CHAPTER 189

I had never heard of the Elegant Carver until yesterday, but Cece told me that it was the best Steak House in Veilstone. Her father owned a vacation home here and often came to the city for business, and he would sometimes bring her and her mother here. I would have thought that this place would have been the subject of bad memories, but she didn't seem to mind. In fact, she was empowered as we walked through the doors and onto the luxurious carpet, her limp having nearly disappeared in that brief moment. It was a protest, I realized. A way to tell herself that she had grown past this trauma and that she could laugh in the face of it with someone she loved.

"Good evening," she smiled. "Reservation for two under the name of Obel."

"Ah, Ms. Obel! It has been a while!" The host beamed. He was rather old, in his fifties, if I had to guess, and he sported a thick mustache. "And who's your lovely companion tonight?"

"My girlfriend, Grace," she said, placing a hand around my waist. "It's her first time here."

"I'm sure she'll enjoy it very much. We're the best Veilstone has to offer!" He bellowed.

"Nice to meet you… um…"

"Mr. Bahn," he said before motioning at a waiter with gusto. "Samuel here will take you to your table and attend to you tonight. Enjoy your evening, ladies."

I nearly gasped in awe at how expensive everything in here looked. Emilia definitely had done me a solid by lending me this dress, because I actually felt like I belonged despite my massive burns turning heads. Crystal chandeliers cascaded their soft glow throughout the room, but it wasn't too bright, leaving the entire establishment dimly lit. Plush, velvet drapes adorned tall windows and there was even a long garnet carpet that snaked through the entire restaurant that people walked on to get to their tables. I saw a glimpse of a bar room further in, but that wasn't where we were going. A Hitmontop danced next to a pianist playing her song in the distance by spinning on his head and juggling knives in the air with his feet like it was nothing, but people didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, they began to clap just as the song finished, and Hitmontop got on his feet to bow with the pianist and the rest of the musicians. I was kind of jealous of her skill. The entire song had been flawless, but she'd been the one carrying the entire melody.

The waiter pulled both of our chairs to let us sit and placed a dining napkin on our laps. Everything on the table looked so fancy I was scared of even touching it. Even the damn menu was impeccable. Samuel poured us a glass of water and said he'd be back soon to see if we were ready to take our order.

"So? Do you like it?" Cecilia asked.

"Do I like it? Cece, this is incredible," I laughed. "I've never seen anything like it! Oh man, everything in here smells so good—"

I stopped when I heard her laugh.

"Oh. Sorry, I'm not used to these kinds of places," I said.

"Don't apologize. I like seeing you like this."

"Like what?"

"Carefree," she said after a short pause. The music resumed, and Hitmontop began to dance and juggle again. "This place holds a decent amount of memories for me. It's nice to go there with someone I actually like. Have a look at the course."

I grabbed the menu. "It's a Steak House, so I gotta have steak— okay, what the hell is a tartare? Sounds Kalosian."

"Not a tartare, just tartare. It's actually Alolan, believe it or not. A Kalosian explorer brought it back and popularized it in Kalos after renaming the dish, which is why it sounds that way. It's essentially salted raw meat, but this one has truffle oil, mustard..."

Okay, I knew nothing that was on this appetizer list. Foie Gras? That was Kalosian gibberish to me. There was the Lobster Bisque, and Cecilia had already introduced me to the world of seafood when we'd been in Snowpoint, so I knew what I had to pick.

"You're missing out on the tartare. It's A5 Grade beef," she said.

"Oh, that's the best grade, right? I don't know… I think I'll stick with the lobster."

We decided on a Tomahawk Steak for two as the main course, although I took a side of fries while she took asparagus, and I opted for some Lava Cake as a dessert while she decided to pick the Crème Brûlée. Since this was an official establishment, Cecilia couldn't buy alcohol this time, so we just asked for some soft drinks.

"Lots of Kalosian stuff here," I mused.

