Chapter Four — Resounding Voices
Crystal didn't sleep as much that night either.
It's been a total of three days since she found Lyra's journal. It was the day of the awaited engagement ball and she was not only nervous, but excited as well. She decided she was going to investigate why her sister was missing, but every since that night with Gold, she hasn't seen the prince, nor has she seen Gold himself. She knew that since they're using the main ballroom of the castle and Green is the top of the hierarchy, it would be a given that he'll come. She had to corner him and tell him about it. For now, she was just at Gold's side, greeting guests.
"Hello, Countess! It's an honor to meet you. You are very pretty!" one of the guests complimented.
"Thank you. It's a pleasure to meet one of my husband-to-be's relatives," she replied in a light voice, bowing for politeness.
The old man who greeted her bowed back before walking along to the deeper part of the ballroom. Crystal continued to plaster her smile as she greeted guests. Gold glanced at her, only to show the same plastered smile. It was starting to hurt after awhile.
Once the guests were slowing down and no one were in her face, Crystal muttered to Gold, "I'm tired and my face hurts."
Keeping his smile like the professional he is, "Don't worry, it should be done soon."
He quickly glanced at her kimono, observing it. "By the way, how do you like your outfit? I picked it based on your eyes."
Crystal didn't want to admit it, but she hated it. It was a long light blue embroidered kimono with magikarps on it. Gold assumed it would be best if she wore it because it matched her eyes and she looked interested in the magikarps in the pond the other night they went out. She felt bad to say she dislikes it, but it wasn't because of the pattern, but everything else. She hated the color of her eyes and furthermore, kimonos were not her thing. They were extremely heavy and she felt like they were weighing her down.
"I love it," she lied through her teeth.
"Truthfully?"
"I hate it."
Hearing the blunt remark, Gold snorted, surprising Crystal. He answered her confused look, "Sorry. I just didn't think you would admit it so easily!"
"It's not that I dislike it personally. I just hate this color. My eyes are just an ugly shade of blue," Crystal tried to explain.
"It seems that I don't know you well. My bad," Gold apologized. "Well, we'll get to know each other more properly later."
Crystal nodded, agreeing. "Oh yeah, where's the prince by the way?"
Gold gave her an interesting look and leaned closer to her. "Don't tell me you've fallen for the prince? How scandalous, Countess Lyra!"
She nudged him with her elbow. "Be quiet," she shushed. "It's not that. I just need to talk to him about something."
"Something," Gold emphasized jokingly, a smirk growing on his face.
She tried to elbow him again, but like the flawless vice captain he is, he dodged it. "Hey, stop trying to do that in public."
"Stop being so nosy in public," Crystal retorted in a whisper.
Gold was about to defend himself, but before he could get the chance to, the ballroom orchestra stopped suddenly. On cue, the temple bell rang automatically and resounded all over the castle every midnight. After the bell's sound ceased, everyone grew silent.
A lady stood up from her chair and started to tap her glass with her fork politely to capture their attention. Crystal remembered her as Gold's mother when she first met her a few hours ago.
"Excuse me. I would like to thank all of you amazing ladies and gentlemen for attending my son's and future daughter-in-law's engagement party. The support from everyone is all they need to thrive through this marriage. This marriage will bring a bridge between two families to build a bigger one. For that, I am just so happy. Please give the happy couple a hand."
Everyone clapped politely from their spot and all eyes were adverted from Gold's mother to the two who were sitting near the doors to greet guests.
"Thank you everyone for attending our engagement ceremony. We are honored that you are partaking in the ceremony that not only builds our love but our bonds," Gold announced to the crowd.
Crystal was not going to lie; she was not expecting him to say something like that. He seemed as if he was reciting rehearsed lines.
Before she can say anything to add on after Gold, he continued to talk after the people gave them another round of applause.
"Without anytime to waste, my future wife and I will perform the dance ceremony. Please join us on the dance floor with us if you'd like!"
Getting off guard, Crystal was extremely surprised when Gold suddenly grabbed her hand. Leading her to the middle of the ballroom, Gold walked with grace; the grace that Crystal never expected from someone by the likes of him. Once they reached the center, he interlocked his fingers with Crystal's. It made her realize how much rougher and larger his hands were compared to hers.
He leaned closer and whispered, his breath tickling her skin. "Follow my lead and wait for the music."
She glanced at the end of the room to watch the orchestra start playing and tried, her heart beating anxiously. She couldn't tell whether she was internally breaking down inside from all the judgmental eyes she was receiving or whether it was because of being this close to Gold's body. Either way, she felt like she was going to die.
