Chapter 4. The Shocking Truth.
"Look, I said I was sorry.."
"Sorry doesn't exclude the fact that you literally ripped off a piece of the map! You lost one area of the map we needed to go!"
"Hey! Did you wanna wait for that monster to kill us while waiting very slowly for the fire to start again? I think not!"
It had been several hours of nothing, but complaining and arguing from the two once they both woke up from their sleep. Amy had explained how she didn't realize what she had done and had to use something in order to feed the fire so it'll grow more rapidly. She didn't realize that the 'paper' she had took from his pack was actually the map they were given by the king. One corner of the map was ripped off which had one place they needed to get to in order to find the next element, wind. Shadow knew very well of most places that they could get to, but the place where that element was, he had no clue on how to get to.
Now, while they were on the path again, Shadow and Amy continued to fight through morning, till noon. Not one sentence was able to get them to stop. Amy was sassy, and Shadow was arrogant. They didn't want to say who was wrong and didn't want to apologize at all. Shadow was beginning to grow very tired of this never ending fight that he was close to just grabbing her by her throat and threaten her to say another word. He'd never hurt her, nor anyone that's innocent, but he was very, very close.
Amy, however, was beginning to feel very emotional about the fight. She knew she was in the wrong for ripping up the map and probably had lead the werecat to her if she hadn't been calling out to him. She wasn't too egotistical to admit she was wrong, but just wanted Shadow to stop and forget it ever happened. Shadow was in front of her as they walk, keeping his eyes directly on the path without looking back at her. He didn't want to see her at all being so frustrated, but if he did, he'd see that she was beginning to slowly break from so much yelling and arguing.
"I had everything under control! I have fought with countless of enemies, big and small!" Shadow roared, "We may have had a hard time last night, but now with that one section of the world destroyed, our work will be more aggravated than ever!"
Amy looked up at the back of his head with tears slowly forming in the corner of her eyes. "What are you saying? Is it because I'm annoying you? Is that the reason why you say it'll be more aggravated than ever?" she asked in a demanding tone.
He growled angrily and spoke up without even thinking at all. "Yes! I'm already sick and tired of dealing with your annoying questions and complaints!"
"FINE! I'm sorry! I won't say another word again! In fact, I'm done being around you if I only make your life a living hell!" Amy screamed out loud, her throat had hurt a bit from how hard she made her voice sound loud.
Shadow stopped and turned around to argue back, but before he could say anything, he watched her run up and passing him in a flash of pink. Amy held her head down and eyes closed, but from that split second, he could see some tears slipping out from her eyes and down her cheeks much faster since she was running. He stayed standing still, contemplating on what had just happened. Her words had slipped right into his ear, and out the other so fast, he had almost lost what she said. What he did remember was when she said "make your life a living hell". That sentence was what made him stop his rant. He was still upset, but he took a few seconds to realize what was going on with her finally.
Amy was in another world full of monsters that could kill her if she wasn't careful. She left her home, her friends, she had no family to go home to. She was a complete wreck and she might've been hiding it for a long time trying to be brave. For some world she had no experience with, and possibly for him. Shadow now felt like a complete idiot once he realized that he was in the wrong for even shouting at her. He did tell her to make the fire bigger and they had very little time to try and get the fire going while fighting off the werecat. So in other words, it was both their faults. He was too distracted about the map and his pride got in the way again. He had told himself to never show that awful side of himself to others, but he sadly let it out at a wrong time and person.
He wasn't the kind of person to apologize at a drop of a hat, but it might be able to at least help her a little bit. With a kick of his heel, Shadow took off running after the poor girl. He was a pretty fast runner, but more faster if he had used his specially made shoes. But Amy wasn't that much of a fast runner, so he was able to get up to her in a matter of seconds. "Rose! Wait!" he shouted out to her once he saw her form getting closer and closer to him.
Amy kept her eyes forward and ignored him since she didn't want anything to do with him any longer. Shadow caught up to her instantly, he grabbed her wrist and pulled back a bit to stop her from going any further. "Let go!" she cried trying to rip her wrist out of his grip, but he wasn't letting up at all.
"Not until you stop moving." he pulled her again to stop her from trying to fight him for her freedom, Amy was a fighter, he'll give her that.
"No! You said I annoy you and I won't ruin your life again because of how I am!" she argued still trying to pull and wiggle as much as she could. Her wrist began to hurt from how hard she was pulling, possibly making a bigger mark if she didn't stop.
He finally had enough of her rambling and decided the best course of action was to pull her towards him and hold her down with both hands gripping her arms tightly while staring into her glossy eyes. "I never said you ruined my life! Now shut up and let me speak!" he yelled.
