We're still in the introductory part of this story. I'm not combining anything from the anime, just mostly a thing from my head that I wanted to get out. It will be a slow start, but it'll pick up! Enjoy!


Emma manages to wake up the next morning feeling loads better than she had in the past week. She blames it on the Palace for showing her the check she'd receive, and decides that she deserves to stay in bed for two hours longer than she should. Curled up at the end of the bed, Mawile is deep asleep, her breathing quiet against the bustle of people outside.

Sunlight filters in through Emma's window located right above her head.

She had bought the shop and the tiny apartment located right behind it overlooking one of the few small rivers that flows into the lake surrounding the palace a few streets over. Her bed sits above her kitchen on a loft with one wall slanting at an angle on the other half of her room. She has two small dressers to hold her clothes in, and her shoes in a fabric unit under her bed.

Beside her head are stairs that lead to the kitchen below. The apartment is compact, but she has everything she needs while using only a little space. She has a full fridge, range and oven, dishwasher, and two sinks with multiple cupboards in her kitchen.

Windows line many of the walls in her apartment, creating a bright atmosphere for her every morning to counteract her downtrodden attitude. Another day wasting away in this place, doing what she loves, of course, but seeing the world from only one point of view.

Turning to the side, Emma peeks between the curtains, gazing into the blurry haze of the world beyond her window. The day is bright and possibly warm from the looks of the blue sky dotted with white blotches. She twists back to the short table beside her bed to grab her glasses.

Yep, the day looks great.

"What do you think, Mawile? Should we stay in and have a movie night?" Emma nudges her pokemon with her foot. The little steel type grumbles, the jaws attached to the back of her head playfully nip at the blanket as she sits up. Emma grins as her pokemon glowers at her for ruining her peaceful sleep. "Is that a yes?"

Mawile croons gently and shakes her head, pointing her tiny claw towards the front shop with an expectant look.

Emma sighs, grumbling as she sits up and runs her fingers through her dark hair. "You're no fun. What if I don't want to work?"

The pokemon grunts in return before turning around and curling up in the blankets even more. This leaves Emma to slide her legs from under the blanket to over the side. She stares at her apartment with a small sigh before heaving herself up to head down the steps to the bathroom immediately on her right.

Her morning routine goes a little slow. She grabs an instant meal from the fridge and pops it into the microwave. She can't remember the last time she made a meal for herself, steaming fresh food just waiting to be guzzled... Nowadays, it's instant meals and store bought pokemon food.

A stack of her orders, made, sealed, and boxed away sit on her dining room table just behind the kitchen. It consists of a square table with two chairs and a small hanging fixture above the table. As she takes a seat next to the wall separating the two rooms, a window on her left sits open, showing her the backside of her street. The dusty, greasy backside of the street is covered with green plants growing from the edge of the flowing river below.

Eating away at her rubbery eggs, Emma stares at the list of addresses and customer names staring at her from a paper on the table.

She convinces herself how simple it'd be to walk a few blocks to send these out and then have only that one order from yesterday and Cameran's order to worry about. They gave her their own budget, and she knows she can work well within that limit and as for that order, to get the supplies would be easy enough.

Still, it seemed like a lot.

"Now you're just being ridiculous," she whispers to herself, scarfing down the rest of her food before heading back to her room to pick an outfit for the day.

Mawile watches her trainer as she tugs on a black and white checkered flannel above a black tank top and black, scuffed skinny jeans. Emma pulls out the shoe box and picks out some dark combat boots before heading back into the bathroom. With hair long enough for a good ponytail, but not long enough to an elaborate braid, she puts it up and pins back her bangs on top of her head.

Her thin lipped smile seems satisfied enough for this look before she's out of the bathroom and grabbing her bag. She promises herself to get the mailing done later that night.

Ilene wanted Emma to visit as often as she could to get a feel for the castle so that the armor would reflect that atmosphere. She understands the sentiment the blonde has for the castle. Her entire family history lies within its walls, embedded in this part of the region, and Emma has respect for that. She'll do the best work on the armor she can.

