Chapter 3: Viridian Palace
Viridian Palace
The young woman quietly made her way down the hall, the only sound coming from her heels hitting against the smooth tile. Her long black hair, along with her royal attire, gave her identity away as she approached the other woman sitting on the throne.
"Mirania dear, I was not expecting you," the woman on the throne said. She was the current queen of Viridian, Vestara.
"Mother…" Mirania said neutrally. Technically, Vestara was her stepmother as her real mother passed away years ago. "Are the rumors true? You are having the soldiers, even the Royal Guard themselves, round up innocent civilians and questioning them about being in league with the rebellion?"
"I do not know what you mean by round up," Vestara said. "But questioning yes. The rebellion is a threat to us, as well as the kingdom itself. I am only taking precautions-"
"I just went down to the dungeons and found those people being 'questioned'," Mirania said sharply. "You have no right-!"
"I can do as I please, since I am the ruler of Viridian!" Vestara snapped. "And you would do best to curb your tongue!"
Mirania did not flinch but instead bowed respectfully. "Of course," she said. "My apologies, mother." She then turned around and left the room.
Once the doors closed behind her, she murmured, "You will regret your actions one day Vestara, I promise you that." She then sighed sadly and returned to her room.
Only seconds after she sat down upon her bed, she heard, "Back from the dungeons already?"
Mirania smiled slightly. "How many times have I told you about sneaking up on people?" She then looked over toward the open window and saw the Umbreon standing on the balcony. Some would call him Mirania's "pet" but to Mirania he was more than that; he was her closest friend and, probably, the only one she had for the longest time.
"My apologies," the Umbreon said, whose name was Revan. "I wasn't sure if now was a bad time or not."
"It's fine," Mirania said, patting the bed and inviting him in. The truth was, he was not using telepathy to speak with her, she could actually understand him. To others, he would only be heard talking in growls or grunts. It was a gift she had known about since she was younger, but never told anyone, not even her own father although she had a feeling he may have already known. "I… confronted Vestara about the arrests."
Revan closed his eyes for a moment, what she thought was equivalent to a sigh. "That might not have been a wise choice…"
"I know," Mirania said, letting out a sigh of her own as she petted him slightly. "But you didn't see them down there. There were mothers and children too. Most of them were scared and confused, because they have done nothing wrong. I'm surprised you've never gone down there."
Revan stared at her. "I'm not exactly the biggest fan of dungeons myself."
Mirania snorted. "Listen to you; you're starting to sound like a royal yourself." She then got up and went towards the balcony. On the outside, Viridian was a beautiful kingdom, full of wildlife and fauna and yet, there was always a still calm in the air. But on the inside, it was anything but. It was times like these that she would consult her father, the previous king, of what to do. He would always know what to do, and even if Mirania couldn't understand, he was always patient.
But he was no longer here, succumbing to illness only a few years ago. With the way things were now, Revan was the only one she could trust, for he was more loyal to her than the entire kingdom. Forget about Vestara being queen.
"I've made up my mind Revan," she finally said. "Just know once we commit, there's no turning back. Are you okay with this?"
Revan jumped off the bed and walked up to her side. "Have I ever doubted you?"
Mirania smiled again and almost felt like crying. "Where would I be without you?"
(A/N: For this beginning part, the song I'm using is "Come, Let's Begin the Journey!" from Hexyz Force.)
Viridian Forest
*As dusk was transitioning to night, the five of them were now out of Rota and slowly approaching the Viridian Forest. "Ugh, I don't remember the way to Viridian being that far," Syrenne complained. "Aren't we there yet?"
"We're not even close," Dagran pointed out. Lucario was up ahead, making sure everything was clear.
"Bah, I'm sure we could always take a carriage from a nearby village or something," Syrenne replied thoughtfully.
"You know we can't let you do that," Aaron said calmly.
"It doesn't really matter what you think," Syrenne said acidly. "Whether or not we say 'please' doesn't change a damn thing. Mercenaries always have and always will have an ugly reputation."
"But it's not going to always be that way for us," Dagran said. "I will make sure of it."
"How so?" Aaron asked.
"We know General Raul more than you think," Dagran explained, looking at him. "He was the one who took us in, if you want to put it that way. He promised us that one day he will find a way to make us both knights."
Syrenne snorted. "Yeah, still doubting that bit there."
"Becoming a knight is no easy task, but knowing Raul, he'll find a way," Aaron replied.
Syrenne sighed. "Ema, no offense, but I would think it's getting a little warm in there, don't you think? Come on, ya need to make new friends anyway, and not just humans mind you." Ema slowly made her way out of Syrenne's pocket and reluctantly went up ahead to catch up with Lucario. "Besides, he doesn't bite." She then looked at Aaron. "He doesn't, right?"
Aaron laughed and looked at Lucario up ahead. "Lucario only wants to do is impress, so he may have a bit of a shell but I assure you he's got a good heart."
Meanwhile, as he was walking, Lucario closed his eyes and reached out with his aura, just to make sure no one was waiting for them. He felt nothing, except a small presence just behind him that was floating in step with him.
Once the silence became too much he opened his eyes and said, "If you wish to stay silent for the journey I can understand but something tells me you have something on your mind."
He heard a small sigh behind him and Ema invited herself to sitting on his shoulder. "Very perceptive, aren't you?" While Aaron and the others couldn't hear her speak, Lucario noticed there was a slight accent in her voice. "Sorry, I'm not very good at introductions, and to be honest, you don't seem the talkative type."
Lucario hid a small smile. "You guess correctly," he said. "But I'm not that cold if you must know."
"No, I know that," Ema said, smiling. "I hope you don't mind me sitting here, flying does take a toll on our bodies, and I'd rather be prepared for the worst if something happens."
