Huge thank you to Saelrum for the awesome tumblr fanart! they look so cool i love them so much !
and another huge thanks to 산호 해마 ( /devilwon000) for the wonderful twitter artwork! i absolutely adore the colors it looks absolutely amazing!
"Shh - be quiet."
"Why couldn't we go in through the other-"
"This is the only window that can be opened from the outside, now hush."
The hinges creaked as Blaze carefully pushed on the glass with a pointed foot and careful grip. Claws drawn and latched on one of the many grey tiles, the princess couldn't help but stick her tongue out in concentration.
"Got it?"
"Almost."
Face scrunching, she allowed herself to slide down ever so slightly. Her tail waved in an attempt to counterbalance as she reached and reached. Silver, crouched ready to pounce in the case she slipped, couldn't stop his fur from puffing slightly as she lowered herself even further.
"One of the maids closed it, I just gotta give it a…"
Click.
"Got it!"
Letting go of the roof, she slipped below the tiles and into the room below. Silver was quick to follow, hopping through the sill and onto the floorboards with learned balance and skill. Sensing the trouble they would be in, he turned and slammed the window shut. Adrenaline surged his system as he froze in place. Stalkers? On the wall?
"What should we do?" Blaze asked, clutching at her bag with a grim expression on her face.
The hedgehog turned, briefly pausing to look the princess in the eyes before throwing himself under the bed with determination.
"Prodigy?"
Paws waving in the air behind him, he felt around until his gear fell beneath his hands. Shoes, knife, bag… everything was there. Exactly how he left it. Shuffling backwards, he fidgeted with his belt and wound it around his waist.
"Should we call the guard?" Silver huffed, bouncing on one foot as he aggressively shoved his foot into his uncomfortably small shoe.
"I don't know - I'd assume they already know of the situation…"
Silver grunted as his tail hit the bed. Ankle wiggling and heel pushing, he laced the leather to his preference. Fingers twitching through her fur, Blaze looked left and right.
"I haven't heard the alarm though…"
"Well… hrgh… we can't just sit around and do nothing." Silver squinted, wrestling with his other shoe between animalistic growls of frustration. "I'm going to the wall."
"You can't be serious!" Blaze gasped, covering her muzzle.
"I've killed stalkers before." Silver grunted, lacing his other boot until satisfied.
"Your training isn't done and your body is not yet to it's peak form - you don't mean that you were actually serious about-"
Silver stomped his heel into place with a bang. Frowning he twisted his foot and bit his lip until finally his shoe relented under the pressure. With a huff, he tightened the sheath on his belt.
"I can't just sit around and do nothing." He stated, making eye contact with the Princess. "I'm going to the wall."
"I'm coming with you."
"What?"
"I'm coming with you." Blaze reaffirmed, standing up tall and removing the bag from her shoulder. "It's about time I saw some action for myself."
"But princess-"
"If you have seen battle and are confident in your abilities to do this, then I must test my own." She glared, removing the satin shoes from her bag and kicking the leather ones from her paws. "I've made up my mind, Silver, I'm doing this."
"As long as you let me stay close by." Silver huffed, stepping out of the way so she could use the bed to lace herself up. "If you die, then the whole world is doomed."
It did not take the two long to finish preparing to leave. Knowing the Princess was not allowed to leave the castle grounds did make things a bit complicated, but it wasn't anything Silver didn't feel he could handle. Being locked up in one place seemed miserable anyhow. Sticking his head outside the door, he looked left and right down the hall. Fortunately it did not look like anyone was roaming about.
"Ok, we're clear."
Stepping into the hallway, Silver carefully began to make his way towards the nearby stairwell. His ears twitched as he listened for the sounds of anyone moving through the echoey space. There were too many scents to properly smell the approach of anyone nearby, but at least his hearing was sharp enough.
"The maids are cleaning on the floors below." Blaze gulped, carefully walking to his side and sticking her head through the stone door. "Let's take the servant's passage down."
