Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon is developed by GameFreak. I only own the plot.
Chapter 5: A Report to Above
The room was still. There was no light source in the spacious room. Only glimmers of moonlight shone outside. Pillars stood by the side of this room, a few cubits set them apart. And most importantly, lavish ornaments such as swords of old, scarlet banners, gold-laced wall background and many other indescribable noble items became the crown of the chamber.
A big twin door was the entrance and a trail of luxurious crimson carpet followed beneath like a pathway. And the red carpet flowed like a river to the opposite end of the long chamber. It led to an elevated part of the floor, climbing small stairs with four stairs, finally met its end on a single yet a grandeur chair made of gold. And that was the seat of the throne.
`Tap`,`Tap`,`Tap`.
A finger with a long nail knocked softly. There was a figure sitting upon the throne. The feminine figure did not move, nor take a breath. Her right hand held a golden scepter, resting on her lap while her left arms became her foothold to lean her straight posture. Hours, minutes, seconds passed by the sitting monarch.
Then the stillness was broken when the twin door was opened. A man walked in solemnly, his billowing red cape with white rim gave a sign of authority. His violet noble garments shone among eyes if there were others there. Then he stopped his legs clad in white and knelt before the throne.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
"Long live to you and prosper be your reign." The male vampire said.
A pause settled in the throne room. He did not lift his head, nor moved, and he kept his eyes from her.
"Rise, my minister." Her solemn voice spoke.
The male vampire stood up and looked upon her on her seat of power. An almost flawless posture and gesture he made before his queen.
"Thou may speakest." Then the male vampire bowed to her.
"Yes, Your Highness. I am here to say that, indeed the preparation is ready."
The queen nodded. Occasionally, she swayed her scepter once. Then she sat straight, leaning on the seat rest, and her legs slanted to the side.
"Hast thou done the letters? Didst thou arrangest succeedly?" The queen inquired.
"Surely I have, Your Highness." He said with confidence.
The queen smiled softly upon the news. Then her scepter laid down on her lap.
"Very well. I commend thee, as always." She said.
"I am merely but a humble servant of yours. I do my part as you commandest."
But then the male vampire once again brought his sight onto the floor beneath. He closed his eyes, and opened it before speaking.
"But I bear two unpleasant news."
There was a slight pause. He raised his sight on her once again.
"Is the House of Sunyshore reluctant yet again?"
"Yes, unfortunately so."
The queen was thinking about the news he brought to her. A minute of silence, then she spoke.
"Here what thou shall say to the Duke, the Queen is seeking a house to be her favor, to be the harbor of Sinnoh." The queen answered. He nodded in reply.
"And send him a score of blood slaves." The Queen added.
Her authoritative voice paused.
"Now pray tell, what are the other tidings?"
"There seem to be mortals, rebelling in the Canalave city." He looked at her while speaking.
The queen raised her neck, this was not daily or ordinary news to her. The minister also was confused by this news.
"When did this happen? Hath the Marquis of Canalave quelled it?"
"Two days ago, Your Highness. When the sun was high."
"But I know not, I dare not to tell whether he hath slain those mortals or not."
The queen pondered, thinking about this sudden revelation.
Minutes of silent moments, the queen kept her own thoughts to her. Her left hand once again tapped the throne armrest like a ticking clock.
"Inquire more. Seek an answer from the Marquis." The queen firmly ordered.
"Thou shall give me affirmation."
"Your will be done." He bowed.
Then quickly the minister left the throne room, his long cape dragged itself as he walked faster than a usual strolling pace.
And the twin doors once again were closed. The queen remained on her throne, reigning with her power in right hand, and mightiness in left hand. The same stillness once again ruled the room. But now, one thing had changed, a swirl of thoughts and emotion swirled within the queen. Her crimson eyes pierced the shroud of night.
The Devon Foundation members had found their hiding place by now. The sun was no more, only the stars were there. They were not by any road nor forest, as those spots would spell their demise. There was only a small ember upon a wood pile, not too bright nor too dim to warm them on that cold night.
The cave ceiling was high, enough for ladders becoming necessary to reach it. Beneath the rock solid palate, there were ten sleeping mats surrounding that small campfire, dozens of yards inward from the cave mouth. It was a convenience that the floor was dry, and a boon that the cave was empty, only those ten humans were there.
Two squad members crouched near the entrance, their rifles were ready. And the Growlithes slept beside the members on watch duty. Meanwhile the rock mystical with four arms strolled deeper into the cave. And the rest of the squad was asleep, their exhaustion was let go, except for a few persons. There were hissings and clenched teeth from them.
