Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ever since Sonic had become king of Camelot, he had wanted to befriend the knights who had newly sworn to protect him. He tried to get them to stop calling him “His Majesty” and “their lord,” but only Gawain and slightly Percival have agreed to do as he wished. Lancelot still referred to him by fancy titles that didn’t suit Sonic at all.

Sonic needed to do something to bond with his fellow knights. Perhaps he was so drawn to them because he was once a knight himself, before he was crowned king. The Knight of the Wind, now shackled to the duties of the throne. No longer was he allowed to freely frolic through the Titanic Plans, pushing his speed to its limits. He could hardly get any alone time–only in the safety of his chambers at night, which even then was soured by the presence of the guards outside the doors.

King Sonic currently sat in the meeting room, not paying attention to what was being discussed. That kind of thing was hard for prolonged periods of time. He glanced out the window, which apparently overlooked the training field. Gawain and Percival were mock battling each other.

Their swift movements were distracting. Watching them duel caused his fingers to itch for a sword, so he twirled his quill pen around his fingers. He startled at a cleared throat, looking up to see a disgruntled advisor.

“Pardon me, Your Majesty, but we were just discussing suspicious behavior reported in the Distant Isles. Should we send one of the Knights of the Round Table to investigate?”

“What kind of suspicious behavior?” Sonic questioned. At the mention of the Round Table knights, his green eyes flicked to Lancelot, who stood stoically in the corner of the room. Has he not moved even an inch this whole time?

“It seems like some of the lesser kingdoms are unifying their forces,” the man answered tightly, which made Sonic think he’d already said this information. “They may be plotting an invasion.”

“Or perhaps someone is planning to invade them? If they truly are lesser kingdoms, they would need the unified forces to protect themselves.”

“I suppose so,” another councilman said. “If you are reluctant to send out your knights so soon into your reign as king, perhaps we could sit back and watch the situation. If any of the neighboring kingdoms get conquered or unify with that force, we should re-evaluate the situation.”

“Excellent suggestion! Maybe I should just leave all this kingly stuff to you guys.” Sonic put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair.

The council of advisors awkwardly chuckled. The bell tower outside chimed multiple times, ending the hour and Sonic’s time there. “Well, it’s off to the next thing,” Sonic said, giving them a wave. “See you same time tomorrow.”

They all bowed their heads in response.

He slipped out of the room into the hallway. Sonic felt Lancelot’s presence appear behind him like a shadow.

Shadow… It was still so weird to think that his rival from his former life had a doppelganger who acted subservient to Sonic. He would find amusement in the irony if it wasn’t so unnerving.

Unprompted, Lancelot’s voice echoed from behind him. “Such words might inspire treachery, Your Majesty.”

Sonic stopped and turned around. It was rare that the ultimate knight was the first to start a conversation with him. “What?”

The black hedgehog cleared his throat, and fiddled with his visor. “Saying they could do your job better than you can. Of course, this is just the lowly opinion of a knight.”

“No, no! I value your opinion as much as those guys.” He nodded back towards the meeting room. He paused. “Actually, probably a little more. They can be a little stubborn and annoying sometimes.”

“I see.” His head angled slightly downward, though not into a less-formal bow. “You truly are kind, my lord.”

“I think respecting others’ opinions is the minimum someone could do,” Sonic replied.

Lancelot grunted softly. He then changed the subject. “This is not meant to be an order, but I do not wish to waste your time and make you late for your next engagement.”

“It’s just lunch.” And boy, was he hungry. Sonic was starting to think that his boredom transformed itself into hunger. If that was true, then the two hours in that room might make him capable of eating the daily feast prepared three times a day, just for him.

Meal times were always pretty lonely, though. The feast hall held a grand, long table, though only one spot was consistently made up on a daily basis.

“Would you like to eat with me?” Sonic offered.

“I am quite well, my lord.”

Sonic knew that since Lancelot was escorting him today, he wouldn’t be able to eat until he switched out with one of the other knights at five p.m., after they trained together. He never pushed it, though.

He did find it strange that although the three knights all followed the same code of chivalry, each of them had varyingly different responses to Sonic’s wish for them to treat him normally.

The blue hedgehog eventually finished most of the food and was satisfied. He never was able to finish what he was given. He wondered if it all went to waste once he was done.

Chapter Text

His Majesty King Sonic was an interesting person to witness on an almost daily basis. He was so casual, despite his position being anything but. He defied everything Lancelot once knew about royalty–they’re aloof, you must maintain your distance, perform the proper amount of groveling to appease them, and the only acceptable option for a task is to succeed.

He wasn’t sure he liked that. All of that change in so short a time was too much for him to bear. Failing for the first time, experiencing mercy from a hedgehog he once thought was his enemy, realizing that his life’s purpose was just an illusion… His speech, behaviors, and armor were the only things the ultimate knight could cling onto anymore.

Lancelot watched his king transition to his office, where he (unwillingly) reviewed bills and laws for two hours before they finally stepped out in the sunlight of the training field. Only Percival was there, meaning Gawain had left to make himself presentable to take over Lancelot’s duty as escort.

“Greetings, King Sonic,” Sir Percival said with a nod. “Whom would you like to spar with today–a practice dummy, Sir Lancelot, or myself?”

“I think I’m just going to work on the basics today,” His Majesty declared. “It’s been a while, right, Excalibur?”

“It certainly has been,” the sword replied. “Fighting practice is important, but you still need to keep the basics sharp. Now, one hundred diagonal slashes!”

The only being allowed to boss the king around was Excalibur itself, who had chosen the hedgehog as the one true king. Lancelot turned from the now preoccupied king to Sir Percival.

“Want to duel?” The purple cat asked, waving her sword Laetvatien questioningly.

Lancelot hardly pondered her question. “Of course.” Unlike their king, the knights woke up at five a.m. each morn and started it off with practicing their raw skills. After following his king around all day, he was itching for a duel.

They clashed against each other several times. Their skills were so evenly matched that it was more like a toss-up as to who won or not. It just so happened that this time, Sir Percival ended up on top. “Congratulations,” he said, ignoring the sting in his arms from her flames that scalded him, even though the armor.

“You’re a skilled knight as well,” she replied humbly, flipping up her visor to cool off after using her fire magic. He wished he could do the same so easily.

Sonic let out a sigh, and they both turned towards him. “Okay, I think I’m ready to fight for real now.” He brandished Excalibur, who added, “Who’s up for the challenge?”

Sir Gawain appeared from the direction of their living quarters, freshly washed up. He let out a loud yawn.

Lancelot asked him, “Who should duel His Majesty, Percival or myself?”

The sun knight replied quickly. “You, obviously.”

“Still sore from the last duel when I defeated you, hmm?”

“What? No!” The overreaction proved otherwise. He had to suppress a smirk.

“Very well then.” Lancelot turned towards the royal hedgehog, whose eyebrows raised at his attention. “My lord, do you accept me as your opponent?”

“Bring it on!” Sonic said, a smile gracing his face. He stopped for a moment to say, “Oh, and by the way, don’t go easy on me.”

“I will do the best of my ability,” Lancelot answered, readying his sword, Arondight. His king mirrored him, then dashed forward using his advanced speed.

Excalibur clashed against Arondight once, twice, a dozen times. Eventually he worked King Sonic’s sword into a gridlock, stalling for time as he mentally formulated a plan. His opponent burst out of the gridlock, and sparks flew as their swords collided.

He feinted to his king’s left. As Excalibur was raised to block the blow, Lancelot’s sabatons magically activated and he ducked under King Sonic’s arm. Now behind him, he swept Sonic’s feet out from under him. That was hardly an inconvenience for the royal hedgehog, however, who quickly recovered.

In the time it took King Sonic to rise, Lancelot had created some distance in between them, and swiveled around. He leapt into the air towards his king with his blade pointed downwards.

Excalibur deflected his blade, and Lancelot flipped to land on his feet. He used his sabatons again to charge towards King Sonic, now utilizing a spinning horizontal slash towards his midsection.

As expected, it was blocked. He turned back around to slash at his king’s other side, then they were back to the usual back-and-forth.

“You haven’t used Chaos Control yet. What’s up?”

Lancelot grit his teeth but powered through. He needed to somehow get his sword to King Sonic’s neck, but the royal hedgehog wouldn’t allow for such close proximity to occur. At least, not easily. The only way to catch King Sonic off guard to secure a victory would be to use dishonorable tactics, and he would rather die before staining his honor like such.

The blunt end of Excalibur hit against Lancelot’s weakened wrist, making him drop Arondight. He found the familiar, barely tangible press of metal against his throat. “I yield, Your Majesty,” he said simply.

His singed and now battered wrist throbbed, though, so he picked up his sword with his non-dominant hand to sheath his sword.

“Are you okay?” His king asked, getting uncomfortably close. “How dare you approach me so insolently! Maintain a distance of at least twenty paces!”

Lancelot backed away. “I am quite alright, my lord. Just some routine injuries that come along with dueling the grail knight.”

Sonic reached towards his armor buckles around his wrist. “Ooh, burns can get quite nasty. Would you mind if I took a look–”

The ultimate knight scooted out of reach. “I can patch it up myself. Excuse me, my lord.” He curtly bowed at the waist before rigidly walking towards his quarters. It took all the strength he had not to activate his sabatons and run.

Chapter Text

Sonic watched Lancelot’s retreating back as his injured arm dangled behind him. “What did I do wrong?” He asked no one in particular.

Sir Percival’s lips pressed together, and without her visor he could actually see the conflicted emotions that flitted across her face. She spoke softly. “Pay him no mind, King Sonic. He is still not used to your ways as the new ruler.”

“He was the false king’s favorite, but Arthur also scrutinized him the most intensely,” Gawain added, sounding a little down.

Sonic looked in the direction the dark hedgehog had disappeared off to, his thoughts slowly turning at this new information. The confident, cool demeanor Lancelot always emitted was completely at odds with the knight who just fled. He wished he had more time to think about it, but the clock rang five times, signaling his training session’s end.

Sir Gawain walked alongside him up until his royal chambers, where he stationed himself outside. Sonic was bathed by his attendants. The initial embarrassment had developed into reluctance, but he didn’t mind it anymore. Living in Camelot for almost a year would do that to a hedgehog.

The rest of the night went according to the increasingly boring routine, and before he knew it, he was in bed, free to do whatever he wanted for the rest of the night. At least, that’s what he was told. He wasn’t allowed to run to his heart’s content, or stay up late with the other knights playing games and gossiping and drinking until the early hours of the morning. Sonic sighed, staring at the ceiling from on his bed. Chaos, he missed his friends. He missed having friends, period.

***

Sonic may not be able to help his friendless situation at the moment, but he could cure one thing–his feeling of being cooped up. After lending an audience to the commoners who lined his throne room each morning, he slipped away from Sir Percival’s watchful presence and sneaked outside through the royal garden. He was lured towards the Titanic Plains but instead chose to head towards the closer outskirts of the Shrouded Forest.

Sonic did something he hadn’t been able to do in ages. He spun donuts, ran in circles, actually spin dashed. Who knew being curled up in a small ball while hurtling at high speeds would be so freeing?

He did, once.

He spun in a couple of more circles before deciding to climb a tree. He scrabbled for leverage, since the branches sparsely dotted his chosen tree. Eventually he managed to find a one towards the top that was strong enough to support his and Excalibur’s weight.

Sonic wasn’t trying to run away or hide. He knew he would be found eventually, and didn’t want the castle to panic for too long. He just needed some time to just breathe, by himself, without someone hovering nearby.

He swung his legs as he examined the castle, which appeared to be so small from his lofty position and distance. Eventually, someone the size of an ant appeared from the garden, moving at a rapid pace. It had to be one of the knights. As the knight grew closer, he noticed it was Lancelot, who was intensely focused on the ground.

Ah, snap. Did he leave a path? That might make him be found earlier than he had wanted. Yet the blue hedgehog had to admit it was quite amusing. The ultimate knight looked like a bloodhound with its nose pressed to the ground.

Lancelot drew even closer, eventually getting to the part where he ran in circles. Sonic put a gloved fist in his own mouth to stop the laughter that threatened to bubble out. The knight hadn’t realized it was a circle and was blindly following the trail, going in the same circles he had earlier.

After a few loops, the black hedgehog slowed to a stop, scanning the path as a whole, though not looking up just yet. Once more, he slowly traced the circled path, only to find at last where Sonic had broken off. He then followed it right to the base of the tree Sonic was in.

“It’s about time you caught on.” Sonic couldn’t keep the laughter out of his voice, especially when Lancelot’s head snapped upwards to look at him. Sonic gave a little wave to the poor, unobservant knight.

When Lancelot spoke, it was surprisingly neutral. Sonic meant, the ultimate knight usually spoke pretty neutrally, he was just surprised he was able to keep his composure. “Your Majesty, you cannot simply abandon your duties. There are important matters to be discussed in your meeting with your advisors.”

His smile faded as he became aware once again of his new life. Sonic sighed. “I never get to just run anymore. Why can’t we work that into the schedule somewhere?”

“What about your daily training sessions?”

“Fighting isn’t the same as running. It’s what I do. Knight of the Wind and everything, remember?”

“I wouldn’t dare to forget, my lord, but I implore you to at least get down from that tree. It is unsafe for someone of your status.”

“Alright.” He put his hands on the branch beneath him and leaped down dozens of feet onto the ground. Sonic saw the frozen knight’s mouth, agape. Lancelot was stirred to move again relatively quickly as Sonic brushed off his clothes.

“Are you okay, Your Majesty?” Lancelot put out a hand but froze, and it retreated against his armored chest.

“Why do you guys always act like I’m so fragile?” Sonic asked. He was unable to keep the annoyance out of his voice, though Lancelot wasn’t the sole culprit for this particular matter.

“It is not that we think you are fragile.” Lancelot hurried to explain. “We are simply treating you with the dignity of a king.”

He couldn’t stay mad at Lancelot when he scrambled to grovel like that. He just said, “Well, maybe the rules are stupid,” before storming back to the castle, though at a slower walking speed that might be considered normal for the common man. Sonic wanted to delay the inevitable for as long as he could.

Chapter Text

In the chaos of their king’s return, Lancelot slipped away to mentally recover. He went to his room and laid down on his bed, his full set of armor still on. The panic that had laced through his bones when he heard King Sonic was missing, the adrenaline and his visor narrowing his vision to just the trail in front of him, using his instincts to avoid disaster, only to find out the hedgehog was hanging out in a tree. Not kidnapped or run away, just lounging and enjoying the day.

In retrospect, Lancelot felt almost bad for disrupting his alone time, but the king had duties to fulfill, as did Lancelot. Speaking of which, he was shirking them right now. Since Sir Percival was in charge of escorting the royal hedgehog (even though she had failed earlier), he and Gawain were to do the other knightly duties until he replaced Percival after their afternoon training.

Lancelot had long grown used to the lumpiness of his bedding, and it felt almost impossible to drag himself out of the trap he’d laid himself. Perhaps he would be forgiven if he didn’t show up for his duties due to all the chaos.

He shut down that thought immediately, jumping out of bed. That was a dangerous line of thought. Breaking routine by being lazy would lead to his skills dulling, and he couldn’t protect his king if he were slain in battle.

The first thing to do was duel Sir Gawain. “It’s about time you showed up,” the echidna remarked, brandishing his two swords, Galatine.

“It’s about time you learned to hold your tongue,” Lancelot bit back, drawing his own Arondight.

After a couple of rounds in which Lancelot lost–the case of the missing king left him feeling exhausted–he glided to the stables alongside Sir Gawain.

Lancelot picked up his horse’s brush and walked over to his animal. Compared to him, the creature was massive, and he had to pull up a step stool in order to reach her long locks of hair.

“Hello, Little One,” he said. He first gently palmed her nuzzle so she would know it was him before tugging the brush through her dark mane, giving her soothing pats all the while.

The stable boys took care of their waste and fed them, so Lancelot did not need to worry about those parts. The only things they needed to do was groom their own warhorses, as the stable boys were too scared to approach them, and give them a ride several times a week. Lancelot saddled her up and mounted her back. She was technically only half dressed, but she didn’t need her armor for a simple walk outdoors.

Gawain had already left the stables, racing across the paddock. Maybe this could be an alternative to Sonic’s running predicament. No, horses were too dangerous for the untrained individual. The only reason Lancelot was okay with Little One’s current size was because she’s been by his side since she was a filly, a gift from the former king. That may have contributed to him distancing himself from her lately.

He patted her side. “I’m sorry.”

She whinnied in response. He thought himself forgiven. She was always a gracious creature.

Lancelot steered his warhorse out of the stables, stirring her to a gallop as they entered the field. The wind whipped against his face, filtered through the slits in his visor. He barely guided her for ten more minutes before bringing her back to the stables. He unsaddled her, fed her a treat, and went back into the castle.

He spent a few hours patrolling before going to the bathing house to freshen up in order to take Percival’s job of escorting the king. He couldn’t be sweaty and smelling of horses in the presence of the king.

The ultimate knight bathed as quickly as possible. There was no time for dilly dallying. He put on a fresh layer of underclothes before reassembling his armor, which felt like a second skin after years of daily use. Lancelot appeared in the sparring ring, where King Sonic was currently dueling Gawain.

The sun knight had immense skill, but no one could compare to their king. He shortly had to yield, allowing their king to offer his hand to help Gawain up in a show of good sportsmanship.

“Perhaps I was too cocky,” Sir Gawain admitted.

“I would hope a mere victory over me wouldn’t inflate your ego that much,” Lancelot replied, feeling slightly amused.

He jumped at Lancelot’s sudden presence. “Why are you always so arrogant?” The echidna hissed. “You want a rematch or something?”

“He needs to stay presentable for the king,” Sir Percival cut in. “If it is a fight you desire, I can offer it to you.”

“Very well then. Ah, of course, if you don’t mind, King Sonic.”

The royal hedgehog waved away their concerns. “I can sit out for just one match.” He then walked over to Lancelot, though he maintained a small amount of distance between them. Twenty paces away, he remembered, but ignored. It would be ruder to walk away from the king when he walked up to him specifically. And it wasn’t rude when Lancelot walked away from him yesterday?

He hated contradictions. They were so complicated. “Forgive me for my behavior yesterday, my liege,” he said to try and remedy that.

“No, I’m sorry. I pushed too hard. How is your arm healing up?”

A king never apologized, but Lancelot kept quiet on that front. “I have always been a quick healer. I am fine, but thank you for your concern, my lord.” He forgot to stop by the healer, but Lancelot didn't want to worry him with that.

“I should have expected as much.” King Sonic sometimes said things that didn’t make sense, and now was one of those times. He didn’t pay it any mind and his attention was drawn to the duel in front of them.

Lancelot heard the increased tapping of his king’s foot. He could never sit in silence for long. “I can’t believe it’s almost been a year since I arrived, huh?”

Lancelot let out a grunt of agreement, then considered that he should further the conversation. “Would you want to celebrate it with anything?”

He felt King Sonic’s eyes on him. “Well, the advisors have been pushing me to host an event lately. I wouldn’t have expected such an idea from you, though.”

“Why is that?” His head turned back to focus on the king’s face.

The royal hedgehog’s eyes darted around, and he scratched the back of his blue neck. “Well, ya know–you don’t seem to be the type of person to enjoy parties.”

Lancelot’s quills prickled, and he crossed his arms. “I can enjoy an occasional glass of beer with my comrades, but it’s not like I can bring that same attitude to work.”

King Sonic huffed out a breath of laughter, body language easy as he leaned against the barricade. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers.”

His indignation melted into confusion. “I possess no feathers, my lord.”

“It’s just a saying,” was all he explained.

“I yield,” Sir Gawain grunted, and they looked to see that Sir Percival had him locked under her blade from where he sprawled onto the dusty ground.

“Up for a challenge, King Sonic?” asked the cat, a smirk gracing her face.

“I lust for battle! Onwards, Sonic!” Excalibur butted in.

“Yeah yeah, I’m going,” King Sonic said as he pushed himself off the wall.

Sir Gawain replaced the place their king had stood in. “Don’t say anything,” the sun knight said abruptly.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” replied Lancelot. His focus was now latched onto the ongoing match, the crash of metal against metal and the blur of blue quills and purple fur. An event to celebrate his ruler's reign as king? He supposed he should be prepared for the halls to fill up with numerous people for who knows how many days.

Great.

Chapter Text

The council of advisors seemed rather amenable to the idea of hosting an event for the anniversary of Sonic’s time as king. He hated the smugness that they possessed at his finally giving in and hosting an event.

Whatever little free time he had left went to making executive decisions when it came to the planning. His meals became oriented around taste testing the best dishes and selecting the best silverware for the multi-course dinner that would be held. His two hour time slot of training halved for him to have more time to prepare for the party.

Party was an understatement, actually. The advisors wanted it to be a multi-day affair with a ball and sports competitions and everything. This was exactly why he wanted to avoid such an event in the first place.

“Why did I have to listen to Lancelot?” he grumbled to himself one day as he drowned in the paperwork scattered on his desk.

“You are a kind and fair king who listens to his subjects,” answered Sir Percival, standing in the corner of the room. Although she and Gawain have slowly become more amenable to Sonic’s new way of doing things, even they refused to sit while on duty, except during meals.

Sonic sighed. Once upon a time, he craved such admiration from the people he saved on a daily basis. Now, he didn’t have to earn it, and it was starting to feel cheap. He diverted his attention back to his work, though he had to take frequent breaks in order to keep focus.

“Who do I invite?” The blue hedgehog once asked the council during one of their meetings.

“All of Camelot’s high ranking noble families, of course,” one of them suggested.

“Our allied kingdoms, so Sorelois, Lyonesse, etc.”

As they continued discussing, a name not yet mentioned jogged in Sonic’s memory. “And we can’t forget to invite Nimue.” Not inviting an all-powerful enchantress has not turned out so well in other fairy tales, and he happened to be quite fond of the Lady of the Lake.

Their eyes all widened, but they quickly composed themselves. “Of course we can send her an invitation, but…”

“She doesn’t usually leave the lake,” another finished.

Sonic shrugged. “Well, it wouldn’t hurt.”

“Of course not, my lord.”

Invitations were sent out not too long after, a couple of weeks before the affair took place. Their best messengers were sent on their fastest horses due to the little forewarning. Well, that is Sonic’s style, after all.

Later, while Sir Gawain was acting as his escort in Sonic’s office, a knock resounded at the door. “Come in,” he said, looking up from his work. At this point he was eager for a distraction.

The door opened to reveal Lancelot. Sonic was shocked to see the knight. Shouldn't he be training right now? “Forgive me for disturbing you, my lord, but I would like to request tomorrow off.”

“Color me surprised,” Gawain said, pulling his visor up. He bore a crooked smile.

