Chapter 49

A single pokémon waited near the base of the steps, stirring from a quiet catnap. Timeltek! Liz closed the distance in a few bounding strides, shifting without Hayden's intention. Of course she could have resisted the transformation, it did take both of them to change form. But Liz's special relationship with Timeltek was hers too. She lost a few inches and got a lot dirtier. But her nose made that part clear to her already, she was filthy! 

Liz floated past Timeltek on both sides, rubbing up against him before the cat brought her into a feline embrace, then picked her up by the neck.

Hayden settled back onto the ground with a slump of surprise and sudden relaxation. Timeltek could say nothing with his mouth full, but he didn't say it audibly. "Everyone is upstairs. The food is probably cold by now. We thought you would be here earlier, kitten."

"I'm… we're sorry." She looked down, ears flattening into her hair. "I wanted to come straight here, but—it didn't go quite the way I planned."

Eleanor slipped one arm under her shoulder, raising her voice just a little. "She means we got into trouble and had to get out again. I had to get her out. But we made it."

"Very thoughtful of you," Timeltek said. He said it with almost the same affection and pride he had for Liz. "We knew she was in good hands." 

Eleanor beamed, bright enough that Hayden expected her to start melting again. But she didn't—if anything, the attention only made her seem more real.

"Under the circumstances, I'm going to send the two of you to the bath first," Timeltek continued. "This way, come on."

Evelynn appeared atop the stairs, waiting for them when they reached it. She opened her arms for a tight hug, but then the smell reached her nose, and she twisted to one side. "Hmm. I see what Tekkie meant. Bath first."

He'd been right about the family waiting for them, the entire top floor was transformed. Streamers now hung from the walls, and the table was packed with many of Hayden's favorite things. A few looked the worse for wear, like they'd been sitting there since breakfast time. Because they had, of course.

Her whole family wasn't still sitting around the table, thankfully. But her mother appeared from another hallway. Paws and feet alike clattered over the building, and one by one her other siblings walked in for a look. Mother waved them past the kitchen without a single word of reprimand, covering her nose. "Whatever you two did to get here—I think you should ride a boat next time."

In Hayden's childhood, a chance for a bath was a rare luxury, one that came only in dirty water after the other members of the family had finished with it. Now Evelynn filled it without a second thought. "I'll be back in a few with something clean. Will you both still look like this when I get back, or should we do another size?"

Timeltek released Liz, who zipped back to Hayden's shoulder. Staying as herself made for slightly more danger, of course. But this was her home—she could take a little risk.

"Yeah," they answered, almost in the same breath. Hayden waited until the door shut, then wiggled out of the too-big straps. 

"Can't be expecting us to share this. I've seen fish ponds bigger."

Hayden shrugged. "Guess you could wait until I'm done. But then you have to stand there being gross."

Eleanor groaned, then joined her. They were both much cleaner when Evelynn returned with fresh clothes and dry towels. She lingered in the doorway, arms folded. "That's a little less like something died. Did someone toss you into a rendering bin?"

"I cannot imagine how," Timeltek added. "Liz could shred their will like paper."

The kitten in question emerged from the water, brushing herself dry on Hayden's towel. She rejoined Timeltek near the ground, floating just in front of him. But if she hoped that would make Tekkie more playful, it didn't work. The daemon only lifted her in his mouth again, carrying her to a dry corner to groom her properly. Hayden relaxed against the wall, though she was still floating in the soapy water. Warmer than she'd ever felt it at home, even after they were done. "Not really how we are."

Eleanor rolled her eyes. "Should be. This place is mean." She kicked the drain, then stood up. "I don't know how she made it this long without getting squished."

Evelynn retreated into the hallway to give them space, clicking the door closed. Her daemon remained, perched on the windowsill with Liz between his forelegs. "You're not wrong—Sunyshore can be tough. Out there, you fight. In here, we're safe. That means you too. My b—my sister made that clear. You're family too."

Hayden barely noticed. She didn't notice anything until the water started draining, and she finally sat up. Eleanor was already dressed, ready with a towel. They'd been through this routine many times. "We've stuck up for each other, that's all," she said. "Mew are tough, but they aren't good on the survival instincts."

