FicWad

Author's Notes

Another new story. Bla bla, italics means someone's thinking, bam. Let's go.
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An umbreon strode down the flight of marble stairs confidently, his soft paw pads cushioning and quieting each impact with the floor.

His long, red cloak trailed behind him elegantly. It wasn't just stylish; This simple article of clothing was a symbol of power, wealth, and influence.

He gazed upon the numerous portraits of him and his family adorning the marble wall, all lavishly framed in solid gold.

As the umbreon made it to the landing, he heard a voice.

"Roni, dear, breakfast is ready!" called the voice. He caught a glimpse of a beaming flareon as it ducked back into the dining room.

"Coming, mother..." the dark type replied, forcing on a smile.

Roni walked through the large, luxurious living room, and into the dining room. The aforementioned dining room could only be described as grand.

It was absolutely massive. Purple drapes lined the windows, a long red carpet extended down through the kitchen, and a diamond chandelier hung above a table large enough to easily fit twenty pokémon.

The table, of course, had breakfast laid out on it.

A freshly baked loaf of bread, a large pot of vegetable stew, a large roast, and four diamond chalices; three filled with wine and one with apple juice.

Already at the table awaiting his arrival was his family. The flareon from before, his father who was an umbreon like him, and his little sister who had still yet to evolve.

He sat down at one end of the table, next to his sister, as his mother finished setting the plates to deliver the extravagant meal.

He nodded in thanks, forcing a smile. A fake smile.

Not to say he was ungrateful, of course. He appreciated everything about his family, everything he had, and everything done for him every day!

Roni, by all accounts, had everything in life. He had a large home, sufficient funds to support his family for generations, always had more than enough food on the table, and he hadn't had to work for a single thing in his life.

Yes, he had everything he could ever want in life. Everything, of course, except for two little details.

"Looks great honey, just like the one who prepared it!" his father said with a smile, nudging the flareon beside him.

The fire type giggled loudly.

"Oh, you flatterer you!" she leaned over, planting a kiss on his lips.

One of the things Roni didn't have was romance.

He didn't have a partner to call his own. He didn't have someone he could come home and be happy to see every day. He didn't have someone he could hold, kiss, and pronounce his love to every morning, day, and night.

The umbreon longed for the day he'd feel the embrace of a woman he truly loved, and for the happiness he'd feel each and every second knowing that his love was out there, somewhere, whether she was nearby in the moment or awaiting in his heart.

"Ma'!" his sister cried out, "you're going out on another voyage today, right? To explore new lands?"

"Yes, deary," the flareon responded with a smile. "Supposedly, this new continent is rich in copper! We're going to be the second exploration team."

The second thing Roni didn't have was excitement.

Oh, how he craved adventure. Each and every day, he awaited that fateful moment when he'd be called off to face some threat; maybe a dragon was threatening the village, and he'd be the only one that could slay it! Or... something along those lines, anyway.

Every day of Roni's life was the same. He woke up, ate, made himself presentable, went out and talked to the locals for a while, came home, ate again, went to bed. It was monotony in its purest form, and never anything else.

You could say that, in a way, he was jealous of the common folk. They had to fight to survive every day. There was always a new problem presented that they would have to go out and deal with.

For Roni? Well, problems weren't exactly problems when you were rich.

Out of food? Buy some. Something's broken? Pay someone to fix it. Need textbooks for school? Oh boy, gotta shill out a couple hundred coins?! That's barely a dent in the fortunes. Leg is broken? Pay a doctor a few thousand, that's fixed in a heartbeat, and still got a couple million coins to spare!

Every single problem could be solved by throwing money at it.

These thoughts filled his head every waking second of every day, distracting him from the word. This was no different.

Roni had hardly even noticed that he had finished his plate until his mother had said something.

"Did you enjoy your meal, Roni?"

"Oh, what? Oh! Yes, ma'. It was great, as usual!" he responded with a nod. His mother beamed in pride. "I'm ready to head out for the day."

"Of course! Have fun, sweetie." The flareon walked over and kissed his cheek.

Roni nodded with a smile, before excusing himself from the table.

His thoughts weighed heavily on his shoulders as he trekked back up the stairs to his room. The stairs seemed to grow more in more in challenge to climb, until the last step was almost impossible. He trudged over into his room, to make himself presentable for the day ahead.

Roni opened the large wooden door to his residence with practiced ease, striding out into the late-morning sunlight.
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He crossed the large stone bridge going over the stream near his house, beginning the walk to the village proper.

It was a nice day, bright and sunny.

As Roni walked, the sounds of the village slowly grew in volume.