Steven sat there, facing the campfire. His shiny cuirass and coat were off him, a waistcoat of violet on white shirt remained. His left sleeve was rolled very much, exposing the wound from the slicing arrow. A female squad member sprayed a clear, aqueous liquid, then came a stinging sensation and he held his mouth shut.
She wiped the wound clean, then she sprayed another solution, this time it was the purple one. Then she wrapped white clothes circling his arms and the wound.
"Thank you, miss." Steven said.
"Your welcome, sir. Don't worry, it wasn't poisoned." She said.
Steven smiled and nodded at her. The female medic took a rest afterward, she headed to her sleeping mat and slumbered.
Meanwhile, across him there was Sidney who laid down on his mat. His brown coat laid beside him, so for his black waistcoat and magenta shirt, as his wound was deeper. A male medic was tending his wound, cleaning it and slowly put the bandage on. Steven watched the whole process, occasionally Sidney grunted. Apparently the pain lingered still despite the purple potion Steven had administered before.
While a few cubits away, the cactus mystical was treated by a pink, chubby pink mystical. The injury it sustained from the arrows was not life-endangering as it was not dying but severe enough to render it groaned.
After a while, Steven was still eyeing the small, temporary furnace in front of him. His countenance was sullen. He held his knees tightly, and he was the only one who was awake, aside from the man who joined him by his side now.
"Someone is upset. What is it?" Sidney asked.
"Miscalculation." Steven answered.
Sidney nodded, he did not press on very much now. He enjoyed the view of the warming ember, which would soon go out.
"Well, they had good security. I mean…" Sidney trailed off.
"I endangered us, ruined our plan." Steven closed his eyes, and opened it as he sighed.
"It's different you see. Those sporadic night stalkers to this, a whole kingdom."
Steven nodded to Sidney's words. But nonetheless, he remained with an unhappy, displeased expression. His eyes reflected much of his thoughts and feelings.
"But yes, you sucked. Now they are aware of us." He smirked.
"If we are either becoming like them or a slave, or dead, I blame you." His snide face returned along with some nasty comments.
Steven chuckled in response. He pushed Sidney gently and Sidney laughed softly too. Steven nodded slightly from his friend's snarking.
"Cheer up, Steven. Do you want me to get Wallace recite his poem now?" Sidney asked.
Steven did not answer immediately, he looked at the ceiling once and turned to Sidney.
"He would be happy to do so."
"Hence one more reason not to fail." Steven said.
Sidney calmed down once again. The hype receded and Steven seemed to ponder again, albeit his smile was better.
"We can do it, I guess." Sidney said.
Both of them looked at the fire once again, the cracking voice of burnt wood was a solemn tune that night.
"We can. And I won't… fail us." Steven smiled with assurance at Sidney.
They sat there, keeping their thoughts to themselves for another minute. Then Sidney stood up and headed to his mat.
"Good night." Sidney said.
And Steven laid down upon his mat, his hands served as his pillow and his blanket sheltered him. Before too long, he closed his eyes.
Early in the morning, the sun penetrated the cave superficially. The cave was still dim albeit there were tints of light in there. The flame had been extinguished, the rock mystical buried the ashes with dirt from below. Their sleeping mats were packed back, and they were as vigilant as last night.
The squad leader, and the rest of the squad stood in a circular line. Steven and Sidney were in front of them.
"We will proceed as planned, since we have not secured her location." Steven said.
"Pardon the question sir, but where are we heading next?" The squad leader asked.
"Good question."
Steven brought out the map. He showed them the map and pointed to a certain part of the map.
"Westward. According to her message, she had been brought to a city known as Oreburgh." He told them.
All of them nodded. Their attention was fully paid to their superior. Sidney then coughed and stole their focus.
"As you see, the only city nearest to us is that one. Aligned with our planned route."
"Yes, we will head out in half an hour." Steven added.
"And we must reach there before day breaks."
The squad leader gave a small salute and the briefing was over then.
The seven squad members and the squad leader immediately scrambled, they inspected their bag and ammunition. They summoned their mysticals and fed each of those. The Growlithes ate their food, so for the rock Mysticals and the tortoise one. The Tailows also gobbled down the small seeds for their food.
While so, Steven was thinking. He looked at the cave mouth, he saw fragments of the scenery outside.
"Isn't there any message from Squad B and C yet?" He asked.
"No, not at all." Sidney answered from his right.
"I see. Hopefully they are alright."
Sidney then prepared his own stuff, he tended his cactus mystical and his Absol that faced the arrow rain yesterday. But Steven left him and now stuck in his own mind once more.
