[ARCHIVED] Heart Thief

The Flower and the Prince

His arms waved back and forth at the carriage drifting away from him, his mouth busy blabbering the fake words and goodbyes he had practiced before he stepped out of his shelter to meet the prince.

Deep inside, after all they had been through today he had hoped to himself that he would do the same, grateful for everything he had done in a day. While the thief had shown him the most generous treatment, his hopes were left unanswered when he noticed that he wasn't getting the same treatment for his goodbyes.

In silence he observed the crimson black vehicle as their only source of getting ahead of their roads are the dim lights of the streetlamps by the rocky path, leaving him standing alone before vanishing in the dark. He blankly stared at the ground, his consciousness wandering to see if there was a petal of the red carnations from earlier that had fallen. He wanted to keep it to himself as a memoir. There wasn't.

He took a last look at the place before turning back to the cafe, sighing as his legs slowly walked down the road, alone with his thoughts.

✧✧✧

He pushed the wooden door open to reveal three of his friends waiting in the same room. Amy wiped the freshly washed mugs off with a hankerchief and arranged them by the counter. Cream sipping from her cup while Miles chewed an oat biscuit in front of her. The three of them became alarmed when they heard the bell chime from the entrance, their ears facing Sonic's direction.

"Welcome back, Sonic!" Cream greeted him first. Her actions stopped midway before Amy settled down at the counter to sit beside Miles. Despite the small portion of food, they enjoyed their supper. There were only light desserts and warm mint tea on the table, but it was enough to fill one's stomach especially when it's so late.

"How did it turn out?" The pink hedgehog adjusted her chair before pushing another one beside her to invite Sonic to sit with him. The thief shook his head to dismiss her request.

"Good, I guess..." He trailed off as he took a cup from the table, drinking it to the last drop. Miles asked about the way he was acting. "Did it not go according to plan?"

Sonic shook again. "No, it's nothing. Just tired."

He never thought acting to be polite would be this tiring. He could feel the corner of his cheeks hurting just from smiling, his teeth are becoming numb, and his vision has become blurry.

He nearly gave up at some point. However, he needed to remind himself that the reason why he accepted this ridiculous request was for the sake of the crown. It is exciting for him to see the solution coming from the princess he feared.

How well she will be able to pull it off if he devoted his whole life to the deal?

Because the questions irritate his brain, he convinced Amy and the others to join him. As long as it was his allies who helped him, he had no worries.

Amy hummed, nodding her head. "I understand. You tired yourselves out today, and you deserve some fresh chili dogs."

He couldn't show his excitement when the pink hedgehog said it. He could only smile when Amy stood up to get his favorite meal. His gaze turned back to Miles and Cream in front of him when she pulled the curtain to enter the kitchen.

The rabbit was the first to ask him about his day.

"I heard you had lunch with him right here. It's a shame I couldn't witness that moment when I was working in the garden."

He looked at Cream strangely. His eyebrows knitted together as he took another bite of the soaked biscuit.

"Shame? Why shame?"