Hi everyone, SK here.

Ok I still feel a little bad about posting that last chapter with barely any content- so this chapter will definitely make up for that, I promise you.

I hope you enjoy it!!  (Also a lot of these upcoming chapters are going to be in Val's POV, I hope you don't mind).

Valerie

I watch as Heliux rearranges the light crystals with his hands, my eyes widening as they form images and scenes.  They change colours as they rearrange themselves, their sparkly scales shifting and flipping to show these transitions.  The first scene takes form, one of a dry, vacant, empty place.  Grey clouds spill rain drops down on the Pokemon below, thousands of Pokemon, all fighting with the humans.  A chilling wind whips through the area.

"Before the fairies, times were dreary," drones Heliux in a monotone voice.  "Pokemon and humans did not live in harmony.  As a result, all the Elements ravaged through the universe, untamed and uncontrolled by anyone; not even Arceus itself.  The world was a horrid place to live."

Light crystals form Arceus walking into the scene, with two people walking alongside him.

"Arceus decided that everything was enough.  The God of Pokemon decided that a special group of people would spend their lives away from the rest of humanity to learn magic and guard over the Elements; those people would become fairies."

Heliux's vision begins to show floating symbols circling around the God Pokemon.

"Arceus summoned all the Elements with his power, and spread them out to all of humanity.  This is why some people are born with Elements and some are not.  Then, he Initiated the first two fairies: Lita, and Zagan.  The first Light fairy and the first Dark fairy."

The vision shows the humans- Lita and Zagan- suddenly transforming into fairies, magnificent glowing wings extending from their backs.  Their Pokemon turn to Mist, a sign of them being fully fairy.  My thoughts wonder to Nombles, when will I learn how to summon her?

"Lita and Zagan began to build the Colony, yes, the same one we are in right now," Heliux continues.  "Arceus instructed all the Legendary Pokemon to find worthy humans to become fairies, and the Colony started to grow.  More and more Elements came under fairy control, however the fairies were having problems themselves."

The vision shifts once again, this time showing the definitely-now-recognizable Colony.  Only, instead of it being peaceful as I know it to be now, fairies are running around and shouting at each other, and it just looks like chaos.

"The Leaders could not control the fairies on their own.  They needed a hierarchy.  So, Lita and Zagan made two of their fairies Advisors.  They decreed that with every new Leader, the fairies would switch their positions for a new generation, and that Leader would get to name an Advisor, even if the current Advisor was still alive.  That Advisor would give up their Elemental-seeing powers to the new one.  However, having the Advisors weren't enough.  They needed two fairies, above the Advisors, to be able to control the fairies further.  Two fairies with specific Elements.

"They decided that they wanted a fairy with Spirits as an Element, to be able to see into fairies' souls and ensure that nothing was going on behind the scenes.  They also wanted a fairy with Space as an Element.  A fairy who could protect their planet from the threats of the universe.  It seems very ridiculous, but the Leaders crafted a spell on a poster-"

"A poster?" I ask, amused.

Heliux, looking mildly amused himself, nods.  "Yes, a poster.  A poster with two tickets; this poster was duplicated and placed all throughout the young regions.  Only, it had a hex so that only two people, the two people they needed, would be able to see it.  Taking a ticket would instantly bring them to the forest... and that's how Layra and I came to have our positions."

Interesting. 

The light crystals begin to shift and form smiles, instead of the earlier frowns, on the faces of fairies.  The Colony begins to become lively, just like it is now, but suddenly Arceus walks in.

"Arceus came to visit one day, and said that to ensure unity and prosperity, the fairies would have to be united by a Leader- a ruler.  A ruler who would be neither Light or Dark fairy, a ruler who would have nine human soldiers with them to control the nine Ruler's Elements.  Arceus stated that any fairy with the Element of Time is to be crowned as Queen or King- after completing the two tests of course."

"What are those tests?  Are they hard?" I press, my eyes wide.  I'm going to be having to take these tests soon myself, and I won't lie saying I'm not nervous.  I am, so very much.

