw the hair band onto her bed and lent against the door, staring out the window at the red glow just above the horizon. Catching a whiff of the bath water again, she remembered her plan and began walking over to the tub in the corner of her room, removing her clothes and throwing them onto the bed to join her hair band as she did so. The water was just right as she dipped her foot in. A faint purr of pleasure escaped as she submerged her body entirely. The warmth of the water slowly started to take its effect and gradually Blaze's eyelids began to droop.

Tomorrow, she told herself as her eyes closed, I shall do something worthwhile. Something that… Something…

Blaze's fur wafted about in the water as she began to doze.