Author's Note:

I am so, so sorry for how long it has taken me to get around to updating. I hope all of you will be able to forgive me. Life's just been... hectic. I think I've bitten off more than I can ever hope to chew with school and extracurricular activities, but I'm trying my hardest to multi-task. Well, enough babbling and onto the update!

The bleeding sun had long since fled, the moon just beginning to gain height in the deep, dark blue realm. I lashed out, hysterically sobbing, as N tried to scoop me up. He leaned back, but remained crouching; he was biding his time. He wore an affronted look, courtesy of my remark on where I'd shove his hands if he touched me again. My crying had brought on a wave of exhaustion, my sobs ebbing into watery whimpers and hiccups.

The young king took the opportunity to pounce. His arms slipped under my head and knees, locking my body in a secure grip, and he made his way back into the castle. Unlike earlier, there were no Grunts running about to create a sense of liveliness to the building. Instead, it was eerily quite. The silence was only interrupted by the steady footfalls of my captor. I buried my head into his chest, not caring if I ruined the black and white materials with my tears.

I whimpered and clung to his chest as one of the arms disappeared. I peaked around in bewilderment when I remained close to the young man's body. We were in front of two grandiose doors. I snuck a glance up and saw N staring ahead, the freed arm opening the closest door. I hid my head in his shoulder when his green gaze snapped down to me. In the second it took for that to transpire, I'd gotten a good fill of his face. And his face was uncharacteristically blank.

I jumped at the sound of a closing door. I was so caught up in his lack of emotion to even notice the rocking motion of his walk. We were in a bedroom. Black and white checkerboard flooring, dark green walls, and coordinated furniture seemingly placed carelessly throughout the spacious room.

Despite the safety the confines of his room held, he kept his hold on me and approached the ivory framed bed. Only then did he release me. I marveled at the coolness the dark silk provided as it met my exposed flesh. Hey idiot, stop acting like an impoverished bum. He's still here. And so he is I noted dryly as my gaze locked on to his hands, both placed on either side of my legs.

"You need to eat more."

I'm sure my face looked as stupid as his statement sounded. Of all the conversation starters available, he chose to comment on my caloric intake? Yeah, some king Unova's got.

"I'll get Concordia to bring you some food, unless you would like to eat dinner with the rest of the castle...?" I didn't miss the 'with me' that was implied. He looked at me hopefully, eyes filled with the emotion. The same emotion that I, and all of Unova, had no choice but to give up now. That thought stirred the bitter feelings in me.

"Like hell I want to eat with you people," I muttered under my breath. "If you were the one on the platter with an apple in your mouth."

The deep frown on N's face told me he wasn't amused.

"That wasn't very nice, Cake. Friends arent supposed to be mean to each other, but I understand. Your ignorant view of Plasma's goal of Pokemon liberation is something I'm used to dealing with. You really shouldn't take it out on me though. You had your chance of stopping me, but we both know how that turned out."

He strode to the doors and disappeared behind them before I could open my mouth, but when I did... even the sailors on the S.S. Anne would have blushed. I rose from the bed and stormed around the room, knocking knick-knacks off shelves, and kicking at armchairs. I stayed away from the onyx doors despite the urge to chase N down and make him regret his words. I was reckless, not stupid, and even I knew not to cross the unspoken boundary.

I was not to leave this room.

I let out another string of curses, and with a final kick to a chair, I dropped to the floor. My anger still ate at me, but there was no use in me beating up the furniture when my problem lay with the owner. To be honest, the furniture was beautiful. Ebony coffee tables and shelves decorated with white trinkets, cream couches held claim on green throw pillows and blankets while accents of the color were strategically scattered in various forms.

I poked at a bruise on my leg. I'd gotten it during the battle when chunks of the throne room began to collapse. Getting crushed would've been better than this.

