Rouge and the Rogue (Knuxouge)

Our Only Hope

"What do you want with me? I'm not your daughter, remember?" Rouge spat at King Cerulean.

"Yes, I did say that, but I didn't mean it!" He exclaimed in response, "I've been worried sick about you, only to find that you have been galavanting across the land with a gang of thieves. Completely unacceptable behavior for a princess."

So the whole trap hadn't just been for the bandits, it had been for her specifically. Rouge gripped Knuckles' shoulder. She should have come alone. Now all of her friends were captured.

Her father continued with his monologue.

"Bringing you home was almost too easy. You're still my Rouge, obsessed with jewels. I suppose after living in the dirt for a few months you were dying to see something sparkly. I knew you would come crawling back eventually."

Robotnik added "the rest of your gang is an unexpected bonus, but we were still prepared for it!"

The rest of the bandits rustled indignantly behind Rouge. It was humiliating that they had been caught, but they couldn't deny that they had been outmaneuvered. With Sonic and Knuckles both unconscious and Silver nowhere to be found, escaping seemed impossible.

"Yes," King Cerulean agreed, "We have you all right where we need you. These criminals will be executed for their many crimes against the kingdom. How soon can we execute them, Ivo?"

"We could have three done in the morning, and the rest done in the afternoon."

"NO! Don't kill any of them!" Rouge yelled. She glanced down at Knuckles' quiet body and stroked his cheek vaguely before standing up. She stepped over him to face her father. The candlelight flickered across her face, throwing her defiant expression into dramatic contrast.

"Rouge, listen to sense. These people have stolen thousands in important funds."

"Only a small fraction of what you've stolen," she snarled, "what would you have used that money for? A new throne?"

The king rolled his eyes. "We've been over this. That money goes into giving you a better life. When you ran away, you wasted all of those peasants' sacrifices."

"They didn't have to make those sacrifices. Not if you hadn't forced them to."

"Come on! What's a little peasant suffering compared with the comfort of a Princess? Those people are worth less than the meager taxes they pay. You are more important than a thousand of them combined!"

"I'm not, and you aren't either—" she pointed a harsh finger through the cage bars onto his chest— "Any peasant is worth more than you. The bandits you want to kill have shown me more care and love in a few months than you did in my entire life! This castle is no home. This kingdom is in shambles. If you don't face me and the reality of the mess you've caused, nothing will improve, everybody in the country will perish, and you'll eventually be left alone to rot."

The king flinched, then frowned deeply. At first Rouge thought her words had gotten through to him, but he quickly proved her wrong.

"Fine. I'll strike you a deal. I won't kill the bandits... if you agree to live in the castle and return to your old self, just like before."

Rouge stared at the man in disbelief. He wanted to sweep it all under the rug. He was fine with the way things were. He was fine if the peasants all died, if his kingdom fell into ruin around him, as long as he and his daughter ignored it all. Well, Rouge couldn't ignore it. Not after everything she had seen and experienced.

"No."

Cries came from her friends behind her—

"Come on, Rouge!"