✔️Pokemon: Beastly Hunter (Leaf x Gary) (leafgreenshipping)

Episode 8: The Golden Book

A few days had passed since Gary and Leaf went exploring in the hidden and abandoned mansion. The second they left the mansion, they both didn't talk about it. They just acted as if they had never seen or experienced anything before. Leaf would try to ask Gary about going back into the mansion, but it seemed that the mansion never existed. They never were able to return to the place or there was always something getting in their way. What they do have to prove that the place existed is the glowing rose, the glowing silver mirror, and the old book with golden bindings.

The first thing Gary did when they returned to the cottage was to send the rose to his rose expert to check if there was any danger in keeping the flower. After a few days, the rose was returned, saying that it is safe to keep and shouldn't be dangerous. Since then, everything has been normal. Gary would do his thing while Leaf would do hers.

Like any other day, Leaf was staring at the rose on the kitchen table, bored. There was almost nothing for her to do. As it is turning colder, there were more snowstorms. Leaf cannot do anything when it snows, only before and after. After staring at the rose for a while, she sighed and got up from her seat to go to the closest to grab a coat and start the fireplace.

The sun began to set down as Leaf glanced out the foggy window. "When will Gary be back?" she wondered as she opened the closet.

Leaf reached in and took out the same coat she wore on the day of the exploration. When she pulled it out, something fell out of its pockets. It is the hand mirror that she took from the mansion that fell onto the floor. The book is hanging onto the pocket and the closet as it is tilting out. After a few days, Leaf had totally forgotten about their existence. She reached down to get the two objects before walking over to the table. She put on the coat and then sat down to look at the two objects on the table.

"What is this?" she thought curiously. She picked up the hand mirror and examined it, turning it around and around, examining every corner. There is only a mysterious, soft green glow coming from the mirror. Leaf sighed and placed it back down on the table. Then, she turned her attention to the book.

The book was old with black covers. The sides were trimmed gold as if it was framing the book. The bindings looked worn like they had been used and opened millions of times, yet they still refused to break down. With a book cover like this, Leaf knew this book would have to exist for a long time.

Carefully, Leaf opened the book with caution. Each page of the paper was thick, only slightly thinner than watercolor paper. It was slightly yellow with words written in dark ink. Only the corners of the book looked yellow and old due to exposure to the open atmosphere.

Leaf loves to read. It was one of her favorite hobbies. Her curiosity got the best of her as she read through the pages of several different handwritings, as if this book belonged to multiple owners, or was passed down. Inside, the writings talked about a tale of a beast prince living in the forest. Each handwriting told a different, yet similar, story. In these stories, the owner talked about how they wanted to help the prince to get rid of the curse, only to be inches away from the cure before the curse took over. Each sentence and each paragraph tells a heart-wrenching tale that Leaf cannot imagine experiencing.

The book absorbed Leaf's mind and thoughts as she read each sentence delicately, afraid of missing any information. Inside, there were clues about what each person learned more about the curse and the cure. However, they never learned what exactly was the cure as the prince always died before they were able to apply it.

While reading, Leaf would occasionally glance behind her shoulders at the door and the windows of the house. Usually, when reading, she would be so absorbed that she would not even notice anything around her. It was as if everything else just blurs. This time was different. She was focused, but her guts seemed to tell her that there is something out there that she needs to look out for.

The feeling got stronger as Leaf continued her reading. The deeper she read, the more unfeeling she felt.

"What is this feeling?" Leaf pondered to herself during a pause in her reading. She stopped reading for a while to calm down her heart before turning to the next page.

Each page was filled with love and care. It was as if the person writing it truly wished to help the prince. The warmth transported to Leaf as she felt as if she could feel the feelings of the writers.

"They are all great tragic stories," Leaf said in her mind. "But it seems that this book is used so the next people will have more idea about the curse. I wonder why it is at the mansion."

Leaf reads some more until she is about halfway done. It is not a very big book. However, her heart stopped when she saw the name and the date of the entry. Red Green. That is Leaf's mother who went missing when she was young and sent to her grandmother. The entry was written years ago before Leaf was born. Her mother should be about sixteen years old.

Leaf's hand touched the page gently as if she was feeling her mother's warmth. The pages were evidence that Leaf's mother does exist.

Tears flooded Leaf's eyes as she thought of the mother she never knew, the mother who everyone said to be a traitor of the village.

From the corner of Leaf's eyes, she saw the green hand mirror glow brighter than earlier. Leaf wiped away her tears quickly and picked it up. In the mirror, she did not see herself but the scenery of the outside in the snow. It seemed that Gary was close to home.

Flattered, Leaf quickly rushed to hide the mirror and the book away. She didn't know why she did it, but she knew that it would be a good idea.