Precious Doll in This Ugly World [Pokemon Fanfic, 2015 PKMNWatties]

Melting Point

Ash blearily opened her eyes, waking up slowly. She felt tired -not really physically, but just drained. It didn't feel like she'd ever get home. And when she found times she could be happy, those times were snatched away from her. And the fact is, after everything she'd gone through...

It just all made her feel tired. Just tired and weary of everything.

That was like her default setting these days. She noted it so much because, in whatever part of her that still cared, she was realizing that she was losing bits of herself every day, and that she no longer seemed capable of happiness or of being the same carefree girl she used to be. Even in the days with Cyrus, she could see it all ebbing away from her.

She hadn't wanted to change so much, to not lose herself in the face of these people, but it seemed she failed and she didn't even care enough.

"Ash?"

Blinking back tears, she turned and found that Steven was still there, and also just waking up. She smiled slightly, noting the makeshift pillow bed they'd made on the floor and had camped out together on. She remembered the night before and how she hadn't wanted to talk, so instead he talked to her and spoke about himself, his own worries, and whatever came to mind.

"Ash, your back is red..." he noted in worry, and she winced.

Her back had scabbed over and hadn't fully healed as much as she wished it would, so likely sleeping on her back the night before had aggravated them and opened up a few of her wounds.

"I-it's nothing," she'd stuttered, but he'd already reached over and lightly touched her back, the blood seeping through the fabric to stain his fingers.

His eyes widened. "Ash, your back is bleeding really bad! We have to tell Uncle. He'll get you help -"

"You can't!" she stopped him, feeling panicked.

"Why not?" he demanded, but then he looked into her eyes. He got a sinking feeling in his gut. All that talk from the League, and that meeting..."Is my uncle a trafficker?!"

"No," she immediately said, because even though Howard bought her, he wasn't that low of a person. She thought so at least. "He...he bought me. One of the traffickers drove me here from Sinnoh, and your uncle was a buyer. He hasn't been mean to me or anything."

Howard hadn't been cruel to her. Worked her hard and sometimes made her uncomfortable, mostly with the way he'd stare at her or let his touch linger too long -but he hadn't done anything.

That didn't seem to make things any better for Steven, who looked infuriated. He stood up from the floor, looking ready to storm downstairs to confront his uncle, when who appeared but Howard himself. The door opened, and Howard walked through it, looking at Steven in surprise.

"Oh, Steven, you're still here?"

"'Still here?' Is that all you have to say for yourself?" Steven yelled at him. "Did you do that?"

Howard glanced at her, noticing the blood that was soaking through the dress she still wore. She uncomfortably sat there.

"No," Howard said. "Those were from the brutes back in Sinnoh I bought her from. They haven't fully healed yet, have they?"

"You're not going to even deny it?" Steven reeled back from his uncle's careless admittance.

Howard raised an eyebrow at him. "Why should I? I own her. She's my property. Hadn't you enjoyed her last night? She was my gift to you for defending your title once more, while a reward for her for her hard work."

Steven moved back as if he'd been struck, before looking at her horrified. Her hands clenched on her knees, but she didn't look at either of them.

"She's not staying here," Steven recovered as much as he could, saying that firmly.