The Ruby Eyes of Affection

One of us has to die

Finally, by the third day, the doctor had released Shadow from his chains and he was allowed to interact with the childish azure hedgehog. The Chaos energy surrounding the cell was still in affect, preventing any hope of escape. But at least he could talk with the little blue toddler now. Oddly enough, the first thing they did when the charcoal hedgehog approached was stare at each other in slight hesitation before the tiny cobalt hedgehog finally had the guts to reach out and attempt to touch him. Unfortunately, he was immediately rejected by a cold stare and growl as the ebony hedgehog reacted with slight suspicion. Čelik countered with a slight smile as he found this denial somewhat charming.

"I'm surprised how skeptical you are. In my dreams, you always seemed so passive. In fact, your name practically translates to peaceful." The child uttered quietly as he wished with every fiber of his being that he could move and tackle the ebony hedgehog right to the ground.

"What name? The princess has a name?" Shadow asked in slight confusion before kneeling down to listen closely to what the young child was saying.

"Yep. It's Miran! And the prince, that being me, is the great and powerful Voziti. Not to stroke my own ego or anything but I'm quite a handsome fellow according to the legends." He articulated confidently as he flashed a heroic pose.

(Wait a second! Miran, that's the name from my nightmare... The hell? Does that mean what the kid speaks of is true? That can't be possible?! There must be some crazy voodoo going on here... How the hell could I have heard the name Miran without even knowing she existed at the time... Unless the story somehow is...) Shadow remained still, completely shocked by that thought that the kid was speaking the truth.

"Wait... So what you're trying to tell me is that this is based off of some kind of fact? I thought this was a made up thing that you and the doctor came up with." The charcoal hedgehog questioned, still in complete astonishment.

"You really think I'm THAT imaginative. Of course I didn't. However, this is only what the mustached man told me. But it must be true! Because when I'm near you, I feel like it's the way things are supposed to be forever and ever. I'm so happy, Shadow." His eyes started to tear up little as he put his palm over his mouth.

"Now... Now... No need to cry. You're okay." Shadow comforted as he gently patted Čelik's shoulder once again fighting the part of him that desperately wanted to hold this poor child as tightly as he could.

"I'll stop crying if you cuddle me and tell me you're my princess..." He responded cutely as he flashed his emerald eyes teasingly before wrapping his arms around Shadows hips.

"Fat chance kid." The ebony responded irritably as he pushed the child's hands off his body.

"C'mon... You're no fun!" Čelik complained mockingly as he crossed his arms over his body in frustration.

"Do I look like a clown to you?" The charcoal hedgehog replied irksomely before gently rubbing his fingertips against the temple of his forehead.

"With how good you are at acting, maybe!" The tiny sapphire hedgehog cleverly retorted as he decided to grab his paintbrush and continue painting the beautiful ball gown of the princess on the wall.

"Why thank you... I think." The ebony responded sarcastically as he decided to sit next to the toddler and watch his incredible painting technique.

"So, this Voziti character? What is he exactly?" He added, watching very closely to every stroke as if he was watching Leonardo Da Vinci paint a masterpiece.

"Well, he isn't really considered a god or a divine entity but he has the ability to manipulate Chaos energy. So I would consider him, and you for that matter, prophets of Chaos. You control or prevent Chaos energy from destroying everything and inhibiting the development of life and Voziti does the opposite. He kind of keeps things random and spontaneous by freeing it. Both are necessary in creating a perfect society." The child replied happily as he adored the attention Shadow was giving him.