The chapel was near the central hub of the sprawling palace of Edda, which was delineated by its four wings - north, south, east, and west. The west wing, which I and my fellow Cressellians had now entered, was the palace's private wing. It held the royal residences, kitchens, servant's quarters, and, of course, the royal Pokémon nursery.

For generations, the rare Pokémon Eevee had been the royal Pokémon, bred exclusively for the royal Edda family. It was forbidden to capture wild Eevee. Eevee was so special because unlike other Pokémon, it had 18 different possible evolutions rather than just one – it had one for each of the 18 Pokémon types. It was considered a great sign of favor for a monarch to evolve their Eevee into the Pokémon type corresponding to a particular noble house. In fact, those noble houses held a monopoly on the special methods of evolution required to evolve their particular "Eeveelution," along with certain other Pokémon of that type. So a royal Eeveelution was a sign of a strong alliance between the two houses.

The late Torlath Edda, father to Princess Vannarae, had evolved his Eevee into the dragon-type Drakeon, showing his favor to the House of Waz in the far northeast of Edda, a relatively new addition to the kingdom.

Princess Vannarae had just turned 14, the age at which royalty traditionally received their Eevee. Just last week, the royal breeders had hatched a newborn Eevee, a descendant of the royal line of Eevees that stretched back generations. Since the hatching, the princess had been in the nursery as often as the Lord Regent and her tutors would allow, doting over the baby Eevee that would grow into the symbol of her reign once she reached the age of sixteen and took the crown for herself.

If Princess Vannarae was to be found anywhere, it was in the nursery.

The three of us turned a corner a few corridors down from the nursery and pulled up short. A man was standing in the center of the hall in servants' garb, as if on guard. I didn't recognize the man. Of course, the palace staff was immense, but news of the attack in addition to the man's apparent lack of purpose put my nerves on edge.

The man tensed as he saw us.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

Next to me, Cedric bristled. "We are Cressellian Guards under important orders from the First Commander herself! What are you about, man? Why are you just standing here?"

"There's no time," Dannia said. "Leave him be, Cedric. Come on." She made to move past the man but he stepped in front of her and blocked her path.

"Cressellians, are you? You're just pups!"

"Out of my way!" Dannia said, but she backed up a step to clear space between them.

"Careful Dannia, he's no servant," I said.

The man glanced up at me and smirked. "Kids these days. Well, I'm afraid I'll have to stop you here. This wing of the castle is closed right now, you see?" The man reached into his belt and came out holding a faerie-glass Pokéball. He stepped back and threw it in front of him, releasing his Pokémon in a flash of red light. When the spots cleared from my eyes, I saw that he had released a Panpour, a monkey-like Pokémon colored cream-and-blue, with a tuft on its head resembling a wave.

I reached for my Charmander's Pokéball, but Cedric caught my arm before I could release my Pokémon.

"Dannia and I have the type advantage here," he said. "We'll hold off his Pokémon so you can get past to the nursery. We need to make sure the princess is safe. If this one was keeping watch, there must be more further in."

I nodded reluctantly. He was right.

"Manetric, go!" Dannia called, releasing her Pokémon. Cedric was right behind her, releasing his Bellsprout strategically so that the Panpour was hemmed in by the two of them, allowing me an alley to run past it and its trainer.

"Hey!" the fake servant called as I dashed past. He made to run after me, but a line of electricity from Manetric's thundershock danced in front of him and he pulled up.

I sprinted away – I wished I could help them, but Cedric had been right – protecting Princess Vannarae was the priority. I just hoped I wasn't too late.

I heard the sounds of combat before I rounded the corner to see it. There were metallic clangs like two swords glancing off each other. When I rounded the corner I saw that the sounds were produced not by swords, but by the locked horns of two quadrupedal Pokémon – a Gogoat and an Absol. I recognized the Gogoat and the trainer who stood behind it – Zemnos, the Cressellian my father had sent the three of us to reinforce. I didn't recognize the female trainer in her 50s backing up her Absol, but I did recognize her colors – black and gray, the livery of house Daguz, masters of Dark-type Pokémon.