Amy was stunned at how fast he had pulled, turned, and held her tightly to keep her from fighting. From how loud he yelled, and how tightly he was gripping her arms had silenced her completely and had stopped her from trying to force herself away from him. He felt her body shiver slightly from the way he had demanded her to stop, he honestly didn't mean to yell at her in that kind of way, but it was the only thing he could think of to silence her. She was too afraid to even move in case he would do anything to hurt her. He was so strong, he could easily strangle her in seconds if he wanted to.
The two stared at each other for what seemed like a minute, or two, just waiting to see if one would say another word, or if she would try to fight him again. Both were slightly panting from his yelling, and her wiggling around so it was the only thing they both heard for that time. Once he could tell she wasn't going to run away again, and or fight, he slowly unlatched his fingers from her arms and moved them up to hold her shoulders, but much more softly this time. She was still afraid, but the way he was holding her this time was helping her calm down a bit. Her arms felt a little sore, and so did her wrist. But he still tried to at least hold her in a gentler way this time. He decided to speak again now looking a bit sympathetic. "...Look...I may have said ungrateful things, I hurt you to stop you from leaving me...and I haven't been a supportive person right now.." he started while looking away from her with his eyes, "But...if we're going to get through with this..we have to work together."
"...How can we when we'll fight over little things...?" she asked in a soft voice.
He looked back to her now looking a bit frustrated again. "Ripping up a piece of the map is not 'little'. ..But yes, we do fight, but I gave an oath to the king and queen that I'll help you. I may not be...alright with it..but try your best to be patient with me..." He really doesn't know how to apologize, but to her, it almost looked like he was trying his best.
"...Why is it hard for you to open up to me?" she asked, "You've been so moody since we left. I'm the reason, aren't I...?" He slowly shook his head.
"Half of it is...but another reason is because I've dealt with many problems in my life that I have shut part of myself away so I wouldn't get hurt again..." he answered now with a small blush appearing back on his cheeks.
"..You were hurt. I knew that something was bothering you. But it's not right to bottle up your emotions like that. I don't like fighting either, but I want to help you. I'm sorry for making it harder for you, but I do want to help you."
Shadow slowly moved his hands off her shoulder and down to his sides while looking away from her. "There really isn't a way to help me with this, Rose.. I also try to keep myself from going off on you because of the situation you're in." he added.
Amy was a bit confused from what he said in the end, but soon felt a little sad, for herself and for him as well for putting him in situations like this. "I know..I didn't ask for this..yet you decided to go on this journey with me despite the fact I'm just a whining, complaining and pathetic girl.." her ears dropped lower and lower with each word she called herself.
Gentle fingers gripped her chin and pulled her head up to look back at him. Shadow was a little angry again which made her a bit uneasy, but he also held the same sympathy in his eyes. "No, Rose. You are not any of them. You are special, which is why you were called here to save our world. Any other person would be taken, but they were not selected to wield such power you have within you." he comforted now taking his hand away, "True...you do complain and you don't seem to know any sort of way to fight...but if it helps you, I'll teach you some ways of how to protect yourself if I'm not around. I can tell you have some bravery inside. You did succeed in starting the fire with just stones than a fire crystal, so I'm sure your able to pick up on some easy skills to defend yourself."
Amy was listening, but she was also blushing a pretty deep red color from how he was holding her by her chin, and the way he was comforting her. This was pretty new for him and she liked how he was trying to help her and not be such a downer. She had been a couple times, but he was still able to push her in order to keep her head up and not lose her confidence. Scourge might be watching them and would try to manipulate them if they're easily depressed from what Madam Vulga had instructed them. Amy held a soft smile to replace her frown she had, and nodded. "Thank you, Shadow..that really means a lot. And I'll try not to slow you down." she said with a little determination.
He nodded. "Alright. I'll do my best to help you if, and when you need it. But..try not to ask too many questions..." he asked in a slightly annoyed way.
She couldn't help, but giggle a bit from his question, but nodded quickly. "I'll try. I do ask a lot at times, but I'll keep them limited." she said.
"Alright..now that we have this sorted out, and you won't run away from me again.. Let's continue on." Shadow instructed as he started to walk past her.
With a smile, another nod, and a determined look, Amy quickly rushed over to him slowing down to now walk at a steady pace beside him. At least they did get through their first fight. At first, Amy didn't want to continue going along with this stubborn knight, her arms were still stinging from how tightly he held her, but from the way he was trying to help her, even the way he comforted her, it was reassuring to see that he did have a soft spot somewhere in his heart. Even if he held that brooding expression on his face, it looked as if he was trying to help her in his own way. He will need to tone down the way he gripped her if he was gonna be around her, though.
