As soon as we got inside, we were assaulted by warm colors. The shimmering, copper tiles clacked with each of our steps while golden Bisharp busts kept watch of us. We were welcomed inside by a life-sized Milotic statue that was no doubt made out of solid gold, sitting upright between two doorways that were gilded. Sasha and Boomer audibly gasped as they looked around the shiny room in wonder, though when I turned to see Celeste's reaction, she had a look on her face like she tasted something bitter.
"This has to be the gaudiest place I have ever seen. I don't think I want to see another piece of gold for the rest of my life." She muttered quietly. I chuckled, for I agreed with her, but this was probably not the right time to criticize the taste of our host. We giggled softly as the sounds of footsteps clacked on the floors in an almost musical way, Count Parfum emerging from the doorway on the left. He smiled through his stiff handlebar mustache, nodding at us politely.
"Greetings, my dears. I am truly sorry to call for you earlier than your specified date, however I am simply ever so grateful to you for saving my life today. I truly want to repay you to my fullest extent. Now, I will not have my initial gift ready for you until tomorrow night, but for the next twenty-four hours, you live in Parfum Palace and may enjoy all it has to offer." He said, his grin not fading. I nodded at him and smiled back.
"That is very kind of you, sir, but it's not-" I started, only for him to clear his throat.
"In addition, because of your wide range of pokemon and your skill in wielding them, I have determined that you enjoy battling, yes?" He asked, his eyes widening expectantly. Celeste tilted her head and blinked curiously at him.
"Yes? Do you have a garden with strong pokemon in it we can train in?" She asked. I elbowed her softly, narrowing my eyes at her in warning, but Count Parfum simply laughed, the sound warm and inviting.
"I'll do you one better. On the path of Route Six, there is a building called the Battle Chateau. It is a battling club that is only for the elite and affluent. You may only gain membership if you are rich and or famous. I have two membership passes right here, and I wish to give them to you." He said, reaching into his coat and pulling out two envelopes, holding them out to us. I tilted my head this time as I reached out to pluck them from his hand, passing one to Celeste while I opened up the other. Inside, there was a letter and a small coin. I unfolded the letter and scanned the words as Celeste read.
"With this coin, the holder will receive a sash that marks them as a member of the exclusive Battle Chateau. As a member of this prestigious honor, the holder of this sash vows to be virtuous, charitable, and powerful for as long as they wear it. In turn they shall command respect from their peers of lesser, equal, and greater ranks." It said. I blinked at it, folding the paper back up and putting it inside the envelope.
"Woah, does this mean what I think it means? We get to train with the upper crust of Kalos?" Celeste asked.
"Not just Kalos, my dear. The Battle Chateau has members from all over the world! Now go on, enjoy yourselves! When you return, you may ask any servant to show you to the rooms, and I shall see you girls tomorrow evening for your surprise." Count Parfum said, dipping his head before turning on his heels to walk back through the doorway. I turned to Celeste and smiled at seeing her ecstatic face.
"This could be fun! Come on, Aldith! Let's go beat up rich people!" She said, running back out the front door. I chuckled at her and followed close behind.
The walk was quiet at first, which didn't surprise me in the slightest considering we were passing through a line of trees that led to the glade where we found Mitsy. I cast a nervous glance at Celeste, worried about the impact being here had on her. To my chagrin, her face was impassive, unreadable, as if she felt nothing at all. She was bottling her emotions up again, and that was not okay. What did I have to do to convince this chick that she was hurting herself? Even the voice didn't chime in here, which meant it likely didn't know what to do either.
I was able to relax a little bit when we made it to Route 6. Celeste smiled at the sound of the rushing river. It was still too soon for the wild pokemon to return, but knowing that the Reapers were gone, it was a little exciting to think we had all of the route to ourselves. Our Noibats took advantage of the privacy to play hide and seek, diving into tall grass and the wild flowerbeds. We slowed our pace to let them play as long as possible, grateful to them for breaking the tension that held us.
Despite our slow pace, we soon came to the Battle Chateau, awed by the majesty of it's impressive bulk. The stony structure stretched from one side of the river to the other, it's white cobblestone walls shimmering off the water. Trays of flowers sat under every window, and despite how quiet the route was, despite the fact that battles should be raging within those walls, nothing but the sounds of the river filled the air.
