Chadwyck was lounging on the palace foyer's couch with his wings draped along the back of the sofa and the flaming tip of his tail hanging lazily off the armrest. He couldn't resist sinking his belly and face into the purple velvet cushions that were fit for kings. A solid stink-eyed glare towards any palace servants or knights deterred them from confronting him. Suddenly, a beautiful (Alolan) Ninetales approached his position on the majestic couch. It's my lucky day, he chuckled to himself.
"You there! Escort me to Groret's Tavern so I can obtain new fine wine!" Alaia demanded.
"Eh?" Chadwyck grunted, shaking his head in confusion. He quickly scowled. "I'm not a servant. Who are you to order me around?" he demanded back.
"Alaia, King Nigel's one and only paramour," she said with a flick of the fur on her head crest. "His Majesty's wine collection has run dry; it is a travesty!" she cried. "A strong pokémon such as you must escort me to Groret's Tavern at once to correct this injustice!"
"Get one of the guards to go with you," Chadwyck said, frowning and crossing his arms. "I'm Helena's bodyguard, not yours."
"His Majesty does not wish me to leave the palace, but I simply must select the finest wines myself. I only came to you since you look lax enough to skirt the orders. Will you indulge me in my request?" she begged.
"No."
Alaia pouted and departed, her tails bristling.
Chadwyck sighed and sprawled himself further across the soft velvet, taking care to keep his tail flame in check. He was about to close his eyes, ready for a nap, when another figure started approaching him. He raised his head and glared in their direction to scare off whatever servant tried to de-couch him next, only to be met by the sight of an undeterred Count Ignatio.
"Chadwyck, come with me. I have a job for you," the Incineroar commanded.
"Uh, I only answer to Hel- er, the princess," Chadwyck protested, sinking his head back into the soft couch cushion.
Count Ignatio rolled his eyes. "It pertains to her," he said, ushering the Charizard with a claw motion.
"Fine," Chadwyck grumbled.
Count Ignatio led Chadwyck out of the palace gates and to a random empty street. "Listen, Chadwyck, I require your assistance in a plot to ensure Princess Helena's succession," he said to the Charizard. "It is already underway."
"Oh?" Chadwyck asked, intrigued.
"I secretly relocated all of His Majesty's alcohol from his quarters. That is why his mistress is scurrying around soliciting an escort to Groret's Tavern to purchase new fine wine. I plan to convince a guard or two to agree to escort her at night after His Majesty is in slumber under the pretense that it is a surprise favor for His Majesty. All I need from you is to convince some intoxicated rogues to terminate her."
"Oh, this is getting interesting!" Chadwyck remarked, punching a fist into a palm and flexing his wings.
Count Ignatio rolled his eyes; he couldn't believe he was making a secret deal with a lower-class tavern enthusiast but pushed on anyway. "Do not involve yourself or attract suspicion upon yourself. Identify folks who support our princess and are sufficiently inebriated. See if you can rile them up and prime them against the mistress so that they will only see blood when she shows up. Then you need only direct their attention."
Chadwyck grinned widely. "You want me to start a bar fight, eh, Count? You made the right choice coming to me. I may be just Chadwyck Bryckhart to you, but around the bars where I'm from, they call me Bryckhart the Brawlmaster!"
Count Ignatio shook his head with a palm smacked against his forehead. "Save all that talk for when you succeed in your mission."
"Ah yes, in order to do that, I'm going to need some funding," Chadwyck grinned, holding out his claw in front of him, palm facing up. "My poor chumps won't have enough to buy the drinks needed."
Count Ignatio glared at Chadwyck's greedy claw then his face. "I will get you what you need by tonight."
Chadwyck sat at the largest round table at Groret's Tavern with the most rambunctious group ever assembled. Several of those in attendance were tough guys from the countryside who had aided Helena's team in attacking bandits out of either gratitude or a newfound lust for an exciting moment that would stand out against their mundane farming days. The Charizard treated the group with unlimited drinks on him using the money Count Ignatio very reluctantly provided. Chadwyck restrained himself from getting too drunk, though. He needed to control the room, and he wanted to witness the chaos he was about to create in all of its glory.
"Another toast to Princess Helena, savior of our farmlands, destroyer of bandits!" Chadwyck cheered, holding up his watered-down drink. The others clinked their mugs full of heavy drinks in the middle of the round table and cheered loudly. They shared stories of their courageous battles while being led by their majestic princess.
"I crushed three bandits under the weight of my trunk," Derek the Donphan bragged.
