✔️Pokemon: Frozen and Tangled (Dawn x Paul) (ikarishipping)

Episode 4: West Forest

I had officially resided at the West Tower since then. It is the same as the time when I lived in the West Wing, perhaps with more freedom. Louis followed me to the Tower and lived with me since then like he did when we were in the West Wing. I heard that Mother and Father didn't mind. After all, what can an old man do that would endanger their kingdom? To be honest, Louis wasn't that old. He is just in his early 60s and still acted like someone in his late 40s. He was also very wise and very powerful. He was also the one that brought all my books, my clothes, and anything else I would need from the West Wing to the tower since he was able to move around more freely than I am. However, since all the stuff has been successfully moved, he rarely returns to the palace, unless Mother, Father, or Reggie needed to see a doctor. As for me, I just stayed in my room, reading and studying magic. I also sometimes talked with my friends through the communication crystal whenever they could.

The West Tower was located in the West Forest of the kingdom. It is about five miles away from the palace and it is located in the middle of the forest, hidden by the tall trees. It is very hard to travel through the forest during the morning and at night. There were also animals living in the area. Every week, or so, the palace people will send over supplies that would last for a week and then they left. Hunters usually went into the forest in search of food but they never entered the deep forest where the tower was located. Even if they did find the tower, they can't enter it easily. There was a hidden door, on the tower wall at the ground that was hidden by vines and bushes. That door can be easily overseen by people. There are also three windows at the very top of the tower, which is about 50 feet high. To get to the windows, either one climb up there, which ninety-nine percent of the time leads to a very horrific death because it is nearly impossible to climb, or to fly up, using magic. Things like flying, however, need a very high level of magic to do so.

Louis usually left the tower after breakfast and returned during dinner. I was basically alone at the tower at that time. I never know what Louis was doing when he was away and I never really asked. I trusted him and I don't think he will ever do anything to hurt me. During that time, I usually have my guardian, whom's name is Luciel, to keep me company. He would basically watch over me and help me practice my magic. Unlike Louis, who was strict and a grandfather type, Luciel was completely like a big brother and a big uncle. He was mischievous and naughty. He would make pranks and sometimes act like a kid. I never know how old he is, though but I believed that I must be pretty old.

"Then shall I call you grandfather?" I asked Luciel one day after he told me that he lived for so long that he didn't know his age.

"Grandfather my foot! Be a little respectful, would you? This lord right here is the God of Darkness! The one, the only, and the most powerful!" Luciel boosted. Did I forget to add that he can be very narcissistic too?

"Great-grandfather?" I asked.

"Idiot! Show some respect!" Luciel yelled.

"What do you want me to call you then?" I replied, confused.

"Call me Lord!" Luciel said as he tilted his nose up with an arrogant smile and took a sip of tea.

"Lord?" I called and Luciel spits the tea in his mouth out before coughing.

"No, that sounds so wrong. So wrong. Just call me Luciel. That sounds way better," Luciel breathed as he patted his chest.

Life was never boring at the tower. A few years after I lived in the tower, the supplies that the palace gave us slowly became less and less until they eventually stopped giving us any. It seemed as if they had forgotten that we stayed here but no, they still remember that Louis lived here. Luciel and Louis were furious when they figured out that there would be no food to send to us. Louis did ask Father but Father said that they are rationalizing the food because the kingdom went into war. Well, Louis and Luciel were not satisfied with that answer because we didn't get even a grain of rice. Someone must have stolen our food and my parents didn't bother to care because they don't have extra food for us. If our portion is gone, then we don't have food. Louis and Luciel didn't bother to go to the palace to see who stole our food. Instead, we went and got our own food. With no food for us, there is no choice but to gather food ourselves. Louis worried about me staying at the tower alone while Luciel believed that I could take care of myself. The two decided that it would be better if I followed them into the forest to hunt for food. So at the age of fourteen, I became a hunter, hunting food with Luciel and Louis with my magic. The experience helped me improve a lot. In fact, it is even more fun than running around in the garden of the palace when I was younger.

The West Forest is a magical forest, separating into different sections: entrance, middle, and deep. In the entrance, it is the area where the weaker animals lived. Plants that grow there were short and there was no sunlight. It was the less dangerous of the forest and where most hunters hunt. The second level was the middle section. The middle section is where plants were now ranging between three stories and ten stories high. There was still light going through but there are only six hours of sunlight a day. Animals here are more powerful. Hunters with magic at level 3 or 4 usually can survive at this level. The most dangerous is the deep section of the forest. In the deep parts of the forest, that is where the rarest and magical herbs and poison was. There were also dangerous animals living in the area and it is darker than the rest of the forest. Trees were between eleven stories to forty stories high and sunlight only shines through for about three hours a day. No one ever entered that part of the forest. Since the war started, there are a lot fewer hunters entering the forest because they most likely went to war. In the forest, I found myself most calm. I enjoyed the sweat of me running after animals and after the harvest, we would go back to the tower and have a feast to celebrate. Life was simple.

Luciel was usually by my side while Louis hunted alone. We would sometimes enter the deep forest and Louis would use it as training. He would sometimes just throw me somewhere without help and tell me to survive for a certain number of days or order me to get something or to do something without magic. Luciel during this training enjoyed watching me suffer. He never really helped me because he declared that the guardian of darkness must have brains and be sly. I always enjoyed these training sessions and I enjoyed how Louis gave me a proud look whenever I completed them. Louis was a hard teacher to please so when I made that look, it always made me feel accomplished.

I always felt that Louis was training me for something. He would sometimes have a discussion with me about politics, war strategy, and possibilities when we were not training or being thrown into the forest. I didn't know what he was preparing me for but I know for a fact that it is important and dangerous. When we were at the tower, Louis would teach me a little of everything, from first aid to judgment. We would study until deep into the night and Luciel would also stay awake with us and talk or just be there for company. This went on for a few years until I became seventeen. That is when my story officially began.