Once their bows made contact with the strings, Gold began to gently pull her towards him. Crystal followed along, trying to remember her steps. If she were to mess up, she would never forgive herself after all those hours of practicing.
Gold stared into her eyes, only to find his orbs avoided because of Crystal's focused attention to their feet. He tried to hold a chuckle at how ridiculously serious she was acting to not screw up this dance.
"So, since we're friends now, do you have any hobbies you like? You look extremely uninterested in nearly everything," Gold commented, starting a conversation to ease the tension.
"Hobbies? Um..." Crystal tried to think of something. "Baking bread."
Gold raised an eyebrow, caught off guard. "You bake bread?"
"Yes," she affirmatively answered. It wasn't really a hobby, but more of a job to help her mother's bakery out. Still, in a way, it still counted as a hobby to her.
"What a strange hobby for a sheltered person," Gold commented.
She secretly cursed in her head when she forgot to be Lyra for a second. "It's pretty normal to experiment things inside when you're sheltered."
"How interesting," Gold remarked, showing interest in the subject.
He twirled her around gracefully then wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer than before. "Stick with me, Kid. I'll show you the whole world."
For once, a small giggle escaped her lips. Grinning how cheesy it sounded, she couldn't hold it in. Seeing how she reacted, Gold hissed jokingly at her.
"Hey! I was being serious there."
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I just can't take you seriously," Crystal admitted quite bluntly.
To that, Gold returned a smile back to her teasing manner. "I'm a duke. We're the highest of the high."
"Except for the king and prince of course," Crystal corrected.
"Ooh, speaking of the prince, we haven't finished that conversation. Why are you interested in Green?" he asked. "If you're really crushing on him, then unfortunately for you but you're going to be in a world of pain."
"No, that's not it! I just need to ask something about my family," Crystal clarified.
Gold raised an eyebrow. "Your family? What is it?"
"It's a secret," Crystal answered.
He gave her a playful hurt look. "My heart is broken, Crys. I can't believe you're sharing secrets with the prince and you won't even tell your husband!"
Crystal rolled her eyes. "It's something minor; don't worry about it."
"Again, my heart is broken," Gold repeated.
"I said to not worry about—"
Crystal stopped in mid-sentence when Gold had stopped dancing and stood still. She blinked a few times, wondering why he had stopped. That was when she realized the orchestra had stopped playing their instruments and round of applause filled the room. She didn't know why the people were suddenly clapping or why the music had ceased, but Gold gave a small bow to everyone as a thank you.
"What's wrong?" she whispered to Gold through her fake smile.
"The dance is over," Gold told her. He looked at her like she was an idiot. "What else is there?"
Her eyes widened slightly, shocked. "Really? That was such a short dance though! It was much faster than I had expected!"
Gold smiled at her innocent reaction. "Well, you know what they say: the more fun you have, the faster time goes by. For the record, I'm the best person to be around when it comes to fun."
He grabbed her hand and led her to the front of the ballroom where they seats were situated at and the ballroom music commenced. According to the schedule, it was a resting period for an hour or two so they and the guest can be served dinner.
"Okay sure," Crystal replied sarcastically.
"Crys, I haven't said this out loud to your face, but you're a dull person compared to the other girls. You're not much of a lady huh?"
"You're not what I imagined either," she replied back, ignoring the rocks dropped on her head from those comments. "You're very rude."
"Yeah, yeah," Gold ignored her comment, tired of hearing it so many times. It was typical of Crystal to constantly nag him.
Crystal looked down at the food the waiters placed in front of her. Finally some food after all this stress will calm her nerves down. She just needed to get through a speech now that her important dance was done.
She reached for her fork to begin chowing down, but as soon as she picked it up, her arm was patted excitedly by a frantic Gold. Crystal turned in annoyance as to wonder why he was stopping her from dinner, but instead of answering her, Gold pointed towards the middle of the stage. She looked in the direction where he had pointed at, only to see seven girls dressed in their kimonos as kabuki dancers. She turned back to Gold and she could've sworn she saw hearts in his eyes.
"It's the Kimono Girls I talked about!" he exclaimed. "Like always, they're all so beautiful."
Crystal raised an eyebrow, questioning Gold's standards. However, she somewhat agreed with him. They were quite breathtaking in visuals, but she thought Gold's excitement over them was over the top.
The music that Crystal and Gold were dancing to completely changed to a more traditional song. It was one of the most heard songs in the kingdom, based on the legend that went around the kingdom before it merged into one. When Crystal heard it, she was surprised that people would dance to it at this age
"You picked this song?" she questioned.