I knew Zemnos to be a powerful trainer (else he would not have been assigned to solo guardianship of the princess), but nevertheless it was clear that his Gogoat was overmatched against the Daguz's Absol. Gogoat was doing all it could to defend itself, rarely having the opportunity to launch attacks of its own.

"Gogoat, use Synthesis!" Zemnos called. Gogoat shoved its horns against Absol's scythe-like one, pushing itself back to get some breathing room. Then it began to glow as it absorbed ambient light to heal itself.

My stomach grew tight. In a one-on-one matchup against a superior opponent, a healing move like Synthesis wasn't a winning move – it was a stalling one, a delaying tactic. Zemnos already knew he couldn't win. He was just buying time.

I skidded to a stop. My Charmander wouldn't do much to sway the tides of such a high-level battle. Should I back off and go for reinforcements?

Zemnos looked up and noticed me at the end of the corridor. I saw his eyes flicker down to take in the brand new Pokéball at my waist.

"Jessin, into the nursery! There's another within! Protect the princess!"

That settled that. But was the second attacker within the nursery as fearsome a foe as the one Zemnos was struggling with? If so, I wouldn't put up much of a fight. Was Zemnos sending me in because I stood a chance of winning, or simply to stall the trainer long enough that real reinforcements might show up?

I decided it didn't matter. However ill-equipped I might be for a fight, I was certainly better off than the princess. And more dispensible, if it came to that.

The Daguz trainer spared me a glance as I rushed past her and her Absol, but she seemed to dismiss me and turn back to directing her Absol's assault on Zemnos's Gogoat.

"Absol, Double Team!" she commanded, and her Pokémon began to move so quickly that it left after-images in its wake, leaving Gogoat unsure which flickering image to attack.

I slipped past Zemnos and Gogoat into the royal Pokémon nursery.

The scene within was less dire than my worst fears – Princess Vannarae and her newly-hatched Eevee were both alive and unharmed, from what I could see, and there was only one attacker – a boy slightly older than me wearing Daguz livery. He had a swoosh of black hair covering one eye and a long, slender frame. In front of him was his Pokémon, which I recognized with a jolt of surprise as a Zorua – an incredibly rare dark-type Pokémon. It was slate gray, with a black mane and a fire-like tuft of hair at the crown of its head, tipped in red fur.

The royal eevee sat in a next of blankets at the far end of the room, peeking its head out, its ears matted against its head in fear.

Between Zorua and the Eevee stood Princess Vannarae, her arms outstretched as if to ward off any harm the Daguz trainer and his Pokémon might mean to inflict upon her Eevee.

"Calm down, Rae," the Zorua's trainer said. "You know me – we mean neither you nor Eevee any harm. My mother and I are here to ensure your safety."

"You mean to make us your prisoners," Vannarae practically spat. She looked past her antagonist and her eyes lit as she saw me. "Cressellian! Defend me from this rogue!"

My fingertips brushed the Pokéball at my waist, a weight that already felt comforting at my hip. I released the catch of my belt loop and summoned Charmander back into the world. It let out a cry of joy and defiance. The trainer and his Zorua turned to face me, Zorua re-orienting itself to stand between its trainer and this new threat.

"Of course, your Highness," I said.

The Zorua's trainer looked me up and down, taking in my uniform and my Charmander.

"They're letting children play Cressellian these days? Why don't you go back to your parents before you get yourself hurt, girl."

He wanted to banter? I weighed the advantages and disadvantages of bandying words with him. We were in the Royal Palace, which held the largest concentration of Cressellian Guards in the entire kingdom. No matter how large a force was attacking the east gate, it couldn't be a full-on army – such a large force would never have made it so near the palace without being detected. Which meant that numbers were likely on our side, and thus the longer I could draw this out, the more likely it would be that reinforcements would arrive for me before they would for my opponent. Indeed, it seemed likely to me that the attack on the east gate was likely a feint so that the attackers could capture Princess Vannarae to use as a hostage and negotiate their way into control of the palace, rather than taking it by force. Surely my father and the other Cressellians would realize this soon enough when they saw what size force they were dealing with, and would dispatch reinforcements as quick as they could. So I would keep him talking.