"Mawile, you ready?" Emma calls from the front door, her small frame barely filling the doorway.

A loud thump resonates within the apartment as the pokemon stumbles down the steps and to Emma's feet. Smiling and looking wide awake, Mawile marches past her trainer and beckons to be followed. Emma rolls her eyes, but smiles as her pokemon continues to act that way out into the street.

"Emma, good to see you!" a woman named Rose Hopkins calls from the bakery at the end of the street.

She's a stout old woman who has lines on her face from smiling so much. She knows every name in town, and Emma has yet to find someone who doesn't know who she is. The delicious smell of fresh baked bread and other goods wafts through the open door of the bakery as Emma reaches the corner. When she first moved in, Rose had given her a welcome basket filled with delicious treats that lasted barely a week. It was the best week of Emma's life.

"Hello, Mrs. Hopkins," Emma greets in a laid back manner, trying not to hear her growling stomach.

"Call me Rose," she speaks as though it's the first time she's told Emma this. It's not. With a flick of her hand, Rose gestures for the younger girl to enter the shop. "You're looking pale, why not a more filling breakfast?"

Rose always knows when someone has eaten a pathetic meal, and Emma hasn't questioned it.

"Can it be to-go? I have work to do in the castle," Emma gestures to her bag and the bridge just a few yards away.

"Of course! I'm so happy you decided to take on that project," Rose gleams, turning on her heel to head into the shop.

Emma loves going into the bakery; it's like entering a new world. The floors are checkered with light yellow and pink while the walls are a soft yellow. Shelves on the left and right walls are lined with different kinds of breads, tarts, rolls, and cookie packages, all of it made fresh everyday. The rest of the product leftover at the end of the night donated to nearby charities. A glass case at the back of the shop shows muffins, pies, cakes, and other goods made to order or to buy in bulk.

Rose ducks behind the counter and grabs a paper bag to fill with goods. As the old woman moves about the bakery, chattering about the time she first met Emma, the dark haired girl tries to remember the last time she spoke with Rose. How did she know she was debating on taking the project?

She had received an offer in an email and considered it for weeks before finally replying. It doesn't surprise her that the old woman coerced her into talking by using her baked goods to get it out. Her Razzberry shortbread cookies are to die for.

"There you are!" Rose pushes the bag into Emma's hands, waving off her attempt to pull out her wallet. "Must we go through this every time? Take it! I won't go bankrupt from a simple kindness!"

Emma mutters a thanks, her face burning at the gratitude pouring from her. She didn't know she needed someone like Rose until the old woman barged into her apartment.

Back outside, Emma continues her trek to the Palace, using all her strength to save the sweets until at least lunch time. She can sneak something from the open cafe in the Palace, something that won't give her cavities.

The stone bridge takes her over the sparkling lake and winds upward towards a wooden door that leads to a lower courtyard. From there, a path leads to an upper courtyard that leads to the stadium. The first entrance is marked with blue and dark green tapestries with a silhouette of the Tree of Beginning on them hanging on the sides. There are two guards standing outside, both with bored expressions on their faces. Emma feels for them as tourists take pictures at the entrance, posing in silly ways for their albums. She sneaks past them, careful to not interrupt the photos, and heads into the lower courtyard.

It's not much to see; white stone walls lifting upwards, potted plants on the edges of the courtyard, tall flag poles with hanging flags bearing the same symbol as the one outside. More people take pictures within this space as well. Emma sneaks past them too, over to the left to some stairs that lead to the upper courtyard.

This is where the beauty of the castle is first seen. In the middle of the upper courtyard is a small pond with a cascading fountain in the middle. White painted, concrete flat tops leak water starting from the smallest plate on top to a middle one bigger one to the biggest on the bottom. The upper courtyard has circular designs for shrubs with concrete pathways and gravel spots for the shrubs.

