Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. This is a fan-made work of fiction, and I do not own the rights to anything

Crystal did not remember fainting. She had not known what had happened, all she recalled was a dark numbness. In her haze, though, she eventually heard noises. A small part of her registered them with alarm, but another, heavier part of her held her where she was. She could not move. Her limbs were lead, encased in molasses.

People were near. She could hear their voices, their footsteps. One stood out amid the blurriness, urging the others not to go near Crystal. Why? she wondered. Why is that? But she was grateful that nobody came near except for the one who had spoken. He reached a hand out. Somewhere in her mind she heard him say, "Crystal, it's me. Can you hear me? Are you awake?" She did not have the presence to answer, but she took his outstretched hand. She knew this voice, this person. It was someone she trusted. Yes, that was it. Someone she trusted. He pulled her up and held her steady. Suddenly she realized she was not numb; she was very, very cold. But she haze overtook her once again, and she did not remember anything else after that.

The next thing Crystal realized, she was in her chambers, back at the castle, buried under a pile of blankets. Almost as soon as she felt her eyelids flutter open, she heart a breathy exclamation of, "Oh God, oh God, oh thank God you've come to!"

Blue flew to Crystal's bedside and clutched the princess's hands. They felt warmer in Blue's grasp. "Crystal, I was so worried!"

"I'm sorry," the princess croaked.

Blue laughed, slightly hysterical with relief. She brushed tears from the corners of her azure eyes. "No, no, it's not your fault. Oh, Crystal, I don't blame you for running out."

"You don't?" Crystal asked, appalled.

Blue shook her head. "I probably would have too, given the situation. It's just…it's so sudden and horrible…"

Crystal pulled herself into full consciousness, growing confused and anxious. She thought that put in her place, Blue would have slapped those guards square in the face, or anything braver than running. She grasped at the realization that Blue was talking about something entirely different. "What is?" Blue stared at her strangely. "Blue," she began, "I left the palace out of frustration. I just…crumbled. In one moment. I don't really know what you're talking about, but it's very much frightening me."

Blue gasped. "No…no, I thought the news came in before you left…if you haven't heard, then…oh Crystal, I am so terribly sorry."

"Blue, what is it?" Crystal's heart pounded in tune with her head, but she was very much awake now. "What happened?"

"The King of Johto was murdered. Crystal…your grandfather is dead."

The carriage pulled up to the palace of Johto, in the heart of GoldenrodCity, suitable rain drifting down from dark grey clouds. For a moment, Crystal regarded the castle as home, but without her grandfather inside, it did not feel like such a place. It just felt hollow.

"How did he die?" Crystal whispered, clutching Blue's arm tightly.

"Stabbed with a letter opener," was the sad reply.

Such a delicate instrument could be used by anybody, anybody who knew exactly how to hit him and wouldn't hesitate. Crystal knew who it was.

Upon entering the castle, upon entering the room where her grandfather's casket lay, Crystal found Lorelei and shoved the older woman by the shoulders into the wall.

"You did this," Crystal hissed, hysterical. "I know you did this! You never liked him, you thought he was foolish and old and taking too long to die so you killed him yourself!" Green tried to pull her away, but she swatted him with hostility.

"You've got it all wrong…" Lorelei replied angrily, her tone uneven.

"I have not!" Crystal shrieked and kicked at anyone who tried to grab her, even Blue. "I know you did this! You're nothing but a wretched, malevolent witch behind your mask; you hold nothing but hate for all of us!"

"No!" Lorelei shouted and suddenly Crystal realized she was not angry. Lorelei had begun to cry. "No! I hold no hate!" Crystal loosened her grip and the whole room seemed to freeze, even the florists arranging white lilies in honour of their deceased king. "I never knew how to act," Lorelei went on, her voice wobbling and her eyes stained red. "My own grandfather passed long before I was born, my father was a cold man who shunned me, my sisters were all so much older, so much more beautiful…and I never knew how to act when I married into this family. I would never kill a man such as the king. I would never dare. And how could I kill him when I'm— when I'm hardly prepared to rule a kingdom…"

Crystal knew then that Lorelei was telling the truth. After all, kings had plenty of enemies who wanted them dead. It could have been assassins from Unova or Sinnoh (Crystal avoided the thought that this might only be the beginning. If it was an act of hostility from the democratic countries, they may strike again.) But the murder did not have to be committed by the king's piteous, jealous, unpleasant daughter-in-law. Crystal stepped back and spat, "You just act so strong, so queenly, and so sour towards me because you're a coward. You don't even have the decency to be villainous."

