Reign of Rain [Pokemon Watty Awards 2015]

Chapter 26

SARAH

Only once had Princess Sarah Spark's hopes risen so high, only to be dashed again. This time, the news came from Foretree that Starfall had been defeated, and the Mt. Chimney Kingdom subdued. The letter had stated that the young Prince Carson Brightflame was in the care of Solomon Forrest. All was right on the northern border of Sarah's Kingdom of Mauville again. Then the ships came.

From the window in her room, Sarah watched her father's navy trudge one by one into the bay. Ten in all; less than half of what had sailed south to Slateport to assist the Kingdom in preparation to defend itself against a rising Sootopolis menace. Three of the ships had no mast. Others' sides were splintered and broken. Sarah knew what it meant as soon as she saw them: defeat.

Sarah opened the door of her chamber in a rush.

"Where are you going?" came the voice of Lisa, the maid, as she nursed baby Chris by the child's crib.

"The navy is back," she answered. Part of it, anyway, and hopefully father with them.

As she exited the wooden room, Manectric greeted her at the door. "Come on," she beckoned. As the Princess of Mauville and her Spirit Pokémon made their way through the castle, many eyes of servants passed them.

She saw her mother out of the corner of her eye. "Sarah!" she called out. "Sarah we must-"

Sarah Spark brushed her mother off and continued on her way. She left the wooden palace and exited the walls surrounding it. Normally, Mauville would be bustling with people to welcome the soldiers home from war. Women and children would pack the streets to meet their brave husbands and fathers as they came home. Today was different.

As she moved through the streets and made her way to the eastern harbor, city watchmen joined her. They had to lengthen their strides to keep up. Sarah didn't care; she didn't need an escort. She had to get to her father.

When Sarah arrived at the docks, Manectric let out a questioning growl. Where was everybody? No soldiers were out and about; none had disembarked.

She spied the great Thunder, the flagship of Mauville's naval force and she made her way towards the end of the dock. The ramp was down, but no sailor was on deck.

"They must be in the cabins," she thought aloud. She made two of the watchmen stay at the bottom of the ramp as she and Manectric and two other city watchmen made their way onto the ship. The gentle rocking of the waves made her footing uneasy at first, but then she managed to find the captain's quarters.

When she opened the doors, she gasped. The yellow banners of a Manectric's face that adorned all her fathers' ships had been removed from the walls. In its place was a light blue flag, with a coral colored serpentine monster on it. Sootopolis, Sarah knew.

"Well, now, we weren't expecting you to join us so soon, Princess," came a voice from her side. She turned and saw four men sitting at a desk. She heard the sliding of steel as the guards beside her unsheathed their swords. One of the men at the table she recognized as her father's lead admiral. His clothes were in tatters and he had a black eye. The others were strangers to her, though clad in seemingly expensive armor.

The leader of these strange men was an older man he had a spotted grey beard and a long tattered blue cape that matched the flag on the wall. He didn't look as fierce as the others, but he was nonetheless an enemy, she knew. Manectric growled at him, and Sarah had to hold her Spirit Pokémon back by the mane. He spoke again, "Have a seat and let us discuss terms."

"What are you doing here in Mauville's waters?" she asked, boldly. "Your unwelcome presence in my father's city is an unwelcome provocation. You're lucky I don't have my men board this ship right now and arrest you." She turned to the head admiral, chained to the chair. "What happened? Why was no word sent to us?"