Deep in the woods, a convoy of carriages makes its way down the path to the Kalos capital of Lumiose City. Inside the leading carriage sits a man in his early thirties with blue eyes, short brown hair and a sad look on his face as he stares at the woods.
This is General Timothy Durbin from the kingdom of Varpathion, leader of the Varpathion army and most trusted advisor and loyal friend to King Markenal. Ever since the Great Demoth War ended partly thanks to his contribution, King Markenal has ordered Timothy to travel through the continent to assist Varpathion’s allies in rebuilding their kingdoms from the war. From Kanto to Johto to Sinnoh to the Alola Islands to Unova to Hoenn, Timothy has been representing for King Markenal to advise the kings of the respective kingdoms for a certain period of time before traveling to the next country for the past two out of the three years since the war ended.
And yet, despite how content Timothy has grown to be after doing all he can and seeing peace slowly settle in after so much chaos and bloodshed, he cannot help but feel down. In his heart, he grows eager to return to his homeland where he hopes to stay and perhaps find someone special to marry and settle down with. Many of his soldiers who survived the war have already returned to their homes and started to have children. He has even married some of them to their loved ones upon their requests. But deep down, all that enters in his mind when he’s not helping a struggling kingdom or passing time to either paint or create some of his own personal inventions, he thinks of what a joy it might be to find a lady of a kind heart and a follower of the Lord to spend his remaining years with and perhaps even start a family with her.
“Are we there yet?”
Timothy snaps out of his thoughts and turns to see a bald man also in this thirties resting under a blanket on the other side of the carriage. This is Captain Coovers Woodward, Timothy’s second-in-command and his best friend since they were eight. Coovers has stood by Timothy’s side faithfully throughout the entire war and didn’t hesitate to assist him during his travels to the neighboring countries. Coovers is more laid back than Timothy and prefers to flirt with almost every woman he meets rather than think about settling down.
“Not even close,” Timothy answers. “We’re likely to not reach Lumiose City until the afternoon.
Coovers groans childishly.
“Well, at least Kalos will be our last stop before we return to Varpathion,” he says. “But why has the king insisted that we stay here longer than the rest? We were just at Hoenn when we overheard about the marriage agreement between Princess May and this Ashton fellow. It seems like there’s not much to assist here when it sounds like they have everything figured out.”
“That’s what you said about Unova and look how that turned out for us,” Timothy points out making Coovers roll his eyes. “Besides, Markenal wants us to be certain that Jeriack is managing his reign well. Neither of us has really seen him since he married Queen Delia much less his father and we need to assure Markenal that his son is ruling Kalos to the best of his ability.”
“Still, I imagine you'll have more opportunities to paint and work on our inventions than to help Jeriack rule a rebuilding kingdom,” Coovers says.
“And you will have more time to try and fail at courting every pretty face at the royal court,” Timothy says with a smirk. “If you're lucky, you will steal a great big kiss from one before she punches you so hard that your nose will swell up to be bigger than your hand.”
“Hey, that was one time!” Coovers complains. “And how was I supposed to know that she just happened to be Princess Misty of Kanto.”
“And after that, the princess of Sinnoh, and then the princess of Johto, and then Princesses Lillie, Mallow, Moon and Lana from each of the Aloha Islands, and Princess May of Hoenn, and a kiss and a punch and heaven knows how much bickering between you and Princess Iris of Unova,” Timothy lists with a skeptical smirk. “With your luck, you will somehow hit on a princess here even though Kalos doesn’t have a princess.”
Coovers scoffs and his best friend's words.
“The only way that can happen is if I hit on a lady that becomes a princess by marrying Prince Ashton,” Coovers says confidently. “And he's going to marry Princess May, so ha!”
Timothy frowns at Coovers’ words.
“I'm not so sure about that,” Timothy says honestly.
“Why, because of rumors?” Coovers asks with a wave of his hand. “Even if Ashton is as defiant as the Kalos citizens we've met so far say he is, that’s not going to overpower Jeriack and King Norman’s decision.”
“We shall see,” Timothy says as he turns his head to look out the window again.
They wait in silence until they hear the sound of yelling coming from the woods. They look out the window and their eyes widen to see Demoth scavengers charging at the convoy with swords.
“And you said this wasn't going to be exciting,” Timothy says as he and Coovers take out their swords from under their seats and exit the carriage. “Men, line up and take prisoners if you can!”
