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Chapter 6: An Unexpected Encounter

Winston Smith stood from the bench and walked to the door of his sound proofed cabin. He had actually never heard what he played, that was the problem most if not all carillonneurs faced. As he opened the door he heard the dying resonances of the bourdon. He looked at his watch, it was three minutes to two, he hurried ran to the latter down from the belfry; mainly for the reason that the automated playing of Westminster Quarters would occur at exactly two, and the fact that the bells were loud. As he climbed down the latter to the small lobby below the belfry and quietly shut the hatch above him. He walked down the stairs at a slow pace. About a quarter of the way down, he heard the bells chime out their familiar tune. By the time he finished climbing the stairs the bourdon had finished ringing out the fourteen chimes of two o'clock.

He climbed on to his bike; for he did not own a car, almost no one did in his small town. He cycled down the street toward the beach. He did not live in the city, it was too crowded; he spent most of his time at home indulging in his two passions; playing the carillon and drawing Lugia.

As he cycled his thoughts wandered; from the Van den Gehyen piece he was learning to that time he thought he saw a Lugia on that moonless light. His bike struck something, the chain fell off. "Damn," he said as he got off and stooped to survey the damage. As his foot hit the ground he heard a whimpering cry. He looked up from the toolkit he was grabbing.

He saw a fully grown Lugia; correction, a fully grown injured Lugia. "Don't hurt me, please," the Lugia said. Winston was taken aback a moment, from the sound of the Lugia's voice it was a female. Winston turned quickly and put away the toolkit; he turned back and faced the Lugia. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you," Winston said and he examined the Lugia. Winston stooped down and grabbed his bike's chain. He stood and looked up at the Lugia,
"Let me help you."
"What are you going to do to me?"
"Well you're hurt badly. You have most probably broken your left wing, though you could have just dislocated it. The sun is harsh right now and you look as if you could use some food and shelter. So basically, I'm going to invite into my home. You can stay until you want to leave. So do you take me up on my offer?"
"Considering, that you seem trustworthy, I will."

Winston looped the chain of his bike around the handlebars and he leaned the bike against his side. Meanwhile the Lugia managed to stand up. As Winston turned to face the Lugia he saw how majestic it was. "Follow me," Winston said as he turned round and headed toward his home. As he walked onward the Lugia followed close behind.

As Winston reached his home he put his bike away and walked around to the back patio. He opened the doors wide to allow room for the Lugia to enter his humble abode. As the Lugia finally managed to squeeze through the doors he entered and closed the doors behind him. In the meanwhile the Lugia had sat down and was waiting for Winston. Winston spoke,
"Let me go get some water and fresh bandages. I'll grab some stuff to make a cast for that hurt wing of yours. Are you hungry? If you are I'll get some food."
"I am a bit hungry."
"Alright I'll be back in just a mo."

Winston left his living room and walked to the bathroom. He opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed some bandages plaster and antibiotics. He carried the supplies back into the living room; he pushed all of the stuff on his coffee table (mainly music scores, drawings and an advanced calculus textbook) and placed the medical supplies on the table as well. He walked to the kitchen looked through his cabinets until he found a large bowl. He put it in the sink and turned on the tap; he quickly spun round and headed toward the fridge. He pulled out some fruits, a bit of last night's dinner and a can of pop as well as a microwaveable dinner for himself. He returned to the sink and shut off the water, the bowl being full at this point. He popped the microwavable dinner into the microwave and turned it on. He carried the food and water back to the living room. He placed the bowl of water as well as the food in front of the Lugia. As he stood, the microwave beeped and he went to get his supper.

As he returned he noticed the Lugia was eating. The Lugia looked up at Winston and said,
"Thank you for the food. I hope I'm not being a burden."
"You're not a burden. I'm just happy to meet an actual Lugia without fearing for my life."
"You need not fear us."
"I know, but the only Lugias I've ever seen are on the telly, and those are the one's filmed by the navies of the alliances."
"The portrayals of us are grossly wrong. We are not blood-thirsty monsters with no soul or conscience; though the portrayal of our government of humans is not something to be proud of either."
"Governments are all jackasses. They portray everything that they dislike as evil, and everything they like as good; though in most cases the opposite is true. So how did you get hurt?"
"I was in the aftershock of a torpedo detonation. And I was struck by the shrapnel of a dead submarine."
"Ouch, that must have hurt. I forgot to ask, what is your name?"
"My true name is unpronounceable by humans, but translated it means Crystal."
"So is that crystal with a 'C' or a 'K'?"
"I prefer it with a 'C.'"
"Alright Crystal, I can tell you approximately when your wing will be healed."
"Okay, tell me."
"Well it'll take approximately six weeks for the bone to heal; and a further two weeks for the muscle to regenerate. So eight weeks will be the length of time you are grounded."
"May I stay here for that time?"
"Yes, absolutely; I wouldn't allow you to get hurt again! So do you mind if I practice my musical instrument?"
"What instrument do you play?"
"I can play the carillon, piano and organ. I am learning the flute and guitar. For some odd reason I can play the ocarina, but only one song."
"Oh, which one?"
"I don't know its name. Let me play it for you."

