Chapter 48: A Gilded Prison

  Auri drifted upward through layers of thick, murky fog, the world returning to him in slow, unsteady pieces. His breathing came first, somewhat shaky but otherwise fine. Then followed the weight of his own body. His limbs felt heavy enough to anchor him to the ground, and he had no idea how long he’d been lying there. He'd probably been uncouncious for some time.

  He became aware of texture beneath him: rough, uneven threads woven into a broad mat, softened with thick layers of moss that gave just enough cushion to somewhat keep him from aching. The air had a faint mineral coolness, carrying the crisp, dry scent of worked stone. It felt like he’d stumbled into one of the quiet inner chambers behind a Mystery Dungeon floor, a place where even the air knew how to hold its breath.

  Light pulsed faintly across the ceiling, Luminous Stones carved into the rock, their surfaces polished smooth. Pinkish-white light shimmered lazily around their edges, just enough to illuminate without warming. The room itself was small, personal, but unmistakably crafted. Smooth walls, chiselled grooves that ran like veins of geometric patterning, and a single entry archway draped with a curtain of thin stone plates that clinked softly whenever the faintest breeze touched them made that clear enough. This definitely wasn’t a prisoner’s cell, but it didn't look like a guest room either. It felt like something in between. A place to put someone while larger decisions were being made elsewhere.

  His heartbeat stuttered, picked up, and then slammed like a hammer against his ribs. What was about his scarf!?

  His paw shot up before he was fully conscious of the motion, scrabbling weakly at the fur on his chest until cloth brushed against his fingers. He curled his paw around it tightly. The fabric was warm from his body heat, familiar after moths of wearing it almost constantly. His thumb brushed the knot, the frayed edge. Everything was where it belonged.

  Only then did he dare loosen his grip enough to feel for the weight tucked just beneath the inner fold. Solid, smooth, and warm to the touch, the stone Miu had given him was also still where it was supposed to be.

  Relief crashed into him so suddenly it nearly forced a breath out of him. The scarf was the important thing. The stone… the stone mattered, but the scarf mattered more. The scarf was home, memory, a promise he’d clung to through too many dark days. Losing it would have been worse than waking up in any Dungeon, any unknown place, any dangerous territory. To him at least.

  Auri swallowed hard. His mouth felt dry and faintly metallic. He blinked slowly, trying to make sense of the room again, but everything around him remained quietly foreign. He tried to sit up but the world immediately lurched sideways.

  His vision went white at the edges, body tilting as the moss mat dipped under his weight. His paws trembled trying to push himself upright, and his head throbbed so sharply it felt like needles had been driven behind his eyes. He sucked in a breath and froze where he was, unable to keep the soft groan from slipping out.

  Okay. That had been too much too fast. He let himself sink back down, limbs shaking with the effort of even that small movement. For a long moment he just lay there, breathing through the dizzy wave, feeling the tremble in his muscles slowly fade.

  The silence didn’t help. Normally he enjoyed silence but right now it felt wrong, like he was being watched. It felt like the moment right before something went very wrong. But that was probably just is uneasiness with the entire situation talking.

  He forced his eyes to stay open, scanning what he could see from where he lay. A bowl of water sat near the wall, crystal-clear but untouched. A woven basket held herbs he didn’t recognize at all, which wasn't all that surprising. There were no restraints on or around him of any kind, but no weapons either. Which would've been useful consdiering how he still couldn't use his type energy. The curtain at the door still, unmoved.

  He breathed out slowly. Wherever this was, whoever had brought him here, he wasn’t dead. And he wasn’t stripped of anything important either which meant that someone had shown restraint. That was something at least.

  Whatever was going on though, he first needed strength before he could face any of it. He needed to sit up without the world spinning. He needed to think without the fog clouding his head at the very least.

  Auri braced his paws against the mat and pushed himself upward again, though slower this time and more controlled. And of course dizziness slammed into him a second time. He squeezed his eyes shut hard, trying to ride the wave as it passed, hoping desperately that at least some of his natural regeneration would soon kick in, even with his type energy sealed by [Imprison].

  A soft clinking broke the stillness, the sound of stone plates brushing against each other as the door to the room was opened from the outside. Auri tensed instinctively, every muscle pulling tight despite the way his head was still spinning. He pushed himself a little more upright.

