After mentally killing myself over my last songfic, I decided I would redeem myself.

First of all, I would like to apologize: I am deeply sorry if I offended anyone with the last songfic I made. If you were offended, and if I can make it up to you in any way (aside from... doing certain things), please let me know, and it will be done.

Anyways, to make the long story short, this is a story I thought of upon listening to the song "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman. It kind of gives my view on May's past, and what her future might be like.

I didn't expect this fic to be published so soon in April. But I was just on a roll when I started writing the first chapter that I finished it earlier than I expected. At least I published it.

I don't intend to make this very long, as the song only has three definite parts. Still, I want to make this one of my better fics. It may be a songfic, but still.

Disclaimer:I own nothing of Pokemon. I own no characters of the anime or Pokemon from anywhere. Nor do I own any characters in general. I also do not own the song "Cinderella", its singer, or the rights to it. Everything but the idea for this thing belongs to the Pokemon Company and Gamefreak, as well as Steven Curtis Chapman and whoever else owns the song.

Thanks. Enjoy.

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She spins and she sways,
To whatever song plays.
Without a care in the world.

The small girl had always loved to dance. Every day she would sit beside the stereo in the living room and wait for a song to come on. Then she would dance around the room, her mother and father watching her beautiful, fluid movements that she performed with ease. Of course, they were still childlike and small, but she always moved to the rhythm of the song that played. After the song was done, she would ask her parents how they liked it, and they would say it was wonderful and beg her for more dancing. And so she would go on, dancing to her parents' cheering and encouragement, driven on by their love to see their child spin and sway to whatever song played.

She always did that sort of thing, every single day. In the morning she would plead for her mother to dress her up in a princess play dress and would spend the whole day dancing around the house. Sometimes, her two-year-old little brother would even try to join in, but he would always get tired after only a few moves, and his sister would finish the dance for him.

And I'm sitting here wearing
The weight of the world on my shoulders.

The girl's father was the gym leader of Petalburg City, and he normally didn't have the time to play with his daughter when she requested it. He was a busy man, waiting for trainers to come by and challenge him. They depended on him to make progress in their training. He didn't have very much time for a five-year-old, especially when he had a toddler to take care of as well. Of course, she couldn't understand why her father would never play with her, but she handled his absence just fine, finding her friends or her mother to have fun with instead.

It's been a long day,
And there's still work to do.

At that moment, he was standing at his position in his gym, still waiting for trainers to come as the day came to a close. Even as night fell, trainers would approach the gym, looking for a battle. Unfortunately for them, he'd have to turn them away when the gym was closed, but he'd battle them the next day.

The door to his battle room creaked open. Looking up, he grabbed a pokeball, ready for battle.

She's pulling at me, saying
"Dad, I need you."

"Daddy?"

Norman pulled his arm back as his young daughter walked in. She wore a frilly pink princess dress, and he suspected she had been playing dress-up. It was either that or her mother had turned on some music again.

"Hi, sweetie!" Norman said as she ran up to him. "What do you need?"

"There's a ball at the castle,
And I've been invited.
And I need to practice my dancing.
Oh, please? Daddy, please?"

"Guess what, Daddy?" May asked, running up to him and smiling brightly.

Norman bent down to her level. "What is it? Did Max turn into a zigzagoon?"

May giggled. "No, Daddy! That's silly!" She twirled around in her small dress. "I've been invited to a ball!"

Her father smiled. "Have you now?" He suspected that she had only made up the concept of the ball, but he never could tell with her. "Well, it's getting late. You'd better get to that ball before it's over."

The five-year-old frowned. "I know. But... I've got a problem. And I need your help."

Norman was confused. What could possibly be wrong with a small child's ball? "Well, what's the problem?"

May looked around to make sure no one else was around, swishing her brown pigtails as she looked. When she confirmed that it was just the two of them, she motioned for him to come closer. Cupping her hands around his ear, she admitted in a whisper, "I can't dance."

Surprised by his child's statement, Norman laughed aloud. "But of course you can! You dance every day, and you're wonderful!"

May frowned deeper and stomped her foot. "No! I dance the way I want to! Ball dances aren't the same! They're too fancy for me to do on my own!"

"I see," he said, slightly perplexed. "So... what do you want me to do about it?"

She looked to the ground and put her arms behind her back shyly. "Well... I was thinking... that maybe you could help me dance..."

Norman slightly drew back in surprise. He hadn't been expecting that. "You want me to help you... practice your dancing?"

"Oh, would you, Daddy?" May clasped her hands together and made her face look as pitiful as possible. "Please?"

The dark-haired man thought about this. He had never been asked to dance by his daughter before. He wasn't sure he even knew how. But his daughter looked so forlorn, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that he may not get this chance again.

So I will dance with Cinderella,
While she is here in my arms.
'Cause I know
Something the prince never knew.

As Norman stood up, he lifted the small girl as well, twirling her around and making her laugh. Eventually, he set her down and held her hands, making small dancing movements. May's father lifted his hand above her head, and she twirled under it joyfully.

The two made some attempt to keep from running into each other, which was quite hard, considering their difference in height. But soon, both May and Norman were feeling carefree and were in high spirits, and the obstacle was overlooked. It didn't matter that he had to bend down to keep her from stepping on his feet. It didn't matter that they were in the middle of a battling gym. They were both caught up in the moment, and it seemed as though nothing mattered but their dancing.

Oh, I will dance with Cinderella.
I don't want to miss even one song.

As the makeshift dance continued on, Norman smiled fondly. It's like she's Cinderella, he thought to himself. She's a beautiful young girl going to a ball. Let's hope she won't meet her prince too soon, though...

'Cause all too soon,
The clock will strike midnight...

Suddenly, the doors to the gym opened. Both father and daughter looked up to see who was entering. Norman stood up straight, in case it was a challenger.

Luckily for him, it was only Caroline. In her arms was a sleeping Max, and by her side was a white-haired boy about May's age.

Caroline smiled. "May, your friend Brendan here was looking for you. He said something about dancing with you..."

The boy waved. "Hi, May! You're coming, right?"

May gasped. "Oh my goodness! Brendan, we have to hurry!" She turned to her father and hugged him. "Thank you, Daddy!" Then, she rushed over to her friend, grabbed his hand, and began to run out. "It's going to be over soon! Hurry!"

Norman blinked. How was it possible that his daughter had persuaded this small boy to go to a pretend ball with her?

Her mother turned to call after her. "Don't stay out too late, sweetie! We're going to the beach tomorrow, remember?" Sighing, she turned to her husband. "She asked you to help her practice her dancing, didn't she?"

Norman laughed. "Yeah. How did you know?"

"She asked me only ten minutes ago. I guess that when I decided to stop, she came to you." Adjusting her hold on Max, she smiled. "Norman, she's growing up so fast. It's only five years until she gets her first Pokemon."

Norman nodded sadly. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew his wife was right. "I need to close up the gym. Looks like there's not going to be any more challengers today. Go on home. You may want to be there when May comes back from her ball."

...And she'll
be
gone.

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...Well, I tried. I have no idea how I came up with this thing, really. Well, I hope you guys liked that. The next chapter should be coming soon. Thanks for reading.