"You can't be more than a year older than me, if that," I said. "Besides, my father is a Cressellian as well, and it was his orders that sent me here to defend the princess."

"Our goal is not to hurt the princess. It's to protect her from Duke Uruz."

"That's Lord Regent Uruz," I corrected. "And what you're describing sounds an awful lot like a coup."

The trainer's fist tightened. "Call it what you will. My mother is doing what she must to save this country from Uruz's madness."

"You and your mother are the mad ones, Belen!" Princess Vannarae said from behind him.

The name, combined with his house colors, jogged my memory. This was not just any Daguz – this was Belen Daguz, second eldest child of the Duchess Vashal Daguz. I suddenly remembered that the Duchess was famous for the powerful Absol that was her partner in battle. She was seeing to this task personally? It was no wonder Zemnos was having a difficult time fending her off outside the nursery. Traditionally, Dukes and Ducchesses were among the strongest trainers in the kingdom. Before the current system of inheritance had taken root, leadership of duchies had been decided by grand Pokémon tournaments. Though this was no longer the case, the leader of a Dukedom found it hard to be taken seriously if they were not also a Pokémon trainer of some reknown.

I studied Belen more closely now that I knew who he was. He had aquiline features and perfectly coiffed hair. I saw only the one Pokéball at his waist, but I was more worried about his single Pokémon after learning his identity. While Cressellians didn't get their starting Pokémon until age 18, nobility often received theirs much earlier, forming bonds with them as pets before learning to battle with them. I knew by reputation that House Daguz was among the more martially-inclined of Edda's 18 noble houses, and I couldn't imagine that the son of a Duchess was inexperienced in Pokémon battles. I might have undergone intense Cressellian training these last several years in the academy, but I had no practical experience battling, and Charmander was brand new to me. I knew her attacks, but we hadn't had an opportunity yet to get to know each other and develop a chemistry.

Still, it wasn't like I had much choice in the matter. I was the only one here to protect Princess Vannarae, and I would do it to the best of my ability.

There was a loud crash from the battleground outside the nursery where Zemnos and the Duchess were battling, and it seemed to snap Belen out of his thoughts.

"Well, I suppose I ought to dispatch you quickly, then," he said.

Damn. I should have worked harder to keep him talking. No use for it now.

"Get ready, Charmander," I said.

"Zorua, use Feint Attack!" Belen marked my Charmander with an outstretched hand, and Zorua was moving, zipping towards Charmander in a blur of shadow.

"Charmander, dodge!" I yelled, but my Pokémon was too slow – Feint Attack was nearly impossible to dodge.

Zorua's skull connected with Charmander's chest and sent her hurtling back towards me. Zorua rebounded and landed on its feat, waiting for its trainer's next command.

"Charmander, are you ok?"

My Pokémon responded by pushing itself slowly to its feet, the flame on its tail guttering for a moment before blazing strong as it regained its feet.

"Char, char!" it cried.

"All right then – let's keep it at a distance. Use ember!"

Charmander leapt at my command and did a full 360-degree spin in the air. A pellet of fire erupted from the flame at the tip of its tail, flying unerringly towards Zorua with the momentum of the spin.

Zorua dodged at the last moment, managing to avoid some but not all of the blast. The opponent's Pokémon was breathing heavily when it came to rest, and I could see a darker, singed patch of fur where Charmander's ember had connected.

"Don't let up, Charmander! Ember again!" I called.

Charmander began flicking its tail over each shoulder rhytmically at its opponent, and soon a storm of fire filled the air, an arsenal of embers arrayed against Zorua.

"Zorua, feint attack! Dodge the fire and attack!"

Zorua growled its assent, and launched itself once more into a blur of shadows. It danced between impact sites, Charmander shifting to try to anticipate the foe's movements.

