Chapter 47 In The Name Of The Throne

  The Pikachu in front of her suddenly sagged down tot he floor completely instead of just sitting there. Lira stared at him for a heartbeat. Then, with the slow, offended exhale of someone whose time had just been gravely disrespected, she muttered, "...Oh for Arceus sake really? I wasn’t finished speaking."

  She rose from the throne with stiff, deliberate poise, as though refusing to acknowledge the jolt running through her chest. The Pikachu really didn't look all that well. His breathing was shallow, his fur dull with exhaustion, and he was obviously uncouncious. So much to him having an impressive resilience.

  "Oh, this is absurd," she hissed under her breath. "Fainting here, of all places while we were talking. And then doing so without permission. Honestly."

  She floated forward, looking down at the injured Pikachu. Then she drew in a sharp breath. "Guards! I summon you!"

  Four Pokemon hustled into the hall. They bowed, but she addressed them before they could straighten.

  "Yes, very respectful, splendid, you can all grovel later. I need competent healers immediately decidedly not the ones from earlier, the ones who actually know what they are doing. And absolutely no type-energy treatment unless you want him to explode on the floor."

  The guards exchanged looks for half a second too long. Lira’s eyes narrowed at that blatant display of infidelity.

  "Do you sincerely wish to explain to Velari why her throne room is about to smell like dead outsider?" Her voice stayed smooth, but the edge beneath it was sharp as a blade. "Move."

  This time they finally reacted instantly. Staff scrambled out of the hall on her next command, and she didn’t care that her tone was slipping toward clipped and brittle. The throne room emptied fast, leaving an unnervingly quiet space around the unconscious Pikachu.

  The healers arrived, three of them, seemingly seasoned and cautious. Lira positioned herself behind them, arms crossed, posture impeccable. "What is his condition?" she asked after five seconds.

  "We’re still assessing-" the healer tried to answer, but was cut off by her.

  "Well, assess faster then!" she ordered before falling silent again. For a few seconds, that is. "And now?"

  "My heir apparent," one healer said carefully, "we cannot work if you stand directly behind us."

  Lira inhaled through her nose, lifted her chin, and floated back half a meter. "That should be more than enough space for your… process." The healers didn't dare to contradict her and instead continued working in silence. For another 40 seconds that is.

  "And now?" Lira repeated her question.

  One healer actually flinched. "Please, my heir apparent, give us time. We will inform you the instant we are done."

  Lira pressed her lips together, expression schooled into neutrality, though a fine tension pulled at the edges. Her mind was already racing. If this prodigy died under her responsibility Velari would be livid! Worse, Velari’s advisors would be insufferable! And Lira would never hear the end of it... No, absolutely not! He was not allowed to die!

  She adjusted her stance, spine straight, gaze cool and composed. No one needed to know how tight her chest felt. "Very well," she said. "But if he stops breathing, I expect you to inform me before he becomes a carpet stain."

  Lira tried not to pace. Pacing implied agitation, maybe even fear. Pacing would imply she was anything less than perfectly composed in a crisis. So she merely… walked. Back and forth. With purpose, which was of course something completely different.

  Her thoughts, however, were far from tidy. She new that Newleaf Village had tried to break this Pikachu's type energy reserve. He himself had told her after all! Because of that he fled, the reasonable thing to do. The reason for all of that was probably that they found out he was a progidy as well. So they would without a doubt send someone after him!

  Lira’s jaw tightened. She stopped mid-stride and turned to the nearest guard stationed at the side of the hall. He straightened instinctively, even though she hadn't said anything yet. He was a capable guard indeed.

  "I have a new decree that takes effect immediately," she said, flicking her paw as if this were merely routine work. "Absolutely no scouts, messengers, or envoys from Newleaf Village are to enter our territory. I want all of them intercepted."

  The guard blinked, vaught off-guard by that sudden demand. "My heir apparent, that would mean-"

  "If they carry the Newleaf insignia," she continued, as if she hadn’t heard the inept guards objection, "send them away. Politely, if possible. Less politely if necessary. You will not question my decree, just execute it."

  Another blink. She could practically feel the guard trying to guess how much trouble he would get into if he decided to ask questions anyway.