The soldiers guarding the convoy take out their swords and prepare to fight. The Demoth scavengers charge at the soldiers only for the first wave of them to be cut down with ease. The Demoth keep going by the numbers, but Timothy, Coovers and their men prevail.
“Come on, Demoth scum!” Coovers mocks. “Show us what you got!”
But Timothy frowns as he cuts another Demoth man down.
“This is too easy,” he says.
“Well, what do you expect, Timothy? They have grown soft without Powuru,” Coovers says confidently as he stabs a scavenger.
“But they’re known for using their own men as a distraction,” Timothy says as he turns his head and his eyes widen to find Demoth scavengers coming from the other side of the road and have started taking some of the cargo.
“They're stealing the cargo!” he calls out.
Coovers and some of the men turn around to see that their general is right. Coovers quickly cuts down the Demoth he was fighting and throws a dagger that lands right in a robber’s face. The other Demoth trying to steal realize they are discovered and begin to flee, but not before one of them takes a golden cylinder container much to Timothy’s dismay.
“Get your filthy hands off that!” he screams but is unable to chase the thief as the Demoth from his side continues to put pressure on him and his men. Timothy growls in anger as he cuts down the Demoth closest to him. Just then, he hears the sound of a horse whining and turns to his right to see a young man with messy black hair stopping his horse from running into the fight.
“You there,” Timothy calls out as he parries from another Demoth’s attack. “Catch that robber. He’s carrying some of my work!”
The black-haired man turns his head to the Demoth and hesitates.
“Let the royal guard assist you,” he says. “I'm sure they are on their way.”
“They won’t make it in time,” Timothy says as the Demoth dueling with him continues to attack. “You're the only one nearby with a horse.”
“I can't,” the young man protests. “I am in a hurry and -”
“Listen here, you coward!” Timothy barks as he stabs the Demoth in the stomach. “The contents of that container are my life’s work! I will not let any of these scum take it away along with all the life I've spent fighting them during the war, so move!”
************************************************************************************
Ash hesitates nervously at the general’s words. He turns to where the Demoth scavenger is running and groans before he reluctantly turns the horse he borrowed to chase him. The fighting fades from his ears as he keeps his eye fixed on the thief who starts to run faster as he hears the sound of the horse gaining on him.
As soon as he gets close enough, Ash jumps off the horse and pounces on top of the man. The two of them tumble to the ground before they get up and face each other. Ash hesitates for a moment to notice that the Demoth thief has his hood removed to show his long dark brown hair, short beard and a long scar that goes from the top of his forehead to his right cheek. He only has a moment to snap out of it before the Demoth man throws a punch at him. The two of them start punching each other left and right, with their side not willing to let up.
Suddenly, both Ash and the Demoth man lose their footing, fall down and start sliding down a steep side of the hill. They both struggle and panic in fear as they slide faster and faster until they see the edge of a cliff above a nearby lake. The two men scream before they fall off the cliff and plummet into the lake below. Ash kicks his legs struggling for breath and manages to reach the surface. He checks his surroundings only to find the container floating next to him and the Demoth thief already swimming far away. He sighs as he takes the container and swims to shore
********************************************************************************************
“Clemont, hurry up!”
A twelve-year-old girl with short blond hair happily runs down the path to the Yvonne estate. She is followed by a twenty-one-year-old man who pants heavily, struggling to catch up.
“Bonnie, do you have to run every time we go visit Serena?” The guy named Clemont complains.
“Of course, slowpoke, it’s been days since we’ve had a chance to visit her after helping father on one of his machines,” the girl named Bonnie replies. “We gotta make up for lost time.”
Clemont groans as he struggles to catch up with his younger sister as Bonnie makes it to the front door of the Yvonne manor and knocks. By the time Clemont makes it to the door, it opens to find Kim greeting them with a smile.
“Well, if it isn’t the Rimoone siblings,” she says.
“Hiya, Kim,” Bonnie says cheerfully. “Is Serena home?”
Kim chuckles nervously and says, “Yes, but she's about to leave on an errand.”
“Oh, that's okay,” Bonnie says. “We'll just come with her.”
Kim chuckles nervously again and says, “It's not that kind of errand.”
Both siblings look at her confused.
“What do you mean?” Clemont asks.
Kim bites her lip and looks around to make sure they are alone.
“You better come inside,” she says.
***************************************************************************************
“Are you crazy?” Clemont shouts.
Kim led Clemont and Bonnie to Serena’s room where Helga is assisting her in dressing up in a noble woman’s dress.