"Says the one who argued with Corrin!" Hayden said, indignant. She didn't stand so much as float there, willing the water off of her with a few seconds of deliberate focus. It worked well on skin, not so good with all that long, pink hair. "We didn't have to get into a fight. You wanted him to attack you!"

Eleanor let go, turning away from her. She could avoid eye contact all she liked, Hayden still saw her thoughts. Usually she tried not to, but surface emotions were always there, whether she wanted to feel them or not. She couldn't hide those any better than she could hide her height. "I've seen bullies before. Different in my world than yours, but they all use the same script. Think cuz they're bigger or tougher they can make you do what they want. Didn't see me coming though, did he?"

"I believe I've heard that name before…" came the voice from just outside. "Isn't he the one that helped you settle, Hadie?"

She nodded weakly. "Not that he realized. His daemon recognized Liz, and he still tried to fight us. Got straw and rocks in his head instead of a brain."

There was no time to get her hair as nice as she would like it, not with her family waiting just down the hall. Hayden settled for a quick brushing, leaving it long and straight behind her. Well—it was straight now. It would go frizzy as it dried, but there was nothing she could do about that. Not without spending at least a half hour with an iron, or twice that long to braid it.

But then Evelynn slipped inside again, gesturing for Eleanor to let go. "Check this out, eevee. In case you settle as an espeon. Lots of us wear out long hair—I guess to be like Hayden. Never really thought about it until now." She removed a few rubber bands from a drawer, then twisted Hayden's hair up and around into a loose, interlocking bun. All that weight might get annoying if she left it there, but there was no danger of that. Gravity had not been invited to her family visit. "And done. How's that?"

Hayden twisted to one side, beaming. "Perfect, Evelynn. Thanks."

She nodded once with satisfaction, gesturing for Eleanor to take Hayden's seat. "You too, vee. I know my sister can't do it. She's still clueless about a girl's hair."

Hayden didn't walk away so much as float upward towards the ceiling, where she would still be close to Eleanor if she had to be. "That's not true! I'm… learning! I've had long hair for months now! I didn't change yesterday."

Eleanor eyed Evelynn, then settled awkwardly into the wooden stool. "I don't have as much as her. None of that whole mew… ocean she's got going."

"To your advantage," Evelynn said. She worked her brush through for a few seconds, turning the uneven mess into something more childlike and smooth. She'd given Hayden some variation of that same style a dozen times when she was younger, and her hair got a little long. 

"Has the family talked about my letter?" Hayden asked, from her perch near the mirror. Not right next to it, where she might knock against the hot bulbs with bare skin. "There's some important things in there."

"Your commissions are all done," Evelynn answered. Already her voice came a little sharp—but if that wasn't enough, Timeltek nipped Liz's ear, enough to silence them both. "The rest is Mom and Dad. I'm just here for the usual." She trailed off, picking an old brown hairbow out of the drawer. "If Mew and Shaymin House let you wander around the way you came in here…"

Eleanor burst into giggling laughter. "Not in a million years! Lady Gracidea wouldn't let her leave the house for a month if she came in like that."

Evelynn led them back into the kitchen, where the whole family had already gathered. But what Hayden expected to see—suitcases, boxes, traveling supplies—was nowhere to be seen. 

We're not leaving right now anyway. It's probably just somewhere else. 

The next few hours passed more or less the way she expected. She talked about the various aspects of legendary life, about what it was like to travel and how different Johto looked in person. No, she hadn't visited Goldenrod yet, or any of the historical sites beyond the palace. 

It didn't matter that the food was a little dry from a second pass through the oven to reheat. She was home again, and nothing else mattered. 

But then the hours blurred by, and it was evening again. The others were all off on their own, leaving Hayden and her parents alone down in the shop. She couldn't say exactly how she'd ended up there, except that it seemed planned. Mom lingered by the steps, with her jolteon higher up to scare off anyone who might want to listen in.

"About your commission…" her father began. "I don't know how we could possibly accept so much gold. What you asked for—I don't even know what the tax authority would think. That we were laundering money, probably."

"Money we don't even need anymore," Mom added. "Sweetheart, Shaymin House has sent their stipend exactly like they promised. Even if they didn't, we get more than enough donations in your name. We don't need your spending money too."

