Concerts and parties in Valor were some of the wildest in the world. Socializing acted as a centerpiece of culture, but not quite Furret Abigail's.

Luckily, all the civilians ran away from the scene of the robbery before she got there, so there weren't any videos online showing her beating herself up. It also meant less people knew that her fur had changed color to gold for some reason, although the rumors around it seem to grow online.

In her room at Helen's, Abigail observed her tail as she held it in her arms. The golden rings that replaced her dark brown fur hadn't dimmed. In Valor, dye was common, but it'd be tiring to lie over and over to anyone who asked. Concerts weren't formal, so Abigail figured she could at least dodge the question and lie well enough for that.

The concert they chose and messaged her about looked big; enough to use a whole shopping mall with two floors. Raised hallways let anyone on the second view the action on the first. She imagined the princes had some sort of security in place to deal with the crowds.

They were going to pick Abigail up and head there, so she focused on looking and feeling good before they came.

At around eight, a knock came on the door of her home. With her cape already on, Abigail slid down the ramp and got to the door before Bellossom Helen could even stand up from the couch.

Abigail smiled as she answered the door. Buizel Zen, shiny Zorua Aaron, and Quilava Gawain were already returning it. Their fur looked sharper and groomed. Gawain stood a bit further back from the door, letting Zen and Aaron take center stage.

"Charmed, I'm sure," Aaron said.

"Hey," Zen greeted, "you ready?"

"Yah," Abigail said, "uhm, how are we going there?"

"We're just walking," said Aaron.

"Oh, alright."

Abigail's unvoiced questions were answered when she walked out and closed the door behind her. A short line of guards stood on either side wearing scarves with the banners. On the right, a Blastoise, Tyranitar, and Garchomp stood idle, on the left, a Stoutland, Darmanitan, and Electivire. Abigail resisted looking at them, but her eyes gave away her surprise.

The guards formed a square around them as they walked. Even though Zen and Aaron looked cleaner, they pushed and shoved each other around and continued their antics while Gawain stayed quiet.

As they went further into the city, Abigail lifted her hood and walked on all four limbs. The flashes from pictures from the rooftops and sidelines as they went were bothering her eyes and giving her a useless adrenaline rush.

The amount of pokemon around them grew exponentially. The stress set into Abigail's shaking paws as the guards had to push a few pokemon with cameras away. From what she could tell, she was the only one out of them that even noticed. The princes didn't even glance when the guards raised their voices.

Buizel Zen in particular seemed very loose. His stride was slow and calm, and he talked to random pokemon like he knew them. Abigail would believe it if he said so.

She caught herself staring at him too late.

"Hey," Zen said, "Abigail?"

"I'm good," Abigail said.

"Uh, we can take a break." Zen glanced up at the building signs. He pointed towards one. "Let's head inside," he said. "In this shop here."

Zen, Aaron, and Gawain all came close to her. Abigail trudged with their guidance to the side of the street. The guards formed a wall around the quaint wooden door of a small shop.

Different kinds of artwork hung and leaned against the white walls on a floor made of bright wooden planks. An older Grovyle inside glanced over a short, white counter with a door behind it at them. His lower lip curled over his top lip.

"Hey," Zen said, "uhm, mind if we take a sec in here?"

"Go ahead," Grovyle said.

The trio brought Abigail to a small cushion facing art on the wall. The small door to the building was completely blocked with the guards, and there weren't any other windows outside. Abigail relaxed, but her body still shifted around with adrenaline. Her eyes had to adjust from the shift of the night sky and the dusty lights indoors.

"Uh, something you ate?" Aaron asked.

"No," she said.

"Well, ah, if you want, we can just do something else," said Zen.

In the corner of her eye, Grovyle shook his head in the corner of her eye. He walked around the counter.

"Give her more breathing room," he said. "You're swarming her."

Zen looked to Aaron and Gawain before backing up to the side. Grovyle sat up straight behind the counter.

"I'm Ferguson," Grovyle introduce., "I was a mountain farmer. Did lots of unique growing before I decided to bring my painting to Valor. The mountains were a little too quiet for me. Just couldn't imagine dying there."

"Yah..." Abigail said. "Me neither."

"Have you been before?"

"One of my teachers lived in the mountains," Abigail said. "Counselor Mountains?"

"Yah. By the coast."

"Where'd you learn to be an artist?"

