Chapter 19

Jagorii

Days have now passed. However many were uncertain now to the group. It had been a rough trip nonetheless. After the voyage, the Jagorii troops escorted their Mardol prisoners to a holding spot in the eastern city named Adamaro. If Flint had found Mardol a bit foreign, then the deserts and valleys of Jagorii were a lot worse. He also learned that the military's force shared its name with the country.

After spending a couple of nights in a very cramped cell, the prisoners were then sent to their next location: Trithix, the 'heart' of Jagorii. The city was built in the center of two steep mountain ranges with exaggeratedly sharp peaks. The common folk referred to these mountains as Zygarde's jaw - a suitable name for the foreboding mountains.

After their arrival, the troops took no time in finding a new cell to lock the four pokémon in. They now found themselves in a somewhat less cramped jail cell that had stone walls and a barred window that let nothing but heat enter the cell. The desert was unforgivably hot to the point where guards had to provide water hourly or else the prisoners would die of thirst. Even Flint seemed to find the place too hot for his liking.

Starshine was informed that it would take a couple of days for the meeting to be arranged. Having nothing to do, she lied down in the shade of their cell. Taking a peek around the cell, she saw the joltik creating a bed for itself using its webs. Starshine began to wonder how a joltik even produced webs but decided not to think on that for too long. Next, she saw the pancham using his claws to carve into the wall. Then she saw Flint looking out the window. She rolled her eyes before feeling the need to fall asleep.

Flint was quite mesmerized with the architecture of Trithix. Most buildings were built vertically, almost mirroring the sharp, jagged mountains that surrounded the city. Flint also noticed that theme as they were brought into the city, they had passed by a few mining locations that were built straight down. Buildings were mostly created from stones and bricks. From where he stood, there was one building that seemed to stand out, though it was hard for him to make out what the building was used for. The building was large and, unlike the rest, had a dome shape to it.

Hours passed with all four prisoner's left to their thoughts and occasional bowls of water. Flint couldn't help but wonder where they even gathered all of the water from. As far as he was aware, the city wasn't near any large body of water and he hadn't seen any rivers nearby as they traveled either.

Night eventually came, but unlike the harsh heat of the day, the night was cold. Everyone but Flint seemed to have trouble sleeping. The joltik resulted in weaving more webs into a blanket, though it hardly helped. Starshine looked about the room. There was nothing other than the window and a locked iron door. She grunted in frustration before getting up and walking next to Flint to wake him from his slumber.

His eyes slowly opened before he looked up towards Starshine. "It's cold, mind if I sleep next to you for warmth?"

"I suppose. What about the others?"

"Don't even ask," said the pancham.

"I don't see what his problem is," Flint had whispered to Starshine. He also looked over to the joltik noticing she was already asleep by now.

"He already voiced his anger towards me, and it's completely understandable seeing it from other points of view." Starshine now lying down next to Flint, already appreciating the warmth he gave off. "I've seen my approval rating and... it's not the best, to say the least. Taking the crown at such a young age and having to be a leader with no experience of leadership, it was all just a hard change. Daunting at times."

"I don't want to pry too much, but... I already heard you mention that your mother had passed away from some rare disease, but what of your father? I had already learned of your mother's passing after initially meeting Aurora in Grassroot after we tried asking more about the king, Aurora seemed to get defensive telling us not to speak about it."

"Then why are you speaking about it right now?" Starshine said sternly.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Just go to sleep already, Flint. Since they're getting this meeting ready, I'm going to have to get you prepared to act the part of a royal representative."

It was now a few days after the festival in Whitestone. Nixie sat alone in her room. Rose had left earlier to go play with Hocus and Pocus. The day happened to be one of Nixie's free days. However, she was unable to relax like she wanted to. Mystic had finally gotten around to teaching her class for sexual education.

Nixie had hundreds of thoughts racing through her mind and felt overwhelmed. She now felt the same sort of curiosity Rose had earlier. Of course, her thoughts were directed towards a specific pokémon. She couldn't stop thinking of Flint, the fact that more than a week had passed made her desire his presence even more.

She couldn't stop thinking about his warm gaze causing her to shiver under its pressure. The way his voice poured from his mouth and flooded her ears. The way he walked making it easier for Nixie to see every feature of his physique. As well as his natural scent. The thought of his scent alone was enough to arouse Nixie.

She wanted to keep these feels suppressed, but they were more abundant now than they ever were before. It didn't help her much knowing her heat cycle was coming so soon. Her heat cycles weren't much of an issue for her when she was in a colony since she hadn't developed feelings for any buizel at the time. But with Flint now constantly on her mind, she wasn't so sure how to handle the steadily approaching situation.

Of course, Rose too had undergone the same classes. Where was she currently? Today happened to be the day Rose would be joining Hocus and Pocus and some other pokémon she had yet to meet. Just like Nixie, Rose had a swirl of thoughts in her head. She kept reflecting on how she had her first kiss and that the person she had kissed she hadn't known that long.

