(warning, this chapter has more of Asaph being creepy in the same way that happened in chapter 32 but the event doesn't repeat)
The next day was overcast, with a chill across the land, but not in a way that would seem to be an ill omen. The grounds lay thick with early morning fog that obscured the nearby treeline, creating an intimate backdrop from out the dining room window, perhaps intensified by the knowledge that such a setting wouldn't last long in that time of year.
Veronica sat across from me, chatting with her mother who sat beside her at the head of the table, seeming none the worse for the day before. They were both still in their nightclothes, but I had dressed for the day already, and when Veronica saw this she laughed. "Getting ahead of yourself? You haven't even eaten yet!"
"Ah, apologies," though I wasn't certain what, if anything, I was apologising for. "At my house, the kitchen is downstairs so there's an entirely different feel to things."
"That makes sense," Tierney murmured. "We're having congee today. Such a cold day, you need something to keep you going, yeah?"
It seemed a bit out of season but she was right, even if it would warm up later. "That stands to reason. Anything in it?"
Veronica grinned. "I think the chef wanted a chance to use century eggs. They smell TERRIBLE unless you prepare them right. I wonder how you're supposed to know if they've gone bad. But I guess that's what a professional would have to know."
I'd had them before and felt they had the taste of scrambled eggs, despite their glassy and offputting appearance. The memory was a bit unusual, because unlike most other worldly food, I'd had it with my mother. "That's funny," I mused aloud. "I remember mama took me to a place that served them."
At the mention of my mother, Veronica's expression shifted slightly but she kept quiet, so I continued.
"I wasn't sure what to think of them. Come to think of it, I think I had them in congee then as well. It was all so unusual. Us going to another town was very unusual itself. I wish I could remember why we were there."
"You didn't travel as a kid?" Tierney asked, and it struck me as unusual but at first I couldn't put my finger on why.
"Not especially. Mama wasn't one for travel. I think Seafoam was the furthest we ever went, and I don't even remember it clearly. I would have been maybe...three when we took that trip. Maybe four." Oh, that was what had stood out. Tierney spoke of me being a kid as being in the past rather than the present. I knew I was an adult; Asaph knew that too. But it was rare to see it recognised.
She leaned back as the kitchen door opened and the chef placed a steaming bowl in front of her, with a large ceramic spoon to the side. "That's a shame. I travel a lot but it's all for work. It sounds like the two of you go everywhere. Do you think you'll go overseas any time soon?" She picked up the spoon and waved it in front of her before retrieving a spoonful of breakfast. "Maybe you'll end up going wherever this is from."
I realised even I didn't know where that was. Veronica, though, was smiling and it seemed best to cultivate that by turning attention back to her. "Veronica," I started, "did you sleep well?"
She startled a little bit, but still made sure to thank the chef for delivering her own bowl before addressing me. "Uh, about the same. I keep feeling like I'm being watched. I guess that would be why they called it 'the Eye'."
But it was unusual. I had addressed her specifically to keep that smile aloft and it had vanished as she spoke. "I had fun yesterday. I'd like to do that again."
Tierney raised an eyebrow and looked back and forth between us. "Anything I should know about?"
Veronica's eyes widened. "We played a game; that's all."
Her mother laughed. "I was kidding, honey. You take things so seriously! What game did you play? That funny one with the mushrooms?"
Ah, the video game. "Uh, yeah, we played that. We got pretty far, I think. People at school say that it's got eight worlds to it, and I think we made it to the fifth one. Right, the fifth? Or the fourth?"
"To be honest I can't remember. It ran together for me a bit." The game had done its best to have different colour schemes and thematic elements as one progressed, but it was limited by the technology. I received my own bowl and thanked the chef just as Veronica had. "I think I'd prefer something with more of a story to it. I can see the appeal of interactive stories, playing the dashing hero yourself. But I need to know more of what I'm doing." Though it struck me that perhaps that was what our overarching game had been. "Maybe something where I could explore history. Really get to know the figures involved."
She sat up straighter and shot an odd expression at me, something with narrowed eyes and a mouthed syllable that I couldn't discern. "Haha...maybe someday. Something like that could take you over, though. You could really lose yourself in it."
I smiled at the thought. "Ah, imagine if the technology gets that far. I can already lose myself in a good book, and the limit of my involvement there is turning the pages."
Tierney was somehow already nearly done with her bowl, having managed to do it unobtrusively. "Sounds like you kids are having a lot of fun together. What time do you leave, Jiri?"
"Asaph's driver should get here around ten." The reply had come from Veronica rather than me. "So he's got a little bit yet."
"Mm, I'll have to say my goodbyes now. I've got a conference call in ten minutes and then I'll be working until five. Veronica, you'll have the house to yourself all day. Don't get into any trouble!" This was said with a lopsided smile that I was fairly certain was meant to give it a comical tone. "And I don't want you staring at that opal all day either." Tierney had finished her breakfast in what had to be record time, and stood to kiss Veronica on the forehead. "I've gotta go now, honey. See you tonight."
"See you later, mom." She must have been quite famished, as her focus remained on her own bowl. "Love you."
Tierney waved elaborately as she exited the room, leaving us alone. From the kitchen I could hear tapping and clinking, likely the chef finally getting to indulge on the congee.
"Veronica," I asked, getting her name spoken first so she could finish her spoonfull as I continued, "what would you like to do today?"
She shook her head. "I didn't sleep well last night. Would you mind just reading with me or something? Or we could listen to music?"
"That sounds wonderful. Or hopefully it will." It was meant to be a joke and I hoped she took it as such, but I wasn't sure because she went back to her breakfast.
"It seems almost like the singer was distracted. Don't you agree?"
The both of us were lounged in the den, listening to a record of a live performance of The Cub. Veronica's parents had gotten it for her a few years ago, as the storyline of the piece followed a series of different species of pokémon as they left their nests for the first times, so it was thought of as a beginner piece to get children interested in the symphony. The Zorua suite had a vocalist, meant to inform the young creature's attempt to assimilate with human children through transformation.
Veronica had asked the question as she slouched against the couch, seated on the floor with her hair spread across the cushion. It had to be an uncomfortable position, I thought, but then I had also thought that she had fallen asleep at one point.
