Chapter Six: Into the Palace.

There was torture and then there was ungodly torment...

and then there was taking four hedgehogs who barely wore shoes to get fitted for tuxedos and a dress.

Uncle Chuck had been away from the Palace for so long, he'd forgotten about the disconnect between the Palace proper and the populace at large. Generally speaking, while a Mobian was never considered "naked" even when they eschewed clothes, it was the policy of the Palace to conform to a dress code. It was often the sign that an outsider was present, that they were "underdressed" to be there.

Clothes for hedgehogs was usually a nuisance, given their quills were known to be prickly and would put an end to a well made shirt easily. Amy's downward style of wearing her quills was a quick and easy way to avoid this, but that was considered a "girl's style" and the boys would have none of it.

So it was that in the mid-afternoon on the day of their arrival, with Cream back in school and Vanilla settling into the servant's quarters, that five hedgehogs entered the Royal Tailor's suite and gave the poor Tailor a heart attack.

"Gah! Hedgehogs!" He declared over and over again while struggling to take their measurements. He was an older mouse who had been tailoring for the Acorn's since he could hold a pin in his hand. "Confounded quills make my job impossible."

"Francois," Uncle Chuck said as he watched the mouse struggle to fit his arms around Shadow's chest, "If it's too much trouble, we can-."

"No!" Francois barked at Uncle Chuck, a fire burning in his eyes, "I'll not be taken down so easily. So help me Aurora, I'll have you and your children clothed in time for the Royal Gala tonight. It is a momentous night-what with your appointment. But FIVE hedgehogs at once on short notice? And here I told myself last week I'd not be pushed up against the wall at the last minute like a damn dog."

Francois continued to complain, but he worked feverishly, allowing his irritation and anger to fuel his ability to work faster. Nearby, Sonic, Silver, and Amy whined and complained about the wait and having to be patient and still as Francois did his work-not to mention their sheer boredom.

But Uncle Chuck, fair as he was, kept them in line with a firm reassurance. They didn't have much time. It took several hours, at least, to get four well-tailored dress uniforms ready for the Royal Gala. Francois chose to accentuate their natural colors, by giving Sonic a slightly darker blue dress blazer accentuated in gold. Silver's was a lighter gray accentuated in light blue. Shadow suffered through his fitting and came out with a black, buttoned front blazer and slacks accentuated in red to match his quills.

"Colors to match your colors, right? Why fix what is already working?" Francois mused. Shadow accepted it. Uncle Chuck had to wear white with gold trim as befitting a newly appointed Minister of Science.

Their dress clothes were fancy affairs, that wrapped around the chest to button at the top left of the chest and bore more resemblance to a military uniform than a dress suit. But Francois insisted that this was the decorum as befitting a royal engagement.

"I'll die before I allow one of my charges to attend the King's presence dressed in bargain bin rags." He insisted.

"How much longer?' Sonic whined, much as he had for hours.

"Just Amy left." Shadow murmured.

"Shush, children." Francois snapped as the five of them waited outside a dressing room in the middle of an needless sea of dressed, suits, uniforms, and clothes of all kind. "A dress is an extension of the female body. It is almost a part of their soul and, as such, I only accept perfection in their choosing. Clothes are a practical application to a man, they mean little except when they want them to. But a dress? A dress is like the touch of the goddess."

Sonic leaned in to whisper in Silver's ear, "I think this guy's pricked his finger a few too many times."

"Francois!"

The hedgehogs turned and saw a pompous blonde mink dressed in a burgundy silk cloak burst into the room. He saw the hedgehogs and turned his nose up at them, focusing in on the royal Tailor.

"Francois, what kind of dead end market do you think this is, what with leaving your counter un-attended?" He saw the hedgehogs and his eyes-half-drawn shut in disinterest-swept over them. "I need you immediately; this rabble can wait."

Sonic hadn't even had his foot off the ground to rush over and give this guy a piece of his mind before Shadow's hand was on his chest. "Best not pick a fight with just anyone." He said in a low voice. "Not in this place."

