Chapter 57

"Mistress, if you have a moment."

Holland stood in the doorway to her bedroom—the upper floor, rather than the perpetually flooded sections beneath. He still wore his full duty uniform, and carried all the weapons expected of a bodyguard. "If it pleases you."

Hayden sat up from her place before the mirrors, then waved her servants away. She had some important meeting or another scheduled in a few hours, which meant sitting still while they dressed her up. "Give us a few minutes," she said. They made to leave—all except Eleanor.

Her “maidservant” was more of a supervisor than actually helping, so lingered near the back of the room with a clipboard instead of trying to assist with Hayden's hair or makeup.

That was for the best—Mew styles were all far more complex than anything worn in Shaymin House.

Only when they were gone did Hayden gesture to her brother. She floated upward until she was at his head level, doing her best to move as little as possible otherwise. Getting a mew braid correct could take hours. "What's up, Holland?"

He eyed Eleanor, in her prim uniform and espurr body, then stepped in far enough to salute. "I do not believe it's entirely appropriate for me to—"

"Yeah it is," Hayden said, annoyed. "Eleanor isn't going to—" Eleanor was the current heir of the house Holland had sworn to serve. "Look, she knows you're my brother. You can just talk to me."

Eleanor stuck her tongue out. "Not a word to my noble mother, I promise."

Holland relaxed. His umbreon bounded over to Liz, pawing at her from ground level. She dropped back down.

"I'm sure you know—I stay in touch with the family back home. I write them every week, and they reply… often. But they stopped."

Hayden nodded weakly. She glanced briefly over her shoulder, where the little wooden ponyta still sat. The reminder of that particular mistake would never fade. "If I had to guess, I would think… you wouldn't get anything dated newer than five weeks ago. Is that right, Eleanor?"

She flipped through her clipboard a few pages, then nodded hastily. "Five weeks, three days. That's when we made that payment for your new wardrobe out of the Mew's expense acc…" She trailed off, tucking it under one arm. "Right."

"I have a friend stationed in Sunyshore," Holland continued. "A few days ago, he sent me this. Picture of the old shop. And the… temple they're building there now. In the ruins."

Hayden took the picture in her magic, turning it towards her. Hayden didn't need much detail to recognize the burned out wreckage of her family's home. She passed it back a few seconds later. “Oh.”

"Did you know about this?"

She landed in front of him, then took his hand with both of hers. "Yeah."

"Attacked because of you?" Holland stammered. He backed away, pulling his hands free. "Is that right?"

"Yeah."

Silence pressed between them. His daemon slunk over to him, then settled at attention beside him. As she always did when he was on duty, and not eager to share her feelings on something.

"Did anyone… did they…"

Reaching into the mind of a dark type with telepathy took special concentration—but she knew the technique now. Anything more advanced—reading emotions against his will, or changing things there—was still beyond her. Maybe it would be for years. But Hayden didn't need any of those things right now.

“I was there. I kept them safe. Only Dad got hurt. He wears a back brace now, but he's healing well.”

Holland froze, attention suddenly fixed on her. He couldn't spend all this time in the household of a mythical without learning at least the basics of telepathy. And apparently, how to use it. “No one knows what happened to them. How do you?”

If he wasn't a dark type, they could just show him. She imagined her family's new home on the coast, in a very different version of Sunyshore. She felt the sun on her face, her toes in the sand, and the gently cooking fish in the sunset. But how much of that made it to him?

Not much, apparently. His expression didn't change. “My family is in constant danger. You aren't mythical, so you… don't have protection. They can kill you, and all they have to do is pay a ransom in gold. I had to make sure no one could find them ever again.”

Holland stumbled over to her. He rested one hand on her shoulder. Whatever focus he had for telepathy, it didn't last long enough to keep it up. "How?"

She shook her head weakly. "Holland… if I tell you…"

She touched her forehead to his. “People like me can get it out of your head. It doesn't matter how tough you are, or how well you could resist torture. They can take your mind apart without even trying. If you know it, it isn't secret. Do you understand?”

He pulled her in close, wrapping both arms around her shoulders in a sudden, strangling hug. "What about you, Haydie? Can they take out what you know, and find a way to hurt our family?"

She shook her head sharply, spoiling her half-finished braid in the process. "Not without killing me. My insides are too tough now. Gotta break us open."

"If that was supposed to make me feel better…" He let go after a few seconds, bowing again. "Perhaps you could… forward my letters for me," he said. "If I cannot know where you've hidden them, I could still keep in touch."

She nodded. "Eleanor can get them all here. I'll… bring them with me, next time I see them. But you should know—they won't be able to write back as often. Where they are is… far. Far enough that the most powerful evil legendary can't get to them, no matter how hard they try."

"I could go with you," he said. "When you go, I mean. I want to see them."

"If you do…" Her tail curled around her leg, and she looked away. "You can't come back. You have to leave this life behind. You're leaving your duty, your friends, your career. And also I might have to wait until I'm strong enough to transform you myself, because it's like… really bad if anyone there recognizes you.

Holland saluted. "I know what Mom would want. Someone has to keep an eye on you. Letters are fine for now. Until you don't need me anymore."

Hayden nodded tearfully, and watched him go. Eleanor approached slowly, though she was silent until he was gone. She touched up against Hayden's face with a cloth, drying it with one hand.

