Would Valerie feel anger towards her fae parents for swapping her with a human child? Like, would she see the act as a heinous crime or consider it as them ‘abandoning’ her?
Oh, absolutely.
I’ll go ahead and reveal what exactly is the deal about them, because I likely won’t be getting to them narrative-wise for a long time, so plot spoilers under the cut:
So, they did swap Valerie for the human child: the real Valeria. However, in the typical swap case if the changeling is never exposed, the fae either end the human child’s life or have them grow up being a slave of sorts, living within their court in fairyland forever.
Neither of these things happened with Valeria. Instead, Valerie’s parents...took care of her, after unexpectedly having become so endeared to how innocent she was. They left their court so they could actually raise her, without any of the fae they know intervening. They weren’t particularly close to their court anyway, so it worked out for them. For as long Valerie’s been alive, they’ve been nurturing Valeria as if she was one of their own, somewhere secluded off in fairyland.
Valerie is basically dead to them. Her parents, Tinkerra and Tinselra, only considered her something to be used for their objective. She fulfilled just that, and they pushed her out of their lives afterwards. Granted, neither of them knew that Valerie would be abused by her human mother, but they also haven’t cared enough to go back for her to see how she’s been fairing.
Naturally, when Valerie discovers this, she’ll be heartbroken. Not only did Tinkerra and Tinselra take an innocent child away from her rightful family; they did abandon her, and left her to suffer at the hands of a bitter, grieving woman for a large portion of her life ( a woman who should’ve cared for her as well; nothing will ever justify Cadence’s treatment of Valerie, be she furious by having her real child taken away or not ).
Words can’t describe how distraught and angered Valerie will feel. And rightfully so, I should add. Plot-wise: she’ll have to learn that just because her origin was like this, it doesn’t invalidate her life and how she’s grown into such a good woman who’s loved by many.
Cadence Beaumont was raised in Kalos. Born with a silver spoon in her mouth, she never had to struggle when it came to much of anything. She was given everything she needed, wanted, and could ever want, by doting parents. Said parents also encouraged her to become a woman who would take whatever she desired from the world, as she deserved good things. Naturally, all of these factors allowed Cadence to grow into someone brimming with hubris.
(Said hubris led to her downfall.)
Faeries have always been known throughout Kalos for centuries through folktales and various legends, while some in the modern today have claimed to have seen or met one personally, surviving the encounters. Cadence herself was was interested in the existence of faeries for one reason and one reason only: they allegedly could give blessings. Though she already had a good life, things going for her that a lot of people dreamed of having, she wanted more. More wealth, more respect, more love.
When she heard someone claim that there was a faerie currently roaming Santalune Forest, she went to investigate. She brought along her team of Poison-type pokemon, just in case she would need them. She did eventually find the faerie, who stated Cadence had quite a lot of bravery, or foolishness, to approach her so brazenly. But, the faerie was in a particularly good mood, and was curious as to what Cadence wanted from her.
Cadence did end up gaining enough of the faerie’s favor to earn a blessing, though of course, they made a deal. Just as the faerie would give her what she wanted, Cadence would do a favor to repay the entity. However, Cadence chose to not hold up her end of the deal. She saw no reason to, as she got what she wished for, and looked down her nose at the fae, thinking she wouldn’t be able to do anything genuinely harmful.
By Cadence not fulfilling her end of the deal, the faerie was of course angered. Not only did she take away her gift, she seeked to make Cadence utterly miserable. Of all the things to not do to a faerie, disrespecting them is the biggest one. No one did such and got away with it, never in history, and the fae was determined to not let Cadence be the first.
Cadence soon realized the warnings and horror stories about faeries held water. Waking up with her skin mysteriously marred in various areas, her hair falling out, her money vanishing, the people who she felt were her friends turning their backs on her; her life gradually fell into shambles. After her mother and father suddenly deemed her a disgrace, and Cadence lost her only regular source of income, she saw it appropriate to try and flee Kalos in order to get away from the faerie she deceived.
She moved to Johto, as she has old family ties to it, and it was far enough away from Kalos to where she felt safe. Choosing to live in Goldenrod City, Cadence slowly adjusted to living in Johto over the span of 3 months, mentally frazzled but thankful she at least stopped waking up with her appearance falling apart. She gained a small job working in a flower shop, and while she hated having a job more fitting to a “peasant”, it was better than nothing.
One day, she met a man who came into the flower shop to buy a bouquet. He was attractive, sure, but she didn’t have much interest in him at first. It took multiple visits and he innocently commenting that she was pretty, for Cadence to “notice” him. Soon, they started going on dates, and over time, she found herself falling in love with him. The feeling was reciprocated.
