Chapter Text
"No."
"Your Majesty, this is a matter of-"
"No."
"King Sonic-"
"I said no. I won't marry her."
King Sonic the Hedgehog of Soleanna stared down at the Council. They had called an urgent meeting of the "most urgent matters Your Majesty, of the future of this kingdom". Sonic would have blown them off were it not for the way they looked at each other when they said "future". The past two months were filled with these talks. Back and forth about the kingdom's strength and influence amongst the other kingdoms of Earth. There's been an era of peace for the last 17 years. Just small disagreements that were usually solved with a few negotiations. But recently, the Council had insisted that there will be unrest soon. Something about a few other kingdoms starting to question the legitimacy of some lineages. Sonic had waved them off. He had never cared for that stuff. Blood wasn't everything. There were many great monarchs that came from nothing, and plenty of shitty ones from supposed pure royal bloodlines. It was all bullshit.
This time, however, there was no escaping them. Two of the councilman, Zero the Jackal and Juliet the Skunk, had cornered him. They practically pushed him to the Council room, insisting the whole time that there was an urgent matter to take care of that could not wait any longer. When Sonic arrived, the rest of the Council, Alan the Wolf, Bartleby MontClair, Twila the Bat, and Gil the Hammerhead, were waiting for him. Their pinched faces told Sonic that they were displeased he left them waiting this long. Whatever.
Sonic sat at the head of the long rectangle table and groaned loudly, "What stick is up everyone's ass today?"
Gil balked. "Your Majesty, I understand you are young, but I must ask for your language for these meetings be more proper."
"Indeed," Juliet mused. "We do not wnat our leader to be seen as an uneducated commoner with no manners."
Sonic rolled his eyes. He usually was more polite during these meetings, but today his patience for these people had run out, so fuck etiquette. "I apologize for my flippant tongue. Now, can someone please tell me why you all kept calling for this meeting? What makes it so important?"
All the councilmen looked at each other. Zero, the unofficial leader, spoke first. "King Sonic, as we've informed you, there have been growing tensions with the Acorn Kingdom and the United Federation toward Soleanna about your legitimacy as king. Now, you may see this as foolishness, but the threat of an insurgence is not to be taken lightly."
"Indeed," chimed in Twila. "We may consider these kingdoms allies, but they have sent us letters and ambassadors discussing how certain people in their kingdom want to disolve the monarchy."
At Sonic's raised eyebrow, Alan explained, "Some citizens in other kingdoms have expressed displeasure at how their monarchs are running their society, so there have been calls from political groups to perhaps replace current rulers, to provide fresh new lineages."
"But no group in Soleanna has complained about this in a long time," Sonic frowned.
"Yes, but other kingdoms have not been so fortunate. So, they have proposed a way for these groups to have a harder time questioning the decisions of the monarchs."
Zero nodded. "The plan is to have all current unmarried monarchs marry only people who have royal blood. It is preferred to marry, for example, cousins and even distant relatives, but no siblings." For now. Sonic could see that thought pass Zero's eyes.
Sonic was disgusted. Marrying family members? Hell no. He didn't want to be a stereotype. He also racked through his mind trying to think of any family members of his that were left. All extended cousins were either, married, dead, or way too old to even be considered for heir. That only left his siblings, Princess Sonia and Prince Manic, but Sonic would first die than marry his own sister. Were they-?
Zero noted his pensive and horrified look. "No, it is not your sister whom you'll marry."
Sonic exhaled in relief then said confused, "Then who? I don't know anyone else who's my relative."
Bartleby spoke up at this, "This is someone who's family is a very distant relative of your family, Majesty. They once played a bigger role in Soleanna, but now there is only one member left." He paused, letting the gears in Sonic's mind turn. "That would be the Rose family."
Sonic felt the wind knocked out of him. Rose family? Meaning...Amy?!
His voice was cold when he declared, "No."
Gil stammered, "Your Majesty, this is a matter of-"
"No," Sonic repeated with more force in his tone.
Twila beseeched, "King Sonic-"
He had enough. "I said no." A strong gale rustled the papers in the room and knocked down a few chairs, causing the coucilmen to quiet. "I won't marry her."
Zero picked at his nails. "There is no other choice, Majesty. This is the only way to ensure that in the future when kingdoms want to question your legitimacy, there is no disorder."
Sonic said hurriedly, "What about...heirs? That's always a way to shut up the whole who's next in line for the throne."