Lorelei did not even retort. She only bawled into her hands and maids guided her away. Crystal looked around and saw that her brother was nowhere to be found.

"Find Green," Crystal told Blue, surprised to find that her voice still held an edge. "Help him. I…I need to cool off." And she walked into the courtyard, shooed the gardeners and anyone else away, and allowed herself to cry for the man who had practically raised her.

A knock came at the door. Green said nothing, hoping whoever was there would just eventually go away. But unfortunately, it was Blue, so of course she didn't go away and instead pounded loudly.

"If you don't let me in, I'm knocking this door down!"

Creeeeeeak.

"Oh. Thank you."

The door clicked shut and she sat down beside him, not saying a word. "Why are you here?" he asked, in a harsher tone than he had meant.

Blue hesitated before answering. "I understand if you want to be alone, but I don't think you should be. I think that even if you don't want me here, maybe it might help to have a friend around." She smiled bravely. King Oak was the man who had given her a job and a new life. She was affected by his passing as well.

"You're right." For a moment, she looked hopeful, but then he added, "I don't want you here."

Blue puffed out her cheeks and asked, "Would you rather Lorelei?"

He considered. "Hn. Probably not."

She nodded, satisfied, and did not speak again. Instead, she appeared to be staring out at the setting sun. A few times amidst his sulking, Green looked over and speculated, This is the quietest she's ever been. But maybe that was a bad thing. For a moment, he nearly found himself wishing she would fill the silence with her senseless blabber. Because silence gave him time to think. Although that was all he had ever wanted before, now the silence weighed down on him and gave his mind the chance to wander to the things he did not want to think about.

Like his grandfather.

When Green was younger (and had emotions /shot) he used to watch his grandfather in awe. He used to think to himself: That's what I want to be like when I become king. Of course, Green's pride had never allowed him to say such things aloud. He wished he had gotten to say that, though. He wished he had gotten to tell his grandfather how much he respected him. How his grandfather was more of Green and Crystal's father than their real one was.

That was when Green saw Blue staring at him. "What?" he snapped, but then he felt it. Water streaming down his face. How had he not noticed? He lifted an almost shaking hand to his wide eyes and felt the tears. "H-how…" he started, but wasn't sure what question he was going to ask.

Blue's placid expression crumbled at seeing the stoic man finally reveal his emotions. She instantly pulled him into her arms and held him. All he could think about was how humiliating it was—he was crying in the arms of Blue of all people—but then he realized he didn't care and that Blue was whimpering into his shoulder. Both of them needed a chance to let their emotions go, if only for one, quiet moment.

Before Crystal was to return to Kanto, she requested to have a moment with her brother. Blue padded along after her, concerned for the young princess. However, when Green and Crystal found that they could not strike a conversation, awkward siblings as they were, Crystal turned upon her lady-in-waiting.

"Blue, I'm sorry for this inconvenience," Crystal regarded the older girl stiffly. "I'm sorry to have taken you away so suddenly from your family, especially your daughter."

Blue blinked. "Pardon?"

"I apologize," Crystal repeated.

"I understood that much, and you needn't apologize, milady," Blue started, "but since when do I have a daughter?"

Crystal narrowed her eyebrows. "Aries?"

Blue's eyes widened. "Aries is my niece! Her father, Silver, is my brother!"

"But you two look so much alike and I just thought since she was so accustomed to you…" Crystal protested, embarrassed. "And in the carriage to Viridian's castle, you said you would get to see your baby…"

"I practically raised Silver. We grew up on the streets of a dinky village called PalletTown, with no family and not a penny to our names. Even after all this time, he's still my baby brother." Blue giggled. "Aries's mum, Lyra, has brown hair like I do. She's a sweet lady, good for my brother, and certainly good for Aries. They named my niece Aries because it is a constellation, just like her mother's name." The young woman smiled softly and laughed again at Crystal's blunder. Said princess only turned a bit pink that she had made such assumptions.

Green scoffed. "You're both the silliest things." He averted his eyes to the window. He was not sure exactly why he felt so relieved.

