Royal Unova: A nuzlocke: Chapter nine

Alexander was unaccustomed to riding blitzle. He'd never had the time or money to learn how to, nor had he ever had much interest in the matter. It was a very awkward experience that, much to Alexander's dismay, often ending with him nearly getting trampled by the very pokemon he was attempting to ride. At first, the two men guiding him found great amusement in his blunders, but after a while they just became annoyed and began insulting Alexander despite Bianca telling them several times to stop.

Even more irritated than them was Charon. The bearded man was very short-tempered, even once going as far as to yell at Bianca, which he never did. When the guides insisted they stop and take a break, Charon looked as if he was ready to send his pokemon on them in his frustration. He still wouldn't tell Alexander why he was so angry, and when he asked Bianca she just shook her head and looked the other way.

They rode through the night, stopping for one hour at most for breaks. The night air was cold and uncomfortable despite the blitzel radiating heat around them. Alexander wished desperately that they had stayed in Striaton instead of moving along, but whenever he brought up the subject, he received a hard look and occasionally a few harsh words from Charon.

At one point the group even passed a small village similar to Nuvema, but Charon insisted they press on, which their guides reluctantly agreed to after promise of increased payment.

After all was said and done, they arrived in Nacrene very tired on Saturday night. Their irritable guides accepted their payment and then left Alexander and his friend to fend for themselves. After a half hour of blinding stumbling around the town in an overtired daze, the three found a small inn near the edge of town. It was cheap, dirty, and the furniture wasn't the most comfy, but regardless Alexander fell asleep almost instantly upon entering his room.

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Alexander was jolted awake by a loud knock on his door. Charon entered the cramped room without requesting permission, "Alexander, get out of bed. We need to go. Make haste, please."

"Huh? Make haste?" Alexander grumbled, stumbling as he stood, "What's going on? I'm tired."

"You're the one that was concerned about not being able to go to church."

"Right," Alexander sighed, quickly pulling together the most formal clothing he had, which admittedly wasn't much more than his usual attire. Charon stood in the doorframe impatiently. At least he didn't seem as irritable as he had been the past couple of days. As they exited the inn, Alexander noticed Bianca's absence.

"She's sick," Charon explained, apparently noticing Alexander's confusion. Alexander frowned and nodded. There were only three reasons why not attending church would be considered legal. The first was if doctors and nurses were in the middle of an important operation or project, the second was being trapped in the middle of nowhere with no way of possibly attending, and the third was being sick. In fact, attending church while sick was considered a sin. It was disrespectful to the Gods.

In daylight, Alexander was able to examine the town more than he could the previous night. The buildings were smaller than the ones in Stration; most being only one story tall. There wasn't as much Nobility in Nacrene, which some may argue allowed more freedom. On the other hand, there was also a lack of business because of this, and so many families struggled, or so Alexander heard.

Unlike in Striaton, where Nobles wandered all around, Nacrene's Nobility kept mostly to the west of town, minding their own business and not associating themselves with commoners in any way unless it became absolutely unavoidable.

Charon and Alexander walked to one of Nacrene's two churches. The one they were walking to wasn't large by any means, much like the one in Nuvema. There was barely space enough for two hundred people inside, but Nacrene's residents managed. Apparently, there was another on the other side of town, but it was reserved for Nobles. From what Alexander had seen in paintings, it was a marvellous place which Alexander hoped to see- at least from the outside- at some point during his stay.

Alexander sighed as they entered the building. They'd arrived too late to be able to sit, and he was instead forced to stand with his back to a wall, struggling to listen. It felt wrong, uncivilised and downright disrespectful of their Gods. Stained glass windows lined the walls, many cracked and broken by the stones of rebels. The sight saddened Alexander. How could anybody even think to commit such a crime?

Despite there clearly not being enough space, Alexander did not complain. He heard a strong voice carry across the room. Alexander recognised it quickly as the tale of how Reshiram and Zekrom destroyed the land as punishment for man revolting against Arceus. It was one Alexander had heard many times since he was young, being one of the most famous stories in history. He smiled at the warm familiarity of the tale despite how uncomfortable he still felt in his setting and as the ceremony went on he began to feel more and more at home.

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As Alexander and Charon exited the church, nearly being knocked over by several people rushing to get to various places, Alexander spotted a familiar green-haired woman in the crowd. "Charon, I see someone I need to-"

"What?" Charon exclaimed, unable to hear Alexander over the raised voices of the other people around them.

"Meet me at the inn!" Alexander shouted, moving away from his friend to catch up with the woman moving in the opposite direction.

