Chapter 4 : A King's Smile...

The train ride here had been uncomfortable enough.

With the grunts on us, everyone turned so stiff. No one dared to speak, no one moved; not a word was said about Hilbert, for it was assumed no one would want to relive the panic and its consequences... There was just the lulling of the train and the tracks.

We were all raring to get out of the train by the time it arrived at the station, but more so from the awkwardness as opposed to the eagerness to commit to the ceremony like all of the other train cars.

"There it is," Bianca mused over the crowd, dreamily staring off into the distance. "King N's Castle."

A sight so grand that it hurt my neck just to lay eyes on the absolute highest point. There was a red setting behind the castle, a pink halo highlighting every single crevasse. To say that the castle was enormous... Was an understatement. If I was every to try and scale it from top to bottom, I'd definitely have aged significantly.

It made me wonder how such a gigantic castle was made anyway...

"I never really looked at it last year," I admitted. "It's... Amazing."

"Get into formation," Cheren warned me, whispering into my ear.

I shuddered a little before nodding and filed myself behind Bianca, Cheren following in suit.

Tepig was sighing in awe, looking up from my shoulder and at the castle.

'Didn't he see this last year?' I wondered. 'Oh, right... We skipped this thing.'

Snivy was doing the same on Bianca's head and I could hear Cheren's Oshawott from behind me.

Everyone, including myself, remained facing front though, occasionally one of us sneaking a glance. It was an honor for many to be here, and they would not want to disgrace themselves with lurking about, even if it was a compliment to the King.

I routinely continued to follow Bianca's back, my mind going blank.

Somehow, I managed to lose myself in the crowd.

There were people in white from miles to see; searching for Cheren and Bianca would be like searching for a grain of rice in... a bag of rice.

I sighed and looked down at Tepig sleeping in my arms. 'It's alright, Tepig... Maybe I'll find them when we start offering our services,' I reasoned. 'I hope,' I thought with an uncertain face. I looked down again. 'The three of us never did get a formal goodbye...'

Isolating their voices would be impossible as well; everyone was talking about how exciting this event was, how honorable it was. It was rewarding to be here for many, a great service to the Light Stone and King N...

But it was my childhood nightmare, coming to bite me back.

'Cheren and I were never like this,' I thought to myself, trying to cope with my awkwardness in the crowd. 'Cheren never liked the Plasma Regime, for whatever reason... I think he said that they were restricting?' I thought with a chuckle. 'And I just never paid enough attention to form an opinion. And Bianca... I guess that she's like us too, not seeing the honorable part in this ceremony and services, but she's always been one to follow the rules.'

I hadn't realized that I was still staring at Tepig until he pawed at my neck, a look of concern on his face. I saw myself reflected in his eyes, but my face was indecipherable.

"Oh, it's nothing..." I replied with a following sigh. "Just thinking again..."

He looked cynical but shrugged, retracting his paw and nuzzling back into my arms, slowly closing his eyes. It was like he was reluctant to sleep; after all, the scenery was amazing, and the red sky was... uncanny. Or maybe he was just plain tired of his battle.

I pursed my lips. 'Speaking of that battle-' I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around. "Hah. I was just thinking about where you were," I said with a smug grin.

Hilbert, the source of the hand, was giving me a hard stare. "I need to know why you didn't hand me in." His voice was void of emotion, or that mirrored snarkiness of mine.

"I told you didn't I?" I asked teasingly with a shrug, making sure not to wake Tepig. "You amuse me."

"Any other person would have killed to get the reward of handing a trainer in, considering how little of us there are," he informed me lowly, "but you assisted me of all things. I'm sure that we've never seen the former before? Why?" His voice had escalated back to normal volume, most likely assuming that with everyone else already talking, no one else would hear him.

"Look, you're pretty interesting an- Wait a second, there's a reward for handing in one of you guys?" I asked. "And by the way you phrased it, it sounds pretty generous..." I relayed to myself with a tone of greed.