"Well, they don't call them the best at cooking for no reason," she smirked. "But yes, it is a Kalosian establishment. My mother used to only eat Unovan food until she was introduced to this place a few years ago."

My eyes widened slightly. Cece had only talked about her mother to me once, and while she didn't share that vitriolic hatred she had for her father, she seemed to err on the side of dislike due to her mother simply watching her get abused by her father all these years, just like her brother did. In fact, I didn't even know her name.

"Do you miss her sometimes?" I asked.

"Not really. I miss what could have been, I suppose. If she'd had a little bit more backbone. Simply offering a few words of support after Clarence's outbursts would have been enough for me. Alas, she was terrified of him. Even more than I was."

"But you're still her daughter. That's messed up," I shook my head. "Will you go see her? When you go back to Unova."

"I haven't decided yet," she said, pursing her lips.

"Can you tell me more about Unova? The happy memories you have of it instead of the bad, I mean," I asked. "If I'm going to go there, I'd like to know more about it. Not statistics or how it compares to Sinnoh, but how it makes you feel."

Cecilia sipped on her drink, her eyes never leaving mine.

"This might not make any sense," she started.

"Come on, try it."

"When Clarence said I'd be coming to Sinnoh to travel with strangers, I was actually a little relieved."

"That makes sense, though. It would mean that you would spend less time with him."

She nodded. "I was still a terrified, paranoid mess, of course. Remember when I slammed you against the wall in that bathroom stall?"

I laughed. "You know, in retrospect, that was actually pretty hot—"

"Stop it!" She giggled. "And yes, it was, but that's beside the point. Unbeknownst to Clarence, he was giving me the tools for me to escape. Pokemon, and ways to actually build friendships with people that weren't rotten to their core. At one point, I actually wanted to stick around in Sinnoh my entire life, but that always left a bad taste in my mouth… like I couldn't accept it. All of my friends and loved ones are here. You, Pauline and everyone else, you're my family. I mean it. Yet the pull I feel from Unova is almost impossible for me to ignore. I miss it too much."

"A pull?"

"It's just a connection I feel. Like it's my home, and that could never change. Despite it being where I suffered so many bad memories. Years of my life spent as a shadow of myself listening to my father's orders and being friends with a girl that was only there to control me, and yet I want to go back. How insane is that?"

"It's not insane," I declared. "You have a sentimental bond with the place. Here, what's your favorite spot ever and why?"

She immediately answered, "Castelia City without a doubt. Imagine a city four times larger than Jubilife with five times the amount of people. A melting pot of every ethnicity, occupation and way of life. It is the largest city in the world and I absolutely love how it looks at night. The lights are just amazing. I'd like to take you one day," Cecilia fondly said. Her eyes might have been staring in my direction, but she was looking elsewhere. At Castelia City in her mind's eye. "The view from Skyarrow Bridge at night is just unparalleled. You just see the whole city, and for a single instant, it's this— this living, breathing organism. You have to see it to believe it."

"That was a beautiful way of putting it," I said. She was a lot more passionate about this than I thought. "Doesn't it get too crowded?"

"Oh, it does, but that's part of the charm. Rush hour is almost unnavigable, both with a car and on your feet. It's like a sea of people, and everyone's flowing with the current. I managed to slip out of Clarence's hold on quite a few occasions while we were out of the car. I'd sneak off to an ice cream shop with— with Amy."

"You don't have to talk about her," I said. "What else?"

"The art exhibits were great too. The Gym Leader there is a bug type specialist called Burgh and he hosts a lot of them. It's kind of abstract, I mean, it has a lot to do with honey."

"That seems terrifying to me after battling a Vespiquen," I sniggered. "Doesn't it get bad, though? I couldn't imagine running a city that size."

