Sonadow - King and his slave

Part 4

Shadow still felt queen Amy's ice-cold and angry look on him when he left the throne room with king Sonic. When he glanced over his shoulder towards the queen and miss Rouge, he was so relieved because queen Amy's attention was now on Rouge and not on him. He felt much calmer now. Shadow smiled slightly, and then he turned to look at king Sonic, who walked ahead of him. Shadow took a few running steps and began to walk beside his king. He noticed how Sonic began to smile as they walked side by side down the hallway towards large doors. And for some reason, Shadow felt a slight warmth on his cheeks. King Sonic opened the large doors and they continued to walk together over the long hallway. Shadow carefully looked at the king, who smiled at him calmly.

"Where are we going, my king?" Shadow asked.

"We are going to my bedroom," king Sonic said nonchalantly with calm voice. Shadow's eyes widened and he quickly stopped walking when he heard the words of king Sonic. He frozed in horror and looked at the king with a little scared look.

"W-w-what..?!" Shadow asked with fearful voice. Sonic turned to look at his slave, who looked as if he had seen a ghost. He walked slowly and carefully to Shadow and put his hand on his shoulder comradely.

"We're going to get a key. It is the key to the room which I have reserved exclusively for you. You're going to live there for the entire time when you're here. The key is in my bedside table's drawer. That's why we go to my bedroom," Sonic explained calmly. Shadow was quiet for awhile. He was really embarrassed right now and he felt how strong blush of shame rose to his cheeks. He had thought that the king only wanted him to be his 'toy'... But now he saw that Sonic was not that kind of king. He was not at all like other owners of Shadow... Shadow dropped his look at the floor and felt really ashamed. Sonic looked at Shadow a long time before he went away from him and continued walking.

"Come Shadow," he said. As a good slave must, Shadow obeyed king's command and began to follow him again. But this time he stayed behind his king and kept his look firmly on the floor. Soon they arrived at the king Sonic's bedroom's door. Sonic opened the door and they stepped in a big room. Now Shadow looked up. He looked around and admired the room. The room was really beautiful but one thing bothered Shadow. The room didn't show any sign of her. Queen Amy.. There was no beautiful dresses, there was no hair decorations on the tables, no jewelry, no women's shoes, there's nothing that would indicate that king and queen shared a large room. Was this really only the king's bedroom? And if so, then where the queen slept..?

"Excellent, I found it!" Shadow turned to look at Sonic, who was standing next to the bed and had silver-gray key in his hand. King walked over to Shadow and smiled at him slightly.

"Give me your hand," he said. Shadow held out his hand and Sonic gave him the key.

"Here is the key of your room. The room is next one of my own room in this hallway. Got it?" Sonic asked finally. Shadow only nodded quietly.

"Good. Let's go to look at your room, shall we?" Sonic said with smile. Shadow smiled slightly. He glanced at the bedroom one last time before he again went after his king. They walked down the hallway, until they came to the next door. Sonic stepped back a little and asked Shadow to open the door. Shadow pushed his silver-gray key into the lock and opened the door. The door opened swung creakingly. Shadow stepped into the room with king Sonic behind him. The room was dark and there was dust everywhere. The air in the room was heavy and a little stuffy. When king Sonic walked over the windows to open the curtains and a small light got in the room, they could see how the dust particles were floating in the air.

"I'm sorry, that room is so out of shape. But after you have cleaned up, this is much more comfortable place to stay and rest," king Sonic said. Shadow nodded and smiled slightly. He looked around and examined the room. There was a wardrobe, a bed, a few chest of drawers, a bookcase with dusty old books, a nightstand next to the bed, a couple of mats on the floor and a large windows in the room. From the windows you could see castle yard and garden. Shadow liked the room a lot already...

"That's alright, my king. This room is enough to me. Thank you, my king," Shadow said. King Sonic smiled kindly.

"You're very welcome Shadow. I ask miss Rouge to come over and help you to make this room clean. If you need anything, anything at all, you will find me from the library room," he said.

