First thing, I am so sorry that I am two days late! BUt here I am now! And for this sotry too! I hope I made all of you happy!

Review time!

StZushi: Thank you so much!

Ai Star: I'm not going to reveal much, but I can definitely say that they did not do it.

Now for the disclaimer!

Disclaimer: I, AKCC, do not have any rights to Pokemon nor to anything I refer to. I only have the rights to my OCs. Of course, that's because I created them and can do anything with them.


Chapter Six

Scarlett's POV

Once upon a time, a group of kids thought that it was a good idea to go wandering in a dangerous forest filled with creatures that could rip them to pieces and eat their bodies in one gulp.

"Green-chan, this is your worst idea you could ever have."

"Um, Scarlett-senpai, I'm scared." Y clutched my hand tighter. Her little four-year-old fingers were tight in a fist.

"Don't worry, Y-chan," I whispered to her, petting her head. "Look at how Black-chan is acting. He's really brave. You have to be brave too."

"Why are we in here, Yellow-senpai?" the five-year-old boy asked her.

"I don't know, but we'll protect you. Don't worry." She smiled at him, squeezing his hand.

"Ya know, you should just have me in the lead. Then we'll get somewhere." Sapphire pouted.

"You'll have us lost for the rest of our lives," Ruby muttered under his breath.

"What was that?!"

"Can you two please be quiet? We don't want to attract the pokémon to us." Crystal scolded them.

"Gomen senpai." They both said. Ruby was fixing the new hat he got on his head.

"Just admit your feelings to each other already," Emerald muttered under his breath. Sapphire and Ruby both shot glares at the smaller boy.

"Geez, Green-senpai, where are we going?" Gold asked.

"I heard there's a pack of orphaned pokémon here. Gramps told me about it, but they were never about to see them." Green finally spoke.

"Green-chan, that's crazy! We're kids! We can't go up against a pack of pokémon!" I exclaimed.

"Have you ever tried?" he looked at me. I glared and opened my mouth to say something, but he slapped a hand over my mouth. He placed a finger on his lips and pointed ahead.

There was a clearing and in that clearing was a group of pokémon. They were all small and seemed harmless, but looks can be deceiving. They seemed to be crowding around something, but we can't see it.

"What's going on, Scarlett-senpai?" Y stepped forward. Unfortunately, she stepped on a twig and it made a snapping noise. I stiffened as I saw several of the pokémon perk up They turned back to us.

I wrapped both of my hands around Y, protecting her, as Yellow did the same with Black. Green's hand fell from my mouth and he stepped forward into the clearing.

"Green! What are you doing?! Are you crazy! They're wild! They can kill you!" I whisper-shouted to him.

Suddenly, one of the pokémon in eh group stepped up as well. It was an orange lizard pokémon. Its blue eyes were narrowed and seemed to burn with a fire I have never seen before. Its yellow underside was beginning to inflate as the fire on the end of its tail burned brighter.

"Charmander…" it growled, stepping closer to Green. "Char!" it let out a small Ember attack at Green. He didn't move at all, but the Ember attack flew past him. The rest of us ducked as it hit the ground near us. I hugged Y closer to me.

"Green!" I pleaded.

"I know what I'm doing." He told me as he stepped closer to the Charmander.

"Green!"

Slowly, Green walked towards the Charmander. The Charmander was not amused at all. It kept on firing Embers at Green, but none of them ever hit him. It seemed like it doesn't want to hurt us. Just scare us off. But why?

Oh, who cares! It's sure is working! I cried several times for Green to give it up, but he just ignored me. The others were paralyzed with fear. This was our first time facing wild pokémon so you can bet we were scared out of our minds!

Green was only a few feet in front of the Charmander. The other pokémon in the group it was with turned to Charmander to see what it would do. Charmander was growling and a small ember leaked from its mouth.

"Hey there. I won't hurt you…" Green reached out a hand palm forward. Charmander snapped at him, attempting to bite his hand. He missed, but it looked like he wasn't trying that hard. "I won't hurt you. I promise."