"Distracted? It just sounded to me like the drum was drowning her out. I know that's intentional, nervous heartbeat and all, but that doesn't make for good sound."
"Yeah, I heard another performance of this with my class. We heard it live downtown. You wouldn't have liked it though. Having a concert for elementary school kids isn't a good idea." Ah, so this would have been before we met. "Anyway the singer was a lot better. Drum was still loud, but the singer seemed to have more of their mind together for it. If that makes sense."
"I think it does. You probably have to be very present in the moment to be a performer like that, even with everything else on your mind. Though you did an excellent job of it yesterday."
At first I thought she didn't hear me and I was going to repeat myself before she replied. "Mm. I just didn't know anything about her." It was very soft, and if it hadn't been for a lull in the music, I wouldn't have been able to hear her at all.
"Even then, you did very well. You took what you knew of the era and used it to your advantage." I moved to stand up. "I've got to be ready to leave soon, so shall we move this to the main room?"
She sighed a little and crawled over to the stereo to turn it off, raising the arm from the record and replacing it to the cradle without waiting for the machine to do so automatically. "All right. I wish you didn't have to go. You've been so distant since Fuschia."
Had I? She'd been the distant one, keeping company with her new friends and business partners, and being so enthralled with her acquisition. But before I could bring that to her attention, the doorbell rang, and she sprang up to run and answer it before the house staff could.
I trailed after her to the main room, where she was already at the intercom next to the elevator. "Yes?"
"Miss Veronica? It's good to hear from you again." Igasho's voice came through, crisper than I would have thought. "I'm here for Jirarudan."
She smiled. "Absolutely. He's ready to go, or will be once he gets his shoes on. You got us at a good time. We were listening to music and just turned it off about a minute ago."
"I have been in this business for a long time. Perhaps I have a second sense for these things," he chuckled, and only then did the sound tin up a bit.
That smile was gone, though, when she turned to look at me. "Jiri...I'm going to miss you. Call me, ok?"
It wasn't as though I was going to go anywhere, not for long anyway. And my number was the same as always but she hadn't called me. "You as well," I reminded her, but made sure to smile as I did so it didn't come across as harsh.
She looked away for a moment but took up the handle from my suitcase and handed it to me as I slid my shoes on. "Here, good thing it was brought out here earlier. Remember, keep an eye on Asaph."
"Naturally."
"Um...here." Slowly, hesitantly, she slid a hand around my shoulder and pulled me in for a hug. "I'm counting on you."
Igasho must have known the gate code to get in, I realised as he put the suitcase into the boot of Asaph's car. Where I lived didn't have that sort of security to it, but it would also feel far too isolating to be cut off from things like that, left there with my father.
"Young master, how was your stay with Veronica?" Igasho asked as he held the door open for me, back seat as usual.
I slid in with a nod of my head. "It was interesting. We got to know each other a little better, I think. Um..." I paused for a second, but held onto the thinking sound to maintain his attention. "How is Asaph? Veronica expressed concern for him, but he sounded fine last we spoke."
He smiled slightly. "It's still very kind of you to ask." Was it? "I think it best if we talk in the car."
But instead, we pulled off the property in silence, and I felt a bit odd to take in the change of seasons starting so early. It was late summer and some of the trees were already starting to darken. I wanted to put on my headphones, but Igasho's company meant that it would be rude to do so, so they had to remain in my satchel.
"Now then, you asked how master Asaph is, yes?" he started, and I nodded so he could see me in the rearview mirror. I could see him as well, but he kept his eyes to the road after the brief glance back towards me. "As you know, the sale of the Eye has kept in his thoughts. He'll be grateful to see you, but I would avoid bringing up miss Veronica very often."
"Should I say that she's concerned for him?"
"To be honest, I don't know how he would take that. Also, of course, please don't mention that I spoke with you about any of this."
"Naturally." It seemed everyone was keeping secrets.
The mansion was just as I remembered, and for some reason I felt as though something should have changed. Even an especially large branch in a nearby tree, one that always seemed to be so heavy it would snap off at any given moment, retained its precarious posture. The coatrack standing next to the door maintained its position of keeping its legs in a strict angle to the corner of the entryway.
Igasho had disappeared somewhere once bringing my luggage inside, and someone had already spirited it away by the time I had taken my shoes off. I knew that it would be waiting for me in the guest room, but I had wanted to go up myself and get changed into something a little fancier than Veronica's house had merited.
I wondered where Asaph was. The gallery, his office, the library, the grounds, anywhere could be possible in such an expansive place. Surely the factory was much larger, by a massive magnitude, but it was vastly empty. Even when some large craft was under construction, the transient nature of the build lent itself to a much different sensation. It was big in the way the outdoors is big, something that could be endless and still not register as being present at all.
It was also quiet there, while there was always some sort of noise at my father's house. Be it from the factory or workers or the ocean or him tapping away at his computer, there was never a second without noise filling the air. But at Asaph's home, if nobody was in the hall, there was stillness. I knew that the kitchen staff would have likely already started on dinner, and the dining room was just off the entryway with the kitchen attached to it in such a way that put it at the front of the house, but I couldn't hear a thing from it, and I must have been smiling at the peace of it all because one of the house staff approached me.
"Asaph wishes to speak with you. He's in his office. You seem like you're in a good mood!" I had seen the man before, but didn't know his name.
"Thank you. I'll head up there."
To go up the stairs was something that always filled me with some excitement. There was a sense of drama to them, to the hand carved railing and gentle curve of the landing as they changed direction midway. I felt as though I was making a grand entrance somewhere. Though going down was even grander, like a scene from some sweeping epic where the hero arrived at a society event somewhere, all eyes on them and all wondering who this mysterious person was.
Though the upper and lower halls were usually empty, and that dulled the presentation.
I realised something strange as I approached the office, which was that it felt as though I was floating and distant. I had been very much present a moment before, so the offhand realisation caught me by surprise. I rested my hand on the doorknob as if expecting it to move on its own, trying to regain some sense of presence in the current situation.
What would he do? Would he wish to kiss me again, in the privacy of the office? Would he wish to--
I shook my head. Whatever would happen would happen. And I was an adult, after all. Others my age were expected to be independent and travel the land on their own, making every decision for their life, and I could do the same with Asaph.
