Chapter 38: A Match Made in Heaven
"Eeeek!!!"
The scream right next to his ear left Will speechless.
Why is she acting less brave than when she was a kid?
Will clearly remembered flying with Liz on his back when he was a Beedrill. Back then, Liz wasn't scared at all; she was incredibly bold.
"Lan! Don't fly so fast! And a little lower, be good~" Liz's voice trembled as she reached out to stroke the blue pearl on Will's neck, trying to soothe him.
A ticklish sensation spread from his neck, making Will shake his head uncomfortably. However, he still lowered his altitude and slowed his speed. Only then did Liz let out a breath of relief, her emotions calming down a bit. It had been a very long time since she had flown in the sky. The last time was twenty years ago, when she was escaping with Goldie.
"Phew... this is the first time I've looked down on the Dragonite Kingdom from this angle. Everyone is looking at us."
After calming down, Liz looked below. The people of the capital were all looking up in surprise at Liz and Will in the sky.
"So that beast is one that Lady Liz raised."
"I knew it. Only Lady Liz is worthy of such a beautiful beast."
"They look so good together. It's like a match made in heaven."
"Yes, the beautiful queen and the beautiful beast."
...
The people in the city couldn't help but buzz with discussion. Feeling their gazes, Liz couldn't help but smile, a sense of pride welling up in her heart. That's right, this beautiful Lan is my partner. Everyone, be as envious as you like.
Liz leaned forward and hugged Will's body tightly. Specks of snowflakes landed on her, making her shiver slightly.
"Let's fly up a little higher," Will said, increasing his altitude.
"Slowly, now," Liz said, feeling him ascend. This time she didn't panic. She trusted that Lan wouldn't let anything happen to her; she just wasn't used to this height.
"Liz, look! We're inside a cloud!"
"Wow, I caught a cloud!"
Liz couldn't resist reaching out a hand to grasp the cloud that was right beside her. In that moment, she seemed to transform back into the lively little girl from twenty years ago.
Higher and higher they went, until they broke through the cloud layer.
Both Will and Liz's breath caught in their throats. The dazzling sun shone in the distance, its light hitting the clouds and turning them a pure, brilliant white. It was the same cloud layer, yet from below it looked gray, and from above, it was pure white.
"It's like a wonderland," Liz murmured, irresistibly reaching a hand towards the sun. The halo of light shone through the gaps between her fingers, making her blink. The snowflakes that had surrounded them were gone. Beside her, there was only Lan.
"This world really is beautiful. It's truly the place I've always longed for," Will said, breathing out a warm puff of air.
He had been in the Pokémon world for five months now, but he had never really taken a good look at it. In his first life, he was always confined to the outer edge of the forest on Mt. Silver. In his second life, as a Dratini, his mobility was terrible, and he couldn't go anywhere. It was only today, as a Dragonair with the ability to fly, that he could finally glimpse a beautiful corner of this world.
"Lan, have you ever seen the sea?" Liz asked, stroking his back.
"No," Will shook his head. He had seen the sea in his past life, but not in this one.
The ocean in this world must be so blue, and so full of life, Will thought with hopeful anticipation.
"In a few days, let's go to the seaside. I want to see more of this world, together with you, Lan."
"Okay," Will nodded, thinking it was a great idea.
For the past two months, he had never seen Liz go out for fun; she had always stayed within the capital. He didn't know how she felt, but he himself was getting a little tired of it. He wanted to take her out for a look. To see this world, and to see the Pokémon of this world.
In this magical world, whether in fire or water, in grass or forest, in the earth or in the clouds, or even in a certain girl's skirt, Pokémon could be found everywhere. It would be a real shame not to travel in such an interesting world.
Will flew around in the air with Liz for a while longer. It wasn't until Liz sneezed that he realized there was a problem and quickly brought her back to the palace.
"Lord Lan! How could you take Lady Liz to do something so dangerous!"
The moment they returned, Hestia rushed up and gave him a fierce scolding. Others might be intimidated by Lan's new, large form, but not her! In their two months together, she had long since figured out his personality, which was why she dared to be so bold. Besides, she believed that with their current bond, he would never hurt her.
"Nyah-nyah-nyah," Will stuck out his tongue, then turned and scooped up Liz with his tail and fled.
Times had changed. Before, he would take a scolding because he was too slow to run away. From now on, he had no intention of obediently listening to Hestia's lectures.
"Haha, bye-bye, Hestia," Liz laughed nonchalantly, waving at the increasingly exasperated head maid.
"Lady Liz, how can you join Lord Lan in this foolishness?! So many people are watching! What about your decorum?!" Hestia hiked up her maid's dress and gave chase.
The guards and maids watching from the side couldn't help but smile and shake their heads. They could already predict what the palace would be like from now on.
Night fell.
Liz and Will snuck out of the bedroom, tiptoeing stealthily towards the kitchen. Because of the afternoon's incident, Liz had "punished" Will by not giving him dinner. Although she had secretly brought him some food, with his new physique, his appetite was much larger than before. This led to the current situation: Liz leading Will on a secret raid of the kitchen.
"Shh~"
As they passed Hestia's room, Liz deliberately turned and put a finger to her lips. Will nodded obediently, twitching the small wings on his head without making a sound. He was truly starving.
"Ahem."
Just then, a cough suddenly sounded from a nearby corner. Will and Liz froze and whipped their heads in that direction. Hestia was standing there, her arms crossed.
"Hestia! Lan, run!" Liz yelped, immediately turning to flee.
"Ying~" Will also quickly turned, preparing to drift around the corner.
"Alright, come with me. The food for Lord Lan has been prepared for a while now," Hestia's voice sounded again.
Liz and Will turned back in surprise.
"..."
Hestia felt a little stiff under their stares. She turned away uncomfortably and led the way.
"Hehe."
"Ying-ying."
Liz and Will exchanged a look and shared a secret smile, then quickly followed.
When they arrived at the kitchen, both of their eyes widened. The amount of food prepared could only be described as a mountain. It turned out Hestia had already considered that after his evolution, Will would need to eat much more.
"Hestia, you're the best!" Will dove headfirst into the mountain of food and began to wreak havoc. When you're starving, you can't be picky. He took a huge bite, not caring what it was, and swallowed after a few quick chews.
Hestia stood by, observing Will's appetite. This was his first meal after evolving, and she had to watch personally to determine how much food to prepare for him in the future.
"Hehe," Liz stood to the side, a smile on her face as she watched the scene. "Hestia, you really do like Lan, don't you?"
"I do not!"
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