Part 1 of the Prologue of the Thirteen Arts of Pokemon. Hollow Serenade's portion of it will hopefully be published soon x3.
Introducing my character, Prince Pryse, in a day of his life. Please note that Pryse is a shiny Eevee.
"Master Pryse, please wake up."
I blinked awake with a surprised snort and blew dust off of my muzzle. Looking up through a haze of dust particles, I saw a very displeased Xatu glaring down at me. I grimaced through my fur and put on a mask of fake attention as Cratex, as was his name, returned to his speaking.
"As I was saying, the Gemini Province is the thirteenth city that makes up Twili, our country. That being said, there are twelve others, each ruled by a different king or, in Ladies Relaya and Heart's cases, queens."
I was dozing off again. Man, this lesson never changes! My head was slumping towards the desk again before I heard Cratex give a loud, obnoxious, irritated squawk.
"Master Pryse!" the Xatu shouted.
I was so surprised that I literally fell out of my chair, landing with an ungainly thump! on the carpeted floor below.
I got up, rubbing my head with a paw, and I felt a small breeze as feathers rushed towards me. Glancing up, I smiled weakly at my furious teacher, who bent down and helped me to stand.
"Master Pryse, perhaps you would like to tell me more about Twili and the empires that make it up?" he asked. It wasn't a question, more of a 'do it or I'm telling your father' type thing.
"Uh...sure, Cratex." I managed, clearing my throat to speak.
"The first kingdom would be the Ara of Naught, known to locals as the City of Nothing. Generally, fighting-type Pokemon live there, even though the lord, High Lord Alaric, is a Psychic-type Gallade."
The words tumbled out of my mouth, my voice dulled from the repetition. I was asked to repeat this almost every day, ever since I was little; it was all old news to me.
"The second kingdom, or empire, is Mount Draco, hidden mountain fortress of the Dragon-types. While small in population, the citizens of Draco more than make up for their lack in numbers in their strength and skill. They're trained from a young age to be soldiers in the Twili armies, and so they make up more than 35% of the total armies' populations. The Lord of the Mountain, Lord Altair, once served as grand Admiral in the war."
"The third is Aquila Falls, the home of the Flying-types. It is ruled by Lord Zephyr. The Aquilans are a more peaceful sort, and so aid the Empires by acting as a nationwide mail service; delivering letters to and from home, delivering packages, and delivering updates on the war to the Lords."
"Stop there." Cratex said, holding up a wing. "That is good enough for today."
I sat down with a relieved sigh. I knew all of it by heart, but it really wore out my tongue to talk about all of the kingdoms.
"Well, at least you pay some attention to me while I am teaching." Cratex huffed. Looking out the window, he noted the position of the sun and sighed.
"It would seem class is over. I will see you tomorrow, Master Pryse." he said.
I almost fell off of my chair again, I was so relieved. When my silver paws touched the ground, I paused, thoughtful for a moment, before turning back to Cratex.
"Sorry, but...d'you know if Dad's back?" I asked.
"Do you know if my father's back." Cratex corrected me, "And no, I do not."
"Oh. Okay then. Bye Cratex!" I said over my shoulder as I bounded out of the library. I was far gone in a flurry of silver fur before he could see my disappointment.
Man, I missed my dad. He'd been gone for three days now, away to some meeting in Ara.
Lords and Ladies only, he had said; no princes permitted.
So I was stuck here. With nothing to do, no Pokemon to fight, and I couldn't go down to the town for fear I'd be "kidnapped and sold for ransom."
My dad was such a nutcase. It must come with the crown.
The way I see it, you can't be a Lord without some paranoia coming with it. That being so, do I really, really and truly want to become Lord of the Gemini Province, my hometown, later on in life?
The answer's a big fat "no."
The thought of taking all that responsibility and chaining myself down to this one town...it was horrible. Just plain horrible. I wanted to get out and see the world. I wasn't cut out for royal duties and responsibilities. It must have come from my mom; she was never one to stick around either.
Restless, I wandered over to a balcony that overlooked the Courtyard. If I strained my eyes enough, I could see the town. Gemini Town.
Psychic, Dark, and a tiny scattering of Normal-type Pokemon dashed around the streets. I saw young Zigzagoons playing with even younger Poochyenas, though the Poochyenas were comparatively stronger. They were playing a game of Chase and my paws itched to go and join them, however I was bound by my father's word to stay put.
I wasn't even totally sure I wanted to go and join them. They'd probably see me and think I had it all. Shun me, because I'm royalty. Like I ever wanted it.
Turning away from the window and all its false promises, I made my way to the spiraling staircase that led up to my room. Suddenly I wanted to disappear and get away. At least I might be able to entertain myself up in my room, with no one else around.
I traipsed up the stairs and slipped away down the corridor, coming to a halt outside the silver-lined doorframe that led into my world. Pressing my head against the cool wood for a moment, I sighed and walked in.
The sight of my room cheered me up. There were painted posters of different places all over the place, even some hung haphazardly from the ceiling. There was a Smeargle in the Normal-type city who painted them for me. A Tranquill usually brought them to me. I wanted to meet that Smeargle...these pictures were beautiful!
There were scenes from all over Twili and even a few looks at Hylia, Twili's neighboring country. In these pictures there was usually a large, gleaming white castle in the crest of two hills. The North Castle; Hylia's capitol.
I wanted to go there so badly. Then again, I had always wanted to visit Mount Draco and Ara of Naught, too. I wanted to go anywhere, anywhere at all, except for here.
But naturally, I was "bound by my duties" to stay right here in the Gemini Province. Learning the ways of being a ruler, so that I may "rise to become a great Lord someday."
Like my father, Lord Lock, had been. A perfect prince, a perfect student, a perfect ruler. Perfect, perfect, perfect. Even his sister, my aunt Heart, was a perfect queen. Lord Locke and Queen Heart, twin leaders of Gemini.
And I got the awesome job of living in both of their shadows. Wonderful.
Well, I was sick of it. Sick of the isolation, sick of the schooling, sick of the tutoring, the teachings, the never having had the chance at a normal life.
Frustrated again, I stormed over to my window and looked out at the Town. I had a good view from here. Man, how much I envied those kids outside. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the breeze was cool and calming, the sky was a crystal clear blue...and I was stuck indoors. I wasn't even allowed out into the Courtyard without my father, my aunt, or Cratex chaperoning me. And rather than having that stuffy, dusty, pedantic old Xatu ruining my afternoon, I'd just hang out upstairs.
Lovely. Just the way I wanted to spend the afternoon.
Looking back at the posters of all over the world, places I'd never seen, I felt the burning desire to escape. I wanted to see those places. I wanted to go there. Not just learn about them, not just look at pictures of them, I wanted to see the real thing. I had to see the real thing.
And I would. Whether I was allowed to or not.