Before I had to lock down my room from night terrors of a different sort, I found that I was expected to sit down for dinner with the family.
The extended family.
Which caused a good deal more tension as I met the second cousins and great uncles I'd never known, but had the displeasure to learn about through stories of why I should sympathise with Lola.
I quickly discovered I hadn't missed out on much, and that may… just maybe Lola did deserve a bit of pity from me.
Cause if she grew up in this sort of environment… then several characteristics suddenly made a lot of sense.
"—lucky I wasn't there to see them off! Me and my Victreebel would have run them off I say!" declared a balding man with the air of certainty that only came with truly entitled men who'd never lifted a finger for anything in their lives and therefore assumed it was easy.
"Hmph! You say that, but my Fearow would have destroyed them first! And I wouldn't have let them escape!" sniped another.
I sat next to Lord Gemheart's right hand, which was ostensibly a position of honour, but with how stiffly he sat, along with how he went out of his way to ignore me, you'd think I was a leper.
I, in turn, was ignoring him, and his wife who was sitting to his left and being less than subtle in her gazes.
It spoke volumes about her life that she was grabbing onto the first person to even tangentially show her kindness, as I had by stopping her husband and then allowing him to break his hand on my armor.
Sam sat further down, looking thoroughly amazed at me still. He'd asked several of the servants about what they'd witnessed and his awe had obviously grown.
In turn, he'd shared the story of my arrival at his 'hour of need' to drive an Onix off by actually jousting it.
Several of the men I unfortunately shared blood with had snorted in derision at this, with only… my grandfather giving me a considering look.
As the bragging continued and I took small bites of food, ignoring the boasts of 'what they would have done'. Loud Pidgeys were always the first to be plucked and eaten, as the proverb said.
As the dinner wore on the men must have taken my lack of desire to speak for a lack of ability.
"You know, now that I consider it, it seems a touch odd that you just so happened to be in a position to drive off a Dragonite with merely a Rhyhorn. How do we know you are—"
"Sir Boulder is not some charlatan!" bellowed Sam as he correctly guessed that I was being besmirched.
The small conversations that had been occurring around the hall stopped immediately, and everyone's gaze turned to Lord Gemheart.
Rather than respond, he turned and gave me a cool look.
Alright then, if that's how it is going to be.
"You doubt me? A Knight Errant? It is not so much of a stretch for a well-trained Rhyhorn like my own to cast down a Dragonite. They are after all Dragon-flying type pokemon, making them vulnerable to many a local pokemon."
People nodded thoughtfully at this. I made no mention of my ability to give Rhyhorn commands without any spoken words, nor how I'd fed my aura into him through the nascent bond we had developed.
Before anyone could press the matter, I drummed my fingers on the table, causing a rolling clack of metal. "I will admit that the circumstances of my arrival are suspicious, but if we are to cast doubt, I must also point out a concern of mine."
I tilted forward to let the light catch my eyes through a slight opening in my visor. "Where were the guards, as well as all of you… fine gentlemen." I turned slowly. "I find it highly interesting that none of you were present this afternoon when that Blackthorn raider arrived."
That caused several men to hiss in indignation while others twitched. Knowing what I did of… my family's history. I had to wonder if this wasn't an early attempt by the branch family to claim the Lordship.
No, I very much suspected it was precisely that.
Lord Gemheart's gaze turned from me to those previously loud men, with a deadly expression.
"Dinner is finished. I will be having… words with my brothers," he declared, rising and causing everyone to rise with him at the sudden dismissal.
Huh, it seems there was going to be a shake up within the Gemheart Manor.
Such a shame, couldn't have happened to nicer people, I thought mockingly in my mind as I snatched up my plate to eat later. Sam stared at me.
"Sir Boulder? What are you doing?" he hissed as he hurried to my side.
"I wasn't done eating. You should grab your own plate and bring it with you. You're a growing lad and need your dinner."
Sam twitched, glancing around only for no one but one specific set of eyes to be watching us. "It's not very polite…"
"Neither is ending dinner before we'd even finished the first course. Don't allow yourself to be bound to traditions when they limit you or others Sam."
"Ah?"
I huffed and waved a hand. "Grab your plate and stack it high. You still have to feed your pokemon," I reminded him.
That got a faster response from him with him dashing back to pile high his plate with choice meats before returning to my side.
I set up in our shared room to continue the meal while Rhyhorn sat in front of the door.
