Self Control;

A chapter focused only on Silver.

Silver felt his eyes open heavily, and strong a swell of weakness fell upon him. He attempted to look up and register his current position.

"Where am I?" he asked himself feebly, his pupils widening as the darkness of night engulfed his vision.

It was dusk, and for some reason the hedgehog lay silently on a small patch of wild flowers. He mustered the strength to sit up as he lifted his head, surveying the area. He quickly recalled the reasoning for his journey, and tried stand, but failed as his body refused to cooperate.

"Why can't I move?!" he asked blatantly, becoming exceedingly frustrated.

"Because you are drained of power, of course," a voice responded softly.

Silver immediately searched for the hidden voice, "Who's there?!" he asked nervously.

"Calm yourself," the voice snapped, "You'll overwhelm yourself again. Rest your body, Silver."

The hedgehog's golden eyes shrunk, "You know who I am?" he stammered.

"I do," the voice, apparently female, replied, "All of King Titus's subjects know who you are."

An elderly rabbit emerged from a shrouded area, her dark green cloak concealing her face and body. Her visible mouth smiled warmly at the shaken hedgehog, "Welcome."

"Who are you?" Silver repeated with less hostility.

"You don't need to know my name," the elder responded, "Just refer to me as Constance."

"Constance," Silver echoed, "Why – how did I end up here? What happened?" he asked gravely.

"You were abusing your gift," Constance answered, "I found you near the lake, panting and gasping for the slightest amount of air."

"I don't recall any of that," Silver stated puzzled.

"Of course not," the elder chortled hoarsely, "You were blinded by anger at the time."

Silver's eyes narrowed inwardly, an angering frown shaping his lips.

"My princess," he sneered, "Betrayed me." A blue aura began outlining his body once more, and he slowly began to rise. Before Silver could even exhibit any more rage, a thud to him come to his senses.

"Ow!" Silver barked, "What was the meaning of that?!"

"Did you not see your powers dwindling out of control?!" Constance scolded in response, "Are you so blinded by anger that you do not see the harm you're doing to yourself!?"

Silver heaved in and out, feeling feverishly ill for a few moments. The blue aura his body emanated faded, and he slowly landed on the plush surface of flowers. He swooned, resting his weight on his elbows and balling his fists with tears streaming down his face.

"You're allowing your body to revert to its defenses, causing your gifted ability to unleash an uncontrollable rage. Pain and suffering shouldn't ever control your physical nature." Constance warned, however comforting the weeping hedgehog with a soft caress.

"My princess," Silver continuously repeated, "My princess…"

"She is fine," the rabbit insisted, "Is that what you need to hear?"

The intensity of the hedgehog's despair lightened a little, and a small glisten of hope shone is his eyes.

"She's… fine?" Silver asked.

"You're acting like a child," Constance snipped, "Throwing a fit and not holding back. Of course she is fine; nothing threatened her to begin with."

"You don't understand, I love her, and yet she is marrying another… how could you not expect an anger of this altitude?!"

"I do understand," the rabbit responded casually, "However what YOU do not understand is reasoning. Have you considered the mindset of her decision?"

Silver was silent for a moment, and a pout puckered lips. "No," he retorted doubtfully, "I'm not sure if I want to know. Perhaps she considers our love to be a joke, like I am."

The elder nearly laughed in pity. "Oh Silver, this trial clearly has affected you more than it should have. Are you willing to discard everything you know about your love, your princess, just because of an announced marriage?"

"Do you hear yourself?" Silver snorted.

"I ask you, Silver, to look deeper into yourself, and deeper into your knowledge of the princess. You've spent ten years together in a blissful companionship, and you know her intentions and thought process. By placing her in an act of foolish and irrational decision-making alters your knowledge of the princess she is." Constance explained.

"…" Silver's eyes widened, and he slowly understood the words from the elder.

"You need to understand how to control yourself, and reason with all that may stand against you when necessary. Once you've grasped that ability, you will go far."

Silver sighed and rested helplessly on his side, trying to cope with all of the events that were occurring. Everything overwhelmed Silver, and his head grew heavier with every pang of sadness or despair that corrupted his mind.

Suddenly, a small ting of relief flooded his shrouded thoughts, and it was the thought of the princess smiling and laughing, something that he had missed dearly since her departure. He too smiled, trying to remember her face, her voice, her warmth- everything that he held dearly to his heart. Silver stifled a small gasp that released a small flow of tears, and rested calmly.

