Chapter 3: "You Promise?"

The days following Sally's departure were among the longest to the young Knuckles. Everyday once he had finished his schooling and training for the day, he would go to the edge of the island and scan the skyline that she had disappeared to, hoping against hope that maybe, just maybe, he would glimpse her coming back. He stared at the horizon each evening until night fell and hunger and the cold drove him home. As the weeks dragged by, his optimism began to die. Perhaps she wouldn't be coming back after all…

Finally, well over a month since she left with her family, Knuckles made one last trip even though he thought it pointless. As he gazed over the clouds, he saw a vault of indigo wrapped across the heavens with a smattering of stars winking into existence, and through the darkening clouds, he could spot patches of the black sea beneath. He stood with the chill wind whipping his dreadlocks about his face and ruffling his coarse fur. A whole world was out there, beyond his vision, a world vast and unknowable… yet he would never see it. He would always be in a self-imposed exile on this island. This thought deeply saddened him. He never felt more alone in the world, knowing that there were others, like him, but completely different at the same time.

At length, the pale crescent moon rose over the clouds and gave them a silvery outline. The stars winked at him. Possibly the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, but its beauty was lost upon him. She didn't come… She never will… His head hung low, he turned away and shuffled his way towards the single-room cabin that he and his father shared near the shrine.
*

The next morning, he was given the day off by his father. Within his memory, he had never been given a "day off." Unsure of how to take advantage of this rare and unexpected opportunity, Knuckles went off to check on the snares and traps, making sure they were set and working properly.

He was resetting a tangled snare when a low buzzing sound began to drone in the background. Pausing, he listened closely. Bees? No, too steady. It grew in volume as the seconds ticked by. Standing up, he looked around, fear beginning to bubble in his tummy. If it was bees, they were getting closer and sounded angry. This theory was quickly disproved once it got much too loud for any living thing to realistically make.

Suddenly the sound of air being ripped up was deafening. Knuckles looked up and watched with shocked eyes a huge black machine passing directly overhead through the trees. A helicopter… As it banked, Knuckles saw the Royal Crest painted on the flank. It couldn't be…

Abandoning his chore, he tore off towards the center of the island.
* * *

Knuckles arrived in time to see the chopper touch ground. His father was already there looking as impassive as ever. Noticing his son, the older echidna beckoned him over. Knuckles jogged over and took his place near his father.

The blades whirred as they slowed down. Once they finally halted, the main hatch opened and out stepped the Royal Family. King Max and a tall, beautiful female led Prince Elias and Princess Sally out of the luxurious craft. "That's Queen Alicia," Locke murmured to his son, nodding slightly towards the elegantly dressed woman.

The King dismissed the pilot, a gold and purple male panda, and beckoned forward two guards, a smart looking fox and a battle-scarred gorilla. Locke bowed respectfully to the King and Queen.

"You really don't have to do that, Locke," Max chided.

"Formalities are formalities," he dryly reminded the King, "But what about the guards? You are quite safe on the island."

The King shook his head slowly, "Consider it another formality. Believe me, Locke, I am well aware that you mean me or my family no harm, but the war hasn't been going well."

"What war?" asked Knuckles.

Queen Alicia gave a warning, yet dignified look at her husband, "Never you worry your mind, young one. What is your name?"

"Um… Kn-Knuckles the Echidna… Err, your Majesty," he answered nervously.

"No need to be frightened, child," Alicia soothed, bending slightly to stroke his headfur. "Are you the same Knuckles my daughter has been talking so much about?"

Knuckles nodded. Pleasure warmed his body; Sally had been talking about him!

"Well aren't you handsome and polite; I can see why my Sally took a liking to you," she continued to praise him. Knuckles smiled, suddenly very much liking the Queen. "Why don't you two go run along then," she suggested, indicating that she had given Sally permission to greet her friend. Moving out of the way, the Queen watched as her daughter scampered up to Locke's son, apparently forgetting her etiquette lessons again.

"Hi, Knuckles! You miss me?" Sally asked, throwing a hug around his solid frame.

"Everyday," he answered before realizing to what he had just admitted, causing him to blush.

Fortunately, his crimson fur blended in with his blush, somewhat hiding it. He awkwardly returned the gesture.

Sally broke apart the hug, but remained close. "Good. Where are we going today?"

Knuckles hesitated and glanced from his father to the King and Queen. His father looked at the Queen who gave her consent in the form of a small nod. Turning back to the chipmunk princess, he said, "I was thinking of showing you the waterfall. It's not far from the shrine."

"Ooh! Let's go then," Sally responded excitedly.

The gorilla started to move over towards the two, but was intercepted by the King. "It's alright, Ricardo, I'm sure Knuckles won't let her come to harm… Right, Knuckles?" Knuckles nodded vigorously. "See? You'll be staying with the chopper." The gorilla grunted acknowledgement and nodded respectfully before moving back to the craft.

"Wanna come, brother?" Sally asked Elias.

The prince sniffed somewhat disdainfully, "My definition of fun is not tromping around some god-forsaken jungle," he retorted.

