The Aura Within | Pokémon

Thirty Five | No Going Back

After all that work, all those sacrifices made for the sole purpose of the mission...

It was all for nothing.

Soul's green eyes widened in horror as she watched both the Johto and Hoenn Knights marching toward each other. Both Pokémon and people marched side by side, armed and ready for battle. Queen Rin tightened her grip on the balcony's concrete railing tightly, her eyes quivering with great distress. She was against any form of violence, whether be it for a good or bad cause. Death was her enemy, and she'd do anything to prevent it from anyone.

"No... impossible..." Rin muttered under her breath, her eyes never leaving the two armies.

Knowing she shouldn't be standing around, Soul snapped out of her shocked state and turned to face a very angsty Queen Rin. All this was happening because of the essence inside her, which was why she's willing to do something.

"Milady," Soul addressed in almost desperate voice. "Y-Your orders?"

Tearing her eyes away from the nightmare, Queen Rin dropped her gaze at her hand that clutched the concrete rails, her blonde fringe creating a shadow over her desperate hazel eyes. She knew that Soul wanted to do something to prevent another unnecessary war to occur, but at the same time she didn't want Soul to die out there. Ever since she first brought her home, Soul was like a daughter to her. Queen Rin was there to watch her grow up into a very beautiful and strong woman. If something fatal were to happen to Soul, she'd never forgive herself.

That was why it pained her to say her next words.

"Go to your room," she ordered in a strict tone, not making eye contact with Soul. "Stay there until we figure something out."

"But Mil—"

"Go, now!"

Soul was taken aback by the Queen's suddenly strict tone. Never once had she been spoken to like that, which quite frankly startled her. Once again, Soul opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. What could she say to convince Queen Rin to let her assist? Soul closed her mouth before hesitantly taking her leave. The Queen didn't dare look back at Soul's retrieving figure, afraid that she'd cry out for forgiveness.

All Queen Rin could do now was watch from her castle the destruction of what would soon be manslaughter. With every minute that passed by, the opposing sides seemed to get closer and closer toward each other. The Queen bit her lip, for the first time feeling useless that she couldn't do anything to help. As she continued to stare at the ocean of human and Pokémon clad in armor, footsteps began to approach from behind her. She didn't have to turn around to know who it was, because she already knew.

"I hate war," she mumbled, her eyebrows furrowing. "The thought of people killing each other for an unrealistic cause just makes me upset."

"War is something that will stay with humanity until the end of time, Milady," Aaron implied, glancing at her. "There's no way of changing that."

Queen Rin frowned, but silently agreed nonetheless. There was no such thing as peace among the people because no matter what, there would always be that one person who had the desire to change something about the way the world ran. The blonde royal balled up one of her hands into a fist, something she usually did whenever she deeply thought about something. The loud footsteps of the people over yonder caused her to look up. There, her eyes caught something she completely forgotten about.

A gasp of realization left her lips, causing Aaron to look at her curiously. How could she have not thought about it before? The answer was right in front of her all this time, yet she somehow missed it.