Turning on her heels, she began to bolt to the other side of the hall with Silver close behind. The thumps of their shoes muted against the red and gold rug as the pace quickened. Keeping close to the princess, he lightened his steps - reducing the sound slightly and with it his anxiety. Reaching to one of the candlesticks on the wall, Blaze gave the metal a tug as she jogged past - pulling it down with a collection of clicks and clunks. The wall ahead trembled before jolting. Whirs of grinding gears and spinning cogs crunched through the stone as the section peeled away to a hidden corridor between the walls.
Following her inside, Silver couldn't help but admire the mechanical metals as they wound and spun the door until it moved back to its place.
"I didn't know that was there."
"There's a whole network of these." Blaze huffed, keeping pace as the cobbled stones began to slope downwards. "It helps staff get from place to place faster - but it's not guest worthy or proper for the nobility to use outside of emergency."
Pressing a metal plate, the princess triggered the mechanisms to spin once more.
"I like to use them to avoid my mother."
Stepping to a stop, Blaze poked her head from the passage. Silver did the same, ducking below her to peer westward down the hall. At the other end, a maid swept at the polished floor - broom swaying back and forth as she happily hummed a tune.
"The next passage is beyond her." Blaze frowned. "Let's use the stairwell."
Nodding, Silver quickly ran from his place beyond the maid's sight and across the hall. Blaze was quick to follow, but tugged his arm to slow him to a walk. Straightening her back, she poised herself with her hands folded in front and head angled upwards in a royal strut.
"Act natural." She hissed, sparing him a quick glance before walking slightly ahead of him.
Silver gulped. He wasn't sure what "natural" looked like to him. Was he supposed to walk like she did? Walk like Shadow? Walk like… uh… Tone did? The hedgehog began to fret. What did his normal gait look like? How high did he pick his feet up? Did he sway his hips a bit? His boots fumbled awkwardly as he trailed behind the princess. Oh gosh there was someone coming.
Dressed in red, the koala whistled as he wandered the opposite way down the hall. The soldier was surprisingly calm for a potential wall breach. Silver couldn't stop his skin from starting to sweat as he looked the guard up and down. The peppy step, the cheerful sway, the calm eyes…
"Princess." The guard addressed politely, touching his finger to his helmet as he strolled past.
"Gardon." She nodded.
The soldier took a turn down the hall, pulling a candlestick and opening the passage they had come from. As he disappeared into the stone, Blaze dropped from her pose and bolted to the right - slipping through a small doorway and into a cramped stairway. Silver followed suit. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he chased her down the steps and into the hallway below. Her purple cloak flapped behind her, providing an easy target to follow as she slipped through another door and down another flight of stairs.
"The next passage is closeby." She huffed, voice echoing against the stone before dulling in the open air. "It's just around the corner I gotta-"
Emerging from the stairway, Silver bumped straight into the princess as she stopped short - nearly knocking her over with the weight of his body before she shoved him backwards. Stunned, the hedgehog shook his head. The question of why she had halted only lingered in his head a moment as he lifted his head level to the ground and beyond...
"What are you doing?" Shadow asked, eyes furrowing into a suspicious frown.
Silver found his mouth numb as he stared up at his mentor. The leather cloak was absent from Shadow's shoulders, leaving blood red stripes to unapologetically gleam in the candle light and his face in full view of the two. In fact, his shirt was missing too - leaving not much to the imagination as the damp hedgehog stared down at the two frozen kids with a probing squint.
"We… uh… we…." Silver stammered, unsure of what to say to convince the elder hedgehog to leave.
"Silver was going to show me a better way to block a side-kick." Blaze piped up, gulping a lump down. "I hope this doesn't bother you…"
"Is this true?" Shadow asked, confusion crossing his face clear as day as he turned his eyes to his prodigy.
"Yes - andwerealldon'thavemuchtimetogetthisdonebeforewegottagosowecan talklaterIreallycan'twastemuchtimeokayseeya!"
Silver's face was red by the time he had bolted past the elder hedgehog, through the next doorway, and down the next flight of stairs. He wasn't entirely sure how he had managed to get that much information into one word anyhow. Releasing Blaze's wrist from his hands, he gulped in a deep breath of air. He had instinctively grabbed for her hand, but her annoyed rubbing told of a grip on her forearm far harder than she was used to.
