1. Ash's Story (Part 0: Prologue)

Chapter 3: The Cold Scarf

Route 20 in Kalos looked peaceful enough to make danger feel impossible. Trees leaned over the narrow path, their branches knitting shadows across the grass while morning light slipped through in pale green pieces. Aurora walked with one hand near Ash's shoulder, close enough to guide him, but not so close that he felt trapped.

Ash was five now, and a year had passed since Giovanni killed Golly. He had grown taller, but grief still lived in him like a bruise nobody could see until something pressed against it. Aurora noticed the way his eyes checked every doorway, every rustle, every place a person could hide.

"Is this where the Mache family lives?" Ash asked, looking toward the wooden house ahead.

Aurora followed his gaze and let herself smile gently. "Yes. Valerie and Wulfric live here with their daughters. Flora, Eve, and Alice are close enough to your age that I thought you might like meeting them."

Ash's face tightened with nervous hope. There were not many children near the hidden parts of Sevestar, and the ones who did visit often treated Adam and Aurora's family like something legendary instead of normal. Ash wanted friends, but he no longer trusted the world to let him keep them.

"I will be good," Ash said, straightening his small shoulders. "I promise."

"I am not worried about you being bad," Aurora said, brushing a stray piece of hair from his forehead. "I only want you to remember that meeting people takes patience. You do not have to protect everyone the moment you meet them."

Ash looked away. "What if they need protecting?"

The question landed too heavily for his age. Aurora crouched in front of him, keeping her voice soft. "Then you tell me first. You are five years old, Ash. You are brave, but you are still my child."

Ash nodded, but the answer did not settle inside him. Aurora saw that, and fear moved through her before she pushed it down. She could teach him, hold him, and watch every shadow, but she could not reach into the place where Golly's death had taught him that waiting could mean losing someone forever.

The Mache house stood at the edge of the trees, with flower boxes beneath the windows and a carved wooden sign hanging beside the door. It should have smelled like breakfast and home. Instead, the air felt too still.

Aurora raised her hand and knocked. No footsteps answered. No child called from inside. No Pokémon barked, chirped, or scratched at the door.

"Maybe they went out," Ash whispered, though he did not sound convinced.

Aurora knocked again, harder this time. "Valerie? Wulfric? It is Aurora. Are you home?"

Ash shifted beside her, staring at the nearest window. His face went pale. "Mom."

Aurora followed his eyes and saw the dark smear across the glass. For one second, the world narrowed to that stain, the unlocked door, and Ash's quickening breath. Then, the training moved through her faster than panic.

"Stay behind me," Aurora ordered, drawing a blade with one hand while testing the door with the other.

The door opened too easily. The room beyond had been torn apart, chairs overturned, and curtains ripped from one side of the window. Valerie lay near the hearth, one hand curled against the floor. Wulfric was slumped against a cabinet, blood darkening his sleeve. Flora and Eve were together beneath the table, breathing, but too weak to stand.

Ash made a small sound behind Aurora. She wanted to cover his eyes, but there was no time.

"Valerie!" Aurora rushed to her friend's side, checking her pulse before calling toward the doorway. "Ash, do not move from there."