"Her Majesty will go over them with you tomorrow, when you do some magic training with her- I assure you that she will," Heliux adds, trying to sound reassuring.  "Anyway, a new fairy was brought in a few days later, a fairy with the Element of Time with a pair of Light and a pair of Dark wings.  Her name was Gardenia, and she was our first Queen.  She Initiated her Spirit Soldiers a few days later, and took the second test.  After that, she became Queen, and both her and the Leaders decided it would be better for Layra and I to be immortal so we could eternally protect the fairies."

"Gardenia made both of us immortal to pass her second test."

If I had a drink I would have spit it out.  "What?" I ask him, doing a double-take.

He looks at me confused.  "Hmm?"

"You just said Gardenia made you both immortal to pass her second test," I press him.

His eyes flash for a second but he quickly shakes his head.  "I did not say that- well, I did not say that out loud.  I suppose your Spirit powers are coming to you now- you just heard my thoughts, Valerie."

Oh crap, I just read his mind like an invasive little- "I'm sorry," I say, starting to say it over and over, but he just holds up his hand.  

"It's alright.  I'll explain to you the truth, but you are not allowed to tell it."

I tip my head to the side.  "Why?" 

A sigh comes from his direction.  "It is custom not to talk about the happenings of the second test; since it is a question that comes up so frequently for Layra and I, we decided it was better to just spread that lie."

Oh.  I just realized I haven't been taking into account that the light crystals are changing again, this time to form Gardenia- or what I think is Gardenia?- and nine humans.  They must be her Spirit Soldiers.

"The second test has to do with bearing a great emotional pain, that I'll tell you now.  Gardenia knew both Layra and I personally in our old lives, even if Layra and I did not know each other.  She made both of us immortal, knowing it would cause us both great pain, to pass her second test-"

"So I have to do something like that?" I question, clasping my hands together.  My left pointer finds itself drawn to a swirl of my hair, and it begins to twirl it further until it looks like a spring.  "I have to make someone I care about immortal?"

"Not exactly."  Heliux sounds a little tense, which just makes me tense.  I mean, I know this guy is my real father, but I don't care about him that way yet.  However, I'm human enough to recognize emotions and situations- Heliux is smart, and if he's tense then hell, I'm going to be tense too.  "Her Majesty will explain it to you tomorrow."  I just simply nod; if he's not going to tell me, no use prodding him about it.  Well, normally I would, but since I know what Heliux is supposedly capable of, I'm not going to provoke him.

The Minister flinches and frowns at me.  "Valerie, you should know that I'm not going to harm you."

What?

He sighs, and conjures a mirror that hangs in the air like a window.  I see my own eyes in it, glowing a bright violet while their golden flecks sparkle like diamonds.  They're unusually bright.  Suddenly, I make the connection: Layra's eyes glowed like this when she was using her powers of communicating telepathically.  I turn to Heliux, mortified; I don't want to be reading people's minds without them knowing, and I don't want to be projecting my thoughts into others' heads either!

"Why don't we continue this later?" he suggests, making the mirror fade away into nothing like young love does after winter turns to spring.  "I think you need to start your training before you grow insane from your power."

I glance at him questionably, but stand up anyway.  "Grow insane?"

The Light fairy winces.  "Forgive my poor choice of words.  What I meant is that this constant worry of whether your magic is constrained or not will not be good for your state-of-mind.  I'll go fetch Layra," he adds, flying upwards.  "Meet us both at the Training Hall- it's a large, domed-shaped building that lies directly south of the library here.  You should be able to find it relatively easily, it does very clearly stand out against the other structures here."

"Alright," I shout up to him, watching him fly up toward the light.  Taking a deep breath, I will my wings to start flapping again.  Luckily, they obey me and I soar upward, my surroundings growing brighter the farther I travel.  Flying is pretty fun, I'll admit it now; it makes me feel so free.  I approach the top level, hover over the railing, and land gracefully on the ground.  Not bad, I tell myself.  I'm definitely getting better, that's for sure.

