Hi everyone, SK here.

Early update because it's Amourshipping Day- so happy Amour Day to everyone!! :)

So it seems that Valerie has two options ahead of her... either she stays forever, or she leaves. Which side are you on? #LetValerieStay or #LetValerieLeave?

I can't really tell you my opinion, because I'm the author and I'm actually gonna write my opinion into existence so... hehe.

Let's start the chapter, shall we? I hope you enjoy it!!

Valerie

"Dad, Mom, I love you... thank you for getting me this far. Thank you, thank you thank you thank you." said a girl with so much to live for.

"Sis, no, please, don't leave... you're all I have left..." said a girl who wept on the streets.

"Hurry up everyone. I'll shadow you as we cross. Remember that guns aren't all we need. We need each other." said a girl who did not hesitate to protect those she loves.

"Goodbye, everyone who ever loved me, goodbye..." said a girl who couldn't see another way out.

"I... I'm so happy... even though we have nothing, you still love me...?" said a girl who desperately believed in love.

"Please, no, don't sh-" said a girl who lost her chances.

"Baked goods, come and get 'em!" said a girl who worked for a future worth having.

"Yes, Master..." said a girl who could never escape.

I jump up with a jolt, sweat clinging to my brow. This stupid dream. I've been having it all the time now, usually on nights when I go to bed with a sense of unease or stress. The same confusing cycle. The way my brain shifts from story to story, girl to girl, bad then good then switch, eyeless girls who-

"You're awake. Thank goodness," comes the relieved voice of August. I search for him as my eyes adjust to the light, but I quickly spot his honey-haired form sitting on the edge of the bed nervously looking at me.

Oh. My. Arceus.

Did I sleep in his bed again!?

Wait, is it Monday already!? Did I miss my own Council!?

"What day is it!?" I practically shout at him.

The fairy boy looks a tad confused. "It's Sunday, almost five in the afternoon," he tells me evenly. "I, um, hate to be blunt about this, but your Council started an hour ago. As soon as you're ready we should probably head to the Council's Court."

I nod, rubbing my head. Something seems off, but I can't quite place it.

"If you don't mind me asking," August says, cutting into my train of thought, "did something happen the Ministers- you know, Heliux and Layra? They brought you here unconscious, saying something..."

He continues on, but the puzzle piece I was searching for a moment ago suddenly reveals itself and clicks into place.

"Valerie, we are most positive that you are our daughter."

"August," I whisper, all the puzzle pieces coming together to join the one that came.

He looks confused at first, but his gaze quickly switches to one of concern as he notices my eyes shaking. "Valerie, what happened? You can tell me. You can tell me anything."

I stare at him, not knowing how to say what can easily be said. "They... they told me that they are my parents."

The Light fairy just sits there, staring at me in mute shock. His mouth becomes agape for a few seconds before he quickly shuts it. "They told you that? How do you know? More importantly, how do they know?"

"They told me they had a daughter named Star, and that she has the same eyes as me... which now that I think about it, doesn't that match up with what you and Verity overheard?"

He quickly nods, standing up and pacing around his room. "We thought that they were talking about Star as in the Queen's friend- er, Spirit Soldier? I think that's what she is? I have no idea, but the point is that they weren't talking about her. They were talking about you, because you are Star. Oh my gosh... Heliux and Layra have a daughter and it's you. Why didn't I see it before!?"

Although this situation is very stressful for me, I can't help but find August extremely amusing to me right now.

"Valerie, you do know what this means right!?" he stops pacing and swivels to me. He jumps on to the bed and crawls over to me, putting his face inches from mine. I feel my cheeks begin to heat up slightly, is this really necessary?

"No?" it comes out more as a meep.

"Valerie, you're a fairy. Your parents are fairies, which means you are a fairy. That means like all other fairy-born fairies, actually now that I think about it, does that term sound a little od-"

"Get to the point," I tell him, sounding a little impatient.

