Chapter Text
The countryside that had passed their window for however long was only just beginning to fade into a cityscape, dirt road giving way to cobblestone, little houses appearing on either side. Houses very different from what Knuckles had ever seen. Shadow had called the echidna houses ‘huts’, and looking at the giant, bricked buildings that were merely the outskirts of the hedgehog kingdom, he could see how the echidna village had seemed so… uninspiring to him. The houses were huge, the windows had panes of glass in them, and the doorways had rectangular slabs of wood in them. Knuckles almost lunged for the carriage window to look outside more, but remembered (at the last second) that Shadow had chosen his arm to fall asleep on.
He turned his head and smiled fondly at his husband. In sleep, Shadow appeared so peaceful – there were no worry lines, his almost permanent frown had faded into a content expression and, most importantly, the slew of panic attacks he had been having the whole journey was nowhere to be found. Whilst he was asleep, he was avoiding the stress. Knuckles would like to keep it that way.
He had only seen briefly into Shadow’s mind when the Master Emerald had granted it, but it was enough to see how much Shadow hated his life and how afraid of returning he was. And how much he loved him. Shadow’s love for him had taken him aback – he had known he loved him when he told him so, but his love was deeper than an ocean trench, seeming to go to the core of his being. It was flattering, and Knuckles only hoped his love could match that.
Shadow stirred in his sleep, twitching and curling his arm around Knuckles’s, a small ‘v’ of stress appearing between his eyebrows. Knuckles gently prodded it with his index, and massaged it. Shadow flicked his head, still asleep, but Knuckles only moved his finger when the ‘v’ smoothed out.
He wouldn’t wake him yet – the stress that evaded him in sleep would only assault him in his waking moments. Best to avoid it until necessary. “How far are we from the palace?” Knuckles quietly asked the driver.
“I can’t understand you,” the driver said curtly. “Speak up.”
Well, how rude, Knuckles thought, but didn’t voice them. He hadn’t particularly noticed the hedgehog being rude to him before, and he wondered if it was because Shadow was around or because he was still (technically) learning the common tongue. No, if the driver had said anything rude to him, Shadow would have said something – of this he was certain. “The palace,” Knuckles said slowly and clearly. “How far are we?”
“An hour,” the driver responded, clenching his jaw and focusing on the cobblestone road ahead.
“Thank you,” Knuckles said, but the driver didn’t respond, and Knuckles didn’t want to entertain his impoliteness anyway.
Instead, he tilted his head to look out of the window again. Now they were officially in the village (no, city, Knuckles corrected), some of the houses were giving way to little shops. He spied a tea shop, a marketplace and a flower shop. “Can we stop?” Knuckles said suddenly and clearly, not allowing room to be ‘misheard’.
“Queen Bernadette insists that –“
“I understand,” Knuckles said. “But I would like to take some flowers to my mother-in-law.” He tilted his head. “I am sure she would not object to receiving them.”
The driver pursued his lips, clearly not happy with Knuckles’s request, but he pulled at the reins of the horse and they clopped to a stop. Knuckles had half a mind to lecture the driver on the importance of manners, but he bit his lip, remembering what his mother told him. “Always be polite to someone even if they are not to you,” she used to tell him. “It makes them appear to be fools and you a gentleman.” A sharp sting of homesickness gripped him. He gently eased Shadow to lean against the carriage window, and hopped out.
The flower shop (there was a particular word for this sort of shop, but he couldn’t remember it) was beautiful, decorated in an assortment of floral life, some he recognised and some he didn’t. The scent of some of the flowers wafted to him, and he inhaled deeply. What would Bernadette like? He didn’t know anything about her, except the first impression he had gotten from her, which was not favourable. He didn’t appreciate the way she looked down on his mother, nor the way she spoke to them. The account he had received from Shadow wasn’t exactly promising, either. What would his mother like? Well that was easy. Her favourite flower was a passion flower.
The passion flower was linked to the goddess of love, Aionia, who, in turn, was linked heavily to the divine feminine. Aionia was Lara-Le’s favourite god, and some of the echidnas used to whisper that Lara-Le was Aionia’s child, for she was almost exactly like the goddess herself. Anyway, the main point was that Lara-Le’s love for Aionia extended to the goddess’s signature flower and if Knuckles were to give her a flower, it would be a bouquet of passion flowers.
“Hello,” a smiling hedgehog said, emerging from the shop. He was pink, and adorned with flowers, from a flower crown to a shirt with flower patterns on them. “Can I help you?” He balked at the sight of Knuckles, gasping. “Oh my, you’re the echidna prince!”
“It is nice to meet you,” Knuckles said, holding out his hand for a handshake (Lara-Le had told him that was a common greeting for hedgehogs). “I am Knuckles.”
“N-nice to meet you,” the hedgehog stammered, taking Knuckles’s hand and shaking it. Knuckles smiled warmly, hoping it put the trembling hedgehog at ease. “C-can I get you anything?”
“Do you collect passion flowers?” Knuckles asked. He couldn’t see any on the store front. The only flower he recognised was orchids. “I would like some.” He paused. “And I would also like some roses, but not together, please.”
“Of course,” the hedgehog said. “One moment, please.”
He quickly ducked back into the shop, and Knuckles looked around with interest. The hedgehogs walking were staring at him boldly. Once again he was struck with the urge to tell them staring was rude, but again, the memory of Lara-Le’s manners lesson reminded him it was better to be polite in these types of situations. “Hello!” a tinny little voice said, and Knuckles looked down at an adorable hoglet. Like puggles, she hadn’t grown all of her spines yet, and even some of her fur hadn’t grown through, revealing soft pink skin in patches. “You look funny!”
Knuckles couldn’t help but smile. He had always like kids. “I suppose I do,” he said, crouching to her eye level so as not to intimidate her. “What is your name?”
“Sophie!” she said proudly, puffing her chest. “My dad is deaf.”
