SARAH

Only once had Princess Sarah Spark's hopes risen so high, only to be dashed again. This time, the news came from Foretree that Starfall had been defeated, and the Mt. Chimney Kingdom subdued. The letter had stated that the young Prince Carson Brightflame was in the care of Solomon Forrest. All was right on the northern border of Sarah's Kingdom of Mauville again. Then the ships came.

From the window in her room, Sarah watched her father's navy trudge one by one into the bay. Ten in all; less than half of what had sailed south to Slateport to assist the Kingdom in preparation to defend itself against a rising Sootopolis menace. Three of the ships had no mast. Others' sides were splintered and broken. Sarah knew what it meant as soon as she saw them: defeat.

Sarah opened the door of her chamber in a rush.

"Where are you going?" came the voice of Lisa, the maid, as she nursed baby Chris by the child's crib.

"The navy is back," she answered. Part of it, anyway, and hopefully father with them.

As she exited the wooden room, Manectric greeted her at the door. "Come on," she beckoned. As the Princess of Mauville and her Spirit Pokémon made their way through the castle, many eyes of servants passed them.

She saw her mother out of the corner of her eye. "Sarah!" she called out. "Sarah we must-"

Sarah Spark brushed her mother off and continued on her way. She left the wooden palace and exited the walls surrounding it. Normally, Mauville would be bustling with people to welcome the soldiers home from war. Women and children would pack the streets to meet their brave husbands and fathers as they came home. Today was different.

As she moved through the streets and made her way to the eastern harbor, city watchmen joined her. They had to lengthen their strides to keep up. Sarah didn't care; she didn't need an escort. She had to get to her father.

When Sarah arrived at the docks, Manectric let out a questioning growl. Where was everybody? No soldiers were out and about; none had disembarked.

She spied the great Thunder, the flagship of Mauville's naval force and she made her way towards the end of the dock. The ramp was down, but no sailor was on deck.

"They must be in the cabins," she thought aloud. She made two of the watchmen stay at the bottom of the ramp as she and Manectric and two other city watchmen made their way onto the ship. The gentle rocking of the waves made her footing uneasy at first, but then she managed to find the captain's quarters.

When she opened the doors, she gasped. The yellow banners of a Manectric's face that adorned all her fathers' ships had been removed from the walls. In its place was a light blue flag, with a coral colored serpentine monster on it. Sootopolis, Sarah knew.

"Well, now, we weren't expecting you to join us so soon, Princess," came a voice from her side. She turned and saw four men sitting at a desk. She heard the sliding of steel as the guards beside her unsheathed their swords. One of the men at the table she recognized as her father's lead admiral. His clothes were in tatters and he had a black eye. The others were strangers to her, though clad in seemingly expensive armor.

The leader of these strange men was an older man he had a spotted grey beard and a long tattered blue cape that matched the flag on the wall. He didn't look as fierce as the others, but he was nonetheless an enemy, she knew. Manectric growled at him, and Sarah had to hold her Spirit Pokémon back by the mane. He spoke again, "Have a seat and let us discuss terms."

"What are you doing here in Mauville's waters?" she asked, boldly. "Your unwelcome presence in my father's city is an unwelcome provocation. You're lucky I don't have my men board this ship right now and arrest you." She turned to the head admiral, chained to the chair. "What happened? Why was no word sent to us?"

It was the older man that spoke again, calmly. "All this and more was sent to the palace by a messenger as soon as the ships arrived," he said. "It was addressed to your mother, surely she sent you to negotiate in her stead? That's kind of her, we were expecting to arrive at the Mauville Palace ourselves to discuss the surrender."

Sarah was incredulous. "GUARDS!" she called to the soldiers from down below. The sound of footsteps on wood pounded the floor until the rest of the city watchmen arrived beside her. "Arrest these men."

When her guards made a step forward, the boat rocked slightly, knocking them off their feet. Sarah retained her balance, and Manectric sparked angrily.

The old man stood up. "That won't be necessary," he said. "In fact, it would be a grievous mistake." He cleared his throat. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Chief Rodrick Wake of Pacifidlog, Lord Commander of her Majesty's Navy. The wave that knocked your guards over just now was the doing of my Spirit Pokémon, Wailord, who has accompanied these ships that I have brought back to you relatively safely. Rest assured, there is no army with us on any of these other ships. In fact, we brought back all the surviving captains as a token of good will."

Sarah knew that was a threat. If she tried anything to do anything to these men, the humongous Pokémon lurking beneath the bay would capsize the boat. Doubtless, this Chief Wake and his men would escape, but Sarah, Manectric, and her men would sink to the bottom of the harbor. She had no choice. Sarah walked over to the desk and pulled out an empty chair.

