Authors Note & Content Warning: This chapter contains explicit adult content. Viewer discretion is advised!
...
Iris sat.
Slackjawed,
Stunned,
Bewildered,
As Maya cleared her throat, placing her cup of tea back down to the royal little table,
The bright Unovan sun glaring through the window softly upon them both.
The slyest, widest smile began crossing the young Champion's face.
Maya smiled back, bashfully.
She needed to tell somebody... and she knew Iris was trustworthy, after all.
After the last few weeks of reflection, on the pains that always plagued her chest, and dangerous situation she had found herself in on Glaseado Mountain, Maya decided to fly to Unova from Paldea to speak with her, putting a pause on her Gym challenge until she got these strange & painful episodes under control.
"But seriously," Maya continued, "It kinda all went downhill from there. I woke up in his bed the next morning, and he had this horrible look on his face. Because he knew what we had to do next. And we did every single thing the Code told us to do. We dressed each other, I put his cape back on him. And then... we said goodbye."
The coldness fell upon her cerulean eyes as they locked with Iris' own, searching for the next words carefully.
"And the instant, and I mean instant, I walked away from him. This pain started. I feel it every day, in my chest, it's always there. Sometimes it's not so bad. Sometimes its even... warm. But other times... I can barely breathe. And the other day, I saw the interview he did. Did you see it? His face... he looked just, exhausted. And I have this horrible feeling now... that he may be feeling this too. I just want to understand it."
Iris' thoughts were going a mile a minute; the goofy grin was still plastered over her face from the juicy details that Maya had been holding back on her for many months.
She took a sip of her tea, before pulling out her Rotom phone with a confident nod.
"Let me make a call."
...
As the doors closed behind Maya & Kadabra, their eyes grew wide:
Before them was a room bathing beneath a blanket of stars, the ceiling glowing with strings of galaxies bending and bowing with the domed curvature of the crowning roof above them. The room was massive, lined with golden-gate balconies that overlooked the casting light of the floor, which glowed a soft hue of blue beneath Maya's feet as they walked on.
It was the vast, ethereal planetarium manor of Anistar Gym.
And beneath the celestial lights, their eyes shined bright.
Thanks to a few good friends she had in Kalos, Iris was able to get Maya a private appointment to visit with Olympia, the Gym Leader of Anistar City, who was much more than just a skillful psychic tactician on the battlefield: Olympia's clairvoyant powers had gifted her with the ability to see beyond the realms of this Earth; to see time as the illusion that it was, and to be spiritually connected to her pokémon as well as herself. As the wisest sage in all of Kalos, her predictions of the future had saved lives (as well as saved the country) many times over.
In fact, when Maya had checked into the Anistar Pokemon Center earlier that morning, Nurse Joy had told her that the famous Psychic's latest prediction had come true the very night before: Olympia had publically made a cryptic statement, saying that "the coldest darkness will be stopped in its tracks by a silver fox." Low and behold, an unexpected blizzard rocked Snowbelle City, causing rolling blackouts all over town. But to the citizens of Snowbelle's relief, a wild shiny Fennekin, it's silver coat a rare and reveled sight, used it's powerful flames to thaw the power lines & fuel the backup generators, and brought all the power back on to the entire city. It had made international news: the peculiar silver fox had saved the day.
Iris had assured her: If anyone could give Maya some insight about these strange swinging pains in her chest, and advice about the higher bonds that form between two souls, it was Olympia.
As Maya's gaze found the ceiling again, her eyes found a familiar constellation in the stars: the Gyarados constellation, one of the more well-known ones in Kanto, of a string of stars that arced up to resemble a rising angry Gyarados from a black misty sea. She stopped in her tracks on the floor, her eyes now glimmering beneath the lights.
"Maya."
Maya turned around to find her: Olympia, slowly approaching from the other side of the celestial room, her violet eyes locked onto her & Kadabra with a look of stoic wisdom & grace. Her shining silvery cape gently flowed over her shoulders, a galaxy's worth of stars dancing within its lining as she slowly crossed the glowing floor.
"Follow me." Olympia guided her across the Gym's massive battlefield, to where a little round table stood beneath the lights.
"Thank you for taking the time to see me," Maya began as they walked on, her eyes still gazing about the strange and colossal room, "I don't know how much Iris told you."