A slight knock echoed in the room before the door was opened, revealing the blonde goddess... empty-handed. No food? Well isn't that a bitch. I scrunched my nose in distaste. The braided female eyed me, as if sizing me up, before snapping. A line of grunts filed in, each bearing a tray filled with foods of every sort. They stood at attention before her, waiting for their next command.

"Come on then, come pick what you want." Her voice was soft, yet lacked the warmth it usually had when N was nearby. She waited, but it soon became apparent that I was not moving anytime soon. They could come to me for all I cared. Hungry or not, I wasn't about to be their new pet- begging for table scraps and waiting eagerly for my next command to please.

Concordia must have sensed this because her eyes narrowed considerably. Her lack of movement made it obvious she was still waiting on me, refusing to back down from her position. A Grunt shuffled slightly in discomfort. I raised an eyebrow before turning to poke my bruise again. My lips twitched as she huffed and stomped to the door. "Out, now!"

The Grunts scrambled for the exit, harried by her shrill voice. She remained by the door frame to ensure none of them slipped me anything. When the last uniform disappeared, she slammed the door shut, sending me a venomous glare in the process.

I rolled my eyes while rising. Team Plasma was awfully stupid to assume that I'd be an easy handle.

For the first time, I noticed a door set into the wall next to a black wardrobe. It was hidden in the wardrobe's shadow, the only visible part being the silver knob. Without hesitation, I opened the door.

My irritation melted into awe.

Before me was the most luxurious bathroom I'd ever seen. I locked the door behind me, and slid my fingertips along the smooth countertops that took up the whole east wall, mirrors occupying the wall's upper half. The marble dipped low into the ground creating a large hot tub that I'm pretty sure was the bath. A ten-headed shower was carved into the pale stone with a frosted glass door. Fluffy towels were to the immediate right of the door, a hamper, likewise, to the left.

I started the tub up, filling it with bath oils and bubbles. Any other time I would have gotten in the shower, but I needed the relaxation. I stripped and examined myself in the mirror. Bruises littered my body, a sore reminder to my failure. I pursed my lips. I needed to stop dwelling on that, what's done is done. No use in living in the past.

All my thoughts agreed as I slipped into the bath, the hot water releasing the tension from my muscles.

My hand slid down my face in aggravation at the belated realization that I'd forgotten to get a change of clothes from my bag. Then again, I didn't know where my bag was to begin with... so I stood in the bathroom, towels on my head and around my body, trying to figure out what to do.

I opened the bathroom door just enough to peek around to room to make sure I was alone. Seeing that I was, indeed, the single occupant, I walked to the wardrobe and opened it. I blinked several times, as if it would make what was in front of me change.

Several types of clothing were packed in the large object, but the gender of the clothing was strictly male. Lovely.

I grabbed a button up and a pair of plaid boxers before strolling back into the bathroom. I frowned as the cotton top rubbed against my bare skin; I didn't like the feeling of not having a bra on, but I wasn't about to put my old one on. That would defeat the purpose of bathing. The boxers were also intolerable. It took a couple rolls of the waistband for it to sit on my hips and, even then, they slipped dangerously low. Maybe he was right about eating more.

The towel around my head fell, freeing my damp hair. I bent over, gathering the tangled locks, and tied it into a messy bun. A few strands fell out when I came up. I pushed them away from my face in a dramatic huff. Nothing was going right for me and it was really making me angry.

I stormed to the bed, ripping the covers back and throwing the excessive amount of pillows to the ground. My body tossed and turned no matter how sweetly the mattress caressed my curves. My mind was restless and it showed.

I let out a half-groan half-sob as I thrashed around. Yep, that's right. The failure of Unova was throwing a temper tantrum. I wiped at my eyes and curled into the fetal position. I didn't like this bed. I didn't like these clothes. I didn't like this room. I didn't like the people. I didn't like any of this.

I wanted my own clothes, my own bed, and my own room. I wanted my Pokemon, my friends, and my mom. I wanted to go home.