Twisted

Prologue: La Figlia Che Piange

/ / Stand on the highest pavement of the stair – lean on a garden urn – / /

/ / weave, weave the sunlight in your hair – clasp your flowers to you with a pained surprise – / /

/ / fling them to the ground and turn with a fugitive resentment in your eyes: but weave, weave the sunlight in your hair – / /



. I know this will not remain forever, however it's beautiful .



Summary: / /AU / / So she sheds her ruby-studded gown for that of a peasant life, and travels to the land that holds the starflowers, intent on finding a cure… and accidentally falls in love along the way. / / Contestshipping / /



Disclaimer: I do not own "Broken Wings" by Tomoko Tane, or T.S. Elliot's La Figlia Che Piange also known as "The Weeping Girl", or Pokemon.

Hope you like, I took inspiration from The Six Swans in my Brothers' Grimm fairytale book. Hee hee!

So, May, in this story, kind of acts hopefully like a strong heroine. I really hate weak heroines. I didn't want to make her too weak, but she'll still have those moments.

We all do, you know?

So this is AU to the MAAAAX.

But, yeah, I really have no idea how well this is going to turn out, but oh well!!


May loved the night. Night, the all-encompassing darkness that could hide anybody, a momentary solace from the ever-probing eyes of the world. The ever-watchful eyes of her stepmother were always eyeing May's every move, ready to make a rude and insulting comment, whenever the chance happened upon her. She hadn't really expected her mother dying on her, but then again, nobody could really ever expect that. She'd been fine, and then the next day she was bedridden and sick beyond belief. They sent her to a neighboring country to recover, and before long, a messenger had come to deliver the news – her mother was dead. Her father had been severely distraught after, but still quickly began a search for another wife, assuming his only daughter still needed a motherly influence. May hadn't expected her to come with some extra baggage – that is, her daughter, and now May's sister.

Caroline, as she was called, was a horrendous girl. She was rude, brazen, and pure cruel to May and dear Max, but on her sweetest and best behavior for anybody else that happened to be looking – especially the boys. And May's dislike of the girl was only worsened that she shared the same name as her mother – Caroline. Her father was changing, and May knew it was the stupid witch's fault. Charlotte – May refused to call her "Mother" nonononono – was just as bad as her daughter, if not worse for holding half the power in the entire Johto Kingdom, spending large amounts of money on lavish parties in order to boost her popularity with the aristocrats, not caring much about the people of the land.

And then, her father fell ill. As he was dying, Charlotte offered to take up the duties while he recovered. He accepted. He promised to take May and Max to the Sinnoh Kingdom so May could go to their market like she'd always wanted to, and Max to see all the new pokemon he was so interested in.

He died the next day.

May lost faith. Max never did, brotherly devotion the only thing that May had anchoring herself to her now dwindling conviction. May knew it was childish of herself to act like this, and began to brighten a little, her book of folklore her only company, her brother her only companion. And Charlotte, of course, noticed.

So she sent Max away, to the far off Kingdom of Kanto, to stay with the Ketchum Royalty for "lessons", as Charlotte so referred to. May had wanted to cry, kick, scream, something, but she knew it was weak of herself. And she couldn't be the weak, pathetic Princess of her prided Johto Kingdom. She had to be strong, for herself, for her brother, for her Kingdom.

And strong, she would be.


Her breathing sounded harsh, even to her own ears.

May was running through the forest, hot tears running down her face, thick skirts swaying and rushing all around her legs as her feet propelled her forward, before her heel caught into a tree root she hadn't noticed, and May felt the ground suddenly rise up to meet her face. She sputtered for a moment, her silken glove rubbing off the dirt that had gathered upon her face, sticking to the tears that were trailing down her face. She couldn't stop her crying, her muddled up emotions pouring out in a flood, and all she could do was ride it out.

Breathing heavily, she noticed her book had fallen from its place in her bag, sprawled across the ground. She stripped herself of her gloves, throwing them onto the ground, before picking up the familiar lore. It was leather bound, bulky and heavy with thick, weathered pages upon pages of fairytales. Her mother used to read it to her when she was a child, before going to bed. After her mother died, May began to read the stories to Max. He always complained that he was a boy and boys didn't read stories like that, and that he was a mature adult that didn't need to be read to before bed. But she knew different, because after she would begin he would settle against his pillows comfortably and fall asleep only after she'd finished the last word.

