Well, after a long interval of silence, I decided to update! Not that
anyone reads this fic or even cares...oh well, I'll post it just to be
annoying. I was inspired by work on "Revolution" anyways. ^_^ Alright,
thanks to my...three...reviewers...and stuff. Read on, if you dare!
Chapter 3: A Quest to the West
The next morning brought a clear day, the sun outlining the
Eastern Mountains with gold. The light streaming through Misty's window
was accompanied by the overpowering scent of eggs, sausage, and pancakes.
She hurriedly went about getting herself presentable before climbing
down the stairs to the main living area.
The kitchen was spotlessly clean, the white walls and floor gleaming.
May was setting the places at the large, cherry wood table that graced
the room just beyond the kitchen. Everyone but Ash was sitting at the
table, talking about nothing in particular.
"Ah, Princess Misty!" Professor Oak greeted her. "So good to see
you awake, I trust you slept well?"
"Yes, thank you," she sat between Gary and Brock.
Professor Oak nodded. "Good, good! You'll have to borrow some
of May's old dresses before you leave on your journey."
"Thank you," Misty said again. "How's Ash?"
"I'm fine," she turned around. Ash was standing behind her in a
sleeveless white under-tunic and black breeches. Despite his paleness
and the heavy bags under his eyes, he looked perfectly cheerful and
almost completely recovered from the night before. He took a seat on the
other side of Gary.
She blushed slightly, she hadn't realized he was there. "I'm
glad you're alright, I wouldn't want to lose my guide."
"Thanks for your concern," he said sarcastically, helping himself
to the eggs as soon as May set the platter down. "So what's happening
today?"
Professor Oak ignored the food, putting his elbows on the table
and resting his chin in his hands, a thoughtful expression on his face.
He was so involved in this thought process that he didn't notice that one
of his elbows had landed in the butter dish. This was apparently a
normal occurrence, because neither Gary nor May looked twice at him.
"I've been looking over the prophecies you sang to Princess Misty and my
grandson last night, Ash."
"What about them?" Ash was piling a rather large stack of
sausages next to his eggs. "All I remember is sitting down to sing
Brock's prophecy, and then waking up in a strange bedroom."
"It was backlash, you used to much of your magical energies,"
Professor Oak said knowingly. "But, it appears that my grandson is
supposed to accompany you on your journey, and your path lies to the
West. Your quest has just begun."
"Quest?" one of Ash's eyebrows rose, and he paused in serving
himself. "And what, pray tell, are we questing for?"
"That's the part I haven't figured out," Professor Oak admitted,
looking deeply disappointed. "Your prophecies seem to only center on
who's going and where, not why."
This didn't seem to be the best source of motivation for Ash, but
he stopped asking questions and began devouring the liberal amount of
food on his plate.
Gary was surprised. "I'm going with them? But I haven't even
finished my training and- "
"The prophecy hinted that this would be your final test in
training," Professor Oak smiled reassuringly at him. "Not what I was
expecting, but satisfactory."
A few hours later, after much preparation, they were ready to
head out again. Misty was disappointed, she had hoped to stay at least
another night in the tower, but at least Professor Oak had found a spare
sleeping pad for her.
"Goodbye, Grandpa. Goodbye, May," Gary hugged his grandfather
and sister in turn. "See you around, Tracey."
"Goodbye, Gary," May smiled. "Goodbye everyone."
With that she turned to go back into the tower. Brock watched
her with a look of great disappointment, but made no move to stop her.
Misty returned her attention to Professor Oak, who had just slipped a
necklace with a strangely shaped pendant around his neck.
"Only use it when you need to," he warned him. "Good luck on
your journey!"
"Bye, guys!" Tracey waved. Still looking over their shoulders
and waving, Sorcerer and helper went back up the stairs.
Ash helped Misty back onto Nightrider. "Well, that seems to be
everything. Shall we be on our way?"
They all agreed, and were soon making their way down the winding
mountain path. Once at it's base they continued West, as previously
planned and advised by Professor Oak. They were traveling along a
winding, ill used road that cut through thick forests of heady scented
pine trees when Brock called a halt for lunch.
"I think this would be much easier if we knew what we were
supposed to be doing out here," Gary admitted, sitting on the ground and
arranging his heavy grey robes around him. "I mean, how can we quest for
anything if we don't know what we're supposed to be doing?"
Ash helped Misty off of the horse and turned it loose to forage
for whatever food it could find. Evidently Ash didn't believe in using
money to buy his horse proper feed.
"That is true, young Master Gary, very true," Brock nodded
sagely, leaning against the makeshift walking stick he had cut for
himself. "However, if the four of us have been destined to complete such
a quest, than I am sure we shall."
"Or we'll die trying," Ash put in. "Though…I really don't intend
to so."
