The Phoenix

Chapter 8: Adaption

Metal bangs were heard throughout the dungeon, disturbing the prisoners from their restless sleep. The new guards banged their metal batons against the bars, shouting for the prisoners to get up. The cells opened one by one, prisoners being dragged out by their numbers. It didn't take long for the pink rose and her bunny friend to leave with the masses. Her eyes darted back and forth in the crowd, looking for her blue knight among the masses. The doors opened, forcing her eyes to see finally see the sunlight come back to her.

She had never felt more relieved to see the new light of day, even if it meant seeing what is to come to her formers subjects and friends. The hand she held, belonging to her rabbit friend, squeezed tighter as the anticipation runs their throats dry. They now traveled onto the courtyard, the entrance to the castle just ahead of them. The pink rose could even see some large horse carriages at the entrance. Anticipation was weighing on her shoulders even more now, now returning the tightening grip of her friend in her hand.

They were all forced to seperate into two different groups by gender, forming rows of prisoners. It was in this position she could finally see her blue knight standing out amonst the male crowd. Her cream friend could also see them, but her attention mainly focused on her twin-tailed friend. One guard came out signalling one row of the female group to follow him. They could only watch that one row follow him and disappear around the corner.

And then went the next row, and the next, and the next. Her row was next, she looks around trying to see some familiar faces. She looks back, and she sees Rouge in the very last row of the female group. Her eyes finally met hers, anxiousness growing on both of their faces. They could only give each other reassuring smiles, anticipating her fate to be decided by the new King. Cream pulls on her arm, making the former queen turn to her. Cream signals her eyes to the blue blur staring at her from across the courtyard. Though the sadness was clear in his eyes, a reassuring smile was also all he could give her. The smile made her heart wrench each further, placing her hand over her heart. The pink rose turns away from him, squeezing her dress and holding back tears. She closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath, letting herself relax under the pressure weighing on her. She finally opens her eyes, now looking more undeterred from the situation than before. Never letting herself break even further than she already has.

She knows who she really is...and no King is going to make her think otherwise...

Her row was finally called upon, she couldn't even look back at her subjects. She just follows the guard around the corner, to a large table where some of the previously called prisoners were still lined up in front. The former queen could only look at her friend, both full of confusion. They both couldn't help but be lined up and wait till their finally approach the desk. The closer to the table they get, the more they could hear what was going to happen.

The girls had to state their names, they had to state their skills, and finally they are given jobs. Some girls were to work as maids or servants, some are to work as cooks, some are to work as seamstresses, and the last job of all made them turn their stomachs upside down. Some girls were put into prostitution, and it was not based on skill, but on looks. Just a few girls left until the queen herself finally gets to the table. She already knows what her job was going to be, and Cream's job seems to already be established. She guessed they just needed her on the records. Now there was only one girl in front, and she could see who she was going to speak to. A green hedgehog with strange scars on his abdomen. She blinks suprised as his looks were strikingly alike to that of the blue blur himself, Sonic the Hedgehog. But judging by the lewd comments he made to the girl in front of her, she figured his personality will be the exact opposite. The green hedgehog dismisses the girl in front of her, but his eyes went wide in interest on who was next in line.

"Well would you look at that...it's the former queen herself..." He stands up revealing to be the exact same height to her blue knight. He walks around the table to instead look at her body up and down. "Don't mind if I look at ya..." He whistles to himself his eyes now laying still on her round backside. Already, the former queen feels herself getting extremely uncomfortable with this man. Ironically, not even the new king himself could make her this uncomfortable. He chuckles already knowing she is getting tense. "What's the matter pinky? Not warmin' up to me?" He grabs her chin and lifts it forcing her to look up at him. "Ya know, when you slapped him yesterday it really turned me on...the King is one lucky bastard to have ya hot stuff..." She winces watching him lean closer to her. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind sharin' ya one day pinky..." She gasps horrified from the thought. She wriggles herself out of his grip and steps away from him cautiously. His demeaner didn't sit right with her at all. It was different to the dark king, this man was all kinds of...wrong. He chuckles again amusement clear in his eyes. "I like ya already pinky..."

He was about to step forward until a hand on his shoulder stops him. He looks back to see familiar crimson eyes looking right at him. "That's enough fooling around Scourge, hurry up and register her..." Scourge bows to the dark king.