A sheepish grin appears on his face as he rubs the underside of his nose. "Sorry, I got sidetracked there." August then moves his face away from mine and sits back on his bum. "What I meant to say was that you have eternal youth. You stop aging at age twenty, and you'll live to be a thousand years old."

I stare at him, the rusty gears in my head struggling to turn with such a heavy-weighing information load. "What? Wait, I'm going to live until I'm 1000!? But what about my friends, I'd have to watch all their deaths, I'd-"

August's face crashes into mine, making me fall backward. The back of my head makes contact with his soft pillow, and when I open my eyes I see his face, no, his body on top of mine oh Arceus-

The fairy boy smiles and quickly boops my nose with his own. "Boop!"

I should've known he wasn't going to kiss me.

Whenever August used to come over, he used to listen to a lot of my little freak-outs. Whenever I was about to overdo myself, he always flew up to my nose, placed his little fingers on it, and said "Boop!". It was his little gesture to get me to smile and realize that everything was going to be okay.

Goddammit August. Stop killing me like this.

I must've started smiling, because he flashes me one of his own. He sits back up and pulls me up with him, leaving his hands on my shoulders. "I know this is going to be scary for you," he begins, "but we're going to get through this together. Even if you end up leaving, I'll use my one-day-a-year getaway to come and find you. Okay? And for the record..." he trails away, as his head turns, but soon after it comes back and his eyes refocus on mine. "Heliux and Layra are good people. They have good hearts. If you truly are their daughter, meaning you didn't grow up with them, there's a good reason that you didn't. They wouldn't abandon you for no reason."

I let out a dry laugh. "I know you trust them August, but there could be a secret side to them that you didn't know about. A side of them that would be one hundred percent okay with giving up their baby for no reason."

He pauses. "I guess you have a point there," he admits, expressing dubiety in his voice. "But you're going to have to ask them these things. You have a right to know."

And how awkward is that going to be? "Hey people I should be calling Mom and Dad, why the heck did you abandon me and leave me in the hands of an abusive man?"

August pats my shoulder with his right hand, then pulls his arms back. "Come on, we should probably get going. Usually we'd walk because the building is so close, but we're already late-"

"So you'll make a portal. That's fine," I tell him sweetly.

He tosses me another smile and engulfs his hand with snow-coloured magic.  He waves it in a circle, the light hanging in the air like remnants of a crackling sparkler.  Immediately after his hand returns to its starting point, a semi-transparent oval appears in front of us.  

"Let's go," I say breathlessly, taking the first step.  August follows after me, and we emerge from the other end together.  In front of me, the large cold doors of the court intimidate me, making me feel slightly nervous.

August notices.  We can both hear shouting from inside.  "Are you ready?  Don't worry, Verity and I will both be there."

I nod.  "Yeah."  Even if that's a lie, I have to be ready.

I throw open the doors, the entire table of fairies turning to look at me.  I give everyone a nervous smile, hoping to lighten the mood a little by doing so.  "Sorry I'm a little late... but I'm here now!  What did I miss?"

Serena smiles from the head of the table.  "Welcome, Valerie.  We hope you're feeling better."

I smile sheepishly as I rub the back of my neck.  "I'm feeling a lot better now, thank you."  Trying to find the Ministers I move my gaze around the room; I spot them, but as soon as I do, they turn away from me.  This must be hard to process for them... but still, it hurts.

"Well what're you waiting for?  Stop standing there the two of you," pipes up a fairy from the far side of the table; he has brown, spiky hair and wings as black as night.

"That's Gary," August whispers to me.  "He's my dad's Advisor, though he can act a bit annoying at times-"

"I heard that," he scowls, although I can see a grin underneath that frown.  "Just sit."

"S-Sorry."

Verity waves us over to two empty chairs, and August and I each take our seats with the Light fairy to her left and me to her right.  I can tell that things are a little tense, and with the fairies looking back and forth between the two Ministers, it doesn't take a lot of effort to understand why.  They must've been fighting.