  "And if," she added, voice silk-smooth but brittle underneath, "they happen to inquire about a Pikachu you will misdirect them. Suggest their target traveled elsewhere, was never here, or was in fact three completely different Pikachu you saw in rapid succession. Improvise. I trust you will manage something so basic."

  The guard swallowed. "And if they insist?"

  Lira waved a hand dismissively. "Detain them until I decide whether they’re a diplomatic nuisance or an actual threat. And remember that my orders are more important than whatever Velari's advisors say."

  The guard still hesitated, likely wondering how he was supposed to explain any of this if questioned. So Lira added, in a tone grandly confident and absolutely not covering desperation.

  "If anyone asks them tell them…" She cleared her throat lightly. "Tell her it was a diplomatic instinct. Yes. My brilliant diplomatic instinct." She raised her chin. "They’ll appreciate the foresight."

  The guard bowed quickly before she could change her mind. Lira resumed her 'purposeful walking', refusing to let anyone see the knot of dread tightening beneath her ribs. Of all the disasters that could have chosen today, it had to be this one!

  Velari's advisors were going to be a problem. They always were! They had perfected the art of speaking down to her without ever raising their voices. They measured every word she said, every step she took, every perceived misstep she had ever made.

  And now she had to call them here. She had to tell them she had discovered something of incredible political value. She, Lira, who they thought was incapable of recognizing the value of her own breakfast, much less something that could cause inter-Legendary conflict.

  She groaned under her breath and forced herself to stop imagining the inevitable sighs. She hated when they sighed. They did it in unison, like it was rehearsed. "Fine," she muttered to herself. "Fine. Whatever. I will not let them butcher this."

  She turned to one of the attendants lingering near the entrance. "You. Fetch the advisors. All of them." She made a vague sweeping gesture meant to convey urgency. "Tell them it's an emergency consultation and if they waste time they'll not remain advisors much longer."

  The attendant bolted instantly, proving that he was a great hire indeed. The moment the doors closed behind him, Lira ran through her possible introductions. She straightened her posture and tried a commanding tone. "You three are late," she murmured to herself. "And ignorant. And I require your wisdom, I suppose." She grimaced instantly. No, that was terrible. That was exactly the kind of phrase that got repeated behind her back for months! She tried again.

  "Velari entrusted me with authority, and you will now-" Dead end. She already hated the sound of her own voice. So another atempt was necessary.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  "I have information of… considerable importance." That wasn’t quite right either. Too bland. It would sound like her not even knowing what she was talking about!

  Lira exhaled sharply. "I’ll improvise," she muttered. "Improvising is one of my countless talents after all."

  The doors opened again, this time with slow, intentional ceremony, and Velari's three advisors entered. They wore their perpetually exhausted expressions, as though every breath Lira took was a personal inconvenience to them. They bowed, with theatrical depth, and Lira naturally pretended not to notice. She was above such petty things. Instead she inspected her hands, adjusted her crown, and waited until she sensed the slightest quiver of strain in their posture before giving a lazy flick of her paw. A much better way to take revenge!

  "You may rise," she said at last. They straightened instantly still looking professional and composed, but also visibly bracing for whatever they assumed she had done 'wrong' this time.

  "My heir apparent," one began carefully, "we were told this was an urgent matter?"

  "It is," Lira replied, lifting her chin and letting her voice settle into that perfectly regal, deeply self-assured tone she had been cultivating since she was old enough to talk back to authority. She paused dramatically for additional effect. "I," she announced, "have spoken with the outsider and he is quite a bit more politically sensitive than you believed:"

  All three advisors froze at that. They exchanged deeply concerned looks as if silently debating which one of them would choose to unpack whatever bizarre situation she had just opened with. Finally, the eldest cleared his throat. "My heir apparent… when you say 'politically sensitive'… could you elaborate?"

  Lira smiled with the confidence of someone absolutely certain she had the upper paw now, even if she was still improvising every syllable. "Oh, I’ll elaborate," she said. "You are permitted to sit for this next part."

  They did not sit, because the advisors never did anything she suggested, even when it would help them. Instead they stiffened like lectured schoolchildren, and Lira relished that just a little before she launched into the explanation. She lifted her paw and pointed at the Pikachu’s unconscious form with all the theatrical gravity of announcing a royal decree.

