I don't know about you guys, but I have yet to find a finished romance pirate story, so... (fanfare music) here I am, to the rescue!

I specifically own Amara and this story. Most other characters either belong to Sega or Archie.

Chapter 1

Amy's P.O.V.

"Hurry up Amelia! You are going to be late!" My mother shouts at me through my bedroom door.

"I am almost ready, mother!" I call back. She sighs in annoyance and I hear her departing footsteps. I roll my eyes and continue to apply my makeup.

"At least you take as long to get ready as a real princess does." Amara smirks at me as I look in the mirror, sitting on my bed.

"I don't take THAT long." I huff.

"You're right." She says, catching me off guard. Before I can voice my confusion, she snickers, "You take much longer!" I groan and throw my brush at her. She laughs.

When I was five years old, the other kids would pick on me for being the daughter of one of the richest men in the kingdom, Duke Lucas. One day, the other kids were playing keep-away with my doll, and a magenta girl hedgehog snatched my doll from them. She told them to go away and leave me alone, and then she gave me back my doll. That was the day I met Amara Vipsin. She is a year older than me, she doesn't let anyone mess with her, and, once you've earned her loyalty, she will stick by your side till the end. I also discovered her family is the opposite of mine and is one of the poorest families in the kingdom. That doesn't make her dislike me because of who my family is, like other people do, though. She likes me for who I am and I like her for who she is. Our parents don't seem to like each other, however, but they allow us to continue to be friends. Probably because when they first told us to stop playing with each other, we refused to listen. Now here we are, fifteen years later, and we are still loyal to each other.

Once I am finished, I look myself over in my mirror. I'm wearing a red ball gown with sleeves that are puffy at the ends and they reach to my elbows. "Do I look okay?" I ask self-consciously.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you always look amazing?" She sighs, exasperated.

"You forget that you're the one who always looks amazing, not me." I say. It's true, everything about Amara is dazzling. Especially in that sapphire-blue ball gown, which I barely wear because I can't pull it off, right now. She can pull off any outfit you pick for her, and all the boys seek her attention. The only dazzling thing I can think about myself is my jade-green eyes.

Amara fixes me with a disapproving glare. "Stop it Amy. You are perfect, okay? Everyone sees flaws in themselves that other people don't see as flaws." She stands and walks over to me. "You are especially perfect tonight. You look extraordinary," She grabs my shoulders, spins me towards the door, and begins pushing me to it. "so let's go to this party and let all those guys drool all over you."

"What's the point of that?" I ask, opening the door. "This is my engagement party."

Amara's eyes slightly harden with an emotion that I can't identify. "Yeah. I know. I'm just still hoping your actual Mr. Right will pop up."

"Please, will you just tell me why you don't like him?!" I plead for what feels like the millionth time. We met just last week, and he asked me to marry him two days ago. He has been nothing but kind to me, he's handsome, he's smart, and he is the best choice out of all the men I have ever met in my whole life. It doesn't really matter to me that he is the Prince of our kingdom, Pallertha, so of course I accepted. But Amara doesn't agree with my decision. She says it's way too soon, that he could be a totally different guy than I think. I've heard of people getting engaged the day they met, so this isn't really that bad.

We stop outside the dining room doors. "I told you Amy: I just don't like him." Amara says without looking at me. "I'm going to go help set up the party. See you later." She turns and heads to the back yard, where the engagement party will begin after dinner. Why won't she tell me? I know she has a reason for not liking him. She knows it's hurting me, yet she refuses to even give me a clue!

Taking a breath, I plaster a smile on my face and enter the dining room. Inside, seated at the table, are my parents and other 'important' people, like nobles and dukes, from all around Pallertha. The King and Queen will sit at one end of the table and my fiancé and I will sit at the other. I take my seat, choosing the end that is closest to my parents. My father, Duke Lucas Rose, is a red hedgehog with the same green eyes as me, and my mother, Duchess Catherine Rose, is a light purple hedgehog with grey eyes. Not even a few seconds pass after I'm seated before the trumpets sound, announcing the arrival of the royal family. Everyone rises as a servant steps up.

"Their royal Highnesses, King Marcus, Queen Penelope, and Prince Scourge." Three hedgehogs, all adjourned with royal attire, step into the room. Marcus is a forest-green hedgehog with dark brown eyes, Penelope is a light yellow hedgehog with intense blue eyes, and Scourge is a regular green hedgehog with the same eyes as his mother.

The family takes their seats at the table, and we all sit down. Servants with our meals come rushing out and place them before us. As the meals are being set down, Scourge and I make eye contact, and he gives me a smile. I smile back and see what's for dinner, trying to find something to keep my nerves hidden. For dinner we are having steaks, mashed potatoes, and some vegetables. One of the perks of being rich is everything you eat is homemade and locally grown.

