Funeral
Chapter 1
Universes can be a funny thing. Two may be so similar except for one grain of dirt that you wouldn't miss living in one for the other, and a third may be something completely different. In this world, there were no humans, but the course for that evolution set in every Pokémon in the world.
Funerals are usually a sad time, even on a sunny day such as today. Such was a time for the Kingdom of Lucemia, as the most powerful knight had died in combat. However, none in the kingdom could know how Ruby felt - this very same knight was her fiancé. She squeezed her tail as the Xatu priest read him his last rights to the next world.
"...May Garrett find peace with what's in this world, to ease the transition to the next. We here in this world will miss him dearly, but all paths cross someday. Before we cover the body with dirt, you may each send your wishes to him."
Ruby, slightly small in stature, waited behind Garrett's family - a diverse group, as the parents were a Raichu and a Delcatty, and the two children with them were a Zigzagoon and a Smeargle. They each threw in a rose, then came Ruby's turn - she threw in a single card. Tears escaped her eyes and wet the fur on her face, before she turned away. She didn't make a single sound - she only cried. The wind also seemed to want to avoid her, as the leaves in the trees rustled, but not a single breeze came to push against her black dress.
The king had granted her the request to be relieved of duties for a few days - that is, maintaining the royal library - so, instead of heading back to the castle, she went to a nearby restaurant and bar to drown her sorrows. The place was a little dark inside, but it had a balcony, so it was perfect - in her opinion. She took a set near the railing, and stared at the sky, letting herself be lost in her memories.
**********************************************************************
"Eh, I suppose a job is a job," Ruby said to herself, as she reshelved returned books. Some of the books were rather heavy, and twice she'd already accidentally dropped a book on her foot - pain was the only result, no serious damage.
"Excuse me, Miss Eevee," a voice said from behind her. "I was wondering if you had a copy of the Rings of Nine in stock."
"Ah, yes, hold on a moment..." Ruby said, shuffling through the cart she had. "We just got it back in, so I know I have it..." After shoving several reference books to one side of the cart, she picked up the prize. She turned around to hand it to the patron, yet nearly lost her grip on the novel when she saw his face - he was a handsome Zangoose. She blushed a bit, and handed him the work.
"My, thank you very much, Miss Eevee. I've been trying to find a copy of this piece for what seems like ages now!" the Zangoose said.
"Ah, I really enjoyed that book as well. Read it the day after it came out," Ruby said. "It answers a lot of questions the previous book left hanging, but leaves a lot of questions of its own."
"I know I'll enjoy this... Say, are you feeling alright?" the Zangoose asked. "Your face is all red."
"Ah, oh, I'm fine," Ruby stammered, silently cursing herself for acting in such a way in front of someone so cute. The Zangoose, however, just chuckled.
"Well then, care to join me for coffee sometime, then?" he offered. "It's actually nice to speak with someone with the same interests as me."
Ruby was really tripping over her words by now. "Ah, sure. I have to work for a while, err, I mean, I'm free Friday, if that's alright with you, ah..."
"Just call me Mr. Orlandu," he said, catching the last sound. "And Friday is perfect. Shall I pick you up, say... In front of this Library at around... Three in the afternoon?"
Ruby just nodded, having apparently lost use of her voice.
"Alright, see you then!" Mr. Orlandu said, heading to the check-out counter and waving good-bye.
It took Ruby another two minutes to realize that she had dropped another reference book on her foot.
***********************************************************************
"Ma'am, what would you like?" a waitress asked, notepad open and ready to take down an order.
"Huh? Oh... Just, ah... A chocolate sundae and some chardonnay." Ruby replied, staring at the grain of the table.
"Anything else?"
"No, that will be it," Ruby said, still focusing on the finish.
"Right, I'll be right back with your order, ma'am," the waitress said, closing up her notepad and walking off.
Ruby sighed and put a hand through the bangs of her long brown hair, trying to focus her composure. Most of her face fur was already matted down from all her tears, but she felt as though she was beginning to regain her composure. Then she heard a voice.
"Are you Ruby?" it asked. Ruby looked up and right into the face of a male Sneasel in armor. "Judging from the reaction, I'd say that's a yes. Garrett had said a lot about you.
"I'm sorry, and you are...?" Ruby said, completely puzzled by this newcomer.
"My apologies for not introducing myself. My name is Boris Oppenheim."
This, apparently, struck a cord with Ruby. Her eyes widened and jaw dropped.
