Legends of Roestag

Chapter One: Letters

It was a picture worthy scene, it was; water pastels of all colors would blend all together in the sky, all the colors of the spring flowers came together in one big, beautiful swirl of clouds. The brilliant sun was slowly creeping behind the horizon; it’s reflection on the mirror of ocean. These were the kind of things painters were inspired by, but then again, who wouldn’t be inspired by such a magnificent sight?

“Kelsey! Come on, dear!”

Margret Minar probably wouldn’t be inspired. A rather pudgy woman knocked in a very fussy manner before giving up and opening the door. Kelsey didn’t bother to move when this woman entered, only kept her bright, blue eyes on the sunset through her open window, gazing longingly at the salt water...

“Kelsey, darling, come here! Get dressed! Promptly! Now!” Mrs. Minar said, her voice hurried and eager. The plump woman stood there with her hands on her broad hips and when she got no response from the teenage girl, she gave a great huff of impatience. “Oh, for goodness sake!” The maid scurried across the room and gripped onto the girl’s shoulders. “Kelsey. We must not be late for your lady lessons.” Margret Minar lowered her voice and tried to calm down. A quiet, but audible sigh came from the young girl sitting in the chair. “I didn’t want to disturb Cosmo...” Kelsey say quietly, glancing down to the Sentret curled up in her lap, sleeping.

“Oh, don’t worry about him. I still don’t understand why you didn’t want something like a Skitty or a Vulpix...” Mrs. Minar murmured. For a moment, the girl said nothing. And then; “I’ll be out in just a moment.” Kelsey Kasumi replied. The face Mrs. Minar made looked annoyed, but she left the room without any more fuss. The young girl stirred slightly in her chair, not really wanting to wake her very loyal Pokemon. “Cosmo, time to get up.” Kelsey whispered, causing the Sentret in her lap to shift and let out a cute little yawn. With a small smile, the girl stood, cradling her beloved companion in her arms. As Cosmo began rubbing his eyes, Kelsey traveled across the room to her dresser, where she placed her Pokemon down on its finished wood surface.

While the Sentret was busy waking himself, Kelsey Kasumi yanked out one of the massive drawers, and began sifting through the neatly folded clothing. She picked a dress that she knew her teacher would approve of, and then disappeared behind a screen made of bamboo. Cosmo gave a tired stretch and slowly lifted himself onto his tail, keeping watch while his trainer changed. It wasn’t long before the girl reappeared in a proper purple dress, casting her old outfit into a bin. As the girl passed by the dresser again, the Pokemon hopped off the furniture and onto Kelsey’s shoulder. When Cosmo was comfortable, Kelsey passed through the door to a waiting Mrs. Minar, who had been rapidly tapping her foot on the floor.

“Oh,” the woman said, seeming surprised. “You look very nice, dear.” Mrs. Minar continued, a small smile on her face. Kelsey did not return the smile, only offered a nod, and went on to walk down the hallway. This hallway was just one of the many familiar hallways that made up her home. The halls were covered in very elegantly decorated wallpaper that probably cost a pretty little penny. The floors were made of a pure marble, and made any shoe sound like four-inch high heels, even Kelsey’s mud covered sneakers.

“Kelsey, wait! Cosmo...” Mrs. Minar began quietly. Kelsey frowned slightly. She knew that her teacher did not like her Sentret, and the girl simply could not fathom as to why so many people did not like him. Kelsey turned only to see a Silk Scarf behind handed to her. “I think Miss Remedy would like him more with a bow.” The maid offered with a soft smile. A small smile curled onto the girls face as she gingerly took the silk fabric from her. Cosmo hopped down off of her shoulder, and Kelsey turned to him. “Stand up on your tail.” Kelsey said to him gently. Without a second thought, the Pokemon rose up onto his strong tail, and Kelsey went about tying the Silk Scarf around the base of his tail, into a neat bow.

“Very nice.” Mrs. Minar complimented. Kelsey slowly picked the Sentret back up and continued on down the hallway. When the long hall came to an end, a staircase made of the same, pure marble stood before her. The girl had an urge to skip down the stairs, but resisted, and walked down slowly. In the living room sat a pencil thin woman who was dressed in a lavender dress, and smelled strongly of honeysuckle. Her neatly brushed hair hung down just above her shoulders, and was calmly flowing in the wind from the open window next to her.

