A Dragon's Tail
Paralogue II: The Dark Sweet Heart
Once upon a time… There was a young man born to a tribe known as the holder of the unlimited ancient power. With the gift he was born with, the young man was unmatched in term of power and knowledge. However, there's one thing that the young man never had, a happiness, as the gift he was born with also acted as a curse for him too. With this, he decided that the best thing for him to do was living alone without associating himself with anyone else for the rest of his life…
Until one day… The young man was badly injured from an accident. He would be left to his demise if it wasn't for a young woman who found him and tended his wound. This meeting surprised the young man as the young woman who found him didn't possess any special power, being just an ordinary creature, and yet she helped him, the holder of the ancient power, without any fear or hesitation. When he questioned her about this, she replied that helping the injured creature, regardless of their race and power, would be something that everyone would normally do. The answer of the young woman touched the heart of the young man, and when the new daybreak came after his first meeting with the young woman, he noted that it was the most beautiful daybreak that he had ever seen…
But little did he know that it was also the daybreak that a great tragedy would be set in motion…
After their first meeting, the young man and the young woman would often find a time to be with each other, as the moment they shared with each other, especially for the young man, was one of the happiest moments in their life. And not before long, the feeling of affection was born in their heart…
However, the tribe that the young man came from didn't accept the love between them as they viewed their kind superior to others, and the young woman was just an ordinary creature with no special power. Their blood must never mix, so they tried to intercept their love and separate them apart, hoping that it would end the forbidden love between the creatures of two kinds…
The young man, however, chose not to accept the path that his tribe set for him. He chose to challenge his fate, and to do so, he asked the young woman for their marriage, and then both of them will leave together… To find the place where they truly belonged…
The young woman didn't want to see her beloved one suffer anymore, and she knew that the consequence of their action might not be what they wanted. Nevertheless, she accepted her beloved one's proposal and left together with him, in hope that one day… They will finally find a place where their love could exist without the wall of destiny to separate them apart…
A week had passed… It then became a month… And a year… But both of them still couldn't find a place where they belonged… The young man started to despair, thinking that it meant that their love was never meant to exist at all… The young woman, however, continued to support her beloved one, telling him that she was always happy as long as they were together… The words of his beloved one gave the young man a hope again… And their journey continued…
Unfortunately… Their journey had to end before they were able to accomplish what they were doing… in the worst possible way…
The young man was brought back to his tribe… To the place he tried to escape from… To face everyone from his tribe… To face everyone who tried to get into the way of his love…
But that wasn't even the worst thing…
After being brought back, the young man was told the worst news that he had never wanted to hear…
The young woman whom he loved to the deepest part of his heart… By the hand of everyone from his tribe… She no longer exist in the life…
She was taken away from him forever… And he would never meet her again…
This very news shattered his heart… He could feel his soul being crushed… And his heart being broke…
Without the one he truly loved anymore, the young man couldn't find any will to exist in this world, as the world that he once saw as a beautiful place was now longer than an empty void, and so he chose to end it…
But… It won't end just like this…
It was them… It was everyone from his tribe… It was the whole world… Who went against his love…
And so… They must pay…
The young man then massacred his whole tribe and stole the dark artifact that his tribe was guarding closely… It was the artifact with the great forbidden power, and one must never use it, for that the destruction would ensure to follow…
But it was no longer matter for the young man… Without his beloved one, the world was now just an empty place…
He then used the dark artifact to set the destruction of the world in motion, hoping to end this once and for all…
But there was one thing that he didn't know…
His beloved one… She still existed… Thought she lost her body, her soul still remained…
Even so, after knowing the truth that his beloved wife might still exist, the young man still continued with his plan to destroy the world, for that his plan had gone to the point of no return, where nothing else would be able to revert the destruction…
But then… In the final moment before the world was completely destroyed, the young woman was finally able to reunite with her beloved one, and with her gentle words and soft love, she was able to rescue the young man from the pit of despair that he had fallen into…
Still… It was too late… As the destruction of the world was now right in front of them… And nothing else would be able to stop it…
Except for only one thing…
Because the destruction of the world was set in motion by the hatred of the young man, the only thing that would be able to reverse it was something that's the opposite of the hatred…
It was the love… A pure love…
Knowing this, in the final moment of the world, the young man and the young woman declared their true love to the world, and thus, the destruction of the world was reversed, turning the world back to normal…
But not without a price…
By using their power of love to stop the destruction of the world, the young man and the young woman would cease to exist…
It was the price they must pay, and the atonement of the young man…
After that day, the young man and the young woman disappeared… No one saw them again, and no one knew what happened to them… However, there's one thing that everyone knew about them…
They knew that the young man and the young woman were finally able to get what they wanted…
They were finally found a place where they truly belonged…
A place… That truly accepted their love…
A place… Where both of them would be able to live in happy ever after…
-Resting Room, Floor B2, Pendracomonium
"Sniff… Sniff…"
"Hm? Oh!" Anastasia closed the book of the love story that she was reading to her friends and looked at them, who were sitting beside her. "Did I just—"
"No…" Freya spoke up while trying to hold back her tear. "It's just… That it is such a sad story…"
"Right…" Rachael agreed with the Flygon as she wiped her tear with her handkerchief. "F… For all love stories that I have read, it would have a happy ending… But this story… The ending… It's so sad…"
"…I am sorry that the story I brought made both of you sad…" Anastasia apologized. "You two have just helped me with my work, and now I'm making you cry…"
It was a normal day for the Pendragon. Most of them were spending their time in their team base, the Pendracomonium, while some of them had left to do their own mission. As usual, Anastasia started her day by continued working with the cloths she was making, but soon, Rachael and Freya volunteered to help her as both of them were free for today. This made the Goodra's work finished earlier than usual for today, so the three girls decided to pass their time together by having a nice and pleasant chat in the Resting Room.
After mentioning that all of them loved reading a love story, Anastasia grabbed one of her favorite books of love story and read it to the Latias and the Flygon. The story was so sad that it brought tears to the two young girls' eyes…
"N… No! Don't blame yourself, Anastasia!" Freya spoke up. "I… It's just that I haven't read many love stories with a sad ending like this…"
"Me too…" Rachael said.
"Then… What kind of love story do you like to read?" Anastasia asked.
"I like the story with the fantasy love, the love between the prince and the princess, such as the story of War of Jasmine!" Rachael answered and mentioned her favorite book.
"F… For me…" Freya spoke up. "I… I like a romantic love… Something like a story that the man and the woman gradually developed their love together…"
"Those are very nice." Anastasia commented.
"What about you, Anastasia?" Rachael asked. "What kind of love story is your favorite?"
"M… Me?!" Anastasia was surprised a bit when she was asked a question by the Latias. "W… Well… I like the story of a forbidden love, a love that would never come true, or a love story with a sad or bittersweet ending…"
"Ohh…" Rachael and Freya looked at Anastasia after hearing her answer, making the Goodra fluster a bit as she didn't know how to react to them, and she didn't know what would she do if any of them asked her why, as she couldn't tell the reason behind this to anyone…
"But still…" Rachael spoke up. "The story you told us earlier is so wonderful!"
"R… Right!" Freya said. "I… I know that love is an amazing power, but I have never imagined that it would be able to save the world too!"
"… I am glad that you like it…" Anastasia sighed a bit as her fear didn't come true. "I still have a lot love stories in my store. If you want, you two can always borrow them from me."
"R… Really?!" Freya and Rachael spoke up at the same time. "Thank you so much, Anastasia!"
"It's nothing, my dear…" Anastasia said. "I am glad that everyone else in our group also shared the same interest as me…"
"Me too!" Rachael said. "Onii-chan doesn't like reading a love story, and Zetarus and Diego don't even touch a single book, so I am glad that I could share the story of love with both of you!"
"S… Speaking of love…" Freya looked around the room, as if she was trying to find something, until she spotted the calendar on the wall. "T… Today is the Sweet Heart Day, isn't it?"