"Now, I was wondering-" Boris started to say, but was interrupted.
"Shut up."
"...Excuse me, miss?"
"It's your fault he's dead!" Ruby screamed. She landed a single punch on the unsuspecting Boris's face, knocking him out of his chair. Ruby then proceeded to break down into tears and run out of the bar.
A moment later, the waitress came back.
"Miss, I have to apologize since we're out of Chardonnay, but-... Where'd she go?"
"Ah, that would be my fault. I made the mistake of saying something she didn't want to hear and ran away. If she made any orders, though, I'll pay for them," Boris said, rubbing his jaw where Ruby made the connection.
Perhaps things would make more sense if I were to weave the tale that lead up to this event. You see, Garrett Orlandu and Boris Oppenheim were on opposite sides of a war between the Kingdom of Begeel and the Kingdom of Gatroar.
Now, these two each commanded their own unit of soldiers. They met on the field of battle several times, and managed to build a kind of friendship. It even got to the point that when these two units met, there were friendly hellos and how-are-you's instead of the normal raaaaa and I'll-kill-you's of olde.
You could even catch the two between the two camps enjoying tea and several strategy games, such as Chess or Go.
Just when the two had just enough proof to possibly convince each of their kingdoms to participate in a truce, a treaty, or something along those lines, they were attacked. No one saw the assailant except for Garrett.
There was a faintly audible twang from a bow, and a bit of scraping wood.
Seconds later, Garrett was standing with an arrow through his chest - exactly at the spot where Boris' head had been a moment earlier. Boris commanded his troops to scour the nearby forest for the assailant, and asked Garrett's men to do the same.
Garrett went back to their meeting spot, and made a quick autopsy. Dead on the spot - the arrow pierced straight through his heart.
Three hours of searching turned up no results - whoever it was had probably learned to teleport. Both units left the to their kingdoms that day, Garrett's death weighing heavily on the mind of his troops and Boris, who had even come to consider him the brother that he never had.
It's funny, but that one man's death brought about peace between the two kingdoms. It takes that much to bring the truth to the senses of those in power - Boris was thankful that it wasn't more.
The rest of the day was rather uneventful - Boris had decided to sight-see around town for a while, and Ruby had confined herself to her room, refusing all meals offered to her.
Universes can be a funny thing. Two may be so similar except for one grain of dirt that you wouldn't miss living in one for the other, and a third may be something completely different. In this world, there were no humans, but the course for that evolution set in every Pokémon in the world.
Funerals are usually a sad time, even on a sunny day such as today. Such was a time for the Kingdom of Lucemia, as the most powerful knight had died in combat. However, none in the kingdom could know how Ruby felt - this very same knight was her fiancé. She squeezed her tail as the Xatu priest read him his last rights to the next world.
"...May Garrett find peace with what's in this world, to ease the transition to the next. We here in this world will miss him dearly, but all paths cross someday. Before we cover the body with dirt, you may each send your wishes to him."
Ruby, slightly small in stature, waited behind Garrett's family - a diverse group, as the parents were a Raichu and a Delcatty, and the two children with them were a Zigzagoon and a Smeargle. They each threw in a rose, then came Ruby's turn - she threw in a single card. Tears escaped her eyes and wet the fur on her face, before she turned away. She didn't make a single sound - she only cried. The wind also seemed to want to avoid her, as the leaves in the trees rustled, but not a single breeze came to push against her black dress.
The king had granted her the request to be relieved of duties for a few days - that is, maintaining the royal library - so, instead of heading back to the castle, she went to a nearby restaurant and bar to drown her sorrows. The place was a little dark inside, but it had a balcony, so it was perfect - in her opinion. She took a set near the railing, and stared at the sky, letting herself be lost in her memories.
**********************************************************************
"Eh, I suppose a job is a job," Ruby said to herself, as she reshelved returned books. Some of the books were rather heavy, and twice she'd already accidentally dropped a book on her foot - pain was the only result, no serious damage.
"Excuse me, Miss Eevee," a voice said from behind her. "I was wondering if you had a copy of the Rings of Nine in stock."
"Ah, yes, hold on a moment..." Ruby said, shuffling through the cart she had. "We just got it back in, so I know I have it..." After shoving several reference books to one side of the cart, she picked up the prize. She turned around to hand it to the patron, yet nearly lost her grip on the novel when she saw his face - he was a handsome Zangoose. She blushed a bit, and handed him the work.