"Gym Leaders in Unova are kind of hands-off in that stuff. I really mean it when I say that it's a lot more civilian-controlled than here, you know? They have a role, but a very small amount of power, so their position is essentially ceremonial. They each have a side job other than tending to gyms. Burgh's an artist, Skyla's a pilot, Elesa's a model and influencer…"

"Denzel would like her," I said. "That's interesting. So they don't do anything, then?"

"Not really, aside from battle and attending a few meetings. Gym trainers there have a bigger role in the gym challenge, but I forgot how it was exactly. It does probably get boring, which is why they do other things. Speaking of Elesa, Nimbasa's a ton of fun too! There are a ton of theme parks and stadiums to watch sports."

"Sports like Pokemon battles?"

"No, actual human sports. Like football and the like," she said. "Clarence would often buy some of his important business partners the best tickets to some of the games there. I wasn't the biggest fan, but the theme parks are great! I can't believe Sinnoh doesn't have a theme park! I mean, what are you guys even doing?!"

"Sunyshore has a Ferris Wheel! I've been there once when I was younger!" I playfully protested. "And the Safari Zone is kind of a theme park."

"Nonsense. And A single Ferris Wheel doesn't count," she rolled her eyes. "But seriously, it's like, everything in Sinnoh is just so serious all the time, it gets exhausting. Unova is just fun, even after everything I went through there. The beaches on Humilau…"

"You told me about those, I remember!" I said. "There's a festival there every summer, right? With the dancing Ludicolo that you forgot evolved from Lombre."

"Don't remind me about that," she shrunk. "There's also Undella Town for beaches, although that one's a lot more exclusive. Did you know Cynthia took a liking to the city when she visited Unova years ago? There were rumors that she wanted to buy a home there, but she never went through with it because people got nervous about a Champion vacationing in another region."

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"She could still do it when she retires," I said. "Unova does sound fun. I mean, I still feel the need to defend Sinnoh that you've so outrageously slandered—"

"With justifiable cause."

"—and honestly, you did come at a bad time. Everyone's on edge with Team Galactic, I promise it's not so doom and gloom all the time. I do like the sound of Unova, though. I can't imagine being able to go to the beach all year round. Even Pastoria gets too cold outside of summer."

"That's because of the blasted weather here. Sinnoh's a cold hellscape! I want you to wear cute, summer clothes! I want to see you in a sundress and a hat while we're on a date at the beach! The point is, I want to see you dressed in less than a coat, for Arceus' sake. Your beauty's wasted here."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Did you forget about yesterday night?"

"You know what I mean."

"I do know. I like teasing you now that the roles are reversed for once, even if it doesn't work that well," I said. Our appetizers finally came and I licked my lips when I saw how juicy my lobster looked. "You know, you never vented that much about Sinnoh before. I didn't think you hated it that much."

"That's because you make it genuinely fun and exciting every single day," she said nonchalantly. I suddenly blushed and nearly dropped my Lobster Cracker.

Right, she'd just made my night without even trying. Classic Cecilia.

"You're cute," she said with a smug smile as she leaned against her hand.

"You just had to have the exact words that'd make me feel like the happiest girl in the world, didn't you?"

"I do my best," she said, bowing slightly. "Here, taste a little bit."

A piece of tartare hung on her fork, and I hesitantly ate the meat. It quite literally dissolved in my mouth and exploded with taste.

"Wait… wait, this is really good!" I exclaimed.

"I told you, you were missing out. We can ask the waiter for another one."

My mouth was already stuffed with lobster by the time she called Samuel over, and she ordered for me. There was some sort of dipping sauce that I sure as hell didn't know, but it tasted damn good too. I did feel kind of bad for Cece, because she was eating like an Arceus damned princess while I was being, well, me.

"I poured my heart out about Unova, so why don't you tell me your favorite aspects of Sinnoh?"

