Chapter Six

Tuesday Morning, 8:00 AM 8th of January

Campsite, Beneath the Rainbow Islands

Lethe

"Who are you?"

"I am Lethe."

"Are you sure?"

I frowned, confused; "Of course I am sure. Who else can I be?"

A tall, broad shouldered man stood in front of me, arms folded in front of him. A light blue robe draped over his body, falling to the length of his ankles. For some odd reason, I couldn't see his face. A dark shroud had swallowed his head, or perhaps it was a pitch black shadaw whose talons had wrapped around him. It was as if he had no head at all.

"You say you are princess Leletheia Chan Kiyali, heir to the throne of the Kiyali dynasty," the headless man continued, his voice questioning and sharp. "Yet you can hardly remember the simplest things, so how do you know for sure?"

I stood, unable to move, my feet seemingly glued to the ground while the mysterious robed stranger began to circle me. I opened my mouth to speak, but paused, realizing that I didn't know at all. He glided around me, persistently flinging question after question.

"Who are you?"

"I told you."

"Is it the truth?"

"It must be."

"Why are you here?"

"I - ,"

"What are you seeking?"

"I'm not - ,"

"Why?"

"Please - ,"

I shook my head, I didn't understand. Who was this man? My head began to ring with pain, throbbing as my heart beat at an uncanny pace.

Throb throb throb. My head pounded.

A sudden wave of disorientation enveloped me. Where was I? Darkness surrounded me, everywhere, darkness. I hung in the centre of a black void.

Strange voices began rolling from the emptiness, a crescendo of hundreds of disembodied murmurs and whispers, bombarding me from every angle.

"Do you know what awaits you?"

"Remember!"

"Become the wave."

"Who are you?"

Throb throb throb.

I spun around, peering into the endless darkness, searching frantically for the origin of the voices.

They came from everywhere yet nowhere all at once.

"Please stop it!" I yelled, my voice lost in the din.

"Meet your fear."

Throb throb throb.

"We know who you are."

Throb throb throb.

"Do you?"

"What are you?"

Throb throb throb throb.

I shut my eues; a futile attempt to shut out the voices pressing against me.

"We know....."

"Your memory is short lived…"

"What is your deepest desire?"

"Remember."

"We know....."

"Death..."

My breathing quickened.

Throbthrobthrobthrob.

"Tell us."

"Tell us!"

"Who are you!"

Throbthrobthrobthrobthrob.

The darkness shattered.

I screamed.

* * *

The activity of the campsite racketed across the clearing, a swishing of material as sleeping bags were folded away; shoved roughly into their packs, pots clanging and the crackle and sizzle of the fire. The colours of dawn began to fade in the sky, slowly melting into the clear blue of early morn. It gave away only the slightest hint of violet, the last remnants of the dying twilight.

Yawning, pain suddenly rippled through my brain.

I had a massive throbbing headache.

Stretching my muscles, I arched my back. My black leather coat, cold and stiff on my shoulders. My neck ached, most likely due to the fact that it had been bent at an awkward angle throughout the night on Odomp's shoulder. My guard stirred beside me, then just as abruptly fell asleep. Good. The drug was working.

I pushed myself to my feet, straightening out my mini-skirt and red singlet. After I was satisfied with my appearance, I picked my way distastefully towards the fire, leaving Odomp sleeping alone.

I sniffed in disgust, I hated 'roughing it'. It was so… so common! I was a princess, heir to the throne of a growing kingdom flourishing in power and wealth. I wasn’t supposed sleeping on the dirty ground!

Oh well, such was the price of freedom. These ‘trainers’ had appeared at precisely the right time, the perfect opportunity to escape from my overbearing, babysitting guard. I would leave silly Odomp here, it was the only way to be rid of his protectiveness, I was a big girl now, nearly seventeen! I didn’t need his constant worrying, or nagging. The trainers would help get me to the nearest place of civilisation.