Pushing the door open, I head outside of the darkened space.  Light fills my vision and I find myself squinting under the presence of the sun.  It takes a few moments for my blindness to disappear, and I begin to walk around looking for the domed structure that Heliux mentioned earlier.  However, I'm shortly stopped by someone calling out my name excitedly- I turn to see Verity running up to me, and a smile forms on my face.

"Verity!" I exclaim, rushing to greet her.  "Hey!"

"Hi!" she returns, pulling me in for a quick surprising but very-welcomed hug.  "How's your magic training going?  Where are the Ministers?"

"My Spirit powers are coming out unexpectedly, so Heliux decided to forego the second half of the history lesson.  He's getting Layra and I need to meet them both at the Training Hall," I confess to her.  A realization comes to me.  "Wait, can you show me where that is?"

The Dark fairy grins.  "Of course!"  She points in a direction- one I can only assume is south because of what Heliux said earlier- and speaks again.  "It's over there.  Let's walk."

She begins to move but I shake my head.  Then my stupid brain realizes that Verity doesn't have eyes on the back of her head, so I speak up.  "No, let's fly instead."

Verity whips back around to face me, waves of shock emanating from her.  "Really?"

I nod, my wings beginning to pull me upward before I even tell them to do so.  Hovering high, I move closer to her.  Grinning down at her, I say, "See?  I've learned!"

The Dark fairy smiles and flies up herself, matching my place in the sky.  "So you have," she tells me, sounding a little cheeky.  "But can you beat the amazing flier that is me?" she asks me playfully, doing a little spin in the sky as she says that.  I giggle at her.

"I don't think I can beat you," I tell her earnestly, making sure to hover in place.  I've noticed I don't have to be completely conscious about it now, my wings will just do their own thing and usually that's the right thing.  "I've only just started flying after all."

Verity shrugs.  "Fair."  She turns back in the direction she was originally walking in.  "Shall we?"

I respond with a nod.  "Lead the way."

Flying forward, Verity leads me to my apparent destination.  I speed up a little to catch up with her, just so we're flying side by side.  

She glances toward me, the wind whipping at our hair.  "How are Heliux and Layra?"

I gaze back at her, albeit a bit weirdly.  "What do you mean?"

Her stare becomes pointed.  "You know what I mean, Val."

Letting out a sigh, I reply to her question.  "I mean, they're nice.  It's still awkward though.  Just because they're nice, that doesn't mean I'm immediately accepting them as my parents.  We need to form a bond first, and honestly that hasn't happened yet."

"That's fair," she admits.  "Besides, I know you'll give them a fair chance to win your affections."

I smirk at her.  "You're making it seem like a twisted version of one of those bachelor shows."

Verity only looks confused, only replying with a "What?"

Gosh dangit Valerie, you have to remember that Verity didn't grow up with the TV shows and fanbases you did.  "It's basically a show that involves a bunch of suitors trying to win's someone's heart, and that someone gets to pick one of the suitors to date when it ends.  Actually, now that I think about it, that's probably not the best metaphor for this situation," I add with a chuckle.

"Jeez, what do they have on TV these days?" Verity asks, laughing to herself.  "These shows just seem to get stupider and stupider."

I shrug at her.  "In their defense, some of them are decent.  Not good... just decent."

"Good to know," Verity remarks as she goes to land.  I haven't even noticed the giant structure in front of us.  It looks like a giant golf ball, except only half of the golf ball is visible and unlike regular ones, this golf ball is made of crystal-clear glass.  It sparkles under the sunlight, making it seem like a giant crystal.  Once I notice Verity's feet touch the ground, I float downward to land myself.  The glass produces a very blurred image of what's inside the dome, but I can see two figures that I can just barely make out to be Heliux and Layra.

Verity gives me a pat on the shoulder.  "You'll be fine," she reassures.  "You're going to be Queen after all-"

"Thanks for reminding me," I pout, feeling a sudden burst of despairing emotions at that reminder.

"You didn't let me finish," Verity points out.  "I meant to say that you're going to be Queen, meaning that your magic is probably very strong.  Like your experiencing now, you don't need to put much effort to conjure it.  You'll be a natural- literally."

