[ARCHIVED] Heart Thief

Drunk Answers

Shadow leans against the wall with one leg raised, waiting for Maria to come out of the throne room while she speaks with Gerald. He couldn't shake the feeling that he might be punished, or that a lesson would be taught to him after what happened at the party yesterday.

Although Maria wasn't mad about it, he still thinks it is a wrong and improper thing to do. But what can he do? It's passed, and now the whole village has seen him dancing with an undercover criminal in the middle of the ballroom. Totally fine. Definitely.

He even heard that his appearance was in the newspaper just this morning, and everyone is talking about it. They had some speculations about Sonic's identity, the relationship he has with Shadow and something that might have happened between the two.

A lover? A friend? A lost partner? Three of them combined, all in the newspaper.

Were there feelings involved? Was it planned? Why must they perform when it's a chance for the prince to find his future queen? Why do they dance with such haste in their floppy steps?

Questions, questions, questions. In every corner of the castle, he could hear servants, maids, butlers and guards whispering about it as if it were a curse if they brought it to his attention.

But he chose to ignore it anyway. It would be a waste for him to think about what's done and written in history. In addition, he made sure that Sonic would never repeat such behavior.

He is grateful that he managed to distract Sonic from doing his stealing in the palace. Even when he pictured himself in front of everyone and realized how pathetic a lover he was, he embarrassed himself to no end. As long as he is satisfied with himself, he may as well do it again, if Sonic ever dares to step into the castle again. He wonders about the next role he will play if he appears again.

Thinking about it, his mind drifted to the time when he brought the thief to the room filled with his paintings. Sonic was drunk, and Shadow was waiting for his answer. What he said, and what he left unsaid and unanswered, couldn't be brushed off.

But what happened after...

He could hear the doorknob clunk behind Gerald's door. Maria stepped out of the room and bowed to her grandfather, telling him good night. She was surprised that Shadow had waited for her for so long. She's sure that he didn't hear anything that she and Gerald talked about, due to the door being soundproof.

She smiles at the hedgehog, her hand landing on his quills as she pats his head.

He asked first. "How did it turn out?"

"It worked out well. Don't worry, I already told him that Sonic is a friend of yours that you made at the start of the ceremony, nothing more."

She walks ahead as the prince trails after her, keeping up his pace.

"He's not mad?" She shakes her head.

"He's not. He's just a bit surprised that you danced with a man and didn't follow what I told you to do."

She sighs as she stops to turn back to Shadow. "And I'm not mad at you either. You can stop worrying, and I have to thank you for not ruining the party for me."

He wished he could smile back, but his mind was occupied with recent thoughts he was having. A lack of focus prevented him from responding, only nodding at the end.

Maria noticed, "What's wrong?"

Again, he shakes his head to get back to reality, realizing that he has shown too much emotion to her.

"Nothing. It's just..."

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"Have we..." He hesitated for a moment, swallowing hard. "...have we met before?"