"So Valerie," comes a calm-sounding voice, and I turn to see the Dark Leader- what's his name again, Ash?- giving me a warm smile.  "It's so nice to finally meet you.  If you wouldn't mind, we'd like to have a few things cleared up for us while we make our final decision."

I nod profusely.  "Of course, sir-"

"Just call me Ash."

"Sorry," I quickly say.  I always feel an endless need to apologize.  "I'm happy to answer any questions you have for me, Ash."

The Leader of the Dark fairies nods thoughtfully, leaning forward to put both of his elbows on the table as his hands become cupped under his chin.

"Verity mentioned some things about a... "bad" parent?" 

I instantly glance at Verity, who looks at me apologetically.  I can tell that she didn't reveal that much, but still, it hurts having that kind of stuff talked about behind your back... even if this is a trial of some sort.

I don't want to lie.  "Yes, my adoptive father.  He has a big drinking problem.  Um, he goes out every night to the bars while I usually stay at home and take care of the house... then he comes back, usually drunk, and um..." I trail away, but I know that the fairies get the picture.  I sense many sympathetic looks tossed my way, but I ignore them.  I don't need people's sympathy.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Ash muses, a hint of anger on in his voice.  "Pardon me for asking, but if you have to deal with a person like that every day, why go back?"

I take an unsteady breath in, then out.  In, then out.  "I-I have a plan, sir- I mean Ash.  I'm currently in my senior, or last, year of high school.  I'm not sure if Verity mentioned this or not, but I have a full scholarship to Wyndon University for one year's tuition of their investigative journalism program.  My school year ends in three weeks.  I have exams in two, and after those three weeks are up and I'm legally an adult, I'm going to move out.  I'll stay at friends' houses until school starts, and after that I'll move to Galar and get a job there to pay for the rest of my tuition fees.  I'm going to restart my life there."

Whispers sound as soon as I finish.  I gulp.  I thought my plan was pretty good, but maybe it isn't?

"That sounds like a nice plan, Valerie," the Light Leader tells me sweetly.  "There's one other thing we'd like to know about- Verity mentioned that you run a club at your school.  Can you tell us about that?"

"My F- er, my Myth Club?" Don't call it the Fairy club in front of fairies you absolute idiot!

"Yes."

I nod.  "I run it after school for about an hour every single school day.  It consists of ten members, including myself; their names are Nate, Rosa, Ethan, Brendan, Hilbert, Hilda, Kris, Leaf, and Calem.  We're almost like a journalism club, except we talk about myths.  Usually we talk about Mythical Pokemon."  Lie, you talk about fairies.  "We like to search up articles to figure out if they exist or not, and we research sightings all around the world.  It isn't the most popular club at school- very far from it- but we're all happy in it-"

"That sounds very nice," says the rushed voiced of Serena, "but I do have one question to ask you about your club.  It is a myth club, and fairies are myths to humans after all.  Do you ever discuss fairies in your club?"

"N-No," I stutter, then mentally slap myself as I realize that sounds like I was lying.  "No," I try again, more firmer this time.  However, both Leaders turn to look at each other, and then Ash turns to Layra.  

"Layra, was she lying?" he asks her.  I freeze.  I'd totally forgotten about the fact that she can read thoughts, pick apart truth from lies.  She looks at me, but her eyes are like fog in a dark night; I can't see who's side she's on.

After a pause, she answers with a smile directed at me.  "No, she isn't lying.  She's telling the truth."

I feel a wave of relief wash over me.  Layra lied- but why?  Why would she want me to go ho-

"Isn't it obvious?  I want you to be happy, Valerie."

The sudden voice in my head almost makes me jump, and I look at her sparkling eyes.  They fade back to their regular shade, and she turns back to the Leaders to confirm her statement.  "She was not lying."