"You know, I've seen a lot of castles in my life, probably more than most people our age. Out of all of them though, this has to be the most magnificent one I've been to." I said, placing my hands on the handles of the deep wooden doors. I hesitated for a moment, thinking we really had no business here, but I shook the thought and pushed the doors open.
As soon as we stepped inside, we heard the soothing melody of a harp playing softly. It was hard to tell the direction the music was coming from, but that didn't make it any less pleasant. I could tell Celeste was just as pleased as I was at the lack of gold no matter where we looked. The floors were a smooth, white marble that had a beautiful carpet a few steps away from the door. This same carpet completely lined the floors of the hallways on either side of us, and there were two tall doors in front of us, a large, framed board hung between them. On closer inspection, the board was a display of different accomplishments for some of the members.
"Now THIS is classy. I would not mind staying here for the night instead." Celeste said with a low whistle.
"Agreed, though it does still have an arrogant feel to it. Honestly, I think I prefer Grimsley's tower back in Unova. The fanciest room there is Vixen's bedroom, and even that is more humble than this." I said quietly, standing up.
"Oh? What's that like out there?" Celeste asked, beaming at me. I opened my mouth to respond when I heard an impatient, almost angry cough. Celeste and I turned to see a red-haired maid glaring at me.
"Hi there, who do we speak to about redeeming our membership coins?" I asked, grabbing my envelope and holding it up. The maid said nothing as she glared at Celeste, who held hers out as well, turning on her heels and walking away briskly. I blinked stupidly after her as she disappeared behind a door in one of the halls.
"Well isn't she just a bundle of sunshine." Celeste said dryly, folding her arms and leaning against the wall.
"What's her problem?" I said in annoyance. The maid walked out of the door, followed by a thin, well-dressed old lady.
"Probably not fancy enough. I've been to country clubs where the staff snubs you if you don't look like royalty. Watch, they're gonna come over here and tell us we stole these memberships and then try to throw us out after boosting their egos by pointing out how much nicer they look than us." She said quietly as the women approached us. The older woman looked us over, a disgusted frown appearing on her face.
"So, I-" I started when she raised her hand up quickly, pinching her fingers together and snapping her arm to the side.
"Silence, you will not speak unless spoken to and directed to. Am I clear, commoner?" She said. I glared and started to come out with a witty retort, but Celeste beat me to it.
"Here we go. Another cranky old bitty who couldn't afford manners with all the money she never worked a day in her life for. Now she's past her prime and realized she's wasted her life on her over-inflated ego and is taking it out on younger girls to make herself feel important again. Am I close, your majesty?" Celeste asked, her hand moving up to hold Sasha to her head. The woman's face visibly reddened, and she raised an arm up and stomped over to us like she was going to smack Celeste for her outburst. I stepped between them, and the old woman looked almost surprised that I stood up to her. It seemed like the tension couldn't get any higher, but as fast as it had come, that's how quickly it left with the arrival of our newest companion.
"Ahaha just as fiery as ever, aren't ya girls? I thought you were gonna let me know you were coming before you went to the Chateau!" Said a gruff, warm voice. We all stopped and turned to look in the hallway behind me and Celeste, and we saw a very large, white-haired man smiling at us. His incredible white beard formed two tails that hung from the sides of his face, framing a smile that promised warmth and safety. A bright blue jacket hung from his shoulders, and a thick sash stretched out over his huge belly, barely contained by the white wife-beater. He lumbered over to us, his black snow pants scraping against itself.
"What is the meaning of this, Wulfric?" The woman spat. The man, Wulfric, didn't appear to be bothered by her anger as he held his huge, meaty arms out to me and Celeste.
"Come on girls, give your grandpa a hug! It's been ages since I saw you two!" He said with a wink. The wink was so subtle that I almost missed it, but it was enough to let me know that he was sound of mind and that he wanted to help us. I grinned at him and grabbed Celeste, pulling us into his grip as he engulfed us in a big, Beartic hug. Sasha and Boomer squeaked as they flew off our heads, flying up to the ceiling and perching on a chandelier.
"We missed ya, Grandpa! We finally became trainers now!" I said, trying to sound like I was really excited to see him.
