Finding You Can Change: Chapter 03
Chikorita-Trainer1
T
Disclaimer: I don't own Zatch Bell!
Sherry sat on the couch and waited for Brago to sit down in the chair to the right of her. He stood still for a moment, his eyes darting from the table to Sherry, and then over to another corner. He was nervous.
"This is stupid, I'm not doing this," he grumbled.
This is OK. This is normal. This is to be expected, thought Sherry. Of course he's going to be defensive and in denial.
"Are you happy?"
Brago just scoffed and leaned his elbow on the mantle of the fireplace. Sherry stared at the muscles in his flexing arm.
"In all the time you've known me, Sherry, have I EVER been HAPPY?!" he snarled.
Don't appear affected by his attitude. Just stay calm and get him to talk about himself.
"Only when you're beating the shit out of someone," Sherry said with a smile. "That brought you happiness, right?"
Brago refused to answer. He just looked down at Sherry from where he was standing.
"If you could be doing anything right now, what would it be?"
"Arrrghhhhh….NOT BEING ASKED THESE BULLSHIT QUESTIONS!" the mamodo roared. He whirled towards the sitting area, picked up the table, and hurled it off the balcony. There were screams from outside following the CRASH of it hitting the ground.
Brago stood there, panting, sweating, and Sherry just sat back, not showing any reaction on her face.
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.
"WHAT?!" snarled Brago.
"Nothing," Sherry answered.
"This is bullshit, Sherry, and you know it!" he growled. His fists were clenched and his shoulders were tensed, but Sherry knew she couldn't show any fear. She stood up and looked him in the eye.
"Brago, this isn't getting you anywhere. You know that. You're not stupid."
"I'm aware, human."
"It's been a long day. Why don't we get some sleep?"
"Because I don't NEED SLEEP!" he growled.
"Well, I do. Humans sleep. And I know for a fact mamodo do, too. You just think you're so strong because you can function on much less of it. Which is great, it's fine, it's wonderful. But we're going to be doing things according to MY schedule. So, go wander around the castle all night for all I care. But I'll expect you back here at sunrise."
"Fine!" Brago hissed. And he stomped out of the room and slammed the door.
As difficult as this was going to be, Sherry knew; Brago respected power and strength, even in someone he knew was physically weaker than him. He respected Sherry because she didn't meekly meld away when he defied her. Did he even know that the very strength he was getting frustrated at was the same strength he brought out in her?
Sherry didn't sleep very well that night. The bed was luxurious and comfortable, but she was very tense.
I hope Mother regained consciousness, she thought. The last thing I remember before coming here was writing that letter. I guess that's good. If she wakes up, finds me gone, and finds a letter of abandonment, she'll probably just assume I ran off and that she fainted from shock. Wait—did the letter from Zatch disappear when I did? Or is it still on my desk? Oh, my gosh. Can you imagine what she'll think if she finds that letter? Actually, she'll probably just think I've created an imaginary world to escape into. She'll be glad I'm gone, honestly. She's always hated me.
Thoughts like these kept Sherry from falling asleep for hours. But she finally did. And when she awoke, she screamed.
Because Brago was standing right next to her bed, staring down at her.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Every resident in the castle must have heard that.
"What the hell, Brago?! Have you been watching me sleep, you sociopath?!"
"Of course not. I've only been here for the last five minutes."
"Then you HAVE been watching me sleep!"
"I was merely waiting until you woke up," Brago insisted, rolling his beady red eyes. "So, what's the lesson plan, Teacher?"
"I'm not teaching you anything until I have a bath and breakfast," Sherry informed him, peeling the covers off of her. She was still fully clothed in her white Victorian dress. "Please find a servant and have them summon the royal tailor. I need a new wardrobe. And a journal. I'd like to record my time here."
"Whatever," Brago sighed as he exited the room. Sherry found her way to her private bathroom and began to undress and she ran a bath.
Brago found a random servant walking the halls, and told them that the king's guest required the tailor's services, and then he just went to explore the castle. He'd never been here before, but he'd dreamed of it as a child. He'd dreamed that one day he would be king, and that this magnificent palace would be his.
Of course, he would have decorated it differently, had he been the one in charge. He'd have torn down all these bourgeois tapestries and replaced them with the pelts of animals he would kill himself. The portraits would come down and be replaced with the skulls of his kills, be they animal or fellow mamodo. The bright, royal colors of red and gold would be black and purple. He liked things dark.
He walked past a small door that led to the outside buttresses of the castle, and let himself out. Standing upon the outer architecture, he looked off into the distance.