Sam stared at Rhyhorn, and then back to me. "Are you… worried Lord Gemheart will try something? While you did injure him he technically did that to himself, so guest rite hasn't been broken yet."
That got a slow blink from me. Guest rite? Damn, this was some medieval thinking right now, wasn't it?
I shook my head. "It is not him entering that bothers me."
"Who—" Sam began to ask only for a light knocking to come from the door.
I stiffened as the door made to open only for it to rattle and shake. My gaze turned to the windows in the suite of rooms. We were what? On the second story? That should be an easy enough landing. I'd just need to have Rhyhorn toss Sam after me and then we'd all ride off into the sunset to never return here ev—
"Ah? Sir Boulder?" called a woman's voice.
Sam stiffened. "It's Lady Gemheart! Oh! We should let her in!"
What? No! Stop helping Sam! I thought furiously.
Before I could reach over and grab him to shut him up he hurried to the door. "Lady Gemheart! I apologise! Sir Boulder took some precautionary measures! Let me help!"
He then nudged Rhyhorn.
Rhyhorn shot me a questioning look.
I felt my eyebrow twitch.
Oak… you dense motherfucker. This was not happening! I mentally screamed, knowing how this way only leads to bad ends.
I shot to my feet as the Lady gasped. "O-oh? You are also in there, young squire Sam?" she stuttered.
Her tone of voice let me know all too much about her intentions, as well as possibly her state of dress.
Yup. I was not opening that door.
"Go back and feed your Charmander. I need to talk to the Lady of the house," I ordered while trying to repress the rising annoyance I felt.
Despite my desires to stay well away from it, I approached the door. "Lady Gemheart…" I said to the door.
"M-might I come in and might you dismiss your squire, sir knight?"
"No," I replied firmly as I worked my jaw. How the hell was I supposed to… In the act of knocking a gauntlet on my head I found myself staring at the strip of cloth that Sabrina had wrapped around my elbow after the first joust… earlier today/in the future.
"I will not open this door, for I suspect I know your intentions," I stated firmly.
She made a startled noise, and before she could deny or say anything more, I coughed. "Do you recall seeing the cloth on my elbow at dinner Lady Gemheart?"
"Yes?" she murmured. "Oh… that is a favour, isn't it?"
"Indeed, from my intended. I will not… besmirch our relationship by allowing you in tonight, nor any night."
"..." there was a soft thunk on the door. "What a lucky woman," Lady Gemheart whispered, her voice coming from closer now. I suspected she hadn't intended for me to hear that.
"I will not… try anything more… I apologise for putting you in such a position, farewell sir knight," she replied, and I sighed in relief.
Oh my sweet Arceus. Sabrina could come in clutch when she wasn't even here!
A chuffing noise behind me went ignored for a moment, only for Sam to speak up.
"Did your… grass type just laugh in its sleep?"
I turned like a rusty automaton, my gaze falling upon the perfectly still Celebi.
Whose eyes had the most infinitesimal crack to peer out of.
"I think you should go to bed," I stated calmly, indicating the attached room that Sam could sleep in. In truth, it was the servants' quarters, but Sam hadn't even batted an eye at taking them, what with being my Squire.
Something I was thankful for as I'd be able to take my armor off tonight to sleep.
Hopefully, I'd get the chance to wrap things up in the next few minutes.
Sam happily trudged off with his Charmander chasing after the steak he still had, while I stalked up to the legendary pokemon.
When the door closed, I took my helmet off and leaned down close to Celebi.
Then I waited.
My gaze bore into Celebi's 'sleeping' form, and I slowly began to ramp up my aura to make it extremely obvious that I was less than pleased with how this was playing out.
"Are you having fun?" I whispered. "Must have been real entertaining watching me dodge my grandmother hmmm?"
Celebi twitched, but tried to turn it into an innocent roll over in the bed I'd set up for it.
I wasn't having a bar of that as I grabbed it and prepared to noogie it in vengeance for the heart attack it had almost given me.
It vanished only to reappear on the other side of the room.
That… hadn't been like a Teleport… or at least not like Sabrina would perform.
"So you can time warp?" I growled. "Take me and my pokemon back home! Now!"
Celebi crossed its arms and shook its head. "Cele! Bi!" It then began waving its hands frantically, only to point out the window and then back at the room Sam had entered.
"There are other people that need saving?" I asked slowly.
