For Her Hand

Chapter Forty

Seth looked down at the rumble badge in his badge case. It was a mountain he wasn't sure he'd be able to summit, but through determination and an unforseen event, he was able to obtain it. While he was satisfied with his victory, he was still having trouble processing how he won. He knew for a fact that only female Combee evolved. It was a known fact, and as irrefutable as it was, on his belt was living proof that not everything was set in stone.

Taking out his dex, Seth began to go through all the recently gathered data. As he pulled up Vespisol's information, he felt the couch he was sitting on shake a little. Knowing who it was, he smiled slightly.

"So... I must admit that I am," Allie paused, trying to find the right words as she looked his way. "I'm impressed... with you."

Seth ceased his research and turned his head towards her.

"That sounded like it was painful to say," Seth replied, earning a flustered look from Allie.

"I-I'm just saying that you did well, even though it fell apart halfway through, and the execution could have been better. I'd say my strategy worked well," Allie concluded.

"Taking all the credit are we?" Seth muttered, rolling his eyes as he continued to look through Vespisol's information.

Allie took a deep breath and steeled her nerves.

"Okay, maybe that last bit wasn't all my planning. You adapted to the change and earned that badge. As much as it pains me to say this, we worked out a good strategy, didn't we?"

"I have to hand it to you, princess... out of all the things I thought you were, I never pegged you for a battling enthusiast," Seth smirked, slipping his dex into his pocket.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Seth. But I suppose you wouldn't know. After all, I am just a spoiled, self-centered, entitled princess, right?" Allie stated with a frown.

Seth winced at her comment. It was bad enough that her mother called him out on his harsh statement. Now his words were really coming back to bite him. Still, he didn't regret what he said, and as the queen pointed out, what he said was necessary.

"Up until now, you had yet to prove otherwise," was Seth's short reply as he stood up to turn toward the exit.

Frustrated, Allie shot up out of her seat and glared at him.

"So you still think that way do you!? Well I hope you know I--come again?"

Seth stopped and looked over his shoulder at Allie and smiled softly. Without another word, he exited the center, leaving a very confused Allie inside. It only took a few moments before Allie registered what Seth had said. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she straightened up and walked out the door after him, only to find him waiting by the side of the center, his eyes fixed on a certain swordbearing woman in front of him. Allie's eyes widened in surprise as Mathilde meandered up to them.

"Bonjour my little protege," Mathilde greeted with a cheshire grin.

"Teacher..." Seth replied with a nod of respect.

Mathilde stepped forward and drew Seth into an embrace before stepping back to get a good look at her student. Though subtle as it was, her eyes were illuminated with a faint sapphire aura, allowing her to see her pupil in a way nobody else could. She could see just how much of his power he had tapped into and to her delight, he was beginning to tap into it a lot more. Meanwhile, Allie was still standing there with a dumbstruck expression while Mathilde held Seth's face with both hands.

"I see you've been improving, and... eh?" Mathilde blinked, looking at Cerise who was attached to his back.

Her smile seemed to grow as she saw the ethereal blade hitched to Seth's back. Fond memories of her Aegislash flashed through her mind as she remembered the days when she first caught him. An image of a young girl with a Honedge on her back came to mind.