Francois, his hands flying over the alterations to be done to Amy's dress, didn't so much as cast a glance at the intruding mink. "M'Lord, your pardon will have to be begged. I cannot and will not abandon the soon-to-be Minister and his family in their time of greatest tailoring need. Your order was finished weeks ago."

"The lapels are crooked! It simply won't do and the Royal Gala is tonight!" The young mink said, paying no heed to the present family.

"The lapels aren't crooked." Francis answered, "Your lopsided mirror is the problem. I measured those lapels to the millimeter. I'll eat my cloth ruler before I'll believe those lapels aren't perfectly symmetrical."

"Of all the nerve!"

Amy turned her head to him and said, "If they're crooked, I'm sure someone will point it out to you. Then Francois will have to believe you."

The mink's face dropped, sporting a look that suggested he would sooner have believed the moon was made of green cheese. "Dear girl, that is simply not how things work at the Palace. Wherever you're from, the populace at large may be crude enough to point out a glaring mistake such as this, but at this Palace when someone notices a mistake, it is a stain on your very soul."

His eyes darkened as he met Amy's gaze, "Here's a bit of free advice: don't trust anyone. And if you do trust someone, dismiss them from your service."

Suddenly, a pair of hands clamped down on the mink's shoulders and he gasped. Shadow's gloves dug into the lapels that he claimed were crooked and pulled the mink away from Amy by force.

"How dare you?! What do you think you're doing?"

"Dismissing someone I don't trust." Shadow growled and then forcibly hurled the young mink out of the tailor's shop. When he returned, Francois gave him a hug.

"My boy, I've wanted to kick that pompous windbag out of my shop for years like that. You have my eternal gratitude. I'll be seeing that look in his eyes for years to come."

"Who was that idiot?" Sonic asked.

"That was Bartlby von Drago, the Duke of West Mercia. And for all his pomp and pride, you'd best know that you've likely made an enemy of him." Francois said, standing up and adjusting his back. "Ah. Now then. I need thirty minutes and the dress will be done. You'll have an hour before the Gala starts, but odds are you'll be introduced last, knowing the Chamberlain like I do. He likes that sort of dramatic reveal."

"Oh, lovely." Silver pouted.

"Kids, enough." Uncle Chuck said, "Let's get through this with as little fuss as possible. And work on your politeness, alright? You'll be meeting a lot of people tonight and they're people I expect you to remember."

The Hedgehog kids grumbled to themselves, but did as told. Thins would be different, Uncle Chuck had told them. How much so they had yet to conceive. Still, the boys were liking their dress outfits and hoping to catch a comm-number from a high-class hottie or two.

Hours passed without much to note except that every member of the Palace staff-housekeeper, cook, and page-was flowing to one direction and it was in this direction that they followed. Eventually, through the impossible to navigate labyrinth of halls and corridors, they bumped into Tails again and he wore a terribly panicked look on his face.

"I've been looking everywhere for you! I'm to present you to the Chamberlain right away! The Gala has already begun and the King has already been announced!"

"We'd best hurry then." Uncle Chuck said, leaving no room for protest. The kids followed their Uncle, who followed Tails who was all but dashing through the corridors of the Palace.

The extravagance and opulence of the Palace defied belief. No sooner had they arrived at one amazing room and observed its wonders than they were dashing out of it with only a flash of it's presence to stay imprinted in their minds. The Palace was decked in rich gold and red colors, which made the staff in their blue uniforms easier to stand out. There was an abundance of Guards at particular doorways and corridors and the occasional page or housekeeper dashing. All of them dashed in a certain direction and, sure enough, this was the direction that they were herded.

Eventually, after what felt like miles, the five of them were shuffled to a young rabbit with a stiff upper lip who looked at them and said, "There you are. I'm Chamberlain Jessup. Follow me."

They followed the Chamberlain, who brought them to another Chamberlain who, in turn, finally brought them to a waiting area beside a large set of ancient carved doors that stood thrice as tall as any of them, where waited the Master Chamberlain: an older rabbit named Jack who looked at them through a pair of spectacles and sighed, "Good to see you again, Charles. It'll be a long night, I have no doubt."