Hilbert blinked; he looked like he was cursing himself for revealing such things.

"Don't fret, I'm not reconsidering," I assured him. "I was jesting."

Hilbert walked up next to me. "I don't see how you wouldn't know such a thing."

"I don't really pay attention to my surroundings," I explained nonchalantly, "but to think; I could be friends with a terrorist!" I said with a wide grin.

Hilbert gave me an odd look, but seemed more or less amused. "You... are interesting yourself." He gave me a sly look. "And not such a bad battler."

I raised an eyebrow. "I think I get where you're getting at. It sounds tempting," I admitted, "but I'm going to have to decline."

"Why's that?"

"If I joined you and your..." I looked from side to side; Hilbert may not be cautious, but I wasn't risking anything with the Sages' sights already on me. "... excursions, it's solely for fun. My own amusement," I explained. My eyes got wider, at the thoughts. "The conspiring, the traveling, the excite-!" I realized that I was rambling on, so I cut myself short. "So yeah, I would join you, but my mom and friends would kill me."

"They don't have to know," he urged me, a sly look on his face.

"Yes," I admitted, "but you see, I have this thing about lying," I explained with a shrug. "I can lie well, but I just don't do it. It's a principle of mine." I sighed. "Plus, I'm in enough legal trouble as is..." I muttered

Hilbert looked confused but overall interested. "Do explain yourself," he requested.

"I made a Sage angry," I explained nonchalantly. "Now I have to apologize in front of everyone by the Light Stone and follow up by personally serving King N for the next month and a half..." I sighed. "It's going to be really mundane."

Hilbert looked at me with wide eyes. "It's a shame you declined my offer then," he commented, "but most people would be honored, thrilled, to have such an opportunity to serve King N."

"Yeah. Oh well."

Hilbert smirked and tipped his head. "Interesting indeed."

I looked him over. "Didn't you have a Scraggy?"

"I decided to conceal him," he explained. "From past experiences, I've learned that it's best to steer clear of potential altercations."

"Far enough," I claimed, "but what's a... one of you doing at a ceremony?"

"We still live under King N," he explained. "Save for those in hiding... But there are a few trainers like me, and we have to remain incognito, and this is a requirement, otherwise I would get impounded." Hilbert paused. "Mind me asking, but what did you do to anger a Sage?"

"I didn't take my viewing too seriously," I explained indifferently. "I recited a poem I made up on the spot, and Lord Ghetsis didn't very well appreciate that."

Hilbert visibly tensed. "Whether you join us or not, I must request that you come with me one day."

I raised my eyebrow. "What for? Surely, not everyone would jump at the idea of traveling with a terrorist."

"No, but you seem like you would," he remarked snarkily.

"True, but I'm still rather curious."

Hilbert sighed. "As trainers, we're marked with the title 'terrorist.' What have we done though? All we've done is resent the unfairness of the Plasma Regime."

'You might wanna keep it down in front of all of these die-hard loyalists,' I thought, but didn't dare speak my thoughts. "Unfortunately, not everyone sees the light of your 'Meinshao Terrorism,'" I teased.

Hilbert gave a smile in acknowledgement of my joke, but said nothing to ratify it. "Everything we've done is in the interest of the people... To rid of this censorship, this dictatorship, this unfairness among the empire, but... I'm rambling on." Hilbert crossed his eyes, for a moment forgetting what my request was. "I just think that this kind of information would interest my comrades is all," he answered.

"What information?" I inquired.

"The light punishment of Lord Ghetsis' hand," he explained. "I've seen penalties placed solely for not bowing as he walked by."

"Then consider me lucky," I offered, a smug smile on my face. 'But... Now I'm really curious.' I cleared my throat and gave Hilbert a cunning look. "Ya' know, you're a terrible terrorist."

Hilbert looked befuddled. "I'm sorry?"

I chuckled. "You basically revealed everything to me, a stray commoner, lost yourself in the moment on the train, and left your... capsule thing behind." I paused. "Plus, you've my age! How are you even in this line of work?" I exclaimed.

