Chapter 7: Internal Conflicts

The gold came crashing down towards my face, and I braced myself for…

My eyes opened, and all I could see was the wooden planks of the floor. I turned my head to see my body laid out across the sleeping mat with Fabian's defense scarf still draped over me like a blanket. Letting out a long sigh, I let my head fall back onto the sleeping mat below. I swear if I have that dream one more time, I might lose it. I was getting kinda tired of being crushed by gold every night.

"Good morning Ninetales. Are you feeling any better?" A deep voice asked from behind me, and I rolled over to see Fabian sitting on the floor with his back against the wall.

I pushed myself to my paws and stretched, letting the defense scarf slide off of my body. "I am fine," I said curtly, turning around to take in the aspects of the room. It wasn't as great as Aromatisse's inn, but it definitely was better than the High Country Inn. The floorboards were sanded and polished, leaving no space for splinters to stick out from the wood. There was only a single sleeping mat on the floor and no other furniture in sight. Along the back wall was a single window letting in golden light from the morning sun.

"How long have you been having attacks like that?" Fabian asked, and I stiffened. Oh Arceus, he had seen the whole thing last night.

With a short glance towards Fabian, I flicked a little lock of my mane away from my face. "I… do not know what you are talking about," I said, speaking way too fast to sound normal, and I cringed, mentally kicking myself.

Fabian sighed and scratched at his chin before fixing me with a humorless look. "Don't play dumb with me Ninetales, I've seen enough anxiety attacks in my days to know one when I seen one. This is serious business," he said before grunting and pulling himself to his feet. "Do you remember when your first attack was?"

I bit my lip and turned away, letting the curly strands of my mane fall across my face. "It is nothing you need to worry about, I have had them for years and I can deal with them on my own," I said and sat on the floor, still keeping my head down.

"You haven't told anyone about your attacks, have you?" Fabian said, and I growled when I heard a hint of disappointment in his voice. Who was he to judge me?

Snapping my head to meet his eyes, I fixed him with a scowl. "No I haven't. Do you know why? Because I do not need them, I learned to control my 'attacks' on my own and I will continue to do so," I said, jerking myself to my feet and spinning around to pace across the room.

"This is serious stuff Ninetales, stuff you shouldn't be dealing with on your own. Your mental health is just as important as your physical health," Fabian said as he moved to stand in my path and crossed his arms over his scarred chest. "When you are sick, you take potions and herbs to cure the sickness, but there is no magical herb or elixir to solve mental health problems, sickness in the mind is only cured through communication with others."

I scowled towards the feraligatr and stopped pacing right in front of him. "What, you just want to talk my problems away?" I asked, my voice thick with sarcasm.

At my comment, a dry smile appeared on Fabian's face. "Technically yes, but most pokémon call it therapy," he said before heading towards the door. "We'll talk about this later, the local guards are waiting for me."He opened the door and walked out into the hall, leaving me alone in the room. I watched him go before I groaned and slapped a paw onto the floor. This precisely is why I didn't want anyone to know about my attacks.

I marched after the feraligatr and descended the stairs to find him talking with a duo of pokémon. The pokémon closest to me was a shedinja, it's bronze wings glinting in the light of the braziers as it hovered in front of the feraligatr. Next to the shedinja was a tsareena who held a small scrap of paper in her hand, which she scribbled furiously onto. As I approached, I heard the shedinja say to Fabian, "Thanks for all of the help last night, we really appreciate it."

Fabian held up his paws and shook his head. "Don't worry about it, I'm just doing my duty," he said and gave them a single nod as they made their way out of the tavern. He turned around and raised his eyebrows when he saw me before he gestured to one of the nearby tables. "Take a seat, breakfast will be ready soon, and I'm sure you're starving."

At the mention of food, my stomach let out a loud growl, making Fabian chuckle, but he had a point. My stomach was painfully empty, and considering I had missed dinner last night, it made sense. I sat at the table and kept my head down as I glowered and stewed over my thoughts. A few minutes later, a bowl of stew slid in front of me, and I graciously began eating. After I had finished my first bowl, Fabian took it away and slid me another one before saying, "So, you mind telling me what happened last night?"