"Looking forward to seeing a few familiar faces." Charles said.

"I'll announce you and your children. I need their names and the proper pronunciations."

Charles pointed, "This is Sonic, Shadow, Silver, and Amy Rose. We have not taken surnames."

"How rural." Jack said, his disdain obvious, "I'll announce your species then. It should quell at least a few of the endless questions most of you will doubtless encounter. Wait here to be announced. When you are, proceed to the throne where the royal family awaits." With the Jack, parted the door slightly where the buzz of a mass of humanity broke through for just a moment before he shut the door behind him.

The kids waited, passing the time talking idly. Charles watched them and sighed. Duty had finally come before family. He only hoped that it wouldn't cost him the family he had fought so hard to form. Whether they could survive the coming onslaught of life inside the Royal Compound remained to be seen. There was only so much he could do to prepare them for life inside the Palace, but as with their home schooling lessons, there was a stark difference between describing something grand and witnessing it for themselves.

They would need all their nerve and inner strength to make it through this. Charles damned the ceremony then. It was likely that Max merely wanted the announcement to be a surprise to the royal court and their families, but in reality it would put every eye in the Palace on him and his children all at once. Being a hedgehog meant enduring stares; for all the diversity amongst the races, a hedgehog was rarest amongst them. Their kind tended to seldom marry or mate outside their species, a habit that had been instilled practically to their DNA.

It made them seem inhospitable. Distant. Isolated.

They were also considered to be hot blooded in conflict, quick to act but slow to think. On top of those notions was the age old adage that Hedgehogs were notorious for having over-active musk glands compared to other animals. This resulted in the stereotype that they were as sexually active as rabbits (who were stereotyped far worse because most rabbits had large, if not downright enormous, families). The boys were thought of as hound dogs and the girls were thought of as sluts. It was a damning reputation that Charles had actively fought his entire life. Only his lifelong pursuit of science had him escape those prejudices.

All too late, he realized he had forgotten to tell the kids about these things when they should have been mentioned years ago. He was as terrible a father as he was brilliant a scientist. Well, he supposed things should balance out this way.

Sonic leaned close to his brothers and sister and hissed, "Man, Unc looks like he's gonna throw up."

"You think it's all legit?" Silver asked. "I mean, what's Unc got to worry about? This is the King, right? King Max, Queen Alicia, and Princess Sally. We learned all about them and Unc has known them his whole life."

"So why have we never met them?" Shadow asked.

The others looked at him, puzzled.

"Haven't any of you ever wondered?" Shadow asked quietly, "Uncle Chuck grew up in the Palace with the King and a whole bunch of other royal big-wigs and nobles…so why, if he's so close, have we lived in a wasteland our entire lives instead of here in the Palace?"

"Unc doesn't like the Palace lifestyle." Amy said. It was true, they knew.

"Unc doesn't like the Palace lifestyle." Shadow repeated, "So he has to move himself and his four toddler adopted children into a desolate wasteland that's only inhabited by Dregs and outcasts to scrape out a living working remotely. Pardon me if something smells funny."

"I think it's the food." Sonic quipped, "Probably puree of snail or something."

"I meant the situation, you idiot." Shadow snapped.

"Just trying to lighten the mood. Sheesh." Sonic shrugged.

The door opened a crack and Jack's voice boomed out, "PRESENTING CHARLES T. HEDGEHOG AND HIS CHILDREN: SONIC, SHADOW, SILVER, AND AMANDA ROSE."

"Gods curse him!" Amy hissed. She hated being called Amanda. But there was no more time for anything but the sudden opening of the doors and the eyes of thousands of members of the Royal court, Nobility, Ministers, Military, Guards. The entirety of the Palace was focused solely on them. A sea of immaculately dressed upper-crust individuals starring with a mixture of fascination and dismissive contempt.