"I invite you to find out," he dared me with a smirk. "Justice knows no age."

I sighed. "I'm in enough legal trouble already," I repeated with a contradicting smile. "Speaking of said legal trouble, you owe me a favor."

He gave me an odd look. "A favor of what sorts?"

I held up the sleeping Tepig in my arms. "Watch him while I go perform my service, will ya'?" I felt Tepig's weight in my arms. "With my hands on the Light Stone, I can't exactly hold him, and having him on my head or my shoulder is considered informal." I considered the possibilities. "And I can't exactly stuff him down my robe... I may smother him."

Hilbert visibly relaxed, implying that he was expecting a much more intricate favor. He chuckled. "Perhaps 'interesting' was an understatement," he granted. "Giving your pokemon to a trainer, an alleged 'terrorist.' You are too trusting."

I shrugged smugly. "Yes, but you are too trusting yourself."

He matched my face. "Perhaps." Suddenly, he face went blank and he turned to me with a step back.

"Huh?" I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around, my terrorist friend following in suit.

Three grunts were behind me, blending in with the rest of us. If I had simply only stolen a glance, I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between us and them. "You are Hilda, are you not?" the one with his hand on my shoulder asked.

"Uh..." I stared at him blankly before giving him a late nod. "Yes."

"You are to come with us," he claimed. "Lord Ghetsis has requested that you will be the first to provide your service before most of the commoners perform, before they get unruly."

I darkly stared at the grunt. 'How dare he... 'Unruly.'' However, I didn't speak said thoughts but my opinion must have reflected on my face, as Hilbert took another step next to me to suffice as some sort of support. My eyes narrowed in annoyance, letting my anger erode. "Very well," I sighed. I turned to Hilbert and poured Tepig into his shifting and unsuspecting arms, making sure not to wake him.

The grunt who spoke to me positioned himself in front of me, letting the other male and the female tail me, and started weaving us through the crowd.

After agonizing minutes of us snaking to the center, the front, we finally stopped.

The grunt in the front halted and turned to me. "You shall remain here until further instructed." Before I could respond, the three of them had lost themselves in the crowd once more.

"Aye-aye sir..." I muttered ungratefully, looking around me.

There was this imaginary line encircling the centerpiece. It was like a ring that spread outwards, giving more than enough room for the centerpiece to breath.

The centerpiece was an elevated stone circle, a stage of some sorts, with its edges made of steps. The side opposite of me blocked out the crowd across with an elevated stone structure, another stage of sorts, that held eight thrones, one being particularly bigger than the others. In the middle of this structure was the Light Stone.

The Light Stone itself was... beautiful. I hadn't seen it at all before. It had a glow that gave such a caressing feel. I could feel the warmth from my position, many yards away. Its brilliance contrasted with the red sky behind it, but the red sky complimented its vibe.

At first, I had thought that the Sages were foolish for holding the ceremony so late, but after seeing the Light Stone... Seeing how it lit up the sky. I was actually thankful, a feeling that both repulsed and confused me.

'If only I had payed attention to this last year,' I thought with great regret. 'It's too bad Tepig can't see it either...' I wanted to reach out and touch it.

That wasn't out of the norm, though. Everyone else that was on the outskirt of the crowd had their hands up, embracing the warmth from a distance with dreamy faces. No one dared to look away from the Light Stone, which could suffice as either the sun or moon with its radiance. We were all enraptured, by a rock of all things.

The podium of which exulted the Light Stone had various, intricate holes in it. Through it, one could see the scorching flames that supplied the entire empire with fire.

Finally, albeit very gradually, the crowd started to quiet, reducing itself to hushed tones.

'What's up?' I thought, looking around. The girl next to me had her head turned, so I followed her direction.

There was an opening in the crowd. Everyone eagerly made room for whoever it was that was passing. A wave of bows erupted from the source, and not too soon after, everyone except for I was bowing.

