Time passed slowly for White, and her soft cries gradually floated out the lone window in the tower. They got caught in the wind, carelessly tossed about through the air where they landed on the ears of a lone Pokemon. It sat perched on the branch of cottonwood tree, its leaves turned a dark green from the late summer. At the sound of the cries, it perked up and looked out to where they'd come from. Hitching its wings, it followed the faint sound, knowing exactly who its owner was.
Never once did it stop. It couldn't. And nothing could make it. Finally, it came upon a castle that rang a bell and followed the dying sound of the crying to the window of a tower. Its eyes widened when it looked inside and found White.
By this time, the brunette had fallen silent along with the day and slept quietly as night rose outside. The Pokemon stepped onto the ledge of the window, and the scrabbling noise woke up White from her slumber. She rubbed at her weary eyes which widened upon the sight of the Pokemon.
"Why is…why is there an Articuno in here?" She whispered loudly.
The bird hopped down into a pile of hay that had been placed in the tower. It stared at White intently, its purple eyes never leaving her as she got up and approached. She took note of this odd behavior and couldn't help but remember how Black had looked at her like that in her bedroom.
She gave a hopeless chuckle. "You remind me of him, you know?"
The Pokemon's eyes widened and watched as she collapsed beside it.
"Prince Black, I mean," she smiled faintly. Her face fell an instant later. "But he's gone."
Her voice cracked, and the Articuno couldn't stop itself from settling into the hay beside her, wanting to hear more.
White sniffled. "He married Trudy. He'll probably be back any day to pick her up, and I'm stuck in a stupid tower!" Her clenched teeth slowly loosened in realization. "I was right. I'll never see him again."
The Articuno suddenly stood up and nudged her shoulder as if to tell her that she was wrong. And it wished that it could. Because the Articuno was Black. And he would've given anything to tell her that he was there, just like he'd promised.
White chuckled at the Pokemon and gently petted its wings. "What am I doing? I'm talking to a Pokemon." She shook her head. "At least I won't be lonely up here."
Black nuzzled into her side. He wouldn't allow it.
White soon fell back asleep, and Black watched over her until the sun rose and she woke up again. She seemed surprised to see the Articuno for a second before remembering the previous night and smiling.
"You're free to go whenever you like," she smiled brightly. The girl had no idea that it was her lost love and that he would never do such a thing. "You don't have to stay here with me."
Black opened his mouth to tell her that's all he wanted to do, but all that came out was a soft caw. White smiled faintly. "That sounds so pretty. For some reason, it reminds me of ice when it sparkles in the morning." She sighed. "Just like my jewels. I still don't know what happened to them. They just disappeared on me when I was meeting Black for the first time."
She saw the Articuno perk up and watched in surprise as it suddenly flew out the window. Her head tilted, and she sighed sadly. Now she really was alone.
Black had no intention of leaving her, though. He thought that maybe if he brought back the jewels, it might help her realize that it was him. For a while he just flew around the castle, looking for a way to get inside. By chance he happened to see a group of servants heading out to trim up the garden. He followed them, hoping to sneak in behind them when they went back. Settling into a bush to spy, he overheard their voices from somewhere up ahead.
"Oh, I still can't believe our luck!" One of them said happily.
There were only two of them, and Black could tell they were both women by their voices.
"Me neither! To think that we get all of Princess White's dresses and jewels…it's a miracle!"
Black's eyes widened in surprise as they went on.
"It was so nice of the queen to get her a whole new wardrobe and give us the princess's old things," one of them exclaimed before turning somber. "It's a shame that White-sama won't be able to wear any of her new stuff. I think the queen went a bit far by putting her in the tower."
"Indeed," the other said bitterly. "Anyways, where did you put the rest of the jewels? You still haven't told me and it's been almost a month since the queen gave them to us."
"They're in the chest beneath the rose bushes," the former replied. "I told you I didn't want to tell the other maids. They'd get jealous and steal them!"
Someone then called for the two servants, and Black poked his blue head out of the bushes to make sure they were gone. Flying over to the rose bushes, he found a chest and hooked his claws around it. It was slightly on the heavy side, and by the time he approached White's window again, it was about ready to slip from his grip.
White heard the Articuno approaching and hung her head out the window, eyes widening when she saw the chest. She helped pull it inside the tower room. The Pokemon followed in and lay down in the heap of hay. When she popped open the lid, her eyes widened further, and she stared at the blue bird.
"Where did you get these?" She breathed in disbelief.
