A few days later, Crystal finally awoke after sleeping for an extended amount of time. West had been bringing food in and out, but nothing's changed since today. She was aware of his presence, but finally had the energy to open her eyes

"Froslass... Castform..." she whined. Her Pokémon rushed to help her sit up "I feel stiff..." she stretched as hard as she could and found her food on the tray Froslass put on her. It looked like it recently just got brought into the room

"oh... thanks" Castform handed her medicine by mouth "oh! I should take this... how long have I been out?" Froslass lifted three fingers "great..." she sighed "I have to take 4 of everything today. Fun" taking 4 pills for the morning, she started eating her large breakfast before getting out of bed to stretch her arms "Wyatt usually always make me stretch..." she looked out the window of the pretty day sky "I thought I had to go back to him... that damn doctor had the nerve to come near me again" she sighed "I mean, he did try to help me, but I've been stubborn since day 1. I know he's going to want me to go back to the hospital. Not happening"

Stretching for long minutes at a time, she left to take a shower, greeting Dewgong in the bathtub, and rinsed her sweating body "I still feel light headed, but what do I expect..? I haven't had my medicine in days" sighing, she got out of the shower as soon as possible to avoid temperature droppings and dressed in shorts and a long white shirt.

"I kinda miss wearing my big dresses..." she sighed "I have three more sisters to see. Mia, Emilia, and Jade... then after that, West is going to have to challenge me in the gym" she walked back to the room to find Froslass holding up the Harmony Flute West swam to get. Froslass even lifted the red and blue feather.

"The feathers... we finally have them" she gasped and dug in her bag to take out the princess's journal "I think... I want to wait and see West first before reading this" she put the feathers away safely and hugged the journal "where are we?" She looked around, remembering Rhea was in the room with her before. Could she be in the Kimana tower?

"Oh dear..." she sighed "I better head out before I'm found out" gathering her things, she returned her Pokémon and carefully left the room to take the elevator and walk past the lobby

"Huh?! Miss!" The receptionist called out. Crystal sends her a soft glare, continuing to leave without a word.

She's been in the Kimana tower for three days... She can't risk anyone finding out. She met the champion a very long time ago when she was young, and even if it was a long time ago, she doesn't want to risk him; West's dad, seeing her at all

She used her hands to shade her face from the sun above. It was hard to believe there was a storm a few days prior "Castform" she called "do you have energy now?" Because of Castform's size; smaller than Cleffa, Castform usually loses energy from time to time if it doesn't eat nutritional foods.

Thanks to being on a journey, it was hard even giving it good foods that were handmade like back home. That's why she didn't want Castform coming out as much anymore

"Don't worry. I'm sure big sister can make the biggest bowl of food you've ever seen! It's her recipe after all" Castform spun around happily.

Crystal giggled and continued to walk forward into the lively city in front of her, filled with shops and people walking around freely. Kids were running around and couples were holding hands by the fountain in front of the bridge she walked from

The water was so clear and filled with Goldeen swimming through it. She smiled and sat on the side, running her fingers through the water "such a pretty place... I wish I had more energy to go look around" she looked at how high the Battle Tower was. She couldn't even see the top "I bet West is eventually going to flip out once he sees me gone, but I rather not be in that building."

"Leaf!" A Leafeon decided to approach her with a big smile on its face

"Leafeon!" She gasped and picked it up "Is that really you? Where's Emilia?" It barked "not here, huh? Did you leave home to find me? How did you know I was here?" Ignoring that fact, she put Leafeon down and started following after it "Hold on! I can't walk that fast today!"

Leafeon walked her all through the city filled with people laughing and talking. She stopped on her tracks, hearing whispers all over the place. Her eyes glanced over at a couple sitting on a table before their drinks fell for no reason.

Brandy said pass the forest of the dolls will have spirits all over the place, waiting for her arrival to either praise her or harm her. She rubbed her arms nervously and hurried away

"Leaf?" Leafeon questioned

"I'm fine... let's go" Following Leafeon again, the grass type lead her all the way to a home connected to a large greenhouse filled with colorful flowers that could be seen perfectly even from yards away

Stepping inside the greenhouse, she found dozens of grass and bug type Pokémon happily roaming around the area.

Emilia is a bug and grass type gym leader who spends her free time as a professor like Leah, but she studies Pokémon medicine and learning more about natural remedies.

"This place is huge..." she walks through the thick vines and leaves until she could hear beautiful music playing on the other side of the green house that was connected to a main house. Emilia was there circling a few Pokémon while playing the violin. Her calm face put a smile on Crystal's face, knowing Emilia was the graceful one in the family

She swayed around and gently swayed through the music. There was always something relaxing when it comes to Emilia's movements and even music. Even when not moving at all, her aura couldn't help but calm anyone and embrace her gentle smiles

Slowly ending the song, she smiled when the Pokémon cheered for her "awe, did you really like that?" She giggled softly

"Why wouldn't they?" Crystal spoke almost immediately, excited "you were amazing" Emilia turned her way and gave her a welcoming smile

"Dear sister... I thought you'd be here in Zamia City" Crystal didn't hesitate to head over as fast as she could to hug her oldest sister. Her scent of flowers always brought her comfort and warmth

"I'm so glad to see you here... how unexpected" they let go of each other "the last time I saw you was when you were in the arms of a young man running through the rainstorm a few days ago" Emilia frowned and tapped her chin "I couldn't make sure if it was you or not... I didn't think you'd be away from the safety of your home with Wyatt."

