Chapter 21: Home-Not-So-Sweet-Home

At last, the ship pulled up to the dock, where a few royal guards were waiting for them. When May saw who was leading the welcome party, she practically ran down the gangway and tackled her in a big hug.

"Lady Solidad, it's been ages! How are you?"

"I'm well, Princess."

"Hey now, you know you can call me May!"

"Hey, what about me?"

Solidad chuckled, and ruffled the Prince's hair.

"How could I forget about my buddy Max?"

Max chuckled, and gave her a big hug as well. Once the three had properly reunited, Solidad turned her attention to Ash.

"And who's this handsome fella?"

"This is Sir Ash, he's been with us for a few months now."

"Ah, so this is the new Prince I've heard the merchants gossiping about, the one who stole Princess May's heart."

Ash and May blushed.

"Uh, yeah, something like that."

"Aw, how cute! Come on, the servants will grab your things. To the castle!"

Solidad motioned for them to follow her as she led the way, Max and their guards following. Ash and May stayed behind.

"May, do you trust the people here?"

"What kind of question is that? If I didn't, I wouldn't have agreed to come."

"Ok, but…do you think we should tell them about my…situation?"

May pondered this for a minute.

"I think we can, but not right away. They don't know you real well yet, and might think you're crazy. You should probably build some trust with the Queen first."

Ash nodded.

"By the way, why were you acting so weird when we were docking?"

"You remember how I told you my home region is Kanto?"

May nodded.

"Well, from the looks of things, Kanto is what Rota will eventually become. I guess I just felt weird seeing it."

"Yeah, we're definitely not telling them yet."

"Agreed."

After a few minutes of walking, the large group arrived in front of a castle nestled in a mountainous area. But just as Solidad was about to reach for the door, a figure leapt down from above, blocking their entry.

The figure was a blue-furred, canine like Pokemon Ash had never seen before, and it did not look happy. But before it could launch an attack on them, Solidad stepped in.

"Lucario, relax. These are the people visiting from the Hoenn region, remember? They're not a threat."

Lucario growled, but relented. Solidad breathed a sigh of relief, before turning back to her entourage.

"Sorry about that, Lucario takes his job very seriously. Come on, the Queen is waiting."

The group swiftly followed her into the main hall, but as Ash stepped through the entrance, he caught Lucario's stare and froze. For a moment, it felt like something was staring right through him into his soul.

"Ash, come on!"

Ash quickly turned around and sped up, wanting to get away from Lucario as fast as he could. He felt much better when he heard the massive doors close behind him.

Lucario watched as the strange boy disappeared from his view, most annoyed. There was something off about him, and he'd be damned if anything happened to the Queen or his master because he chose to ignore it.

Solidad led them through the long corridor until they reached the throne room. A beautiful blonde woman in an elegant blue dress was waiting for them, sat on her throne. May and the guards all bowed, prompting Ash and Pikachu to do the same.

"Ah, Princess May and Prince Max. Welcome."

"Thank you, Queen Rin."

"And I presume this is the Prince Ash I've heard about?"

"I am, your majesty."

The Queen's face turned into a smile.

"You may rise. I am honored to have you all as guests in my kingdom."

"As are we to be here, your majesty, but I'm afraid this is more than a simple cordial visit."

The Queen nodded in solemn understanding.

"Let us discuss this over dinner. I'm sure all of you are quite famished."

An hour later, everyone was seated at a long table, and given plenty of food, as were their Pokemon. Ash and May made sure to keep their ravenous hunger in check as May explained their reason for coming. The Queen listened intently, nodding along appropriately as May recounted their tale. Once she was finished, Rin spoke up.

"I'm terribly sorry to hear this. In truth, my kingdom has been having trouble with these people as well. A squadron of those Aqua goons have been attacking the ports of our kingdom. Luckily, no one has lost their lives yet, but they're in and out so quickly that by the time I can send our soldiers to defend it they've left. All of my citizens have reported that they were searching for something called the red orb."

This got Ash and May's attention. The soldier in the hospital mentioned the Magma soldiers searching for a blue orb. Could these be related?

"Sadly, my kingdom lacks a sufficient navy to deal with these pirates, which is why I would like to propose this: your ship is well stocked, and faster than any we have. If you can repel this group, then I will be more than happy to enter your war on Hoenn's side."

For May, it wasn't even a question.

"I will do anything to protect my people, something I know you understand well. I pledge to you that we will drive these invaders out of Rota."

The Queen smiled, and clapped her hands happily.

"Excellent! I have the utmost faith in your abilities, and as a sign of good faith I shall entrust you with my personal guard. Sir Aaron!"

When Ash saw who stepped into the room, he froze. Standing right beside the Queen, the Lucario from before flanking him, appeared to be an older version of himself. The stranger's eyes met his for a moment, the same piercing feeling as before running through him before the guard turned to his Queen and bowed.

"Yes, your Majesty?"

"These fine folks have agreed to help us with our Aquatic problem. I trust you will guide them in this quest?"

"Of course, my Queen."

"Excellent! Guards, once everyone is done, please show our guests to their rooms. We'll discuss things more in the morning."

Later that night, The Queen was in her private chambers, getting ready for bed. Sir Aaron was with her, staring out the window into the kingdom below.

"Dear, is something bothering you?"

"Hmm? Oh, sorry Rin."

The Queen chuckled.

"You're calling me by my actual name, now I know something's up."

"It's just…you saw that boy, Ash was it?"

"Prince Ash, yes. Funny, he looked rather like you when you were younger. But not quite as handsome."

Sir Aaron blushed, but continued his explanation.

"Yes, well Lucario informed me that he noticed a…dark pink aura surrounding him when he met them at the castle gates. I noticed it when our eyes met as well. Not quite as dark, but shadier than I would prefer."

This made The Queen frown slightly.

"A dark pink aura? You believe he is untrustworthy?"

"I believe that he is a good person, but he is hiding a secret for what he believes to be a good reason."

"Like you when you first arrived?"

Sir Aaron nodded.

"That, combined with how similar we look…"

The Queen sighed, and wrapped her arms around him.

"You believe he may be a family member?"

"Maybe. It could be a coincidence, but that aura bothers me. I'll have to keep a closer eye on him."

"And I'm sure you will, but for now you need to sleep, and that's an order! Your queen demands it."

Sir Aaron chuckled, and gently led her to the bed.

"Yes, your majesty."

"Now that's the Aaron I know."

Once the queen was asleep, Sir Aaron made his way to his own quarters, the day's events still playing on his mind.

"Prince Ash…who are you?"