Stella’s tale
“Hmmm hmm, hm hm hu hu... Oh! Greetings! I didn’t see you there... but allow me to introduce myself. I am Stella, High Lady of Gardevoir Grove. And you are?”
“- - -“
“Ah, yes, nice to meet you, - - -.”
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“You want to hear my story? Well, I suppose it could not hurt... Now, before I begin, please make yourself comfortable. I need to go put my youngest to bed, it is her nap time.”
A few minutes later.
“Now. Let me pour you some tea, and I will tell you my story. Now, where to begin, where to begin... well, I was born here in Gardevoir Grove, and brought up as a lady as many of my ancestors before me, as I come from a long line of nobles. My training included- well, you would likely find my training very dull, but- oh, if you really wish to hear about it... my training began when I was merely a Ralts, starting with basic manners, and continuing to other subjects like learning to control my powers, singing, some of the more complicated etiquettes, traditions for ladies of my family, and of course the usual educational lessons in history, economics, diplomacy...”
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“Yes, it was, at times, although some of the lessons were frightfully dull. Especially the lessons in Teleportation, which I had already mastered but had to take lessons in regardless.”
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“Well, once I had completed the majority of my education, I was permitted to make a brief trip out of the forest, as most Ralts and Kirlia are. Of course, it is rather dangerous, and some never return, captured by heartless human beings... but we are often accompanied by others of our age, and sometimes by our parents. In my case, I traveled out with four other Kirlia. Ah, yes, I was a Kirlia at the time.
“We left the forest, carefree and excited, and then what should happen but we ran into a human. They pulled one of those odd things, Pokéballs, I think they call them, and with a flash a Scizor appeared. The human commanded it to attack, and one of our group was fainted with a Bullet Punch technique before we could move. I was scared, and though two of our group had the good presence of mind to teleport away, I was too frightened to think correctly. Luckily for me, one of the group stayed behind long enough to make sure everyone else got away safely. I found out later that he was a knight in training, though of course I had no knowledge of this at the time. Well, the human told the Scizor to attack again, using the False Swipe technique. I could not move, but at the last second, my companion who stayed behind pushed me out of harm’s way and took the hit himself. I knew he was hurt, and his push had snapped me out of my trance of fear. I grabbed his hand, and teleported the two of us away. It was difficult: it was the first time I had every taken anyone with me while teleporting, with the exception of with my friends, and then we already knew exactly where we were going. This was much more difficult, but I managed it. We were away from the battle, and back within the border of the trees. I had no idea where the others of our traveling group were, but the companion I had with me was injured. Of course, I immediately began to use the Heal Pulse technique in an attempt to help.
“A few minutes later, he had recovered enough to speak. We immediately began asking if the other was all right, and then formally introduced ourselves. He told me his name was Helm. I was too fatigued to heal him much more, and he was not strong enough for any travel yet. So we stayed there, hoping the trainer wouldn’t come into the forest. After several hours, we were rejoined by the two members of our group who had successfully escaped, accompanied by two Knights.”
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“The other member of our group? Oh, they got her back as well, though not until late that night. She was still fainted, of course... nearly dead, in fact. She recovered, after a time. But back to the story; The Knights brought us all back here,(not to my abode, of course, but to Gardevoir Grove) and left us at the Healer’s dwelling. The Healer gave us some berries to help with our recovery, and Helm was given some treatment to help with the pain. While he was being treated, we were able to talk more, and then we parted ways. I didn’t see him, or any of the others, for more than a week. My mother would not let me out for any reason once she was told what happened. At least, until the next ceremony. Then my parents brought me with them to watch a Knighting Ceremony.”
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“You don’t know what the Knighting Ceremony is? Oh, well then, to the West of Gardevoir Grove, just a short way outside the clearing, there is the entrance to a cave. Only Knights, or those about to become Knights, are permitted inside, because this cave contains an unusual amount of Dawn Stones. I have heard they are deep underground, but still on the surface of the rock, and that the tunnel goes almost straight the whole way down, as far as anyone goes, at least, but there are also branch tunnels inhabited by dangerous Pokémon... excuse me! kerCHOO! Ah, my apologies... as I was saying, a Kirlia who has completed their Knight’s training is permitted to enter the cave, accompanied by their mentor, who will be there to assist if something were to go wrong. They must enter the cave, get past dangerous Pokémon on their own, and then find a Dawn Stone. (In the past, there were Dawn Stones near the entrance, but they were taken over the generations, and now they are only found deeper down, past the Pokémon.)”
