Author's Note: Thank you guys for the reviews last chapter! I hope everyone is still enjoying the story with its ups and downs. I've noticed I'm picking up new readers, so hello to those of you who have joined!

•~•

After obtaining the information they needed, Amy and Cordovan headed back to their horses on the quiet roads. "We need to head back and tell Shadow so he can take further action " Cordovan advised, breaking the silence.

"We're not going back," Amy spoke causing Cordovan to halt in his tracks.

He shot her a bewildered look. "What?"

"The house where Jeffrey is staying is closer to us than the castle is," she reasoned. "If we leave right now, we might be able to catch them before he and the others escape."

"Hold on, we?" he repeated in astonishment. "Amy, I am not taking you anywhere near that house. There's no reason for you to endanger yourself."

"—I can identify them!" she bellowed abruptly.

He blinked a few times, confused by her outburst. "How exactly?" Amy stayed quiet at first, uncertain on how to answer the question without giving too much away. Meanwhile, Cordovan continued to scrutinize her facial expression, looking for answers before coming to a conclusion. "You saw their faces?" he assumed.

Her eyes darted back and forth, "Uh, yes, I-I was huddled in a doorway when I saw the three trying to make their escape," she lied. "Please, our only chance of catching them is if we leave now."

Cordovan seemed leery of the prospect as he rubbed the back of his neck. "But without guards…"

"—There is no time! If we miss our chance, I won't be able to forgive myself," she pleaded, almost on the verge of crying, but remained strong, not wanting him to see it. She took a deep breath and exhaled. "Not to mention there are three of them, so you are going to need help."

"Yes, but Amy, you're not even arm-" She unsheathed a dagger hidden from underneath her cloak and he looked taken aback by the sight. "—Oh my…" he spoke as he stared at her weapon.

She clutched the dagger in her hand. "We need to capture them alive," she advised. "I want them questioned, and publicly hanged for treason!"

Once again, Amy's stubbornness was showing. He had already dealt with it once when she ordered him to keep quiet on her miscarriage and seeing her so determined, he knew there would be no way to stop her. He sighed in defeat. "I'll take out their legs, then we'll drag them back to court. Together."

Amy smiled in victory. "Oh, thank you, Cordovan!"

"—But Amy, listen to me very carefully," he interrupted. "You follow my instructions when we do this. I refuse to allow anything to happen to you under my watch, understand?" he spoke sternly.

She nodded in comprehension. "I will," she replied. "Thank your for allowing me to join you on this quest, Cordovan. You really have no idea, how much this means to me."

"I definitely don't, but I hope this is worth it. Now, come, let's get out of here."

•~•

After arriving to the safe house, Cordovan kicked the front door open with a crossbow in hand. As he entered the home with his crossbow aimed in the darkened house, he looked for the three assassins but found the small cottage to be empty. Cautiously, he lowered his weapon before looking over his shoulder. "They are not here," he called, signaling the okay for Amy to enter.

"Are we too late?" She came inside and closed the door behind her.

Just as he was about to respond, Cordovan's ears perked when he heard more horses making their way towards the home. He looked out the window spotting three figures ride up the hill. "They're coming, hide, Amy!" The two hid under a large dining room table that had a tablecloth draped over it, concealing their location. The door eventually opened and Jet, Storm, and Jeffrey entered the home with lit lanterns in hand. Cordovan kept a finger to his lips under the table, reminding Amy to keep quiet.

"Forced to leave because of your failure," Jet mumbled as he watched Jeffrey lower his lit lantern on top of the kitchen table.

"My failure?" Jeffrey repeated offensively. "I wasn't the one who knew the king would be out during our attack."

"Well, thanks to your plan, guards have swarmed the village. Many of our friends and family are now under lock and key, you monster!" he pointed accusingly. Under the table, Cordovan recognized one of the voices all too well. He looked to Amy and mouthed the name Jet to her, which in turn caused her to nod in agreement sadly.

Jeffrey walked over to the kitchen table where a bag of gold coins was laid out. "My antics certainly left a mark on the crown," he cackled maliciously.

Triggered by his words, Amy unsheathed her dagger. Cordovan's eyes widened, but before he could stop her, she reached out from under the tablecloth and slashed at the back of Jeffrey's calf. Jeffrey screamed out in agony and dropped to the floor as he felt the agonizing pain in his lower leg.

