Seth glanced down, holding tight to Staraptor as they soared over the Parfum Palace. After receiving a message that his father, Harbin, had returned home for a week, Seth decided that it was about time he spent some time with his old man. He knew Melody would be a happy camper, that much was certain. As Vanville Town came into view, Seth motioned for Staraptor to descend. With an affirmative screech, the bird of prey dipped into a nosedive toward the ground, Seth gripping tightly as the massive sky predator closed the distance between them and the ground at a rapid pace.

On the ground, a Melody was scrolling through her camera photos when she heard the distinctive sound of a Flying-type above her. Looking up, she saw the massive bird swiftly descend and rush by, blowing her hair and rustling her clothes in the wind. As the wind died down, she looked over to see her brother dismounting his Staraptor. The young teen grinned happily and stood up as her brother started walking her way.

"Big brother!" she exclaimed, jumping from the porch into his arms.

Seth caught her as her arms encircled his neck and swung her around before setting her down.

"It's good to see you too sis," Seth said with a smile.

Melody nodded and bounced up and down a little. Melody was in quite a happy mood now that Harbin was home for a while.

"So, how's the old man doing? no doubt he's already heard about how much mom's been doing," Seth said chuckling.

"Oh I've heard alright, and I've also heard how well you're doing," came the voice of his father from behind.

A faint smile curved onto Seth's face as he turned to look at the man who helped bring him into this world. Instead of the armor he normally wore, Harbin was dressed in a black polo with blue jeans and white sneakers. Even casually clothed, the man still had an intimidating appearance now that one could see how chiseled his physique actually was. Harbin smiled wryly at Seth and approached him casually, his eyes soaking in the presence of his firstborn.

"I see Mathilde was quite thorough with your training," Harbin deduced. "That woman doesn't seem to know she's creating a monster," Harbin laughed.

"You and I both know she's fully aware of it, and doesn't have any regrets," Seth replied with a roll of his eyes.

"True... once she sets out to do something, she doesn't stop until she sees it through to the end," Harbin muttered. "At any rate, it's good to see you son. Thank you for holding down the fort while I was away."

"With the way mom is, there was a definite need for it," Melody chimed in.

"I tried to talk her into taking a week off, but you know how she is," Harbin said, concerned.

"Are you three conspiring against me out here?" Collette called out, walking onto their porch with a huff and putting her hands on her hips in mock irritation.

"You have no proof," Harbin replied, holding in a laugh while nudging Seth gently with his elbow.

Collette rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I swear, if it's not Seth it's you giving me crap about my schedule..." Collette pouted.

"And that's why you love us," Harbin grinned, drawing his wife into his arms as she drew near.

Collette leaned into him and smiled.

"Well, I suppose that's true, even if you are still a pain," Collette added with a snicker.

"And that's never gonna change," Harbin said smiling.

Seth beamed as he watched his mom give his dad a playful shove. It was good to see them talking and laughing together. Those two were a perfect example of a marriage done right as far as he was concerned. Sure, they'd had a few bumps in the road in their journey through life, but through it all they were able to hold each other up through sickness and health as marriage was meant to be. As he observed, he felt Melody nudge him gently with her elbow. 

"Just think, that could be you and Allie at the end of all this," Melody said casually, grinning as Seth ruffled her hair.

"Let's not count our Torchics before they hatch shall we?" said Seth with a slight chuckle. "There's a lot we still don't know yet..."

"What's this, no witty remarks? has my brother actually given some thought to this whole competition?" Melody gasped. "Could it be that he might actually like her?"

"Aren't you pushing the envelope a little?"

"You've yet to answer my question Seth. And the fact that you haven't denied my last statement makes me think that you've developed a soft spot for her," Melody said with smirk.

"Speaking of the princess," Harbin interjected, "there's a matter your mother and I would like to discuss with you, Seth. Melody, if you could give your brother a few minutes alone with us..."

Melody didn't need to ask for any reason why from her father. With a nod, she gave her brother a tight hug before heading into the house. "I'll be working on my book. If anyone needs me you know where I'll be!" Melody called out before bounding upstairs after closing the front door.