Celebi nodded and then pointed at me.
"Surely other people can step up to the plate?" I pointed out. "There's the Pewter Defence League if the Blackthorns are being overly aggressive, or even the local Leader, no?"
Celebi shook its head furiously and then zipped in close to me. I idly noted that its wings buzzed and flickered behind it as a hummingbird's might have rather than a Beedrill.
It tapped my chestpiece.
"It has to be me?" I mused, not liking the way this conversation was going.
Celebi nodded again and drifted backwards. "Bi bi Cele!" It then moved to the door and pointed before puffing itself up. "Sam needs to grow, or have a mentor?" I suggested.
"Bi!"
I groaned. "Surely there are…" I scowled as I recalled the way the men in the Gemheart household had been.
If that was an indication of a normal 'noble family' and Sam was raised in a somewhat similar situation… then shit.
He really did need someone better.
"Could I at least get my pokemon?" I asked.
Celebi shook its head once more.
"Why not?"
Rather than answer, Celebi stared at me and put its tiny hands on its hips, adopting an exasperated expression like it couldn't believe it had to answer my question.
I glared at it but it was unmoved. No, that was a lie. It did the same warping ability and I had to glance around.
The sound of metal tinkling had me looking to my dinner where Celebi was happily devouring the salad I'd taken from the dining hall earlier.
This fucking…
I exhaled slowly. Once I was calmed down I stalked over to the table and sat, taking the steak and dessert for myself and Rhyhorn who crooned happily at the small oran pie.
"Biiiii!" chimed the Legendary pokemon childishly but I ignored it.
I worked my jaw back and forth before considering a point of order. "If I can't have my pokemon team with me, then you need to help out if I get in over my head."
"Cele?"
"No, you do," I stated firmly. "You're the one who put me in this situation, so buck up!"
I then stabbed my finger at the little pokemon. "And don't try and pull this shit again, got it?"
Celebi's head flicked to the side, where it made a show of inspecting a painting featuring what looked like Lord and Lady Gemheart.
"Celebi did you hear me?" I growled, only for it to blow a raspberry at me with its tongue and vanish. This time, it didn't reappear in the room with me.
"Shit," I muttered as I sat back in my chair. I'd been right. I was here to help Oak be ready for this shit fest coming his way with the war.
For help, I had my relatively well-trained Rhyhorn, who I could boost and had a passable bond with, and my own abilities.
No Legendary support that I could rely on, however.
Move over Mew and Mewtwo, I have a new least favourite Legendary pokemon.
"Rhyhorn?" whined Rhyhorn as it rose and shuffled over to nuzzle at me.
I looked up at him and smiled. "Hey, buddy. We're gonna be in for a rough time, I think. It's just you and me for a bit."
"Rhy horn!" he replied with a firm nod. He nuzzled me again. "Hooooorn, rhy!"
I chuckled. "Just need the two of us, eh? Yeah. You're not wrong. It's just… this is really not the sort of thing I planned to be doing… today," I said, still bemused by how technically today was years in the past and therefore shouldn't have been subject to any rational man's schedule planning.
"Rhy Rhy Rhy! Horn Rhy Horn!" Rhyhorn gushed, a glimmer entering his eyes and he wiggled a little.
I stared at him for a long moment before chuckling. "You really are your mother's son," I said. "The best adventures are never the ones we plan for!" I repeated with a shake of my head. I nodded and gave Rhyhorn a big hug.
"Thank you for being you," I whispered to him. "You were right. We are enough. We'll get through this." I then added an extra line, just for him. "And I'll make sure this is as fun as I can make it. You… and the kid deserve that," I said, my heart slowly shifting away from hating this moment.
Rhyhorn's happy wiggling increased, and I laughed as he tried to lick me.
I let him, ignoring the slobber as I hugged him back.
___________________
When the morning came around I sat up and found myself leaning against a hard body with spikes digging into me.
"Really Bertha? What are you and titan playing around again? Why have you snuck into my bed aga…" I started to ask only to turn and find a familiar Rhyhorn snoozing behind me.
"Oh."
My mind lurched as connections and memories presented themselves. Then a shudder swept through me. I hurriedly tapped my elbow where the favour was still resting.
Good, good, whew.
Sitting up properly and giving the room a thoughtful look I sighed. "Right, we're going to make this work," I murmured to myself.
How should I do that?
I pursed my lips in thought.