I smile back at her.  "Thanks, Verity."

"No problem.  Now get in there and show 'em your stuff!"

The Dark fairy turns and walks away before I can protest.  Shaking my head fondly to myself, I turn to face the door, the door that leads to my fate.  I extend both of my arms and press my hands against the glass, warmed by the sun's harsh touch.  I take a deep breath.  In and out.  I do it again.  Then I do it again.  Then I do it a couple more times until I remind myself that dying by hyperventilating too much is not something that I'd like to be doing today.  I gently, but firmly, push the door open.  The glass block lets out a slight creaking sound as it opens, indicating its age.  At the sound, both of the Ministers turn to face me.  Layra waves me over to them, and as I near I catch more and more of her excited expression.

"Hello," she says kindly, but there's no mistaking the excited undertone in her voice.  "How was your morning so far?"

I'm honest.  "It's been okay, except for the fact that my Spirit powers activate and deactivate out of nowhere," I admit to her.  "I'd rather that not be happening; I want to be able to control my magic."

Putting both of her hands on her hips, the Dark Minister nods at my statement.  "Well, of course you'd like to.  Why do you think you're here?"  She grins.  "Don't worry Valerie, I'll help you.  So will Heliux."

I smile at her weakly.  I know she's just trying to be enthusiastic and nice to get me excited, but to me it feels like she's just brushing egg wash all over me before baking me in a scorching oven.  Something feels out of place, and I know what that something is.

That something is me.

"First, I'm going to teach you some techniques that I use to keep your magic in-check," Layra begins, pacing around the circular room.  "If you're focused on that, you won't be able to hone your focus to do the other things we have planned for today."

Heliux decides to chime in here.  "After that, we'll go over basic magic techniques, and you can summon your Mist Pokemon."

Hope flares up within me.  "I can see Nombles again?"  Well at least that's one part of my human life I get to keep with me for forever.  I'd die if I'd have to let go of Nombles too.

The Light Minister gazes at me warmly.  "Of course.  You need your Mist Pokemon."

I suppose he's right.  The possibility of me learning magic starts to chip away at yesterday's trauma.  I'll admit that the prospect is very cool, the ability to do whatever I please with the flick of a finger.  "Should we get started then?" I ask eagerly.  

My excitement seems to make them visibly more relaxed.  "Sure," Layra responds cheerfully.  She steps up to me, tying up her long black hair high up in a ponytail as she comes closer.  The fairy puts her hands on her hips, closes her eyes, and nods thoughtfully to herself, probably thinking about what she's going to say next and how she's going to explain it.  Then, she suddenly opens her eyes again and they're glowing bright violet.

"Okay Valerie.  The easier thing to practice is putting your own thoughts in other peoples' heads."

Her eyes return back to their normal states and she continues her speech out loud.  "At first, it will take some time to concentrate on it, but once you do it enough times, it just comes naturally.  You have to put your focus into it; you're used to speaking out loud like a normal person.  When you want to communicate with someone through thoughts, you have to put all of your energy and focus into it.  You have to will yourself to talk to that person through thought, not through spoken words.  Command your magic to do what you want it to.  Putting yourself out there into the minds of others is the easier than closing yourself off."  She tips her head to the side, thinking about what I can only logically assume is a way for me to practice. 

Layra suddenly turns to Heliux, who is now standing off to the side to give us both some space.  She beckons him over with a finger, and he obeys a few moments later.  "What is it?" he asks her.

She points to me.  "Valerie, look into his mind.  Let's just try looking for now."

I just stare blankly at her.  "I... uh..."

"It's completely fine with me, if that's what you're worrying yourself about," Heliux says, trying to be reassuring.  "This is just for your training."

"Just focus yourself," Layra orders me.  "Focus your mind, tell yourself and will yourself that you want to see his, and your magic will make it possible for you."

