Renard rushed to the palace of Mezinec. He had borrowed a map from the innkeeper so he knew exactly where the palace was located. It was night already, and the temperature was so cold as a mild snowstorm was raging, but it didn't stop Renard. Her love for Natalie was stronger than the harsh winter. After roughly half an hour, Renard finally found the palace. Previously, the palace belonged to Baron Bełkrzyski, but he and his family were secretly murdered by the soldiers of the separatist movement. After their death, the palace now served as one of the main basecamps of the Dusk Tribe, owned by grand master Erik Douwes Dekker.
As Renard approached the gate of the palace, he was surrounded by a dozen of galarian linoones. Then, a krookodile and a scrafty appeared and grabbed the jolteon from behind, preventing him from moving and escaping.
"Welcome to the palace of Mezinec...Jolteon. We have been waiting for you..." said one of the linoones.
"What are you going to do to me?" said the jolteon.
"It is up to the grandmaster's decision. Just come with us calmly, or the eevee will die..." said one of the linoones.
The Jolteon and the dusk tribe members went to the inner bailey. There, a Weavile and an Obstagoon were waiting impatiently, while Julius was imprisoned inside an iron cage.
"Renard!" said the eevee.
"Julius! Oh, thank goodness you are not dead yet!" said the Jolteon.
"Greetings Jolteon. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Erik Douwes Dekker, the grandmaster of the Dusk Tribe. Well...one of the grandmasters to be more precise. There are actually three grandmasters. I am one of them. As you can see, I'm holding the key of the iron cage that contains the eevee." Said the Weavile.
"And I am Korneel. I am here to kill you with my own hands!" said the Obstagoon.
"But I don't want to die yet..." said Renard.
"I don't care! You have killed Hubrecht. An eye for an eye, so you must also die! You know, I and Hubrecht have been best friends since we were very young. We went through hardships together, we overcome challenges together and Hubrecht is like a brother to me! You don't know how much pain I felt when I heard that Hubrecht was killed by some random traveller in the forest!" said the Obstagoon emotionally.
"Don't blame me, he wanted to eat me and my friend so I was just defending myself," said Renard.
"Again, I DON'T CARE! I hate people like you. You have ended our beautiful friendship! Don't you know the value of friendship?!" said the Obstagoon.
"Look, I don't care that you don't care. Don't lecture me about friendship. I hate dramas okay...Listen, how about I pay you a large sum of gold coins instead?" said Renard.
"Gold coins can't bring the dead back to life! Like I said before, you must die!" said the Obstagoon.
"And like I said before, I don't want to die yet!" said Renard as he struggled to break free.
"Hey, stop moving!" said the krookodile. But Renard only struggled harder.
"Make him stop moving!" said the Obstagoon. The scafty then punched Renard on the stomach. Renard fell down. He pretended to faint.
"Oh dear...He faints..." said the Weavile.
"What?! After one punch only? So...WEAK!" said the obstagoon.
"What should I do with him?" said the krookodile.
"Well... now that he is already fainted, just let him lie on the floor. No need to hold him. He is too weak to fight us..." Said the Weavile.
"Get your hands off him! He belongs to me now! Let me kill him the way he killed Hubrecht! By stabbing him with a dagger right between the eyes!" said the Obstagoon emotionally.
"You heard him. Do as he says..." said the Weavile. The Krookodile and the scrafty then got his hands off the Jolteon, allowing the Obstagoon to come closer to the Jolteon, holding a dagger to stab him in the face.
"This is for Hubrecht..." said the Obstagoon as he was about to stab the Jolteon with his right hand. However, just before the dagger touched the Jolteon's skin, the Jolteon caught the Obstagoon's right hand.
"What?!!! He is still conscious!!!" Said the Obstagoon. But before he could do anything about it, the Jolteon zapped him with 100.000 volts of electricity.
"AAAACK!" screamed the Obstagoon as his heart stopped beating due to the powerful electric shock. Renard quickly grabbed his dagger and stabbed the Krookodile in the stomach.