"Yeah. It's the King's all time favorite song since it reminded him of his childhood, so I thought it would be good to let them perform it," Gold explained. "Do you believe in the legend?"
The legend that went around the kingdom was an extremely old one. It was about a young knight who was caught between the Kanto and Johto Kingdom when they were at war with each other. One day, after his brother died in the crossfire of the war, he went to the temple to pray because he was depressed. In the temple, there were these three beautiful priestesses. Each of the priestesses contained special powers that tributes to mankind and nature. When the knight met the priestesses, he told them their troubles. The priestesses then decide to do a traditional dance, 'Wish', to summon the legendary bird. A gigantic phoenix appeared above them, and in conclusion, it granted the knight a wish. He made the three wishes; his brother to come back to life, the kingdoms to merge, and to have eternal peace and end the war between the countries once and for all. The priestesses successfully granted the wishes, and in the end, the kingdoms were brought to harmony and combined into the famous Kanto-Johto Kingdom today.
"Do I believe in magical priestesses who can summon a giant phoenix and make wishes? I don't think so," Crystal replied. Well, she had weird visions quite often and can predict the future from time to time, but summoning a giant bird that can grant wishes is over the top.
"Really? I believe in it," Gold said. "I know it went back thousands of years ago, but I feel like there's magic somewhere. Either that, or a scam."
"What an odd point of view," Crystal remarked.
Gold gasped and he hit Crystal's arm once again. "What is it now?" she demanded, tired of getting nudged.
"There's Lady Mary! She's my favorite singer! Her voice is like light!" Gold told her. "I'm going to say hi to her."
"Oka—" Crystal stopped mid-sentence when a vision of girls in white kimonos in a cave suddenly flashed in her mind at the chorus of the song.
"What's wrong?" Gold inquired, waving a hand in her face.
Crystal shook the thought off quickly. "No, it's nothing. I was just daydreaming for a second."
Gold raised an eyebrow, his interest perked. "Really? You don't seem like the type to space out."
"I tend to do so during this song," she admitted. "It's quite beautiful."
Gold nodded promptly. "I agree," he said, quickly asking afterwards, "Hey, is it okay if I leave your side to talk to Mary?"
Shaking her head, she looked off towards the double doors that led to the garden. "No, it's fine. I want to get some fresh air after I eat anyways."
Hearing that, Gold started to tidy his uniform slightly more. "Wish me luck! You get it, wish?"
She rolled her eyes, done with his horrible puns. "Great, now every time I listen to the song of "Wish", I'll think of what you just said," she mumbled to herself. Patting his shoulder with fake enthusiasm, she pushed him to go after Mary.
"Good luck. Also, don't tell her any of your jokes. They're not funny," Crystal advised.
Gold frowned. "Thanks for the boost of courage," he replied sarcastically.
"Don't mention it."
Crystal took a deep sigh when she entered the garden. It was so hard for her to breathe with everyone watching her every move and getting judged by Gold's relatives along with the rest of the snobby society. Looking up at the stars were the only thing that made her feel at ease.
She closed her eyes for a moment.
"Come here."
And now she opened them again.
Looking around, she tried to find the source of the voice. It was a light, melodic voice and it attracted her for some odd reason.
"Who's there?" she called out.
"Come here."
Crystal turned to her left and began walking monotonously. She unconsciously, without any single thought in her head, just follow the light. It was as if something took over her body and her mind was completely clear. When she finally regained the situation, she found herself standing in front of a small dagger in its sheath on the ground. The sheath had an odd pattern. It didn't seem like it was from the Kanto-Johto kingdom since most of them had the decorated symbol. This one was decorated personally with a golden flower wrapped around a black sheath.
She picked it up, wondering what it was doing on the floor. "Countess Lyra!"
Crystal jumped at the sound of someone calling her. On instinct, she ended up hiding the dagger behind her back and dug it in the obi sash to hide it. She turned around, her kimono blocking the sword. She didn't know why she did it, but she felt like it wasn't something to show people or it'll gather unnecessary attention.
A short boy confronted her with a warming smile. The big brown eyes the boy had seemed familiar. That was when it hit her and she remembered him as the chef who confronted her a few days ago when she found out about Lyra's diary. She faked a smile back at him, trying to hold down the nervous thumping in her chest. He seem to know Lyra, but she had no idea who he is.
"Hello there! How are you enjoying my engagement party so far? Did you see me dance?" she asked him casually, acting like they were friends.
The boy blinked in innocence, confused by her greeting for some reason. "Countess, I'm so shocked that you don't remember who I am."