My face fell, and I pondered for a moment before telling a quick story about how the emboar violated my personal space and how I repaid him for it. As Fabian listened to my story, he nodded every once in a while until I finished, and he let out a long sigh. "Now, I'm not gonna say what you did was wrong, that emboar was way too drunk for anyone's good, but I much would have preferred it if you had come to me instead," he said before emptying an entire bowl of stew into his maw.

I scowled and shot Fabian a sour look. "I can handle myself," I said with a growl.

A scoff left Fabian's throat in reply before he said, "Listen, I'm not trying to be mean or anything when I say this, but, you obviously can't handle yourself. If I hadn't been there, that emboar would have seriously hurt you."

I dug my claws into the chair beneath me and ground my teeth together, I wanted to give some kind of retort, but I had nothing. Last night I was absolutely helpless against the emboar. He had me at his mercy no matter how hard I struggled. I looked at Fabian as he swallowed another bowl of stew, watching his muscles contract and bulge as he moved around. The only reason he had been able to deal with the emboar last night was because he was stronger. If I was as strong as him, then I would have been fine.

My eyes widened as a thought came to my mind, and I fixed Fabian with a determined frown. "Fine," I said, and Fabian's eyes flicked over to me while he held a bowl up to his lips, a surprised expression flickering across his face. "Since I 'obviously' cannot handle myself, and since you are apparently the one who does, then you will teach me how to fight."

Fabian's eyes bulged, and he let out a choking sound while he lowered the bowl and put a paw to his lips. He swallowed with a great deal of difficulty and coughed, pounding on his chest with a fist. "Hold on," he said in a strained voice and coughed a few more times before he took a deep breath. "As much as I would like to train you, I don't think…"

"No," I said, interrupting the feraligatr mid-sentence. "You said your job was to keep me safe, and your job would be a lot easier if I could protect myself," I said while pointing an aggressive paw towards his chest.

The feraligatr gave a long contemplative look before a smile crept its way onto Fabian's face, and he crossed his arms over his chest while sitting back in his chair. "This is a hard thing you're asking me to do, and if you want this to work you're gonna have to put in just as much effort as I do. So, are you sure this is what you want?" He said. I gave him a single nod in reply, and he tossed his paws in the air as if he was sealing the deal. "Alright, we start later today after we leave the inn." He turned his attention back to his breakfast, leaving me alone with my thoughts. What had I just gotten myself into?

We ate in silence for a few minutes until a voice from across the room began rising in volume, bringing most pokémon's attention over to him. It was a beheeyem having a loud argument with his companions, and he was waving his arms in the air while he tried to accentuate his points. "I'm telling you, it's Malgus," he yelled with his nasal voice while he pounded a fist on the table. "They have spies everywhere, and they're weakening our defenses every day. Mark my words, it's only a matter of time before they cross the Stann river and invade our territory."

Most of the surrounding pokémon sighed and rolled their eyes at his words, turning back to their breakfasts with disgruntled frowns. My own brows furrowed, and I watched the beheeyem flail around for a few more seconds before shooting a confused glance towards Fabian, silently asking him what in the world the other pokémon was talking about. Fabian glanced at me before putting down his bowl and clearing his throat. "You know about the war between Darun and Malgus that happened about thirty years ago, right?"

I scoffed and said, "Of course I do, I am a princess, I am supposed to know about such things."

Fabian closed his eyes and held up a paw. "Alright, I was just making sure. Basically, even though the war ended over thirty years ago, some pokémon still hold grudges against the other side," he said while jabbing a thumb towards the beheeyem. "If these rumors are true or not, I don't know, but the two kingdoms haven't really been the best of friends since the war."

I pursed my lips and tossed another glance towards the beheeyem. He was still waving his arms about while prattling on about fortifications and barriers. There hasn't been a war since long before I was born, but it would be just my luck for a conflict to break out while I was in Darun. I turned my gaze back to my breakfast and ate in silence. When I finished, I was shocked to see five empty bowls sitting in front of me. Had I really eaten so many? I didn't know I was that hungry.

Fabian stood and began gathering all of the bowls, and within a few minutes, he had cleaned the table and grabbed all of our supplies, allowing us to pack up and leave the town without a hitch. Leaving town went a lot smoother than it had gone the day before, and considering the fact Fabian didn't seem to know anyone in this town, it made sense. I was getting tired of every single pokémon knowing who Fabian was and wanting to have a long conversation with him.