Knuckles paused, unsure what to do with that information, before he burst out laughing, which made the little girl also laugh, before she turned and ran off, giggling to herself. “Sorry for making you wait,” the flower hedgehog said, coming out of the shop with two massive bouquets.
“They are beautiful,” Knuckles said approvingly, gazing at the bouquets. The flower man had gone out of his way to make them lovely. The passion flowers were combined with pentas bunches and lilies, with each flower being a different, complimentary colour (white passion flowers with pink pentas and teal orchids). The rose, on the other hand, was clearly the centrepiece. Red roses took the foreground, whilst among them nestled small springs of lavender, bunches of baby’s breath and single strands of hydrangeas. “Your hard work is clear.”
The hedgehog smiled at the compliment, any trance of his earlier nervousness gone. “I hope you have something to pay him with,” the driver said curtly, and Knuckles felt his cheeks heating up. He had forgotten that hedgehogs traded little gold and silver trinkets for almost everything. He had none, and he doubted Shadow had any, either.
“Oh, no,” the flower man said, shaking his head and smiling. “This is on me. I insist.”
He held out the flowers expectantly and Knuckles gently took them, cradling them like babies. “I shall return with your payment,” Knuckles promised. “It is only fair.”
“There’s no need,” the flower man said kindly. “Just put in a good word for Casey’s Florist.” He winked and turned back into the shop, disappearing inside.
Knuckles smiled, and stored the name ‘Casey’s Florist’ in the back of his memory. He gave a quick nod to the driver and climbed back in.
Thankfully, Shadow was still asleep, breathing evenly. Knuckles lovingly laid the bouquets on the seat opposite as the carriage lurched back into action and gently pulled Shadow back onto him, into his lap. He liked the warmth Shadow brought. Once, he had preferred to sleep alone, but now he couldn’t sleep well without Shadow’s body heat beside him. Shadow stirred slightly, but eased back into his rest, snuggling against Knuckles’s lap.
In the dim lighting, he looked like a shadow instead of a hedgehog, and Knuckles reached out to stroke his dark quills, the red highlights catching the what little light shone in. He was beautiful. It was like the gods had come down and left him on the earth. And he was married to him. Who ever thought he would get so lucky?
He gazed out of the window, gently playing with Shadow’s quills. Time passed with him playing with Shadow’s spines, feeling little tendrils of anxiety slivering inside him the closer he got to the palace. Eventually, when he looked out the window, he could see the grandeur of the castle. Made of white marble, the sun glinted off gemstones set in the work that he was too far away to see. It stood at an impressive height and he wondered how he would navigate the massive monument.
As if sensing the impending arrival, Shadow stirred and opened his eyes. “Good morning,” Knuckles said softly, stroking Shadow’s quills lovingly. “Did you sleep well?”
“I wish I was still asleep,” Shadow groaned, sitting himself up only to lean against Knuckles. “What’s with the flowers?”
“Oh, yes,” Knuckles said, leaning forward and scooping up the rose bouquet, holding it out to Shadow as if it was precious. “It is for you.”
“They’re beautiful,” Shadow said, his lips twitching. Knuckles had come to recognise this as Shadow’s way of trying to smile – he smiled so rarely that they were treasures, but Knuckles had learnt that the twitching lips was a sure sign of his pleasure. “Thank you.”
“You like them,” Knuckles said, and it wasn’t a question.
“I do,” Shadow confirmed, and his lips twitched uncertainly before breaking into a closed-mouth smile. “What about the others?”
“I thought that perhaps I might make a better impression on your mother,” Knuckles said cautiously, knowing how Shadow felt about the woman. “I hope that my being nice to her will stop her from hurting you.” Shadow’s lips pursed, and Knuckles couldn’t read his expression. Disappointment? Anger? Hurt? “What are you thinking?”
Shadow relaxed his pursed lips, and looked up at Knuckles with his beautiful crimson eyes. “I’m thinking,” Shadow hesitated, “that it’s a lovely thought, but it won’t work.”
“It probably will not,” Knuckles agreed, gently taking Shadow’s hand in his. “But I will still try.”
Shadow’s lips twitched again, and Knuckles smiled back, leaning forward to gently nuzzle his forehead against Shadow’s. The carriage lurched to a stop and Shadow heaved a sigh, squeezing Knuckles’s hand for comfort. The driver swung the door on Knuckles’s side open, and he stepped out into a grand entrance.
In front of him was a white stone fountain with three layers, and a naked man stood on the top with his arms spread wide and welcoming. The water flowed from the top, to the middle, to the bottom and lights inlaid in the foundation made the water appear to glow like gold. Past the fountain, the grand entrance of the castle stood. It was an archway with angels carved into the marblework, and a gate made from black metal and gold inlays barred the way to the public. Behind them, gates of the same fashion closed, sealing the palace from the rest of the kingdom. The rest of the grounds had beautiful cobblestone pathways, with small lanterns skewered in the ground to light the way in the dark, and grass to fill the area. Little hedges were dotted in perfectly spaced pots to give a little more life to the grounds. “Woah,” Knuckles exhaled, for he had never seen anything so big and magnificent in his life.
A young hedgehog woman in a black-and-white dress who Knuckles hadn’t noticed stepped forward and curtseyed to them politely. “Can you put these in my room in a vase, please?” Shadow said to her, holding out his flowers.
She curtseyed again, took them and dashed off to perform her task. “Who was she?” Knuckles asked, wondering how many names he would need to learn for a place this big.
“One of the maids,” Shadow said. “If you need anything, look for someone in a similar dress or a suit. Maid dresses for women, suits for men.”
“You do not know her name?” Knuckles said, trying to hide the shock in his voice. He knew his village was considerably smaller than this place, but he thought it was only polite to learn the names of all of the people.
“No,” Shadow said. “We employ so many that it’s hard to keep track of them all.”
Knuckles nodded, though he didn’t understand. He made a mental note to find the young maid and ask for her name. “SHADOW!” a voice shouted loudly, and Shadow let out a loud sigh.
