Royalty

Melrose recoiled slightly. The Tyrunt’s comment stung, but she wasn’t just going to let him bully the excitement out of her. Her cheeks cackled with electricity as her hands balled into fists, “What? You think a Pokémon from outside Constella and Greater Adstrum can’t learn with the best?”

The Tyrunt’s nostrils flared. “How dare you speak to me like that! Do you know who I am, worm?!”

“I know you’re some sorta snob, that’s for sure!” Melrose jabbed the Tyrunt’s chest with her hand, which pushed him back a little bit. “Don’t think you can pick on me just ‘cause I came from a farm! I can talk all big like you city folk too, ya know!”

“HA!” The Tyrunt shoved Melrose with his head, knocking the Pikachu to the floor. It was rough, but slightly reserved. Melrose didn’t expect a jerk like him to hold back. “It’s clear your ignorance precedes you, Pikachu! Let me make my position clear then.” The Tyrunt cleared his throat and cocked his head towards the ceiling. “I am Prince Icarus Excaliburn Drakkenburg The II, Heir to the Adstronian Empire!”

Melrose blinked a few times, staring up at the Prince from the floor. “Wait, really?” She couldn’t hold back her giggles as she got back up from the floor. “You? You are King Drakkenburg’s son?”

Icarus growled. “Yes! What’s so entertaining about that?” He stomped his foot against the stone floor as Melrose continued to laugh. “Answer me, peasant!”

“It’s just… I imagined the Prince of our Kingdom to be more…” Melrose gave him a full body glance before laughing again. This led to a full set of Tyrunt teeth being snapped inches away from her face, scaring a few sparks of electricity out of her.

“Whatever it is I fall short on in your eyes won’t matter if you’re buried six feet under!” Icarus snarled, the feathers around his neck standing straight up. Melrose was shaking, but was determined to stand her ground. Icarus and Melrose were locked into a staring contest, neither side willing to admit defeat.

The two Pokémon maintained eye contact for a while, long enough for it to stop being intense and start being awkward. Melrose sighed and pulled away, “This is silly. You got me actin’ all immature, and I can’t even figure out why.”

Icarus leered down at her before also pulling his head away from their faceoff. “Whatever.”

Melrose went quiet again. This exchange was unpleasant, for sure, but it was hardly her fault. This guy’s first words to her were insults. Still, it was clear that it fell on Melrose to be a bigger person. “Anyhow, my name is Melrose.”

“I didn’t ask.” Icarus growled. Melrose’s cheeks sparked again, but she bit her tongue and held back. “Though I suppose I should get more accustomed to the lower class, and perhaps the bottom of the barrel is the best place to start.” The Prince turned his head back towards Melrose, and the Pikachu quickly tried to wipe the scowl forming on her face away. “So, Melrose, you arrived here quickly. When did you receive your letter? I wasn’t alerted until late afternoon yesterday.”

“See, that’s the real weird thing I picked up on earlier.” Melrose frowned. “Everyone’s saying the packages weren’t sent out until late yesterday… but that’s when my Papa was telling me I got into the school.”

“What?!” Icarus growled, as if this was somehow offensive. “You’re surely joking!” His tail twitched before shoving his big head back towards Melrose, and his tone turned accusatory. “Or, more abhorrently, you forged your letter! I knew you didn–”

“Whoa! Slow down, Princy boy!”

“Princy b–” Melrose dug through her Wonder Bag and took out the scroll, smacking Icarus lightly on the snout with it. The Tyrunt snorted before investigating the acceptance letter. Sure enough, it was exactly as his letter was. He opened his mouth, likely to throw out another accusation, but was quick to close it without muttering a word. Instead, he turned away to face an adjacent wall.

“Trust me, going to this school is a dream of mine– and being here feels like a fantasy. But, I would never-ever lie to get in!” She put the scroll back into her bag and mumbled, “Plus, you’d have to have some pretty low faith in the staff to think they couldn’t catch some forged documents.”

