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Zeraora Fanfic – The Lone King (Collab with ZDX36)
【 Day 4: Broomsticks 】
The fourth day. Zephyr put on his grey coat and exited his bedroom, ready for what the day had in store for him.
“Good morning, sunflower.”
Zephyr gasped at the sudden greeting, biting his lip to prevent screaming in surprise. He looked to his right, seeing Mismagius there.
“Please stop scaring me by suddenly appearing!” He said, straightening himself. Mismagius giggled at him charmingly.
“Your deeds are the talk of the castle. The king seems to smile more. It pleases me.”
“Oh, I’m glad if things are looking up,” Zephyr said, “Thanks for your support on the first day, too. Couldn’t have gone this smoothly without you.”
“My pleasure. May His Majesty open his heart to you,” Mismagius said cheerfully.
“One little thing, though,” the Zeraora added, “I noticed that he’s sad a lot. Got any tips to cheer him up?”
“Hmmm…” Mismagius thought for awhile, before answering. “Food. Mango, lemon and meat, but not seafood… And from what I’ve seen, combing his fur calms him down.”
“Oh…” Zephyr said nervously, “Combing his fur sounds like it’ll take quite some courage. Maybe I’ll try something with the food instead.”
“Ufufu~ Do your best, sunflower. I’ll be watching,” Mismagius said, floating up and disappearing into the ceiling.
Zephyr sighed, hoping that he could finish his stay here smoothly.
The day started with a breakfast with Z as usual. Zephyr thanked him for letting him send the letter to Rhyme last night. The king seemed to be in high spirits. Once they finished, he leaned forward, resting his chin on a hand with the excited face of a child.
“So, Zephyr! What are we going to do today?”
His tail swayed lightly in a relaxed manner, like a cat waiting for a treat. He liked the change in his monotone routine due to Zephyr’s presence, and had associated the other cat with fun.
“Never thought that having an entertainer would be this nice. You’re certainly more than a butler, doing it so effortlessly! Hope you’ve thought of a great activity for today.”
“Aww, happy that I can be useful, Your Majesty,” Zephyr said with a light bow, pleased. “As for what to do today, let’s see…”
The yellow Zeraora looked around, trying to find some inspiration. He walked over to a closed curtain and tugged at it, letting some sunlight in and watching as it illuminated a thick cloud of dust, visibly falling off the curtain and floating away. He cringed a little, being someone who was quite fussy about hygiene. He tied the curtain open on the windowsill and turned to Z.
“Dark places are sad and gloomy, so if you open your windows and make this castle more liveable, it’ll cheer you up too, so…” He rolled his coat sleeves and put his hands on his hips confidently, ready to get to work.
“Today, we clean up and decorate!”
Z frowned in annoyance as he dusted the curtains and swept the floor of the throne room.
“Thought we’re supposed to have fun, Zephyr! Why does a king need to sweep?!” He complained, throwing his broomstick to the floor and folding his hands. Zephyr laughed, running past him with a mop and a bucket.
“Haha, c’mon, Your Majesty. We don’t have enough servants to clean the whole castle. Won’t you help them, my good king? Besides, it’s good exercise. I promise you’ll feel proud and happy to look at the castle when we finish because you’re part of the cleaning staff. Besides, you’re doing great!”
“Ugh…” Z groaned with a deep frown. Zephyr had a point about them not having enough hands though, so he picked up the broom and continued sweeping again with the rest of the servants.
Cleaning the castle quickly with his Zeraora speed, Zephyr eventually arrived at the castle gallery. He admired the paintings lining the wall as he walked–portraits of Z, other Zeraora, and several other Pokémon in elegant noble clothing. He wondered who they were. Could they be the previous kings and inhabitants of the castle? The portraits of a beautiful Glaceon particularly stuck out to Zephyr, since there were a lot of them.
Who could she be? Eyes glued to the portraits as he walked, the Zeraora then tripped on something, or rather… someone.
“Yeowch!!” A loud squeak came from under him, from a much smaller Pokémon.
“Whoa! Sorry!!” Zephyr apologized immediately, looking down, surprised to see a familiar face. It was the Grafaiai in the artsy clothes whom he met when he first arrived here.
“Grafaiai, it’s you!” The Zeraora said, helping the other up.
“Ze-Zephyr? You’re alright!” Grafaiai exclaimed happily. “Everyone’s talking about you cheering His Majesty up. It really went over my expectations!”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. I didn’t know that you work here!”