Charmander tilted its head to the side. I loosened my grip on Y as I craned my neck. What are those two doing? Charmander let the fire die inside its mouth and looked at Green with a confused looked. Seeing Green's open hand, Charmander sniffed it before rubbing its head against his palm.

Green began petting it, earning a purr from the Charmander. It looked so relaxed under Green's touch.

I carefully led the others into the clearing. The rest of the pokémon noticed our presence and looked back to Charmander.

"Char. Charmander." It nodded. It escaped Green's touch and approached me. I kneeled down. Y was hiding behind me, holding the end of my dress. It looked at me before letting out a big smile.

I smiled back at it. Charmander opened its mouth and blew a ring of smoke in my face. I coughed as everyone else laughed.

"Ack!" I coughed. "Well you're a friendly one, huh?" I smiled at it.

"Charmander!" it cheered happily.

The rest of the pokémon group broke and went to meet the others. A small Eevee skipped towards Y. She gave out a small yelp before hiding her face in my dress.

"Come on now, Y-chan." I picked her up and set her down on the ground in front of me and the Eevee. "It's okay. It won't hurt you."

"Hmmm?" Y opened her eyes and met those of the Eevee.

"Eevee!" it cried. It jumped at Y and immediately cuddled with her.

"Aw! Tu es jolie!" Y exclaimed as Eevee started to lick her. "Non! Arrête!" she laughed. I smiled as I stood up.

I looked at the others and saw all of them playing with a pokémon of their own. Green was talking to the Charmander, Gold was chasing an Aipom who stole his hat and was now wearing it, and Crystal was having a staring contest with a Natu. Yellow was cuddling a Pichu close to her chest and Emerald was laying on the grass with a Treecko next to him. Sapphire was rolling in the dirt with an Aron while Ruby was brushing a Poochyena with his brush. I looked over to Y and Black to see Y playing with the Eevee and Black playing with a Munna.

I noticed a glow coming from where the group of pokémon was. I felt a pull coming towards the spot. I walked closer to the spot and found a blue and black egg there. It was getting off a pulse. Almost like a heartbeat. I reached out a hand to touch it.

"Charmander!" I snapped out of my trance to see the pokémon and my friends surrounding me. "Char. Charmander." Charmander nodded. It pointed to the egg then to me.

I tilted my head at it. "You want me to have this?" I asked. It nodded. The egg glowed again, pulsing faster. I turned back to it and reached out a hand again. The egg glowed brighter when I got close to it and I felt a wave of energy get stronger as well. When my fingers touched the hard shell surface, the egg exploded in light.

I shut my eyes quickly and felt a pulse of energy go through me. I gasped as something flowed through my veins. The light died down and I opened my eyes. In front of me was a small canine pokémon. It was standing on its two hind legs which were a deep black. The rest of the body, arms, and head were blue, but there was a little patch of black on its chest. A yellow collar covered its neck while two small white bumps were on the back of its paws. Two black appendages floated down and stayed down due to gravity. A black mask covered the area over its eyes.

I felt a connection between the pokémon and me, but why?

Finally, its eyes opened. Blood red eyes that mirror my own stared back at me.

Mama?


"Mama…Papa…why?" I was left sobbing at what used to be my home. Night has fallen and only the burnt skeletons remained.

A few castle guards came to investigate, but they did nothing. As always.

Ponyta was given a proper funeral and was buried near the well. Her grave was decorated with flowers that we collected from the forest.

My parents…

They were burned to ashes. I couldn't take it, so Green went in with some of the boys to collect whatever remained of them while the other girls consoled me. And there they were. Sitting in a clay pot next to me.

I ran out of tears long ago, but that didn't stop me from crying. My throat became hoarse and dry. Most of the others returned back to their homes, but Yellow and Green stayed. My closest friends.

"Scarlett, if you want, you can stay with me and Uncle," Yellow said softly as she wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

I placed a brave smile on my face. "T-Thank you Yellow." I leaned against her shoulder.

"You two should head back now. It's dark and getting cold." Green told us.

"You go on ahead," I told Yellow as I lifted my head off of her shoulder, a hiccup escaping my throat. "I think I need some time alone."

