A Tale of Two Dragons Chapter 7

Greetings one and all! I have a little bit of info for you all about this chapter and the following six. They'll probably vary a lot in length, due to the theme they follow. As heavily hinted in the last chapter, the children will be learning the 7 saintly virtues which, as a little author fun fact, I personally follow. For simplicity, each chapter will cover the virtue, the children's experiences and… well… you'll see the pattern.

(…)

Chapter 7: Chastity

Sitting down in one of the pews, Stephen looked around the church where he and the other children had been gathered, marveling in the simple grandeur of the building. Despite having been at the orphanage for a week now, he still never got tired of seeing the neatly arranged pews, the elaborate tapestries hanging from the arched stone walls, the stained glass windows, and the large bronze holy trinity that was on the podium in front. Much like the church in Pallet, the building had a way of making you feel humbled, small, and marveling in the power of the gods.

"Stephen!" Father Gregory called, snapping a finger. His voice, as kind as ever, had stern traces in it now. "Pay attention, my son!"

"Y-yes, Father!" Stephen replied, snapping back to attention and blushing at the giggles that came his way.

"Alright then. Now, my children," Father Gregory began with a kind smile. "Today I'm going to teach you the first of the seven saintly virtues."

"Excuse me. Father?" Henry began, shooting his hand up.

"Yes, Henry?"

"Do Emily, Cynthia, and I still have to learn these? We already know them all!" However, if the two girls agreed, they made no show of it.

"Pride go-eth before fall, Henry," Father Gregory quoted, holding up a knowledgeable finger. "Even the best of knights always trains himself so that his swordsmanship never worsens. So too shall you all have another course." When Henry didn't quite seem fully convinced, Gregory drove the point home. "This is also a good way for you to practice charity and help these new children better themselves."

"Hm… okay!" Henry agreed with a wide grin. Tilting his head to the side, Stephen wondered just what the seven "saintly virtues" were. However, his thoughts were interrupted when Father Gregory cleared his throat and began speaking once more.

"The first virtue, and arguably the most important, is chastity, or chastitas in Unovan." Nodding, Stephen remembered that, since the Holy Father operated from the city of Unova in the Unova region, they'd use their language for sermon and other Church affairs. Looking to the three experienced children, Father Gregory continued. "Could any of you three help me explain the virtue of chastity?"

"Chastity is being loyal to your spouse," Cynthia said in a knowledgeable tone.

"Very good, my child," Father Gregory said with a sincere smile. Turning to address the group as a whole again, he continued. "As Cynthia said, chastity is being loyal to your husband or wife. One day, when you are all older, you may eventually fall in love and seek to be married. However, you must remember to never engage in adultery, lest you fall into the sin of lust."

"Excuse me, Father?" Will began, raising his hand.

"Yes?"

"What's adultery?" A quiet murmur went around the small group as even the three older residents of the orphanage repeated the question. Thinking for a moment, Stephen realized that he had no idea what adultery was either. Looking back at Father Gregory, Stephen wondered why he seemed… at a loss.

"Adultery…. It's….. well…" Father Gregory murmured, rubbing the bald top of his head. Suddenly, a light of realization entered the man's eyes. "Well, as you all age, you will start to become interested in the more… physical features of the other gender. Adultery is acting on those urges both before you are married, and with someone who isn't your spouse while you ARE married. Did that answer your question, William?"

"I think so," Will replied, tilting his head in thought.

"I promise it will make more sense as you get older. Just keep my words in mind, alright?" Getting a nod from Will, Father Gregory continued as he clasped his hands together. "Now, to help reinforce the idea of the virtue, I have something that I'd like you to do today. However, seeing as how we don't have an even number of boys and girls, one of you will have to wait until tomorrow."

"An uneven number of boys and girls?" Stephen thought, looking around and counting the children. Counting the boys, there was himself, Ash, Felix, William, and Henry. The girls were Ericka, Cynthia, and Emily.

"Father?" Henry asked with a raised hand. "Won't two of us have to sit out? There are three girls and five boys."

"A wonderful observation, my child," Father Gregory replied. "However, seeing that you're the only boy who has already completed this task, I think it would be more prudent to have you complete it tomorrow, that way most of our new friends can do it first, okay?"