"Princess Helena is the best leader we've ever had," Eric the Excadrill declared. Several pokémon cheered in approval and raised their mugs again.
"Chadwyck, why didn't you invite her for a drink too?" someone suggested half-jokingly, half enthusiastically.
"There's talk that she might be sent away," Chadwyck said with an air of deliberate distress. "The king wants to marry her off to some other kingdom."
"Boo!" several guys wailed, catching most of the tavern's fleeting attention.
"We can't let that happen," someone grumbled, slamming his mug down against the rugged table.
"All because of the king's mistress," Chadwyck said darkly.
The group predictably started hurling insults about the king's mistress and soon the king himself. Some other patrons in the tavern, including some off-duty city guards, began to take offense and approach Chadwyck's ragtag table of peasants, but the Charizard managed to deescalate all of the exchanges. A true Brawlmaster knew his every way around a bar, after all. Chadwyck continued to silently grow and maintain tensions as the night went on and he treated his guests to more and more drinks.
Finally, at a considerably late hour, the real showtime came. Two tired-looking guards, a Machamp and a Chesnaught, walked in through the tavern's large double doors, escorting a Ninetales. Alaia bounded to the tavern owner, a Grumpig, and immediately demanded to see his finest wines.
"Hey… isn't that her…?" Eric slurred, peeking over his shoulder.
"That's the king's mistress!" Derek hissed, leaning into the center of the table. "I remember her from the king's heir announcement!"
"She has some nerve coming here," someone at the round table grumbled.
"Why don't we teach her a little lesson? No one can stand in the way of Princess Helena, am I right?" Chadwyck whispered to his drunken crew, rubbing his claws together and barely able to keep his voice down.
"Sounds great… To me…" Eric agreed. He pushed himself off of his chair but hunched over, stabilizing himself by pressing the flat side of his metal claws against the smooth wooden floor. The Excadrill shook his head and raised it to face his destination, then staggered over to the front of the bar. He initially raised his unsteady metal claw to look like he was going to order another drink, but when the Excadrill got to the counter, he abruptly turned to the Ninetales, barged right past the Machamp guard, and hollered, "Hey… you don't belong here, you royal ****!"
Several gasps rang out across the tavern at the sound of metal shattering ice and a shrill scream. The Chesnaught caught Alaia and covered her with his wide arm. The Machamp sidestepped in front of the drunk Eric, then socked the Excadrill in the face.
"Whoa, you don't do that to my bro and get away with it!" Derek declared, leaping out of his seat, curling into a ball in midair, and hurtling toward the Machamp with Rollout. However, he missed his target, slamming into the bar counter instead since he was quite intoxicated. Another guy at the round table, a burly Pangoro, lumbered over to the Machamp guard and threw a wild punch. He missed, his fist slamming into the side of the wooden counter, then landed a spot-on backhand, sending the Machamp reeling back with two hands clutching his nose and the other two extending behind to catch himself. He yelped when one of his palms landed on his Chesnaught partner's spikes, pulling away and collapsing on the ground on his back.
"What'cha doin', assaulting a royal guard?!" a Greedent sitting at the bar interjected. He got up and slammed his whole round body into the Pangoro. Once that happened, almost everyone at Chadwyck's round table sprang into action, as did the other royal guard and a few other patrons who were likely off-duty city guards.
Chaos ensued as drunk pokémon clobbered other drunk pokémon, some using weak moves in the close quarters of the tavern while others were too drunk to use their moves and resorted to wielding tavern chairs and flipping tables. Angry blabberings and shocked screams rang out across the tavern room. Scared patrons who were not sufficiently intoxicated enough to join the brawl scrambled out of the front doors. Chadwyck watched the monstrous chaos with absolute glee but did not partake, a wild spurt of self-control for the rugged Charizard. Once he saw that his boys had knocked down the two guards, signaling the conclusion of the climax of the brawl, Chadwyck swiftly made his way out of the wasted tavern with a massive grin, eyes shining from witnessing the glory. When he was only a few steps out of the building, the window to the left of him shattered, a chair flying onto the road. Crass curses and rabid ramblings echoed onto the streets from the soon-to-be infamous Groret's Tavern.
"Boy, do I have splendid news for us," Duke Percival exclaimed with a wicked grin, barging into his estate's lounge room.
"What is it, Duke Percival?" Ludwig asked from his spot on the couch.
"I just heard word from my herald that the king's mistress is dead! She got caught up in some sort of tavern brawl at Kyukonais's only tavern!"
"Truly? Then that means… my unborn bastard cousin is no more!"
