"He's your father?!" Sonic asked, his green eyes wide and filled with shock, his jaw dropping slightly with surprise, the piece of bread he was holding dropping down and onto the small brass plate below him.
The small, shellshocked and trembling form of Miles Prower only gave a small nod in return, his blue eyes half closed and surrounded by dark circles, yet still were filled with the same amount of...Horror, shock, anger, sadness and every single other negative emotion conceivable; he had barely slept a wink last night...The thought of Lord Ama-His father...Abandoning him in the cold, dreary, damp and damn near inhospitable slums of Mobotropolis... It was simply too much to bare.
The piping hot tea sloshed around in the small porcelain mug the boy clasped in his shaking hands as he raised it up to his lips and took a swig, not caring for the burning sensation before almost slamming it down on the wood of the long table...The liquid didn't do much to calm his nerves, but it at least took a bit of an edge off of it...He felt his heart begin to ach once more as he spoke,
"Why...Why would he do this to me...Why would he abandon me like that?!" The fox whined, feeling tears prick in the corners of his eyes...Sonic let out a depressed sigh and gently placed a hand on his ward's shoulder while his other gently held onto Princess Sally's who...despite suffering immense grief of her own, had her eyes locked on young Miles...Feeling nothing but sadness and sympathy for the poor fox; she had been blessed to at least have grown up with a present and loving father...But the small, two tailed boy? He had a father, a high born, well known and respected father who could have easily looked after him as he had done with his other children...and instead? He had discarded his newborn son out in the cold, the dark and the damp to die...
"I don't know Miles...It's probably only something that Lord Amadeus would be able to tell you...But he's already long gone...It's a long walk to the Iron Coast and Westside Island isn't the safest location to be out in the wilderness in..." The Princess said in a caring and sympathetic, if a little dismissive tone before taking her own cup of tea and sipping from it.
"But I have to find out! He's my father and he abandoned me, I need to get answers from him one way or another!"
"No, no you don't...Listen Miles, I know that the truth of the situation cuts deep into your heart like a knife...But...I don't know if you've noticed, but we're trapped. It's not like you can just bust out of the castle...The damned place is more like a prson now, guard severywhere! Listen...The best thing you can do at the moment is wait until Lord Amadeus pays another visit to the castle...Until then, all we can really do is continue your training to become a knight." Sonic said, wanting to sound reassuring; he understood that lust for answers to deep, personal questions...But as history had shown time and time again, sometimes the answers to those questions were best left unknown...
Miles however, merely let out an emotional whine as he pleaded,
"But Sonic-"
"No! No buts Miles, do as he says...It's not like we're saying this to be cruel, but...You're a child, the chances of you getting out of this castle without detection are going to be small and all the ways I can think of are likely to be heavily guarded...Just face it Miles, you're not going to be getting your answers anytime soon." Sally said firmly, as if she was a mother scolding her disobedient child.
The fox's face fell, his ears and tails drooped and he let out a rather depressed sigh as he slumped into his seat...Feeling despair ripple through his heart; he couldn't blame them for not wanting him to leave and potentially endanger himself, but at the same time...There was just something so...Additionally soul crushing about seeing how...Dejected and defeated they sounded and acted... Princess Sally was once a joyful, kindly and rather lax woman who almost always had a warm smile on her face...And now? She was barely a shadow of the woman she once was; grief had broken her down and spat her back out again...
As for Sonic? THE Sir Sonic? He was once the bravest, noblest and most adventurous knight alive! The old him wouldn't have hesitated to try and forge together a plot to escape and bring Robotnik to justice...But now? He seemed to be akin to a broken, despair ridden old man who's prime was long behind him...And Sonic was only in his twenties! Where did all that adventuring spirit, bravery and nobility go? It was like he was little more than a lost, frightened old man now; his prime and heroic days long behind him...It wasn't exactly a betrayal...But it stung just as much, to know that not even his own damned mentor...The man who had stepped up when no other would...Wouldn't stand by him when he needed him the most...
