Episode 9c: Mon for One, and Mon for All! (part 3)


The orchestra started a regal melody as the lights came up on a majestic castle set, complete with a few extras playing guards patrolling the ramparts. "Welcome back, you three...I trust the bandit problem we were having is resolved?" one asked as Ash, Misty, Brock, and the extra playing Diana arrived at the gate at the left end of the stage.

"For now, the Black Moon has fled, but no doubt they will emerge from the shadows soon enough." Brock told the guard extra.

The guard extra smiled. "I will ask Captain Helene to increase patrols in the city. That should keep the Black Moons from bothering the people."

Something occurred to Misty. "We found a few of them trying to hurt this young lady..." she explained, prompting the girl playing Diana to step forward.

The guard extra smiled. "So this is Nathan Fontaine's daughter...I received your message and informed the queen she wishes to speak with her. You may escort the lady Diana inside."

With that, he signaled to another extra in the gatehouse, making the gate rumble open. "Before we introduce you to Her Majesty, there's someone else we would like you to meet first..." Brock explained to the girl as the group crossed the stage into a castle courtyard set.

"Who?" the girl playing Diana asked.

"Constance, the court wizard." Brock replied. "Your father mentioned in his letter that you might have some magical ability like we do. If you do have magical ability, she can teach you any sort of spell you like."

The girl playing Diana thought for a moment. "I never considered honing my gift because the magic academies were too expensive, even for the daughter of a former musketeer..."

She smiled. "But if the royal wizard is going to train me, maybe it's worth developing my power!" With that, the orchestra started a joyful song as the lights went down...

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The joyous song gave way to a mystical melody. The lights came up on a beautiful royal library, where a black haired woman in gold, silver, and black wizard's robes was studying a spellbook. "A moment, Lady Constance?" Brock asked as the group entered the scene.

"Oh, back from patrol already?" the woman smiled before getting up from her desk. "And who might your guest be?"

Brock made a grand gesture to the girl playing Diana. "This is the lady Diana Fontaine, daughter of Nathan Fontaine, the Golden Light."

"Hello." the girl smiled, giving the woman a polite bow.

"According to her father's letter, he believed that Diana had magical ability like many of the musketeers." Misty explained before giving the woman the letter. "Although she has never been formally assessed or trained in the way of magic, she does have the desire to learn."

The woman read over the letter for a moment, then gave it back to Misty. "Very well, let's first assess Diana's magical ability."

Some laughter filled the air as the girl playing Diana reared back in fear. "Peace, Lady Diana...the assessment is painless, and only takes a few seconds." the woman assured the girl.

With that, the woman gently laid her hands on the girl's chest. Seios, higarima laisido...

Awed murmurs raced through the theater as a bright glow from the girl's chest lit up the stage! "WOW!!!" Brock gasped in feigned amazement. Even though he, Misty, and Ash had performed this scene hundreds of times, he was still impressed by the bright glow from Diana's chest.

"She DOES have the same magic as her father!" Ash was just as amazed. No matter how many times we do this play, this is one of my favorite scenes!

The woman smiled at the group's looks of feigned amazement. "You are correct in that Diana shares the same innate light magic as her father before her." she told Ash. "The big difference is, she has the potential to develop a power that not many magic users master--the magic of the rainbow. In other words, mastery of all the elements."

More awed murmurs raced down the rows of the theater as the woman went on "If trained well, a rainbow magic user is a colossal force for what is good, just, and pure. Otherwise, they are jacks of all trades, master of none."

The girl playing Diana thought for a moment about what the woman had said. "Goodness...I never knew I had that great a power inside of me..."

The woman smiled. "At the moment, it is only potential. What you do with this power is for you to decide."

The girl nodded as the orchestra started the heroic motif from before. "I'll do it...I will hone and train my new power, until it is just as good, if not better, than my father. I came here to carry on his legacy, and become a hero in my own right."

The woman nodded. "Very well...let us meet the queen, and formally welcome you as a royal musketeer." With that, she led the group out as the lights went down...

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Cheers filled the theater as the lights came up on a majestic throne room set. Ash, Misty, Brock and the girl playing Diana bowed on one knee before a beautiful throne. "I present the lady Diana Fontaine, daughter of Nathan Fontaine, the Golden Light." the woman playing Constance announced as the girl playing Diana stepped forward before an auburn haired woman playing the queen, and bowed in respect.

The auburn haired woman smiled. "So you are the daughter Nathan spoke so fondly of in his letter. You seem very much like your father...brave, just, and guardian of all that is good. But I cannot formally welcome you as a royal musketeer just yet--you must undergo the same training all musketeer recruits do. Once you complete your training, I will formally welcome you in a grand ceremony."

She smiled as she looked over at the group. "Although...you could not have asked for any better teachers than the Three Jewels of Kalos and Constance."

"I will not let you down, Your Grace..." the girl playing Diana vowed. "I will make my father, and all of Kalos, proud!"

The orchestra struck up a triumphant melody as the lights went down. "And so, Diana was formally made a musketeer recruit." the narrator began. "She proved to be a diligent student, and grew to be well loved and well liked among the court."

The orchestra's song then turned ominous. "But not all looked on her favorably..."

To Be Continued...