LEO

Leo Specter watched his father sign the document from his desk. He tried not to look up at the one eye of Dusknoir. His father's Spirit Pokémon always seemed to give him the chills. Finally, Lord Specter rolled up the parchment and fixed it with the grey seal of his house.

"You will deliver this to her, read it to her, and take her into custody," he said calmly.

Leo felt his fingers tremble. Could he do it? He was but a young man, and Caitlyn Forrest's Absol had years of experience over his own Dusclops. "By myself?"

His father smiled. "This is the first trial one must take if he's to become a Lord Governor someday. I'm too old and fat to make the arrest, and this is your time to win glory for yourself."

Leo looked at Dusclops. He found no glory in arresting his half-brother's aunt, and the only family member that Alex had left.

"Don't look so grim, boy," his father laughed deeply from the pits of his overly large belly. "Franco and the guards will be there as well, in case you're in need of assistance."

Leo's thoughts turned to Elli, on how this all got started. "How goes the search for Elli? Have we had any luck?"

His father's face turned solemn again. "The only luck we're like to have is whatever you can glean from Lady Caitlyn before she realizes her predicament and clams up. It may be you could find a grain of truth in her lies." He nodded his head in dismissal.

Leo and Dusclops marched down the torch-lit halls of Mt. Pyre. He knew where to find Caitlyn Forrest. Unlike all the other ladies of court, Caitlyn preferred the company of soldiers and common folk to the handmaidens and curtsies of the political arena.

He stopped by his brother's room, and opened the door. He found Alex gazing out a window into the distance. It was foggy again today. His older brother must have heard him enter.

"What became of it?" Alex asked. Leo looked around the room for Banette, but the little ghost Pokémon could not be found.

Leo tapped the warrant on his leg, and Alex turned at the sound of parchment. "It's a decree for her arrest, so that she may be put to the question," Leo answered. "No judgment has been passed yet, I assure you. Alex, father thanks you for the information, but we need to make sure that it's all true before we go accusing people of conspiracy, no less the Chieftess of Foretree, and your own-"

"She's in on it," Alex said without a doubt in his voice. "You'll find out soon enough. Two days," he muttered under his breath. "Two days before they kill her."

Leo looked at his Dusclops and shuddered again. Alex had been counting down the days before the Draconids killed their hostage- Leo's own betrothed. There had been no word or sign of Elli or the terrorist band of outlaws. Perhaps if we apprehend Lady Forrest, then the Draconids would agree to a bargain, he thought.

"Let me go with you," Alex said, his arm still in a sling.

Leo shook his head. "Look at you! You're still hurt, you ran off your own Spirit Pokémon, and besides, father wouldn't want your emotional ties getting in the way of the arrest." Leo opened his arms and smiled. "Look at me, I'm just as big as you, and stronger. I'm not the same little brother who needs protection like I used to."

Alex smiled grimly and Leo could tell he knew it was true. They had grown up differently. Leo had taken the shape of his father: not yet fat, but big boned, broad, and strong. He figured that Alex looked more like his mother: tall, lean, with a body that seemed perfect for swimming in the lagoon surrounding Mt. Pyre, with the same almond-shaped eyes shared by those who share the last name of Forrest. "Go on then, and do your duty," Alex said at last.

Leo and Dusclops walked in silence to the grove down the mountain where Caitlyn Forrest went every day to sit in meditation. She said it was to pray for Elli's safe return, or to meet with the captain of Foretree's guard, but now Leo wasn't so sure. Thankfully, he noticed Franco and the guards trailing him from a distance.

They found her kneeling in the grass, head bowed towards the tallest tree with a thick trunk. Leo noticed Absol turn its head in their direction when they approached. I need to stall for time so my men can get in position.

"Lady Caitlyn, I knew I'd find you here."

Caitlyn Forrest stood up and looked Leo over. She was shorter than him, but Leo knew that if this came to blows, she was quicker than him, and he had no idea what the Absol could do.

"Fancy seeing you here, dear Leo," she looked back at the large tree. "Foretree City is built entirely on top of a grove of trees like this one. It's a shame your gloomy mountain has but one left."

Leo swallowed in his throat, unsure of what to say next. His words came out stammered. "Any news of Elli?"

"My men have been searching day and night," her eyes turned sorrowful. Once, Leo would have fallen for their sincerity, but now he could see the falsehood in them. "It would be advisable to begin preparing for the worst." Leo saw her eyes steal a glance at the rolled up parchment at his hip. "What's this? If Lord Spector wishes to speak with me, he's more than willing to come to me. What is the purpose of this summons?"

Leo swallowed hard this time. He could feel a bead of sweat forming on his brow, but then, through the ring of trees in the grove, he saw his father's guards forming the perimeter. He gathered his courage, opened the seal, and began to read.

"Lord Governor Spector of Mt. Pyre hereby orders the company of Lady Caitlyn Forrest, Chieftess of Foretree, to be summoned before him, for questioning regarding the whereabouts of Elizabeth Tiddall of Lilycove, and any information pertaining to the Draconids."

