Tale 90: The Mage's Adopted Daughter (Brock)

(real tale: Mogarzea and his Son)

"There was once a little girl who was left to the care of a guardian after her parents died from a terrible disease." Brock begins. "But the guardian they chose turned out to be a wicked man, and spent all the money on himself."

"That's not nice!" Ash gasps, appalled someone would so brazenly spend another person's money."

"The girl--we'll call her Melanie--decided she would go out into the world and seek her own fortune." Brock continues. "So she set off, and walked for a long time. When evening came, she was very tired, and did not know where to sleep. She climbed a hill and looked around in hopes she could see any light that meant a town was nearby. At first, all seemed dark, but the she noticed a tiny spark way off in the distance."

"So what was it?" Melody wonders.

"It was almost midnight by the time she reached the spark, which turned out to be a huge roaring fire." Brock replies. "A mage was sleeping there, and from Melanie's perspective, he was so tall he might have been a giant."

"What did Melanie do?" Misty asks.

"She hesitated for a moment, then crept close up to the mage, and lay down at his feet." Brock assures Misty. "When the mage--we'll call him Arawn--woke up the next morning, he was surprised to find Melanie nestling up close to him.

He intones in one of his go-to "wizard" voices "Where did you come from, little one?"

"I am your daughter, who came to you in the night." Melody replies as Melanie.

As himself, Brock goes on "Arawn bought that answer, and told Melanie..." As Arawn again, he continues "All I ask is that you take care of my Mareeps, and I will give you food and shelter in return. But be careful that you never cross the border of this land, or you will regret it."

Ash swallows hard at this. "He pointed out where the border of his land lay, and Melanie began earning her keep that morning." Brock continues as himself. "Melanie led her flocks out to the richest meadows and stayed with them until evening, when she brought them back. When the Mareeps were all safely back in the pen, they both sat down to dinner, where they talked of many things. One night, while they were eating dinner, Melanie asked her adopted father why he always seemed so sad. Arawn told her..."

As Arawn, he begins "I once served as the royal wizard to a great king. I was on my way to Lake Verity, which lies not far from here, to marry Mesprit, the pixie Pokemon who calls the lake her home. But on the road, three spirits in service to Darkrai attacked me and robbed me of my soul. Ever since then, I have stayed in this spot watching my Mareeps without wishing for anything different, without having felt one moment's joy, or ever once being able to laugh. These spirits are so ill-natured that if anyone sets one foot on their land, they are instantly punished. That is why I warn you to be careful, lest you should share my fate."

"Aw...." Misty brushes away a tear.

[How terrible...] Mai agrees.

"Melanie promised she would be careful on her quest as they went to bed." Brock continues as himself. "The next morning, Melanie got up and led the Mareep out to feed, mindful that she did not cross into the grassy meadows belonging to the evil spirits, but let his flock pick up what pasture they could on Arawn's land. Three days passed, and on the third day, she was sitting under the shadow of a tree, playing on a flute her adopted father had made for her."

Ash grabs one of his whistles as Brock interjects "There was nobody in the land who could play a flute better than her." Ash then plays "The Meowth's Call" for effect.

When the applause dies down, Brock goes on. "Suddenly one of the Mareeps strayed across the fence into the flowery fields of the spirits, and another and another followed it. But Melanie was so absorbed in her song that she didn't notice anything wrong till half the flock was on the other side." Ash plays "The Meowth's Call" again for effect.

Brock continues over the song "She jumped up, still playing her flute all the while, and went after the Mareep, meaning to drive them back to their own side of the border, when suddenly she saw before her three handsome boys who stopped in front of her, and began to dance. Melanie understood what she had to do, and played with all her might."

Korra meanwhile, is more interested in the whistle than the story. [Wow! What a hot beat!]

Melody giggles. "I guess we know why that tune's called 'The Meowth's Call'"...