So why did I shiver slightly when I turned the knob?
He was again looking out the window. If he had been doing so for long, he would have seen me arrive. The highway was visible from there too, at the end of the driveway, and I wondered if he ever liked to watch cars pass by. Unlike earlier, he didn't have a drink with him, and the bottle from months before was gone, likely emptied.
"Jiri?" he asked without turning around.
I wasn't certain if I should say anything special, so I settled on "Hello."
Slowly, so very slowly, he turned towards me. He was smiling, but in a way not found in any of my photo collection, so I couldn't recognize the presentation. "How is the Eye?"
That certainly wasn't what I had been expecting to be asked, not after so long and not after everything that had happened between us last we had been in the same room together. "Um..."
"She did let you see it, right? Tell me how it is."
"It...it looks the same as always. It's very beautiful, as always. She has it by a window in her room, and it casts the same spell on her as before." Somehow I wasn't sure what to do with my hands, so I folded them behind me.
He chuckled and took a step closer, but not far. "I'm not making you nervous, am I? I wouldn't want that to happen. But it's all right. As long as everything works out." Another step, and I noticed he wasn't smiling any more. Somehow he looked happier without it. "It's good to see you with my own eyes. I've thought a lot about...well, no matter. May I hug you?"
I nodded. "That sounds all right." At least he asked. My father never did.
Asaph knelt down, even though he surely could have hugged me from a standing position, and wrapped his arms around me, resting his head on my chest and giving me a gentle squeeze. "I've missed you so much. I've missed having you here, your company. It's not the same over the phone. I need to see you."
I drifted back to the last time I had been in his office, where he had desperately made me promise not to waste my life. He had been an utter shambles then, downing brandy and embracing me with shaking hands. At least his embrace was steady now.
He stood back up and drew me close again, putting a hand to the back of my head and patting my hair. I could tell he was careful not to muss it up. "Tell me about your day."
"Well...Veronica and I--" I noticed he tensed when I mentioned her name but I kept talking unabated "--had breakfast with her mother, and then we listened to some music in the den. And then Igasho came, and he and I talked for a bit in the car."
"What did you talk about?" He wasn't letting me go.
I would keep the secret Igasho asked me to. "He had a cassette playing. We talked about the singer a bit. I'd never heard of her but she has a magnificent voice."
He chuckled again and dropped his hand to my back. "I think I know the one. The Galarian operetta?"
"Yes. It's unusual to hear an operetta performed mostly as a monologue, isn't it? There's a few pieces by others, but they're never very long." My Galarian was still developing but I could tell enough that the story was a shifting tale of a sailor's wife waiting for his return. The pieces ranged from fearful paranoia to lighthearted comedy as she wondered what he could be up to on his ship, and as far as I listened, he was never shown. "There was a piece Igasho found very funny, but I didn't understand it. He said it was full of puns, so I'll have to brush up on my Galarian."
His hands strayed to my shoulders and finally he pulled me back, gently still, and he was smiling much clearer. "I know just the piece. Nearly every line has a pun to it. I think there's a translation to it, with footnotes, in the Viridian library. We'll have to stop there next time we're in town."
I tried to copy his smile back at him. "I'd like to see it. You don't have anything like that?"
"Theater isn't really my strong suit. I did at one point own an original script of To Be With You In The Summertime, but I sold it. Gracious, that was probably before you were..." He trailed off and let his hands fall back to his sides. The smile was again gone. "...I'm doing it again, aren't I?" That was spoken almost silently, and if I'd been much further away I wouldn't have heard it.
But I figured I should ask, just to be safe. "Doing what?"
He stepped back and looked me from head to toe and back up. "Haha..." It didn't sound like there as any mirth in his laugh. "Just thinking too much. I've been doing that a lot. It's a bad habit."
"But thinking is a good thing. That's how we get anything done."
He briefly turned back towards the window. "Not these thoughts. They're so...distracting. But that's for me to worry about, not you."
This is what Veronica had been talking about, wasn't it? He was still torn up over the Eye, even though it had been his decision to sell it. Regret hung heavy over him.
I hoped I would never do something that I would regret so deeply. Thinking back, I wish the fruitlessness of that hope had been evident to me at the time.
"Asaph, if you need anything..." But I wasn't sure what I could possibly do for him, so I let the statement hang in the air. I'd said it out of politeness anyway.
He watched me closely again before responding with a gentle smile. "You're always so compassionate," he whispered as he brought a hand to brush against my cheek. "You'll be a wonder to behold."
I decided to play it casually to perhaps lighten the mood. "I'd like to think I already am."
"You absolutely are. But other people will be able to appreciate you even more."
"The way you do?"
His hand froze on my face for a fraction of a second. "Eventually, perhaps. If you want them to."
"I want to live life to its full potential." Somehow it felt only natural to say it, even if it was a bit overdramatic.
"That's my boy. Do you want to head down to the gallery?"
"Oh Asaph," I smiled back, "you never really have to ask that question."
The gallery was its usual splendor, always leaving me with that mystical dazed feeling as if visiting another world. I remembered with some fondness how it used to overwhelm me, just as Asaph asked what was on my mind.
He pondered this for a moment before asking how it made me feel currently, and said it was fortunate that I hadn't lost the excitement.
"Do some collectors eventually grow bored?"
Asaph drew a deep sigh. "Some of them give up entirely. It's horrifying to see, as if all joy has left them. They're incapable of feeling that love that once inspired them, and it never ends well. Those people...I cannot trust people like that."
"Does it ever come back?"
Another sigh. "Rarely. Very rarely. If someone no longer feels that passion from their collection, it means something horrible has happened in their life, in their personality, even their soul." He squeezed my shoulder in what I think was meant to be an encouraging way. "But to live with that passion without being overwhelmed by it is different. I think it means you're destined to do this."
"I like to think so. Destined, you say?"
"Absolutely. It's the sign of a passionate man, I think, and you've already started on the right path."
I shook my head. "No, I mean destiny itself. Fated, written in the stars sort of thing. Preordained or the like."
He laughed. "I wouldn't be surprised. You're far from ordinary, so if there's some prophesy about you, it wouldn't shock me."
