Chapter 8
Solidad stood on the shore of the lake which straddled two of Mount Silver's highest peaks. Watching her Lapras gliding happily on the glassy moonlit surface, she was overwhelmed with a feeling of elation and serenity. The Johto Grand Festival was over and she had won. It was the most trying battle she had ever had, and knowing that she had prevailed was enough to give her renewed confidence in her abilities as a coordinator. She had also done her home region proud, defeating the reigning champion of neighboring rival region Hoenn in a battle that would surely go down in the annals of pokemon coordinating. Plus, she was only twenty-three.
She could hear the closing party in the distance, with cheers and whistles as fireworks filled the sky. She had spent about an hour there with her friends and acquaintances, all of whom were showering her with praise and some who had ventured to ask for an autograph. She couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed that Robert wasn't there; he had congratulated her after the match and she figured that he would probably already have left to train after the loss. Unconsciously, she reached up and began fiddling with the Sea Glaze pendant, allowing her mind to wander as she watched her pokemon enjoy its time out in the waters; Solidad's way of making it up to her for not using her in the final battle. But she understood why her trainer had done it and was grateful for her care and friendship.
Her flow of thought was disrupted when a beam of red light shot out toward the lake close to where her Lapras was, morphing and coagulating into the graceful form of a sea serpent which disappeared silently beneath the lake's surface. Turning to where the beam had emerged from, she could see a tall shadow standing beneath a nearby tree, his profile illuminated by the silvery moonlight, hands clasped behind his back. For a few moments, they stayed at their respective places and observed the magical scene before them; the two pokemon frolicking beneath the full moon, creating splashes which sparkled with an otherworldly light.
"Hi," he said quietly, approaching her.
"Hi," she replied simply, not daring to face him, not sure how else to respond to a friend she had just defeated in a high-stakes battle. She wasn't Drew, who could just open his mouth and start teasing May for any and every mistake she had made without batting an eyelid. By the time she mustered the courage to turn around, he had brought his hands forward and was twirling a fresh rose in his long slender fingers.
"It seems I've taken a leaf out of our young friend's book," he smiled awkwardly, handing it to her without too much fuss. "Or should I say flower?"
'Thunderstruck' would have been an understatement for Solidad's response to this surprising turn of events. She had to admit that it had crossed her mind, but it never left the realm of wishful thinking – she had left fantasies of guys and romance behind a long time ago, the year she had decided to concentrate more fully on achieving her dream of being a top coordinator. She thanked him and fell silent once more, not realizing that she was still fiddling with the pendant around her neck, the only sign that revealed how nervous she was with the situation. Somewhat jittery himself but finding the sight slightly amusing, Robert grinned and placed his palm over hers, enclosing the Sea Glaze between their fingers and stopping her from very likely twisting it off the chain.
"I see you kept it," he stated, looking directly at her for the first time that night.
It occurred to him that this was the first time he was actually holding her hand – not shaking it after a battle as a rival, not grasping it as a greeting to a friend, not raising it up in the stuffy setting of a ballroom dance. For all the respect he held for her as a coordinator – and now one who had beaten him in the Grand Festival – he couldn't help but be intrigued by the beautiful young lady who could so quickly switch from fixing someone with a piercing, calculating gaze beyond her years, to being so young, innocent and at peace with nature's beauty. That one sunset atop Sprout Tower was the first glimpse he had caught of the latter side of her personality, one which she kept under wraps at any contest or competition.
She met his gaze and decided, for once, not to cross-examine, but to simply see. She pushed aside the thought of contests or battles, and recalled his melodic laughter, his quirky humor, the nervousness with which he had addressed her on several occasions, and saw that it had been more than just wishful thinking. There was something there that she simply hadn't wanted to see, afraid of how it would affect her in her performance. The misty taste of the cool lakeside air triggered an almost-forgotten memory and she allowed her eyes to roam the face of the handsome young man standing before her, realizing the truth in Professor Oak's words.
She wasn't quite aware of when the distance between them had decreased, but she closed her eyes and allowed him to lay a gentle kiss on her lips, nothing more than a brush, neither of them feeling like being too adventurous. A click and a rustle in the bushes in the distance distracted her, followed by some suspiciously familiar giggles. She was about to turn for a better look at the now-retreating figures, but Robert merely chuckled and angled her away from them, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning in for a longer kiss, which she couldn't bring herself to resist.
"You mean that was the forfeit?!" Solidad exclaimed in mock anger, tossing the Grand Festival magazine onto the coffee table of Robert's dormitory.
She had dropped by for an early morning snack, English breakfast style, before having to clear out of her room, and was perusing the Festival magazine which was published at the end of every Festival and carried highlights of the whole event. The cover of the magazine featured, well, her. Being the winner of the inaugural Johto Grand Festival, the magazine had done a seven-page feature on her, with nearly one whole page dedicated to the little episode between the two of them, accompanied by the picture which was evidently taken by their teen friends at the lakeside the previous night. The speculations in the article were hilarious to say the least, but she couldn't blame the publishers for wanting a story out of the two top contenders for this year's Festival.
"Well I assure you that none of it was a lie! The only part of it that involved a forfeit was allowing them to take the picture…" he explained worriedly, plucking at his cuffs in a distinctly nervous fashion. Solidad hadn't really forgotten about the forfeit from the game they had played the day before the battles. Truth be told, she had been suspicious when the Grand Festival closing came and went without any further news from her friends, which was partly the reason she had escaped to the lake. When she had heard the click of the camera, she had known instantly what was in store for her the next morning, but decided to be a bit dramatic about it just for the heck of it. She giggled a bit, seeing the normally poised and confident coordinator lose his nerve over her dramatics and marched over to him with an eyebrow raised.
"Really? Let's see you mean it then," she teased, with a glint of challenge in her eyes – a challenge which he gladly accepted as he playfully pulled her down into the couch with him and silenced any further smart-alec remarks.
'Next year's Grand Festival is going to be a whole lot different' she thought wryly, before surrendering to his advances and figuring that she could just enjoy herself on her last day at Mount Silver.
It was funny how all this had started with a simple dinner and dance aboard the S.S. Aquaria a year ago, when he had caught her eye with that silent toast.