A blue blur collided with the black hedgehog, but Shadow was tensed and ready for the impact, barely swaying. He stood stiff and rigid as the handsome blue hedgehog that was embracing him. This hedgehog wasn’t a maid (or was there a different term for men – that seemed to be a trend in the hedgehog kingdom), because he wore a long-sleeved suit that almost reached his knees, inlaid with golden twine in swirling patterns, which seemed a more royal expression. Was he another member of royalty?
Shadow looked quite uncomfortable at his touch, and Knuckles wondered for a moment if he should pull the hedgehog off of him. “You idiot!” the blue hedgehog snapped sharply, pulling away and shaking Shadow roughly. Knuckles stepped forward, feeling a surge of annoyance at the rough handling of his husband, but Shadow shook his head slightly, and Knuckles paused, slightly confused. “First you get pneumonia and almost die. Then you almost get eaten by a jaguar… and almost die again!”
“But I didn’t die,” Shadow pointed out, his voice devoid of any emotion. “So get off me.”
“Sorry for being worried,” the blue hedgehog said, releasing his grip but slinging an arm around his shoulder. The hedgehog’s green eyes landed on Knuckles and he grinned widely, his face so happy and carefree that Knuckles couldn’t help but smile back. “You must be Knuckles! Nice to meet you!” The hedgehog stuck his gloved hand out and Knuckles shook it. His grip was firm and felt strange with cloth covering his hands. “Shadow, introduce us!”
Shadow sighed, and rolled his eyes. “Knuckles, this is Sonic,” he said, gesturing dismissively at the hedgehog. “Sonic, Knuckles.”
“Amy told me about you,” Sonic said, grinning wider (if that was even possible). “Thank you for taking care of my brother.”
“Brother?” Knuckles repeated, feeling his jaw drop open in shock.
“Shadow didn’t tell you?” Sonic tilted his head. “How rude!”
“I… knew he had a brother,” Knuckles volunteered. He could remember Shadow mentioning a brother, but he always seemed cagey when talking about his family and Knuckles didn’t want to pressure him. Even looking at them straight on, Knuckles was struggling to find similarities between the two. Their fur colour, eye colour, spine shape and even their eye shape didn’t match up. Shadow had his red patterns, Sonic had none that Knuckles could see. In fact, the only thing remotely similar was their body shape – they were both roughly the same height and build. Nothing else about them was remotely similar. How could they possibly be related?
“He’s my half-brother,” Shadow said, shrugging Sonic’s arm from his shoulder. “Same mother, different father.”
“I see,” Knuckles said, though he didn’t really see. It would take some time to get used to hedgehog dynamics (I mean, what reasonable beings would go outside of their monogamous commitments? It seemed irrational to him).
“Anyway, you missed some good news,” Sonic said, smirking. “I proposed to Amy. She said yes.”
“Funny, I didn’t know Amy wanted to be unhappy,” Shadow said, and even though his tone was not joking, Sonic laughed loudly.
“In all seriousness,” Sonic said, suddenly becoming very serious indeed. “It’s good to have you back.”
Shadow said nothing, his eyebrows furling into the ‘v’ again. Knuckles wondered why. Shouldn’t he be happy to hear he had been missed by someone? He would have to ask later. “You’re late,” another voice said, and Shadow instantly stiffened.
Knuckles reached out to take his hand and comfort him, but he jerked his hand away, and Knuckles recoiled, trying not to feel hurt at the obvious rejection. He turned instead to his mother-in-law and bowed courteously. “It is a pleasure to see you again,” he said politely. She looked how he remembered – a large, intimidating woman with indigo fur, a tuft of blonde on her forehead and piercing blue eyes. She was quite a beautiful lady, but her constant look of disdain subtracted from said beauty.
She wrinkled her nose at him, but pretended he hadn’t noticed. “Welcome,” she said stiffly, and turned her gaze to Shadow, who seemed to shrink beneath it. “You’re late. Why?”
Before Shadow could speak, Knuckles interrupted, “My fault, my lady. I stopped to bring you some flowers.” He quickly turned back into the carriage, scooping up the bouquet of passion flowers and holding them out delicately for her.
She looked down at them for a long time, not making a move. “I have gardeners to fetch me flowers,” she said finally, and Knuckles slowly withdrew the flowers closer to his chest.
“My apologies,” he said, keeping his voice a steady tone. He would not let her intimidate him.
She flicked her head, her blonde tuft of hair flipping out of her eyes. “Well, thanks to your little pit stop, we are behind schedule,” she said. “You’ll be bathed and made to look presentable, then we will have tea and begin the wedding.” She shot a withering glare at Shadow. “Stop frowning, Shadow. It makes you look old.”
His ‘v’ instantly disappeared, but it only made him appear more apathetic now. “Mother,” Sonic said boldly, clearly unafraid of her. “I was hoping to talk to Shadow alone.”
“Later,” she said dismissively, waving her hand at him. “Go and prepare.”
“Yes, Mother,” Shadow said, but Sonic said nothing, merely frowned at his mother. She didn’t scold him for frowning, and Knuckles felt a shiver of hatred run up his spine.
With that said, she turned on her heel and strode off. “Bitch,” Sonic said disdainfully, and Shadow elbowed him sharply. “What? It’s true!”
A group of hedgehogs (all in either maid dresses or butler suits) approached and bowed to them. “Welcome,” a butler said politely to Knuckles. “We’ll be taking care of you and getting you ready.”
“Thank you,” Knuckles said. He turned to Shadow, smiling, hoping it would rise his spirits a little. “Shall we?”
“Oh, no,” the butler said. “You’ll be doing it separately.”
Knuckles felt his heart give a little jump. He was going to be alone? In a foreign place? “There must be a way we can stay together,” Shadow chimed in, and the authority radiated off of him. “If you were someplace new, you’d rather stay with someone familiar, right?”