Ash's eyes almost light up.  "That's good.  Your club sounds very interesting, Valerie!"

I smile at the unexpected compliment.  "Thank you!"

"However... although we would like to let you leave and live your life, there is one slight problem."

My heart sinks at his words.  "What is it?"

Serena answers instead.  "You're an Elemental, Valerie.  This means that you will potentially become a fairy when you turn twenty."

I instantly know who was responsible for sharing this information.  Verity saw me looking at the books, but I know that it wasn't her.  She wants me to leave and she wouldn't say that I'm a potential fairy because that would guarantee the opposite.  I try to catch the gaze of the Light Minister, but he refuses to meet mine.

"It's still two years away, if it happens," I try to protest, but no one listens to me.  All eyes are on the Leaders, the fairies wanting to know what they'll say next.  Heliux ruined my plans.  My perfect plans.  Why...

I know exactly why.  He wants to protect me from my adoptive father.  However, it's not his place to protect me.  We may be related by blood, but it takes more than that to become family, to become my dad.  

I sigh.  Life is so frustrating sometimes.  People think they can just pop in and do whatever they want... it's my life, not his!

"So, even though you do seem to have a promising career in journalism, I'm afraid that we must force you to stay here," Serena says sadly.  "Do you have a Pokemon with you?"

"Y-Yes."  The words are a shocked whisper.  I can't believe it.  I'm never going home.

"Hold on, Your Lightness.  We need to discuss this," Layra interjects.  "Isn't that the whole point of this Council?"

"Alright."  Serena lets out a frustrated sigh as she sits back in her seat.  "What do you all think?"

"I think she should stay," calls out a blonde-haired fairy.  Verity motions for her to stop, but the Dark fairy ignores her and keeps going.  "I know that Wyndon is a prestigious school, but you've got to think about your safety first.  Plus, you are an Elemental; your place is with us," she finishes.

Verity sighs.  "Lin..." the name trails away as her voice breaks.

"While I do think that Valerie would be safer here," Gary adds, "I think she should go out into the world and live her dreams.  If Clemont and I couldn't sense her, then-"

"Gary's right," a glasses-wearing fairy- who must be Clemont- affirms, nodding his head up and down.  "If we, the Advisors, cannot sense her presence as an Elemental, then maybe she isn't one?  Magic has made mistakes before; the library books are no exception."

Heliux huffs at this statement.  "You are right that magic makes mistakes; your own Advisor magic makes its own mistakes sometimes as well."  Both Advisors fall silent at this for a short time, then Clemont speaks up again.

"But if Valerie falls into the special clause-"

"I agree that Valerie should leave," pipes up the fairy with the puffy blue scarf I saw earlier- Alain was his name I think.  "She said she only has three weeks of school, and I assume that she turns eighteen before that.  She can move out, just like she said.  It's only three more weeks that she has to endure."

"But what if-" Verity instantly shuts her mouth.  I look at her strangely.  Does she want me to stay, or to leave?  She's kind of playing both sides here.

Unluckily for her, fairies pick up on her statement.  "But if what?" an orange-haired fairy asks, her hair put up into a side ponytail.

Verity casts an apologetic glance at me.  "But what if her father... tries to murder her..."

The fairies stare mutely at me, clearly waiting for an explanation.  I slowly gulp.  "Why do you think I'm here in the first place?"

"This is what I'm worried about," Serena admits sadly.  "Valerie, I know we don't know you that well, but you are clearly a very special girl.  We don't want harm to come to you.  Don't you agree that it would be safer to not return home?"

Yes, but my friends... no, my family.

I don't answer, which I guess is still an answer.

"Actually, Mom, I have an idea, if you'd hear me out."

I look up, surprised to hear August's voice ring out in the echoey court.  He stands up and nods at me, his gaze filled with clear resolve.

Serena nods, probably interested to hear what her son has to say.  The Dark Leader looks equally as engrossed into his statement.