"Iris did not need to tell me a thing, my child."
As they approached the table, Maya spotted something sitting on top: A stately bottle of red wine, unopened & tall, gleaming beneath the lights of the ceiling's stars.
With a mystical trill, two sweet little Meowstic came floating down from the darkness of the stars above. In the paws of the male clutched a bottle opener, while the female held a single empty glass, crystalline and ornate as they handed both off to Olympia gently.
Maya's eyes slowly read the label on the bottle: Sweet Vermilion Wine, grown and aged in south Vermilion City. The logo boasted a minimalistic gold Dugtrio against the black of the bottle that shimmered beneath the Gym's galaxy lights. Olympia popped the cork with grace and poured Maya a very tall glass.
Kadabra's eyes perked up at the sight of its burgundy pour into the crystalline cup. The intense, deep scent of the wine, made from the sweetest grapes of Kanto's finest vineyard, smelled so incredibly familiar...
"Drink this," Olympia commanded softly, "It was destined for your lips."
Maya's brows rose curiously, but her hand accepted the glass. She wasn't much of a drinker, and was quite the lightweight, but she figured one glass couldn't hurt.
Olympia's violet gaze watched knowingly as Maya smiled politely, before raising the glass to her lips.
She took a small sip;
The taste; so sweet.
She relished in its flavor, the savory notes washing over on her tongue like a Kantonian ocean breeze, her eyes now lost in the pool of maroon that reflected back her sullen gaze.
"You are not alone in your sadness," Olympia said, a calming demeanor falling over her serious voice, "But in just hearing the sound of your name from Champion Iris, I could sense that only half of you would find me here today."
Maya's eyes peered up from the wine to lock with the psychic's gaze. A wise warmth was laced within them.
"Tell me," Olympia went on, "Where is your other half? And why do you walk alone?"
Maya sighed softly, a bit confused by the riddles in her words.
"I...I got involved, with someone. Someone from the Dragon Clan of Blackthorn."
Olympia nodded wisely.
"I am familiar with this Dragon Clan," she replied, "Their discipline has brought forth some of the most powerful trainers in history."
Maya nodded, her thoughts quickly turning to the Dragon Master & his bold, challenging stance beneath the eyes of crowd.
"So you might know about the Code of the Dragon," Maya spoke again.
"Yes," Olympia nodded, "I am familiar with their traditions."
Maya gazed back down into her wine. Something about the taste of it, that stained on her lips... something about the sweet, gentle scent of the grapes, and the smoky notes of flavor that lingered on her tongue...
She rose the glass again and took another deep sip. As she put the glass back down to the table, and her eyes met Olympia's again, they were now steeped in something that she could not hide away; something that Olympia could suddenly see very clearly.
Olympia's eyes fell solemn as the realization dawned over her.
"I see," she whispered, "You are in Longing."
Maya peered up to her, and nodded slow.
Olympia closed her eyes, a new concentration falling over her.
A casting blue glow began emanating over the Gym Leader's body, an unseen wind now gently blowing at her hair as she lifted a hand out to the open air beside them. Blue, smoky aura-like waves began lining out before her fingertips, until they formed a floating cloud; a cloud that showed them both the projected visions of the truth:
A FLASH, of emerald green,
The image of the almighty Rayquaza, exactly as Maya remembered them,
As they snaked up the Mountainside, powerful & terrifying,
The vision from the night they joined unfolding before Olympia's new eyes,
As their powerful Draco Meteor attack rained down, in SMASH after SMASH,
Along with all the mystic truths of Lance & Maya's past, flashing by her hallowed gaze in an instant:
Charizard's fateful thunder punch SLAMMING into the ground;
His lips, on her hand, on her balcony in Saffron; the sun is rising,
His pained and poisoned face, when he lay broken in the cave;
Crystal walls... A hand grazing down her spine;
The moon hanging high on Route 11 now, as Lance's words echo out into the violent tossing winds:
"Because it is not just one simple day,
It is all days."
Their bodies, crashed together now, in the ocean of his sheets,
Locked in the sweetest throes of bliss,
And finally,
the bloom of a Vermilion Orchid,
Sitting alone in a glass.
The glow suddenly lightened and the cloud began to fade; Olympia's eyes cleared, her brows furrowing with the meanings of these dreams.
A sly, climbing, eager smile crossed over the Gym Leader's face as she peered back across to Maya softly.