As the crowd parted, he was able to catch up with her, and as he placed a hand on her shoulder, he received an elbow to the face. Alexander cursed and fell the ground, "Was that really necessary?" he snapped.

"Your fault for sneaking up behind me," she explained, not bothering to help him to his feet. Alexander stood and glared at the woman. She looked exactly the same as the last time he'd seen her. She wore the same boring brown trousers and shirt. In his opinion, it was rather disrespectful to wear such clothing to church, but he made no comments. The black pokemon that had killed Xavier dashed to her side, growling fiercely at Alexander. The woman dismissed the pokemon with a wave of her hand.

"I need to talk to you about what happened last time," Alexander explained.

The woman tilted her head, "Sorry, do I know you?"

Alexanded frowned, "We met back in Accumula. You killed my oshawott and I want to know why!"

The woman crossed her arms, "You want an explanation? Well I don't have one. Things like this happen all the time and you'll just have to get used to it."

"I want a rematch," Alexander insisted, surprising even himself. Was that what he really wanted? He hadn't given it much forethought.

"Really? Tell me, why should I rematch you? How do I know things won't go exactly the same and you won't run away crying? I may not be the nicest person but I don't like seeing trainers run away crying because their pokemon are dead."

Alexander fumed, "Don't be so condescending! I've gotten better and I-"

"You speak like a child," the woman interrupted, "And I won't fight you, but I think I can help you. Meet me tomorrow by the cafe near the town exit at noon."

"And if I don't?"

The woman chuckled, "Then that's your loss. See if I care," she said as she turned and began to walk, her pokemon following close behind.

"Wait!" Alexander called, "What's your name? You never told me"

The woman paused, turning to face him, "I hardly think it matters. We're not friends, but you may call me N."

Alexander sighed, "N? What does that even mean?"

The woman smiled at Alexander one last time before turning again, this time walking at a quicker pace, "Oh, Nothing," she then burst into laughter, leaving Alexander more confused than ever. He shook his head and ran off to catch up with Charon.


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Bianca scratched between her newly-evolved herdier's ears. The last few hours had been largely uneventful. Mostly she'd just sat around her room, occasionally jumping into her bed if she heard someone coming. It was better than sitting in church listening to those awful stories and lies that everyone but her accepted as absolute truths.

Her herdier whimpered as it sensed her nervousness and even her pignite came to try to comfort her. The creature was normally so stoic and distant. She smiled and hugged them tightly. She heard the raised voices of people and realized that church must have ended. Bianca leaped to her feet, surprising her herdier, "Finally!" she exclaimed. She could leave her room now without people questioning her.

She immediately realized how stupid her action had been when Charon walked into the room without knocking. He frowned, staring at a very clearly healthy Bianca, "So, er, sick?" he asked, closing the door quietly behind him.

"C-Charon!" She stammered, falling back onto her bed, "I feel quite a bit better now," she explained hastily, but she heard the fear in her own voice.

Charon frowned, "Okay, Bianca, what's really going on? Is this the first time you've done this? Please tell me it's the first time you've done this," the worry was prominent in his voice.

Bianca looked away, "Well, no, it's not the first time. I'm sorry Charon. I meant to keep it a secret."

"You meant to keep it a secret? That doesn't make me feel any better Bianca. What were you thinking? How long has this been going on?"

Bianca thought back, "I think I started about three years ago, after mother died. I realized some things after that, and well, with your mother's help, I was able to miss church a lot. She's a very understanding woman."

"So mother knew?"

"Yes. But Charon, more importantly, you have to keep this a secret from Xander! I'm sorry I didn't tell you, and I understand if you're upset, but please don't tell him! You know how insanely religious he can be! He'd go berserk, and then who knows what!"

"Hey, Charon, Bianca," Alexander's voice sounded from behind the door just as Charon opened his mouth to answer. Charon ran towards the door just as Alexander was about to enter and slammed it on his friend. He heard a loud thud and a silent curse, "Charon, what was that?"

"Sorry, Xander, I fell!" Charon lied, motioning for Bianca to get into her bed. She nodded, getting under the thin blankets and pretending to sleep. Charon opened the door to an irritated Alexander, "So sorry. I must have tripped over," he glanced down at the floor. There wasn't an out-of-place floorboard in sight, "My own foot. Anyway, Xander, as you can see Bianca is sick in bed, so let's talk outside," he said, ushering Alexander out the door and sending one final glance Bianca's way. It seemed she was safe for the time being.