Forged From Stardust

~Prologue~

The Queen's soft lullaby echoed quietly down the halls of the Castle's upper East Wing and the Castle Staff would find themselves slowing down and smiling as they passed by the Royal Nursery doors. Of her footsteps, none could be heard for the Queen was a Gardevoir and she would be gliding across the room as though Gravity had no control of her.

In truth, there was very little that had control over Queen Esther. Except, perhaps, the bundles that had emerged from the eggs she had laid some weeks prior. She smiled as she finished her dance and lifted the mewling Ralts to her face to kiss his cheek. He cooed happily in reply and began to respond to his mother's emotional pheromones. A sharp knock at the door, however, caused the baby to startle and break the connection, his lip starting to quiver. 

The Queen sighed in mild annoyance before granting entrance.

Opening the door and appearing in the Nursery came a stern Bisharp, strong and battle-scarred, his eyes only softening for a moment as he caught sight of the beautiful queen.

"Your Majesty," greeted the Bisharp, bowing deeply and sincerely. "A thousand apologies for disturbing you."

"Me?" The Queen's mouth twitched into the slightest of smiles. "Why no, Sir Mairon, I am not at all disturbed." Cradling her son's head, she turned the child round towards the Bisharp. "On the other hand, Prince Ero did not take to your knocking at all well. Perhaps you ought to direct your apologies to him." 

Sir Mairon, one of the Kingdom's fiercest knights, found his words catching on his tongue and he swallowed. The little Ralts, the second of the clutch to have been born, mewled and whinged, rubbing at his face. He, as well as his mother, felt the unsettling chill of negativity as the unenthusiastic Bisharp took a step forward, faced the baby and stiffly bowed.

"My...My apologies for disturbing you as well, your young highness," he said awkwardly. As he straightened, he looked to the Queen for confirmation that his apology had been to a satisfactory standard. 

Her merry laugh was a balm and as she rubbed her son's horns against her face, Mairon, rather than feel embarrassed, felt his hard heart soften and he fought hard to stop his smile; he was on duty and could not show such sentimental familiarity to the Queen of all people. The chance that she might also sense the twinges of fondness and love that Mairon had struggled with for his many years of service would also prove disastrous at this time.

"Now then," the Queen murmured, turning back towards the crib. "What is it that you needed?" She gave Prince Ero a kiss and lowered him down into the nest of blankets and cushions beside his sister, Princess Era, who had already enjoyed a bonding session with their mother.

"Forgive the time in which this matter has come up," Mairon replied, "but the papers regarding the new wages are ready to be signed and are waiting on your desk, your Majesty. Might it be possible for you to come now and approve them for-"

"Oh, really, Sir Mairon," Queen Esther groaned, her smile gone, "could such a matter not have waited for the morning? You know how I value time with my children." Saying this, she leant down and plucked her third child from the nest.

Sir Mairon's response was paused when he laid eyes on the baby.

Prince Eru had been the last to hatch and many had even doubted he would at all. The egg had been so very small and had needed constant incubation and monitoring. Some mindless gossip had scandalously claimed that the royal Ralts had needed assistance during the hatching which went against everything that Mairon believed.

The result was that Prince Eru was an abnormally small Ralts, the runt of his litter, and his mother's arms appeared laughably huge as she held him. And yet...

The gentle tenderness in how the Queen cradled the miniature prince was an unmistakable sign of how deeply she loved him. He settled quickly in his mother's embrace and made soft contented noises as she rocked him back and forth.

Mairon was sure that had his own child been born so weak, he would have insisted he be handed over to a children's home or left beyond the borders for some traveller to take pity on. He certainly saw no reason why the Queen should waste her time and energy on an offspring that many agreed was unlikely to live very long. 

At his silence, Queen Esther began her lullaby again and started to gently glide around the room, repeating her dance with her third baby. 

Mairon shut the door. 

"...Your Majesty... The Kingdom is your priority-"

"Not another word, Sir. It is late and the only business you have for me is regarding your own payment and has no bearing on the Kingdom." The Queen kept her composure for the sake of her children. "I may be a queen, but I am now also a mother and while the kingdom sleeps, so too does my duty, for now. Go now and do not trouble me any further tonight."

A quiet whimper caught her attention and she immediately lifted her tiny son and nuzzled him against her neck. "Oh I am sorry, Eru. Mama is sorry..."

Despite his abnormally small size, Eru seemed to possess very sensitive horns and reacted more to the slightest of emotions, no matter where their origin in the castle was. 

Mairon bowed stiffly and began to slowly back up towards the doors which suddenly opened, almost hitting the Knight. In the doorway stood a tall figure and, at first glance, it appeared to be another Gardevoir. It stepped into the nursery in one fluid motion, looking first at the Queen and then turning a cold suspicious glance in the Bisharp's direction. Mairon gazed sternly back into Pokemon's eyes which did not hold the enchanting twinkle of power that other Gardevoir possessed. These were the bland eyes of a Ditto.

"...Your Highness," Sir Mairon swallowed and forced himself to produce yet another bow.

"...Sir Mairon," said the Pokemon in response. 

"Mairon was just leaving," then spoke Queen Esther, rocking her unsettled son and patting his back.

Prince Consort Emmitt of Kalos was the Queen's husband and the father to the triplets. It was likely because of his foreign blood that the Princess and two Princes had been born shiny blue. 

"And likely why the Queen was forced to produce a sickly runt," Mairon also thought privately.

Mairon and Emmitt hated one another. 

Another wavering cry came from the Queen's arms.

The Bisharp hurriedly turned and left without saying another word.