A few embers caught it glancing blows, but soon enough Zorua was upon Charmander, and the long-ranged attacks would no longer work quite so well.

"Charmander, switch to scratch!" I called.

My Pokémon's tail stopped its dancing, and instead Charmander braced itself for impact, preparing to meet Zorua's head-on assault with its glinting claws.

Zorua launched its attack, a torpedo of darkness. Charmander met its onrush with its scratch attack, and I could instantly see that I'd miscalculated. Whatever Charmander's lineage, it was still a largely untrained Pokémon that knew only the most basic attacks. Using ember had kept Charmander from being outclassed instantly, as Zorua had no long-ranged attacks of its own. But up close, the difference in training was clear. The higher-level feint attack overwhelmed Charmander's week scratch, penetrating Charmander's defenses as if they were nothing and sending it sprawling again.

"Charmander!" I cried. This time, it didn't get up.

"Good enough. Zorua, take out the Eevee next. We'll take it with us and then you'll have to come along peacefully, won't you, princess?"

"No!" Vannarae shouted. She stiffened her posture in front of Eevee's bed. "I won't let you hurt her!"

"Zorua, Feint Attack! Around the side!"

Zorua blurred, and I could see what Belen's plan was. Zorua's attack was fast enough that if it went around the room and came at Eevee from the side, the princess wouldn't be able to interpose herself before the attack landed.

But if I could predict which side Zorua would attack from, I had a chance.

It pained me to leave Charmander unconscious on the ground, but my duty to the princess came first. I leapt into action, taking a straight line toward the princess's Eevee while Zorua took the long way round. I still didn't know if I would be quick enough to beat it. At the last moment I jumped, hoping the last burst of speed would be enough.

It was. I regretted it instantly.

There was a reason that humans didn't get involved in Pokémon fights – it wasn't about fairness or honor or anything like that. It was because Pokémon, even the youngest, weakest ones, were far stronger than humans. Getting a feint attack from a Pokémon trained for battle?

It fucking hurt.

I heard more than felt a rib snap, a tearing, popping sound. I screamed with pain, but managed to grapple Zorua in my arms as I fell to the ground. The impact nearly freed the Pokémon from my embrace, but I think Zorua was as surprised as I was.

"Zorua, break free!" Belen shouted. Zorua began to try to do as he said, but even though the Pokémon was many times stronger than me, that didn't allow it to break the laws of physics. I had size and leverage on it, and was holding it in such a way that its legs and teeth had no easy way to gain purchase on me or the ground, though each of Zorua's struggles sent a violent shudder of pain through my whole body, stemming from the firebrand that was my broken rib.

"Damn it all. Zorua, return!"

The Pokémon in my grasp suddenly transformed into a splash of red light and retreated to its Pokéball, leaving me clutching nothing but my bruised chest.

"What is all this, then?" I recognized the voice from the battle commands it had issued outside the nursery. Now I knew it belonged to Duchess Vashal Daguz.

I pushed myself up to hands and knees and looked up at her through eyes wet with tears of pain.

The Duchess stood imperiously next to her son, neither she nor her Absol looking the slightest bit mussed from their battle with Zemnos – a senior Cressellian.

"I have this under control, mother," Belen said.

"Oh? Is that why you had to recall Zorua to its Pokéball?"

Belen scowled. "I can simply release him again, mother. I defeated the guard's Pokémon."

He gestured to the side, where Charmander still lay unmoving. Vashal didn't even turn to look at my fallen Pokémon.

"Well, nevermind. Let's secure the princess and be on our way."

What could I do? Charmander was unconscious and I had nothing in the way of healing items. Even if I did, Charmander hadn't been a match for the Duchess's son – what match would the two of us be for the Duchess herself, even if we were at full health? Zemnos and his Gogoat had barely been able to stall her.

I pushed myself to my feet and, step by agonizing step, interposed myself once more between the Daguz and the princess.

"Get out of here," I said. "This is treason."

For the first time, Duchess Daguz met my eyes.