Nodding, I try to follow her directions.  Focus yourself... focus yourself.  I try to do it, really, I do.  My thoughts are just very... varied at the moment.  I still can't stop thinking about how I'm going to be a Queen.  A Queen.  I still can't stop thinking about what I'm going to do with August, how I'm going to win him over, if I'm even allowed to do that because I'm going to be Queen.  I still can't stop thinking about the life I left behind yesterday.

I take a deep breath, then let it all out.  I do it again, and again.  I need to calm myself down.  I close my eyes tightly, not wanting the distractions of the outside world to... well, you know, distract me.

I want to see inside Heliux's mind.  I want to see inside Heliux's mind.  I repeat the phrase over and over until I hear his faint voice getting louder and clearer.  Only now I know that that voice isn't his real voice, it's his mental voice.

"I believe in you, Valerie, you can do this."

"Valerie, once you're there, try saying something- well, thinking something.  The link should let you talk to each other," adds Layra.

Well there's one thing to say first.  Thank you?

"Hmph, you're welcome- and I was right."

I smile.  Yeah, I suppose you are.  To Layra, I add, "Okay, I-"

She stops me.  "Yes, I know you both were talking.  I listened in.  You can break the link now."

"How do I do that?"

"The same way you started it.  By focusing."

I become aware of a slight burning feeling in my irises, probably because of the fact they are glowing violet.  "Okay," I tell the Dark Minister once I realize that I haven't replied to her words yet.  I focus in on closing the link, and the burning feeling promptly disappears.  I open my eyes and see the encouraging faces of both Ministers.

"Good job!" Layra congratulates, clasping both of her hands together.  "Now, let's move on to the next step: being able to close yourself off.  I'm going to try and look at your thoughts, and your job is to block me out.  If I succeed, I'll tell you.  Try to do it for a full minute, okay?"

I'm a little bit shocked by the quickness of the next exercise coming forth, but it's not like I can disagree.  "Sure."

As she begins to count down, I try to close myself off.  I tell myself to put my thoughts in a protective space bubble, I tell myself not to let anyone in, I tell myself to make my own thoughts stay private.  I turn to Layra, whose eyes are definitely glowing and who is using her powers, but I don't hear anything in my mind from her.  I keep up my focus, willing my magic to protect me.  I don't like failing.

As the minute goes on, my brain gets tired, I start to get tired of holding up my focus for this long.  It's intense.  Being able to only think one thing and not to stray from that thought is a hard talent to possess... especially when your thoughts are as troubled as mine are.  After what feels like an eternity Layra announces that I've passed, and I feel like I've just completed a marathon.  A mental marathon that is.

"Now this is going to take some practice," Layra emphasizes, "but you've got a good start.  Just be sure to practice these techniques, and you'll be as skilled as me one day!"

I smile at her.  "Thank you."  Hopefully being able to semi-control these mind-reading powers will ease at least one part of my mind.

Heliux, who I didn't even notice venture back away from us once more, begins to approach the two of us while clapping his hands together.  "Well done, Valerie," he tells me warmly.  

"Thanks?" I tell him.  "Are you going to teach me about Space stuff now?"

He shakes his head, making me slightly disappointed.  "Not now.  You're still very much a beginner and going into space is very dangerous, even if you have that Element.  Once you've mastered your magic further, or once you've been crowned, I'll be more than happy to teach you about controlling the other aspects of the universe."

Damn.

"But for now, let's do something more simple; let's summon your Mist Pokemon."

My disappointment disappears, replaced by a new excitement.  Nombles!  "Okay!" I tell him eagerly, probably sounding like an excited toddler but I don't care, I get to see Nombles again!  

Heliux nods back at me, looking slightly thoughtful.  "Alright, let's start then.  I should warn you though," he adds suddenly, "that this requires a great amount of willpower from you.  You do not have the Sapphire Staff yet- it is like the Queen's Necklace- that allows for this process to be easier.  You need to focus immensely for it to work."

I nod uneasily.  "Okay, I'll try."  He's seriously making me worried for my safety or something.

The Light Minister places both of his hands on his chest.  "I'll demonstrate," he says smoothly.  "Put both of your hands on your chest, like so.  Pull in your focus, and thrust them outward, like this."  Heliux closes his eyes and momentarily draws out a sky blue ball of light from within himself.  I watch in awe as it transforms into the Misty form of an Alakazam.