He ignored the glares he was getting from his companions. Misty
felt herself working up to a full-blown rant, he had been getting on her
nerves all morning. Brock eventually turned away and began making them
sandwiches from the provisions Professor Oak had provided them with.
Gary began toying with his frayed sleeve.
"Ash, I think we need to talk," she began sweetly. But before
she could explode, something else did.
A young boy burst out of the surrounding trees. His blonde hair
was plastered to his forehead with sweat and blood from a cut on his
forehead. He looked around hurriedly, spotted them, and promptly hid
behind Brock.
"Hide me, I haven't done anything wrong," he said fervently.
"Please."
Soon after came the sounds of his pursuers. There were obviously
many of them, making a great deal of racket and shouting for all they
were worth. "Stop! Thief!"
Several ironclad soldiers with the seal of Indigo emblazoned on
the front of their tunics crashed into the clearing. Over half were on
horseback, carrying lances and spears. The foot soldiers held blades in
their hands. The blonde boy grimaced.
Ash stood up. "Can we help you?"
Misty couldn't help but be impressed. He sounded very calm.
"This peasant, Richard Goodwin, has stolen from the King of
Indigo," one of the soldiers on horseback announced. "He has taken one
of the King's deer, from the King's land."
"Only because my family was starving," Richard spat out, glaring
lividly at them.
"Upon the King's order," the soldier continued as if he hadn't
been interrupted, "he is to be executed at dawn."
Misty's rage boiled over. "That is unfair! You're going to chop
off his head just because he wanted to feed his family?"
"Actually, miss, he's to be hanged," one of the foot soldiers
corrected her.
"Well, whatever!" she threw her hands up. "I've never heard of
anything so incredibly stupid in my entire li-"
She didn't get any further. Ash clamped on hand over her mouth.
"Let me handle this," he turned to the soldiers. "I am Bard Ashton, I
have played in the courts of Indigo and would gladly explain the
situation to the King. King Lance is a generous man, I'm sure he'll
understand."
"King Lance has been exiled," one of them explained. "The new
king is Giovonni. If you want to plead your case to him, he will
probably see you all hung."
Ash paled. "Giovonni? The Lesser King of Viridian?"
"Aye, the same."
At that point Misty realized they were completely surrounded.
She opened her mouth to swear explosively, but Ash beat her to it.
Well, that was fun. ^_^ Please review, or I'll never work on this story
again! If you're reading it...which you're probably
not...anyway...um...yeah. And stuff. ::looks around:: Wonder where my
muses got off to...
anyone reads this fic or even cares...oh well, I'll post it just to be
annoying. I was inspired by work on "Revolution" anyways. ^_^ Alright,
thanks to my...three...reviewers...and stuff. Read on, if you dare!
Chapter 3: A Quest to the West
The next morning brought a clear day, the sun outlining the
Eastern Mountains with gold. The light streaming through Misty's window
was accompanied by the overpowering scent of eggs, sausage, and pancakes.
She hurriedly went about getting herself presentable before climbing
down the stairs to the main living area.
The kitchen was spotlessly clean, the white walls and floor gleaming.
May was setting the places at the large, cherry wood table that graced
the room just beyond the kitchen. Everyone but Ash was sitting at the
table, talking about nothing in particular.
"Ah, Princess Misty!" Professor Oak greeted her. "So good to see
you awake, I trust you slept well?"
"Yes, thank you," she sat between Gary and Brock.
Professor Oak nodded. "Good, good! You'll have to borrow some
of May's old dresses before you leave on your journey."
"Thank you," Misty said again. "How's Ash?"
"I'm fine," she turned around. Ash was standing behind her in a
sleeveless white under-tunic and black breeches. Despite his paleness
and the heavy bags under his eyes, he looked perfectly cheerful and
almost completely recovered from the night before. He took a seat on the
other side of Gary.
She blushed slightly, she hadn't realized he was there. "I'm
glad you're alright, I wouldn't want to lose my guide."
"Thanks for your concern," he said sarcastically, helping himself
to the eggs as soon as May set the platter down. "So what's happening
today?"
Professor Oak ignored the food, putting his elbows on the table
and resting his chin in his hands, a thoughtful expression on his face.
He was so involved in this thought process that he didn't notice that one
of his elbows had landed in the butter dish. This was apparently a
normal occurrence, because neither Gary nor May looked twice at him.
"I've been looking over the prophecies you sang to Princess Misty and my
grandson last night, Ash."
"What about them?" Ash was piling a rather large stack of
sausages next to his eggs. "All I remember is sitting down to sing
Brock's prophecy, and then waking up in a strange bedroom."
"It was backlash, you used to much of your magical energies,"
Professor Oak said knowingly. "But, it appears that my grandson is
supposed to accompany you on your journey, and your path lies to the
West. Your quest has just begun."
"Quest?" one of Ash's eyebrows rose, and he paused in serving
himself. "And what, pray tell, are we questing for?"
