Chapter 29

Mrs. Boylston did not arrive the next day. Hayden did, as much out of spite as fear for what her adoptive mother would do. Part of her—or maybe part of Liz—wanted her to try and attack them again. Lady Gracadia hadn't technically told them they couldn't fight back, after all. They wouldn't have to break any instructions.

But the tutor wasn't there. She waited in her seat, while the mew drifted lazily through the room, trying and failing to contain her boredom. 

She wasn't sure how long she lasted—ten minutes, maybe twenty? But just when she stood up to leave, a set of footsteps interrupted her. She turned to stare at the open doorway. Liz landed on her shoulder, where she would be close enough to protect Hayden if it came to that.

But then Eleanor entered, and they both relaxed. Her adoptive sister wasn't going to attack them, at least not physically. But she was dressed up as a shaymin, which probably meant something important was happening.

Hayden smiled weakly at her, forcing herself to meet the girl's eyes. "Hey, Eleanor. Good to see you."

She had her daemon in her arms, walking with the practiced dignity that Lady Gracadia always used. But while that attitude might be the old legendary's reality, for Eleanor it was clearly just an act. She was sweating, as though she walked under powerful spotlights. At least Loch hadn't started melting yet.

"You actually fought her. You fought her. And you won so badly she resigned." 

Hayden beamed. Of course, she hadn't known the impact of their little duel, beyond what Constantine told her. It wasn't like either of them was seriously harmed. They'd been careful. "She had it coming," she whispered, just loud enough for her to hear. If there were any guards outside, she didn't want them carrying word back to the mistress of the house.

"The way she treated us—treated you. I told her not to attack us. Didn't I, Liz?"

The daemon relaxed, floating up off her shoulder, closer to Eleanor. Or closer to Loch, more precisely. She didn't approach Eleanor the same way she did with Cody. They didn't have that kind of relationship. "She could've just told your mom to make us do what she wanted, then we'd be stuck. But I don't think the Lady of Shaymin House cares that much. She just wants us to look pretty for a mew we’ve never met."

Eleanor turned sharply away from them. She stalked over to the door, then clicked it shut. Then Loch jumped off her shoulder, onto the desk between them. He caught Liz out of the air, and the two embraced, muttering something Hayden couldn't hear.

Her human half was considerably less expressive. Eleanor rested one hand on Hayden's shoulder, then whispered just as quietly. "I'm not sad to see her go. That was such a stupid… brave thing to do. What if you lost?"

Hayden shrugged. "What was she gonna do, hurt us more? Can't be worse than what the Guru did. I have to listen to the Lady of Shaymin House, not some tutor who thinks she can control my life."

She gestured, and the two of them started floating. Not very high—just enough that gravity released them, and they could float slowly up. It took considerable effort from Hayden to manifest it—but at the same time, the floating feeling was so incredibly natural to her. The more she did it, the more she realized gravity was an awful tyrant.

"Sorry you couldn't be there to see it."

Eleanor looked down at her toes, with surprisingly little fear. "Tell your daemon to put me down. We're not in sky forme."

Hayden ignored the request, leaning back to recline in the air. It was mostly just an act—it took so much concentration that she couldn't relax like this. Not like Liz, who practically lived in this state. "Isn't it more comfortable this way?"

"Not when I have to hold a desk to stop floating away. Liz, quit it! Loch and I have something important to tell you."

"Not me," the mew said, sticking her tongue out. "It's Hayden's fault."

"Hayden's…"

She set them both down, not as gracefully as Ilene could. If she could stop Eleanor from realizing what that meant, maybe she could keep her sister from getting upset. 

It worked. Eleanor walked past her to the board, where the tutor's lesson plan for the week was still scribbled. She took an eraser, and wiped it away in a few seconds, before turning slowly back on Hayden. "It was brave—and maybe Mrs. Boylston deserved it. But you stuck your head out. Now my mother has it in her head that you're ready a lot sooner. I'm here to tell you about a diplomatic mission. We're going to Johto in a week, to meet Mew House. The Eldest is going to introduce you to his son."

She spoke so slowly, expecting every word to fill Hayden with recognizable terror. But whatever her reasons, Hayden only shrugged. Liz finished talking to Loch and rejoined her shoulder. "Is Ilene coming again? Will I get to spend some time with her? She was a way better teacher than Mrs. Boylston."

Eleanor melted. Her features warped, and her hair turned purple and damp. She caught Hayden by the wrist, tugging her back to the ground.

That disruption alone was enough to break Hayden's concentration. She landed, breathing heavily. She would need to practice that more if she wanted to show off next time she saw Ilene. And only a week to do it…

"Hay-den. Did you get fried? Ilene is one of the most dangerous pokémon on the planet. There aren't many who have killed more over the years—but the Eldest qualifies. He's been alive since the last great war. He fought in it himself. He's fought in over a hundred duels of honor and killed all but one of his opponents. If you think being a mew is going to protect you, you're wrong. He cares so much about the purity of his family; you should hear what he did to his son."