  "This," she declared, "is the outsider. He's from Newleaf Village where he escaped their custody after they attempted to shatter his type reserve. And before you ask yes, I mean shatter. As in completely destroying it forever." She clicked her tongue sharply. "Apparently that’s something they do out there. Barbaric, yes, you’re welcome."

  Three advisors inhaled at the same time. Lira took this as encouragement to continue. "He made it all the way here on foot, which already tells you something. And then he showed me a certain stone."

  The advisors stared. "A… stone?" one ventured delicately, like he feared she was about to describe a pebble with sentimental value.

  Lira scoffed so loudly it echoed. "Not some random rock, you fungus-brained Mudbray. It's a mega stone. And not a basic one. It literally looks like the one Velari has, so it definitely has higher classifications."

  "Higher… classifications?" the eldest repeated, voice tight.

  "Yes," she said brightly. "At least legendary grade to be precise. And before you ask, no, he did NOT steal it. You don’t walk around flashing something like that if you stole it. You also don’t survive long enough to pass out dramatically in a throne room." She gestured grandly at the Pikachu again. "Isn't it obvious!?"

  The advisors were silent, which would have been satisfying if it weren’t so clearly the silence of three Pokemon trying to keep their souls from leaving their bodies.

  "H-heir apparent Lira," the middle advisor said slowly, "you are suggesting that this outsider, little more than a child, was entrusted with a-"

  "A priceless catalytic Legendary-grade mega stone? Yes."

  She strutted towards the uncouncious Pikachu with all the pomp of a performer revealing her masterpiece. "Observe," she said, tugging the scarf up just enough that the faint inner glow hinted through the fabric, but not even close to revealing the full stone. "He showed me. I saw it. And before you start yapping your objections, no. You may not see the entire thing."

  The three advisors immediately inhaled like scandalized grandparents before speaking over each other.

  "We must confirm that it's-!"

  "It could be a forgery that-!

  "It could be a destabilizing-"

  Lira slapped the scarf back down over the Pikachu’s chest with the exaggerated protectiveness of a queen shielding a national secret. "Absolutely not!" she snapped. "It's mine- Well, not mine, but under my jurisdiction, which you understand is basically the same thing in this room."

  "But my heir apparent-!"

  "Do you want to explain to Velari why the throne room lies in ruins?" she demanded. "Because I swear on her crown, if one of you pokes this Pikachu the wrong way, I will put a stop to it! She turned to them sharply. "Or can any of you claim to even know what species that mega stone coresponds to or its grade!?"

  They opened their mouths, but Lira just talked over them. "Exactly! No, you don’t. Because unless one of you has become an expert on mega stones while I wasn’t looking which, by the way, I would have noticed, you are all absolutely unqualified to judge anything, so trust my judgement instead!"

  The advisors exchanged glances full of quiet panic, their composure fracturing in real time. One rubbed his temples like a migraine was blooming behind his eyes. Another kept muttering, "A mega stone… entrusted… to an outsider… from Newleaf Village… impossible…"

  Meanwhile Lira stood there preening like she had single-handedly solved international diplomacy. When they tried again to approach the unconscious Pikachu anyways, she blocked them with her entire body, crown slipping, and expression fierce. "Back," she ordered. "Away from the prodigy."

  "The… prodigy?" one echoed.

  "Well obviously!" Lira snapped, throwing her paw out dramatically. "Do you know any Lesser Legendary who would just hand something like that to a random stranger? Of course not. Someone trained him. Someone powerful. Someone from outside of the Umbral Abyss." Her eyes gleamed. "He is just like me the trainee of a Lesser Legendary. That's his station and you would do good to remember that."

  The advisors all stared at her like she had just casually suggested everyone start juggling explosives. "My heir apparent we have absolutely no evidence-"

  "You have me!" Lira shot back instantly, which was followed by a long pause. A long one.

  "…Very well," the eldest murmured, because arguing with her at this stage was clearly pointless. "Let us… move on to protocol."

  Ah yes, protocol. The advisors immediately devolved into the exact kind of arguing chaos Lira always pretended to hate and secretly loved. Why? Because these moments where proof to the fact that Velari's advisors weren't always as much in control as they liked to think.

  "He cannot remain here, others could see it as harboring a-!"

  "He cannot be sent away, his pursuers will track him to-!"