"Okay!~" Henry replied, seeming pleased with the answer. Looking to Father Gregory, Stephen hoped for an explanation.

"William? Would you mind waiting for tomorrow as well to do this task?" Father Gregory asked, looking at William with his ever present smile.

"Okay," William evenly replied, ever content.

"Thank you, my child," Father Gregory happily replied. Turning to the rest of the group again, the priest began explaining this "task" he had for them. "For today only, all of you will be in pairs. For the entire day, unless completely needed, you are not to let go of your pretend spouse's hand. There will be many temptations along the way, but you must all practice your chastity and stay only with your partner. Do you all understand?"

"Yes, Father!" Everyone replied in unison. Nodding, Father Gregory opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by a new voice.

"Uhm… Father?" Ericka hesitantly began, raising her hand. "Who will be paired with who?"

"A very good question, my child," Gregory replied, raising a finger. "I will be the one to pick the pairs." Pausing, Father Gregory scanned the room quickly, mumbling to himself. Once he stopped, he clasped his hand together and spoke once more. "Alright! Felix, you and Emily will be paired together for the day."

"Jawohl!" Felix replied, scooting close to Emily. Holding his hand out, Felix waited patiently as Emily slowly clasped her hand with his own. "Let's make it a good day, ja?"

"O-okay," Emily replied shyly, hiding her face behind her bangs.

"The next pair will be Stephen and Ericka," Father Gregory announced, catching Stephen by surprise. Thankfully, Ericka was already next to him so all Stephen needed do is hold his hand to her. However, Ericka's expression seemed a little upset for a moment and she was glancing in Ash's direction. Perhaps Stephen was mistaken, though, as Ericka soon was all smiles and clasped her hand with his.

"Let's learn as much as we can, Ericka!" Stephen said with a wide grin. If Ericka WAS truly sad about something, then Stephen would do whatever he could to fix that.

"Alright!" Ericka happily replied. In the brief pause, Stephen noticed a lot of things. Firstly, Ericka's hand was soft. It wasn't soft like a pillow, rather soft… like a mother's. Gentle, in a word. Secondly, Ericka again glanced in Ash's direction, making Stephen pause. "She wishes she were in a group with him, I think," He thought to himself. Honestly, Stephen wasn't sure what to think of that.

"The last group then will be Cynthia and Ash," Gregory said, interrupting Stephen's thoughts. Looking over, Stephen watched curiously as Ash acted, quite frankly, a lot like how Ericka usually acted around him. His face kept getting red too as he and Cynthia talked briefly. "I wonder why that is," Stephen thought to himself, remembering how Ericka's face always did the same thing. Once everyone had settled down, Father Gregory gave the children their tasks for the day and the couples went to their day's work.

(…)

Heaving a heavy sigh, Ash once again paused to look at the shabby wood pile, resting the cutting axe on his right shoulder. Using a stump that was beside the dining hall as a cutting board, Ash and Cynthia had been trying to cut wood for the past few minutes. However, it was fairly difficult when you could only use one of your hands. At first Ash was using just his right hand to chop, but that was too inaccurate to work. Cynthia had then offered to use HER right hand to chop, and the two switched places. However, the results were more or less the same. The axe either missed, only cut off a fraction of the wood, or turned mid-swing and merely hit the piece of lumber.

However, the problem became pretty apparent to Ash as early as the first chop. Without a left hand, the axe couldn't be used properly. For some odd reason though, Cynthia had been trying to avoid using her left hand for things. Ash had to observe for a moment, but Cynthia was definitely trying to use her right hand deliberately. However, her left hand would sometimes reach out to grab things, only to stop just as it did so. This led Ash to only one conclusion.

"Hey… Cynthia?" Ash asked, resting the axe on his shoulder after yet another frustrating failed chop. "Can I ask you something?"

"Hm? Oh, of course, Ash!" Cynthia replied with a smile. Pausing for just a moment, Ash simply admired her pretty face before speaking.