"AAAH!!! YOU SON OF A..." said the Krookodile as he died. Renard's movement was so fast that it impressed the Weavile.
"Such agility...such speed...such AWESOMENESS!" said the grand master. Renard then used the move discharge to kill the surrounding linoones and the scrafty all at once with one hit. This only impressed the Weavile even more.
Now, all that is left is the weavile thought Renard.
Renard then threw the dagger at the Weavile's face, but the weavile caught the dagger with his hands.
"That was close!" said the Weavile. But then he realized that the Jolteon was already behind him.
What?! Incredible...He used the dagger as a distraction so that he can get behind me...wow...he moves faster than the flying dagger...very impressive...thought the weavile.
Renard then used the move thunderbolt, but the weavile evaded it, so the thunderbolt hit the palace wall instead, causing a big explosion.
"Very powerful thunderbolt indeed..." said the weavile.
No way! He dodged my thunderbolt? Nobody has ever been able to dodge my thunderbolt before...this weavile is no joke...now what should I do...thought the jolteon.
Suddenly, the Weavile clapped, making the Jolteon confused.
"Bravo...Jolteon...Bravo!" said the Weavile.
"Why are you clapping?" said the Jolteon.
"To congratulate you obviously. Here! Take the key. You can free the eevee and leave the building. But don't tell the other dusk tribe members that I let you go!" said the Weavile as he threw the key at the Jolteon.
"Seriously?..." said the Jolteon.
"Yeah, I'm serious. Just between you and me, I hate Hubrecht. He is a jerk anyway...haha.." said the Weavile. Renard then freed the eevee and decided to leave the palace immediately.
"So, what is your full name, Jolteon?" asked the Weavile before Renard left.
"Renard Alvaro!" said Renard.
"Alright then, I hope we'll meet again, Renard! Bye bye!" said the Weavile while waving his hand.
That is one weird Weavile. But I'm grateful that I didn't have to fight him. Thought the Jolteon as he carried the eevee on his back. Renard then returned to the inn. As he arrived at the inn, all other guild members were already asleep except for Natalie. She was waiting anxiously for the eevee's return.
"Guys, I am back with Julius!" said the Jolteon.
Upon seeing the eevee, Natalie cried tears of joy.
"Julius! I'm so glad you're okay! "Said Natalie as she hugged the little eevee.
"Renard saved my life!" said the eevee.
"Well, not really, I was lucky that the Weavile didn't...." before Renard could finish his sentence, the glaceon kissed him passionately. Their lips met. This was Renard's first kiss ever.
"Thank you...Renard..." said the glaceon.
Renard was left in a state of ecstasy...The kiss felt incredible and heavenly...
"Wow...I didn't expect that..." said Renard.
"Consider it a gift...for saving Julius' life..." said the glaceon.
"You kissed me. Does this mean that we can be a couple?" asked Renard.
Natalie was silent for a moment. Then she responded.
"We can be a couple, only when we are married...I'm sorry Renard..." said Natalie.
Renard then went through a rapid transition from extreme happiness to deep depression...That kiss was nothing but a false hope...Now Renard felt even more miserable than before...
"Okay...Now I see...You are just toying with my feelings...you are nothing but a psycho, Natalie..." said Renard.
"No...Renard...It's not like that at all...please...you don't understand..." said Natalie.
"IT'S TERRIBLE! TERRIBLE THAT YOU ARE PLAYING WITH MY EMOTION LIKE THIS!" screamed Renard as he left the inn.
"Renard, wait!" said Natalie. Renard didn't care. He continued running while crying. All of a sudden, Natalie had a flashback about her conversation with master Wang Lang.
*Insert flashback sound*
It was Saturday night and Natalie was training with her master. Back then, she was just 14 years old and was still a student studying commerce at the university of Aeterna. The training began at seven o'clock and ended at around 10 o'clock. After the training session ended, master Wang Lang the Urshifu and Natalie drank a cup of green tea. As they were sipping the tea, master Wang Lang spoke.
