For Her Hand

Chapter Seventy

The palace grounds were filled with laughter as Allie and her newfound friends lounged about in the garden. Sitting at the fountain with her camera was Melody and Trevor who were showing each other pictures they'd taken over the past few days. Serena, Shauna and Allie were basking in the sun while relaxing on lawn chairs and tanning in their bathing suits. Meanwhile, Tierno was instructing his teammates on a few new dance moves he'd been working on.

"What do you think of this one? I kinda like how the sun caught Milotic's scales," Melody asked Trevor as she showed him a shot of Allie's Milotic.

"That is an awesome shot! You even got the water spray at just the right time too!" Trevor exclaimed.

"Thanks! I've been trying a few new things lately. My goal is to get into a photography school here in Kalos. I have some funds now, thanks to Allie who's been extremely helpful," Melody said with a bright smile. "Now I just need the rest of the tuition money and I'll have everything I need!"

Allie smiled and sat up upon hearing what Melody said. With a giggle, she turned to her and replied, "you shouldn't give me all the credit you know. Your brother played a big part in the reason why I decided to help," Allie admitted, raising her sunglasses and giving her a wink.

"Ah yes, my brother. I don't know what I'd do without that lunkhead," Melody laughed.

"He really is a puzzling individual isn't he?" Allie added, reclining in her chair and adjusting her sunglasses. "Tell me, how did the four of you meet up with him?" Allie asked, turning to Serena and the others for an answer.

"Well... to be honest, he sorta came out of nowhere," Serena chuckled. "I mean, here we were, dealing with this stuck up prick that deserved a good punch in the face. He had beaten Trevor pretty bad and was demanding ten times the amount of money that Trevor had on him, which was ridiculous because Trevor couldn't pay him more," Serena grumbled.

"Sounds like a real piece of work," replied Allie with a wide-eyed look behind her shades.

"No kidding! I mean, that's extortion. I was about ready to give him a good kick in the head when Seth came along," Serena continued, going on to explain how just Seth's presence was enough to shake Enzo up enough to reconsider what he was doing.

"No wonder Enzo hated Seth so much. It's a good thing I gave him the boot then. Not only was he an asshole, he was a coward too. A man like that doesn't even deserve a minute of my time," Allie huffed. "Though the way Seth introduced you to me, while rude and definitely inconsiderate, wasn't off the mark. At that time I was acting very stuck up and demanding. To think that all it took was a trip with the man who irritated me to change my attitude," Allie sighed.

"I'm curious Allie, and you don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but... how exactly did your first meeting with Seth go?" asked Shauna.

"You mean he hasn't told you?" Allie replied in disbelief. "With all the statements he'd made about me, I'd have thought that would have been the first thing he'd mention."

Serena shook her head. "I'm afraid not. At least, not all the details."

Allie arched a brow. "Well strap yourselves in then..." Allie sighed, adjusting herself on the chair so she could relay the tale.

Allie proceeded to tell the gathering how the events on her birthday played out. As the group sat through it, they were intrigued by the circumstances surrounding her fall. How did she end up that way? What could have caused it? These were but a few of the many questions that were raised during the story. The part where Seth had rescued her wasn't the least bit surprising after everything they'd seen him do. However, the fact that he had to was the part that was strange to them. Why hadn't anyone else made a move to do so?