Rag Doll, Chapter 13

Okay, so Blade and Rose have shared a tender, or rather, a magic moment. Gettit? No? Ah well, just read anyway.

Blade's POV

After we were finished telling each other how much we loved each other, we decided it would be best to head back. When we entered the kitchen, we could see that the work was just about finished. Then Alex and Jenny were sent off to bed, to which they complained loudly as all young children do, but eventually it happened. Then Rose, her parents and I set off for the living room where we could talk.

"So, Blade," Jake started "how do you intend to explain this to your parents? You do know you'll have to confront them about this sooner or later, right?" I nodded, then said

"I was thinking I would let the news about the aqueduct get out first and use that as a means to inform my parents of what I've been doing all these years. Then I would go to the fact that I have chosen Rose to be my mate." Both her parents nodded, and then Jake asked

"What do you think the consequences of your actions might be?" I thought for a minute, then replied

"Most likely they will try to 'cleanse' my mind or something. Failing that, they'll probably lock me up somewhere and set a guard. Then I'll be forced to marry someone else." Rose looked panicked at this, and before she could say anything I told her

"Don't worry; I'm stronger than any guard they could put up. After all, I have been training since the age of seven, and I've been the champion of the contests for the same amount of time." She still didn't look completely reassured, so I sealed my word with a kiss. Then she relaxed.

"So, with a game plan in mind, we should head off to bed. I'll see you two in the morning" Jake said to the room at large, taking his pregnant wife and leading her to their bedroom.

I went outside to sleep in the tree while Rose went to her room. While we were in the forest, we both agreed that since we were not officially married yet, we do not yet have the right to sleep in the same room, much less the same bed. This was our agreement per my honor and her cautiousness.

I climbed up to the highest, but safest, point I could find and sat back in ease, knowing that I would see my loving fiancée in the morning.

Rose's POV

After Blade and I separated, I went to my room with a bit of sadness in my heart. I didn't want to leave his side anymore, not even at night. However, his pride would not let him sleep with me, even if we didn't actually do anything. And I have to admit, I was feeling a little nervous about the subject. Hopefully his parents would have changed their views a bit, enough so that Blade and I could get married without any trouble. I knew that was a lot to hope for, though, so I did something I haven't done in many years; I prayed.

I kneeled at the edge of my bed and started.

"Arceus, I know I haven't prayed to you or revered your name as I ought to have, but I don't know who else to turn to. Blade and I are in love and we wish to marry, but the only obstacle we have found so far is his parents. They would go so far as to bind him and force him to marry another. I do not want this to happen and cause a rift between us. Any help you could send would be greatly appreciated."

"Oh, how I wish it were that easy" a strange voice behind me said.

I whirled around, charging a Shadow Ball between my hands, ready to strike at the intruder, but I stopped at the sight of what appeared to be a human, but indeed the strangest human ever. I had only seen two humans in my entire lifetime, and even then at a distance. This particular human was wearing all white clothes; white shirt, white pants, even a white jacket. He had on golden shoes and golden gloves. He was also wearing a golden belt with four emerald green studs, evenly spaced. Attached to the belt was a sword that was colored the same as his hair, a steel gray. His eyes were piercing red, and a soft glow emanated around him. The Shadow Ball fizzled from my hands which dropped to my sides.

"Are you…?"

"Yes, I am Arceus. You have called for me, so I came." It took a lot of courage to ask my next question.

"So, do you visit everyone who prays to you, or am I special? And why do you look so… human?" Arceus smiled widely, then shifted his weight a little and responded.

"Well, I don't show up to everyone who requests my help, only those who desperately need it. So, in a way, yes, you are special. The reason I look human is simply because I chose to look this way. I figured it would be a lot less cramped in your room if I visited in my human form." It was an understatement to say my mind was blown.

"Anyway," said Arceus "to the matter at hand. No, I cannot simply cast a spell to make your fiancée's parents see reason, though believe me I would like to make all the high class citizens see reason."

"Why can't you?" I asked. He sighed, the continued.

"You see, when I created everything, my life was boring. So I created Mew, who gave birth to every pokemon in existence. And let me tell you, she was very sad to see many of her children die. Still is, as am I. Anyway, when pokemon came into the world, I vowed that I would try to be a part of their lives but not interfere with them. Therefore, when you asked for my help, I came here to give you advice. However, I cannot force Blade's parents to change their views, for that would be to interfere with them. You must change their views yourself, but you can only do this by proving that you and Blade are truly in love. His parents have a rather bad view of the citizens of the slums, worse than most of the high class citizens do. It will be difficult, but neither you nor your fiancée can give up if you wish to be together. I will leave you now with those words to ponder."