After close to a year passed, they ended up getting married. Cadence moved into Tobias’ home in Ecruteak City to live with him. Life started looking great for her again, and for a while, she thought she would never have to deal with faeries & their wickedness ever again.
Eventually, Cadence Mache became pregnant. Both she and Tobias were excited to be first-time parents. The pregnancy went by without any unusual problems, and after about 9 months, Cadence gave birth to a girl. She was lovingly named “Valeria”, and taken home with Cadence when they were cleared from Ecruteak’s hospital. That night, the family all settled down within their home, with Cadence putting Valeria to rest in her crib.
Little was Cadence aware that her newborn was stolen as she and Tobias slept. Her nightmare wasn’t over; the faerie who she disrespected before was still bent on making Cadence suffer. The woman fleeing to a different region didn’t do anything but increase the faerie’s annoyance. What’s more, is that the faerie’s own lover joined her in this quest for revenge. They discovered Cadence was pregnant, and bided their time, waited for the child to be born. They easily entered the human’s domain, switching Valeria with their own faerie child.
Cadence discovered the following morning. She instantly knew the infant laying in her daughter’s crib was not her daughter, despite their appearances being identical...except for their eyes. This infant’s eyes were a startling silver, softly glowing like they contained the full moon within them. She knew this meant one thing: this baby was a faerie. A changeling.
Naturally, she was angered beyond belief. Knowing her firstborn was taken by a faerie, surely the one she upset long ago, filled her with a burning anger and suffocating grief. However, there was little she could do about it. Tobias had no idea she didn’t pay back a faerie what she owed them, and thus had them hunting her.
Tobias didn’t know that this Valeria was not the true one; picking her up from her crib and affectionately holding the thing close. He noted how her eyes seemed to have changed, but was strangely not concerned. Cadence knew this was the spell of a changeling at work; the magic making to where the parents (or in this case, one of the parents) would accept the fae despite however it differed from the original child.
To keep her husband ignorant of her past, and thus the fate of their child, Cadence kept the true nature of “Valeria” as a faerie secret. Unsure of what would occur, Cadence was too fearful that Tobias would be furious that his first child was taken away from him, because of her crime. Not wanting to lose him, not after she lost about all the other good things in her life, Cadence never uttered a word about it. Instand, she would play along with this twisted punishment, raising “Valeria”.
However, she never treated “Valeria” with love. Why would she, as not only was this creature a faerie, it dared to mimic her lost daughter’s appearance? Take her place? Brimming with rage and hatred, Cadence abused “Valeria” often, venting her her ill feelings through her actions.
She made sure to play nice when Tobias was present, but as he was out of town a lot for his job, that left she and “Valeria” home alone constantly. It didn’t matter that the faerie child herself was completely unknowing of her own nature and what her purpose was; Cadence took everything out on her. A defenseless child was the perfect punching bag, all the more better that she was a faerie on top of it all.
Cadence never took it too far though, not wanting “Valeria’s” injuries to be too severe and alarming to Tobias. Bruises, cuts, scrapes; those were all excused as the girl being careless outside and in the house. It helped that due to her faerie biology, “Valeria” healed from her injuries far more quickly compared to the average human being, and didn’t scar.
Years later, a school-aged “Valeria” was taken out of school by Tobias, when he learned she was being bullied by her peers. The children found her appearance creepy, and the majority of the teachers didn’t ever feel inclined to help her, as she unsettled them as well. Refusing to let his daughter be treated like that, he asked his wife to homeschool her, and she of course accepted. More opportunities to make the faerie suffer? Cadence couldn’t turn that down.
As “Valeria” grew older as time went on, Cadence made sure to make the child believe she was a horrible, flawed entity. She didn’t tell “Valeria” herself that she was a faerie, for two reasons. One, she didn’t want the information reaching her husband. Two, she wanted “Valeria” to believe she was being treated the way she was because she deserved it; plain and simple.
Cadence manipulated and psychologically abused "Valeria” in many ways: to think whatever she wanted her to think, to act however she wanted her to act, unless she wished to be punished more. "Valeria” was a mistake, a blemish on this good earth, and a complete waste of life; all things Cadence wanted to carve into the girl’s mind so she’ll know it forever.
However lovingly Tobias treated “Valeria” in contrast, Cadence countered it. To push it further, she made the constant threat of death to “Valeria”, if she tried to tell her father what she was doing.