Smiling through her tears, she wiped them away with the back of her hand, as she reminisced about the past. Stumbling upwards, one hand leaning against the tree, she pressed forward. Her dress was ripped slightly at the bottom, the bottoms of her shoes caked in mud and stray twigs and leaves, silk gloves having been left behind. It was only a few more steps forward before May reached her destination – the Lake. It had an actual name, but May could never remember it, and always just ended up calling it the Lake. It was a peaceful Eden where she could escape to under the cloak of the night, quiet and tranquil, occasional pokemon floating about – typically Jumpluff. The moon was full above the lake, giving it an ethereal sapphire glow, and May could see it as she approached, closer and closer to the place. She dropped her book back into the bag she'd brought, before letting the bag slip from her hands onto the soft, lush grass that now covered the area, tall trees crowding around the lake. She could see a single pokemon in the middle of the lake, floating gently above it – it was a Butterfree, circling and twirling in spot around the center of the lake, and May couldn't help but think her Beautifly would have looked nicely with it – and then she saw it.

It being a beautiful Milotic that emerged quickly from the water, it's pink and blue tail swishing and twisting next to it, scatting the Butterfree and Jumpluff from around the area, small water droplets flying about everywhere, glinting in the moon's glow, before suddenly – it happened.

The Milotic began to glow, and May rushed forward to see what was happening, before dropping to her knees, her legs unable to hold her weight as she struggled to find the words to describe what was happening. It was as though the Milotic was shedding water, layer upon layer before it revealed nothing but a single human – cloaked in flowing aristocratic robes, as it moved towards the edge of the lake. It was only then that she noticed the young girl sitting at the edge of the lake. May only realized now that her mouth was wide open, and quickly shut it.

The woman's eyes narrowed, her feet touching down against the grass that shifted, gently, under her feet, before they widened.

"May?"

"M-Mom?" May breathed out the simple word, and she was dreaming. She knew she was dreaming. She had to be. Her mother was supposed to be dead.

She was supposed to be dead.

"May, May!" Caroline cried, quickly launching herself against her daughter, cradling her in her arms. She felt so alive – her body was warm and smelled just like she used to and May couldn't help but feel the tears prickling against her eyes, and, unable to stop them, they fell rapidly and May felt her arms encircling her mother, clinging onto her for dear life.

"M-Mom?! How is this possible?" She gasped between her sobs, her mother too busy sniffling against her shoulder to respond. After the two had clamed down, May turned to watch her mother, who took a deep breath.

"Do you remember when I was sent away?"

"Y-yes…" May frowned.

"It was Charlotte who did it. She made me sick and then cursed me – into the form of a Milotic."

May's frown deepened. It sounded absolutely preposterous – and strange to hear it coming from her mother's lips. May didn't quite know how to react.

"I know it seems crazy, but… I can't ever return to the castle. I can't even get close to the castle – the underground river leads away from our home. And I can only stay in this form for an hour, before tick tock, time is up for me and I turn back into a Milotic." Caroline smiled sadly, tears lining her eyes once again.

"B-but… Dad… he – and Max!" May's brain was having a hard time forming coherent sentences, and she watched as Caroline's eyes grew sad.

"I wish I could have been there when your father fell ill." She gave a bitter smile, and May's heart ached at the prospect of her mother having to watch the only man she loved, be carried away in a casket to the royal burial grounds, all alone.

Alone.

"Max… Max! He would love to know you're okay…" Caroline quickly cut her off.

"No, I don't want my baby to see me like this…" She watched as May slipped into thought.

"There has to be a way to reverse this!" May sputtered out, and Caroline watched her in surprise, before smiling.

"Well… I'm not well-versed in the art of magic, but…"

"But…?"

"But… they say there is a flower. All it is known as is the "starflower", and is extremely hard to harvest, and is only found in one Kingdom of the world – the Hoenn Kingdom."

"Star…flower…?" May questioned, the terms sounding foreign on her lips for such casual words. Caroline nodded.

"They're very rare flowers imbued with an astounding amount of magical power… however, they must be woven into a shirt that I can put on in my human form."

"That sounds… too easy." May frowned – there was always a catch. Caroline eyed her daughter for a moment.

