From Trainer to Beast Tamer Pokémon Trainer! Reader x Twisted Wonderland

Chapter 57: Silver

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Chapter 57: The Line Between Blood and Ties

The world spun as everyone was poofed into the castle. (Y/N) desperately attempted to stay on her feet as Lilia shook his head.
"Rgh... Confound it... Teleportation magic definitely hurts more when you're wounded."
"Ugh, can someone make the room stop spinning...?" The girl moaned as she leaned against an equally dizzy Swampert.
"Come, (Y/N). Pull yourself together." Sebek ordered. "You're about to be in the presence of the great Malle— ah, I mean, the royal egg! Speaking of which, where IS it...?"
The Pokémon Trainer's vision refocused as she heard a very gentle song echoing through the halls.
"Basking in a cradle's warmth, a starlit spark of joy..."
"Hm? A song?" Sebek noted.
"Stay with me, the eyes upon which I gaze... Be not afraid, even should this dream fade away...
Silver's eyes went wide. "I know this lullaby..."
"Go to sleep, go to sleep, little darling...And may your dreams guide you to the light..."
"What a beautiful voice." (Y/N) said, eyes closed as Lilia rolled his eyes.
"Really, now. Is this any time for singing? Has she any regard for the rest of us? Come on, you lot!"
The right general led them to a grand hall where a pair of doors stood, creaking in protest as he brought them inside a throne room. Inside, there was a tall woman humming the tune that brought them there. She was incredibly beautiful, with cascading dark hair, pale skin, and proud horns atop her head. (Y/N) didn't need to be told who she was. Evidently, Meleanor looked painfully like her son.
Lilia knelt before her. "Lady Maleanor, are you safe?"
There was a rumble of thunder as the once serene expression of the princess turned enraged.
"YOU'RE LATE, LILIA!"
Swampert tackled (Y/N), Grim, and Sebek to ground as several bolts of purple lighting began to rain down, Crobat diving under him as well. Noivern latched on to Silver, trying to weave through as Absol ran around in a panic and Hydreigon merely stood still. Lilia was also running for his life.
"Whoa! That was close!"
"MRAH!" Grim cried, curling up under her dormmate. "What in the world?!"
"My egg and I are in dire peril, yet you've been out gallivanting at your leisure! Fools! Idiots! USELESS OAFS!"
Now, Malleus had very rarely shown his anger to his human friend, and it was never directed at her personally, but (Y/N) could reasonably guess this was approximately how an enraged Malleus would look. By this point, all of the knights were playing dodge the lightning as Noivern hid himself and Silver precariously in the chandelier above them. Poor Lilia was reduced to pleading for their lives.
"Allow me to extend my deepest and most sincere apologies, Lady Maleanor. We were delayed by an unexpected setback."
"Your excuses mean nothing. You're an embarrassment to the royal guard!"
"F-Forgive us, Lady Maleanor!" Baul pleaded, only to dodge roll for his life. "Augh!"
Grim by now was clinging to (Y/N)'s face as Swampert was completely zen above them. "Eep! This ain't no soft-voiced singer! This is one scary princess!"
"I told you I was more worried about myself and the castle than her!" Lilia shouted before the princess mercifully stopped her onslaught.
"Oh dear... Was I too loud? There, there. That's a good boy."
With a moment of respite, (Y/N) mustered the courage to yank Grim off her and peer at whatever Meleanor was cooing at. On a pedestal near the throne, there was a pitch black egg looking as though ink were dripping down it.
"That's..."
"We were going to enjoy a nice nap before you barged in and ruined it." The Princess said softly. "Weren't we, Malleus?"
Lilia, seeing as his life was no longer in immediate danger, paused and tilted his head skeptically. "...Malleus?"
Meleanor smiled at him. "That's his name. Fitting for a ruler of Briar Valley, wouldn't you agree?"
The general crossed his arms. "It has a fine ring indeed... But how can you be so confident the heir is a he?"
"The child in this egg is a prince. There can be no question; as his mother, I'm certain of it." She stated firmly. "He will undoubtedly take after Raverne and grow into a man of great beauty."
Sebek began tearing up as Swampert got off him and Grim. "I can scarcely believe it... Am I actually present for our royal liege's naming...?"
The princess's head whipped at them, her expression noticeably less kind. "Hm? Who are these whelps? They have round ears. Are they human?"
Grim immediately latched back on to Swampert. "Eep... That look she's givin' us is sendin' chills all the way down my tail!"
