A Jewel in Water
Part 31
A/N: The awkward moment when you forget why you named your story such a weird title.
The phone was gone and Paul was in a panic. Without the phone, there would be no way for him to save Electivire, even if the King miraculously arrived and surrendered the money. There was no way he could find it. They told him that if they ever found the phone off him for an extended period, there were ways to make the device 'disappear' and Electivire would suffer the consequences. And there was no way of calling the phone. The damned thing only worked for one person and one person only. Paul clutched his chest again and fought back the tears of panic. For the tough exterior he showed to everyone, he was always the first one to break down inside. Inner Paul was going positively mental at the moment. The Paul remembered the words that Reiji had given him, many years ago.
"Paul, what you have, its not a weakness. It may feel like a weakness, but it can become your strength." Young Paul looked at Reiji dubiously. His older brother had just set off on his journey, and Paul knew that Reiji was feeling more than a little guilty leaving his mentally impaired brother behind. He snorted derisively. Reiji sighed.
"Yes, maybe youre right. Maybe it is nothing but a hindrance. I don't know. I wish I knew so I could help you." Paul knew that Reiji was telling the truth and decided to tone the attitude down a bit.
"You don't need to treat me like I'm disabled you know. I can do fine. They are just panic attacks. I haven't had one since Mum and Dad died." Reiji smiled.
"I know you can handle it Paul." He put his hand on Pauls shoulder. "But just remember – no let me finish, you might have not had one for years but I always want you to be prepared, even when no one else is around- take a few deep breaths. Don't let your heart burst from the panic. Once you've got that sorted, there is only one thing you can do. Plan. The plan is your next step. No matter how bad the situation is, you can plan your way out of anything. Once you let the panic overcome you then its over. But always remember. Plan." Paul wanted to laugh out loud at the absurdity of the conversation, but when he saw the serious look in Reijis eyes, it shut him up. Then his eyes softened and he looked at Paul fondly. "Anyway, I hear Misty has come back from her trip. If you need to talk to anyone about your problems, then Misty is as good as anyone I suppose. I mean, shes the only one of our relatives you even want to talk to these days." Paul scoffed and looked away. He hated the rest of the family. Royalty had ruined them. But that was a story for another day.
Back to the present Paul took a breath. Then another. Then another. And more until he heartbeat had reached a steady 120. That was better than nothing he supposed. Plan. So planning was supposed to get him out of this situation. He sat down on the chair and stared blankly into space. After a few minutes a smile crept across his face, though his eyes were still vacant. He had to praise himself on his fore planning. He just might be able to pull through this time.
Kenny walked out the door in his running gear. After walking down the stairs and ignoring the shocked questioning of his mother, who had never seen her son do anything that remotely resembled exercise when he came home to visit, bolted down the street. It may have been some strategic strategy, upon knowing that Dawn was going to be visiting home for a while also. And he may run past her house a few times in the hope that she may be looking out the window and see him. That might put Ash out her mind for a few minutes at least. He tetched at Ash, and then at his embarrassing self and carried on doing laps around the neighbourhood. Running cleared his mind for a bit, when he suddenly remembered something that he was surprised left his memory. Why had he left so fast when something so juicy was happening back at the castle? Damn Elliot for making the tone so serious. He felt like it wouldn't have been suitable for him to stay when Misty and Elliot were going through a serious time. But Paul… how much Paul have been feeling, all love sick and all that. Well, Kenny knew a fair amount about pining over someone who would never seem to look your way. Now he had an excuse to call Dawn. It was too bad that Paul was leaving the castle today, but maybe he and Deedee would be able to chat to him and dig out some more info soon.
Iris sat cross legged in front of her Haxorus, eyes closed. It was morning meditation and they were both sitting is a plain field. Flowers as far as the eye can see. She had been sitting there for the best part of 2 hours and was thinking about drawing the session to a close. Normally her meditative sessions didn't reach past 30 minutes, but she had a lot on her mind today. Haxorus had already given up after reaching a personal best of 53 minutes and decided to take a nap. Iris sighed and opened her eyes, looking at the Pokemon that was now lying on the ground. She kept her promise with Brock. She didn't expect him to hold her to her word. Although, try as he might, he couldn't hide his distaste for her, even by pretending not to know her. She was too young to handle his adoration of her. Since the night before she couldn't stop replaying their first meeting. It was actually pretty reminiscent of the way they were yesterday. She was probably about 13, and he was around 17. She couldn't deny that she was far more annoying back then than she was now, and he couldn't seem to deny it either. He came to visit Ash one day, and as soon as they locked eyes it was pure hatred. Every moment he was on her about being rude and annoying and in return she was unrelenting in pointing out how childish he was being, and most of the time being correct. Actually, it wasn't until a few years later that they met, in Blackthorne city. Iris had gone to meet her idol, Clare, and get some tips on dragon training. She saw him in an apricot grove and recognised him instantly. He still had that awful habit of swooning at any decent looking female, but it took a few months after this point for her to realise why. Anyway, at the time, he was being shown around the grove by an older girl who clearly had no interest in Brock. She felt obligated, as a friend to Ash, to save him from the embarrassment that she knew would ensue. And that's how it started, she guessed. It wasn't an exciting encounter and she realised that she must have been into Brock by that point already, otherwise she wouldn't have been so jealous. When they started dating, she felt like the world was perfect. But that was probably the thing that broke her relationship. Her naivety and his desperate jealousy. Iris gritted her teeth and closed her eyes again. She was too young to have such an intense relationship, she thought to herself for the umpteenth time that morning. And he must have been using her. He cant have really loved her. If he did he would have stayed after seeing her and Cilan in bed together that day. He would have trusted her and not ended it all.