“Clemont de Rimoone, there is nothing crazy about retrieving a man that the Baroness had no right to sell for her debts,” Helga says firmly.
“Easy for you to say, Helga. Entalmorfious is your husband,” Clemont rebukes. “Besides, do you know what the punishment is for a servant disguising herself as a noblewoman? At best it’s five days in the stocks.”
“You would do the same for me, Clemont. Admit it,” Serena says as she walks over to the room divider.
“Me? Pretend to be a courtier?” Clemont asks befuddled. “I’m just an assistant for my father’s shop and a painter as a hobby. I don't know the first thing about being a noble person.
“But Serena does,” Kim says, standing next to Clemont and Bonnie. “We’ve taught her more than enough about how to act like nobility since before her father passed. She bloody well would already be one by right if the mistress hadn't forced her to be a servant in her own home. Oh, what I would give to see poor Michael return as a ghost just to see what the Baroness has done to his child and haunt that ghastly woman until she made things right for Serena.”
“I second that,” Helga says as she tosses a pair of shoes over to Serena’s side of the room divider.
“Well, I think this is great,” Bonnie says excitedly. “A noblewoman for one day just to right one of the wrongs in our country. I bet all my dresses that your father would be proud of you for what you're doing, Serena.”
“Thank you, Bonnie,” Serena calls out sweetly.
Clemont sputters in shock.
“Am I the only sane person in this room?!” He yells. “This is serious, guys! they'll never buy that Serena is a noblewoman who is off to buy back a servant!”
“Neither would they buy a servant for twenty coins no matter how skilled and loyal one like Entalmorfious may be,” Helga growls angrily. “Why if it wasn't against the law to do so, I’d give Mistress de Adag such a beating for even trying to sell my husband that she would be disfigured beyond belief.”
“Helga, watch yourself!” Kim shouts worriedly.
Helga takes a deep breath and gives Kim, Clemont, and Bonnie an apologetic look.
“You're right, Kim. I'm sorry,” Helga says calmly.
“You really care for Entalmorfious, don't you, Helga?” Bonnie says.
“Oh, as all of heaven is my witness you have no idea, child,” Helga says sincerely. “I was about your age when I first met him in our homeland of Varpathion. Kim and I were homeless after our mother and father died and I would get into the worst sort of trouble just so that my sister and I would have something to eat.”
Kim frowns and nods in acknowledgment as her older sister continues.
“Then one day, I was caught and both Kim and I were sold as servants to Baron Cody Quadrupala as punishment. We were chained just to make sure we wouldn't escape as I did have a… feisty personality. I would still try to find a way out of our predicament until I met the head servant’s son, Entalmorfious. He was assigned to the same chores we were partly just to keep an eye on me. But I never caused him any trouble because, from the moment I laid eyes on him, I started to fall in love. I didn't know a thing about him, but from his kind eyes and his wise and forgiving personality, I couldn't stop thinking about him.”
Unknown to Helga, Kim, Clemont, and Bonnie, Serena stops dressing and blushes at Helga’s words. Talking about Entalmorfious’ eyes and forgiving personality made her think of when she encountered Prince Ashton. Her blush grows as she thinks of the prince’s brown eyes and how forgiving he was for her attacking him or how he gave her the coins with such a bright smile before he rode off on Fenrir. Serena became lost in the moment as Helga continues her story.
“He never noticed what I was feeling at first, of course. Boys don't tend to be very bright when it comes to noticing when a girl likes him as even Kim can testify with her husband, Alvin,” Helga says earning a smirk and a nod from Kim. “But after a while, he began to feel the same. I still had problems with my feisty personality, but he was calm and patient and helped me overcome my temper. By the time we were about Serena’s age, Baron de Quadrupala lost his money as so had to sell everything he had. Knowing that would soon mean selling his servants, Entalmorfious asked for my hand in marriage so that we could be sold together along with Kim. I was nothing short of quick to accept and we were wed before we were all sold to Jean da Yvonne, Serena’s grandfather”
Serena snapped out of her memory and smiled at the mention of her grandfather before she frowns as it makes her think of her father, missing him deeply.
“It was when we started working here that Kim met and wedded her husband, Alvin, and here that we started our families together,” Helga continued.
“Wow,” Bonnie says. “What happened to Alvin and your children?”
Kim frowns at the question as Helga reluctantly answers.