  Two figures stepped inside with the kind of quiet authority that didn’t need to be announced. The first was small, crystalline, and impossibly polished Carbink whose facets caught the dim crystal light and scattered it in calm, cold glimmers. Its floating body moved with the smooth steadiness of something born from the mountain itself, eyes steady and expression unreadable.

  The second walked in behind it with heavier, more deliberate steps. It was a Mawile, not the same one that had escorted him here in the first place, jaw-horn angled like a warning curled elegantly at her back. Her posture was formal and rigid, but not aggressive. A sentinel posture someone who had probably been told to take his existence and protction seriously.

  Neither looked hostile, nor did they look supportitive. If anything, their gazes were evaluating him with that specific brand of careful, quiet scrutiny found only in individuals who had been given orders they did not fully understand but intended to carry out flawlessly. It reminded him somewhat of the guards of Newleaf Village.

  The Carbink floated a little closer, stopping at what must have been a polite distance. When it spoke, the voice was soft, echoing faintly. "Outsider," it said with impeccable formality. "Heir apparent Lira instructed us to monitor your recovery. As of now you are officially under her protection."

  The Mawile nodded sharply, adding in a more grounded tone, "You are safe. Please remain resting. The healers emphasized that to be important. Also, would you be willing to tell us your name?"

  The phrasing was gentle, but every instinct in Auri’s body recoiled anyway. Safe? He didn’t feel safe. He felt scrutinized, suspended in uncertainty, and held in place only because someone else had decided he shouldn’t move.

  His throat worked before his voice managed to follow. "…My name is Auri. Where am I?"

  Both guards seemed relieved he was conscious enough to speak. The Mawile answered first, her tone crisp but not unkind. "You are within Queen Velari’s mountain palace. You collapsed in the throne room during your audience with heir apparent Lira."

  The Carbink floated slightly lower, as though studying his breathing. "The healers assessed your condition as stable. You should regenerate in time."

  Auri shifted, and immediately his head throbbed. The Mawile’s hand twitched slightly, as if preparing to steady him if he tipped. He didn’t know whether that made him feel more protected or more trapped. He hated feeling so weak.

  He swallowed and forced himself to keep his voice low and steady, nearly neutral. "How long was I unconscious?"

  The guards exchanged a brief glance, subtle, but not subtle enough to miss. In the end it was the Carbink who answered. "You were out longer than expected, nearly seven hours. But you woke up before healers intended to rouse you. This is… acceptable."

  The way they kept deliberately choosing their words made his fur prickle. Like they were balancing respect, protocol, and a barely concealed fear of doing something wrong in front of the wrong outsider. He didn’t understand the reasons for any of it.

  He clutched his scarf a little tighter, the fabric giving him something familiar to hold onto. The guards of course noticed but neither commented on it. Instead, the Mawile adjusted her stance before speaking again. "Heir apparent Lira gave explicit instructions that no harm is to come to you. You are not a prisoner. But you are not to leave this room unsupervised."

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Auri’s breath caught. So a prisoner in all but name? And all of it depending on the whims of a Diancie whose moods he barely understood? Well, it was still better than being dead at least. So he simply nodded, choosing to converse his strength for now instead of continuing to speak. He did his best to ignore the headache the movement caused.

  The Mawile inclined her head, satisfied. The Carbink drifted sideways, positioning itself between him and the exit in a way that looked ceremonial, not threatening. Still, the unspoken message was clear.

  Slowly but surely his memories of what had happened came back to him as well. He remembered talking to Lira and how he had tried to explain things to her, only for her to not listen. He'd been far less forceful than he normally would've been due to how weak he'd felt at the time. And then the whole world had tilted sideways.

  His last clear thought had been something desperate and useless like 'don’t fall uncounicious now!' as though willing it might change anything. And then his mind had just blanked. Sitting here now, the memory hit harder than the dizziness had. He had no doubt it had been quite the pathetic and dramatic display, collapsing in the throne room like that, but there was nothing he could do to change what had happened.

  No, it was better to remain in the here and now. And his current situation was tolerateable but little more. He hated small enclosed rooms, he was very much aware of it. And he also hated to be kept prisoner, even if they called it him being a 'guest'. Wouldn't have it meant death otherwise, he never would've come here in the first place with how differently they now treated him. Not that differently was necessarily better.

  He wished fiercely that he could simply stand up, walk out, deal with whatever was still chasing after him alone. But his body betrayed him again, trembling at just the idea. His head still throbbed faintly and his limbs felt like someone had filled them with sand. No, there was no leaving until the seal upon his type energy reserve finally broke. And he could already tell that the closer it was to breaking, the more painful it would become for him.