Hayden wasn't exactly floating through the room by then, and not just because she was exhausted. Even without Liz's perception of emotions, she would probably feel the tension in the room. It radiated from her parents, thick enough to cut with a knife.

Hayden slipped something out of her pocket, holding up the pouch of gold in one hand. "Who cares what the tax authority says? That money is for moving. It's for setting up a new shop in Johto. Bigger than this one, on Mew grounds. Where you're safe."

Her dad rested one hand on her shoulder, pushing her gently down into one of the fitting chairs. Visibly he still wore his leather work apron, stacked high with all the tools he used to make adjustments and fit clients for their property. Even so, the thin wooden boxes holding Hayden's commissions remained shut, and he made no move towards them.

"Hayden. If you thought your family could get pushed around, I think you'll find we're tougher than we let on. We may not rule nations, but we're proud in our own way. We don't run."

She looked away from him, wrapping her tail around her legs. The nightgown fit perfectly, but it did little to make her look or feel particularly grown up. "I don't…" She held up one hand, conjuring a memory to show him—then she hesitated. The last time she used that power on a common pokémon, Eleanor almost forgot who she was. 

So she lowered her hand again. "I know you're brave. Brave, strong, and all that stuff. That isn't it."

"Then what is it, sweetheart?" Mom asked, a little gentler. "We know how worried you sounded in that letter. We're touched by how much you still think of us. You write more than Holland, and he doesn't have mythical pokémon breathing down his back."

He does actually, she thought. But Hayden didn't say so. This wasn't about Holland. "I… look. Mom, Dad. The people around me… they're dangerous in a way you can't even imagine. I couldn't, when they took me. Mythicals aren't like us. They're… they don't see regular people as people. If they kill people, they don't even go to jail, they don't get a rope. They pay gold to the family who owns them, and that's it. No punishment."

She wasn't sure they would let her keep going—so maybe she pushed on them a little. Not hard. But if she was gonna use her powers anyway, might as well make sure she got to finish. "There are people out there who would hurt you as a way of hurting me. Or kidnap you, or all kinds of awful things."

She lowered her voice, pulling her legs up to her chest and wrapping both arms around them. She didn't even speak those next few words, but sent them mentally. Not that telepathy would shock them, with Evelynn in the house. They wouldn't even have the sensitivity to know it came from Hayden directly, and not Liz. Only Timeltek had the senses to feel that. 

"Lady Gracidea already threatened you once. I don't know what she would've done if I didn't listen to her. But I… found a way to keep you safe. I gave Shaymin House what they wanted. She wouldn't even have to pay anything. You're already hers, so…"

Her parents released her. She closed her eyes, filling her mind with static so she wouldn't feel their thoughts. It sorta helped, but it couldn't stop Liz from feeling their emotions. Doubt, confusion, and a little concern. But not for themselves, they worried about Hayden!

"Noble Lady Gracidea has never acted in such a manner," Dad said, after a long time. "Why do you think Sinnoh is so loyal? Our Lady of the Flowers treats her people with kindness and respect. It doesn't matter how much power our rulers can wield if they're restrained by the laws of decency. They could do many things, but they do not, because it would be wicked."

"We know how worried you are," Mom continued, easing her out of the chair, and into a standing position. "But Sunyshore is the home we chose. Our whole lives are here. Leaving them behind because of some fear—it just isn't our way."

She whimpered, and hot tears streaked down her face. Her whole body shook, racked by shallow sobs. "Mew House is a much b-better place to live. Lady Gail is kind and considerate. She even… she's the one who helped set this up. Wanted to help me get you out of danger. You'll have royal contracts, the best shop in the city, you'll…"

"We will not," Father said firmly. "It wasn't about the money. We chose Sunyshore because the people here needed us. Before our shop, they all had to order clothes shipped here from Veilstone. That hasn't changed."

"But we'll be happy to do your wardrobe, whenever you need it." Mom patted her shoulder again, with some of the same force. "Nothing brings us more pride than knowing our little Hayden is out there changing the world."

That was it. Nothing else she said made a difference. They answered the same question a few different ways, but all ultimately ended with the same answer. They would not be going back to Johto with her, no matter how much money or safety she offered. They just didn't understand the danger.

It would not take them long to find out.