I bitterly cursed my father's desire for me to travel to the Rainbow Islands accompanied and on constant guard. I wanted to explore the world on my own! I wanted to see what lay beyond the horizon without someone worrying if I’ll catch cold from it. I wanted to ride ponytas, eat fairy floss and go shopping!

Birdsong filled the air, the lovely trill of their voices soothed my pounding head. I guess it was one of the pleasures of nature, though I still resented sleeping on the floor against a rotting log. One of my suede boots cracked a twig, and I winced as the beautiful morning song was interrupted by a sharp snap. My headache seemed to grow worse.

Mei Ling had disappeared deep into the thicket of trees around us. She was the daughter of a baron, and ever she had more freedom than I! Seth, the young man with a grotesque plaster marring his otherwise handsome features, had gone to collect some firewood, and the little boy was no where to be seen. The small blue haired trainer, Tempest, was up and about. I guessed she was an early riser, a morning person just like the peasant she was. She crouched in front of the campfire, stoking the embers to life, a tin billy boiled over it and the sweet smell of oatmeal swirled tantalizingly around my nostrils.

"That smells incredibly delicous!" I complimented, forcing myself to kneel down beside beside her. I had never done such an action before. Royal dresses did not permit it. It hadn’t realized how difficult it was!

"Don’t say that before you try it." She grimaced, lifting her plastered arm and laying it gingerly on her knee.

"Why do you not put a sling on that?" I suggested, "It is not good for your arm to be moving around. It must be stable in order to heal properly."

She glanced at me, "What are you, a bloody doctor or something?"

I smiled smugly, "Well, I have been studying medical sciences for almost a year, so I should know."

“Oh.”

There was an awkward silence.

I cleared my throat nervously, speaking with commoners was a lot harder than it looked! "I will get you something to use as a makeshift sling, perhaps Mei Ling will have one."

A familiar male voice wafted through the air, "Hey Beautiful! Sleep well?"

I turned. Seth strolled into the camp, a bundle of sticks and small pieces of wood in his arms. He wore a brown leather jacket, white shirt, and denim pants three times too large and pulled halfway down his backside. Carelessly he dropped the bundle down beside Tempest, who swore as they rattled and rolled all over the place in messy disarray. He grinned brightly, cerulean eyes shining with mirth.

"What's your bloody problem Seth?" The bird trainer growled.

Winking in my direction, he purposefully scattered the unruly pile with the toe of his sneakers making a show of not noticing, "Well, let me see. She's about five foot three, blue haired and scruffy, squeaky - "

"Squeaky?!" Tempest shrieked incredulously.

"Did I say squeaky? No sorry, what I meant was shrill."

"Seth, you come down here and say that!"

"Sorry, I don't wanna to stoop down to your level." He chuckled.

Tempest was livid, she leapt to her feet charging at him, all the while screaming obscenities that made my ears burn, screaming obscenities that I hadn't even heard before, that a good and decent princess should never ever have to hear.

Seth laughed, dancing nimbly out of harm's way. Though I must admit, he was running a fine line of becoming mince meat or dead meat as I noticed Tempest finger her pokeballs menacingly.

"Impossible for you guys to keep quiet isn't it?" Mei Ling stepped out from behind a tree, brushing away a thin branch, "I can hear you a mile away!" Her long green hair cascaded down her back, just beyond her waist. It appeared wet, matted against her face and smoothed back behind her ears. The ends of her green strands dripped tiny water rivulets that soaked into her white singlet, leaving wet patches. Her tanned skin seemed to glow with the radiance brought only by bathing in cold water. Bright emarlad eyes sparkled with a cat-like alertness. Her plain white singlet, revealed strong the lithe muscles of her arms. Her blue jeans were rolled up to beneath her knees. Her white sneakers were soiled with dirt and grass.

Tempest halted mid-strike, "Where'd you go off to, and why are you so wet?"

The green haired trainer stepped towards her shiny silver pack which was almost bursting at the seams with all the items she had in there. A sparkle of red caught my attention, "Excuse me!" I exclaimed, "Is that my bracelet?"