Jet and Storm backed away, confused by what had just happened. Storm pointed towards the table, "What the hell?" Knowing he had to act now, Cordovan came out from underneath and shot Jet in the leg with his crossbow, causing him to collapse to the floor. "Gah!"

He turned his crossbow and shot Storm in his leg as well, making him topple over. "Ahh!" Cordovan looked back over his shoulder while he held his weapon aimed in the two birds directions. "You are all arrested for treason," he bellowed.

Taking that as her cue, Amy revealed her identity and came out from underneath the table to look down at Jeffrey as he bled out onto the floor. "Remember me?"

He smirked as he looked her up and down and chuckled maliciously. "Of course, your highness. Did you come out all this way just to see me?" he mocked playfully.

She glared at him, disgusted that he found her presence to be a joke. "Do you feel any remorse for what you did?"

He huffed. "I make no apologies. You deserved what I gave you, in fact, I'd do it again if I could," he snickered with a smug grin. "Is that why you dropped by? You couldn't resist going for another round with me?" he taunted.

Amy tried to remain composed, but unfortunately, his words were getting to her. She felt her lower lip quiver as flashbacks of the rape plagued her mind. Cordovan sensed her distress and looked from Jeffrey to Amy, processing what Jeffrey had meant. He looked at the male skunk, wide-eyed as realization sunk in. "You…you monster!" he screamed, trying to charge towards him, but Amy blocked him with her outstretched arm.

"Don't!" she shouted.

The prince shot her an incredulous look. "But, Amy, he…"

"—He will be hanged for what he did to me." She directed her attention back to Jeffrey. "You will suffer and die, and I will live. In a hundred years, as queen, I will be remembered and your name will be forgotten."

He spat at her feet. "Damn your pity and damn your king! If it wasn't for my leg right now, I'd have you bent over that table having you take it hard from behind."

Enraged by his lack of remorse and sickening words, Amy reached for the lantern on the table and chucked it at him causing it to shatter. In a matter of seconds, the lantern had ignited his body on fire. "Amy!" Cordovan screamed.

"Aaah!" The flames engulfed Jeffrey's legs before creeping its way up his body. He screamed in agony as the flames burned away at his clothing and flesh. Amy seemed hypnotized as she watched Jeffrey roll on the floor, trying to put out the flames. She found herself enjoying watching him suffer in agony, as he had done the same to her while he had assaulted her.

After a few moments, she looked to Cordovan with a stone cold expression. "Kill the other two," she commanded. "Let them burn for their sins." Cordovan watched as Amy retreated the home, leaving him inside to finish Jet and Storm off.

The young prince walked over to Jet who had witnessed the entire conversation play out. Cordovan looked down at him in disgrace. "I thought I could call you a friend. You said you wanted peace."

"Please, you must believe me. I wanted to stop him, but I was a coward," he said in shame.

Cordovan seemed even more disgusted by this revelation. "You mean to tell me, you watched as that monster raped her? You could have stopped it?"

He closed his eyes, cringing from his harsh tone. "Yes, I'm so sorry…I never wanted this to happen."

Cordovan unsheathed his sword from his hip. "Your just as bad if not worse. You deserve to die," he said before raising his sword.

Jet put his hands up, begging for mercy. "Have mercy, please, don't!" Cordovan ignored his pleas and brought his sword down, decapitating him. Blood splattered on the wood floor, and Cordovan set his sight on his next target, Storm.

Storm was dragging himself along the floor, desperately, trying to escape, but Cordovan walked over without urgency. "You're not getting away that easily," Cordovan tsked, feeling a bloodlust run through him. He stabbed his sword into the back of the albatross, multiple times, ultimately, killing him. Seeing the flames were starting to engulf the entire home, he walked out of the room, just as the rest of the home began to ignite into flames.

Afterwards, Amy and Cordovan stood at a safe distance as they watched the cottage become enveloped in flames. Cordovan glanced to his left, looking at Amy as she stared blankly at the dancing flames burn the house away. He couldn't imagine what she had been through—what those men had done to her, but he commended her for her strength to face the ones that had wronged her. It was strange, but the more he got to know Amy, the more he realized she was the strongest girl he had ever met, and he admired that.

•~•

While traveling back to the castle, Amy and Cordovan stopped in a field to allow their horses to rest and feed. They had been riding all night, and dawn had broken. Cordovan stood by his horse as it fed and watched Amy pet her own steed in silence. As he recounted the night's events, he could only wonder if this was another secret she was keeping from Shadow, like she had with her miscarriage. He gulped nervously before breaking the silence. "Does Shadow know what happened to you?"