Lush boxwoods sit within the gravel spots with potted flowers sitting on either side of them. Pink, yellow, and white flowers glow brilliantly in the daylight, greeting the visitors as they walk amongst the maze.

Emma pulls out her camera to snap a few pictures of the courtyard and the flags hanging around it. Under a stone archway lies the entrance to the battle stadium in the far right side of the courtyard. Sometime in the summer, a festival celebrating the history of Cameran Palace happens, starting off with battles. Emma enjoys watching battles, but she does not like battling.

At the end of the courtyard is the main entrance into the castle. It's a tall wooden door carved with a beautiful, peeling design of the castle. The doors are wide open, meaning the castle is in business today with tours. Only a few rooms are open for tourists to venture through on guided tours, such as a few bed chambers, the library, the stadium, the dining hall, as well as the back garden. Emma had been given permission to enter those rooms and only a select few extras for her work.

The history within Cameran is vast, Emma doesn't have the time to learn about all of it, but she needs to know some of it to capture the right look for the armor. There are symbols emblazoned within the metal, mostly faded from centuries of being exposed to the elements. It leaves a blank enough slate for her to recreate it even better.

She saw the armor plates, tarnished and cracked, the carvings on the front of the body armor and helms too faded to recognize. Ilene was clear that she wanted to keep the historical factor of the armor. She wanted them shined and the designs brought through the ages, but she wanted to add just a little bit of flair on the Tree of Beginning design. Emma said she'd do her best to fulfill her wishes.

"Let's head to the library, Mawile," Emma urges her pokemon down a small hallway along the side of the castle.

Thick tapestries hang on the walls depicting the history of the castle, from when it was built to the town's growth into a flourishing center of trade and history. Emma passes a few people as she comes up to the entrance of the library. Even fewer are scouring the shelves, occasionally touching the ancient spines that aren't encased in glass and pulling them out to examine the old pages. The restored books are available to be looked at, but the older ones are preserved, and Emma suspects that there are even older ones hidden in the main office somewhere in the castle.

Emma heads deep into the sprawling library into a far corner, her eyes tracing over the shelves of books, paintings depicting Queen Rin and some other members of the castle. She finds herself in the corner of the library, sitting in an old leather chair with her sketchbook splayed over her lap and her supplies spread on the table beside her.

Mawile digs into the bag of sweets, pulling out a powdered donut before scampering off between the shelves to devour it.

"Don't make a mess!" she whispers at her pokemon.

Technically, the library is open for exploration. But it is heavily monitored by staff so that kids, teens, or adults don't take anything. The books left out to be looked at are copies of the originals kept somewhere else in the castle. It was an idea to make the tour more interactive by someone on staff. A strange idea, but it brought in a lot of money.

Emma gets straight to work sketching out the images in her mind of different aspects of the castle. The silence that follows is almost deafening. As she draws, she snacks on the treats and forgets about the world around her. Her mind focussing on the task at hand.

Somewhere down below, Riley scans the shelves, searching for anything that has to do with the people living in the castle. Mainly Rin. Anything with Rin in it will have Sir Aaron in it. The man had a close connection to the queen, and that's exactly who Riley wants to learn more about.

He's always had a fascination with history, especially his family history after his initial diggings when finding the Aura Guardian. It seems that aura has run deeper within his family history than he originally thought.

His parents had encouraged his practice of aura, going off to the far reaches of the world to understand his abilities and himself. They started him off, being pretty adept as well, until he got better than them and had to search for something more. He thirsted for knowledge on aura, he needed to know more.

That's what brought him here to Kanto.

Riley hears a few giggles coming from the end of the aisle on his left. A light blush dusts his cheek as the girls that had been following him when he first entered won't leave him alone. He tilts his head down and ducks into a few aisles over to get further away from them so that he can focus undisturbed. Their tour guide calls them over, freeing him of any more trouble.

