Author's Note: Thank you, Aliciathewolf45, MissMJS, JessicaShadow, and risingzero2001 for your reviews! I really appreciate it. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving, I know I did.

•~•

A few days later, Amy and her ladies trekked through the snow, smiling from ear to ear. As they climbed up a hill with their sleds in tow, Amy looked back at Rouge who was lugging her sled behind her nearly out of breath. "You didn't say the race was starting from the bottom of the hill," the white bat groaned.

Cream giggled at her complaint. "Oh, come on, Rouge, a bit of exercise never hurt!"

"She's right," Amy laughed. "It isn't very sporting to just sit down, now is it?"

Once they finally got to the top of the hill. The three positioned their sleds at their mock starting line for their race. Tails, Cordovan, and a male servant ran over to assist them with their starting push. Tails stood behind Cream and nuzzled her by the side of her neck with assurance. "Ready, my love?"

Cream smiled at his caressing. "Ready to beat Amy!" she laughed.

Amy smiled at Cream and Tails as she watched their intimate moment. Their love story was beautiful, and seeing them so happy brought a warm fuzzy feeling to her heart. Even though she was struggling with her own marriage, seeing a new relationship take bloom was fascinating and uplifting in this moment. But before she could focus for too long, Cordovan leaned down into view and whispered something to Rouge that caused her to chuckle. Unlike her feelings towards Tails and Cream, Amy couldn't help but feel something she hadn't felt in a long time while she watched Cordovan and Rouge: jealousy. It was strange though. Why was she suddenly feeling this unannounced emotion?

She had purposely matched Rouge up with Cordovan to put a stop to any rumors regarding her friendship with him. Feeling flustered by her emotions, Amy pulled her eyes off them and looked straight ahead. She couldn't continue to watch them flirt in front of her. Oblivious to Amy's stares, Cordovan looked over to Tails and the servant standing behind Amy. "Ready girls?"

"Yes," they all said in unison.

Cordovan placed his hands on the back part of Rouge's sled and Tails and the servant mimicked his actions preparing to push themselves. "Okay, one…two…three!" With that, the three girls were given a gentle push and sled down the acute slope, laughing and giggling along the way.

"Go Cream!" Tails cheered from the top of the hill.

"You're right on her tail, Rouge!" Cordovan clapped watching the race take place.

After their sledding expedition, Amy, and Cream gathered by the hot chocolate station set up by the bottom of the hill. Servants had prepared fresh hot chocolate for the ladies and other noble guests at court as they enjoyed the winter's fresh snow.

"That was fun," Cream smiled as she took a sip of her drink.

"It was, perhaps we can have another round tomorrow," Amy proposed.

"That sounds lovely," Cream replied. As they enjoyed the taste of their coco, Amy spotted Prince Cordovan pry himself from a conversation with Rouge and immediately head in her direction. Eventually, he found himself beside the queen at the refreshment table.

"Oh, hello, Cordovan," she smiled, trying to start conversation. "It's a magnificent day, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," he noted looking at his surroundings covered in glistening snow. "I, uh, wanted to come over here to ask you something," he started.

"Oh?" she asked with peaked interest.

"Yes, I invited Lady Rouge to join me in Knothole for a getaway and she's accepted. It would only be for a few days—a holiday of sorts, where we might get to know each other better. I just need your permission, since she is your lady after all."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea! I'm sure Rouge is elated," Cream interjected.

Amy blinked a few times; surprised that Cordovan seemed to be taking his courting assignment seriously. "Well, that does sound promising," she said in almost feigned delight. "Of course I give you my permission."

He smiled, but his response did not match his expression, "…Wonderful," Cordovan mumbled almost disappointedly. Before Amy could interject on his dull response, a servant walked over with an urgent message.

"Your majesty," he spoke.

She turned to address them. "Yes?"

"Your uncle the Duke of Mercia has arrived at court."

Amy nearly did a double take by the announcement. "My uncle?"

"That's strange, what do you think he wants, Amy?" Cream questioned.