There was always much to do at his house, and he seemed in better spirits than he initially had. The weather had held and the day remained dry once the morning fog had cleared, so Asaph had the idea that we should travel to Cerulean for dinner.
"Isn't dinner nearly ready?" I asked him with some confusion.
"Oh, the staff will eat it. Don't fret." He patted my head, careful not to muss anything. "Now, you brought something fine to wear, right?"
Everything I had packed was fine, I had thought, but to be seen in society required another degree. "I'll show you what I brought, since you seem to have a place in mind. Come with me."
We headed up the stairs, but when I turned towards the guest room, he took my arm. "Your suitcase is in my room."
Somehow this wasn't surprising, especially after the strange embrace he had greeted me with. "All right. I thought nobody was meant to know any of this."
He tapped the tip of my nose. "You've slept in there before and nobody said anything."
I supposed, but that was for brief naps, not overnight. But he had to have some idea in mind, so I didn't press the issue.
After looking through what I had brought, he picked out a fitting combination, and I was glad I had brought extra clothes than just for overnight. My intention had been to prepare for the strange weather, but it was, ultimately, always good to be ready for anything when dealing with Asaph.
"Don't tarry," he reminded me, headed out so I could change, "the city awaits!"
It had been a while since I'd visited Cerulean. It was bigger than Viridian but didn't feel like it, seeming like no more than a dot on the map, and I wondered why he had chosen there as our destination.
I wondered if we would ever go to Fuschia again. We would have to, in time, I figured. Even if they no longer hosted a relevant exhibit, the museum was still a wonder to behold, and it held a lot of historic charm. All the major Kantonian cities offered something different and distinct, and even then they didn't quite serve as the microcosm that I wanted. I wanted the whole of the world, and that got me thinking again of the promised airship. Provided the H-Class was viable, or whatever it could turn into, it would be magnificent, something beyond anything else on the market. And if all went according to plan, it would be mine, and so would the world it would grant me.
Above all else, I desired the freedom to do what I wished. To be unbound by obligation to anyone or anything but my collection. It would be something truly divine.
The fields outside of Cerulean were plain, a disappointment after the magnificent view of the lake and waterways from our approach. The famous lotuses were just out of bloom by a few weeks, though according to Asaph, the city's lotus root curry was a delight any time of year. I laughed and told him that I wasn't about to risk having curry in my fine clothes, and he said that may be a risk worth taking some other time, which got us talking about other events.
"There's a fireworks display in a few months, if you'd like to see that. I know it may not really be your thing..." He chuckled, "it's not really mine either, but I can imagine it would be a sight to behold. Art in an ancient form with modern technology; I know that's something you enjoy."
That was something to think of. He had praised me before for being forward-thinking in my interests, and I suppose that was an art form itself. But the noise and the smell and the crowds lost any interest I could have had in the subject itself. "No thank you. Perhaps if there's a recording of them." The idea would be blasphemous for nearly anything else, but he just nodded.
"I understand. You're never much for busy places. That's all right. Though I do enjoy getting to show you off."
"I think I rather enjoy being shown off."
Taking a cab into the city from the docks was always a dice roll of an experience, but the drive was pleasant enough. We passed in front of a historical museum built from a replica of the castle that once occupied the land, the original having been consumed by a fire. Asaph told me that by that time, it had been retired from its original purpose as the home of a lord and had been converted into government offices, and I wondered what that meant for the potential loss of artwork that may have dwelled there.
He squeezed my hand and said it was all right, but I wasn't sure if he was talking about that or something else.
It was still summer and the hours were still long, and at around five pm we had a while left of light yet. There was a park across from the restaurant and he wanted to take me on a stroll there afterwards, but first he was eager to show me this place. It was on the rooftop, quite a novelty, and we would see much of the city from there.
Even today, Cerulean lacks the truly massive buildings found in other cities like Celadon, so a tall building there is almost quaint by comparision. But I didn't mind. Unlike being in an airship, being in a tall building is unpleasant and stifling for me, so it was much more enjoyable to take in. We were led to our seats almost immediately, the open-air setting giving it a free and wild sense.
Across the room, there was some sort of celebration that seemed to be centered around someone my age, and from what I could make out, they had just gotten the Cerulean gym badge. Asaph must have caught me watching them, because he started drawing my attention away from it. "Just think, that could have been you if you were a more everyday sort of person. But you're beyond that sort of thing," he said with a smile. "Bread and circuses, Jiri. That's all it is."
"Oh I know. Still, it's odd to see in a place like this. Don't most trainers tend to take on Cerulean fairly early?" I found myself continuing to lean over to spy on the celebration. "I wouldn't think they'd have the money for a place like this until much later. Though I suppose they could have found something in Mount Moon to sell."
"Perhaps." He waved his hand dismissively. "I'll be surprised if they manage to hold onto it though. That's another thing that makes you special. People at your age don't tend to manage their money very well. Though people my age don't either, if they come into a lot of it."
"Then it's good that I have a wealthy benefactor to show me the way."
He grinned. "Very good indeed."
"So, how did you hear about this place?" I asked as I looked out over the city and wondered how it would look with the fog from that morning.
"Oh, around. It's a new hot spot, I'm told, and it keeps with my tastes of a class of company. At least it ought to." He was probably glancing backwards at the party if I had to guess. "Though I suppose there's no predicting everything."
I laughed a little at that. "You'd make an even greater fortune if you could. You'd be an oracle."
"I don't think oracles make all that much, really," he chuckled. "Though they do tend to get immortalized in art. I'm not sure how I'd feel about that. I'm not much to look at, I don't think, and I'd rather surround myself with other worlds than just the one I already live in."
"Understandable." I took a drink of water and noted with some amusement that he did so at the same time. "The world can be beautiful, but it's still the everyday. I feel like some days I take in everything at once, so I've seen everything there is to see. Like I live faster than others." I looked back at him for that. "It's probably not a fair way of putting it, but I seem to see more detail and...I guess take in more."
"Which is why a fireworks show would be right out."
"Yes, exactly. If how others react is any indication, it seems like they don't hear as much or see as much or anything of the sort. Either that or they don't care, which is also likely." I shrugged and hoped it looked as casual as I intended, which his lack of reaction seemed to indicate was the case. "It's always a puzzle, isn't it, to deal with others?"