"Why are you trying to avoid using your left hand?" Cynthia visibly froze upon hearing the question, but Ash continued. "You use it to set the wood onto the stump, but then you don't use it with the axe. Is something wrong with your hand? Is… is it hurt?" Unconsciously, Ash became slightly angry at the non-existent person who may or may not have hurt Cynthia. However, Cynthia's sudden air of reservation made Ash doubt if he should have asked.

"Ash?" Cynthia began after a moment of what looked several seconds like mental debating. "Can… Can I tell you a secret?"

"Hm?!" Ash asked, suddenly growing flustered. Cynthia was going to trust him with a secret? Already?! Ash's instincts told him to get excited, but the look on Cynthia's face told him it was serious, so he calmed himself down. "Of course. What is it?"

"I'm… actually…. I'm left-handed," Cynthia admitted, closing her eyes as she did so. "I used to think it wasn't a big deal, but the priests all told me that it's evil to be left-handed, since the Dark One was before being banished. And… I-I…"

"So what if that's what they think?!" Ash snapped, making Cynthia's eyes snap open in shock. For his part, Ash was furious! Who were these "priests" to tell people that something about them was wrong? "Why would being left-handed wrong?"

"Well… I just told you that—" Cynthia began, only to stop as Ash began speaking again.

"What? Just because the Dark One was supposedly left-handed makes it evil for anyone to be? Should I stop breathing too because the Dark One probably breathed and talked just like us?" Cynthia fell silent as Ash's words struck home. Taking a deep breath, Ash calmed himself down. "Sorry for getting upset, Cynthia. But you shouldn't let anyone tell you what to believe or how to act. You're fine just the way you are, and I wouldn't change anything about you." His point made, Ash gave her a gentle smile.

"You… you mean that?" Cynthia asked, her eyes getting watery. Apparently she was very troubled by this. She did a pretty good job of hiding it up to this point, Ash had to admit.

"Of course!" Ash earnestly replied. "Besides, it's supposed to be the gods who made all of us how we are, right?" Cynthia nodded. "Then who is anyone to criticize how tall we are, or how you write, or which of your hands you use more? That's pretty damn stupid if you ask me." Suddenly catching himself, Ash's face grew red. "Er… sorry for the language."

"Hehe… it's fine," Cynthia said with a sincere smile. "I'm… very glad to hear you say that, Ash. Ever since I was brought here, the priests tried to correct my left-handedness. They kept telling me it was evil, that it was wrong… but… but I just didn't want to change." Her face growing determined, Cynthia raised a clenched fist. "And now I know that it isn't! And I won't change that for anybody!"

"That's the spirit!" Ash replied with a wide grin. After seeing Cynthia smile like that, Ash felt like he could hold the whole world on his back and not even notice. "Now how about we finish cutting this wood, huh?" Ash held the axe in the space between them and Cynthia clasped it with her left hand."

"Sounds fine by me!" Cynthia replied. On a countdown from Ash, the two swung the axe down on the latest piece of wood.

It split cleanly in half.

(…)

As he finished his lunch, Stephen's mind was uneasy. He and Ericka had been tending the garden all morning. However, even Stephen could tell something was wrong with her. She was sighing a lot, slow in her work, and kept looking over at Ash and Cynthia as the two of them had been chopping wood. Frowning, Stephen's only conclusion was that she had wanted to be in a group with Ash. For some reason, that hit Stephen more than he thought it would. His first thoughts were "Am I not good enough?" But he dismissed them. The real problem was that Ericka was sad, and he wanted to do something about it!

As the rest of the day went on, Stephen did everything he could think of to get her to smile. He tried a few jokes, tried to ask her things about flowers, and even tried making a fool of himself once or twice to get her to smile. A few of them worked, but only for a few moments. As soon as he would look away, Stephen could both see and feel Ericka go right back to the way she was. It was honestly a little surprising how much you could tell about someone just by holding their hand. However, Stephen decided, he needed to do something more. Thankfully he was intently listening while he and Ericka were talking about flowers, and he managed to remember what her favorite kind were: Wild Bluebells. Thankfully, they should be in bloom this time of year, according to what Ericka had told him.

