Chapter Eight: Hope
With Every Legend, There's a Beginning
Cold air covered me. I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself. I was out in Oreburgh, hiding in an alleyway, afraid of guards. What was I thinking? I thought. Why was I so stupid! I groaned. Ever since I awoke this morning, I was dazed. Mainly because I wasn't sure if the conversation I heard last night was real or not, and the fact that I was so set on getting to Ellena's house. The day before when I thought of escape, and when I did escaped, I wasn't me. My head was in a different place, like I was watching myself on TV. I had such a powerful draw to get to Ellena's. I probably wouldn't have been able to sleep if I stayed in the Center. It was just weird.
It reminded me of the whispers with Sake in the mine. Except different. It was me. To think about it, it made me overwhelmed. Like something I couldn't comprehend. That bothered me.
I heard footsteps. I jumped and spun around toward the noise. Great! Just great! I started walking backward. I heard a cough, it was close. I turned around and starting in a sprint for the end of the alley. At the end, I poked my head out and looked around. Three guards. One at the fence in front of me, one to the left and one to the right. I looked over my shoulder, no guard. He must have passed the alley without looking.
But that still left these guards. I should have asked for Esmeralda's advice about leaving, but I was too heated to even talk to her. Luckily, she and Essie were asleep. Ellena must have gone to Sake's. Either that or off on another 'secret adventure that Cynthia can't know about.'
There were no sleeping guards this time, and these guys weren't moving. The fence guard was facing away, but he could probably still hear me if I walked. I could see the Center, it was right there. I just needed to get there. But how? How?
I slapped my hand to my forehead and felt like crying. I was shivering in this cold air. It was probably five or six in the morning. I needed to get back before the Golden's wake up. 'Golden's' was a nickname that was used back in Celestic for the Golden City folk. I never used it because I felt it was offensive to them, but I didn't care anymore. Why did I really ever care?
I slumped down to the ground, eyes full of tears, and rubbed my arms. I had lost. I would be found out. But what one was better? Being captured by guards, and who knows what will happen there, or the Golden's going on a manhunt to find me? Only for me to make some excuse that they might believe. A few tears dripped off my chin and unto my lap. "Stupid." I muttered.
"Who? Me?"
I froze. I lifted my head slightly. A man was leaning against one of the houses in the alleyway. He had on a slight smug grin painted on heavy stubble, and his messy brown hair hung over his eyes. I was silent.
He murmured a laugh. "You've got yourself into a situation, haven't you?" Byron said. I didn't reply. "Well… I would offer my help but…" He scratched his chin, the smug grin still on his face.
"But what, Byron?"
"You sound irritated. I just want to help." His grin grew.
"What, Byron, what do you want?" I said through clenched teeth. He wants me to give back the badge, claim I cheated. I thought.
His grin turned into a crooked smile. "I want you to promise me something, Newbie. And then I'll help." I realized how no one liked to call me my name. It was 'Blondie' or 'Newbie.' But someday everyone would be calling me by my name.
For a second, I saw something other than smugness in his eyes. Something that proved he had real feelings. "I want you to promise me hope," He continued. "Hope that my son and I can live off of."
I blinked at him. "What? Do you want money?" I could half-understand that. He did live in Oreburgh after all.
He shook his head. "I don't care about money. I don't have any. That's why I didn't give you any. I hope you don't mind."
I shook my head. "Honestly, I didn't notice." Normally if someone beats a gym the Leader pays them, and vice versa.
"Well your friends sure did. Some Jubilife girl came back after everyone left and yelled at me. I, uh, I'm sorry… For that… I just don't have any money. I live here." He gestured around.
"It's fine, really. But what 'hope' do you want?" I brushed off the other subject.
He sat in front of me and leaned in closer. I would have moved, since his closeness was awkward, but because he took up the rest of the space, I really couldn't. "I want hope that you won't give up. Hope that someday, you're going to beat Lea and make my sons life less crappy."
"I promise." I whispered.
He leaned back and stood up. "Good, Newbie." His grin reappeared. "Now let's get you back in the Center." Before I could stop him, Byron walked right out of the alleyway.