“I understand, your Highness, but the queen –“
“The queen is my concern,” Shadow interrupted, and his eyes were hard and unrelenting. Knuckles felt a surge of affection for him (and a tingle of something he would rather not describe). “We’ll get ready together.”
The butler looked like he wanted to say something, but evidently thought it was not a battle worth fighting. “Would you like to be separate for bathing, at least?” he said instead.
“No,” Shadow said. “I don’t object, anyway. Do you?” He tilted his head to Knuckles.
“Of course not,” Knuckles said quietly.
Sonic wolf-whistled, which earned him a harsh jab in the ribs. The butler turned and began to walk away, letting Shadow and Knuckles follow him, leaving Sonic behind. Knuckles followed, trying to form a map of the castle and its grounds in his head, but he gave up quickly, finding all the halls looked the same to him. As they walked, Knuckles felt Shadow’s hand slip between his, and he squeezed it, his skin lighting on fire at the touch. He loved how Shadow’s touch made him feel. He craved it.
They walked a long time until the butlers pushed a huge set of double doors open to reveal a huge hole set in the floor, but it looked more like a lake. One side ended at the wall, where little gargoyle heads ‘spat’ water into it. A maid bowed as they entered, and twisted a couple of knobs on the walls. With each twist, something amazing happened. One made lights in the tiled walls of the hole light up in a multitude of colours, one made bubbles start to spout from the tiled floor, and one sent out a wave of beautiful scents, like lavender. “What is this?” Knuckles asked, astonished.
“It’s a bath,” Shadow said.
“It’s huge,” Knuckles said.
Shadow’s lips twitched. “Would you like to hop in, sire?” a maid said to Knuckles, gesturing at the bath. Unlike the other maids Knuckles had seen, she didn’t wear the classic maid dress. Instead, she wore a huge apron over a longer version of the dress. Knuckles hesitated, never having seen a bath before, and turned his head. Shadow was already stepping into the water. He sunk to his knees and then took a seat on a little ledge at the edge. Knuckles took a deep breath and put his foot in the water, instantly flinching away. It was hot, and he could feel his skin tingling. “Are you alright?”
“Yes,” Knuckles said, gritting his teeth. “It is very hot.”
“I can adjust the temperature for you,” the maid said. “Your Highness, do you mind?”
“Not at all,” Shadow said. “We can make it warmer once he’s in.”
The maid curtseyed and strode over to the knobs on the wall, twiddling with one before coming back over to Knuckles. “Try it now, sire,” she said.
Knuckles hesitated a moment again, but touched the surface with his fingertips. It was pleasantly cool. He slid in, sitting down on the ledge beside Shadow. “Better?” Shadow said.
“Much,” Knuckles said. A jet on his back slowly seeped warmer water into the tub until the water was warm, but not uncomfortable.
It didn’t take long before the water became a brown colour, from both Shadow and Knuckles. The maid gently scooped up the water and doused their heads until they were thoroughly soaked. “Please get out,” she said when she was done, and they obeyed. A knob on the wall was turned and the water was drained from the tub.
Another maid appeared, and the first maid gently took Knuckles’s hand and guided him to the side of the room, where there was a soft bed and a lot of bottles. “Would you like to lay down?” she asked.
Knuckles nodded and laid on his back. “What is your name?” he asked, as he watched her sling a fluffy towel across her shoulder, and begin to lather her hands in bubbly liquids that foamed when she rubbed them.
“Hope, sire,” she said. “Can I ask why?”
“I just think it is polite to know names,” Knuckles said, as she gently rubbed her hands over his legs. Whatever she had in her hands was slick and slightly oily, and foamed the more she rubbed. “Especially considering you are helping me.”
“That’s very kind, sire,” she said, smiling softly.
She scrubbed at him, applying all kinds of lotions and products until he was foamy, then she continued to scrub at him until the foam was brown. When it was brown, she rinsed him off with a bucket of water, and continued again and again until the foam became white instead of brown. She did the same when he rolled over onto his stomach. “Do you feel clean, sire?” Hope asked.
He did not, in fact, feel clean. He felt very, very naked. He hadn’t realised how dirty he had been (he had always thought a bath in the lake once a week was adequate enough to clean him), but now that all the dirt and grime had been striped from him, he felt like he was missing his suit of armour. “Yes,” he said instead, not wanting to hurt her feelings.
“That’s good,” she said, and smiled. “His Highness is done, too. Would you like to soak for a bit?”
Knuckles tilted his head to see Shadow was lounging in the bath, his eyes closed and head tilted back to face the ceiling. He looked so sleek and shiny. It sent shivers down Knuckles’s spine. “I would like that,” he said. Hope curtseyed and walked out of the room.
Now Knuckles was alone with Shadow. He strode quickly to the bath and sunk in to sit beside him, not even noticing how warm the water was. Shadow opened his eyes as he felt the water stir, and his lips twitched. “Feel better?” he asked.
“No,” Knuckles admitted. “I feel naked.”
“Have you seen yourself?” Shadow said, turning so he was facing him completely. “You’re glowing.”
Knuckles held his arm out and saw, with a start, that he was right. He always assumed he was a scarlet red, but looking at his newly-cleaned fur, he was more akin to a rose. He could only imagine how disgusted Shadow must feel, to have been laid next to this scruffy thing for weeks on end. “I apologise for being so dirty,” Knuckles said, his muzzle heating up in embarrassment.
“I never noticed,” Shadow said, and his arms curled around Knuckles’s neck, their faces inches apart. “But I think you look very handsome now, you know.”
Knuckles’s cheeks heated up even more, and he saw that Shadow’s lips were twitching even more now. “What happens now?” he whispered, reaching up and rubbing his thumb across Shadow’s lower lip.
“We suffer through tea,” Shadow said, “we get married again, and then we go to bed.” It sounded like a great plan to him. “I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?” Knuckles asked, pausing his examination of Shadow’s lip to instead gaze into his beautiful ruby eyes.
“For shaking you away when my mother was looking,” Shadow said, guilt swimming in his eyes. “It’s not much of an excuse, but I don’t want her to know how happy I am.”