"Cressellian, you have acquitted yourself honorably. Now stand aside. Edda needn't lose any more good soldiers. Trust me when I say that what we do here today, we do to secure the future of the kingdom."

"I don't know anything about that," I said. "All I know is my duty."

Vashal held my gaze for a long moment, as if searching for something. Finally, she gave a short nod.

"Absol. Remove him."

I didn't even see the blow coming. One second Absol was standing next to her, and the next it had carromed into me from the side, sending a volt of such volcanic pain through me that I blacked out for a moment and didn't come to until I was lying on the cool floor of the nursery, some ten feet from where I had been standing. I tried to move, but my limbs didn't seem to be listening to me. It was all I could do to drag my body around in such a way that I could see the princess and her Daguz kidnappers. If I couldn't protect her, at least I could bear witness.

"Princess Vannarae," Vashal said. The girl she spoke to was tense, her body trembling in fear. "I apologize for the roughness my son and I have had to display here tonight. Trust me when I say that we do so to honor your father's legacy, and to protect the Kingdom of Edda."

"You've given me little reason to trust you," Vannarae said. Though her body was quavering, her voice was still and strong. My heart burst with pride for my young monarch-in-waiting.

Then Vashal did something unexpected. She returned her Absol to its Pokéball as if sheathing a weapon and went down to one knee before the princess, in a pose of supplication.

"My Princess, I truly believe it is my duty to see you from here to safety tonight, that we may protect your reign against the machinations of Duke Uruz. I sincerely hope that we will not have to treat you roughly, but we will if we must. I shall be mortified to do so, but duty demands it of me."

Princess Vannarae seemed honestly shocked by the Duchess's words, and had no reply to them.

"Oh, come off it, Vashal," a new voice said. The voice came from the very edges of my range of vision, but I could make out red pants and dark burgundy boots.

"Duke Wunjo?" Vashal asked, rising. "What are you doing here? You were to be leading the attack on the East Gate."

"And so I was," Duke Fetter Wunjo said. "Until I heard tell of your dastardly plot to go back on our agreement and slay Princess Vannarae rather than ensure her safety, as we agreed."

Duchess Daguz rose to her feet and turned to face Wunjo, confusion on her face.

"What are you talking about? Whoever has fed you that lie has malice in their heart, Fetter."

The red duke stepped toward his Daguz counterpart, hand resting casually on the hilt of the shortsword at his waist.

I tried to shout a warning to the Daguz duchess, but all that came out was a croak. While she had been my enemy, she had at least seemed to regard Princess Vannarae with some level of respect. Every instinct within me recoiled against something in Duke Wunjo's casual tone.

"I only regret that the rumor did not reach me in time to save Princess Vannarae's life. I had to settle for vengeance instead."

At that, something shifted in Vashal's face as she realized what was about to happen – but it was already too late. In one fluid motion, Duke Wunjo drew his sword from its sheath and buried it in Vashal Daguz's heart. He let her fall against him, and with a slice of his blade, severed the belt at her waist that held her Pokéballs, taking them and holding them away from her so that she couldn't release one as a final act of defiance.

"No!" Belen yelled, and released his Zorua with a flash of red light. "Get him, Zorua! Feint attack!" Zorua blurred from the red light of his Pokéball straight into a black blur of his attack. But he met another blaze of red light, as Duke Wunjo released his own Pokémon.

Wunjo's Blaziken blocked Zorua's feint attack with one upraised knee. Without a command from Wunjo, the Blaziken followed up its defense with an attack – a kick that was super-effective against the dark-type Zorua and sent it flying through the room until it impacted the far wall and slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Return!" Belen yelled through tears, and Zorua zipped back into its Pokéball in a stream of red light. Belen let loose an almost animal growl and threw himself at Blaziken next.

I turned my attention away from the sounds of meat impacting meat as Blaziken knocked the fight out of the younger Daguz with one blow. The princess still stood trembling by her Eevee and I was her only line of protection remaining. Clearly Duke Wunjo meant to slay her and blame it on House Daguz. As witnesses, no doubt Belen and I would be slain as well.