"Hey!" The guard at the fence yelled. All three guards ran to Byron and tackled him. "What are you doing, Byron? You know better!"
I was stunned. They were beating their Leader. But they were distracted. I ran to the Center and right into the lobby. My heart rate slowed. "Thank goodness." I said. I looked around, no one. I smiled. I walked back downstairs and down the hallway. Once I reached my room, I pushed my ear to the door and listened. I heard snoring. I opened the door. Sure enough, Maxina was sleeping. I crept over to my bed and slipped off my old, dirty shoes and crawled in. Even though I slept the night before, I didn't sleep well. Possibly because of Ellena's conversation. I shuttered out of anger at the thought. But I pushed it away and slept.
I sat in the underground train and silently said goodbye to Oreburgh. This time everyone huddled in the same car and chirped about me and my battle. Sometimes someone would look over at me and say 'Oh, you did fantastic! You'll make it far!' Or something along those lines. I would normally nod and smile in response.
Constance sat beside me and I let her play with my hair. She would braid, then unbraid, then braid it again. She made silent comments along the way, but I didn't listen. Maxina had ignored me when we awoke that morning. She gave me a few weird glances, but ignored me. I didn't care. I pushed it away with the thought of Good. We had another huge meal. Luckily no meat was involved for this breakfast, just berries and the best berry pie I had ever eaten. Also, to my surprise, Moo Moo Milk was served. It was very delicious.
Finally, everyone left this end of the car and left Constance and I sitting on the couch. The way the train moved reminded me of the elevator ride, except bumpier. I decided not to think about it, thinking if I thought if the motion it would make me sick.
Maxina walked over to us and sat across the car. She looked at the floor. She had on her black, pixie-cut hair again and wore all black. I wore all black as well; I wasn't the biggest fan of color.
Constance had stopped playing with my hair and she had braided her own hair. What does this girl do with her free time? I rolled my eyes. I looked over at Maxina, she turned her head quickly, indicating she was looking at me. I hated this childish game. "What, Maxina? What's your problem?" I snapped.
She glared at me, and then looked at Constance. "Nothing." She muttered and looked back at the floor.
"Whatever it is, get over it." I stood up and walked over the door and into the other car. I found out why everyone spent their time there. There was a buffet and a drink table with a television. Although the television didn't have cable, a few of the people were entertaining themselves with some game. I saw an empty table and sat down. I really didn't want to deal with Maxina, she made me too mad. I was getting a headache.
After a while of sitting there at the table, the train stopped and I heard the intercom come on. "Attention passengers, not to alarm you, but our arrival will be slightly delayed. The cause hasn't been confirmed yet, so sit tight." Yay.
I groaned. Other people in the room groaned too. This was not going to be fun.
I had my egg pouch in my lap. I still hadn't told anyone about it. Mostly because I didn't trust anyone from Jubilife. I examined it. From what I saw from the top of the pouch, it was all white with a tinge of blue. It was small, I guess. Not that I had spent a lot of time around eggs, because I hadn't.
I relaxed in my chair and put my pouch down. Okay, once I get back to Jubilife I'll be on my own again. I'll train for a day then leave to the next gym in Eterna. I started thinking about training and what I would have to do with each Pokémon.
A few minutes passed and the door to the car opened. Maxina and Constance both walked in. Constance walked over to somebody and started talking, but Maxina came straight to me.
She put her hands on the table and leaned in towards me. "I need to talk to you. Now."
"Then talk. No one's stopping you." I said.
She rolled her eyes and grabbed my arm. I stood up and she tugged me over to another door. I didn't know where it went, I was assuming to the conductor or something. But it turned out to be the bathroom. Maxina pushed me in and closed the door behind her.
"What do you want?" I asked in a whisper.
"To talk to you, Missy!" She whispered. When Maxina whispered, she seemed to lose her accent. "Listen, Little Rebel, I know you got out last night." She stepped toward me and crossed her arms over her chest.
"What? I don't know what you're talking about." I pulled it off, but she didn't look too convinced.
"I know you left!" She threw her hands up. "Don't lie! Where did you go, huh? What did you do? Did you do this to the train?"
