With the arrival of the first freeze, there was work to be done.
The temperature had dropped into the single digits the previous night, the outside cold seeping through old wood and marble into the interior. Frost crept in spiral patterns along the panes of windows and icicles were beginning to form along the edges of the towers and trees.
Shadow could see his breath as he walked across the ground floor of the palace, heading to the west wing and out through glass doors into the snow-covered expanse.
There, a familiar face was waiting for him.
Sonic raised a hand in greeting. "Hope the cold didn't bother you too much last night."
"It caught me off guard, but it's nothing I can't handle," Shadow exhaled. He flung the end of a scarf around his neck, one given to him by Amy once she noticed his lack of proper winter attire.
It was true, an early winter and the speed at which the cold accumulated throughout the castle were unanticipated. In the face of this, Tails had taken it upon himself to mobilize the palace for winter preparations, divvying tasks to the remaining occupants. That was how Shadow had found himself on firewood duty with none other than the prince himself. Now the two were stomping through the snow towards a barn just off of the west wing, ducking under snow-lined tree branches.
"Yeah—with a fur coat like this, it's always hard for me to notice when the temperature drops." Sonic chuffed and Shadow let out a hum.
Sonic yanked the door to the barn open; within the space, stacks and stacks of cut wood laid about in bundles. At the very least, the two would not have to cut it all themselves. However, there were still dozens of fireplaces and furnaces that needed wood throughout the palace. Shadow got right to work, effortlessly lifting two bundles of wood and tucking them under his arms.
A sharp clamoring caught Shadow's attention, and when he next looked at the prince, he could see he had four stacks of logs piled on either shoulder. He shot him a playful grin and Shadow let out a scoff.
The two returned to the castle with firewood in hand for several trips, splitting up between rooms to cover more ground. With each time they returned to the barn to retrieve more firewood, it didn't take long for Shadow to realize what the prince was doing.
Whatever amount of firewood Shadow picked up, the prince would double it. If Shadow picked up two stacks, Sonic would pick up four. If Shadow lifted four, Sonic lifted eight. At first, Shadow only rolled his eyes at these attempts to show off, but the more trips they took, the more and more logs Shadow found himself carrying.
It soon became clear that by his sheer bulk and the length of his arms alone, Sonic had the advantage in terms of how much firewood he could hold at once. But what Shadow lacked in quantity per trip, he knew he could make up for with total quantity delivered.
A black streak whooshed by Sonic, and the prince did a double take. Seconds later, the blur raced by him from the opposite direction, and only then did Sonic realize what was happening.
"Oh no you don't!" He barked, now moving as fast as one with a tower of firewood in his arms could.
Thus, Tails, who happened to be coming by to see their progress, was met with the scene of Shadow rushing back and forth while Sonic continued to carry as many stacks as he could.
"Y'know–" Tails spoke up just as Sonic had made it into the doorway from the barn, vision completely blocked by the precariously stacked mountain of logs in his arms. The voice distracted him just enough that he lurched, and the top logs clamored to the ground in a crash.
Tails winced at the noise, and a moment later Shadow once again came careening through the doorway, just barely managing to hop over the logs now at the prince's feet. He shot a perturbed look at Sonic, but behind his scowl, there was a mischievous look in his eye.
"Looks like you have a bit more than you can carry there." Shadow chastised.
"Please, this is nothing! Plus, you're still behind me!" Sonic snapped with a peeved twitch to his eye.
"Y'know," Tails piped up again, now able to finish his thought, "if Sonic brought the firewood in batches from the barn to the foyer, and Shadow took them to the fireplaces from there, this would probably go even faster."
Sonic and Shadow simultaneously shot looks of incredulity at Tails.
"No way!"
"Not happening."
—
Though they did not take Tails' suggestion of working together, winter preparations had never gone so quickly before (of course, they had never been so chaotic either). So that was how the day continued, with Sonic and Shadow running to and fro, back and forth, distributing far more firewood than was probably necessary to all the fireplaces.
And then, just as Sonic rushed across the path with yet another stack of logs from the barn, he stumbled forward. Thankfully, he managed to reach out a hand and catch himself on an overhanging tree branch, but not without causing thick layers of snow that had settled across the upper branches to dislodge.
