Sonic sat on the pew outside his mother's chambers nervously, wringing his hands between his knees as he waited for Fenris to finish talking with the Queen. He knew better than to try and eavesdrop, but the anxiety was killing him.
What would his mother do to him after talking with his tutor? She had warned him already about sneaking off and neglecting his duties as a Prince. Will she allow Fenris to apply corporal punishment in place of writing lines? Will she ban him from leaving the castle's walls? Will she ban him from seeing Shadow? Or worse, will she order Shadow's training to be dismissed entirely?!
Sonic whimpered at the thought. He really didn't want Shadow to be banished from the castle walls just because of their stupidity. He came to the decision that if by any chance that Shadow may be in trouble, the blue prince will grovel to the Queen, and beg her to give him a second chance. At that moment, his ear twitched and he looked up to the door as it opened, Fenris walking out of the chamber with an unnamused frown on his brow. Sonic lowered his ears as his teacher turned his gaze to him, his emotions unreadable. "When you are finished speaking with your mother, return to my chambers for your punishment."
"Yes sir."
The wolf nodded and walked away, his long purple robes disappearing down the corridor.
"Sonic?" The young prince flinched at the sound of his name being called by a feminine voice, his mother's voice. "Enter my chambers, please."
"Yes, mother."
Hesitantly, Sonic stood up from the pew and walked into the Queen's chambers, still wringing his hands in front of him.
His mother stood in front of her window as the evening sun shined through, framing her silhouette beautifully as her shadow stretched across the floor behind her. Her blue quills laid across her shoulders softly, the tuft of blonde hair in the front nearly covering her emerald green eyes, the same eyes that held a faraway look to them. Sonic knew that look well. She was thinking of her deceased husband again, his father King Jules. "Mother?"
The Queen turned her tired gaze to her son, making him lower his ears more. The crown upon her head looked heavy, and her purple dress was dragging on the floor. Clearly, Queen Bernadette was feeling the burdens of ruling a kingdom on her own, and here he was not doing much to help by sneaking off. "Fenris tells me that you have run off from your studies for the fifth time this week. Sneaking off to play with the little squire boy. Shadow is his name, right?"
"Yes, that's his name." Sonic nodded. "He's already being punished by his Knight."
"As he should be. Just because you are children does not mean either one of you should be neglecting your duties to go play in the forest. Shadow has to train hard to become a good Knight, just like his father. And you have to study hard to become a good King just like your father."
"I know, I know." Sonic sighed, hanging his head as his eyes gazed at the floor in memory of his own father. "But I could never become as good as a King as my father was."
"Not with that attitude, you won't." The Queen shook her head. "And not if you keep neglecting your studies. You must understand, son, that it is your duty to learn the skills you will need to rule this great country. I won't always be here to help you."
Sonic lowered his ears and nodded. "I know. It's just… the thought of ruling a whole kingdom on my own is… just a little scary."
"I understand, but you must realize that you won't be alone. You know that my advisor has a student in training that will be ready for you after your coronation." Bernadette sighed. "At least Tails is taking his studies more seriously than you. But the point is that he will be here to help you with decisions. And you'll have your Knights, just like Shadow, to help you protect the kingdom."
Sonic smiled a bit at the thought of that. The thought of he and Shadow riding into battle side by side to protect the kingdom against invaders. All the sparring they have done coming into play to protect his loyal subjects. His smile was wiped away though after the next sentence his mother said.
"And let's not forget, you'll have a Queen to rule by your side as well."
"Right… Princess Amy." The blue hedgehog rolled his eyes.
"You don't sound too thrilled."
"I don't even know her, mother. I've only met her once when she was born, and I was only 3 at the time."
"That shouldn't matter. Your father met me the exact same way, and we loved each other very much when we were married."
"It just feels weird to be marrying a complete stranger." Sonic crossed his arms unsurely. "What if I don't love her like father loved you?"
"Then perhaps maybe you should take the time to get to know her." Queen Bernadette nodded. "I'm sure her uncle will have no problem sending her here in a carriage if I invite her. When you're not studying, you can use your free time to spend it with her, instead of using it to distract Shadow from his training."
"But Shadow's my best friend." Sonic lowered his ears. "I don't want him to think that I abandoned him for some girl."
Bernadette frowned at him, giving him a disapproving look. The Prince knew that look well. It was her no-nonsense look. "That 'some girl' is your future wife and his future Queen. I'm sure that he will understand. This is not up for discussion, Sonic. If you are worried about marrying a stranger, then take the time to make her a friend. Plain and simple." She went over to her table where parchment, quills, and an inkwell laid idle. "I will send a messenger to King O'Hedge in the morning inviting Princess Amy to come to the castle and spend time with her future husband and get to know the kingdom she will be ruling."