"You are not making my job easy for me, Lady Hayden. If you were half as emotionless as other noble ladies, we wouldn't have this problem."

Hayden shrugged, waving one hand towards her hair. As she did, it collected back into thin strands, interlacing together as though on its own. In reality the effort took her enormous concentration, and perfect memory of the way it ought to look. "Want to know another secret? Lady Moonstone taught me this a month ago. I just like it when you do it."

She finished the braid a few seconds later, then relaxed. "Maybe you could touch up the makeup?"

"Unless you can do that too." Eleanor stalked around her to the front, both arms folded indignantly. "Why should I? You didn't need me this whole time!"

"I still need you! More than ever, really. It's just… not about the hair. Or the makeup. It's about the company."

Eleanor rolled her eyes, then gestured her back into the chair. "Fine, Lady. At your command."

"You could always try keeping me company as a mew instead. Liz and I could pose for you as long as you need."

Eleanor shrugged absently. "We wouldn't even need that anymore. After that whole… after the last time. We could copy you like exactly."

"You wanna go to this ball instead of me? Liz and I could melt for a while. Be your maidservant for a few hours. It would be less pressure."

"And that works right up until one of the mythicals show up and they see through me like I'm glass. Bet they would guess who you were—if you could even look like me. I don't think your powers work that way."

"They don't. Copying people perfectly is a ditto thing. Would be neat if we could get away with it." She closed her eyes again, leaving Eleanor to finish preparing her.

This wasn't just any silly noble occasion, of course. This was the most important of all—the spring ball. "What about the necklace? This one with the rock on it…"

"That's the one, right here." She stiffened, gesturing to her chest with one hand. "Just… put it there. It would mean a lot to Julian if I was wearing it."

"And to you." Her sister rested it around her neck, settling the chain lightly into place. It started glowing as soon as it made contact with the skin, a diffuse pulsing in and out with each passing second. It didn't match her heartbeat, though she still wasn't quite sure exactly what made it light up. Even the noble lord and lady of Mew House were reticent to give her specifics.

"There. I won't say it's perfect, because I'm just a ditto. But it looks about as good as we'll get. Let the steward of the house fix anything I missed."

Hayden nodded absently. She stood stiff while Eleanor dusted over her one last time, brushing any remaining stray threads off her gown. "Does it bother you that you aren't going? Since it's…"

Eleanor dropped the brush, folding both arms. "Bother me? Why should it? That ball was one of my worst nightmares. The same torture over and over again. Listening to how great the noble families are, all the amazing things their boring kids did. Go through the ritual, listen to everyone's boring remarks about global unity and the harmony of elements, then leaving to do it again in six months."

She backed away, scooping Loch into her arms. "I hear the servants have way more fun. Old laws… something about sharing the prosperity of the nation or whatever. When the party ends for you, mine is just getting started."

Part of that sounded true—all except Eleanor not feeling upset to miss the event. She still felt like she was letting Shaymin House down. "I wonder if there's a way for you to go…" Hayden said. "If you could stay a shaymin the whole time…"

"Forget it." She put out one hand, expression annoyed. "I can't change like you. Unless you think blasting me with more memories is a good idea, you can go ahead and attend without me."

The door creaked, and Ilene entered, holding it open. "Lady of the house," she began, remaining bowed.

In an instant, Eleanor dropped to one knee, her head as low as any other servant. Hayden didn't, though she did keep her head down in respect as the mew entered.

The mew that might soon become her mother-in-law dressed much as she did, right down to the intricate braid, detailed makeup, and floral kimono too long to walk in. But walking was never part of the agenda for their kind.

Hers had an opening for a tail too. But though her hair was the same soft pink as Hayden's, she had entirely human ears. "Evening, child. I hope you're ready. I suspect your family is growing restless to see you again. You've brought honor to all of Sinnoh in my household."

Her cheeks flushed bright red. There were very few in all the world whose flattery meant anything to her. But Lady Moonstone wasn't one to compliment lightly.

"Thank you, Gale. My time here has been… wonderful. I will miss you dearly when I return. And Julian, and Ilene, and—"

The noble lady touched her cheek with one finger. "I fear if I let you go on you might name half my house, and the other half would get jealous." Her hand dropped to Hayden's shoulder, eyes lingering on the necklace. “I see you've come armed. This is good—you may have need of that before midnight.”

That came so quickly, so fast that someone sitting beside them could never have known any words were exchanged. And with barely a pause, the noble mew continued. "I will bring us to the ball directly. Ilene will not be serving tonight, as she still has the distinction of representing her house. Defunct as it is—the custom remains. I trust you not to make this awkward for her by making requests."

Hayden nodded hastily. "I-I… of course, Lady Moonstone. I should've realized."

"Likewise, when the exchange is complete—you are returned to your family. You will make the return trip to Sinnoh on your mother's vessel. Your staff are already preparing for the transfer. Poor Julian is heartbroken. I suspect he will wish to visit you when next custom permits, in another six months."

She smiled weakly, taking the offered hand. "I would like that very much. But I don't know if he would. My home is… not as luxurious as his."

"We're aware," Lady Moonstone said. "But that should be changing, thanks to you." Light flashed, and they were somewhere else.