𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐘𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐃 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐋 | [Royal!Sycamore/Hybrid!Reader] | POKÉMON

VIII

𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈
𝐩𝐨𝐯.: 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞

I awake at night.

The moon is stronger than usually, and shines light through the flimsy blankets above us. It's dark and yet, the two figures next to me are basked in white, cool light. I blink a few times to clear my eyes of the blur to properly process the picture.

Mairin's laying ontop of y/n, pillow and blanket under her, so the metal vest can't possibly be uncomfortable to her. She grasps her Chespin plush tight with one hand, the other is grasping at y/n shirt. She's drooling— and obviously fast asleep.

And y/n herslef? She's caressing Mairin's head, nimble fingers driving through her silky hair with upmost caution.

I know that many others would tell me I should be afraid. Disgusted, maybe. Disturbed by her actions even.

She's a hybrid after all. The same kind my grandfather's father had declared war upon all those years ago. A decision made by an old and frightened man, who passed on his fears to every generation that followed.

Ever since I can remember, these creatures were described to me as dangerous. Filthy. And treacherous.

Ever since I was a child, her kind was what I'm taught to believe is the enemy.

And I had believed them.

But how am I supposed to stay convinced when she draws such a vastly different picture? With every added day I spend with her, I stray further from this ancient belief. The belief that they must be eradicated, simply because they exist. Simply because a few hybrids had once abused their strength.

Humans do so all the time. They kill. They torture. They hate. If there were no justice system, the world would long lay in shambles. Why doesn't the same apply for them?

Realizing I had woken up, her head leans my direction. Her affectionate eyes shift from my sister to me, and I feel my heart swell in my chest. It squeezes almost painfully, but a weak part of me wishes she'd just continue looking at me like this instead of Mairin.

Her smile is not the one of a dangerous creature. There's nothing treacherous about her. She was just unfortunate enough to be born with the genetics the world feared.

"For a devil she can be quite peaceful, don't you think?" She whispers, smiling back down at the sleeping kid.

Despite Mairin's hot headed personality, during the times she sleeps, one really notices how fragile she is. Nine years young. And whenever she's in danger, this is the image I see before me. Innocence. This is what I protect.

Everyone knows how much I love her. I don't make a mystery out of it. But what no one knows, is that every decision I make, every measure I take, it's to ensure her well-being.

And yet, when I see who's holding her so gently, cradling her as if she were her own child, caressing and watching her sleep peacefully, I wonder if all of it was a mistake. If that fear that had been passed down for centuries had been controlling my decisions more so than the love for my sister. The fear that, going against everything my ancestors had taught me, would end in complete disaster.

I swallow hard. Somewhere along the way, a lump had settled in my throat. 

"Thank you for stepping in when you did," I say, and truly mean it.

When she doesn't say anything in return, simply accepts my thanks, I ask what I had meant to ask ever since she accepted my call of help. Ever since she had told me she knows I'm struggling.

"Why are you helping?"

" 'Cause she needed help. You needed help," she states matter-of-a-fact. Though, there's more. Her eyes glimmer. Not in a hopeful shine. And not in a joyous one either. Her next words hurt a lot.

"And maybe... it's because I wish someone would've done the same for me."

Her eyes are fixed at the ceiling. Painfully so. Unblinking and unmoving. Focusing a spot and never losing it in an attempt to remain in control. She shakes her head slowly.

"I... Maybe I've done something in my past life to deserve this. I just don't get it. Everything."

Then, she blinks. Once. Twice. She inhales, and Mairin lifts a little into the air with each heavy breath. Her head turns my direction again. After a moment, she begins smiling. But it doesn't reach her eyes anymore.

"Hey. Don't look at me that way, I'm not gonna cry."

She stares at me and in that moment, her e/c eyes strike me as the most beautiful I've ever seen. Ever since they had been appearing in the darkness of that forsaken cage, I knew she was special. And truly, she is.

She's strong. Intelligent. And not afraid to open her mouth to complain. She opened my heart in a way no one ever had,— not with pretentious poems and wealth, but with foul slurs and fearless quips. No woman I've ever met could make me feel this way.

She breathes a laugh, and lays her head back into a comfortable position. Her eyes close, and even if there were tears lingering in her eyes, they are now hidden.

"I'm done crying for something I can't change anyways," she whispers.

And my heart screams.

Because I want to. I want to change something about this unfairness. I just don't know how to.

She had done it. Despite always knowing that deep down, things are wrong, it was now that I felt the urge stronger than ever. To change the way we treat hybrids. They deserve respect. They deserve friendship and warmth like everyone else.

They deserve love.

I can't help myself and scoot closer towards her. The gap where Mairin had previously laid in is closed as I position myself right next to her. She doesn't move. Neither towards me— neither the complete opposite direction. I stare at the ceiling, feeling her arm against mine.

"I meant it, when I said you're beautiful in a way little women are," I utter silently. Before she can inject with her usually defensive words, I follow it up with a, "Maybe that was a little thoughtless of me back then though. I always wondered if I should've said, that you're the most beautiful hybrid  I've ever laid eyes on."

I look down and see her sceptical face. She's much closer now. Her head and her horns almost touch my shoulder. I laugh silently. At myself. At how stupid it all is.

"Now I realize, that upon looking at you, I saw a woman and not a monster. I had made the mistake because I didn't think, but instead let my heart speak like the fool I am. And my heart didn't care what you're labelled as."

I close my eyes and relax. "You can decide yourself what that means. If you want to be mad at me or not. I'm tired. And tomorrow's a big day."

Silence settles above our heads. Though, in no way as awkward as usually. A sense of peace had formed around us, one that was previously missing. And then I feel it. The pressure against my arm. A soft head that had settled against me.

I had almost fallen asleep, but now, I could swear, I've never heard my heart beat louder.

"Thank you."

It shouldn't be this way, my mind tells me, as always. I should settle with another princess from a land far far away to strengthen our connections, as had my father back then.

But my mind has always been helpless in the face of my heart. And I know very well, if y/n would've been a simple maid or villager, my mind would have long screamed at me to never let her go again. To marry and love her until my very last breath.

I don't know what's worse.

Realizing I care more about her than I should— or knowing it doesn't bother me at all.