"Starflowers are extremely hard to harvest, they're painful and sharp to the touch, but from what I hear after you get used to it, it's very easy to work with."

May nodded enthusiastically.

"Then, that's what I'll do!" Caroline stared at her daughter, before smiling softly.

"All right, I would suggest you head to La Rousse, the capital of Hoenn. I hear that's where the most starflowers grow. But, May, there's one other thing."

"Huh?" May had already begun to formulate a list of things she'd need to get to Hoenn.

"You know Charlotte would never allow this – she knows her way around magic, and if you mention anything about going to Hoenn, she would immediately be suspicious."

"Then, I'll just run away." May said easily, uncaring.

"May!"

"What?! It's not like I have anything tying me here, anyway!"

"What about Max?!"

"He's in Kanto, he should be safe…" May bit her lip, starting to get a little anxious. She quickly squashed the feeling.

Caroline sighed at her daughter's stubborn attitude.

"All right, but… there's one other requirement."

"What's that?" May tilted her head to the side, curious.

"You cannot speak a single word while you are weaving a shirt from the starflowers."


May stared at the pokeball in her hand, and looked at her mother, who smiled in response.

"This feels a little wrong."

"It's fine, it's fine! All you have to do is break the pokeball after you finish the shirt."

"Yeah… but it still feels wrong catching my mother with a pokeball." May frowned as Caroline let out a little laugh.

"Oh, May. I'll be a Milotic, it's fine." May paused to stare at the pokeball once again.

"Does this mean I can use you in battles?"

"What?"

"Never mind." May snickered to herself as Caroline stared at her, mouth agape, before joining in her laughter.

"Sure."

May blinked, "Wait, what?"

"I said, sure. I can fight, you know. I dealt with you and your father for ten years of your life, didn't I?"

"Hey!"

"Oh, you know I love you!" Caroline swat her hand up and down carelessly at her daughter's outburst.

Caroline gave May a quick hug, smiling pleasantly as she dropped back into the lake, the water rising and quickly encompassing her form, before it shifted and shaped back into a Milotic. May paused, apprehensive for a moment, the pokeball unusually heavy in her hand, before she let go of her inhibitions and let the pokeball fly from her hand.


May stared at her closet for a moment, frowning to herself. She had to pack lightly, and she had to leave as soon as possible. Glancing out the window, she could see the sun was at its peak in the sky, indicating that only half of the day remained. She grabbed her rucksack, and dropped all her pokeballs into the smallest pocket in the front, as well as a first aid kit that contained medicine for both humans and pokemon, a blanket, and her favorite plain blue dress with a dropped neckline and a tulle upon tulle layered silken skirt. May wondered briefly how she managed to fit everything in her pack, with room still. She'd kept the cloak her brother had sent her from Kanto, a simply dark blue fabric that was thick for the cool nights that frequented Hoenn, even in the summer, and a large sapphire brooch that pinned the cloak together and it came complete with a hood.

She threw the cloak onto her bed along with her rucksack, digging around in the back of her closet for the spare gold and silver coins she'd been saving up for the most of her life for her trip to Sinnoh – not that it had mattered, anyway.

May frowned as a small pang of guilt filled her heart every time she thought of Sinnoh. Shaking it off quickly, she grabbed a velvet pouch and emptied her savings stash, grabbing a few of her more expensive jewelry – diamond necklaces, bracelets and earrings and her favorite ruby necklace and matching earrings – and dropping them in as well.

It was enough money to last her for a while – granted she didn't end up buying useless items along the way.

May knew she had quite a shopping problem – hell, everybody knew.

But she wasn't going to be the irresponsible princess with an unlimited income – it was time she grew up.

She was going to get through this, no matter what.

Turning back towards her items, she counted off more things she'd need; food, water, pokemon food… All of which were in the kitchen. Fortunately for her, most of the servants in the castle never paid much mind to her whenever she went to get those items. She'd done it frequently as a child, and May was now beginning to be grateful for her insatiable appetite as a child and all the habits that came with it… and a little embarrassed that they weren't surprised that she would try to take food from the kitchen.

That set aside, she glanced down to her rucksack again.

"Call me shallow, but I'm definitely going to miss all my dresses." May muttered unhappily to herself, before turning to her closet, "Maybe I could fit one more dress in…?"

