An Age of Valour

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Six: An Early Morning Present

It was early in the morning when Lydia woke up, Eevee sleeping soundly beside her. With a small sigh, she turned over on the bed, stroking the sleeping Pokémon gently as she moved aside her blankets, trying not to wake Eevee, and headed over to the window, staring out of the mansion towards Cherrygrove City, a few miles away. Despite the short distance, it looked so much further.

With a small sigh, Lydia grabbed her clothes and headed off to the bathroom to get dressed. She donned the same clothes she'd been wearing since she left Rosewaters Isle. Dark blue jeans, lilac shirt, and the grey sweatshirt jacket. Brushing out her brown hair, Lydia stared at her reflection for a moment.

The girl that was staring back at her hardly looked like herself. She was still the same Lydia Talon, but she had changed. Not her physical appearance, but her emotional one. It wasn't too long ago that she had quietly accepted whatever happened to her, never trying to change things for herself. But things had changed, things had happened to her.

Eevee had happened to her and she would never forget that. The little Pokémon had earned himself a place in Lydia's heart that no one could replace. Just as she was sure that Eevee would never forget the act of kindness that Lydia had provided for him, Lydia would never forget what Eevee had done for her. He had made her stand up for herself and what she believed in, helped her stand up to her father, the one person that she'd always been afraid of. And, however unintentionally, he had helped her escape from the place that she had always wanted to leave. That made him the best friend that she could have ever asked for.

"I'll say."

Lydia jumped when she heard her uncle's voice and she peered around at Jack as she opened the door to the bathroom. "I didn't hear you come in," she said, embarrassed.

"How could you hear anything when you were thinking so loudly?" Jack teased. "Come on downstairs, breakfast is ready and I want to have a little talk with you."

"Oh, boy," Lydia joked as she left the bathroom, letting Eevee sleep in as she followed her uncle down to the kitchen. "This isn't about Jesse, is it?"

"Nah, I've got something here for you," he replied with a smirk. "Though promise me that you're not going to do something crazy. You're too young for stuff like that."

"Uncle Jack, I'm thirteen."

"Exactly," Jack retorted, looking exasperated. "That's too young to be involved romantically with somebody, even if it does work out. But if it doesn't, you don't want to get your heart broken. Trust me, that part really sucks."

"I'm not even thinking about that! Jeez!" Lydia muttered as she shook her head, sitting down across from her uncle.

"Well, good." Jack grinned as he stretched out his hand. The drawer to a cabinet automatically opened and Lydia watched as a box rose from it and flew straight into her uncle's waiting hand.

"Now, that's cool," Lydia remarked as the drawer shut itself again. Jack looked towards his niece with an amused smile. "How long did it take you to learn how to control stuff like that?" she wanted to know, wondering how long it would take her to control her own psyche.

Jack winced slightly. "About twenty years," he answered. "Believe me, it's no picnic, Lydia. And it's a gift few would wish upon themselves. But the gift chooses the person, I think. And it only chooses those select few who would use their gift with responsibility."

"What?"

"Haven't you ever heard the expression, 'with great power comes great responsibility'?" her uncle asked. She nodded. "Well, you have got to remember that. This power also comes with responsibility. You have to learn to be mature with these gifts. They can harm you and others, if used carelessly."

Lydia nodded quietly, thinking back to her old life. If her father ever found out that his daughter was psychic, she was scared of what he might have done. "I know," she whispered.

"Okay," Jack said. "But it's up to you to learn your strengths and weaknesses with the gift. It's different with every person. You never know what you can handle. And you can't do the big things all at once, kiddo. Work with it gradually, until you master it. Sometimes, doing it all at once can kill you. Trust me, I've seen it happen." A faraway look appeared in his eyes and she studied her uncle.

"What was Mom like?"

