Let's see who our mysterious guest is, and what they want with this meeting. This should be interesting… will they be the one to finally call off the engagement?
As for the Best Girl nominations, still going strong. Anyone else left to add?
Currently Nominated: Sango, Cynthia, Elaina, Kate, Dakota, Ayame, Marion, Kitty, Serefina, Madison
KedharS: Yes, it did.
Pokemonking0924: Sometimes tough love is necessary.
PikachuKetchup12: So many that I can't estimate it.
JoshGamerV: That's a word to give.
JUSTSOMEP3RSON: Yes. Yes it did.
Hellraiserphoenix: Yeah, no way the fact that those two weren't informed of this will come back in any way…
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 214
"Hold on! Stop it!" A harsh voice with a childish intonation sliced through the tension in the room. If was an obnoxious voice that demanded people pay attention to it, lest they be on the receiving end of a tantrum.
"Holly?!" Alcea gasped, staring at the little girl standing in the doorway. Blake and Sango gasped in recognition when they spotted her. It was the girl they'd ran into earlier that day, Holly. When they'd last seen her, Holly was caked in mud and her clothes were torn to ribbons, but she'd made an obvious recovery in the intervening hours, her hair back to looking perfect and clean, her white skin shining bright, and she was wearing a red dress again, much like the one that had been ruined earlier. Much like Alcea, red was clearly her favorite color.
"Sweetie, what are you doing here?" Julianna asked, walking up to the girl and holding her arms open invitingly. "I thought we asked you to stay in your room while we were out?"
"Not now, momma!" Holly blushed, squirming out of her embrace and stomping over to Alcea.
Momma? Blake and Sango glanced at each other, their eyes widening in realization. If Julianna was her mother, then that meant Alcea… was her sister?
"Sister!" Holly declared, pointing a finger at Alcea, her face shining with determination. "I refuse to allow you to go through with this wedding!"
"…OH?" Alcea raised her eyebrow, her expression cold as ice. She rose from her seat and walked toward Holly, towering over the smaller girl.
"Th-that's right!" Holly demanded, faltering slightly but managing to maintain her composure. "I won't let you marry a guy like, um…"
Holly turned her gaze away from Alcea for the first time, setting her eyes on who, exactly, it was that Alcea would be marrying.
Her jaw dropped open in shock.
"Th-the commoner?!" Holly screeched, her finger jumping to Blake and trembling, her entire body shaking with disbelief. "What are you doing here?!"
"Commoner?" Richard Harker frowned. Blake rolled his eyes, shaking his head.
"…You know Blake?" Alcea asked, intrigued.
"That's right, I met him today," Holly said. "Him and that ugly commoner, over there!"
Holly pointed at Sango, her face twitching.
"Ugly?" Sango muttered, her self-esteem plummeting. Julia patted her on the shoulder comfortingly, glaring at the little girl with enough fury to cause her to shut up immediately.
"Holly, where is Sebastian?" Louis demanded, placing a hand on his younger daughter's shoulder. "I thought he was watching you?"
"…H-he said I could come," Holly lied, unable to meet her father's gaze.
"Well, I say it's your bedtime," Louis replied, reaching into his pocket and retrieving his phone. "I'll call him right now to bring you back to our room."
"No!" Holly said, shaking her head frantically. "I want to stay! I'm not done yet!"
"This is a topic for adults," Louis replied. "It's not something you need to pay attention to, sweetheart."
"No, no, no!" Holly whined, stomping on the ground in protest. "I'm almost 13, daddy! I am an adult! There are kids younger than me going on pokemon journeys, but you wouldn't even let me get a pokemon of my own! It's not fair! When big sister was my age, she was already-"
Holly gasped and held her hands over her mouth, her face flushing with guilt. She glanced back at Alcea, her regret growing as she saw the pain stretched across her sister's brow, and the memories building up in her green eyes.
"I… I'm sorry," she stuttered, trembling. "I-I didn't mean, big sister… I didn't, um…"
"It's fine…" Alcea murmured.
"Sweetie, if you want a pokemon of your own, we can discuss that when you get older," Julianna said. "But for now-"
"NO, momma!" Holly cried, reaching into her purse and pulling out a shiny red pokeball, much to the surprise of her parents. "I already HAVE a pokemon! I caught her all by myself today! It was hard and I struggled, but I caught one of my very own!"