"The Sweet Heart Day?" Rachael repeated the words she had just heard. It was noticeable that the Latias had no idea of what Freya was talking about.
"… It's one of the most famous holidays…" Anastasia explained. "It's the day for the woman to express their affection toward someone they loved."
"To… express their love?" Rachael said. "How?"
"Normally, they will do it by giving a treat called 'Sweet Heart' to someone they love." Anastasia said. "But there are also several more ways to express their love, such as giving them a flower or—"
"Then, let's do it!" Rachael suddenly spoke up.
"Hm?!" Freya and Anastasia looked at the Latias at the same time. "Do what?"
"Let's follow the tradition of this holiday and gave Sweet Heart to the one we love!" Rachael said.
"!" Freya and Anastasia were surprised after hearing the words of the Latias, and a faint red blush appeared on their faces after hearing the words ' the one we love'.
"Hm? What's wrong? Freya? Anastasia?" Rachael spoke up after she realized that none of her friends did answer her words.
"I…" Freya shyly spoke up. "I… I don't think that this is a good idea…"
"… Me too…" Anastasia silently spoke up.
"What?!" Rachael said. "Why?!"
"W… Well…" Freya said. "I… I am just…"
"Oh! Come on! Don't be shy!" Rachael tried to cheer her friend up. "You want someone you love to be happy, right?"
"Well… Yes…" Freya answered.
"Then it's settled!" Rachael said. "I am sure that the one who would receive a gift from you would be happy!"
"…" Freya didn't say anything else, but she shyly nodded to the Latias.
"What about you, Anastasia?" Rachael said as she turned her attention to the Goodra. "Why don't you join us and give a gift to someone you love too?"
"… I am not sure who I am going to give a gift to…" Anastasia answered with a silent voice. "And if my brother found out—"
"Oh! Don't worry! He won't know a thing about this!" Rachael said. "He went to Valley of No Return to hunt with Zetarus, right? He won't be back until dinner time, so, we now have a lot of time to prepare a gift!"
"But—" Anastasia tried to say something, but she was interrupted by the Latias.
"Nah… Come on!" Rachael said as she got up and pushed Anastasia. "Let's do it, everyone!"
"W… Wait!" Anastasia said as she was pushed to the door of the room before she and the Latias exited the room together, with the Flygon closely followed them.
-Main Hall, Floor B2, Pendracomonium
Even if it was just about 11:00, the Pendracomonium was quiet as there was not much activity here right now, other than several Gargoyles that were patrolling the hall like usual, and some members weren't even here, such as Zetarus and Baromyteus, who left after breakfast and went to Valley of No Return for hunting, and Diego, who left for Fireview Kingdom to buy new tools for his work since yesterday and won't come back until tomorrow. For others, Korben and Claura were training in the Training Ground. Snow was making lunch in the Kitchen. Richard was reading a book in the Laboratory. Xavier was sleeping in his room. And Sirius was exploring the dark cavern beneath Floor B5 of Pendracomonium right now.
"Hm…" Rachael said after she, Anastasia and Freya left the Resting Room together. "What kind of Sweet Heart should we get for someone we love?"
"I… I think the homemade one is the best…" Freya spoke up.
"You are right!" Rachael said. "And I think I have a cooking book with the instruction of how to make Sweet Heart too! Let's see…"
Rachael then looked into her bag and picked a cooking book that she always kept with her. This book focused on the recipe for dessert, which was something that Rachael was very good at making. The Latias then openned the book and started searching for what she wanted.
"Here! The recipe of Sweet Heart!" Rachael said. "And it isn't that hard for us to make one!"
"Do we have all ingredients for making them?" Anastasia asked.
"Hm… The main ingredient is the Occa Berry and the Occa Butter, which is extracted from Occa Berry itself …" Rachael said before she opened her berry pouch and started searching for what she wanted, only to find that she didn't have any of what she wanted! "No! I already ran out of Occa Berry!"
"Don't worry, I think we still have some left in the Food Storage." Anastasia said.
"No…" Freya spoke up. "Snow and I used all of them for making last night's dessert, so there won't be enough left for us to make Sweet Heart."
"And it would take a couple more days for the Occa Berry trees in my greenhouse to produce new Occa Berries for us…" Rachael said. "What should we do? We can't make a Sweet Heart without the Occa Berry!"
"… There's only one way left…" Freya spoke up. "We have to go to Symmetria and buy it."
"Well, then…" Rachael continued speaking. "I remember that Occa Berry is native to the dense forest of the Principality of Leafburg. So, let's go!"
After finished speaking, Rachael, Freya and Anastasia turned their attention toward the door of the Portal Room and were about to approach it when they heard a voice from somewhere behind them.
"… Where are the three of you going?"
"HM?!" Rachael, Freya and Anastasia quickly turned their attention back to the source of the voice and found one of their friends there, who was none other than the Kingdra.
"Oh! Claura! Hi!" Rachael greeted as she, Freya and Anastasia approached the Kingdra who had just appeared. "Did you just finish training with Korben?"
"Right." Claura replied. "That Kommo-o's still training. He said that he needs to adjust himself to his new power, but I'm done for today."
"I… see…" Freya mumbled. "That's… just like him."
"And…" Claura continued speaking. "What are the three of you going? I saw you heading to the Portal Room. Don't tell me that…"
"Um…" Rachael, Freya and Anastasia weren't sure what to say to the Kingdra. "We… We were just…"
"Sigh…" Claura sighed. "If your reason for going back to Symmetria is important enough, I won't stop you. Just be careful, okay?"
"Okay…" Rachael said before she had an idea about something. "Hey! Claura, why don't you come with us too?"
"Hm?" Claura looked at the Latias in front of her. "To where?"
"To Leafburg!" Rachael answered. "We are going to buy some Occa Berries so that we can make the Sweet Heart together!"
"Occa Berries? Sweet Heart? Together?" Claura said. "Why me?"
"Because today's the Sweet Heart Day!" Rachael said. "It's the day with a tradition that the woman would give Sweet Heart to someone they love, so Freya, Anastasia and I decide to do it too. However, we ran out of Occa Berry, the main ingredient for making Sweet Heart, so we're going to Leafburg to get some as Occa Berry is native to the forest of Leafburg!"
"Rachael is right." Anastasia said. "And Claura, you could join us in making Sweet Heart—"
"I'll pass." Claura spoke up.
"What?!" Rachael said. "Why?!"
"Because as much as I hate to admit, I am not good at cooking." Claura said. "And even if I do, I don't have anyone who will receive the Sweet Heart I made."
"Nah! You're exaggerating!" Rachael said. "There are so many people who'd love to receive a Sweet Heart from you, Claura!"
"No, there isn't." Claura said.
"Then…" Anastasia spoke up. "If you won't make one, how about you just accompany us to the Principality of Leafburg? We could use this time to hang out together, just for us, girls."
"… Fine." Claura said.
"Great!" Rachael said. "Now, let's hurry—"
"One moment." Claura spoke up. "Did you say that you will go to Leafburg to get the Occa Berry?"
"Right!" Rachael said.
"… I don't think that will be a good idea." Claura spoke up. "Since today's the day when everyone would give the Sweet Heart, the demand of Occa Berry, the main ingredient of Sweet Heart, would be high, and so do its price, especially at the Principality of Leafburg, a place where Occa Berry is native to. For worse, everyone may go there to get Occa Berry, and it may run out by the time we get there."
"Oh…" Freya said. "Then… What should we do? Should we go to buy it from another place? Maybe at the Trading Post at the Venturnome-Leafburg border... Or maybe at Sandust Port in Dustorm Empire…"
"That won't do." Claura said. "Like I said, the demand of Occa Berry is high today, and for the place that the Occa Berry isn't native to, the price would just be higher, and it would be sure to run out even faster."