"I don't know…"

•~•

After hearing word of his arrival, Amy met her uncle in her chambers. She sat on her sofa as her uncle, sat confidently across from her, looking poised with an arrogant bravado. "Uncle Colton, what are you doing here at court?"

"Can't an uncle come and see his lovely niece," the teal colored hedgehog laughed.

Amy, on the other hand, did not laugh, and instead remained very serious. "Well, yes, if only you had chosen to do so more between the ages of five and up. I think the last time I remember seeing you was when I was nearly six."

He deflated slightly seeing her disappointment. "Perhaps I'm not the best at keeping in touch," he stated. "But, I'd like to start."

Amy crossed her arms over her chest, staring at him suspiciously. "Why now? What do you want?"

"I came here to obtain a position at court."

Amy squinted her eyes at him skeptically. "And why exactly would I give you any type of position? I hardly even know you as family," she countered.

"I want to be close, to protect you," he explained.

"From what?"

His fist clenched by his side. "Those wretched Knothole brothers, who have seemingly installed themselves here at court," he said critically.

Amy took offense to his comment. "I don't know Antoine well, but Cordovan is a friend of the realm and a friend to me," she defended.

He shook his head by her defense. "Not politically. Their line has been angling for the throne for gener-"

"—For generations, yes, I know," she droned with a sigh. "You sound just like Isabelle."

"Why she hasn't assassinated them while they're here at court is a mystery to me," he mumbled.

"I don't want to hear anymore of this," she said standing and walking towards her door. His eyes followed her. "I have a luncheon to attend to." Colton began to follow her towards the door, but Amy stopped and looked at him hard. "For my family, not yours," she cleared. "You may stay in Mobius, but not to protect me, or for a position." With that, she left, leaving him brooding in her bedroom.

•~•

In the dining room, Amy, Shadow, Sonic, and Isabelle, sat around the dining table together enjoying their lunch. As they chowed down, the doors opened and Finitevus sauntered inside before joining them at their table, sitting beside Isabelle. All eyes locked on the albino echidna in puzzlement with his nonchalant entrance. "Uh…if this is a family event, why is Finitevus here?" Sonic gestured.

"About that…Finitevus and I made a discovery," Isabelle began.

"On?" Amy probed.

"My recent hallucinations," she clarified. "I know the thinking was that I was ill—but in fact, I was poisoned."

Shadow looked at her skeptically by her claim. "How exactly?"

"By your father's journal; the one that your father wrote in every day since he took the crown. I began to read it for comfort after his death," she explained.

"A poisoned journal, are you sure?" Amy asked.

"We tested it ourselves," Finitevus piped in. "The only question is: who poisoned it?"

"Do you have any suspects?" Shadow questioned, suddenly starting to believe them.

"Just one. Fredrick. He was one of Phillip's most trusted first-valets. According to the other servants, he encouraged Phillip to continue logging his days in his journal after Phillip began to lag on the activity. Oh, and did I mention that he fled the moment Phillip died?"

"That is a bit strange," Amy concurred.

"Whoever did this, hurt not just Phillip, but all of us. They will not get away with this. They will feel the wrath of Isabelle," the queen spoke.

"I'll look into this, mother," Sonic addressed. "Because you're right, no one will get away with this."

•~•

After lunch, Isabelle walked down the hall but stopped dead in her tracks as she spotted a familiar face at the other end of the hall. Colton strutted towards the queen with a charming smile. "Look what survived the plague!" she cracked. "I heard you were back to claim a new post."

"Well, that's not entirely why I'm here," he smirked seductively, eyeing her up and down. "I see you're no longer wearing black," he noted.

She scoffed. "I gave up with that weeks after Phillip passed."

"Then I guess that means your official mourning period is over. Now I can properly court you," he grinned with charisma.

She laughed uneasily. "You can't be serious."

"We had an affection once," he reminisced.

"A flirtation," she corrected. "And that was years ago."

"Enough of a connection to get me banished from court by King Phillip himself," he added. "Please," he said reaching for her hands. Isabelle watched as he held her hands in his. "I want to build something with you. Why don't you just let me court you, and you'll find that you'll fall in love with me," he wooed.