“It is okay,” Knuckles said, because it was. He had underestimated how badly the queen’s actions had affected Shadow, but it was clear she hated him. If she did see how happy Shadow was, she would go out of her way to make him miserable. “However, I am here with you now. I will not let her upset you.”
Shadow’s muzzle turned a soft shade of red, and Knuckles smiled at that. He could still make him blush. “You’re a good man, Knuckles,” the hedgehog said, and leaned forward, kissing him.
Every time they kissed, Knuckles forgot where they were and who he was. It felt like the first time, every time. Every nerve danced at the sensation, pleasure burbled inside of his stomach, and all he could taste was the soft silk that was Shadow. He closed his eyes, letting his other senses take control. His hands curved up the dip in Shadow’s spine, feeling Shadow arch into him at his touch. One of Shadow’s hands cupped his neck, keeping him close, and the other lightly traced the scar on his chest from the jaguar attack. Shadow pulled away and Knuckles opened his mouth to protest, but the hedgehog merely leaned down to kiss it gently, his soft lips tickling him. “Does it still hurt?” he whispered, his breath tingling and warm.
“Not at all,” Knuckles said, his breath hitching in his throat.
Shadow hummed, kissing it. Knuckles slid his fingers under Shadow’s chin and lifted his head up, kissing him. Shadow groaned against his lips and wrapped his arms around Knuckles’s neck. They pulled away and Knuckles traced his fingers along the scar on Shadow’s back. “Does yours still hurt?” Knuckles asked.
“No,” Shadow said. “Not a bit.”
Knuckles smiled and Shadow’s lips twitched. “Tea, wedding, bed,” Shadow said, brushing a droplet of sweat from Knuckles’s brow. “It won’t be that hard.”
“I will do the best I can to put you at ease,” Knuckles promised.
Shadow hummed, resting his head on Knuckles’s shoulder. Knuckles didn’t want to leave, wanted to stay with him forever with only themselves. But all dreams eventually end.
Knuckles quickly found that Hope was a very gentle soul regarding her job. Now that they were clean, two butlers shrugged bathrobes on them and led them deep into the castle. Once again, Knuckles tried to form a map in his head, but gave up just as quickly as before. “How many rooms does this place hold?” Knuckles asked.
One of the butlers sniggered, though he couldn’t figure out why. Was it the accent, perhaps? “775,” Shadow said. “Including 52 guest rooms, 188 staff quarters, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. Our kitchens are all linked up in one way or another, and our bedrooms are completely separate from everything else.” Shadow’s lips twitched. “Mine’s right across from the library. Sonic doesn’t have a lot of culture in his life, so his is across from the gym. We also have a cinema, a ballroom and quite a lot of meeting rooms. 19, I think.”
Knuckles’s head reeled from the information. There was no way he was going to map this place out. He would have to use the maids and butlers as guides.
They walked on and on until finally they reached a wide hallway which looked slightly different. A huge window set against the wall, looking outside, was dyed in a beautiful pattern that looked like a boat on a lake. He spotted a set of double doors in a darker type of wood compared to the other doors, with a wood plaque set into it. He felt his face heat up at the squiggles on it, which he knew were words, but he couldn’t read them. How embarrassing. He was married to someone who loved reading when he, himself, could not do so. A little past that set of doors was a much smaller double doorway, which the butlers pushed open and Shadow led him through.
A huge canopy bed stood proudly at the back wall, centre standing; the bedding was a rich cream with gold swirls, contrasting with the canopy drapes, which were navy silk and satins, also accompanied in golden patterns. On either side of the bed were two huge chest and drawers, but only one was ‘in use’; it held a book close to the bed, a lace spread and a framed picture. Further to the front of the room sat a tea table with a loveseat, already adorned with a three-tier pastry display and a tea set for two. The left side of the room had a fireplace inlaid into the centre of the wall, which also held picture frames on the top, with a bookcase on one side and a set of double doors on the other. Meanwhile, the right wall held three arched windows and was open into the city and front garden. This room alone was as big as (if not bigger) than the echidna’s village centre.
Knuckles gaped at the space in awe, not noticing until he stumbled that the door had a little step that they had to use to get down to the room itself. His feet sunk into a soft rug that must’ve been rabbit fur, because nothing was this soft except rabbits. “We can take it from here, thank you,” Shadow said to the butlers. They bowed and closed the doors behind them, leaving Shadow and Knuckles alone. “Overwhelmed?”
“It is magnificent,” Knuckles exhaled, gazing around at everything, noticing now that there were framed photographs and artworks on the wall, and a map of the hedgehog kingdom.
Shadow’s lips twitched. “The wardrobe’s there,” he said, pointing at the set of doors next to the fireplace. “It’s a walk-in. But we have time.”
The hedgehog strode to his tea table and sat down at one of the plush chairs, folding his hands on his laps and watching Knuckles. Knuckles blushed and hurried to take the other seat, taking a moment to notice that the maid had put Shadow’s bouquet into a vase on the table. “You can have whatever you like,” Shadow said, taking the china teapot to pour a generous amount of milk tea into his cup, and then Knuckles’s. “Just don’t eat too much.”
Knuckles looked over the pastries on the triple-tier plates. He remembered that when he was told he was going to marry Shadow, he had insisted on receiving a picture book of hedgehog… things. There had been a chapter containing nothing but food, and his mother had sat with him and pointed out there names to him. He could see now Battenberg cake, fruit scones (decorated with whipped cream and fresh strawberries), what looked like bread and butter pudding (though he couldn’t be sure), little bowls of sticky toffee pudding and slices of banana-toffee pie (his mother had used a particular word for it but he couldn’t remember it). It all looked so delicious and his mouth watered, but he hesitated, for he didn’t know what to try first.
