All Sonic characters belong to Sega. All OCs belong to me.
Chapter 23: It's So Hard
Spring was the season of re-birth. The plants all sprouted, olive coloring staining their leaves while the animals, that were once in a deep slumber, stretched their numb limbs. The rain poured down almost daily, giving a bountiful amount of water to the thirsty organisms that survived through the winter. But after the downfall, there, behind the gray clouds, would appear the burning star that was the one thing that kept life substantial on this planet. Being the season of new beginnings, it was only natural to hold the wedding of the century in such a beautiful time. The time where the bride was given to the groom and their birth would be the beginning of their new lives.
The grand wedding was only a week away and the two main participants swore the citizens were more excited than they were. For about an hour Elizabeth and Sonic had to stay, frozen, so the seamstresses were able to obtain their exact measurements. The thing was, the dress and suit had already been made, but each day they made sure the two did not change, possibly needing alterations to the clothes. They wanted everything perfect all the way to the last stitch. While the cerulean king groaned about it, mumbling under his breath each time he was told to keep his tapping foot still, Elizabeth gracefully obeyed their commands. Every now and then, she would have to strain to keep her laughter from vibrating her body as one of the maids had to restrain his foot. He looked over to her sourly, feeling like a child who had just gotten their favorite toy taken away. His jade orbs narrowed with playful irritation and he furrowed his brows.
"I see you find this amusing," he grumbled. He was slightly taken aback when she winked at him. With a soft smile, the young girl faced forwards, letting the maid measure her shoulder width.
Sonic blinked. Suddenly, a wide smile graced his features. One of the maids, a yellow cat, stepped back, startled at the sudden smile. Before it was noticeable, she resumed her job.
Ever since that day, the day they went outside and ran from castle grounds, everything had gotten, well, brighter in Sonic's opinion. She was opening up. Instead of closing herself off, giving on short simple answers, Elizabeth began to crack her shell, and reveal herself to him. And that alone made the blue king ecstatic as ever. For once, she did not cringe when he made an effort to touch her. When he talked to her, instead of looking away, her gorgeous lilac eyes actually looked back at his emerald ones, shining with interest. The ebony teen seemed to even take small glances at him, blushing when he caught her sneaky looks. The small things she did, excited him, pleasing him to no end. He felt genuine joy for the small acts of love she displayed. A simple smile from her brightened his entire day, it made his day.
This must've been what true love felt like.
In a daze, Sonic simply watched the wall, his eyes glazed over. He had been in such a deep trance that it took Elizabeth three taps to the shoulder to wake him from it. When she announced, they were free to go, he blinked multiple times. A slick idea popped in his head and before the girl could ask the reason behind the sly smirk, she squeaked in surprise. Her feet were swept from the ground, and a hand circled her shoulders as the other was placed under her legs. Despite of herself, Elizabeth placed her arms around his neck with grip pining force.
"A-Arthur," she exclaimed.
Sonic smiled thankful, she remembered not use his real name in public. He winked at her before taking off, only sprinting at common speeds. After all, he didn't want anyone else to know his-no-their secrets.
Yeah. Their secrets.
(0…)
The red echidna and the mauve colored feline did not feel the pending excitement the citizens did when talking about the king and his fiancée's wedding. No, they felt pretty much the opposites of what their fellow comrades felt. Absolute dread, melancholy-and Gawain-fiery anger.
Percival, golden eyes observing the multitude, frowned. Her lips were firm against each other. With a stature of a stern knight, she did not show the wave of emotions that crashed against her ribs. By her, Gawain sat in a chair, slumped over. He dragged his sword along the cement ground, absolutely unmotivated.
"Lancelot hasn't appeared since the proposal," Sir Percival commented, "Training has become dull, hasn't it?" Her stoic voice did not surprise the ruby knight at all. Ever since Elizabeth had been engaged, she shut out everyone, completely. Well, more than she usually did. It was a shame too. The lavender cat was starting to come out of her shell, actually having conversation with others around her. But, as of now, the small words that came through her lips were only spoken to Gawain. Maybe Lancelot, if he would show his face once in awhile.
"I wouldn't train with that hedgehog even if I was to die," Gawain snapped.
Percival blinked slowly. She turned to him giving the echidna a questioning look, probably the most emotion she's displayed the last week. "Why do you have such hate for Lancelot?" Her voice was like a child asking their mother a serious question about the world.
Gawain scrunched his nose in disgust. He put his chin in his hand, dragging the sword even harder against the ground. A horrible scratching noise came from it, but both stood, unresponsive to the sound.
"He sold her off like some slave," he responded gruffly.
The feline knight did not want to agree with Gawain. She, herself, had grown close to Lancelot. He was her brother, closer than any friend she had ever had. Every decision he made, she trusted him fully. Gladly, Percival would personally leave her life in his hands because she knew, from the depths of her stone heart, that the black knight would prove himself worthy. But for some reason, after everything that had happened, she could not help but lean towards Gawain's thinking. She hated to admit it, but Lancelot had indeed sold her off because he had the power to do whatever he wanted with her life. And for that she felt offended and hurt.
Percival shook her head and crossed her arms.
Lancelot, for the first time, in a very long time, had made a costly mistake.
(0…)
"I feel like my body has been pricked everywhere!" Sonic exclaimed.
Elizabeth covered her mouth as she giggled. She looked over at the blue hedgehog who rubbed his neck from soreness. "I'm sure you're exaggerating," she said calmly.
Suddenly, Sonic stopped causing the ebony girl to pause in her steps. He stared at her with wide, beady, eyes that screamed 'I'm not exaggerating.'