'I'm not bowing to something I can't see,' I thought bitterly, crouching down just a little so I wasn't sticking out of the crowd.

Now that I could see over everyone's heads, I could make out what this was for. Two grunts were valiantly walking, holding up the Plasma Regime flag high and proud. Behind them, more people who weren't grunts. I couldn't see his face from this angle, but I knew who it was. Green hair, shiny crown...

'It's King N,' I realized, scowling. 'The guy I'm going to have to wait on for the next month and a half.'

I still couldn't see his face at this angle, but I deducted that we were around the same height. I've only ever seen him at a distance, last year, but I was so far away that he was but a speck in the clear blue sky. But now, his green hair challenged the red sky, daring people not to notice him. The bodies of Sages and more grunts trailed behind him, but I've seen all of them before.

I waited eagerly, my eyes trailing the face that I couldn't see. I was curious of how he looked, more so spoke. He never really spoke in public; the Sages, specifically Lord Ghetsis, always spoke for him.

Finally, he moved at an angle that I could see him. His eyes were bored, lifeless, but had a contrasting, alluring color. His face looked indifferent; this was all routine to him. His posture was poised. He didn't look all that interesting. The only significance he had was the uncommon green hair and that crown he wore that sat smugly on his head.

Finally, I bowed, just in case he had somehow noticed that I wasn't prior. My hair cascaded around my head, hiding my identity. I peeked through my hair, watching him, the grunts, and the Sages ascend to the elevated platform on the makeshift stage and take their seats on their respective thrones, the grunts standing in between each one. The two on the ends still held up their flags, though.

'Huh... I thought this was a ceremony celebrating the Light Stone, not the Plasma Regime,' I thought jocosely.

All of us in the crowd simultaneously stood up, looking at the Sages and King N with admiration. It was so quiet that a pin dropping could be heard from miles away.

Lord Ghetsis stood up from his throne and walked over to the podium, his footsteps hitting the stone echoing upon us.

'If he was going to stand right back up, why did he sit in the first place?' I wondered.

He situated himself by the Light Stone and placed his hands on it, demeaning it. "We are eternally grateful to the Light Stone," he spoke with a powerful voice. His voice traveled far without much effort. "It gives a fire so magnificent that we cannot repay it, even in numerous lifetimes."

I raised an eyebrow. 'Was the speech this corny last year?'

"However, one of us is a treasonist! One of us has tried to circumvent providing the Light Stone with its well deserved offer!" Lord Ghetsis proclaimed. "This is unacceptable, is it not?"

The crowd erupted into profanities, cursing out this supposed "traitor."

'D'aww, I feel so special,' I thought smugly.

Lord Ghetsis found me in the crowd. "You shall repent! Repent your sorrows and perform your service. Close your eyes and lay your filthy, unworthy hands on the exulted relic; let the Light Stone judge your regrets, for if you are not truly sorrowful, you shall be burnt to a crisp!"

The crowd cheered.

I winced. 'Burnt to a crisp..?' I felt a pit in my stomach. 'Well then, that doesn't sound too pleasant.' Instead, I nodded to Lord Ghetsis.

He nodded back, a bitter look on his face, and retreated back to his throne.

I took a deep breath and stepped out of the crowd. 'I may not see the next day if Lord Ghetsis was sincere,' I realized, but continued forward with a confident face, 'but it's not like I can just leave either.' The crowd got more and more gradually quiet with each step I took. I continued until I was facing front of the exulted relic and my spectators above.

It was now dead silent, intent but disgusted looking eyes eagerly waiting for my actions.

I circumvented the exulted relic until my back was to the Sages and King N and facing the crowd before me. I took a deep breath and placed my hands forward.

Once my hands hit the light stone, I felt... Well, there was simply no term for it. It was as if the stone was alive, and I could have sworn that beneath my eyelids, I saw an increasing light.

The Light Stone itself... Must have been a surge of power.

I thought I heard a few mute gasps from the crowd.