After hours of work, dinner had come and gone and Father Gregory had told the children they no longer needed to hold hands. Separating from Ericka, Stephen felt odd. He didn't feel anything in particular for Ericka besides friendship, but it was… strange to be separated after holding hands for so long. He'd have to meditate on that along with everything else right before bed with everyone. For now, something else took priority! Once everyone had finished eating, Stephen announced that he was going into the woods and took off, ignoring the cries of protest. Hopefully, nobody would try to follow him.

Dashing into the forest, Stephen struggled to recall everything Ericka had told him about wild bluebell flowers. They bloomed in spring, they were blue and bell-shaped, and they grew in the wild. That was pretty obvious. But… what did they grow by?! Ducking beneath a branch, Stephen furrowed his brow as he struggled to remember, only to come up with nothing. Groaning, he decided to check near the closest river. Flowers liked water, after all. Finding the old trail, Stephen diverted from the main road and went down the path, stopping at he came to the riverbank.

"Yes!" He shouted, raising his fists into the air. The river itself was beautiful, as trees hung overhead with berry buds beginning to form. The river babbled quietly and the crystal clear water glowed in the waning sunlight. However, a large blanket of blue along the riverbank is what made Stephen's heart leap with joy. He had found them! Wild Bluebells! Rushing down the slight slope, Stephen nearly tripped over himself in his excitement. Thankfully, he made it safely and plucked as many of the flowers as he could, being surprisingly gentle so as not to damage them. Clenching the flowers firmly yet gently, Stephen began dashing back to the orphanage, his eagerness washing away any sense of exhaustion that might have been upon him.

(…)

The sun had nearly set, and Father Gregory had likely gone slightly grayer in his worry. Stephen had been gone for several minutes now, and still hadn't returned. A few of the other priests had volunteered to go into the forest to search for him, but Gregory had forbidden it. The sun was too far down in the sky at this point. He could only pray that the gods would guide the child back home, as he knew they would. However, his piety did little to stop Gregory from pacing back and forth in front of the gate anxiously.

However, just as he had nearly given up hope, a distant call broke through the trance Gregory had found himself in. Looking up quickly, Gregory nearly collapsed with relief upon seeing Stephen dashing down the path, clutching onto what looked like a batch of flowers. Now waiting patiently, Gregory wondered just why Stephen had run into the woods to pick flowers of all things. He had never shown much interest in them before, after all.

"Father Gregory!" Stephen called, closing the distance in little time. Finally stopping before Gregory, Stephen's exhaustion seemed to catch up to him as he stooped over and began panting. "I'm… I'm sorry for… for dashing into the woods."

"It's quite alright, my child," Gregory calmly replied, thankful that he was a patient man. "But, if I may ask, whatever was it for? I see you have flowers with you, but why did you pick them?"

"These?" Stephen asked, holding the flowers aloft. "They're…. oh! Where's Ericka?"

"Ericka?" Gregory repeated, pausing as the realization hit him. As it did, a wide smile blossomed across his face. So this child had gone into the forest for flowers not for himself, but for Ericka! "Oh, bless this child!" Gregory thought. "She's in the women's cabin. Come with me." With a gesture, Gregory led Stephen to the lodging for the girls. As they approached, Stephen seemed more and more anxious about something. "I wonder if I may have perhaps arranged something?" Gregory thought to himself, merrily imagining the two of the children older and with children of their own.

Once they reached the door, Gregory took the liberty of knocking on it for Stephen, who seemed still more anxious. He had also, Gregory noticed, hidden the flowers behind his back, which made Gregory's smile only widen. After a moment, Mother Theresa opened the door, giving the two of them a quizzical look.

"May I help you, Father?" She asked formally, her face as stoic as ever. Gregory said nothing, merely gesturing to Stephen, implying that it was the boy who wished to speak. If Theresa was surprised by Stephen's return, her face gave nothing away.

"Uhm… can… can I see Ericka, please?" Stephen nervously asked.

"What did you need to see her for?" Theresa asked in an even tone.

"I have something to uhm… to give her," Stephen replied. Waiting for a moment, Theresa seemed to be almost reading the boy's mind.

"Wait right here," She finally said, closing the door. Gregory heard Stephen release a breath the child likely hadn't meant to hold and chuckled to himself. After a moment, Ericka opened the door and immediately went wide-eyed upon seeing Stephen.