Jack glanced up and, seeing the desperate look on her face, let out a deep sigh. "She was . . ." he began, looking hesitant. "Very beautiful. And kind and caring. You would never find anyone else like her in the world." A dreamy look came across his face. "She would always go out of her way to help the weak and oppressed, anyone who needed it. It was one of her greatest gift, but it some ways it may have been her undoing. She never asked for anything for herself, always for others." He paused. "Rosemary was quick-tempered, though. Everyone learned quickly that you did not want to get on her wrong side, because when she lost it, she was likely to crush mountains with her ferocious temper." He smiled. "And she was one of the best Pokémon trainers in Johto. A fire master, she was."

"Fire master?"

"Yeah," Jack agreed. "She had a lot of fire types, but her first choice was her Cyndaquil. That little guy had a lot of spirit, just like Rosemary did. He was her first choice. Eventually, he evolved into Quilava and then Typhlosion later on. But those two were close." He closed his eyes. "Just like you and Eevee will be with your own Cyndaquil."

Lydia stared at him, bewilderment in her eyes as Jack smiled at her. "You can see the future?"

"More like sense it," he responded as he pushed the box towards her. "Anyway, this is yours. Your mom wanted you to have it, when you were old enough. But your dad wouldn't allow it. Figured you'd follow your Uncle Jack on one of those 'fool Pokémon journeys' like your mother did."

She accepted the small black box that Jack handed to her, turning around and opening it on the hinges. Almost instantly, she gasped at the sight that met her eyes. Inside the box was an oval locket made of silver with a long chain that it hung on.

Hands trembling, she lifted it out, opening it up to reveal a small picture of a woman with smiling dark eyes that seemed to shine through the photo. Her dark hair was a few shades darker than Lydia's, but it still framed her face the same way.

"Mom?" she whispered, staring down at the photo. Never once had she seen a photograph of her mother. Looking up at her uncle, she saw him smiling at her and nodded. "This is beautiful."

"Here," Jack said, taking the necklace and fastening the locket around her neck. She grasped it tightly. "Keep her close to you this way, kiddo. This way, she'll be with you until the end of time."

Lydia nodded as she stared down at the locket as it lay in the palm of her hand. "Uncle Jack?" she said softly. "Why did Dad hate me so much? What did I do to make him . . . deprive me of my freedom?"

Her uncle sighed, looking older than his years for a moment. "Lydia, I wish I could answer that, but I've always been a firm believer that the truth will come to us when we are ready to hear it. Even if the truth comes from an unlikely source, we'll find it when we are ready, not only when we think that we are."

Looking helplessly at him, Lydia nodded once. "But when will that be?" she asked. "When will I know?"

"That's for fate to decide," Jack replied solemnly. "And you never know what her plans are." Lydia smiled. "Now, you'd better go get ready. A Pokémon trainer is always on the move."

"You're sure you're okay with me leaving straight away?" Lydia wanted to know, biting her lip.

"Yeah," Jack said with a smile. "As long as you keep calling so I can hear the voice of my favourite niece and keep me updated on where you're going and what's going on, I'll be happy." Lydia smiled as he ruffled her hair affectionately, trying not to laugh.

"I'm your only niece," she reminded him.

"Well, it's not my fault you've got a severe lack of competition," Jack said, feigning innocence. "Go on, get a move on, kiddo."

Lydia smiled at her uncle before rising and heading back up the stairs. Once she reached her bedroom—which her uncle had decorated just for her—she picked up the jean backpack that she'd brought with her, filling it with potions and antidotes and other necessities that she and Jesse had bought yesterday at the Pokémart.

Eevee woke up when she was packing and jumped up, greeting his trainer affectionately. Lydia smiled as she pet him, glancing out the window. "This is it, Eevee," she said softly. "We're on our way to entering a much bigger and stranger world than one I'm used to."

But everything would turn out okay, though, she thought. She had no doubt about that. For the first time in her life, she had friends and family that she could turn to. And most of all, she had something to look forward to, something that would excite her and make her look forward to the next day. Every day was going to be a new adventure, a new experience, and a destiny waiting to be discovered.

She smiled. "And so it begins," Lydia whispered as she felt an eerie presence around her. She knew, without seeing the ghost, that it was her mother, telling her that everything would be all right now.

And she knew that her mother was right.