"My child," she began, "This is... wonderful."
She reached to grab Maya's hand across the table as she went on,
"You are in love, my dear," her eyes sparkled with her words as she continued,
"A love so strong,
A love so deep and brutal,
One that was so undeniable.
Unstoppable; unavoidable,
That the mighty Rayquaza rain their fury down,
For there is no hiding from their Draco Meteor,
Just as there is no hiding from this love."
Maya stood wide-eyed across the table at her words. She peered back down into the red of the wine; is that what the vision had meant?
She smiled bashfully, peering up to Olympia softly now.
Before nodding, confidently.
It was true; she loved him.
"And your Dragon Master," she went on, her mind still lost in the gravity of this prophecy, "Loves you so very deeply too. In a way that is immeasurable; in a way that terrifies the soul. His love for you, an endless burning flame. A treasure, as one would love a precious rare flower; In a way that leaves him vulnerable, and raw."
Olympia's purple gaze then turned back up into the stars above, a pensive thought coming over her.
She reached to clutch at her own chest now, as an unexpected ache began soaking in.
"However," she hushed, "He is in great pain, in his Longing for you."
Maya remembered those bloodshot, silver eyes that she had seen on Glaseado Mountain;
And the sunken look in his cheeks, on the light of the television in the Mesagoza Café.
"That's why I came here today," Maya hushed out, "I feel these awful pains, in my chest. These... episodes, where it hurts so bad, that I feel sick to my stomach, and I can barely breathe. And I want to understand why. And I need to know... that he's okay. Because I'm so worried, that he's not."
Maya could feel the tears attempting to sting at her eyes again. Kadabra peered over to her softly; it could feel them, too.
Olympia glanced back at the wine, gesturing to it with an open hand.
"You must finish what you start. There is no other way through."
Maya glanced at the crystal glass. She reached for it and took one last swig, finishing the drink down strong. The sweet, layered notes of flavor lingered on her lips, the smell of the sacred Vermilion soil fresh on her breath.
"Though it may seem, a part of you is gone forever," Olympia said softly, gazing deep into Maya's cerulean eyes, "That is not the truth. You and your Dragon Master, you are bonded at the soul. Your fires came together and created one new flame, a flame you now both carry. For in your heart, and in your mind, he never left your side. I see that this has fueled you, and you've begun to thrive, like a flower in the dark."
Olympia peered up to the ceiling of rolling stars again, spotting her sweet pair of Meowstic as they danced around each other with grace.
"But Maya; Listen to this holy truth: Nothing can compare to the company of your partner, for that is the destiny I see in your Longing flame. To the fires that ignite when your eyes do meet, and your ears hear the song of his voice, and your arms feel his embrace forever more. And when your bodies begin to dance... The safety, the protection of his guard will guide the way. The flames that you both carry, they long to join again. And the ache within your chest will not give in, until you are together once again."
Maya's eyes hit the floor; so save for one sweet day, this pain will be forever?
"And your Dragon Master," she hushed again, "Has not been coping well. He seeks the punishment of his flame; drinks his pain in deep, and attempts to feel it fully and unabashed, for the pain is the closest he can get to you, for now."
She looks back over to Maya knowingly.
"For you are still connected. So when his fires blaze for you in anguish, your chest does burn as well."
Maya and Kadabra shared a haunted look; these strange episodes of intensified pain really were connected to her Champion, even from so very far away.
The tears began to well in her eyes as she remembered it; his tormented silver gaze, so bloodshot and raw.
"I need to help him," Maya shook out, "I can't let him go through this, alone. I can't protect him, from far away."
"Sweet Maya," she hushed back, a comforting hand reaching for her own again, "As I said before. You are bonded, at the very soul. Your inspiration has already begun to turn the tides within him. You may share in your sorrows. But you also share in joy; in the pleasures of this Earth. In every way, both flames can feel this; in the sweetness of your victories, and the sweetness of your wine."
Maya glanced back to the empty glass that sat upon the table; she could still taste the wine, the blood of the veins of Vermilion, lasting on her lips.
...
As Maya and Kadabra walked back through the sleepy streets of Anistar, she found herself a tiny bit tipsy. Though she had only finished the one glass of the wine, it had been quite a heavy pour, not to mentioned that it had been years since she had tasted a drink of anything so strong.
