The dinner was extremely good, brought to them by servants, and lasted for about two and a half hours. Alex spent her time snacking on her favorite foods. She didn't talk, mostly because no one talked to her and Alex was far too shy to simply say something.

While eating quietly Alex watched Angel, looking for more signs of her difference now that she was staying with her family. They were easily spotted. Angel wore clothes that were so sharply designed Alex thought she could see a different world in them, and they were layered. Angel wore jewelry, delicate golden chains around her wrists and neck. Her smiles were open and wide, and looked very fake if Alex thought about them. It was her voice which startled Alex the most. Angel was good with her voice; she could sing song words back at Alex with a sickening sweet voice, or imbue a sentence with a subtle sarcasm. Now her voice was bland, and a bit higher than she normally spoke.

Alex wanted to go back to the pretty lavender room and stay there with Yarrow and Rosemary. She had began to wonder if anyone would notice if she left when Angel's father came in. He looked tired, and while Alex quickly saw that his eyes were the same colour as Angel's, she had never seen Angel's eyes look so blank. Everyone at the table, Mrs. Rolias, Valentine, and Angel, stood up to greet him.

Alex slipped out of her chair and out of the dining room while they were distracted. She went back to her room, making sure she didn't take one step wrong, when she heard a soft noise like a dog stepping on carpet and looked up to see a boy in a wheelchair. He smiled.

"Hello. You are Alex, right?" he asked, and Alex relaxed. Something in his voice reminded her of Yan.

"Yes." She confirmed softly.

"I'm Mono. It's nice to meet you." He said, smiling at her. He looked around fifteen, and had dark hair and soft brown eyes.

Alex nodded, more focused on his name. She had heard it before, somewhere, she knew. It had been when she went to find Angel to ask for training. It clicked; she had heard that name in reference to Angel's brother. Now that she looked, he and Angel had similar faces, and his hair was almost the same shade of black. She wondered why he was here and not at dinner like Angel and Valentine, but said nothing.

"Angel said you were quiet, but I thought you'd say something. You know she's my sister, right?" he asked, and Alex saw the bright spark of curiosity in his eyes.

Alex nodded again. She didn't feel as though she could speak.

"Could you do me a favor?" Mono asked, with enough of a wistful tone to pull at Alex's heart. "Could you let me see your pokemon?"

Alex didn't understand why he would want to, but she doubted he would be scared of Rosemary or dislike Yarrow, so she nodded again, and went to find them.

When she came back, he had gone but Angel was standing there, smiling. It wasn't her fake smile, it was the devil may care smile she had always used and Alex smiled back, used to it.

"You met Mono, huh? He's the only family I can stand. I'll show you his room." Angel said before walking away. Alex followed, Yarrow trotting at her feet.

#######

Mono's room had an underwater theme, and much of it was dark blue. While it was technically only one room, the room looked as though it took up half of the house, and was sectioned into smaller rooms by screens.

"Mono!" Angel called, with only the slightest hint of amusement in her voice. "You've left a guest waiting you know. You aren't supposed to do that."

Mono came out from behind a screen with two books and a plastic case on his lap. His wheelchair got over to them far faster than Alex thought it would.

"I know, I'm sorry Alex. Are these your pokemon?" he asked, reaching down to pat Yarrow, who had placed her front paws on his wheel to look up at him. "She's a sweetheart. Does your ekans mind being touched?"

Alex shook her head slightly, not wanting to dislodge Rosemary, but said, "No, but you have to ask her."

"It's good to see someone who cares about their pokemon. Would you mind if I touched you?" he said, addressing his last remark to Rosemary.

She slid down Alex's arm, and stretched out her body so that Mono could touch her for a few seconds or so, then went and curled back around Alex's neck again.

Mono laughed softly, and Alex wondered again why he wasn't at dinner table.

"Sit down." Mono said, and when they had both sat down on the soft floor, he laughed again. "I feel like you're my pupils now. Looking up to me for wisdom and knowledge."

"If you were so smart, you'd know that wisdom and knowledge are pretty much the same thing." Angel said, but her voice was teasing and kind.