"Ha! Good for you! You'll have to show me your pokemon later, but right now, let's work on getting you your sashes. Hey, Lady Liress, mind giving my granddaughters here a sash? I'll gladly pay for the coins." He said, holding onto us. The old woman sputtered while her maid looked on with a horrified expression.
"Actually, we already have our coins. Count Parfum bought them for us as thanks for-" Celeste said when she was suddenly interrupted by Liress.
"Preposterous! Count Parfum would never give charity! How dare you desecrate the sanctity of this establishment you little-" She screeched, stopping abruptly and looking at us with wide eyes, trembling in place. I blinked at her and looked up to see Wulfric staring at the woman, his smile losing all traces of the warmth they held previously. His grey eyes were dark, his lips taut in his cold smile, and his hands visibly strained on us, giving the appearance of tightening their grip without actually doing it.
"I'm sorry, madam. These ears just aren't what they used to be. What was it you were going to call my granddaughter? It certainly didn't sound like you planned to give them their sashes." He said, his voice having a hint of a threat. Liress and her maid took a step back, the older woman composing herself and turning around with a haughty snort.
"Fine. Fetch two sashes for Wulfric's granddaughters. I have work to do." She said, stomping away. The maid muttered her compliance, hurrying past her mistress, as they both disappeared into the hall. Wulfric let us go then, and we stumbled forward a bit, not realizing until now that he had actually been holding us up.
"Think they're gone now. You two alright? I'm real sorry about pulling you two so close, but I had to sell it, ya know?" He said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. I chuckled at him and shook my head.
"Don't worry about it, we appreciate the help. Why did you help us though?" I asked, tilting my head. Wulfric chuckled at me as he reached up to stroke his beard thoughtfully.
"Well, you looked pretty naive and innocent. You came here expecting some high-level training to help ya in the gyms, am I right?" He asked.
"Yeah! Count Parfum told us that this would be a great place to train! He gave us these invites to thank us for getting a Snorlax off of him and stopping the Reapers from killing him." Celeste said, speaking almost too fast for me to understand. Wulfric stiffened suddenly, his eyes narrowed at us sternly as though he actually was our grandfather.
"What do you know about the Reapers? You better come with me when Charlotte comes back with your sashes, missy." He said, his voice full of concern and alarm. Celeste froze and hid behind me with a squeak, peeking over my shoulder to stare at him. I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes at Wulfric, challenging the huge man.
"And if we don't want to?" I asked, raising a brow.
"I said her, little lady. Unless you know something as well, and you aren't leaving the Chateau until you've told me everything. I am allowed to detain you for as long as I need. It is my right as a Gym Leader under Queen Diantha's rule." He said, crossing his arms as well.
"Noi!" Sasha screeched, diving down. She tackled Wulfric as hard she she could, but to my amazement the man didn't even flinch as she recoiled back, landing on the ground with a thump and rolling into the wall.
"Sasha!" Celeste cried, moving to get her pokemon. To my surprise, Wulfric was there first, gently picking up the Noibat and cradling her in his huge hands.
"Oh darlin, are you alright? That didn't hurt, did it?" He asked. Sasha groaned and blinked several times, still stunned by the impact. She shook her head roughly and looked around, glaring at Wulfric and hissing. Wulfric chortled as he tossed her into the air, and Sasha immediately flew to Celeste, who hugged her tightly.
"Sasha I'm so glad you're okay! Thanks for trying." Celeste cooed at the Noibat. Sasha growled, but made no attempts to get out of Celeste's hysterical grip, and Wulfric and I watched the two in thoughtful silence.
"Sorry I came off so aggressive. I'm the toughest and most powerful of the Kalos Gym Leaders, so Diantha tasked me with stopping the Reapers." He said quietly as the maid walked briskly toward us, unaware of the altercation.
"Give me your coins and take these sashes. You start off as Baronesses. Defeat ten other Barons or Baronesses to get the next level of sash, and so on and so forth. I warn you though, your kind won't last long in a place like this." She said, her gaze icy. I rolled my eyes as I grabbed my envelope, pulling out the coin and holding it out to her while Celeste did the same, allowing Sasha to hover next to her. The maid made an ugly face at our hands as she reached into her pocket, pulling out a handkerchief.