Green watched the carriage crawl away from the castle after the king's short funeral. It was no big ceremony; just family and friends and staff of the palace, as King Oak would have wanted. A public memorial would be held later, but Green would not attend.

The prince—soon to be king—felt strange, the ghost of a pair of arms still hanging around him. Lorelei had embraced him few times, if ever, and it was most likely for show anyways. He had never thought of her as a wife. She was just a woman that was at his side, wearing the same ring as him. Just the vague ghost of a wife, just the idea of one in his head, not a real wife.

And so why, why so suddenly had he compared her to Blue?

He shook his head, wishing he could stop thinking of that annoying woman so that he would not be having such strange, twisting feelings in his stomach.

Instead, he glanced up at the sky. Grandfather would have surely been laughing at him. Once, when they were all younger, the king had joked that Blue was the only girl who could control Green, after she had stuffed a wad of spinach in Green's reluctant mouth. Green smiled a little at the memory. It was easier to think of his grandfather in happier ways. It calmed the confusion.

But then a few clouds moved and bright cerulean sky peeked through tiny gaps, reminding him of a pair of glinting azure eyes. Green groaned and immediately marched inside.

In Kanto, however, Gold waited as Yellow stepped into the Nympharum house without a word. She was naturally quiet, but Gold was suspicious. She was much later than usual. Tanzanite had already retired wearily to her chamber and Pearl, Emerald, and Cheren had quit the room long ago. Only Gold remained waiting.

He crossed his arms. "Yellow, is something wrong?"

"Why would you say such a thing, Nii-san?" she asked, removing her scarf, but something was awry in her tone.

"Strange things have been happening as of late," Gold replied. "Then again, we are strange people. What say you?"

"I believe you speak the truth," his friend agreed, rather tentatively.

He sighed, already bored with idle chat. "Yellow, what is going on?"

"There is nothing to be concerned about."

"Yes, yes there is," he objected, "if you keep acting stranger than usual. You haven't…" His eyes flashed with suspicion. "You haven't given anything away, have you?"

The smaller girl's expression darkened. "How would I? I hardly speak at the palace, you know that. I can hold my own."

"You just worry me."

"There is nothing to be worried about, Nii-san." Yellow waved him off and began to leave the room. "I will take care of everything. I will protect this family."

Something seemed off about what she had claimed. She sounds like she's about to do something reckless, Gold thought. Yellow was always careful, and he knew that, but if she thought that there was danger, she could show her darker colours for certain.

"Yellow," he called, "tell me you won't do something stupid." He heard her footsteps down the hall and shoved himself up, rushing to the doorway. "Yellow, don't make me worry about you on top of everything else. Answer me." She still said nothing, but her head bowed slightly. Gold clenched his fists and shouted, "Amarillo! Listen to me!"

That certainly struck a cord. She whirled around, and he may have imagined it, but he swore for a moment he saw tears suspended in the air, forced from her eyes by the turn. "Please," she responded shakily. "Please don't call me that anymore. That name holds so many horrible memories. Please, do not worry. I will protect your secret; you know that I always will. I will protect the knowledge of Belle's origins. And I will protect this family, even if it is the last thing that I do." She put a hand to her heart, and wrapped her thin fingers around the silver locket that she wore at constant. "I promise," she whispered. "So do not worry, Gold."

She turned and walked away, but not one word of what she had said eased Gold's apprehension. She knows something that I don't.

A/N: Sorry for writing that. I sort of had to. I had to make Lorelei seem weak in comparison to all that Crystal must truly face. In the first chapters, Lorelei was a true antagonist. Now we see her true colours; she doesn't even have the strength to be vicious. She's just let a rotten life that led her to be a rotten person.

And now gone is the figure that we thought would protect us. Grand King Oak, whom we thought could shield us in this time of war. But really, no one can. No one is safe. I had to show that.

Etto...did I just sound dismal? -.-" gomen
Just that this story is not the greatest I will ever write and I kinda like that because it means I'll be getting better ^0^

And oho Yellow (just in time for her birthday!)...you guys are going to be SO INCREDIBLY DISAPPOINTED when you find out what's actually up with her.

NEXT CHAPTER IS THE LAST CHAPTER IN PART I! THE WEDDING! PREPARE YOURSELVES~!

Seriously.

...

^-^ heehee thanks for reading, you guys. I'm really grateful if you've gotten this far ;D Rant over.

-Silvia