Well, I guess I needed to make sure I enjoyed myself while also giving out some wisdom to Sam.
I eyed the nearby sun and tilted my head. Huh, it wasn't winter right now, in fact, it was probably closer to… a glance at the trees showed it was autumn.
That… was probably good. We could still make the trip, and I could do so without melting in my suit of armor.
"Rhy Horn?" asked Rhyhorn sleepily.
I was about to shake my head and tell him to go back to sleep before considering what he'd asked. "Yeah… yeah we should do some morning training," I replied.
This had Rhyhorn up and ready almost instantly.
I washed up quickly and then donned my armor before marching over to Sam's rooms.
Within he was curled around a pillow with half of it in his mouth as he gnawed on it. "Mum? More syrup please?" he muttered.
I sighed aloud. And here lay the future Legend of Indigo.
He rolled over, exposing that he'd slept without a shirt and that his face was half-wrinkled from pressure on it.
"We have a long way to go," I muttered before opening my hands and clapping loudly. "Training time Squire! Up! And At them!" I ordered boisterously.
Sam didn't so much as twitch.
I stared at him. "Seriously?" I muttered. That was… Actually pretty impressive.
Welp I had an answer for heavy sleepers.
With some quick searching around I had a bucket and some water quickly drawn up.
This time Sam awoke, spluttering and drenched.
"Up Squire! We train!" I declared.
Sam stared at me like he regretted his decision.
It warmed the dark parts of my heart, especially after the fright he'd given me with Lady Gemheart last night.
"Why are we up before the sun?" he muttered, rubbing at his eyes.
"Because we're weak," I declared. "And if you want to become strong you need to train. If you're weaker than others who train, then you need to train longer, harder, and smarter as much as you can!"
"But… you're not weak?"
"Remember, everything is relative, even strength," I replied honestly. Tapping on the bucket I tilted my helmet to let him know I was staring at him. "You have until I fill this bucket up again to be dressed and outside."
Sam scooped up his pokebelt, bag, and clothes from yesterday instantly as he hurtled for the door, clipped it and went spiralling out into the hallway, still half naked.
I stared after him. "Man… the dense protagonist energy is strong," I muttered. "He could have done those things in the room."
When I marched out to the open area at the back of the house I found Sam heaving breathlessly. "What happened to you?" I asked. He'd been ahead of me and the walk to the field barely took two minutes!
Why was he this puffed?
"I. didn't. know. where. to . go. so I. ran around the perimeter!" he heaved out.
"Alright, first off, good work getting here before me… secondly, you're still half dressed. How many people did you streak past just now?"
Sam's face blanched as he realised he might have caused several rumours to spread.
I shook my head. "Right, that tells me a lot. First lesson. Slow down and breathe."
Sam blinked up at me, his lungs still heaving like bellows in a forge. While he stared at me, his arm attempted and missed several times to get into the sleeve of his shirt.
I knelt and put my hand on his shoulder. "Stop," I asked calmly.
He stiffened but did so. Then I eased him into a more upright position. "I am a man given to rambling, so take what you find interesting and useful, but you may ignore the rest," I offered, and Sam gained an affronted look like I'd just told him to kick a newly hatched Growlithe.
"Now, trying to breathe while on the ground is one of the worst spots. People might step on you, the air isn't as clear as when you're sitting or standing, and you're wasting effort, so, when you breathe, sit upright, or stand."
I mimed going through a breath, with the armor making it easier to demonstrate as the noises came through clearly.
I quickly had Sam calm and listening, so I moved on to the rest of the lesson.
"Now, slowing down is good as it allows you to complete tasks faster." I held up a hand to forestall any questions. "When you rush, especially with new tasks, you will stumble and make errors. When you slow down, you might not make the same errors, or you might be able to ask for guidance," I said pointedly. "So... slow down. Slow is smoother, and smooth ends up being faster. Eventually, what is slow for you will speed up."
Sam ducked his head, but I could see the way his eyes twitched, locking in what I'd just said, "Ahaha, sorry for rushing?"
"It is no issue. You are young and want to learn," I clapped my hand to his shoulder and waited for him to look up. "That is good, keep that curiosity. It will serve you better than assumption ever will."
I inclined my head. "Now, let us grow," I offered kindly.
For the next hour, I trained. I ran with Rhyhorn, and then through specific exercises to test his control and skill. I kept up a running commentary on what I was doing and why I was doing it. I then made him look to his own pokemon and consider what their needs and wants were and where they overlapped with his own.