“My query is for the king, not an insolent knight who doesn’t know when to stay quiet.” Despite the harsh words, there was no malice in his voice.

Sonic curiously inspected Lancelot. In his time as knight under Sonic’s rule, he’d never asked for the day off. “Of course you can have the day off tomorrow,” Sonic said before Gawain’s temper rose. “If I may ask, whatever is it for?”

Lancelot gripped his visor, pulling it further down, if that were even possible. “Forgive me, but I would prefer not to say.”

Sonic leaned forward, placing his palms on peach-colored cheeks. “Ooh, secrets! Love that for you.”

The black hedgehog sputtered, caught off guard at Sonic’s answer. Sonic giggled. At that, Lancelot bowed and spun out of the room, mechanically walking as quickly as possible.

“Lance is typically not one for secrets,” Sir Gawain said, his eyes narrowing. “Would you like me to keep an eye on him, Sonic?”

The blue hedgehog waved away his worries. “No need. Could this be considered progress? He isn’t following my wishes blindly anymore.”

“I suppose, though there’s a difference between following your wishes and disobeying direct orders.”

“It wasn’t a direct order, I was just asking.” Chaos above, why did all the knights seem to have a tight screw or two?

“Pardon my insolence, King Sonic.” He bowed his head, and his visor clapped back down onto his face.

“It’s okay to be worried for your friend.”

“I wasn’t worried! And he’s not my friend!” The sun knight protested vehemently with shaking fists, amusing Sonic greatly.

Chapter Text

Having the day off when it wasn’t for expeditions was strange. Lancelot set out what he meant to accomplish and came back. He would not answer Gawain when he pestered about what he did. It would be known in due time.

The next day, he resumed his usual routine, although Camelot Castle was anything but normal. The first day of the celebration had begun, and it was much busier than normal.

To make up for his absence yesterday, Lancelot guarded his king throughout the entire day, trying his best to blend into the background and constantly assessing for threats due to the increased crowd–and the greater probability of assassins lurking amongst them.

“Are you sure you don’t want to eat?” King Sonic asked, gesturing to the multi-plated meal before him. This would be his last solitary meal before the festivities commenced. Lancelot thought he would have wanted to take advantage of that.

The ultimate knight’s stomach rumbled, but Lancelot declined his offer. Eating in the king’s presence as his servant was disrespectful.

King Sonic bit the inside of his cheek, and his gaze fell back down to his food. His eyes then sparked with an idea. “What if I closed my eyes?”

“What would that accomplish, my lord?” Lancelot looked at his king quizzically.

King Sonic shrugged exaggeratedly. “I dunno, I thought maybe you’re food-shy.”

Lancelot huffed at that, though his lips quirked upwards at the corners. “I eat in the dining hall just fine, Your Majesty. It would be disrespectful to your honor to eat the same food at the same table with a lowly knight.”

Determination flashed across the royal hedgehog’s green eyes. “So wouldn’t that mean my honor has already been ‘tarnished’ after eating with Gawain and Percival so many times?”

Lancelot’s eyes flew open, making him grateful for the visor that obscured his face. He stiffened. “Please forgive me, my lord. I did not mean to insult your honor.”

“If you really want to apologize, you’ll sit with me and eat.” With a smug smirk on his face, King Sonic patted the seat beside him.

Was Lancelot to keep his distance or sit next to the king like he desires? It would be ruder to keep him waiting while Lancelot panicked to make a decision, he decided. He followed where his sabatons took him, which was apparently to the spot that his king beckoned him to.

Immediately he was bombarded with information that made Lancelot’s hackles rise. “Ooh, okay these are chili dogs. They’re not the same as back home but they managed to replicate it pretty close without ever having eaten them. You don’t have to eat it with the chili but it definitely enhances the flavor. And this is a potato pie that tastes really good though it’s a bit unusual. There’s no French fries here so this kind of fills that void.”

While he talked, King Sonic shoveled the various foods he talked about onto Lancelot’s plate. Nervousness raced through him and he felt like he couldn’t eat, much less hear his king's rant. The servants’ dining hall table didn’t have a tablecloth. What if he dropped food and stained the white cloth? What if his table manners were found lacking? He usually popped his visor up when eating, but he didn’t want to do so in front of his king. He was meant to remain a faceless servant whose only goal was to serve the king. Then again, the former king knew his face well, so was it fair to keep the same opportunity from their new king?

Lancelot heard chewing, and looked over to see the royal hedgehog devouring chili dog after chili dog using his hands as utensils, wiping away the sauce with the back of his hand as he chewed. He caught Lancelot’s gaze. “Well, dig in!”

The ultimate knight swallowed down his apprehension. He had been acting rather disobedient lately. Perhaps this would help solidify his loyalty as King Sonic’s knight. He carefully picked up the chili dog–a name that originally scared the canine Mobians of their kingdom–and maneuvered it around his armored fingers until he found a good place to bite into it. Lancelot made sure it didn’t touch the underside of his visor, which he kept down.

The chili sauce had been a mistake. His eyes watered and he coughed, his throat feeling like it was on fire. He forced himself to finish digesting it under the scrutiny of his king’s eyes, though with much difficulty.

His king bore an amused expression. “Yeah, Gawain and Percy had similar reactions. You can just scrape the chili off; that’s where the spice is coming from.”

“Duly noted.” He wiped the chili off of the dog onto the plate, then finished eating it. It still had spicy notes due to the residue, but was by far reduced compared to the earlier attack. The potato pie was quite delicious too, as were the pickled vegetables, and the chowder.

After he had finished all that King Sonic had put on his plate, something Lancelot had never felt before occurred. His stomach pressed against the inner lining of his armor, full of content. He wiped the food off of his metal gloves with a napkin.

After finishing, he glanced up only for his king to be staring at him. The small smile that he had lacked its usual mischief. Lancelot’s quills prickled, and he cleared his throat as his cheeks colored red. “My apologies for making you wait, my liege. We should be heading to meet with the nobles.”

“No, no, you’re fine. But you’re right, we probably should get a move on.”

Although King Sonic couldn’t see it, he couldn’t meet his king’s eyes for the rest of that day. The delicious food he consumed almost made a reappearance at training later that day, much to Sirs Gawain and Percival’s amusement.

Chapter Text

“If you do not mind my questions, my lord, but where are we going? This is not the way to the castle.”

Sonic looked down to Excalibur, who was grumbling at his side about his current state. “It’s about time for Excalibur’s check up, and he’s been spoiled rotten so he only wants Tails to do it.”

“I do not require a ‘check up,’ and I am certainly not spoiled!” The sword replied haughtily. “I merely desire a maintenance check, and that Blacksmith is the only one capable of treating me right.”

“If it looks like a duck and talks like a duck…” Sonic said with a shrug. Excalibur silently fumed, refusing to engage further.

“This…Tails,” Lancelot began. “Who is he to have the honor of handling such a sacred weapon?”

“He’s a blacksmith,” Sonic explained as they reached the nearby town. “I’ve been visiting him since I was a ‘knave.’”

Lancelot’s steps faltered.

Sonic looked to his knight. “I don’t hold the time you called me a knave against you, if you’re thinking about that.”

Lancelot awkwardly cleared his throat. “Forgive me, Your Majesty.”

Sonic sighed, though he was quickly distracted by the townspeople welcoming his presence with open arms. He talked to them as he walked past, before he eventually appeared at the smithy.

“Couldn’t you have sent a servant in your place, my lord?” Lancelot questioned, taking in the small building.

“Excalibur doesn’t like it when other people touch him,” Sonic said. “Besides, don’t judge a book by its cover. Tails is one of the most experienced blacksmiths I know.”

“And how many blacksmiths do you know, my liege?” Lancelot questioned, a small smile on his face.

Sonic smiled at his rebuttal. Usually the ultimate knight would not ask such a question, viewing it as disrespectful. Progress! “Only Tails, but Excalibur likes him, and that’s enough for me.”

“Forgive me, my lord. You should not have to explain your reasoning to me.”

And…there he went again, reverting back to his usual code of chivalry. The blue hedgehog sighed. Progress was a slippery slope, wasn’t it? He pushed open the door with a creak.

“We’re not open!” Tails yelled from the smithy in the room behind the main shop, his voice punctuated by slamming steel.

“Tails, it’s me!” Sonic called back.

“Sonic?” There were a couple of thunks before the blacksmith appeared. Lancelot instinctively reached for his sword Arondight, but released it once he registered that Tails wasn’t a threat.

“And hello to you again, Excalibur.” Tails looked at the sword at his hip with a smile.

“Greetings once again, blacksmith. Take me away! Sonic knows not how to care for me.”

Sonic handed over the bossy sword, and Tails inspected his surface. “You do look a little dull,” he remarked, flipping over the blade carefully. “And perhaps in need of mending. How much trouble have you gotten into since our last meeting?”

“Umm…” Sonic tried to recount all of the things he’d been through in the months since his last visit.

“His Majesty has gone through training, subjugated some of the last of the Merlina worshippers, and defeated out-of-control magical beasts, to name a few things,” Lancelot supplemented.

Tails’ blue eyes jumped to Lancelot. “Umm, who is this?” He squeaked, holding Excalibur slightly closer.

Before Sonic could explain, Lancelot interjected, “I am Sir Lancelot du Lac, the ultimate knight of the Round Table, defender of Camelot, and closest and most trusted knight of King Sonic.”

“I just call him Lancelot, though,” Sonic said to Tails, whose eyes had widened. He wanted to spare the poor fox from Lancelot's big spiel with all those fancy titles. Saying his knight's name reminded him that Gawain and Percival called him Lance for short, and longed for the day where he could call him that as well.

Tails’ remained wide-eyed like a newborn deer, and Sonic realized that it wasn’t from the sheer might of Lancelot’s titles. He slowly asked, “Sir Lancelot? As in, one of the false king’s enforcers?”

“I no longer serve King Arthur,” Lancelot spat, hand finding the hilt of his weapon. “King Sonic is the only one I serve now."

“Stand down, Lancelot!” Excalibur said. “If you rid the world of my favorite blacksmith, you will never know peace.”

The ultimate knight let go of his weapon, though he still appeared irked based on his body behavior.

“You can’t blame him,” Sonic said. Through the slats of his visor, Lancelot’s eyes flicked to him, and he hastily continued, “I mean, King Arthur was a really bad guy, and he made you and Gawain and Percival do bad things. But that’s why you need to prove to the citizens that you’re not a bad person, right?”

He considered Sonic's words for a moment. “Once again, Your Majesty’s insight is correct, and greatly appreciated. I do regret my actions under King Arthur’s rule.” Lancelot turned to the blacksmith, who flinched slightly. The knight dipped his head and put a hand over his heart. “Forgive me, Tails the Blacksmith.”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Tails said nervously. He looked to Sonic and quickly said, “I’m going to go mend Excalibur real quick.” He then scurried away towards the back.

Now that Tails was gone, Lancelot said in a dejected voice, “I didn’t realize the citizens of Camelot still viewed us that way. We’ve done so much for the kingdom since you started ruling. I guess I thought that would be enough.”

“Most of the things you’ve done have been far off missions. If you want to change their minds, you need to work within Camelot to build their trust in you again.” Sonic gave a reassuring smile. “I’m sure you’ll be able to do it.”

If Shadow could regain the trust of others after all that had happened on the ARC and trying to destroy the world, he was sure that Lancelot could do the same.

“I appreciate your confidence.”

That made Sonic smile. They stood in a comfortable silence until Tails returned with Excalibur.

“Thank you, Tails,” Excalibur said. “It is rather unfortunate to go from the hands of luxury to those that don’t truly appreciate me.”

Tails laughed. “Your sword certainly has a sense of humor.”

“He certainly likes to think so,” the blue hedgehog said, sheathing Excalibur. “Here, as payment.” He set down multiple gold coins on the countertop.

“Thanks, Sonic.”

“No problem. See you later, alligator.”

“I can never understand you,” Lancelot said as they left the blacksmithy.

Sonic shrugged, walking away. “What can I say, I’m a hedgehog of mystery.”

The ultimate knight stayed put. Sonic turned back, slightly confused. Lancelot always stood by his side when he was assigned as his bodyguard, only hanging back when Sonic was in the safety of the palace.

“Er, I will escort you back to the palace,” Lancelot began. When he faltered, Sonic nodded in encouragement. “But I would appreciate it if you would allow me to leave the palace in order to have a look around town.”

The blue hedgehog smiled. “It’s no problem at all! I would let you just go ahead and do it now, but I doubt you’ll let me go back alone.”

Lancelot smiled as well. “You would be correct, Your Majesty.”

They headed back for the castle. It was something that used to fill Sonic with dread, but now left his heart light.

Chapter Text

Despite appearing calm on the way back to the palace, Lancelot couldn’t stop thinking about his past, which the blacksmith had brought up. He failed his kingdom by blindly following the orders of the false king. Could he even call himself the defender of Camelot anymore? Did he even deserve to be a knight?

King Sonic found it in his heart to forgive all the Knights of the Round Table, but he was also a newcomer to Camelot. He didn’t know all the evil he committed while in Arthur’s service. Lancelot’s heart skipped. If he found out what he’d truly done, how would he react? Would he become just as cold and distant as Arthur? Lancelot still felt disconcerted about Sonic’s closeness, but the thought of him withdrawing so completely fueled a worry in his heart.

Lancelot dropped his king off with Gawain, who was confused at the deviation of routine. He then skated his way back down to the heart of the city.

Where was he supposed to begin? He scanned the buildings but couldn’t find anything overtly wrong. He slowly glided along as he inspected, noticing how the bumbling villagers gave him a wide berth. It seems Tails wasn’t lying when he said that the knights haven’t fully earned their citizens’ trust again. Even though he could understand why, it still stung.

Despite looking around for people to help, Lancelot couldn’t spot anything out of the ordinary. He decided to stop by the only villager somewhat friendly with him–Tails the blacksmith.

He opened the door to the shop. Once again, the fox was in the back, his presence only noticeable due to the clanging of piping hot metal.

Lancelot called, “Excuse me, blacksmith?” He had to force the next words to come out of his unwilling mouth. “I require your assistance.”

Clearly the blacksmith didn’t recognize his voice because as he trotted out from the back, his eyes quickly widened in shock. “Oh, hello, Sir Lancelot. Did something happen with Sonic’s sword?”

Lancelot’s posture somehow straightened even more than before. “Er, no,” he said. “I-I am here about what you said earlier.” At his frightened expression, the ultimate knight hurried to add, “I would just like your advice as to how I could help the people of Camelot. I looked around but couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary.”

Tails’ guard seemed to drop as he pondered Lancelot’s request. “Ted threw out his shoulder, so he can’t cut wood right now. Maybe you could help with that?”

He tensed. The Shrouded Forest was the closest wood to Camelot, and the thought of returning made his quills stand on end. “That sounds like something Sir Gawain could do.” It technically wasn’t a lie, as Gawain’s superior strength would allow him to down trees more efficiently.

“There’s an old house that needs to be demolished.”

“Sir Percival would be a better match for that than I,” Lancelot said. “She could decimate it with her flames in an instance.”

“There’s only one other thing I can think of right now, but it’s kind of silly.”

“What is it?” Lancelot asked. He hated when people didn’t finish what they started.

Tails bit his lip. “Well, there’s an older woman named Penelope. She lives alone after her husband died, and her kids don’t really visit her. She likes having someone to fuss over, so maybe you could try visiting her?”

Lancelot thought about it. On the surface, it did sound slightly ridiculous. A knight, sworn to protect king and country, taking time off just to visit a strange older woman? But that type of thinking allowed him to tolerate the false king’s rule and not help those in need. He raised his head, steeled with determination. “No task could be considered too ridiculous for a knight. I only worry having a knight showing up to her residence would cause quite a fright.”

Tails shook his head. “Her eyesight isn’t the best, and she’s really friendly. Just don’t pull your sword, and she’ll be fine.”

His ears colored with shame. “I truly am sorry about drawing my sword earlier.”

The fox waved his hands, flustered. “Don’t worry about it, you already apologized for it. Anyways, she lives in the biggest house on Third Street. It has a yellow door. You can’t miss it.”

Lancelot followed his directions all the way up to the cheery door. He knocked, then stood back to wait. He mentally urged her to answer as soon as possible, as he could feel the stares needling through his armor. As a knight, he should have the resolve to not care about others’ opinions except for those of his king, but Tails’ earlier words had rattled him.

It took a while longer for her to open the door. Penelope turned out to be a hunched over sheep Mobian, and the spectacles she adjusted quaked in her grip. Lancelot smiled in an attempt to look as least intimidating as possible. “Hello, Mrs. Penelope. Tails told me that you would appreciate a visit.”

She blinked at him, before revealing a toothy grin. “Oh, yes, come in, dearie. I’ll whip something up real quick for you.”

“You don’t have to do that, really.”

Penelope glared at him with a will that could rival his own. “Listen here…”

“Lancelot,” he supplied.

She nodded. “Listen here, Lancelot. I don’t know where you come from, but you are my guest. I take care of my guests, so take a seat while I prepare something.”

Lancelot wordlessly sat at her dining table while she portioned out ingredients, bringing it all together in a dough. She frowned down at the concoction. “I wanted to make a blackberry pie, but I just realized I don’t have any blackberries. Could you be a dear and go pluck some? I have a bush in the backyard.”

Lancelot jumped to his feet with a nod. That would certainly make him feel better about imposing himself when he was supposed to be the one helping her. She chuckled. “You certainly are eager.”

She handed him a basket, and he went out the backdoor to pluck at the brambles. His armor protected his fingers from the sharp thorns. Lancelot didn’t know how many to pluck, so he just filled half the basket.

She mumbled her appreciation as she made a filling. “So what is a knight such as yourself doing with an old lady such as me?” Penelope asked as she slid the tin into the oven.

Lancelot was completely caught off guard. Tails said she had poor eyesight, though he supposed she did have spectacles. He cleared his throat. “Helping the citizens of Camelot is one of my knightly duties.”

“Helping people, huh?” She smirked. “Why don’t you take your helmet off, and you can help me by letting me talk your ear off while the pie cooks?”

“Very well then,” he said. It was different being visor-less with her than it was in the castle. Here, it felt safe and contained, with no need to keep up his guard. He would probably never see this woman again, so any slip up in his expressions didn’t matter in the long term. He enjoyed her various and surprisingly interesting stories about her life, culminating in the fruity sweet.

He took a bite, unused to the sweetness it possessed. “It’s good, though I doubt my taste buds are refined enough to appreciate it in its entirety.”

Penelope laughed, playfully nudging Lancelot’s arm. “Is all that fancy speak a knight thing or just you?”

The spot burned underneath his armor, and he struggled to keep the smile on his face. “I would say a ‘knight thing,’ but I suppose it depends on the knight.”

Lancelot forced himself to finish at least the slice she had given him, though the sheer amount of sweetness curdled in his stomach. He would definitely need to wait for a while before training later that day, lest Gawain be vindicated with him actually throwing up.

Eventually, they had to part ways. He refitted his helm over his head and gave her a wave. “Farewell, Penelope. I enjoyed our time together.”

She smiled and waved back. “As did I, Lancelot. Feel free to stop by again, with or without your knight buddies.”

Lancelot froze, feeling an inkling of guilt within him. He couldn’t guarantee he would be back, though he did want to. “Thank you.” He bowed to her before exiting her house. In the grand scheme of things, it was such an insignificant way to spend an afternoon, but it may have made Penelope’s whole day, and for now, that was enough.

Chapter Text

“Wait, what?!”

The council of advisors looked at each other awkwardly. The one who told Sonic the news repeated himself. “I believe this opportunity could be a good chance to review marriage candidates.”

He had no idea agreeing to the party would inadvertently lead to talks of marriage. There was no way Sonic could marry. Who knows when he would return to Mobius? Would marriages here still be legal there? Plus, he was maybe interested in someone else. He wasn’t sure yet, but he didn’t want to nip the bud before it bloomed.

“Marrying a noble family would solidify your position as king.” Explained a human advisor. “The eligible maidens that were invited are listed here, each with their own political pros and cons.”

Sonic pushed away the spread of mini-portraits in front of him without even looking at them. “No way, Jose. I don’t want to marry. Not now, not ever.”

“My name is Jeffrey.” The councilman responded, confused.

Agh, Sonic was tired of explaining present day lingo. Future day lingo? He still didn't know if this was an alternate dimension or the past. “If this is what this meeting has come to, then meeting dismissed.” He knocked against the table twice to mimic a gavel and stood, leaving behind the gobsmacked councilmen. Sir Gawain slunk after him, reappearing at his side.

“Since your meeting concurred earlier than expected, you have some spare time,” the sun knight proclaimed. “What would you like to do?”

“Anything but preparing for this stupid party thing,” Sonic said with a groan, putting his hands on the back of his head. He missed the spontaneity of his old friends’ get-togethers. All of this planning and such was not his style. He was so desperate for something new that he did something he would have never done in the past. “Maybe hanging out by the moat? Have a bit of fun fishing.”

Gawain informed a nearby servant who scurried away. The echidna and the hedgehog walked to the moat’s edge. Excluding the occasional blacksmithing trip, Sonic didn’t go outside except for the training grounds, so even this sliver of freedom was enough to set his heart ablaze. His feet tingled, urging him to run across the drawbridge into the wild. He suppressed the need by swinging his legs over the ledge instead, ignoring the waters below.

“Just please be careful, King Sonic,” Gawain sighed, plopping down beside him.

“Oh, I’m being careful alright. I’m deathly afraid of water.” He pointed at himself with an uneasy smile to illustrate the point.

Gawain’s mouth twitched. “If you were Lance or Percy, I would have pushed you into the water just now,” he said, propping up his visor.

“The one time I’m glad I’m king!”

They both chuckled. The servant they sent earlier appeared again, handing over fishing poles and bait. They cast their lines, and he could almost imagine Big silently sitting beside him. After fifteen seconds of waiting, Sonic reeled it back in. Nothing. He frowned.

Sonic tossed his fishing rod to the side. “Okay, I’m bored. Let’s do something else now.”

The ringing of the bell interrupted those plans, meaning he had to go eat lunch. Gawain led the way this time, seemingly more excited than him at the prospect of lunch.

***

The advisors were certainly persistent. The next day, they wordlessly brought up the topic again by presenting the assortment of mini portraits in front of his seat.

Sonic glared at each councilman in turn. “I told you guys, I don’t want to hear this marriage talk from you guys anymore.” Chaos, they’re starting to remind Sonic of Amy-Rose when she was younger.

“We are not trying to suggest you get married right away,” a Mobian advisor said. “It could just be a courtship.”

“One of the events could be a tournament,” another suggested. “Everyone loves a good tournament. The eligible maidens could send their best knights, and the winner earns an opportunity for a courtship.”