“Oh, good, they left some,” Shadow said, and picked up a solid block coloured like the earth. He held it up to Knuckles. “Open your mouth.” Knuckles obeyed and Shadow gently set the slab on his tongue. Flavour invaded his senses, a wonderful rush of creamy sweetness. He bit down hurriedly, feeling it melt against the heat of his mouth. “Do you like it?”
Knuckles nodded vigorously, moaning at the taste. “What is it?”
“Chocolate,” Shadow said. “You said you wanted to try some when you got here, so I asked the maids to leave some.” His lips twitched upward into a smile and Knuckles’s heart fluttered at the sight. “Better than grapes?”
“Nothing is better than grapes,” Knuckles said confidently. Though this chocolate was definitely a close second.
Shadow’s lips twitched a little higher and he picked up his teacup, sipping. Knuckles took the moment to gaze around the room at the pictures.
One of them was an oil painting of Shadow and his family. Queen Bernadette sat on an unseen chair in the centre, her gaze as stern as always. A toddler Sonic sat on her lap, smiling a gap-toothed grin, a chubby little fist gripping the corner of a younger Shadow’s suit corner. Behind Bernadette and to her right, one hand on her shoulder, stood what must be the king, Shadow’s stepfather. He was just a stern as Bernadette, except a meaner glint in his eyes as compared to her cunning. He looked almost exactly like Sonic, except his eyes were beadier and his fur a lighter shade of blue. And standing off to Bernadette’s left, almost completely apart, except for Sonic’s hand holding onto him, was Shadow. His hands were held behind his back, his posture stiff and proper.
Another was a picture of Shadow and a terrifying-looking thing that Knuckles couldn’t even place, species-wise. He had massive outward-facing horns and wore a robe. His great hands were set on Shadow’s shoulders, and even though Shadow was still tense and stiff, he was significantly more relaxed.
Another was a picture of a young Shadow reading a book whilst a toddler Sonic, sat in his lap, played with toy animals on the floor.
But most were of a young human girl with flowing honey hair, always smiling; a photo of her holding up a medal, a photo of her in a puffy blue ballgown, a photo of her reading and sipping tea, a photo of her looking back at whoever took the picture and laughing, her eyes closed at the joy. The photo on Shadow’s bedside was obviously his favourite – the young girl, smiling, with a rabbit in her lap, and Shadow at her side, trying in vain to feed it a carrot. So this must be Maria.
“She is beautiful,” Knuckles said.
“She was,” Shadow said, a small glint of sadness in his eyes. Knuckles reached over and took his hand, squeezing it softly. Shadow’s lips twitched at his touch. “I think she would’ve loved you.”
“May I see her resting place one day?” Knuckles asked softly. “I would like to… ask for her blessing.”
Shadow blinked. He did that sometimes when Knuckles said something that might be a little out of place for hedgehogs. He didn’t mind much – sometimes Shadow said things that didn’t make much sense to Knuckles either. “She’s dead, Knuckles,” Shadow said.
“I know,” Knuckles said. “But I want her to know, wherever she is, that I will take care of you.”
Shadow’s cheeks turned red and he hurriedly stuffed a bit of bread and butter pudding into his mouth. Knuckles smiled and raised Shadow’s hand to his lips, kissing his knuckles. Shadow swallowed hurriedly, and exhaled, “I want a picture with you. On the wall.”
“Then it shall be done,” Knuckles promised. If that was what his husband desired, it would be done.
Knuckles rolled his shoulders back, his posture straightening. Following their snacks, both he and Shadow had curled up onto the loveseat and stayed there, entwined, until a butler knocked, letting them know dinner had been cancelled and the wedding would be moved forward.
A maid had entered, led Knuckles away and donned him in what she called a ‘tuxedo’. It was a wonderful suit, a deep onyx accompanied with a red pocket square and tie. It was a glorious ensemble, which he was keen to show Shadow, but he had been ordered from seeing him until the wedding.
The waiting had become agony, but now he stood in front of (another) set of double doors, down on the bottom floor. He stood on a red carpet, with flowers adorning every wall and walkway. A pair of guards stood at either side of said door, looking straight ahead, ignoring him for the most part.
Knuckles wrung his hands anxiously. Despite the two guards, he was acutely aware he knew no one and the one person he did know was not there. It sent waves of anxiety through him. “You cannot wear those,” a cold voice said and he curtseyed at the Queen.
“My lady?” he said, confused.
Bernadette glowered at him coldly. “Those,” she pointed at the golden bands on his front quills. The sign of his ‘royalty’ (for want of a better term). They signified he was the son of a chief, and he had worn them since he was a teen, when he had passed his Ceremony, and become an adult. “Take them off. They are garish.”
Knuckles felt a chill go up his spine. He would diminish himself in front of these strangers by removing his very culture? “My lady, please,” he said politely, giving a small curtsey as a sign of his respect, “it would be a great favour if I could ask –“
“No,” she interrupted rudely. “Take them off.”
Knuckles’s heart froze in his chest for a moment, but he said nothing else, and reached up, hands shaking. His fingers touched the gilded surface, but it did nothing to soothe his anxiety. He wanted nothing more than to refuse, but to do so would only reflect badly on him… and potentially bring some sort of punishment to Shadow. Love demands sacrifice, his mother’s voice whispered in his head. Just as Thorne gave himself up for Elian, one day you must be willing to make changes for your qichi. That is the way of love, my son.
The way of love. He took a deep breath, letting his fingers slid over the engravings on the bands’ surface. Love demands sacrifice. “Leave them on.”
Knuckles turned, feeling his eyes widen but unable to stop them. Shadow strode forward, seeming taller and stronger than before. His gaze was level with his mother’s and he didn’t flinch at her angry stare. “They are used as royal symbols,” he said, coming to a stop beside Knuckles. “No other echidna wears them. Surely you would rather the people know we married into royalty?”
Bernadette pursed her lips into a thin, straight line. For a moment it looked like she would hit him, but she inhaled quickly, turned and pushed into the hall, away from them. “You did not have to do that,” Knuckles said quietly.