"Of course your majesty..." He walks back around the table preparing the paperwork. A deep sigh of relief escaped from her, somewhat relieved that the king himself forced Scourge away from her. She really didn't want to know what would have happened if he didn't. The former queen was finally able to get herself registered, and just as she suspected, her job as a castle maid remained the same. Along with the fact that she is King Shadow's whore till death. As soon as she was done, the king himself places his arm around her shoulder, guiding her away from the group. The action startled her, and she looks at him in confusion. She looks back at the girls, and sees that Cream was now doing her registration. Cream glances at the queen with worry before turning her attention back to Scourge. She looks up at the King with a raise eyebrow.

"So you're not going to pull my quills...or yank my tail...or break my arm?" The dark king scoffs from the question.

"You speak too much little flower...You're not my prisoner anymore, you're my whore now. I prefer my whores unharmed. Besides, I wanted every idiot in there to know that you are my whore and mine alone." The thought really didn't sit well for the pink rose, now narrowing her eyes at him.

"So you're the possesive type." A small smile forms on the dark king's face.

"You really are begging me to punish you..." But the frown returns to his face. "But yes...I don't like sharing my toys..." He stops forcing her to stop in her place. He places his hand on her cheek making her look up at him. "Especially not you little flower..." More relief came to her, now knowing she had to deal with only one psychopath, not many. He gives her deep kiss, forcing his tongue in her. After what happened with Scourge earlier, she felt more comfortable returning the kiss this time.

Only this time...

They pull away a trail of saliva escaping both of them. He kissed leans to her again and kisses her forehead this time. "I like it when you're obedient to me..." He pulls away from her and walks off to the castle. Walking past the king towards her was Cream looking relieved to see her.

"That's the first time I've seen you two together without him hurting you." Cream runs up to her and grabbing her arm. "That kiss didn't make you uncomfortable did it?!" The former queen could only shake her head in response.

"Of course not..." The former queen's ears lay down as she watches the dark king walk off into the distance. "He just clarrified he wasn't going to harm me anymore, not unneccessarily though." They both walk back to stand by the registration desk in anticipation for Rouge. Cream looks back up at Amy.

"By the way...I think it's a good idea to stay away from that green hedgehog..." They both look at the green hedgehog who was still registering the female prisoners. "I really didn't like the way he spoke to you...I mean I don't like what the new king is doing to you either, but this man...I don't know I just want you to stay away from him as far as possible..." The pink rose couldn't help but take a few steps back away from the dangerous man.

"I can't help but agree..." And finally, they see the final row approach the desk. And in the final row, Rouge was seen among them. Now all they can do is wait, for the fate of their friend. With each girl that goes, the more pressure the albino bat could feel on her shoulders. With every step she takes, the more uncertainty and thoughts filled her head. To the point where she could only hear her thoughts. She reaches closer and closer to the desk, swallowing the huge lump formed in her throat. Only three girls are left until her turn, then her fate will be decided. Her eyes then finally land on the queen and her fellow lady in waiting. She could see they were both holding their breath for her fate. She gives them a small smile, before finally turning to the front. The last girl was soon dismissed, forcing Rouge to approach the desk.

And once again, the hungry eyes of the green hedgehog came back. A sickening grin grew on his face making the bat uncomfortable. "Fuckin' hell, we got a smokin' hot one here..." He turns his eyes on the registration form. "And what's your name beautiful?" The bat inwardly rolled her eyes at the man.

"Rouge the Bat." A dark chuckle escapes him grinning at him.

"Oh I think that's all we need right here..." He stands up using his finger to lift her chin up to me. "Hope you ain't a virgin sweetheart..." Her eyes went wide from the suggestion.

"Excuse me?" He sits back down, finishing her registration.

"I think we're done here..." He snaps his fingers to the guards next to him. "Guards...take her to the prostitution carriage..." Cream and Amy both gasp horrified from the news. Both guards grab Rouge from the group and escort her to the entrance. She looks back at the two and gives them a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry girls! I'm no stranger to this...I will okay! We'll see each other soon again!" But on the inside, her heart was breaking. It was true, she was no stranger to sex. In fact she had a few sex partners while she was working in the castle, but this was another level in itself. She will never be respected again. She could only wave them goodbye until she disppears out of their sight.

The pink rose could only stare in shock, while the rabbit holds her face in her hands and sobs. All they could do was hope, hope that their friend would return to them one day.

A few hours have passed and everyone has gone their seperate ways to do their jobs. Rouge and the other girls who were forced into prostitution had left the castle a while ago, their destination unknown. Tails himself was also forcively seperated from everyone, as his work as a blacksmith was mainly located in the village. It was a hard goodbye he and Cream had to endure. The infamous blue blur had his title stripped, and was now forced to work as a laborer in the horse stables and the courtyards. Amy Rose and Cream still kept their original jobs, now being forced to work together in each job.

