Rouge and the Rogue (Knuxouge)

Tragic Backstories

There was a small scraping sound as the guard pushed Rouge's small meal through the bars of her cell. It had some sort of gruel, stale bread, and a cup of water. She took it quickly.

She dipped a strip of her own shirt, which she had ripped off earlier, in the water and placed it on Knuckles' forehead. He was still out cold. No light came to the dungeon, so none of them knew how much time had passed since they were thrown in, but they had been given two meals so far.

Rouge began stroking Knuckles' head, hoping the contact would help wake him up. She stared at him. His face was relaxed, so at least he looked peaceful, but she knew he would be filled with angry energy as soon as he woke up. Of course he would wake up. He had to. She tried not to think about the possibilities, instead she retreated to sit against the wall and eat her food.

Her cellmates, Blaze, Tails, and Cerulean, had also received their food and were eating. The former King had been stealing glances at his daughter the entire time.

"Where did you learn that?" He finally asked.

"Learn what, to care for anyone other than myself? My friends taught me. Thanks for asking," Rouge replied sarcastically.

Cerulean looked hurt and didn't reply. Was Rouge supposed to feel sorry for him? She tried not to pay too much attention to her father, but he was the elephant in the room at the moment. She sighed. As long as they were stuck in the dungeon together, they would have to make nice.

"Sorry... Dad. I learned it when Charmy got a fever last month. Vector taught me."

"Charmy is..?"

"The little bee, and Vector is the big crocodile. He's surprisingly gentle."

Another voice joined in from across the dungeon.

"Talking about me behind my back?" Charmy called teasingly, then added "not-so-nice to finally meet you, your majesty. My name is Charmy Bee. You fired me a year ago, leaving me with no income and no place to live." He scoffed. "I guess that doesn't narrow it down a lot, huh."

Cerulean bristled at this. "I don't recall that," he replied coldly.

"It happened too much, so you can't recall individual cases. Don't worry, I understand."

Rouge interrupted the bee. "We're trying to get him to see sense, not turn against us. Antagonizing him won't get us anywhere."

"Rouge!" Cerulean exclaimed, hope in his eyes.

"Which isn't to say that you can't tell him exactly what he's done wrong," she continued, "He might need to hear it. Goodness knows I did. Just try not to make him our enemy."

"I will gladly tell him what he did wrong," Charmy sounded almost distraught. They couldn't see each other through the low light, but his voice was strained, and he sounded on the verge of tears. "Vector, Espio, and I were special forces in your military. I've lived with those two for as long as I can remember. They're my family. We all went through the grueling military training together, and we were stationed together, and we looked after a little village, just us three. Vector was the greatest detective the kingdom ever had. Espio was the sneakiest special ops in the business. I was an interrogation specialist. We were some of the best soldiers your stupid military had ever seen."

"One day we were locked out of our headquarters without so much as a warning. We thought maybe that was a mistake, and we went to speak with you personally. Vector insisted on going to you alone, he thought you had a good impression of him, but when he came back from your little conversation he was unrecognizable. He was a broken man. You have no idea, do you? You have no idea how much it hurts to see your family, who you've always relied on, crumple to the floor sobbing because you no longer have a job or a home. We had to live in the woods and join the bandits to survive."