I hummed, musing for a few seconds. I'd expected an answer to come up right away. I'd spent my entire life here, but I couldn't come up with anything other than I liked the people there. My dad, Bellatrix, Night, my friends… but the places? There wasn't exactly any attachment there other than Jubilife because it was my hometown. I couldn't go on a massive, passionate tangent about anything like Cece had done. I just came up empty.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "I like the people."

"That was kind of lackluster."

"I know," I giggled. "My bad, I literally couldn't come up with anything."

She left it at that. I knew that she was subtly trying to convince me to come with her, but I appreciated that she didn't push the matter too far and too quickly. I quickly finished my lobster and scarfed down the truffle tartare. Everything in this restaurant was so damn good.

"By the way, I commented on how magnificent you looked tonight, but I didn't know you had that dress," she said. "It looks… very good on you."

I could feel her eyes on me— not that I disliked that. It felt good, and it wasn't like I hadn't looked at her either.

"You wouldn't believe how stressed out I was. Emilia helped me get ready and lent me her dress. She's so dependable now. Hearthome changed her a whole lot."

Cecilia nodded. "Times change, and so do people."

"Woah. Why'd you get all wise on me all of the sudden?"

"Shut up," she joked. "Oh, the steak is here."

And it was massive. There was a reason it was for two people. The waiter handed us smaller plates with our sides and divided the meat in a bunch of different cuts to make it easier for us.

"Grace. Say 'ah.'"

"But we have the same meal?" I said confusedly.

"Come on."

I opened my mouth and she fed me some steak. It was delicious, just like everything else in this place.

"You just enjoy feeding me, don't you?"

"Guilty as charged. I won't go overboard with it, don't worry. Oh, by the way, I've narrowed my fighting type choices further! I forgot to tell you, since you were so busy training for that thing. I went to see a couple of Maylene's higher-leveled gym battles today to see what the Pokemon would be able to do when I trained them up."

Thing was code for the interview since there was no way we'd talk about it in public. If someone overheard and was overly curious, they'd probably think it was a secret technique for a battle. I was technically training for that too, so they wouldn't be wrong.

"Spill!" I said.

"Toxicroak, Mienshao or Hitmonlee are my three options. I think I'll catch whatever I come across first, since I genuinely have no preference."

The conversation paused for a few seconds as the entire room applauded the musicians and Hitmontop.

"I thought you'd go for something like Machamp, honestly."

"Don't be silly. Notice a pattern in my team? I have three Pokemon that are good at overwhelming power and blowing things up, and two speedsters. I need one more speedster to complete the trifecta. If I manage to catch Spiritomb, I'll go for another speed-focused Pokemon again to keep things balanced."

"Oh. Any reason why you're taking that approach? I'm actually curious."

"It's just combining my two favorite types of Pokemon, there isn't exactly a grand strategy in it," she shrugged. "I've never been a precision-type battler, as you know."

"I figured when I saw you battle Roark," I said.

"You know, you've told me a few times that you watched my battle with Roark, but I've never actually seen yours."

I nearly choked on my steak. "Please, do not watch it. It is so fucking embarrassing I will literally die."

Cecilia responded with the most evil smirk I'd ever seen out of her. "Oh?"

"Cece. No."

She pulled out her phone and began to type. I nearly lunged at her, but I couldn't humiliate us by making a scene. That battle with Roark had been so terrible I'd nearly managed to wipe it from memory. The first fight I'd been truly proud of was my battle with Gardenia, but anything earlier than that was just awful to look at.

"You were so damn cute," she laughed, turning the phone toward me. "Look at how fidgety you were! You couldn't even issue orders properly—"

She quickly pulled the phone out of my reach. Damn her long, beautiful arms!

"I hate you," I sighed.

"I love you too. I wished I'd talked to you for more than two sentences back then. We could have gotten to know each other sooner, and in retrospect, that was embarrassing for me too."

"What'd you say again? I forgot," I frowned. Cecilia shifted in her seat. "Oh, don't go silent on me now, it's only fair that I do it too… wait, wait, it's on the tip of my tongue— ah! You. What's your name?" I mimicked her. "And you said it all mysterious-like too!"

