A Glorious Ball, and a Meeting of Royals

Marcus was indecisive. He was probably going to do all that anyway, besides the returning to tell her about what he'd seen. It really wouldn't be that out of the way. Except I don't have any Pokemon like that...

"I am taking it seriously..." Marcus didn't want to commit to any responsibility that he didn't have to. He wasn't used to giving his word for anything. He was rocking his weight back and forth between his feet, looking down, he was tightening his face and trying to make a decision.

Sofa had heard enough. He turned to Marcus and shoved him gently with his arm. Marcus looked up. "Vig" Determination in his eyes, Sofa nodded. Marcus stared at him for a few seconds and then turned towards Akane with...slightly more confidence than before.

"Sure...might as well. I can't promise we'll get word back to you before returning, I don't have any Pokemon that could get to you and then back to me at a very fast pace and we don't plan to return before we feel satisfied in our first trip into the wild. If we have one join our party, you'll know. Is there anything else I should know?"

Aaaaaand there's the Akane I expected. Took her a bit to get annoyed by me. Marcus sighed with a smile on his face and slight chuckle escaping his lips, shaking his head slowly, "I told you; I don't want for much. Whatever payment you think is right, give to my father. He doesn't like to admit it, but he's getting on in years and in about 5 or so, he'll need help grazing the Tauros and tilling the land. Any money he can put aside will help later on, if that's what you had in mind. Anything you think will help with my journey, I'd be grateful for; but a Rapidash won't be necessary. I'd prefer to make it through my journey without a handicap. I'm a bit too prideful, I know. It'll kill me some day, but I don't do anything without a plan, and don't like losing." At this, Marcus' face became much more serious.

"I appreciate you hospitality and your kindness, but I want my Pokemon to be my friends and companions first, and I don't wish to have a Pokemon strictly for use. You may not see it like that, but I do, and I take it very seriously. I apologize, but I will not be using any of your Pokemon on my journey. And yes...we have a deal."

"Oh no...I didn't mean to imply- no, I meant, and was correct in assuming, that you don't see your Rapidash joining me to be an act of using them. You are known across Celosia for your kindness and care and equality for Pokemon. I grew to emulate you. I just have different reasoning than you." Marcus bowed, "I apologize for making you think I would insult you in such a way. It was not my intention. I just...don't agree."

Marcus felt like he was gonna throw up. He had just, unintentionally, insulted the queen of his kingdom. She could banish me for life if she wanted. My dad too... -sigh- I can't ever say anything without eventually insulting someone...

-Sigh- okay...that could have been MUCH worse than it is. Marcus bowed, with Sofa in tandem, and then went to leave, but as he was walking out, he remembered that he did have a question for the queen.

"Oh, there is a question I have for you, Lady Akane. I-" Before he could ask, the large guards came in with the equipment Akane had asked for and a table to display them on. "Um...I, oh! Like I was saying," Marcus addressed the queen as he went through the equipment, separating the maps from practically everything else. "There is, I've been told, an old road leading to Enya that isn't the common road taken today." Marcus opened the least delicate-looking map he saw and holding it down with a knife and a sword from the pile, he grabbed a divider and put one of the points on Ignacia Palace. Running the points over to Enya and then back to the start of the eastern plains, counting silently to himself. "My father told me that this road was built before you...uh, became queen. I was wondering; how far have you expanded your kingdom's reach since then and how developed was Asemon before you took over? That is to say, how much do you know of Asemon right now?"

That...didn't fully answer my question, but I'm not about to ask it again...I've already made her snap at me twice now. Marcus looked over the map trying to wrap his head around it when he realized: there was no west coast. He went looking through all the other maps on the table, and they were all the same. "Do you...have you been all the way to the other side of the island? The map in the main hall doesn't have an ocean to the left either...Do you know if Asemon even is an island?"

Marcus tried to imagine this map as if he was flying above Asemon, looking at the land. He closed his eyes and envisioned it. There's gotta be some adjustment for human error. The parts where all the geography stops being clear is probably about where they've traveled farthest. There's the start of a desert here, the badlands are assumed to extend indefinitely...

Marcus opened his eyes and said to himself under his breath, unintentionally loud enough for the queen to hear, "Were there people here 15 years ago...?"

Marcus lifted his head and addressed the queen with more strength in his voice, "If you're wanting me to fill out these maps for you, then no, it's best I do know. If you want me to walk blindly into the abyss when you know there's a dangerous people out there, you can definitely keep the Rapidash; I wouldn't want it to die in vain with me. I don't need to know what food they eat or what they do at a regular basis or even what they look like; I just need to know if I could die if I interacted with them." Akane's guards shifted a bit at Marcus' insolence to his queen.

With a pensive sigh, Marcus' relatively mild temper subsided. He rubbed his head, slowly dragging his hand down from his forehead to his chin, stretching out his youthful face. He began to count on his fingers every point he addressed out loud, "Okay...So the second I leave Ignacia, traveling will become much more difficult without roads; avoid Jungle Island; small continent; there are? people out there that don't originate from the mainland; and I guess I will need to assume my life is in danger at every point of my journey..."

Marcus quickly shifted all the maps, paper and map tools to one side of the table, and the rest of the effects to the other. He paused for a moment looking at the weapons and the clunky, repetitive tools, then moved a singular knife to the side with the maps. He then turned to the nearest guard, pointing to the maps, "I'll take these on my trip. If you could, could you send it to my house please? I don't have any way to carry them in these clothes. You can keep the rest, thank you."

He then turned back towards Lady Akane as the guards picked back up the table, bowing low and standing back up straight, "Your highness, I thank you for giving me such an important job and I hope to perform it well. I'm...I apologize if I offended you or...anything of that nature." Ugh...polite speak. So annoying... "And thank you for throwing us this lovely ball; it was definitely...an experience to say the least."

"S-sorry again." Marcus turned around and walked away without a word, Sofa looking back with an angry but slightly scared face at the queen as they left. Marcus' face mimicked his friends as he looked at the ground walking for the exit.

This is my life we're talking about here! She wants me to do this job but won't tell me everything she knows about the land? Forget her! What's the point of having me expand her knowledge of Asemon when I don't know what she already knows? This is stupid. I'll just do what I want and she'll get what she gets, and if I don't tell her anything she doesn't know, she can deal with it. Marcus left with a huff, too young and stubborn to think rationally when upset.

Sofa patted Marcus on the back, then noticed that they weren't heading back for the garden with the others, but straight for the exit. Sad that he wouldn't get to see his friends again, he hung his head as he followed Marcus to the entrance of the palace.