"…Your friend said you two group up in the same place?"
"If you mean the island then yes," Ema replied. "The same people who torched her village torched the forest I lived in as well. I… was rather young so at the time I didn't know what was going on. But Syrenne, she found me and rescued me. I think I fell out of a tree… anyway, I didn't know where my family was and Syrenne couldn't find them either." Her tone became serious. "Despite all that happened, she still took the time to help me before helping herself. She may seem… rough, but her heart speaks more volumes than her constant drinking, which by the way, I do not have an issue with."
"So you two ended up as companions," Lucario said.
"Of course," Ema replied. "I wouldn't even think of leaving her, after all she's done. To be honest, I can be useful in a pinch if need be."
Lucario looked at her and saw the familiar dots on her cheeks. "Of course, electricity, which-"
"Doesn't work too well with metal," Ema grinned. "Yes, I'm sure you'll find my talents useful in no time."
"Well, would you look at that?" Dagran said. "They're hitting it right off the bat."
"Ema's shy but she knows how to sway individuals," Syrenne said with a proud grin.
"Much like her master-ow!" Dagran wasn't quite able to avoid an elbow to the side.
"So, forgive me for being blunt but I don't think you ever told us your story Dagran," Aaron said.
"There's not much to tell," Dagran shrugged. "I grew up as an orphan and unfortunately had to fight to survive. Once I was old enough, I took up a sword and offered my services to anyone in need. That's where I found General Raul. He didn't think of us as subhuman like the others. Sure, we had missions and stuff but we; Syrenne and I ran into each other a few years later, got paid a whole lot better than most bounties offered."
"Yeah, we could be worse off that's for sure," Syrenne said. "Not enough for even a measly pint…"
Aaron then saw both Lucario and Ema had stopped near the front of the forest, waiting for them. "Everything alright Lucario?"
"It seems clear inside," Lucario said. "Most of the wildlife appear to be resting in the trees."
"Wait- we're not actually going in there are we?" Syrenne asked. Both Aaron and Lucario noticed that her demeanor had changed. "There's another road that goes around."
"True, but this way we'd get to Viridian much quicker," Aaron said. Syrenne was silent and Dagran was staring at her. "Oh, forgive me, I wasn't thinking-"
"No, it's not that," Syrenne said, hesitantly.
"She has a nasty fear of bugs," Dagran put simply. Syrenne was quick to send him a nasty look. "What? You were going to hold us up otherwise."
"D-Don't laugh," she said between gritted teeth. "I had a nasty experience with them okay? And they're not exactly the cuddliest creatures I've ever met."
"Really? You're even scared of the Butterfree?" Dagran asked.
"Shut yer mouth already," Syrenne spat.
"Don't worry," Aaron said, trying to ease the tension. "They are never out at night, as long as we keep quiet enough. Besides, Lucario and I will be the first ones to know if any attack comes."
Syrenne sighed. "Fine, fine. Still, Dagran, I wish your friend was here at the moment. He could certainly scare them away."
"He'll be with us soon enough. He went ahead of us to make sure everything was alright. You'll find out soon enough," Dagran added, looking at Aaron and Lucario.
As they entered, Aaron went up close to Lucario and whispered, "Anything?"
"I sense multiple presences but they are still," Lucario whispered back. "Sleeping most likely."
"Let's keep it that way," Aaron said cautiously. While he didn't have a phobia of bugs, he did know this forest has Beedrill, and they were as nasty as they come.
"It's a good thing I have Ema with me," Syrenne said. "She's my personal bug zapper." She was talking calmly but Lucario could sense the stress in her voice. She was talking just to keep herself calm. It was a human thing as far as he knew.
Suddenly in the distance they heard a barking. "That's him," Dagran said. "Seems like everything's alright on his end."
"Your friend must have a really good nose if he can sense us at this distance," Lucario said.
Dagran smiled. "You can ask him once you meet him."
Lucario couldn't identify the barking exactly but at least he could narrow the choices down. Hopefully it wasn't a Houndoom: he had had a horrible experience with one of them when he was just a Riolu and at the time they seemed larger than life, and the fact that they looked like they guarded the Gates of Hell wasn't very comforting either.
Surprisingly, the trip through the forest did not last as long as they expected, much to Syrenne's relief. It was then Lucario felt a presence and braced himself. Out of the bushes nearby came a large figure which suddenly charged at Dagran and knocked him to the ground-
And Dagran was chuckling slightly. "You're embarrassing both of us, you know that right?" The figure, which was a Mightyena, was licking his face but then it seemed to compose itself and got off of him, paying attention now to Aaron and Lucario. "Don't worry, they're friends of ours," Dagran said, getting to his feet. "This is Wrex. Wrex, this is Aaron and Lucario." Wrex stared at both of them, particularly Lucario.
"He seems rather nice," Aaron said.
Dagran grinned slightly. "Don't let him fool you. I trained him to be like that, at least to our enemies. He could be as friendly as a pup, but the second you reach out your hand, you may lose it forever. Don't worry, he would only do it if he really knew you were bad."
"And as you can see, Wrex here represents Dagran's alter-ego," Syrenne said, rolling her eyes slightly.
"I'm surprised you were able to tame him," Aaron said. "Mightyena usually run in packs as well."
"He used to be in a pack," Dagran said, shrugging. "I don't know all the details but when I found him, or rather, he found me, he was alone." He then paused and pulled up the sleeve on his arm, which showed a nasty-looking scar. "Long story short, he was hungry and was looking to kill me but I of course put up a good fight, but not before almost taking off part of my arm. Finally, he decided to stick with me and we've been friends ever since."
"I… suppose it's a pack thing." Aaron guessed. He then looked ahead and saw the large gate up ahead along with the flickering of lights. "Well, here's our destination: Viridian Palace."
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