  For an hour or so nothing happened, even the guard seemed like they had little to do. Then Lira came into view as she floated into the room, carrying herself as though her very presence would tidy the chaos that had preceded her. She looked composed, imperious, annoyingly perfect.

  And yet, for just a heartbeat, her composure cracked. Her gaze landed on him, awake and propped weakly against the pillows, and a flicker of relief darted through her eyes before she smothered it under a layer of brisk disapproval. She tilted her chin, posture tightening again into the shape of command. "Well," she said at last, tone clipped and cool. "I suppose you’re finally awake again. It took you long enough."

  Auri blinked slowly, throat still somewhat raw. He wasn’t sure what to say. The guards outside had spoken with distant professionalism, but she radiated something different, a pressure, an expectation that even in bed, half-healed and exhausted, he was somehow wasting her time. Just like last time they had talked with each other. So he simply managed a small nod, unsure if she wanted confirmation or apology.

  Lira moved closer, each step deliberate. "You caused quite a scene, you know," she continued, circling the foot of his bed like a general inspecting a soldier. "Just collapsing in the throne room like that while I was still speaking. Very dramatic and utterly improper. It made me look quite bad, just like how you not telling me your name looked like me not caring. I expect you to correct that immediately." She paused, looking expectantly at him.

  "My name is Auri. And I’m…" He hesitated, the word catching on the edge of a dry breath. "…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause trouble."

  "Well, you did cause trouble," she declared, lifting her chin again, "but I have… handled it. As expected from someone as great as me of course."

  Auri almost snorted at how hard she was trying too hard to sound effortless. Still, he managed to surpress it. "I don't plan to stay all that long," he said quietly, hoping to ease the weight between them. "I just needed somewhere safe to rest until my type energy reserve becomes usable again and I can finally properly recover. A few days maybe, no more than a week."

  Lira’s eyes narrowed, half in disbelief and half in irritation, like he had just insulted her by suggesting her palace could ever be only a temporary shelter. "Well that’s not possible now," she said, crossing her arms in a swirl of confidence and crystalline light. "You’re under my jurisdiction now. Which means you will remain here until I determine it’s safe for you to leave."

  The words struck him harder than she likely intended. They weren’t cruel, her tone wasn’t even particularly sharp, but the phrasing, the ownership in it, made his stomach twist. He had fled one kind of captivity only to fall into another gilded version of it. He had already known that of course, but he still hated hearing her speak of it so openly.

  He dropped his gaze, studying the folds of the blanket. "I… understand. And I’m grateful for your help. Truly. hough I would like to revisit that at a later time."

  Lira frowned, as if his calmness somehow bothered her more than resistance would have. She wasn’t used to this kind of quiet. Most Pokemon either challenged her authority like the advisors or groveled beneath it. Auri did neither. He just accepted her words for what they were and somehow that made her feel less in control, not more.

  "Gratitude is appropriate," she said briskly. "But don’t mistake this for leniency. My decisions will however not be negotiable. You will remain under observation until your type energy reserve is unsealed and then we will still watch for a few days just to be sure. That's the earlierst point where I would be willing to renegotiate."

  "I’m not trying to make things difficult, I just don’t want anyone else to get hurt because of me," Auri muttered to himself but Lira seemingly still managed to pick up on it.

  His comment flickered through her like a spark in cold air, sharp and disorienting. She didn’t know how to respond to someone who worried about her people before himself. For a moment she just stood there, mouth half open, expression unreadable. Finally, she exhaled and turned slightly, muttering something that might have been a sigh disguised as exasperation. "You have a frustrating sense of responsibility, you know that?"

  Auri didn’t answer. Of course he knew. Yuki had told him the same thing often enough.

  Lira glanced at him again. "For now you'll stay here," she continued, tone sharp again. "This wing is secure and isolated enough. I’ll have guards assigned to your door."

  He hesitated at that. "The guards are going to remain here? I thought that would only be necessary if I left the room?"

  "Just a precaution," she said, waving it off. "And before you ask, no it's not to imprison you. They are to ensure you don’t die again in some public space. We have an image to maintain. And they will not be in the room the entire time, though they will be just outside the door. You will get some privacy, don't worry."