Lady Forrest rolled her eyes. "I've told him a hundred times what I know and what my spies have found, I have nothing new to report today-"

"You didn't let me finish, my lady," Leo said, trying to put courage into his voice. "If Lady Forrest refuses to report, by the power granted by Her Holiness Empress Glamour, Queen of the Seas and bringer of Peace, the summoned shall be taken by force."

Even the wind was silent in the grove at the conclusion of the decree.

"It's an arrest, then?" Caitlyn's face turned red, but her words remained calm. Leo took note of the fur prickling up on Absol's back, and the way it glared at him. Lady Forrest continued. "I knew this was going to happen someday. There always needs to be a scapegoat. Don't think I don't know what's happening, even if you don't, boy." She spit the last word with a venom Leo had never seen in her before.

She continued. "Did you know that the Empress dumped my brother's bones at my feet? Solomon Forrest, the King of the Foretree Kingdom, was slain in battle with her forces thanks to your father's treachery. He betrayed his liege lord, and my brother died for it."

Leo was shocked at the words that came out of her mouth. "My lady, this can be a peaceful summons to my father's chamber, be careful what you say, I don't want this situation to turn into something that it doesn't have to be."

"I know what happens in your father's chambers," Caitlyn scowled, putting her hands on her hips. "Did you ever wonder how my sister died? Alex's poor mother. Sure, there were complications with his birth, but by all accounts, Susan was a healthy mother new with child when I left her. A week later, she was found dead in her room. Tell me that's not suspicious to you. Where was the investigation into that one? Where was your father's decree, then? I was there. I remember. It never came."

Absol got up on its feet and began to walk over to Leo. He looked at Dusclops for assurance, but that was his first mistake.

He saw the blade coming at the last second and turned, but not before the dagger grazed his cheek. He reached up and felt his cheek, and his hand came away spotted with blood.

Duclops leapt into action, trying to distract Absol and keep it away from its Spirit Human. Leo tried to get up, but he felt a little woozy. Surely I haven't lost that much blood.

"Poison," Caitlyn Forrest said with a smile on her face. She looked down at her dagger, which glinted a light violet in the sunlight through the trees. "A quick dose of Essence of Seviper. Your reflexes saved you the share of its potency. Soon, you'll find yourself with fever, but a young healthy man of your stature should get over it soon. My sister did, and she was a young lady no bigger than myself who had just given birth." She took out a pouch from her belt and squeezed it on the dagger. A thick, black looking ooze coated the tip of the knife.

Leo looked for Dusclops' help, but it never came. The Pokémon was busy distracting Caitlyn's Absol. The white four legged Pokémon was fast, and gaining the upper hand. Where are my father's guards? He wondered to himself. His vision was starting to blur as Caitlyn approached him, dagger dripping with the purple poison. The leaves on the ground sizzled at each drop. Then, he saw a familiar figure running through the grove, approaching them. Franco, Leo still recognized his father's captain of the guards even as his sweat began to burn his eyes.

"It was supposed to be you, Leo, not Alex. But now, I have you anyway. Burningtree and the Draconids will have the hostage I paid them to capture, and I'll secure little Elli's release and be the savior. I'll bring honor back to my family's name." She held up the poison coated dagger. "Then, he'll feel the same kiss of poison that killed my sister, and I promise you, I have more than enough of it for him. Oh, it's you," Caitlyn looked up and smiled at Franco. "When the boy passes out, I want you to take him to the rendezvous point and make sure that blasted assassin brings the girl back alive."

Leo's heart sank. He looked up at Franco with pleading eyes. "My father trusted you," he whispered. "I've trusted you since I was a boy."

Caitlyn Forrest just turned back to Leo and smiled. She seemed to relish this opportunity for her own sick and twisted revenge.

"It's a good thing your family trusted me," Franco said finally, and then he pulled out his sword, and hit Caitlyn Forrest in the head with the hilt.

Absol noticed its Spirit Partner hit the ground unconscious, and rushed Franco. Leo staggered to his feet to help protect his father's captain of guards, but the captain whistled loudly, and a flaming arrow shot out from one of the trees, and took the white Pokémon in the leg. Absol yelped and collapsed.

Leo reached up and felt his cheek again as Spector House Guards and Franco's Ninetales emerged from the trees and picked up Lady Caitlyn to carry her back to his father's chambers. The guards tossed a heavy net around Absol, who was still squirming to no avail. With each sudden movement, Ninetales responded with a stinging fireball. We've got her, Leo knew as he smiled.

Leo was still confused. "You knew? You knew all along she was in league with the Draconids?"

Franco nodded. "Since before the masquerade. We were going to make the arrest then and there after the party, but our priorities changed when Alex and Elli went missing. My mission changed from infiltration to surveillance, trying to see what else we could learn from her involvement with the Draconids before we brought her in. When Alex finally deduced the truth, we couldn't wait anymore. I wanted to make the arrest, but your father wanted you to do it." Franco smiled and wiped the sweat off of Leo's brow. "Don't sweat it kid. Like she said, a little Essence of Seviper won't kill you. You did well today."