He knows he'll find basic information stored within the books on the shelf. They're copies of the originals, so most of it had to be censored. But until he can get a meeting with Ilene, he's stuck looking through these. The admin staff has been in contact with him for sometime now. They confirmed his relation to Sir Aaron which led to their acceptance of his visit to learn about his ancestral past. However, it's at the point of the year where Ilene is busy planning restorations and planning the upcoming festival to honor his ancestor.

As much as he loves and respects culture, he'd wish she'd hurry and meet with him to see old documents on Aaron.

Beside him, Lucario sniffs the air before licking his lips. Riley regards his pokemon with curiosity. There should be no one else in the library, and yet...

"Hmm..." Riley glances up towards the second story of the library, off limits to tourists.

For some reason, the aura he senses is vaguely familiar. He must have talked to this person before. Thinking it's a staff member, he brushes it off, but then Lucario stalks off in their direction, leaving his trainer to grow interested.

The two head up the steps in a slow, quiet pace, not wanting to disturb the perfect silence within the library. Riley begins to smell something sweet as well as the faint sound of a pencil brushing across paper. Lucario leads the way before jerking to a stop between one of the shelves.

Riley comes up behind him and nearly leaps out of his skin as his pokemon snaps at a small pokemon in the shelves. He's quick to try and hush his pokemon, but Lucario sprints after the mystery pokemon.

"Lucario!" he calls in a low voice, though there's only two people in the library, he doesn't want to shout.

The pokemon ignores him and takes a hard right at the end of the row.

Riley rolls his eyes and jogs after the bipedal pokemon. He hasn't had to chase after him since he evolved, but every pokemon shows a little bit of their old selves sometime after they evolve. But why did it have to be in a castle? A historic castle he needs information from no less.

"Hey!" a female voice cries out, causing Riley to rush to a small opening to find the woman from yesterday, Emma, clutching her sketchbook to her chest with a bag in hand as Mawile and Lucario glare at each other.

Her dark brown eyes glance up to Riley's, her mouth opens to remark that they know each other, but it snaps shut when Mawile cries out.

"Don't you dare!" she points at her pokemon as she had started to charge Icy Wind. Emma glances up at Riley and gestures to his Lucario. "Looking for him?"

"Yes," he nods quick. "Sorry."

"It's okay, Mawile gets protective of her donuts," Emma smiles as the two pokemon continue to growl, though her pokemon has powder residue around her mouth.

Riley tries to settle his pokemon, but Lucario gives him a pleading look.

Emma snorts once more before opening the bag and holding out a sweet bun. "Here."

Lucario turns back to Emma, his red eyes regarding her for a moment before falling to the treat in her hand. With a smile, the pokemon holds out his paw, allowing Emma to plop the bun in it. He retreats to a different part of the library away from Mawile. She can hear him hum with delight after a bit.

She smiles in the direction of the pokemon before looking over at Riley. "Hope you don't mind... Do you want one?"

"Sure, thank you," he returns the smile, accepting the bun and taking a quick bite. His eyes widen at the burst of sticky-sweet goodness, a bigger smile forms on his lips.

"Good, right?" Emma chuckles, setting the bag on the ground for Mawile to paw through so that she can settle back into prime drawing position. "They're from the bakery downtown. Definitely worth hitting up before you leave."

"It's delicious," he comments, eating the rest of it.

"'Piece of Cake' is the name," Emma informs him. Then, upon seeing his sugary fingers, offers him a napkin. "You can have more. She gave me too much stuff. Sit down too, if you want."

"Thanks," he mutters, taking the spot across from her, wiping off his fingers before sitting back. "Are all the stores in this town creatively named?"

"Just the best ones."

"I'll keep that in mind," he chuckles, watching as she focuses on her drawing.

Her small frame fits well within the arms of the leather seat, her shoes have been kicked off, and she looks to be comfortable in the castle. He wonders how often she comes here, and if she knows anything that could help him. He also wonders what it is she's working on.

"Are you here on a tour?" Emma asks before he can get a word out.

"No," he answers.

"Oh."