Finally, I summoned enough strength to struggle to my feet. While Wunjo's attention was on Belen, perhaps the princess and I could sneak away.

I limped over to her. "Princess. Princess." I had to speak twice before I jolted her out of her shock and she saw me. "Do you have Eevee's Pokéball?"

"Yes," she said. She reached to her belt and retrieved it. Some part of me was surprised to note that it was not a traditional faerie glass Pokéball, but rather one of the new ones made from hollowed-out apricorn fruits.

"Return it to its ball," I said. "We'll see if we can sneak out while he's occupied." I didn't have high hopes on that score – I'd lasted one attack against a duke's Absol – how long would Belen last against Wunjo's Blaziken?

The princess returned Eevee to its ball just as an impact sounded, signalling that Belen's short fight against Wunjo's Blaziken was at an end.

"And where do you think you're going?" Wunjo asked. "Blaziken, Flamethrower!"

Blaziken opened its mouth and flames began to well up in the back of its throat. I grabbed Princess Vannarae and dove to the side with her, sending the two of us just beyond the blast radius of the jet of fire that erupted in our direction. But Eevee's Pokéball slipped from the princess's grasp as well fell, and I watched in horror as it rolled toward Duke Wunjo.

The duke lifted a toe and halted the ball's progress under his foot. He sneered as he looked down on it.

"Shoddy construction, these things. Don't know why you would choose one over a ball of faerie glass." With that, he raised his foot and stomped down on the Pokéball. It didn't shatter, but cracks did form in the ball's surface and sparks of lightning crackled across its surface.

"No!" Princess Vannarae cried, and tried to rise to her feet. I shifted my weight to keep her pinned to the ground, lest she offer herself to the duke's blade.

Wunjo raised his foot to stomp down on the ball a second time, but there was a small cry and a pellet of fire struck Wunjo in the gut, sending him staggering back a pair of steps while he patted at the sparks that had caught on the front of his tunic.

I turned in surprise. At the other end of the room, my Charmander had struggled to her feet. She was breathing heavily and her skin was covered in scuff marks, but the flame at the tip of her tail burned strong. My heart broke at the sight of her standing strong despite her obvious pain. I was so sorry to have put my partner in such dire straits so soon into our partnership.

I couldn't let her get hurt any further. If I returned her to her Pokéball, perhaps they would let her live. A Pokémon couldn't testify to Wunjo's crimes, after all.

Blaziken stepped between me and Charmander, growling low in its throat.

"Wait, Blaziken," Wunjo said, stepping forward. "This one harmed me personally. I believe I shall return the favor." Wunjo stepped toward Charmander, sword drawn.

"Charmander, return!" A beam of red light erupted from my Pokéball, but it was blocked by Blaziken's body. Realizing what I was doing, Blaziken turned to intercept the beam as I maneuvered the ball around to try to get a bead on my Charmander to return her. "Charmander, run!" I shouted desperately.

But Charmander already had the heart of a Cressellian. As Wunjo approached it, Charmander fired ember after ember at him, with passion if not quite with the speed of her earlier assaults on Zorua. Now that he was watching for them, Wunjo avoided the blasts or deflected them with the flat of his blade. I could see Charmander flagging, the light on her tail slowly waning. But as Wunjo drew nearly within reach, Charmander's tail erupted in one final flare of defiance and she leapt through the air at Wunjo, claws drawn to meet the Duke's sword.

"No!" I cried. Blaziken's body blocked my view of the two meeting, and I was never sure thereafter whether or not to be grateful for the fact. But I heard the ringing of claws meeting metal, then a second, wetter sound of metal sundering flesh, and the pained cry of a dying Pokémon cut short with a thunk.

I saw a pale red body fall to the ground, no flame burning at the end of a limp tail.

"Charmander!" My throat tore raw and my eyes were torrents of boiling water. Beneath me, Princess Vannarae was shock-still, covering her head with her hands to block out my cries or attempt to ignore her impending doom.