Abigail's breathing slowed.

"From my parents," he answered. "They were landscape painters, so now I just paint the city. Write a few books. My daughters don't really see the appeal, probably since they grew up here."

Abigail rubbed some sweat off her forehead. "What are they into?"

"Performing," Ferguson said. "It's weird, y'know. They remind me of my parents. Still nauseous?"

Abigail's balance strengthened. The shaky feeling in her stomach left.

"I feel a little better," she said.

"Good," said Ferguson. He stood up. "It's hard to get used to the city. Everyone feels like your personal space only stretches on foot away from your face. Annoying, right?"

"Yah."

Zorua Aaron, Buizel Zen, and Quilava Gawain exchanged glances. Abigail glanced down and away.

"Abigail," Aaron said, "I've got a better idea. Let's, uhm, go to a place. I'll get us a carriage."

"Okay," Abigail said.

Zen and Gawain seemed to nod to each other.

Furret Abigail sat in a tense silence. The walls of the carriage seemed to close in between her and shiny Zorua Aaron. She sat across from him without anything to say. He had his phone on the floor, but he didn't touch it very often; only enough to keep the screen lit.

The smooth carriage ride came to a slow stop. The back doors opened to a dark, cobblestone street. Aaron politely let Abigail get out first. The pair walked around the carriage, and it left once they left it behind them.

She somewhat recognized it: a long area covered in grass and winding paths walled off by black gates. Under the night sky, long shadows stretched over it and the buildings scattered around the space called Valor Castle.

Abigail followed Aaron through the black gates and a chorus of crickets. A few fireflies provided more light than she figured they would. She wondered about Aaron's choice to bring her here to talk. It obviously wouldn't be a normal conversation by his standards. Zen and Gawain both stayed behind and went to the concert to lessen the disappointment of the crowds and celebrities expecting them.

The brick path ahead led up a sharp hill of perfectly cut grass. Just before reaching the top, the path disappeared.

The other side of the hill led down to a lake. The moon's winding reflection created a silvery glare over Aaron's body and the water as he continued down. His long stride hinted to a somber tone in the air.

Abigail followed him to the lake's edge. She observed as he looked down in the water.

"What is this place?" Abigail asked.

"Lake Valor," Aaron said. "It's a sort of holy place to my family. And me."

Abigail noticed his voice was much deeper than it usually was. It almost made him sound like a different person. He continued to stare out with a neutral expression.

"Only requirement for you being here is that one of us brings you here," Aaron explained, "so you can sit and relax."

This place seemed pretty personal for Aaron to bring her to, but she accepted. She sat down on the soft grass next to him.

"I've been thinking about it the whole time after your ceremony," Aaron said. "Well, not just this place. Every newborn in the Valorian royal family is baptized here when they're born, and every family member that has married into the family or has the blessing is buried here when they die. For generations, we could see our beginning and end, as much as we wanted. To humble ourselves."

"Why do I make you think of this place?" Abigail asked.

"Well, I guess you kind of reminded me about my family in the ceremony... You already know my mom had died, but it's complicated. No one really knows about my brother."

"You have a brother…?"

Aaron continued to look out at the lake. Abigail tried to read his face."

"My brother's name is Markus," Aaron said. "And well, I guess you probably figured out that the royal blessings can randomly manifest to be stronger or weaker. His was the strongest it could ever get. Had even less of a filter than I did."

Aaron let out a bit of a huff, taking a moment to keep his voice stable.

"Well," Aaron continued, "my parents didn't believe he could ever control it and become a good king. That's why they had me, even though it was dangerous for my mom to have another... Markus was old enough to remember, and he told me about her all the time. I know it wasn't to make me feel guilty, but I yelled at him for it anyway. I couldn't stop myself."

"We all do our best," Abigail said quietly.

"Yah, I did. I really did," Aaron choked. "But Markus ran away that night, the day before his Royal Parade. He's been gone for five years now. And every time I try and think about what to do next, I'm just eleven again and sitting here waiting for him to come back."

Aaron took in a cool breath of air deep into his chest. He shook the emotions off of him, flinging them around the air.

"Feeling lost is, like, my norm. But that doesn't mean I'm not going somewhere."

"I've already accepted that my mother's gone," Abigail said.

"Then the hard part of it's always still up ahead."

Abigail took a breath of air like Aaron had, and flung her emotions off into the air.

"Yah."