"So, you would say that the price of Occa Berry would be high for today, and it would run out pretty quick." Anastasia said. "And people would go to Leafburg, the place where the Occa Berry is native to, to buy it instead, so Leafburg isn't a good place for us to go to buy Occa Berry."
"Then, what should we do?" Rachael asked.
"… I suggest that we should go to the Isles of Spice instead." Claura answered.
"Isles of Spice?" Freya spoke up. "I… Is that one of seven islands in the Riverbrine Archipelago?"
"Correct." Claura said. "Isles of Spice are unique because they are homed to ALL of spices and berries that could be found on the continent of Symmetria. However, because they are located quite far to the southeast of mainland Queendom of Riverbrine, and it requires at least one whole day to get there, not many people would go there just to get a few ingredients for today."
"Okay, then!" Rachael said. "And I have never gone to any of islands in Riverbrine Archipelago! This will be great!"
"M… Me too…" Freya said.
"… I have been there once with Xavier…" Claura said.
"Then, let's go, everyone…" Anastasia said. "To the Isle of Spice!"
-One Hour Later…
Isles of Spice, one of seven islands in the Riverbrine Archipelago, were among the most wondrous places on the continent of Symmetria as they were the place where all berries and spices that could be found on the continent of Symmetria could be found. The Isles of Spice themselves consisted of four small islands, each with the different climate and atmosphere, and different kinds of spice and berries could be found in the wildlife of each island too. With this, Rachael, Freya, Claura and Anastasia decided to split up to search for the Occa Berry as none of them knew which island the Occa Berry is native too, and they would be back at the place where the warp portal from the Pendracomonium spawned in two hours.
"Hm… It's not here…" Anastasia said as she looked around the place she was in. The island she was on had the cold climate, even comparable to the Snow Part of mainland Queendom of Riverbrine itself. This was why Anastasia chose to go on this island, while Rachael went to the island with the dense forest, Freya went to the island with the mountain and desert terrain, and Claura went to the last island with the various terrains.
"As I thought…" Anastasia mumbled to herself. "Occa Berry must be found on the island that Rachael went to, so I should go bac—Oops!"
Anastasia was about to turn back when she bumped into someone who was walking behind her, causing that Pokemon to fall down!
"Oh! I am so sorry!" Anastasia apologized. "Are you hurt?"
"No… I am fine…" A gentle, serene and graceful voice was heard from the Pokemon that the Goodra bumped into, but Anastasia was unable to tell what kind of Pokemon they were as they were wearing a cloak around their body.
"Here, let me help you…" Anastasia said and gently reached her paw to the Pokemon she bumped into.
"… Thank you…" The Pokemon said as they reached the paw to grab Anastasia's hand. The Goodra could feel a cold coming from the paw of this Pokemon.
"… Here we go." Anastasia said as she helped the Pokemon stand up again.
"Thank you so much…" The Pokemon said as she was finally able to stand up again, but after having a clear look of the Pokemon who bumped into her, the Pokemon spoke up again. "Oh! You are… a Dragon type Pokemon…"
"!" Anastasia was greatly surprised after hearing the words of the Pokemon in front of her. What did they mean by mentioning that Anastasia was a Dragon type Pokemon? Could it be that this Pokemon was the anti-dragon?
"Hm? Oh! I didn't mean to be offensive to you!" Being able to sense that their words disturbed the Goodra in front of her, the Pokemon quickly apologized. "I am just worried that you are here, on such a cold island, and you are weak to ice…"
"Oh, I see…" Anastasia nodded. "You are kind to care for a stranger like me, but please do not worry. I am used to the cold even worse than this, and I love the cold too."
"Oh… I have never met a Dragon type Pokemon who loves cold before…" The Pokemon said. "My b— I mean… My Dragon-type friend hates cold very much, but I see that you are different—Oops!"
The Pokemon's words were cut off when a chilling gust suddenly blew up, forcing them to cover their head a bit. The gust, however, blew the cloak that this Pokemon wore a bit, making it fall from their head and reveal their face to Anastasia!
"!" Anastasia finally got a good look at the Pokemon in front of her. This Pokemon was a four-legged Pokemon with the frigid blue body and a very long neck. She also had a yellow sail-like fin on her neck too. With just this, Anastasia could tell that the Pokemon in front of her was… an Aurorus.
"!" Realizing that her appearance was revealed to the Goodra in front of her, and she was also staring at her intensely, the Aurorus was clearly frightened.
"Oh! I didn't mean to do that! I'm sorry!" Realizing that the Aurorus was frightening by her action, Anastasia apologized again. "It's just that seeing you remind me of someone I know from a long time ago. Please forgive me if I frightened you…"
"It's… fine…" Hearing the words of the Goodra seemed to calm down the Aurorus quite a bit.
Now that the Aurorus was calm down, Anastasia was able to get a bit more look of her, and she saw that the Aurorus was wearing a simple but beautiful light blue cloth that seemed to be made from a good-quality silk. "Your cloth is beautiful." Anastasia commented.
"It… does?" The Aurorus said. "And… Your cloth too… It's… pretty."
"Thanks." Anastasia said. "I made them by myself."
"You too?" The Aurorus seemed to be excited after hearing the words of the Goodra. "I never thought that I would run into someone who shares my hobby here!"
"Me too!" Anastasia said.
"And—" The Aurorus was about to continue speaking, but, again, her words were cut off by something. This time, it wasn't a chilling gust, but it was a loud and gruff voice of someone not too far from here.
"VAL! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"Oh…" The Aurorus turned back and saw a large Tyrantrum running up to her as if he was trying to hunt the Aurorus, but he didn't. Instead, he just stopped beside the Aurorus and spoke casually to her.
"There you are, Val." The Tyrantrum said. He was wearing a heavy dark gray armor suit on almost his whole body. "Don't go wandering around by yourself like that! You don't know what danger is lurking around here!"
"… I'm sorry, Nos." The Aurorus said.
"And… HM?!" The Tyrantrum said as he noticed that Anastasia was here too. "Who are—"
"No, Nos." The Aurorus quickly spoke up. "She's the traveler than I met on the road, and we were having a nice and pleasant conversation with each other."
"Oh, I see." The Tyrantrum said.
"…" Seeing an Aurorus and a Tyrantrum together in front of her awakened the memory of Anastasia, and for some reason, both of them greatly reminded her of a certain Aurorus and Tyrantrum who were among the group of Hero/ine of Legend who saved Symmetria from the Fallen Crisis.
"Val, I think we should go now, before anyone else see or recognize you." The Tyrantrum spoke up.
"Okay…" The Aurorus said before turning her attention to Anastasia. "Goodra, I am glad that we could have a nice little chat. I hope that we would see each other again."
"Me too, Aurorus." Anastasia said. "Best wishes to both of you."
"And may the goddess Yggdrasil protect you as well…" Aurorus said.
After finished speaking, the Aurorus put on the cloak to conceal her face again and, together with the Tyrantrum, walked away on the opposite side of where Anastasia was heading to before they disappeared.
"…Both of them… Why do they remind me of Nyxier and Tyrus?" Anastasia mumbled before she realized that she must go back to where the others were waiting as well. "Oh! I must go now! I hope that anyone else is able to find the Occa Berry…"
"But…"
"Who… Who should I give the Sweet Heart to?"
-A Few Hours Later…
After meeting up with Rachael, Freya and Claura again, Anastasia found that Rachael was able to obtain several Occa Berries from the island she went onto, which meant that their mission was a complete. So, the four dragonesses headed back to their lair. As they reached the Pendracomonium, lunchtime had already passed, but they were still able to have their meal because the only one who showed up at the Dining Hall during lunchtime were Korben, Xavier and Richard, so there was still plenty food left for them.
"Thank you for this meal, Snow." Freya said as she, Rachael, Claura and Anastasia finished their lunch, which was salad made from several kinds of berries harvested from the Greenhouse. "The berries used in this salad are so fresh and juicy!"
