Silvaze: Wedded Souls

"I couldn't say, Princess." Silver spoke with a diffusing calmness, indicative of the nature of the night. Perched high up in the castle wall, he looked beyond the balcony railing outside the princess's chamber, and far into the ever-lively city that the kingdom resided over. With the same view, he could also see the stars stretching the plane of the sky; with a simple flick of his eyes, he could peer into infinity, and though he had no answer, he could pursue as he always had before. He leaned back in his chair. "Perhaps it's just that those who seek offense also don't wish to seek for long."

Princess Blaze, on the other hand, adorned with royal robes and tired eyes, gazed out and saw only the lights from the town. Her mind moved with them, connecting them into patterns she had seen hundreds of times over. She wrung her tail in her hands, and bit her lip before speaking. "Perhaps pleasing everyone just isn't for me. They want so much, so much that I can't keep track of it all anymore. And there's no pleasing them - I've been yelled at more times than I can count in the past month! They want me to practice with fire, practice with swords, go to royal meetings, meet with other nobles, act like I like them so I don't start a war," she paused as Silver chuckled. "it's true! Parade around the town, take dancing lessons for the ball - oops, we forgot you need to provide input for the defense plans. Sometimes I just want to lay in bed because of it all. It's even worse now that they're finding suitors for me! They suddenly want me to be queen now. To be queen, you have to marry, but it has to be a noble. I'm not even sure I want to marry at all at this point! They're forcing all this responsibility on me, and they won't even let me decide who my partner will be!" Blaze raised her voice for the last few statements, and then relaxed her crimson face as she took a few breaths. She sat back in her chair, and placed her head on her fist. "It isn't right."

Silver twiddled the feather on his cap, and wrinkled his mouth. "Perhaps they don't trust you?"

"Of course they don't."

"Well, you say they won't let you decide who you wed, which means they won't let you choose anyone as the next King of Sol. That's not so far-fetched when put that way, is it?"

"But it's the one I'm going to spend my life with!"

Silver smirked into the chest fluff poking out from beneath his coat. "Princess, I feel that what troubles you is deeper."

Blaze rolled her eyes. "Please, elaborate."

"You don't want to marry another noble because you're sick of this life." Silver took the silence that followed as a signal to continue. "You wish to rid yourself of your royal shackles, my dear. Marrying another noble would simply eternalize your slavery."

"You're mad,"

Silver waved his hand. "Allow me to paint a scenario for you, Princess. A peasant is brought into the kingdom as a heretic for stealing from Sol - albeit to provide food for his family. He's kept in the castle to be hanged, but then escapes and woos you so that you let him walk free. You keep in touch with him in secret, and when the time is right, you marry him-"

Blaze flashed her fangs. "Are you truly so arrogant that you'd speak of yourself?"

"Princess, please. This is but a theory. My point is, should you marry that man, your judgements of him no longer matter. To everyone else in the kingdom, you've made a peasant and a criminal the King of Sol."

The cat released a sigh. "You're not wrong."

Silver's lips curled upward for a moment, and he set his gaze upon Blaze's lilac fur, made restlessly alluring by the light of the moon. "Would you marry me, Princess?"

Blaze's mind shuffled through a myriad of emotions after that question, to which she could only respond by clenching her fists. She turned away, again toward the town below, as her blood boiled up to her muzzle. She growled, but Silver laughed at this, and stood to lean against the stone railing. "Ah, don't hurt yourself, Princess. Though I love you deeply, I am wedded to the sea. I'm not fit for king, nor is this palace fit for me." His golden eyes scanned the horizon as if they were searching for home. He spat over the edge, and watched with interest as his saliva plummeted several stories to land in a shrub. "Perhaps I was foolish to ever dream of it..."

"You what?"

Silver snapped his head to her, fixing his cap with a grin. "Nothing, my dear," he motioned her to her feet, "come, listen, do you hear the music in the distance?" Blaze showed reluctance in her expression as she moved closer to him. Her ear flickered as she tuned into the muffled noise coming from the town, the rhythm of which could only be inferred. Her brow raised as Silver held his hand out. "You said you were taking dance lessons. Why don't you teach me something?"

The fire-cat acquiesced with a smile, sliding her hand into his. Chest-to-chest, they swayed with the distant melody, gazes in a deadlock as they tried to decipher each other's motives. "Tell me, Silver," Blaze began as she grew tired of their game, "you've escaped death here. You could do anything you want. If you wish not to become king, why do you choose to come back here? What is it you want from me?"

"I want you to come sail with me, my love." The hedgehog's voice was sympathetic yet stern. "Quit this cruel life in favor of one filled with adventure. Journey with me, and I will show you places you couldn't even dream of."

"And likely get me killed along the way."

"I have never lost a crew member but to age," Silver ran his hand along her waist before twirling a finger around the base of her tail. "I would never let anything happen to you, my dear."

Blaze moved his hand back to her hip. "I wish not to lead an immoral life."

Silver smirked once more. "Not immoral, simply... practical."

The feline locked her hands around the back of Silver's neck. "I could never leave my kingdom."

"They adore you," Silver remarked, nodding toward the town. He slid his hands down her back. "as do I."

They continued to sway for some time, even after the distant rhythm changed. Blaze rested her head on Silver's chest, and was surprised to find his touch so comforting. He placed his chin between her ears, and spoke into one with a soft whisper, "Princess, might I ask you something?" Once they locked eyes again, Silver raised his voice. "When you caught me just as I escaped, you could've had guards chase me down. You could've had me executed then and there - you were angered enough at the time. Truly, that might be the closest to death I've ever come. Why did you let me go?"

Blaze sighed, for she knew the answer - she had thought of it long before. "Because I saw something in your eyes that reminded me of myself."

"And that was?"

"A longing for freedom."

They paused, and as their stares grew more intense, they leaned closer to one another. Silver wrapped a hand around Blaze's head, and just as their noses touched, a knock sounded from inside. They pulled away, and diverted their eyes to Blaze's chamber, which was then filling with light from the doorway. She then looked back to Silver, who already had one leg over the edge of her balcony.

"Another time, my love," he promised, blowing her a kiss before disappearing into the night. The vines leading up the castle wall rustled below, and they were again two souls wed to their lives. The feline was once more struck with a feeling of anger, but swallowed her emotion to walk inside and greet her visitor. Though their love was mutual, they knew they could never be; the princess would return to her duties, and the pirate to his sea.

A/N: hey guys, decided that I would go ahead and post some of my other stuff on here as well, why not lmfao. This is from an AU that I'm absolutely in love with, somewhat based on that off panel from the comics of course. Some day I'll make this into a full-length story, but probably not for a while.

Silver is very ooc here to fit the role, but that's the plan. Nobody can tell me a smooth-talking Silv isn't sexy af, okay. I tried to keep Blaze pretty close to her character, tho.

Hope you enjoyed! Leave comments/votes if you did!