Sonic was about to reject the proposal before a loophole sparked in his mind. He jumped up to his feet with excitement. “I accept! But only on the condition that I can join in and fight for the opportunity to not meet with anyone else!” Not only would he not have to get married, but he could let loose his pent-up energy. It was a win-win! Well, maybe a win-win-lose for the council.

He was immediately met with protests. “But Your Majesty, that is not allowed!”

“Who says so? Besides, I was a knight first, right?” Gotcha! Sonic smirked.

“All of the princesses would be sending a knight to fight in their stead. It wouldn’t be fair for you to be the only one to fight for yourself, now would it?” A human advisor–Alex, Sonic thought?–mentioned, voice deadpan. The rest of the council murmured their agreement.

Blast! Sonic looked back down to the stack of mini portraits in front of him. They had him there. If he couldn’t fight for himself and they kept up their insistence, then there was no way he could prevent a courtship.

A throat cleared from across the room. Everyone looked up to see Lancelot, whose presence exuded every ounce of knightliness. “Your Majesty, you have three knights who would be willing in your stead.”

Of course! Why hadn’t he thought of it earlier? Then again, Sonic was used to saving others, not needing to be saved himself. “Very well then! I accept, but only on the condition that Lancelot can fight in my place!”

The entirety of the council glared at Lancelot as he solemnly nodded at Sonic's proclamation. The ultimate knight seemed completely unfazed by their open animosity.

One councilman turned towards Sonic, the reluctance blatant on his face. “As you wish, Your Majesty. We will host a marriage tournament on the condition that one of your knights is included.”

Everyone else joined in, and Sonic smiled, the victory soaring in his heart. There was no way Lancelot would lose the tournament. Marriage talks were as good as dead.

Chapter Text

Lancelot could not understand why out of all the Knights of the Round Table, Sonic chose him. He had nowhere near the bond with King Sonic that he did with King Arthur. In fact, his close bond with the former king should probably spark hesitation in the new king for their interactions.

King Arthur…

“Feeling feisty today, are you?” Sir Percival asked dryly, poking the blade at her throat aside.

Lancelot removed the sword from her neck and pushed away the pulsing resentment through his blood. “Forgive me. I acted out of line.” He helped her up.

She brushed the dirt off her armor and smiled, though it was laced with concern. “It felt like something else. Are you feeling nervous about the tournament?”

“Hardly,” the ultimate knight scoffed, sheathing Arondight again. “It will be child’s play.”

Sir Percival patted his plated shoulder. “Whatever you say. King Sonic, up for a match?”

“You know it!” The royal hedgehog chirped.

***

The earlier bout with both Sir Percival and later his king, as well as the training from earlier that day and later that afternoon, left his underclothes completely soaked through with sweat.

The extra training and practice duels were just barely enough to simmer his feelings about the false king. He trodded towards the bathing house, hoping that would eliminate those emotions completely.

Before King Sonic’s arrival, baths were usually taken around once a week due to the extended effort of having to draw the water for the bath itself. The king’s servants hardly had enough time off to do so, so had to wait until their singular day off, supplementing the rest of the week with a wet rag. Their new king negotiated with Nimue to create “waterways” to the baths, allowing for instantaneous filling up with just the flick of a switch.

He didn’t have to worry about his armor; he had already disassembled it in his bedroom. He peeled off his underclothes, folding it neatly in a pile beside his nightclothes before settling into the bath, dipping his quills beneath the surface. The other servants have long since bathed, as their work ended hours before the knights’. It was the price to pay to be the kingdom’s and king’s protectors: early mornings and late nights.

The warmed water–once a rarity due to the former ineffective heating process–soothed his pleasantly sore muscles, making him want to lounge in the bath instead of getting it over with as quickly as possible. The warmth seemed to melt the thoughts of the former king from his mind, especially when he submerged his head under the water. It reminded him of his time with Nimue, however short it was.

The heating magic didn’t last forever, and after the bath went cold, he got out and drained the tub. He toweled off thoroughly, even checking to make sure the many crevices of his quills were all dry. Lancelot put on his nightdress and picked up his dirty work attire.

The ultimate knight rushed back to his quarters, shared with the other two knights, his bare feet echoing along the stone tile due to the silence. Being without his visor felt like walking into battle in just his nightclothes, but he didn’t want his nightclothes to become gross by wearing his sweaty armor. He thanked the empty, dark hallways.

“A knight is the faceless enforcer of the king. A knight should desire no recognition, only the purpose of loyalty to the king fulfilled.”

Stop it! No matter how hard he tried, memories of King Arthur kept resurfacing. In fact, the distraction almost made him miss a sound up ahead. His ears perked, and he swiveled into a window’s alcove. He instinctively reached for Arondight, the sword that wasn’t there. Curses, he’d left it in his room along with his armor. Well, he could hardly let an unknown individual roam throughout the palace, sword or no sword.

He stepped into the hallway again, hand at his hip to hopefully convince the intruder he was armed. “Who goes there?” Lancelot demanded forcefully, squinting through the darkness that was barely illuminated by the moonlight through the window. “Show yourself.”

He heard shifting in the dark. “Lance?” The person asked after a pause.

Lancelot’s heart stilled, now filling with dread. “Y-Your Majesty? Is that you?”

“Definitely Lancelot,” King Sonic answered. He stepped forward, sheepishly brandishing one of his chili dogs. “Midnight snack.”

Gods above, he’d just ordered the king around. Lancelot’s heart pounded erratically in panic as he dropped down on one knee. “Please forgive me, my lord. I did not know it was you.”

“How were you supposed to know it was me? I was intentionally sneaking around.” His king put his free hand on Lancelot’s de-armored shoulder. “Please, stand up.”

His shoulder scalded at the touch as though he possessed Sir Percival’s magic. He jolted upright to his feet. The royal hedgehog was also in nightwear, though its quality was much finer than Lancelot’s own. When he met his eyes, King Sonic’s forest-green eyes were focused squarely on Lancelot’s face.

Discomfort scrabbled at his face like a multitude of spiders as his king gazed upon his unmasked face. He couldn’t do this!He bowed. “Forgive me, my lord, but I must retire to my chambers. I must be well-rested if I am to attend you tomorrow.”

“Oh…sure. Of course,” His Majesty said, stepping aside as Lancelot quickly strode away, face flaming. The king had touched him so easily, without the separation of armor. How could he fathom to dirty his hand like that?

Lancelot opened the door to his shared chamber, where Gawain had already fallen asleep. Percival seemed to be asleep, but asked a question as he drew closer. “Out late again, hmm?”

Lancelot scoffed. “Don’t say such a thing in a suggestive tone.”

“Okay, Lance. Whatever you say,” the grail knight replied, turning over in her bed. Lancelot jumped onto his bed, resolving to bring his sword and visor along with him to his baths from now on. He would not be caught off guard like that again.

Chapter Text

Oh Chaos. Sonic’s cheeks were bright red as he waltzed back towards his chambers in a daze. He only realized he’d dropped his chili dog somewhere along the way when he used both free hands to grab his pillow to press his face into.

He had not expected to see Lancelot on his midnight snack run, let alone Lancelot in a nightdress without his visor, revealing the prettiest face he’d ever seen. Even more so than Shadow’s, he’d have to say, as the knight’s face was unmarred by a constant glower. Yet, despite having the capability to stare at his face all night, he wasn’t able to respond coherently to Lancelot’s quick escape.

Sonic stayed up almost the whole night thinking about that moment and his reaction to it. Okay, he thought before he fell asleep. You know what? Maybe it’s not a crush. Sure, he finds the knight physically attractive, but there’s more to a crush than that.

***

The first day of the event arrived, and it was almost solely dedicated to receiving domestic and foreign guests. Entertainment had been hired to play all day in the castle, from jesters to plays to musicians. Sonic grew so tired of greeting new people with a smile that eventually his teeth felt like they were grinding against each other.

All three of his knights had taken practice off in order to be present by his side. It didn’t help that Lancelot’s presence made it harder to focus on what he needed to do. He couldn’t help but remember that midnight run-in, the face that lay beneath the visor. He shouldn’t have been so shocked, but he couldn’t help but think: Does he keep his face covered so ladies don’t come flocking to the castle? That thought left a sour taste in his mouth, something that made him feel silly.

After a few hours, the chaos died down, though it would pick back up again in the morning with an equal, if not even more frenzied fervor due to the remainder of the guests arriving. Somehow, there were still more! He sighed into his pillow, ready to take a big, long sleep.

A knock on the door interrupted his sleep early in the morning. He drowsily awoke. “What time is it?” Sonic asked the attendant at his side, though they were nowhere in sight. Oh, right. “Come in.”

A fully armored Lancelot stepped through the door, almost giving the blue hedgehog a heart attack. “My apologies for intruding, Your Majesty. However, I have a gift I would like to give you before the activities take over the day.”

Sonic’s heart began to flutter. A gift? From Lancelot? Sure, he’d been given lots of gifts during his reign as king, but never one from the ultimately distant knight. “Sure, just give me a sec.”

When the door closed once again, Sonic quickly dressed himself. It had been so long since he had to dress himself and the mechanisms on his new kingly clothes were so complicated that he just put on his simple underclothes. Those were enough to fulfill the function of clothing. Before walking out, the blue hedgehog composed himself. He combed his quills back for good measure.

Lancelot was leaned up against the wall outside, and straightened when Sonic walked out. “Your Majesty?” His voice cracked, and Sonic laughed to cover up his embarrassed blush.

“Don’t be such a prude. Come on, take me to where the surprise is.”

Lancelot’s face shifted from hesitation to a reluctantly determined grimace. “Very well.” He made sure to keep in pace at Sonic’s side.

Sonic glanced over to try and see through the sights. He could see the sliver of Lancelot’s eyes, which he had only recently learned were just as red as Shadow’s. Those eyes flicked to his, before settling back on the path in front of him. Lancelot adjusted his visor as if he could drag it down any further, his cheeks pinkening.

A smile spread across Sonic’s face. It faded to a confused grin when he realized they were walking outside. He joked, “Lancelot, this isn’t a plot to assassinate me, right?”

The ultimate knight’s face turned so white so fast that he regretted his jest. “Kidding! Kidding,” Sonic butted in before he could fall down an apologizing spiral.

They arrived at the stables. Sonic didn’t think he’d actually been here yet–there’d been no need because he could just run everywhere. It was chock-filled with visitors’ horses, who made little noise as they rested standing up.

Were they going on horseback to go see the gift? Maybe the gift was horse riding lessons! Or a horse ride together through the woods to watch the sunrise! But it was still dark. Hold up, what time is it?

He repeated the question to Lancelot, who sheepishly answered, “Five a.m., my lord. My apologies, I wanted to make sure there was enough time before the rest of the castle awoke.”

“Jeez, how early do you usually get up?”

“Five a.m.”

Sonic’s jaw went agape. He used to think that maybe he would prefer being a knight over a king, but perhaps not. Of all things, he valued freedom first, and sleep second.

“Anyways,” Lancelot said. “I present to you your gift.” He opened one of the stable doors to reveal…a baby horse? With a braided mane and a bow?

“It’s so small,” Sonic gushed, running towards it. Lancelot put a stern hand in the way, flinching when the blue hedgehog’s chest pressed against it due to the momentum.

“Forgive me, but even foals can be dangerous if approached the wrong way,” he said.

Sonic supposed that made sense–the cuteness of the little horse just made his mind go to cuddle now! mode. Its coat was a golden brown, with a blonde mane. “What’s its name?”

“She has no name. Not yet, at least.”

Sonic turned towards Lancelot. “You guys have horses, right?” He nodded in response. “What’s your horses’ names? I could take a little inspiration.”

Lancelot coughed, turning his head slightly. “You do not need to choose a name just yet. In fact, you don’t even need to keep the filly at all if you do not want it. I bought it, so it is my responsibility. You have enough on your plate–”

“No, I love her!” He drew Lancelot’s hands in his. “Thank you.” An expression of horror crossed the knight’s face and Sonic immediately let go. “I’m sorry.”

“There is nothing to apologize for, my lord,” Lancelot replied, stepping back, and it was then Sonic realized that he hadn’t been addressing him by his title for a little while. No, no, no!

“We should probably get back,” commented the ultimate knight, unable to meet his eyes.

“Of course,” Sonic answered half-heartedly. He couldn’t believe that he’d screwed up so phenomenally, but the gift made him certain of one thing–he was ninety-nine percent sure that he was completely, hopelessly in love with Lancelot.

Chapter Text

The anniversary event was to last three days. The first day was already completed, and Lancelot was completely exhausted already. It didn't help that he’d had to wake up a whole hour earlier in order to prepare and present his gift. He had to learn how to braid from Sir Percival, who amused his whims with great amusement herself.

The second day was pretty much just King Sonic entertaining the guests, who presented gifts to him of varying, incomprehensible degrees. Clearly, they were trying to get into Camelot’s good graces. He hoped his king wasn’t so easily swayed based on his carefree, excited demeanor.

There were so many people floating around the castle that he couldn’t focus on preventing intruders anymore. Now, the three knights focused merely on picking out whether anyone presented a threat to King Sonic’s wellbeing.

Luckily, the second day went off without a hitch, and all of the remaining guests arrived. In fact, he was even able to see Nimue. Lancelot nodded to her. “Hello once again, Nimue.”

She smiled and nodded back. “Lancelot, you’ve grown so much.”

Their paths had crossed a few times before. She had found him abandoned in her lake as a baby, and gave him to a loving human family. After tragedy struck, he went to her to learn how to become a knight, and unintentionally awakened his magic, which drew King Arthur’s attention and allowed him to become a knight.

After their brief conversation, she disappeared once again. She was never one to linger; she was ephemeral as rain.

All of the guests were surprised by the sudden announcement of the tournament, though all eagerly participated. All of their best knights were already present to protect their lieges, so there was no issue on that front.

Lancelot wasn’t sure how he felt about the power-hungry nations vying for the royal hedgehog. He just knew that he couldn’t let his king be taken advantage of when he had put his faith in him, so he had to win today’s tournament. Failure was not an option.

After presenting his gift, he’d spent the rest of the early morning shining his sword and armor. As King Sonic’s representative, he had to look as presentable as possible.

Some announcements before the beginning of the tournament excited the crowd. He had to wait for a few matches to take place until his first one. The rules were double elimination and loss at first blood. King Sonic made sure to let everyone know that fatal blows would result in automatic elimination.

A human knight was his opponent, and Lancelot knew it would be a swift takedown. Although he had the bigger weapon, his small size and sabatons allowed him to be swifter.

The battle went just as he predicted. Polite applause sounded throughout the stands, though it didn’t sound genuine. Obviously, the nations’ elites didn’t want King Sonic’s own guard to win.

Speaking of which, he could have sworn he heard his king’s encouraging shouts from his box–the highest out of the others in the stands. The royal hedgehog never did care too much for the opinions of others. Though the sunlight blinded him, he squinted through the sights and smiled. He would make King Sonic proud.

He eliminated each person that came his way, human or Mobian. Lancelot would have gotten bored if it wasn’t for his king’s incessant praise emanating from his position. It made him feel strange inside, as if he were walking on clouds. It made him want to fight harder.

One of his challengers was a bit more difficult to beat, though. Princess Guinevere’s knight, Sir Galvarium, was a unit of a Mobian whose sword matched his size. He also possessed additional magical projectile abilities, which almost forced him to use his own.

Cheers smattered as he nicked an unarmored spot on Galvarium’s leg. The losing knight gave Lancelot a civil nod, before wordlessly departing from the arena.

“For our next competitor, we have Sir Galahad the Silver Knight, from the…Kingdom of Camelot? Representing the Alion Duchy!”

Lancelot looked up at King Sonic, confused. There was no such duchy in Camelot. Based on the blue smudge’s body behavior, he seemed confused too.

“Hey! Don’t look at the crowd, look at me.”

He turned around to the white hedgehog, his lips curled into a snarl and eyes formed into a glare from behind his visor. “After all, I want to see the look in your eyes when I kill you.”

“Pardon–?”

“Ready, set, begin!”

Sir Galahad leapt towards him at impossible speeds. No way–he was flying! His sword swept in an arc towards Lancelot’s chest. He brought up Arondight to block, pushing back against the force. Instead of entering a gridlock, his opponent bashed against Arondight countless times.

Tired of being driven back, he shoved the triangular shaped sword off and swung for a horizontal attack. The silver knight flew backwards out of range. His sword emitted a cyan blue aura before flying right towards Lancelot.

His magic instinctively activated Chaos Blast. It didn’t destroy the sword, just repelled it. Lancelot deactivated it as he jumped up for an aerial attack. Galahad jumped upwards to follow, and their swords clashed midair. He rolled over Galahad’s head before landing on the ground.

Alarm washed over him as he narrowly dodged the sword that dug itself into the ground where he just stood. Since the silver knight was maintaining an aerial position, Lancelot activated Chaos Spears. They released from his left palm in a barrage.

Galahad blocked the blows with his sword. He looked over his shoulder and tsked, his hand glowing blue as the approaching referee was knocked backwards.

At this distraction, Lancelot teleported behind him, knocking him down to the ground with Arondight. This time it was the silver knight who narrowly avoided facing his sword’s wrath.

Lancelot ran towards his opponent, sword in hand and ready to shed blood. His body abruptly jolted still, refusing to listen to him. He couldn’t move even a muscle. His eyes flicked downwards and he saw his body was bathed in cyan blue light. He looked up and Sir Galahad’s hand was also that same blue color. With a flick of his hand, the ultimate knight was thrust away.

“You’ll pay for what you did!” Galahad bellowed as he flew over, and Lancelot barely had time to get his bearings to block the blow. He was on the ground and at a disadvantage. Once again, he utilized Chaos Control, appearing behind his opponent with a powerful horizontal slash aimed at his stomach.

Arondight was met with an already prepared sword. “Your tricks are becoming predictable, Lancelot. You’ve gotten complacent!”

They exchanged yet another flurry of blows. Lancelot was distracted with movement in the corner of his vision–Sonic rushing onto the field to break up the dangerous duel. Yet once again, he was proven why a knight should stick to the vision their visor provided–Arondight was knocked out of his hands, and Galahad’s flying blade cut through his neck.

Chapter Text

Sonic couldn’t believe the frivolities he’d just been engaging in earlier. As the king, he was bestowed the tallest box in the stadium. The other royal families and nobles were with him, and the stands below were full of Camelot civilians.

As he was making his way to his seat, he’d spotted a familiar face. “Rouge?!” Sonic exclaimed.

“Well, geez, I know I wear a lot of makeup, but it’s rude to call a girl out like that.” Rouge smirked, eyes twinkling with their usual gleam. She then curtsied, and any likeness to Rouge vanished. “My name is Lady Guinevere of Rome. I studied under the Duke Cador of Cornwall.”

Chaos, he needed to stop yelling the names of Camelot’s doppelgangers out loud. “Ah, yes, I know who that is,” Sonic lied, pasting on an awkward smile. He looked down at the competition, which was just beginning to start. “So, which one is your knight?”

“Sir Galvarium,” Guinevere replied, peering over her fan at the beginning chaos. “He was pledged to be my knight since my birth. I should hope he doesn’t disappoint.”

He saw who she was talking about. He looked exactly like Big the Cat, and just won his bout with another knight. “Loyal guy then,” Sonic commented. There was a pause, and the implications of her name dawned on him. “Wait, you said your name is Guinevere, right?”

The lady’s eyebrows pinched together, and she put down her fan. “I would hope you haven’t forgotten it already. Yes, that is my name.”

Guinevere and Lancelot’s love affair was one of the most famous parts of the Arthurian mythos. He glanced down, but Lancelot still hasn’t made his appearance. He just realized he had a crush on the knight, and now he was about to lose him to a Rouge look-alike? Then again, back in his time they were part of Team Dark. They could have been something more. What if their love transcended realms and time?

Still, he was going to leave soon anyway and get taken back to Mobius. He probably shouldn’t develop deep emotional ties to the people here. With no king, the Knights of the Round Table would disband. They would have no one to take care of them. Sonic may not be able to do anything about Percival or Gawain, as he didn’t remember their love interests in the original myth, but he might be able to set Lancelot up.

“What do you think of my knight?” Sonic questioned. Lancelot was now out on the field, demolishing all the knights that came his way.

“I am a little disappointed he managed to best my knight,” Guinevere sighed, flapping her fan. “Now there is no chance of me courting you. Oh, well.”

“He is my best knight, so do not feel too discouraged,” Sonic said. Wait, why was he encouraging her to continue her pursuit of him? Maybe pursuit was too strong a word. She seemed vaguely curious about him, and he could hardly count that as flirting. She’s not Rouge, he forced himself to remember.

“Ooh, a knight from Camelot, hmm?” the lady commented, delicately leaning over the railing to inspect the field.

Sonic frowned. “You mean Lance, right?”

“No, it’s a Sir Galahad. From the Duchy of Alion.”

He flicked through the duchies that Stanley had forced him to learn in his tutoring sessions. “We don’t have any knights or a duchy under that name.” Sonic also bent over the ledge, squinting at the competitors. Although he was armored and masked, he recognized the star of white quills at the hedgehog’s head. Silver!

He used his psychokinesis to fly towards Lancelot. After a scuffle, Silver–er, Galahad–used his powers to make his sword aim for a killing blow.

Chaos above, it seemed like Galahad was the exact same person as his counterpart! Sonic needed to stop him. Even Sonic had struggled to beat the hedgehog’s original by himself. He leapt to his feet.

“Halt, King Sonic!” Percival and Gawain shouted, materializing to block off his path.

“What are you doing?” Percival asked, her voice confused.

Sonic gestured towards the field frantically. “I need to stop this match. He’s going to kill Lancelot!” As he tried to evade the two knights, he looked over their shoulders. From in the air, Galahad was lunging down towards the grounded Lancelot.

“It is dishonorable to disturb a knight’s match,” Gawain exclaimed, blocking Sonic’s dodges and weaves. Damn these knights who were just as fast as him!

“He’s using fatal blows! He’d be disqualified anyways!” Tired at the setback, he stepped back and used his spin dash attack to maneuver around the nobles and down the bleachers. Ah, bad idea! It was not meant to be used while wearing fancy clothes, a sword, and clunky shoes. Each spin reverberated through his body, making his teeth chatter. He heard the whoosh of air as Sir Gawain activated his gliding ability to skip the stairs that Percival was currently running down.

Why did his box have to be at the very top? He landed on the ground of the field, and his spin dash deactivated. He took a second to gather his bearings and made to move towards Lancelot, who used Chaos Control to appear behind Galahad.

Gawain grabbed a hold of Sonic’s wrist. His voice was wrought with desperation. “Sire, if he really is as dangerous as you claim, we can’t have you running right towards him!”