"True. Now, Alex, do you know about pokeblocks?" he asked. Alex, somewhat scared of something she couldn't identify, shook her head.

An hour later, and Alex had an explanation for pokeblocks. They were items made for pokemon from berries, and they altered the pokemon's development. They were sometimes called things other than pokeblocks, but they were all basically the same. There were five ways to alter a pokemon: cute, smart, beautiful, tough, and cool. Alex had thought it wasn't right to force a pokemon to look they way humans thought it should look to be beautiful or anything else, and Mono agreed with her. He also said that pokeblocks were healthy for pokemon, and shouldn't hurt them as long as she let her pokemon choose what they wanted to eat. He proved this by letting both Yarrow and Rosemary select a pokeblock from the case he had with him, explaining that while pokeblocks could be made improperly, he was certain his never were.

Yarrow sniffed them all, and then gently picked up a deep purple one and began to eat it in small bites, but faster than normal. Rosemary picked a light brown one and gulped it down within seconds. Mono explained that pokeblocks were somewhat like candy for pokemon, and that they probably shouldn't be given more than one a day.

Alex nodded, and realized that she was tired. She waited while Yarrow finished her snack and Angel and Mono talked about ships. Apparently they knew a lot about them because they were still talking about the same thing when Alex excused herself quietly and left.

#####

Alex woke up early in the morning, and went out to explore the gardens. She brought Yarrow but not Rosemary, because Rosemary was still sleeping. Actually, everyone seemed to be sleeping, except for Yarrow and her. The garden was enchanting in the morning, with just a touch of light to see by. The dew glistened on flowers and bright green plants, and sometimes fell off when Yarrow brushed them in her rush to move ahead on the stone path they had been following.

Alex spotted Mrs. Rolias up ahead, and wondered if she would say anything to Alex when she passed, but she said nothing. As Alex thought about this, watching the woman cloaked in vivid fabrics leave, she realized that what Mrs. Rolias had done was ignore her, completely, as though she was a stone or plant.

Alex thought about that, and about Angel's fake smiles, and her sister's subtle insults, and about her brother who didn't go to dinner, and her father's eyes. She wondered if maybe Angel had a reason to be scared of going home after all.

When Alex got back to her room she found Angel there, sitting on her bed and looking sad.

"You keep secrets, Alex." She said softly, easily. "We should call you Alex Secretkeeper, you kept them so well."

Alex wasn't sure what to do besides close the door behind her. Angel didn't seem angry, only tired and sad. It was worse than her being angry, and Alex waited for her next words.

"When I was young, Valentine got an eevee. Not because she wanted to be a trainer, but because she wanted to have one. The government gave her one for free, since she was from our family. It died when she let it fall on the ground from our balcony. She put it up there and every time it got down, she'd put it back up. When it died, Valentine didn't care, and neither did Mother or Father. Mono and I did, because we were the ones who fed it and cared for it." Angel paused in her story. She wasn't crying, but she looked like she was far away.

Alex sat down on the bed beside her with Yarrow curled up in her lap. She wasn't sure how keeping secrets had gone to Angel's childhood, but she wouldn't interrupt. Alex never interrupted anyone.

"Mono wanted to become a trainer. He was in a wheelchair then, but he thought he could handle it. He could, but my parents" the words were hissed with a startling venom "couldn't."

"They talked to the TT, then the people in charge of the new trainers, and when he was thirteen they took his pokemon away and brought him back here. They caged him." Angel said, and Alex could her the fury in her voice. "And then they tried to stop me."

"But they couldn't find me." Angel said, her voice taking on a touch of pride. "I hide myself well, and Mono helped as much as he could. Before I came back here, I made them sign an agreement. A legal one. If they try and take Daemon away from me, I can sue them and get every bit of money they have. And in case they think of trying something not legal, I've threatened to tell a few high class families some secrets about ours."

Alex wasn't sure if Angel was bitter or pleased, but whispered, "You were very brave."

Angel smiled, and it was sad but real.

"Yeah, I'm brave. That's one thing I have."