It was late now, and the moon hung high above Anistar's illustrious pink sundial as they finally reached the Pokemon Center again, where Maya was spending one last night before heading back to Paldea. She tucked Kadabra away in its pokeball and handed it and Charcadet's ball over to Nurse Joy, for one final overnight checkup before they would return to their training for the final rounds of the Gym Challenge.
Collapsing alone in the little twin bed of the big empty Pokemon Center's private housing quarters, she finally let the buzz of the wine overtake her. The taste of sweet Vermilion grapes still lingered on her palate, the warmth of its sleepy embrace overwhelming her muscles now as she finally closed her eyes, and began to dream...
...
Her eyes opened;
Her hands gripping at silken burgundy bed sheets so tight,
"Mmmmm.."
Her body shuttered in a deep, unyielding moan, with the feel of it now;
This great and incredible pleasure,
Pushing from behind her,
Before pulling out strong again, the rhythm fast,
Her body; it was pressed nude on these sheets, the coolness of its silk grazing against the bareness of her breasts, her forearms, her knees. Face down to the covers her calling moans shook out, unable to stop them if she tried, now peering up and around this strange, familiar room.
The fine dark wood on the paneled walls, the window's moonlight shining on her face...
She looked up and saw it:
The great Victorian mirror, just across the room, her own reflection gazing back with a look of absolute bliss: her mouth hanging open, the sweat gathering on her brow as her hair swayed about.
And behind her, the most glorious sight:
Her brilliant Dragon Master,
Her Champion,
His bare, muscled chest holding strong, his unforgettable abdominals flexing with his every thrust, his calloused hands gripping to the curves of her waist so tight as he continued to drive himself within her.
Her eyes slammed shut with the feeling; his manhood deep inside...
So vivid, was this dream; so blissful and so real, the pull of her divide as he rallied into her;
So real, the intense and heavenly feel of the length of him, exactly as she remembered it, as he pushed harder and harder, completely dominating her from behind as his silver eyes clutched closed, relishing the deepest warmths of her body.
Her face began to break now as she endured him; even in her dreams, it had been so long since she had felt his tender touch.
In the mirror again, her eyes then spotted something else: Something fluttering down his shoulders, something clasped across his chest...
She could feel it now; the heavy fabric rippling with his movements, grazing down at the edges of her bare hips.
She reached her hand back to feel it, her fingers grabbing it strong: the edges of his sacred cape, the stitches of it's seams were just as she remembered, her hand now gripping to it tight as he kept up his rapid, thrusting pace.
Her eyes widened at the feel of it woven within her fingers as her eyes found the mirror again; his powerful body was nude to the world, save for this famous cape that draped upon his massive shoulders, the cape that Maya loved so much. Her jaw dropped at the sight of this fantasy; he looked so incredible, his powerful body laboring so hard to please her, his thickened muscles flexing tight, with his Champion's cape delicately waving alongside him in this dance, just as it does when he domineers on the battlefield.
"Lance," she moaned out at the sight, "Lance..."
He stopped;
His silver eyes; they locked to hers in the mirror,
A look of shock; of bewilderment,
Frozen now in their embrace.
Slowly, steadily, gently... Maya crawled herself back to lift onto her knees, his thickness still deep within her as she attempted to arc up straight, her back now pressing gently to his sweat-lined chest.
His hands; they held on loosely as their bodies remained still,
He studied her closely, silently; breath panting,
Before peering gently over her shoulder to find her face,
And Maya's gaze finally turned to meet him,
And their eyes did lock,
For the first time in so long,
The creases in his face, the darkened lines beneath his eyes,
Maya could see them so clearly now; he looked worn and tired,
Battered, but not beat; his cheeks a little sunken, his brow a little cold,
His hair, the garnet red, a little longer than before,
The platinum chain of the cape shining against the bareness of his muscled chest,
But those silver eyes were still the same, so tender and deep, growing wider and wider as they studied her down in disbelief,
His hand now reaching for her freckled face, trailing down her new tanned skin in wonder,
His echoing voice hushed out soft, his gaze unbroken,
"Maya,"
His eyes searched desperately within her own,
"Is it really you?"
She reached her hand up to graze down his hardened jaw, stiffen and locked;
And her eyes began to well with tears;
the coarseness of his sacred skin, it felt so very real...