She glanced at it listlessly, "What? This peice of junk?" Bending down, she caught it up in her hand and looked at it closely, "It's pretty much worthless. The ruby beads look kind of fake."

I flared, "I beg your pardon? That bracelet is worth a fortune! The beads aren't rubies, they're garnets!"

Her eyes lit up, and she scrutinized the heirloom with interest, "Oh they are, hey?"

POOF! In an instant, my bracelet disappeared from her hand. "Now," She said smoothly, as if nothing had happened, "What were we talking about?"

"You took my bracelet!" I cried in horror.

She looked at me blankly, "What bracelet?"

I froze, staring at her in disbelief. I could of sworn she had it! I looked at the others, but it seemed they were all pretending not to notice. Oh well. Shrugging, I consoled myself with the fact Daddy could get me another one anytime. Now there was something I was going to ask her but I couldn't quite remember. Something about a.... ring?

"So why are you so wet?" Seth queried, clipping Tempest over the ears and blowing her a mock kiss before he quickly side stepped her flying fist.

Swearing, the bird trainer eventually gave up trying to beat him to a pulp. With a scowl of resentment, she muttered, "If only I could hit that damned broken nose of yours..." and hunkered down beside the fire again, returning her attention to the oatmeal, her plain white cast on one knee.

But what was that thing I was going to ask Mei Ling?

"I went exploring. There's a nice little brook running just between those trees over there, so I took a bath. The water's beautiful, nice, cool and fresh. It must come right down from the mountains." The thief gestured.

"You took a shower eh?" Seth raised an eyebrow, looking her up and down.

It occurred to me that he was a shameless flirt. Much like the courtiers at the palace were.

"Anyway," Mei Ling continued, ignoring the blonde, "Maybe you guys should wash up too, I hate to be blunt, but you guys stink."

"It isn't me!" Tempest protested pointing her plastered hand at Seth, "He smells enough for a dozen football players after a grandfinal all cooped up in a kennel!"

"Hey, that’s really mean!" Seth gingerly fingered his covered nose.

"But true."

Flinging his hands up in exasperation he muttered, "Fine, fine, fine. If you guys say so." He walked over to his pack, picked it up and slung it over his shoulder.

"That's a good widdle boy." Mei Ling grinned, "Oh, and take Jiang with you."

"Where is he, pray?" I wondered out loud.

"Aha! Found him!" Tempest had loped to the other side of the clearing and had pulled out by the scruff of his orange hooded jumper, a sleepy, bewildered Jiang. "So that's where you were hiding! We couldn't find you anywhere when we wanted you to get firewood with Seth."

Mei Ling murmured drily, "I wonder why."

The boy gave a tired grin, which changed into a pained expression when Tempest dropped him to the floor.

"So anyway," The thief gave him a funny smile, "Get your ass over there with Seth, go have a shower. Get yourself cleaned up."

"What?!" Jiang screeched, instantly wide awake and on his feet. "I can't have a shower with him!"

"Why not?" Seth asked, slightly hurt, "We can talk about manly stuff."

The boy paled, "But - But it's Seth!" He exclaimed incredulously, as if that explained everything, "I just can't!"

"You wouldn't want to go with Lethe or Tempest now would you?" Mei Ling pointed out with that same funny smile.

"I'm going!" Jiang yelped, hurrying into the trees without any further objections.

The thief coughed politely, "Uh, the stream is the other way."

The boy made a sharp U-turn and headed in the right direction, "I knew that!" He bluffed.

Seth chuckled, and started after him, shifting the weight of his pack to the other shoulder. "Well, I'm off, sure you lovely ladies wouldn't care to join me?" He winked in my direction. I turned in confusion, who was he winking at? It could not have possibly been… Oh dear.

Mei Ling grinned, "Don't be selfish! Jiang wouldn’t appreciate that."

"Too bad I’m a selfish person." Seth's laughter pealed across the clearing as he disappeared into the shadowy green foliage.

I shook my head, "Is he always like that?"