Slowly, he began, "I've been pricked in places no man should ever be pricked."
His voice was so serious it cut off all sound surrounding them. Elizabeth blinked, observing the hedgehog before her. The azure king met her stare and for more than a minute they had a staring contest. Lavender orbs studied olive so carefully, they started to glisten, getting so watery by the second.
Soon enough though, the competition broke.
Elizabeth's bottom lip quivered and she tossed her head back, laughing loudly. She could not handle Sonic's elusive stare any longer. His serious face and wide eyes made him look adorable yet funny. She didn't know why but it just was. Secretly, she could never win staring competitions because she would always laugh. It was just one of her unfortunate curses. Not only that, but his statement along with his stare added more to the humor.
"Does your little pee-wee hurt?" she teased bursting into hysterics. She could not help herself from teasing the poor hedgehog. It was in her nature.
Sonic frowned. "Hey!" he exclaimed, putting his hands firmly on his hips, "This is a very serious problem and my pride could be at stake!" He crossed his arms blushing furiously from embarrassment. He glanced at her before gazing at the floor shyly. "A-and it's not little," he added stuttering timidly.
There was a moment of silence. Elizabeth widened her eyes at Sonic's back. Did he just say what she thinks he said?
"What did you just say?" she asked simply.
"I said-"
Suddenly sounds of restrained laughter came from her mouth. The cerulean king turned around to see her holding her stomach, covering her mouth. Elizabeth's eyes turned into a fuchsia color. "I-it's not l-little?" she managed to get out before throwing her head back in laughter again. At this, Sonic's quills bristled playfully. For a second he flashed a smile, liking how she laughed. She had a beautiful laugh.
"Hey!" he shouted, "This isn't funny!"
He narrowed his eyes as she continued to laugh. For the second time that day, a slick idea popped in his head and Sonic lowered his head. He growled, clenching his teeth. Elizabeth, somehow, managed to calm her laughing fit. She hummed in confusion at the blue hedgehog's stance.
"A-Arthur?" she questioned.
The young girl stepped back as the older male stepped forward. With a menacing, crooked, grin he warned, "You have five seconds to run."
Elizabeth choked on her laugh. "W-what?"
"1-2"
"Arthur!?"
"3-4" he advanced forward causing her to step back.
"Wait! Wait! I didn't mean anything by it, honest!" she exclaimed, waving her hands in front of her.
Sonic raised an eyebrow before calmly saying, "Five."
When Sonic dashed forward, Elizabeth didn't hesitate to make a run for it. Although she knew, she could never run from him, that did not stop her from trying whatsoever. Down the halls they went. Elizabeth, not knowing which way to go zoomed into random hallways, hearing the fast paced footsteps of the blue king behind her. From excitement, she smiled, laughing with mirth as she ran for it. She peered behind her to see Sonic sprinting towards her. Obviously, he had caught up to her in a matter of minutes.
Smoothly, his peach arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back. Elizabeth squealed as she was lifted off the ground and spun around. Her mouth almost split in half as she smiled and wildly laughed. The azure king found a way to twist her in his arms. As she tried to push him away, he only held onto her tighter. Sonic began to laugh as she continued to do so even though it wasn't getting her anywhere.
"I warned you," he cockily teased. He leaned in, kissing her cheek multiple times.
Elizabeth gasped, laughing at the tickling feeling. She pushed his face away, her cheeks burning. "St-stop it Arthur!" she giggled.
"Nah." Using his muzzle, he pushed her hands out of the way and planted kissed on her neck and cheek. "You hurt my pride and besides, you didn't use my name," he smirked.
Her jaw dropped making Sonic laugh out mightily. "What!? That's not fair!" she exclaimed, trying to hold back snickers. He shrugged. "Well you're not going anywhere anytime soon, young maiden."
She narrowed her eyes and puckered her lips in question. "Then how do you suppose I get out of this….situation, kind sir?"
Taking the chance, Sonic's eyelids lowered. He brought his muzzle close to hers; so close, Elizabeth could feel his hot breath on her lips. She fell in a moment of daze as he kissed the corner of her lips. Unable to fight the urge and gain control of her beating heart, Elizabeth brought her hands to his cheeks, pulling him to where their lips barely touched. Sonic licked her bottom lip with the tip of his tongue. "Well," he breathed cockily, "there is this one way…" he trailed off.
Without hesitation, he dove into her lips, backing her into a wall. Like a starved lion, Sonic ferociously attacked her lips making them swell. Her gripped onto her hip and head, forcing her lips closer to his. A fiery passion enveloped the king whose head was like one of a drunken man's but with heart like a passionate lover. Engrossed in the sweltering display of affection, Elizabeth fell submissive to it. She shapely wrapped her arms around his neck, tangling her delicate fingers into his groomed head quills. Unknowingly, Elizabeth moaned into the kiss causing Sonic to groan. Heated by her sound, Sonic's hands started to roam her body and that point, Elizabeth's head cleared.
Terrifyingly reluctant, she broke the kiss, leaving a trail of saliva between them. They both panted, cheeks rosy red. Elizabeth's head lowered onto his chest while Sonic's muzzle was buried in her quills. Tears began to fill her eyes. What had she done? This was not supposed to happen. She was supposed to be in love with Tyrone, hate her father, and pity Arthur. Elizabeth Ann du Lac was not supposed to kiss him as if she were his true lover. She wasn't even supposed to like the kiss. Defeated and exhausted, Elizabeth succumbed to wrapping her arms around his midsection.
"It's getting hard to gain control," Sonic whispered, rubbing circles on her back.
She sighed.
"I know."