For her 10th birthday, Tobias gave “Valeria” her very first pokemon: an Eevee. Cadence gave her permission for it, hiding her sheer displeasure, and told her husband that she would help their daughter care for the normal-type. She kept to her word...mostly. She never laid a hand on the Eevee, but if the pokemon made a mess in the house or misbehaved, she punished “Valeria” for her lack of diligence and forced her to clean up after him.
Some months after “Valeria’s” 13th birthday, Tobias revealed that he had to live in Kalos for business, but he didn’t know for how long. Cadence refused to go, claiming she didn’t want to leave Johto (though in reality, she didn’t want to go to Kalos ever again if she could help it). “Valeria” however wanted to go live with her father, so she could stay with him.
(She wanted to get away from Cadence, more than anything else.)
Cadence very well could’ve said no and kept “Valeria” home in Johto, but she allowed the girl to leave with Tobias. Frankly, she was sick of her. Not having to deal with her sounded like a blessing, one Cadence passionately believed she deserved. Bags were packed, farewells were said, and “Valeria” departed with her father to Kalos.
That day was the last day Cadence and “Valeria” (who mainly goes by Valerie now) saw and spoke to one another. Valerie never tried to contact her mother. After Valerie left her father’s home and traveled Kalos, she stopped being in touch with him for a multitude of reasons, thus cutting herself off from her known family completely.
While to this day, Valerie has no idea what her parents have been up to, some events have transpired. Years ago, Cadence and Tobias eventually divorced, when Tobias finally started to suspect that his wife wasn’t as good of a person as she seemed.
Cadence chose to take a “vacation” from Johto; traveling to Hoenn. During the process, she disappeared.
No one knows where she currently is, or if she’s alive for that matter.
I’m in the process of writing up a more detailed version of Valerie’s backstory, but here’s a very basic summary to at least give people an idea of it in the meantime:
Valerie’s mom (Cadence) didn’t pay her debt to a faerie, and that faerie + her lover made her life hell as a result.
Cadence fled from Kalos to Johto, met Valerie’s dad (Tobias), soon fell in love and had a baby together.
The faeries found Cadence again and, seeing she now had a child, had their own child just so they could replace the human baby with the identical-looking faerie one.
This faerie baby became known as Valerie. While Tobias was completely fooled, Cadence immediately caught on that this Valerie wasn’t her true daughter, and abused Valerie throughout the majority of her childhood out of grief and hatred. She didn’t ever expose Valerie as being a faerie though, as she knew Tobias would blame her for the loss of their daughter and leave her. Tobias was blind to the abuse; Cadence cleverly kept it under wraps. It helped that Tobias was away from home a lot, for work.
When she was about 6, Valerie had to be taken out of public school, as she was being bullied for her unusual appearance by the other children. Cadence homeschooled her.
On her 10th birthday, Tobias got Valerie an Eevee as a present; her very first pokemon.
Eventually Tobias had to move to Kalos for a while for his job, and he took Valerie with him after Cadence gave him permission. She had long since grown tired and stopped caring for Valerie entirely at that point, deeming her not worth her time at all.
At age 13, Valerie left her father’s temporary home in Kalos, heading out as a beginning trainer alongside her Eevee. As time went on, Valerie traveled Kalos, building a team of fairy pokemon (her Eevee eventually evolved into a Sylveon). Valerie essentially lived as a homeless person; sleeping outside in the routes a lot and often having to scrounge for food, but she found herself feeling happier than she’s ever had before, thanks to the companionship of her pokemon.
Valerie never returned home to her father, calling him one day and telling him she wished to stay out in the world. He agreed, and allowed her to try and find her own path in life. Eventually, Valerie settled in Lumiose City, using the money she’s saved up from winning trainer battles and doing odd jobs to get an apartment. She worked part-time in a Pokemon Center as a cleaner for a reliable source of income.
Slightly after Valerie turned 21, she entered the world of modeling, after being sweet-talked into it by a charismatic agent. Valerie stayed a model for around a year and a half, before leaving upon she realizing that she was absolutely miserable.
Her talent for working with fairy pokemon, and how strong her own pokemon were, gained the attention of the Kalos League. The present Fairy Gym Leader of Laverre mysteriously went missing, and people were losing hope he’d ever return, so the officials began looking for a new leader. A representative approached Valerie, and she accepted the offer. (The old gym leader was never found.)
After being tested, she proved she was worthy of being Laverre’s new leader, and she was given the position. Laverre’s gym was refurbished, and Valerie moved into a cottage on the outskirts of Laverre.
She’s lived in Laverre and served as the city’s gym leader ever since.