"You what?" Louis gasped, surprised.
"Really?" Julianna asked, her eyes wide.
"That's right," Holly said, nodding, triumph brimming in her eyes. "I'm a fully fledged pokemon trainer now! And…"
Holly turned to Alcea, pointing an accusing finger at her.
"Alcea Vermeil! I challenge you to a pokemon battle!"
"Oho? A pokemon battle, is it?" Alcea smiled.
"Holly, now is not the time for-"
"It is, it is!" Holly said. "You don't GET it, daddy! Alcea is… big sister is an amazing pokemon trainer! But… but she's getting married, and then she's going to leave! Even… even if she says that she's going to continue training her pokemon… she won't have a chance! She's going to be raising a family, and… and… she won't be a trainer, not really! That means I won't have another chance to win against her! I need to beat her now!"
Alcea frowned. She had absolutely no intention of giving up her aspirations to be a pokemon trainer, regardless of what her parents wished of her. Raising a family wouldn't change that. Holly quite clearly didn't seem to understand much of anything that was going on, and it seemed she'd heard that Alcea was getting married, and decided that meant that she was never going to have another chance to beat her in a pokemon battle.
Ever since we reunited… Holly has been trying to compete with me in everything she could… it seems even in pokemon battling, she wants to be able to beat me, is it?
"Well?! Answer me!" Holly demanded, stomping her feet impatiently. "Are you going to battle me or not, big sister?! No matter what… you can't get married! Not until I beat you! So I'm going to challenge you to a battle, and until I win you aren't allowed to get married, got it?! I don't care what happens after I beat you, but you aren't allowed to quit being a trainer until then! If you do… then you're just running away!"
Alcea raised her hand to her chin, idly playing with a curled strand of hair as she considered her sister's impetuous demand. It was quite an unreasonable demand, to be certain. Insisting that Alcea wasn't allowed to get married until Holly could defeat her in battle? A smile slowly spread across her face.
"Running away, is it?"
"Right! If you're not scared of me beating you, then you'll agree to my challenge!" Holly shouted. "But if you don't want to, then you'll be running away!"
That wasn't quite how it worked, but Alcea was perfectly happy to let Holly continue spinning her wheels.
"Very well then, I'll agree," Alcea smiled. Holly's eyes widened with joy, and she nodded her head eagerly.
"Allie, you can't be serious," Julianna frowned.
"Allie, I know you want to indulge your sister, but to postpone your engagement for such a thing, I don't-"
"But! I have two conditions." Alcea interrupted, holding up two fingers. She smiled sweetly at her sister.
"What's even going on here?" Cynthia whispered, helping Blake up now that Ansem had let her go. Blake shrugged. The other girls were also not entirely sure exactly what direction this meeting was going. Richard in particular looked completely done with all of this. What had been intended to be a simple formality for a family union had now become a complete and total joke. This was quite quickly turning into a big, uncontrollable mess.
Holly scowled as her sister, clearly not liking the fact that Alcea seemed to be making her own rules for the battle. It was just going to be a simple one on one! Her Petilil was amazing, after all, and she was going to definitely defeat whatever pokemon Alcea had up her sleeve! Her sister was strong, sure, but Holly was definitely the better trainer, she was certain of it!
She had to be!
"…What conditions?" Holly demanded. "Are you making excuses?"
"No, no, nothing like that, just conditions, is it?" Alcea replied, shaking her head. "The first condition. We won't battle tonight. We will battle in three days' time."
Alcea turned to Dakota.
"I can count on you to get the word out in that time, is it? Of my match with my sister?"
"I-I mean, I don't think it will get that much traction, but you battle so infrequently, so sure, I guess," Dakota shrugged.
"Lovely," Alcea nodded. "And as for those pictures of Blake and I…"
"Oh, that?" Dakota smiled wickedly. "Sorry, but even for a story like this, I ain't giving up that one so simply. You and Blake, getting engaged? While Blake's sleeping around with girlfriends of all types? I'm not giving up on something like that, sorry to say."