"Alright, suit yourself then. C'mon, Knuckles." Sally took his hand and led him away. Once they were out of view of the others, she slowed to let Knuckles take the lead. He moved confidently through the dense undergrowth, choosing to take the shortest path rather than the scenic path to the shrine and then to the waterfall.

Before long, Sally could hear the dull roar of a waterfall from somewhere ahead. Only minutes after that, she could steal a few glimpses through the boughs of the foliage, just before emerging from the rain forest. The sight of the cascading water forming a large, bubbling pool literally stole her breath.

"Princess? Do you like it?" Knuckles snapped her out of her stupor.

"It's so beautiful…" she breathed. The shining sun reflected off the mist surrounding the falls creating a shimmering rainbow screen. The entire scene put Sally in a peaceful state and almost seemed impossibly surreal.

"I like to come here sometimes to relax after a stressful day," Knuckles explained, shuffling his feet in the dirt.

"I can see why," Sally agreed. Tearing away from the view, she looked at her friend and gave him another hug. "Thank you for bringing me here," she murmured.

"It's no big deal," he mumbled shyly, but blushed with pleasure again. "Would you like to swim?" he asked once Sally let him go.

Sally shook her head. "I can't get my clothes wet, or Mother would be upset. And I didn't bring swimwear," she explained.

"Don't really need a swimsuit," he countered, "I don't when I swim."

"You mean… swim naked?" she asked rather stunned and shocked, "Together?"

"Why not? It's just me and you; no one else knows where this is," he argued. Then he paused as a thought passed through his mind, once what exactly he was proposing registered, he blushed a deep crimson and his eyes shot open. "Err, I mean… If…"

Sally thought for a while then nodded. "I suppose it's fine… After all, we're just friends. And what Mother doesn't know can't hurt her."

Knuckles stood rigidly wondering what exactly he had just done. Fortunately, at that time, Knuckles was sexually ignorant (his father neglecting to ever bring it up, deeming it unnecessary considering only they lived on the island), yet being nude with a female was still awkward. Sally turned away from the echidna and pointed to her ribbons on the back. "Can you untie these please?"

With trembling hands, Knuckles took the silk and deftly untied them. "Now close your eyes and turn around," Sally commanded. Knuckles did as she asked and shortly heard her slip into the pool.

"Alright, you can open them." When he summoned up the courage to do so, he saw Sally's head bobbing over the water. "Join me! The water's actually nice!"

Suddenly, it didn't seem so awkward. Taking a running start, he leapt into the pool. Sally averted her face but still sputtered water when the splash hit her. The waterfall sent massaging bubbles throughout the entire pool. The water itself was pure and clear, his view of her body was obscured only by the foam, not that he was paying much attention to that.

"Oh ho! You want to play like that do you?" Sally challenged, splashing river water into his face. Knuckles tried to avoid the assault, but got a blast right in the face. Shaking the water off his face, he returned the attack. Sally dove back and dodged most of it, but retaliated yet again. Giggling, they went back and forth in this manner, each trying to make the biggest splash.

This went on for several minutes until they grew weary of the game and found another to play. This was the most fun Knuckles had had since their last meeting and, secretly, for Sally as well.

Once they had worn themselves out swimming, the two climbed out and lay on the grass in the clearing. Neither felt the least bit uneasy, although Knuckles was careful to avoid staring. "I just thought of something," Sally said suddenly.

"And what's that?" he asked.

"Where does all this water come from? It can't rain too much here since you're above most of the clouds. All this foliage and a full waterfall, yet it all spills over the sides and disappears."

Knuckles answered carefully. "My dad says it has something to do with the Emerald, that it maintains a steady environment capable of sustaining life, or something like that. It's also what makes the island defy gravity."

"I was wondering about that too."

A peaceful silence fell between them. It was maintained for several minutes, before Sally spoke again.

"Knuckles," she began.

"Yes?"

"Will we always be friends?"

Knuckles turned his head to find Sally already staring at him. "Yeah, of course," he agreed.

"Good." Sally hesitated for awhile before continuing nervously, "You know, I don't have many friends…"

Knuckles sat up slightly and looked at the princess with a confused expression. "You? Aren't there other kids on the mainland?"

"Well, yes, but I don't see them very often," Sally admitted.

"Why?"

"Mother says I should only play with kids that are socially acceptable for me to associate with," she explained.

"Socially acceptable?"

"Basically, the rich kids or nobles."

"Do you?"

"Most of them are stuck-up showoffs."

"What about your brother, don't you play with him?"

"Sometimes, but he doesn't really count. I mean, he's my brother."

"Oh. Well, we'll always be friends."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Author's Note: So, yeah, it's been a while since I updated, and I apologize for that. But I'm mostly uploading this merely to buy time as I work on other projects and requests. It's a slow process, but I am making progress. So that's good at least. On this chapter, you can clearly see it's another flashback, but we'll get back to the main story in Chapter 4. Obviously, there's some nudity in here, but nothing explicit (besides, they're just kids at this point. To do anything else woulde be... gross.) Aside from that, I don't have any interesting commentary, so until then, see ya!

~TheEpicTales