"Good," Wake said casually. "I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here, where the rest of the Spark navy is, and why you haven't had any news from your father for quite some time."

Sarah's heart dropped. Father, she thought. She had already lost the man she was supposed to marry. Sarah was reminded of him every time she looked at the child that wasn't hers, and said the babe's name. How could she live if something had happened to her father, too?

Wake must have seen the fear in her eyes. "Ah yes," he cleared his throat again. "King Marcus Spark is still alive. He has remained in Slateport."

"What happened?" she choked out the words.

Chief Wake got right into it. "It was a long, and rather dull affair for the most part. A siege, if you will. For the last couple months, her Majesty's navy has blockaded the Slateport Kingdom in the key ports of Petalburg, Dewford, and the city of Slateport itself. We made sure no messages escaped or contact could be made. Worse came to worse, and the citizens were starving. The fishermen couldn't set out to fish, blah blah, such is the art of war."

Sarah clenched her fists. "What happened to my father?"

The old man sighed. "I was getting to that. You see, I have a deep respect for your father. He took command of all the Mauville ships and what Slateport ships remained and set out to meet us. That was a mistake. Their smaller ships outnumbered ours for a time, but then Lord Ahab arrived with reinforcements from Dewford-"

Sarah cut him off. "Dewford is loyal to the Marshes, don't play me false. I remind you, you're in my family's city now.

"Ah yes," Wake said. "Of course, Dewford has been a territory of the Marshes for centuries. Yet, when Lord Ahab presented the marriage document to Chief Stone, signed by Lady Luna's own hand, they had no choice to join with Ahab, or be oath breakers." There was an awkward silence. "As things stand now, Slateport itself has been taken. Ahab controls it now, with your father as a captive as he consolidates his control over what once was the Slateport Kingdom. Petalburg, Oldale, and Littleroot: they'll all fall eventually, one by one. He sent me to negotiate with the other heads of House Spark." He gestured respectfully at Sarah. "You, my dear, as well as your mother. Lord Ahab has requested that the peaceful surrender of Mauville, and for its armies to evacuate the Slateport Kingdom."

Sarah wanted to reach out to this man, to shake his hand, to do whatever it took to bring her father home. A queen must do what is best for her people, she thought. What pride swelled in her just then she knew not where it came from. "We will not surrender," she said finally.

Chief Wake put his face in his hands. "This is folly, Princess. You must see that there is nothing more you can do for the people of Slateport without risking more of your own. Sooner or later, you will fall too."

"What you claim as truth is folly," Sarah rose with a smile on her face. "Chief Stone of Dewford's is an oath breaker, and a turn coat. Ahab's marriage proclamation is just that and nothing more."

Chief Wake looked confused. "By rights that makes him the rightful King of the Slateport Kingdom, through Luna as all the Marsh heirs are dead."

"No," Sarah said, her voice shaking. "There is a new King. A King born of friendship and love between two Kingdoms. My son, Chris II, is the rightful King of both Mauville and Slateport. My people will fight for him, and I know the people of Slateport will never stop fighting for the Marshes."

"Your son?" was all Sarah heard out of Chief Wake's mouth as she quickly turned to leave the Thunder. When she was safely back on the dock, she turned to one of the city watchmen by her side. "Marshall the rest of the armies and send a scout force to deliver a message to Chief Stone of Dewford: he is to be forgiven as a turn coat should he renounce his ties to Ahab as the rightful King of Slateport, and help to expel the Sootopolis scum from our waters." The city watchmen bowed and turned to leave, but Sarah caught him on the arm. "One more thing: if you tell my mother, I will have you imprisoned. I am the Queen of Mauville and Slateport now that my father is captured. I will be making the decisions from now on."

The watchmen bowed and ran off, ready to deliver the call to arms. Sarah turned back to the harbor. She could see a great blue shape breaking the surface around the thunder.

"Manectric," she said to her Spirit Pokémon. "Get them out of my sight." The Pokémon nodded unsurely, and unleashed a blinding shock of lightning towards the shape that she was sure could only be Wailord, Chief Wake's gigantic Spirit Pokémon.

Sure enough, the Pokémon let out a cry of pain as it disappeared beneath the waves. A few seconds later, the Thunder pulled away from the dock, and began to sail away.

Sarah made her way alone with just Manectric back to the palace. She was thinking about what she had done, what she had said. Had she done the right thing? Yes, she thought. The Kingdom of Slateport belonged to my husband, and now it belongs to me. I must fight for it. But what did this mean for her father? What did it mean for the people of Mauville? What's done is done, she told herself.

Yet the more she thought about it, the more she began to tremble and shake. The more she thought about her actions, the larger her sense of dread took hold over her. It was too late to turn back now.