Isabelle eyed him suspiciously. It was true that they had a flirtmance back in the day, but she couldn't help but feel he was coming on too strongly when it was most convenient. If she were to take him up on his offer, she'd have her guard up. "Perhaps, we could get to know each other, again…"

"That's all I want to hear," he winked.

•~•

Later that evening, Amy met Shadow and Sonic in his study. The two brothers sat at the desk as Amy made her way towards them. "Shadow, you sent for me?"

"Yes, Sonic has found some damning evidence against Cordovan." Amy looked surprised by the news and looked over to Sonic.

"I've been given a lot of information regarding Fredrick, the valet we were looking into."

"And what exactly have you found?" she questioned.

"Fredrick had ties to Cordovan. Apparently, he concealed those ties when he first came here and was vetted for a position close to the king."

"He served both Antoine and Cordovan," Shadow added. "Even fighting in Cordovan's private army in Babylon."

"Wait a second," Amy cut off. "He offered you protection when you decided to run off during the plague," she reminded, trying to defend the prince.

"Amy, I know how loyal you are to those loyal to you, and it's true that none of these things are damning enough to detain Cordovan," Sonic began.

"…Which is why you want me to get him to stay," Amy suddenly realized.

"I have a lead on the valet, I just need time to follow it," Sonic expressed sincerely.

"If Cordovan goes and we find out he's guilty. We may have to extract him from behind his armies," Shadow elaborated.

Amy shot him an angered look. "So, now we're at war? With someone who has proven nothing but his loyalty to the crown and to me?"

"I believe that his devotion to you is genuine," Shadow noted. "But the events in question, the poisoning of my father, happened before he ever met you. If he is behind this, it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with the rivalries between our families. He may have even regretted his actions after he got to know you."

Her ears lowered thinking about the possibility. "What do you expect me to do?"

He placed his hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. "Find a way to keep him here. You're the only one he trusts."

She deflated at the thought. "But it's a betrayal."

He nodded sadly. "Yes, it is."

•~•

In her chambers, Isabelle stirred her spoon in a nice fresh cup of tea. She heard her doors open and didn't bother to look back, knowing exactly who had entered. "—The Duke of Mercia? You can't be seriously considering his proposal," Finitevus spoke with disapproval.

She turned to look at him as he stood to her left. "The fact that you've heard about this proposal from your still active network of spies does not mean it's open for discussion. Besides, I thought you had your eye on a certain white bat, not me."

"I did, but now she's involved with that wretched prince at the moment," he muttered in annoyance.

"A challenge has never stopped you before," she chuckled.

"Hm, you know me well." Finitevus watched as she took another sip of her tea, grumbling slightly. "The poison is still in you, isn't it?" he asked as he sat down on the chair in front of her.

She diverted from answering and instead shifted the conversation. "You said you had a lead on the valet that poisoned Phillip?"

"Yes. Payments he may have received for completing the task."

"Very good," she commended. "Continue to follow that lead."

•~•

After her meeting with Shadow and Sonic, Amy visited Cordovan's estate in the village to start her persuasion. Cordovan stood by his bed, with his open trunk suitcase packing his belongings for his holiday. "You want me to stay for a party?" he asked almost perplexed by the notion.

Amy stood by his desk as she watched him pack. "It's a royal dinner to thank you and Antoine for all you've done for us," she lied with a smile.

He chuckled slightly. "For us?" he repeated. "The last time Shadow and I spoke, we nearly came to a showdown."

"Um, I believe he regrets the outburst and thinks a proper sendoff would help ease tensions," she explained.

"Amy, your private life is lived in a very public way. In a home filled with hundreds of nobles and servants. There's always talk of the king and queen, more so because they're mesmerized by you."

"And what is the current talk, then?" she inquired curiously.

"That Shadow no longer visits your chambers, that even his belongings have been removed—that you barely even speak," he listed. Amy tensed up by his answer. All of them were true and Cordovan saw the pain in her expression causing him to empathize with her. "It pains me to hear that because I know how hard you fought to get back to each other. And I have to ask…"

"What?"