“Then get the rest of the guard! I need to move now!”

“That is an order!” Excalibur added sternly.

Gawain flinched like he was stung, but let go. His shoulders flared back as he stood at attention. “Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Wait, no…” Sonic wavered awkwardly, before remembering the far more important objective at hand. He ran towards the dueling pair, trading blows so quickly they were creating sparks. Through Lancelot’s sights, they exchanged looks. No! Don’t look at Sonic! Focus!

Sir Galahad struck out with his sword. Arondight fell, and then so did Lancelot. It happened so quickly that he only knew the ultimate knight had been hit due to the blood splattered on Galahad’s triangular sword.

“LANCE!” Sonic yelled, dropped by his side. Lancelot palmed his neck wound, trying to stop the blood, but it was pouring out–and fast. Sonic ripped off a piece of his own stupidly expensive shirt and pressed it against Lancelot’s wound.

“Protect the king!” He heard Sir Percival vaguely yell, accompanied by a herd of footsteps.

“Lance, keep it together. You can’t die on me now.” The black hedgehog’s red eyes flicked up to his from beneath the visor, but his eyelids were fluttering along with his breaths. That sent a thrill of panic down his spine, and Sonic held Lancelot’s head in his hands, trying to make sure he stayed awake.

“Why are you so worried about a murderer? He deserves to die!” Galahad interrupted, watching the scene with a baffled expression.

“What are you talking about?” Sonic asked, annoyed, but before he could answer, the silver knight was tackled to the ground by Sir Percival. She cracked her sword down on his exposed head to knock him out. Sir Gawain was at his side, and he ordered him, “Go get a medic!”

He looked from Lancelot to Sonic, then nodded and sprinted away. “M-My lord,” Lancelot wheezed, and his attention snapped back to the knight. His breaths were running ragged. “I…I failed you. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t you dare act like you’re going to die, okay?” Sonic pulled back Lancelot’s visor to shake and slap his cheeks, unintentionally smearing blood across his face. Lancelot was struggling to keep his eyes open, his wound was still bleeding despite their hands and makeshift bandage, and the medic was nowhere to be seen.

“It seems you’ve gotten yourself in quite the predicament, hmm?”

“Nimue!” Sonic gasped, whipping around to see the familiar blue dress of the Lady of the Lake. When he looked further up, he saw her face and her eyes full of pity.

She knelt down on the dust beside them. Sonic scooted over to make room for her voluptuous skirts. Lancelot’s eyes glanced upwards at the Lady of the Lake, though they were unfocused. He whispered, “Marianna?”

Nimue brushed past the mix up and looked Sonic in the eyes, though she addressed Lancelot. “I won’t always be there to fix your messes, you know.”

“Can you do something to help him?” Sonic pleaded.

“If he wants to be saved,” Nimue said simply.

No way–! He twisted to look at Lancelot again. This was a joke, right? There was no way he wanted to die. Except the first time he defeated Gawain, he had wished for death, and Lancelot’s “final” words just now…damn it, his stupid sense of chivalry was going to get him killed!

He forced the next words to come out of his mouth. “If you die on me right now, you really would be a failure of a knight! Who would protect me then?” Crap, that didn’t work. Okay, um, Lancelot just mentioned someone just now. Could Marianna be his version of Maria? Wow, it seemed like the Shadows were traumatized in every timeline. “What would Marianna think?”

Sonic was rewarded with Lancelot’s eyes flicking to bore straight into Sonic’s. He swallowed, steeled his jaw, and slightly nodded.

“I will help you this time, Lancelot. But next time, you will need to find your own way.” Nimue reached for Lancelot’s neck. Sonic retracted his hand so she could place her hand on the wound. At the contact of her gloved fingers against his wound, a gentle pink light emitted. When she removed her somehow unstained hand, there was still plenty of now drying blood, but nothing new pouring forth.

“Thank you!” Sonic said, instinctively clasping her hands in his own. He was so glad he hadn't listened to those stuffy advisors and invited her. He let go when he remembered he was supposed to act in a kingly manner, especially towards an enchantress.

Yet like their first encounter, she merely chuckled at his actions. “Farewell for now, Sonic the Hedgehog.” She sighed. “It’s a pity. Before all the bloodshed, I was quite enjoying the event you hosted.” She disappeared using her teleportation.

Sir Percival finally arrived with the medic. The medic had to remove his chest armor and clean the wound in order to get a good look. “There is no wound at all!” the doctor marveled. “I suppose we don’t need to get out the honey and grease.”

Sonic almost gagged at the reminder of medieval healing practices. He shook the image from his head and checked up on Lancelot. His eyelids had closed completely after being healed. He trusted Nimue’s abilities, and stood back to let Lancelot be taken to his bed.

“King Sonic, Galahad is awaiting questioning in the jail,” Sir Gawain informed. Sonic didn’t even realize he had left, and Galahad along with him.

The blue hedgehog’s gaze hardened. “Perfect, because I have a few questions already.” He followed Gawain down into the underground prison.

Chapter Text

Never in his life had Lancelot been injured so severely. He scarcely remembered what happened after he was stabbed–his mind had gone fuzzy, and he felt as though he were leagues away from the tournament field. And through it all, he could’ve sworn he’d seen Marianna again. Did that mean he died?

His eyes peeled open again to reveal the ceiling of the knights’ shared bedroom. Lancelot tried to move his limbs but found himself unable. Was he caught in that knight’s magic vise again? He thought, beginning to panic as he tried to move his arms and legs but failed.

“Calm down, Lancelot,” a familiar voice said. He looked over to see Percival, in all her armor except for her helmet. “You’re safe. Nimue healed you.”

Lancelot’s memory was fuzzy, but he remembered a blue dress that almost looked like Marianna’s. Of course it had to be Nimue’s skirts, not hers. “I see.” His voice was barely perceptible.

“You really scared us, you know,” the purple cat said, her brow furrowed. “Even before, you weren’t injured this badly.”

Shame raked across his heart twofold. He had to bite out the words, “Who won the tournament?”

“It was canceled after you were injured.” She wore a genuine, warm smile. “So, when are you going to be convinced that King Sonic is different from King Arthur?”

The grail knight was right. The false king would have never canceled the tournament if a single knight was injured. Lancelot looked back to the ceiling. “I still failed, though.”

Percival shook her head. “The tournament was canceled. Your mission was to make sure Sonic didn’t have to court anyone, and you did just that.”

Lancelot pondered her words. Could he have still succeeded in his mission regardless of whether he won the tournament or not? He only fought to win in the first place because Sonic didn’t want to settle down.

“Where is he now?”

“King Sonic and Sir Gawain are interrogating Sir Galahad, but you need to focus on resting up and getting better, okay? Are you hungry?”

Lancelot shook his head. He was technically hungry, but he didn’t feel like he could physically digest the food right now.

They settled in a comfortable silence. He grew bored as Percival fiddled with a deck of cards, shuffling it in a variety of ways. If he focused really hard on the ceiling, he could pretend that he was going to sleep after a long, hard day of work.

He was falling. He was falling he was falling falling FALLING!

Lancelot’s arms scrambled outwards weakly, looking for purchase to stop his descent. His eyes registered where he currently was, which was still in his bedroom. Oh. He was dreaming. At least he had gained the strength to control some of his limbs, though they held no feeling. The side effects of Nimue’s powers were fading.

He turned his whole head from side to side like an owl, as if he still had his visor on. No one was in the room with him. His heart began to beat more intensely as he struggled to suppress his panic. He was all alone. He was going to starve, trapped in the confines of his own broken body. There was no one around who could help him–would help him!

Lancelot struggled to move his legs out of bed. He managed to drag them off the bed, but now he had to sit up somehow. Come on, he’s been through worse, he chided himself. Using the bedframe and the mattress as leverage allowed Lancelot to pull himself up to a sitting position.

When he tried to take a step, he remembered his foot was magically numb and he crumpled to the floor. Lancelot’s arms barely stopped himself from smashing his face against the ground. He laid still against the ground, and panic began to course through him, unrestrained. He was trapped and no one would help him.

While on the ground, he flailed his limbs to try and get the blood flowing again. Feeling sparked painfully back into his toes and fingers. The ultimate knight planted his palms onto the floor and put his legs back to stand up. He managed to do so, but wobbled while on his feet. Lancelot staggered towards the door and undid the latch.

“Oh no, you’re not going back to work.”

Lancelot stumbled backwards onto his rear at the sight of Sonic reaching for the doorknob, a surprised expression on his face as Lancelot fell. Twenty paces. Twenty paces.

“Here you go.” Sonic wrapped an arm under Lancelot’s armpit and stood up with him. Twenty paces!

He used Chaos Control and teleported onto the bed. He looked at Sonic warily, reading his face for any hidden emotions.

Sonic looked baffled and held his hands up. “Alrighty then.”

Lancelot realized he didn’t have his helmet. His emotions were exposed. He was revealing his weaknesses. He was supposed to look as perfect as his king. A faceless soldier by his side, ready to lay his life down in service of a cause greater than himself.

He covered his face with his hands. No, this was all wrong. Sonic wasn’t supposed to be here. A king in a servant’s quarters? It’s improper. People would talk. Belittle him. His face was warm.

“How are you doing, Lance? You don’t look too hot. Then again, you were just stabbed in the neck, so maybe it’s to be expected? I don’t know how long magically healed wounds take to completely heal, ‘cause even though she healed you, you still seem injured?”

Lancelot peeked at Sonic through his fingers. The blue hedgehog smiled at that.

Lancelot was going to starve. His hand flew out and grabbed Sonic by the wrist. Very intensely, he rasped, “Sonic. I need food.”

His mouth dropped open at that. “I…uh…sure. Right away!” He sped away.

Lancelot looked at his hand, which dropped after Sonic ran away. No, not Sonic. King Sonic, His Majesty, Lancelot’s liege. He’d just dared to refer to him without any titles, without any respect. His tongue was going to be cut off for its insolence. His hand would follow shortly after for daring to touch the king without permission.

The royal hedgehog returned bearing some of Lancelot’s favorite foods, but he wouldn’t be tricked. He kept his mouth shut, protecting the tongue inside, as well as his right hand safely tucked against his chest.

King Sonic put the tray on Lancelot’s lap. After he ignored it, his king nudged it forward. “Hey, come on, you asked for this.”

Lancelot knew that. He shouldn’t have asked his king to go on an errand for him. Ordering the king around also called for a tongue-less, one-handed Lancelot, rendering him unable to perform his knightly duties, so he kept his mouth clamped shut. Of course, disobeying punishments called for however many lashes the king desired. The new king probably didn’t know that, but he couldn’t open his mouth to tell him. And that was another form of deception, which would also be punished.

King Sonic reached towards Lancelot, and he flinched. A cool hand pressed against his forehead. “Oh yeah, you’re running a fever. No wonder you’re acting so weird!” He bore a deceivingly jovial smile. “I guess I’ll tell you the news of the interrogation after your fever breaks. Not sure how much you’ll remember.”

King Sonic stood up and made for the door. Before he left, he looked back and said softly, “I’m proud of you, Lance.”

Lancelot’s brain could not comprehend the paradox–his king was proud of him but Lancelot was deserving of discipline because he disobeyed him except that his king wasn’t angry but his king should be because why wouldn’t he be because he’s Sonic not Arthur but he’s still a king.

Chapter Text

Sonic exited the room, feeling a little icky. It felt so wrong seeing Lancelot like that–emotions right on his face while he was sick and acting out of character. He had to do something to get it off his mind. He sought out Sir Gawain to find out if there were any updates to the Galahad situation.

The silver knight had entered the competition for the sole purpose of killing Sir Lancelot. Apparently, Lancelot had wiped out his village while under the false king’s rule. Even after King Arthur was defeated and Lancelot switched allegiances, Sir Galahad couldn’t let go of the grudge that led him to become an unofficial knight in the first place.

Originally, Sonic’s first instinct had been to have him executed. He would have justifiable reasoning. A knight is an extension of the king, so an attack on the knight is an inadvertent attack on the king. He let Galahad know of this possibility, as well as Lancelot’s survival, though he had quickly banished the thought of execution from his mind. It scared him. Was this position of power beginning to change his morals? He had been king for over a year. Or maybe his crush was warping his standards. He had been so scared as the blood pulsed freely, though as they interrogated Galahad, it quickly morphed into anger. He was the person who nearly killed Lancelot. Now, after seeing Lancelot, although sick, up and about, his emotions had cooled, though he had no idea how to handle Galahad. The attempted murderer was still locked up in a prison cell until that was decided. The only reason he was able to be locked up was because he was out of energy after that fight–something Sonic knew would be the case due to his prior experiences with Silver.

First, he had to act like everything was normal and send off the guests with consolations. He did it as quickly as possible so he could return to thinking about what to do with Galahad. Most of the guests cleared out, though some remained due to unfavorable traveling conditions. He didn’t mind letting some stay behind, as long as the castle quieted down.

Sonic hated to do it, but after that was settled, he hosted an emergency advisory council. He was too exhausted to figure out his own plan to handle the prisoner.

“He’s powerful enough to take down one of our own knights. He’s too dangerous to be kept alive!”

“He could be a powerful new knight, but we can’t risk him killing one of our own,” another agreed.

“Executing him would just be wasting his talent. I’m sure we could find some kind of agreement with him.”

“How can you be sure of that? He calls himself a knight but does not follow the code of chivalry!”

Now the advisors were turning into an even bigger headache. He didn't know why he was surprised. Sonic’s mind wandered off, and he wondered how Lancelot was doing. He really hoped he hadn’t tried to escape again. He hadn’t expected that look of surprise though–he wasn’t even sure Lancelot was capable of that particular emotion before then.

Sonic realized the din had quieted, and they were all looking at him. “Umm…” Why were they looking at him? He leaned back in his chair. “You know what, I don’t think I need you guys for this. I think I’m just going to ask Lancelot what he thinks we should do with him.”

They all seemed pretty offended at that. “What does a knight know more about this than us?”

“We are your advisors, Your Majesty. It is our duty to advise you, unlike a knight whose job is to simply serve.”

“Chaos, why can’t you guys just ever accept one of my decisions?” Sonic glared at them, and that snapped their traps real quick. “Meeting dismissed.”

Sonic found his footsteps tracing him back to Lancelot’s bedroom. Well, technically Lancelot, Percival, and Gawain’s bedroom. He should try to get that sorted. The kingdom’s defenders shouldn’t have to share a bedroom.

He knocked. No one answered, so he quietly creaked the door open. It felt strange to enter their bedroom. He didn’t have to deal with it the first time since Lancelot opened the door right before he could. He wasn’t so lucky anymore.

When Sonic saw that Lancelot was sleeping by himself, his body so still he had to check if he was breathing, he left to leave the ultimate knight in peace. He decided he should go check up on his new filly. He’d left her care to the stablehands during the event, but their hands were probably too full with the visiting royals’ horses to take proper care of a little horsie like her.

Sonic walked into the stables, though he struggled to remember what stall she was in. He opened a few before uncovering the small horse.

“Hi girlie,” he greeted, making sure she knew he was there. Lancelot would really die if the gift he’d given Sonic injured him. He had palmed a sugarcube from one of the stable hands and exposed it to her. She snuffled it out of his hand.

He shrieked out a giggle. “That tickles!” It was a mild relief that there wasn’t anyone breathing down his neck to be alarmed by his yelps.

He reached outside the stall and grabbed a hanging brush to comb through her mane. She wasn’t in as bad a condition as he thought. Sonic underestimated how much the stable boys would prioritize the horse of their king.

“I wonder how long it will take for you to grow up,” Sonic mused. The filly let out a high-pitched whinny. “It should take at least a few years, right?”

He petted her blonde mane before leaving her once again. Sonic wanted to take a sneak peek at his knights’ horses. All of them were huge, looming above the half-doors of the stalls. One was black, another chestnut, and the last white. He could make an educated guess as to whose was whose, but couldn’t get a feel for what their names would be. Agh, why couldn’t Lancelot have told him? Now he was dying to know!

Sonic left the stables entirely and went to go check up on Lancelot. It was strange to walk without another person’s footsteps sounding behind or beside him. Gawain and Percival were so scattered trying to guard Galahad's prison and take care of the chaotic aftermath that he hadn't seen them all day.

Hmm, Lancelot was still asleep. He supposed it was expected, as he was recovering from a fever. Well, it wasn’t like Sonic had anything better to do, since the rest of his duties for the day were canceled for the tournament. Now that there was no tournament, he had all the time in the world. He settled in the chair that Sir Percival brought in earlier and waited.

Chapter Text

Lancelot’s eyes blearily peeled open. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his bare hand. Wait, his armor! His entire body was exposed except for his underclothes. His head swiveled to the side to see if his armor was on the stand by his bed. It was thankfully there.

The ultimate knight let out a sigh of relief. Someone exhaled beside him. Lancelot jumped. He was so used to his vision being limited by the visor that he failed to pay attention to the far extents of his periphery.

King Sonic’s head lolled behind him from where he leaned backwards in his chair. His breaths were deep and slow, and he slightly snored on each exhale.

At the sight of his king, Lancelot panicked. Knights were not supposed to panic but he couldn’t help it. He scrambled to pull his helmet off of the stand, but didn’t pull it off properly. It brought the whole stand crashing down, creating a cacophony of noise.

The royal hedgehog’s eyes fluttered open, and Lancelot quickly pulled the helmet over his head, his face burning inexplicably. “Forgive me for waking you up, Your Majesty.”

King Sonic smiled, though his eyes appeared slightly saddened. “It’s nice to see you back to normal, Lancelot. How are you feeling?”

The ultimate knight flexed his muscles to be sure everything was in working order. “I still have full control over my faculties.”

“But how do you feel? Like, does it still hurt, or…?”

Hmm… Lancelot delicately touched the place where Galahad had injured him. He couldn’t even feel any raised flesh–Nimue’s healing magic was quite powerful. Despite the lack of a wound or scar, touching it made him wince.

The slightest inhale sounded beside him. He turned to look at his king again, whose eyebrows knitted together with concern. Lancelot scrambled to dissuade those feelings. “Please, do not fret. It only hurts when I touch it, so I shall avoid doing so from now on.”

“That’s good, I guess,” King Sonic conceded, although a little reluctantly. He put a hand on the back of his neck. “And not to put too much on your plate so soon after your injury, but uh, we captured Galahad. Nobody really knows what to do with him, and I don’t want him to be executed, so I was wondering if you would want to decide? Since he tried to kill you, after all.”

His king was letting his knight choose instead? That was inconceivable, but then Lancelot remembered something. So, when are you going to be convinced that King Sonic is different from King Arthur?

“I…I…” Was this a trick to see if his aspirations exceeded King Sonic’s own? He analyzed his king’s face, but there were no hidden agendas to be seen. Only the curious gaze of a hedgehog looking as if he really cared for Lancelot’s opinion. “I need time to ponder this request. I’m sorry.”

The royal hedgehog waved his hands frantically. Lancelot watched the movement closely. “No, no, that’s fine! This is a serious thing to consider.”

Lancelot swiveled his legs around and jumped off of his bed. He started to slip on the main pieces of his armor.

“Wait, what are you doing?” His king’s voice cracked.

“I have spent too much time lounging and must return to work.” Now he strapped on the smaller pieces like his shoulder plates and gloves.

“Hold your horses!” King Sonic exclaimed, standing up to block the exit. “You just got stabbed. I am officially giving you the day off.”

Lancelot felt lost. “But…I just got the day off recently.”

“But you’re always working, so of course I’m going to be more okay with giving you breaks.”

Lancelot looked down at the ground, pondering what he would do. “Then, would you mind taking me to see Sir Galahad?”

King Sonic smiled. “Sure! And technically, it’s just Galahad, since he’s not an official knight. Since I know you’re a stickler for protocol and everything.”

The ghost of a smile crossed Lancelot’s face. “Someone has to be.”

The royal hedgehog snickered, though his expression sobered as they began walking down the steps to the dungeon. “Er, Lancelot, are you sure you’re okay seeing him so soon? I mean, he is behind bars, but…”

Lancelot nodded. “I will be fine, my king.”

He led Lancelot over to where Galahad was being held. He was merely in his underclothes, as his armor and sword have obviously been confiscated. A sulky frown graced his face as he sat on his bed with a slouch.

“Such form is unbefitting from one who claims to be a knight,” Lancelot stated.

Galahad jumped to his feet. “You!” His fists tightened. “Ha, here to mock my failure to my face, are you? You survived, I’m imprisoned. Congratulations.”

“Gloating is unchivalrous.”

“And slaughtering my village is?” Anger burned deep and bright in his golden eyes.

Lancelot hesitated. He had done many dishonorable things under King Arthur’s rule, though he could not have objected. Technically, he could have. “No, it wasn’t. Nothing could excuse my actions, so I beg for your forgiveness.” He bowed his head.

Galahad looked flabbergasted. “Wh–you think that’s enough to make up for my family’s lives? My friends?”

“No, of course not.” Lancelot bit the inside of his cheek. “But if it’s any consolation, I have also lost someone important to me. It is what drove me to become a knight, to protect Camelot’s people. I have failed that mission, and for that I am sorry.”

Galahad grew so close to the prison bars that his head brushed against it. “Unlike you noblemen, I don’t talk, I act.”

“I was a commoner before I became a knight.” It was something he had wanted to keep hidden, especially from King Sonic. He knew his king had similar origins, but couldn't help the fear that he would think less of Lancelot should he learn the truth. Still, he spoke, for he couldn't help but see himself in the white hedgehog.

“Oh.”

Lancelot could feel both Galahad’s and King Sonic’s eyes on him. His cheeks pinked slightly. Initially, it was almost impossible to become a knight as a commoner because it was just too expensive, and you needed the right connections to become a squire. It was even more impossible for a commoner to find his place at the king’s side, but for better or worse, King Arthur saw promise in Lancelot.

“I was only able to get my position due to Nimue’s help. Besides, once you become a knight, you leave behind your noble status. As such, I would like to help you. Let me train you to become a proper knight, Galahad.”

Galahad’s mouth dropped open.

“Wait, let’s think about this,” the royal hedgehog intercepted. “Lancelot, he tried to kill you. And now you want to train him?”

Lancelot stared at Galahad. “I owe him a blood debt. This is what I choose for his punishment to be.”

King Sonic sighed. “Okay, but if you try anything, Galahad, you’ll be faced with Camelot’s four greatest knights.”

Galahad looked between both hedgehogs, then down to the floor. He could either rot in jail, or join Lancelot as his apprentice. He almost felt bad that he had so little choice, though he had killed all other choices by breaking the honor of the tournament.

“Fine,” Galahad said. “But I can’t guarantee I’ll stay in Camelot after you train me.”

Lancelot was slightly amused at that. “A wandering knight? That’s an interesting path to take.”