Sonic jumped back just before the cascade of powder landed on him, but as it just so happened, his competitor had found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The sheet of snow fell upon Shadow in a heap. The hedgehog blurted out a swear and came to a sharp halt. Sonic stood shell-shocked, bearing witness to a Shadow now covered entirely in snow, from the top of his quills to the cuffs of his jacket.
Shadow's arms shot out to his sides, the sudden cold making him tense up and shudder. He slowly turned around in place, catching an eyeful of a tongue-tied Sonic who, for a brief moment, could only stare at him with abject horror. He opened his mouth, eyebrows furrowed like he was about to offer an apology.
But instead, he just began to sputter.
"That's a good look on you." Sonic snorted, practically trembling in an attempt to retain his composure at the sight of the snow-powdered hedgehog.
Furious red eyes bore into Sonic like hot coals, contrasted against the dark countenance that settled over Shadow's face. He bared his teeth in a half-grin half-snarl.
"Oh, is it now?" Shadow forced out, "Because I think it would look much better on you."
—
Sonic could not have possibly prepared for what happened next.
The wood he carried had long been abandoned, strewn about in the snow around him. However, his increased mobility did little to stop the gatling gun of snowballs that pummeled his torso. Sonic shielded his face from the onslaught with one hand and used the other to blindly scoop up a massive pile of snow of his own. He flung the thing forward, but this did little to deter his attacker. Shadow leapt over it effortlessly, shoving one last handful of snow smack-dab in the middle of the beast's face.
Tails watched idly from a distance as Sonic's cries of aggravation rang out across the courtyard.
"What on earth are they doing?" Amy snorted from behind him, having been drawn to the west side by the commotion. She had a shovel in hand and a look of amusement across her visage.
"Not sure. I can't tell if they're fighting or playing." Tails mused.
The final blow had rendered Sonic flat out on his backside in the snow. He wiped the snow from his eyes, spitting frost and twigs out of his mouth. He rolled his body forward and crouched down on all fours, shaking his mane furiously and sending puffs of chalky snow into the air.
Shadow, in turn, just watched his downed opponent from a distance, temporarily satisfied with his retaliation. And yet, the sight of the snow covered beast before him brought a warmth to his chest. He covered his mouth with a hand, hiding the smirk that twitched over his muzzle.
The prince looked just like a polar bear. Or maybe a Saint Bernard. Shadow couldn't keep the laughter from escaping his throat.
Sonic rose back onto two legs, ready and rearing to launch his counterattack. However, before he could make another move, an unexpected noise made him take pause.
Was Shadow…laughing?
Sonic stared at him wide-eyed, momentarily mesmerized by the sound that resonated from the hedgehog. And then, he flashed a mirthful grin, eyes twinkling with determination.
"Oh, you think that's funny, huh? Well, let's see how funny you find this! "
In a single quick motion, Sonic scooped up a snowball and twirled his arm, pitching the snowball straight towards the distracted hedgehog.
Shadow, however, managed to snap back to attention just in time. He bent at the knees, ducking under the snowball that went soaring over his head. And as it would turn out, though the snowball had missed Shadow, it still found a target nonetheless.
Knuckles emerged from behind a wall, shovel in hand and Amy's name on his lips. He had grown curious as to where the girl had gone, and was just about to call her back to work when a pile of snow smacked him right in the neck, making him cry out in surprise.
Sonic's hands shot to his mouth as he saw his grave error play out before him. "Shoot." He hissed.
Knuckles stood still as a statue as the broken snowball lingered on his chest. And then, his eyes honed in straight onto Sonic.
"Sonic…" Knuckles growled, two fists tightening around the handle of the shovel, threatening to crack it.
In an instant, Shadow was gone, having taken this as a prime signal to exit the premises. Sonic exhaled sharply and then sprung forward, scooping up a pair of the scattered logs
"Sorry Knux, gotta get this wood inside!" Sonic cried out, skittering across the snow after Shadow.
"Get back here!" Knuckles shouted, a shovelful of snow swinging wildly around his head as he raced after the prince and the hedgehog.
At this point, Amy and Tails (who had beared witness to the entire scene before them) were practically in hysterics.
"I guess we better stop them," Tails giggled.
Amy nodded, wiping a tear from her eye. "In a minute. I think Knuckles deserves a chance to strike back."
—
Shadow flopped his coat onto the mantle piece, the fabric now saturated with melted snow. Behind him, Sonic furiously rubbed a towel over his own damp fur.