Breathing deeply, she released it slowly as she maneuvered her well-sized closet, grabbing a pair of comfortable shoes and a pair of navy blue silk heels with a bow on the back of the heel, tulle lining the shoe (to match with her dress, of course) and began once again for her hunt for another dress, shoes dangling from her hands.

She couldn't quite decide which other one she wanted to bring, and May was starting to wish she knew how to enchant her bags so she could fit more in it. But May had practically failed the enchanting lesson and her tutor had given up after that and May was grateful for it at the time but now she was starting to question her stupidity for not trying harder in that lesson – it was really coming back to bite her in the ass now. Rolling her eyes at the memory of her accidentally blowing up her teacher's chair at her final attempt of enchantment, she turned quickly and grabbed her second favorite dress.

It was an elaborate piece, dark forest green with a strapless corset top and thick skirt lined with tulle and lace, beautiful lace details all along the top and side before reaching the bottom of the skirt that would trail against the floor, skirting against the ground whenever she walked. She easily rolled the dress up, binding it with a quick and basic spell that bound it before dropping it into her backpack. She rushed to the door, peering out suspiciously before walking calmly down towards the kitchen. She snuck in and there weren't any servants in there, lunch having already been served. She grabbed a canteen and filled it with water, before grabbing a few non-perishable food items and a loaf of bread and some berries and an apple, as well as a few packs of pokemon food. Wrapping it and using the binding spell once again, she rushed up with her packed towards her room.

"Oh, May, is it?" May twitched as she heard the familiar snide voice of her sister, a few other snickers indicating she wasn't alone. May turned to gaze at Caroline, package dangling in her hands against her back. Caroline was about May's height, only an inch shorter or so, with dark red hair that, when let down, reached at least mid-back. But it was pinned up against her head; her straight-cut bangs framing her face nicely as they became longer near the sides of her face. She had large, doe-like purple eyes that could have fooled any gullible adult. She had two friends flanked on her sides, girls from the village aristocracy that were clearly only there to suck up to her sister. Caroline was the same age as May – both of them being 18.

"Now, what exactly were you doing in the kitchen? Snagging more food, you stupid pig?" Caroline laughed easily at her clever (or, at least what she thought was clever) insult, and the two girls joined in automatically, well rehearsed in this act.

"No matter how much I eat I won't be as fat as you, Caroline." May sneered back easily, eyeing her sister, "By the way, did you gain a few pounds? That dress certainly isn't hiding it, if that's why you're wearing it."

Caroline seethed, face turning red and May could practically see a temper tantrum coming on – tantrums Caroline was famous for. But her face clamed at an eerie pace, and she simply turned on her heel, clearly no longer wanting to bathe herself in May's presence. May rolled her eyes before turning, clutching the package tightly to her chest.

'Just a little longer, and I'll be out of this place.' May walked with her head held high, unaffected by Caroline's childish attitude.


The sun was just beginning to set, and May wished that it would move down the horizon faster. She was starting to get antsy and extremely nervous as the time passed by, thousands of Butterfree fluttering violently in her stomach. Beautifly was perched upon May's chair that was turned out and facing the window, noticing May's apparent nervousness. May quickly began looking over her checklist again, having packed a few extra things that she'd wanted in case she ever wanted to mail Max, staring at the list of large and sloppy "X"s next to words.

Checklist:

Dresses X

Food X

Pokemon Food X

Parchment X

Pen and Ink X

Medicine (First Aid) X

Water X

Money and Jewels X

Spare Pokeballs X

Pokemon X

Map X

Shoes X

May had grabbed all of her pokeballs from the training room where they were stored, not particularly caring she was definitely over the limit of pokemon allowable on one person with her Milotic, Beautifly, Glaceon, Blaziken, Wartortle, Venasaur, and Skitty. Munchlax had been given to Max as a gift for when he left Hoenn, so he'd always have a little piece of home with him. May thought of Max and was overcome with guilt – what if he came back to visit only to find her gone? He'd be out of his mind with worry, and what lies might Charlotte or Caroline feed him…?