Before we can begin eating, my father stands, bringing his wine glass up with him. "I would like to thank you all for being here tonight and celebrating this joyous occasion with us. I would also like to make a toast to the engaged couple." He raises his glass. "May my daughter and Prince Scourge live long, prosperous lives, and may they rule as fairly as their previous rulers!"

"Hear, hear!" Everyone, excluding me and Scourge, shouts while raising their glasses, then they take a drink. My father takes his seat and dinner begins.

I hate these kinds of dinners, they are so boring and awkward. The only time I talked throughout the whole thing was when I was asked a question or when I was making small talk with my parents or Scourge. When dinner was finally over, I got up as fast as I could from my seat and started to make my way to the party out back.

"Amelia! Wait up!" I turn and find Scourge quickly making his way towards me. "Do you mind if I accompany you to the party?" He asks me once he catches up.

"Oh, uh, sure! I-I mean no, I don't mind." I smile nervously, faintly blushing. Damn nerves. "You can call me Amy by the way. I'm not too fond of my full name."

"Okay, Amy." He flashes me a smile, and we begin to walk, him beside me. A couple moments of silence pass. "So, that dinner was lame." Scourge says, breaking the silence.

"They always are." I groan, happy that someone else thinks the same thing as me. The Prince, no less!

"Yes! They are! And you can only refill you wine glass once! How the hell can a guy like me have fun if they limit the amount of alcohol I consume?" Scourge exclaims dramatically. I giggle at his silliness, making him grin victoriously at making me laugh.

"You have a cute laugh." He tells me, still smiling.

"No I don't. I sound like a little girl!" I whine.

"That's what makes it so cute." He states, then he pushes a loose strand of my pink hair behind my ear. I blush, and, not sure on what I'm supposed to do, I look at my surroundings. We have just made it to the backyard, where the party is.

People crowd the area, all of them invited either from Scourge and his family or from me and my family. Party lanterns are hanging on strings tied to the trees, flowers from my family's flower garden are either in vases or still planted in the ground all around, and a band is on a stage, playing music for people to dance to. This is almost exactly how I imagined my engagement party! I get a little teary from my happiness.

Scourge suddenly offers me his hand. "May I have this dance?" Blinking my eyes clear, I smile and take his hand. He smiles back and leads me down to the dance floor. A upbeat song begins to play and we dance. Unlike Amara, I love and know how to dance. Apparently Scourge also knows how, but he's a prince so I don't think it should count. Too soon the song ends, but Scourge doesn't seem willing to let me go quite yet. He keeps a hold of my hand and waits for the next song to start. So we dance, for how long and for how many songs, I'm not sure. Scourge is such a nice guy, I'm sure I'll be happy marrying him. If only Amara could feel the same way.

Finally getting tired, I tell Scourge I'm thirsty. He leads me over to the snack and beverage table. Along the way there, I see Amara dancing with a black and red male hedgehog. Personally, I think he looks a bit too serious, but that doesn't seem to faze Amara. She catches sight of me the same time I do her, and she excuses herself from the hedgehog. Scourge and I get some water and and a few seconds later, Amara is there besides me.

"Why hello Miss Amelia! Long time no see." She grins, full well knowing I hate being called by my full name.

"Ha. Ha. Hi to you too Amara." I reply dryly. She smirks and turns her attention to Scourge as he steps around me and is now visible to her. Her smirk turns into a tight, polite smile as she acknowledges him.

"Your majesty." She curtsies, her voice having a hint of coldness to it.

"Miss Amara." He nods, just as cold. He turns his gaze to me and it softens. "If you don't mind, I'd like to visit with a couple of my friends."

I smile, feeling disappointed on the inside. "That's alright. I'll see you later."

"Until then." He takes my hand and kisses it, then he turns and disappears into the crowd. I smile after him fondly, then focus my attention on Amara.

Sensing where this is headed, Amara throws me a stern glare and says, "No. Just drop it. Some people just don't get along, okay?" I lower my ears in disappointment and frustration.

"You're going to tell me one day."

She ignores what I said and changes the subject. "I met a real interesting guy earlier."

"You mean the black and red hedgehog?"

"Oh, good, you saw him. You also saw how good looking he was too, right?" She gets a cheesy smile. I smile and roll my eyes.

"Sure. What makes him interesting?"

"Well, first off, he doesn't seem to be interested in me! He is also pretty secluded. He didn't even really ask me to dance. We were hanging out with the same group of people and we were besides each other. We made eye contact a few times, and when a song started, he just simply held out his hand for me to take and took me out to dance. He's a good dancer actually." She gets lost in her thoughts, a dreamy look on her face. I smirk.

"Why Amara, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're quite taken away with this guy." She blushes.

"He's just different! Doesn't mean I like him." She says defensively. "I don't even know his name."

"Hmm." I smirk. "Okay. Whatever you say." She shoots a glare at me. It's not very often she shows interest in a guy, so of course I'm going to take advantage of this and tease her.

I'm about to launch another attack, when a voice from behind me asks, "Lovely night, isn't it ladies?"

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