Black was getting ready to say the rosebushes when he realized that she wouldn't understand. Thinking fast, he searched through the chest of jewels and luckily chanced upon a rose necklace. Snatching it in his claws, he fluttered over to the window and angled it towards the garden below. White followed curiously and squinted her eyes at the necklace.
"That's my rose pendant," she murmured. She saw the Articuno's frantic gestures and looked down. "The garden?" She thought a moment. "The rosebushes?"
The blue bird nodded and returned the necklace. White laughed lightly. "You're quite the smart Pokemon."
Black watched as she turned back to the chest and started checking that all her jewels were there. He settled down beside the chest and evaluated each one that came out.
"I wonder what I would've worn for Black," White murmured to herself. The Articuno perked up, and she held out a silver brooch. "Do you think he would've liked this?"
Black shook his blue head. White smiled and switched it for the previous rose pendant. "How about this one?"
He tried to shrug, but it only resulted in a rustle of his feathers. White was smart enough to take it as a no. She stuck out her tongue. "You have no taste."
Black smiled inwardly and watched as she pulled out a golden locket with a blue bird etched into the metal.
White's eyes instantly softened. "This belonged to my mother."
Black paused. Her arms went around her neck, and she removed a necklace with a similar locket. This one was silver, though, with a purple etched bird. Black recognized it as the one she showed him in her room.
"My mother always said to keep those you love close," White said softly.
She popped the golden one open. Black recognized the King's picture from his tea visit, but the dark brunette woman on the other side was a mystery. She must've been the late queen.
"As for me…" White said, sheepishly unlocking the silver necklace. "I finally found a picture to put beside mine."
Black narrowed his eyes, feathers ruffling. He'd been gone only about a month! Was that really enough time for someone else to move in?! But to his great surprise (and relief) he saw his own face sitting next to hers. It made him happy to see them together again, and he thought it'd make White happier, too. He certainly didn't expect to see tears forming in her eyes. He tilted his head as she started pulling out the picture.
"But it doesn't matter anymore," she choked out. "I'll never see Black again!"
The bird shot its claw out to stop her. She looked up sharply as it started cawing repeatedly. "What, what is it?"
She sniffled, and Black kept pointing his claw at the picture. If only he could get her to make the connection! Thinking fast, he snatched the silver locket out of her hands. Awkwardly holding it up, he slipped his head through the chain and slid it onto his neck.
White raised her eyebrows as the bird's beak pointed to Black's picture. "What is it? Black-sama? What about him?"
Black sighed mentally. This wasn't going to be easy. Taking off the necklace, he put it back in White's hand. Her eyes widened as the bird started banging its head against the wall. She sweat-dropped. "I get the feeling you're trying to tell me something."
The Articuno nodded vigorously. Seeing the golden locket in her other hand, Black remembered that it had a blue bird etched into it and got an idea. He nudged it out of her hand and slid it carefully over his face in White's locket.
"Um, whatcha doing there?" She asked uncertainly.
She looked down at what the Pokemon was doing. One moment she saw Black's face; the next it was covered by the blue bird on her mother's locket. The Articuno did this repeatedly, but White only found herself growing more confused.
"I don't understand!" She exclaimed helplessly.
The door to the tower suddenly creaked, and White froze as it opened.
"What's going on in here?" The queen cried out angrily. "I can hear you from the throne room!" Her eyes widened when she saw the blue bird. Then narrowed. "What are you doing here?"
White bit her lip. "You, uh, put me up here."
"Not you!" The queen hissed. She pointed a finger at the Articuno. "Him."
Confused, White watched as the blue bird growled slightly, something very uncommon for any Pokemon. The queen ran, arms outstretched, for the bird. It fluttered off the ground and flew for the ceiling, feathers falling everywhere. The golden locket was still in its beak but fell out and landed next to White's sitting form. She picked it up and observed the blue bird on its surface, trying to figure out what the Articuno had been trying to tell her. As the queen cursed at the bird from the ground, one of its blue feathers fluttered down and landed right across Black's face in the silver locket. White narrowed her eyes at it in deep thought. A second later, she finally got it.
The brunette looked up sharply as the queen started throwing her jewels at the Pokemon. "Get down here! Gah! Haven't you caused enough trouble already?!"
White stood up quickly. "Black?"
The bird and queen froze as the princess finally put two and two together. The way the Articuno kept looking at her, how it found her jewels like a trained Pokemon, continually flashing the etched blue bird over Black's face…it all made sense now.