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Oh, Legendaries."

"You're lucky that I was already crushing on you, or I would have thought you were a weirdo. Actually, you are a weirdo, and I love you that way."

"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Here, let me feed you again."

"Sure thing."

We somehow managed to finish the Tomahawk Steak, although we were both extremely full by then. I didn't think I'd have room for dessert, but we'd already ordered and I really wanted to taste something as cool sounding as Lava Cake.

"I kind of wish that was me playing up there," I said, observing the pianist.

"No time for lessons these days, hm?"

"Not really, no. Also, don't say these days like I ever started. You only taught me once," I sighed. "Maybe I'll have time this summer. You know, I might just go to Unova—"

Cecilia squealed and excitedly clapped her hands.

"Calm down," I laughed. "I meant as a vacation. To feel things out a little and see if I like it. I'll have to ask the Poketch Company about it, but I don't think they'd mind some promotion abroad, so I'm sure we can work something out."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"It's just a test!" I said. "And I'll have to stay in Sinnoh for a bit too, since there's a huge Poketch meeting I have to attend here at the end of the year."

"I don't care, I have so many places to show you! And we won't be bound by the no flying on a plane rule during summer either, so we'll have all the time in the world! And we'll find you a teacher, of course."

How was it that seeing someone else so happy fill my heart with such joy? I didn't even think that it was possible.

I mimicked playing piano on the table until the Lava Cake arrived. Was I sort of disappointed that it was just a chocolate cake with some more liquid chocolate inside? Yes. Was it still amazing? Also yes. Of course, Cece wasted no time making me taste her dessert too, and I also had her have some of mine. When the bill finally arrived, she nearly snatched it out of the waiter's hand, much to his amusement.

"I can—"

"You can let me treat you," she spoke over me. "I invited you here, so I'll pay. When you invite me somewhere else, you can pay. How does that sound?"

"That's fair," I nodded. "Thank you for the wonderful dinner."

She placed a hand on mine and stared into my eyes. I didn't know if it was because I hadn't seen her in two weeks, but just her touch sent a jolt of electricity up my arm.

"Want to get out of here?" She asked, slightly breathless.

"Hmhm," I nodded.

I stretched as I got up.

"Man, I didn't say anything this entire evening but this dress is so tight. It's even worse now that I've eaten so much."

"These heels are killing me," she added. "Louis' driver should be back by now, so I'll finally be able to take them off in the limousine."

"You could have worn flats like me. With your leg…"

"I'm fine," she smiled. "You could say I wanted to make a statement."

She placed an arm around my waist as we left the restaurant, although we did slow-walk to finish the final song that we'd hear tonight. There was a dance floor, but I was a terrible dancer and there was no way I was going to embarrass myself up there.

I blinked when we turned toward the entrance, and Cecilia did the same. Rage— more rage than I thought I was capable of feeling filled every cell of my being. I had never looked at someone and told myself that I hated them. Disliked, yes. Feared, also yes. But hatred? So intense that waves of heat washed over my body and I struggled to sit still. My jaw clenched and trembled and I barely contained myself. My entire body was so tense that it felt like a rubber band stretched to its maximum length and my vision blurred at the edges.

Standing there was Amy Saunier and what I assumed were her parents coming here to enjoy a nice evening. Everyone froze aside from her parents, who just seemed extremely confused. Did they not know about the fucked up shit their daughter did? Or maybe they just didn't know how to react. I was the first to move, stepping in front of Cecilia and placing a hand inside of my purse.

"Maman, Papa, you can go ahead," she said after swallowing.

Her parents turned toward her, clearly wondering why the hell she wasn't speaking Kalosian. They began a heated debate which I didn't understand, but after a minute, they reluctantly agreed and went ahead.

"Nice to see you again, snake," I snarled. "Enjoy your evening."