When things wrapped up, Sam was once more heaving on the ground, but his pokemon were right there with him. They all had a spark in their eyes though.
They all understood that they'd grown stronger, and not in small, indefinable ways, but in leaps and bounds.
I moved to the side where a servant that I'd encountered on the way out here had dropped off some berries on a large platter. Bringing it over to Sam and his team I chuckled at how their eyes bulged.
"Eh? When did you do this?" Sam asked.
"Hmmm, when indeed?" I replied with a tilt of my helm, enjoying the way he pouted at my mysterious aura.
He fed his pokemon and munched away himself with a thoughtful expression. I made sure some meat was included on the platter for Charmander, who wolfed it down and did a happy dance before collapsing onto his backside at the fulfilling meal.
It felt good, knowing I'd done good with it, only being an hour into the day.
Sadly, the upbeat mood didn't last much longer as Lord Gemheart made an appearance with a 'I just smelt shit' expression fixed in place.
"I see you have risen. With the storm over, you may leave my home. I will no longer pander to you. I have other tasks to fulfill," he stated as he attempted to tower over my seated form.
I tilted my helmet back and inspected him. "Hmmm, that is for the best, lots of poison types around right now," I replied blandly.
Sam tilted his head as Lord Gemheart's expression shifted before turning into a sneer.
"The words of a puny little man are but wind to—"
Without so much as moving a muscle, I flexed my aura, making sure to occlude Sam and his pokemon and bring only the weight of my inner mountain upon Lord Gemheart.
He went perfectly still, and his breath caught in his throat.
"You assume much of me… Lord Gemheart," I spoke slowly, making sure he felt the way my aura shifted with boulders teetering on the tip of the mountain, more than ready to sweep down and crush him. "You know little of me, but I know much of you. It speaks volumes of the type of man you are that you would strike at your wife, and be so churlish with those who point out your faults. I suggest you think long and hard about your actions and how they reflect upon you."
I rose to my feet, dropping my aura and causing Lord Gemheart to stagger and whirl about, his eyes wide as he stared at me.
"H-how? What?" he muttered.
I dusted off my armor. "Squire, it seems our host has no more patience for us. We should be away lest we overstay our welcome."
Sam bounced to his feet, his pokemon surging after him as he followed me.
I walked straight up to Lord Gemheart and clapped him on the shoulder. Dropping my voice to a whisper I leaned in. "Touch her like that again and I will know, and I will make sure you can't do it again," I growled as I squeezed his shoulder while pressing down on him.
He would have fallen had I not held him in my grasp.
He stared at me, his mind still shocked from how he'd just found his assumptions flipped on their head and kicked to the curb.
With my piece said I slowly released him, allowing him to regather himself and stagger away from me before I moved on.
Sam watched me thoughtfully before glancing back at Lord Gemheart.
He performed a polite bow of his head. "Thank you… for letting us stay," he offered kindly before following after me.
I mounted up on Rhyhorn and set Sam in front of me so we could make good pace towards Mt. Moon.
Eventually the quiet of the morning vanished as Sam glanced up and over his shoulder at me.
"How did you do that?" he asked.
"Do what?" I replied easily.
"I'm not sure what happened, but… something happened between you and Lord Gemheart. You… scared him? No, it wasn't just that, or it was, but… there was more… depth to it," he said, grasping at the air in front of him like it might produce the words he wanted.
I hummed in thought. Young Samuel Oak was scary smart.
I turned my gaze up to the clouds, letting my thoughts tumble as I toyed with what to say.
"It is impressive that you caught that," I remarked, buying myself time. "I won't spoil it too much, but there is a great deal more to the bond we develop with our pokemon than just the strength of our friends. Develop it properly and the bonds you create will not just be additive, but to the powers of when amplifying yourself and your companions."
"Huh," he murmured, tucking his chin into his chest as he considered that.
I chuckled. "Don't rush this," I started to say only for Sam to nod.
"Go slow," he replied, shooting me a look.
Locking eyes with him, I saw a glimmer of understanding within. "Yes," I replied proudly. "Precisely so."
He turned back, and I gave the road a thoughtful look over.
Pre-war Route three was actually a verdant mess of trees, rivers, and several more types of pokemon, than I was familiar with being in the local region.