"Thank you, my king," Shadow said. He turned to look at his king and smiled slightly to him. King Sonic nodded and left the room before Shadow had time to notice a small blush on his cheeks... When Rouge appeared in the room without knocking on the door, Shadow had cleaned up the room for an hour. Rouge apologized from him that it took so long time from her to come help her new friend to clean up the room. But Shadow was not angry at all. On the contrary, he said he enjoyed a little moment alone. With a smile of relief Rouge began to help him with the cleaning. Although Shadow had already cleaned up the room for one hour, it was still covered with dust and very untidy. After a few hours of cleaning and hard work they got the room cleaned and look like brand new. They exchanged the bed sheets, curtains and mats and in the end they were ready. Room looked immediately much more comfortable and room air was also much more fresher than before. It was already dinner time, when they left the room, locked the door and left towards the servants' and knight's dining areas. There they took food for themselves and went to sit at the same table with Tails and sir Knuckles. Rouge and Knuckles exchanged "discretely" gentle glances before they took their seats next to each other. Shadow sat down opposite them, and Tails sat next to the black hedgehog.

"Well Shadow, what do you think about the king and his castle?" Tails asked and smiled friendly to Shadow, who was just about to start eat his soup.

"Well... King Sonic seems to be really good and loved king. He is really friendly and cheerful. And his castle is truly spectacular and wonderful. But he's different than other kings I know.." Shadow said a little shyly and quietly. Knuckles looked up and turned to look at Shadow firmly with his purple eyes. Shadow slowly faced the knight's gaze.

"What do you mean by that, slave?" Knuckles asked. Rouge nudged Knuckles a little with her elbow and gave him quick, indignant look. She didn't liked the way Knuckles spoke to Shadow.

"By that I meant it that he treats his servants and even slaves really well even if he is the king.." Shadow answered. Rouge smiled friendly and calmly to Shadow.

"Of course he does. He's not a cruel tyrant, who thinks only himself," she said. Knuckles nodded slightly.

"King Sonic is really a good king. He is fair and treats everyone well, if they deserve it," Tails said and turned to look at Shadow.

"And it really looks like that king Sonic likes you and sees that you deserve to be treated well," he continued with a smile. Once again, Shadow felt how blush rose to his cheeks. He felt how his cheeks began to feel hot and he was trying to hide a small smile that tried to rise to his lips, when he heard king's name. He lowered his gaze to the table and smiled in emphatic way. While others continued chatting, Shadow thoughts wandered around. He went through everything that had happened today. He realized that he was lucky, when king Sonic had bought him. Really lucky, indeed... He doesn't ever have to go back to those horrible people who hurt him and-

"Shadow? Did you hear what I said?" Shadow looked up and he looked at Rouge, who had suspended him from his thoughts.

"W-what did you said..? I'm sorry, I didn't heard.." Shadow said quietly. Rouge smiled at him slightly.

"I said, that when you are ready, you can go rest in your new room if you want. I still have some work what I need to do before bedtime," Rouge said, stood up and smiled to Shadow. Shadow nodded and smiled carefully to Rouge. Rouge wished everyone good nights and then went out from dining area. Shadow noticed the wistful look in the eyes of Knuckles, when a beautiful bat woman left the area. Shadow knew without words that the red knight was in love with his new friend. When Knuckles noticed Shadow's gaze, he grumbled a little, rose from the table and went very quickly after Rouge. Tails and Shadow were talking this and that at the table for a moment, before Tails had to go to work. He also wished good nights to Shadow before he left. Shadow ate his food and then went towards his own room. He walked to the room, closed the door and watched the dark room. It was just his and only for him... He smiled in the darkness, and walked over to his bed. He went to lie down on the bed and he smiled even more. He felt fuller, rested, and most importantly.. Happy. It was a feeling he had not experienced in a long time. Shadow stood up, took off his clothes, and finally snuggled into bed and wrapped big, warm blanket around himself. He listened rain and the approaching thunder, and then he fell asleep with a happy smile on his lips...