"Oh okay." She said as she stood up. "You still have clothes over at my place from the last time you stayed over as well as the dress you're working on." She reminded me before she walked away.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot." My voice hollow. The dress doesn't even seem that important. I lost my parents. I wished I spent more time with them now. I've been spending most of my time working on that stupid dress! I'm not sure if it's even worth it anymore…

I felt a weight on my shoulders. I blinked several times before looking. There was a tan cape draped over my shoulders. I was confused until I looked up. Green was standing there, arms crossed and he was looking to the side. The cape he usually wears is missing. He gave it to me.

"You're going to catch a cold if that's all you're going to be wearing." He muttered under his breath. I smiled weakly and wiped the trials of tears away from my cheeks. I jumped up and hugged him. I knew I caught him by surprise.

"Thank you," I whispered in his ear. "I know that you care. You do. Thank you." I have lost my family but I have not lost my friends. They are there for me. I know it. It will be hard. I know, but I can push through.

"I can't see you like that," Green said. "It's not you. Don't ever act like that again." He finally hugged me back. This took me by surprise. Gary has only given two hugs in his entire life. The first one was one he shared with his sister and Grandpa when his parents died and this one.

"Aw!"

The two of us jumped back as a squeal pierced the air. I looked around and found two figures walking towards us. Green got in front of me with his hand hovering over his sword.

"Put that sword away!" the blue figure exclaimed. "Geez, we're not going to do anything!" the figure put her hood down and I saw that it was Blue.

"Nee-san, say your name next time." The other figure put their hood down. It was that Silver person.

"It's Green! Hugging! I've never seen him hug!" Blue exclaimed. "Why don't you do that around us, Greenie?" she pouted.

I covered my mouth to hide the laughter. Green shot me a glare. But Chatot spoke for me.

"Ha! Greenie?! That's rich!" he squawked.

"What are you two doing here? It's late." He glared at Blue now.

"We were heading back, but then we saw the fire." She looked towards what was left. I averted my eyes and looked back to my parents. "Whose house was that?"

Green shot me a look and I closed mines. I wrapped my arms around myself and gripped the edges of the cape tightly. "Mines." My voice came out in a whisper. But the two heard.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Blue said quietly. "I didn't know."

"We just met today." I opened my eyes and looked up at the stars in the sky the night sky was an unusual orange color. Was it from the smoke? "I didn't expect you to."

I took a deep breath and put another brave smile on my face, but with every other smile, it was fake. "Well, I should get going. Tomorrow is a long day." Chatot flew to my shoulder as I cradle the pot carefully in my arms. "I'll see you all tomorrow. I walked past the three of them. I looked up for just a second and my eyes met Silver's.

Just like his name, his eyes were truly silver, but they were filled with something. Pity? Sadness? Sympathy? No. It wasn't any of those. They were filled with fear. Fear? But for what? Does he know that my parents are in my arms right now? The moment passed. I walked back to Yellow's house.

I was met with warmth and a group hug coming from Yellow and her Uncle Wilson. These two can count as a family in my eyes. I would be sharing a room with Yellow. I didn't mind at all. They were taking me in. I can never repay them for that.

I placed my parents' ashes on a little shelf that was in Yellow's room. Her room was filled with different herbs, berries, and a bunch of paper and charcoal. She was a wonderful drawer. The best I have ever seen.

Yellow helped me dress the shelf as a little shrine to my parents. We decorated with flowers and placed a pot of incense in front of the clay pot. There was a little drawer in her nightstand where she kept all of her drawings. She pulled one out and I nearly started to cry again.

It was a drawing of my parents. They looked so happy. So alive. It was like they were in the room with us.

Yellow placed the picture above their ashes. Her uncle came in with three sticks of incense. We prayed to Arceus and to the afterlife. My parents were never so religious, but they believed in Arceus. Now, I hope their souls have found peace above us. We placed the stick incense into the pot and let them burn into ashes.