"I, Hilda, have committed an act of treason and treachery."

The gasping became more audible, and some people shuffled in their position.

My flowing hair felt like it was being blown, first from my shoulders, then to behind my back. I felt like my hands were glued to the Light Stone.

"For that, I am eternally sorrowful, to not only Lord Ghetsis whom I have offended, -"

The gasping got louder, and some people were giving off sounds that were just faint of screaming.

'Yeah, yeah. I offended a Sage,' I thought sarcastically. 'Shocking, isn't it?'

My hair felt like it was being blown above my ears. My weighted sleeves felt like it was being pushed back. The light, I could have sworn, got brighter, and as it did, I felt warmer.

'It couldn't be, could it..?' I thought. 'Am I being engulfed in flames..?' I didn't dare open my eyes though, in the small case that I could be forgiven.

"-but the Ancient Relic, the Light Stone as well."

The crowd started roaring, in what seemed like fear and anger. The volume escalated to a basically deafening level.

I clenched my eyes shut, trying even harder to concentrate. 'They're all exaggerating...'

My hair felt like it was being blown well above my head, my face felt heated, and I must have been nervous, because it seemed as if my hands and feet were trembling, or even the ground.

"It is my hope that I can reede-"

"She has angered the Light Stone!" Lord Ghetsis' voice howled above all. "Cease her!"

"What?" I thought, peeping an eye open. "What?!" I exclaimed panicked, as I opened both of my eyes, wide.

The Light Stone... It was shaking, a giant beam of light shooting up at the sky. There was a tremendous amount of power that was shaking the ground and the stone itself, which was slowly starting to levitate off of the podium, my hands still glued to it.

My hair really was being blown above me head, there really was a light beyond my closed eyes, and the ground really was shaking!

I didn't know what to do, but I didn't need to. "OW!" I screeched as I was tacked to the stone cold floor by well over five grunts. All of the warmth left my face.

From the angle on the floor with my slightly squinted eyes, I saw the Light Stone abruptly stop shaking, stop emitting light, and fall back to its place on the podium, the fire beneath it roaring back to life.

"Let go of me!" I exclaimed angrily.

The crowd started yelling back profanities at me; "plague," "calamity," "traitor." There was screaming above all, and although I couldn't see the crowd from my comfy place on the floor, I could only imagine that they were rioting.

"I didn't do anything! I was just doing what Lord Ghetsis told me to do!" I retorted, but my voice was lost among the others. "Let me go!" I screamed, struggling to get away from the grunts. 'How could I possibly anger the Light Stone?! What have I done to it!'

My view gave me nothing to work with. All I could see was the Light Stone acting as the moon in the sky. All I could hear was shouting, screaming. All I could feel was hundreds of pounds, tying me down.

'I refuse!' I thought, finally squirming free from the many grunts piled on top of me. I sloppily stood up and faced them, my guard up.

The grunts were still sprawled on the floor, the ones on the top of the pile not even noticing that I was gone. The crowd was being surrounded by tons of grunts that I hadn't realized were around here as to ensure that they wouldn't intervene with my actions. They didn't seem to like my escape, as they screamed even louder.

My head whipped around. I was surrounded.

A stolen glance at the thrones implied that Lord Ghetsis was both angered, yet content. How? Why?

Before I could move, I felt restraining hands on my shoulder, my arms. "Get off!" I shouted at my captors behind my back. 'I'm such a fool! Why did I take this long to move?!'

They started dragging me away, my boots scraping against the stone and the stairs.

I started thrashing about, successfully getting free of my hold from the grunts, but consequently falling down the stairs. "Ack!" I choked, my back clashing with the ground.

I had always been physically strong, so it was no surprise to me when I escaped the four grunts dragging me, but before I could even get over my dizziness, they multiplied, and now dozens of grunts were surrounding me on the floor.