Mei Ling nodded absently, pulling out her five pokeballs from her silver pack.

"BREAKFAST'S READY!!" Tempest hollered.

I winced, "And is she always this loud?"

Mei Ling grinned, "You're lucky you don't have to hear her sing. If you think she's bad now, never go to a karaoke bar with her. Karaoke bars are places of evil. They mix people who shouldn't drink, with people who shouldn't sing."

... Sing ...

... Ring ...

... S-Ring ...

Sling! The question I'd been dying to ask her suddenly flooded my memory. I cursed my short term memory; it was so frustrating at times. "Would you happen to have a sling, or piece of material with you perchance? You seem to be a walking department store."

Mei Ling rummaged thoughtfully through her shiny pack, and I glimpsed all sorts of items floating around in there.

"What is that?" I asked, pointing at an object attached to some string.

"Oh, just my lucky donphan paw."

"And that?"

"A lucky chrizard scale."

"What's this?"

"My magic lucky wishball."

"Do I even want to know what this might be?"

"Just a lucky kenghaskan eyeball. Now will you just keep quiet and let me look for this sling you want?"

After some squinting and cursing, she finally produced a square length of light pink cotton which I thanked her for as she handed it over.

"What do you need it for anyway?" She asked curiously, accompanying me to where Tempest sat scooping the oatmeal into plastic bowls.

"I told Tempest I'd find her a sling to support her broken arm. I believe she lost the other one."

"Figures." Mei Ling commented, "She used the last one to gag Jiang."

* * *

Tempest released a long, loud burp, patting her stomach proudly, "I'm a bloody good cook."

"From now on she loses all cooking privelages." Shahman muttered from where he rested sullenly beneath the shade of one of the old oaks surrounding the clearing. The other pokemon murmured in agreement. Coo-ee forced down the last portion of his oatmeal and I watched in mixed fascination and disgust as I saw the small lump slide down his beautifully plumed throat. It was like watching an ekkons swallow a rattatta whole.

He opened his small beak, wheezing; "It's just bloody packaged food! How can it be so bad?!"

"What did you say?" Tempest snarled ominously, giving the sunset peacock a dark sidelong glance.

"Eh... nothing." Coo-ee lied quickly.

"Yes uh, nothing at all." The pokemon echoed nervously.

Shahman muttered something beneath his breath and Artemis shot him an alarmed expression, batting an icy blue wing at him.

"Don't say that!" She hissed, "Tempest will shoot you!"

"This taste likes shit." Blaze spat, screwing up his orange lizard face in repulsion.

The enitre camp froze, staring at him in shock.

"Hic, what?" He protested, flicking his flamed tail nervously, "It does, hic, don't it?"

The trainers had released all their pokemon at the serving of breakfast. Seth and Jiang had returned from their shower with the latter wet, dripping and shivering like a drowned rat, complaining that baths were completely unnecessary.

Seth sat beside me, leaning against a tree, his arms folded behind his head while he whistled a happy tune.

Odomp was still asleep.

No one seemed to mind.

The sun had risen brightly into the morning sky, a burning golden eye amidst a sea of azure blue. I judged the time to be around nine o'clock, not long before we headed off and I left my babysitter behind and entered a new life of long awaited freedom. Through the thick canopy of ivy green leaves above, a swarm of seemingly a hundred red ledyba migrated to the south, where the climate was hotter and more suited to their liking. Yet I frowned, ledyba usually moved in late winter, it was still too early for the pokemon to leave. I watched in curiosity as the sound of their beating wings filled the air then died away as they passed and flew out of sight. How strange indeed.

Mei Ling's dragons lounged around the campsite. Her poison dragon alavar reminded me of home, his translator revealing his speech as archaic and noble. I'd marvelled at his emerald green scales, the raw muscle and sinew of his limbs. However, contrary to the belief that a trainer was supposed to have a great control of their pokemon, Mei Ling’s dragon’s seemed to do as they pleased. They treated her as one of them, not with the high respect due to a trainer.