“I paint for His Majesty sometimes. He appreciates art, so I’m happy that I can put my skills to use. Just finished that picture over there,” he said, pointing at his newly hung picture.
It was the painting of a bright and colourful starry night, with a beautiful moon and swirly waves, Euhitras Castle in the background.
“Pretty,” Zephyr praised.
“The night you came. I got some inspiration from the excitement I felt!”
“Haha, you flatter me,” Zephyr said, looking at the painting again, “It looks really jolly compared to the Euhitras Castle I know, though.”
“My dream for this castle,” Grafaiai said, twiddling his fingers. “Maybe… Maybe you can make it happen. Everyone’s mood’s certainly been improving since you got here.”
“I… I’m happy to hear that…” Zephyr replied, his voice trailing off.
The Zeraora never imagined that everyone’s going to count on him this much. The weight on his shoulders suddenly felt heavy. Could he really pull this off? He shook his head, trying to believe in himself.
“I’ll do my best till the end!” He continued with a grin.
“Oh, please do!” Grafaiai grinned, “And I still haven’t given up my wish to paint you! W-Will you let me?”
“Haha, thanks! But not right now. It’s clean up day!” Taking his mop and bucket, Zephyr swirled away playfully to continue his job, his footwork light.
The maids and servants continued cleaning the dusty castle, from top to bottom and side to side. Curtains were opened and cobwebs cleaned. Froslass and Mismagius worked together to wipe the tables. The Ceruledge guards helped too, bringing in fresh flowers to fill the pots. Dull dusty carpets were now bright red again, and gentle sunlight lit up the once dark and gloomy castle.
Z watched in wonder as the Euhitras Castle around him seemed to have risen up from the ashes. It looked beautiful and busy like it used to be in the past, when the royal family and nobles were alive, dancing through the luxurious rooms and halls. He teared up a little, greatly touched. Zephyr placed the last bouquet of flowers into the last pot in the lobby, taking a step back to join the other servants and bowing gracefully to Z.
“Your Majesty, I present to you… the renewed Euhitras Castle!”
The yellow Zeraora said confidently. The other servants bowed as well, smiling happily. Z clapped, moved by everyone’s hard work.
“Everyone, you have my thanks. I… I didn’t know that something so simple could bring such a change to this castle!”
“You do now.” Zephyr laughed, walking to Z and putting a hand on his shoulder. “And you sweated for this, too. So you also brought this castle back to its beautiful form with your own hands!”
Z smiled. “Thanks, Zephyr.”
The sun began to set and the servants dispersed then, off to prepare dinner. Zephyr looked at the large painting at the stairs, featuring Z with the beautiful Glaceon he saw in so many of the castle’s portraits.
Z was still standing nearby, admiring the newly cleaned castle, so Zephyr thought he’d ask him about the Glaceon.
“Your Majesty! Um.. Sorry to disturb, but can I ask about that Glaceon? Saw her a lot in the paintings,” he said, motioning to the portrait at the stairs.
“Oh!” Z looked startled. He stayed quiet for a moment, looking wistfully out of a window.
With a heavy sigh, he answered.
“Della. She was my lover… Before her life was cut short.”
“O-Oh, sorry..,” Zephyr said, quickly looking away. “That was an insensitive question, wasn’t it?”
“She was the one who made the book we read yesterday,” Z continued, “She was a sweet girl and we were really close. She’d laugh with me when I was happy, and cheer me up when I was sad.”
“……” Zephyr wasn’t sure what to say, but he dared himself to ask. “What happened to her?”
“She lost her life protecting me, when I was supposed to be the one to protect her.”
“I’m such a hopeless king, am I not?” Z looked to the ground, clenching his fists tightly. Zephyr could hear him hold back a sob.
“Y-Your Majesty…”
He moved closer, wanting to comfort Z, but was unsure how. And then he remembered Mismagius’ words about giving him food or combing his fur. Well, dinner was still going to take awhile, so he had no choice but the latter. Zephyr sucked in some air sharply, trying to gather all the courage in him and hoping that Z wouldn’t get angry. Slowly, he reached out to pat the back of Z’s head, using the tip of his claws to comb his fur gently.
“……!” Startled, Z jumped a little, his fur standing. “Zephyr!”
“I-It’s okay,” Zephyr said in a comforting voice, continuing to comb his fur, “Calm down. You were a strong fighter when I fought you yesterday, so it must’ve been really out of your control. I don’t think you’re a bad king.”
“……” Z quietened down, looking out of the window again as he reminisced about Della and his past.
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