"My, thank you very much, Miss Eevee. I've been trying to find a copy of this piece for what seems like ages now!" the Zangoose said.
"Ah, I really enjoyed that book as well. Read it the day after it came out," Ruby said. "It answers a lot of questions the previous book left hanging, but leaves a lot of questions of its own."
"I know I'll enjoy this... Say, are you feeling alright?" the Zangoose asked. "Your face is all red."
"Ah, oh, I'm fine," Ruby stammered, silently cursing herself for acting in such a way in front of someone so cute. The Zangoose, however, just chuckled.
"Well then, care to join me for coffee sometime, then?" he offered. "It's actually nice to speak with someone with the same interests as me."
Ruby was really tripping over her words by now. "Ah, sure. I have to work for a while, err, I mean, I'm free Friday, if that's alright with you, ah..."
"Just call me Mr. Orlandu," he said, catching the last sound. "And Friday is perfect. Shall I pick you up, say... In front of this Library at around... Three in the afternoon?"
Ruby just nodded, having apparently lost use of her voice.
"Alright, see you then!" Mr. Orlandu said, heading to the check-out counter and waving good-bye.
It took Ruby another two minutes to realize that she had dropped another reference book on her foot.
***********************************************************************
"Ma'am, what would you like?" a waitress asked, notepad open and ready to take down an order.
"Huh? Oh... Just, ah... A chocolate sundae and some chardonnay." Ruby replied, staring at the grain of the table.
"Anything else?"
"No, that will be it," Ruby said, still focusing on the finish.
"Right, I'll be right back with your order, ma'am," the waitress said, closing up her notepad and walking off.
Ruby sighed and put a hand through the bangs of her long brown hair, trying to focus her composure. Most of her face fur was already matted down from all her tears, but she felt as though she was beginning to regain her composure. Then she heard a voice.
"Are you Ruby?" it asked. Ruby looked up and right into the face of a male Sneasel in armor. "Judging from the reaction, I'd say that's a yes. Garrett had said a lot about you.
"I'm sorry, and you are...?" Ruby said, completely puzzled by this newcomer.
"My apologies for not introducing myself. My name is Boris Oppenheim."
This, apparently, struck a cord with Ruby. Her eyes widened and jaw dropped.
"Now, I was wondering-" Boris started to say, but was interrupted.
"Shut up."
"...Excuse me, miss?"
"It's your fault he's dead!" Ruby screamed. She landed a single punch on the unsuspecting Boris's face, knocking him out of his chair. Ruby then proceeded to break down into tears and run out of the bar.
A moment later, the waitress came back.
"Miss, I have to apologize since we're out of Chardonnay, but-... Where'd she go?"
"Ah, that would be my fault. I made the mistake of saying something she didn't want to hear and ran away. If she made any orders, though, I'll pay for them," Boris said, rubbing his jaw where Ruby made the connection.
Perhaps things would make more sense if I were to weave the tale that lead up to this event. You see, Garrett Orlandu and Boris Oppenheim were on opposite sides of a war between the Kingdom of Begeel and the Kingdom of Gatroar.
Now, these two each commanded their own unit of soldiers. They met on the field of battle several times, and managed to build a kind of friendship. It even got to the point that when these two units met, there were friendly hellos and how-are-you's instead of the normal raaaaa and I'll-kill-you's of olde.
You could even catch the two between the two camps enjoying tea and several strategy games, such as Chess or Go.
Just when the two had just enough proof to possibly convince each of their kingdoms to participate in a truce, a treaty, or something along those lines, they were attacked. No one saw the assailant except for Garrett.
There was a faintly audible twang from a bow, and a bit of scraping wood.
Seconds later, Garrett was standing with an arrow through his chest - exactly at the spot where Boris' head had been a moment earlier. Boris commanded his troops to scour the nearby forest for the assailant, and asked Garrett's men to do the same.
Garrett went back to their meeting spot, and made a quick autopsy. Dead on the spot - the arrow pierced straight through his heart.
Three hours of searching turned up no results - whoever it was had probably learned to teleport. Both units left the to their kingdoms that day, Garrett's death weighing heavily on the mind of his troops and Boris, who had even come to consider him the brother that he never had.
It's funny, but that one man's death brought about peace between the two kingdoms. It takes that much to bring the truth to the senses of those in power - Boris was thankful that it wasn't more.
The rest of the day was rather uneventful - Boris had decided to sight-see around town for a while, and Ruby had confined herself to her room, refusing all meals offered to her.