"Precisely. You are getting sharper, bo- ahem, Prince. I daresay this simplifies my- and your aspirations for the throne. However, for your candidacy to be appealing, there are some, shall we say, prerequisites to discuss first."
"What do you mean?" Ludwig asked.
"First, sit up straight and listen closely," Duke Percival commanded, narrowing his eyes at the Luxray's languish position on his exquisite furniture. Ludwig instantly sat up straighter and made eye contact. "Good. Now, allow me to remind you that your claim to the throne is tenuous at best. Yes, you are the oldest male relative to King Nigel, but you are not his son. That dastardly fox, Princess Helena, does have a clearer claim to the throne as King Nigel's only living child, even if she is female."
Ludwig sagged again, starting to tune out, but when Duke Percival cleared his throat, he went back to "full" attentiveness.
"If you wish to stake your claim on the throne, you will need the support of more Solardian dukes other than myself. After all, a king only has power if the local powerholders recognize it. If you can win the support of most of the seven dukes, you could easily push Princess Helena out and be crowned king without any sort of civil war. However, that is clearly not feasible at the moment," Duke Percival said sternly.
"What? Why not?" Ludwig complained.
"The dukes have known of Princess Helena since she was born. Most of them have probably never seen you. Furthermore, you are not even familiar with Solardie, nor do you have a history of any power or land ownership. The dukes who own the provinces are unlikely to bow to an unknown, foreign, pitiful prince as their new liege."
Ludwig glared. "Then what should I do? And… if I am that pitiful, why do you support me?" he asked suspiciously.
"This is the part where you must differentiate yourself by providing something new to the dukes. Dukes such as myself want more autonomy over our provinces. Our land is for us to rule."
"So I just need to promise more autonomy?" Ludwig offered.
"It will not be that easy," Duke Percival said. "Kings can renege on their promises in the blink of an eye. But, here is what would catch the attention of the dukes: a more formal power-sharing agreement."
"Like what?"
"We want to have a say in any new laws, taxes, and foreign relations with other kingdoms," Duke Percival recited. "I want you to establish a monthly assembly of all the Solardian dukes where we will formally discuss those matters. You must obtain permission from a majority of the assembly before making any significant changes."
"Hold on, if I will be the king, why would I have to listen to the dukes to make changes to my kingdom?" Ludwig argued. "My Uncle, King Leinster does whatever he wants as the king of Luneland and everyone has to obey," he pointed out.
"That attitude is not going to make you king here. Need I remind you of your current standing as a foreign, unknown prince?" Duke Percival rebuffed. "Last I checked, King Leinster does not have a high approval rating amongst the dukes of Luneland, either. Surely you wish to be popular?"
"Yes…"
"Creating this assembly of the dukes will certainly make you king, and a popular one indeed," Duke Percival insisted.
"I need some time to think about it…" Ludwig said slowly.
"Think quickly; there will not be much time. I am sending someone to take care of foolhardy King Nigel right away to clear the way for you, my dear prince."
"Already? Okay, okay. Then what should we call this assembly of the dukes?" Ludwig asked.
Duke Percival rolled his eyes. "Is that so important? Come up with a name yourself. Rehearse while I go and prepare for King Nigel's demise." He left the Luxray, smirking and chuckling to himself once he was far enough away. It was the perfect plan for himself; Ludwig would be a weak king who would readily concede his royal power to the dukes just to be named "king," and Duke Percival would be getting some much-needed revenge on that arrogant princess who dared to step on his mane. He shuddered at the thought of having to answer to her. Putting on a resolute glare, he set off to find the perfect pokémon to put an end to King Nigel.
Meanwhile, Ludwig reclined back on the couch, deciding to go with Duke Percival's plan. Soon, he would be king. Ludwig had endured years of living in the shadow of his cousin, Prince Leinwig, the son of King Leinster and heir to the throne of Luneland. His dastardly cousin had forever mocked him, claiming he would never have a kingdom to rule. That was going to change very soon, and boy was Ludwig going to slather his new royal stature across his cousin's mane once he became king. He smiled wickedly at the thought. Then he committed to trying to come up with a good name for the assembly of the dukes that he was about to propose.
Helena stood outside her father's quarters faced with the royal guard, a stoic Marowak. "Let me see my father, Sir Marco," Helena demanded.
"His Majesty instructed no visitors," Marco responded.
"Look, I get that he may be depressed and drowning in alcohol after his mistress died, but I have to get things straight with him right now," Helena insisted.
"Tell me your message, and I will relay it to His Majesty at a later time," Marco said dully.