"Oh for cryin' out loud, Charlotte! These are the granddaughters of Kalos's top gym leader! What more do you want?" Wulfric said, faceplaming and shaking his head. The maid, Charlotte, snorted as she grabbed the coins out of our hands roughly, throwing the sashes at our feet and stomping away with a huff.
"I hope she keeps her job, she'd never make it in the real world." Celeste said loudly as she bent down to pick up our sashes, holding one out to me. Charlotte stumbled, but made no other reactions and kept walking away briskly. I shook my head and put my sash on, fingering the soft fabric.
"So we have them. You're just going to ask us about our encounters with the Reapers? I don't know how that will help, I only ever saw one band of them and Count Parfum blasted them away with a bunch of Gyarados' Hyper Beams." I said. Wulfric snorted in amusement as he turned around, beckoning us to follow.
"Any little bit helps, girls. And there's no guarantee that that was the only group out here." He said. I looked at Celeste and nodded, following Wulfric through the hall. A soft pressure on my head told me that Boomer had returned to perch on me. We heard soft voices in the rooms, and soft tapping sounds like clapping. We stopped at one of the doors, and Wulfric bent down to fiddle with the lock, opening the door and stepping aside to let us in.
The room was more humble than the rest of the castle. The floor was covered in a carpet that had homey, rustic colors, topped by a rug that had multiple shades of greens bubbling on it. There were green and orange chairs lining the walls, and in the back of the room there was a small coffee table under a large portrait of some red-haired woman sitting by a window. Her icy blue eyes held a lot of warmth in them as she stared into the room, her dainty hands folded on her lap while her cream-colored dress billowed around her.
"What a pretty woman, I wonder who she is." Celeste said quietly, transfixed by the portrait.
"That, would be my wife, Neige. This portrait was a gift at our wedding fifty years ago." He said, looking sadly at the portrait. I tilted my head at him, but he seemed to be lost in thought. Not communicating with anyone or anything, but reliving memories. I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but I had a feeling I knew given the timeline he'd laid out for me. I wasn't going to kick a man while he was down, especially not one who just wanted to help.
"We first encountered them yesterday, trying to slay a pair of Dodrio and their child. We only made it out because they came back for us and got us away as thanks for making sure their child survived." I said, going right into our story about the Reapers. I knew Celeste wouldn't like talking about it, but this was a Gym Leader. This was someone who had the inherent belief that he was above the law, and would not let it stand in his way when he's protecting his home. This was someone who wasn't going to just investigate the murderers, he was going to stop them.
"And today, they wiped out countless pokemon in a glade by Parfum Palace and attacked us and Count Parfum. I...I have the sole survivor of the initial attack, an Espurr who watched her mother and father die with their egg. That glade...needs some major TLC, it's pretty clear what happened in there." Celeste chimed in, surprising me and pulling Wulfric's attention away from the portrait. He looked at Celeste with soft, sympathetic eyes.
"I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that. It must have been real frightening. I'm glad you were there though, because I'm sure that Espurr is too." He said gently, and in that moment, Wulfric WAS a grandfather, comforting his grandchild who was clearly distressed.
"Me too but...I just don't understand how anyone could do such a thing. It...it was like they enjoyed it. What kind of person could do this?" Celeste said, her eyes tearing up. Wulfric reached out and laid his hand on Celeste's head, rubbing her hair softly.
"Now now, don't you fret. These aren't people, child. People do bad things because they don't know better. These are monsters, monsters who know nothing but hatred and anger and lash out at the world around them because they don't want to do anything else. Put it out of your mind, darlin, cuz old Wulfric is gonna put a stop to this." He said with a soft smile. Celeste sniffled and smiled back at him with a nod.
"I believe you. They need to be stopped, and I can see you will do anything to stop them. I wanna help, do what I can to make sure that no one else has to go through what Mitsy endured. And I want to get stronger so that I can protect others from them." Celeste said, squirming in her chair in her eagerness to train. Wulfric smirked at her and kept his hand firmly on her head, keeping her in her seat.
"Now you hold on there, sweetheart. I can appreciate your enthusiasm, but you don't have what it takes to take on a group like this." He said sternly. I raised a brow at Wulfric, clearing my throat loudly.
"Oh really? What do you have that we don't that makes you more qualified? And don't say a gym, because Celeste and I might end up as Gym Leaders, or even Champion, by the end of our journey with the proper training." I said indignantly. Wulfric snorted and leaned back with a chuckle.
