Behind The Curtain 5

Chapter 5

Deep in the forest just to the east of Sector Two; a tall, bulky fox chopped at a fine tree. One, two; one two; until… "Timber!" he called though he knew it was unlikely the tree might hit anyone, he called it just to be safe. Milliseconds later, there was a great crash as his prize hit the ground. He reached over and with his great strength; he lifted the tree onto his back and took it to a larger area where he chopped it into logs.

"Whew," he wiped his brow after chopping the wood. He placed the wood into a large bag that he could carry. He looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to go behind the trees. It was time to go home. "What a day," he said to himself as he lifted the durable canvas bag. "This should last us several weeks and still have plenty to sell in town. Tomorrow, I will hunt." Carefully, the bag went over his shoulder and he carried it through the forest.

When he was still several yards from his house, his nose picked up a delectable scent. "Mmm, smells like venison for supper tonight." He could see smoke puffing over a few of the trees in the distance.

His house was a simple one of wood, built beside a stream. The smell of venison was even stronger now. He could feel his stomach churning with hunger. His last meal had been hours ago and that had been a simple dinner of jerky and a hunk of homemade bread.

He put the wood in the wood shed and washed his hands and face in the stream before going into the small home.

"Valerie, I'm home," he called.

A vixen in her late-twenties came from the kitchen. She dressed in a fine dress of green and yellow. "Arthur, my darling, just in time. I just finished supper."

Arthur kissed his wife in greeting. "Did I smell venison or am I just crazy?"

"You smelled venison, you goof ball," she replied. "Now, take off your boots before you scuff up my floor. Unless you want to mop it this time. I'll go dish up."

Arthur chuckled as he removed his dirty boots at her command. He was a man of simple desires. He chopped wood and hunted for a living. Supplying just enough to suit their needs and selling the rest. It gave them enough to live comfortably and that was all they needed. Material possessions were not a big part of their lives. No, their happiness came simply from the love that they shared. There was just one thing they still lacked. Something no amount of money could ever provide.

After supper, as they prepared for bed, considering whether or not to ask the question. Except, he knew he had to. "I know you were planning to go to the doctor today. Were your symptoms what we thought, what we hoped?"

Valerie looked sad as she sat on her side of the bed. "No. It was just a stomach bug." She hugged herself, trembling with pain. "I'm sorry Arthur. I shouldn't have gotten your hopes up."

Arthur reached over and pulled her close. For many years since their marriage they had been trying for a baby. However, after her first and only pregnancy ended in miscarriage, she'd been unable to conceive. She turned and wept into his shoulder. "It's okay Valerie. Someday, we'll have our child. I'm certain of it."

A knock at the door interrupted their lamentations. Valerie looked towards the stairs. "Who could be knocking at this time of night?"

Arthur reached for his sheathed hunting knife and place it in his pocket. "Stay here dear. I'll see who it is."

Slowly, cautiously, Arthur went down the stairs. It wasn't unusual for a bandit to knock first, attempting to see if there were people home or awake before breaking in. "Who is there?" he called at the door. He looked out the window. He could see no one with from his vantage point. He pulled at the door, opening it just a crack to look out further. He was startled at the sight of a basket on his step. He finally opened the door the whole way and looked down into the basket.

A small blue face stared up at him, fear in his eyes. Arthur stared back. "A baby?" He bent over to pick up the baby. When he came mere inches from the baby, it turned into a blue blur and sped off into the house.

He followed the child into the kitchen where the child hid underneath the table. Two eyes, wide as dollar coins, stared as it trembled.

"It's okay," Arthur attempted to coax the child out. He didn't know if it was a boy or a girl, he just knew the poor thing was scared out of its mind. How had the child come to be outside his home? Why?

The child did not come out, rather it opened its mouth and began wailing desperately and sat down on the floor.

"Arthur, what is going on down here?" Valerie asked as she came into the kitchen. "Who was at the…?" She stopped when she saw what was under her table. "Awwww, what do we have here?"

