Ash and his workmates finished their work for the day. As usual, it was a solid day's work in the field. The smell of the earth clinging to their boots mingled with the odour of their sweaty bodies and wafted among them. They did not mind. They had learned to associate their sweat with their pay, an honest day's wage for an honest day's work producing food for the people of Pallet.
"Hey Andy, coming to fighting class?"
"Not today, Ash—I'm going out with Jessica tonight."
Ash went glum.
"Hey pal," said Andy, "we'll find you plenty of girls."
Ash looked up and smiled. Andy had a knack of cheering him up.
"Join us for dinner at the Spearow?" Andy asked.
"Uh...Sure!" replied Ash. "See you there."
Ash usually went to the fountain between work and fighting class to quench his thirst and relax. He examined his reflection in the water. He was happy with his appearance. He could see no flaw, no reason for girls not to have made any advances. Was he overly courteous towards them? Did he make them think he wasn't interested? He was seventeen—at that age, other guys were already getting married!
He lapped up another handful of water, splashed water on his face, and made his way to the town hall.
♦
About three dozen youths, male and female, stood at attention waiting for the teacher's instructions.
"Today we'll be practicing kicks," announced the teacher. "We'll start with the side kick."
"I suck at these," Mike muttered to Ash.
"Mike!" called the teacher. "You got something to say?"
"Urr...sorry..."
"Let me remind all of you that after the archers and the fencers, you're the last line of defense for Pallet. Our readiness to fight's the only reason Viridian have kept their filthy hands off us, so take this seriously."
Mike straightened himself into fighting position.
"Lift your knee," said the teacher, "pivot on your supporting foot, and thrust your leg out. Aim for the stomach. Your opponent's knees, groin and ribs are also useful targets. Right leg first then left. Ready... one!... two!... three!... "
♦
After the class, as the sun was setting, the female students walked down to Pallet Bay to bathe. When they finished, it was the men's turn. By the time Ash had washed, the water was cold and dark and the stars had appeared.
He came out and sat with the others on the rocky shore to drip dry. The night breeze prickled his bare, wet skin.
"I sometimes wonder what the stars see," said Mike.
"The entire Valley for sure," Ash replied, "and the Unknown Lands. The whole world!"
"I wonder if we'll get to see some of those places."
"Don't ask me Mike. You never know what fate brings.... Hey I've got to go—see you around."
One by one, the men finished drying, put on fresh clothes, and left.
♦
After dumping his dirty clothes at home, Ash made his way to the Soaring Spearow. He spotted his friends Andy and Jessica and sat down on the wooden bench next to them.
"What would you like?" asked Andy.
"It's OK, I'll get it," replied Ash.
"You're my guest tonight," Andy insisted.
Ash smiled. "Potatoes are nice this season."
"So they should be, how much manure we put on them."
Andy ordered a leek and potato stew for Ash, while Jessica suddenly saw her plate of food in a new light.
Halfway through their meal, there was a commotion. All heads turned to see the prince having an argument with his latest girlfriend. Although he was royalty, Gary was still a teenager, and the Soaring Spearow was the only night-time hangout for teenage youths in all of Pallet Town.
The altercation turned nasty. Gary stood up and pushed the girl off her seat. She picked herself up and began to shout.
"How dare you! I don't care who you are, you treat me—"
She was interrupted by a sharp slap in the face.
Ash did not hesitate. He leapt out of his chair, bounded across the room and saulted over a table, narrowly missing a waitress carrying a tray's worth of drinks. He landed cleanly between Gary and the girl, feet apart, forearms raised and fists clenched.
Gary wasn't fazed.
"You dare lift a hand against your prince? Where's your loyalty?"
Ash stood his ground.
"Your highness, my loyalty is to the king and his laws."
"And is there no law against striking a royal?"
By this time the whole tavern was silent, and Gary's voice reverberated throughout the room.
"There is, your highness, and there is also a law against striking a commoner. Who has broken a law between us?"
Gary clenched his teeth. His right hand reached for his sword. Those who could see gasped. Ash stood firm, relaxed but alert.
"What's your name, commoner?"
"My name's Ash," he answered proudly, "and I'm a loyal subject of the king."
"And when I'm king, the first law I'll pass is for your execution."
Gary relaxed his grip on his sword, turned around and left.
As soon as Gary exited the tavern, a loud murmur arose as people discussed what they had witnessed. One of the waitresses brought a wet towel for the girl's face. Andy came and collected Ash.
Everyone knew that Ash should be admired for his stance, but everyone also knew that Gary would be king one day, perhaps soon given the king's age. Old King Samuel won the loyalty of his subjects by his wisdom and justice. Gary, they were sure now, would attain it by eradicating disloyalty—ruthlessly.
"If everyone in Pallet stands up for what's right, how could Gary do anything? The king's just one man."
"Ash," replied Andy, "Gary's got mates that'll support him—guys like him.
"My father says the prince has ways to intimidate people," said Jessica.
"And he'll have the money to bribe who he wants," said Andy. "It won't be a case of one man against the whole kingdom."
"I've heard Cerulean has a bad king," said Ash. "I suppose that's how he managed to do it."
"Cerulean?" said Jessica. "King Walter uses monsters to control the people."
"Monsters?" said Andy and Ash simultaneously.
"Yes. My father says that when people get out of line, the king sends in soldiers that can control monsters. Pewter can do it too, but they don't turn them on their own people, thank goodness."
"So they must train them something like we all do with tauros and carrier pidgey," said Andy.
"Only they train them to hurt people," said Ash with disgust. He sighed. "Why can't everyone be nice to each other?"
♦
On the way home, Ash couldn't help thinking about Gary. Since Gary had come of age, he had had a dozen girlfriends, gratifying himself with each one for a period and dumping her whenever a new specimen of the opposite sex took his fancy. Furthermore, given the customs, he couldn't marry any of them without losing his right to the throne, so his intentions were pretty clear. Pallet even had a law forbidding sexual relationships outside of marriage. As if Gary cared about that, when it wasn't all that uncommon amongst the teenage population anyway.
It only made him angry to think about Gary. Ash put the prince out of his mind and went home to bed.
