Reign of Rain [Pokemon Watty Awards 2015]

Chapter 13

CAITLYN

 

            “My love, I’ll ask you again,” Chief Specter begged. Beside his Dusknoir, his belly almost took up the entire entry way. “Must you go? With your condition? I have other advisor’s that would more suit your brother’s wishes.”

            “It’s something I must do,” Susan said. She looked down at Caitlyn who was already astride her Absol. The young girl noticed her sister trying to keep back a smile. “I volunteered, remember? Who better to speak with my brother’s voice?”

            “As you wish, my wife,” Chief Specter bowed. He then kissed Caitlyn’s older sister on the cheek. With that, the young girl turned on her Absol as Susan rode on a Tropius with her Grovyle. Their escort was made of what remained of the Forrest men that Solomon had left with them. Their destination: Mauville.

            Solomon had sent a letter two weeks ago, and another just yesterday. He was marshalling his forces. The Chiefs of the Central Highlands and Mt. Pyre were to send ten thousand men each to Fortree. Caitlyn knew what that meant: war was brewing. For some reason, she felt excited at that. Most women, she had observed, cried when their husbands put down their pitchforks and hoes for swords and spears and journeyed off to serve their Chiefs and Kings. Caitlyn knew, however, that some of those same men would win honor and glory, and partake in adventure.

            Adventure was what she had so desperately wanted. Now she was getting it. Solomon had requested an envoy be sent to Mauville to negotiate an alliance. Her sister hadn’t let her read the letter herself, and Susan had volunteered in a heartbeat. Caitlyn had thanked her for that. She knew it was her sister’s way of getting her off that dreadful, bleary Mt. Pyre.

            Caitlyn looked up at her sister as the small caravan lumbered down the mountain path. Susan was noticeably pregnant now, her belly was getting rounder and her were cheeks filling in. Absol seemed to sway with every step underneath Caitlyn, but Susan’s ride was even. She sat on cushions, comfortable for her and the baby she was carrying.

            She’s more beautiful now, Caitlyn thought. She had always dreaded the idea of motherhood, herself, but her sister was so serene and graceful. And perfect… For once, Caitlyn wasn’t jealous of her sister’s lady-ness and perfection; she was proud.

            The going was very slow, slower than it would have been. Caitlyn knew that was for the baby and her sister. Occasionally, Susan would give her leave to bound through the wooded areas on Absol’s back, racing the little Tailow through the tree trunks. It was early in the afternoon, judging by the sun, when Caitlyn came back to the main caravan.

            “I found some more berries,” she told Susan. She held out the little red fruits she had picked from a bush a few moments earlier. “They’re the same kind I picked at that inn a few months ago. They’re kind of spicy. Do you want one?” She offered her hand to her sister.

            Susan waved her hand off. Grovyle gave a sad little growl, as if it wanted one. “The nurse says spicy food will upset my stomach. The handmaiden’s at Mt. Pyre say the spicy food will make the baby want to arrive early.” She looked down at the round shape beneath her traveling gown, and stroked it with a soft hand. “It’s already growing so fast…”

            That was true, Caitlyn noticed. She had heard the nurses talking about that one night as she had snuck out of her bed.

            “Three months,” Caitlyn had heard the nurses say as they gossiped in Mt. Pyre’s kitchens. “When my sister was with child and three months along, her belly was only half as big. Our lord’s child is like to come out big as an eight year old.”