I expected today's trek to be just like yesterday's, and it was for about the first hour, but then Fabian suddenly stopped in his tracks, making me almost run face-first into his legs. He spun around and placed his paws on his hips while giving me an excited smile. "Alright, you want me to teach you how to fight, so the lessons start now," he said, and my eyes widened as I took a few steps back.

"What? Here? In the middle of the road?" I asked while spinning my head around the area. All around us were trees and shrubbery. It did not seem like the most ideal place for training.

Fabian nodded. "That's right, we're getting pretty close to the guild so we might as well get as much training in as we can before we arrive," he said and brought his paw together in a meaty clap. "One of the most important things in battle is endurance, fighting is exhausting, and if you can't fight for more than a few minutes then you're gonna get overwhelmed pretty quickly. So in order to build up your endurance we're gonna run the rest of the way to the guild."

With ears flattening against my head, I stared at Fabian while my eyes widened. "The rest of the way to the guild?" I yelled before shaking my head. "You cannot be serious."

"Oh come on," Fabian said with a playful smile. "You don't even know how far away the guild is, besides you're a quadruped, you've got an advantage in running," he said and held up a paw to stop me from replying. "Listen, if we walked the rest of the way to the guild then we'll get there just after sundown, but if we run then we'd get there before lunch." He then pointed at me with an assertive expression. "You're the one that wanted me to train you, but if you're not up for the challenge then the lessons end now."

I ground my teeth and shot Fabian a dark look before letting out a loud groan. "Ugh, get on with it then," I said while flicking my head. The feraligatr only chuckled before he got down into a crouch, his leg muscled bulging underneath his scarred skin before he took off in a brisk trot. I sighed and ran after him, quickly catching up to his side.

Fabian motioned me forward with a claw. "Come on up here Ninetales, we need to find your pace," he said and slowed down enough for me to be running slightly ahead of him. I tried to give him a frown but turning my head while running left me feeling unstable, so I opted for a confused grunt instead. Fabian's breaths were loud and heavy now, but he was still able to speak just fine when he said, "You'll know you've found your pace when you can still hold a conversation while running, so talk to me, let me know how you feel."

My own breaths came in huffs and puffs, but I still managed to say, "I find this completely ridiculous." My voice was strained, and it bounced up and down with each paw striking the road, yet Fabian heard it just fine and let out a loud laugh at my comment.

"It seems you're already at a good pace, now let's keep it up, we've only got about three hours left," he said, and I let out a groan. I don't know how he expected me to run for three hours straight because not even within the first thirty minutes my run slowed to a crawl, and I collapsed on the side of the road in a sweaty, panting mess.

Fabian stood over me with his paws on his hips, he was also breathing heavily, but he didn't look nearly as tired as I felt. My legs felt like gelatin, and my lungs burned for air, which I couldn't seem to breathe in fast enough. The feraligatr let out a content sigh, and a pleased smile crossed his face before he said, "Oh boy it's been a long time since I've had a run like that." He then turned to me and offered me a comforting grin. "You did pretty well for a first time run, I've known plenty of pokémon who couldn't have gone for half as long before they collapsed."

Panting, I managed to shoot Fabian a dark look before I rolled over and struggled to my feet. I was determined to continue on the run, but the feraligatr moved in front of me and blocked my path. "Now hold on, if you try to keep running now then you're just gonna end up hurting yourself," Fabian said while holding his paws up in front of me. "How about this, we'll go on and off the run every thirty minutes. It'll give you enough time to cool down and get your energy back."

I staggered forward and said over my shoulder, "I don't care, I just want to get this over with." My voice was weak and hoarse, but Fabian heard me, and his heavy footfalls soon followed after mine.

We ran on and off for the rest of the morning. While we ran, Fabian had me up in front to set the pace and would offer encouraging words every time I slowed. During the resting periods, Fabian would walk next to me and give me tips on how to improve on things such as my running and breathing. At first, I ignored the suggestions, but eventually, I found myself using them whenever my pace slowed down, or I was having a hard time breathing.

