*Goes to give Internet a few swift kicks*

Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me under international copyright laws and taking it is plagiarism. Thank you. *Phantomness bows*

Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks

Chapter 2

All right. So perhaps he shouldn’t have grabbed Lance like that, but still… Red pondered his options as he lay on the grassy hill again. Obviously, something had to be done. He tried his pokédex again. This time, it worked, and the screen beeped to life, floating above his wrist.

He eagerly scanned the contents of the second apricorn ball, only to almost drop the pokedex in shock.

It was an egg?

Well, he couldn’t identify the pokémon egg until it hatched, which would probably take a while…

He paid it no more attention and ran down the hill to where his mother was waiting, leaving Dusty to guard the sheep.

Again, Sir Sidney waited to take him away. Red would have liked to say good-bye to his father, but it was only a game and he was anxious to be on his way, so leaving was the only option.

Obviously, though, there was something he was doing wrong. Perhaps he ought to be as polite as possible to the queen and his three older half-brothers so they would not kill him right off the bat?

It was worth a try.

Or maybe it was his clothes. Going before them in patched clothing covered with sheep dung could hardly help him make a good impression.

There were so many variables in this game; it would probably take him a while to figure them out, but no matter. He liked a challenge!

So while he and Sir Sidney rode to the palace, Red asked the man if it might be better if he were properly groomed before he met the royal family. The councilor stared at him and then decided that it might be wise to do so.

As they arrived at the palace, he took time to marvel at it. It was beautiful, made out of hewn rough stone, but inside he passed a gallery painted with rows and rows of lords and ladies in beautiful ornate dress, and a ballroom that seemed to be made of mirrors, and a hallway with brilliant red carpet with a suit of armor at every door.

Last time, he and Sir Sidney had been chatting about circumstances. He knew that Drake had been raised at sea and was a bit exotic though how or in which way he did not know yet. He knew that Bruno was handsome in the classical sense, and he did look rather like a Greek hero. He knew that Lance was interested in magic and that he should beware of him, but it was a bit late now…

Still, he had nine more tries, so he was going to do his best!

Two pages in bright red livery over gray mail led him to a room, where attendants bathed him and dressed him in a clean tunic of black silk. He thought he looked rather dashing, and the cool silk felt very nice. He spent a few minutes fastening his two Apricorns to the heavy gold-studded leather belt they had given him, and then let servants escort him to the Great Hall.

Two trumpeters blew a fanfare while the door was flung open and the herald proclaimed “His royal highness, Prince Red.”

The room was empty.

Of course, Red realized, it made sense. No doubt that his royal relatives had not wanted to sit around in a room for hours, waiting for him to appear. He sighed, and went off to search for them.

He set out to ask where everyone else was.

A guard detached himself form the squadron guarding the front of the castle. “The Queen and Prince Drake are in the topiary maze.”

“The gardens?” He asked, eyes passing over a disturbing patch of blood on the stone floor near the entrance.

“Yes. Shall I escort you there, Prince?”

“Yes please.”

He followed the guard into a hedge of box-trees, and after several twists and turns, found the Queen and Prince Bruno having tea together.

That was odd. Hadn’t the guard said the Queen was with Drake? Perhaps he had gotten them mixed up.

The Queen extended her hand imperiously, and Red kissed it. Her nose wrinkled, but at least it was better than her face.

“You kept us waiting a long time.” She said severely.

“I am sorry.” Red apologized. “I only wished to make myself more presentable.”

She sniffed. “Well, not all the water in the world could wash away the stink of a bad birth. I do not even know why you are here.”

Red twitched, but tried hard to keep his temper in check.

Bruno cracked his knuckles. “I could kill him.”

“No, too many people have already seen him come here. However, if there was an accident…”

Red walked away in a huff, not bothering to be polite any longer. Why did they all hate him? Sure, he was illegitimate, but still…

The King’s Councilors had thought he should be drowned at birth, he remembered Sidney saying with relish, and he frowned.

If that was so, then… well, the game was designed so that he would need to win a Kingdom, but did the cards have to be so stacked against him?

It was true though; that all of his brothers had two royal parents, and there was really no reason except for the King’s feverish state and his deathbed wish for Red to become king… that he was here.

It made sense.

He was about to leave when he heard a footstep behind him. Turning around and hoping it was a guard who could help direct him out of the maze, instead all he saw were a pair of glowing eyes before he hit the ground and he woke up on the hill, feeling residual dizziness fade as Dusty ran up, barking loudly.

Red sighed.

Well, that approach had not gone over so well either. What had attacked him from behind? A pokémon?

It probably had been a pokémon.

He took a few deep breaths, and decided to try again.

End Chapter

Completed 8/17/06

Red: I hate you, Phantomness!

Phantomness: I know

Lance: In the book it takes ten tries before she wins. I wonder if our hero will have better or worse luck?