"Cecilia— Cecilia, please. Give me another chance."

I turned to my girlfriend, who simply shook her head in silence.

"She doesn't want anything to do with you. You're lucky that's all you're getting—"

"Grace. I've got it."

I huffed. "Fine."

"Could you wait for me up ahead? Edward's right there," she pointed forward. I was about to protest, but she spoke over me. "I know it might seem weird, but I need this, love. Please."

"If you're sure," I sighed. "But the moment you need me, just gesture and I'll make her pay."

I glared at Amy and bumped into her shoulder as I left.

—

Thank Arceus, Grace had left without a fight. She hadn't even blinked once when staring at the damn girl, and Cecilia almost thought that she'd pull out her Pokemon and attack her. It was like a switch had been flipped in a single second. She didn't want Grace to be seen hurting or berating someone in public, especially not when she had that massive interview next week.

Cecilia studied Amy Saunier with an intense stare that clearly made her uncomfortable. The blond girl nervously shuffled for a few seconds, then finally yelled.

"Why didn't you answer my call? I just wanted to apologize!"

"Because your apology would mean nothing to me, Amy. Nothing."

That was half a lie. Now that she was face to face with Amy, she knew it to be true, but the real reason had been that she'd been scared that she would somehow slip back into her clutches because of her manipulative words. Cecilia now knew that there was no chance in hell that was happening. Her anger was contained— focused. As if ice flowed through her veins to keep her sharp.

"I still feel the need to say it. I'm sorry for everything I've done… I wasn't in my right mind, and I made mistakes that hurt you. You're— you were my best friend."

Cecilia opted to ignore that final sentence. "So you're still going with that excuse then? Not taking any responsibility whatsoever? Playing the scared little girl?"

"I was—"

"You smiled at me when you told me to surrender in Eterna, Amy. You whispered my worst fear in my ear and smiled. You liked keeping me in a cage. I will never forget it," She said, her tone ice cold. "You put us all in danger while you were enjoying yourself."

"I was just acting! Your father, he made me do all of it, and he got what he deserved! Just, please, don't abandon me. We've known each other nearly our entire lives."

"And yet I feel nothing," Cecilia shrugged. "Are you done?"

"I'll never stop trying to get you back," the girl sniffled. "You'll see reason eventually."

Cecilia rolled her eyes and walked toward Edward, but Amy spoke up again.

"So you're dating her, then? I heard about it," she sniffled again. "Didn't you see how she looked at me? She wanted to kill me."

"Possibly," she said, feeling a pang of affection.

Amy paused in disbelief. "That's just as fucked up as what I did!" She yelled. "She's just like me! So why?!"

"Stop it."

"I liked you too, you know?! I just didn't think you could avoid your fate, but I thought that maybe if you were put in a loveless marriage with Louis Bianchi, you'd still give me a chance on the side—"

"I don't care. I don't want to see you anymore," Cecilia said. "There is nothing you could do that would make me forgive you, Amy, that's the truth. I'm with a girl I love very much, with friends I also love, and I don't want your toxic behavior anywhere near them."

"I care about you—"

"You don't. You care about the idea of me you have in your head. You didn't even ask about my mangled leg," she said. "Or how the fucked up things you did affected me and broke me in the long term. All you did was say how it wasn't your fault. Not that you caring would have changed anything. It might have shown me that you were improving as a person, but it wouldn't have changed what I said. I still would have wanted nothing to do with you."

There was nothing left to be said. Amy was no trainer and her connections were both in two different forms of prison, so she posed no threat. Cecilia confidently strode toward Grace, her limp nearly gone again.

"Are you okay? Did she give you a hard time? Do you want me to get in there and make her pay, because I—" Grace asked.

"I love you."

Cecilia smiled, grabbing her girlfriend and hugging her tightly. She silently reciprocated and they got in the limousine.

Grace's face might have been full of lipstick by the time they got out at the Center.