Constance simply sat there, staring at Silver with a fusion of irritation and sympathy. "He will be persistent, I assume," she spoke quietly, "However he must overcome this before proceeding."

The scent of a warm meal awoke the Silver's senses and he eagerly opened his eyes. "Blaze?!" he called hopefully, however was quickly disappointed by the elderly female rabbit from the night before.

"Afraid not, m'boy," she chortled, "I haven't had that appeal since fifty years ago!"

Silver attempted to move, however the same physical restraints held him in a seated position. "How will it take for me to recover?"

"Many days," Constance answered reluctantly, "However this is the perfect time to train."

Puzzled, Silver shook his head wildly, "Train?! I can barely move!" he tried to demonstrate his lack of movement before flopping onto his side.

"These exercises do not require movement," Constance sighed sharply, "All you need to perform this is your mind."

Silver squirmed painfully into a seated position once again. "My mind?" he questioned.

"Yes. As you are aware, you have a gifted ability to levitate objects and yourself through a small burst of energy. This is rare because normally gifts like these are only given to souls who will need it." Constance established firmly, "You need to practice controlling it otherwise another outburst is inevitable."

"I think I can control myself now," Silver acknowledged, "I don't think an outburst would be so… likely."

Constance rolled her eyes. "That isn't the point, child- the point is that you need to exercise this gift so you can execute it."

"Alright," Silver finally ceased retaliating, "How do we begin?"

"Focus on that stone," Constance directed, "Understand your gift to manipulate and translate objects. Once you feel that you're ready, attempt to lift it- only with your mind."

Silver was completely bewildered by the idea of lifting things with his mind. It felt absurd to stare at a stone and hope for it to move, and it was apparent in Silver's expression.

"Concentrate," Constance ordered.

"What more is there to do," Silver asked bitterly, "I'm staring at a lifeless object!"

Constance grieved, shaking her head. "You're so capable, why- why are you fighting against your own abilities?!" she questioned strongly, "Why?!"

"This is preposterous, that's why," Silver vented, "I can't just sit here knowing that I can stay by my princess's side and settle things calmly! I miss her!"

Constance paused, absorbing Silver's words carefully. "You're quite loyal to her," she noted lightly, "She's blessed to have a soul like you in her life."

Silver hung his head low, and nodded. "She's a blessing to me in everyway to me as well."

"If you love her, you will take this chance," Constance pleaded, "She, too, is gifted with an unnatural ability to control fire. She's faced her own trials in order to master them, and she would want you to do the same."

Silver's shoulders slumped as he accepted the wisdom of the rabbit. He returned his attention to the stone again and focused. He took a deep breath, and his eyebrow ledges darted inward. He could feel the weight of the object in his head, and he struggled to lift the massive stone. However, he succeeded, and the stone fell loudly onto the ground.

"Well done," the elder said pleasingly, "Again."

Silver glanced at her disbelievingly at first, until she shot a serious glance in his direction. He disdainfully sighed and repeated the process.

For the rest of the day, with meals in between, Silver practiced lifting and releasing the stone. By dusk, he flung the stone and caught it all through his mind. He was quite proud of his progress until the elder chuckled, "Tomorrow we will try something heavier than a stone."

For five days, Silver practiced his powers on many different objects: tree stumps, groups of small animals, even Constance herself was a test subject. Silver particularly enjoyed lifting her high into the sky and keeping her there before teasingly placing her down.

With every day that passed, Silver regained strength- physically and mentally. He was able to walk again after the fifth day, the last day Constance said that he needed to stay.

Silver approached Constance and smiled. "Thank you for your wisdom, and I apologize for my irrational behavior."

"Ah, 'tis natural for love," Constance mused, "But you know now how to control your emotions, and confront hard situations such as this."

Silver nodded his head and gave her a friendly hug, which shocked the elder to an extent. "Take care of yourself," he told her before quickly departing.

Constance smiled warmly, and looked to the skies above. "I've done my part," she whispered.

One of the clouds began to take the shape of the knight, who's head nodded in thanks. "Thank you Constance for preparing Silver."

Constance breathed heavily in and out, and chuckled. "He was quite irritating I'll admit, however he will proceed in faith as he always did."

The clouds then quickly dispersed into random shapes, leaving the elder to hobble away into the woods.

A/N:

HAHA! SO, looks like I'm back in the zone- for the 50th time!

ANYWAY, Constance was pretty cool, huh? And Silver's powers, oh yes!

The climax and ending are just in reach, folks! If you'll stick with me longer I promise you won't regret it! God bless!