During one of the running periods, a fork in the road appeared with a large sign in the middle. Fabian called out behind me, "Let's stop right here," and we slowed down to a walk. I moved over to one of the nearest trees and leaned against it, its rough bark scratching against my fur. My eyes closed, and I fought to slow my breathing, sweat dripping down my snout and over my nose. My whole body was covered in it, leaving my fur plastered down in dank patches, while my mane laid limply against my back.

I glanced towards Fabian to see him with his paws on his hips while taking deep, heavy breaths. He was staring at the sign while he caught his breath, and after a minute, he turned towards me while pointing towards one of the lines of text. "We're not far now," he said, and I looked towards where he was gesturing.

In big, bold letters was written, "Venture City - Guild Headquarters," next to an arrow pointing to the left. I peeled myself off of the tree and shuffled over to the feraligatr's side, preparing myself to continue our run. Fabian placed a paw on my shoulder, which I quickly shook off before shooting him a glare.

The feraligatr held up a paw in submission before saying, "Why don't we walk the rest of the way? We're in no rush and it would be nice to arrive without having to stop and take a breather."

I sighed and flicked my head, sending a lock of wet hair away from my face. "Fine," I said before turning to walk down the road. As we walked, I inspected the area around us. Where we were going seemed to have a lot less greenery than the place we had left, the trees began thinning, and shrubbery wasn't covering us on all sides anymore. Yet, with the absence of the foliage came the appearance of a new eyesore.

Pokémon

The closer we got to Venture City, the more pokémon we would pass on the road. There were merchants, guards, and others with bandanas and scarves wrapped around their necks and legs. I could only assume the scarf bearing ones to be guild members on their way to and from missions. As we passed by, many pokémon would stop and stare at us, with even a few guild members giving Fabian a cordial nod.

It didn't take long before the trees were replaced by wooden houses and buildings, and we officially entered into Venture City. My head was on a constant swivel as I took in the city's appearance. It looked nothing like Helion City. Instead of having massive stone buildings and paved roads, Venture City was mostly made up of wooden structures and neatly packed dirt paths. Inside and around the buildings were pokémon of all types talking, buying, and selling every kind of good. I could see stands with their wares up for display, showcasing everything from berries and bandanas to pieces of furniture and other decorations.

The air buzzed with the conversations of dozens of pokémon as everyone hustled about, running errands and the like. Moving through the busy streets would have been a pain had it not been for Fabian. The pokémon parted around his hulking frame like a stream around a boulder, everyone giving him a wide berth, and I was able to easily follow behind in his wake. While we walked through the crowd, I kept an eye out for the guild headquarters. I didn't know what to expect, but I figured it would be some massive building or castle. However, my brows furrowed when Fabian led me towards a modest house near the road.

I jabbed a paw into the feraligatr's leg, bringing his attention to me. "What are you doing? There is no way this is the guild," I said in a hushed voice while glancing back and forth between him and the house.

Placing his paws on his hips, Fabian said, "The ceremony doesn't start for a few hours, so we're going to stay here until then." He started to turn back towards the house, but I jabbed him again to make him turn to me.

"What in Arcues's name is the ceremony? And how are we supposed to stay here? This isn't an inn," I said while pointing towards the small house. I brought my paw down with a stomp. I couldn't believe this, we came all this way, and he never thought to inform me about what was going to happen.

Fabian held his paws out in front of him. "Alright, slow down. The guild only enters new members once a year, and when they do, they have what is called the Opening Ceremony," he said before pointing towards the sky. "The ceremony starts at sundown, so we've got about half the day left, and I don't know about you, but I don't feel like hanging around in the streets for the rest of the day. So we're going to be staying at this here house with a few of my friends who..."

He paused for a minute before he let out a long breath. "OK, just a little bit of background. I once did a joint mission between the expedition society and the guild, and during the mission, I made friends with a few of the guild members," Fabian said and jabbed a thumb towards the house. "This is their house, and I've already sent them a message so they know we're coming, but we've arrived really early, so they might be a little surprised."

Fabian stopped and gave me an expectant look before asking, "Any more questions?" I scoffed and rolled my eyes, turning away to stare at the front door of the house.