Shadow tilted his head, his eyes softening as they met Knuckles’s. “I did,” he said, looping his arm through Knuckles’s. Knuckles felt a sudden surge of gratitude at not being disconnected from his home, and he couldn’t help himself – he leaned over and kissed Shadow’s cheek. Shadow’s face slowly turned red, and Knuckles smiled, leaning back to admire him.
His tuxedo was a deep red, a colour that suited him, his pocket square and tie black like the night sky. “You are stunning,” Knuckles said, for he was.
“Shush,” Shadow chided, turning his face away and Knuckles chuckled at his shyness. “I’m tired. Let’s just get married and go to bed.”
“Whatever you wish, qichi,” Knuckles said.
As if on cue, music began to boom from behind the doors and the guards gripped the door handles, swinging them open. Rows upon rows of hedgehogs rose to their feet, turning to face the two. Knuckles gripped Shadow tighter, slightly overwhelmed and the hedgehog laid his free hand on his looped arm. He inhaled deeply and let Shadow lead him forward in time to the music. An elderly hedgehog in black and white robes stood at the top of the room, on a small, raised podium. He must be the elder. The thought made him feel a little better.
Shadow walked with him to the front of the small podium, straight in front of the elder and let Knuckles go. For a fleeting moment, Knuckles felt a sudden yank of panic, before Shadow turned fully to him and took both of Knuckles’s hands in his. When their eyes met, suddenly nothing else mattered – not the burning stare of Bernadette, sat primly in the front row. Not the judging look on the stepfather’s face. Not the hollow ache that persisted in his chest from being apart from his people. It was only them, and that was all that mattered. All that he wanted – all that he needed – was for Shadow to keep looking at him the way he was looking at him now, so full of unfiltered affection, joy and ease. The elder’s droning voice wasn’t even registering to him, because he was swimming in a sea of ruby and there was no place he would rather be. “Knuckles,” Shadow whispered, jerking his head slightly at the elder, his eyes amused and teasing.
The elder looked at him as if he had said something many times. “I beg your pardon?” Knuckles said, blushing in his embarrassment.
“Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband,” the elder repeated, unperturbed, “to live together in matrimony, to love him, honour him, comfort him and keep him, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, to have and to hold from this day forward for as long as you both shall live?”
“Yes, of course,” Knuckles said, smiling at the elder.
“You have to say ‘I do’,” Shadow whispered, smiling, properly smiling.
“Oh, I do,” Knuckles said, smiling at Shadow warmly.
“And do you, Your Highness, take this –“ the elder begin.
“I do,” Shadow interrupted, smiling even wider, his eyes seeming to smile, too.
“Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and husband,” the elder said. “You may now kiss the groom.”
He needn’t have told them that, because Shadow, by the time the word ‘husband’ had been uttered, had already closed the distance between them and kissed him like there was no one else in the room. Knuckles kissed him back, barely registering the cheering sounds erupting around them. They were married again, recognised as husbands in both the echidna and hedgehog kingdoms. “I am yours,” Knuckles whispered between their lips. “For forever and a day. Will you be mine?”
“Idiot,” Shadow said affectionately, tangling his hands in Knuckles’s quills. “Obviously I’m yours.”
As it turns out, tea had been cancelled so the guests could all stuff their faces in the ‘afterparty’, as Shadow called it. Apparently hedgehogs only considered the actual wedding the ceremony, instead of the celebrations after.
He and Shadow sat at the head of a long table, with Bernadette and her husband at the other end. Despite her best efforts, it seemed not even her heated glares were affecting Shadow, whose smile had not left his face. Once the meals were over with, they all moved to a ‘ballroom’, where tables were laden with food, chandeliers lit the room and ceiling-high windows let in any natural light. Shadow quickly gave Knuckles a tour of some of the ‘more important’ hedgehogs, but he met so many it was difficult to remember all of their names. He did, however, remember the kind, pink face of Amy. “It is good to see you,” he said, kissing the back of her hand. “You look well.”
“You do, too,” she said, beaming at him. “I’ve never seen Shadow smile so much!”
Knuckles grinned in response. “Amy,” Shadow said, nodding as she curtseyed to him. “Sonic told me you two are getting married. You didn’t tell me last time we talked.”
“He proposed after,” Amy said, holding out her hand, which sported a magnificent diamond-encrusted gold ring. It seemed a bit overkill to Knuckles, but he said nothing, for it would be rude. “It was so romantic, Shadow. He got down on one knee, said I was everything he ever wanted and more and, of course, I had to say yes!”
“Well, I’m happy for you,” Shadow said, and it sounded genuine, despite Knuckles recalling he hadn’t sounded overly pleased when Sonic told him.
She thanked him and scurried off to talk to someone else. “Shall we dance?” Knuckles asked softly, jerking his head to the floor, where the guests were either talking and mingling or dancing to the music the band were playing.
“If it’s alright with you, I’d rather sit this one out,” Shadow said, plucking flutes of champagne off a passing butler’s tray. “It’s a little embarrassing.”
“I don’t mind,” Knuckles said honestly. It was true that even though he liked dancing, this place was very different and he was hesitant to take to the floor with so many strange hedgehogs staring at him like he was an interesting specimen. Was this how Shadow had felt on their Echidnian wedding day?
Someone cleared their throat and Shadow’s smile faltered slightly. “Jules,” he acknowledged, nodding at the face of the man in his bedroom portrait. His stepfather. Shadow had never spoken much about his stepfather, but he sensed there was a sort of… indifference from Shadow regarding him.
“You seem happy,” Jules said, smiling warmly. Shadow said nothing. “Oh, come now, Shadow, I’m not your mother. You can be honest.” Shadow still said nothing. Knuckles didn’t dare speak up, either. Not out of intimidation from the hedgehog king, but more out of worry for saying something wrong. “Fine, be like that.” Jules took a sip of his champagne before continuing. “I can’t say I’m overly happy you’re married to a man. It would’ve been better to find a woman.”
“Does it matter?” Knuckles said, a little sharper than intended.