"Your skills have improved a lot, Natalie. Your ice shards are more accurate, your ice beam is getting colder and more powerful, and your sword fighting technique is excellent. I have trained you well, my apprentice..." said master Wang Lang.
"Thank you, master..." said Natalie.
"But I noticed that you were a little bit unfocused during the training. I can sense that something is troubling you, Natalie. Do you want to talk about it? Maybe I can give you some advice..."said the Urshifu.
"It's nothing, master...I don't want to talk about it..." said Natalie.
"Don't be shy Natalie...I just want to help you...it is unwise to keep your problems to yourself when you have someone that you can talk to...Trust me, don't burden yourself, Natalie..." said the kind Urshifu.
"Well...Lately...I've been feeling very lonely..." said Natalie.
"So, you want to have a boyfriend?" said the Urshifu.
"Correct, master...I need someone to fill the gap in my heart..." said the glaceon.
"But I thought you want to be trained in the art of battling so that you can protect your chastity!" said the Urshifu.
"Just because I want to protect my chastity doesn't mean that I'm not hungry for love!" said the glaceon.
"I'm afraid that you are not being hungry for love...You are just being lustful..."said the Urshifu.
"Really master? What is the difference between lust and love?" asked the glaceon.
"Love is deep. It includes commitment and responsibility, while lust is purely physical attraction. Therefore, I strongly forbid you from having a boyfriend"
"Why master?" said the glaceon.
"Laa Taqrabuz-zina...Stay away from zina. Don't even come near it..." said the Urshifu.
"Master...Are you speaking Daharan language again? ...What is the meaning of the word 'zina'?" asked the glaceon.
"Zina means sex outside of marriage. It is illegal and also a major sin. What you are feeling is not love, but lust, Natalie..." said the Urshifu.
"What?! NO! I'm pretty sure that I am in love, not in lust!" said the glaceon.
"Then prove it..." said the Urshifu.
"How?" asked the glaceon.
"Simple. The answer is marriage. Marriage is a testimony of true love, as it encompasses responsibility and commitment...Therefore, sex becomes legal or not haram once you are married" said the Urshifu.
"But I'm too young to get married..." said the glaceon.
"Then be patient! Control your feelings! Discipline your mind! Lower your gazes and try fasting if you are unable to control your sexual desire!" said the Urshifu.
"Okay, master...I will obey you..." said the glaceon.
*end of flashback*
"Ugh...what is with the noise...we are trying to sleep..." said Brendan.
"Yeah...will you two please be quiet?..." said William.
"I'm really sorry..." said Natalie. She then went out to pursue Renard.
Renard kept running. He eventually stopped by the lake and sat on the bench, crying. The glaceon carefully approached the crying jolteon.
"Renard...please...just listen to me...the truth is...I love you too..."said the glaceon.
"Don't lie to me, Natalie..." said Renard.
"No...I don't lie...I really love you because you care for me...but rules are rules...relationship outside marriage is forbidden..." said Natalie.
"But I can't marry you...because I'm a commoner while you are an aristocrat..." said Renard.
"I'll try to talk to my parents about this...But please, stop crying...I can't see you suffering any further...I really do love you..." said Natalie.
"Prove it!" said Renard.
Without any delay, Natalie kissed Renard again while hugging him. As she hugged him, she could feel the Jolteon's slender body.
"Renard...you don't eat much do you?" said the glaceon.
"Every time my family has dinner or lunch...I only get the leftovers...and my parents don't care about it..." said the Jolteon.
"Why don't you visit my home sometime and have dinner with my family? You can eat all the tasty and nutritious food as much as you want..."said the glaceon.
"Thank you Natalie...You make me feel loved...nobody has ever loved me before..."said Renard.
"Then promise me one thing Renard...Don't ever feel worthless anymore, because you are worthy enough to deserve love, Renard. And stop showing off for fame and putting other people down..." said Natalie.
"Okay Natalie...I won't. Who needs fame when I have someone like you..." said Renard.
"That's more like it" said Natalie with a smile.
Natalie and Renardthen returned to the inn to sleep without disturbing anyone