  "We must inform Queen Velari at once, this is too great a risk for-!"

  "No, Queen Velari is occupied with defending us against the Stome Menace and-!"

  Lira clapped her paws once, loudly enough to make them all jump. "Enough!" she proclaimed. "The three of you are very loud and very wrong. Let me clarify the situation for you dimwits. He came to me first. He sought my protection. And he is not being used as political leverage unless I say so."

  Dead silence. Even the healers paused when they heard that. The advisors meanwhile stared at her like she had just grown a second head.

  Lira tilted hers smugly. "Is something wrong?" she asked sweetly.

  "My heir apparent," one finally said, voice thin, "are you… protecting him?"

  Sometimes Lira made jokes she didn’t intend to make. But this time she wasn’t joking at all, which made her next words land with even more force. "Yes," she said. "I am."

  The advisors looked at each other in quiet horror, as if the world’s balance had shifted in a deeply concerning way. At length, and with visible reluctance, the eldest finally nodded. "As acting ruler in Queen Velari’s absence… you do technically have the authority to decide his status. That was why we sent you to deal with him after all."

  Lira’s chest puffed out so dramatically she nearly floated. "I know," she said grandly. "And I'm invoking that very right."

  She strutted back towards the Pikachu with all the pomp in the world, She placed one paw lightly atop him, as if baptizing him into royalty. "I hereby declare this outsider, whatever his name, an official Guest of the Throne."

  All three advisors inhaled sharply. "My lady, that status-!"

  "Gives him full protection under royal decree, yes," she finished for the eldest one. "Exactly."

  "That is not what we-!"

  "And any harm to him," she continued, voice rising with pride, "shall be considered an insult to the throne itself. Punishable accordingly." She paused, savoring the moment. "Do you understand?"

  They understood. Oh, they understood. And they looked like they regretted showing up today at all. Lira, conversely, had never looked more satisfied with herself in her entire life. "Now," she said briskly, "protocol."

  She flicked her paw toward the nearest guard. "Double the patrols in our settlement. I don’t care if it feels unnecessary, just do it. And I want top see competent guards. The ones who don’t fall asleep upright."

  Another guard approached, she pointed at him next. "No one at all comes close to the putsider until he's awake without my explicit approval. And I mean explicit. If someone so much as claims they had an appointment, they’re lying."

  She rounded on the advisors next. "And the mega stone is not to be discussed outside secure chambers. If I hear a rumor through the grapevine, I’ll assume it came from one of you, and none of us want to find out what I’ll do if that happens."

  That shut them up fast. As expected of course. Threats one was capable of acting one always proved to be far more effective.

  "Next," she said, gesturing to attendants, "he is to be moved to a proper room. Nothing too fancy, otherwise you’ll give him ideas. Not too plain either, I refuse to look miserly. But it has to be safe. That's the most important thing."

  The attendants nodded hurriedly.

  "And someone bring a tray of food," Lira added, tone softening only the slightest degree. "Something easy to digest probably. And something that looks impressive enough that when he wakes up, he thinks I have everything completely under control."

  One of the advisors muttered, "Do you?"

  She glared. "Of course I do. I already dealt with orders for the border patrols of Velari's territory as well."

  The healers finally stepped back from the Pikachu, murmuring that his breathing had stabilized and that he should regain consciousness within an hour or two. Lira exhaled, her shoulders lowering in a way she would never admit was relief. She glanced at the advisors, still reeling and trying to process the political hurricane she had just dumped onto their heads, and gave them a smug little nod.

  "See?" she said. "I can very much handle things without your useless 'input' and you would do good to remember that."

  They did not argue, which was wise of them.

  Important characters in the chapter:

  Diancie (Lira) – Level 21

  Ability: Clear Body

  Battle Nature: Sassy

  Stats:

  TE Pool (Health/AP): 119

  Attack: 66

  Ranged Attack: 66

  Defense: 135

  Speed: 40

  Total: 426 (Strength Level: Teenager)

  Moves:

  Close Combat Moves: [Tackle], [Smack Down], [Flail], [Draining Kiss]

  Ranged Combat Moves: [Diamond Storm], [Ancient Power], [Rock Throw]

  Utility Moves: [Harden], [Guard Split], [Amnesia], [Fake Tears]