May was apprehensive about mailing him, nervous that Charlotte could potentially intercept it somehow. But nonetheless, she'd packed parchment and a pen and ink just in case she changed her mind later. She would consult her mother about it when she was a safe distance from here. She looked towards where Beautifly was, and saw the large, proverbial book of fairytales staring back. She sat up and picked it up, the weight familiar in her hands. She slipped the book into her pack, not wanting to leave her most precious item behind.

The sun was almost gone and past the horizon now, and May felt the anxiety in her stomach begin to rise once again. Her mother would stay in the pokeball tonight (May hated saying it like that) because she'd already been out in her human form for a good hour in the day already. It was strange how she could change at any point in the day back to herself, like it were a one-time token that was replaced at the start of every new day.

May stripped herself of her heavy sea foam green dress for a plain, light brown tunic that was soft against her skin and fell to mid-thigh, and a pair of black tights and shin-high black boots. She placed her pack on her back and draped the cloak around her shoulders, Beautifly removing itself from its perch to land upon her head. May stared out as the sun sank completely down beneath the surface and the pink sky faded to black.


She moved with ease along the castle walls, already used to the patrol officer's ways, and snuck around towards the stables without much problem. She glanced around for her favorite Rapidash to ride on. The horse pokemon hated being confined to the stables, and May knew all she wanted was to go back to the plains where she belonged. After she got to Hoenn, May would let the poor pokemon go. She grabbed her saddle and a blanket to place upon the pokemon's back, before locating Rapidash. The horse pokemon glanced up sleepily at her, curious. She smiled and whispered it to stay quiet.

"I know you don't like it here… If you come with me, I'll let you go." The pokemon seemed to understand what May was saying, and shuffled its feet in a sort of nervous excitement. Saddling it, May quickly hopped up, reins in her hands, and maneuvered the horse quietly out of the stables, before it began to run in a sprint towards the forest – towards Hoenn.

It was an exhilarating feeling, rushing further and further away from the castle, her cobalt cloak fluttering behind her, Beautifly safely located inside its pokeball. It probably wouldn't have been able to keep up with Rapidash's speed. It flew forward, chasing the wind in the direction of Hoenn, trees rushing in a blur past her as Rapidash leaped over high raised roots and puddles of water that had collected and hadn't evaporated yet. She could barely see the sky above her, high canopied trees thick with leaves blocking her view. Her pack occasionally hit her back as Rapidash jumped, and she could hear her items clink together, muffled slightly by her cloak and the dresses cushioning in the bag.

It would be perhaps a day or two before she reached Hoenn, depending on how many breaks it took. But May didn't care.

All she wanted to do now was to get away.


May wasn't too surprised to find that it had taken her at least four days to get even near the capital of La Rousse. She'd always been terrible at estimating distances, that had always been Max's strongpoint, not hers. Even so, she had stopped at noon at a small inn that was located at the outskirts of La Rousse. She'd just let Rapidash run off, who at first had been apprehensive about leaving the girl but May simply smiled and shooed the pokemon off, which after a moment it had accepted quite happily. She ate a quick meal before leaving the inn, never having bothered getting a room with the close distance to La Rousse (she hoped her estimation at distance wasn't wrong this time). Wandering through the forest, May had happened upon a patch of prickly flowers.

Starflowers.

Quickly dropping to her knees, she peered at the flowers carefully. They were blue and long and thin, needle looking stalks, rather than flowers. She reached out cautiously to grab one, but quickly pulled back, feeling the flower prick and pull blood. She looked at her finger, a small pinpoint of blood flowing upwards and she wiped it quickly, before glaring at the starflowers.

May reached out again, determined to grab a few. She found that the flowers only pricked you if you tried to grab and pull them from the ground, embedding small miniscule thorns into the skin that were easy to get out, but quite painful. She pulled a small knife from it's casing before swiping a clean cut near the bottom, holding one carefully. Smoothing the stalk from north to south, tip to root, it was smooth and felt like pure satin. If she could just find a seamstress, she could easily make this into a yarn…

"Well, here I was looking for some Linoone but instead I found a pretty girl."

May swiveled her head quickly, clutching the starflowers to her chest, staring as a thickly muscled man appeared from the edge of the trees, grinning at her with intentions May didn't quite want to think about.


Drew rode faster through the forest, only slightly annoyed with his assistant, or, as he preferred to call him, his babysitter, Harley. Flygon flew faster at Drew's insistence, reaching a good distance from La Rousse before it began to slow. Drew stared forward with an annoyed glare, before a voice caught his attention.