"I don't think he bought that…"
"Doesn't matter - we gotta get to the wall." Silver wheezed, smoothing his pelt down.
"Right - follow me."
Reaching for another candlestick, Blaze creaked open another passageway. Hurrying herself inside, she gestured for Silver to follow before the door closed. Their shoes echoed harshly in the tighter corridor. Shaking his head, Silver tried to ignore the harsh buzzing of several layered echoes but found his head vibrating with the waves regardless. Heavy breathing began to huff from the princess as she triggered the door with a slap of her palm.
"This one will take us to the garden overlook." She puffed, slightly winded from the running.
"I'll see how we can get over the wall."
Bolting ahead of her, Silver slipped through the opening door and into the midnight air. The hall here was decorated by a sturdy row of columns - holding the roof up with sturdy forms and graceful elegance. Seeing the gaps between, Silver merely threw himself at the nearest pillar - claws scratching against the stone as he drug himself skyward in the same manner he had grown oh so used to in the great petrified forests. Legs winding around marble, he swung his head out to survey the landscape.
Guards were everywhere. Torches casually bobbed up and down on the palace gates. Fires flickered against stone and metal - collections of officers tearing into foods and sharing laughs amongst themselves. Kegs of wine rolled through the pathways, joyfully pushed by jolly servants and greeted by cheers of half-drunken joy. Silver could only blink as he scanned his eyes across the landscape. The taps of Blaze's satin shoes sounded in his flicking ears as she walked up to the open wall.
"I was not aware of such… odd behavior during the night shift." Blaze frowned, crossing her arms in disapproval.
"I would rather they be sober." Silver sighed, sliding down the marble and touching his toes to the balcony. "It makes it easier to get out - when guards are drunk they get sooo scary."
"You think they would attack me?"
"Probably not." Silver inhaled, sucking through his teeth. "I'd probably be mistaken for a thief though."
"What do we do?"
"Let me think."
Turning from the pillar, Silver began to pace. Surely if they were spotted, they would be dragged back to the castle. Getting out of a jail cell proved no worry for a psychokinetic hedgehog like Silver, but it would certainly delay what precious time they had. Monsters on the wall would have certainly broken into the city by now, and there was no telling where they were or where they were headed. Getting past the guards might be the most difficult thing the young prodigy had done yet. But how was he going to do it? Shadow had not taught him stealth maneuvers yet.
"Do you think we could distract them?" Silver finally exhaled, stopping in his circle to face the princess.
"Yes - I think I know of a way to pull their attention."
Turning on her heel, Blaze gestured and ran down the hall. A flight of stairs greeted Silver's eyes once more and as soon as the two had cleared it, the prodigy found his feet on familiar sturdy stone. The ground floor. Creeping to a halt at the courtyard entrance, the princess gestured for Silver to stop.
"I'm very fast." She whispered, tapping one of her shoes against the carpet as she stretched herself slightly. "I think I could run out there and cause a diversion enough for us to jump the wall."
"Jump the wall?"
Blaze pointed to a ladder that stretched to the very top of the stone bulwark.
"There's a rope we can slide down up there, but I don't know exactly where it is."
"How much time can you give me to get up?"
"I'm not sure - but once they are distracted you'll have to be quick."
Silver nodded, hopping up and down with sharp exhales as anxiety began to crawl up his spine. Get up the wall. Slide down the rope. That can't be too hard. Just gotta wait for the right time…
Blaze sprung from her position- racing beyond the young hedgehog with speed previously only associated with Shadow's pace. Wind knocking quills out of place, Silver could only straighten his pelt as he watched a fire spontaneously burst from one of the wine barrels. Yelping and shouting emerged from the guards as the barrel burned brighter than any normal wood did. Blame was thrown, fingers were pointed, and discord erupted in the courtyard within the minute.