After the significant delay in the courtyards, the two had finally managed to distribute firewood all throughout the castle. The last one was in the library, inside the cozy nook that Sonic preferred above all others, and that's where the two lingered now.
Sonic flung the towel over the mantle next to Shadow's jacket. He leaned down near the fireplace and meticulously arranged the pile of wood into a suitable shape.
Shadow watched as Sonic reached over to a box next to the fireplace and pulled out a leather-bound book, yellowed with age. The prince opened the novel and ripped out a bundle of pages, causing Shadow to wince. He crumpled the pages and shoved them under the bottom log.
Sonic returned Shadow's ruffled look with a raised eyebrow.
"What? It's just an old book. There's gobs of them in here—sometimes we just happen to use 'em for kindling."
As far as Shadow saw it, these were all "old books," and rare ones at that. However, he remained silent, suppressing the inner bookkeeper scratching at the walls of his cranium.
Sonic smacked his hands together.
"Luckily for us, Tails created a pretty handy invention," he said. "The castle fireplaces are connected. Don't ask me how it works, but when the vents are open, all we need to do is light this one and it'll spread to the others. Sure helps with getting this place warmed up."
Shadow blinked at Sonic, not quite sure he had heard him correctly. Yet, he couldn't really be surprised to hear the fox had figured out how to do something like that. Whatever the case, Shadow wasn't about to question it. His fur was still somewhat damp from their fiasco in the snow, and the cold was actually beginning to bother him.
"What are we waiting for, then?" said Shadow.
"Well, I was actually hoping you could help with that." Sonic scratched his muzzle, gaze drifting to the side. "You seem to be an expert at igniting things, so I figured you could light the spark for us."
Shadow shot him a bemused look. And then, what the beast was implying hit him. Shadow crossed his arms and frowned.
"I see. This is your attempt to get me to show you my abilities?"
Sonic put a palm to his chest in feigned shock, fluttering his eyelids. "Me? Of course not. Although, a burning spark of energy would be pretty helpful right about now…"
Shadow rolled his eyes. "Well unfortunately for you, I don't use my powers on things so trivial."
"Ah, come on. I saw the burned up cabinet in Tails' shed, and the scorch marks around the gate! Lighting a fire should be no problem for you."
"I didn't say that I couldn't do it. Regardless, the energy I expel when using my skates is not the same as the power I used on the emerald, if that's what you're getting at."
"It was just a thought." Sonic shrugged, a smirk evident in his tone as he turned away from Shadow. He reached into the fireside box once more and retrieved what looked like a curved piece of metal and a stone.
Sonic held out the pieces in either hand, hovering them close to the kindling at the bottom of the fireplace. He struck the stone against the metal, casting sparks towards the fuel below. However, the parchment pages did not catch.
Sonic tried once again to light the fire, and then again, but each time the sparks did not hit their mark. He swore under his breath as he smacked the tools together, all while Shadow was growing more and more impatient with every passing failure.
After his sixth attempt, Shadow was fed up, both with the sight of the beast's fruitless attempts to ignite the fire and the cold around them that continued to sink into his skin.
"You're unbelievable." Shadow hissed, dropping to his knees and shoving next to Sonic. Sonic backed off from the fireplace, hiding a cheeky grin and allowing Shadow better access to the nook.
Shadow plucked the parchment pages out from under the wood and held them out in the palm of his hand. Sonic watched with bated breath as the bundle of paper twitched in Shadow's palm, and then, a yellow-green glow engulfed it.
Just as it had done in the throne room and later in Tails' spare workshop, tendrils of energy crackled across Shadow's hand and wrist. Shadow had never actually tried to ignite something like this before, but nonetheless, the heat was enough to light the paper aflame.
Once the flame took, Shadow quickly shoved the kindling back under the log, and soon, the wood was engulfed in hot flames. A proper fire crackled from the fireplace now, radiating heat throughout the alcove.
Shadow sighed and leaned back from the fireplace, flexing his fingers.
"There," he huffed, craning his neck to look at the beast hovering behind him, "Are you happy—?"
Shadow cut himself off, momentarily speechless at the sight of green eyes shining with utter amazement. Sonic was staring straight down at him, with an expression Shadow could only describe as glowing.
"Shadow, that's incredible." Sonic said softly.