She wasn't so sure how she felt about it. That's not to say she didn't like it - in fact, she enjoyed the rush of emotions she felt as they locked lips with each other. Her uncertainty mainly lied with where their relationship stood. Were they still just friends or were they now 'a thing?'

Either way, she couldn't help but feel ecstatic to see him once more. This time around, she had brought a few supplies for their adventure. She kept the strange instrument she received from her first dungeon and also brought two apples. What's more, she was even wearing the healing necklace she had found on her way to Whitestone. Nixie was able to help craft a bag for Rose suitable for holding a few supplies. Rose put the apples and her instrument in the bag and had it hanging on her left side.

She now stood just outside the house the two espurr and their parents lived. She was able to hear some voices chattering to which she decided to investigate. The voices seemed to be coming from the backyard, something that was seen as a luxury for most houses in Whitestone. As Rose came around the back, she spotted the fence outlining the backyard. The fence was mostly straight, though there were a few areas that were crooked and left gaps.

Rose decided on using one of the gaps to check out what was going on outback. She saw a small group of four sitting outback and chatting. She recognized two and the other two were pokémom she was unfamiliar with. She would have observed the new faces more had she not been distracted by the sight of Hocus.

He beamed a smile as he talked to one of the unfamiliar kids. His smile warmed her heart and the sound of his voice made the rest of her body feel warm. Reflections of the night they kissed replayed in her head, she could almost feel his soft lips gently pressed against hers. All of her confidence seemed to melt away at the sight of him. With new information now planted in her head, she couldn't help but think of what-if scenarios involving the two.

Rose shook her head and rubbed her paw on her forehead. You've got this Rose. Just don't act how Nixie acts around Flint and everything should be fine. Just play it cool and act natural.

Rose looked up at the fence and made the decision of jumping it. She readied herself similar to a cat and sprung off her hind legs and easily scalded over the fence and landed safely on the grass on the other side. Her action quickly caught the attention of the rest of the group.

"There you are, Rose," Hocus said, "we've been waiting for you. Also, I wanted to introduce you to the rest of the group," he continued while gesturing towards the other two.

Rose began making her way towards the group, she decided on a slight feminine stride. "Yeah, sorry if I was a bit late, I was trying to finish packing my bag."

"It's no problem," Hocus waved off. "As long as you made it is all that matters."

Rose replied with a smile. As she reached the group she took a seat next to Hocus and looked towards the unfamiliar pokémom. "So, I don't think we've been properly acquainted yet."

"Right!" Hocus said, "the donphan here is Inertia." The donphan gave a nod. "And the ninjask there is Kazetarasu." The ninjask blankly stared back, to which Hocus whispered to Rose, "He's a foreigner by the way." She didn't exactly know what that meant and ignored the comment.

Inertia cleared his throat. "Good day, madam. Inertia at your service," he bowed. "I am the primary brawns for the team. It is a pleasure to be acquainted with you."

"Likewise," Rose said with a bow. "I'm Rose, from how I understand it, I'm the team's bard."

"Ah yes, a support role is a key elegance for a team, and what could be more elegant than the fine craftsmanship of music?"

"I couldn't agree more. So, if you and Hocus are the main fighters, Pocus is the archer, and I'm the bard," she then turned to the ninjask, "then what are you, Kazetarasu?"

The ninjask replied with absolute silence as he stared back towards Rose. The eevee felt uneasy from the silent atmosphere. Inertia and Hocus just looked at each other rolling their eyes. Pocus was biting her cheek and avoiding any possible eye contact. Rose could feel a drop of sweat on the back of her head.

Pocus then turned towards Rose. "Kazetarasu is our scout. His impeccable silence and outstanding speed also allow him to work as the team's rogue."

"That's a bit of an oxymoron, don't you think?"

"Anyway," Hocus blurted out, attempting to steer the conversation back on track, "now that we're all here, I'd like to brief us on our mission today. Now that Rose has completed her initiation, she's able to join the team in an actual mystery dungeon. What better way to introduce her to the real deal than to take her to..." he paused for dramatic effect, "Aquatic Forrest."

Both Inertia and Pocus gasped. Rose was curious about the dungeon, already figuring out that it was a water-based adventure. However, knowing that mystery dungeons were dungeons titled as such, she wondered what would make this one much different from the rest.

"Brother," Pocus continued, "is that dungeon even in season right now?"

"I mean, it's practically summer now. I don't see why it wouldn't be."

"I'm just being cautious, I would hate to have a repeat of Lavender Meadows."

Rose couldn't help but ponder on one question. "Just how many mystery dungeons are here in Whitestone?"

Inertia chimed in. "It's hard to say, after realizing that seasonal dungeons were a thing, we've been on a constant lookout for more. We currently travel to ten different dungeons, excluding the initiation dungeon."

Rose was definitely impressed. Though she wasn't much of a fan constantly going through dungeons, caves, and whatnot during her time with Flint, it definitely felt a lot different to be going with a group of people around her age. It sure beat her time at the daycare, and it gave her something to do while she awaited Flint's return.