Louis and Richard both wore scowls at that revelation. This wasn't going to look good for them. Alcea, on the other hand, didn't mind so much. It wouldn't be going how Dakota planned, at any rate. She had ways to ensure that.
"Fine, three days, that'll give us time to get even stronger!" Holly boasted, completely ignorant of the fact that she had never had a pokemon battle even once, and her Petilil would probably get shredded like a leaf. "…What's the other condition?"
"The other condition is that you need to work with my dear fiancé Blake, in order to train," Alcea explained, gesturing her hand to Blake.
"The commoner?!" Holly exclaimed. "Why do I need to get assistance from a commoner like him!?"
"Because I said so, is it?" Alcea replied. "Unless you agree to train with Blake for the next three days, I have no interest in doing battle with you."
"But…"
"Unless you'd like run away, is it?" Alcea asked, smiling a silky smile tinged with malevolence, Holly looking down.
"Fine!" Holly huffed, turning her head away from Alcea. She stomped over to Blake, crossing her arms in front of her chest and looking up at him with a rebellious glare.
"Commoner! Consider yourself honored to assist me in training to defeat my beloved elder sister!" Holly gave him a magnanimous smile reminiscent of her father, though utterly lacking in respect.
"Holly, that is how we ask for favors, is it?" Alcea asked. Holly winced.
"Oh, Allie, she's just joking around," Julianna laughed. "No need to be so harsh on her."
"No, she's right," Louis disagreed. "Holly? Blake is your sister's fiancé. He should be treated with respect. No more of this 'commoner' talk, understood?"
Blake thought that anyone should be treated with respect, not just him because of who he was engaged to, but he didn't bother saying anything.
Holly scowled, looking down.
"Fine! Common- er, Blake! Please assist me in my training!"
Blake glanced at Alcea. She met his gaze and shook her head.
"Um… no?"
"NO?!" Holly exclaimed. "Why not?!"
"Er…" Blake really didn't know why not, and looked to Alcea for clarification. She shrugged.
"F-fine!" Holly said, lowering her head. "I… I really need your help in order to get the chance to beat my sister in a pokemon battle, so please, can you… can you help me train?"
Blake took his cue from Alcea once again, and she gave him a brief nod of assent.
"Okay, I will," Blake agreed. "We can start training tomorrow, sound good?"
"R-really?!" Holly asked, sighing in relief. "Yes! Absolutely!"
The minute she got the confirmation she was looking for, Blake's presence no longer became a factor. She ran triumphantly over to Alcea, smirking up at her older sister.
"Just watch, sis! In three days, I'm going to beat you with my very own pokemon!"
"Worth looking forwards to, is it?" Alcea replied. She turned back to her father, a pleasant smile on her face.
"Father, today was quite enjoyable," Alcea informed him. "However, with all these recent events, I must say that I have become quite tired, is it? Do you mind if we call this evening to an early close, so that I may retire for the night?"
"…Yes, I suppose this has been quite an experience for all of us," Louis admitted, caught slightly off-guard by the zaniness of the students at the pokemon academy. "Richard, I must apologize for my daughter's attitude. Hopefully this won't affect our future partnership, or the relationship of our children."
"…I would think not," Richard agreed, taking the hand the other man offered. "I must apologize as well. Blake's friends… they are quite passionate, and desire to keep him here. Hence the reason for all these… disturbances. I assure you, Blake is not the kind of person to have such a… prolific amount of paramours."
"Ha! I wouldn't think so!" Louis laughed, shaking his head. "Think nothing of it. That tabloid reporter… her story will be inconvenient… but I suppose we'll have to weather the storm."
"If it makes you feel better, father, no one believes the words she writes," Alcea offered in consolation. "I do not expect it to make as many waves as you think, is it?"
"Hey!" Dakota protested, Alcea glaring at her. She gulped and looked down, hugging her camera tighter to her chest.
"I must say, while it didn't go as expected, it was quite a fun evening," Julianna added, shaking Richard's hand as well. "Let's all do it again! Tomorrow night? Thanks to our daughters'… youthful vigor, it seems we'll be here for a few days at the least."
"Tomorrow it is," Richard said, nodding. "It was nice to meet the both of you."