Seth's dogs fooled around the camp, thier pink tongues lolling happily out of the side of their mouths as they frolicked around the clearing in an endless game of tag. I was amazed to see that he'd managed to catch and tame such legendary dogs whose skills and strength were renowned across the land, reaching as far as my own kingdom. Even I knew that such a task was no mean feat. The lithe blue body of the water dog Suicune darted around and between the pokemon. He was only a mere pup, though his radiant cerulean fur and muscular hind legs hinted to a hidden strength and stamina. His snowy tails wagged behind him, and the silver diamond patterns decorating his sides and legs reflected the sunlight shining brilliantly through the trees. A beautiful cascade of soft lilac fur fluttered behind him as he ran.

Entie and Raikou acted as brothers, neither one left the other’s side. It was obvious they were the dominant pair among Seth's team of six. Entie the fire canine, watching over the others with wise black eyes. His long white pointed moustache sprouting on either side of his nose, his spiky scarlet fur gave him a wild menacing appearance, and none objected to his authority. He brandished hind legs were strong and firm, no presence of fat could be seen.

Raikou, seemingly the younger, bore a reckless look, the jagged chestnut patterns ordaining his muscular body and fluffy crimson fur running down his back gleamed with health. Long knifelike canines jutted from his mouth.

Tempest's birds it seemed, found it extremely difficult to get along with each other and she had been compelled to release them one at a time. Coo-ee the beautiful shirasharmi - a new species of pokemon to me - acted as peace keeper since it was he and he alone that all the birds grudgingly respected.

It was Artemis's turn to be let loose, and I had found myself gasping in awe as the articuno had swept fiercely through the air, her radiant cerulean wings displaying her speed and agility. Her crest of icicles and long flowing tail shone in the sun's light and the thought struck me that I was not in the company of mere beginner trainers, but seasoned veterans of the sport, masters in their own right. Perhaps they weren't such peasants after all.

Now, with Tempest throwing a temper tantrum and yelling vulgar swearwords, Seth fuelling her anger with unpleasant comments, and Mei Ling relaxing against a tree, watching the whole situation with great amusement, I was quite prepared to change my mind, and I wondered; how had these hooligans captured such rare pokemon?

When the argument was at its peak and the bird trainer was ordering heavy-hearted Artemis to freeze Seth into a popsicle, Jiang suddenly came zipping through the air on the back of his fluffy white cloud which he called a nymbis. The pokemon's eyes were hidden beneath tufts of curly white fluff, and the entire animal was no bigger than a small rug. Jiang used it as a flying carpet.

"Hey! Guess what!" The boy cried, excitedly leaping off his new pokemon's back, "Look at what we found!"

Nymbis cooed in glee, "Nymmm! Bis!!"

The boy's hand dived under his jumper, producing a large spotted egg.

"Seth I'm gonna - " Tempest froze, her hands still curled around the front of the dog trainer's neck, "Is that a spearow egg?"

Mei Ling's laughter immediately broke off, "Oh shit! It is too!"

In an instant, the whole camp exploded into activity.

"Put the fire out!"

"Get the bowls!"

"Everyone! Get inside your pokeballs!"

"Alavar! I'll need you to take me flying!"

"Coo-ee! Come on!"

"Gryffon! I need your help!"

"Where's my book!"

"Don't start that on me again!"

"Whaaaaaaaa!"

I got clumsily to my feet, whirling around in confusion. Why the sudden panic?

"What's going on?" I called, trying to catch Tempest's arm as she ran by.

"Let's get outta here before they come!"

"Who is coming?" I asked quizzically.

"Don't you know?" She exclaimed breathlessly, "That stupid boy took a spearow egg!"

I shook my head, "You must excuse my lack of knowledge about the pokemon in this region. I am new in this area. What is the probolem? Can we not just return it?"

"Are you insane?" She screeched, shaking off my arm and vaulting onto her articuno's back, "If there's a spearow nest nearby, that means there's a spearow colony nearby which means they'll be ruled by a rather nasty Fearow!"