"A foot in the grave. I don't look it, but I'm seventy years old. I've had a good, fulfilling, long life. I got to go on a journey, met a bunch of pokemon and raised some to be very powerful. I met the only woman I ever loved, and had a family. I told Liress you were my granddaughters because you are old enough to be, which means you are in the prime of your lives, and will be for a long time. I'm going after the Reapers not just because Diantha asked me to, but because I want to make sure young people like you can go on to have the kind of life I had. You say you could be a Gym Leader? Or Champion? That's what I'm fighting for, so that you can do all that and more." He said, looking at us sternly. I looked into his eyes and saw the man he was describing. An old man who felt like he had nothing left to live for except ensuring the safety of the next generation. He wasn't suicidal, but he was ready to give his life to protect the lives who hadn't had a chance to really taste it the way he had. I felt something stir in my mind, and leaned back to close my eyes.
'The mere thought of a life having nothing to live for is preposterous. All life has something to live for, else it would cease. Those who say their purpose in life is to give it for another do not understand the value of it. Sacrifice means that you would do anything to protect your life, and you use that drive to protect another with the unintended side-effect of losing your own life.' The voice explained. I thought carefully over its words, never really thinking about it that way
"You know, we're always taught that sacrifice means valuing someone else's life more than your own, but when you think about it, how much value is that, really? If you are willing to throw your own life away, how can you say you value the life you are throwing yours away for?" I asked, looking at Wulfric. His lips twitched, and he looked at the portrait of his wife.
"Who said I was willing to throw my life away? I kinda need it to fight these things." He said, watching me carefully.
"You did, with your eyes. I know I don't seem like the type, but in the last three years, I was a part of a brutal, internal war. I watched people and pokemon with the same mindset you have do their best to protect each other, some at the cost of their lives. My best friend watched her mother die in front of her eyes to protect her, and I think she had every intention of getting back to her daughter until the very end." I told him. His eyes widened at me briefly before narrowing at me.
"You know, I don't think it's any of my business to hear something so personal about someone whose name I don't even know. I also don't think it's your right to go around telling people about it, I doubt your friend would appreciate it very much." He said firmly. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and instead crossed my arms.
"I don't give details, but Vixen doesn't want people to go through that again. Everyone has something to live for, so if you are going to get into a situation that could threaten your life, you need to go in with every intention of coming back out, not accepting that you might die. Otherwise, you might not fight as hard as you instinctively would, and where will that leave the people who care about you?" I told him. Wulfric and I stared each other down, wanting the other to understand our position. Celeste whimpered quietly beside us, and Wulfric flicked his eyes at her and deflated in his chair with a sigh.
"I hear what you're saying, I really do, but there's something you need to understand little lady. You need to understand that when you are my age, there's not much left to see, and all you can do is look back." He said, looking around like he was looking for a distraction.
"But, there's always something to look forward to." Celeste said quietly, stroking Boomers ears while Sasha watched us carefully from a chair beside her trainer. Wulfric sighed again and looked at the portrait of his wife. I could hear just how tired and worn down he was in the next three words he spoke.
"Not for me."
TBC
I...I regret nothing. I LOVED Wulfric in X and Y, when I first met him, he came across to me like a man who was not going to let something like age slow him down and like he would be a family man. Honestly, I think he was probably my favorite character in X and Y, which is a new thing to me because up until now, I never really had a favorite human character before. Its always been about the pokemon for me, even though some of the human trainers were interesting, pokemon were always in the spotlight for me. Then X and Y comes out with this gym leader who has just enough story to be interesting, but there are a lot of gaps that need filling. Kind of like Grimsley but with a little bit more to him. It helps that unlike Grimsley, Wulfric is actually outside of the location you battle him and his dialogue makes him feel more real.
I do, however, apologize for the lack of the Furfrou quest *I say like you actually cared about that part XD* and the lack of training, and the downer cliff hanger *it IS a cliff hanger I promise it'll be resolved fast!*. This chapter was supposed to go from the palace to the chateau and back to the palace but then I brought in Wulfric and I started writing a history lesson and giving him a backstory, and I realized this was going to be hideously long and boring.
On the plus side, writing all that out means I have half of the next chapter done!
See you in 25 in just a bit!