Cheers echoed throughout the arena as a various colored lights lit up the runway in the center of the building. The red curtains on the stage pulled back slightly, allowing a man with a tophat and cane exit. He walked down the runway to the center and took off his hat, bowing slightly before beginning to speak.
“Welcome one and all to the forty-sixth annual Ashton Myers Fashion Show! I’m your Master of Ceremonies, the great illusionist from Le Cirque de la Folie, Madder Hatter. We’ll begin today’s show with our dress portion. So without further ado, let’s get started!” Madder threw something to the ground and a column of smoke erupted, making the magician disappear from view. The music began to pick up as the first model entered the stage. A half wolf woman was showing up a magnificent red dress, her perfectly groomed tail swishing back and forth to accentuate the beauty of the fine dress. Backstage, many ladies waited for their turns. Among them was a half milotic woman and her assistant, a charmeleon gijinka. The milotic looked absolutely stunning, in the charmeleon’s opinion, better than anyone else at the show, but her opinion might be a bit bias, given they were sisters after all. Still, she could tell her younger sibling was very nervous.
“You’ll do fine, Sapphire,” she offered, “you’ve been practicing for this your whole life. I know you’ll do great. That runway was made for you.” Sapphire continued to stare in a mirror for a few minutes before looking over her shoulder at her sister. The worry was obvious in her pink eyes.
“You say that, Rose, but I can’t help but feel nervous. This is on such a larger scale than any of the other shows I’ve done. What if I mess up? What if I embarrass myself? This could be the one time our brothers are watching and if they see me mess up, what will they think of me?” Rose nodded sympathetically. She understood Sapphire’s concerns. Still, they couldn’t give up. This was their only way to reach them, at least, that she knew of.
“I’m sure they will still love you either way, Sapphire. So just be confident and stay strong. You can do it! For Mom, Dad, and our brothers, do for all of us.” Sapphire and Rose looked towards the curtain as the MC could be heard announcing the swimsuit models would be coming out next. That was Sapphire’s cue. The milotic quickly reached over and pulled her older sister into a hug.
“Thank you,” she whispered before running off towards the stage. Rose watched quietly before turning to the nearby television screen to watch her sister. Sapphire tucked back some of her red hair as she got into line. Thoughts were streaming through her head a million miles a minute. She hoped her brothers were watching. Being five years younger than them, she had only just been born when the two had been taken away by the Hunters. Rose barely had any recollection of them either, only being three at the time. Still, Sapphire knew her parents still missed the two boys, and it was her goal to bring them back home. Maybe they wouldn’t recognize her, maybe they would, but one thing was sure, one day Sapphire would find them.
Stepping out onto the runway, instinct took over. Without a thought, Sapphire began to run through her routine. Straight walk down, a slight swing of the hips and shoulders while keeping her head perfectly straight. She paused at the middle of the runway, the cheers erupting from everywhere around her. They were by far the loudest she had heard all night. Maybe it was because she was boasted to be the world’s most beautiful pokemon, or at least, she was half of it. Continuing to walk down the runway, Sapphire paused at the end and did a slow turn, lifting her arms to show off the swimsuit in the best way possible. With her red hair done in such a tight updo, it allowed for the back of the swimsuit to be seen quite clearly, as well as the tattoo on her back of a black charizard and a golden milotic, meant to symbolize her parents. Once she finished the spin, Sapphire gave a small smile before turning and walking away.
The end of the runway spin was her signature, something all the models in these circuits were required to have. While most modeling circuits frowned upon blemishes such as tattoos, the group Sapphire worked with preferred them. Little did they know, this was Sapphire’s calling card. Both of her parents were shinies after all, a very rare case that was practically unheard of in Sapphire’s world. Sapphire had gotten the tattoo in hopes that, if her brothers saw it, they would realize she was their sister.
Sapphire returned backstage to see Rose watching the television with a horrified expression on her face. Sapphire ran over and began to watch the TV as well. It appeared at some point during the show, the broadcast had been interrupted with some terrifying news. Slave uprisings had begun in the east as a rogue group of servants attacked large estates. Sapphire and Rose watched as fire exploded from the windows of the building on camera. Girls began to complain as the show stopped to accommodate the lack of a broadcast, but all the two sisters could do was lift up a silent prayer.
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