Seeing his ward's displeasure, Sonic tried his best to comfort the young fox by placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder speaking in a soft tone to him,
"Hey...Listen Miles...I know it hurts...Believe me, I can tell...But there just isn't anything we can do at the moment...Say...If you want to, then I can go and ask some of the guards if we can have some extra time in the sparring arena or library if you'd like, eh?"
Miles felt himself brighten up a little bit at the prospect, not enough to distract him from the pain he was feeling inside but...At the very least, he could at least let out a bit of that pent up frustration...Besides...He was going to need a clear head if he was going to escape...
...
"Are you really sure about this?..."
"For the last time Cream yes! If Sonic and Sally don't want to help me with this then I'm going to have to do it myself!" Miles bluntly stated as he placed his travelling kit down upon his bed. Its contents loaded with enough food, water and basic material supplies to last him a couple of weeks in the wilderness of Acorn.
Cream's brows furrowed slightly as he turned towards her with a determined...If a little scared look on his face.
"Everything's in there, right?! I haven't forgotten anything in there have I?"
"Yep. Food, supplies, books, sentimental items...Everything you'll need for the journey other than weapons." Cream replied, hoping to put her freind's mind at ease; ever since it had turned 10PM he had been in a frenzy to pack all his stuff up as quickly and as quietly as possible...As much as he loved his life in the castle...Even with Baron Robotnik in control of it and everyone in it...His desire to find answers from his father was much greater...
Cream was the only one who had decided to help him; she had been there when he had discovered the horrible truth of his heritage and had seen just how much it had devastated the poor fox...And seen the pure heartbreak, anger and determination to hunt the truth in his eyes...She knew that there was no use in trying to stop him from leaving, so at the very least she could help him as much as she could to ensure he would be safe...For Miles was her friend and the closest thing she had to a brother...What kind of person would she be if she didn't help him?
And so, over the course of the day, she had snuck up non-perishable foods from the large larders of the Castle kitchens, breads, cheeses, dried and salted meats...Pretty much anything that would give him the energy to keep going while he packed other supplies like bandages, blankets as well as the notebook...Now all that remained to be taken was some weapons from the armoury...A Falchion and shield...
Miles twiddled his thumbs nervously as he realised just what he was going to have to do in order to get the weapons; despite how much of the castle Cream's status as a maid would allow her to have access to...The armoury was under lock and key as well as the supervision of multiple guards...It was a daunting task to say the least, however thankfully...He knew where the key lay due to Cream's knowledge...Unfortunately though, it was kept on the person of Sir Leoncour...Arguably the most dangerous combatant in the realm...
A chill wind blew the window of the bed chambers open and hit the back of the fox's neck as he moved to face the doorway out into the castle corridors...Almost as if he could feel the lips of fate itself kiss the back of his neck...A shiver ran down his spine out of fear and he could feel nausea begin to emerge in his stomach...He was scared...He knew of Sir Leoncour's fearsome reputation and here he was about to rob him in his sleep...If he woke him up...If Sir Leoncour caught him, then he was dead...
"Feeling nervous?" He heard Cream ask in a rather unserious tone...
"What? N-no! I'm just...Preparing that's all."
"Miles...You're visibly nervous. I can tell." The rabbit responded in a calm, but matter of fact tone.
"No, I'm no-"
"Yes, you are." Cream's voice was a lot more sympathetic this time around, even placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Listen Miles, I know how it feels to be intimidated too...I mean, I've been more afraid than I've ever been these past few weeks...Sir Douglas was awful and regularly beat me...But Sir Leoncour? I feel like my life is in danger every single time I'm in the same room as him...I know that you Squires are taught to never feel fear as Knights or something like that but...I don't think that's what makes somebody brave...In my opinion I think being brave is being scared but going through with something anyway and facing that fear...I mean, I'm sure even Sir Sonic has felt scared at times."
The fox turned to face her, a look of dismay present on his face,
"Hah, I doubt it...I mean...He's the greatest Knight to have ever graced the Kingdom...He has to be fearless knowing everything that he's done for the realm...I don't even think he knows what the word fear even means..." Miles murmured to himself bitterly...Envious of his mentor's seemingly limitless supply of courage.
"Oh really? Then why did he refuse to let you escape?" She responded.