And so far it has not been easy for the former queen. With two different jobs assigned to her and Cream, she had already struggled while trying to complete them. She didn't know how to properly clean and scrub, she struggled to carry one bucket of water with both hands while Cream could carry one in each hand, and she didn't know the basic equipment used for laundry duty.

Now she and Cream have been seperated for individual tasks. In the horse stables, Sonic was busy grooming the horses while being joined by Amy who arrived with a large pile of hay. She places the hay in the horse pen Sonic was in, but the impact was not careful. The hay went all over the pen, and even went on Sonic himself. The former queen gasps while trying to walk over to him. "I'm so sorry...I should've been more careful." Sonic could only give her a small smile before shaking hay off his body.

"It's fine...you'll get the hang of it in a week or so..." He turns back to the horse, but a piece of hay was stuck to the quills of the blue blur. The pink rose once again careful walks over to Sonic. She giggles whikle plucking the hay from his quills. He turns back to her and is surprised to see the hay in her hand.

"Look who's talking former Knight of House Rose..." She tickles Sonic's nose with the hay, causing his nose to twitch several times. He shakes his head and grabs her hand where the hay is. She blinks at him before he pulls her into the hay behind him. She squeals as they both land in the hay pile. They both laugh from the action beside each other, happiness being reminded to both of them. The blue blur couldn't help but places a hand on the pink rose's cheek, both now looking deeply in each other's eyes. Sonic swallows a lump in his throat.

"Ames...should we even...try? I mean the king..." She places her hand over his, holding it tightly.

"I know...for now it's not safe...I don't want to risk it either..." She was about to get up from the pile, until Sonic grabs her wrist.

"Hold on...that's not what I'm implying. We can just...do it in secret...he won't have to know..." Her mind went back to her earlier conversation to the king himself.

"Yes, I don't like sharing my toys...especially not you little flower."

She looks down in deep thought from that one sentence that got her the most, not even noticing Sonic inch forward to her. He gives her kiss on the cheek, and then another on her neck. He soon leaves a trail of kisses from her neck to her collarbone. She starts to breathe heavily, now laying back down on the hay pile and allowing Sonic to continue his advances. Sonic carefully removes the top of her dress, almost about to expose her breasts, until Amy places a hand over his. She gives him a small smile.

"Okay...we'll try...but not yet. Shadow has to be the one to take my virginity..." The sentence made Sonic sit up quickly, looking at her in complete disbelief.

"What? Why?" She sits up with him, fixing her dress.

"He knows that I am a virgin. If he's the one that takes my virginity, then he'll never know about us." She gives Sonic a deep kiss on the lips. She then pulls away and places her forehead on his. "I don't really like the idea either, because it's you I love, I promise you." She pulls away giving a sad smile. "But I can't risk your life because of him...I'll never forgive myself if something happens to you because I was careless...okay?" The look of uncertainty looms over him, until he nods to her. Though he understands what she is doing for him, he still does not like the fact that the dark king himself has to take her first.

He pulls her in and hugs her. But the look of anger never left him. His queen does not deserve this life, and he hates that the dark king has taken that away from her. And more importantly, he hates that he has taken her away from him.

Meanwhile in the former room of the queen, the dark king himself was just looking through the drawers belonging to the queen. He came into her room looking for records for the queen's subjects in the castle. With everything he finds in her drawers, it was clear she did not keep such information in her room. He opens one drawer and what was inside peaked his interest. They were yearly diaries belonging to the young queen. He takes out the most recent yearly journal and sees it was clearly unfinished. He eyes the diary, clearly interested in what the diary contained.

It wasn't long until he heard beautiful laughter come from outside of the room. He walks out onto the small balcony, the diary still in his hand. He looks down to see the young flower leaving the horse pen covered in hay, now going over to the fountain to clean herself up. The more he watches her, the more he sees how surprisingly graceful she is and how she is adapting to her new situation. One of his ears twitches, seeing she is handling it extremely well.

Perhaps another reason to forcively take her another day. Maybe he'll reward her this time, for being so obedient. He doesn't have a clear emotion planted on his face as he continues to watch her from afar.

A few more hours have passed, now it is supper time. The guards of the castle have gathered and are now being served food by the new servants of the castle. One in particular caught their attention, the familiar pink rose giving out food and appetisers for them to take. She receives catcall whistles and some even try to touch her while she was trying to work.

They seemed to be focused on scaring her rather than actually sexually assault her. Once all of the appetisers were all gone, she rushes back into the kitchen where she meets Cream on the way.