She also could tell that he was hurting inside just by the tone in his voice, his eyes, even the way he moved. Shadow must've been struggling with a burden all his life and it looked as if it was eating himself in and out. She still wasn't too fond of a moody knight tagging along with her, but she was now keen on seeing what his past was and hoping to maybe help him restore a bit of himself so he wouldn't be too angry, or sad all the time. Getting him to open up will be a bigger challenge, but with this journey, and possibly longer from the little mistake she had made with the map, she'll have a lot of time to get to know this mysterious male.
The entire day had passed and the night had come and go. It was actually a more relaxing time for the both of them. Amy had done her part of the deal and kept herself tamed with only a few questions once in a while, while Shadow kept his part and made sure to not be too upset with her. He answered some of her frequent questions about he world he lived in, and he even asked a few from her world. It made her happy to see that they were getting a long slowly. It wasn't much of a change, but baby steps were okay to have. Shadow was still a little peeved about the map incident, but he began to slowly let it go when she was explaining how her world works with technology. He was quite fascinated at how she could use a small machine built to talk and message people. Hell, he didn't realize that he could use a metal box to make burnt bread.
Amy giggled at how his eyes would widened each time she would explain the electric object to him. He was now asking the multiple questions this time, but she didn't have the heart to tell him that he was doing the '20 Questions' game. It was honestly cute to see him react to something so mundane being used in her world, be the most interesting thing he had ever heard of. If only she had her phone with her, then she would be able to show him how an iPhone worked. Though...she might not have good reception where she was, so probably wouldn't have been able to show him any games she had.
Shadow was very astonished at how her world was so much different to his. There were moving coaches that didn't need a horse to pull, big, and small objects that didn't need crystals in order to power them up, just plug into a wall. A weird place called 'Mc Donalds' that people go to eat fattening food and hang out at times. Her world sounded so fascinating that he honestly wished he could be spirited away to her world to see it for himself. He had always thought that there might have been worlds out there than just Celedane, or even other places around the world. He had traveled from time to time, but nothing as interesting at hers.
It also was nice to see Amy smiling again. He still felt bad for hurting her when he gripped her arms tightly. She did try to hide the marks with her jacket and even tried to keep it a secret from him, but he can tell that she didn't feel comfortable with the marks on her arms, or the small bit of sting. He still remembered how frightened she was of him when he yelled at her. It wasn't the first, or even thirtieth time that some woman looked at him in a frightful way. He was pretty much used to it. But that one girl...the princess didn't see him as a monster that everyone had portrayed him as. He remembered that she treated him with such kindness that he was able to open up himself to her and care very much for her up to her death. It was still the hardest thing to even keep himself from thinking about, but once in a while, he would remember that fight and how he had lost the light that had given him hope for the future.
Amy, for some reason, was making him have these memories of her. It wasn't often, but every time she would do, or say something, he would remember the princess and how she almost resembles Amy. When she talked about her world and would laugh at a few stories about a certain object, or time of her past, she would have a big smile on her face that would immediately send flashbacks to when the princess smiled brightly. He would argue with her every few hours, or less, but after that talk/deal they had made, she was much more tolerable, and actually entertaining to be around. Dare I say that he was actually feeling more calmer just by being close to her. Was it because she resembles princess Maria, or is he slowly growing a bit fond of this weird, and annoying person?
As the sun began to set and the moon slowly began to rise, they only had a bit of light from the sunset to find the castle ruins in order to find the first element. Shadow had told her that they were getting very close to the ruins, and she could tell that he was right. On the way there, they had passed through another forest that was much bigger and darker, hiding away the shambled pieces of what used to be a thriving city. She already felt a nervous just by watching the sunlight slowly fade as they go deeper and deeper through the crowded trees. She even noticed a few stones that looked like crumbled pieces of a building scattered around the pathway. Even a few trees had a few marks from either a sword, or a claw from a monster. One piece after another till the path gradually grew to more crumbled pieces the more they continued on until they finally came to the entrance of the city.
Around the outside looked to be a stone wall, or what used to be since it had fallen apart from the battle and had been left to rot away. There was no way to hide the place any longer, except for the trees. Only a broken gate was left of what was used as protection from the monsters. The place was massive, big enough that they could see at least ten, or twenty destroyed houses around the front. It looked like over the two decades like Shadow said, some houses were down letting the earth consume the rubble and whatever was around, and inside. Broken pieces of history scattered across the dirt path making it minor tough to continue without stepping over and possibly trip. Stone pillars lined the street all the way down to the castle entrance with a few that were destroyed, barely standing straight again. It's a miracle that so many trees could create a barrier to hide this abandoned kingdom.
