Bearer of the Stars

Chapter 07: Golden Rose

"Night. Night! Night!" Blitz shouted, her ears pinning. "We're gonna be late." Blitz whined, dragging out the 'a' in late. Night groaned from upstairs. She thought it might be a nice idea to sleep in late, and apparently that had not been wise decision.

"Blitz..." Night crawled out of bed and looked down her ladder to see a bright colored pikachu standing there. "It's like.... It's not even seven yet. What the hell are you doing in my house? Better question, why are you waking me up?" Night squinted down at the pale pikachu. She was warm and had been sleeping in an immensely comfortable position.

Her brother's face appeared behind Blitz and Night's mood fell a little bit more. Oh right... The parade. That's when she remembered the conversation her and Zeark had had a couple days ago. But that also means you get to meet Mel... Maybe.

"Is it imperative that we go at- what time is it even-- 6:39?" Night growled, her tangled bed head nearly covering her eyes as she shook her head in outrage. She was not used to sleeping in even though she would have liked to, especially with her late nights that were followed by early days at school.

Pale light bled in through the windows beside Zeark and Blitz, making their coats look like glittering gems. In the ray of light Night could see the small dust particles floating around, making the scene even more serene. While she was zoning out, and ignoring the words coming out of her brother's mouth, she saw a flash in the ray of light. They almost looked like a pair of eyes.

Night blinked back and tilted her head. She then shook her head, it must have been a trick of the light. She focused back to her brother, who was now looking at her with confusion.

"So as I was saying Night..." Night looked over at Blitz blankly, and Blitz replied with an irritated groan. "So as I was talking about. First we will watch the parade go by, then we go to the festival and hang out. Apparently Zeark got permission to have you out later than you're allowed usually so... YAY." Blitz blabbed, but Night only half listened this time.

She didn't want to go, but she didn't have a choice. She made a promise and now everyone expected her to go to this damn festival. All she wanted to do was sit at home and hide under her blankets.

"Ready to go?" Zeark asked, looking down at Night. He could sense something was wrong, but Night didn't want to let him in. She didn't want to let anyone in. This anxiety was her battle and her battle alone.

"Yea..." Night forced a smile and batted her eyelashes in his direction. He bought whatever face she'd made and turned around.

"Well let's go then. We don't want to be late." Even though Night had been absorbed in her own thoughts she caught the look of uneasy that Zeark had. Now that she was paying attention he looked just as uncomfortable as she did.

She wondered what was eating him up?

--

They had gotten to town square fairly quickly, between the constant encouragement to go faster from Blitz, or the small motivational snippets that Zeark offered Night. Eventually, Night did what they wanted her to do and picked up her pace.

The cobble streets seemed partially radiant today, as though they had been polished and then waxed for this special occasion. Knowing their kingdom Night assumed that is exactly what happened to the streets in preparation.

Glimmering emerald banners were hung across the top of the streets and gold bouquets were represented at every corner. The prince's symbol was a golden rose. Night had no idea why it was a golden rose. He was no rose, or gold star. Blitz giggled and blushed every time they passed a banner that had the prince's face plastered to it. Night rolled her eyes.

Carts of all kinds lined up the streets and the scents flooded the air. First the smell of sweet tarts hit Night and then the smell of salted greens caught her attention, and the aroma of tangy cooked meat had Night tripping in that direction. Her mouth watered incessantly as they walked past the carts.

.

Zeark noticed her stares and chuckled. "After the parade we'll go to eat and then I'll set you little rascals free." Night caught a small 'Yes' from the back where Blitz was. Night let another small groan slip past her lips. Though Blitz was her best friend she had a tendency to shove Night into every uncomfortable situation, and today was not the day for it.

As they walked through the square, Night's ears perked to a particular conversation. It was a drowsee and a manetric who were conversing not too quietly. The drowsee looked of high nobility, as she was wearing a gold necklace with a ruby brooch in the center. Even a thick line of eyeliner painted her eyes, curing up to look like waves at the end.

"Did you hear. The king isn't even going to be with his son in the parade. Poor Prince Jaspur will have to ride all that way by himself." The drowsee commented, with a pitch of disapproval.

"I'm sure the king has good reason. There have been an increase of rebel attacks and an increase of-" Suddenly a loud horn blew into Night's ear, sending her tripping backwards and into Zeark.

Blitz stood next to her with a fat grin and with a bright green plastic trumpet in her paws. Night nearly went and smacked Blitz, but she was to eager to hear the rest of the conversation she immediately turned back to the two pokemon. They were gone.

Hissing quietly, Night turned back to Blitz. The pikachu was running around and blowing the horn into other pokemon's faces. Some laughed, others looked ready to kill, just like Night was.

Night turned back to Zeark to apologize but his gaze was lost in the crowd. He looked so distant for a moment, she wondered if she should even disturb him.

"Uh... Zeark? Sorry for falling into you." Zeark blinked and breathed deeply. Maybe he was sick? Night thought, curious at his odd behavior.

"What?" He murmured, forcing himself to look down to her. "Oh. No it's not problem." He smiled again and the sound of trumpets, even louder than Blitz's, blared from beyond.

"Come on you two." He murmured, beginning to walk off to where the parade would be show cased. "The parade's about to start."

Blitz yipped in excitement and followed Zeark. Night followed, but slowly. Her head was spinning with questions, not only because Zeark was acting stranger than usual, but also because she had this creeping suspicion that something bad was going to happen. She didn't know why, but it felt like a tight wire had coiled around her heart. It was as if it was warning her.

Warning her of what?