"T-that was me" Emilia looked surprised "I was really sick, and my friend helped get me to someplace dry and warm. H-he..." she looked down "he knows I don't like hospitals, so he didn't bother taking me there."

"Oh my..." Emilia felt her face "How are you feeling..?"

"Better" she smiled "I'm better now that I got to see you. I went on this journey so that I can see everyone again" Emilia nodded.

"You are very brave for doing something so dangerous... but I'm just glad you're okay now. The way I saw you the other night was quite terrifying" she patted underneath her eyes with a tissue that came out of nowhere, like she was crying "but I couldn't confirm if it was you or not. Leafeon was certain, but I believed you'd be okay, because you've always been the family's strongest warrior" Crystal blushed, looking down. Warrior... she wondered if West found out she's gone yet

"T-thanks..." Emilia offered a hand

"Would you like to come inside for some tea? It should help those cheeks of yours" feeling her warm cheeks, Crystal accepted the offer and walked into her sister's home with Leafeon rubbing on her legs.

"I would love some tea, and I would also like some of the herbal flake hibiscus pallets for my Castform... if you don't mind."

"Oh my! I haven't made the hibiscus pallets in a long time! I'll make it right away!" Emilia walked to the kitchen, leaving Crystal to look around her home filled with house plants.

It smelled like a fresh mountain breeze inside. It's so nice to see Emilia again. Everything about her always made anything so peaceful. She could stop a war if possible.

After a while, the tea was prepared and the pallets didn't take very long to make. Castform enjoyed them with the rest of her Pokémon. Froslass stared at her piece before eating it and flinched surprise to see how good it was

"You're a ghost type, so I don't expect you to eat really, but I like that you enjoyed it" Emilia smiled. Froslass blushed a little, looking away "so where is your little friend now? He must be worried that you've gone missing" Crystal sipped her tea.

"I'm sure he is, but he'll live. He tends to worry too much, but that's what makes him great" Emilia admired the small smile on Crystal's face.

"I appreciate you coming all this way to see me, but I think you should look for your friend. He gives you aid when he doesn't have too. You should show more respect" Crystal sipped her tea again, staring at the table "what's his name?"

"West... and yeah, I get it" she looked into Emilia's calming blue eyes leaning on the table "He... doesn't know I'm an Otashi. He's probably going to neglect me pretty soon after all this is over" Emilia stood up to water her plants "his family hates ours... I knew I shouldn't have gotten involve with someone like him, but something about him..."

"You always look pass people's appearance. You go by how they behave and how true they are. If you don't like the look in someone's eyes, you immediately brush them off. That's how you've always been. You're a lot like Leah. She doesn't judge a book by its cover. The great thing about you is that you know a lot about things like people, even if you hardly see them. You're often right, even when you're wrong..." she smiled at her little sister "You picked the choice to go with West, and even if you think it was wrong, you knew it was right.." Crystal looked down

"Yeah..."

"West is lucky to have you, and if he neglects you, you already found the way to brush it off, even if you might feel sad in the end" she walked up to Crystal staring at the table again "tell him how you feel in the end... knowing you, he doesn't really know what's going on in your mind, since you've always been a shut-in. You're not good with expressing your feelings, but you'll find a way. You care this much about West... and you're thinking hard about him" she lifted Crystal's chin "I can see it in your eyes... when you first said something about him, I could tell he means a lot to you. You still have enough time... whether he finds out or you tell him the truth, you know how you feel and will accept the answer, yes?" Crystal slowly nodded

"Yes... I prepared for the neglecting at the end... maybe even down the middle. I didn't think I'd be with him for this long" Crystal touched her bottom lip, remembering the kiss she and West shared "he became important to me, and to be honest... it hurts to think about him hating me."

"I understand" Emilia put her hands together in awe "This feels like the legend of the princess and the slave... They couldn't be together due to different lifestyles and class, but their love was too strong to pay attention to any of the words people threw at them" Crystal blushed more, pouting.

"Geez, sis... You don't have to be so dramatic" she glanced at her cup "I'll repay him for everything he's done for me... He won't have to suffer anymore. I don't have a lot of time left anyways... remember?" Emilia frowned, noticing Froslass staring downward as well

"Oh, Crystal..." Emilia sighed "It's not always easy making these decisions, but what's done is done. You have feelings for him, and because you want to hold the secret of being an Otashi, things were meant to be doomed from the start. You choose what happens and you choose the words you're going to use to explain yourself" Crystal bit her lips, squeezing her knees "I believe you'll be just fine... When you're down, how about remembering this?" Emilia cleared her throat "Things might be sad towards the end, but it's the memories that make those moments memorable" she smiled "I believe this is the first time I've ever seen you smile like that, and don't try to fool me into thinking it's not what it seems. It's all in your eyes" Crystal huffed and sipped her tea again, wishing Emilia wasn't shoving the truth at her face.

She's making a good point, but even with the good advice, it takes more to know what she's going to say or feel when the time comes when she and West finally separate...