“You’re right, I spoke too soon. You would’ve also had to get your name on the list of accepted students somehow. I sincerely doubt a country rat like you would be able to pull off such a feat.” Icarus looked back at the Pikachu. “Still, this is preposterously suspicious. The fact that the Academy isn’t looking into this phenomenon is clear negligence.”

Melrose rubbed her arm, realizing how uncomfortable she was starting to feel that her acceptance into the school was becoming even more of a special case. “Well, it’s probably not a big deal then… The adults know what they’re doing.”

“Hmph, sure, you would think that.” Icarus growled to himself.

Melrose fidgeted with her bag, out of things to say about the situation. She wished Xander was here. He was much more fun to talk to, and would probably assure her that this wasn’t worth getting paranoid about.

“…Peasant Pikachu, I’m going to retreat to my room.” Icarus announced before walking towards the hall connected to the Common Area.

Melrose perked up slightly, “Oh! Can you–” Icarus didn’t turn around when she started to talk. The Pikachu groaned before running ahead of him.

“Gah!- You’re fast–”

“Can you PLEASE–” Melrose blushed hard once she realized she was yelling. “Can you, eh-heh, please show me which of these rooms are mine?”

Icarus growled. “Don’t be dense. All the rooms are labeled.” He gestured a claw towards one of the doors, which had the outline of an Axew head engraved onto a plaque– along with the name “Xavian.” He rolled his eyes before pushing open his door, which was the singular room at the end of the hall. It was clearly the nicest of the rooms.

Melrose took a look at each of the doors, spotting one marked with a Pikachu head. However, the name wasn’t hers. “Oh! Look at that! Our class is gonna have two Pikachu in it!”

Icarus said nothing, his only response being an irritated expression as he slammed his door shut. Melrose jumped slightly, but eased up after a few seconds. A muffled roar could be heard from the Prince’s room.

Melrose shrugged as she gave the doors another look over, now spotting the room that had to be hers. Unless there were somehow three Pikachu and two named Melrose, this was her new home-sweet-home for the semester.

Melrose entered the living space and smiled to herself upon realizing just how nice it was! The Pikachu ran over to her bed and jumped onto it, bouncing into the air thanks to the mattress. A good bounce was the sign of a great mattress! At least, Melrose felt that was the case. The linens were soft, too. If Melrose wasn’t about to burst from excitement, she might’ve taken a nap right then and there.

The room also came with its own desk and a few other arcane appliances. Adstrum’s greatest scholars and inventors were finding new ways to utilize infinity energy every day, but Melrose had hardly seen the new gadgets the Capital was manufacturing! Melrose recognized the icebox, even in miniature form, but the heating and cooling devices looked out of this world. Almost any Pokémon could be comfortable in this room, from a desert dwelling Trapinch to an icicle prone Cubchoo!

Melrose’s favorite of the appliances was the noise box. Although, it was a bit of a mystery to her how the box actually functioned. Melrose could generally wrap her head around the ways that washers, coolers, and a few other appliances were able to work. It was something about the raw, innate energy in all Pokémon being utilized outside of moves. However, the noise box’s function relied on external sound waves broadcasted from select conduits. Nothing about it made any sense to the farm hand.

Melrose had asked Gaius countless times over for her own noise box, but always got the same answers:

“Melrose, I can’t afford that new-fangled garbage.”

“What exactly would that do to help the farm?”

“Oh, so you and Nate can disturb the peace even more?”

Melrose ran excitedly over to the box and smiled; it didn’t matter what Gaius thought now! Melrose could finally try one of these bad boys out.

The noise boxes the Academy provided appeared to be rudimentary models, even for the usually simplistic nature of the device. It had one switch and two knobs. One nob was marked with musical notes and the other with numbers, while the switch was just for on and off. Melrose turned one of the nobs to the number 1, but nothing happened. She laughed, realizing she didn’t even turn it on, but once it was on the box still didn’t produce any sound. Melrose scratched her chin, fidgeting with the only other nob on the device–

Slowly as she turned it, a voice started to be audible. “Gooood Evening residents of Constella! Today was a lovely day, as per usual in the capital. Tomorrow should be just as lovely, as the weather facility has predicted a full day of sunshine!”

