The Hedgehog Prince

The spell, the nut and the hero

Once upon a time, there was a young hedgehog named Ogilvie Maurice. He usually went by Sonic though, because of the stuffiness of his given name, and the incredible speed he'd been able to run at since childhood. Not too long after his fifteenth birthday, Sonic was sent to the capitol to become a soldier for the royal guard.

Though he missed his mother, father and siblings; Sonic liked his work as he learned how to protect the royal family-King Cyrox, Queen Rose and their daughter, Princess Fiona. Anyway he wasn't there alone, he lived with his uncle, who kept all the clocks and machines in the palace in order.

Everyone in the castle seemed happy, especially with the king's birthday fast approaching. Of course, looks can be deceiving. Julian Robotnik, a decorated general of the royal guard, was planning to do away with Princess Fiona. If the king and queen had no heir, he would be next in line for the throne after their deaths.

He couldn't simply kill her, though. There would be far too much opportunity for incriminating evidence, opportunity that he couldn't afford. Instead, he would use the magic of seven gemstones he possessed, the chaos emeralds. With the aide of magic spells, no one would think to accuse a soldier in the royal guard, and instead look for a witch or wizard.

Under the cover of night, Robotnik snuck into the chamber of Princess Fiona, taking out the chaos emeralds. "Little princess, sleeping there, this spell will leave you worse for wear. Your body will be made of wood, my spell will work just as it should. Your eyes will soon be painted on, you'll never know another dawn. You will be a nutcracker, little fox, now go back into your box!"

By the time morning came, the damage was already done. Everyone mourned the loss of their beloved princess, but none more than the king. He blamed Sonic's uncle for the alarm not working properly, and that was that. The electrician was given twenty-four hours to find a cure, or he would be forced to pay the ultimate debt.

Hour after hour, he and Sonic sat by where Princess Fiona lay, trying to find a way to break the spell. Suddenly he remembered something he read in an old book once. He and his nephew soon found it, and turned to the diagram for the Krakatuk nut, the hardest and rarest nut in the world.

"Your majesty, the princess must eat the Krakatuk nut to turn back into her natural form. It must be cracked for her by a young male animal, and then he must feed her the nut with his eyes closed, and take seven steps backwards." The king was joyful upon hearing this news, and promised the hand of Fiona to whomever may crack the nut for her.

Mobians came from near and far to try their hand at the task, but the nut proceeded to crack every fang and tooth in each of their mouths. One by one, the long line got shorter until there were no more contestants. In the shadows of the throne room, Robotnik's heart leapt at the fact that Princess Fiona may never wake up. That was when Sonic stepped up, put the nut between his teeth and bit hard, his spikes flaring up with the exertion.

Suddenly the nut cracked, and he placed it in the princess's mouth with his eyes closed. She immediately turned back into a fox, much to the delight of her parents and all others in attendance. He started to step backwards, and when he walked by where Robotnik was hiding, the captain reached out and stabbed his own soldier in the back with the sword taken from his side.

"Ow!" Sonic screamed in pain, and stopped before he could take the seventh step. Because the process wasn't complete, the spell that had left Princess Fiona fell on Sonic and transformed him into a wooden doll, which saved his life but doomed him to forever watch the world move on without him.

Now, you would think that Fiona would be grateful to the hedgehog for breaking her curse, and sad that he'd sacrificed so much for her. Instead she stared at the doll in anger and disgust, standing up and carefully walking around the former soldier, making sure there was plenty of room between them.

"Father, what is that scratched up little doll doing here? It looks so old and ugly, destroy it now before I throw up." "Of course, my dear. Someone, throw the nutcracker into the fire. He's no more than kindling now."

Before anyone could, the electrician picked up the lump of wood his nephew had become, and shook his head at the king. "No, I won't let you or anyone else do that. Though he may be a nutcracker now, he is still my family, and he saved your daughter's life. I quit, King Cyrox, and one day I will find a way to break the spell." Suddenly a laugh sounded out behind him.

"Don't hold your breath, old timer. If you dare try to turn your beloved nephew back, I will find him and turn him into a pile of splinters." General Robotnik shouted, before running out of the castle never to be seen again, by human or mobian. Oblivious to the pain of an uncle holding his transformed nephew, or the threat of a dangerous criminal, the people of the court commenced the celebrations with Princess Fiona in the center of it all.

"Oh, Uncle Charles! That's a terrible story!" Sally exclaimed, shocked that a princess could be so selfish and ungrateful, or a king so insensitive to the actions of a hero. "I'd say that Sonic should've gotten married and become prince of the land, but I'm sure that a brat like Princess Fiona wouldn't be a good wife to anyone."

"Yes, you're probably right. Sonic will turn back to normal though, one day, if he defeats General Robotnik. For you see, even though it's been many years since all of this happened; Robotnik still resides in a land far away, no doubt wrecking just as much havoc as that day once upon a time."

"I wish I could go there too, maybe someday Sonic will wake up and he'll need my help. I know it would probably be dangerous, but I'd do whatever it takes because it's just not fair. Sonic was only trying to do his job and protect the princess, but in the end barely anyone even remembered or missed him." Charles chuckled softly at this, as he watched Sally climb into the couch opposite him and drift off to sleep, holding the nutcracker close.

Charles smiled, and gently placed a blanket over his goddaughter. He looked at the nutcracker in Sally's arms, wiping away a tear that landed on his cheek. "Sonic, my boy, our efforts will give you life tonight but only defeating your enemy will truly restore you as you once were. Please come back and fill my life with love and laughter once more." He whispered, before taking his leave of the quiet house, in preparation for what was to come.