The feraligatr approached the door and gave it a few quick taps. A gruff voice shouted something from the other side before the sound of approaching footsteps could be heard. A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal a golem staring out with a grim expression. However, the ground type's face lit up as soon as they saw Fabian at the other side. "Hey Hey, Fabian. What are you doing here so early?" the golem said, her voice sounding just as rough as her rocky exterior. She grabbed the feraligatr and pulled him into a tight hug. Fabian laughed and returned the hug with just as much strength, the two of them looking like they were trying to crush each other.

With a soft chuckle, Fabian pulled away from the embrace. "We had a slight change of plans so we got here pretty early," he said.

Golem's face shifted into a curious smile. "We?" she said in a quizzical tone, and Fabian moved to the side to reveal me to Golem. Her face brightened when she saw me, and she let out a groan while slapping a palm to her forehead. "Aaaah, Of course, the girl from Kalia. How could I forget? That's the whole reason you're here." She moved away from the door and extended an arm in invitation. "Come on in, we've still got a few hours before the guild's opening ceremony," she said, waving us inside of her house.

The house's interior was just as modest as the exterior, with a sitting room connected to a kitchen on one side and a small room on the other. Golem had us sit on a set of couches in the sitting room while she went through the kitchen to a door on the back of the house. She opened the door and stuck her head outside before yelling, "Amphy, come inside, we've got visitors." A few seconds later, Golem came waddling back to the sitting room with an ampharos in tow.

The second the ampharos saw Fabian; however, he jumped in the air and let out a squeak. "Oh Arceus, Fabian, you're here," he shrieked and ran over to give the feraligatr a hug. Ampharos ran into Fabian at full force, but the feraligatr barely even flinched as he caught the electric type in a tight embrace. "You weren't supposed to get here till tonight. How did you…" Ampharos began, but then his nose curled and his face scrunched up as a disgusted frown formed onto his face. He pulled away from Fabian while letting out a groan. "Ugh, dear Arceus. You stink. Did you run all the way here or something?"

Fabian let out a loud laugh and slapped a paw onto his knee. "Yeah, you could say that," he said before he gestured towards me. "You might want to ask her about it though."

Ampharos turned towards me, and as soon as his eyes landed on me, his mouth fell open, both arms flying up to his face. "Oh no, you poor thing," he said before rushing over to my side. I leaned away from him, but it didn't stop him from reaching towards my mane and lifting it gently in his arms. He looked me in the eyes with worry and concern before asking, "Did he force you to run here? My goodness, no no no, your poor fur. It's all sweaty and matted. If you don't wash this out it's going to damage the strands."

I slapped the electric type's arm away from my mane and pulled it over my shoulder. "I know how to take care of my fur," I said while giving him a sneer. "And I don't need pokémon like you to tell me how I should do it."

"OOOOH," said Golem from the other side of the room as a surprised smile filled her rocky face. "She's got some fire in her. I like it." She turned to Ampharos and said, "That's what you get for getting all up in the girl's business. You're acting like this is some kind of emergency."

The electric type stomped his foot while giving Golem a pout. "This is an emergency, the longer her fur is filled with sweat and dirt, the duller and coarser it's going to get," he said before turning towards me with a desperate look. "Please darling, I know you can take care of your own fur, but we need to get all that sweat and grime out right now. If I ran a bath, would you use it?"

I pursed my lips while giving the ampharos a dark look. I would love to have a bath because the feeling of having my fur matted down with sweat sent shivers down my spine. But I did not like the way the electric type tried to take control of my own hygiene. Letting out a long sigh, I decided I would have to go with the lesser of two evils. "I would use a bath," I said plainly, and Ampharos nodded and ran out of the room.

My attention was brought to Golem as she let out a long sigh. "He's been obsessed with fur since he was a flaaffy. And now that he's lost his, he obsesses over other pokémon's fur," she said while she plopped herself onto a couch. The couch groaned under her weight, and she sunk a fair bit into the cushions, but it was perfect for her as she leaned back and gave me a smirk." You're lucky he didn't drag you out by your paw."

I looked away with a grimace, trying to avoid further conversation, but it did nothing as Golem spoke again. "So Ninetales, what made you want to join the guild?" she asked, but her only response from me was a scoff.

Fabian spoke for me. "You'll have to excuse her. She's not really the talkative type," he said, but Golem silenced him with a raised claw.