  Silence stretched between them. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed since Lira had arrived but she hadn't left again, instead standing near the doorway and pretending she had something important left to inspect. She wasn’t looking at him, exactly, just at the wall beside him, like she needed to win an argument with a piece of furniture before she could leave.

  Auri hesitated, staring down at the scarf wrapped loosely around his chest. He swallowed, his voice low when he finally spoke. "There’s something else I should tell you."

  Lira turned slightly, halfway between irritation and intrigue. "Oh? Another dramatic secret? Should I prepare my guards again?" Her tone was arrogant and somewhat teasing, but her eyes were sharp.

  "No," he said quickly, shaking his head. "It's nothing dangerous. It's just..." He hesitated, his voice almost catching on the name. "Back in Newleaf Village before I had to flee I had a partner. She's a Torchic called Yuki. There's a chance she decided to follow me after I fled to help me out."

  Lira blinked, clearly not expecting that kind of admission. "A Torchic," she repeated, as if the word itself needed examining. "And she is… what, exactly? A teammate? A subordinate?"

  Auri’s expression softened. "We work together so you could call her a teammate but… it’s more than that. She’s my friend. We look out for each other."

  Something flickered behind Lira’s eyes, though it was gone too quickly for him to identify. She tilted her head, pretending to study her reflection in the polished wall to mask the thought forming behind her tone. "And she's from Newleaf Village? Are you sure you can trust her?"

  "Without a doubt," Auri responded instantly, for that truly wasn't a question in his mind. He would trust Yuki with his life.

  There was a pause long enough to make him wonder if she’d simply refuse to answer. Then, with a little huff Lira crossed her arms. "Hmph. Fine. Then she may enter if she arrives. I will send someone to inform the guards bordering our territory."

  Auri blinked, relief so immediate it made him lightheaded. "Thank you," he said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

  Lira lifted her chin, feigning indifference. "It’s hardly a favor," she said briskly. "Just a reasonable exception."

  She looked away before he could see the faint trace of warmth that had crept into her expression. "See that she behaves herself properly if she does come," she added. "My guards will not take kindly to surprise visitors starting unrest, no matter how… trusted."

  "I’ll make sure she knows when she's here," Auri murmured.

  Lira gave a small, satisfied nod, as if that ended the discussion, before turning to leave.Moments later her figure disappeared. The Carbink and Mawile guard filed out behind her and the door closed again.

  Auri exhaled slowly, lying back onto the moss padding. For the first time in what felt like forever, he was safe, at least by appearance. No one was chasing him, no traps waited outside the door. The air was calm. He should have been able to rest. But the peace felt fragile and borrowed to him. How could it not when he knew that in this very moment the Storm Menace Zuko together with Miu was fighting Velari and the other Mythicals? He had no idea which side would come out on top after all.

  He thought of Yuki, her endless energy, her fierce words, the way he knew she would worry for him if she thought he was in danger. He had no idea if she would actually come and search for him, or if she was even able to, but he wouldn't call her following him an impossibility either. So it had just been better to inform Lira as a precaution.

  Either way, for now he should continue to rest. It was probably the best thing he could do to get fit quickly again.

  Important characters in the chapter:

  Pikachu (Auri) – Level 16

  Ability: Lightning Rod

  Battle Nature: Lonely

  Stats:

  TE Pool (Health/AP): 75

  Attack: 49

  Ranged Attack: 44

  Defense: 52

  Speed: 58

  Total: 278 (Strength Level: Teenager)

  Moves:

  Close Combat Moves: [Nuzzle], [Tail Whip], [Quick Attack], [Brick Break], [Thunder Wave], [Feint]

  Ranged Combat Moves: [Thunder Shock], [Electro Ball], [Swift], [Thunderbolt], [Discharge]

  Utility Moves: [Nasty Plot], [Charm], [Double Team], [Growl], [Agility], [Dig]

  Diancie (Lira) – Level 21

  Ability: Clear Body

  Battle Nature: Sassy

  Stats:

  TE Pool (Health/AP): 119

  Attack: 66

  Ranged Attack: 66

  Defense: 135

  Speed: 40

  Total: 426 (Strength Level: Teenager)

  Moves:

  Close Combat Moves: [Tackle], [Smack Down], [Flail], [Draining Kiss]

  Ranged Combat Moves: [Diamond Storm], [Ancient Power], [Rock Throw]

  Utility Moves: [Harden], [Guard Split], [Amnesia], [Fake Tears]