***

Sir Gawain did not take to the news well. “He tried to kill you, Lance!” He sputtered.

Percival was more accepting, though still had her reserves. “What if he turns his malicious attentions to the king?”

Lancelot opened his mouth, but King Sonic interjected. “Trust me, the council isn’t too happy with this, but it’s what Lancelot chose to do.” He looked over at the ultimate knight with a small smile.

Something strange began to bloom inside Lancelot once more. He didn’t know why the royal hedgehog valued his opinion so much. Why he wanted him to deal with Galahad, and not himself or his council. Was that the correct thing to do, to let him live as his squire? Has he misplaced his king’s trust? Was the king beginning to trust him in the first place?

“Y-Yes,” Lancelot supported when he realized the conversation had stagnated. “I am taking responsibility for Squire Galahad. Any misdeeds he performs while under my teaching will be my responsibility.”

“Yeah, what he said,” King Sonic said. “Alright, that’s all we wanted to tell you two. Oh, Lancelot, heads up. Not all of the royal families left, so depending on what you decide to do today you might come across them.”

Lancelot nodded. He left the meeting, but couldn’t think of much to do. All of his time was typically dedicated to his job, and the last few times he’d had the day off, he had a certain mission in mind. Now, he was left aimless in a giant castle. He supposed he could spend some time with Little One, or maybe even go out to town for leisurely activities. That would be nice.

Chapter Text

Frankly, Sonic was quite glad the tournament was over as he no longer had to entertain royals and nobles, but hated that it came at the cost of Lancelot’s near demise. Now that Lancelot was healed and Galahad was taken care of, he could leave behind that stress and worry and do as he pleased.

“Percy, I don’t have any work, right?”

The purple cat nodded. “Yes, sire. The party was supposed to last for two more days, so you don’t have any duties until then.”

Sonic smiled. “Perfect!”

The first thing he did with his newfound freedom was go outside to run. He had to promise to stay within Sir Percival’s eyesight, which was fine by him. She watched from afar as he spun in loops and donuts and zigzags. Eventually Sonic slowed to a halt, out of breath. He’d gotten out of practice, he realized sadly.

After that, the two days of nothingness seem more like a burden. He didn’t like the royal duties associated with being king, but for some reason, having nothing to do was bothering him too. Just running around got boring after a while.

“Let’s go to the library,” Sonic decided. Granted, he wasn’t the biggest fan of reading, but he could just look at the books to pass some time. Surely medieval books have some pretty covers to look at, right?

They walked to the library, one of the few places in the castle he hasn't been in yet. It was massive, as were all the rooms in this castle, except this room’s ceilings made sense because of the vast amount of books that lined all the way up from bottom to top. He wouldn't be surprised if all the world's current books were in this very room.

Sonic picked out a random book and thumbed through it. Two households, both alike in dignity - He instantly shut it. He already struggled enough to read old classics in high school and now when reviewing laws, he didn't want to deal with it when he was supposed to be reading for fun. A thought chilled him. Were all these books equally as hard to read? It would make sense, since Camelot seemed to be medieval-esque. He groaned as he wandered a little more, rifling through different books until he found an interesting one. It was full of colorful drawings, which caught his eye. Was this a comic book?

The knight noticed what he had picked out. “A children’s book, eh?”

His face flushed, and he stuffed it back onto the shelf. He felt silly after Percival’s remark.

The purple cat floundered. “Nay, don’t be embarrassed, sire. It’s one of my favorite books. Well, any books with pictures are.”

“Why is that?”

Her lips, visible under the visor, pressed tightly together. “S-Sire – Sonic.” She corrected. “I know not how to read. That is a privilege only reserved for the nobility and the clergy.”

Sonic cocked his head. “I thought you were a noblewoman?”

Percival nodded hesitantly. “Technically, but I was only taught things like instruments, dance, and etiquette until I became a knight at twelve. Besides, knights need only fight and defend, not read.”

He seemed to be getting a lot of lore lately from his knights. The thought of Percival being a child soldier was wild to imagine. “I see.” He looked back to the book. Her words clicked in his mind. “Wait, does that mean I’m the only one who can enjoy this awesome library?” He might not be able to appreciate the old-fashioned, hard-to-read contents, but it was a beautiful space stock full of knowledge. He was sure someone else would be able to appreciate it if he couldn’t.

Percival nodded. “It is your privilege as king.”

He gaped at that. “Well, let’s go fix that! Come on!”

Percival ran after Sonic as he sprinted towards his tutor’s quarters. “Stanley, open up!” He knocked on the door.

“Your Majesty?” Stanley opened the door, disoriented. Despite the late hour, he was still in his nightwear. “Is something wrong?”

“Nah, I just need to talk to you about something. Mind if I come in?”

“Of course not!” He opened the door wider, allowing Sonic through. Percival awkwardly slunk in as well, maintaining a position by the door. Sonic sat at the guy’s desk chair, rocking it back and forth on its legs in a dangerous game.

The blue hedgehog smiled. “Okay, I want you to educate the Knights of the Round Table. Teach them how to read and stuff.”

Sonic had to learn the written language here, as Merlina didn’t deem it necessary to magically bestow that knowledge upon him. It was quite a struggle, as the written system used ancient runes far different from his native language, but he eventually learned it well enough. To be honest, he didn’t know why Stanley was still staying in the castle at this point, though perhaps it was a good thing as he would have a new job soon enough.

“Pardon?” Stanley balked. His eyes flicked from Sonic to his knight. Sonic saw Percival’s cheeks turn pink as her posture tightened.

“You taught me how to read and write, so I know you can do it! Just with three students this time.” Sonic said encouragingly, but based on Stanley’s response, he didn’t think that was the problem.

His tutor kept flicking his gaze from the knight of the wind and the knight of the holy grail. “Er, Your Majesty,” he began slowly. “I…have spent my life gaining a reputation for educating noblemen and royalty. It’s something I take immense pride in.”

Oh, Sonic understood now. He pushed his bubbling anger under. “And my knights are practically commoners, right?” Thanks to their knightly vows, they left behind their lives as nobles to serve the king. The stripping of rank also prevented noble families from gaining too much power.

Stanley nodded, letting out a small sigh of relief. “Precisely, my lord. Teaching those of practically common origin would not only go against the standard, but might also tarnish my reputation.”

Sonic smiled, though it held no mirth. “Yet you taught a king who used to be a commoner, right?”

Stanley’s mouth opened. “I–Your Majesty, that is not the same–”

“I wonder whether throwing you out of the castle would be more or less damaging to your reputation than teaching my most loyal knights,” he continued, his smile dropping from his face.

Stanley flinched. “Forgive me for my impertinence, my lord. I…I will try to negotiate a schedule with the knights.”

Sonic ignored his groveling and nodded. He stood up to leave, not wanting to stay a minute longer in this guy's bedchambers. "Come on, Percy."

He’d thought the guy was okay, but he supposed Stanley treated Sonic differently because he was the king. It was in moments like these that made Sonic think that maybe he really could do some good with the immense power he’d been given. Still, the fact that he had more to do even after a year in Camelot irked him. He added opening public schools in his mental "laws to add" list. He would just have to push himself even harder once his schedule returned to normal.

Chapter Text

Lancelot was pleasantly surprised yesterday when the king’s tutor had requested a good time for tutoring lessons. He replied with whatever day he happened to not be guarding Sonic. Now, he was fully strapped in his armor and ready to guard King Sonic for the whole day in order to make up for his sick day. While sick, he had done some thinking about his relationship with his king. He wasn’t sure if he could ever be as close to King Sonic as he desired, but he decided that he would try. He would just have to slowly toe the boundary between knight and companion at a rate he was comfortable with. Perhaps one day, he would be able to treat his king as informally as his fellow knights.

The royal hedgehog sighed at Lancelot's appearance. “You’re a real workaholic, huh.”

“I’m afraid sitting around and doing nothing is not in my nature,” he replied. “What do you plan to do today?”

King Sonic sighed. “I honestly have no idea. I should probably go check up on the remaining royals or something.”

“That’s a good idea,” Lancelot encouraged. He had no wishes for his mistake to influence Camelot’s relations with other countries.

He rolled his eyes and let out an exaggerated groan. “I was afraid you’d say that.”

They went to the third floor, which was reserved exclusively for guests. While it bustled in the prime of the celebration festival, there was hardly a passing servant now.

King Sonic knocked on an occupied room, marked by its closed door. There were only a few doors closed out of the hundred rooms on this floor. A servant inside answered to say that Lady Guinevere was on the terrace.

After the door closed, the king turned to Lancelot with a smile. “Perfect! I was wanting to see her.”

His king’s words made him feel a little strange, but he ignored it. “I thought you had no interest in taking a bride,” Lancelot remarked.

“I don’t!” King Sonic said defensively. “I don’t. It’s just, er, we talked during the tournament, and she seems nice. Not wife material nice, but friend material. You get me?”

“As much as I ever do,” Lancelot said, his tone light. He didn't think he would ever get used to the king's odd, informal phrasing.

The royal hedgehog chuckled. “Well, we shouldn’t keep Guinevere waiting.”

Lancelot had not often visited the terrace, but it was beautiful. It overlooked a lake with glimmering, dark blue waters. Ornate iron chairs and tables would allow for a perfect afternoon tea with a view of the lake. He could hardly imagine how beautiful it would be at sunset, with the sun's rays reflecting off the waters.

“What a pleasant surprise,” Lady Guinevere said. She was enjoying a cup of tea at one of the tables. Her knight, Galvarium, stood stoically by her side, holding a parasol to protect her complexion. Lancelot offered him a respectful nod, which he reciprocated.

“Hi, Guinevere,” the king greeted. “You should meet my knight. This is Lancelot. Er, Sir Lancelot du Lac.”

Lancelot turned to King Sonic with a frown, his cheeks pinkening at the attention. Why was he introducing him? Knights were supposed to lurk in the shadows until their services were needed.

Guinevere’s eyes turned to him, the scrutiny making the quills on his neck rise. “I suppose we haven’t properly met yet. I am Lady Guinevere. I must say, I was quite impressed with your performance at the tournament.”

Lancelot awkwardly looked at the purple cat, who was now staring at his feet. Lancelot cleared his throat. “Um, thank you, my lady. You flatter me.”

Guinevere turned towards the royal hedgehog. “What are you doing out here? I got the hint you weren’t interested in me when you sent your knight to fight for you.”

“Can’t a guy go out on his own terrace?” King Sonic asked, plopping down in a chair next to her.

Guinevere’s unreadable eyes scrutinized him. “I thought so at the tournament, but you truly lack the mannerisms of a king. It is strange for a knight to be more disciplined than his master.”

Lancelot’s defenses surged, but he forced himself to not move. He didn’t want to ruin things like he did at the smithy.

The king leaned forward and replied, “I thought so as well, but you truly are as outright and blunt as a training sword."

Guinevere tittered, covering her mouth with her fan. “At least you have quick wits on your side.” She then sat up in her seat and sighed. “You know, I’m a little disappointed our time together at the tournament was cut short.” She made eye contact with Lancelot while saying this, and he averted his eyes, feeling ashamed. “Why don’t we do a fun activity together?”

King Sonic looked between Lancelot and Lady Guinevere. “Are you sure you want to do something with me? After what you said, I don’t think I would make the best company for you.”

Lancelot frowned. What was his king doing?

Guinevere politely laughed. “Oh, don’t be sour, I was only teasing. Here, I have the perfect idea of how to spend this lovely afternoon together. Galvarium.” The knight looked at her. “Go get a servant to fetch a small rowboat. I think this is a perfect day for some time on the water.”

King Sonic froze at the revelation. Lancelot stepped forth. “My lady, I do not think that is the–”

A hand appeared, blocking him from saying anything else. King Sonic gave him a warning look, something that ridiculously wounded his pride. He looked back to Guinevere. Cunning gleamed in her green eyes. Does she know that His Majesty can’t swim?

“Finish your sentence, Lancelot.” The smile on her face was perfectly crafted from years of experience.

“As my knight, he is just overly concerned for me,” King Sonic butted in. “I can spare one boat ride with you, though I’m afraid it’s all I can afford you for the remainder of your visit.”

Guinevere chuckled. “I suppose that’s what I get for pushing too far, hmm?” Galvarium appeared, the boat hoisted on his shoulder. “Well, let’s get to rowing, then.”

Lady Guinevere and King Sonic stood in front of the boat, now in the water. Guinevere questioned, “Well? Aren’t you going to get in first, so you can help me in?”

“Of course,” King Sonic said hurriedly, but he still stalled. Lancelot felt terrible for him, but he could do nothing to help him. He carefully stepped over the boat’s edge and sat down as quickly as possible, making the boat rock. His Majesty looked ill.

Yet he still held his hand out to Guinevere, who sat happily across from him. Galvarium handed the noble bat her parasol. The boat pulled out into the water, magically activated. Only a boat of the king’s would be permitted to waste magic like that.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” Lancelot told Galvarium, though he didn’t take his eyes off the boat.

There was silence for a bit. “Don’t worry about it. It’s a tournament, someone has to win and lose,” the knight replied. After a long pause, he continued. “She’s not interested in him. It’s her dad.”

“I see.” Even then, Lancelot couldn’t see why Guinevere, should she really not care for Sonic’s hand in marriage, would tease the hedgehog so. And why was His Majesty acting so weird when Guinevere was around?

His thoughts were pulled in a different direction when he heard loud noises coming from the lake. He snapped to attention and saw the rowboat tip over, plummeting Lady Guinevere and King Sonic into its depths.

Chapter Text

Sonic’s attempts at trying to play matchmaker with Guinevere and Lancelot had not played out well, but it’s not like there’s much he could have done. He couldn’t have left the two alone; Lancelot would never allow himself to be apart from Sonic’s side while playing bodyguard. Plus, Lady Guinevere would probably find it scandalous to be left alone with any man who wasn’t her knight since birth.

The noble bat twirled her parasol around in her hands, seemingly at ease on the open waters. “So, we’re alone at last.” She hummed a merry tune.

Sonic glared at her. “Cut to the chase. Why did you want us alone?”

She smiled, though hints of Rouge’s slyness creeped through. “Not alone, per se. Just out of earshot in a way deemed proper.”

“So, why did you want us alone?” Sonic repeated, feeling irritated. She was practically saying the same thing.

“I’m sure you’re well aware that my father wishes me to marry you for political gain,” she started. “But since you clearly don’t want to be married, I have another proposition for you.”

“Color me intrigued.” Sonic almost leaned back before realizing he was on a boat, surrounded by water. His nerves returned, and his heart fluttered.

“Camelot does not have many goods to export, but it does have valuable ports on the coast.”

He could see where she was getting at. “And what exactly are you offering?” Sonic asked. He still wasn’t too familiar with the nearby kingdoms, much less their pros and cons.

Guinevere smiled, this time more genuine. “Rome has a bounty of goods, just waiting to be sold in Camelot, and all the countries farther north.”

The blue hedgehog pondered her request. “Why ask me, and not any of the other seaside countries?”

She sighed, twirling her parasol more. “They are far too fearful to negotiate without a marriage agreement, and my father wants me to marry the best of the best. In my opinion, he thinks too highly of you.”

Sonic laughed. “Maybe it says more about you if your father thinks I’m your best option.”

Now, the mask of cunning fully broke through, and she let out a genuine giggle. “Maybe I need to re-evaluate you, Your Majesty.”

“Perhaps you should,” he said with a smile. Wait. “That was not me flirting, by the way.”

“I would hardly think so.” Her eyes hardened as she smirked. “After all, you clearly harbor feelings for your dear knight, though I hardly understand why you tried to introduce him to me.”

Sonic’s cheeks turned red at the sudden, and truthful, accusation. His first thought was to lie–he had no idea how medieval civilizations handled gay relationships. Plus, he hardly acknowledged that fact to himself, so how could Guinevere spy it so easily? “W-What do you mean? Me? Feelings? No way!”

“Oh, so that mad dash onto the field was merely one of platonic nature.” Amusement danced in her green eyes. “As was your cancelling of the tournament after his injury?”

Sonic’s mouth opened and shut again, like a fish. Dammit, she had him pinned. Wait, he thought for a second time. If his feelings were so obvious, then did that mean…

“You don’t think he’s distant…because he knows? Right?” Sonic asked, his voice smaller than it had ever been.

Guinevere shrugged, her wings rising with her shoulders. “How am I supposed to know? You’re the one who knows him better than I do.”

Sonic glared at her. “You–”

The boat rocked, and the blue hedgehog immediately put his hands out to the sides to steady himself. “Okay, I thought lakes weren’t supposed to have a current, but I guess I was–”

A tentacle creeped over the edge of the boat, and yanked the side down. Water spilled over the edge, sinking half of the boat.

“No, no, no, no no!” Sonic tried to scramble to the dry side, but that just made the boat sink even quicker. “Help!”

Guinevere dropped her parasol to the side and tried to flap her wings, but she was already half-submerged in the lake. “I can’t fly when my wings are wet!” She gasped.

“And I can’t swim!” Sonic yelled back, still desperately clinging to the side of the now horizontal boat as it continued to gain water.

“What?!” Guinevere sputtered. “Then why did you agree to get on the water with me?”

“I DON’T KNOW!” He thought she knew and was just teasing him, but clearly that wasn’t the case. His attention was quickly drawn back to the situation at hand. He was more than waist deep in the water, and panicking. Once the boat fully sank, his fate was sealed. He couldn’t swim. He was afraid of water. Lancelot and Galvarium were too far away to help in time.

“Ack!” Guinevere screamed, then sharply dropped beneath the surface. Splashes occurred below the dark waters, and her hands peeked out.

“Guinevere!” Sonic reached over to grab her hand, but lost traction of the boat and fell fully into the water. He splashed against the surface, spluttering as water hit his face. He kicked his legs and arms out furiously, but he was sinking. The thing that had sunk their boat and snatched Guinevere wrapped around his ankle and pulled him under too.

He held his breath and closed his eyes. When he cracked one open, he saw that it was a rogue magical beast, leftover from Merlina’s magic and presenting as a giant, mutated squid. Sonic fumbled Excalibur out of his hilt and tried to hit against the tentacle, but water physics were awful and it barely did anything.

“Sonic, you don’t have much time. You need to kill this thing and get to the surface before you die!” Excalibur exclaimed.

Sonic wanted to yell back, “You think I don’t know that?” But the press of water on his closed mouth kept him silent. Instead, he tried gnawing away at the tentacle with Excalibur. Where was this thing even taking him anyway? It was moving them further away from the shore, using its other arms to pull itself along the lake floor.

As he continued to use Excalibur like a hack-saw, he managed to carve away a small slice into the creature’s flesh. Magical energy leaked from the wound, floating towards the surface. It shook in anger. A flash of movement caught his eye as another tentacle lumbered right towards him. Sonic ducked out of the way, but that sudden movement caused his mouth to open.

Shit. He was inhaling, swallowing the water. He didn’t have a chance now; it’s not like he could re-hold his breath while under the water. He could vaguely see Guinevere further away, held firmly in one of the beast’s front tentacles, but his vision was beginning to go black around the edges. Would he go back to Earth when he dies, or would he die for real?

The tentacle around Sonic’s leg went slack, and he heard a deafening shriek that sent ripples across the water. Magical energy appeared in blooms in front of him, obscuring the waters. Hands reached under his shoulders and arms and he was propelled in a rush towards the surface. Sonic coughed up water as Lancelot currently hovered on the surface of the water, shoes burning magical energy as they hovered over the lake.

Lancelot placed him on the now upright, water-free boat. “Stay here,” he said, voice slightly obscured by the water in his ears, then deactivated his sabatons and dropped dead into the lake. Water sprayed upwards, indicating he had used his shoes to propel him through the water.

Sonic smiled, shaken. “I forgot he could travel on water with those.”

Lancelot emerged not too long after with Guinevere, though she didn’t wake when she breached the surface. He placed her in the boat too, then started pushing the boat back to shore at a sprint.

“Did you kill it?” Sonic asked.

“Why do you think I’m moving so fast?” Lancelot asked, panting. A tentacle shot out of the water, and the ultimate knight instantly changed trajectory. It slapped empty water, and let out a frustrated screech.

Eventually, the waters became shallow enough for the creature to lose its ability to follow. As the boat hit shore, Galvarium rushed over and scooped Guinevere up in his big arms, and gently set her to the ground to blow air into her lungs. She vomited up water shortly after.

“Do you need assistance, Your Majesty?” Lancelot asked, still slightly out of breath.

Sonic smiled, deflecting. “Out of breath already?”

“Sprinting across water, submerging twice, then running back all in a full set of armor isn’t easy.” He took off his helm and shook out his quills, but didn’t seem satisfied. “I guess I know what Galahad’s first mission is.”

Sonic’s breath caught, and he involuntarily shivered. Lancelot frowned. “Of course, you must be cold.” He pulled a blanket off the chaise Guinevere was lounging on and handed it to Sonic. His heartbeat began to intensify. “Dry off, then you can change into dry clothes in your chambers.”

Sonic reluctantly grabbed the blanket. Why had he thought that Lancelot would do it for him? Not in a subservient way, just…as a kind gesture? The thought embarrassed him, and he hid his face in the towel. He dried off his quills and handed it to Lancelot. “I guess I’ll go get freshened up. You should do the same.”

As he turned to leave, Lancelot said, “Wait.” He heard footsteps behind him, then a warmth at his head. “My apologies for the oversight. I suppose you usually have servants to do this.”

Sonic blushed. “No, it’s just hard to reach back there.” Lancelot’s hands moved quickly but thoroughly through his still damp quills, sparking a gentle warmth wherever they touched. He was disappointed when they fell away, but the fuzzy warmth still remained.

Sonic turned back around to Lancelot, not wanting this moment to be over yet. “Er, do you need help too?”

Lancelot’s eyes widened, and he looked to the helmet he had set to the ground. “I’m sorry, my lord. I should probably get my armor to Galahad before it rusts.” He picked up his helm and placed it under his arm. “I can escort you to your chambers first, though.”

Sonic shook his head. “No, go take care of your armor. I can walk with Lady Guinevere and Sir Galvarium.”

Lancelot looked at all three individuals, ending with an extended glance on Sonic. After a small nod, he used his sabatons to glide to the knights’ quarters.

“I can see why you’re in love with him,” Guinevere said smugly, making Sonic start. “Buuuut I can also see why you’re worried. That was painful to watch.”

Sonic bickered further, and the noble bat merely laughed at him.

Chapter Text

Lancelot skated towards where Galahad was being kept. It was near the knights’ shared chamber, but his in particular had a lock placed on the outside. Lancelot had planned to start training once everyone’s schedules returned to normal, but it seems it would be earlier than expected.