Coo-ee swooped onto her outstretched arm as Artemis took to the air, bellowing, "They're the bitchiest birds on the face of the planet! Even my Sis isn't that bad! And we just stole their egg!"

Seth glided down beside me on a sulky looking Ed, "Hop on! They'll be here any moment!"

Mei Ling roughly shook the still sleeping Odomp. "What's wrong with him? Alavar! Help me wake him up!"

"Yes my lady!" The ancient dragon lowered his ivory horned head, ready to nudge my guard in the ribs.

"No! Don't do that! You'll skewer him!"

He stopped, staring at her rather sheepishly. "I apologize, thou art correct. What canst I do?"

"I dunno, whack him with your tail or something." Mei Ling shrugged.

Jiang floated down, sitting cross legged on the back of his cloud pokemon. The confounded egg still cradled in his arms. Mei Ling's green eyes widened as she saw it, "What are you still doing with that thing? Do you really want to get your eyes pecked out?"

"I can't just leave it here!"

Tempest called from above, high in the treetops, "Yes you bloody well can!"

"Okay!" Jiang squeaked, eager to please her. He threw the egg carelessly over his shoulder.

"Noooooooooooooo!" Mei Ling, Seth and Tempest screamed simultaneously.

The egg shattered on the dirt ground. Egg white and yolk splattered everywhere. The sudden noise of flapping wings and alarmed screeches filled the atmosphere. Hundreds upon hundreds of angry squawks.

"What the hell were you thinking you - "

I think it would be best if I did not repeat the next couple of sentences Tempest screamed. Although I can assure you, my vocabulary in the way of insults was expanded tremendously.

"We're in for it now." Mei Ling wailed, horrified. "Okay, army mode on! Everybody, GO! GO! GO! GO!"

"Alioop!" Ed had snapped out of his sulleness, grabbing me around the waist with a strong titanic paw and for one fraction of a moment, I was afraid he might hold me ransom for a book. But my fears vanished when he threw me side saddle onto his back behind Seth, nestled in between his golden brown feathers. Ed turned his fiery maned head towards his trainer, his purple eyes holding a cool calculating gaze. The green stripes streaking across his scarlet body seemed to glow menacingly, "Listen buddy, trainer, master of mine. Howzabout we make a deal eh?” He suggested with false pleasantry, “You give me a whole collection of books, and I won't, say, eat you or anything?"

"Anything you want!" Seth beamed happily as his fifteen foot tall winged dog rose up in the air, further away from danger.

I looked at the receding ground and took a sharp inhalation of breath.

Mei Ling was still down there!

She was at the snoring Odomp's side, kicking him the ribs in a desperate attempt to break through his slumber and jolt him awake, the angered dangerous squawks became louder and louder in the forest, a sure sign that the fearows would show up any moment screaming bloody murder.

"What is the matter with this man?" Alavar cried his voice on the edge of panic as the screeches grew in volume.

"I don’t know, just throw him on your back and let's get outta here!"

"No!" I cried.

She looked up sharply, "What?"

"Leave him there! Cover him with dirt, leaves, please! Just leave him there!"

"Why on earth would you want to do that?"

"Hurry my lady!" Alavar urged, flapping his huge ivy wings, "The accursed birds are nearing ever closer!"

I yelled in a pained voice, "You do not know what it is like living with him always at your heels! I cannot travel with him any longer!"

The thief looked torn between saving her own hide and doing what was morally right.

Her hide won.

Quickly kicking loose foliage over his body so he was obscured within the bushes, she vaulted onto Alavar's scaly back and the two pelted into the sky, rising above the treetops just as the forest burst with a thousand vengeful spearows.

As Tempest led us up into air, I suffered from a sudden change of heart. Anxiety welled up inside of me for the safety of my long time friend, annoying as he was. As we flew onwards, Alavar, gliding gracefully beside us, caught my look of distress and shook his aged head.

"Far too late for that, your Highness."

I nodded, he was right. The choice was made.