Happy, he thought. What is happy? What would make me happy?
Back in Sherry's room, she had stripped down to her undergarments, and Kolulu, now the royal tailor, was measuring her and pinning fabric around her.
"I've never had to make clothes for a human before," Kolulu said excitedly. "This is going to be so much fun!"
Sherry smiled. Being an honored guest of the king wasn't all that different from her life as a pampered heiress, only in this world, people were happy to see her. People were asking her what she wanted, asking for her advice, and asking for her help. It was nice to be thought of as useful.
What could I possibly learn from Sherry? She's nothing. A weak human. She was my bookkeeper. My partner. But that part of our lives is over. The battle for king is OVER. Why is she HERE? Did Zatch bring her here just to torment me? Is this his idea of punishment? To taunt me by having me live in this castle, but keeping everything just out of my reach? This is my home but it's not REALLY my home? To bring Sherry here, the one person I may have ever considered worth a damn. What is that puny runt up to? Why is he torturing me like this?
"Kolulu, it's wonderful," said Sherry, looking at herself in the mirror. Her new dress was the same style as her previous dresses, only it was silver in color, with black buttons and the skirt was much less poofy.
"You look beautiful, Miss Sherry," Kolulu beamed.
"You can just call me Sherry," said the blonde.
"Are you really going to teach Brago to be nice?" asked the pink-haired mamodo.
"It's a bit more complicated than that," Sherry admitted. "For a person to be nice, they have to be happy first. I'm going to teach Brago to be happy."
After Kolulu gathered up her things and left, Sherry sat on her bed and began her first journal entry.
First day in the mamodo world. Brago doesn't seem happy about this arrangement, but I'm not backing down. Being here is better than being at home with Mother. If I can help Brago, maybe Zatch will extend my stay for longer. I can't bear the thought of returning to the human world. There's nothing there for me.
Later that morning, Brago returned to Sherry's quarters, and they began the process of getting him to open up.
"Brago, when you were a child, what did you want out of life?"
"To be king," he answered.
Pretty obvious answer, thought Sherry. I'm going to have to ask very specific questions.
"Why was being king so important to you?"
"It was important to all of us," said Brago. "Every mamodo is taught from birth that one day there will be a competition to determine the next ruler."
"OK, but surely there are some mamodo who don't care, and don't want to be king. What do they do with their lives?"
Brago shrugged. "I don't know. I spent my childhood in training. I was one of the four prodigies. Becoming king was my only focus in life."
"What would you do if you were king? How would you rule the mamodo world?" asked Sherry.
"I would crush my enemies," Brago said, his aura glowing around him.
"What enemies, though? Like, are there multiple kingdoms in this world? Rival kings? What enemies are you referring to?"
"Anyone who would dare challenge my throne," said Brago.
"So, you like to fight to win, and once you've won, you'd use that status to fight some more?" asked Sherry.
Brago's eyes widened and he looked away. Now that someone had said it out loud, he realized that his goals in life had been pretty one-dimensional. Too proud to admit it, he just grunted.
"No. I would listen to the problems of my people, and solve them. I would punish wrongdoers and criminals," he suggested.
"What if there were no wrongdoers or criminals?" asked Sherry. "What would you do in your free time? And don't say train—you can't be training for more training. What do you like to DO, Brago? What do you think about, other than fighting?"
Brago lowered his head and sighed.
"I don't know, OK?" he admitted. "I like reading, sometimes."
"What kinds of things do you like to read?"
"Stories of conquest," he answered. Sherry scoffed.
"Of course you do," she muttered under her breath. "Alright, that's a good start. So you like to read stories about adventure and achievement?"
"I guess you could say that," said Brago. "What does it matter?"
"Well, when you're reading, you're not fighting. Or thinking about fighting. Or going around hurting people."
"So?"
"So, doing things you enjoy, having things you enjoy, is the start to being happy."
Sherry smiled at the progress they were making. The same warm smile that she'd showed when she and Brago had been in the mountains and she saw him show compassion for that small boy, Jeff.
"What are you smiling at?!" Brago suddenly snarled, standing up and leaning in to her face. Sherry felt her cheeks heat up and her heart start palpitating.
He's kind-of hot when he gets mad, she thought. "Well, this is good. We've made some progress."
Slowly, Brago took in a few breaths and backed off.
"Can I go?" he grumbled.
"Yes. I'll see you tomorrow," said Sherry. Brago put his hands in his pockets and stalked out of the room.
She smiled, he thought. She was happy. I did that. I made Sherry smile.
END OF CHAPTER 03
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