Winston quickly stood up and grabbed the small ocarina that sat on the shelf above his TV. He put it to his lips and began playing. As the last mournful note sounded he lowered the instrument from his lips. He noticed that Crystal looked shocked and amazed. Winston was the first to speak,
"What's wrong?"
"That's the Guardian's Song!"
"What do you mean?"
"That is a song known only to a small group of humans. But to all Lugia it is the holiest of our songs."
"Which humans know the song?"
"Well so far as I know, only the natives of Shamouti Island in the Orange Archipelago and the Chosen One."
"Well that's odd, I've not met the Chose One; nor have I gone to Shamouti Island."
"That's odd. Though to tell you the truth the Chosen One seems a bit childish, and he didn't even know our song. Wait, could it be? No… it's not possible…"
"What? What is not possible?"
"Well, the Great Guardian only refers to the Chosen One as 'the Chosen One' when he is around. However, when the Chosen One is not near, the Guardian refers to him as 'that kid.' There are those that say that he is not the true Chosen One, though many do not listen to them. I for one believe that the kid is not the Chosen One. And your knowing the Guardian's Song just proves it."
"So are you saying that I might be the Chosen One?"
"Well maybe. What are your interests?"
"Well other than bell music I like your species… They fascinate me."
"You play bells? The Guardian was right!"
"What?"
"Well the Guardian said that the Chosen One would be the one who rings the bells of peace."
"The 'bells of peace?' The closest thing I play to the bells of peace are the bells in the Peace Memorial Carillon. Wait! That's it! The 'bells of peace' are the bells of the Peace Memorial Carillon!"
"O Chosen One, the fate of the world and of the Guardian are in your hands."
"What do you mean?"
"The Guardian said that once the Chosen One was found, he would be in peril; and that world peace rests on his shoulders. Quickly, I must get you to the Lugian Council!"
"You are hurt, we are not leaving. If you try to fly or swim you will hurt yourself badly. We can wait eight weeks."
"Alright, O Chosen One, we shall wait."
"Do not call me 'Chosen One' I prefer to be called Winston."
"Alright, Cho… Winston."
"Now, let us get some rest. Do you mind if we watch a movie?"
"What is a 'movie' Winston?"
"A movie… well I can't really explain it. Let me just pop the DVD in the player and we can watch."
"DVD?"
"Ugh… This is going to be a long eight weeks. Well here's a question, do you like comedy or drama?"
"I like drama. You should see the plays our people perform! They are beautiful."
"Alright drama, then let me just find 'Fail-Safe.' Now that's a good movie! Much better than the stuff we have now!"
"What is 'Fail-Safe?'"

Winston shook his head and put the DVD in the player. Clicked on his TV and sat in front of Crystal. Crystal put her head in Winston's lap; Winston was amazed that he was getting this close to a Lugia. He began to unconsciously pet Crystal; she cooed happily. He began to smile and it quickly faded as he realized that this would only last for the next eight weeks.
"Do not worry Winston. There will always be a Lugia looking out for you when they realize that you are the Chosen One. And I will always be with you no matter what."
"Thank you Crystal."

With that they continued watching the movie, and slowly they fell asleep.

(¶: Alright there you have Chapter 6! We've found out that Ash really isn't the Chosen One, and that the real Chosen One is a relatively obscure bell ringer from an unmentioned city/town.

Also welcome the newest Lugia into the fray: Crystal!

The name "Winston Smith" is an homage to George Orwell's 1984, I don't own the original Winston Smith but I do own this one as well as Crystal.

Pretty soon you'll see more Lugias than you ever thought possible in one story. (Did you read the line mentioning a Lugian Council...).

Please review; if you notice grammar errors, please tell me.)