Yellow and I got ready for bed. Yellow was kind enough to let me have half of her room. It was a relatively small room, but it was bigger than my old room was. She had all of my stuff set up in one corner while a bed was set up on the opposite side of her's. I got dressed in a nightgown I kept at her house as Chatot flew to cage Yellow also set up in her room.

"Goodnight Scarlett. Good night Chatot." Yellow whispered across the room. A candle was still lit and I was seated at the small desk she also supplied me with. Geez, she has given me so much here. How can I repay her?

"Goodnight." I smiled at her. Yellow was such a quick and heavy sleeper. Once she starts sleeping, there's nothing that can wake her until the sun rises. I hear Yellow's soft snoring. Who knew a quiet girl like her can ever snore? I looked over to the corner where the dress was. Yellow was able to grab my bag of fabrics. Thank Arceus.

But I'm not sure if I'm up to finishing this dress anymore. I lost so much and it was all because I've been spending most of my time on the dress. I'm a horrible person. I am a despicable human being.

"Hey." Chatot cawed at me. I snapped my attention away from the dress and on him. He flew out of his cage and landed on the desk in front of me. "It's not your fault. You couldn't have predicted that."

"But,"

"No 'buts'." He snapped. "That fire was put on while you were gone. They knew that you were going to be gone. It wasn't your fault!"

"But Ponyta…"

"Those bastards would've killed you too if you stayed in their way." He retorted. "Ponyta was an amazing pokémon. I also miss her, but she knew that it was happening. And she was ready for it."

"So what do I do now? I'm an orphan." I said quietly.

"With some badass friends." Chatot flew onto my head. I looked up and he looked down. "You were the lucky one to have both of your parents." He's right. Green lost his parents, Yellow lost her mother and doesn't even know her father, Ruby ran away from his parents, Gold only has his mom, Crystal doesn't know her father, Sapphire's mother is always busy so she never sees her, Black's father went missing too, while no one knows what happened to Whi-Two's father, and Y's father just left her family. I was the only one who really had both parents.

I just stayed quiet. I looked back towards the dress. The basic form is done, but the details need to be added. It was for a royal. The royal will wear this dress proudly in front of the kingdom. It is for the world to see. I got up. I took out some thread, a needle and a pair of scissors. I opened up the bag of fabric and got to work.


"You're late! You're late!"

"Ugh… five more minutes…"

"No, seriously. You're late!"

"I said five minutes…"

"THE SUN IS ALREADY UP!"

"Ahh!" I jolted awake.

"About time." Chatot squawked. "Come on! Get dressed! Yellow already left and left some food for you. I mean, I ate half of it, but there's still some for you!"

"What the-?!" I looked out the single window. The sun was high in the sky!

"Oh, Arceus!" I jumped up from the desk and went through my clothes. "Close your eyes!" I hissed at Chatot. Yellow left me a water basin so I quickly washed myself up and changed my clothes.

Today, I'm wearing a white blouse where the sleeves, with ruffles at the end, ended halfway up my forearms with a red buttoned up waistcoat over it. White pants were tucked into the brown boots I wore with a red skirt going down only to above my knees. I took Green's cape and ripped it in several places so I had a sash that was tied around my waist, but a long portion of it hung on my right side. It looked like it was layered and just brushed the ground.

"Okay! Admire yourself later! You're gonna be late for your job!" Chatot harassed me. He flew after me as I threw a sheet over the mannequin with the dress and dashed out to the main room. Truth be told, there was a bowl of porridge on the table, but it was almost empty.

"I told you to hurry up!" Chatot squawked as I glared at him as I quickly ate the rest of the bowl before dashing out of the house, but not forgetting to lock it first.

I nearly collided with a few people on the way to the harbor, but I made it to the front of the pub in only a couple of minutes.

"Ah geez! I need to catch my breath!" I exclaimed as I panted. "Oh! That's not good!" I felt my breakfast coming back up. However, I was able to keep it in.

"Scarlett!" I straightened up and looked around to see who called my name. Luckily, I saw Soul waving to me from the side of the building.

"Hi, Soul." I smiled at her as I walked over. "I'm guessing this is where we enter for work?"