"They are humans, but they're no foes of ours." Lilia vouched. "We encountered them on our campaign, and they've served us quite well."
Sebek stood to attention as Noivern finally came down from the chandelier with Silver.
"Greetings, Your Highness. I am Sebek Zigvolt!"
"My name is Silver, your highness. And this is Noivern."
"I'm (Y/N)." The girl introduced as Crobat landed on her shoulder. "This is Crobat, that's Swampert, the cat in Grim, the other dragon is Hydreigon, and the wolf is Absol."
"I did not bid you speak, humans." She spat at them. "You dare to make eye contact with me? That is the height of disrespect. Kneel."
All of the kids were suddenly forced to their knees with various levels of grunting. Seeing this, the Pokémon immediately became hostile, hissing and growling lowly.
"Hush, all of you!" Lilia warned before turning to the princess. "Lady Meleanor, that's enough. The beasts can't be faulted for defending their mistress."
She huffed, only for Swampert to stamp his paw. She then followed up with a bolt of lightning that the part ground type had little issue shrugging off, seeming to irritate her more.
"Human, control him!" Baul hissed.
She glared at him. "Kinda hard to when I can barely breathe!"
Lilia boldly placed himself between the two glaring parties.
"I trust Your Highness heard Henrick—ah, the leader of the Silver Owls."
She stuck up her nose. "Oho. So a human was responsible for that terrible racket a few moments ago. I thought it was merely a very loud boar grunting. What an abhorrent sound."
The general sighed at her complete lack of awareness or general disregard at the seriousness of the situation. "The Silver Owls will launch an assault on the castle a half hour from now. Fending off that many soldiers with the few we have left won't be feasible. As galling as it is to suggest this, I believe a tactical retreat is in order. Our stronghold, that magestone, even our pride... None of it means aught compared to the royal heir's safety. Your Highness, what say you?"
A rumble of thunder set the mood as the princess began laughing. "Heh heh heh... Hahahahaha! Retreat, you say? Are you suggesting I could possibly lose? If you were anyone else, Lilia, I'd have turned you to cinders with a single breath!"
She spat out green flames, which Noivern snatched Lilia out of the way of.
"Princess!"
She put them out, letting the dragon type set Lilia down. "The enemy wants the Majestic Ember—the magestone adorning my staff—as well as the egg. For a mere human to challenge ME to a duel, they must think quite highly of themselves. Weak. Feeble. Foolish. The humans must yearn for utter destruction. Very well, then destruction they shall have—by my lightning!"
"Hold on! That repugnant man wouldn't challenge you to a duel unless he was scheming something. This has to be a trap!"
"Hardly a concern. I shall simply crush any lowly ploys they try."
Lilia finally seemed to snap as Crobat flew to him to extend an empathetic wing. "Augh, you self-centered princess! For once in your life, could you LISTEN to me! You didn't when you snuck out as a kid and caused a huge uproar, or when you broke Her Majesty's staff while playing with it...Or that time you ruined the engagement talks with a dragon who'd traveled here from halfway across the world! Have I EVER been wrong when I tried to warn you not to do something?! You caught no end of grief from Her Majesty and the old geezers in the senate. Every single time! If you choose wrongly this time, the damage will be irreparable. I insist that you listen to me."
"It's been a long time indeed since you've spoken to me that way." Meleanor said, looking amused. "Yet for all you begged me to heed you, you never once refused me aid. Heh heh heh."
"This is no laughing matter! Don't you get it? You're not that rambunctious little princess anymore, and haven't been for some time. Yes, you're powerful—more so than anyone in this land. But you are not invincible. His father Raverne is absent. What would become of your child if the unspeakable were to befall his mother?"
"Being his mother is the very reason I choose to venture forth. Once I accept their duel, the humans' attention will be focused upon me. You and yours are to take the egg and escape in the meantime."
"What!?" Baul and Lilia shouted as Crobat flew away again.
"How can you say that?! We're the royal guard! Fighting is OUR job!"
Sebek nodded in agreement. "The general is right, Your Highness! What good are we if we can't protect you?!"
"What good are you now, all battered and bruised? The very notion of you protecting me in your condition is laughable." The princess mocked. "I bid you hindrances to remove yourselves.I can't have you lurking about underfoot, or I might inadvertently incinerate you. Have I made my point? Then take this, Lilia."
In that moment, (Y/N) nearly had a heart attack as the princess tossed the egg to Lilia, who caught it, both promptly hyperventilating after it was done.