Once she was out of earshot, Harbin and his mother turned back to Seth.

"Her majesty has informed me that your trip with the princess went very well. So well in fact, that it seems she's starting to become more interested in you as opposed to how things started out," Harbin began, a smile etched on his face as he relayed the information to Seth. "You've done well, son," he said proudly.

"That's high praise coming from you, dad," Seth replied calmly, his eyes fixed on his father's unwavering stare. "However, something tells me that you didn't send Melody into the house to tell me how well I did on my date."

"You're right, this wasn't why we did that. Still, praise should be given when it's due am I right? regardless, there is indeed another matter your mother and I need to discuss with you and it pertains to Allie. Tell me, what all do you remember about the day you two first met?" Harbin inquired firmly. "More specifically, what do you remember about her fall?"

Seth closed his eyes and began to ponder the question imposed on him by his father. After a brief moment, he looked up at his father and said, "it was strange... and by that I mean the way she was hanging," Seth replied, remembering the position she was in when she was hanging from the balcony. "It didn't make sense to me that someone as athletically built as Allie, couldn't just pull herself up. It was almost as if--" he paused, his eyes growing wide as realization hit him.

Having danced with the woman, and seen how graceful and agile she was, he knew that there was no possible way that she could have been so clumsy as to trip over the railing like it appeared that she did. He had held her body close to his and could tell she took care of herself. She was fit in every sense of the word and had more than enough strength to pull herself back up. Unless of course, she couldn't.

"Looks like you're putting it together, which means you're probably thinking along the same lines as we are," Collette said with a stern expression.

"She didn't trip at all. Someone as trained as she couldn't be that clumsy. No... now that I think of it, I'm certain that she was pushed," Seth replied confidently.

"That's what we think too. However, when the scene was surveyed, there wasn't any evidence of anyone that might have done so," Collette answered, crossing her arms. "Which means there is one other possible answer..."

"It wasn't someone, but rather something. And if what you're telling us is true, and Allie would have been able to pull herself up, that means that a force of some form had to have been holding her down, preventing her from pulling herself up again," Harbin chimed in.

"Meaning Allie was being targeted, and if that's the case... why? what would anyone stand to gain from trying to kill Allie?" Seth pondered.

"Think for a moment son. Allie's family owns a vast majority of Kalos and are the wealthiest family in the entire region. So it stands to reason that someone would have their sights set on someone of such a noble status in order to get their hands on whatever it is that they desire," Collette responded with a sigh.

Seth's thoughts were soon brought back to weeks prior when Melody was in peril at the hands of Enzo. He knew all too well that there were those out there who would stop at nothing to get what they desired, even if it meant hurting others to get it.

"I think I might have a pretty good idea as to who might have caused Allie's fall," Seth said finally, taking a deep breath before going into detail about the encounters he had with Team Flare.

By the time he finished, his parents were silent. While he wasn't too keen on the idea of telling them about what happened with Melody, they were his parents and had every right to know. Understandably, they were upset, not with him, but with the very idea that someone would dare think to harm their daughter. Seth could see the fury in his father's eyes and knew that if he hadn't handled it already, what Seth had done to Enzo would be mild in comparision to what Harbin would have done.

"I knew Team Flare was dangerous, but this... this is just..." Collette stated, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists, doing her best to calm herself down.

"I know Mom, I know," Seth replied, taking a deep breath.

"Allie could be just the beginning. There are several distinguished individuals with ties to the royal family that could be targeted at any time as well. And from what you've told us, you've meddled in their plans on several occasions meaning you are just as much a target as they are," Harbin muttered.

"So what are you trying to say, Dad?" Seth inquired, fixing his father with a stern expression.

"Isn't it obvious?" Harbin said gruffly.

"We'd like you to start paying visits to Allie whenever possible," Collette finished for her husband.

Seth didn't need to try to determine what it was they meant by their statements. The event that started out as a competition for the hand of the princess, had turned into something much more than that. Now it wasn't just her hand that was at stake, but the very life of the princess herself. Seth had planned to visit Allie prior to the ball, but now it seemed as though he'd be doing it a week sooner than he'd anticipated.