“Squire,” Lancelot said, unlatching the key. It only had three sisters--one for each knight and one for the king. “Your first mission is to dry my armor of its water.”

Galahad’s usual glare turned to shock when he saw the soaked knight. “How did you do that? Did someone shove you into the moat?”

Lancelot shook his head as he shed his armor, including his sabatons. “His Majesty fell into the lake. I had to go save him.” Hardly a thought flashed through his mind before he instinctively raced across the water to reach his king’s side.

The white hedgehog sighed as Lancelot handed him a washcloth. “Why was he even out on the water if he can’t swim?”

“Everything was fine, but a magical beast flipped their boat. Speaking of which, we will be handling that together in the morning. We'll spar a bit first to make sure you remember the basics.”

Galahad paused his reluctant wiping down of the armor. “You want me to go fight a magical beast?”

Lancelot smirked. “You called yourself a knight at first, correct? This is what knights do. Besides, if we’re together, we’ll be able to cover each other, so fret not.”

Galahad looked from Lancelot, to his set of armor in his hands. “So then why am I cleaning this now if it’s just going to get wet again in the morning?”

The ultimate knight curtly replied, “I can’t have it getting rusty overnight. And I need to get back to serving the king, so I’d prefer it if you hurried it up.”

“I’m going to scratch your armor beyond recognition,” Galahad muttered darkly under his breath.

“No, you won’t.” Lancelot stepped out of the squire’s room, but lingered at the door. “You haven’t eaten lunch yet, yes? I’ll bring you some after I change.”

He walked next door and quickly changed into some fresh underclothes. It was weird to roam around in the daytime without the metal encasement of armor, but he needed to feed his apprentice. He had not asked the other two knights to assist him with this task. Galahad was his responsibility, so he had to make sure he was fed.

Lancelot returned from the eating hall with “slop” in hand. He didn’t know why Gawain detested it so. It was nutritional, and that was all food needed to be. He left Galahad to eat, then departed without a word, leaving himself to his thoughts.

He could scarcely believe he’d allowed King Sonic to get so close to death. He was so rattled that he’d let down more defenses than he’d noticed, and felt comfortable with. He’d only taken off his helm because he detested the uncomfortable and terribly familiar feeling of wet fur touching cold metal, and prayed to Nimue that he didn’t accidentally splash water on King Sonic as he shook out his fur like a dog. Lancelot did feel bad for rejecting his offer, but grooming each other felt more than that of a relationship between king and knight.

Lancelot’s face turned a slight tinge of red. Nay, he couldn’t afford to think of their relationship as more than that. He was just regaining the title of king’s closest and most trusted knight. To sour that with thoughts of becoming comrades would break leagues of professionalism.

He shook his head. He needed to return to his duties. That would fill his head with purpose, and not this meaningless drivel.

***

Galahad was not prepared to wake up at five in the morning. Lancelot sighed. This behavior reminded him of King Sonic, when he woke him up to see the gift Lancelot got him. But unlike the royal hedgehog, this would have to become Galahad’s routine, so no dragging one’s feet allowed.

“Squires typically help their knights prepare in armor, but I prefer to do it myself.” To prove his point, Lancelot was already fully decked out in metal uniform. He presented Galahad’s confiscated set of armor back to him. “I trust you are familiar enough to assemble your own armor?”

The white hedgehog scoffed. “Of course I am.” The testy squire used his telekinesis powers to hasten the process. He raised one eyebrow before flicking the visor down.

Lancelot propped a hand on his hip, quickly assessing the setup. “You are swift, I’ll give you that. But do not compromise speed for quality, else you will lose your chestplate in battle.” He pointed to the improperly secured buckle at his side. Galahad fixed it with a grumble, his cheeks pinkening slightly.

As they arrived at the training field, Galahad asked, “What about my sword?”

Lancelot strode over to the supply bin and tossed one out to his squire. A clatter sounded. “A wooden sword? I’m not a baby!”

Lancelot glanced over. Galahad had dropped the sword, refusing to even look at it. “I know you are not a child, but you are still an apprentice. You have many basic skills to learn that I found lacking at the tournament. You need more than surprise to best your opponent.”

It was slightly embarrassing losing to Galahad, Lancelot had to admit in retrospect. His moves were amateurish, but the killing intent in the middle of an honorable tournament had thrown the ultimate knight off balance. He would not be caught off guard so easily a second time, so unless Galahad got his act together, he would easily be able to defeat his squire.

Galahad sighed, and picked up the abandoned sword. “So, what now, oh mighty knight?”

Lancelot smiled. The act of disobedience made him change the course for their lesson. “Put the sword down.”

“Huh? But you just gave it to me.”

“Impertinence is unbecoming of a knight,” Lancelot said. “Besides, what a knight needs more than swords is endurance. Run fifty laps around the arena. I’ll join you.”

Galahad gaped as Lancelot zoomed past him. “No fair!” He exclaimed, running to catch up with him.

To be honest, Lancelot didn’t even need his sabatons in order to complete this task. The former king had ensured that all three of his knights were at peak physical ability. He slowed down as he thought of the false king.

“Passed ya!” Galahad shouted as he zoomed past.

“You’re still only at lap twenty-three,” Lancelot called out. He then noticed a cyan aura surrounding the white hedgehog’s boots. “Halt! Using your ability is cheating!”

“So are you!” Galahad stuck out his tongue, and continued to get further and further away. Lancelot stopped, so now Galahad was getting closer and closer instead. His squire slowed to a halt uncertainly.

“I have been a knight far longer than you,” Lancelot explained, voice harsh. “I am more experienced than you. My physicality far surpasses yours. When you use magic to aid you at this level, you are more so cheating yourself than anyone else.”

Galahad’s head turned away with a hmphThat seemed to work, he thought with relief, so he continued. “So work harder to improve yourself. Only then will you be worthy of the title of a knight.”

He nodded. Galahad set back to work without another word, and Lancelot watched him whiz by until he finally finished. “Now, we can work on your sword swings,” he said. “After all, you need to know the basics before taking down a magical beast.”

***

They left for the lake at noon. Lancelot skated across the waters as Galahad used his telekinesis to float. “Battle is always different than training,” he said as they approached the massive blob visible beneath the water. “Remember your training, and do not freeze.” Granted, his training was miniscule, but at least he knew how to use his sword. This would also be a good opportunity to see his natural skill and ability to cooperate.

“Like I would do that,” Galahad scoffed. He narrowly dodged a charging tentacle with a small yelp.

Lancelot cut it down with Arondight. “Pay attention and dive!” He instructed snappily.

They sank into the depths, scurrying in different directions to avoid the magical creature’s attack. Lancelot adjusted his grip on his sword and wove in between the creature’s many arms, slashing as he went. When he could get close enough, he aimed for the eyes. His breath was quickly fading, and he got in one more swipe before resurfacing for air. Lancelot searched around for Galahad, but he was nowhere to be seen atop the waves. Could he just hold his breath for longer than Lancelot?

When he swam beneath the surface again, he quickly realized that was not the case. Galahad thrashed in a tentacle’s grip, using his telekinesis to swipe at the arm that was slowly dragging him to its mouth. Lancelot sighed, unsure how exactly his squire let himself be captured. His sword’s strikes were weak because he was running out of air and his concentration was waning.

Lancelot rounded the beast and completely cut off the arm he was hacking at earlier. A loud yowl resounded through the water, all of its arms rushing towards the ultimate knight. He ducked out of the way, knowing it was only a matter of time before the loss of life force was too much. He still cut at the tentacles when he could, the sheer amount of golden magical energy pouring forth obstructing his vision. Galahad, with a fresh lungful of air, also assisted on the other side, cutting and dodging until its efforts to capture and eat them ceased.

Galahad swam up to get a breather, leaving Lancelot with the beast. It started slowly spiraling towards the bottom of the lake, but Lancelot grabbed a handful of its fins and dragged it to the surface. Galahad’s face contorted with shock at the reappearance of the beast, trying to quickly retreat out of its tentacles' range before seeing it was only there through Lancelot's interference.

“Help me bring it to shore,” he ordered.

Galahad groaned, but lifted it up with his telekinesis. Since he still struggled to use his powers on two things at once, Lancelot lifted him up and skated to shore. As they traveled towards the training field, its dripping magical energy formed a trail of mana flowers in its wake. Lancelot would have to pluck those before Sonic arrived, as they were a bad omen.

“Now you can drop it,” he told the white hedgehog.

Galahad groaned again (so unseemly for a knight) and stopped his powers. The magical beast’s corpse plopped onto the dust of the training field. The mentor planned to teach him weak points and the best way to attack before its body completely disintegrated.

“What are two drowned rats doing on the training field?” Sir Percival asked, approaching from where she watched Galahad’s struggles to maneuver its giant body. Her voice held no malice, only amusement, but Galahad didn’t know her well enough to tell the difference.

“We just finished killing this thing! What have you been doing this whole time?” Galahad jeered.

“Galahad,” Lancelot said sharply. “She outranks you, so treat her with respect.”

The purple cat said, “I was going to dry you off, but I suppose I’ll only dry Lance.” Flames rolled off of her shoulders and surrounded Lancelot, covering him in an uncomfortable heat before vanishing, though the smoky smell of her magic remained.

“Thank you, Percy,” he said, appreciating his now dry fur and armor.

Galahad stared, gobsmacked. “So why did you make me dry off your armor if she can do this?”

Lancelot shrugged. “Discipline? It’s also slightly uncomfortable, and an unnecessary drain on her powers.”

“It’s not that much of a drain,” the holy grail knight protested. She winked at his squire. “He’s just too much of a stickler to ask for help. Speaking of which, I’ll help you out this once.” Her flames spread forth, skating over Galahad’s fur and armor briefly enough to dry him off. She patted him on the shoulder. “And by the way, I was merely jesting. Lighten up, else you become even more uptight than Lance.”

Lancelot scoffed as Sir Percival walked away, but ultimately turned to his apprentice. Galahad’s mouth was slightly agape and frozen in place. Nimue, give him strength. He snapped in front of his face. “Pay attention. It’s time for our lecture.”

The white hedgehog groaned (again, why did he keep doing that?) as Lancelot demonstrated the day’s lesson, struggling to keep his apprentice’s mind and eyes on the task at hand.

Chapter Text

On the night after the lake incident, Sonic couldn’t go to sleep. He lay in his oversized but very comfy bed, staring at the ceiling. Okay, that was probably one of the most terrifying experiences in his life, and his aquaphobia was even stronger than before.

But that burst of air after almost drowning heightened his senses–the cool metal pressed against his body as Lancelot held him, bridal style; the gentle hum of his boots as they floated above the water; Lancelot’s quick breaths after rushing across the surface to save him…all the while he was spitting up water all over him.

Okay, that part was a little more embarrassing, Sonic thought with a blush. And he should be more embarrassed that he missed some wet spots left behind in his quills, but he couldn’t find it in him after it allowed Sonic and Lancelot to share that small moment he thought would only stay in the depths of his imagination.

Still, Sonic wasn’t the only person Lancelot saved. He also pulled Guinevere out of the clutches of the magical beast. This is good, he told himself. He should’ve known that the world would bring the two together. After all, it was destined to be.

But Lancelot saved him first. It was expected as he was a king and Lancelot his knight, but dare he hope it to be something more? He meant, the fairy tale was already different than the original. King Arthur was an illusion and Sonic was now king in his place, Merlina was the evil magician instead of Morgan La Fay or Mordred or however it went, and Merlin and Percival were genderbent. Who was to say that a romance between Lancelot and him was improbable?

It’s not about improbability though. He just couldn’t love him, only to be forced to leave him again. If he ever goes home again.

And as much as he wanted to stay here in Camelot, he wanted to go home that much more. Sonic couldn’t allow himself to get any more attached than he already was.

***

He regretted his late night musings instantly when he was woken up by his attendants. Same old routine, as if he didn’t almost die the day before, he thought as he was prepared for the day, ate breakfast, talked with the commoners, then the attendants, and finally had lunch at 12 p.m.

The knights of sun and wind rivaled each other in appetite, so they were always able to vanquish the feast in entirety when they worked together.

Sir Gawain gnawed on a chili dog, now long immune to its spices. He continued one of his stories, of which he had plenty and a great willingness to share. “So Lance and I were sent to the Shrouded Forest to take care of some traitors, yeah? And the rations weren’t enough for me, so I looked for something else to keep me going. So I see this mushroom, and it looks fine to me. Lance told me not to eat it, but that wanted to make me eat it more. I probably should have listened since he knows more about that kinda stuff than me, but I ate it. And got reallyyy sick, like hallucinating and feverish and stuff. King Arthur wasn’t happy about it, especially since I got laid off the mission and he had to fill in. Trust me, he made me pay for it once I got better. I wasn’t going to apologize to Lance because of my pride, but that vanished real quick when I heard what happened on his mission.”

“What was that?” Sonic asked around a mouthful of potato pie. He was just trying to be polite and show that he was listening to Gawain’s story, but the red echidna froze.

“Er, speaking of missions, Lance went to kill that lake monster today right? I wonder if he and Galahad have taken care of it yet.” He then stuffed an entire chili dog in his mouth.

Sonic frowned. Somehow, Gawain was even worse than him at changing the subject. “Gawain.”

He pointed to his active chewing, then made muffled sounds. Sonic sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Clearly, he didn’t want to elaborate. “You’re right. We should ask him about it when we see him on the training grounds.”

Relief so obviously flashed through Gawain’s eyes as he nodded in agreement. Sonic couldn’t fault him. If it had something to deal with Lancelot, then the ultimate knight should tell Sonic himself.

When Gawain and Sonic eventually arrived at the training grounds, he was stunned to see the corpse of the magical beast in the center, though its body would eventually disintegrate when all the magic left its body.

Galahad and Lancelot stood in front of it, and he could see Lancelot’s mouth moving as he gestured Arondight towards the beast. Yet Galahad’s attention seemed to be elsewhere, much to Lancelot’s disapproval.

Lancelot stopped mid-lecture to turn towards Sonic and bow. “You too, Galahad,” Lancelot said. With a groan, the squire only bowed his head.

“Hi, Lancelot. Love what you’ve done with the place.”

“I wanted to assure you that the beast was no longer,” Lancelot informed. “So should you ever wish to take the lake’s waters again, there would be no fear.”

“Oh, there would be plenty of fear, but not about that.”

Lancelot chuckled, and Sonic smiled. “Say, Lancelot,” he continued. “I heard Lady Guinevere is leaving today to go back to Rome. I’m sure she’ll want to say bye to you, since you saved her and all that.”

“I didn’t know Lady Guinevere was involved,” Sir Galahad said. “Lancelot, why wouldn’t you tell me this?” He ruffled the ultimate knight’s quills that weren’t protected by armor.

“Don’t do that,” Lancelot frowned, ducking and stepping further away.

“Oh come on, don’t be like that.”

“I didn’t know you two were so close,” Gawain remarked, looking between knight and squire.

“There’s just something about a near death experience that brings you together, I suppose,” Lancelot drawled, seemingly unamused.

Galahad frowned. “You’re the one who almost let me get eaten!”

“To teach you a lesson about rushing into battle without thinking! Just because I incapacitated it for the most part, doesn’t mean it’s safe to be reckless.”

They continued bickering until Sonic eventually intervened. “Er, Lancelot, are you up for a duel?”

Lancelot turned towards him. “My apologies, but I must tend to Galahad’s training. He has raw talent, but his foundations are off. He will make a good knight, worry not.”

Sonic was beginning to regret letting him take Galahad as his apprentice. No, it was his choice, and it’s hard to stay mad when he noticed Galahad quietly staring at Lancelot, complicated emotions whirling in his yellow eyes.

Sonic rubbed his temple. “Okay, um. Want to spar then, Gawain?”

“I’m always up for a fight!” Gawain said cheerily. “Let’s show Galahad how it’s done.”

Sonic was slightly surprised by his comment. “I thought you disliked him?” He asked as he drew out Excalibur.

“I do, though he should learn that a duel is fought with honor, not deception and cowardice.”

Galatine made its appearance, and iron clashed against iron as Sonic tried not to think about what would occur later that day.

Chapter Text

Lancelot left Galahad behind. The three knights were to accompany the king to send off the Lady Guinevere, in order to present a united front. Galahad looked a little upset, though due to his longing glances towards the holy grail knight, Lancelot figured it was more so that they were leaving with Sir Percival than anything else.

The ultimate knight only left him behind because he figured Lady Guinevere would have an adverse reaction to Galahad. He also felt his squire’s presence shouldn’t be flaunted until he achieved knighthood and regained the trust of Camelot and all those who witnessed that very public, flagrant display.

Lancelot and Percival both walked alongside Sonic, who led them towards the outer terrace, where Guinevere’s carriage waited not too far away. He could admit that she was beautiful, enhanced with makeup and a draping skirt that suited her figure. Her knight held a parasol to protect her complexion, and she lazily fanned herself with a lace fan.

“Hello, Your Majesty,” Guinevere greeted. “I hope you haven’t forgotten our talk.”

Sonic started. “Er, yes, I will be sure to speak with my advisors about it.”

Lancelot frowned, but then the noble bat’s eyes then turned to him. She held out her hand expectantly. “And you, Sir Lancelot du Lac. I asked you here because I would like to thank you for saving my life. However could I repay you?”

It has been a while since he kissed a noblewoman’s hand, he thought as he bowed and his lips briefly hovered over the back of her hand.

He then straightened. “I’m sorry, Lady Guinevere, but I could not ask anything of you. It was my duty as a knight to rescue you, nothing more.”

“Well, if you insist.” The noblewoman looked to King Sonic again. “Of course, this act will be considered in negotiations.”

“I would hope so. I will say, it has been surprisingly pleasant to have you around, Lady Guinevere.” A smile graced the royal hedgehog’s face as one of his eyebrows cocked up.

She smirked. “I could almost say the same about you.” She looked at the two other knights. “Sirs Percival and Gawain, is it?”

“Yes, my lady,” the holy grail knight replied.

Lady Guinevere held out her hand to be kissed by Percival, then Gawain. “You two also reacted rather quickly. It is assuring to know that His Majesty is surrounded by such capable guards.”

Was Lancelot imagining things, or did the noble bat’s tanned cheeks flush a shade of red?

Lady Guinevere’s fan picked up its pace and covered the lower half of her face. She faced her knight, Galvarium. “Well, I suppose we should bid you adieu. Farewell, Your Majesty. Remember to follow your heart.” She merely spared Lancelot a nod and the others a glance, though he didn’t mind.

Galvarium helped her step into her carriage, then they drove away. Now that it was only King Sonic and Percival, Lancelot turned to the former. “Sire, what exactly is this talk of negotiations? I thought marriage was off the table.”

The royal hedgehog jumped. “Um, you guys will find out soon enough. It’s nothing official, anyways.” He waved Sir Percival over. “C’mon, Percy! I’m starving.”

They walked away, leaving Lancelot and Gawain alone. His heart picked up anxiously. Did His Majesty no longer trust him? He usually didn’t keep secrets from his knights.

He confided those worries in Gawain later in the safety of their shared living quarters.

The sun knight laughed from where he sat on his bed. “I mean, have you given him any reason to?”

“What do you mean.” It wasn’t a question, because even as he said it out loud, he could already tell what Gawain was going to say.

“Well, you have to trust him in order for him to trust you, right? Let down your guard, call him by his name for chaos’ sake.”

Lancelot fiddled with his visor. “You know how difficult it is to lend my trust.”

Gawain groaned and jumped off the bed. One of his spiked hands landed on the black hedgehog’s shoulder. “Lance, you make things so much more difficult than they need to be. Start off with something small. For example…”

He pulled out some blank linen rags that Stanley the tutor had given them to practice with. “Write down something you would never be able to tell him otherwise.”

Lancelot stared at the rags. “I-I’m still not adept at writing yet.” Despite his protests, the idea was already turning in his mind. He somehow needed to re-secure his place as the closest and most trusted knight to the king, all without feeling unbearably uncomfortable. Writing something down felt more removed, less personal.

“This will be practice then. I know you’ve been slacking off after training Galahad.”

Lancelot grimaced. His plate was just so full these days that he hardly had time to waste on luxurious activities like practicing his writing. “Fine, I’ll come up with something suitable.”

He pulled out a pen and began to write. The act of translating his thoughts to paper was more mentally exercising than he imagined. It could not stop the churning thoughts within.

He’s keeping secrets. Scribble.

He doesn’t trust him. Scratch out.

Will he abandon him? He dropped his quill and put his head in his hands. Why was this so hard?

Falling, falling, falling. But that hadn’t even been the worst of his fate.

***

Lancelot was scheduled to be King Sonic’s escort for the first half of the day, so it was a good thing he finished the note. It had taken him all night, and he only got a few hours of sleep, but he usually didn’t sleep much anyways.

“Be sure to behave,” Lancelot warned Galahad. This was his squire’s first time escorting the king, and he certainly did not want the royal hedgehog to be embarrassed. “We wait out here until His Majesty comes out.”

The white hedgehog groaned. “I can already tell this is going to be a long day.”

Lancelot rested against the wall, though his mind remained alert. It was hard not to when the letter was burning a hole in his sweating hand. He hadn’t considered reading it out loud in front of his apprentice.

The door swung open to reveal the king on the other side. Lancelot jumped upright. “Hello…King Sonic.” Dammit, he had wanted to say it without the honorific, but it felt impossible. He cleared his throat. “I-If you wouldn’t mind, could I take some of your time before breakfast?”

His green eyes gleamed with curiosity. “Sure. What is it?”

He pulled the letter out of his palm and straightened it. The ink was slightly drooping due to the moisture, but still legible. As legible as his terrible handwriting was, anyway.

He now had King Sonic’s full attention, for better or worse. Lancelot cleared his throat again and recited:

“Upon our first meeting, I thought you nothing but a cocky knave / Upon our first battle, you could have gifted me an early grave / Yet here we stand, a king and his knight / Yet now we trust, slowly, but with might. -Lance.”

King Sonic’s mouth hung open, and Lancelot’s face burned with embarrassment. He thought getting it over with would be better, but by Nimue, he should have waited until the end of his shift to tell him. Why couldn’t his visor cover his entire face?

Chapter Text

Sonic could admit that he may have been blinded with jealousy yesterday. It reared its head so suddenly and viciously when Lancelot kissed Guinevere’s hand. He’s never kissed his hand. And Guinevere had the audacity to hold Sonic’s gaze all the while, her eyes glittering with amusement.

He knew it wouldn’t have hurt to answer Lancelot’s question. He just supposed he didn’t think the ultimate knight would take it to heart, resulting in the poem he just read. He never expected to be the subject of someone’s poetry, especially one as beautiful and touching as the one Lancelot had written.

“Wow,” Galahad said bluntly, breaking the silence.

