"I don't ask for much in return for all those years I put food in your belly, clothes on your back, a roof over your head. So what do I have to show for it? Beans!" Chuck snapped after hearing the story Sonic had told him, not at all pleased with how Sonic had handled the task Chuck had set him.
"I'll take them to the Abbey tomorrow and tell the monks what happened." Sonic said.
"You believe that story?" Chuck asked, almost in disbelief that Sonic could be so gullible.
"I mean, he was a monk." Sonic shrugged.
"Because he wore a robe? Funny hair cut?" Chuck scoffed.
"Yeah. No." Sonic mumbled, looking down at the table where the beans rested.
"Monks have no money. They're monks! The man robbed you! Sonic, you have got to grow up, your eighteen years old!" Chuck snapped.
"And I'm not going to be around forever." King Maximilian stated, having a similar conversation with his daughter as Chuck was having with his nephew.
"Majesty." The artist exclaimed, how was trying to paint a portrait of the king.
"Oh, apparently I'm not suppose to move." Maximilian said and returned to his original position. Sally examined the contraption that had been used to reflect an image of the king on a large canvas. All the artist had to do was go around the lines that were made, there was no real art in it at all.
"Seems like cheating." Sally stated. The artist gave her a look, showing he was not amused.
"You can't keep wondering off like this. What if something were to happen? You're the future queen of Cloister" Maximilian sighed, keeping as still as he could while talking to his daughter.
"According to you having a king is all that matters." Sally pointed out.
"I've never said any such thing." Maximilian protested.
"So why force me to marry someone twice my age whom I do not love. I'm sorry, Robotnik." Sally said, looking at the man in question. He shot her a smile that stated he was not insulted.
"So that's what this is all about." Maximilian sighed, turning to look at his daughter.
"Majesty! Please be still." The artist sighed. Maximilian returned to his original position.
"It's about your refusal to see that I'm not some fragile, helpless creature." Sally stated.
"You are so like your mother." Maximilian smiled.
"Just like your father. Head in the clouds. Useless!" Chuck spat and swatted the beans off the table.
"Look, I can fix this. I promise." Sonic stated and began to pick up the beans.
"Too late for that. Nothing left to fix. Never thought it would come to this. Your parents' things." Chuck sighed as he walked away and opened a box. Just as Sonic stood up, one of the beans he's missed fell through a gap in one of the floorboards, no one present seemed to notice.
"Should fetch a few weeks' worth at the market. Take my old legs half the night to get there with no horse." Chuck grumbled as he began to put things from the box into a brown sack.
"You can't sell those. They aren't yours to sell." Sonic protested.
"Horse was. Cart too. Sonic, it was a simple task. Sell the horse, buy some thatch, fix the roof. You've got to take responsibility." Chuck stated, his voice as cold as his expression.
"Then let me. Let me show you how responsible I can be. Let me get to know the people I am meant to lead. Let me step outside without sending a dozen guards to rescue me." Sally smiled. Knuckles turned to look at one of the other Guardians, named Shadow. They exchanged looks. At the same moment, King Maximilian turned to look at Sally and went to speak when...
"Your Majesty!" The artist exclaimed. Maximilian shot him a look that stated for him to be quiet.
"The day I lost your mother was the darkest day of my life. I do not intent to lose you too." Maximilian stated to Sally, whose expression went from happiness to disappointment. After he had spoken, the king returned to his original position so the artist could continue painting.
"Darkest day of my life, the day I lost your father to the plague. Made worse by the plague he left me." Chuck snarled while putting on his coat and hat. He then left the house without another word, leaving Sonic feeling rather sorry for himself, and guilty about what had happened.
"Yet if I were a prince, you'd allow me find my own way. Mother said I should marry for love, but all in my own time. Please father, let me show you I am capable." Sally begged.
"You're the princess and belong in the safety of the palace. You will marry Robotnik. There's nothing further to discuss." Maximilian stated and took up his original position with authority.
"So sayeth the king." Sally said, the hurt and pain filled her voice. She then curtsied before him and walked off before he could say another word. Maximilian sighed and then removed himself from the robe that was being held up by the metal frame for the portrait.
"Sally!" Maximilian called after her, but she didn't respond to him. Later that night, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed through the sky. Sally was planning on leaving the palace walls again, so she'd worn a long green cape and a large hat that concealed her face so she wouldn't be recognised by the guards or anyone else she knew within the palace. It had taken much convincing to make her best friend, Julie-Su, agree to stay behind at the palace. The female Echidna had been assigned to watch over Sally, but, she knew how much Sally enjoyed being outside of the stone walls that kept her prisoner. At first, Julie-Su had wanted to go with Sally, but, the princess had made it perfectly clear she'd wanted to go alone. Respecting her wishes, and the authority she had, Julie-Su agreed to stay behind and cover for her if anyone asked where she was. Sally quickly walked down the stairs and looked in both directions to scan for guards as she reached the bottom. Taking her chance, she began to walk to the exit. However, Robotnik's approached her so she quickly lowered her head so he would not be able to recognise her face. As she past him, a look of curiosity came about his face, but he soon forgot about the questions in his mind and continued to head to the room he was walking towards.
Meanwhile, in a small underground chamber, Snively was looking within a mirror and scraping out bits of food from between his teeth with a small, thin, metal pole. Satisfied with the result, he wiped his teeth with his tongue to make sure there was nothing left. Just then, Robotnik entered.
"Well? Did you get anything out of him?" Robotnik asked Snively, referring to the monk they had tied to a chair, the same one who had given Sonic the beans before being captured.
"No. He wouldn't spill the beans." Snively smirked. Robotnik sighed and approached the monk, then bent down to a level in which he could make eye contact. However, the monks head was lowered, a sign of the exhaustion and pain he was in. Robotnik then cleared his throat.
"I'm going to ask you just once: Where are they?" Robotnik asked.
"You should have left them where they were buried. They are born of dark magic." Brother Espio stated, raising his head slightly as he spoke. Robotnik could then see the sweat on his face.
"And once darkness gets a taste for the light it will not stop until it has swallowed the sun." Brother Espio continued, his expression one of determination and defiance as he looked Robotnik in the eye. Robotnik's response was a slowly forming smile, one of amusement.
"You cannot hope to control it. We will never let you succeed. We owe it to God." Brother Espio stated, then groaned and coughed as a result of the rough treatment Snively had given him. Robotnik raised his eyebrows and then returned to his original posture.
"You owe it to God?" Robotnik asked. He then grabbed the handle of the knife he carried in his belt. Brother Espio looked up as he did so, realising of the fate that would fall upon him. His eyes filled with fear and pain. He just hoped Sonic had the beans still and that they were safe. He knew that Robotnik would never find the beans with Sonic, after all, he didn't know Sonic even existed. As long as the beans didn't get wet, then no evil would fall upon their world.
"Well, give him my regards." Robotnik snarled and plunged the knife into Brother Espio's chest.