Amy slowly walked over to one of the nearest houses with Shadow close behind her. She peered in through one of the windows that wasn't destroyed and saw what looked to be a normal house, but with a large gaping hole in the back where a wall would be and the furniture all toppled over, and/or destroyed. Again, she could see that several parts of the room had scratch marks from a monster. She could even see what looked to be light brown stains on the walls, and or objects. Possibly dried blood.
She shivered at the thought of how the people in these houses must've dealt with. "This place..." she started now turning around to look at her traveling partner, "Were they prepared at all...?" Her voice was quite as if she was sad for so many lives that had been taken that very day.
Shadow slowly shook his head while crossing his arms. "Sometimes you are not prepared." he answered with now emotion in his word, but he did have a little hint of sadness in his eyes.
Amy lowered her head and closed her eyes. She gave a silent prayer to those who are possibly buried underneath them both. She wished that they were able to at least be ready so they could've saved many more lives, but sometimes fate had other ways to ruin others lives. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the knight. "How do you know about this? Is it something you learned in school?" she asked.
He slowly looked away at one of the other closer houses that was equally demolished over time. "Celedane is well known about this place, but were strictly forbidden to set foot on this land. Monsters littered the forest so if they want to find this place, they can either come out alive, or no longer see the light of day again." She once again shivered at the sound of 'monsters'.
"...You've been here before like you said. Why?" she asked while tilting her head a bit.
Shadow said nothing. His stone like face was still there, but Amy could see that he was hiding something. Something about this place was somehow connected to him. She didn't want to pry again since she might not get anything out of it, but she did want to know why this place might've been so important that he would come here enough to know where it was. "...Alright. I won't say anything. But I want you to know that you can tell me anything that might be bothering you." she assured him after stepping up to the knight and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.
He looked back to her, staring into her eyes of such innocence. She really wanted to help, but inside, he was actually nervous about telling her exactly why he would always return at certain times. He shook his head and also her hand once he shrugged his shoulder. "I'm fine, Rose. I don't need you to be upset about me. Now let's find the first element so we can leave." he grumbled as he started walking on down the street with his eyes and ears open for anything abnormal.
Amy was a little upset that he had pushed her away, yet she knew he would be like this. But she wished he could open up more to her. Deciding that he wasn't gonna spill, she started on her way down the path he had took, but went to the other side of the street. It looked like there have been twenty houses on her side, so it might've been the same on Shadow's side. Tho, there was only ten, or nine houses still standing up while the rest had fallen over time, or was destroyed in the battle. Each house Amy looked at had the same look like the other ones. Broken furniture, and dishes, old rotting wood, etc. It was even worse to see that there were children beds and toys in some of the houses, which made the poor girl sad for those young innocent lives either killed, or hopefully ran away with their families. While Amy was searching on her side, Shadow was doing the same thing while keeping an eye for any sign of life. Human, or monster, and they both hoped it wasn't the last one.
One house caught Amy's attention. It was probably the last house that was still standing, a two story house with one wall caved in so she could walk in easily after stepping over the broken pieces of wood and stone. She didn't know why, but something was urging her to go forward. To check that house instead of just looking through and skip it. She made her way over to it and looked through the gaping hole. She was still cautious every time she looked inside in case anything pops out. Like almost everyone, she hated being scared of a pop up and now was not a good time for something to scare her. Inside the house was the first floor which had the living room on one side near the back, and to the front of the house was a kitchen. Same thing, furniture and kitchenware all broken and rotting.
On the top floor was a loft with stairs on the other side of the gaping wall leading up to it. Amy nodded to herself feeling determined to venture inside, she still had a weird feeling that was telling her to explore this very home. It looked like any normal house, but something about it was different. Stepping inside, Amy moved her way around the broken pieces of the house and everything that was in it till she stopped at the bottom of the stairs. She looked up at the steps to check if the wood had rotted up so much that her weight might break through with one step. There was a wooden railing right beside it to help her, but even that could give way. She decided to just try it and see what the top floor had to offer.
She took each step with caution and kept a good grip on the railing. The wood was very rotted so she was also careful to not get splinters while venturing up the stairs. Each time she stepped, it made a loud 'creak', which sent chills up her spine forcing her to stay still for a few seconds before carrying on. Amy, thankfully, got up to the last step and had to let out a heavy breath she was holding while walking up the small staircase. 'This is why I never go searching through old and abandoned places...' she thought to herself.