"You do so well," he told me with a finger out to gesture to a waiter. "But puzzles like that are nothing to someone of your mind. You unravel them with ease, or you seem to."
Was that so? It was a constant strain that often left me confused, but if it appeared effortless to him then I supposed that meant I was succeeding. "Why thank you." I paused as he placed a drink order, watching out over the park again, but it was only for a moment and I was able to return to the same line of thought without hesitation. "People are often so unreasonable. That's why I like things like art and science."
He was looking around the room, and I wasn't sure if anyone was meant to meet us or if he was just getting a feel for our surroundings, though I quickly ruled out the former since our table was meant for two. "You've always seen beyond the surface, haven't you? That's something I truly love about you."
For some reason, I thought back to my initial impression of him, the man of eternal calm, and how inaccurate that had been. But a few years had passed since those days, hadn't they? I was grown now, learned and worldly. "I've learned a lot since we first met."
My musing to him seemed to catch him by surprise, indicated by a raised eyebrow. "I'm glad you have. I look forward to teaching you more. Perhaps someday, we--"
But the waiter came and set our drinks down. He had ordered some sort of cocktail that I couldn't recognize, only that it came with a small piece of grilled pinap held across it with a toothpick. My drink was a lightly iced tea presented in a similar manner with a maraschino cherry across the top, and I was somewhat glad that it had a toothpick as well instead of a plastic sword like other places often gave. I took a sip and found things perfectly agreeable. "Someday, we...?" I prompted him.
He set his own drink down first. "Oh, I think I lost my train of thought. Haha, sorry about that." After another sip, he asked "Would you like to try this? It's all right if it's just a taste."
"Sure, I'll try."
He handed the glass over to me, taking the pinap slice and sliding it between his teeth as he watched me, head resting on his off hand. The drink was strong smelling once up close, though closer observation did nothing to help identify the ingredients.
"Some sort of alcohol, of course," I murmured, and across from me he laughed slightly. "Something that pairs well with pinap or else they wouldn't serve it." I tried to think back to anything I had read on the subject but couldn't come up with anything, and the name of the drink didn't give any clues either. "Well, I give up. I don't know what's in an Alolan Breeze," I concluded before I took a sip, which I immediately regretted. I couldn't discern any individual taste, only the overwhelming sensation of the sip burning down the back of my throat. Quicker than I'd hoped to, I handed the glass back to him. "I'm sorry," I told him though I wasn't sure what I was sorry for, and tried to look as casual as I could as I drank from my water to wash away the uncomfortable taste.
"We'll have to get you a bit more accustomed to some of this. You'll be expected to have wine, at least, at some events." He set the glass back where it had started. "But you're right, this was maybe a bit strong for you right now." He leaned back. "Jiri. I'm proud of you for handling this better than you did before. You always amaze me how much you've grown."
"Even if I failed at it?"
With a smile, he reached a hand over the table to rest over mine. "You handled disappointment with grace and reason. Even people my age can't do that as well as you did. You're so remarkably mature."
I leaned back but kept my hand on the table, still cupped by his. "If I have to have it anyway...I'm not looking forward to that." Though that was the hand closest to my water glass, and I wanted another drink. There was the iced tea but it would sully the taste.
"Well, we can work on that. Wine is considerably milder than this, by half or more. It'll be easier for you to get used to. Ah, we all have to do things we don't like." He set his hand back, allowing me to reach for my water. "If it was up to me, I'd like to hold your hand more often, but I have to settle for a brief touch."
I wasn't certain how to respond to that. I didn't especially like having my hand held, by him or Veronica or my father or even my mother, but it would have been rude to tell him that.
"Jiri, you'll need to look at the menu as well."
"Oh, that's right. I'm sorry." Almost on instinct, I looked out over the park again, but that just turned my attention away from the stated goal, so I looked back a moment later. "I've got a lot on my mind." A day ago I'd been gallivanting about with a Veronica who was very dedicated to her role, even in front of her parents. "Schoolwork and such."
"Ah, are you keeping up with that?" He took a drink. "You've always been an excellent student."
I wondered if there was a difference in being an excellent student and getting excellent marks. The latter was certainly true. "I'm getting high marks as always. And studying on my own."
"Wonderful!"
Finally I got around to the iced tea. It was sweet but not overly so, and had more of a passionfruit taste than the cherry would have indicated, and the lingering sensation of Asaph's drink didn't interfere. "What did you study in school when you were my age?"
He had been watching me intently, but glanced away when I asked that. "I suppose the same things others my age did. You're far more diligent than I ever was. The thought of studying outside of what I needed for school wouldn't have entered my mind."
That seemed a bit strange. "Even as it regarded the art world?"
"Even then. I hadn't had my major revelation yet. It would be a few years for me. See..." He took another sip and leaned back again, tilting his gaze at the sky. "I didn't grow up like you did. I was born into this, so it was always there for me. I was used to it, and that can lead to apathy. It did for a long time. I didn't develop that passion for many years."
"I'm glad you eventually did." I wanted to ask him further, but somehow it seemed as if that was something he had to offer on his own.
It was rather strange to me that he didn't.
Our conversation continued into dinner. A Kalosian inspired dish that the waiter recommended had stood out to me, but the Shellder tart was bland and utterly disappointing. "I don't especially care for this," I whispered across the table. "I would have hoped for better."
He nodded with a bit of a sigh to it. "In a place like this, the food is somewhat secondary. You're here for the ambience, and perhaps to see and be seen. I was hoping there would be a more reliable class here tonight, but it seems fate had other ideas." A smile grew across his face. "I love showing you off, and I've missed doing so over the past few months. You're such a wonder to behold."
His words carried a heavy weight to them, and I looked away from him, inwards at the other diners. The group around the trainer seemed to be wrapping things up, and had calmed themselves to enjoy a dessert. But nobody else caught my eye. Nobody stood out. They all faded into the background as if they were part of the restaurant's decor, itself nothing special either.
It was a disquieting sensation and I wasn't sure why, but he continued before I could dwell much longer on it. "Jiri, what's on your mind? I feel like I've been monopolizing things tonight."