"And that's essentially most of what you need to know," Starshine finished saying.

Starshine, Flint, and the other prisoners were still captive in their cells. Starshine had spent most of the morning catching Flint up to speed with knowledge regarding things from foreign affairs to formal speaking etiquette when to speak versus when not to, and the likes.

"Okay... now out of all of that, how much did I actually need to know?"

"All of it," she stated firmly.

Flint nervously tapped his paws. "So, I may have zoned out a bit while trying to retain the other information you gave me."

The espeon deadpanned. "Flint, are you even taking this seriously?"

"I'm trying my best! I'm honestly fucking terrified. You made this trip sound as harmless as possible, and now I'm face-to-face with the high cabinet of the Jagorii. Basically, anything said here will be used against us and if they don't like what they hear, we're dead meat. How do you expect me to try memorizing all of this information in such a short period of time?"

"The fact that you might die should be incentive enough for you to get your shit together and start learning." Starshine exhaled her frustration before calming herself down. "Look, I'm just as nervous as you are. We need to do this, not just for ourselves, but for those back at Whitestone. If we screw this up, we failed Mardol as a whole. Without me in power, this nation could spiral out of control."

"Not to try and argue with you right now, but weren't you just explaining how most of the people you rule over don't exactly favor having you rule over them."

"Yes, I get that," She sighed. "I currently have no one to take the throne. Mystic is only filling in for me right now, but with the death of a current ruler who has no heir to the throne leads to the next option. Voting, or rather, a democracy."

Flint raised an eyebrow. "I don't quite follow."

"The people able to be elected the next ruler are any members of the royal guard, which, by the way, isn't exactly small. Most of my royal guards are public figures known by many residents of Whitestone. The problem is is that the guards are always battling for fame in the event I was to die. The more popular a guard is, the more likely they are to win the election."

Flint began catching on. "So they would elect someone based on popularity rather than qualities of leadership?"

"Well, yes and no. Obviously, the election process would take weeks - maybe even months. During that time window, the royal guards would go from city to city in Mardol giving speeches on why they should be crowned the new king or queen through a process of explaining what they've accomplished as guards and sharing their ideas for what direction the would choose to rule the country. Yes, popularity plays a huge role, but that's just as important as pleasing the population through ideals. But more often than not, it's usually by popularity, that's just how it's worked in the past."

"So it has happened before?"

"Yes, three times if I remember correctly. It's been a while though. I'm pretty sure it was either my grandfather or great grandfather who last won an election," she said, placing a paw to her chin as she thought. "No matter. The fact of the matter is we're not going to die. Just listen to my guidance and be confident with your words."

I can barely remember half the stuff you told me."

Starshine grunted. "I'll be using telepathy as a last resort."

"I thought these bindings disabled our arceus given powers," he replied while lifting his paw to show the binding around it that was enchanted with a spell of sorts.

"Flint, there's a lot of things I'm unable to explain to you right now. I'll be using telepathy regardless of the enchanted bindings. Now, are you ready to do this?"

"I... I don't know..." Flint said, averting his gaze from her.

"Flint," she said, grabbing his cheek and forcing him to look in her in the face, "we will be fine. If you want to make it out of here alive, if you want to see Rose again, then do as I say. I need you to cooperate with me."

Silence followed the conversation. Flint wasn't sure why, but he suddenly felt a lot calmer. His muscles relaxed and he felt his worries wash away. Something inside him told him everything was going to be okay. His gut. Maybe his heart. Something told him they would be fine. And he trusted it.

"I'll ask you again... are you ready to do this?"

Flint gave a confident nod. "Yes, I am."

After a couple of hours had passed, a guard arrived at the cell and escorted Flint and Starshine out of the prison and towards a larger building. The building had to be important. The interior was rather robust and very open. Some interior decor included zen-like designs such as constant flowing streams, indoor gardens, statues of peculiarly designed structures, wind chimes though there was no wind inside the building.

They now walked down a long hallway. The carpet had a fine texture to it and was as red a rubies. The smooth walls of wood provided a cozy feeling to the atmosphere. At the end of the hallway was a set of double doors. As they reached them, their escort had opened them, revealing the room behind them.

And there they were. The people they would be conducting business with. Neither Flint nor Starshine knew what they would be negotiating about, but it didn't sit well in their stomachs either.

Flint was able to recognize the mienshao that had kidnapped them. He figured she was of some importance to be sitting in this room right now. She sat on the left end of the table within the room. On the right end was a pokémom Flint had seen maybe once or twice throughout his time doing bounties, it was a bisharp. The steel-type had a masculine build to it and wore a necklace with some odd symbol on it.

The pokémom sitting in the center of the table looked the most important. It was an aggron, he sat calmly while keeping his head propped up with his chin on his hands. His natural armor was chipped and scratched in various locations and a chunk of one of his horns was missing. The aggron had clearly seen a fair share of battling in his life.

As he saw the two walk in, his stoic expression slowly grew into a smile. "Princess... it's been a while."