"Blaziken, do shut them up, will you?" Wunjo said.

I stared, wide-eyed, as the towering form of Blaziken loomed over the princess and I. I knew I should move, should do something to avoid the deadly blow that was about to fall on the princess and me, but even the sense of duty within me wasn't enough to overcome the sight of Charmander's corpse seared across my vision.

The Blaziken raised its deadly taloned foot to deliver me from my misery.

A whoosh of air sounded. Blaziken's foot descending in its final attack?

No. A shadow fell over me, too large to be Blaziken.

Ruby.

Darker skin than my Charmander's, but far more familiar to me. There was a thud as Blaziken's kick was caught on the crossed arms of my father's Charizard.

Why couldn't you be just a few moments sooner? an unjust part of me cried out.

Ruby shoved Blaziken back to land next to its master. Charizard maintained its protective stance over me.

"Fetter, what have you done?" My father's voice came from the nursery door. He looked bruised and battered, and was breathing heavily. He and Ruby both looked like they'd fought their way through hell to get here. Behind him stood Sallia, a Pokéball in hand.

Duke Wunjo frowned as he turned to face my father. "Bandian. It would be you. I have simply done what needed to be done. Put and end to the foolishness that Torlath began and Uruz continued."

"And an end to the royal line? You hope to find your way onto the throne, no doubt."

Wunjo gave a mock bow. "I merely serve as duty calls."

"Sallia, to the princess," my father said. The other Cressellian nodded and started toward where Vannarae and I sprawled on the floor.

"Not so fast," Wunjo said. "Houndoom, go! Stop them!"

"Probopass, go!" my father shouted. Probopass, little more than a giant stone face, materialized between the newly-released Houndoom and its would-be quarry, Sallia.

Wunjo's brow furrowed. "You're not going to make this easy, are you?"

I didn't hear my father's reply as Sallia bent down over me. It was all I could do to allow her to pick me up onto my feet. Once my weight was removed from the princess, Vannarae had an easier time of it.

"We're going," Sallia said to the two of us.

"My Charmander," I said.

Sallia nodded sharply. "We saw. Don't let its sacrifice be in vain, Jessin. Charmander died doing her duty as a Cressellian. Carry on that spirit by continuing to protect Princess Vannarae and the royal Eevee."

I nodded, blinking away the tears in my eyes.

"Eevee!" Vannarae said, as if she'd just remembered in her shock. She pointed towards where her Pokéball still lay in the center of the room. In the chaos, Wunjo seemed to have forgotten it.

Sallia breathed in sharply, realizing what it was. "Hypno, I choose you!" she said, and the psychic-type Pokémon emerged from a Pokéball at her waist. "Retrieve that Pokéball!"

Hypno complied, lifting the ball in the air with psychic force and carrying it back to Princess Vannarae, who yelped at the sparks that fizzled across the ball as it landed in her hands.

"It's broken," Vannarae said.

"Worry about that later," Sallia said. "For now, just keep it safe. We're getting the two of you out of here."

"The three of us," I interjected. I pointed across the room where Belen Daguz sat stunned on the floor, his head just beginning to lift as he shook off his stupor. "The Daguz didn't intend to kill Vannarae, merely to supplant the Lord Regent. They would have kept her safe. Wunjo betrayed them and slew the duchess. If we leave him, Wunjo will kill him and pin the worst of the attack on House Daguz."

"He's not my priority," Sallia said. "I'll come back for him, but not at the risk of further endangering the princess. If what you say is true, then the boy would gladly sacrifice his life to protect the princess."

I nodded. I'd said my piece – I was glad to have someone else taking charge whose orders I could simply follow.

Sallia pointed us out of the nursery door, keeping her body between us and Duke Wunjo.

"You're not going anywhere!" Wunjo said. He pulled a third Pokéball from his waist. "Salazzle, stop them!"