I hesitated. "First of all, Maxina, I never left last night. Second of all, what do you mean? How or why would I do this to the train? I want to get away from you as much as you want to get away from me. Lastly, you're crazy! Has your hairspray seeped into your brain?"
She stood up on her toes, but she didn't meet my eyes. I was much taller than her. "Listen to me, I know you left. People will believe me over you. And you know it."
"So you're going to go run and tell on me?" I rolled my eyes. "You're a child. How old are you, anyway?"
She paused. "I'm not afraid to tell on you, Celia."
"Cynthia! My name is Cynthia! Is that so hard to say?" I was as loud as my whisper would allow.
"Whatever. And I'm older than you. I'll tell—" The train started again and Maxina fell against the wall. She groaned and stood straight again. "Girl, I'm watching you. If you do anything, anything suspicious, you'll be found out." She opened the door and left.
I crossed my arms over my chest. Who does she think she is? Coming in here and, and, uhg! I walked back to my table and sat down.
The intercom came back on. "Passengers, we are back up again. We should be back in Jubilife in thirty minutes or less. Thank you for your patience."
"Thank goodness." I muttered. Constance had come over and joined me at the table.
"So Blondie, will you miss me when I'm gone?" She stuck her bottom lip out, making it look like she was going to cry. I just faked laughed. "What are you going to do when we get back to Jubilife?" She asked.
"Probably train." I shrugged. "Then move on."
"That's easy. You're boring, you know that?" She chirped in her Golden accent.
"Thanks." I murmured. She talked more and I nodded and pretended to listen. It wasn't about anything I was interested in anyways.
We made it back to Jubilife on time. Constance hugged me and said goodbye, and we left our separate ways. Everyone rushed back to the studio; apparently they needed to do the news right away.
I started walking to the white building that would, officially, get me out of the Golden Cities. Jubilife was a different place during the day. Billboards flashed different things every second everywhere, you could hear talking and laughing, and it was overly crowded.
I walked toward the white building. The crowd wasn't as bad on this side of the city. But there was a group standing next to a huge skyscraper. I just glanced at the group before focusing forward, but I quickly looked back at them.
There were four men in business suits. But on the arm of one of the men, a lady stood in an elegant pink and orange dress that pooled underneath her. She had shoulder-length coal black hair. I stared at her. "Sake?" I murmured. This lady couldn't be Sake. She had on a dress that only a Golden would be able to buy, and jewelry everywhere. This wasn't Sake. I shook my head and continued walking. I kept glancing over at the group. That lady looked so much like Sake, but there was no way she would be there.
The group walked into the giant building, and I focused forward. Before I made it to the door of the building, someone grabbed my shoulder. I instinctively spun around and hit the person.
"Maxina?" I asked. She grabbed her nose.
"Gah! Why'd you do that?" She whined.
"I thought, I don't know, you were someone else." Her nose started to bleed. "Maxina, I'm sorry. I think you need to see a doctor." The fact I said 'I'm sorry' made her give me a weird look.
She moaned. "Not now." She pulled out a handkerchief and held it to her nose. "I'll walk you out of Jubilife." She said.
We walked into the white building. I walked up to the lady at the desk. "I'm Cynthia Everheart. I'm going to Eterna."
The lady gave me a weird look. "I know who you are! Everyone in the Golden Cities knows who you are." She grinned. "You are awesome."
"Thank you." I said unsure. "I just need to leave, if you wouldn't mind writing that down wherever it needs to be."
"Oh yeah, right." She smiled sheepishly then filled out a piece of paper. I held out my hand and she poked it, and then scraped the blood on the paper. "Alright, Miss Everheart. You may go. But please, please, come back soon!"
I didn't say anything. I smiled thinly and walked to the back door. Maxina said something I couldn't hear to the lady, and she let her through without poking her finger. Her nose had stopped bleeding, but she held it when she approached.
"Okay, Rebel, I'm still on to you. I still think you're a troublemaker." She gave me a suspicious look. "I will find out what you're hiding."