Melrose squeaked with delight! Even the idea of hearing the boring news spill from this box made the Pikachu’s cheeks light up from joy. She adjusted the volume to the perfect level before continuing to marvel at her room.

It was starting to get a little dark, but the last beams of sunlight filtering through her curtains signified that it was sunset. Melrose opened the curtains all the way so she could gaze at the sky… and it was worth it. Her window was placed towards the back of the castle, meaning the R.E.D. Academy Garden was in sight as the sun lowered in the sky.

Melrose once again found herself wishing that Xander was there with her. It wouldn’t bother her to share the room with him, but that probably violated some sort of Academy rule she didn’t know about. A tug of worry started to form in her chest. Where exactly did Xander go? He stayed back with the Guildmaster, sure, but the fact that Melrose had no idea what he was doing bothered her slightly.

“In other news, theft reports have been increasing since the season started. When interviewed, all the royal guard had to say was ‘avoid traveling alone, and come forward about any suspicious activity.’ Actually helpful, or just a load of nonsense? I guess the only way to know is if the crime rate goes back down, huh folks?” The newscaster laughed, and the sound of shuffling papers picked up through the conduit they were speaking through.

It was disheartening to hear that bandit activity was present even inside the capital’s walls. Constella was shrouded in praise and mystique by Pokémon all over the continent, but Melrose supposed that no place was perfect.

“Rumor has it that most, if not all the crimes, are connected to Team Outlier to some extent. Honestly, I’m inclined to believe it, but feel free to send any personal accounts to us E.B.S. folks. I’d love to hear ‘em.”

Team Outlier… They certainly sounded like a bunch of crooks. “What would a Pokémon even get from being a criminal! I don’t get it.” Melrose mumbled aloud, despite no one being there to hear it.

“Hey Melrose! Prince Icarus! Can you two hear me?” Zephyr’s voice was calling through the main door connected to the student common area. “A small dinner has been prepared! Feel free to join Adeline and me!”

Melrose’s stomach growled, as if it were trying to call back to the Guildmaster. Melrose giggled to herself and scampered out of her room, accidentally bumping into Icarus who was also walking towards Zephyr’s call. The Tyrunt growled at her, but just kept walking without a word. Melrose figured he must be too hungry to bother scolding her. Zephyr smiled at his two students once they had joined him in the main hallway.

The Guildmaster guided the both of them to the dining hall, which was just as elegantly decorated as the rest of the academy. The long, rectangular table was grand enough to fit a great deal of Pokémon, illustrating just how many new faces Melrose was going to become acquainted with.

Adeline was already sitting in her designated spot, conversing with three Pokémon unfamiliar to Melrose. They reminded Melrose of Nate, if Nate was clearly a Fire, Water, and Grass type.

“The Sous Chef should be here in time for the semester… Hopefully, anyways.” The Pansage laughed their nerves about the situation off, making their tea pour ever so slightly unstable. “W-we should be able to handle the workload if he doesn’t though, right guys?”

“Ugh. This is just like him, you know?” The Pansear growled at the ceiling, trying not to show the ugly face she was making to her friends. “When I signed up to be his apprentice, I was personally expecting one of the highest rated chefs in all of Adstrum to be a bit more responsible with his time.”

“Relax, hun.” The Panpour smiled as he began dishing up salads. “Remember what they taught us in ‘Basics of Butlery’? Worry about what you can do, not what you can’t.”

“That’s nonsense and you know it.” The Pansear growled, but composed herself when she noticed the students and Headmaster were now in the room. “Good evening, all!” She sang, her tone of voice making a complete shift.

“Heya!” Melrose smiled as she took a seat.

“Good evening, subjects.” Icarus huffed as he also found a place to sit.

Zephyr took his place at the end of the table and smiled. “I’m starving! I hardly got to eat yesterday, or even the day before that!” Adeline shot him a look, but he didn’t notice. “Let’s eat!”