"Yep!" she nodded. "And I love your outfit! You'll fit in perfectly here!" she led me into the alley at the side and opened up a door on the side of the building. I followed her in and we walked into a room filled with little shelves that were marked with different names. There were other girls in here, some looked the same ages as Soul and me, but a few were younger.

"Hey, look. It's the newbie." A girl with purple hair and yellow eyes looked towards my way. On her cue, everyone else looked at me. She walked up to me as Soul stepped out of the way.

"What the hell do you want?" I glared at her. She gives me any trouble and she'll end up with an eye patch.

"Ha! Got a mouth on you, don't you?" she smirked. "Interesting outfit."

"Made it myself." I crossed my arms. "Can't say the same about you. I wonder where you stole the rags from."

"I like this girl." The girl smirked again. "You'll be fine here. In fact, you're braver than most of us here. Wearing a short skirt. Why haven't we thought of that?"

"Um, maybe you like the head of the Royal Guard?" a girl with green hair and black eyes spoke up. "And you want to impress him?"

"But you have no chance with him." A petite girl with white hair and purple eyes added.

"Shut up." The purple haired girl growled at them. She turned back to me. "My name's Violet. Greenette over there is Jade and the little doll is Opal."

"Hi."

"Hello." They greeted me.

"Your name?" Violet asked.

"I'm Scarlett," I answered.

"Well Scarlett, you're going to be waiting tables with Soul, Jade, Opal, and I. We can show you what is where and how everything goes." She explained. I nodded. She turned back to the other five girls in the room. "Mercury, Ivory, Ebony, Soleil, and Quartz, go prep the kitchen. We'll meet you later." The five girls nodded and walked out of the room.

"Come on! We should get to the front!" Soul grabbed my arm and pulled me through the doors. Chatot's talons dug into my shoulder as she did.

The girls told me everything I needed to know and even permit Chatot to stay, as long as he doesn't cause too much trouble. Huey seemed fine with it, but I'm worried when the more drunk sailors waltz in.

Huey came in not long after the girls finished showing me the basics. When he came in, a group of sailors came in as well. And now my day begins.


Sun's POV

I literally got shocked awake.

I yelped as I felt a current go through my body.

"Hehehehe!" I looked up to see Rotom laughed. "Silly humanzz…"

"What's going on?" Moon looked up sleepily from her side of the bed. Yeah, we were sharing a bed, but not like that! No! We're only 11!

"Ask your pokémon." I glared at it. Rotom went to hide inside a metal handheld mirror.

"Hey! It'zz cool in here!" he exclaimed.

"Sun's up," I said, looking out the window.

"I know you're up. You don't have to talk in third person." Moon said as she swung her feet over the side of the bed.

"I'm talking about the giant ball of fire." I pointed out.

"Oh right."

"Bzzz, done yet, idiotzzz?" Rotom commented.

"You shut up." Moon glared at him. We got ready for the day and then walked down out our room with Rotom floating above Moon's shoulder. The innkeeper was kind enough to let us rent out a room for as long as we need to, and at a good price too so that didn't put too much of a dent in my pocket.

We sat down at one of the tables and the innkeeper came by with some menus.

"You kids choose whatever. It's on the house today." She told us.

"Why?" Moon asked. I hushed her. "What?"

"Don't question the woman who's being so kind to us to give us free food." I glared at her. She rolled her eyes.

The innkeeper laughed. "Well, that nifty Rotom you have with you is bringing in a bunch of new customers! People are checking in just to take a look at it! Even more are eating here too!"

"Yay! I'mzz uzzzeful!" Rotom buzzed.

"So what will it be?' the innkeeper asked.

"Hmm." I looked over the menu. Most of the stuff is moderately cheap, but…

"We'll both have the rice with Basculin and a side of roasted vegetables." Moon grabbed my menu and handed both of ours to the innkeeper.

"Coming right up!" the innkeeper smiled with a nodded and walked off.

"What was that for?" I asked her.

"You always take too long and I want to go look around the kingdom." She replied. "I'm thinking of checking out the castle guard. I heard they make a lot of money and maybe I can get some support from the king so Alola can finally be saved."

