Chapter 137

After staying inside the Tree of Beginning till late in the afternoon, they both left and visited a Hot Spring next to the geysers.

There, they took a very comforting bath, something that Diancie complained about a lot since she disliked bathing. She was very happy when Aizen and Ilene finally left the water and got dressed again, but her excitement was gone once she heard where they were heading next.

The Royal Tomb was a secret place, only known to the Royals of Cameran Palace and their most trusted. It was where the generations of Kings and Queens were buried, as well as some of the most loyal people of the Cameran Palace.

There were graves of the Oak Family, Moonheart Family, the now-extinct Slyvan and Florent Families, and the graves of the ancestors of the Cameran Royal Family.

The place was a hidden chamber under a mountain, way off the road that connected the Tree of Beginning to the Palace, so, there were no people in the surroundings.

Even if people happened to come here, the chances of them discovering the hidden passage were extremely low, as it was built right into the foot of the mountain, blending with it.

As soon as they entered the passage, having expended a lot of Aura and Psychic Powers to push it open, they closed it again and then took a moment to catch their breath, which was surprisingly not hard as this place seemed to possess fresh air.

The Aura Stones lit up as they passed by them, illuminating their way, and finally, they arrived inside the Tomb.

Aizen silently stood by Ilene's side as she paid respects to her parents' graves, and smiled when she happily introduced him to them.

He did not disturb her conversation with her parents and felt a little sad for her as he saw her most vulnerable and childlike side, which was forced to keep hidden in front of people.

Diancie too was a good judge of mood, and she just silently looked around the place, not saying anything, but she was quick to cheer up Ilene once they left the Royal Tomb.

The sky had already darkened by the time they returned to the Palace, and Old Jenny, despite being aware of where the Queen had gone, was very worried about her.

The relief on her face when they met her was quite heartwarming, and then the old woman smiled brightly at seeing how happy the two looked together.

"We are starving," Aizen informed her, to which she understandingly nodded her head.

"Dinner will be served in an hour, but if you wish, I can bring your food to the room..."

"No need for that. Inform everyone that the dinner will be served thirty minutes earlier. We will go freshen up and join you at the table." Ilene shook her head, and Old Jenny happily accepted her command.

Half an hour later, when the two finally entered the Dining Hall, both of them were quite surprised to see four new faces.

Ilene was not familiar with any of them, but Aizen knew all four.

"Your Grace!" A tall brown-skinned girl, with curly dark-brown hair and blue eyes, bowed to him.

Next to her was another lady, tall, and not wearing a dress but a suit. She had lilac eyes and the same coloured hair, and she too respectfully bowed to the two to him.

And then they both greeted Ilene with the same courtesy.

"Kidd, Anabel." He smiled at them. "What are you two doing here?"

"The Queen has assigned us to serve as Lady Ilene's bodyguards for a while." The niece of Joseph Stone answered him, and he understandingly nodded his head.

"Aizen!" An excited cry caught their attention, and the boy, who was sitting at the far end of the table with Gary, stood up and rushed over to him.

"Hey, Ash. Here for the Games?" He asked.

"Hell yeah! I will finally get to face you in the Tournament!"

"My apologies, I am not participating in the Games." He laughed and shook his head, and the boy was shocked at his words.

"Why?!" He sounded depressed.

"I can't. I am a member of the Royal Family, and the members of the Royal Family can not take part in the Annual Games."

"Aren't you an Orayen?" He confusedly looked at him, but then his eyes landed on Ilene, who had the crown on her head. "Your Highness." He awkwardly greeted her, kneeling before her, and this made the Queen smile.

"Hello. Are you friends with my husband?" She politely asked.

"I am Ash Ketchum!" He excitedly introduced himself. "And I will be a Pokémon Master one day." He said as he placed his fist in his heart as if making a promise. "Sorry, but who is your husband?" And finally frowned at what she had said.

Ilene weirdly looked at him, but guessing that he probably was not informed, she smiled.

"Whose arm am I holding?" She playfully asked.

"Aizen's." He seriously looked confused, but then his mind finally clicked. "Oh... ohh! You are married?!" He asked Aizen in disbelief.

"Yes, I am." He laughed, and so did some other people in the room. "Shall we sit down and eat? I am hungry."

"Me too..." His stomach grumbled at the reminder, and the boy from Pallet Town awkwardly scratched the back of his head before he went to take his seat again.

Old Jenny had arranged two seats at the head of the table for them, and adjacent to them, on the far end, was Joseph Stone.

After they nodded to their guests, they took their seats, and everyone sat down after them.

"How was your day?" He asked Cynthia, who was sitting on his left, next to Sabrina.

"Interesting. We went to the Tree of Beginning in the Morning..."

As soon as Ilene heard her words, she choked on her food and coughed.

"My apologies." She said, and her face was already burning in a blush as she recalled what the two had done in that sacred place.

"We still have no leads on Mew," Cynthia was curious about Ilene's reaction, but continued, "and there are no traces of the enemy. I have instructed my Lucario. Sabrina and Riley have done the same, and if anything happens, our Pokémon will use the Aura Crystals to send us a signal."

"I see."

"The afternoon was spent keeping a check on all the guests who have come to the Town for the Annual Games. The Participants, who are staying at the Village, have been filtered as well. We have not found anyone suspicious yet."

"Have the representatives of Indigo Council arrived?"

"Not yet. They will come here the day before the Festival begins." She meaningfully said, and every member of the Action Team understood what that meant.

"Meet me in the Royal Study after dinner."

The Team Members nodded their heads, and the atmosphere at the table remained very lively thanks to Ash and Gary, who insisted the people tell them some stories from their journeys.

Riley was more than happy to tell them his tales, and he truly was a great storyteller, able to grasp everyone's attention and grip their emotions.

Even after they finished their meal, they stayed seated to listen to him, sharing laughs whenever he told him a funny incident.

"Alright. That's it for the night. My throat's dry now." He ended the session, gulping down a glass full of water.

"If you are free tomorrow, let's duel!" Ash was fired up and challenged him, and Riley grinned at his words.

"Sure." He creepily said, which unnerved the boy from Pallet Town.

"I should warn you. He is not kind at all in Pokémon Battles." Bill added to Ash's nervousness, but the latter was never going to back down from a challenge.

Later, everyone, except for Ash, Gary, and Brock, gathered in the Royal Study, and the Queen nervously listened to the serious discussion that the Action Team was having.

However, there was someone who was utterly horrified when she learned that the enemy wanted to kill Ilene.

"Your Highness..." Old Jenny trembled as she looked at her Queen, who gave her a very strained smile.

"She will be fine, Miss Jenny," Aizen said to her and gave her a reassuring smile. "If possible, I would like you to rush with her Royal Duties before the Festive Week starts. Let's finish things in a day or two, and if there are things that someone else can handle in her stead, let's do it. I will be keeping her by my side, away from the Palace, and we will only return at night. Our routine will remain the same during the Festival."

Hearing his words, the old woman was confused, and her brows furrowed.

"You believe that someone at the Palace..."

"There's a possibility, yes, but that's not why I am doing this. I don't want the enemy to know about her whereabouts. It will thwart their plans, and they might make some mistakes while trying to find her. It could help us get to them."

"I will make the arrangements." She promised and stood up straight away to get to work.

After she left the room, Joseph curiously looked at his Prince.

"Where will you be staying?" He asked.

"The Tree of Beginning."

Every single person in the room knew the secret of the Tree of Beginning, and they all understandingly nodded their heads.

The Tree of Beginning was indeed the safest place to hide from anyone, including the Pokémon.