After taking a few seconds to breathe and to make sure her heat was now beating at a normal pace, she looked up to see that the loft was a bedroom. A bed fit for two was by the wall in a corner, along with a small crib made of wood. A wardrobe was by the wall on the other side that might've been filled with clothes, and a table was right beside the bed right across from her, and under the only window that was in the bedroom. Amy stepped closer to the table seeing that there were pictures of possibly the family that lived here. But what caught her attention was a bow and arrow, lying on the top of it besides the pictures. She stopped right in front of the table and carefully picked up the quiver that held at least five arrows.
She had never seen such craftsmanship. The quiver was a very nicely made holder with what looked to be an intricate and somewhat celtic design sewn onto the tough fabric. Even the bow was well made with the hardest wood to use so it wouldn't break. Somehow, this weapon didn't look like it had rot, or even aged at all. It almost looked...new. Amy placed the quiver down, then looked up at the pictures. There were four of them, an elder male hedgehog in one picture, another was an elder female hedgehog. The third one had a knight in the picture. The knight was a silver metal wearing hedgehog that had a bit of his fur showing on his arms, legs, and his jagged quills. His fur was a good shade of black with a bit of red on the tips of his quills. The knight looked oddly familiar to the young girl, but she didn't know why, or where she might've seen him.
The last one was a picture of a family of three that were standing right in front of the house she was in. Must've been taken before the battle since the house looked more better than it did now. Amy carefully gripped the side of the frame and lifted it up to see it more closely. The male was a hedgehog, black fur, orange-ish fur on his muzzle and a bit of his stomach showing under his dark green tunic, jagged black quills with tiny red tips. His eyes were a deep shade of red, now visible without the helmet he was wearing in the other picture. The male might've been the knight that was living here, and beside him was possibly his wife. He was holding her closely while smiling down at her.
The female was a white furred hedgehog with orange colored eyes looking every so lovingly down at a small bundle in her arms. Her quills were longer and were tied in a low ponytail with a small tie wrapped around just a few inches above the tips. She wore a light gray dress with a dark blue corset wrapped tightly around her waist and tied up from bottom to the top with black string. The last was a small baby hoglet wrapped in a light blue blanket, his head was out of it and looking up at the camera. His fur was black and his quills were so tiny with a little red on his quills, just the tips. His furry muzzle was the same color as his father, and eyes were also the same. That baby looked so much like...like...
"...Shadow? Shadow's...mom...and dad...?" Amy gasped almost dropping the frame once she realized who the house belonged to, and why the knight looked so familiar. "...So that means...Shadow was born...here?"
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when all of a sudden, her chest began to glow brightly from under her shirt. That also almost made her drop the picture since it was possibly the second time the stone had glowed again, but for a good reason. Amy placed the picture back onto the table and quickly slipped her hand in her shirt to take out the Stone of Ages. She knew she needed to keep it hidden, but she remembered what Madam Vulga had said about why the stone was glowing. After taking it out, it began to glow a brilliant yellow light resembling the first element they were searching. Light. "So the first element is here! I gotta find Shadow!" she instructed not even caring if she was talking to herself.
She gripped the stone tightly and turned around to head back down the stairs, but she stopped herself from leaving. She slowly turned her head back around to the bow and arrows still lying on the table. She knew it wasn't right to steal from the dead, but she might need the arrows sometime in the future. She can't protect herself if Shadow isn't around and she doesn't know hand-to-hand combat. All she can do now is archery after getting lessons from her gym teacher years past. She looked back at the picture of the three and said in a hushed tone, "I'm really sorry..I need this, but I'll take good care of it." She knew she wouldn't get a response, but just telling them out loud helped her ease a bit of guilt from her conscious. Amy picked up the quiver first, then slung it over her shoulder, tying the strap over that shoulder, and under the other in a tight knot. Then picked up the bow and wrapped it around her other shoulder. She was ready for battle again, but with only five arrows, she'll need to use them sparingly.
With one last look of the picture, a picture that she wanted to take with her, but knew it wasn't right to take anything else, Amy turned around again, and made her way down the stairs, not even caring if she was running as fast as she can. Luckily they didn't break under her, but it almost felt like they would with another stomp of her feet. While gripping the bow with one hand and the stone in the other, she made her way out of the house and down the path she had taken to find Shadow first, then find the first element. With many questions in her mind ready to be asked once she gets a good time after all this.
I swear to god, I was so pissed when I was halfway through, about 3,000 words, and all of a sudden, this fucking site needed my password. I had to rewrite it all and then some...I hate it when that happens... Make sure that when you are good, copy the work you did before you press "save". Works for me, but I sadly forgot this time and I hate it... But otherwise, what a twist, huh? I may have rushed a few parts, but hope it's okay at least? Thank you!