A soft rose pink hedgehog stirred from beneath her bedding, sun shining directly in her eyes as she rolled over onto her stomach. The alarm clock that sat on her night stand read nine in the morning in its bright, neon green LEDs. Mornings became a chore for her to begin, her mind clouded by unusual thoughts. Subconsciously she knew what was happening. She knew what she was feeling but she resisted as always. Desperately wanting to believe that she was just imagining what she felt For months, her mind had been wandering in her own thoughts and doubts, beginning to wonder if the love she felt for the big blue hero was even genuine. His emerald eyes never once showing her the attention she had so longed for since the moment she met him. Only showing the love of a mutual friend or annoyance, and her feelings waned even more when she discovered that her hero was also not as honest with his own outwardly actions in personal matters as he lead others into thinking.
	She arose from her bed, stretching and scratching her head as her waist length quills shuffled about, taking in the warmth of the sun's rays as it hit her lithe body, but this warmth didn't bring any comfort. Her gaze wandered over to her dresser to see a set of beautiful deep crimson petals roses in a glass vase that had yet to bloom in full,  adorned with a lavish ebony ribbon. An elegant and forboding black card with elegant and mysterious intertwining trim, forming a beautiful design around the inner edge of the card, which held no name on it from its sender, only housing a simple sentence "Bloom cautiously, yet grow wildly" it would read in an elegant script, hand written in gold ink. She could feel her heart flutter slightly at the idea that someone had snuck into her room and left her such a beautiful set of roses, and the words on the card only made this feeling well even louder within her.
	The fearsome, pitch black fur of a reclused being penetrated her thoughts. He had always seemingly stopped when she tried catching up to him, listened to her ramble about anything and nothing at all. He would even willingly help her carry heavy objects much to her protesting at times, and the thing that seemed to stick around the most in her mind was whenever she would hug him against his wishes... he would never shun her away, or complain, only would stand at let it happen, and if alone, even return the gesture with a gentle hug. It wasn't until she thought hard on it that she realized his actions, him not shunning her immediately, only left her wanting more. This left her wondering more and more about two things...
	Did she ever actually love Sonic as more than just a Heroic crush?
	Or was her true knight hidden behind much darker and tarnished armor.
	She looked through her closet for something to wear, taking note of her usual attire consisting of almost entirely of the same thing. A simple red dress with white collar and red boots with a center stripe and white cuffs. Nothing that befit her now that she had grown older, which upset her. She dove even deeper into her closet, hoping to Chaos that she had something different, something unique that would be eye catching, though which one she now sought to catch the eye of she was unsure of. That was when she spotted it. A beautiful near floor length white dress that faded to a dark ruby red with heels that matched the same colour of ruby. Delicate black lace trimming the dress in just the right areas. She had always gone to Honey to have her clothing made, but she could not recall if she ever ordered something like this from her. That thought however was pushed off and into the distance as she delicately set the dress onto her bed, then after showering she donned it and went out and about her business.
	The looks she garnered from everyone shocked her, somehow making her feel slightly special. Yet somehow this attention also felt hollow in comparison to anything that the ebony furred being had given, even if it had only ever been small hugs. She shook her head softly and swore off the encroaching thoughts, picking up her pace as she walked aimlessly, reaching a secluded area with a large pond in the center of it. The place was quiet, serene and stunning, she was shocked that she had never seen this place before and soon she would have wished she hadn't found it, as she saw two familiar faces. Her big blue hero, and the princess of the Acorn Kingdom, standing next to a tree on the far side of the pond, it was as though life slowed down to a quarter of its normal speed as she watched the two kiss. This is when she knew that her deeper feelings were accurate. Sonic would never love her as she had dreamed of as a teen.
	Amy felt her heart sink to her stomach, though not out of shock, but out of the agony that she had told herself a lie, forced herself to believe it, even though reality struck her in the face time and time again. His caring of her was nothing more than that of a friend, his annoyance was that of someone dealing with a child who wouldn't listen. It was then that she bolted from that place, running past other civilians of the kingdom, out to the walls that protected them all from the evils of Robotnik, and into the wild emerald green prairie that lay outside the gates. Running till she could no longer breathe, eyes stinging from the tears that streamed down her muzzle and her chest burning for a moment of rest. The air around her was crisp. Warm and yet also cool as the breeze rushed through her fur and quills, soothing her eyes ever so slightly as she gasped for a breath of air, sobs threatening to wrack her lithe frame.
	All she could think of now was wanting to vanish, disappear into the void or hope that this was all a dream, that she would wake up and that everything was as she had hoped it would have been, but somewhere deep down in her being, she knew that would never happen. She began to collapse to her knees, too weak due to the emotions that were running amok in her mind, but something caught her. The soft scent of cinnamon lingered in the air around her. It was a familiar, warm and comforting feeling that she had only experienced in short, tantalizing bursts. When she opened her eyes, all she could see was the ebony fur of the near mirror image of the planets blue hero. "S-shadow..." she would whimper, not able to say another thing as he had just pulled her into a comforting embrace, her muzzle pressing into his white chest fluff.
	Suddenly she felt safe, no longer troubled by the woes around her. His melancholic tone ringing in her ears as he spoke, "You grew wild, yet refused to bloom naturally..." those words hovering in front of her as though he had painted them in the brightest paint possible onto a white canvas. His tone also somehow seemed a bit saddened, almost hurt and yet his eyes only conveyed worry and a softness she had never seen before, or had refused to see. Leaning forward ever so slightly, he placed a gentle kiss to her lips. Holding said kiss for what felt like an eternity before pulling away to say something more as he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and whispered into her ear, "I've always been there for you, Rose... and I always will." he said in a soft purring tone, and that's when it finally sunk in. She had never truly loved Sonic to begin with, she didn't even know what love really was till Shadow had dropped subtle hints in front of her.
	She knew then who it was she truly loved.