"I'm his only grown child and he needs to clearly declare that I am his heir!" Helena exclaimed, her red eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. "I need to say it to his face and hear his confirmation with my own two ears!" Without further ado, she pushed Marco to the side with surprising strength and opened the door to the corridor behind him.
Marco swiftly gathered himself together and grabbed one of Helena's tails. "Princess, you cannot-" he started, then a wave of blue psychic energy cracked out of thin air and exploded against his skull. He shook his head, got up, saw Helena dashing down the corridor towards her father's bedroom, and instinctively chucked his huge bone at her.
Helena ducked to avoid the glowing Bonemerang, saw that it was coming back at a lower angle, and leaped over it on the second pass. Ignoring the guard's subsequent actions, she reached the end of the corridor and barged into her father's bedroom. What she was met with… was not a solitary and drunken Ninetales. There was a Liepard in the bed with her father, and her father was anything but depressed.
Helena froze, her jaw dropping. King Nigel and the other pokémon froze. "What the hell?!" Helena suddenly roared, flames spewing out of her muzzle and catching on the velvet carpet. "You're trying to replace me again already, Father?!"
"Helena! What in Arceus's name are you doing here?!" King Nigel roared.
"Arceus and Mother should have something to say about your wicked adultery," Helena retorted.
"There is no adultery. Your mother passed away long ago!" King Nigel shot back.
"Alaia's death should be a sign that what you are doing is wrong! Instead, you found a new mistress in less than a week?!"
"Princess, you should not be here…" Marco weakly said from behind Helena.
"Marco!" King Nigel barked. "How dare you let Helena in?!"
"Your Majesty, she did not listen and charged past me…"
"Then you should have bashed her head in!"
Both Marco and Helena flinched at the king's harsh words and stared at each other, wide-eyed.
"Now now, dearie, why don't we all calm down~" the Liepard urged, rubbing her paws across the king's old fur.
"Out of my quarters, both of you!" King Nigel hollered.
"You are despicable, Father," Helena seethed. She slammed the door shut as hard as she could.
Marco dropped to his knees. "I am terribly sorry, Princess," he cried. "For witnessing this, for assaulting you-"
"None of this is your fault, Sir Marco," Helena instantly responded, placing a reassuring paw on the royal guard's shoulder. "It all lies on my unbelievable father."
The next evening, Helena was on her way to the city gate after a long day of wandering across the province aimlessly.
"What you need is a drink," Chadwyck remarked. "Feeling like a failure? Wallowing in financial ruin? A good ol' pack of drinks will help you forget everything. Even better, you can lash out your frustrations at a bar brawl!"
"Speaking from experience, my friend?" Max chuckled.
"No wonder you're called 'Bryckhart the Brawlmaster,'" Terry laughed.
"Hey, where'd you hear that?" Chadwyck asked, snapping his neck down towards the Torracat.
"I overheard my father talking to my sister about you for some reason," Terry said with a shrug.
"I don't see the point in forgetting the problem for one night when it will come back the next," Helena groaned.
"How about you forget about your damn dad and become a mercenary?" Chadwyck suggested. "Rich snobs across the world would pay top dollar for your skills."
"What purpose would that serve?" Helena lamented.
"Getting rich and famous, that's what!" Chadwyck grinned.
"So you can waste it all getting wasted?" Terry asked with a smirk. The next moment, he hopped over a sweep of Chadwyck's dangerous tail.
"Chadwyck has a point," Lily said, patting Helena's side with her tail. "Your dad doesn't care about you, so why feel so down? We can leave him behind and go exploring instead!"
"Being born with money and power means being born with responsibilities too," Max pointed out.
"Yeah, I want to be someone who lives up to their title, not like my father or so many other incompetent dukes and counts across Solardie," Helena said. "Sadly, my father still insists that living up to my title means marrying another royal family for connections." She glared, standing up straighter. "I refuse to abandon this province, whether that be by getting married off or running away."
"That's the spirit!" Terry cheered.
The team approached the city gate, where a Braviary perched at the top. He frowned at Helena and flapped his way down. "Princess Helena, you must stop leaving the city walls! It is your father's direct orders!" the Braviary squawked.
Helena stamped her paw on the dirt path. "You can tell my father to shove his tails- never mind. Well, what are you going to do? Will you try and stop me tomorrow morning?" she taunted with a glare.
"If your father finds out one more time, he will throw me in the dungeon!" the Braviary hollered.
"So what? I'm sure you'll have no trouble smashing your way out," Helena dismissed. She marched through the gate but spotted an Exploud nearby, fidgeting in place. "Herald Eugene? You look panicked. Is there bad news?" Helena asked.