"Don't give me that," the rocky pokemon said with a shake of her head. "She talks alright, she gave Amphy an earful earlier. The problem is she doesn't want to talk to me." She looked at me with a snarky smile before saying, "I know a Snooty Snout when I see one, she thinks I'm not worth her time."

I stiffened and bit the inside of my lip. Snooty Snout was a nickname used by the common people to talk about nobility. Shooting Fabian a panicked glance, I saw he too had a shocked expression on his face. A big smirk pulled its way onto Golem's face as she looked back and forth between the feraligatr and I. "I'm guessing I hit the nail on the head. Didn't I?"

Fabian let out a sigh before a slight smile formed on his maw. "You know, it's supposed to be a secret," he said while crossing his muscular arms over his chest.

Golem guffawed and pointed a claw towards me. "Then she should do a better job at keeping it a secret. Everything about her screams high class. The way she looks, the way she talks. Arceus, just look at her perfect posture. I swear, I feel like I'm in the presence of King Inceneroar," she said before tapping a claw to her rocky head. "Anyone with a bigger brain than me is gonna figure you out real quick, and I'm the one that's supposed to have rocks for brains."

Fabian grunted and rubbed a paw against his forehead. "I should have thought about this beforehand," he said and turned to me with a grimace. "What do you think?"

"What do I think?" I asked. "What did you expect? I have spent my whole life learning and living proper etiquette, and just because you commoners do not know your manners does not mean this is my problem."

At my words, a loud cackle sounded from Golem's mouth, and she gave me a cheeky smirk. Fabian shook his head, taking a deep breath before saying, "It is a problem though, believe me, you don't want everybody knowing you're a p… High class pokémon. It'll cause so many unnecessary problems." He scratched at his chin, and a distant look entered his eyes, his mouth twitching ever so slightly while he thought.

Golem suddenly spoke up. "Why don't you just try to act like everybody else?" she asked while looking me in the eyes.

I sneered at the rocky pokémon before saying, "I will not stoop myself down to your barbaric levels." I went to brush a bit of my mane, but as soon as my paw touched the crusty surface of my hair, I decided against it.

"Why not?" Golem asked, and I opened my mouth to reply, but I paused before I could say anything. I wanted to berate her with the standards of royalty, to tell her all of the mannerisms I have to uphold as a princess. Yet, the more I thought it over, the more a single thought echoed through my mind.

I was no longer a princess.

Ever since I signed the scroll my father had given me, I had lost any form of nobility I had. I was not a princess, I was not a royal, I was not a noble.

I was nothing.

My mouth closed, and I looked at my paws, scowling viciously towards them. I could practically hear the smirk on the golem's face when she said, "See, there's no reason to act all high and mighty. And it's not like acting like a normal pokémon means rolling in mud and eating dirt."

Fabian let out a chuckle. "You do that all the time though," he said with a playful tone.

"Oh shut up Fabian," Golem said, and I heard her shuffle around for a second before an object whizzed through the air. There was a meaty smack and a deep grunt before a rock clattered to the floor. "I'm a ground and rock type, I'm supposed to do that kind of stuff."

My ears perked when the pitter-patter of feet entered the room, and a few seconds later, a pair of yellow feet stood in front of my chair. I looked up to see Ampharos standing in front of me with water dripping down his arms. "The bath is ready, come along now," he said while reaching for my paw. I snatched my paw away and glared at the electric type, watching him falter under my gaze. "OK, umm, just follow me please."

He shuffled out of the room, and I let out a long sigh before following him. He led me to the side room, where I passed a bed and a dresser before finding myself in a bathroom. There was a large wooden tub filled with steaming water, which the ampharos led me straight to. He flitted about putting down a stepping stool, a small table, multiple bottles of soaps, and conditioners. After he gestured to get in, I used the stepping stool to gently lower myself into the water.

Steaming waves sloshed around the interior of the tub as I entered the water, and I closed my eyes to enjoy the feeling of warm water lifting the dirt out of my fur. I was about to dip my head into the water, but my eyes flew open when I felt an uncomfortable tugging at one of my tails. With an abrupt spin, I yanked my tails away from whatever was touching them, water sloshing over the sides of the tub with my movements. Looking at where my tails just were, I saw Ampharos standing there with a wide-eyed expression. Water was dripping down his snout and off of the bristles of a brush attached to his arm.