I couldn't tell him what I was thinking of right that moment, but there was something that had come up earlier that I had been wanting to discuss with him. "I was thinking of my mother earlier."
"Oh? She's always in your heart, isn't she?"
"I think so..." I smiled a bit at that. "I was talking to Veronica and her mother about a trip we had taken when I was small. And it was only to Seafoam."
"Mm. To visit your father?"
"Likely. I don't remember anything about him at the time, though. But...what I was thinking of is how that was the farthest we ever traveled together. She seemed content to stay where she was, even with how she was treated there. Why would she want to remain anywhere for that long, much less a place like that?" I couldn't quite look at his face so I maintained a gaze somewhere on his chest, so I was looking towards him at least. "I don't really understand."
He leaned back, tilting his head skyward again, but this time looked back at me. "She didn't have the means to travel much, did she?"
"I'm not sure. We never discussed money. I think my father sent her a fair bit though."
"Mm, he's the sort to. As the heir to her estate, you should look into it." Asaph had gestured at me with his fork in a waggish gesture, one that would usually be rude but was fine in a close relationship. "You have her books and such, right?"
"I have a few, but my father keeps them in his study. I should revisit them, shouldn't I?"
"Were they anything of interest to you? Then probably."
I shrugged in the same way I had before. "I've got more ahead of them. I'm working through a series of poems right now, though they're not very interesting. It's part of the Kalosian canon though so I feel I should be acquainted with them."
He chuckled. "That's very responsible of you. I appreciate that."
"Although..." I sighed a bit. We had gotten off course. "I don't think we ever went anywhere notable. We lived in the middle of nowhere, and Seafoam isn't interesting at all. It's dreadfully dull and she doubtless only went there because of him anyway. Otherwise it would have been the same as every other day."
"She wouldn't have gone?"
"We only made day trips otherwise." Or had we? It wasn't often enough to remember. "I was very young. I don't even remember what towns we went to." I smiled a bit. "I was just glad to spend time with her."
"All your days were with her, weren't they?" He seemed more focused on me than he had been for a bit. "And you never grew tired of that. She must have been quite a woman then."
Under his gaze, I was aware that I had started to twist at her ring, but I didn't look away from him. "I wish you could have met. She was a work of art herself."
"I greatly enjoy people like that. True masterpieces." He was looking deep into my eyes and I didn't feel the need to look away. "Sometimes it feels like they're rarer to find in people than they are in the art world."
"I very much agree." To emphasize this, I raised my glass in a toast. "To the masterpieces of life."
"Here here!" he grinned as he clinked his glass with mine. "To those rare gems."
"To shining stars!" I added as we withdrew, and he smiled at me through taking his drink.
"Just think, soon it will be bitter cold," he mused as we crossed the street into the park. "Time passes so fast, so we have to enjoy what we have."
"It was cold this morning," I told him. "When I woke up. It was cold and foggy."
"I saw. I had to handle a foreign call today so I was up very early. It was the middle of the afternoon for them." He smiled. "When you're a collector on my scale, you'll have to deal with late nights and early mornings sometimes."
"I wonder if there'll be the ability to have robots handle things, like in stories," I mused. "Though I suppose that wouldn't be handy, since they couldn't make decisions without us. There's no way we could teach them everything."
He laughed. "It wouldn't have that personal touch either, and sometimes that can make all the difference in a seller's decision on who to sell to. I've been in arrangements where I was picked over a higher bidder just because they saw me as appreciating the work more. It's all in how you sell yourself as well, the image you give off."
Although that made me think of what he had said earlier, about liking to show me off. "So it's something we have to maintain at all times."
"Yes, you get it. Think about Lucrezia, how she presents herself. She's friendly and outgoing, but there's a cunning to her. She always seems to know just enough to make herself seem like she belongs in any situation. It does wonders for her in business as well, being such a bon vivant."
"Her son doesn't seem to like it much."
Asaph stopped for a second and shook his head, that smile still there. "Though they're in the same business, he takes a...much different approach. In our circles he's much more direct than he is elsewhere. Ironically, I think he would make a more successful collector if he had any interest in it. He knows how to engage in subterfuge, and I'm glad you ended up on his good side." He stopped again, longer this time. "I'd prefer if you didn't deal with him any more than you needed. But I can't exactly stop you."
That was unusual. "You know he does business with my father."
"Yes, but that's different. That's strictly business and nothing else, a normal transaction. You though..." He clapped a hand down on my shoulder. "He may believe that you owe him for your good fortune, and someday come to collect on it."
This sudden shift in tone was unnerving, but so far it seemed to only be words. There was none of the shaking or wavering I knew he would display if he was truly upset, only a solid tone and firm but not tight grip. So I said only "Asaph..." and let it hang in the air.
At that, he gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze and relaxed. "Maybe I'm worried over nothing. He wouldn't dare do anything with his mother around. She'd have his head."
I took a short step away, but I was smiling enough to tell him that I was listening. "I'm sure that she would."
He chuckled. "She's in the same business, of course, but I wouldn't worry about her. Just as long as you don't fall in with that crowd, you'll be fine."
It wasn't clear what he meant but I nodded just the same. "Of course. We've always got to be cautious of the company we keep."
Something shifted in his expression but I wasn't certain what it was. "...Yes we do. Jiri...do you want to hold my hand?"
I didn't like the sensation of doing so. It was hot and uncomfortable to hold my arm in that way and I always had to wipe sweat from my palm afterwards. But he wanted some sort of closeness, didn't he? It would be rude to refuse, but perhaps another solution could be found. Instead, I offered my arm as I had to Veronica the day before. "I will accompany you, good sir."
It took a second for him to realise what I was doing, but he linked his arm in mind and I was reminded of an image I'd seen of a classical Unovan boardwalk promenade from a century before, with all manner of folk there to be seen. The scene around us transposed with the scene from the photo, filling the Cerulean park with the sort of exoticism only the feeling of worldly knowledge can grant.
We fell silent for a while, taking in the surroundings. The park was quiet despite the location in the city, with a copse of tall trees astride the paved path and a lake before us. Cerulean was known for its water, and water types came along with that, many Goldeen and Magikarp visible in the pond even from a distance, scales glinting in the early evening sun. Though it wasn't nearly as grand or as stylized as Higuchi-san's pond, and almost certainly lacked any shiny varieties. If it ever did, they would be caught by trainers immediately, even with capture being forbidden in the park. Though I could certainly see the appeal of disobeying the rules to obtain something so special.