"Chestnut, stop the Salazzle!" my father released his Lickilicky, its rotund pink body materializing in front of Salazzle's dark, reptilian form. The two Pokémon engaged, Chestnut more than capable of holding off Salazzle while we made our escape. Duke Wunjo was visibly frustrated now. My father was one of the few trainers who could go toe-to-toe with a Duke of the realm – with three Pokémon battling at once, no less. It was no easy feat – most trainers had trouble with merely a double battle.

We moved past my father on our way out. Despite trying to command three Pokémon at once, he still found time to stop me with hands on shoulders and look into my eyes.

"Jessin, I love you. I wish I could keep protecting you, but you're a Cressellian now. Please, keep her safe."

I nodded back, tears in my eyes. That was all there was time for – then Sallia was ushering us out into the hall. I spared one glance over my shoulder and saw my father drawing his sword as Duke Wunjo drew his. It seemed this would not stop at a battle between Pokémon.

"That way." Sallia pointed us down a hallway away from the nursery.

I put my hand between Vannarae's shoulderblades and gave her a little push to get her going and took off jogging after her, trying desperately not to think of the tiny dead Pokémon I was leaving behind. It felt like the deepest betrayal, but duty pushed me forward.

When she was sure Wunjo wasn't following us, Sallia moved into the lead to guide us.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"West balcony," Sallia said. "We're flying you out."

"What? Why?" I'd assumed we were heading to a more defensible location, perhaps where the Cressellians were staging their main defense.

"The palace is lost," Sallia said.

I nearly stopped in my tracks. "How?"

"They hid their approach well and came in far larger numbers than we have soldiers on hand. They must have emptied every guardhouse in Wunjo and Daguz to mount this attack. The palace guard is insufficient to repel such an attack, even with the might of what Cressellians are on hand. Right now they fight not to win, but to buy time for the princess to escape."

"What of the Lord Regent?" Vannarae's question was quiet.

"I don't know," Sallia said. "Captain Mikaid and I were fighting our way to the East Gate when reports started coming in about the size of the attacking force. He realized that Princess Vannarae was likely the real target, and we peeled off. We saw no sign of the Lord Regent before we left. But the fighting was fierce there, and he was likely caught at its heart. I don't want to give you false hope, Princess Vannarae. You ought to know the true severity of the situation."

"I certainly don't want it sugar-coated. Thank you."

Sallia nodded, and we made the rest of our way in silence. The halls were eerily quiet, eveyone either retreated into hiding or gone to join in the fighting in the East Wing.

In five minutes, we came to the portico doors that opened out onto the East Balcony, a great stone construction that looked out over the valley surrounding the palace – or it would, if not for the cacaphonous rain that was beating down.

"Swift, go!" Sallia released her Pidgeot.

"Can she fly in this?" I had to shout to be heard over the pouring rain.

"She'll have to," Sallia shouted back. "Now climb on! Your highness, you first. Hold her there. Like this." Sallia demonstrated the proper way to mount Pidgeot. After Vannarae was mounted near the bird Pokémon's neck, I got on behind her."

"Aren't you coming?" I asked Sallia.

The Cressellian shook her head. "Pidgeot can't carry me and the princess both. You're lighter."

My stomach sank. I would be alone with the princess, the only one guarding the future of our realm.

My father's words echoed in my mind.

I nodded.

"Where are we going? What should we do?" I asked.

Just then, I heard shouts echoing from the corridors and the sounds of Pokémon battling. The fight was coming our way.

Sallia looked over her shoulder and drew another Pokéball from her waist.

"There's no time," Sallia said. "Swift knows the way. Just keep the princess safe. Swift, go!"

With no more than that, the Pidgeot shook the water from its feathers and took to the air with a great beat of its mighty wings. I clung tight to the bird Pokémon's feathers where Sallia had demonstrated, pinning the princess tight beneath my chest.

"Remember Belen Daguz!" I shouted as Swift lifted off, suddenly remembering the boy. Some part of me felt that it needed to save something in that room, even if it was an enemy rather than my Charmander. I couldn't tell if Sallia heard me or not – she was already turning back to the palace and the battle within.

All too soon, the ground and palace both were lost in the swirl of rain.