I jerked myself forward until my snout was inches from the electric type's face, a vicious snarl forming across my maw. "Do not EVER touch me again," I snapped.

Ampharos flailed backward with a loud "Baa" and fell onto his rump, his brush flying away from his arm. He looked up at me with that same wide-eyed expression, and my lip curled as I stared down at his miserable face.

"Leave. Now," I said in a whisper, and Ampharos gave me a frantic nod and scurried out of the room. I watched him go before leaning back in the water, curling my tails protectively around me. It didn't take me long to thoroughly wash out all of my fur, especially with all of the specialty soaps and conditioners Ampharos had left on the table. After a quick brushing with the accursed brush the electric type had left behind, my fur was as orderly and brilliant as always.

Walking back towards the sitting room, I found the Ampharos handing out small pastries to Fabian and Golem as they laughed over something the golem had said. When I came through the door, Golem threw her arms up in the air and let out a happy cry. "Hey Hey, there she is, if I had any doubt about your noble heritage, it's definitely gone now. Arceus, I've never seen fur done up so pretty," she said with a cheeky grin.

I tossed a frown in the rock type's direction before returning to my seat. As soon as I sat, Ampharos suddenly appeared in front of me, still holding onto his tray of pastries. I scowled towards his face but paused when I saw he wouldn't even look me in the eyes, yet he still held the tray out in invitation. I was about to refuse when the smell of the baked goods hit my nose, immediately making my stomach rumble. With a grimace, I begrudgingly accepted one of the pastries and began to nibble on it while Fabian and Golem finished talking.

"So Ninetales," said Fabian, and I turned to look at him with a bored expression. "While you were away we were talking about your…predicament. And we decided that in order to have pokemon believe you're not anyone special, we need to come up with a good backstory."

With a scoff, I fixed Fabian with a dubious expression. "Are you serious? I am not some kind of spy you need to keep hidden," I said while flicking a bit of my now shiny mane.

Fabian gave me a slight smile before saying, "No, you're not a spy, but if you don't want anyone to know about your actual past, then you need something fake to give them, so they're satisfied after they try to get to know you. If you flat out refuse to provide them with any information, then they're gonna get suspicious.

I rolled my eyes. "OK, fine," I said before fixing Fabian with an expectant look, silently waiting to hear about my new life.

"Alright," Fabian said, clapping his paws together. "At first we had the idea of you being a part of a traveling circus." I immediately shook my head, which made Fabian and Golem laugh. Holding up his claws, Fabian said, "Hey, it was just an idea, but obviously not a very good one. So we tossed around a few more ideas until we finally decided on this."

The feraligatr cleared his throat. "You are the daughter of a wealthy merchant who lived right on the Kalia-Darun border, and you wanted to become an adventurer. So you joined the guild because it was closer than the expedition society," he said and paused with his paws outwards as he awaited my response.

With a raised brow, I gave Fabian a doubtful look. "That is it?" I asked.

Fabian gave me a shrug and said, "What else are you looking for? If you want to expound on it more then do it. You have everything you need to create a convincing character." He leaned back in his chair and smiled while pointing towards his scarred chest. "And I am an old retired adventurer your father hired to be your mentor."

I frowned and scratched at the seat below me. "I do not like it. It is too close to the truth," I said.

Grinning widely, Fabian scratched at his chin. "That's the best part, every good story is true in one way or another, it's what makes them believable," he said and snagged a pastry from Ampharos's passing tray before tossing it in his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully for a few seconds before a light entered his eyes, and he quickly swallowed. "So, now that we have your backstory out of the way, let's work on getting you to act a little more natural."

Fabian turned towards Golem and gave her a thoughtful smile. "So, what were the things that gave it away? Was it her walk? Her posture?" he asked while tapping mindlessly at the armrest he leaned against.

Golem had her head down while she scratched at a crevice in her rocky skin, but she jumped when Ampharos walked over and poked her in the side. "Wah Wut," she muttered while glancing between Fabian and Ampharos. Fabian restated his question with a smile, and a contemplative look crossed the ground type's face. "Well I reckon for me, the most obvious thing was the way you talk," she said while staring me in the eyes. "It's like, you pronounce everything too carefully. You won't even mush your words. You'll say 'do not,' instead of 'don't,' and it's really obvious, only nobles talk like that."