It grows quiet and Riley shifts in his seat. Is it too late to explain? Will she care if he offers an explanation?

"May I ask what you're doing?" he questions before he can overthink the situation.

"I'm going to be fixing up the castle's armor, and I want to get a 'feel' for the castle before getting started. So, I'm sketching out different parts of the castle as a warm up before planning the design for the armor," she explains in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Does that mean you are here often?" he asks further, his blue eyes dropping to the ground to watch as Mawile cleans her face and settles at her trainer's shoes to fall asleep. The steel type looks to be in great health, and even content to be near her trainer. It's a sign that Emma is a good person, someone he could possibly trust.

"This is the first time I've been in here extensively," she replies, then quickly glances at him to see slight disappointment on his face. "Sorry, were you wanting to know something?"

"Yes, but you don't have to be sorry about it," he waves off her apology. "I'm just trying to look up some history, but not in these censored books."

"Ah, I see," she turns the page in her book and begins with broad strokes of her pencil. "Ilene is busy, huh?"

"Yes," he grimaces. "Is she always busy?"

"Yeah, my appointment was scheduled with her months ago, and I just met with her yesterday," Emma replies. She stops drawing to face him with a sudden look of realization. "You're not some obsessive historian. Are you actually related to Sir Aaron?"

Riley blinks and bites back a loud laugh, he settles for a cough and grins. "I am."

"Wow," she mutters in response, feeling bad for pegging him as some weirdo wanting to get a staff from her. "It's almost like meeting a celebrity."

"Why? I'm not him," he tilts his head at her.

"You're right, I guess it's like meeting anybody else in the world," she shrugs it off and then laughs when he pouts. "Just kidding. It's cool, you have a legacy in your family history. Does that mean you're an Aura Guardian too?"

"I am training to be one," he states with a hint of pride.

"Oh? How do you know when you're done?" she leans forward, her brown eyes widening with interest.

He sits back, a little put off by the sudden attention, and averts his gaze to the side. "I believe that is when I am satisfied with my own abilities and feel ready to possibly take on an apprentice."

"An apprentice?" she continues, twisting away to sort through her bag for some ink. "You want to be a teacher?"

"Yes, Sir Aaron was a mentor to those who had the ability to sense aura," he speaks in a professional manner. "Even before I knew this, I wanted to help others like me. But I still want to travel around and gather what knowledge I can. I won't be satisfied easily."

"I can see," she smiles at the determination in his voice. She remembers a time she felt the same as him. That's a shadow to her now. A murky memory of not so long ago. "Are you looking for something specific?"

"I'm just curious as to the history involving Aaron," Riley replies in a casual tone. "Surprisingly, my parents didn't have much on his story aside from the popular kids' story and an old family tree."

"So you came here... You can't find a book on him around here?" Emma gestures towards the vast library.

"Most of the books are picture books and historical reads on the castle itself, the others are stories from back in the day," he leans against the arm, looking bored. "So I must wait for Ilene to grant me permission to see the other books they have in storage."

"Oooh, good luck with that," Emma blows out air in a huff. "If I see anything, I'll let you know."

"Thanks," he grins, heaving himself onto his feet. "Mind if I grab some books and read them here?"

"Not at all."

Over the next few hours, Emma and Riley spend the day in silence together, her drawing and him reading the morning and afternoon away. She relaxes in his presence and manages to fill in many more pages than she planned to. Flowers, fountains, armors, and statues litter the pages of her sketchbook. All of them sketched or inked out. On her camera, she sorts through the photos of the armor and the ones on the flags around the entire castle.

Across from her, Riley had taken out a notebook and jotted down some notes within the last hour. Conversation is sparse between them, but she doesn't mind it for some reason. Usually, Emma feels better when sitting with someone. She likes knowing what they're thinking, but she seemed to not mind knowing Riley's exact thoughts. Maybe it's because she doesn't know him so well? Or maybe because she's focused on her work.

Either way, he's a nice presence to have around.