Amy stroked the horse's back softly, not looking towards him. "Yes…so does Isabelle and so do my ladies, but what happened to me can never become public knowledge," she made clear. "It would weaken us."

"Amy…you can trust me," he said putting a hand on his chest. "I'll keep your secret, I promise."

She smiled weakly in his direction. "I know."

He smiled weakly in response. "We should keep moving. You're nearly home now," he noted nodding his head to the left. "Not to mention, I'm sure Shadow's worried sick—and I'm sure you're exhausted," he surmised.

She looked in the direction where he nodded his head. In the distance, she could see her castle peaking above a hill with a light fog surrounding it. "Am I?"

He tilted his head. "Hm?"

"I thought that by killing my assaulters, I could find my way back to my old life with Shadow. But how can I? It's done and it can't be undone."

"That's not true." She looked away, closing her eyes. "Look at me, Amy," he commanded softly. Amy opened her eyes, giving him her attention. "Mobius is your home now; your kingdom, and you are still its queen. Your people need you."

"Perhaps you are right, but it certainly does not feel like that. The night I was raped, I felt like I lost a part of me—a part of me that I can never get back," she said sadly.

Cordovan frowned at her discouraging words. "It will take time to feel like yourself again, but…just know that I'll always be there if you ever feel like you can't express yourself to Shadow," he reminded. "I'm your friend, Amy. You and I have been able to share so many secrets together."

"Thank you, Cordovan. You've been such a wonderful and loyal friend to me these past months." She mounted her horse. "I think it's time to return home."

•~•

After returning home, Amy sat out on her balcony, meditating in silence from her journey with Cordovan. Even though her body was telling her to get sleep, her mind was racing faster than ever. She had really started to think and re-evaluate her circumstances and how she would continue on in her life to move past them. Some of her methods to moving on weren't necessarily the nicest ways to help her heal, but she had come to her conclusion and there would be no way of talking her out of it.

Just then, footsteps approached and Shadow appeared on her balcony, looking pleased when he finally found her. "Amy, I've been looking for you everywhere." He stopped and stood by her side, looking down at her. "We've caught and executed nine of the conspirators whose role in the attack was confirmed, but Jeffery…"

"—Is dead, as are his accomplices," she answered in a flat tone.

Shadow stared at her, befuddled by her statement. "What now?"

She looked up at him momentarily. "Prince Cordovan helped me find them last night."

"Wait, you were away from the castle last night? You killed them…together?" he questioned in surprise.

"We did it in the dead of the night. There wasn't enough time to come back to the castle, so I had to act fast because I didn't want them to escape. But you can release the rest of the prisoners, Shadow. It's over." She paused, feeling tears well up in her eyes suddenly feeling emotional again. "It's over," she choked.

He hated to see her so upset again. "Amy…" he said softly as sat down on the bench by her side, trying to avoid getting too close.

Tears ran down her cheeks. "This notion that we could put the pieces back together, I wanted to believe that we could. That we just needed to find these assailants and punish them, but now that they're gone, I realize…I can't change the fact that-"

"—That you blame me for what happened?" he said, finishing her thought.

She wiped at her nose, still crying. "I know it's irrational, but it feels forever linked to you."

Shadow felt his own eyes water. She blamed him for this. "Amy, I was desperately trying to save your life from Finitevus' threats. What would we have done differently if you had known the truth? What good would it have done for me to put you in that kind of danger?" he reasoned softly, trying to hold back from crying, too.

She wiped at her eyes streaking down her face. "I'm not sure. I don't know if it would have gone differently, and we'll never know." She sniffed, wiping her nose. "But I've had some time to think," she said rising from her seat. She turned to face him, looking saddened by what she was about to suggest. "I-I believe we should lead separate lives."

He looked up at her, baffled by her proposal. "W-What does t-that mean?" he stammered, as his heart raced.

She placed her hands together. "That we will continue to work together as king and queen, but I will be your wife only in name."

She began to make her exit, but Shadow rose from his seat. "I can't do that!" She stopped in her tracks and looked at him sadly. Shadow shook his head at her, determined to change her mind. "I won't."

"We wouldn't be the first people to do so, Shadow."

"If you're talking about Isabelle and Phillip, we are nothing like them. I would do anything for you, Amy. I-I love you and you love me," he shuddered.

"…And look where that love has brought us." She walked away, leaving him alone on her balcony.