Silver bolted as fast as he could into the open air. Wine was poured onto the open flames in an attempt to extinguish it, but the alcohol only burst the flames higher. A distinct ring of metal against metal clashed through the air as several guards smacked their comrade across the helmet - yelling at him for his lack of thought. Silver grasped the rungs of the wooden ladder as the wall soldiers began shouting directions at the drunken group. Sand, towels, expletives… all were slung towards the ground troupe with increasingly harsh words.
"Hurry up!"
The blast of wind at his ankles and the stressed voice of the princess hinted Silver that she had climbed up behind him with similar speed as before.
"I'm not as fast as you!" He hissed back, already climbing as quickly as he could.
Clambering over the edge of the ladder, Silver dropped prone onto the ground and rolled himself behind a bucket. His patchy spines and lanky legs made for a very unattractive and lumpy ball, but as he was a growing hedgehog - he had to make do with what he had. Plus, being smaller than the bucket made hiding a bit easier. Though observing his surroundings not so much.
"Do you see the rope?" He asked, muffled by muscle and fur.
"What are you doing?!" Blaze puffed, voice almost scolding as she poked the snow-white hedgehog.
"I'm blending in!" He growled, flaring his spines slightly in an attempt to get her fingers off of him. "Hedgehogs can roll up, can't you?"
"Of course not!"
"Find the rope!" Silver hissed. "If you can find it, then we can get out of here faster."
An exasperated huff escaped the princess before she bolted away from the hedgehog. Hearing the direction she had left, Silver rolled himself along the wall with care not to move too quickly. A ball was one thing, but a rolling ball was another. Being careful was imperative if he was to get through this unseen.
"Over here."
Silver picked up his pace - doubling his speed before uncurling and running to the young monarch's side. The rope, unfortunately, had been coiled up with no discernable way to tether it to something. However, by the time he reached Blaze's place on the wall, she had located an abandoned pail and firmly tied it to the rope. Grunting, she wedged it around one of the crenels and gave it a testing pull before throwing it over the side of the wall.
"Okay we got it." Silver exhaled, hopping onto the stone and staring at the dangling rope. "I think I remember the way to the wall, but I can't keep up with your speed."
"I'll just follow you." Blaze nodded, hopping onto the wall and holding tightly onto the dangling rope. "Once we're down on the ground you'll lead the way."
With a final nod, she jumped - grasping the rope and slowing her descent with as much grace as a princess could muster.
I've noticed a lot of people offering to do concept art for my fic
yes i know 90% of them are bots but just to make things absolutely clear - i actually do my own art for this fic!
all concept art pages can be found on A03 on chapters 33,63, and 96 respectively
there is a bonus art on 101 of some of the prodigy designs, but i still want to make it known that i do my own art
that being said, if you want to make art of my fic anyways absolutely go for it! i love seeing fanart of the guys and i will absolutely give you a callout/signal boost if you post it
granted i find it of course, but if i do find it - your name will be splattered on this fic forever
Behold: the collection of currently available fanart
Devilwon000: /devilwon000/status/1889619927369134269a
Saelrum: saelrum/774765491741933568/no-one-said-that-raising-a-future-world-saviour?source=share
Novakonikpl: novakonikpl/774150086846562304?source=share
YokaiShinari: yokaishinari/730900014932639744?source=share
PipeCleanerAdventures: pipecleaneradventures/725145343225954304?source=share
pipecleaneradventures/724875044674813952?source=share
L3m0nle4f: l3m0nle4f/725007186849333248?source=share
LimonTagates: limon-tagetes/718446473956687873?source=share
Meemoomoos: meemoomoos/705557506724954112?source=share
meemoomoos/705719349910126592?source=share
meemoomoos/717845686449831936?source=share
SilverPsychic: /shorts/jUNin8so3DY?si=XgObiNJyPKT2lvQa
/shorts/LM30ZryfV9M?si=kekFBMj6TGRDtpAm
Fifthinasense: fifthinasense/718151489505361920?source=share
please check all of them out if you can! and thank you everyone for the fanart - its about time i addressed it all here!
(most of the fanart sharing and link posting is on A03 - i havent gotten around to putting it here i claim dishonor on myself)