"Well, for now let's just say that Valerie is an Elemental."  He glances at me again, as if telling me not to freak out.  "Let's say that Valerie is an Elemental."  Is he TRYING to get me to leave?  "That means she'll have to come back here when she's twenty, right?  So let's let her go, let her live her life.  She can do anything she wants for those two years.  But on her twentieth birthday, she is to return to the fairy forest to become Initiated.  There's also something else I thought of; I know one of the concerns of letting her go is what her father could do to her.  Well, why not let her stay in this forest for the three weeks?  She lives in Pallet Town, which Dad, you know better than anyone that it's close-"

"I lived there too you know," Gary grumbles, then stops when he realizes that the entire room is staring at him.  "Sorry, go on."

August sighs.  "Well, then you and Dad both know that Pallet Town is close to our forest.  She could continue going to school every single day and still see her friends; at the same time, she would be safe because she would stay with us.  At the end of the three weeks, we can let her go because she can stay with others at that point.  Right, Valerie?"

"R-Right," I tell him breathlessly.  That plan is perfect- well, except for the fact I only have two years left to live as a human.  I do have to admit that it's a lot better than staying here for the rest of my life.  At least I get those two years.

August sits down, clasping his hands together.  "Well, that's my idea.  What do you all think?  Valerie, you'd have to promise not to share any fairy secrets with anyone you meet while you stay with us, alright?"

"Yes, of course," I reply instantly.

"I was just about to say that," Serena says with a small chuckle.  "Putting that aside, your plan sounds like a good one, August- and you seem to agree as well, Valerie.  What do the rest of you think?  Ash?" she asks, looking at her partner.

He thinks to himself for a moment.  "Yes, it seems like a fine enough plan," he says, giving his son a thumbs-up.  "Look at you, solving all our problems."

August sheepishly grins back at his father.  "Dad!  Come on."

Ash lets out a small laugh, and one by one, fairies start getting onboard with August's plan.  They agree, giving out praise to the fairy boy for thinking of such a scheme.  Why though?  I am so very grateful, but come on, it's just one little scheme.  Nothing special- Valerie, stop being so ungrateful!

Eventually, it comes down to two fairies, the Ministers.  If this were a vote I know that no matter what they way they'd be outnumbered, but from the way the hierarchy appears to work, if one of them said no the whole plan would be in jeopardy.

Layra seems to realize that everyone is waiting for her response, letting out a small nervous laugh.  "Sorry.  I think that idea is a good one, August.  Valerie gets what she wants while she can remain safe staying with the fairies.  That's probably the best option we have.  Heliux?"

However, the Light Minister doesn't answer, instead remaining silent in thought.  Layra's eyes glow bright purple, but Heliux simply turns his head away from her.  They return to their regular shade and I can't help but wonder what he's thinking.  Is he going to help me or hurt me?  What will it be in his eyes?

"I think..." he speaks up, then trails away.  "I think it is an adequate idea."

Cue a sigh of relief from me, and one from August as well.  Verity just grins.  Apparently adequate coming from him is good enough.

Serena then stands up, Ash following suite.  "Well, since we are all in agreement, I think we can end this Council here.  Valerie, you will continue with your schooling for the next three weeks, except you will be staying here instead of at your home.  When those three weeks are up, you may go live your life; however, in two years, you are expected to return to this forest on your birthday.  Is that clear?"

"Crystal," I tell her, unable to contain my smile.  I can go home.  I can see my friends again, and I don't have to see that scum of a person again too!

"Then I hereby end this Council," Serena says.  "You're all free to leave!"

The chime of a bell, gentle but strong, fills the air, and I slump back in my chair in relief.

It seems that fate is on my side today.

Well that's it for this chapter!  I hope you enjoyed it.

So Valerie is gonna stay with the fairies but also not really?  It's a hybrid plan.  I hope you like August's idea. :D

Anyway, that's it for today.  Stay tuned for chapter 11! :)