"Stephen?!" Ericka gasped, covering her mouth with her hands for a moment. "Where did you go? And when did you get back?"

"Just now!" Stephen replied excitedly. Gregory noted that his mood seemed to have suddenly shifted. "I uhm… I went and got you something. Here!" From behind him, Stephen presented the flowers to Ericka. Gregory recognized them as wild bluebells. Based on Ericka's reaction, Gregory noticed, she seemed to like these flowers very much.

"You… you got these for me?" Ericka asked, tenderly taking the flowers and smelling them. She then gave Stephen a confused look. "Why?"

"Well… uhm…" Stephen stammered, rubbing the back of his head. "You just looked so sad today… and I didn't like seeing it! And while we talked, I remembered that you told me you really liked those flowers and uhm…well... There they are! So uh… smile… okay?" Finishing with a wide grin, Gregory watched as something changed in Ericka's expression. She was smiling beautifully now, her eyes look directly at Stephen. Suddenly, the stepped forward and wrapped Stephen into a hug, which he returned after a confused moment.

"Thank you," She whispered. "I'll take good care of them, I promise."

"I know you will!" Stephen replied, his face practically glowing. It was so heartwarming, Gregory could have sworn he felt his heart ache. However, the hug was going on a little too long for his tastes, and he eventually cleared his throat, making the children seem to realize what they were doing. They quickly separated and fell silent, each of them suddenly falling shy.

"Well you both should get ready," Gregory said, breaking the silence. "Soon it will be time to meditate on what you've learned today, alright?"

"Okay!" Both children replied at once, smiling at one another as they did so.

(…)

Sitting in his meditation chamber, Ash had his legs crossed, his hands resting on his knees, his eyes closed, and his incense burning. The meditation chamber, like the rest of the church, was simple and yet grand at the same time. Going into the basement of the church would lead one down a hall into a triangular shaped stone chamber. This chamber had many small sub-chambers where individuals could meditate and burn their incense in self-reflection.

Remembering his day, Ash thought about how all of it related to chastity. He had liked holding hands with Cynthia, that was pretty obvious. However, what really stuck in his mind was how he felt after he helped her with her left-handed issue. It had really seemed to bother her, and yet she had never seemed to show it to anyone before. Thinking more about it, Ash realized he was glad to have helped, and recalled the tales his father used to tell of their mother. Despite her being dead, Father had never looked sad when he talked about her.

Perhaps… just perhaps… that was what chastity meant. You stick with someone you care about, help them through their trials, and share the goodness in your life with them. In kind, they can share their troubles and joys with you. This way, one would never go through life alone, never sink into sadness, and always have someone there for them. As a smile settled onto his face, Ash realized what Chastity meant to him.

(…)

Relaxed in his chamber, Stephen recalled the day's events. It hadn't had a very good start, that was for sure. Ericka had been so upset about not being in Ash's group that she didn't even find any joy in tending to plants, her favorite activity! However, thanks to his remembering a few details, Stephen had managed to go into the woods, find the wild bluebells, and bring them back to Ericka. Remembering the hug, Stephen could still feel his heart skip a beat. He had hugged her before, but that one… it felt different. But… it was a good different.

Was that chastity? Thinking about it, Stephen realized it must be. He remembered how Father used to speak of Mother, and even how they had met. Based on Father's stories, Mother had been a Johtoan nurse back in the Kanto-Kalos invasion a few years ago. Realizing that his own helping Ericka was a lot like how Mother selflessly helped Father made Stephen realize something. Chastity was always being there for the one you care for. You care about them and only them, and will topple mountains if it brings a smile to their face. Setting it in stone, Stephen realized what chastity meant to him.

(…)

And that's all for chapter 7! I hope you all liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Big thank to my beta reader Hironinja for helping me get motivated for this one. Couldn't do it without ya, mate! And I realize that the two brothers basically had the same understanding of chastity, and that Is intended. Trust me, they'll have different realizations as things go on. But, until the next chapter, I hope you all stay safe, learn new things, and just enjoy life. Until we meet again, I'm flamewing98… signing off! Cheers, everyone!