"Thank you for your compliment, Freya." Snow said as he bowed down a bit to the Flygon. "But you should thank Rachael instead, as it was her who grew all of these berries."
Rachael revealed an innocent smile when she heard Snow's compliment, as she always took a good care to the berries she grew in the greenhouse, just like what she used to do when she was still living at the Paradise Farm…
"Hey…" Hearing about the berries reminded Anastasia of something, so she decided to speak up to Snow. "Snow, can we borrow the Kitchen for this afternoon? We will use it to make some treats"
"… That's unnecessary." Snow answered with a cold voice as he turned his face away after picking the dishes from the dining table. "The Kitchen isn't mine. It's the room owned by everyone in the Pendragon, so you don't have to ask for my permission to use it."
"So, we can use it?! Yay!" Rachael said and turned her attention. "Everyone, let's go! We'll have so many things to do this afternoon!"
"Right!" Freya and Anastasia nodded to the Latias as both of them, as well as Rachael, stood up. However, much to their surprise, Claura also did the same thing as them too!
"… I changed my mind. I will join you all too…" Claura spoke up as she noticed that the attentions were focused on her. "And before you ask, it's because I have nothing better to do, and I guess it wouldn't be bad to do something like this once in a while…"
"Wow! That's great!" Rachael said. "Now, everyone! To the kitchen! Let's make the best Sweet Heart ever!"
-At the Kitchen…
"… Now, the real part begins!" Rachael said.
After entering the kitchen, Rachael and everyone started preparing the ingredients for making Sweet Heart. The two main ingredients were the Occa Berry and the Occa Butter, the butter extracted from Occa Berry. While they didn't need to prepare anything for the Occa Butter, they needed to do it for the Occa Berry. First, they got the seeds of the Occa Berries, which were the only part that they were going to use. They then ground the Occa Berry Seeds into a dark brown pulp, and that's the end of preparation. The next thing that they must do was making Sweet Heart from the ingredients that they prepared, but it won't be easy.
"One good thing about the homemade treat is that there's no fixed recipe of them." Rachael explained. "We could adapt the recipe to our will. In this case, while the main method of making Sweet Heart is mix the Occa Butter and the prepared Occa Berry Seed together in a pot on the stove, we could add other ingredients to make the Sweet Heart of our choice!"
"Other ingredient? Such as milk and sugar?" Freya asked.
"Yes. Those two are the most basic ingredients to be added when making Sweet Heart." Rachael said. "However, we could add other ingredients too! The choice is yours! Just remember that we will give this Sweet Heart to someone we love!"
And so, the four dragonesses started making the Sweet Heart of their own choice. They then got the some other berries that Rachael grew in the greenhouse and the MooMoo Milk, the milk that was dropped from the wild Miltank that was hunted in the Valley of No Return by Zetarus and others, from the storage room, but they also got other ingredients too.
"Hm… There're so many berries to choose from…" Rachael said as she looked at several berries in front of her, trying to decide the one that she would use in her Sweet Heart. "Hm… A Belue Berry would be nice… But it has a spicy flavor too, and he isn't a fan of spicy food… Or maybe a Nomel Berry to give a refreshing taste? Hm… But a Colbur Berry would be great too, as it's also bitter, and he somewhat likes bitter food too… And the effect of Colbur Berry would benefit him too…"
While Rachael was choosing the berries that she would use, Anastasia and Freya had already gotten what they wanted, and they were measuring the amount of ingredients that they would use.
"What do you have here, Freya?" Anastasia asked as she saw that Freya was holding a jar containing something in her paw.
"Oh! It's… Honey…" Freya said and showed Anastasia a jar of honey. "It's for… adding sweetness… to the Sweet Heart."
"Honey?" Anastasia said as she looked at a jar of honey that Freya was holding. It was one of several jars of honey that the Pendragon got when Zetarus, Diego, and others raided some wild Combee's hives in the Valley of No Return. "Why did you choose honey over sugar or berries as a source of sweetness?"
"B… Because I heard that the sugar inside the honey is easier for our body to digest, so our body would recover from fatigue faster… A… And it would be great for… him." Freya answered, but her voice became muffled at the last sentence.
"For… him?" Anastasia tried to repeat the words she had just heard. "You mean that you already decide who will receive your Sweet Heart?"
"W… Well…" Freya mumbled as she tried to hide a blush that appeared on her face. "A… Anyway… Anastasia, what would you use in your Sweet Heart?"
"Oh… Me?" Anastasia said. "Well… I will just use chocolate and—"
"… Hey."
"Hm?" Anastasia and Freya turned their attention to the voice that called them, which belonged to none other than the Kingdra.
"Oh, Claura. What do you need?" Anastasia asked.
"… I plan that I'll just stick with the standard recipe, so… Do you know where did Snow keep sugar?" Claura asked.
"Oh, it's over there." Freya said as she pointed at the kitchen counter on the other side of the room. "Snow kept the frequently-used condiments there. I think sugar is in the white jar there."
"Thanks." Claura said and headed toward the kitchen counter that was pointed by the Flygon. It wasn't hard for her to spot the white jar that contained what she wanted there…
Except that…
'W… What?! Why are there two white jars here?' Claura thought to herself as she saw two white jars sitting next to each other. She then opened the lid on both of them, but found out that both jars contained some kind of white grain that looked very similar to each other. 'Why does Snow keep two jars of sugar? Or maybe one of them is sugar while the other isn't… But… Which one is sugar?!'
Claura then tried to find the difference between two condiments in the jars, but she couldn't.
'Well, then… I guess I'll have to choose one…' Claura thought. 'I hope that it won't turn out bad… Right?'
-Several minutes later…
After preparing other ingredients, the four dragonesses started making Sweet Heart. First, they mixed the Occa Butter and the prepared Occa Berry Seeds together before adding other ingredients that they got, and each of them used the different ingredients, such as Rachael, who used several kinds of berries, Freya, who used honey and MooMoo Milk, Claura, who used 'sugar', and Anastasia, who used the unique ingredient. Sometimes, Snow would enter the kitchen to prepare for dinner, and he would give some advices to everyone who were making Sweet Heart too.
"Be careful, Claura. The heat you use is too high." Snow said to the Kingdra, who was constantly turned up the heat she used to cook her Sweet Heart. "It would burn the ingredients."
"Shut up! I know what I am doing!" Claura yelled back as she still raised the temperature. "Now, HIGHER!"
"No!" Snow said, but it won't seem like the Kingdra would listen to her easily...
-Several Minutes Later…
After their struggling to make Sweet Heart, the four dragonesses were able to finish their concoction. They then pour the concoction into the mold before putting them into the storage room, which acted as a fridge, for three hours. After that, they took their almost-finished Sweet Heart out and started decorating them using berries and icing, and finally…
"Mission complete!" Rachael said as she held her Sweet Heart upward. Right now, Rachael, Freya, Claura and Anastasia were standing in the Main Hall of Floor B2, with the Sweet Heart they made in each of their paw. "And it's time for us to give it to someone we love!"
"…" Unlike Rachael, other three dragonesses didn't seem to be very trilled when it came to the part of 'giving Sweet Heart to someone they loved'. Freya was clearly blushing, Claura had a blank look on her face, and Anastasia lowered her head to hide her facial expression from everyone.
"Now, let's do it in the order!" Rachael said. "Who want to go first?"
"… Rachael, why don't you go first?" Claura asked.
"What?! No!" Rachael quickly refused. "I'm never a good leader! Claura, why don't you go first?"
"It's not my idea to do this!" Claura said. "It was yours, isn't it, Rachael? So I think you should—"
"… I will go first."
"Hm?!" Everyone's attention was turned to the owner of the voice who spoke the previous words, who was none other than the Flygon.
"Freya, are you sure that you would be able to do it?" Anastasia asked.
"I… I am not sure…" Freya answered. "But… I want to try…"
"Okay, then… Let's go…" Anastasia said. "But… Freya, who will you—"
"Oh! Good evening, everyone!"