Jules’s gaze skittered on him, and there was a glint of disdain in his eyes now. “It does,” Jules said, matter-of-factly. “Everyone knows man is meant to be with woman. Woman is supposed to procreate, man is supposed to protect and provide.”
“That is quite a narrow perspective to take,” Knuckles said, feeling his grip tighten involuntarily on his flute.
“Men make the world,” Jules said, a hint of coldness seeping into his voice. “What are women good for except to be carriers of more men? What are homosexual relationships good for if they cannot procreate?”
“Women create men,” Shadow said sharply, sounding as if this was something he had said many times. “And, last I checked, a woman invented the heating system this castle is using right now.”
“And is love not the point of relationships?” Knuckles added, biting the inside of his cheek, an intense dislike (bordering on hatred) creeping up his spine. “Does it matter what is between the legs if they are in love?”
“It’s unnatural,” Jules said simply. “Bad influence on the kids.”
“If that’s how you feel,” Shadow said coldly, his smile gone, “maybe you should go to your room. Wouldn’t want my ‘unnatural’ wedding to upset you.”
Jules pursed his lips. “Well, I’ve made my point regardless,” he said, turning on his heels and striding off, probably to project his fragile masculinity onto some other poor bystander. “Just don’t be the woman, Shadow! You’re a man!”
“Forgive me, qichi, but he is a terrible man,” Knuckles spat, fighting to calm his rage.
“He is,” Shadow said, taking Knuckles’s hand in his. “It’ll be all the better for everyone when he dies.”
Knuckles said nothing, but secretly agreed. That was one death he would not mourn. “Want me to say something to him?” Sonic said, and Knuckles jumped. He hadn’t noticed him there. The blue hedgehog glared at his father’s receding back. “Tell him to shut up?”
“No point,” Shadow said. “He never listens.”
Sonic sighed heavily, and patted Shadow’s shoulder. This time, Shadow didn’t shrug him off. “Well, I’m happy for you, Shads,” he said, breaking into a wide, happy smile. “And I like your husband.” He winked at Knuckles.
Knuckles smiled back. “Thank you,” he said. “I like you, as well.”
“Don’t,” Shadow said flatly. “He’s a pain.”
Sonic laughed as if Shadow wasn’t insulting him. “Anyway, I came to ask if I can borrow him?” Sonic said to Shadow. “Just wanted to talk to him.” Shadow raised a brow, clearly suspicious. “Just a chat!”
“It’s alright,” Knuckles said, setting a comforting hand on Shadow’s shoulder. “I don’t mind.”
Shadow pursed his lips, but turned and walked away towards the table sagging under the weight of finger food. “He would kill me if he heard me say this,” Sonic said, suddenly serious. “From what Amy told me, you make him happy, and he looks a lot better than when he left.” He took a deep breath. “But I have to say it anyway. If you do anything to hurt him, I’ll personally cut off your trophy and hang it on my wall. He’s a good man, and he doesn’t deserve any more pain.”
Knuckles held a hand to his heart. “I promise to cherish him,” he said, hoping Sonic could see how heartfelt he was being. “If I ever hurt him, even accidentally, I will commit harakiri for the act.”
“You seem a good man,” Sonic said, holding his hand out, and letting Knuckles shake it. “I trust you to take care of him.”
“I will do my very best,” Knuckles promised.
Satisfied, Sonic nodded, gave him a big smile and left, quickly disappearing into the crowd. “What did he want?” Shadow asked, materialising at Knuckles’s side.
“He wanted to make sure I do not hurt you,” Knuckles said. “He is a good brother. He cares for you.”
“Don’t tell him I said this,” Shadow said, lowering his voice, “or I’ll never hear the end of it. He’s annoying, a huge pain in my ass, and a spoiled brat. But he turned out okay, all things considered.”
All things considered being Bernadette and Jules, Knuckles guessed. He smiled. “He did,” he said, wrapping an arm around Shadow’s waist and pulling him close. “But you turned out better.”
Shadow smiled.
By the time they retreated to Shadow’s room, it was long into the night and Knuckles had never been more exhausted from standing around and doing nothing. Shadow seemed equally tired and flopped onto his bed, sighing as he sank into the silk sheets. “’M so tired,” he mumbled.
“What must we do now?” Knuckles asked.
Shadow lifted his head sleepily, eyes half-closed. “Hm?”
“Maquara told me that hedgehogs have wedding night traditions,” Knuckles said. Shadow’s face reddened, but he couldn’t understand why. “I do not remember what it is.”
“Well,” Shadow said, sitting up, seeming very much awake now. “Most hedgehogs… have sex on their wedding night.” He paused, and Knuckles felt his face heating up, too. “But I like the echidna tradition. It seems better to build a connection than just honouring my tradition. I don’t mind.”
Knuckles swallowed, feeling like his mouth was very dry. “Do you…” he cleared his throat. “Do you not think we have a strong connection yet?”
Shadow lifted his head, his face darkening. “Of course I do,” he said, a little meekly. “I just… assumed that you were not ready.”
“I am ready,” Knuckles said, his voice conveying a boldness he did not particularly feel. “I am ready whenever you are. But… do not feel pressured to do anything just because I am.”
“You really are an idiot,” Shadow said, pushing himself off his bed and striding over, kissing him. “I’m ready now.”
“Are you sure?” Knuckles said, feeling his heart jump. Could this really happen tonight?
“Yeah,” Shadow said. “Let’s do it.”
Knuckles tilted his head to the window, looking outside into the dark night. It was so peaceful out there, and in here. Shadow laid asleep, head against Knuckles’s chest, curled around him in a cuddle, breathing in and out peacefully. Everything was perfect. He was with his husband, and that was all that mattered. Not even Bernadette could get between them now. He yawned, feeling the exhaustion from the day creeping up on him like a jaguar.
He would worry about Bernadette and her vile attitude tomorrow. Right now, he was going to fall asleep, cuddling with his husband. His qichi.