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Zeraora Fanfic – The Lone King (Collab with ZDX36)
【 Day 2: Books 】
The second day. Zephyr and Z’s breakfast was certainly more animated and exciting than the previous day. The two Zeraora shared some funny stories they’d experienced or heard from their friends. Zephyr was glad that Z warmed up a little to him, and that their earlier distrust of each other seemed to have somewhat ebbed away.
“You’re surprisingly entertaining, aren’t you, Zephyr?” Z laughed.
“Well, I was brought up to be nice and polite. And to put others before myself,” Zephyr said, sipping his tea.
“Hmm?” Z leaned forward to study the other cat, “Traits that are also important as a king. Your master raised you well. But tell me, Zephyr, do you get tired of it, sometimes?”
“……?”
“Is this kindness you’re showing me a true kindness, or just something you made up out of manners? Something to help you get out of here faster, perhaps?” Despite his smile, Z’s one eye was sharp, seemingly seeing through Zephyr’s façade.
“……” Zephyr studied him. The king seemed distant, like he wasn’t used to having someone think about and worry over him. Zephyr set down his teacup neatly and smiled at him.
“You’re a sharp one, Your Majesty. What do you think?” He challenged, closing his eyes serenely. “Look at me. I’m sure you can tell immediately if this is fake.”
Z looked surprised, but seeing how relaxed and natural Zephyr was, he didn’t need more evidence. “Heh, Mismagius certainly has a sharp eye when choosing someone. I haven’t had this sort of pleasant company for a long time. Your interest in my kingdom feels real, too. What’s the reason?”
“Well…” Zephyr thought for a moment. “As I said, when I heard about Euhitras, I was actually charmed by it. Castles, kings, soldiers and all. Now that I’m here, it’s like I’ve entered a real fairy tale!”
He grinned excitedly before continuing. “It might’ve had a rough start, but since I’m here now, I might as well explore this place. Besides, the Pokémon team I came from, our goal’s to always behave in a way that makes everyone smile. While I’m here, I’ll stay true to my word of doing everything for you and for Euhitras.”
Z watched him and laughed a little. “Haha, you’re really pure, aren’t you. A rare thing in this world, but I don’t hate it. I’ll accept the friendliness, then!”
“Oh, don’t mention it,” Zephyr replied, “By the way, wonder what we can do today…”
“You’re the butler. Think of something entertaining for me,” Z said.
“Hmmmmm…” Zephyr thought for awhile. Eventually, inspiration hit.
“OH, I know! You’ll certainly have fun if we do something you like!” He said excitedly, “And I get to know more about you, too. Tell me your hobbies!”
Zephyr’s sudden enthusiasm surprised Z a little, but he decided to play along.
“Hobbies…? I guess reading, sleeping on my bed, and cr–.. Uhh, I-I mean, that’s it! …Yeah.”
“Hmm?” Zephyr tilted his head curiously, feeling like Z’s hiding something. But anyway, he leaned back into his own chair to suggest the day’s activity.
“Well, you just woke up, so it won’t do to go straight back to bed. I guess we can read.”
“Sounds good to me,” Z said with a shrug, “You told me that you can’t read, though. Are you sure?”
“That’s where you come in, Your Majesty. You can read for me, and maybe teach me a thing or two!”
“Huh? Why am I the one to service you? You’re the butler!”
“But you like reading, so I bet you want to and that you’re a good reader. I like listening~ And I wanna see your library. Must be awesome!”
Z blushed a little at the flattery. He couldn’t deny Zephyr’s words and that he’d indeed be happy to show off his huge collection. After thinking about it for awhile, he yielded.
“Fine, but only because you’re asking for it so badly. Come along, now.”
The two Zeraora arrived at Euhitras Castle’s library. Zephyr’s eyes sparkled in wonder as Z led him into the large room, rows and rows of gargantuan shelves lining the room neatly. The shelves contained books of various genres, shapes, sizes and thickness. They seemed to have come from all ages, collected by Euhitras’ royal family through multiple generations. Z proudly explained the library’s history and collection to Zephyr before asking him.
“Well, guess we can start reading, if you want. This one’s my favourite shelf. You’ll be my listener, so you choose the book, Zephyr. Pick something that interests you. Don’t want you to fall asleep in the middle!”
“Okay!” Zephyr chirped, walking ahead to look at the books on the shelves. He tried to look for something short and simple, something that they can finish in one sitting so it wouldn’t be too much trouble for Z. As his eyes trailed along the professionally bound ridges of books and their charming titles, he stopped when he spotted a large but thin blue book that looked like no other.
“……?” He curiously reached out to it, pulling it out of the shelf with a finger. Turning the book in his hand, he studied its cover.
It was a hand-made book, bound together by a little red ribbon. The title says ‘The Blue Rose’ and a hand-drawn Eevee prince and princess sat together on its cover page holding the titular flower. Curiously, Zephyr flipped through its pages to give it a quick look. It seemed to be a picture book with a romantic story. Everything was hand-drawn and hand-written, feeling quite feminine with many pictures of flowers, laces and ribbons. Zephyr smiled, feeling the love poured into making this book. He closed it and took it back to Z.
“I’ve picked a book! Surprising that you have something so cute lying around in your favourite collection. Thought you’re just a tough guy and all.” Zephyr giggled. Z seemed to react to his book of choice.
“That’s–“
“Hm?”
“Oh… It’s nothing. Let’s read it, then,” Z said with a smile, heading to the couch by the window. Zephyr followed him curiously, thinking that he saw a glimpse of sadness in the king’s expression.
The two of them read together peacefully, Z teaching Zephyr how to read the simple words. They laughed, chatted about how cute the pictures are, and had fun. As they reached the final page, Z began to have tears in his eye, a longing look in his distant expression.
“……? Your Majesty?” Zephyr asked, noticing it.
“……?!” Z quickly wiped the tears off his face. “I-It’s nothing. Some dust got into my eye!”
Zephyr watched him for a moment, before smiling at him. “This book, it’s special to you, isn’t it?”
“……” Z closed the book, running his hand lovingly along the picture on its cover. “Someone important to me made this for me long ago. She’s not here anymore now, though.”
Zephyr gave him a moment, looking to the book. “I can tell that you must be pretty close. She must be happy that you’re keeping her memory alive.”
“…I…hope so.”
“……” Zephyr patted Z’s shoulder to cheer him up a little.
“She… was gentle like this, too. Thank you,” Z said, “Sorry for that. Pick your next book and let’s continue reading.”
“Ah, of course. Be right back.” Zephyr nodded, heading off to look for another book.
From their interactions so far, he could tell that Z probably had a sad past, just like Mismagius told him. He seemed to be pretty reluctant to talk about it though, so it was probably something quite serious. It could be the reason this large kingdom fell into ruin too, and Z had been carrying that sadness by himself. Zephyr hoped that he can lighten that burden a little during his stay here, so he walked on, determined to unravel Euhitras and the king’s ancient mysteries.
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