“Alvin died of a disease about twenty-six years ago,” she says. “As for our children, they left to find work back in Varpathion when they became of age and eventually all settled down and started their own families. They visit us with our grandchildren as often as they can, but at the same time, we are just happy to receive letters from them, informing us about work or if they’re about to have another child.”
Bonnie frowns and turns to Kim.
“I’m sorry I asked, Kim,” she says.
“That’s quite alright, child,” Kim says kindly. “I do miss my husband dearly, but it's a comfort to know that he’s in a better place with The Lord. Right now, I'm more worried for my brother-in-law.”
“That’s where I come in,” Serena calls out as she starts dressing up again.
Clemont sighs.
“Okay, Helga, I understand your predicament, but still, is it really worth risking Serena just to get Entalmorfious?” He questions. “And what if there’s someone of higher station recognizes her? There is a chance that we might bump into Calem with his men along the way.”
Serena stops dressing again and frowns sadly at the mention of that name. Calem da Xavier is a former solder around her age who is loved by many higher-ups for his deeds during the Great Demoth War yet hated by others for his cruel demeanor against the less fortunate and his unending lust for women. He was a dear friend to Serena during the time after her father died who comforted her to the best of his ability before he got older and willingly left to fight in the war. When he came back, he became nothing more than a prideful yet foolish boy who thinks himself a man because of his many accomplishments in war and women. Despite that, however, he has always had a desire to make Serena his wife even before he joined the war. He believes that one day she will learn to love him for his advances and for all the wealth and power he has gained after his father’s death and for his contributions to Lord Powuru’s defeat. But even when they were children, Serena saw him as nothing more than a friend like Clemont and Bonnie, and when Calem returned from the war, she was brokenhearted to see what her friend had become. Over time, she grew to be disgusted with him as he began to try to woo her even as he began to spend time with other women to fill his lecherous desires. The only thing that keeps her from snapping and rebuking Calem right out is knowing that he buys many of the vegetables that she, Helga and Kim sell every week to keep bread on the table in the Yvonne household, but even then she can hardly stand the man-child that was once her closest friend.
The elder woman gives Clemont a glare that makes him gulp nervously as she firmly says, “That’s a risk we have to take. As long as it's neither my or Entalmorfious’ time to be with The Lord, I don't want him out of my sight. That’s what infuriates me that the Baroness sold him for her debt.”
“And Entalmorfious was like a second father to me after my father died,” Serena says as she snaps out of her thoughts and starts dressing again. “My angel of mercy give me this chance to undo what my stepmother has done and I'm going to take it even if I do run into Monsieur da Xavier.
Clemont nods in understanding before something comes to his mind.
“Speaking of your stepmother, Serena, where is she?” He asks.
“She's shopping for brooches with Miette and Dawn,” Helga snarls.
“But I thought you said she's in debt,” Bonnie says confused.
“She is,” Serena says as she starts dressing again. “But she still thinks she has money to burn while blaming us for her debt. That’s why she sold Entalmorfious in the first place.”
Bonnie pouts at this information while Kim, Helga, and Clemont sigh in agreement. They stay like this until they hear Serena say, “Alright everyone, I'm coming out.”
Everyone turns to the room divider where Serena exits wearing an aqua dress. Helga, Bonnie, and Kim smile brightly while Clemont blushes, unable to bear seeing his friend look so beautiful.
“What do you think?” Serena asks bashfully. “Do the shoes look a little too big?”
Clemont snaps out of his trance and scratches the back of his head saying, “I doubt anyone will look at your shoes.”
Bonnie notices her brother’s bashful state and grins mischievously.
“Like what you see, Clemont?” She teases.
Clemont’s face turns beet red as he turns to his sister in shock.
“N-n-no! I mean yes! I mean no! I mean not that -” He stutters earning giggles from Bonnie, Kim, Helga, and Serena. “It’s not funny!”
Serena smiles at her friend’s bashfulness before Helga walks over to her and gives her a serious look.
“Remember, my child,” she instructs. “If you are to pretend to be a noblewoman, you look down to no one. I know that will be difficult with your kind and compassionate heart, but you must play the part if you are to rescue my husband. Do you understand?”
Serena frowns but nods.
“Good,” Helga says. “Now we must do something about your hair. Bonnie, would you like to help?”
Bonnie’s eyes lit up and she giggles excitedly.
“I thought you'd never ask,” She says as she, Helga and Kim escort Serena to the next room to fix her hair leaving Clemont alone, still in his bashful state.
“Why do they always gang up on me?” He complains.