"Gasp!" The dragonesses, especially Freya, were surprised when they suddenly heard a greeting from someone, following by the appearance of the owner of this greeting as he appeared from the floor below, and he was none other than…
"Good evening, Korben!" Rachael greeted as the Kommo-o walked up toward them.
"Geez… Where have you all been this whole day?" Korben said as he stopped in front of the four dragonesses. "You four didn't show up during the lunch. Richard, Snow, Xavier and… No, not Xavier… Anyway, Richard, Snow and I were worried sick of you all…"
"Well… We're sorry that we haven't told any of you that we would go out for a bit…" Anastasia said. "But all of us are safe, so there's nothing to worry about."
"Hm… True…" Korben said. "But don't do it again. You are lucky that your brother isn't here. If your brother somehow found out that you have been missing, he would have my head!"
"I… I am sorry…" Anastasia said.
"Anyway…" Korben decided to change the subject as he noticed that all four dragonesses were holding something in each of their paw. "What do you all have—"
"K… Korben…" Freya suddenly called the name of the Kommo-o.
"Hm? What is it—" Korben turned his attention to the Flygon and was about to start a conversation with her when he found out that the Flygon was holding the object she had in her paw toward him, in the manner that she wanted to give it to him.
"P… Please take this " Freya said as she lowered her head in order not to let anyone see that she's blushing. "I… It's a… gift… from me…"
"A gift? Thanks!" Korben said as he received the gift from Freya. He then found out that it was a sweet made into the shape of a heart. The sweet was light brown, and on the top of it was the pink icing being drawn in the shape of the desert rose, which as its toppling. "Hm… I'm sorry for my ignorance, but what kind of treat is this one?"
"It's Sweet Heart, a treat made from Occa Berry, particularly its seeds and butter!" Rachael explained. "Today is the day with a tradition for girls to give Sweet Heart to someone they—"
"R… Rachael!" Freya quickly covered Rachael's mouth in order to not only prevented the Latias from finishing her sentence, but also to hide the red blush that appeared on her face.
"Heh… There's a tradition like that on the continent of Symmetria?" Korben spoke up as he looked at the Sweet Heart he received from Freya. "I never knew this."
"Eh?!" Rachel, Freya and Anastasia let out a surprised cry after hearing the words of the Kommo-o, and they immediately came to a realization. Korben was the resident of Hidden Village of Dragon, a place that was isolated from the outside world for more than one millennium, so he would know nothing about the culture and tradition of Symmetria, including the whole Sweet Heart Day!
"But still… This is such a nice gift…" Unaware of others' reaction, Korben continued speaking as he looked at the Sweet Heart in his paw. "I am just finished training, so I'm both tired and hungry, but it seemed like dinner isn't ready yet, so… Freya, would you mind if I eat it right now?"
"Oh!" Realizing that the Kommo-o was addressing her, Freya snapped back to reality. "S… Sure…"
"Thanks!" Korben said before he took a bite on the Sweet Heart that he received from Freya. "… Hm?"
"I… Is it bad?" Freya asked after seeing Korben's reaction after he ate her Sweet Heart. "I… I am so—"
"This one's really good!" Korben said as he took another bite on the Sweet Heart. His face clearly shown that he really enjoyed eating it. "While it's bitter, it's actually the primal taste of Occa Berry Seed. Moreover, it also has a subtle hint of sweetness, which was not too much to override the bitterness. And… It also had something else… It's chewy and nutty… Hey! Is it the seed of Shuca Berry? I really like it!"
"I… I am glad that you like it, Korben…" Freya said. "I know that you always train very hard, so I put honey and the seed of Shuca Berry, both which will quickly restore your energy, into the Sweet Heart I made for you…"
"You really care for someone like me that much?!" Korben said. "I… I don't know what to say… Except maybe… You have my fullest gratitude…"
"I… It's nothing…" Freya answered as she tried to hide the blush that appeared on her face again.
Meanwhile, as Freya and Korben were conversing with each other, Anastasia, Rachael and Claura were looking at them, and all three dragonesses were happy with the Flygon.
"I am glad that Freya's gift turns out really well, don't you think?" Anastasia said.
"Right!" Rachael agreed. "Now, as Freya had already given her gift, its my turn to—"
"No." Claura suddenly spoke up. "I will be the next one to give out my gift."
"Claura?" Rachael and Anastasia said as they turned their attention to the Kingdra.
"If Freya, the shy one, can do it, then so do I." Claura said. She was grasping upon the Sweet Heart that she made. Claura's Sweet Heart were dark brown, almost black, with no fancy decoration other than a simple blue icing in the shape of the wave on it. "And I will do it right now!"
"Yay! Go for it, Claura!" Rachael cheered.
"But…" Anastasia wondered. "Who will you give your Sweet Heart to?"
"… I will give it to—" Claura paused a bit before she finally started talking again. However, just before she was about to finish her sentence, a black paw with red claws that appeared out of nowhere reached toward the Sweet Heart that the Kingdra was holding and snatched it away!
"Hey—" Claura quickly turned her attention toward the direction where the paw that snatched her Sweet Heat came from and found that her Sweet Heart was now in the grasp of a black dragon in the armor suit who stood just beside Anastasia, and he was none other than the leader of the Pendragon.
And before Claura or anyone else could act or do anything, the black dragon took a bite on the Sweet Heart that he snatched from Claura!
"HEY! YOU!" Claura roared angrily after seeing the action of the black dragon. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
"… Hm… This is much better than I thought…" Baromyteus said as he was still eating the Sweet Heart that he snatched from Claura. "Considered that it was made by someone like you, I thought it would be much worse."
"AND WHO GIVE YOU A RIGHT TO SNATCH IT FROM ME WITHOUT MY PERMISSION?!" Claura roared angrily at the Shiny Haxorus.
"The one who should be angry is me." Baromyteus ignored Claura's rage as he continued eating the Sweet Heart. "I have gone hunting in the Valley of No Return for the entire day, and all you did today is making a treat like this, so I would at least deserve to eat it for all I did today."
"But… Brother…" Anastasia interrupted her brother's words, turning the attention of the black dragon to her. "You hate sweet food, don't you? So, knowing that Sweet Heart is really sweet, why did you take and eat it instead of eating the non-sweet food?"
"Er…" Baromyteus couldn't find the words to answer his sister's question.
"SEE!? ALL YOU DID IS JUST BECAUSE YOU WANT TO MESS WITH OTHERS!" Claura declared. "YOU CLAIM TO BE SOMEONE WHO HATES LIES AND DECEPTION TO THE EXTREME, AND YOU JUST LIED RIGHT IN FRONT OF US! YOU ARE JUST A GOOD-FOR-NOTHING DRAGON JERKY!"
"WHAT?! HOW DARE YOU?!" Baromyteus roared after he was enraged by the Kingdra. "DO YOU REALLY WANT TO DIE THAT MUCH?!"
"I MUST BE THE ONE WHO SAY THOSE WORDS, YOU DRAGON JERKY!" Claura roared.
"YOU SALTY SEAHORSE!"
"YOU DRAGON JERKY!"
"Sigh…" Anastasia sighed as she witnessed another bickering between Claura and Baromyteus, which, while may seem to be a dangerous action, was actually something that happened every day in the Pendracomonium, and in the end, there was never a harsh consequence following it. "There they go again…"
"Just when I thought that this day would end well…" Zetarus spoke up, and he was now standing beside Anastasia and Rachael. It seemed like he, along with Baromyteus, had just come back from the hunt in Valley of No Return. "Baromyteus and I have just come back from our hunt, and the first thing that that black dragon did when he came back is go into a bickering with his wi—I mean, Claura…"
"Oh, welcome back, Zetarus!" Freya said. Her conversation with Korben was ended when Claura started bickering with Baromyteus, and she and Korben were now standing with Rachael, Anastasia and Zetarus. "How was your hunt today?"
