The Princess and the Kennel Boy Part 11
Dawn came too quickly for Ash, and before he knew it, he was up and walking again, the small bundle that held his extra clothes, sword, and dagger on his back and Pikachu perched on his head. His legs hurt even worse than they had the day before, and every step was torture. Dust from the dirt road Dialga's caravan was traveling on was kicked up by the wheels of the wagons, and got into Ash's throat, making him cough.
"Oy, Houndour, you all right?" Called a familiar voice. Ash looked up to see Gallade at the reins of the wagon next to him, his green eyes concerned.
"I'm fine," Ash called back between coughs.
"You sure don't look fine," Gallade said. "Why don't you ride up here with me? It'll get you out of the dust."
"You sure, Gallade? Dialga said that servants who aren't driving wagons have to walk," Ash said reluctantly, loath to pass up a chance to rest his legs.
"Dialga's all the way at the front of the caravan, nice and cozy in his carriage, and we're almost in the back," Gallade pointed out. "What Dialga doesn't know won't hurt him. I insist, Houndour. A lad like you is going to wear himself out walking so much."
"I guess…" Ash shrugged. "Hang on tight, Pikachu." Pikachu tightened his grip on Ash's head as Ash took a running leap and swung himself up onto the driver's seat of the wagon next to Gallade. Then he jumped down as Ash made himself comfortable, stretching out his tired, painful legs.
"You're a tough young lad, I'll give you that," Gallade said, looking at Ash out of the corner of his eye.
"Thanks," Ash said, dropping his bundle next to him on the bench. "You said you're the captain of Dialga's personal guard? What does that mean?"
"It means that all the guards that protect Dialga's manor take their orders from me," Gallade said. "All one thousand of them."
"That's a small army!" Ash said, shocked. "You command all of them?"
"Yep," Gallade said, grinning at Ash's surprise. "You didn't think His Majesty's Minister of War wouldn't maintain his own fortress, did you?"
A fortress? Ash thought.
"So, young Houndour, tell me about yourself," Gallade said, flicking one of the Tauros pulling the wagon with the whip in his hand. "Where're you from? How'd Dialga pick you up?"
"Well, I don't really come from anywhere," Ash said, petting the sleeping Pikachu in his lap. "I've been on my own pretty much my whole life. My mother died when I was very young, and I don't know who or where my father is. I've just been going around, doing odd jobs and training my Pikachu and other pokemon. I don't really remember how I ended up in Ho-oh's Keep, except that Pikachu and I fell asleep in a hay wagon the night before. I didn't expect it to go anywhere, I was just looking for a place to sleep. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in the palace kennels."
"How did Dialga get ahold of you?" Gallade asked, sounding like a little kid listening to a great story.
"The kennel master, Raichu, took me on as his apprentice when he found me in the kennel," Ash continued. "Somehow Dialga found out, and offered me a job training pokemon for him. It was time for me to move on, so I took it, and here I am."
"Must be nice not to have any loyalties," Gallade said bitterly. "My father was captain before me, and his father before him. My family has always been in the service of Dialga's, and it hasn't been a picnic. But I can't leave. It's my purpose in life to protect the man I despise, until my son is old enough to take over for me."
"Is he really such a bad master?" Ash asked, playing innocent. He already knew what the answer would be.
"The worst," Gallade said angrily. "His manor is in shambles, his people are starving, and all the while he sits in his fortress, fancying himself king. The only worthwhile thing he's done is build up his private army so that thieves and bandits have become things of the past." Gallade eyed Ash critically. "But why he'd want a pokemon trainer around, I have no idea. Dialga hates pokemon, and doesn't use them in his guard, even though it puts us at a serious disadvantage, should we be attacked."
"All I know is that Dialga offered me food, shelter, and money, and I took it," Ash said, crossing his arms behind his head and closing his eyes. "I'm an orphan; I live by my stomach. As long as the food keeps coming, I don't care who gives it."
"Tell me how you really feel, Houndour," Gallade said sarcastically, grinning at Ash. He liked this boy, who was completely straightforward and honest, almost to the point of being tactless.
"I just did," Ash replied, grinning back.