When Kelsey entered the room, a smile made of lipstick and other make-up appeared on her teacher’s face. “Welcome, Kelsey. You’re a few minutes late, as usual.” She spoke, her voice almost eerily smooth. A soft meow was produced from the creature next to her, a large Persian that was curled around the side of his trainer’s chair. The large cat spied Cosmo and licked it’s chops as if being tantalized. “I apologize, Miss Remedy.” Kelsey said softly, hugging Cosmo slightly closer, keeping an eye on her frisky Persian. Miss Remedy, noticing Kelsey’s tension and brought a slender hand down to the cat’s head and gave him a few strokes, causing the feline to let out a low, loud purr.

“Are you ready to begin your lessons?” Miss Remedy asked with a furtive smirk. “Ye—“ “PELIPPERR!” A screech came from outside, causing Kelsey to pause her speech. A large bird made a loud smack of it’s wings as it tried to come in through the window. It crash landed on the carpet of the living room. Kelsey gave a yip of surprise and hopped back, out of the way. White and blue feathers now littered the floor, and Miss Remedy’s Persian looked at the bird hungrily. The woman’s hand reached down to grab three of his six whiskers, and he immediately calmed down. The clumsy Pelipper regained it’s composer and stood up on it’s wide feet, presenting a letter in it’s beak.

“Oh, it must be for me. Bring it here.” Miss Remedy said, holding out her open hand. The Pelipper glanced at Miss Remedy and then turned it’s back to her, and faced Kelsey. He spread his wings slightly, for balance, and waddled right up to her and extended his beak up towards her, offering her the letter. “For me?” Kelsey questioned, slowly taking the letter out of it’s beak. The paper sustained slight water damage, and was think and yellowing, and felt almost like thin, cheep, synthetic leather. On the front of the folded paper, or whatever you wanted to call it, was neatly printed; Kelsey Kasumi.

Without another thought, the girl flipped the letter over, to find that it had been sealed with red, melted wax, and then stamped with a stamp. The stamp the picture made surprised her. It had four lines all from one point, all the lines pointing in other directions. These lines were labeled with the little letters of N, E, S, and W, like a compass. In the center was a bold letter P. This symbol was the mark of a pirate. Kelsey’s heart began pounding in her chest and she had to force herself from grinning. The Pelipper spread it’s wings and took off from the room and out the open window, leaving behind some more loose feathers. Miss Remedy released her Pokemon’s whiskers once the bird was gone.

“What does the ‘P’ mean?” The voice of Mrs. Minar came from behind. Kelsey gasped, and held the letter to her chest, obviously startled by the maid. “It- It means Private.” Kelsey lied quickly. Miss Remedy cleared her throat. “Well, since my classroom is now filled with feathers, and Percy is all worked up, I suppose we must cancel our lesson for today. We will continue tomorrow, same time as always. Try not to be late.” The thin woman stood, quickly followed by the Persian and the two of them floated gracefully out of the home, and Kelsey get out a grin.

Oh, she knew who the letter was from, and she couldn’t wait to read it, but not here. “Uh, I guess I’ll just clean this up, then...” Mrs. Minar grumbled. “I-I’m going to change!” Kelsey exclaimed, setting the Sentret down and heading off for the staircase. Cosmo quickly followed his trainer up the stairs, down the hall, and into the room they shared. Kelsey closed the door behind her Pokemon and locked the door. She didn’t even bother kicking off her shoes, she went straight for her chair and carefully opened the letter. Handling it as though it would simply fall apart. She unfolded the letter, and began reading the thick, black ink.

‘Dear Kelsey,

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I sure hope that silly Pokemon found you, but he should know you by now. I know I’ve promised you that I would visit you one of these days, but I guess it’s slipped my mind. Kelsey, I am so sorry that I’ve forgotten about you for so long, but I often like to forget about my past. And, no, it’s not fair that I’ve been keeping you in my past, and I want to make it up to you.

I’ve only recently received word of your mother’s death, and I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for you. I apologize that I couldn’t be there for you, but I think I have a way to make it up to you. I want you to pack up all your things and go down to the docks an hour or so before dawn. Do not tell anyone you are leaving, and I promise I’ll meet you there. If you do not show up, either that bloody Pelipper failed me yet again, or you do not wish to come along with me. And, I understand if you don’t.

I hope to see you soon, Kelsey. Please give me a chance to make everything I’ve done to you right again.

With love,

Buckskin Kasumi’