Shadow panted as tears flowed down his face. Feeling angered and defeated, he turned and punched a stonewall behind him, grunting in response. "GAH!" He punched it again, ignoring the throbbing pain in his hand. After a few more hits, he tried to catch his breath as his head spun. He had caused his marriage to crumble. If he had known bowing to Finitevus would lead him here, he would have changed everything. Shadow fell to his knees and looked at his hand, now bleeding at the knuckles. He had never felt so alone.

•~•

Later that afternoon, in the dungeons, Finitevus sat in a cell in solitary after being detained by Shadow's guards. Chained by the neck, he sat against the wall, in silence, but looked to his right when his cell door opened. Shadow walked inside and stood before him now with a bandaged hand. "I thought about throwing you in with the other branded prisoners," Shadow began. "They'd rip a fine unbranded noble like you limb from limb," he theorized darkly. "Thankfully, I realized I have a better use for you alive."

The albino echidna looked up towards his king, anxiously relieved. "R-really?"

His expression remained hard. "You cost me more than you could possibly imagine, but your debt will be paid."

"Anything," he groveled. "You ask and it's yours."

Slowly, Shadow knelt down to his level face to face. "Yes…because from now on, you belong to me," he growled. "You will do and say as I command and you will be charged with, well, whatever I damn well please." Finitevus countenance fell as he saw the vengeance in Shadow's eyes, one that he recognized all too well from King Phillip. Shadow definitely was Phillip's son and now he could see he had unleashed the dark side to him. "You're my puppet now," he pointed. Finitevus gulped. "And if you outlive your usefulness I'll have you viciously slaughtered in the night," he warned.

Finitevus closed his eyes, trying to bow his head in respect. "I understand, your majesty."

•~•

After a long day, Prince Cordovan returned to his estate in the countryside but was surprised when he heard an unannounced guest rummaging around in his living room. Alarmed by this, he reached for the handle of his sword and quietly made his way into the other room, prepared to fight the intruder. But as he got there, standing in the living room was a dark mahogany hedgehog in his late 20s, wearing royal clothes, pouring himself a cup of tea.

Cordovan retracted his hand from his sword handle and looked on in awe. "Antoine?"

The stranger looked in his direction with an innocent smile. "Ah, little brother," Antoine said raising a cup of tea in his direction. Cordovan sighed and walked over to greet him. "I let myself in," his brother laughed. "You don't mind, do you?"

Cordovan crossed his arms over his chest, looking him up and down in question. "Why are you here?"

"Well, as the King of Knothole, I suppose you could call it work-related," he said with an ignoble smile. "Your reports have grown briefer and fewer over the months," he noted. "Why is that?" Cordovan remained silent only making his brother grow suspicious. "You were supposed to befriend Shadow and find out what kind of king he is—find where he's vulnerable and whatnot, but as I hear it, you've grown closer to the queen instead."

He froze as his anxiety rose. "Antoine, I-"

"—I'm told she's a great beauty," he continued, cutting him off. "Have you fallen for her?" he smirked with intrigue.

Cordovan kept a stoic expression as he shook his head in denial. "No, of course not."

Antoine smiled. "Good, because if the time should come when you need to choose between your new friends and your family…well, your choice should be clear."

Cordovan gulped and put on a nervous smile as his brother embraced him in a brotherly hug. "Of course…"

•~•

Meanwhile, back at court, Amy enjoyed a peaceful moment on her balcony before heading to bed. Footsteps approached and she turned only to find one of her female bed chamber servants behind her. "Excuse me, your grace, but we found this as we were clearing out your things in your old room," she spoke. Amy looked down at her hand where she held a sealed envelope. Amy accepted the letter and noticed Cordovan's royal seal on it. "It must have slid under the carpet when it was delivered the other night," the servant smiled.

"Thank you," she nodded. The servant walked off, leaving her by herself. Amy began to tear open the letter, interested to know what Cordovan had sent her. She had overheard Cordovan talking to one of the servants the other day about some letter he had sent her, but she hadn't put much thought into what it was about. As her eyes began to read the letter, she envisioned Cordovan's voice as she read it in her mind:

"Amy, when you read this letter, I'll be gone. I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye, but seeing you again would have weakened my resolve. I know that I agreed to marry Rouge on the behalf of Mobius, but I realized I couldn't go through with your request. I discovered that my heart lies with another… As it turns out, I've fallen in love with a queen."

Amy lowered the note in her hands, feeling her heart flutter for a moment. So it was true. He did have feelings for her.

•~•

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