Hayden recoiled. It wasn't the first time people told her why she should be afraid of Mew House, despite her own experiences with them. But Eleanor's fear was real. This wasn't just an inconvenience to her—she was terrified. She could keep it hidden while she was a shaymin, but not anymore. Now Hayden tasted it in the air around them. Liz saw it in Loch, who flattened to a slimy layer on the ground, and oozed back to Eleanor.

"What did he do?"

"Built a whole mansion for him, so he would never lay eyes on a creature who wasn't legendary before he settled. Only wild mythicals ever visit the place. Ilene—raised him, until the moment he settled. Even now, they say the lesser pokémon working at the mansion never get to see him, or the family execute them. No one even knows what he looks like."

Hayden rolled her eyes. The story sounded absurd—no parent would treat their child so badly, locking them away from the world like that! And the Johto Mews couldn't be so beloved by their people if they performed constant, random executions.

"If you believe all that, why does your mom want me to be married to them? It sounds like you'd want to stay as far away from Johto as possible."

"They have two regions," Eleanor said, exasperated. "And they run the League of Great Families. They're richer than all the other families combined. A few favorable terms in a trade negotiation with them could save Sinnoh from disaster.  And… you're you."

Hayden could read the meaning there, even if she didn't say it outright. Hayden had no responsibility she would be failing if she didn't survive the attempt. There was little risk, and incredible gain.

Eleanor hugged her. "You've gotten yourself into more trouble than you could've imagined. You could have had years to learn. But Mother says you're ready now, and the Eldest is already expecting us."

Hayden hugged her back, albeit not for very long. It took her a few seconds to realize what she should've noticed right away. "Us? Did your mom—sell you too?"

Sell wasn't quite the right word, technically. But it wasn't far off, considering how little the Lady of Shaymin House seemed to care about Hayden.

"No. But whenever an unmarried noble lady travels, she keeps at least one handmaiden with her. To wait on her, and… lots of old aristocratic garbage. Most shaymin just stayed male when they traveled so they didn't have to worry about it. But you being a girl is kinda the entire point of the visit, so…"

"That doesn't sound very fair…" She clenched one hand into a fist. Not that it surprised her to find out the nobles had all kinds of rituals and customs that ordinary people never heard of. If anything, she had assumed they would have layers and layers of complex custom and religion. "To you. You're not my servant. You're a real mythical pokémon! You actually grew up in Shaymin House! I'm just a tailor's son."

She caught Liz out of the air, then focused. She could easily show what she meant by being an eevee, but that change didn't feel right anymore. She had settled. Being an eevee was for before that.

So, Liz got bigger, stayed pink in some parts and went white in others. She grew a bow on her big ears, and another around her neck.

And Hayden—Hayden got bigger too, enough that she felt pressure against her chest, with a shirt that no longer fit. Her hair stayed long and soft pink, and her eyes stayed blue. Some things weren't all that different, really.

"See?" She let go, and Liz hopped down at her feet, stalking around the room. "I could be your handmaid. Not the other way around."

Eleanor looked down at the sylveon, then back up at her. "Who'd you copy that from? We don't have a sylveon in the house."

Hayden rolled her eyes. "That's not the point!"

Liz appeared beside her, reaching up with one long ribbon to curl around Hayden's wrist. With the other, she unbuttoned Hayden's collar, which popped open instantly. "We've known we would be sylveon for like… three years? Four? Everyone in Sunyshore knew. The missing eevee that makes our family complete. And… the one who wants everyone to be happy."

Eleanor eyed her chest, then looked quickly away. "I volunteered. My mother will never accept me. I've… known for a long time, I would never rule. My best hope was always… getting matched to a male shaymin. Maybe from another family who settled wrong, or a miracle child like you. If I could give her a shaymin grandchild, I could keep the family going. But that won't happen. She barely even cares what happens to you, and you're legendary. What does that make me?"

Hayden reached out for her sister, but she was too far away. Even with her emotional senses dulled, she could tell Eleanor was about to run again.

But then Liz grabbed her wrist with her other ribbon, holding her tight enough that she stopped dead. Eleanor stared down at the daemon, eyes wide with shock. Did that count as touching another person's daemon?

The sylveon radiated calm, stopping Eleanor in her tracks. She slumped onto the desk, breathing heavily. "You… shouldn't do that."

"If your mother will not protect you, we will," Liz said. "We don't care what she says, you're our sister. You protected us when we needed it. We can do that too."

Eleanor took Hayden's hand with both of hers. "Maybe your little… backwater fishing village was right. About you."

She shrugged. "Liz and I were excited to grow up. We had a place back home. But if we can't be back there, we have to make a place for each other. You and me. If I have to pretend you're my servant, I can do that. When there's nobody watching, we'll both know it isn't true. You're my sister."

It took Eleanor a long time to reply. Eventually she did, and the sylveon ribbon finally released her wrist. She didn't look like she was going to run away anymore. "Maybe you could see them again. My mother has me planning our route. I'm supposed to write to one of our ships and tell them where to meet. I'll tell them Sunyshore. How would you like to see your family again?"

Her only answer was tears.