THE KING IS DEAD

08

I. Long Silence
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❝LONG LIVE THE KING.❞
*ృ༅*. 𝕿𝖍𝖊 ceremony is not much different than it had been for Scourge, when he took the crown all those dreadful weeks ago. The only things different would be the lack of rain and sorrow; the people are not so melancholy this time.

They hardly mourn Scourge.

He is dead. What a pity? Moving on.

Sonic enjoys this.

He enjoys this a lot. Too much.

So much that he is not listening to the prayers and the speeches until the Abbot directly calls for him.

"Your Majesty, what do you intend to do with the traitor?" He spits the word like each letter that makes it leaves a foul taste.

Sonic does not enjoy this.

But he does not show it. Calmly, he decrees, "Bring him to me."

And then the jeers begin.

"Behead him!"

"Gut him!"

"Stone him!"

Sonic lifts a hand and the crowd lowers its volume until mute. The silence that follows is long until Shadow is brought forth by Sonic's best knights, Sir Knuckles Gawain and Lady Blaze Percival.

As soon as black-and-red fur is seen, as soon as a young hedgehog bound in iron is bathed in sunlight, the crowd screams and jeers once more. They push and pull and claw and bite to get to Shadow, to end him themselves. A jackal knocks Knuckles in the nose, rendering him inactive, and attempts to grab Shadow, to tear him apart.

Anxiety devours Sonic.

So he screams. 

"SHUT UP!"

The people obey. They silence themselves. They cower. Blaze helps Knuckles to his feet again, but he is dizzy, blinking and bleeding; their grip on Shadow's bound wrists is steel.

But it is not necessary, just for show. Sonic knows Shadow will not run.

Now Shadow is brought before the King, who commands, "On your knees."

But the command is not obeyed. "I won't."

So Sonic karate-chops Shadow in the neck. Knees him in the diaphragm. Choking, Shadow refuses to bend the knee. He staggers, wavers, trips, but he stands. He's still standing.

Sonic clenches his hands into tight, tight fists. "Fucking kneel."

"No, you."

Sonic inhales sharply, folding his arms over his chest, tapping his foot with great speed. The people are jeering again, bits and pieces scattered through the arena below.

Without looking at Knuckles or Blaze—he only has eyes for Shadow—he gives another command. "Bring the human. And bring her naked."

"You would really stoop that low?"

. . . Not at all the response Sonic was looking for. There is no horror in Shadow's scarlet eyes, only anger—disappointment.

This is not the response Sonic is looking for.

The irony is that Sonic expected to terrify Shadow, but he ends up terrifying himself.

He holds up a hand, halting the order; Blaze and Knuckles do not move, awaiting further instruction. Sonic's eyes still have not left Shadow's, and Shadow's have not left his.

Another long silence.

. . . Until someone decides to be bold.

"Kill your whore, my King! Rid yourself of the poison!"

And she has followers, this voice in the crowd.

"He betrayed you!"

"He killed your brother!"

"Kill him!"

Sonic almost snaps. How dare they refer to Shadow as a whore? He is anything but that.

"Well?" And Shadow has the nerve to egg them on. "I haven't got all day, Faker."

Now Sonic sees stars. He staggers, taking a step back—dizzy, dizzy, dizzy.

Faker.

It stings. It boils. It burns.

But it's true, so it shouldn't hurt.

He did fake it all. He did, he did, he did.

Yet, there is a sliver. A pathetic nuisance that tells Sonic he loves and cares for his dark knight. A clown with the audacity to say he didn't completely fake his feelings.

Remembering himself, Sonic takes a deep breath. "It's as I said before: death's too good for you." To his knights, he says, "Forget the human. I'll strip him naked instead."

In quick motions, Shadow's clothes are torn. He is naked before all of Green Hills, his only coverage being the iron chains around his wrists and ankles.

. . . And the collar.

Sonic fastens a lovely steel collar around Shadow's neck, along with a leash.

"Sit, doggy."

Shadow does not sit.

Shadow does not kneel.

For this, he bleeds.

And whilst Sonic beats him black and blue and bloody, the people are screaming four words:

"LONG LIVE THE KING!"