Chapter 31

Hayden was on the train again. 

She still remembered her last time in one of Shaymin House's private cars, frothing with nervous energy and fear over her first encounter with her adoptive family.

But that Hayden was a different person, and not just because he was a boy. While that version of herself was ignorant and afraid, her new self was a little less of those things.

Yet, the nervous energy wasn't any different. She couldn't sit still on the train for more than a few minutes. Now that manifested when she lifted slowly up above her seat, closer and closer to the ceiling as her boredom grew.

At least she wasn't completely alone in the front car—Eleanor was with her. She didn't wear any of the fine clothing of a noble lady anymore, but a casual dress and leggings that wouldn't set her apart from any of the children of merchants and nobles across Sinnoh. There were whole boxes of ceremonial robes and dresses, but they wouldn't need those until they arrived in Johto. For at least a little while, they could be comfortable.

"What about glaceon?" Hayden pressed. She sat beside Eleanor—or she floated over the table that was next to her. The ditto had chosen a lone recliner in the corner, probably meant for adult men to smoke their gross cigars or drink gross yellow water. Hayden had no hope of maintaining the concentration to fly with Sunyshore getting closer and closer in the windows—but Liz could lift them both without much effort.

It was just as comfortable as any chair, even if it made her skirt float when she moved. There was nobody in their private car to see. "You could be glaceon. You do like to act cold."

Eleanor folded both arms, glaring up at her. "I'm not sure what the point would be. We have the champion suite at the finest hotel in your town. I don't need to pretend to be an eevee to spend the night with your…"

She hesitated. Hayden wasn't trying to read her thoughts exactly, but she could still feel several bitter things passing through Eleanor's mind. That version of Eleanor wouldn't have held back and said whatever cruel insults she imagined. This one only looked away from Hayden, back at the window. "We don't need to stay there."

"But we could. Officially, we're in the hotel. But if I only get one night, I'm not staying there. Holland says they're expecting me! We'll have a guard escort, and nobody in Sunyshore suspects a thing. It's… safer! Aren't you worried about assassination?"

"No," Eleanor said, exasperated. "Assassination is for unpopular rulers. Shaymin House is beloved by its people. Why do you think we're broke? If we worked them like Manaphy does, maybe we would have to hide behind guards in our underwater palace. But we don't."

Hayden opened her mouth to argue, then shut it again. Getting her afraid wouldn't work, the shaymin was right. The Great Family didn't rule harshly, didn't impose cruel laws on the city's inhabitants. Sometimes drunk sailors said harsh things about them, but that was all.

The biggest threats to any member of Shaymin family were inside the house.

"You don't have to be an eevee," she eventually said. “Everyone knows we have a huge extended family; they wouldn't ask questions."

Eleanor took her arm, pulling her down to eye level. It wasn't hard—while she floated, Hayden was weightless. The slightest tap would make her drift. "Do you really think people are that stupid? You're the miracle son of Sunyshore. Now the ruling family makes a show of visiting town. Who else would be going to your house?"

She dropped onto the table, as though her strings had just been cut. Even Liz had trouble with that one. "I'm just counting on them not knowing how mew work. She straightened, catching the kitten before she could drift past her to the floor.

"I had a week to practice being the right person. Someone that no one in Sunyshore will recognize, but my family will know right away. Even if I'm… girlier than I was before." 

The train was already slowing. The station was visible in the distance, packed with the waiting who's-who of the city. She couldn't see from this far away—were her family behind the velvet ropes?

"There's no way you're that good yet, Hayden. Picking height, weight, colors, facial features—that took us years." 

"You can do that?" She looked up and stopped bouncing up and down. "You're right, we don't know how to do that. We pick…"

"People," her daemon supplied. "We imagine who they are, what they're like. Personality, not… looks."

"What kind of person has that kind of daemon?" she finished. "How do they think? What made them that way?"

Eleanor stiffened, but whatever argument she was about to make died in her throat. "You're serious?"

She nodded. "I'll show you when we get to the hotel."

Of course, she would have to get there first. Before they stepped off the train, servants emerged from the car behind with outfits for the both of them. Shaymin green for Eleanor in a more contemporary style, but a pink and blue kimono for Hayden.

At least there weren't any representatives of the Great Families here to meet with them. She didn't have to sit for hours having her hair painstakingly braided into the traditional mew style. Eleanor did it for her instead in just a few minutes. She waited until the last second to change, right beside the open door.

Hayden took her hand, squeezing once. "Do you want Liz to use Helping Hand? That might make it easier."

Eleanor giggled. "I don't think you know that move, Hayden."

"We don't," her daemon admitted. "But someone could teach us. One of the servants has a minun. Bet she knows."

Eleanor changed, and her new outfit suddenly fit instead of hanging loosely on her thin frame. She pulled her hand free and secured her grip around the little daemon in her arms. "You're the little sister. Follow me, I'll get us through this."

She did. Most of the attention seemed to be for her, anyway. The locals all showered her with praise for Shaymin House and the fantastic job they had done providing for the needs of Sunyshore. Volkner led them through the train station, then to a waiting carriage at the street level. That was where she saw her brother.

Hudson was the only one visible in the crowd, near the fence. He wasn't watching Eleanor, or even the honor guard following behind them, with Holland near the front. His eyes met Hayden's.

“Tell Mom and Dad I'll be there in a few hours, with a guest.” 

He stumbled away from the fence, mouth hanging open. Of course, the glaceon didn't have any telepathy of his own, but he didn't need to. It didn't matter if a crowd of townies packed the streets—her brother's familiar mind and daemon were easy enough to find.

“Hayden? What did they do to you?”