Her retort stopped Miles dead in his tracks...He wasn't expecting her to come out with that! And so, he desperately tried to come up with any kind of explanation he could...
"Oh! Uhhh...Maybe he doesn't think I'm ready yet? Or...Or...Uhhhh...Maybe he-"
"He's scared for you Miles."
The fox froze in his steps...The rabbit's words piercing his heart like spikes...What if? What if she was right? What if Sonic was afraid for his safety instead of seeing him as unready? It was a troubling thought and he couldn't bring himself to answer her...Instead he merely spoke in a low voice,
"Yeah...I... I guess so...I really should get that key though...I'll be back in a minute." He said, rushing out into the hallway and not even saying another word to Cream...Wanting to distract himself from what she had just said to him...
...
The corridors of Castle Acorn at night were utterly freezing...It was a miracle that the stones below Mile's feet weren't covered in snow and ice...However, the healthy dose of fear and rising adrenaline in Miles's system kept him from feeling the full brunt of the chill...In the few minutes that he had been outside of his dorms...He had experienced two close encounters with Robotnik's men...Both of which only ended in successful evasion due to the poor visibility their closed bascinets provided...Still, he had to be careful and evade any unwanted attention...
He could see that the door of Sir Leoncour's chambers were open...With the dull orange glow of the torches from within being visible...Casting their sheen on the first handful of cobbled stones outside of the room...
Miles, sucking in a deep breath took one last look around himself; making sure there weren't any more guards around and thank Chaos there weren't...And so slowly, and ever so surely...He made his way towards the doorway into Sir Leoncour's bed chambers...
The warmth from the torches wasn't much, but compared to the outside corridors it was akin to being all nice and snuggled up in his bed, putting his mind at ease temporarily... However, it was immediately shattered by the sound of...Snoring...deep and guttural snoring...
The fox looked around a bit, seeing the spartan-esque quarters that Leoncour lived in... It certainly wasn't much to look at; the only features that were in the chambers was a large, worm-eaten wooden cupboard, a small round table with an empty mug of beer and a bed with a moth-eaten mattress and covers...And Miles could feel a chill run down his spine when he saw the almost mountainous, armoured form of Sir Leoncour resting upon it...His battered and weathered armour shining in the light of the torches like it had just been freshly polished...
Beside the sleeping giant of a Knight rested his gargantuan serrated longsword, a weapon that had been used to brutally end only Chaos knew how many lives over the course of Amadeus's most trusted weapon's career...And his would be added to that lengthy tally if he were to make a noise and wake up Sir Leoncour...
However, there was a small object that shimmered in the light, hanging from the...Warrior's thigh...Upon closer inspection, he noticed that it was the very object he had come here to steal...It was the key to the armoury...The fox felt his heartbeat's speed increase when he noticed; what he was here to collect was quite literally sitting in front of him...It felt so close and yet so far away at the same time... He needed to grab it but if he even made as much as a sound then he was going to be meeting an extremely violent demise...
However, the small fox didn't let himself be conquered by fear and sucking in a breath...He approached the sleeping monster...Much akin to a mouse sneaking past a sleeping cat suffering in the throes of hunger.
His steps were silent and his ears up high as to detect any possible noise from the corridors outside as well as inside of the chambers as he grew closer...He could hear Sir Leoncour's snoring and light shifting in his bed grow louder and louder as he drew near... when he was at a safe enough distance away from the slumbering knight...He gradually stretched out his hand towards the armoury key as it hung from his armoured thigh. The silver glinting a shining orange due to the torch flame...
However, Miles quickly had to retract his hand when Leoncour shifted with discomfort in his sleep, his snores turning to rather deep, gurgling splutters as he did so... Miles let out a rather relieved sigh at the sight...For a moment there, he thought that Sir Leoncour was about to wake up and carve into neatly into little bite sized pieces...Thankfully that wasn't the outcome at all...Instead, the Knight merely rolled onto his side...The key not shifting from its position all too much...
Then, sucking in yet another deep breath...Miles reached his hand forward...His fingers wrapping around the silver length of the key and ever so gently pulling at it; wanting to loosen it from the warrior's thigh...However the damned thing just wouldn't budge...He pulled at it numerous times...And yet the damned string keeping it attached to the knight wouldn't break...