"I'm not hiding anything! For the last time, Maxina, I'm innocent! I haven't done anything wrong! You're crazy! I'm glad I will never see you again." I snapped. I lied, obviously, I wasn't innocent. I escaped illegally from Hearthrome, I was hiding Ellena's secret of escaping from Oreburgh everyday and the tunnel from Oreburgh to Sandgem.
She laughed. "Okay, okay. I hope you have a nice life, Rebel."
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever." I spit. I turned and walked out the door.
The fresh, woody smell hit me like a bullet. It was so nice. I closed the door behind me and walked to a pond nearby. It reflected my face perfectly in the teal water. I smiled. I was alone and away from Jubilife or Hearthrome. I had every reason to smile.
I had finished training and walked on Route 204. The sun was setting when I saw a large wooden arch. I couldn't read what it said. It was written in ancient Unknown Writing. I looked down at the map in my hands and squinted, it was getting late and hard to see. Floaroma, the place of sweet scents and honey.
For the past little bit of walking I could smell a perfume-like scent. Now it was overwhelming. The scent made me want to pass out. I walked into the town and was greeted by fields of flowers and berry plants. There was a nice breeze, promising to keep the town comfortingly cool. I walked over to the Pokémon Center and healed up. The lady behind the counter looked so normal, it was nice. I got assigned a room for the night and walked in. It was small, but made-up to look nice. A few plotted plants sprinkled the pink room. Flashbacks of Hilda's guest room made me smile.
I showered and laid in bed. I felt so weird to be on my own again. I laughed and rolled to my side. "I'm on my own. For the first time since I've started my journey, I'm alone. I'm taking care of myself." I got out of bed and started repacking my bag. It was a mess of wrinkled clothes.
When I pulled out something, I was confused. It was the rock Grandmother gave me when I left. Memories of her flew around me as I held the rock. It was a tan color, and I admired it. Then, something weird happened. The lines running through the rock started to glow a deep purple. I threw the rock toward the wall, and it stopped before crashing into the wall. Then, the purple went back to tan and the rock fell to the ground. I hesitated, but I walked over to the rock and picked it up.
"What are you?" I asked the thing. I knew it couldn't answer me, but still, it came alive. I grabbed the paper it was wrapped in and folded the rock in it and stuck it in my bag first. I covered it up with clothes and other items and wished to forget about it. But it still lingered in my head. How did Grandmother get that thing? Why was it in Celestic Ruins? I shook my head. I should have been more upset or more concerned about it, but I wasn't. I felt peace inside that I shouldn't worry. So I didn't.
When I awoke the next morning I took my time in my room. I dressed in fresh clothes and brushed through my hair. Although, I was running out of fresh clothes. It probably took all of an hour to get ready, when it normally took me a minute. It felt good to not be rushed or on a schedule.
Since I was in Floaroma, I decided to take a look around. I asked the nurse where I could get breakfast, and she my best bet was the Mart. I walked to the Mart, which was just across the street. Floaroma was a small, yet beautiful, town. Everything was pushed together on two streets to make room for the fields. Before walking into the Mart, there was a shop next door. It had a sign that read 'Pick a Peck of Color Flower Shop' so I walked in. There were overflowing flower pots everywhere. Hanging from the ceiling, pots covering the ground, and on every shelf. There was one path to a counter where a lady was cutting stems of some flower I had never seen.
I approached her. She was probably Grandmother's age. She had silver hair pulled into a neat bun and wrinkles on her face. "Hello, hello!" She said as she looked up. Her eyes were cloudy green, I think she had cataracts, but nonetheless, the stems were cut perfectly. "How may I help you?"
"Oh, I was just looking. Those are beautiful flowers there." I pointed to the vase she was working on.
"Thank you! These are tulips. Rare things, you know. I love them, I would pay big bucks for these. I got my hands on some seeds last year, and normally when I plant tulips they never grow. But look." She gestured to the purple flowers.
I nodded. "They're very pretty."
"Yes, yes. I would love to just take them home, but, these are actually something people would buy. And I need the money." She laughed gently.
"I bet you probably have a house that looks just like this." I smiled and gestured to the floor.
She laughed. "I wish! I'm really not allowed to take anything home with me. If the guards found out, whew! Would I be in trouble!"