He pulled her into the deepest kiss, their lips collapsing together as if the world was about to come to an end,
The taste of Sweet Vermilion Wine upon their breath,
And his manhood began to move again within her as his hips began to push,
Harder and harder,
Deeper and deeper, pushing her body back down to the bed as he unleashed a pent up fury,
With an unbridled passion and absolute wrath,
But without their pain,
as if his body was the desert and her bones were made of rain,
His growling moans calling out within her ear, unashamed and brutal as Maya's body began to feel the sacred call within her growing fast,
The pressure building,
The pleasure diving deep,
His hands gripped tight and his voice called out, matching her crying moans as her body began to shutter beneath his sacred words:
"Stay with me, Maya...
Stay with me..."
Maya's body tightened up, her eyes filling with tears at his words as the massive wave of pleasure reached its highest peak-
...
Maya SHOT awake,
Sweat pouring; body trembling,
Alone in the little twin bed.
Her breath panted soft, her knees; they shook wildly, her muscles still clenched up tight...
She was moments from her climax; just one half-breath away...
Before the bliss of the dream had ended.
She struggled to catch her breath,
Before slowly reaching a gentle hand down beneath the covers, to slip beneath her satin pajama shorts, gently feeling the heat of her great divide on her fingers, it's emptiness crying out for the final release...
And found it positively soaking, the wetness drenched straight through her cotton panties, her fingers now holding still.
It had felt so very real...
Her fingers twitched in hesitation, remembering his powerful body behind her, remembering the look of the cape against the bareness of his muscles,
It was incredible...
But suddenly,
She froze.
Her fingers, stopped.
Her eyes; the tears began to well again,
Remembering the look on his hardened face,
So real, the darkness in his silver eyes...
I miss him... so much...
The tears began to trickle down, her tiny sobs shaking out,
She pulled her hand away from herself, the mood broken fast,
If it's not his touch,
Then I don't want it at all,
I will wait for him.
Her sobs continued to shake out, the Anistar moonlight shining through the window of the little room,
Her body suddenly growing cold as the tears came down,
A new shaking in her bones, like freezing air within her chest, as she pulled the extra blanket of the covers up tight,
As she turned over in the bed and closed her eyes again,
Steeping in the memory of the dream, of his passionate embrace,
And their fiery wine-stained kiss, the sweetest one she ever tasted.
...
"Hang in there Kadabra!"
Maya stood her ground tall on the far side of the Alfornada battlefield, the Paldean cliffside winds cutting through her hair as she kept her eyes peeled on her ace.
Tulip, the stylish leader of the Gym, had bombarded them on all sides with well-timed psychic attacks. And while Charcadet had started this fight strong & left a lasting burn on her team, Tulip soon found herself with the upper hand: Kadabra was now the only one left, and it was wavering fast.
Her gorgeous Florges stood proudly on the field, it's sparkling violet Tera-crown placed atop it's head like a royal third eye, brimming with a new Psychic energy as it watched Kadabra fall to one knee in pain.
"Finish this, Florges!" Tulip called, one hand on her hip, "Petal Blizzard!"
A raging storm of razor-sharp leaves began whipping around Florges, conjuring them into a frenzied tornado as it began washing in a great wave over toward Kadabra.
"Now, Kadabra!"
The storm of leaves CRASHED over Kadabra, with Maya and the rest of the spectators shielding their own faces from the storm.
But as the furious foliage cleared and the winds died down, Kadabra was nowhere to be found!
FLASH! Kadabra reappeared, just behind Florges' shoulder!
"Behind you!" Tulip called, Kadabra's spoon rising up tall.
"Psybeam!"
Kadabra's golden beam SHOT out from its spoon in a great pillar of light, striking Florges in the back and sending it skidding forward in the grass.
"No!"
The Florges fell to its little stemmed knees, before attempting to steady itself on the field, its little muscles trembling as it struggled to stand.
But then,
The lingering burn overtook the floral fairy's body, the tiniest embers now crawling through its petal-pleated mane.
Maya grinned; Charcadet's burn was still causing trouble!
With a soft thud, the Florges fell over into the grass, defeated. The crystal crown atop its head SHATTERED, leaving it motionless in the dirt.
"Florges is unable to battle!" The referee called, "Kadabra is the winner! Which means this match goes to the Challenger!"