And in a brilliant flash of white light, he was gone. I sat down on my bed, my legs having become weak. I thought about what Arceus had just told me.

"Blade's parents have a worse view of us in the slums, huh? Well, I guess I'll just have to prove them wrong." But exactly how I was going to accomplish that, I did not know. I would talk to Blade in the morning about it.

The next morning…

When I woke up, I sat on my bed and stretched, looking forward to my time with Blade this morning. I left my room in excitement, grabbed my vegetable basket and went outside. I saw him doing his daily exercises. He paused for a second, torn between finishing his routine and meeting me. I solved his dilemma by waving for him to finish. I was willing to wait, and I knew he would regret not finishing. So I sat on the small porch and watched him finish doing his pull-ups, the last thing he did with his exercises. He also ran, so it wasn't only his upper body that got a workout.

When he was done, he came up to the porch and sat next to me, enjoying the light from the early morning.

"Hey, beautiful" he greeted me. This made me giggle and blush a little, but I stopped long enough to respond.

"Hey, handsome."

Then we were both laughing, drunk with happiness about our soon-to-be wedding. He wanted it to be memorable, and so did I, but I was unaccustomed to the idea of something overly expensive. Instead, I decided to broach the subject that had been weighing heavily on my mind.

"Honey?" I said.

"Hmm?" he responded, retrieving the two buckets to fetch the water.

"I… I had a conversation… with Arceus last night."

He froze, confusion written on his face.

"Where?"

"In my room. After I left to go to bed, I worried about what I had learned about your parents. So, I prayed to Arceus last night, and right after I prayed, he appeared in my room to advise me. Blade processed this, then asked

"So what did he say?"

"Well, he told me that he couldn't do anything other than give us advice, he can't change the view of your parents. It's a little complicated to go into right now, but he told me that both you and I have to convince them that we are in love. That should have an impact on them."

The rest of our journey was spent in silence, and I wanted to ask what he was thinking about, but I couldn't bring myself to do it among my worries.

Blade's POV

The last two days of my stay passed in a kind of blur. The final stones had been placed on the aqueduct, the people had been paid, and now all that was left was the ceremony to get it running. The entire population of the slums was gathered at the river and spread out in a circular shape around the mouth of the aqueduct. I stood next to Jake, who was presiding over the ceremony.

"Thank you all for your hard work. And of course, thank you Blade for making this all possible for us." Jake was saying. This got a loud round of applause that lasted for five whole minutes. I couldn't accept all of the credit though, so I said

"It wasn't just me. Everyone here did their part. All I really did was come up with the suggestion. I am just happy that you all will get to experience a better life because of this." Another five minutes of applause. Jake took control again by motioning for the crowd's attention, which was immediately put on him.

"So," he began "It is with great pleasure that I officially declare the Blade Aqueduct, open!" And with that, along with the cheers of the assembled Gallades and Gardevoirs, he lifted the tab that had been placed to prevent the water from flowing before the aqueduct was ready. The water rushed down the new path with eagerness and in the town the spouts that had been set up for the aqueducts purpose began to flow, which elicited cheers from the children who stayed behind to wait for the fresh water. Along with the aqueduct, a water runnage system had been set up so the water wouldn't collect and stagnate. Already the streets were visibly cleaner, and the mood of the gathered crowd lifted even higher, if that was possible.

"It is also my pleasure to say that Blade has chosen a mate from among us!" Jake told the crowd. Unlike before, the crowd was whispering now, wondering who the lucky gal could be. When Jake held up his hand for silence, though, the whisperings stopped.

"The girl he has chosen, who has accepted, is my own daughter, Rose!" With this the crowd began cheering again, except they wouldn't calm down until after about ten minutes. When everything died down, Jake delivered his bad news.

"Unfortunately, Blade must leave us for now. He must return to his responsibilities in the high class district. Lastly, he will confront his parents about his union with Rose, and further for what he has done for us for all these years we have known him."

The crowd initially gave sounds of sadness but went back to cheering for me when I jumped down and made my way to the exit of the town I turned and gave a final wave, then headed for my secret tunnel to head back to the district that made me apprehensive.

Okay, that's the end of this chapter. Read, review, and wait for the next one!