"It went well." Zetarus answered and showed the games that he was carrying. "We got a bit more games than usual because of that black dragon's help."
"EEEKKK!" Rachael quickly got away from Zetarus when she realized that Zetarus was carrying several blood-soaked corpses of the Pokemon he and Baromyteus hunted today.
"Hm? You're still scared of these games?" Zetarus said. "Come on! They're the same things that you eat every day, so what's the point of being scared by them?!"
"Then, let me help you, Zetarus." Korben spoke up. "I'll take it to the Kitchen for Snow to store it in the Food Storage."
"Okay. Thanks." Zetarus said as he handed over the games he and Baromyteus hunted to the Kommo-o.
"Then, I will leave now. See you all by dinnertime!" Korben said as he received the games from Zetarus. "And Freya, thank you again for the Sweet Heart!"
"N… No problem, Korben." Freya replied to the Kommo-o as he walked toward the stairways before descending to the lower floor, leaving everyone else on Floor B2. (And Claura and Baromyteus were still bickering with each other.)
"… Well.. Freya." Zetarus was the one who spoke up first (Not counting Claura and Baromyteus) after Korben left. "I have been listening to all of you, and… What does the whole Sweet Heart thing mean? Is it food that you made today? Or is it something else?"
"Oh… It's just that today's the Sweet Heart Day…" Realizing that, considered his past, Zetarus didn't know anything about the Sweet Heart Day, Freya started explaining the Sweet Heart Day to the Garchomp. "Sweet Heart Day is the day that…"
While Freya was explaining the Sweet Heart Day to the Garchomp, Anastasia slowly looked around the main hall of Pendracomonium, from the stairway that Korben had just went down, to Freya and Zetarus, and finally to her brother and Claura who continued bickering with each other as if they were in their own world.
"Sigh…" Anastasia sighed before she remembered that, other than Baromyteus, Claura, Zetarus and Freya, Rachael was also with her too, and she seemed like she was ready to give her Sweet Heart to her receiver. "Rachael?"
"After Freya and Claura, I think it's my turn to give this Sweet Heart to someone I love!" Rachael spoke up. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when I gave this to him!"
"That reminds me…" Anastasia had just realized something. During today, Rachael was the most enthusiastic person to give the Sweet Heart she made, yet she didn't say much about who will she give her Sweet Heart to. "Rachael, who will you give your—"
"Yawn… Can't you all just let a dragon sleep in peace?"
Another voice attracted the attention of Anastasia and Rachael, and it came from the stairways where Korben had just gone earlier. This time, two more Pokemon showed up. One of them, who was also the owner of the voice earlier, was Xavier, and the other one was Richard, who was still reading a book even when he was moving.
"Oh! Hi, Xavier, Onii-chan!" Rachael said as she and Anastasia approached Xavier and Richard. (While Freya and Zetarus were still talking with each other, and Claura and Baromyteus were still 'living' in their own world.) "What are you doing here?"
"Well… I was just having a nice, peaceful sleep when those two dorks ruined it…" Xavier said as he casted a glance to Baromyteus and Claura, who were still unaware of what was happening around themselves. "So I guess I would check if either of them has started chopping other's tail yet. Too bad they still haven't done it yet…"
"And for me, I heard from Korben earlier that you have finally come back, so I decide to come here to see with my own eyes." Richard said as he closed the book that he was reading and looked at his younger sister. "And Rachael—"
"I know, I know… I am sorry that I didn't told you that we would be out for a while…" Rachael spoke up. "But don't worry! Anastasia, Claura and Freya were with me, and there's nothing bad happens to us!"
"Well… That's because you are lucky that you didn't encounter any problem…" Rachael said. "But—"
"I know, I know…" Rachael interrupted her brother's words again. "Oh, and here, Onii-chan, this is for you!"
"Hm?!" Anastasia was very surprised as she saw Rachael handed over the Sweet Heart that she made to Richard, her elder brother, as a gift for someone she loved!"
"Hm? A Sweet Heart?" Richard said as he received a gift from his younger sister. "You made this, Rachael?"
"Right!" Rachael said. "Freya, Claura, Anastasia and I made them this afternoon, and this one is for you!"
"Thanks, Rachael. I can tell that this one is going to be great since your homemade sweet is always the best." Richard said.
"Of course it would!" Rachael said. "I put so many high-quality berries that I grew myself there, including some of your favorite berries, such as Belue Berry, Nomel Berry and Colbur Berry!"
"All of them are sour berries, so this will be good…" Richard said. "And did you say Colbur Berry? That would be great for me as I'm weak to Dark type attack, and it would slightly increase my resistance against that type."
"Wait a minute…" Anastasia spoke up. "Rachael, you are giving the Sweet Heart you made to your brother?!"
"Yes, that's right!" Rachael replied with an innocent smile on her face. "Onii-chan takes a very good care of me since when we were young, and despite everything, he is a very good big brother, and I love him so much! Don't you feel it too with Baromyteus?"
"With… Baromyteus?" Anastasia repeated the words he had just heard.
"Yes. After all, he's your big brother, right? And I am sure that he must take a very good care of you, so you must love him too, right?" Rachael replied.
"Wait…" Anastasia said. "What you mean by 'love', you mean something like a sibling bond?"
"No! The love I have doesn't only limit to a sibling bond, but it also includes the bond of friendship too!" Rachael said. "Everyone in the Pendragon is my friends, and I love all of them too! But I don't have enough ingredients to make the Sweet Heart for everyone, so I only make it for Onii-chan this year. However, I promise that I will make it for everyone next year!"
"… I see…" Anastasia said with a gentle smile on her face as she realized the truth. "The love you have… Rachael… It's very pure…"
"Teehee! Thank you, Anastasia!" Rachael said.
"… I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation…" Richard spoke up after listening for some time. "… But everyone has already left for the Dining Hall."
"Oh!" Anastasia and Rachael looked around the Main Hall of Floor B2 and, as Richard said, everyone else had already left, and other than the three of them, there's no one else here.
"I think it's time for us to depart for the Dining Hall too…" Richard spoke up. "Anastasia, you can go ahead and join everyone in the dining hall. We will catch up with you soon."
"Okay." Anastasia replied. "See you at the Dining Hall soon, Rachael, Richard."
"Yes! See you soon!" Rachael said before she and her elder brother departed for the Dining Hall, leaving Anastasia alone in the Main Hall of Floor B2.
"…" Instead of departing for the Dining Hall, Anastasia still stood silently in the middle of the Main Hall, and her face turned expressionless.
'… Everyone… has already given their Sweet Heart to the one they love, except me…' Anastasia thought to herself as she looked at the Sweet Heart in her paw. 'I don't know who should I give my present to… I don't have any loved one like Freya… Maybe I could give it to my brother, just like what Rachael did, but Baromyteus already 'got' a Sweet Heart from Claura... So… What should I do? Hm? Wait… Where's my harp?'
At this point, Anastasia suddenly noticed that her weapon, the Alto Harp, was missing. The Goodra then quickly realized that she left it in the kitchen as she started making Sweet Heart.
"Ah, I left my harp in the kitchen!" Anastasia said as her attention was drawn to the kitchen of the Pendracomonium. "I should go and retrieve it before I go to the dining hall."
The Goodra then walked toward the kitchen and entered it. As soon as she entered the kitchen, however, she heard the voice of another Pokemon coming from there.
"… Don't tell me that one of them mixed them up?"
"Hm?" Anastasia turned her attention to the source of the voice and saw Snow standing next to one of the kitchen counter, the one that all frequently-used ingredients were kept. The Draconic Lapras was looking at something on the counter.
"Snow?" Anastasia called the name of the Draconic Lapras. "Why are you still here?"
"… I should be the one asking you instead." Upon realizing that Anastasia was in this room, the Draconic Lapras answered with a cold voice. "I am the chef, so it's appropriate for me to be here. You, on the other hand, should be at the Dining Hall instead of wasting your time here."