"Are you sure it will work?"

"It has to. After the Aether Foundation revealed that they were working with Team Skull, the region is in chaos. With a royal guard and navy on our side, we can save everyone."

"But they wouldn't accept you so easily. You are a girl."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing! It's just that, err…"

"Eat up kids!" the innkeeper came to my rescue with two bowls of rice and grilled Basculin on there and a bowl of vegetables for the both of us.

"Thank you, ma'am." I smiled up at her as I grabbed two pairs of chopsticks from the caddy in front of us.

"Just call me Cerve!" she smiled at us. "I wish I can have siblings like the two of you, but I'm stuck with three older brothers. Despite being triplets, they are as different as water, fire, and grass. Anyways, enjoy your meal!"

"Actually," I stopped her. "I've been wondering, do you have any jobs available at the inn? I'm looking for some work."

"Work?" she blinked at me. "Of course! We're always busy around here! When you're finished eating, just find me and I'll give you a job to do."

I thanked her and went back to eating. Moon was already halfway done with her food and she refuses to look at me. We finished and she got up and left immediately. Rotom stuck his tongue at me before following after her.

I sighed and picked up all of the dishes. I brought them over to the counter where Cerve was waiting.

"So, what do you need me to do?" I asked her.


Lack-Two's POV

"En garde!"

"Ah!" the greenet boy in front of me fell down on his butt. "Not again." He groaned.

"Come on, Wally." I sheathed my wooden sword. "At least I gave a warning this time."

"Yeah. This time." Wally rolled his eyes. He coughed violently, but it stopped after one or two.

"Oh right. I forgot about the dust." I helped him up. Wally was five years my senior, but he's a sickly boy. Pale, skinny, and his breathing problems, it's a wonder how he got accepted into the Royal Guard training program.

"Thanks, but no more surprise attacks. Please." Wally said as he dusted off his clothes.

"I can't make those promises. Sorry senpai." I laughed.

"Why do I even try?" he sighed.

"Let's head back to the barracks," I said as I turned around.

"But it's early morning." Wally pointed out.

"We're getting some newbies today and Green is in charge this time," I smirked.

"Right. Red did it last time." Wally said as he walked with me. We were walking past the gate to the training grounds when we hear a voice.

"Excuse me?! I thought everyone had a fair chance!" I turned my head to see a girl standing in front of one of the guards on the kingdom side. Wally and I walked closer to the gate to see a pale skinny girl, about a year younger than me, with black hair and gray eyes standing off against the guard.

"I'm sorry miss, but I can't. If you wish, please wait until next month and then you can apply." The guard yawned.

"Next month?! But-!"

"What's going on here?" We all turned around and saw a woman heading towards me. She wore a golden kimono with a red sash and obi around her waist. Her black hair was cut just above her shoulders and a red headband kept it from falling in her face.

"Lady Erika!" the guard, Wally, and I went down on our knees.

She giggled. "Stand up. No need to be that formal." She waved her fan at us. We stood back up. "Back to the question, what's the matter here? I could hear this lady from the castle."

"Well, Lady Er-"

"I want to be part of the Royal Guard, but this baka here won't even let me in past the gate!" the girl stopped the guard. My mouth dropped. A girl in the Royal Guard? That's a new one.

"You wish to join the guard?" Erika asked. The girl nodded her head. "Do you have any skills?"

"Um, oh! Archery! I can shoot better than anyone with a bow and arrow!" the girl boasted. I bit my lip. She did not just say that in front of Erika.

"Did she really say that?" Wally whispered to me.

"Oh yeah," I whispered back. This can't end well.

Erika only smiled. "Very well. Let her in. I'll test her to see if she's fit." The guard saluted and opened the gate. The girl quickly ran in. she gave Wally and I a quick glance but didn't say anything.

"Now, follow me." Erika led the way to the training ground. "Come Lack-Two and Wally. I will need your assistance."

Wally and I followed her with the girl. "What's your name?" Erika asked her.

"My name is Moon. Moon Tsuki." She answered. A flash appeared from her bag and a pokémon leaped out of it. "Rotom! I told you to stay in there!"