Idle conversation, children playing, the occasional street musician. All of these familiar sounds made their presence known to the umbreon.

He was glad pokémon talked to each other, glad children had fun, and enjoyed the music, but these were all sounds he had heard countless times before, and would countless times again.

He found his view of everything growing increasingly pessimistic by the day, and it made him feel bad. He felt guilty.

"Why should I be unhappy? What right do I have to complain, when so many others will never achieve anything close to what I have? I have everything." Those were the thoughts that plagued his mind day-in, day-out.

Roni glanced around town, looking for anything new, anything interesting. As usual, no. Everything was exactly the same.

Except for one thing, that was.

Groups of pokémon dressed head to paw in shiny, silver colored armor patrolled around, occasionally stopping to talk to other pokémon.

Roni took a seat on a wooden bench, simply observing the strange occurrence in silence.

That was, of course, until one of them walked over to him.

It was an arcanine, decked out in a full suit of armor.

"Greetings, umbreon," said the pokémon.

"Uhm... Hi?"

"How old are you?"

Roni stared down the fire-type curiously. They seemed trustworthy enough, he supposed.

"Twenty-two."

"That's perfect!"

"Perfect? For what?"

The arcanine sat down on the bench next to Roni.

"See, I bet you've noticed all the knights roaming town..."

"/Oh, so that's what they were..." /Roni paused for a moment. "Yeah, I noticed. What are you all doing here?"

"See, we're in town recruiting today. We're a bit short on personnel back at the castle, and not many pokémon seem to be signing up. So we figured we'd come out and generate a bit more interest, ya' know?"

Roni nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, that makes sense... Are you implying that I'd make a good fit?"

"Certainly, my boy! You seem young, fit, and level-headed. Those are three traits that make a great knight! Though, I understand if you don't want to leave."

"N-no! This seems like a great opportunity, sir. I'll consider it."

The arcanine laughed heartily.

"Sir? My boy, just call me Alfa! What's your name, while we're on that subject?"

"Roni."

"A great name indeed! Anyhow, I have more pokémon to talk to. Take this flyer, and I'll be on my way!" Alfa slid a sheet of parchment to Roni, then went and walked away.

Roni picked up the flyer, looking at it carefully.

It had basic information on it.

"Yadda-yadda, leave my home for extended periods, may be dangerous, will involve lots of training... Ahah! To sign up, bring this flyer to the castle in Redlog Village on 5/7..." /He looked up, smiling. "/This is perfect! I'll finally get my excitement in my life! I have a week to say bye to my family before I need to go sign up as well!"

With newfound determination, Roni hopped up and began to skip back home.
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"Ma', pa'!" Roni called, bursting through the door to his parents' bedroom. "Guess what?"

The two pokémon in question looked up, startled, and surprised at their son's newfound energy. They smiled anyway, happy that their son was happy.

His father was the first to speak.

"What... What is it, Roni?"

"I'm going to become a knight!"

The smiles on their faces faltered slightly. Roni's was still plastered on, unwavering.

"Haha... Funny!" his mother said, laughing slightly.

"Ma', I'm serious!"

The flareon frowned.

"Son... That's a bit dangerous... You know I couldn't get over it if anything ever happened to you, right...?"

His father finally spoke up.

"Yes, that's dangerous work. Shouldn't you go for a career that's a bit more... safe?"

Roni's smile only brightened.

"That's exactly the point, though! I want to do it because it's unsafe! I finally have an opportunity for excitement in my life. Can't you see this is what I need?"

His mother sighed, looking at him with worry.

"Son... We won't try to stop you if this is what you really want to do... But, I urge you to reconsider."

"This is what I want, ma'! I know it!" Roni giggled happily, bounding out of the room.

His mother and father looked at each other worriedly.

Roni figured that packing early would be the best option! So what if he still had a few days? Being early to prepare never hurt anyone!

"/Let's see... A bit of food, some money, parchment, ink, quil, and a portrait of my family... That's everything!" /he thought with excitement.

Tossing his bag next to the door, he walked over to his bed, flopping back onto it.

He stared up at the ceiling, pure bliss filling his body. His moment to himself was interrupted, however, as a loud knocking came at his door.

"Come in!"

His little sister opened the door and walked in. She bounded over excitedly, landing on her brother's chest.

"Big bro! Big bro! Is it true that you're becoming a knight?! I heard you talkin' to ma' n' pa'!" She was smiling brightly, her little fluffy tail wagging in excitement.

"I am, sis! Isn't it great?" he leaned up, giving the eevee a tight hug. She purred softly, returning it.

"I'm so happy for you, bro! That's like, totally awesome!"

The two shared a long embrace, enjoying each other's company.