"If there's some small part of this request that comes from the realization that there's nothing to return to," he suggested.

Becoming guarded by his claim, Amy took great offense. "That is very presumptuous."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Said the girl who presumes her friend and I will naturally fall in love, simply because it suits her," he countered passively. "I mean, isn't that what you want? For me and Rouge to find happiness with each other or are we merely chess pieces that no longer need to be moved?"

Her ears fell by his depiction of her. "You make me sound so cold…"

"I understand why you did it—why you asked us to give it a second chance, and I'm telling you, our best chance is if Rouge and I leave tonight."

"Well, you can leave in a day or so," she excused.

He grew frustrated with her mind games. "If you want me to court your friend, don't ask me to spend another moment in your presence. Not now," he said sternly stepping closer. "If it no longer services you, then say it. Be honest about the power you hold over us. Be honest about what you want, so we can all get on with our lives," he declared standing before her.

"I-I don't want you to court Rouge," she answered quickly as she was held under his gaze.

He studied her for a moment, before finally backing off. "…There," he said in satisfaction. "It's not so hard to live a more honest life, now is it?" He turned, heading back to his suitcase to unpack. Amy gave an internal sigh of relief. She had accomplished her mission, but she didn't feel good about it.

•~•

Meanwhile, back at court, Shadow was in the process of his own mission as he spoke to Rouge in her chambers about the same matter. "You want me to end a courtship that you and Amy mandated?" Rouge asked, baffled by the idea. "Why?"

"I can't get into specifics, but he's under investigation. I am trusting you by even telling you that much, and if you have feelings for him, it puts you in an especially bad situation."

"No, it's fine," she responded. "I mean, I enjoyed his company, but we were only just getting to know each other, and if he's a traitor…then I want nothing to do with him."

"Thank you," Shadow smiled in relief. "I know you were doing this for Amy."

"For you and Amy," Rouge corrected, catching him off guard. "I hope you know that I consider you as a friend too, or, at least I was starting to…"

"You were?" he said in surprise.

"Well, yes, you and I have had a lot more interaction lately. But I have noticed since I was mandated to see Cordovan, anytime I enter a room alone with you, you leave. I was beginning to wonder if there was something I've done to offend you."

"No," he said shaking his head. "It's just… Amy saw us lying close in the infirmary the day you were sick. I sat by your side but I ended up nodding off next to you. She knows nothing happened between us and wasn't mad, but I think it still might have upset her a bit."

"Oh, Shadow…I had no idea," she replied.

"Yes, well, now you know, but I'm very pleased to hear that you consider me a friend, Rouge." He clasped his hands together. "I could really use some friends nowadays."

She smiled. "You can always come to me with your problems. I'm all ears," she winked.

•~•

In another section of the castle, Colton walked down an empty corridor back to his chambers when a familiar figure walked in his path. "Lord Finitevus!" The white echidna stopped in front him, not even giving a smile. "I was looking forward to seeing you since I heard you lost everything," he smiled maliciously. "How is it that you're able to remain at court?"

"My expertise in many areas is valued by the king," he answered flatly, not allowing his facetiousness to effect him.

"I heard you've become good friends with the queen mother as well, but I'm sad to address that friendship won't continue much longer." High heels clicked down the hall, pulling the two males out of their dominance fight. Colton's eyes beamed at her sight. "Isabelle! Aren't you looking—"

"—Lovely!" Finitevus cut off, stepping in front of him.

"I see you two have reacquainted yourselves," she noted eying the two males.

Finitevus patted Colton hard on the back, making him grunt slightly. "Yes, and I was just telling him, that he'll have to wait to take you out after your dinner with Cordovan and Antoine."

"Ooh, yes, I completely forgot to remind you, Colton." She smiled appreciatively towards Finitevus. "Thank you, Finitevus, for being so kind to remind him."

"Always pleased to serve the Crown," he smiled and bowed his head respectively. He walked past Colton and escorted Isabelle to the dining hall leaving Colton scowling at him from behind.

•~•

AN: Remember to leave me a review! :)