Steven walked to the cave mouth. He lifted his eyes to the foliage, putting his ears to the chirping gray birds, and inhaled the fresh air of the forest.
"Oreburgh huh?" Steven muttered.
That question had been haunting him, since her kidnapping had been discovered. He strolled back and forth for a while. One could see worry, fear, confusion, and plans were there judging from what his eyes gave away.
The forest was calm that day, no blood drinker crept nearby supposedly. They walked in formation, the squad leader was at the front with his Solrock floating above him, while the rest formed a triangle formation. Far above the squad, their Tailows flew high, heading far up ahead in advance. The Growlithes accompanied their owner, warily sniffing anything.
There had not been anything eventful for them, hence the time of the day. Steven looked at his compass, the needle pointed to the west, just as what they had planned. Sidney walked beside him, his right hand held his saber while his gun was in his left hand. Occasionally they heard a few mysticals passed, and some wildlife such as deers prancing on the rocky part of the ground.
Ahead of them was a body of water. A river but not exactly one, in fact it was the sea that formed this blockade. The stream looked docile, there were no billowing waves and there was no rushing current. The distance looked narrow enough for a quick trip passing it. Most importantly, there was a metal bridge, which seemed sturdy and old.
"Commander." Steven said.
The squad leader turned and nodded. Immediately the squad halted and assumed defensive stance. They were hiding in the nearby bushes now, with each member watching each other's back against all direction.
Steven crouched down and stared at his map. He pointed a certain part and to another.
"We are close to the next city." Steven said.
Sidney and the squad leader closed in and peered to the map.
"How much closer?" Sidney asked.
Steven gave a pause and thought for a few seconds. Then he stood up, but bent his knees and walked slowly to the water's edge.
From behind a tree, he brought out his binocular and looked over the yonder. Not too long after, he returned to Sidney and the squad leader.
"Around two or three hours. The map indicates it."
"And so we wait for the Tailow?" Sidney asked.
Steven nodded.
Then the squad leader instructed the rest of the squad to set a small perimeter, four members created spaces nearby while doing sentry duty. Steven sat down, leaning upon a tree and his knees were vigilant for now.
Steven looked over the yonder, over the bridge. His face bore his solemn smile, which turned to flat lips moments later. He clutched his sword tightly, his brow frowned. From a few yards away, Sidney could only look his superior there by himself, pondering something as always.
"Hopefully you're fine, Glacia." He muttered.
"Where…" A worn down voice of a woman spoke.
Her lips were suffering with drought. Subtle, purple blotch lied beneath her cheek. The cold floor beneath was her bed, fortunately she did not pay heed much to the chilling air. She sat up, but her spined shrieked, soreness she felt.
It was her, Glacia. Despite the desolate chamber confined her, she maintained her posture, neat and graceful. Like a royalty she sat, her knees closed tightly, slanted. But her hands were bound, and thus she could not redress her somewhat unkempt hair. So for her ankles, a set of heavy chains around hers.
Her blue eyes scanned the whole room. She did not see anything because there was no light, no crevice from where light would come in nor holes to peek. The woman dragged herself to the nearest wall behind her. Her back rested from whatever strenuous condition she had been through.
She clenched her fist, a layer of ice appeared on the metal surface. She concentrated the coldness for a while. Slowly the ice enveloped the steel serpent coiling her wrist. Then she attempted to break it by two, she yanked both hands simultaneously. Notwithstanding so, her bondage remained.
"Such enchantment." She commented.
`Clunk`.
`Kreeet`.
"Begone, ye blood drinker!" She snarled.
She looked to where she perceived the front. There were figures, they were coming unto her. Where were they now? She surely did not know, the veil of darkness blinded her sight. Her breath became faster. Her shoulder tensed. And now, where were they?
"Bego-hmph!" A firm hand muffled her.
She kept resisting, her limbs refused to comply with her captor. Cold air began to seep to her captor extremities. But her captor did not waver, the assailing mighty arms did not budge from her head.
"Thinkest thou, thine ice worketh?" Her captor mocked.
"Be grateful, thou shall know the truth."
Before she knew, suddenly a drape of fabric belied her countenance as the hand let her go. She struggled and flailed but it was all futile. The tightness gripped her nostrils as if she was suffocating.
"Hmph!" She whimpered.
A torrent of warm water flushed down upon her. Her head looked up to the sky, imposed by her captor and the water seeped into her nostrils. The fabric did its dirty job well. Her movements were erratic, as the continuous suffocating sensation overwhelmed her senses. And until the last drip fell, the torture went on.
To Be Continued….