"Oh, I'm just here to retrieve my harp." Anastasia said as she walked toward one of the counter that she left her weapon on and picked it up.
"You forgot your weapon? Such a poor mistake" Snow said. "It could sentence you to death if you forgot to bring your weapon into the battle."
"I'm sorry…" Anastasia said.
"… Apologize to me is absolutely unnecessary, as it won't fix anything." Snow said as he turned his face away, to the objects on the kitchen counter that he was looking at before Anastasia called him. The Goodra then looked at those objects and realized that those objects are two jars that contained different white condiments that looked almost exactly like each other. One of them was sugar while the other one was salt, however.
"… Why are you looking at salt and sugar?" Anastasia said.
"… While I was preparing for dinner, I noticed that these two condiments were still out here, so I thought that one of you may forget to put them away." Snow answered. "However, I noticed that these two jars are placed right next to each other, and the amount of salt in its jar had slightly decreased from the last time I used them, which was this afternoon. Moreover, salt isn't an ingredient that's normally used to make Sweet Heart, so I can't help but think that someone may accidently mistook each of them."
"But… I remembered that Freya only used honey as the source of sweetness in her Sweet Heart, and Rachael only used berries as one too." Anastasia said. "And I didn't touch sugar too. The only one who used sugar in her Sweet Heart is…"
"… It seems like Claura mistook salt as sugar…" Snow sighed. "I can't help but pity the one who received her Sweet Heart…"
"Wait…" Anastasia immediately thought back to when her brother snatched Claura's Sweet Heart away and ate it. Despite that he hated sweet food, Baromyteus still ate the entire Sweet Heart without complaining about its taste, and he even gave a compliment about it too. Normally, Baromyteus wouldn't hesitate to express his feeling if he hated something, and considering that the one who made the Sweet Heart he ate was Claura, he wouldn't hold anything back for sure, but the fact that he didn't complain and even compliment her Sweet Heart after he ate one meant that he found Claura's Sweet Heart really tasty.
'Now that I think about this, I think Claura burnt her Sweet Heart too, and since she also put salt in her Sweet Heart too… And Baromyteus likes food with any strong taste that isn't sweet...' Anastasia thought, and a small smile appeared on her face. 'Claura, you're so lucky that it was my brother who ate your Sweet Heart, and when he said that he found it good, he didn't lie to you either.'
"… How long are you going to waste your time by doing absolutely nothing here?" Snow asked with a cold voice, which snapped the Goodra back to reality.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Snow." Anastasia apologized.
"… Just stop with your habit of apologizing for everything you've done." Snow said with a cold voice as he turned his face away while he put away the jars of sugar and salt. "Now, if you don't have anything else to do here, I suggest that you should hurry to the Dining Hall."
"Okay." Anastasia said as she was about to leave the kitchen as she suddenly remembered Rachael's words after she gave Sweet Heart to Richard, which made her realize something. A gentle smile appeared on her face as she turned her attention back to the Draconic Lapras. "By the way, Snow, this is for you."
"What do you—" Snow turned his attention to the Goodra and found that she was handing something in her paw to him, which was none other than the Sweet Heart she made!
"Here, I want you to have this." Anastasia said with a gentle smile on her face as she handed the Sweet Heart she made to the Draconic Lapras. "It's the Sweet Heart I made by myself this afternoon, along with Rachael, Freya and Claura."
"… Why are you giving this to me?" Snow asked with an emotionless voice as he looked at the Sweet Heart in Anastasia's paw. "Don't you have anyone else you want to give it to?"
"Yes, but I want to give this one to you, as a thanks for everything." Anastasia said with a gentle voice. "You've supported us all the time since when we formed the Pendragon. And today, you not only let us use this kitchen, but you also gave us some tip about how to make Sweet Heart too, and I am grateful for your help. So, please accept this Sweet Heart as a token of my appreciation."
"… Very well, if you don't have anyone else to give it to…" Snow said as he slowly reached his paw to receive Anastasia's Sweet Heart. His face was hidden in the shadow as he lowered his head a bit while he received the Sweet Heart from the Goodra. "… Thanks."
"You're welcome." Anastasia said with a gentle smile on her face. "Now then, I should go now before my brother became worried about me. See you at the Dining Hall, Snow."
"…" Snow merely nodded to the Goodra as he watched her left the kitchen, leaving him alone in the kitchen. The Draconic Lapras then looked at the Sweet Heart in his paw, which he had just received from Anastasia.
"…" Snow took a small bite on the Sweet Heart, and as soon as he did that…
"!" As soon as he ate the Sweet Heart, he immediately sensed the smell and taste of an ingredient that was put into this Sweet Heart, which was an unusual ingredient to be put in the Sweet Heart.
"… Tea leaves?" Snow mumbled as he could feel a pleasant aroma and the unique taste of dried tea leaves that were put into this Sweet Heart. While it was unusual to put dried tea leaves in the Sweet Heart, the pleasant aroma and the bitter taste of the dried tea leaves went very well with the bitterness of pure chocolate, giving the Sweet Heart a unique and pleasing taste.
"… Anastasia…" Snow mumbled with a shaking voice as he gazed at the door of the kitchen that the Goodra had just existed. His paw that was holding the Sweet Heart was slightly trembling, and his eyes started leaking tears. "… Why did you have to do all of these for me?"
-A Few Hours Later…
The dinner of Pendragon went on smoothly, just like always. After dinner, Rachael, Freya, Claura and Anastasia went back to their room to prepare for tonight's bathing. Baromyteus also went back to his room to spend his time alone, while Xavier immediately went to the bathroom to take a bath (so that he could go to sleep as soon as possible). Korben went to the Training Ground to meditate while Richard headed to Floor B5 to check on Sirius. Snow, on the other hand, went to the kitchen to clean it. This left only one Pokemon in the main hall of the Pendracomonium.
"I… I can't believe it…" Zetarus mumbled to himself with a look of shock on his face. He was standing alone in the main hall of Floor B2 of the Pendracomonium, grumbling about what he just learned from his younger sister. "T… There is a holiday like this, and yet I didn't know about it until now… I… If only I knew about this sooner…"
The Garchomp lowered his head a bit before he raised his head up, with a look of determination on his face. "No! It's not too late! I still have time! Today is the day for giving presents to someone I love! I will do it too!"
After making a resolution, the Garchomp looked around, finding no one else around here as everyone had already left to do their own business, and he was hit with a sudden realization.
"But… I don't know how to make Sweet Heart, and Freya said that the ingredients for making Sweet Heart already ran out…" Zetarus mumbled to himself, with a look of disappointment on his face. "And even if I could get a hold of one, the one I want to give the Sweet Heart to isn't here… He went to Fireview Kingdom to buy new tools for his work since yesterday and won't come back until tomorrow. I don't know exactly where he went so I can't follow him there—"
"Follow who?"
"Eh?!" Zetarus immediately turned his head to the owner of the familiar voice he heard and saw Diego approaching him, holding several blacksmith tools in his arms. It seemed like the Mega Charizard X had just left the Portal Room a few seconds ago. "D… Diego?! Why are you here?! Shouldn't you be back tomorrow?!"
"Well, that's what I first thought when I left for Fireview Kingdom." Diego answered. "However, I managed to get what I want faster than I thought, so I decided to come back here a bit sooner, as I don't want to run into someone who knows my face. Here, let me show you what I got…"
"I see…" Zetarus mumbled to himself as he watched Diego showed him the tools he got from his journey to Fireview Kingdom. "Well… It's good that Diego's finally back… But… I still don't have Sweet Heart to give him… And this day is almost over… Guess I have no choice but to give up for this year and wait for the next year instead… But I still want to show my love to him! What a disappointment…"
"… Oh, and before I forgot." Diego said after he put the tools he got on the floor in order to arrange them, unaware of the Garchomp's mumbling. The Mega Charizard X then picked up something else and handed it to the Garchomp. "Want some?"