"My lady...they're serving the main course now...hurry and get their plates out!" She rushes out with several plates on her arms, leaving Amy Rose to grab as much plates she can.

So far, serving the guards their supper seems to be the most stressful job so far in castle. Could even top her explicit job with the king himself. She carefully settles the plates on the tables, them immiediately digging in as soon as their plates touched the surface. Soon the last plate she held was place in front of the familiar green hedgehog from earlier. He gives her a smirk, sending unpleasant shivers down her spine. She quickly turns her back to him and returns to the kitchen.

Soon everyone had been served and they were all enjoying their meals. Amy walks into the kitchen and sighs relieved from the job, but was startled once she saw Cream carry a tray full of drinks. Cream signals to the other trays that needed to be served to them. She takes a deep breath before taking the trays to the guards.

Everyone laughs and was casually chatting with each other, while Amy struggles to bring the drinks to the guards. She hands out the tras offering them out, them easily accepting them as soon as they were offered. Glasses clanked together as soon as Amy brought the glasses to them. She walks past the green hedgehog to serve those the far end of the table. She soon approaches them and hands out drinks. The former queen tries her best to ignore the green hedgehog whle serving the guards. Until she felt someone forcively grab one of her breasts that she screams making her spill the drinks all over the table. Some of the liquid even got on some of the guards, including the green hedgehog.

The entire table fell silent as they all look and glare daggers at the horrified pink hedgehog, her covering her breasts as she steps away from them. "I-I'm sorry...I'll clean it up..." Cream looks at the scene horrified quickly running into the kitchen. The drenched guards all stood up and make their way towards her, while the others hurl out insults to her.

Fear began to overtake the hedgehog as she screams in fear, curling herself into a ball. Both of the guards grab her and drag her to the table, forcing her to the middle. They all begin to rip her dress and shout more insults to her, while laughing in the process. The former queen tries her best to cover herself, as every hand on the table begin to touch her.

Her screams her heard from the room and into the kitchen where all of the cooks seemed to be trembling in fear. The young queen begins sobbing, each hand began to assault her and even harm her in each and every part of the body. Some guards even started climbing on the table, to hover over her, others encouraging them on. They all force her to lay on the table, as her screams continue to be echoed throughout the night.

But a bright light appeared in the room, almost blinding everyone in the room. As soon as the light cleared, the dark king was there as was Cream, him holding her arm in the process. All the guards step away from the almost naked rose on the table, getting as far away from the king as possible. Her screams have stopped, but soft sobs were still heard from her. A harsh glare came to the king's face, stepping towards the queen herself.

"What is going on here? Why did that rabbit girl rush to me so quickly?" The queen sits up and looks at him surprised, while covering herself. One familiar chuckle came from the green hedgehog, casually sitting in his seat.

"She ruined our supper with her absent-minded clumsiness. We were just trying to teach her a lesson your majesty." The king lifts the queen from the table and carries her in his arms, the harsh demeanor still emitting from him.

"Her punishments are for me to decide Scourge. If she misbehaves or screws up, you report to me. No one else is allowed to touch her, no one is allowed to lay a hand on her under no circumstances...understand?" All of the guards bow to him.

"Yes your majesty..." Cream sighs relieved looking at the traumatised rose in his arms. The young rose couldn't help but wrap her arms around the dark king. He turns away from the guards and towards the kitchen door. He opens the doors letting Cream pass through.

"From now on, she'll serve dinner to me and my advisors. This is no place for her here." He turns to Cream who signals to the cooks. "Serve them their final meals and then you're dismissed for the day." She bows to him before retreating into the kitchen. He gives the guards one more glance before closing the doors behind him.

He travels down the hallways the queen still in his arms. She looks up at him. "Am I dismissed for the night?" Shadow could only give her a large scoff, a small smirk forming on his muzzle.

"I'm afraid not...you caused trouble for my guards...you'll have to be punished I'm afraid..." She already knew what this means. The night was endless for her, she finds herself resting in the arms of the dark king this time after her 'punishment' in her former bedroom.

And yet he still didn't take her virginity...

She could only look back at him in curiousity, wondering why he didn't take her yet. He let himself fall into a deep slumber, pulling her even closer to him. Her new environment was already exhausting and not easy for her to survive in.

She could only let a restless sleep overtake her, letting the heat of the dark king engulf her in the cold night. This night and day only preparing her for the next few weeks ahead of her new life.

Long time no see. Not really much to say here, just a former queen struggling to adapt to such a new cruel environment. Didn't write a sex scene this time cause I didn't feel it was necessary...and I was lazy lol.

Yep...hope you like this chapter...

WaterLilyLotus over and out