"But…"
"Now then," The Queen quickly interrupted her son, letting him know she was done with the conversation. "I believe you have some lines to write with Fenris. I suggest you get to it."
Sonic sighed and nodded. "Yes mother." And he left to meet his tutor in his chambers, leaving his mother to write the letter to King O'Hedge, his future uncle-in-law.
How was he supposed to explain Princess Amy's arrival to Shadow when the time comes?
The young Prince was so deep in his own thoughts that he almost missed the turn to Fenris's chambers, until said wolf opened the door and caught him. "Going somewhere, young Prince?"
Sonic jumped at the voice of his tutor and quickly spun around, realizing his mistake. "Fenris! I… I-I didn't mean… I mean… I wasn't trying to…"
"I don't want to hear any of your excuses, Prince Sonic." The wolf cladded in purple snapped before he turned to the side, gesturing the blue hedgehog through the door. "In my chambers, now."
Sonic sighed and nodded, walking into the chambers of his tutor. Already, there was a desk and a chair, with a piece of parchment paper and an inkwell with a quill in it waiting. The Prince went up to the desk and sat down, grabbing the quill out of the ink and holding it above the parchment, waiting for Fenris's instructions.
"You will be writing the lines 'I will not neglect my duties for childish antics' as many times as I see fit." The wolf instructed. "If you run out of room on the parchment or if you run out of ink before I am satisfied l will provide you with more. If the quill breaks, I will give you another. Now, begin."
Sonic sighed and started writing the line onto the paper, bracing himself for the pain he knew he would be feeling in his wrist in the next hour. Fenris always loved to drag his punishments out for as long as humanly possible.
He could only hope that Shadow's punishment wasn't as grueling.
…
Shadow would give anything to be writing lines as a punishment right now. Surely it wasn't as grueling as the punishment he was going through right now.
His entire body was sore, and covered in dirt and polish. His hands were cramped from polishing and repolishing Sir Mato's weapons and armor, which was now being inspected by said Knight.
Sir Mato held his sword up in the light, the blade sparkling like it was brand new. He gently ran his thumb over the blade, testing its sharpness, and smiling in satisfaction when a small red line of beading blood appeared. "Not bad, Shadow. Excellent condition. Very acceptable."
Shadow sighed in relief. Maybe now that the bear was satisfied with the condition of his sword and armor, his punishment would be over and he could finally rest before having to train with him early in the morning.
"Now, for your last bit of punishment." Or not. "Tend to my horse like you were originally supposed to do before you decided to sneak off with the Prince."
The young black and red hedgehog sighed and nodded. "Yes, Sir Mato."
"And I expect my steed to be as in good condition as you have put my weapons and armor. Remember, a Knight is nothing without his prideful stallion."
"I thought a Knight was nothing without his King." Shadow challenged.
"True, what's a Knight without a King," Mato nodded. "But what is a Knight without his noble steed? Or his armor and sword? How is a Knight supposed to ride into battle and defend the honor of his King without a horse? How is he supposed to fight without a sword? How is he supposed to protect himself with armor? These are things you must think about, Shadow, when you are maintaining the condition of my Knightley attire. Because, once you are Knighted and you have your own squire, you too will be ordering him to be doing the same grueling tasks I order you to do. And if you don't have a squire, you'll be doing all of this on your own."
"So, not only are you preparing me to defend Prince Sonic when he is King, but you're also preparing me for when I have to maintain the condition of my own Knightley attire?"
"Of course, Shadow. But do not forget, when you become a Knight, not only will you be defending Prince Sonic, but you will also be defending your new Queen, Princess Amy."
Shadow grumbled under his breath at that. He didn't like the idea of his best friend marrying some stranger just because she's a princess and he supposedly needs a Queen by his side. Why was that necessary anyway? It's not like Queen Bernadette isn't ruling the kingdom by herself. Sonic could do the same.
But… then again… if he were to do that… who would take the throne once he could no longer serve his kingdom?
Maybe that's why Prince Sonic and Princess Amy were arranged to be married. To birth a precautionary heir.
He still didn't like it, but Shadow could understand it. He sighed and looked up at Sir Mato, who was waiting for a response. "Of course, Sir Mato. I will defend Princess Amy with my life, just as I will for Prince Sonic."
"I know you will." The Knight nodded before gently pushing him towards the stables. "Now, go tend to the horses."
"Yes sir." Shadow nodded as he started heading that way, getting ready for a long night of washing, brushing, and hoof-picking the horses in the stables. At least he knew a few of the more friendly stableboys who were willing to help.