"Well, here I was looking for some Linoone but instead I found a pretty girl." It was a raspy and low voice, clearly male. Flygon floated in the air before Drew nudged it in the direction of the voice. It glided through the air easily, and it was then Drew came upon May. She turned quickly to look at him, as did the burly man.

Sneering, the burly man spoke, "Well, what do we have here? Why don't you go away, I found her first."

The girl looked at him, terrified, and Drew felt sympathy for the female that looked to about his age.

"That's no way to speak to a Prince." Drew snorted, as Flygon landed and Drew jumped off it's back.

"P-p-p-p-p-prince Drew!?" The man stuttered, and Drew assumed that the man had already had multiple run-ins with the law if he was to be this afraid of royalty.

"Yes, that would be me." He replied coolly, not too interested in the idiot.

"Oh, well, I guess I'll be leaving now—"

"Drew, you dumbass where did you go?!" A loud feminine voice yelled through the forest, a deeper voice following (but still seemingly feminine nonetheless) that called his name out as well. The burly man took this as his notice to leave. Drew looked the girl over once. She wore a dark cape that looked like it might have come from the Kanto Kingdom (they were known for producing quality goods – cloaks being the most popular) and starflowers clutched in a white-knuckled grip in her hands. She wore a plain brown tunic with tights and boots, and her brown hair in pigtail that reached a little past her shoulders. She turned to look at him as well, but remained silent.

Drew quirked an eyebrow, "You going to thank me?"

May gave a slight nod of her head to him, her only offer of thanks and acknowledgment. She refused to speak, for even though she had not begun to weave, she refused to take any precautions.

Drew frowned, annoyed, "What's your name?" May didn't respond, and Drew stared at her in frustration.

"Look, are you going to talk at all?" May shook her head vigorously. Drew stared at her.

"What, are you mute?" May glared at the sarcastic comment he sent towards her. Drew glared back.

"DREW!!!" A clearly masculine voice called out, although in a very feminine tendency.

May watched as a man in a green suit adorned with various insignias and crests popped out of the forest, a large Cacturne following him. His hair was long and mauve in color.

"Oh, Harley, I didn't know you were here." Drew responded easily, clearly lying. Harley's face turned red.

"Oh, like hell you didn't! My gosh, do you even know how worried I was?" Harley squealed, and May couldn't help but twitch at his annoying feminine mannerisms. That's when he noticed May, and then his eyes widened.

"Oh my GOD you were meeting a peasant girl?! You're not having an illicit relationship, are you?! You are, aren't you!!? Whatever happened to us, Drew?!" Harley wailed melodramatically, and May was stunned at his sudden outburst.

Following Harley's voice appeared a tall woman in male clothing, wearing a navy blue outfit similar to Harley's. She had long pink hair and light blue eyes, bangs sweeping towards the right across her face. She looked pretty annoyed.

"Drew, honestly. You're a Prince; don't go off running like that. You've got a lot of work!"

"Right, sorry, I was too busy saving this girl, that should make up for that." Drew stated, clearly not at all worried.

"Solidad, he was meeting a girl! A peasant girl!!! I know they're having an illicit relationship, I mean what are the King and Queen going to think?! What are the people going to think?! What ever happened to—"

The woman named Solidad turned to look at May curiously.

"What's your name?" May stared at her, refusing to speak a word.

"Don't bother, she won't say anything." Drew sighed, annoyed with Harley's ranting.

"Oh, and why is that, I wonder…?" Solidad murmured, mostly to herself as she stared at the starflowers in May's hands.

May felt herself hold onto the starflowers tighter, thorns digging into her palms and fingers as warm liquid began to drip down her hands.

But still, she remained silent.


There you are, the prologue. I really, really, really shouldn't be starting a new story right now, but you know what? OH WELL!!

I hope this wasn't too confusing….

And I hope it wasn't too wordy.

Let's see what happens in chapter one soon, yeah?

OK!

Oh, and a happy early Valentine's Day. I'll… maybe post a special.

Maybe.

Anyway, tell me what you think!! Should I continue or just RIP THIS STORY DOWN AND DELETE IT??? :) Feedback appreciated!!!