"But…" She trailed off. "How?"
The queen ignored her and went back to glaring at Black. "How did you find her here?"
Black cawed angrily. The woman clenched her teeth and closed her eyes. "Mazilla!"
There was a poof, and a stout lady with wings and a wand appeared. "What? You know I'm Trudy's fairy godmother! I only appear for her!"
White's eyes widened at the godmother's cranky voice, and the queen sighed. "Look up."
The fairy did so and gasped. "You!"
Black cried back as if to say the same thing, and Mazilla scoffed in annoyance. "I can't understand you, stupid boy." A streak of light shot from her wand and shocked Black briefly.
The Articuno landed and rubbed its wing. "Well that hurt."
White's jaw dropped open. "What the…?"
Mazilla shot forward and wrapped her arms around Black so that he couldn't move. He struggled against her hold, and the queen slowly approached.
"First you refuse my daughter," she said lowly, "then you come back to see this little witch?"
Black frowned. "White is not a witch."
"Quiet, pretty boy," Mazilla snipped.
The queen turned around and finally noticed that the jewels she'd been previously throwing belonged to White. "So, you've gone and stolen some precious stones, White?"
"She didn't steal them!" Black protested. "You did! And then gave them to the servants!"
"So that's why I couldn't find them that day," White realized.
"No matter," the queen shrugged. "I'm in charge. If I gave these to the maids, then they belong to the maids. I gave the jewels to them so you stole not only from the maids but also from me. That means this is treason." She narrowed her eyes at White. "And you know what treason of the royal family means."
Mazilla cheered. "Execution! Finally! The witch gets what she deserves!"
"W-What?!" White cried out. "You can't prove that! I never even left this tower!"
"It doesn't matter." The queen pointed at the chest. "That being in this room is all the proof I need."
"My father will never stand for this," White narrowed her eyes.
The woman sighed. "The King is too caught up in foreign affairs right now to even notice. By the time he does, it'll be too late."
"You're despicable," White whispered in horror.
The queen smirked. "Tell me something I don't know." She turned to Mazilla. "Keep an eye on him. I'll go make preparations for the big event."
Black and White's eyes widened as she disappeared and slammed the door shut behind her. The girl couldn't move. After all, she was about to...well, die.
Mazilla chuckled at Black. "This is what you get for betraying Trudy."
"I never said I'd marry her!" He retorted.
"Wait, what happened?" White asked in puzzlement.
Mazilla sighed. "Pretty boy here proposed to Trudy and then backed out on her."
"That's not what happened!" Black said frantically. "They tricked me! I thought she was you!"
White's cheeks went rosy. "You came back…to propose to me?"
The blue bird turned its head away coyly. "Y-Yea…."
White couldn't stop the grin that stretched across her face. Mazilla didn't like it one bit, though. "Well, it doesn't matter now! You refused Trudy so now both of you are done for!"
The brunette princess realized that the queen would be back any minute and quickly looked around for a solution to their predicament. She looked at the window and back to Black in his different form before charging at Mazilla. She knocked the chunky godmother over and held her down as Black got his talons beneath him.
"Quick!" She shouted at him. "Now's your chance!"
Black hesitated, watching as Mazilla spit and struggled. At one point, the fairy was scratching at White and knocked her silver locket out of her hand. "I'm not going to leave you!" He protested.
"Go, Black!" She shouted. "Get out of here!"
His eyes set on the chest of jewels. "Not without helping." While Mazilla was trapped, he gathered up all the jewels and shut them up tight in the chest. Slipping White's locket around his neck just in case they tried to take it, he hooked his claws into the chest's holders and dragged it to the window. Ignoring the fairy godmother's protests, he tugged it off the sill and flew away with it.
White gave a sigh of relief. "He escaped."
"No!" Mazilla snarled. "You really are a witch!"
"I'm not a witch!" White yelled. "Arceus, all I did was fall in love! Is that so wrong?!"
"It is if you're taking away Trudy's potential husband," Mazilla spit at her.
"What is it with you people and finding her a suitor before me?" White muttered. "She'll find one eventually."
"Do you not realize that Black is the only current suitor in all Unova?" Mazilla asked sharply. "That gives Trudy the rights to him since she's the eldest!"
Before White could respond, the door opened again, and in walked the queen.
"Alright, Mazilla," the woman said. "I'll take White now. You deal with Black." She looked up and almost screamed. "Where is he?!"
Mazilla took the moment to knock White off and get to her feet. "He got away."