"Don't be so rough with it! What if it cracks?!"
She ignored him and the still worried human girl. "Lilia. Baul. Heed my command. Escape Castle Wildrose and deliver my egg to Castle Blackscale. I will brook no argument. Now go!"
Lilia gritted his teeth. "I'll do no such thing! I'll stay. You should—,"
"Enough!" Meleanor shouted as more lightning came down, forcing Lilia to dodge.
"General!" Baul shouted as the princess growled.
"I said go. Did you not hear me?"
"That's...the one order I can never obey..." The general struggled to respond.
"YOU FOOL!"
This time, the lightning hit its mark, making Lilia nearly topple.
"Dang, Lilia's holdin' her precious egg and that Meleanor lady's STILL goin' to town on him!" Grim shouted as Sebek looked ready to pass out.
"N-NO! Our liege's egg!"
Baul jumped in as well. "Lady Maleanor! Peace, I implore you—peace!"
"Knock it off, both of you!" (Y/N) added.
Meleanor took no heed. "Hmhmhm... What now, Lilia? Will you stay here and forfeit your life—along with the egg's?"
Lilia was clearly in no position to respond, barely able to stand. Just then, Silver placed himself between him and the princess.
"FATHER!"
Meleanor bared her teeth at him. "How dare a mere human stand before me! You impertinent lout!"
She attempted to strike Silver, only for Absol to get in the way, using Night Slash to redirect the lightning back at Meleanor, who was forced to dodge, making everyone's hearts go still. She glared daggers at the Disaster Pokémon, who stomped a paw defiantly.
"SOL!"
"Enough!" Lilia spat, pulling Silver away. "Both of you idiots. Why did you put yourselves between us?"
"Because we couldn't bear to watch any longer." Silver explained. "Why must you fight when you care for each other so much?! Please, stop this... I beg of you!"
"Silver..." Sebek muttered.
"Human..." Baul seemed to agree before facing their ruler. "Your Highness, I implore you to take the general's advice to heart."
"Please, Maleanor, don't accept this duel." Lilia begged. "Abandon the castle and flee. What am I to do if I lose both Levern and you?"
"Ridiculous." Meleanor huffed. "I would never lose to them. No matter how many of them there are, I shall incinerate the lot of them. However...Even on the off chance I fail to return, you have the child."
"Without you, this egg won't hatch!"
"You can hatch it in my place."
"Don't be absurd! Dragon eggs can only be hatched by their parents' magic and affection—nothing less than true love! I know nothing of parental affection. I've never loved anyone, either. You can't possibly expect me to hatch this egg!"
Meleanor smirked. "You love me, do you not? Or did you not mean it when you proposed to me when we were children?"
The general looked like he wanted to pull his hair out. "What?! That proposal... That was over 200 years ago, back when we were kids! Why would you bring that up now?!"
"You loved Raverne as well. My consort, the General of the Left, spent more years working with you than he did being married to me. If you love us, then how could you not love the child who carries our blood? Such a thing would be impossible. Isn't that right, Lilia?"
(Y/N) tucked her head in out of guilt. "This feels like a conversation we really shouldn't be hearing."
"Of all the ridiculous ideas..." Lilia trailed off as something latched on to him. "Hm?!"
During this whole argument, a tremendous amount of vines had managed to sneak up on them, latching on and dragging them away.
"Mrah?! What's goin' on? When did all these vines get in here?!" Grim howled as Swampert's front paws were wrapped up."
The Pokémon were very unhappy with this, but the vines were strategic, muzzling Hydreigon's heads, pinning one of Noivern's wings, dragging Absol by the horn, and completely pinning Crobat.
Lilia struggled the hardest of anyone. "These briars... Meleanor! Whatever foolish idea you've got in your head, let it go, now!"
"Malleus shall be the star of fortune who shines down upon all the fae of Briar Valley... And likewise shall he be the star of misfortune that humans will fear."
"Talk about unintentional prophecy." (Y/N) muttered as everyone was dragged off.
"Your Highness! Please, cease this!" Baul begged. "YOUR HIGHNEEESS!"
"Rgh... It's no use!" Silver shouted as he tried to pull Absol loose so he could at least cut them free. "The vines just keep pulling us back!"
"Malleus... My dear, beloved child. I leave him in your hands, Lilia." Meleanor said. "Night's blessings."
With that, she vanished as they were all dragged off, Lilia screaming all the wall.
"No... Don't do it! Don't go! MELEANOOOR!!!"