Lancelot’s face was almost entirely red at Sonic’s lack of a response. Sonic pushed aside his shock to rushedly say, “Wow, so Stanley taught you to say all that, huh?”

The black hedgehog paused. “I wrote and read it aloud due to your tutor's teachings, yes. The words were all mine, however.”

Sonic began to turn a bit pink himself. How was he so charismatic without even trying? “Would you mind if I kept it?” he squeaked.

“I have no particular use for it anymore,” Lancelot said as he handed it over, pushing it into Sonic's hands as though he were in a hurry to be rid of it.

Sonic neatly folded it and placed it into one of his pockets. “Thanks…Lance.” Ignoring the knight’s further flushing, he hurriedly said, “Let’s go eat!”

Galahad obviously appreciated the food, though he didn’t say as much. Lancelot stayed away, watching as the two downed the meal. Sonic didn’t mind it as much today. After all, he has just received a love poem from him.

Sonic paused mid-chew. Wait, would this classify as a love poem? It did specify their dynamic as king and knight. What zone even was this? Boss-zoned? The psychic damage was immense. Still, Lancelot hadn’t written Lady Guinevere a letter. The levels of satisfaction he gained from that thought was irrational.

Speaking of the letter, Sonic said, “And Lancelot, the negotiations were just for trade in exchange for access to our ports. I still need to talk with the advisory council about it today though.”

“Oh. Okay. That’s good.”

Blood rushed to his face as his heart accelerated. Was Lancelot jealous too?

“Galvarium had mentioned that she had no love for you. I do not wish you a loveless marriage.”

Ah, of course. Still, the sentiment was sweet.

Sonic first had to meet with the commoners and listen to their requests before going to the advisors’ meeting. He much preferred the first duty, as the results of change were more immediate and the people less insufferable.

Then came the less tolerable part of his day with his advisory council. They were very intrigued by Guinevere’s offer.

“Rome does have a lot of goods available for trade. It could help our economy prosper.”

“Does her father know about this?”

“Perhaps marriage isn’t the only way to unite our kingdoms after all.”

“Playing favorites after the failed tournament is risky, but it would be good to have an ally should the Distant Isles invade,” a monotone voice cut in.

Sonic looked to the advisor. He was a human with a long, expressionless face and equally dull eyes. Allan, he thought his name was? No, wait, Alex.

“Why do you think that?” Sonic questioned.

Alex answered, “Well, we haven’t heard news from them ever since they consolidated. Isn’t that suspicious in itself? They must be plotting something.”

Hmm. Sonic had said to keep an eye on the isles, but for nothing to come out since then? He hated to agree that it was a little suspicious. “Well, we can’t do anything since we don’t have any intel as of yet. We could add a clause in negotiations about coming to each other’s defenses, but that would make us less trade partners and more so allies.”

This sparked more discussion to determine the boundaries of their relationship with Rome, should there be one at all.

Sonic found himself tuning out the endless talking and noticing his knight lounging against the wall. Wait, was Lancelot dozing off?

Sonic suppressed a surprised smile. Usually the ultimate knight would never let his guard down like that. It was relieving, and also kind of cute. His head bobbed up and down, his presumably closed eyes masked beneath his visor.

Discussion wrapped up as the clock began to ring twelve times. Lancelot jolted awake with a start, and this time Sonic couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled out. He straightened, face reddening. Sonic felt a little bad for him, but his smile remained.

As he continued his chores for the day, he started thinking more about this newfound situation. Lancelot had tried his best to be vulnerable to Sonic, even though it was difficult for him. Perhaps it was just because of the structure of their job? All of their meetings have technically been in the context of work, except for that one dreadfully early yet magical morning in the stables.

He waited until Gawain substituted Lancelot and Galahad before asking the sun knight a question. “What do you do in your free time?”

Gawain stopped mid-story. “Oh, uh. That’s unexpected.” He paused. “Most nights me and Lance and Percy play cards, drink, the works. Lance tried inviting Galahad the past few nights but he doesn’t want to join.” He tsked in annoyance at that.

Sonic would have to work on the knight’s relationship with Galahad later. Right now, he zeroed in on Gawain's information. “Cards? Could I join in for a match?”

Gawain’s eyes widened. “Er, I’m not sure it’s, well, um, you might find it unsuitable.”

The blue hedgehog smiled. “Oh, c’mon. We had card games where I’m from too. I’m sure I’d learn the rules in no time.”

The knight swallowed. “Well, w-we have an untraditional way of playing. You may not look upon it fondly, and I wish not to sour our relationship.”

“Now I really want to join in!” Sonic said, leaning in.

The red echidna let out a sigh of defeat. “Alright, I shall bring you. But please let what occurs in the game, stay in the game.”

Sonic couldn’t wait until later that night. A card game! It’s been forever since he’s played actual games. And all with his knights! He was excited to see how each one acted outside of their metal uniforms.

Gawain escorted Sonic to the knights’ chambers. “I brought him,” Gawain said as he entered.

“I’m surprised you finally managed to convince him,” said Lancelot from inside. Sonic’s ears twitched as he laid eyes on him. Lancelot froze. “You are not Galahad.”

“Surprise,” Gawain said awkwardly, presenting the knight of the wind. “He asked to join us tonight.”

Lancelot and Percival were sitting on the floor, criss-cross applesauce style. They both wore simple, unfitted nightdresses, their armor already nesting in their stands by their beds. Cards stood in four individual stacks in front of them, along with four goblets and a bottle of alcohol.

Gawain took off his helmet, cast it onto his bed, and plopped in front of one of the card decks. He picked it up and shuffled through its contents.

The emotions were bare on Lancelot's face as he looked from Gawain to Sonic. “Forgive me. When he told me he was bringing someone to play cards with us, I figured he meant Galahad.”

“I figured, and it’s no worries.” Sonic sat down in the group and took a peek at the only untouched pile of cards. “So, how do you exactly play this?”

“I can explain,” Percival interjected. “We’re playing a game of Hunger. Each round, you get rid of a card and put it in the middle. Whoever put down the highest card gets all the cards. If you put down a knave card, then you steal all of the cards in that round. You can also wager that you have the highest card by placing down however many cards you want to bet. If you lose, you give those up, but if you win, the person with the lowest card has to give however many you wagered back to you. Person who has the most cards wins.”

“Ooh, interesting.” He looked at his cards. The ‘knave’ card looked almost exactly like the joker card of modern times. The name also brought to mind the name which Lancelot once called him, and just now brought up in his poem. The paper burned a hole in his pocket. He smiled, trying not to think about how many times he'll probably read it from now on.

“So…are we wagering anything this round?” Gawain asked.

Lancelot looked alarmed. “Not in front of the king!”

Ah, were these the 'unsuitable' things they took part in? “No worries. I’ll even join in.” Sonic thought of something to bet. “I’ll let whoever wins hold Excalibur.”

“Pardon?!” His sword piped in.

Percival smiled. “Okay, then the winner can wear my armor for a day.”

"I bet Galahad would wish he were here if he heard that," Lancelot muttered, earning a glare from the holy grail knight. Is there some secret knight drama going on? Sonic wondered.

“I bet half of last week’s earnings!” Gawain shouted.

Lancelot sighed. “Whoever wins can ride my horse, I suppose.”

Percival popped open the cork of the bottle and filled their goblets. Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “Also, the losers of each round have to drink.”

“Of course you would say that,” Gawain groaned.

“Do not feel pressured to drink,” Lancelot said, holding Sonic’s gaze. He looked a little nervous.

“Don’t worry! I can handle a little.” Actually, he’s never really drunk before, but it should be fine, right?

Percival nodded, then stated, “Draw your cards and deposit in three, two, one.”

A three, a six, a queen, and Sonic’s nine. Such a powerful card so early in the game. Percival swiped up all the cards as the three losers drank some alcohol. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but it burned his throat. His face scrunched at the taste.

Percival smiled. “I hope a three isn’t your best card, Lancelot.”

“I don’t have to explain my strategy to you,” he grumbled back, preparing his next card.

“Very well then. I wager three cards that mine will have the highest number next round.” Percival set aside three random cards.

Sonic saw his chance, and placed his knave card down when Percival counted down. But the holy grail knight also placed down a knave card.

“You fell for her trick,” Gawain said with a sigh, face filled with pity. Both he and Lancelot had placed low numbered cards and drank their losing shots.

“What happens if we tie?” Sonic asked, suddenly feeling a little nervous after the others' reactions.

Percival smirked. “We duel!”

When Sonic reached for Excalibur, the purple cat laughed. “In the game. Essentially, whoever grabs the most cards first wins the round.”

“What–”

Somehow, Percival had already snatched all of the cards. She proudly put them in her ever growing fan of cards.

“It’s okay, Sonic,” Gawain said, patting his shoulder. “None of us can beat her cat-like reflexes either.”

“Picking one’s battles is an important part of life,” the ultimate knight agreed.

He couldn’t believe the two had just left him out to dry like that! Well, now that he knew that, he wasn’t going to go easy. He had another glug of the drink.

Percival put the one of the knaves back on the tile, explaining that you were only allowed to have one knave at a time and it would be grabbed in the next snatch.

So all Sonic had to do was tie with someone. But how? He assumed that Lancelot and Gawain would play higher ranking cards now that Percival had cleared the first two rounds. He placed down his most valuable card, a king.

When he spotted that Gawain had also placed a king, Sonic made a mad sweep for the pile. “Huh?!” The sun knight exclaimed before even realizing they shared a card. “No!”

The other two laughed, then all three had a drink. “Well done, Sonic,” the holy grail knight complimented.

Things began to blur a little as the festivities continued, punctuated by laughter and losing cries. After his performance sharply dwindled due to the alcohol, Gawain lost all of his cards, then Lancelot. It was one on one, and Percival had more cards than Sonic, so she eventually won.

“I’ll be expecting my payment tomorrow,” she told Gawain as she packed up the cards. He let out an unintelligible groan and plopped backwards onto the ground, his armor clanking at the impact.

Sonic was beginning to grow tired. He had no idea what time it was, but the sky through the window was dark. “Time flies when you’re having fun, but I should probably go to bed.” He moved to stand, but a rush of vertigo hit him.

A hand rushed out to catch him. “Easy, Your Majesty,” Lancelot said, helping him rise to his feet. “Gawain, you–” But the knight, still fully clothed in daywear, was already snoring. He sighed. “Percy, could you escort him back? You’re the soberest out of all of us.”

Then Sonic did something his sober self would very much regret, but his drunk self wanted immensely. “I want you to take me back, Lance!” He then, very literally, threw himself at the ultimate knight, and lost himself in the ultimate knight’s fluffy fur sticking out of his nightwear.

Chapter Text

The royal hedgehog passed out with his arms around Lancelot’s neck.

“I suppose I have no choice then.” Lancelot had to avoid Percival’s gaze, for his cheeks were already aflame.

He scooped the king up in his arms and started walking towards the royal chambers.

Although he was no lightweight, Lancelot’s coordination was slightly off due to the alcohol, so he clutched King Sonic tightly against himself. He would never forgive himself if he accidentally dropped him. He normally could’ve gotten there faster, but he’d taken off his sabatons along with the rest of his armor, and he refused to run. It meant King Sonic's drunkenly flushed and warm body was in his arms for that much longer.

The halls were empty as his bare feet pattered against the tile, reminding him of his first late-night encounter with the king. It had been a struggle to remain visor-less all night, but he had distracted himself by focusing on the cards and losing as much of himself to the drink as possible. Now, he paid the price, as he strained to pull the familiar route to his mind.

Lancelot finally reached the royal chambers, much to his relief. He struggled to open the door while holding the king, but he managed. It clicked open, and he pushed the door wide with his elbow.

Was this his first time in King Sonic’s chambers? He had briefly stepped in to wake the king up for his gift, but had not lingered and certainly not looked around.

Everything was swathed in luxury, from the huge feather bed and pillows to the gold subtly inlaid into the wall. He couldn’t bring himself to envy it, though. Such ostentatiousness would be too much for him to look at every day, and if he were to go to sleep in such a bed, he would never be able to find his way out for early morning training.

He set the royal hedgehog down onto his bed, but his grip around Lancelot’s neck wouldn’t give. He gently lifted King Sonic’s arms over his head, then replaced himself with a pillow in his arms. This seemed to do the trick, and the king snuggled into the pillow.

“Goodnight.” Lancelot said, dragging the covers over his body. He moved to leave. His next words stuck in his throat, but he forced himself to utter the singular name. “Sonic.”

Percival was still awake when he returned to their shared quarters. She had moved Gawain to his bed, where he continued to snore loudly.

“Goodnight, Percy,” he said, crawling into bed and praying she wouldn’t say anything.

“You shouldn’t have worried.”

Lancelot wasn’t expecting that statement. He turned to look at her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you still seem to hold the title of the king’s most trusted and closest knight, so don’t fret too much about it. Now, get some rest. You have a massive hangover waiting for you in the morning.” She blew out the candle, and the room was cast into darkness.

***

Lancelot thought the alcohol would have eased King Sonic’s memories away from him, but when he saw Lancelot at training the next day, he came over to say, “Please forget what happened last night.”

“Was it your first time drinking?”

He scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah. Where I come from, we aren’t allowed to drink until we’re twenty-one. Or eighteen, depending on where you live.”

“Interesting.” They certainly had no such rule in Camelot.

The royal hedgehog paused. “Wait, how old even are you guys?”

“Do I really look that old to you?” At Sonic’s sputtering, he smiled.

Sonic’s eyes glimmered, and he playfully punched Lancelot on the shoulder. “I see, you’re teasing me!”

Lancelot stood rigid, but he didn’t flinch. As Sonic withdrew his hand, the ultimate knight gave his question some serious thought. “Frankly, I know not how old I am. Nimue found me as a baby, and gave me to the Robert family.” A familiar pain stung his heart. Marianna… “I assume I am close in age to you, though, so around twenty?”

Lancelot noticed something over Sonic’s shoulder. “Excuse me. Galahad!” His squire ceased his practice strikes against a dummy. “Check your posture and grip.” He demonstrated the proper pose, and the white hedgehog nodded.

Lancelot turned back to Sonic. “Forgive me, he is still learning.”

“No, no, you’re fine. How is he coming along?”

“He is struggling with overcoming his incorrect learnings, but overall, he is a good squire.” He looked at his apprentice. “He takes orders well when he isn't being stubborn and is tenacious.”

“That’s good, I suppose.” His king stuck his hands into his pockets, then not so deftly changed the subject. “So, why did you bet a ride on your horse?”

Lancelot exhaled. “I knew Percival would win, so I didn’t want to wager anything too dramatic.”

Sonic scuffed his feet on the ground. “I know she technically won the bet, but could I maybe have a ride too? I mean, I’ll have to eventually know how to ride the horse you got me.”

Lancelot frowned as he shook his head. “I’m sorry, but she is a warhorse. She is massive and temperamental, and I do not wish for you to be injured.”

Sonic looked up to him with a stubborn gleam in his green eyes. “So let me ride one of the normal horses! At least until mine gets big enough to be ridden. How long will it take her to be rideable? I probably need to name her first. I think Wendy would be a good name.”

Lancelot’s head spun at the king’s undisturbed spiel. Eventually, he interrupted the rambling. “If you wish, I suppose I could teach you.”

“Great!” A fair smile flashed brightly across Sonic’s face. “Would tomorrow be a good time?”

Lancelot nodded. “I will be off-duty as your escort, but yes.” He paused as he considered the name he planned to give to his horse. “Windy feels a bit on the nose, doesn’t it?”

The royal hedgehog playfully stuck his tongue out. “Wendy, with an ‘e.’ But yeah, it’s not too creative. It should fit though.”

After the training period was up, Lancelot replaced Sir Percival as the king’s escort. The day followed its regular course.

Since Lancelot had the day off the next day, he had no urgent need for his armor as of now. He decided to drop his armor by Galahad. “Work on shining it. I need it to be presentable by tomorrow.”

Galahad sighed. “Anything else?”

He smiled dryly, though his words were sympathetic. “Trust me, all squires have to go through this.”

Lancelot remembered his apprenticeship to a now retired knight, assigned by the false king himself. He was a lazy man, so Lancelot had to carry the knight’s sword, dress him and his horse in armor, and take care of everything dealing with his horse. His mentor was also a religious extremist, and viewed his chaos magic unfavorably.

“You’ll get a break from training tomorrow while I give the king riding lessons.” He felt a twinge of remorse at the squire’s upbeat expression. Lancelot had planned to stick him with taking care of Little One’s stable while he took her out onto the fields.

He left Galahad's room and took a bath before going to bed relatively early that night. He needed to make sure he was well rested in order to keep an eye on Little One as well as King Sonic.

Of course, his early bedtime had to be rewarded with another nightmare. He jerked to a sitting position after that terrible sensation of falling. Lancelot dragged a hand over his face. The morning was already off to a terrible start, but at least it could only go up from here.

“How are you up earlier than me?” Gawain griped when he awoke and saw Lancelot assembling his armor.

“You should be asking yourself that,” Percival said as she tied up her hair.

Lancelot said, “Percy. I don’t know if Sonic told you this, but he requested horse riding lessons, so I can take your place as escort for the second half of the day if you like.”

Percival smiled. “That would give me more time to practice reading. Something – homonyms, I think? – are giving me a little trouble.”

“Those were difficult,” Lancelot agreed. He remembered his note to Sonic, and prayed that he hadn’t misspelled anything like a fool. It wasn’t like he could check it now after so eagerly handing it over. No matter, it already happened. You can't do anything to change the past, no matter how desperately you wish for it to.

Gawain groaned. “Why can’t you cover my shift?”

“It is a blessing to serve the king,” Lancelot stated. “Do not treat it as a chore. It is one of your duties.”

Percival stared at him as he lectured the sun knight. From the way she stared, he thought she was going to get onto him for speaking to Gawain like so. Instead, she stood and patted his shoulder. “Good job.”

Lancelot stared at the holy grail knight in befuddlement. “What does that mean?” He demanded, but she left for the training field. He huffed in frustration but left behind the unfinished conversation to get on with his day.

The ultimate knight left to rouse Galahad from slumber, and they continued their usual morning training. Unusually, dread coiled in his gut, ever present as he guided his squire. He couldn’t discern any nearby threats, so he didn’t know why his body was reacting in such a way.

“Stop staring at Sir Percival and focus,” Lancelot instructed.

“Right!” His squire said, flustered. He stared down at his training sword and continued the strikes. “When do you think I could duel her, though?”

“At your level, she would sweep the floor with you, as could I,” Lancelot remarked. “Double the amount of strikes you have to do for being distracted.”

The white hedgehog complained, which earned him an additional thirty practice strikes. Lancelot stared intensely at his posture and grip, trying to block out the beehive buzzing around in his stomach.

Eventually, Sonic and the red echidna came from the castle, and Lancelot realized the source of his inner turmoil. He couldn’t possibly be nervous to give the royal hedgehog lessons, could he? Riding a horse was as easy as walking for him, so why would he be nervous? They'd fought with blades of sharpened steel and been in far more dangerous situations.

“Alright, Galahad. You’ll continue after His Majesty’s lessons.” He used the honorific specifically in front of Galahad, as he didn’t want the squire to become even more impertinent than he already was. It wasn’t because saying it directly to Sonic’s face was difficult or anything.

“Are you ready?” Lancelot asked as Sonic approached.

The blue hedgehog beamed in response. “You bet!”

Lancelot quashed the butterflies in his stomach. He needed to be in top shape to complete this very important task. “Lovely. Let us go, then.”

Chapter Text

The stables smelled of sweet hay, thanks to the diligent stable boys who worked each day. Sonic went straight to his little filly. She let out an excited whinny as she melted under his hands at her neck. 

Sonic stopped to look at the other horses poking out from above the stalls. “Okay, so mine is Wendy. What are the other’s names?” 

Lancelot answered, “Gawain’s horse is named Hammer, and Percy’s is named Honor.”

Sonic paused, waiting for him to continue. The ultimate knight’s face turned pink in color. “I named my horse when she was only a filly, and I knew not how big she would get. She is called Little One.” 

The intimidating, towering horse was completely at odds with the tender name, especially with a rider like Lancelot. Sonic couldn't help but laugh. “That’s so cute,” he quickly explained, not wanting to embarrass his knight. Regardless, his face turned completely red. 

“Y-Your Majesty, if you are to ride a horse, I would suggest Hammer. He may be the biggest, but he is the most well tempered.” 

“Wait, are you going to ride your horse?” Lancelot nodded. Sonic scratched his face. “Um, I don’t know if I feel comfortable riding a horse by myself for the first time.” 

No, it wasn’t some desperate, embarrassing attempt to try and ride a horse with Lancelot. Okay, maybe a little. He was still a little intimidated by the horses’ magnitude, and could hardly imagine trying to control such a creature alone. 

Lancelot straightened. “Of course. My apologies for the oversight.” He then instructed Galahad to saddle Little One. The white hedgehog regarded the horse with trepidation, but followed Lancelot’s instructions. The knight then inspected his work, and congratulated him for a job well done. 

Lancelot brought over a stepstool. “Use this to reach the stirrups,” he directed, pointing at said stirrups. He expectantly held out his hand, and Sonic rapidly held onto it. Lancelot’s other hand firmly gripped his forearm as he stepped into the stirrup. It was wobbly, but the dark hedgehog’s grip was firm. 

“Lift your right leg and bring it over to the other side.” Sonic did as he instructed, relieved to finally leave that rickety situation. But oh wow, was he high up. Lancelot joined him in an instant, with the smooth ease of experience. Sonic tried really hard not to let his mind race, but it was hard when he could feel the cool press of metal against his back. 

Lancelot looked down at Galahad. “Open the gate for us.” 

The squire did so, then asked, “What about me?” 

“Give the stable hands a hand.” Lancelot wrapped his arms around Sonic to grab the reins. He then stirred Little One to walk by gently squeezing her legs with his thighs, leaving the gobsmacked apprentice behind. The jerky movements of the horse combined with the height made the blue hedgehog a little queasy. 

“Here,” Lancelot said, holding up the reins. “Grab onto the reins gently. I usually only use one hand so I can use my sword, but you can use two for now. Now, loosen your arms a bit. When dealing with horses, you want to be gentle.” 

To be honest, it was difficult to focus on his knight’s instructions. The earlier factors plus Lancelot’s breath tickling his spines made it hard to concentrate, but he really tried. “Sorry.” 

“You’re fine. Now, try making her go right. You can use the reins or your legs.” 

Sonic moved the reins to the right, remembering to be gentle. He smiled as she followed his command. As Lancelot continued speaking, Sonic looked up from where he had focused his stare at Little One. It was almost ironic how big the horses’ meadow was. These warhorses were more free than their king. Maybe he could mimic his former speed with Lancelot's horse? 