Briefly I entertained the fantasy of nabbing something like that, adding it to my collection. In my image, I had the same sort of containment field that had held the Omastar at the Pewter exhibit, and the hapless fish flopped about in it. Though that held with it the additional knowledge that long ago, Goldeen were bound to the water and would die outside of it like ordinary fish. I wondered if there was any external difference to them. Would I be able to tell beforehand if an ancient counterpart suddenly bred itself back into existence? Alas, by that point, my reverie was disrupted by pondering the sciences, and I couldn't get too far in that fantasy. Even so, what I had thought of still resulted in the mental image of myself absconding with a shiny Goldeen in a force field, perhaps running across the open field with my prize, and it was a silly enough image to get me smiling in a lopsided manner.
"You seem entertained by something. Do you want to share?"
I laughed. "Just a flight of fancy. Wondering if anybody tries to break the no capture rule here if a shiny was to pop up. But I'm sure they do."
But he scoffed. "Trainers will do anything for something that lets them stand out. They're such common rabble. It's disgraceful." His tone wasn't its usual evenness, and bore a sharp edge to it. "I'll trust you never fall into that life."
"Oh, of course not. I never had any interest in traveling the land like that," I said with a dismissive wave of a hand. "Any traveling I do will be by fine vehicle. Or airship, naturally."
That brought the smile back to him, but with an oddly furrowed brow. "Jiri. You've made your decision, right?" Again, it wasn't his usual even tone, but this time it was much softer.
"About the airship? He's still testing it. He got float stones imported from Unova to test it, and last I heard, he was happy that they were in the precise measures he asked for. Sometimes the things he orders don't come as precisely as he wanted." I disengaged my arm from his and took a few steps ahead. "I'll be able to tell you soon, I think. But I think it would be good if you showed interest in the project in advance, so it doesn't come out of nowhere should you offer that funding."
"That makes sense. You've thought about this a lot, haven't you?" He chuckled, and I could imagine how he looked even with my back turned. "You're always thinking of the future. It's an admirable trait, especially in someone your age." In my image of him, he was shaking his head with a smile, but of course I couldn't be sure. "That's what puts you above everyone else. You're so beautiful and bright."
He wouldn't say things like that if there were others around, so the path behind him must have been empty. "Asaph, of course I'm special. I have a mentor like you, so it only stands to reason."
My image of him blushed, but I doubt the real one did. "Jiri...Jirarudan. Do you think it's time people called you by your full name?"
That was an interesting proposition, one I hadn't considered before. The short form was often said because my full name was seen as difficult to pronounce, but that was something people would have to learn, wasn't it? "You know, mother named me. She said it came to her on the breeze. But even she would call me Jiri at times." I had walked up to the railing at the edge of the pathway, over a steep hill. A little white bird eyed me from the edge of the railing as I turned back towards Asaph, arms draped behind me over the structure. "Perhaps it's time, though. It'll certainly be more professional."
With a smile, he moved to stand beside me, startling the bird away. "Young master Jirarudan. Though the whole thing is awfully long. But I suppose that's just a title I made up anyway."
"I'm not really the master of anything yet, so just my name will suffice."
He nodded. "You'll be a superior master soon enough. I can feel it."
"By your tutelage I will." I looked out at the park, where we had come from and the area to the side. "I'll be a shining star." The last was lower than the rest of it and I wasn't sure why. "Do you say these things to Veronica?"
He was staring off at the sky again. "I believe you'll far surpass her. She is...impulsive, while you think things through. Of course, you'll keep this to yourself."
I looked up at the sky too. "She may yet surprise you. She's very dedicated and intense. I believe she can be a shining star as well, just like you told us."
I felt like he had to be smiling. "I've got faith in you both. Don't doubt that."
"I shan't."
"Haha...you're such a strange person. But that's something I love about you. You're not bound by convention. You'll pave a path of your own, just as surely as this path before us."
I glanced over to see him kick at the ground ever so slightly, fancy shoes barely dusted from the display. "And my path won't be disrupted so easily."
"Nothing will dissuade you from greatness. And that itself is greatness too."
"I'd settle for nothing less."
Our return to the ship was after an hour or so, the sun still heavy in the sky but the moon visible over the city in that peculiar way specific to late summer. The view was spectacular as always, and looking out at population centres always made me wonder about the people in them, what they considered beautiful, what they held dear. I wanted to know all of it, the vastness of it all, and take in every detail of the world.
There would be much ugliness to root out, of course, but that was to be expected in any wild experience. Even at the park, so curated and tended to, one still had to watch where one stepped. But I couldn't find more beauty in the world without the risk of being exposed to something rotten.
Asaph put a hand on my shoulder. "Lovely, isn't it?" he asked with a gesture to the view. "There's nothing quite like the Kanto region. I may roam, but I'll always return here."
"I'll have to see the world first. Who knows what could resonate with me." My hand covered his. Was that akin to holding hands? It didn't feel the same. "I've always had some degree of wanderlust, I think, and I've yet to really fill it."
"Some day you'll fly away." But his tone had changed, and I swear his hand tightened just a bit. "But you'll return to me. I know you will. I look forward to hearing about your excursions, about the wonders of the world through your eyes."
I let my own hand fall back down, and a second later he removed his from where it lay.
"Someday, Jirarudan, you'll be something truly magnificent, and I look forward to basking in your glory." But he seemed suddenly tired.
I remembered what he had said about having been up since the early hours, and wondered if that meant he would be retiring for the night once we arrived. I intended to occupy myself in his library for a while, and suspected this would be acceptable.
"We'll be back in about an hour, I think. I'm going to call ahead and let the kitchen staff know I'd like a drink when we get there. Do you want anything?"
"Oh, I suppose it's a bit much to ask for iced tea to steep in that time, but lemonade would be nice."
He winked. "Iced tea it is. I'm sure they can make it happen. They've been known to work small miracles."