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“Yes, my apologies. That ceremony was not the first one I’d been to, but when we got there I found out it was Helm’s Knighting Ceremony. We arrived just in time to see him go down into the cave with his mentor following. For some reason, I was feeling very nervous, and everyone there was waiting anxiously for them to return. You never knew whether a trainee would return as a victorious Gallade, or fainted injured, and defeated.
“After an hour or so, everyone was chatting or playing, and no longer staring at the entrance to the cave... except me. While the others had grown weary of watching unmoving rock, I couldn’t take my eyes off the place where I had last seen them before they disappeared. And so I was the first to see them return. It took my breath away. Seeing Helm come out of the cave, now a Gallade, looking weary but heroic and victorious... he took my heart. I did not know what I was feeling, or why I was feeling it... but it left me breathless and silent as others noticed the triumphant return, and the onlookers began to cheer.”
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“Indeed... after the Ceremony was over, I was taken back home again... of course, it is possible that I could have left if I wanted, but I deemed it wiser to obey and stay in until I was permitted out. And so time went by, as it had done before our adventure out of the forest. It was a little over two months after Helm’s Knighting Ceremony, when I finally evolved into a Gardevoir. My mother was overjoyed when she found out. There was a Full Moon dance coming up in three days, and now that I was a Gardevoir, I was finally able to participate.”
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“The Full Moon dance is a dance held in the center of the glade every full moon. A very social event. I had always wanted to attend, but the closest I had gotten until that day was glimpses of the dance caught through a window. Ralts and Kirlia are not permitted to attend the dance. Don’t ask me why, for it’s a longstanding tradition that only Gardevoir and Gallade may attend. To my knowledge, nobody knows the reason. Well, my first Full Moon dance. It was a magnificent spectacle, to see the moonlight shining brilliantly down on the dancers as the elegantly swerved around the grassy clearing. There were tables and seats set up around the borders for those who wished to rest, and food as well. I left my parents once they began to dance and went to join a group of my friends who were also able to attend, and we were gossiping and giggling amongst ourselves when I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder. I turned to see who it could be. Helm was standing there, and with a bow he asked me to dance. I hadn’t seen him in some time, but my heart fluttered when I saw him, just as it had when I saw him return from the cave. I later learned from my friends that I was blushing redder than a Tamato Berry, but I accepted. His offer to dance, that is. He lead me out to an opening in the crowd of dancers and began to lead me in a dance. Dancing was, of course, a part of my training. I cannot recall if I mentioned that earlier...
“The dance was wonderful. Helm looked so handsome that I could hardly keep in proper time with the dance. He also seemed slightly off balance at times, but I supposed that he did not dance much, or that the awkward moments were when he was avoiding bumping into other dancers. When that dance was over, he guided me back to the side, and asked me my name. We hadn’t seen each other since prior to my becoming a Gardevoir, and he did not realize it was me. I told him who I was. He was surprised, enough that he showed it. We were both blushing slightly at that point, but then another Gardevoir asked him to join her for the next dance, and he had to go. I sat down and watched, feeling strange emotions I had never known before. Later that night, much later, he asked me to dance again, and I gladly accepted. It was one of the last dances before the general dispersion of the dancers to go home for the rest of the night, I remember, and we had a wonderful dance, the best I had that night.”
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“I went home. My parents brought me back. I felt strange for a few days after that whenever I thought about Helm. You see- oh, dear... it’s getting rather late, almost supper time... I’m afraid we must draw this little chat to a close. I must prepare for the meal. However, if you wish to return another day, I would be glad to tell you more, if you wish. Dear me, Helm will be home soon, I really must get ready... good evening to you! Oh, please just set the teacup over there on the table... thank you for visiting, I enjoyed our chat very much, and I’m so sorry that I must ask you to leave so soon...”