“Can we pick up speed?” Sonic asked, swiveling around a bit to try and look at Lancelot. He had remained almost painfully civil throughout the whole encounter, as though the close proximity meant nothing. He was the one who was supposed to be nervous at a mere touch, not Sonic. No, this is a good thing . This was what he had wanted. 

Lancelot let out a low, disbelieving hmm in his throat. “Are you sure you’re ready?” 

“Yes!” Sonic was used to running around at the speed of sound, so surely a galloping horse would be a piece of pie. 

“Very well then. Try squeezing your legs to send her into a trot, then we can go into a gallop when you’re ready.” 

Sonic flexed his legs, feeling the firm hide of the black horse beneath him. Little One’s head bobbed up and down as her gait picked up, the movements becoming more jerky. He steeled his jaw so his teeth wouldn’t clack against each other. 

“Faster!” Sonic yelled. He prayed that the ride would become smoother if she ran. 

“Alright, then lean forward and squeeze again.” 

Sonic felt Lancelot’s chest against his back as he leaned ahead. Her legs picked up, one hitting the ground at a time as she ran as hard as she could. Somehow, it was one of the most terrifying experiences in his life. Not even his battles with Eggman had been so nerve wracking. 

The wind blasted the blue hedgehog’s eyes as his grip tightened around the reins. They were going so slow, but so fast at the same time. They were so high up that he almost had vertigo. Would he have enough time to react if he fell off? 

His intense heartbeat stilled as he remembered the cool metal against his back. Lancelot wouldn’t let him fall off. Lancelot wouldn’t have let him on a horse that would buck him off. Lancelot wouldn’t have agreed in the first place if there was even a chance that Sonic would get hurt. He repeated these ideals in his head, trying not to panic again at the idea of falling. 

A sigh of relief involuntarily left his lips as Little One slowed down, her flanks pulsing against their legs as she caught her breath. 

Lancelot gave his horse a reassuring pat on the hip. “What did you think?” 

He sighed, feeling completely drained from the experience. “I’ll be honest. It’s one of the top five scariest experiences in my life.” 

“My apologies. We do not have to do this again if you would like.” 

Again? “It was still fun though,” Sonic interjected quickly. “Little One is a very good horse, and you are a very good teacher.” 

“She’s too good to me,” Lancelot agreed softly. After a pause, he cleared his throat. “Would you like to try leading her back, or do you want me to take charge?” 

“Please do.” He knew Lancelot would probably get them back as soon as possible, which was what he wanted right now. 

Lancelot took control of the reins, making a clicking noise as he turned them around. Little One steadily sauntered to the stable, stopping as they entered her stall. At Lancelot’s command, Galahad produced the step stool with a grumble. 

The ultimate knight dismounted first, then turned to Sonic with his arms extended. “May I?” 

“Sure?” Sonic squeaked, unsure. 

His face flushed as Lancelot grabbed him under the arms, spinning to set him on the ground as if he were an ordinary cat. 

“Excuse me for a minute, Your Majesty,” Lancelot said. He then showed Galahad how to unsaddle a horse. After that, he palmed the mare a treat as a reward for her good behavior. As they did their knight-squire bonding, Sonic quickly went to check on Wendy. He could understand why Lancelot gave his horse such a name. Although she was still relatively big, it was hard to believe that this little filly would one day be as big as his three knights’ horses. 

As Sonic enjoyed his brief time with the tiny horse, he couldn’t help but wonder if he would stay in Camelot long enough to see her grow up and eventually ride her. He stepped back from the filly, who snorted at the sudden loss of attention. He needed to get close to his knights in order to fulfill his duties as king. Sonic shouldn’t allow himself to get swept away by unnecessary attachments, like smoking hot knights or sweet, precious little ponies. 

“Are you ready to leave, Your Majesty?” Lancelot’s voice sounded from behind him. 

“Yeah,” the blue hedgehog said. It was difficult to keep a smile on his face.

Chapter Text

Lancelot worried that he was a subpar teacher, and that riding lessons were a bad idea to begin with. Sonic seemed more distant than usual, something he occasionally did before making a big effort to get closer to him. It confused him, and he couldn’t help but be reminded of the false king. He was trying so hard not to see Arthur in Sonic, but it was hard when he randomly and mysteriously acted like this, his mood seeming to flip on a farthing.

They skirted around each other uneasily, and with his training of Galahad they had not spoken in a couple of days. Now, Lancelot stood at attention as Sonic entertained the commoners’ in the early morning. A few of them smiled at the ultimate knight as they waited in line, something that pleasantly squeezed his heart. Since his time with Mrs. Penelope, he and even the other knights have made an effort to help the citizens of Camelot. It seemed their efforts were coming to fruition. They were outcasts no more, but but they weren't necessarily friends with the citizens. The old sheep was probably the only one in Camelot who would willingly bring knights into her home. He could be okay with that, as he found it much better to be tolerated than looked upon with fear like in times past.

Sonic treated each request with equal respect, no matter how ridiculous it may have seemed to him. He remembered the royal hedgehog’s surprised reaction the first time someone asked him to bless their infant. The memory brought a smile to his face.

Regardless of how long the line was, the tenth hour approached, marking the end of the audience. Sonic was listening to an older man regaling a poor harvest in the south when someone ran through the open doors, straight for Sonic.

That snapped Lancelot to attention, and he and Galahad rushed to block the intruder’s way.

“Please, I need His Majesty’s assistance!” The Mobian begged in a distinctly not Camelottish accent, trying to look past Lancelot to the king. Dried blood coated his ripped shirt, seemingly resulting from recently and poorly healed wounds.

“It’s okay,” Sonic said. Lancelot looked over his shoulder in disbelief. The blue hedgehog held up a hand in a silent order to stop. “Let him through. I will hear him out.”

The ultimate knight scanned the Mobian for weapons, and reluctantly stood to the side when he deemed there was none. Unless he used his hands, he was no threat to the king.

The rest of the line murmured their complaints at having to wait for hours while this man cheated the line. Sonic’s face screwed in thought before he quickly proclaimed, “Here, some of the servants will give you a special slip of paper. Present it tomorrow, and you will be granted priority access. Clearly this man has something important to say.”

That quelled the dissatisfied line. Lancelot was impressed how he handled their dissent. However, he was shocked that Sonic would lend an ear to someone who did not appear to originate from Camelot over the citizens in line.

The Mobian stopped at the steps leading up to Sonic’s spacious throne. “Your Majesty, King Sonic,” he wheezed. “I come from the Sorelois Kingdom of the Distant Isles. A conqueror by the name of Sir Galehaut came and challenged our king to a duel. The prize was the loser’s life and his territories. Our king fell, and Galehaut took over.”

Sonic’s eyebrows rose in shock. At his lack of a response, Lancelot, perhaps impudently, stepped in. “Why come to Camelot, of all places?” There were far closer countries to ask for assistance than the southern Camelot.

“Sir Galehaut has given me the directive to come here and to give this letter to its new king.”

He passed a stained piece of crumpled paper to Sonic, who took it and started to read its contents.

“Have you ever heard of a Sir Galehaut?” Lancelot quietly asked Galahad, who shook his head.

“It seems I also have been challenged to a duel,” Sonic casually remarked with a shrug. “Well, it shouldn’t be a big deal. I’ve taken down greater threats than him.”

“But Majesty, it’s not so simple!” The messenger cut in, horrified at the news of Sonic’s letter. “Sir Galehaut is the largest man I’ve ever seen and has already conquered over thirty territories by dueling the leaders. He wants to conquer the whole world!”

“He’s right, it’s too risky for you to face him,” Lancelot said. “Send us and we will dispose of him.”

Sonic shook his head. “No, he has the power of thirty territories. Even if I send my three knights and your squire along with the nobles’ armies, it wouldn’t be enough.”

Lancelot could see how a one-on-one duel would be handy against a singular knight – if his title was indicative of that – but why would he do it against Camelot, whose army was terribly small in comparison? “King Sonic,” he said, drawing his green eyes to his red ones. “Please reconsider. If he is choosing this route over outright invading, then he must have some trick up his sleeve.”

Sonic grimaced. “I will bring it up with my advisors. For now, get this man a doctor.” He rose at the sound of the bell’s toll to meet with his advisors, who threw a fit upon learning what had transpired.

They urged Sonic to read the contents of the note aloud to get the full picture. The letter detailed Galehaut’s intentions to conquer Logres, an important territory of Camelot on the outskirts managed by the Galois duchy. He wished to take it and the entirety of Camelot honorably. So, like the king of Sorelois, he challenged Sonic to a duel with the same conditions.

This made them even more upset, as Logres was invaluable to Camelot’s defense. Sonic hardly had a chance to speak after chaos engulfed the meeting room. They talked of mobilizing the castle’s guard as well as the forces of the nobles, though those plans died down as the reality set in. Thirty to one were terrible odds. When they brought up getting Rome’s help, Sonic reminded them that their agreement hadn’t been negotiated yet, and it wouldn’t look good to have their first official interaction being one of assistance.

Lancelot knew they could not survive a direct encounter, but he feared the worst possible outcome of the duel. It was wrong to doubt his king. The pit of dread snaked its way through his gut nonetheless. Galahad watched the display quietly, seemingly coming to the same conclusion. Eventually, the council quieted as they too realized there was only one solution:

“I have to go fight him.”

This time, there was no resistance.

Chapter Text

Preparations moved swiftly along, so much so that Sonic’s mind could hardly keep up. He was still getting over the fact that he would have to fight to the death, and he had to choose things like which knights would accompany him. He decided to go with Lancelot and Percival. He hated to separate the ultimate knight and his squire, but he needed cool heads to help him deal with this matter and not increase his stress levels. Granted, things with Lance have been a little awkward as of late, but hopefully they could still act cordially to each other. It’s just whenever he’s reminded of the pressing weight of his trapped reality, he finds it hard to connect with the people around him. They start to feel more like characters in a book or NPCs in a video game than actual people.

At first, the sun knight griped at having to babysit, but before Sonic could say anything, Lancelot swooped in and said he owed Gawain a favor. That made him shut up, a gleeful expression resting on his face. Lancelot only briefly glanced at Sonic before looking away again. Oh Chaos, how long was the ride to Sorelois again?

The royal carriage was drawn out, along with its four draw horses. Lancelot and Percival each took their own respective horses, Honor and Little One. They both looked comically small atop such big creatures. Sonic’s things were quickly packed and he was herded into the belly of the carriage. Sonic was a little glad that he wouldn’t have to sit awkwardly in Lance’s presence the whole time, but now he was left with only his attendant Gary in the carriage with nothing to do. He tried peeking through the window to see his knights, but the view wasn’t too good from this angle. If they were talking with each other, he couldn’t hear it from this distance. Why couldn’t he have a friend to talk with?

“How long is it until Sorelois?” Sonic asked.

“It should take almost a week, Your Majesty.”

What the fuck. “Why?” He asked, baffled.

“We have to go around the Shrouded Forest, so it’ll take longer.”

“Shouldn’t it be safe? If not, what was the purpose of me killing all those magical beasts?” That campaign hadn’t been easy, as the remnants of Merlina’s magic had grown unruly in the forgotten thick of the forest.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty. The knights are leading the entourage, and that is what they chose to do. If you would like, we could stop to talk to them and change course.”

Sonic sighed. “No, it’s fine. It’d be quicker if I ran there anyways.”

Gary’s eyes widened. “But what about your entourage? You can’t appear in front of Galehaut by yourself. It would look unprofessional.”

Was that why there were so many other carriages surrounding his? Sonic rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine. Why don’t I go ahead, maybe wear some incognito clothes and scope things out? Then after you guys show up, I can make my appearance as king.”

The man looked uncomfortably to the side. “It is your choice, Your Majesty.”

Sonic groaned. “I just don’t want to sit in here for a week when it could take less than an hour for me to run.”

“You couldn’t run the whole way. We do have to travel by boat for the last stretch. It is the Distant Isles, after all.”

Sonic sucked in his breath. His last bout with water was a little too recent, so the thought of going on another boat made him queasy. “I’ll bring it up with my knights tonight,” he decided. Sonic already knew how they would respond - “You can’t be by yourself when tensions are so high.” “What if this is part of his trick?” So what else was left for him to do? Desperate times called for desperate measures. He glanced at the sword at his hip. “You wanna help out with my boredom?”

“Ha! You think it’s any better for me?” Excalibur huffed. “I don’t want to be in here any less than you. Just get this duel over with. It’s been a while since I’ve had a real challenge.”

Sonic rolled his eyes. “Sorry I’ve been such a bad knight. It’s kinda hard when you decided to make me king.” He couldn’t keep the bite out of his tone.

“Don’t make me regret it. You must not let Camelot fall.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.” As much as he hated Excalibur for making him king, it wasn’t his fault he was trapped here. For as long as he was ruler, he would protect Camelot from forces of evil, whether it be Galehaut or anything else.

***

Sonic couldn’t wait until nightfall to bring it up to Lance and Percy. They stopped after a few hours of travel so he could take a leak and stretch his legs (by taking a quick one-mile run). Before everyone started up again, he brought up his idea.

“It’s not a bad idea,” Percival conceded. “You just can’t do it alone.”

Lancelot nodded, his words completely and irritatingly professional. “It would level the playing field, especially if they decide to pull some trick.”

“Okay, wow, was expecting some resistance, but okay!” Sonic grinned. The two knights were almost as swift as him, but he didn’t want to leave the ‘entourage’ completely defenseless. He was very tempted to bring Percival so he could ignore the awkwardness between him and Lancelot a little longer.

“They will need me to cook their food,” the holy grail knight said, rolling a spark of flame around her fingertips. “I’ve actually gotten quite good at it.” Her eyes bore right through Sonic, reading him like a book.

The blue hedgehog grimaced. “Okay, fine, Lance, let’s go.”

Lancelot seemed a little surprised, but agreed, his posture stiffening. “Yes, Y-Sonic. However, if we are to do a covert operation, might I suggest we change? Percy or I should have simpler clothes for you to borrow if it suits you.”

“Okay,” Sonic said breathlessly. He hadn’t expected this when he suggested spying, but he supposed it made sense. Percival handed him some clothes from the rucksack at her horse’s side, and he quickly changed in the carriage. Sonic felt free in his loose clothes, which shockingly fit him despite them belonging to the purple cat. The smoky scent of her magic infused the light fabric. Of course, there were the minor details that stuck out - she didn't have any spare shoes, so he wore pretty fancy ones, and his scabbard didn’t hide Excalibur’s fancy hilt, but he didn’t want to part from the sword.

By the time he stepped out, the ultimate knight, comforting his restless horse, was just in his underclothes - a black vest, a white blouse, and black pants wrapped off with a red fabric belt. The only things of his usual outfit that remained were his sabatons and Arondight, hidden in a simple leather sheath. He looked good, Sonic couldn’t help but think, tearing his gaze away as his cheeks heated.

“They will probably receive our ship, so be back before then,” Percival said. “And whatever you do, don’t get caught. We don’t want to give them an excuse to call this duel off.”

“No problem!” Sonic said with a smile. Sure, stealth wasn’t exactly his strong suit, but it sure beat meandering at a snail’s pace across the country. All he had to do was race alongside his distant knight, cross a body of water, and find a spot to spy without being shot down or spotted by guards. It wouldn’t be easy, but at least it was exciting, something he’d been craving for a long time. Plus, with Lancelot by his side, they had this in the bag!

Chapter Text

Lancelot frowned. Sonic seemed to be enjoying himself as they sprinted through the forest, the frosty wind whipping against their faces. For all he knew, he was running straight towards his death with only his sword and his armorless knight to protect him against legions of soldiers. How could he treat his life so carelessly?

“Slow down,” Lancelot said, decreasing the mana flow to his shoes. They were approaching the port town that would take them to Sorelois. Rushing in at insane speeds would definitely arouse suspicion that they didn’t need right now.

Even though he agreed, he still couldn’t help but doubt this decision. It would give him more peace of mind, as he definitely thought this was a trap, but what if this was what Galehaut wanted? If they were caught, the conqueror could mark them as dishonorable and cancel the duel, then kill the weakened king and his entourage stranded on the isle. Lancelot took a steady breath. He just had to make sure they weren’t caught.

At this hour, the streets were mostly deserted, though Lancelot still stuck to the side paths.

“I don’t think any ferries will be available at this hour,” Lancelot said. “Should we return to the others?” He had the basic essentials in a sack on his back, but he would prefer to have Sonic sleep in the safety of the group.

Sonic puffed. “No way! We came all this way. Let’s find a place to sleep.” His green eyes roved as he searched for an inn. Lancelot prickled. Checking into an inn would only create more witnesses, but he would feel uncomfortable having Sonic sleep outside. A rented room would be easier to defend.

After Sonic selected one, Lancelot said, “Let me handle things, if you please.” Though he was not in his royal garb, Sonic had a rather recognizable face, so he would prefer for the innkeeper to focus on his. He quickly handled things, not sparing room for any conversational pleasantries. This wasn’t high society.

“Come on.” He shepherded Sonic down the hall and opened their room with the provided key.

The blue hedgehog’s eyes lit up at the room. “Wow, now this is nice!” He immediately ran to flop on the bed.

Lancelot quirked an amused brow at Sonic’s reaction. It was far from the quality of his royal bed, but Lancelot supposed it was better than sleeping on the ground. He felt a little bad about leaving Percival behind to do just that, but she had practically volunteered to stay behind.

“Get some rest,” the ultimate knight said as he settled into the bed. “We catch the first ship to Sorelois.”

Though he was used to falling asleep in the presence of others, it was strange falling asleep in the same room as Sonic. His sleep was light as he unconsciously sought out the barest hint of a threat.

***

“I regret everything,” Sonic moaned, only upright because of the chair he sat on.

“When we’re on a larger ship it’ll be better,” Lancelot tried to comfort. They had snagged a ride on a fishing boat, though Sonic had a bad reaction to the bigger waves of the ocean beating against the small boat. The fisherman had tossed a chair towards the weakened Sonic, muttering about ‘landlubbers.’

When the boat inevitably docked, Lancelot helped the wobbly-legged king off the plank and onto the harsh, splintered wood of the dock.

“Should we postpone the mission until tomorrow?” Lancelot questioned. The boat ride had only shaved a few hours off the day, but he did not know how long it would take for Sonic to recover from his seasickness.

“I just need to sit down somewhere for a little bit,” the blue hedgehog said. “Then we can continue.”

Lancelot helped him to a hidden spot in the shade, where Sonic recuperated for close to thirty minutes before popping up again like a daisy. “Let’s get this show on the road!”

It took them a while to find the castle, then a while longer to find a spot to roost in hiding. Lancelot had not thought of how awkward it would be lying in wait for hours at a time by his king’s side when things were so awkward between them as of late, but he was feeling the ache of it as he struggled to ignore it.

A few days passed like this, spying for any mobilized troops or unnatural activity within the castle, then finding an inn to sleep when the moon crept into the sky. Hardly talking to one another. Lancelot never knew silence could be so crushing.

Occasionally Sonic would spring about, too antsy to stay in place for too long, unlike the ultimate knight. He would sometimes speak random things on his mind, like the invisible barrier between him that he constructed didn’t exist.

Lancelot’s face unconsciously screwed up in frustration. Though he smoothed it over, it didn’t change the feelings of confusion and hurt broiling inside.

“Pardon me for any insolence, King Sonic, but I fear I cannot take much of this any longer!” Lancelot said, voice much louder than he ever allowed it to get, shattering the uncomfortable silence. He struggled to keep his tone steady, to keep his face unreadable.

Sonic blinked at him with wide green eyes, and Lancelot’s stomach swooped low, as his mind began worrying about what sorts of punishments Sonic would draft up for his outburst. Weapons don’t have emotions, how could he have forgotten?

“Take what much longer?”

The black hedgehog could hardly dare to look Sonic in the eyes, not because of protocol for his superior, but worry at what he might find there. “F-Forgive me, it’s just I…don’t understand you. You seem to want to be closer to me - us, but then randomly push us away. This back and forth, it’s confusing. It…it reminds me all too well of the false king.”

Sonic’s breath caught in his lungs. “Oh, Lancelot.” He dipped his head so that he was in Lancelot’s view, and he caught glimpse of the sadness that lay within those green depths. Sonic’s fingers twitched, and he wrung his hands. “I am so sorry, I never intended to treat you that way. It’s just…remember when I said that I came from another world?”

Lancelot nodded mutely. It sounded outlandish at first, though he supposed it was possible with Merlina’s magic.

Sonic peered up at him. “Well, this world is very similar to a fairytale back in my world. And that makes it hard, sometimes, to think of this place as real. To remember that this place has real people with real history and culture and politics and stuff. Sometimes I think that this is a dream I might wake up from, that as lovely as this place is and you guys are, I still feel homesick for my friends and life back home.”

Lancelot swallowed. “That does sound difficult.”

“And…” Sonic reached forward for Lancelot’s hand hesitantly. Equally hesitantly, Lancelot accepted Sonic’s warm hand. “Sometimes I find myself cutting myself off from you guys because if this really is a dream, if I really do get sent back, I want to protect myself from the sense of loss I would feel to lose you guys. To lose you.”

Lancelot’s face burned, and he cursed his lack of a visor. Though perhaps he could take advantage of the lack of armor, of the skin-to-skin contact this brief moment of tenderness allowed.

“If I may say, Sonic,” Lancelot said, “You can still enjoy a bouquet of flowers, regardless of whether their shorn stems render them destined to wilt. You simply enjoy them while they last, no matter how things turn out.”

Sonic laughed a little wetly. “I’d prefer to not think of our relationship as wilting flowers, but I appreciate it, Lance.” Every time he said the nickname, his voice was small like he hadn’t yet found the courage to say it.

Here the black hedgehog was struggling to find the courage to lightly say to pick up the mood, “Anytime, knave~.”

Sonic blinked as he barked out a laugh of surprise. “Did you, the most uptight knight I know, seriously just call me a knave?”

It was a serious struggle to detect Sonic’s joking tone and keep from offering platitudes. “If you can call me Lance, I feel it only fair to give you a nickname of your own.”

“Yeah, but all the knights call you Lance.” His tone was slightly whining, which made Lancelot chuckle, then he sobered as he seriously considered something.

“Then…perhaps you could call me Lottie.” The only person who had dared to call him by such an affectionate nickname was Marianna and sometimes Gabriel; it was something to only be used by the most special people in his life.

Sonic’s face flushed with color. “Oh, um, okay…Lottie,” he practically squeaked.

Lancelot laughed. “Just don’t go telling the others. I hate to think of what Gawain would do with a new nickname. He already abuses ‘Lancey’ to an absurd degree.”

“You got it, Lottie,” Sonic said more confidently, the frown completely removed from his face and the atmosphere comfortable once more.