Miles felt his blood run cold as he was hit with the realisation of what he would have to do if he wanted to receive his only chance of finding out answers to his past...And so...With yet another deep breath and tightly squeezing his eyes shut, he gave the key a very hard tug...
The sound of cloth tearing filled the room and Miles was almost sent tumbling to the floor from the force of his pull, not expecting the string to be broken that easily...However his surprise at the result was dwarfed by the sound of Sir Leoncour beginning to stir, the sound of metal shifting sounding out across the room...
Miles didn't even want to risk being in the same room as Leoncour if he woke up and so, as quick as a flash and with key in hand he darted out of the room...Not even looking behind him to see if he had indeed woken up the resting monster from his slumber... The cold wind of the corridor biting at his flesh once again...
...
It took 15 minutes for Miles to get clear of Sir Leoncour's area of the castle and down to the levels of the Castle Armoury...In that time Miles had been swift, silent and evasive of all guards and possible obstacles standing between him and his objective...He hadn't even seen the glimpse of a guard's torch in his sprint...Clearly, he must have been doing something right...Or something was waiting for him in the armoury...
He didn't have time to ponder such things however...He only needed to focus on getting inside the damned place, taking some weapons and getting out as quickly and quietly as possible...Thankfully though, it was not long before his objective was within his vision...
Standing on the other side of the wide, carved stone corridor stood a large, towering door built from solid steel...Its fame inlaid with golden runes and the old symbol of House Acorn...However there was a couple of small problems...Firstly, the door was bound by a heavy iron lock and secondly? Two guards stood side by said in front of the door with pikes in hand, ready to spear any intruder foolish enough to attempt to break in and considering the level of defence Robotnik had placed on this area...There were certainly more guards nearby...
Miles's brain was afire with ideas...Desperately searching for one way or another for him to bypass them and get inside...But damn it he couldn't find anything at all...He couldn't throw a stone to distract them as the only way they could go was forward, he couldn't call out to them and provoke a fight as others would hear them and he didn't exactly have full confidence in besting a fully trained guard.
The best hope he had...Was waiting until they inevitably were swapped out for new guards and rushing to unlock the door before they arrived...And that could take hours! It was precious time he didn't have...
He was at a crossroad of what to do...Should he fall back to his quarters and attempt to leave without any armament of any kind and risk the danger of the road being increased tenfold? Or should he conquer his fear...or his common-sense and try and pull off some stunt to get inside...The decision was a tough one to make...And as he stood in the shadows...he began to fret...
His heart began to beat harder and harder in his chest as he felt as if the weight of an entire mountain rested on his shoulders...A weight that could only be lifted with his decision...He didn't know what to do! No matter what kind of plan he tried to scrounge together...it just seemed utterly...Hopeless!
It seemed as if time itself slowed around him as he thought of what to do...Every single option he could possibly consider was flawed and ridiculous! His tails nervously span around in circles as he felt the anxiety within him grow even more...And more and more...The appendages spinning faster and faster as he grew more and more anxious...
He felt a knot grow in his stomach and a feeling like he was being lifted off of the ground...And that made him feel even worse...What with the surmounting pressure of what decision he would have to make...His limbs felt weak; his arms felt like lead...He could hear his tails spinning behind him lightly...Then he opened his eyes and he bit his lip as to not scream in terror...
He was...He was hovering in the air, his feet dangling below him and his arms splayed out, foolishly as if trying to grasp something to get a hold on...He looked around frantically...Trying to find what was causing him to do this...Why was he floating?! He then looked behind him and he noticed something...bizarre...His tails were what was allowing him to fly! The spinning of the fluffy appendages so rapid that they somehow generated lift...It was...surprising...But what was more so was that he didn't really feel his tails as they performed their most unusual of actions...And then...he realised that the sound of his spinning tails was nigh silent...And with a couple of small movements...He realised that the movement allowed by these tails was relatively large and even fast...And as he noticed some spare chunks of rock from the stone wall...He grinned as a cunning plan brewed within his young but incredible mind.