With a quizzical frown, I said, "You think I need to use contractions? That is completely ridiculous, I would sound like an uneducated peasant."

Fabian smirked and crossed his muscular arms over his chest. "That's kinda the point," he said with a slight chuckle. "And besides, I know plenty of very smart pokémon who use contractions, you're not going to sound stupid."

I sighed and shook my head, "Fine, when I am in…" I paused and bit my lip. "When I'm in public I will…I'll use contractions," I said before letting out a groan. I already hated this.

All three of the other pokémon were chuckling at my stuttered speech, and I shot them an icy glare, which only made them laugh harder. Fabian held up a paw. "It reminds me of when your father had just begun courting with your mother. She would pinch him every time he contracted his words, and considering the fact your father grew up in the countryside, he got pinched a lot," the feraligatr said with a laugh.

Golem and Fabian spent the next good while trying to help me get used to contracting speech while Ampharos flitted about giving refreshments and periodically looking out the window. The two larger pokémon would break out into fits of laughter whenever I pronounced a word strangely, chuckling incredibly long at my repeated failed attempts at pronouncing "It's." They kept prattling on about how I put too much effort into the pronunciation, and it would sound like I was saying "Itzz."

After what seemed like an eternity of Fabian and Golem making fun of my speech, Ampharos came over and said, "We have about an hour until the ceremony starts. If you feel like it, we can go early and avoid the crowds."

Fabian grunted and stood from the couch, "You know what? That sounds like an awesome idea," he said, leaning back as he let out a long groan. "What do you think Ninetales?" he asked as he turned towards me.

"I could not care less," I said as I lowered myself from my chair.

"Couldn't," Golem corrected before cackling when I gave her a sour look.

Ampharos moved in front of the feraligatr and stared at his face, putting his arms against his hips. "Now hold on just a minute, you're not going anywhere smelling like that," he said in an authoritative voice.

Fabian let out a groan, which seemed to echo with a hint of laughter. "Oh come on Amphy, this again," he said while placing his own paws on his hips.

"Go on and take a bath Fabian, and Amphy you go with him. I'd like to have a little private chat with the 'merchant's daughter'," Golem said as she too rose from her seat. The two males gave the rocky pokémon weird looks before shaking their heads and making their way out of the room. As soon as the two pokémon were gone, Golem moved towards me with a purposeful strut. She walked right into my personal space and put her face inches from my own.

I met her stony gaze with my own azure eyes, not backing down in the slightest. The rocky pokémon stared into my face for a few seconds before a dry smirk pulled onto her face. "Let's set something straight, miss nobility. I know that most ninetales consider their tails sacred, and Amphy had no right to touch your tails without permission, but if you ever treat him like that again, I will personally smash every single one of your beautiful, fluffy tails," she said as the smirk faded away from her face, leaving her expression set in a deadly serious mask.

Golem pulled away and moved back towards her seat, flopping down onto it with a grunt. I stared at her for a few seconds before settling back into my own chair. We sat in tense silence until Fabian and Ampharos returned from the bathroom, with Fabian leaving a trail of water behind him. When the male pokémon saw the two of us sitting on opposite sides of the room in complete silence, they fixed each other with perplexed looks before Fabian gave a shrug and muttered, "Females."

They gathered all of our belongings and headed for the door, leaving me to sling my adventurer's bag over my shoulder and follow after them. As we moved out onto the street, I pulled off to the side and called out to Fabian, motioning him to come over to me.

"Is everything alright?" he asked as he drew near, and I motioned for him to lower himself down so I could whisper into his ear.

I shot a glance towards the other two pokemon before whispering, "I thought we didn't want anyone knowing about me being royalty. Why are you just letting them get away with that secret?"

Fabian pulled away and looked me in the eyes with a warm gaze. "Amphy and Golem are very honest and loyal pokemon, I trust them with my life, and I know you can trust them with your secret," he said before standing up to full height. "Besides, it's a good thing they were the ones to figure it out and not just any random pokémon. Now we've had the opportunity to plan for any future events like this." He then turned around and began walking down the road to group up with his friends.

I sighed and shook my head. I couldn't even imagine what was in store for me at the Guild Opening Ceremony.

Thank you all for reading my latest chapter. Please leave a review and have a great week