She laughed, but I gave her a weird look. "Guards?"
She cocked her head at me. "Yeah, they do their rounds once a week to make sure we've done efficient work. The boys in the fields, young girls in the orchard, we elders do work like this." She pointed to a flower pot. "They keep us busy."
"You mean you all have to work?"
She laughed. "Yes, yes. We're forced to harvest. We send all out food to the Golden Cities. In return, we get protection."
"Protection?" I echoed. "What kind of protection?"
"Our Town Elder, years ago, made up a deal. You see, he was very superstitious. Said that a Pokémon had brought up this town from a rocky mountain land to this beautiful, lush place with great soil. The Pokémon, who he called Gracidea, scared him. He thought that if we ever did something like start a fire or do something against the fields and meadows, we would all be cursed by Gracidea. So he, being crazy and superstitious, begged Lea to protect us from Gracidea. Lea said he would find a way to fight back any Pokémon, so we shouldn't worry, just as long as we worked hard and reached the limit every week."
"Do you believe in Gracidea?" I asked. I had gotten absorbed in the conversation.
"Oh no. I don't believe in myths. But Lea lied. That was years ago, and as far as I know, he hasn't come up with a 'power' to keep away a Pokémon." She scoffed. "But that old loon, our old Town Elder, died shortly after. He wasn't in his right mind. When someone tried to tell him that and get him to resign, he would babble crazy things. 'They talk to me!' He would say. 'They tell me things… The voices!' And one time he even threw a flower vase at his own son." She shook her head and made a 'tsk tsk' sound with her tongue. "Now, his son Reginald is the Elder. He does a great job of it. But unfortunately, because of crazy Luca, we're still forced into working."
"Did you know Oreburgh is forced to mine? They can't even leave their town. They're prisoners. They have guards all the time. Why isn't Floaroma like that?" I asked.
"Yes, I do know about Oreburgh. I'm not too sure why that is. I think it's because they can get away with torturing Oreburgh, but we're right here in the middle of one of the main routes. Also, I have a theory, I think Lea is superstitious himself. If he thinks that doing something to this town will disturb Gracidea, then he wouldn't dare ruin that. So really, we're lucky for that crazy loon." She laughed. "But, but that doesn't matter." She smiled. "It's a myth. And both Luca and Lea are loons."
I laughed at that. "You are right. Well, I guess I'll be leaving. I need to grab a bite to eat before I leave for Eterna."
"Right, right. Would you like some honey for the road?" Floaroma was famous for its amazing honey.
"Sure." I smiled.
"Just don't tell anyone. It's illegal to keep more than a jar or two of honey, and I'm not even a honey worker." She handed me a jar of honey and a loaf of bread. "It was nice meeting you."
"It was nice meeting you too. Thanks for the story, it was nice." I walked out of the shop and into the Mart. I spread some honey on my bread and ate as I looked around. There was nothing I needed except Pokéballs. So I grabbed a few and bought them. I still had most of Grandmother's money left, so I was pretty much set. I just needed to win the next gym.
The next gym scared me a bit. Grass Type's and possible Bug Type's, I wasn't sure, would be hard. I would need a Flying Type or Fire Type. I could probably get a Starly on my way there, hopefully, and maybe I'll be able to take a day to train with it. I thought. I sighed. Maybe…
I walked over to the fields. A group of people started harvesting some berry plants. A young girl, probably Essie's age, stood at the closest plant.
"Mom!" She yelled to a lady across the field.
"Yes?" The lady answered.
"I'm done! Can I go home now?"
"No, you need to do your work." The mother yelled. "C'mon, work another plant. Go help your brother."
The young girl ran toward another young child. She started picking berries with him.
I shook my head. All she wants is to go home, but she's forced to work because of Lea. I sighed. These people do not deserve this. They need a new champion, they need hope.
Authors Note: Ah, filler chapters, they never fail me. Although this was short filler, a lot of things were important! Some more than others. Some are just trying to get you think differently... Because you will never have this story fully figured out... I've said too much.
Anyways, you guys are awesome and continue to inspire me!
I really want to know what you guys think. How am I doing on the story-line, characters, etc?
Thanks for reading