"Thanks, sissy. It means a lot! Tell ya' what; behave while I'm gone, and I'll bring you back a little somethin'."

Her eyes lit up like stars in the night, as she let out a small gasp.

"Really? You'd do that for me?"

"You bet!" Roni threw in a wink, yellow rings glowing faintly.

"Ohmigosh! I love you so much!" she squeezed him even tighter, which he gladly returned. "Well, that's all I wanted to know. See you later, bro!"

"See ya'."

The eevee hopped off from him, excitedly bounding out of the room, shutting the door on her way out.

Roni smiled to himself, looking around said room.

It was large, but more modestly decorated than the rest of the house. A few paintings of his family, and a couple school awards up on the wall.

"Ah... I'm gonna miss this place... My whole life I've always been able to retreat here whenever I needed... But now, I'm going to be in an unfamiliar location..."

This revelation saddened him a little, but did little to chip at his resolve. Nothing was gonna ruin this for him, not even a bit of homesickness!
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Three sharp knocks on the door aroused the sylveon from her slumber. Accompanying those knocks was a command.

"Princess K'tora, wake up! We have a busy day today!" came the shrill voice, causing the sylveon to cover her ears.

"Ah... Shut up! I'll be out in a few minutes!" K'tora shouted in reply. She rubbed her eyes with her ribbons, before groggily stumbling up.

"We don't have a few minutes! You must begin your travels as soon as possible! The trip is already going to take several days!" came the shrill voice once more, slowly grating on K'tora's ears.

"The negotiations won't suffer from a few extra minutes of wait!"

A muffled huff was heard, and footsteps signaled the obnoxious nuisance's retreat.

K'tora smiled at her small victory. She hopped off from her bed, using one ribbon to pick up her crown and another to hold up her mirror.

"/Fur looks... fine... crown time!" /She plopped on the golden ordinate, smiling in satisfaction.

With that, she walked out of the room and into the hallway. The princess pranced down the long corridor happily, stained glass tinting her fur various colors as she passed.

It was several minutes, several flights of stairs, and several more hallways until she made it to the throne room.

A liepard sat on the throne. The liepard was the king, and K'tora's father.

The sylveon curtsied in front of the liepard.

"I have arrived, my lord," she proclaimed dramatically.

"No need for courtesy, K'tora." the king reassured, holding back a chuckle.

"Of course." She smiled, standing back up and looking up to her father.

"Now, you need to take everything completely seriously. These negotiations are important. If you mess up, it could be the catalyst to war. Do you understand, my daughter?"

"Yes, I get it."

"Now, just remember these simple terms. We'll provide them plenty of food to survive the winter, given they don't invade our land to expand their farms."

"Yes, father."

"Now, be polite about it. We don't want to upset them. But, whatever you do, do not budge from our agreement. Do not offer them more than I have stated, and do not accept less than we request. I expect the negotiations to be short. Understood?"

"I understand."

The king smiled, leaning down and patting his daughter.

"Good. Your chariot should be arriving shortly. Advisor Go'k will escort you."

K'tora let out a small purr, nodding.

"Yes, father."

"Goodbye, K'tora. Please stay safe on your trip."

"Goodbye, father. I will."

With that, the sylveon turned around and strode out of the throne room. She walked slowly outside to her chariot, where Go'k was waiting.

"About time!" chided the chatot. "We're going to be late!"

"Shut up, I'm coming!"

K'tora climbed in, Go'k following.

"Do not tell me to shut up, young lady. You need to learn some respect!"

"I'll respect you when you act respectable, Go'k."

The chatot huffed loudly, taking a seat next to the sylveon.

"Whatever." Go'k then leaned forward, shouting. "We're ready to go! Get a move on!"

The ponyta that were pulling gave firm nods, taking off down the dirt road.

K'tora sighed, relaxing. She finally had some peace and quiet, aside from the clopping of hooves.

She took this opportunity to think for a while.

Finally, she'd be out of the castle! As much as she loved being a princess and she loved her father, the stress involved got to be a bit much sometimes.

She always had to look perfect. She always had to act perfect. She always had to talk perfect. It was a burden, and weighed down on her constantly.

"Surely," K'tora thought, "one little vacation couldn't hurt? The kingdom can go without a princess for a few days."

She rested her chin on her paws, which were propped up on the side of the wagon. She watched the scenery passing curiously, taking in every little detail.

"K'tora, posture!" Go'k snapped, glaring at the sylveon.

Groaning loudly, the fairy type sat upright, straight.

"It's not like anyone's even watching..."

"You need to do it constantly so you don't ever slip up!"

"Whatever... Just, please shut up..."