"That's the part I haven't figured out," Professor Oak admitted,
looking deeply disappointed. "Your prophecies seem to only center on
who's going and where, not why."
This didn't seem to be the best source of motivation for Ash, but
he stopped asking questions and began devouring the liberal amount of
food on his plate.
Gary was surprised. "I'm going with them? But I haven't even
finished my training and- "
"The prophecy hinted that this would be your final test in
training," Professor Oak smiled reassuringly at him. "Not what I was
expecting, but satisfactory."
A few hours later, after much preparation, they were ready to
head out again. Misty was disappointed, she had hoped to stay at least
another night in the tower, but at least Professor Oak had found a spare
sleeping pad for her.
"Goodbye, Grandpa. Goodbye, May," Gary hugged his grandfather
and sister in turn. "See you around, Tracey."
"Goodbye, Gary," May smiled. "Goodbye everyone."
With that she turned to go back into the tower. Brock watched
her with a look of great disappointment, but made no move to stop her.
Misty returned her attention to Professor Oak, who had just slipped a
necklace with a strangely shaped pendant around his neck.
"Only use it when you need to," he warned him. "Good luck on
your journey!"
"Bye, guys!" Tracey waved. Still looking over their shoulders
and waving, Sorcerer and helper went back up the stairs.
Ash helped Misty back onto Nightrider. "Well, that seems to be
everything. Shall we be on our way?"
They all agreed, and were soon making their way down the winding
mountain path. Once at it's base they continued West, as previously
planned and advised by Professor Oak. They were traveling along a
winding, ill used road that cut through thick forests of heady scented
pine trees when Brock called a halt for lunch.
"I think this would be much easier if we knew what we were
supposed to be doing out here," Gary admitted, sitting on the ground and
arranging his heavy grey robes around him. "I mean, how can we quest for
anything if we don't know what we're supposed to be doing?"
Ash helped Misty off of the horse and turned it loose to forage
for whatever food it could find. Evidently Ash didn't believe in using
money to buy his horse proper feed.
"That is true, young Master Gary, very true," Brock nodded
sagely, leaning against the makeshift walking stick he had cut for
himself. "However, if the four of us have been destined to complete such
a quest, than I am sure we shall."
"Or we'll die trying," Ash put in. "Though…I really don't intend
to so."
He ignored the glares he was getting from his companions. Misty
felt herself working up to a full-blown rant, he had been getting on her
nerves all morning. Brock eventually turned away and began making them
sandwiches from the provisions Professor Oak had provided them with.
Gary began toying with his frayed sleeve.
"Ash, I think we need to talk," she began sweetly. But before
she could explode, something else did.
A young boy burst out of the surrounding trees. His blonde hair
was plastered to his forehead with sweat and blood from a cut on his
forehead. He looked around hurriedly, spotted them, and promptly hid
behind Brock.
"Hide me, I haven't done anything wrong," he said fervently.
"Please."
Soon after came the sounds of his pursuers. There were obviously
many of them, making a great deal of racket and shouting for all they
were worth. "Stop! Thief!"
Several ironclad soldiers with the seal of Indigo emblazoned on
the front of their tunics crashed into the clearing. Over half were on
horseback, carrying lances and spears. The foot soldiers held blades in
their hands. The blonde boy grimaced.
Ash stood up. "Can we help you?"
Misty couldn't help but be impressed. He sounded very calm.
"This peasant, Richard Goodwin, has stolen from the King of
Indigo," one of the soldiers on horseback announced. "He has taken one
of the King's deer, from the King's land."
"Only because my family was starving," Richard spat out, glaring
lividly at them.
"Upon the King's order," the soldier continued as if he hadn't
been interrupted, "he is to be executed at dawn."
Misty's rage boiled over. "That is unfair! You're going to chop
off his head just because he wanted to feed his family?"
"Actually, miss, he's to be hanged," one of the foot soldiers
corrected her.
"Well, whatever!" she threw her hands up. "I've never heard of
anything so incredibly stupid in my entire li-"
She didn't get any further. Ash clamped on hand over her mouth.
"Let me handle this," he turned to the soldiers. "I am Bard Ashton, I
have played in the courts of Indigo and would gladly explain the
situation to the King. King Lance is a generous man, I'm sure he'll
understand."
"King Lance has been exiled," one of them explained. "The new
king is Giovonni. If you want to plead your case to him, he will
probably see you all hung."
Ash paled. "Giovonni? The Lesser King of Viridian?"
"Aye, the same."
At that point Misty realized they were completely surrounded.
She opened her mouth to swear explosively, but Ash beat her to it.
Well, that was fun. ^_^ Please review, or I'll never work on this story
again! If you're reading it...which you're probably
not...anyway...um...yeah. And stuff. ::looks around:: Wonder where my
muses got off to...