"You try it now," Heliux tells me.  "But, if we tell you to stop, stop."  His face takes on stern expression and I quickly nod back at him.

"Good luck!" chirps Layra.

I place both hands on my chest and try to pull in my focus.  However, my brain is still tired out from the day's previous exercises.  Keeping an intense amount of focus is hard, and I guess it'll get easier but I'm not used to it yet.  

These two are your parents and here you are, trying to pretend everything is normal.

I try to ignore myself, trying to summon Nombles-

You just abandoned your family because you are so defenseless and stupid.

I-

You're going to blow your chances with August, he doesn't like you that way.

You died yesterday and you're barely giving it any thought.

Angry with myself I push my hands forward, but stop when a jolting pain pulses through me.  Instantly the Ministers are on me, Heliux pushing my arms at my sides which seems to stop the spell from going through.

"You weren't focused," he grumbles, sounding slightly angry.  Who's he angry at?  Me, or him?

I think I know that answer.

I've heard it enough from my previous father.

"Just try again," Layra tells me sweetly, her voice silky smooth.  "You'll get it."

"Okay," I tell her, sounding exhausted even though I've only tried once.  I can't give up that easy.  

For the next twenty minutes I attempt to summon Nombles, and with each failed attempt my focus only gets worse and worse.  So does my attitude, and my resolve.

After what must be the thirty millionth attempt I push them aside when they try to coax me into trying again.  "No," I yell at them.  "I've been trying for so long now and it hasn't worked.  I can't do it."

"Yes you can," Heliux says, sounding very calm and patient.  "Just try and-"

"SHUT UP!" I shout at him before I can think things through.  "You don't know me, stop pretending that you do."

The Light Minister holds his hands up.  "Valerie, I'm just trying to help you.  You have it in you, literally.  You just need to focus and-"

"That's the problem, I can't focus!" I protest.  I step away from the two of them, both of them starting to be dangerously close to me.  "Stop telling me I can.  I can't.  I'm a lost cause."

"Valerie-"

I interrupt Layra.  "Why do you guys care so much anyway?  I'm just a fairy who can't control her powers and a fairy who can't even summon her own dang Pokemon.  Why are you so goddamn patient with me!?"

Heliux and Layra exchance a glance.  "You're our child, Valerie," Heliux says point-blank.  "Even if you do not think of us in an endearing way, we will always try and help you because we love you."

"No you don't," I spit.  Honestly my brain is in such a crazed state I don't know what I'm saying anymore.  "You loved the baby you had eighteen years ago.  Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but Star doesn't exist anymore.  Star is dead.  I'm Valerie, I'm not Star, and I can't be Star."

I don't realize the effect my words have until I see Layra crack.  I don't- I... I hurt them.  I hurt people.

Before they can say anything, I do the only thing I can think of doing, and that's run.  I run straight out of there, not even looking at where I'm going.  They don't follow me, I notice when I turn back.  Then I turn forward again and collide right into another fairy, knocking them over.

My face heats up when I realize that I knocked over August.  "Sorry," I say quickly, getting up and helping him up myself.  He brushes off his shirt and shrugs.

"It's alright," he says, sounding cheerful.  "I-"  He cuts off when he notices my expression.  "What happened?  Did something go wrong in your magic training?"

I nod, not wanting to explain yet.  "I just need to get away for a while."

The fairy boy smiles and takes my hand, leading me away from the destruction I just caused.  "I know the perfect place."

So that was definitely an interesting chapter.  And yikes, Val's words really left a mark.  They were cruel, I'm not going to lie.  

ALSO: the Gardenia in this chapter isn't the same as Gardenia the Gym Leader.

ALSO ALSO: Shortly I'm going to be releasing a bunch of unreleased beta sketches of my OCs in this book.  Check my message board for details.

Anyway, that's it for this chapter.  Stay tuned for chapter 18 (this chapter is going to be important to all of you Aulerie shippers!!).