Maya stood proud, the wind whipping at her hair as she smiled at her ace across the field.
And with this win, Maya and her team had finally earned number eight.
Kadabra raced over to her and tackled her into the grass, into a hugging embrace.
"We did it Kadabra." She hushed to it, "You were incredible!"
"Da'Bra!"
Her ace was so exhausted; but it had powered through, like the little warrior that it was.
"Kadabra," she said sternly, brushing herself off, "Let's try out our new little move, shall we?"
Kadabra nodded.
"Ready?
...Recover."
With its claws coming together in a solemn prayer, a golden light began emanating out from Kadabra's body, surrounding it in a healing embrace, as bright and curing as the sunset view from Casseroya Falls.
And when the light faded, Kadabra's body was reborn: energized, healthy, strong.
"Da Brah!"
Maya and Kadabra had only recently mastered this move together. In the weeks that had passed since her eye-opening visit with Olympia, they had done a lot of deep meditating together in the caves of the Western Province, a contemplative exercise that left Maya wondering what it would truly take to soothe this Longing burn within her heart.
If being with Lance year-round was not an option, and she would have to endure this pain for years and years, then she would have to find healthier ways to cope with it. Through deep mediation, with Kadabra guiding her in, she was able to bring her pain levels down so that it only felt like a slight buzzing ache, instead of the deep burning chasm that it had been when it was fresh.
She had been inspired by Lance's story of his Red Gyarados, and how meditation had helped soothe the beast's wild heart in the salt caves of Blackthorn. She now truly understood why this sort of meditative training could only help make her, and Kadabra, stronger.
If she could feel Lance's pain, she thought, then as Olympia suggested, maybe he could also feel her tranquility. And as hard as it was to remember the distance between them, maybe in this way, she could give him the slightest bit of reprieve.
Recovery from this great tear never looked like a straight line to Maya; she knew the path would be long, without him by her side for most of the year. But in meditating on the things that made her happy; her travels, her adventures with her team... the best memories of her and Lance together, and the little things she loved about him (and not to mention more intense forms of happiness, like the dream she had in Anistar...), both her and Kadabra had begun to self-Recover.
It had been 10 long months now, since she last saw him in the flesh.
And she still worried so badly about him;
And worried that enduring years of this separation may only lead to bitterness in them both.
She felt so guilty at the thought... but sometimes, she wondered if the choice she had made, in bonding with her Dragon Master, had been the right decision for Lance's sake. The episodes of pain she had felt from him were brutal and intense...
The thought sometimes haunted her: had she doomed him to a life of this pain?
Was he happier, before me? Before he knew this terrible anguish?
But more and more frequently, she was beginning to feel a new warmth within her chest; one that told her that maybe her Dragon Master had finally begun to thrive as well.
She had become a stronger woman; a stronger trainer. She gave so much credit to her wonderful team, for sticking by her side during this arduous journey & soldiering on beside her.
But she also knew that the winds of Paldea had been a huge catalyst too. From the healing sun that shined each day, to the wonderful people in the colorful little towns; and the soothing coastal breeze that always cooled the depths of her lungs when they had first burned so badly.
Her eyes turned to find Glaseado Mountain in the distance. One of the main reasons she had come here in the first place was because of the incredible vision of the Mountain she had witnessed on the night of their Sacred Union. And sometimes she wondered if the vision had been showing her from the start, that Paldea would be the place she'd bring herself to thrive.
But as thankful as she was, to have made it this far,
Her mind was always thinking of him.
Constant worry; a thread of chronic unease,
And a hint of sour resentment, at the thought of enduring this for many more years to come.
As she stood there, feet planted within the weaves of Paldean grass,
A pressure began welling up within her chest; an emptiness,
A craving from deep in her lungs,
To seek out and breathe in the currents of Kanto again.
...
Charcadet gazed around the apartment, it's little crimson eyes beaming wide.
"What do you think?" Maya asked it coolly. Kadabra floated behind her near the door.
Spotting the balcony's window beside the bed, Charcadet approached it & its eyes fell upon a majestic sight that it had never seen before:
The Saffron City Skyline.
"Ca-Det!"
Now that she was finally home, Maya finally felt recharged. She still had a lot of unpacking to do, and many friends to catch up with. And although she knew she'd miss Paldea, and was already making plans to return next Spring to challenge the region's famed Elite Four, she was happy to be back home in her little slice of Kanto.