"Terrible news indeed! The king, your father, was found dead in his bed quarters!"
"What?!" Helena cried. Max gasped with a paw to his mouth, Terry's and Lily's eyes widened, and Chadwyck grunted.
"The king's sudden death is not good for the stability of our kingdom. Some superstitious fools even suggest that our kingdom is losing divine favor," Eugene reported.
"How did the king pass away?" Max hesitantly inquired.
"The king's mistress is the murderer." All eyes turned to Marco, the royal guard, who had also been waiting for Helena at the city gate. "Princess Helena, I am so sorry. I am a failure." The Marowak collapsed onto his knees, bowed forward, and faced the ground, laying his bone in front of him at Helena's paws. "I was supposed to protect your father from all harm, and yet I allowed a murderer into his bedroom. Even worse, I let her escape too. She left the king's quarters to get a drink of water and said the king was 'resting.' She never returned." A tear flowed out of his eye and down the side of his boney mask. "Princess, please forgive me..."
I saw my father in bed with his murderer just hours before his demise, Helena thought. I could've put an end to his sinful streak and saved him… but you know what? Perhaps he deserved it, she thought, clenching her paw. She noticed the loyal Marowak lying broken in front of her and softened her expression. "You are absolutely forgiven, Sir Marco," she said with sincerity. "My father was not worth protecting anyway. Please stand up; it is not befitting of an honorable guard to kneel so pitifully. You have nothing to worry about."
Marco slowly rose to his feet and picked up his bone in shame. He held it to his chest. "I already have a team assembling to track down the king's murderer. I will leave tonight."
"That will not be necessary," Helena said. "You should focus on calming the nerves of our city's pokémon instead."
"Understood, Your Highness."
"If my father is dead, then that makes me queen, right?" she said aloud to no one in particular. "It is time for me to rule this kingdom with the strength and compassion my father lacked," she declared. "Herald Eugene, could you please inform the villages across Kyukonnais that my father has passed, I will rule them, and I will ensure their peace and prosperity?" she asked.
"Oh, of course, Your Highness," said Eugene. "Or should I say, 'Your Majesty,'" he added with a bow. Then he headed out of the gate to the countryside.
"Helena, you're gonna be queen!" Terry cheered.
"This is so exciting!" Lily added.
"Now is not the time to be jubilant," Max said sternly. "We must respect the king's passing."
"Eh, who cares? The king was always a jerk to Helena anyways," Terry said.
"I never even met him," Lily realized. "He sounded pretty bad from what you guys said, though."
"I guess I should be sad, but… my father never quite cared for me," Helena slowly said. "From what I can tell, he stopped caring for the whole kingdom as well. He ignored every problem and just lived his rich life in the palace. The kingdom deserves better and I will do better," she vowed.
As Helena made her way back to the palace, some townspeople took notice of her - she was very recognizable these days for her bandit-hunting deeds - and expressed their condolences for her father's passing. She told them that she was ready to take on the responsibility and be a good ruler, to which she received very positive responses. As Eugene had reported, they ran into many folks frightened by such terrible news. The pokémon viewed King Nigel's sudden, untimely death as some sort of divine punishment. Helena did her best to reassure those superstitious folks.
When Helena and her friends arrived at Rokon Palace, they saw King Nigel's coffin on the front lawn decorated with flowers. Helena gave the sad sight only a moment of attention before dismissing it. She put her father's unflattering legacy behind her and promised to get to work and serve the kingdom for the better.
"Hey Helena, now that you're going to be queen, can I get a pay raise? You couldn't have gotten here without me," Chadwyck asked with a shameless grin.
Helena stared at Chadwyck for a long moment before laughing. "Of course, Chadwyck."
"Sweet!" Chadwyck cheered. His acquaintances back home would be amazed at how far Bryckhart the Brawlmaster's brawl-mastering skills had taken him!
A/N 2/20/22: One of the initial inspirations for Chadwyck's character is Tychus Findlay from Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty. Tychus is sort of a cowboy/gangster/tough guy with a super deep voice, an indomitable attitude, and is always smoking a thick cigar. I was originally going to name Chadwyck "Cythus" by just flipping the T and C in "Tychus" but came up with "Chadwyck" instead. "Bryckhart" as Chadwyck's last name was sort of a last-minute afterthought I threw into the first chapter, but I think it turned into a pretty catchy chapter title!
If you want to see a clip of Chadwyck's inspiration, search up "Starcraft 2: Raynor meets Tychus in 1080p" on YouTube. You won't regret it!