"Go after him!" The queen shrieked.
Mazilla shot out the window to do just that, and the queen snatched White's arm with a growl. "He took the jewels didn't he?"
White refused to say anything, keeping her face impassive. A second later, the King walked into the tower room with a few servants behind him. "Alright, dear," he said wearily. "What's the problem?"
White looked up at the queen. "I thought father was too busy?"
The queen glared at her. "Might as well get it over with now." She directed her voice at her husband. "White here has stolen some of the royal jewels. She's hidden them somewhere, though."
The King coughed. "I'm sorry, but I don't think White would do that, and besides, you have no proof."
The queen gaped. "Y-Yes, but—"
"Now if you don't mind," White's father coughed, "I don't feel well. I'm going to lay down."
"Your Majesty," the servants bowed before leading him back to his room.
Once he was out of earshot, the queen threw White down in the pile of hay. "You may have gotten away with this one, but now I'll make sure you never leave this tower! Not until Black comes back for Trudy!"
White watched helplessly as she left and locked the door behind her.
Meanwhile, Black was trying to fly away as fast as he could. He had no doubt Mazilla would be following him any minute now, and he had to find someplace to hide White's jewels. He was able to fly fast and far but only for so long. He had just made it to northern Accumula when the weight of the chest finally got to him. He landed at the base of a pine tree and lucked out. There was a space just big enough for the chest among the tree's roots, and he used the few fallen leaves on the ground to conceal anything else that might be showing.
There was a noise overhead. Black quickly flew up into the branches of the tree to hide. Peeking out, he saw Mazilla flying by, steam practically leaking from her head. Her eyes scanned the trees below her like she had x-ray vision, and Black stayed completely still. Eventually she moved on, and he let out a sigh of relief. Seeing as how close he was to home, he decided to find Cheren so he could return to his normal form.
Black had to fly carefully. Mazilla was still in the area and could be waiting around any corner. Luckily, he was able to make it back to his family's castle without being detected. Peering through the various windows, he found Cheren in his room in the attic, books strewn across the floor and potions brewing on tables. Beating his beak on the glass, he managed to grab the enchanter's attention.
"What?" The dark-haired boy said after opening the window. "Go away, bird. I'm busy right now."
"Cheren," Black said seriously. "You've got to help me."
Cheren's eyes went wide. "…Black?!" The Articuno nodded, and Cheren let him in. "What happened to you?!"
Black sighed. "I refused to marry the girl they wanted me to. So, her fairy godmother turned me into this."
"Well then," Cheren whistled lowly. "Why wouldn't you marry her?"
"I didn't like her!" He exclaimed. "Arceus, she was atrocious, Cheren!"
The wizard sighed. "So the whole trip was for nothing? You couldn't find a bride?"
"Um…." Black trailed off.
Cheren turned to him. "You did, didn't you?!"
"Yes, yes," Black said to calm him down. "But I need to change back into a person!"
The blue-eyed boy frowned uncertainly. "I don't know if I can. For a transformation spell this intense, only the one who gave it can reverse it."
"And that'll never happen!" Mazilla suddenly screeched. She was floating outside the window, angry eyes boring into Black.
Cheren leaned his head out to her. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I don't know what happened, but Black needs to turn back into himself!"
She raised an eyebrow. "And why's that?"
He turned to the prince. "Black, while you were away, your father decided to move up the day of your coronation."
The brunette's eyes widened. "To when?"
"Two days from now," Cheren said quietly.
"You're already going to be a king?!" Mazilla exclaimed. "I'm impressed! You have to marry Trudy!"
"No!" Black shrieked. "For the last time, NO! I only love White!"
Mazilla sighed. "That interference…."
"Don't call her that," Black growled.
"Wait a minute," Cheren stopped them. "Is that the girl you refused to marry, Black?"
Mazilla nodded sharply. "And that's the only way I'll turn him back. If he marries Trudy."
Cheren thought quickly. "Okay, how about this. Since Black's coronation is only a few days away, you change him back now so he can get ready. Then afterwards, you give him a month. If in that time he agrees to marry this Trudy girl, then he can retain his human form. If not, then you can turn him back into an Articuno."
"Hm," Mazilla hummed lowly. "I guess that would be alright…there's really no way you can get out of it…."
She disappeared and reappeared inside Cheren's room. Kneeling down beside Black, she whacked him on the head with her wand. There was a cloud of sparkles, and a minute later they cleared to reveal the prince as a human again. He was still in his suit for the wedding and frowned slightly at the memory of it.