She was to return to the Saffron Times office soon. She had reached out to Bill the moment she decided to fly home to the city and said she was ready to be put back to work, if he would have her. Bill said that he & the entire staff would be thrilled to have her & Kadabra back.
Kadabra joined Charcadet at the window, taking its calming lotus pose as it soaked in the morning light. Though it had seen many fantastic sights in the Paldean countryside, it had missed this view the most.
Maya's Mom had thankfully been stopping by the apartment every week or two to retrieve her mail, and told Maya that nothing too pressing had come in during her many months away. However, she said, two letters had shown up for her recently that looked fairly important. And both of them had the same return address: The Indigo Plato.
The first letter had shown up a few weeks ago: a plain white envelope, with Maya's name written in a familiar, yet hasty cursive flow on the front, with a tiny bit of smeared ink bleeding across the letters, as if it had been written in a rush.
She felt the little envelope within her fingers; there was something round and solid inside, like a golden little Gimmighoul coin.
She carefully broke it open, pulling out a folded little note.
But when she unfolded it, she found that it was blank.
Clang-clang,
Something had fallen out from the folds of the paper and onto the floor. Maya quickly bent to her knees to find it on the hardwood.
But when she did,
her eyes grew wide:
She reached for it gently, lifting it off the floor to stand back up tall.
Her face softened, and her heart began to drum, as she held it up in the light to find:
A shining platinum button, gleaming in the beams of the window's Kantonian sun. But it was not just any button; she turned it over in her hand, her eyes now falling upon the delicate etching of a curling dragon-like beast within its silver metal coating.
She couldn't believe it; It was the platinum dragon-pin button that belonged on the Dragon Master's cape.
The very same one he had worn on the night of their Union; the one that held the chain she had eagerly unlatched at the start of the dance,
The very same one she had heartbreakingly hooked back into place the next morning,
And the very same one from her dream, that had pinned the platinum across her Champion's bare muscled chest.
Maya smiled softly, but the ache in her chest began to burn within her at the very sight of it, the pull growing harsher by the second.
She couldn't help but think of that wondrous, vivid dream, her smile growing sly at the memory as she recalled the look of the graceful cape upon his hardened, toned body...
Just as she had done in the past,
She brought the button to her lips, and planted upon it the softest little kiss.
The second envelope had shown up just last week. It was bigger and square, adorned in a fine, thick cardstock and closed with a red wax seal that boasted a depiction of a round little Clefairy.
She broke the seal carefully, and reached inside to retrieve:
A stately invitation:
"Champion Lance & The Elite Four of Kanto
Cordially invite you
to the
Mt. Moon Festival Masquerade
An event for the ages,
Of fine wines, dinner & dancing
At the Cerulean Gym Aquarium.
Maya gazed over the fancy invitation softly, her face turning with the thought,
A black-tie event for the Mt. Moon Festival,
To be held on the day of her & Lance's anniversary,
On the day that they were destined to come together again, after all this time.
Her heart sailed high with the thought;
It was less than three weeks away.
The excited smile crossed over her face; it had been a long, long year.
And now, it was finally coming to an end.
And she knew, in her heart,
he would be waiting there for her.
...
...
Thank you so much for reading! Here's a sneak peak for this Friday's chapter, entitled, "A Year Without Her (pt 1 of 3)":
Forty laps.
Sixty laps.
Eighty, ninety, one hundred.
The sun began to set; the Dratini grew tired & swam back to shore to wait him out.
And the old and ancient oak tree watched on from above as the Dragon Master endured this,
His muscles now crying for relief, his core pulsing, his biceps and back burning with the sting,
But his form stayed locked and his arms did not falter,
The aching pain in his chest still beating with his every movement as he recalled her face again, wondering if the screaming of his bigger muscles could possibly drown it out.
And soon it was dark; the sun fully set, and a small crowd of other pokémon had come out from the forest to watch him: A quad of Rhyhorn stood gazing out from the lakefront, their silver-grey coats shining beneath the light of the new moon; a troop of Mankey peered out from the orange trees, watching on at the show as they ate their bitter-berry dinners. And of course, the newborn Dratini, now grooming one another on the sands of the shore, watching as the Dragon Master peeled through the Safari's tide.