Tainted Roses [Sonic x Amy]

[11] An Opportunity

Chapter 11: An Opportunity

The cover above was created by me. What do you guys think?

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Between Mobius and Iris — Roughly 17:00pm

The route from Mobius to Iris had been reduced to a wasteland following on from the war, and Amy had spent the last few hours staring at it worrisomely.

Weapons that had once belonged to now-deceased soldiers were strewn across the ash-ridden floor below like eerie monuments, and small fires still burnt sporadically. Most of the bodies of the fallen had been transported back to their families by this stage in order for them to arrange for a funeral ceremony, but a few still remained in the dirt with a thin layer of fabric covering them—a small gesture in an attempt to preserve their dignity.

Seeing the loss of both people and wildlife depressed Amy, a frown tugging at her lips as her jade eyes roved over the destruction. Internally, she vowed to never allow such chaos to happen whilst in charge of Iris.

If the people even accept me as their queen, that is, the princess reminded herself.

An armoured hand settling atop Amy's shoulder took her away from her racing thoughts. Upon turning to one side, she caught sight of Blaze—who she had not seen since the night she had vanished.

"You look well," the cat remarked with a smile, amber eyes appearing even brighter with the dark, war-stricken backdrop.

The princess beamed. "You do, too," she responded. Her repose, however, only lasted a moment or two, before a feeling of guilt came over her. "I'm sorry if I worried you..." she added sheepishly. "I shouldn't have—"

"You were a hostage, Amy, nobody could have expected you to send a letter or contact anybody in Iris."

"I was hardly held in poor conditions, though," she responded. "Queen Aleena treated me with the utmost levels of respect, more so than father had for years... and then there is Prince Sonic..." her words trailed off.

Blaze tipped her head to one side. "Go on..."

Amy remained silent for several moments as she and her group of knights continued trudging through the wasteland toward Iris. Her feelings for Prince Sonic were a bit of a mystery even to herself, so speaking about them still required thought.

"He hated me to begin with... he thought I was there undercover, and that I was going to hurt him and his family," she voiced. "But slowly, he seemed to grow to like me more... and—"

The purple cat grinned knowingly. "And you grew to like him more, correct?"

Amy turned scarlet, the blush on her cheeks even darker than the shade of her quills. "I-I... I don't... uh..."

"It's okay," Blaze said with a chortle. "To have feelings for him, that is."

"Yeah, I know," Amy replied, twiddling her gloved thumbs together. "But I have more pressing matters to worry about now, with my father being gone and all. I have to convince the people who survived this war that I am not like him."

As those words left Amy's mouth, the outline of a local inn came into view. Both herself and the knights escorting her agreed to seek respite for the evening and night ahead, knowing well that the events of the next day were uncertain and would require their full attention and action.

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Mobius Kingdom (Aleena's Quarters) — Roughly 23:00pm

"Do you think he's going to be out for much longer?"