Part of me wanted to write it off as a simple quirk of pokemon being able to shift their environments around, but another part of me understood that it wasn't a causal erosion caused by Onix tunnels collapsing, but the sudden, violent destruction of the land.
"What do you know of foraging?" I asked as my gaze locked upon several small plants of note. Like the entirely untouched Silver Leaf bush, which had a scattering of Gold leafs within. There were also several clusters of Balm mushroom.
"Foraging?" Sam replied, and I smiled widely as I skipped off Rhyhorn and began to show Sam how to forage like a professional.
Sam's notepad came out and his pencil blurred at all the commentary I gave for the importance of various plants along with how to utilise others for medicine.
Before long Sam's pen had become a mere stub and he was casting route three forlorn looks, like he was hoping I might duck back to Pewter so he could pick up several notepads and pencils.
When we reached the entrance to Mt. Moon Sam blanched. "You want to go through there? That's madness! The Zubat swar—" I reached out and pinched his lips lightly to silence him.
"First of all, Zubat can be extremely calm in their natural habitats. It is only when they are rudely disturbed that they swarm. So, stay quiet and be mindful of your surroundings. Remember…" I trailed off leadingly and he nodded.
"Go slow," he announced, filling in the gap perfectly.
I nodded and turned to the cave, directing Rhyhorn into the cave system without so much as a lantern.
With my dark aura feeding into my eyes I was able to spot several swarms lurking above us but I gave them no mind. Instead, I dismounted and led Rhyhorn through the caverns, slowly making sure to angle my way through the system of tunnels.
I stepped over and pacified several geodude and even one Onix who might have caused a cave-in if I hadn't raised a hand coated in rock aura.
It was as we were approaching the exit on route four's side of the cave that we encountered a group of trainers being swarmed.
I grabbed Sam off the back Rhyhorn and sent him forward. He literally leapt into action, once more leading with a powerful Stone Edge that cut through most of the swarm, causing them to shriek and scatter in surprise.
"You alright?" I asked, approaching the shocked group.
They twitched, and I sighed, noting the wounds dripping with small purple ooze.
"They've been poisoned," I announced, lifting the trainers up onto Rhyhorn's back.
From there, I held Sam's hand as we jogged the rest of the way out of the caves.
Upon our exit I spotted that there was just enough time to once more make it to civilisation.
Sam stared at me, then back at the cave as we jogged down route four. "That… I shouldn't have been able to do that… even riding Rhyhorn… I should have been swarmed and devoured!" he gushed, his eyes turning to the downed trio of trainers.
"Ah, no, you shouldn't have. You just need to be smart about it," I offered. "If I hadn't been there, you could have made your own way with a hooded lantern." I tapped said piece of equipment on the downed trainers belts. "You just need to make sure not to shine it at the roof."
Shining a light at a flock of zubat never ended well, and was typically the leading cause of injury for trainers traversing Mt Moon.
In the future that would be several Rangers had to be stationed there full-time to reduce the risks to young trainers.
Which… someone like Sam wouldn't have in this time and place… The Rangers were only just starting to get organised in various cities, If I recalled my history properly.
The war actually accelerated their growth.
Upon the way, Sam once more proved that he'd taken on my teachings as he darted off to collect several herbs that could form a basic antidote that I mashed up and applied to the poisoned wounds.
None of the trainers roused so we continued on our way to Cerulean's hospital where we deposited them. Sam watched them being carted away with a worried expression.
"Do… you think they're going to make it?" he asked.
"We did what we could," I remarked. "I think they are in the best hands they could be now. Take heart, you've done good today. Literally!"
That drew a soft snort of laughter from him.
I was just about to suggest we seek out accommodation for the night when a girl's voice called out.
"Oak? Wha? What are you? No, I beat you up! You were supposed to go back to Pallet town!"
I turned and found a girl who fitted Sam's tales… relatively well. He'd obviously hyped her up a lot more, but he was entitled to a little bit of bias considering his obvious crush on her.
Daisy was a pretty enough girl for all that she was fourteen.
She had sensible clothes on with jeans, gloves and a long shirt. She had a wide-brimmed hat that shaded her eyes but even still, I could make out the fear and guilt flashing through them as she stared at Sam.
Then my eyes dropped to her arms.
Where she was carrying an egg.
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A.N. Thanks go to my patreons for your continued support!
It also goes to Twmmy for proofreading this chapter.