“Hold on, Guildmaster.” Adeline held up a claw. “Wait for them to finish plating everyone. You do still know table etiquette after all these years, don’t you?” She teased, bowing her head as a thank you once her tea was poured.

“Of course I do…” Zephyr pouted.

Melrose watched as the Pansage very nervously poured the tea for their Prince. The Tyrunt watched, revealing no particular emotion through his facial expression. Once they were done, the Pansage pulled away and bowed. “There you are, your m-magesty… enjoy!”

Icarus sniffed the tea, closing his eyes and mulling over the scent. The Tyrunt didn’t even taste it before snorting loudly and declaring, “I hate Aguav tea.”

The Pansage looked on the verge of fainting. “My apologies! L-let me just–” They grabbed the cup to take it away, but dropped it out of their shaking hands. The hot liquid not only splashed all over the table, and was now dripping to the floor, but some managed to get on the Prince’s lap. Icarus snarled loudly and stood.

“You fool! Have you received no culinary training at all! What’s wrong with you!” His fangs started to blaze with a red fire, making the Grass Pokémon panic as they scrambled to start cleaning the tea. “Your lack of butlery skills is embarrassing! Have you no shame in yourself?”

“Hey! Leave them alone!” Melrose growled from across the table. Icarus snarled at her, but Melrose didn’t back down. Instead, both Pokémon readied themselves to fight. As Melrose felt the electricity surge from her, her attention was suddenly and forcefully shifted. Melrose and Icarus couldn’t help turning towards Secretary Adeline, who had a magical glow about her as she waved her finger.

“Calm down, both of you. This behavior is extremely unbecoming of Academy students, and especially of a Prince.” She sighed, and slowly released them from her Follow Me. “Deep breaths, yes?”

Melrose bowed her head. “I’m sorry, ma’am…”

Icarus growled something to himself, but remained quiet otherwise. He didn’t even watch as the Panpour served him up a glass of regular water, before helping his friend clean up the mess they made.

Zephyr, who was still smiling and completely unbothered by the argument, clapped happily now that the whole table had drinks and salads. “Come on, Pokémon! Let’s eat–” The Flygon was ready to take a bite of his salad, but was interrupted by Adeline clearing her throat. He whined again, “What now , Addy?”

“Haven’t you realized, Headmaster? We’re missing someone.” Adeline gestured out to everyone at the table, and Zephyr gave a perplexed look at her. She refused to elaborate, waiting for the Guildmaster to come to the conclusion on his own. He made a sort of thinking face, pondering for a solid minute before snapping his claws.

“I invited Melrose’s friend! Xander! Huh… I wonder where he is?” Zephyr frowned slightly. “Maybe he rejected my invitation?”

Melrose fidgeted slightly. Xander was invited to come eat dinner at the Academy, and he didn’t show up? Why? Paranoid thoughts started to creep up on her. She knew some ideas were irrational, but what if Xander didn’t like her and wanted nothing to do with her? Or, even worse, what if something bad happened to him? The Pikachu shot the Headmaster a worried glance.

“I told him to come at sundown, and enough time has surely passed for his arrival.” Zephyr looked back at Adeline. “You all eat. I’m going to make sure everything is alright.” Responsibility and focus returned to the Flygon as he flew out of the room. Adeline frowned, but didn’t object to him abandoning his chance at a meal.

Melrose watched as the Guildmaster left, the pit in her stomach growing. The Pikachu no longer wanted to eat, much more concerned with knowing her friend was okay. Melrose stood, planning on following Zephyr, but was stopped by Adeline lifting her hand.

“The Guildmaster can take care of it, okay dear? I’m sure everything is fine.” She gave the student a sweet smile before gesturing at the plates, signaling everyone that it was okay to eat. This didn’t matter much, as Icarus was already stuffing his face.

Melrose slumped back down and started to pick at her own salad. She wanted to be confident in what Adeline was telling her, but the comment Icarus made earlier about the adults began to mildly haunt her.