"What is— EHHHHHH?!" Zetarus turned his attention to look at what the Mega Charizard X gave him and was greatly surprised after he realized that the object in Diego's paw was none other than the object he wish to find but failed to obtain one for today, Sweet Heart! Seeing Diego wanting to give it to him made the Garchomp's face immediately red.
"Why are you acting like you're surprised? It's just a chocolate." Diego asked. He's unaware of Zetarus's blushing because he was arranging the tools on the floor and didn't look at the Garchomp. "I got it from a store in the town today. Apparently, they're having a sale of this thing at a very nice price, so I decided to buy some."
"…" Zetarus said nothing as Diego continued speaking. However, if someone looked at his face, they would realize that he didn't listen to the Mega Charizard X. In fact, it seemed like the Garchomp didn't pay any attention to anything else around him except for at the Mega Charizard X beside him.
"I thought that this is food when I bought it, and I was disappointed after I found out that it's only a dessert." Diego continued speaking as he finished arranging his tools, still unaware of Zetarus' current condition. "Honestly, I fxxxxxg don't know why they're having a sale of this thing, but it seems really popular today for whatever reason that I don't fxxxxxg know, and it tastes not bad, so I thought that I will share it with you—"
"DIEGO!"
"What the—ARGG!" Diego turned his attention to Zetarus, only for him to be pounced by the Garchomp, like a predator that tried to hunt a prey, and the face of the Garchomp when he pounced on the Mega Charizard X also suggested the very same thing.
"DIEGO! I LOVE YOU!" Zetarus said as he cuddled the Mega Charizard X while both of them were lying on the floor.
"H… HEY! GET YOUR FXXXXXG ASS OFF ME, YOU FXXXXXG BASTARD SON OF A BXXXH!" Diego roared at the Garchomp while he struggled to break free from the Garchomp, but it seemed like neither he would break free nor the Garchomp would let him go easily…
"Diego! I love you! Let me give you something in return so that we could have 'fun' together!"
"H… HEY! STOP DOING THAT, YOU— WAIT, WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO WITH ME?! AND WHY IS YOUR PAW ON MY—"
"It's just so that we could have some 'fun' together! Trust me, we will have a 'good time' together!"
"WHAT?! NO! STOP THAT, YOU FXXXXXG BASTARD! STOP! I SAY, STOP! STOP!"
-End of Paralogue II-
To Be Continued…
Dragon of Vale: And this is the end of Paralogue II, the Dark Sweet Heart. This time, it's the story of the Sweet Heart Day, which is this word's equivalent of our world's Valentine Day, which is the main reason why I waited until the middle of February to publish this chapter.
Confession time. This chapter was supposed to come out last year, as a chapter between Intermission I and the seventh tail, but I couldn't finish it on time, so I had to put it away and wait until this year instead, and I'm sorry about this.
Okay, then… The next chapter will be the first chapter of the eighth tail! Yay! And happy Valentine Day to everyone!
Q&A Session:
Paralogue II – Question: What is a word that can be used to describe the meaning of 'love' in your opinion? And why?
Answer:
-Korben: Patience. I mean, love takes time and effort, right? And love isn't something that you can rush, just like how you can't rush the flow of time. And it requires much effort for you to succeed in love too, and without patience, the love of yours will never bloom.
-Claura: Trial, because that's what we have to pass before we find love, and what we have to continue to after we find love too. We will only be relieved from trial when we let go of love, so many people choose not to love or to let love go after a period of time.
-Xavier: Consistence. If you truly love someone, you would love them regardless if they are an angel or a monster. I don't mean that when you love someone and they turn out to be a psychotic killer, you should continue to love them, because that isn't a true love, and true love isn't something that most people would manage to find within their lifetime. It would be easier to find Mew than true love.
-Anastasia: Destiny, because I believe in love, and I believe that love is in the hand of destiny. I believe that some people are fated to be in loved with each other, while some people are fated to never be in love… Or fated to be in love with someone who doesn't love them back.
-Baromyteus: Conquest, because love is like a battle. You'll have to fight and fight until you triumph, both over the one you love and your opponents. You have to be strong enough, or else you'll lose in this conquest.
-Diego: Sincere, because to love is to be true to your mate. I mean, most people can't read what other people think in their head, right? So they wouldn't know if the one they thought to be their mate is their true love or a bxxxx in a Mareep cloth. Also, you should be able to talk about what you really have in your mind with your mate too, which is something that—I mean, that's it.
-Zetarus: Ambition, because that's what you need in order to succeed in love. If you have the abilities to succeed but not ambition, then you'll not be brave enough to try this path, but if you have ambition but not the abilities to succeed, you'll still have a chance to succeed as your ambition would drive you to obtain the abilities required to succeed. Also, in my opinion, love can have both positive and negative meaning, just like ambition.
-Rachael: Bond, of course! After all, love is the feeling that shows the bond you have formed with your family and your friends, which is such a wonderful thing! After all, no one wants to be the enemy of others or have others as their enemies, or that's what I believe.
-Richard: Discovery. I don't mean this in the kind of what you think, but I mean in the kind that no one ever truly understand what love is, and everyone has different interpretation of love, so it's such a discovery for everyone, including the seeker of knowledge like me, to find the true meaning of love, though I doubt that I would succeed in this.
-Freya: Care… I… I mean… To love is to care, right? If you say that you love, but you never show that you care, neither by words, nor action, then that isn't love.
-Snow: Timeless. For me, I believe that love, a true love, can last from start until the last moment of your life, regardless of how much time had passed since the moment it appeared. Of course, what I'm talking about is 'true' love, not everything else.
-Sirius: … (Dragon of Vale: Sirius' answer is the word 'Unknown', because it doesn't know the meaning of the word 'love'.)
Question from Ridin Valon: To Rachel Lustermist (From Lucille Ostend)
Lucille: Th-Thank you... I-I am Lucille... I am... ten years old... I also have a doll with me... He's a Banette doll as big as me named Taro... He may not be pink, but he's one of my best friends...
Taro: Wah-hey! I am Taro! This is Lucille! But you can also call her Lucy!
Lucille: A-About pink stuff... I really love them... I-I'll be a "pro-pinkist"! ...W-Will you also be a "pro-pinkist"...?
-Rachael: Oh? You have a doll with you too?! Me too! Say hi to my doll, Cathy! It's an Espurr doll, and it's very cute! While it tends to sleep all the time, it's very strong in a battle and it protects me and everyone for many times! Say hi to everyone, Cathy!
-Cathy: Yippy Ho! I am Cathy! I was a magical doll created by my master a very long time ago, and I had been with my master and his descendants for countless years, but now, I'm with Rachael, and she's a very good friend of mine! Yay! Yay!
-Rachael: And you like pink? Me too! It's such a cute color, though may not be to the extent of being a 'pro-pinkist'! Anyway, I prefer the reddish pink more than light pink because it's the color that's close to the color of my body! I also like green too because it reminds me of the forest of Leafburg, which is where I once lived located in!
Question from Parousia45: To the women of Pendragon (From Sylvia Highfield): I see that you love tea. Would you like to join my tea party? I'll have the best tea leaves prepared for you, my dears.
-Rachael: Really?! Of course, we'll join you! I am always excited when making new friends, especially those from another universe!
-Freya: W… Well… I would want to join too, i… if you don't mind… I, I mean… I'm not good with strangers, so… P… Please excuse me if I'm a bit… strange…
-Claura: Hm… I have no reason to say no, so I will join too. However, keep in mind that we're in different universe, so things in our universe and your universe might be different from each other, and we all aren't comfortable being in a different universe than our own too.
-Anastasia: That would be lovely, Ms. Highfield. All of us gratefully accept your invitation. And if you want to, we could invite you and your friends to have tea party here next time too so that you could try tea from our universe too, not to mention that we have an excellent tea connoisseur in our team too.