"Of course I do!" Crystal rushed her answer so he wouldn't notice her awkward panic. She remembered what she planned to say if she was confronted like this at her party. "Why would say a thing like that? If I didn't know you then you wouldn't have been invited to my party in the first place."
He responded with another confused reaction before quickly hiding it with a smile. Being the observant person she is, she noticed the behavior he was trying to hide.
"Yeah! My bad, Countess! I was just puzzled for a second," he replied, finding the right words to say. "What are you doing out here when your party is in there?"
"I've been on edge this whole night so I thought I'd step out for a breather!" Crystal answered.
"Oh? Is that so? Why don't we go down the garden further for a walk to clear your mind?" he suggested.
Crystal thought about her options and realized that he could ask questions she didn't know the answer to if they were alone. "No, I'm quite fine. I must be getting back to my husband-to-be, excuse me."
She turned around to go back inside but before she can proceed further, he grabbed her wrist harshly and pushed her down against the brick fence that surrounded the plants. The innocent brown eyes she once stared into grew a sinister demeanor and his expression changed drastically. In an instant, fear struck her at the heart.
Too many thoughts ran through Crystal's mind in the short span of time.
Why is he doing this? What is he doing? Who is this person?
"Hey Gold, sorry we're so late!" Red said upon seeing the black haired boy. "Green had to finish up some paperwork, and in the end we kind of got busy."
"It's okay. Parties like this are just an extraneous entertainment. The wedding ceremony is where the real party's at," Gold replied, shrugging it off casually.
Green scanned the room once more quietly. "Where's the countess?"
"Crys?" Gold's eyes perked up when he remembered something. "Oh yeah, speaking of which, what did you to her? She kept wanting to speak to you. She constantly kept saying "Where's Prince Green? Where's Prince Green?"."
Red furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Green. "What does Lady Lyra have to do with you?"
Green ignored the looks he was receiving from Red and Gold and understood why she wanted to speak to him. It was probably either a complaint or questions on how much progress the search for Lyra had.
"Where is she?" he demanded.
Gold pointed over to the main table where she should be eating, but realized she wasn't there anymore. That was when he remembered something she told him. "Oh yeah, she should be outside in the garden getting some air. She said she would go after she finished eating."
"I'll go see her then," Green announced, already walking towards the garden exit.
"Why do you seem so urgent to talk with her?" Gold asked, suspecting something.
"Gold, Red, you may go enjoy yourselves with the food. I wish to be alone," Green told them as he looked around the garden for Crystal.
"Oh my gosh, my wife-to-be and the prince is really having an affair!" Gold accused jokingly.
Green rolled his eyes and growled at him. "Shut up about it and leave already!"
"Hey guys, I found Lady Lyra!" Red interrupted, butting in.
The two bickering boys turned and looked towards the direction where Red had pointed at. All the way across the garden, Crystal was there talking to some random guy neither of them have ever seen.
"Who's the guy? I've never seen him before," Red chimed in.
"I know all of the faces and names of the nobles along with what property they own, but I've never seen him before. He must either be a staff worker or a trespasser," Green stated.
"It has to be a staff worker," Red said. The guards of the castle were really on point when it came to party security, so there's no way it's an outsider.
From their view, Crystal waved goodbye to him and walked away from him but then he grabbed her wrist. Afterwards, he pushed her against the fence suddenly and leaned his face closer to hers.
"Hey! What the heck is that guy doing?!" Gold cried out, seeing the scene.
Immediately, Gold and Red pulled out their swords and sprinted towards them with Green following behind.
"Dear Countess Lyra," the boy said, his voice changing eight octaves deeper. "Now are you sure you don't remember me? I'm the gatekeeper, Petrel! I thought we had such a great time when you screamed for help constantly. Or maybe you just don't recognize me with this new face of mine."
Crystal had no idea what the heck this guy was talking about, but she knew one thing. She had to get out of there.
"SOMEONE HEL—Mmmrgg!"
Crystal struggled as she tried to push her attacker off of her.
"That's more like something the countess would do," Petrel remarked, muffling her screams. "I didn't think you would be so stupid as to come back to the palace, but with your small brain, it's possible. Now just be quiet and come with me."
What?
That was when Crystal figured it out. Putting the pieces in his speech together, she realized that this guy had something to do with Lyra's disappearance. Suddenly, Crystal felt a huge shadow consume her body and take over her existence.
With her free arm that she had after Petrel moved his hand to her mouth, Crystal reached to the back of her kimono and pulled the dagger away from her obi sash. She ripped open the sheath then proceeded to thrust the small knife into Petrel's shoulder as hard as she can. Petrel groaned in pain, immediately pulling back from her. Crystal used this chance and kicked his body off of hers. She yanked the dagger out of his shoulder and began to back away from his body.