"Heyzz! Cool!" the pokémon buzzed. Wally and I stopped in our tracks as the pokémon flew around.

"Interesting. You already have a pokémon." Erika wondered as we reached the archery range. "Anyways, Lack-Two set up the targets. Wally, get us two quivers and two bows, if you may."

We nodded and went off to do our jobs. I set up three targets while Wally got the supplies. Erika slung the quiver around so it was on her back and the bow in one hand. Moon just tied the quiver around her waist and held the bow tightly in one hand.

"Now, we will both shoot. I will shoot first and then you will. If you get closer than I do and all three rounds, then you will be a cadet for the Royal Guard." Erika explained.

"Sounds good to me." Moon nodded.

"You boys might want to stand out of the way," Erika told Wally and I. We stepped back and observed.

"How do you think this is going to end?" I whispered to Wally.

"Not very well. Lady Erika is a master." He whispered back.

"But that girl must be confident to take her on."

"Unless she's not from here."

"Let's begin." Erika and Moon stood a good thirty meters away from the target. Erika strung an arrow on her bow and shot. Her arrow landed on the outermost ring.

"She's better than that," Wally whispered to me.

"She's up to something. I can feel it." I muttered to myself. It was Moon's turn now. She stepped and shot. Her arrow landed two rings closer than Erika.

"Excellent shot." Erika praised her. The two walked farther away from the second target. About fifty meters away. She readied another arrow and shot. This time, it was halfway between the edge of the target and the middle.

"Why is she doing this?" I asked to myself.

"Lady Erika must have a reason. Right?" Wally asked.

Moon stepped up and shot her arrow. It was two rings away from the middle. Erika simply smiled and walked a hundred meters away from the third target. In a flash, she whipped out six arrows and shot them one by one. One after another, they all hit the middle, on splitting the one before in half each time.

"Now I believe it's your time." Erika smiled at Moon. All three of us had our mouths wide open. Now I see what she was doing.

"That girl has to split Erika's arrow if she has any chance," I muttered. "Erika's a sly one."

Moon gulped and backed up to where Erika was. Even from here, I could see a shaky hand. She reached for an arrow and set it on her bow. She closed one eye and tried to steady her aim.

She finally let go of the bowstring, but the arrow did not fly towards the target. Instead, it missed the target completely and ricocheted off of the stone buildings and bark of the trees. Wally and I ducked as it flew over our way.

I placed my hands on my head and looked up to see Erika stopping the arrow. She stuck her hand out and just grabbed it as it flew past her. It stopped in her hand.

"I-I'm so sorry." Moon fell down to her knees. "My nerves just- I guess I'm not mea-"

"Don't." Erika stopped her. "You have shown exceptional skill. Under my supervision, you are now a cadet in the Royal Guard."

"What?! Really?!" Moon jumped up.

"Of course. I see the potential in you. I guess it was rather unfair to have you go up against Special's resident master Archer." Erika smiled softly.

"Oh thank you! Thank you so much! I won't let you down! I promise!" Moon jumped up and down.

"Lack-Two, Wally, can you show Moon here to the barracks? I think she needs to settle in first. After you're finished getting yourself situated, follow those two around I'm sure you'll learn a lot from them." Erika instructed before walking away.

"So, which way are the barracks?" Moon walked up to us.

"Uh, Lack?" Wally looked at me.

"Well, this should be a shock to everyone." I sighed.


I think that was a nice chapter. Do you guys feel the same? Compared with the other early chapters in my other stories, this is so much better. I have improved sicne then, but I still like this chapter a lot.

As some of you may know, I am very busy as of late and that means that I am not able to write as much as I would like. That and writer's block has really stopped me. I do want to finish these stories, but it may take me a long time. However, I would still like to thank all of you for sticking with me between these updates that seem like I only do once in a blue moon.

Anyways, thank you for reading this adn giving me a chance! If you like it, please leave a review! they really help me and let me know that people really do care about my stories!

Before any of you ask, I am very insecure about myself, but that's not stopping me!

-AKCC, signing out!