Uncle Chuck walked with his gaze forward, leading his children through the corridor of humanity that parted to let them through. He was used to the stares, but his kids held their own passage. Shadow mimicked him, but would cast a cold glance to his side occasionally. Amy couldn't seem to find anything comfortable to do with her arms and fidgeted. Silver looked down at the floor, trying not to meet anyone's eyes. Sonic sauntered forward, eyes taking in the massive scale of the Royal Ballroom.

It's columns soared high, extending well over a hundred feet into the air. It's walls were lined with elaborate tapestries, statues, vases. At the end of the elongated hall, a trip of at least a hundred yards, at the end of the red carpet that heralded their path, lay the throne. Tall, immaculate, and carved from a golden oak, it stood on a dais that extended up wards in five sloping steps. They arrived at the foot of the throne-none too quickly for Sonic's taste-and found themselves staring up at the leaders of half the world.

Uncle Chuck went to his knee and bowed his head. The kids took a second to realize their own mistake and then followed suit, kneeling and bowing their heads. They lifted their heads to meet the gaze of the royal family.

Looking up, they were awestruck, feeling the gaze of the King as he looked down on them. The Queen sat beside him and to her side sat the Princess. King Max was the embodiment of confidence: tall-taller than many Mobians-with a calm demeanor and a exuding an aura of confidence that made him a natural leader. His wife was a beautiful auburn-colored fur in a light blue dress that looked more like it was made from blue crystal and woven with a god-like precision. Her dazzling blue eyes complimented a well-worn smile that dazzled any who gazed upon it. And her daughter, Sally, shared that same pleasant, dazzling smile.

Sonic would know. He had been starring at her since they had approached the dais. While his mouth wasn't dropped, his eyes were fixed on her and couldn't see or hear anything else. Her short, rust-colored hair, her perplexing blue eyes, her simple, but mesmerizing smile. And she was looking right at him.

He would have stayed there and stared at the Princess if her father did not have such a commanding voice. It boomed as the King stood, spread his arms, and said, "Arise!" They did as told, "Mobotropolis welcomes it's most favored son back!"

The applause from the attending crowd snapped Sonic out of his trance and he looked to the side, seeing Shadow and Amy glaring at him, fully aware of what he'd been doing. If he didn't want to embarrass himself, he'd have to keep his head. Still, he stole another glance and saw Sally looking elsewhere.

The King raised his hand and the crowd silenced immediately.

"Sure wish he could do that when Sonic won't shut up." Shadow muttered under his breath. Amy snickered, having heard him, and tried to cover her mouth and control her blush.

"Charles, the Kingdom welcomes you back in this time of need. Those of you that remember will know Charles to be the finest mind that the Royal Academy has ever produced. It is with that distinction coupled with a lifetime of scientific achievement in the service of the Kingdom that I grant him the highest honor that may be received. Charles…kneel."

Charles did as told and lowered to his knees, bowing his head to the floor. The King's hand went to his ceremonial sword and produced a shining sword with a mirror sheen. He brought it to both sides of Charles head. "And arise…SIR Charles. With this title, I hereby designate you my new Minister of Science. Sir Julian shall depart his role as Minister of Science and take up the mantle of Minister of War."

Charles lifted to his feet and smiled as the applause of the crowd washed over him. He was truly touched to be honored by his old friend like this, though he never felt he had earned any of the accolades that had ever come his way. Being brilliant in his field came simply to him and it felt strange to be awarded for something that was so easy for him. It felt like he was being awarded for having done nothing. Still, it was worth it to see his friend Max-now the King-shake his hand once again. Their hands met and shook and Max pulled him close for a friendly hug.

But the King's words were harsh and brief, "St. John. Did he come with you?"

Charles eyes widened. With the crowd's cheering and clapping to cover their words, he hissed back, "No. He left the day before I did. Why?"

"He's missing." Max said just as he broke the embrace. Charles' hearing went deaf as blood drained from his face.

XxXxXxXxX

Author's Note: Back on track after a hiatus, but the kids are in the Palace and next chapter they get to meet few new faces, a few bits of drama get set up, and Sonic finally gets the chance to talk to that pretty little Princess he spotted up on the dais. Maybe smooching up to the princess will help him forget his sad feels after splitting it off with Mina.