Mazilla tugged slightly on his hair. "One month, pretty boy. You've got one month."
Black glared as she vanished with a Poof!
The brunette rushed forward to hug Cheren. "Thank you! I missed having hands!"
Cheren chuckled a little. "Don't thank me yet. You still have to marry that one girl."
"No," Black refused lowly. "I'll find a way out of this. You've bought me some time to figure it out."
"Well, you'll have to figure it out later," Cheren warned him. "We have to start making plans for your coronation."
And so the planning began. The next three days were hectic for Black, and before he knew it, he was being called King instead of Prince.
However, just as one King was beginning his reign, another's was soon ending.
It'd been three days since White had last seen Black. Such a long time to be stuck alone in that tower. The servants brought her food, but they could not let her out. After evading the queen's plans to throw her in the dungeon, White was left completely alone. She never heard Mazilla return, though, and could only hope that Black got away.
On the fourth day, she had her face stuffed in the pile of hay. There wasn't anything else better to do anyway. She wasn't expecting her door to open and the queen to be standing there with a blank face. Two servants stood behind her, hands out and ready as if she were about to fall.
"What?" White muttered. She was done with being nice to this woman. "Come to grace me with your presence, Your High-"
"White, you're father is dead."
The princess froze. "W-What?"
The queen leaned against the wall as if her weight had suddenly multiplied. "The coughing he had the other day was a warning for something worse. He...he passed away this morning from pertussis."
"The whooping cough?" White asked with a dropped jaw. "But I thought that was an infant disease!"
"He must have caught it from one of the filthy peasants or their babies when he was out in the village," the older woman muttered.
White noticed the servants stiffen with a frown, but she was too filled with shock to be bothered by it. Her father was dead.
The queen frowned. "And it doesn't help that Black Heika is STILL being difficult."
White's tears paused. "Heika? Black is a...king?!"
The queen flicked her hand. "Yes, Mazilla returned the other day and told me that she watched the coronation herself. She turned him back into a human so that he could obtain his throne, but he has a month to propose to Trudy or else he returns to his blue bird form."
"I can't leave this tower for a month?!" White cried out incredulously.
"Nope," the woman smirked. "And with your father gone, I can ensure that."
That did it.
White stood up slowly. "No. You will no longer be held accountable for any responsibilities of the royal family."
The queen glared at her. "Come again?"
"You," White pointed at her, "only entered this castle through marriage. I, on the other hand, am a blood descendant of the Shiro family. Which means, I am next in line for the throne."
"What makes you think you can just overthrow me?" The woman hissed. "I am the queen! These are my people and my kingdom!"
"No."
White and the queen whipped around to the two servants who were standing by the door. The two women were glaring at the queen with hatred in their eyes. "We are White-hime's people. She is our ruler. Not you."
The queen stood flabbergasted as the other woman nodded. "We knew you back when you were still a peasant. Even then you were spiteful and only cared about your daughter."
"Is that so wrong for a mother?!" She snapped at them. "I was simply caring for her!"
The first one shook her head. "All you cared about was making sure that she didn't end up like you. Alone and a mess."
The queen's jaw dropped. White turned to her with steeled eyes that made the woman back up a step. "Your Majesty, I hereby sentence you."
"For what?!" She shrieked.
White narrowed her eyes. "For unfairly throwing me in this tower, stealing my love, and not to mention my jewels and clothes." She smirked. "Which was, as you said earlier, punishable by execution?"
The queen froze. "B-But, White! You wouldn't!"
"No," the brunette shook her head. "You're right. I'm not like you." She reached up and plucked the crown off of her stepmother's head. "I'm a queen. And you're a sad woman who will be spending the rest of her life in the dungeons."
The woman just stared at her. White called for a few of the guards, and they promptly showed her to the dungeons where she was never to be seen again.
White studied the beautiful crown in her hands hesitantly. Seeing this, the two servants smiled and walked over, one of them gently taking it from her and placing it atop the girl's wavy brown hair.
"I'm sorry," she said as she pulled her hands away. "We thought she was getting you new dresses and jewels. To think that she stole them..."
White lay a hand on her shoulder. "It's over now. There's no use worrying any longer."
The second woman giggled madly. "Oh, I'm so excited! This means it's time for a coronation!"
White smiled sadly. "Yes."
The first led White slowly out of the tower. "I'm very sorry about your father, White-hime."
The tears started coming again. "Me, too."