"I don't really my darling. It was left on our step," he told her.

Valerie knelt down. "Awww, there, there, little one. Don't cry," she said soothingly, opening her arms to the kit. "Come here, it's alright."

The little baby looked up at the kindly woman. She wasn't as big as the strange, big scary man. He slowly came out from under the table. What was happening? Why had his mother left him behind? Where was she? He wanted his mother. He stopped just out from the under the table and began wailing again. He was trying to desperately to call for his mother.

A pair of arms lifted him up and pet his blue quills. "Oh, you poor thing. It's okay, Mama's here."

Arthur looked at Valerie. "Valerie, we can't just… someone abandoned him. We need to try and find who. It wouldn't be right just to keep him."

"Why not Arthur? Someone left him here. Obviously they meant for us to keep him," she said. "Maybe… maybe this is the answer to our prayers, a gift from the gods." Valerie looked at her husband pleadingly.

Arthur looked at the child who now whimpered in his wife's arms. She had a point. Whoever left him had meant to leave him. And they had wanted a child for so long. "Alright. In the morning, we'll go to the city, to the palace. We'll adopt him. I should be able to pay for the paperwork with the money I earn from selling the extra wood from today's cutting."

Valerie grinned, tears in her eyes. "Oh thank you Arthur!" She clutched the child closer to her chest. "What shall we call him?"

Arthur thought. "Well, when I first found him, he ran like the wind. Almost faster than sound. What do you think of Sonic?"

Valerie agreed. "I like it. Sonic… Sonic the Hedgehog." The grief from their earlier conversation fled, leaving a joy she'd never thought she would feel. "Our son. Arthur, you're finally a father."

Arthur pat the boy on the head. "Yes, and you're finally a mother. We finally have our child."

"Aleena did what!" Albern Montclair all but shouted as Robotnik told him everything. "Julian, tell me you're joking!"

Robotnik massaged his temples. "I'm dead serious Albern. At first, I thought she was a dedicated mother when the Oracle told me how she was spending her time. It seems… she just didn't want to undergo her training. She's given them up and the Oracle told me she's planning on the joining the resistance faction that's forming among the lower classes."

Albern groaned. "I had such high hopes that this would lead her to get her act together. Instead it seems to have done the opposite. I'm sorry my friend."

"Don't apologize," Robotnik told him. "I'll admit part of their abandonment was my fault. The Oracle informed me that Jules is not dead. The former king was the one who killed my wife and child. He was banished. However, he is back, hiding away, biding his time. He's the one behind the rebels. And he apparently told the Oracle that if he didn't help him, then Aleena and the triplets would be killed. It was imperative to get them away from her. Not only to motivate her to start training but to protect them. But she misunderstood the instructions the Oracle gave her."

Albern looked away. "Jules… I knew he was bad news. I tried to warn her. We all did. And you paid for it… what do we do?"

Robotnik stood up from the sofa and went to the window. "I have a plan to draw him out. I'm going to play the villain, at least in the eyes of the rebels. I hope if I appear to outwardly threaten Aleena or the three, then he will come out of hiding and attempt to kill me in order to be the hero of the war. I've named Aleena, a terrorist and put her on the list of outlaws. A reward has been offered for her capture. I cannot outwardly offer her protection; he would know and kill her before I could. "

"But if she is captured as a war criminal… " Albern understood the scientist's plan well. "It will mean the people thinking you're evil."

"I know," Robotnik admitted. "It is for the best. I will be able to protect the ones who come to me for help this way. The Oracle has created a quarter hidden deep within Möbotropolis. There, they can hide and live in peace from the rebels who harass them day and night. And for the sake of the plan, Möbotropolis will now be called, Robotropolis."

AN: The Canis' have their beginning. They are symbolic the old-fashioned, traditional family And for them it works well. As simply as they live. Please review.