The Golden Throne

Chapter 21: Red

A few months have passed since Redlyn Day. With the Silver Guards handling the Zaff for now, the insurgence seemed to have finally been quelled- or at least, stymied. This gave Hilbert and Hilda the chance to finally take a break and travel the empire together. Each passing day was packed with adventure, excitement and discovery. Hilda was enjoying every bit of their journey- Hilbert too; but to an extent. For the past few days, something has been haunting his thoughts and was distracting him from living in the moment...

"Kya!" Hilda shouted as she flung a pebble with one skillful throw. The pebble skipped for a few meters on the surface of the lake before sinking. "Oh yeah! Who's the master? Me. You heard that," she announced with her hands on her hips. "Okay Hilbert, it's your turn."

It was just before noon, and she and Hilbert were resting under a tree just beside a lake. They had found this spot during their walk and it was simply perfect. The tree's wide, shady branches protected them from the sun. The lake's water was rich in minerals, giving it a natural bluish hue. Surrounding them were grassy rolling hills. A cooling breeze blew past them, causing the leaves of the tree and the grass to rustle.

"Hilbert?" Hilda turned to look at him.

He was sitting cross-legged on their picnic mat, gazing at the hills with a pensive look on his face.

"Hey!" Hilda tapped him on the shoulder.

"Huh? Oh right," Hilbert mumbled as he was snapped out of his thoughts. He picked up a pebble from the ground and aimed it at the lake. Three... two... one!

The pebble flew at the lake... but sunk on its first hit.

"Darn!" Hilbert cursed.

"Boy, you need to focus," Hilda smirked. "Here, let me show you how it's done. First, you take a pebble. Next, take a deep breath- not from your chest! You gotta suck the air deep into your belly, like this," Hilda took in a deep breath and placed a hand on her abdomen. "Then, you align the pebble to your... Hilbert? Are you listening?" Hilda glanced at him and saw that he was gazing at the hills again. She sighed and tossed the pebble aside.

"It's no fun if you're always daydreaming. What's in that head of yours?" she asked as she sat on the ground next to him.

"Daydreaming? I don't know what you're talking about," Hilbert muttered without even looking at her.

Hilda let out a fed-up sigh and rolled her eyes. "You've been like this for quite a while now. Don't think I haven't noticed. Spill it."

Hilbert turned to her, "I've been thinking," he began.

"I hope you didn't hurt yourself," she giggled.

"Very funny," Hilbert responded with a sarcastic chuckle. Hilda stuck out her tongue at him. "Do you think that we're enough?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Hilda tilted her head curiously.

"That day when those assasin Twins attacked-"

"Hilbert," Hilda interrupted. "Let's not go there," she said immediately. Her heart beat a little faster at the memory and without realizing it, her hands balled up into fists. The horrifying experience was still fresh in her mind. The masked men, the murderous Toxicroak, the blade protruding from Zye's chest- Hilda was bombarded with the images she had been trying to forget, but deep down inside, she knew they would always exist within the recesses of her psyche. "Why did you have to bring that up?" she asked in a wavering voice.

"Because I've realized that I'm still too weak to protect my Pokemon and those close to me. We were pushed beyond our limit when they attacked. Honestly, when all of that was happening, I wasn't sure whether we were able to make it out alive," he said; then he spoke in a soft murmur, "that feeling of helplessness when you see your Pokemon fall... one after another."