"You bitch!" Petrel growled, clutching his shoulder that was dripping blood.
"The only bitch here is you, you asshole!" she replied back.
She didn't know what she should do. She knew he had something to do with Lyra and wanted to interrogate him about it, but then there was also the chance where she wouldn't be able to get that close. With her built compared to his, she would obviously lose in terms of fighting. Sure, she had strong legs, but with this kimono and other disadvantages she had, she couldn't win. She could let him take her to Lyra where he captured her, but she figured by his actions of confusing her as Lyra and his speech that Lyra mostly likely ran away from him.
What to do? What to do?
Crystal couldn't make her decision on how to handle the situation. She needed more time to think about it and weigh out the options. The only thing she was on right now was adrenaline and the constant need to find Lyra.
Petrel lifted his shirt and grabbed a sword that was hidden underneath. Unsheathing it, he threw the sheath onto the floor and pointed the weapon at Crystal. Crystal gulped, still trying figure out her options.
"Hey."
A deep voice appeared from beside her, and suddenly, someone's wide back was in her view, hiding Petrel from her vision.
"What the hell do you think you're doing to my fiancée?"
Crystal looked up and realized the figure was Gold. Then she realized that beside Gold was Red and that Green was by her left.
"To attack a noble lady, you should be ashamed. As punishment, you will be detained until the prince orders your death," Red told him.
"Tch." Petrel clicked his tongue. "How troublesome to deal with the royalties. I'll be back later for you, Countess."
He quickly sprinted toward another entrance to the ballroom. Red and Gold followed after him, chasing him down while Green stayed behind with Crystal. Crystal turned to Green, her hands still clutching the knife that was dripping blood. Before she can say anything, Green interjected.
"We need to talk."
Petrel cursed under his breath as he passed through the crowd. He changed his face, his appearance now like a young woman. He turned his head around, a small smirk appearing on his face when he saw that he had lost the guards' chase.
"Oof!"
Without knowing it, he accidentally bumped into some short figure. The kid had a doctor's uniform on, obviously from the castle medics. By his appearance, Petrel recognized the child doctor from the rumors he had heard. It was hard to miss him among the nobles due to his odd blond hair and countryside hat.
He cleared his throat and spoke in a higher tone to keep up his facade. With a worried face, he gasped. "I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there because I was looking for the bathroom, Duke!"
The duke smiled innocently and took his hand. "It's okay. It was my mistake to not watch where I was going. More importantly," His eyes trailed down to Petrel's chest and then his shoulder where his small injury resided, giving the man a chill up his spine. "please don't cause so much trouble if you are an intruder."
Now, the chill was reality. He faked a smile to counter his. "Pardon? Why would you say that?"
With his little finger, the child pointed. "Your aura is full of deceit and lies. Most ladies have it in them, but yours is quite bright. Also, your aura shape is much like a male and I don't know why you're looking for the ladies' room, but that is also a lie."
His eyes traveled back to Petrel's and they were met with his. His bright yellow eyes held a naive and innocent look but behind them, Petrel felt as if he was observed and his heart was getting stabbed by them.
He blinked and remained calm, laughing it off. "Aura? How strange you are! This is quite a funny joke, Duke!"
Petrel felt a lump in his throat when the doctor flickered his eyes. A smile still remained on the child's face as he leaned closer to Petrel.
"Be very careful now," he warned in a low tone, strolling past Petrel as if he didn't exist.
Petrel turned around to see the child walking, skipping along the dance floor in childish manner. The duke looked as if he were an innocent child with nothing to hide like his rumors, but when he interacted with him, it seemed as if he were going to devour Petrel and stab him a million times. His eyes looked through his soul and for once under his disguise, he felt vulnerable.
How scary, he thought as he turned around and proceeded to walk out.
Author's Note — Hi guys! Since I'm making rounds and updating my stories with the pre-written chapters I've wrote years ago, I've decided to also update this chapter as well for this story! Shoutout to Chivan for making me remember my other stories besides Behind the Scenes. Like my other stories, if you know me, thank you for all of the reviews, follows, and favorites during the past few years! I don't know if I'll finish while I'm in my Pokespe phase after a long time, but at the very least I'll try to release the pre-written chapters I've written years ago after I find the time to proofread them! Hopefully, it kicks off during Summer! Anyways, thanks for reading and have a nice day! XD I need to reread Gold/Silver/Crystal chapters to remember their characters again!
On another note, oooooh I planned so much for this story back in 2018, I hope I can implement it! For now, it's mystery~!