"That's always admirable in a house staff," I laughed, taking a seat by the window. I knew from watching the construction process that furniture was bolted in place from underneath the flooring, though this would be an even more delicate process so as to not disturb the eyeline or muss the form of the couch. Like nearly everything in Asaph's decorative style, it was carefully chosen for the overall image of the room, and the control room had been decorated over time, away from the initial open space. The utilitarian area was transformed into something more aesthetic, with the stark foldout bed now in its own room, and I wondered what my father would say about the new walls or installations. Although it was generally understood that his ships would be greater customized by the buyer, it was a curious point regardless. It was perhaps akin to crafting a fine frame without knowing what would be displayed within.
Though I didn't care to think of my father, thoughts of him continued once we reached the mansion and were met with a notice that he had called. Although Asaph had a cellular phone, a rarity in those days, he only kept it on him if he was awaiting a professional call. But fortunately I didn't have to return the call.
The message was simple. "The float stones worked," it read, "will tell you more later. Excited to get started!"
I looked up at Asaph as I folded the note in my hand. "Well...I suppose that's fortuitous."
"We'll be talking about your acquisition soon then?" Asaph asked with a bit of a lilt. "Greatness can't be rushed, so this...alliance of ours will take some time."
"I'm certain of it."
"Good." He led me into the sitting room and closed the door behind us. "I'm eager to spend more time with you." But he seemed to hold in place, simply watching me as I stood before him, and I must have looked puzzled but he didn't respond. Gradually he bent his arms but seemed unsure what to do with them for a second before bringing his hands to my forearms, gently pinning them to my sides, and when he leaned in I expected him to kiss me again. Though I wasn't expecting the kiss to land on my forehead, or for him to immediately disengage from me. "...Our drinks are ready. We shouldn't tarry."
I followed a few steps behind him, wanting to know what else he meant, but also not wanting to ask.
After drinks, he indeed retired for the night, and I was able to spend time in his library as I wanted. He told me he had acquired a new book, a thin work on the history of the royal crowns of Kalos, and I read through it in an hour. It was nearly fifty years old, but it wasn't as though there was any new information since then. Even the photographs held up remarkably well, and were even in colour, something incredibly rare for a book of the time.
I wondered what it must be like to be of royal blood yet of a defunct line. After a time, I supposed anybody would have the blood of a king, and it would fail to matter eventually. An ancestor of mine had been a mayor, but of that tiny dot of a town, utterly meaningless even at the time. Though not to hear my father tell it. He never spoke of his own ancestry. I had no living grandparents, and both my parents were only children. In a way, I was the last of a line, but that was fine. Basing personal worth on others always seemed strange to me. We're shaped by circumstance but so much of that seemed random, and the idea of the self was almost lost to some.
It was common to live by what your parents wanted of you. That was the tradition of Kanto and surrounding regions. But at what point did the self come into play? How much of it could be based on what we wanted? What if ones' parents wanted different things? It was based in the idea of respecting ones' elders, but surely respect and obedience are different things.
In other regions, there was greater emphasis put on the individual, but no matter where you were, you still had to deal with the expectations of others. Nowhere was truly a land of free spirits, though some places claimed to be. There was always something to obey, something to adhere to, some demand someone else would put on you.
I set the book on the shelf and looked around for something that could distract me from my reverie, and settled on something Veronica had poured over before. But that only got me thinking about her, especially her strange behaviour, so I put it back too.
Maybe I could read about the noblewoman, but nothing here existed on her. There was precious little information; not even her date of birth was recorded. It always seemed to me that she was born in the spring, but I didn't really have anything to support that. It was simply a feeling I got.
My own birthday was approaching in a few months, at the end of October. I would be twelve, and the idea of a larger number was unsettling even though I craved growing up. I wanted to leave childhood behind, despite Asaph's warnings and beseechment. But I was already an adult and there was nothing that he or anybody else could do to change that. Even if he was to somehow summon Dialga, the lord of time, legends didn't indicate it could do much in the way of reversing my time or making me younger. The fabled forest spirit Celebi could, if the legends were true, return me to an earlier point in my life, but I would simply be transported to the past as I was.
Although the thought wasn't nearly as useless as all that. "I'd get to see her again," I mused, to the company of the books.
One may wonder, perhaps, why I did not pursue one of those legends. Well, the answer is simple. It would do me no good. I would either have to leave her behind to return to the present world, or leave the present world entirely. I knew even then that I could never truly save her, and to know that was heartbreaking.
I went to the guest room in silence, wondering if I would dream about her.
But no dreams, no sleep came, and I found myself back downstairs a few hours later. The staff had gone to bed, save for someone mopping the floors, but I don't think he noticed me as I headed to the kitchen for some warm milk.
Because of that, I hadn't expected to hear a voice as I entered the dining room. "Jirarudan? What are you doing awake?" It was Asaph, seemingly inevitably, but I was still startled.
"I could ask you the same." I was glad how quickly I recovered from the sudden start. "Couldn't sleep?"
He had his own drink, and swirled the glass around in a slow circle. "Not a wink. You either, I presume."
"How do you know I've gone to bed?"
"Simple." He gestured towards me. "You're dressed for it."
"We can walk about in robe and slippers at your house."
He chuckled. "But you're not usually the sort to do so in the evening. You only do in the morning."
I hadn't noticed. "Is that so? Well, perhaps I'll have to pay more attention."
A sip before he continued. "You're usually so detail-oriented."
"Entirely possible." I was aware it didn't quite make sense. "I'll be right back."
When I came back with the desired warm milk, Asaph was at the wine cabinet, pouring a small bit of what was no doubt something very expensive. He didn't look at me at first, but set the bottle back. "...Jirarudan, I have something to ask you."
"Oh, of course." I took a seat at the right hand of the table's head. "Anything."
He still didn't look at me. "Neither of us can sleep on our own. Would you like to sleep in my bed?"
I took a drought before I replied, thinking about it. Did he mean sleep, or... "I'm really quite tired. I had an upsetting thought and it's disrupting me."
He exhaled, long and low, and sat across from me. "I fully understand. My offer is only to sleep, nothing more. But I would like your company, and it seems as though you could use mine."
It wasn't his company that I wanted. But I nodded regardless.
When I finally drifted off that night, it was with Asaph's arm heavy over me, but my mind had wandered away.