Shadow felt his breath catch in his throat, suddenly feeling uncharacteristically warm, even with the fire radiating so close to him. There was a lightness in his stomach, fluttering and uncomfortable, but not necessarily unpleasant.
It took a second for Shadow to gather himself, but when he did, he let out a scoff, standing up abruptly.
"It's nothing, really." A lie. It wasn't nothing, it was the ultimate power. It was only natural for Sonic to be amazed, so why did Shadow suddenly feel the desperate urge to change the subject?
"What is this book anyways?" He breathed, scooping up the book Sonic had torn pages from, regardless of the fact he didn't really care all too much. He traced a finger over the words engraved on the leather cover. The main title was written in Old Orléanan, but Shadow at least could recognize the subtitle:
Lancelot du Lac.
"Oh, that? It's an Arthurian Legend. It was one of my favorites as a kid, but I've read it about a billion times by now," Sonic mused, awestruck gaze promptly disappearing. "Are you familiar with it?"
Shadow nodded, though the look on his face told a different story. At the very least, he had some cursory knowledge about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
"Vaguely." Shadow responded. "I know Lancelot was a knight of the round table."
"Not just that! He was the greatest knight to have ever lived." Sonic gushed.
Shadow placed a hand to his chin, trying to call upon any knowledge he had on the subject. But truthfully, Orléanan Arthurian mythos was not exactly his literary strong suit.
"Right," Shadow grunted. "Of course, it was also his affair with the queen that brought Arthur's kingdom into ruin."
Sonic laughed. "That's not until later. This book just covers Lancelot's adventures with the other knights. Well, it does cover their romance too, I guess, but I never really liked those parts. My favorite stories were always the ones about Lancelot and Galehaut."
"Galehaut?" Shadow echoed. The name was not familiar to him.
"Galehaut—the half-giant prince He challenged King Arthur for his kingdom, and was actually on the brink of taking it. But just when he's about to defeat Arthur's army, a mysterious Black Knight appears. And when Galehaut sees the Black Knight in action, he's so amazed by him that he immediately surrenders, on the condition that he gets to spend a night with the guy." Sonic rambled with bright eyes, seemingly engrossed with the retelling. "Anyways, the Black Knight turns out to be Lancelot, and he accepts Galehaut's offer. They go on to become best friends, and go on all kinds of adventures together."
Shadow nodded along with Sonic's explanation, doing his best to follow it. It was strange; the prince clearly held at least some fondness for this story, and yet he had so easily torn out its pages for use as fuel. Surely, there were other books that could have been used instead…
"And what became of them, after that?"
Sonic's expression fell ever so slightly.
"Unfortunately, it's not a happy ending," He grunted. "Galehaut and Lancelot remain close companions, and Galehaut even joins the round table. But then, Lancelot is captured by an enchantress. She eventually releases him, but curses him so that he cannot see the ones he loves, which includes Galehaut. Lancelot goes mad from grief, and Galehaut dies of a broken heart, thinking Lancelot has perished."
Sonic went silent for a moment, staring into the crackling fire as if deep in thought. Then, he let out a low chuckle.
"I know it's not the actual romance in the book, but it's kind of hard not to read their relationship as a love story after all that." Sonic continued, a note of uneasiness in his voice, "A pretty tragic one, though."
Shadow watched the yellow light from the flames dance across Sonic's face, who stood beside him a thoughtful gaze. Then, he tucked the book under his arm, deciding that he would not allow any more pages from it to be used as kindling.
"Hey, it's like I said." Sonic perked up from beside him. "I've read it countless times. I could probably recite it from memory by now."
Shadow rolled his eyes. "Maybe I want to read it for myself. Ever think of that?"
Sonic rubbed the back of his head. "Guess not. In that case, sorry for tearing out some of the pages."
"It's no matter." Shadow stated, making eye contact with the prince, "Besides, you can just fill me in on the details."
Sonic blinked down at him with bewildered eyes, before he once again offered Shadow one of his trademark smiles.
"Yeah, I suppose I could do that."
By now, the flame of the alcove fireplace had spread all throughout the castle, warming the vast internal spaces of the palace and creating a haven against the cold outside world. Two souls continued their conversation in the warmth of the alcove, the chaos of winter preparations and the aftermath of their competition utterly disregarded for one precious moment.