The adults finished saying their farewells.
"Allie, Holly, let's go," Julianna smiled at her daughters. She glanced meaningfully at Alcea, who nodded.
"Thank you for a lovely evening, Blake," Alcea smiled, walking up to him. She kissed him on the left cheek, and then the right, lifting the hem of her dress and curtsying. "I look forward to our next rendezvous."
"So will I," Blake said, bowing his head to her in return. The two parted, and the Vermeils headed towards the exit.
"Oh, and Kate, do be sure to lock up after," Alcea replied to her friend. Kate blinked, still processing the cheek kisses, and nodded her head frantically to shake the blush away.
"R-right, yes, milady!" Kate said. And with that, the Vermeils left the Gardening Club's clubroom, accompanied by their lumbering bodyguard. Without them, an air of relief washed over the room, everyone letting out a collective exhale.
"Man, that was a thing," Sango sighed, shaking her head.
"My head hurts…" Kitty whined, shying away from the imposing Sephiria who had helped her to her feet minutes prior, and had been holding her in place until just now.
"Sorry about throwing you like that," Ayame apologized, walking over to the much shorter girl. "It was a spur of the moment thing…"
"Hmph," Kitty pouted, turning her nose up in an adorable scowl, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"I'll buy you some creampuffs?" Ayame offered. Kitty's ears twitched (both her normal ones and the ones on her hairband)
"Y-you must think I'm the easiest girl in the world," Kitty huffed, resisting the urge to start drooling.
"Blake."
Richard's cold voice caused the tension that had just begun to fade away to flood back with a vengeance. Everyone felt a collective shiver run down their spines.
"…Yes, sir?" Blake asked, feeling a lot smaller without his partner in Alcea having his back.
"What you said before, about wanting to stay here… that is how you feel, am I correct?"
Blake remembered the answer Cynthia had practically beaten out of him, and gulped. Cynthia scowled at Blake's foster father, being the closest ally of Blake's at the moment. She wrapped her hands around his arm protectively, forcing him to stay in place.
"…Yes," Blake confirmed, staring into Richard's cold eyes. "I know you want me to marry Alcea… but I want to stay here. With my friends."
"I thought they were your girlfriends?" What could almost be called a smirk crossed Richard's face, but it looked more like a cruel sneer to Blake and his friends.
"Uh…"
"No matter," Richard chuckled, stroking his trimmed beard. "Sephiria, we're going."
"Yes, sir," the blonde bodyguard nodded.
"Yes, sir," Blake said, trying to yank his arm free of Cynthia's grip.
"Not you," Richard said, turning away from Blake.
"Eh?"
"I'll have the yacht to myself tonight. You stay here and straighten out with your friends the sort of attitude of respect that an event like this demands."
Blake's eyes widened. In his own way, Richard had given him permission to spend the night hanging out with his friends, rather than force him back to his floating prison.
"Yeah, and that's none!" Cynthia stuck her tongue out and pulled her eyelid down. "Cuz this is just some farce!"
"…Girl," Richard glanced over his shoulder at Cynthia, the short redhead baulking.
"W-what?" Cynthia demanded, a little wary of the man.
"Your name was Cynthia, right?" Richard asked.
"Y-yeah, what of it?" Cynthia leaned back, crossing her arms in front of her chest, feeling uncomfortable.
"…Nothing," Richard said, shaking his head, a small smile crossing his face. "Sephiria, we're going."
Sephiria and Richard headed towards the exit, Richard patting Kitty on the head gently as he passed, much to the white-haired girl's confusion. The two exited, and once again, the tension in the room dispersed.
"Well, I'm not like the rest of your loooovvers," Dakota cackled, intentionally drawing out the last word in a way that brought a slight blush to Blake's cheeks. "I've got some writing to do, all about that little story of yours, so if you don't mind, I'll be going!"
Dakota's laughter trailed out of the room, leaving Blake alone with the six girls who had tried to help him, his closest friends and Kate. Blake let out the breath he'd been holding, and nearly collapsed with exhaustion, if not for Cynthia keeping him upright.
So Blake's evening with Alcea has finally ended. But what's in store for him tomorrow? Will he be able to find some way to get out of this engagement to Alcea?