Twila, Juliet, and Bartleby perked up at that. Gil hummed in thought. Alan said nothing but raised an eyebrow. They seemed to want to agree with Sonic. He pushed, "You all know I am... courting Sir Blaze the Cat. She was a princess of the kingdom Sol once. If we were to marry," Sonic had to pause at that. He was not ready for this conversation, especially not with these idiots, but he needed to try. For Amy. For Shadow. For Blaze especially. And himself. "If we were to marry, I can promise you all...we will have an heir within the year. That will make sure Soleanna is safe with 'legitimate bloodlines'." Sonic suppressed a shutter. Again, not ready for this conversation. Hell, he hadn't even talked about this with Blaze. How could he promise this without her consent? She'll understand. It'll be really uncomfortable, but she knows about all this bloodline, kingdom shit. Sonic tapped his foot as he waited for their response. Twila and Gil shared a glance, almost nodding. Juliet raised her eyebrows at Alan, who grunted hesitantly. Bartleby made a note. Almost there. Just a little push-
Then they all glanced at Zero, who was looking cooly at Sonic. He shook his head. "King Sonic, that will not work this time."
Sonic glared at Zero. What the fuck? He gritted out, "And why is that, Councilman Zero?"
"Since her kingdom is no longer...operational, a marriage with her would be no gain at all. There will be no benefits whatsoever of a union with her. No strengthening of the legitimacy of Your Majesty. Any heirs you have will only inherit the problems. And perhaps worse ones at that, considering the sustained troubles of the other kingdoms. Your children will perhaps have to face the unfortunate effect of leaving this issue unresolved."
Sonic's emerald eyes flared. He straightened his back and rose to his full height. "We can take that chance. It may not be the solution you want, Zero, but it is a viable option. We need to try."
Zero stared at his king for a moment, his posture relaxing as a small smile appeared on his scarred face. "Do you? With all the respect, King Sonic, do you want to risk everything you're forefathers have built? Do you want this kingdom to possible experience war? You know what happened last time there was a war, my king. Do you want your people to live through that?"
Fire and ash flowing in the wind. Bodies splattered with blood. Screams of agony echoing, pounding in his ears with the beat of his heart. Stumbling through broken bones and torn limbs. Until his eyes caught a familiar body. Grey-blue fur stained with crimson. Arms bent at weird angles. One leg torn apart and no where to be found. Walking around until he saw the eyes. The patient, gentle brown eyes staring at nothing.
Sonic took a sharp breath. He looked around the Council room. The rest of the councilmen shook their heads at him. They remembered that event. They didn't want that to happen ever again. No one did. Sonic's ears drooped. The injustice he felt was slowly leaving his body. Soleanna always came first. But what if there is another way? There has to be.
Zero must've noticed Sonic's relentless expression. "King Sonic, I understand this is something unexpected. We do not need an answer right now, but we have thought of every option to keep the kingdom safe. This is the best option to avoid what previously happened."
Sonic shook his head. No, that could never happen again. The Council waited for his response. Sonic looked at all of them before replying, "I'll do it. For the safety of Soleanna's future."
They all nodded and muttered their agreement. Zero looked particularly pleased. "Excellent. How shall we break the news? Wedding preparations must begin at once after all."
Sonic put up his hand to stop him. "I'll decide on that. We will not begin the preparations until I say so. Understood?" He may have agreed to their plan, but he was still their king. He commanded them, and they answered to him.
The Council nodded. "Good. Give me two weeks to tell everyone affected by this. As you all know, Amy was also being courted by Sir Shadow, so they'll need me to tell them about this change."
Twila agreed, "Yes, my king. That is for the best. We understand this is a great sacrifice you all are doing for Soleanna. We thank you for your dedication."
Alan gruffly added, "The kingdom will continue to prosper thanks to this wisdom, King Sonic. You truly are a wonderful leader."
Sure, but am I a good partner and friend?
Gil stacked his papers in a neat pile. "Well, Majesty, that was all we had to discuss with you."
"Cool. You're all dismissed then." Sonic waved his hand.
The Council made their way out of the room quietly. As Zero passed, he put a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "You did the right thing, Majesty."
Sonic let a bit of his temper out. "Sure, Zero. And no pressure from anyone right?" He placed a hand on his sword, Caliburn, strapped to his side. He walked up to Zero and hissed in his ear, "If I find another way, I will stop whatever the hell's going on with these other kingdoms. And if I find out you all knew there was another option..." Sonic chuckled darkly. "Well, that would be considered treason wouldn't it? Let's not move back to punishing traitors now."
Zero noted Caliburn but said nothing. He merely nodded and walked out the room.
Alone, Sonic finally let out a small frustrated laugh. What. The. Fuck. What was he going to do now? He rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt a breeze sweep through the room, out the balcony window into the outside world. It combed through his azure quills, beckoning him to run. Sonic always answered that calling. And he wasn't stopping today. He had to face Shadow and Amy about what will happen to them, about how they'll have to cut their love story short. He could face them, but he wasn't ready to face Blaze, his fiery love. He could already feel his heart tightening at the thought of seeing tears in her golden eyes. The breeze swept by again. Right. He'll deal with all of that. After a run.
With a huff, Sonic dashed toward the distant green hills, leaving behind the uncertainty and sadness just for a moment.