I jolted up and attempted to make a run for it. 'Run where?!' I thought, but the thought itself was irrelevant. "Get off!" I roared, thrashing again once I felt many, countless hands securing me by my shoulders, my arms, and my torso. I continued my struggle, but my demands went deaf to all ears.

They started bringing me low to the ground again. Four grunts, I could fight. Maybe even twice that. But now, there were at least two dozen surrounding me, at least

"Calm yourselves!" Lord Ghetsis' voice commanded once more.

I couldn't see him, being surrounded and all, but there had to be at least a dozen different grunts trying to pin me down. Low to the ground and surrounded... All I could see were grunts and the red sky, foreshadowing my doom.

"The Light Stone is angered! We must quell it! All of you, perform your services at once!"

The crowd slowly drifted from loud screaming to incantations, singing, and other talents.

Once I was pinned to the ground, my body went numb and my vision went fuzzy. I was being beat up, most likely with their feet, but I still refused to give in. Someone started stepping on my wrist, but I refused to show signs of pain. I just continued barking at them, trying to speak over all of the voodoo sounds coming from the crowd, but to no avail.

They must have assumed that I have been beat up enough, for I was brought back to my legs. I still continued to struggle, but I didn't break free, even when there were only two grunts on me.

"This is unjust!" I barked, still struggling to get free.

The two grunts started dragging me through the crowd.

Everyone was ignoring me. They were singing, chanting, praying, dancing, anything...

It was as if the world had turned to madness.

Or maybe... I was the one who had gone mad.

I was roaring and wailing, "Let me go!" as if I was a broken record. I was thrashing about like a Magikarp on the shores of a beach, too far from the waves to return home.

As they dragged me alone everyone continued to provide their services. However, I passed by two people who remained still. They looked at me, horrified.

'Cheren, Bianca...!'

They were both about to shove their way through the crowd in order to get me, Oshawott and Snivy at their feet, but I couldn't let them do that. I wasn't going to bring them into my own mistakes.

"Don't!" I screeched back, refusing to look at them.

I heard a familiar squealing over all of the sound. My eyes darted everywhere as I still struggled to get out of my hold.

Tepig was in Hilbert's arms, Hilbert who was struggling to suppress him. It was like a moving picture, as a girl was dancing in front of them. His face would flash before being covered with her arm again. Tepig was squealing angrily, fire shooting from his nose.

"Don't!" I warned again.

By some miracle, Tepig heard me over everything else and defeatedly sunk back into Hilbert's arms. Hilbert himself looked at me angrily, but it was more that he was looking at the situation angrily.

I turned away and stared front, the only place where I was bound not to meet someone's eyes, but I was wrong.

King N was still sitting in his throne, but he gave me a look that showed no signs of disgust. He was staring at me with wide, excited, eyes and a smile. No... It wasn't a smile. It was too vicious, too ferocious, too conceited to be a smile.

I ceased my struggling and let the grunts drag me away; watching him, trying ever so hard to understand his meaning when...

Everything faded to black.

... Is Probably the Worst Thing One Can Ever Receive

This may be the last update for a while, as like I said, I only write this during my writers' block. I had most of Chapter 4 already done, so I can't say when the next update will be. Maybe a day? Maybe a week.

And at one point I forgot to save this and lost over 1k of my word count... That made me a bit mad.

Now I'd like to ask a question; in both PM's and reviews, people have been saying that they'd like to see romance. If that's what you guys want, I'll do it. However, I'm not taking requests on who's getting with who. So, would you like to see romance in this story? I'll make a poll, but you can vote just by saying "yes" or "no" in a review or PM. (But if I do do romance, it will be more of a backstory, as I'm not experienced with writing romance)

I didn't edit this one either... I didn't do a good job writing the second half of this chapter, so sorry about that. I'll tell you guys when I actually proof read a chapter.

Guest Review Responses

Bird of Flame : I wasn't too sure how well Hilbert would fit in, so it's good to know you like him. Thanks for the feedback!

TGIF : Thanks for your enthusiasm XD Hopefully you liked this chapter (because I didn't -.-)