The Iron Grip

Chapter 2

Lillie opened her eyes to the sound of wingulls. "Where am I?", she shouted. No reply came, for pokemon cannot talk. Lillie took a moment to adjust to her surroundings.

The place seemed like a giant desert of wet sand, meaning that she was on some large, untamed beach and it was spring low tide. The water must have carried her here while she was unconscious .

If that wasn't weird enough, on the horizon there seemed to be a white line of foam and spray. Interestingly, it seemed to be getting bigger.

"Shit!", exclaimed Lillie.

The tide was coming in, and it was coming in fast. Lillie ran up the soggy beach, but she was not fast enough. The water picked her up and carried her ashore.

Now that was over, Lillie thought about what had happened. Her mother would search the entire Queendom to find her, so she should avoid villages and extensive contact with others. Keep this up and Lillie should be safe until she can cross the border into the free land.

The next thing that came to mind was clothes. Her regal clothes were drenched with ice-cold water, but take them off and she would be even colder. Stiff and shivering, Lillie walked slowly across the wild, empty beach.

After about two hours, she came across a group of fishing huts, nestled in between the sand dunes. They were painted black and stank of fish oil.

The fishing huts were raised up on stilts, and Lillie used this to her advantage by hiding beneath the stilts. Lillie stole a set of simple peasant's clothes that hung drying on the side of one of the houses.

Her search for clothes was over, and now she could sneak away into the forest and continue beneath the afternoon shade.

The forest was lush and overgrown, a perfect habitat for pokemon. Emolga flew overhead, while a Tangrowth lumbered around.

Suddenly, the sound of large, thundering hooves resounded between the trees. Lillie ducked into a bush as the large convoy of (Galarian) Rapidash passed.

"Well at least I know mother is looking for me", Lillie said to herself. She was about to get up when a strong hand planted itself on her shoulder.

"What do we have here? A peasant girl? Alone in the woods?", the man said gruffly.

"I'll be on my way", Lillie excused.

"Not so fast. Are you lost young one?", the man said.

Deciding it was better to play along, Lillie replied with a "yes sir."

"I'll get you to the nearest village then and we'll see what I can do for you. It is almost nightfall", the man replied.

He took Lillie's hand and they began walking down a well-worn track. At least now it would be less suspicious.

"Y'know, a peasant girl like you's gotta be careful round these parts", the man explained. "There are a lot of wild 'mons that'll kill for a bite too eat."

Suddenly, Lillie felt a dull pain impact the back of her skull and all went black.