She was too self-conscious to answer, so she got into the car without a reply. Liz spoke on her behalf. “It's a long story. A sylveon will visit later. Ask mom to make our favorite?”

Then they were driving away, and the distance became too much for either of them to sustain. It was just the mayor, sitting across from Eleanor and Hayden. "I admit, I'm… surprised, by the reception," Eleanor said. "Sunyshore seems unphased to see you in a kimono. I thought the mew boy would be a local legend."

"Some of them recognized us," Hayden said. The words came from her daemon, but the kitten didn't want to say anything with the mayor and his luxray daemon watching them. He was the one who dragged her out with one night to spend with her family. As though word was going to spread that fast. "They are surprised. There were…" She turned towards the mayor, hands folded in her lap. "You put up a statue of me? Prince of Sunyshore?"

The mayor shifted uncomfortably. Even without their powers, she saw the thoughts forming on his face. How does she know?

"We took the family at their word when they said they had a son," he said to Eleanor. "Express my apologies to your noble mother. We weren't aware they were concealing the truth of a daughter instead. I'll make appropriate correction."

Hayden twitched in her seat, resting one hand on Eleanor's thigh. “He's going to hurt my family.” That time it was definitely Hayden sending the thought, not Liz. She was just too afraid to wait.

"You will correct the statue," Eleanor said calmly. "You will not correct the family. Officially, they followed instructions from Shaymin House. We chose to conceal certain details about Hayden's identity to protect… her. From our enemies in other houses."

"I understand," he said. "But perhaps their—daughter—could give them instructions to correct errors to the shrine."

"I'll tell them," Hayden said. "And they'll tell me if you try anything, so don't."

Eleanor rested one hand on her shoulder, and she fell silent, looking away. "Thank you for the warm welcome to your city, mayor. Our ship is expected tomorrow morning, so we won't be staying long."

Hayden shut up again through the remainder of the boring political stuff. None of it was for her—or even for Eleanor, really. They were only representatives, too young to have any meaningful authority.

They eventually made it to the hotel, and their shared suite. Finally, Hayden could wiggle free of the mew outfit.

Eleanor changed too, melting almost the instant the door shut. She sank into the bed, and her daemon pooled around her legs, sinking into the mattress beside her.

Hayden still felt self-conscious changing with a girl watching, even if none of them ever cared. Eleanor cracked one eye, barely watching at all. "So, were you going to explain how you could transform into a personality instead of a person?"

"Sure!" She settled down onto the edge of Eleanor's bed, just far enough that she wouldn't accidentally sit on Loch. "I mean—I think it's how we always changed. When you told us we both had to transform for it to work, that's when we knew. She needs to be a pokémon, but not every pokémon of the same species is the same. My whole family are eevees, but they come in all kinds of personalities."

"We pick a human who would have that daemon," Liz continued. "Daemons show something about their personality. A shy little buneary, or a proud arcanine. A brave riolu, or an eager, innocent eevee, who doesn't know how awful the world can be."

"That sounds like it's mostly in your head." Eleanor sat up, running one hand through her perpetually damp hair. "You still have to pick a body in the end. Your age, your height, weight, looks. Is your hair long or short? How big are your breasts, what color are your eyes?"

Hayden shook her head vigorously. "We don't know how to do that." She hopped off the bed, then spun around once. "Liz and I are trying to be who we would be if we had settled normal. Could just do eevee, but then they might treat us like kids again."

"Which we're not," Liz said. "Kids wouldn't be strong enough for what we have to do. So, we had to evolve."

"Like our sister. Ellie, she's only a little older than we are, so it can happen. Sylveon cares about everyone. She's smart, she's brave, and she doesn't like bullies. She would go out and fight the sailor kids if someone needed medicine."

She had already practiced the transformation several times, so there was no surprise. She got taller, a little older and more mature. Her hair was shorter, with some white highlights mixed in. She didn't have a real bow, but she had found a nice white ribbon she could tie around her collar for much the same effect.

"See?" she finished, as soon as she had the dress on. She'd traded for it from a maidservant about her age, so it was quite different from anything she would usually wear. Simple stitching, mended more than once near the seams, and lower on her chest than Hayden would usually wear. "See? The change comes from the person we want to be. Looks kinda just come on their own."

"Otherwise, she would've tried to be a boy," Liz finished. "Well, she did, a lot. But we couldn't figure out how."

Hayden blushed, nudging the sylveon away from her with one bare foot. "She wasn't supposed to tell you that part."

"Eleanor might know how!" Liz prompted, raising her voice a little louder. "You can't know if you don't ask."

The ditto slid out of bed, stalking over to her. She inspected Hayden, reached over to pat her shoulder, then pulled back again. "You're a different sylveon than last time. Younger, and your face is different. You didn't pick those?"

"Not really," she said. "Just tried to picture what it would be like if I… started out as a girl. If I'd evolved right after my sister. I think I'd look kinda like this! Hayden the eevee. Respectable, normal, part of the family."

Eleanor sighed. "I suppose you might not get another chance. Could be… months, maybe years." She closed her eyes, then shrank. It stopped when she was a few inches shorter than Hayden, and her hair was messy brown. A fox bounced around her, before pouncing on one of Liz's ribbons. The sylveon caught him, lifting him up into the air by his belly.

"We can go. But if something bad happens, you get to tell my mother it was your idea. I'm not defending this."

Hayden hugged her, squeezing as tight as she would've with any of her sisters. "Just wait until you meet them, Eleanor! They're wonderful."

"Ellen," she corrected. "No real names. We spent the night in this hotel and didn't leave. If Lady Gracidea found out you had come back for a visit, she might not let us travel this way again."

"Right." She let go, then reached over and straightened the eevee's hair. "Ellen. Let's go home."