Hey again

Hey again...Update, update! Wow, I am SO glad to have some positive feedback and cookies for one of my first fics! I am so happy that you guys enjoyed it.

Keep the reviews coming, because it gets me motivated to write more of this and be distracted from my other work…hm. Cookies. Yum.

Anyways, enjoy!

Warnings: OOC Drew; I tried to make him in-character but it's hard.

La Fleur de Mai (The Mayflower)

The disclaimer for the fanfic is implied.

'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-Ch 2: Morning Glory'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-

--Day--

Lady Marie de Mai was having a strange dream.

She was again chasing her Beautifly Faith through the gardens. Unlike the romp Marie had earlier with the Pokemon yesterday, the fields were foggy and dark. She was, of course, a bit scared...but she was intent on bringing her Beautifly back to the castle, where they could be safe.

Neverthless, Faith did not want to listen to her.

That fickle thing was Marie's best friend, but the Pokemon was quite a handful. It playfully flew just out of the girl's reach, causing the owner to be frustrated and exhausted.

"Faith! Faith!"

"Beauuu!"

Suddenly her Pokemon disappeared into the haze, and Marie stopped. Wondering where she would possibly be, the girl looked around in confusion.

The only things she was able to see were the red roses, their petals dyed the deepest blood-red.

She felt lost…and scared.

"Hello..? Anyone? Please…" her vision began to blur from unwanted tears…

Suddenly, Marie heard a series of steady footsteps approaching. Sniffling away the few tears she had shed, she quickly turned her head towards the direction of the noise.

Although she did not see too clearly, a silhouette of a man appeared; he was definitely a little taller than her, but not by much. He had a dignified air about him, an intimidating one…

…or was that just from the heat flooding in Marie's cheeks, making her more nervous than ever to look at the stranger?

"Hello milady," the figure said quietly. "Are you…lost?"

Marie was quiet. "Er…yes."

"Come."

The figure was walking away. Seeing this and afraid to be lost again, Marie quickly followed…but even as she ran to catch up with the man, he seemed distant, always ten steps ahead of her in the fog.

The pair did not speak much either. Not that they were obliged to talk to each other.

This situation seemed to last a long time...or so it seemed.

A few minutes later, the familiar towers of the castle began to appear within their sight. Nearing the entrance to the atrium of the court, the stranger stepped back.

Meanwhile, Marie gratefully dashed near to the doors, happy to see those worn granite walls surround her.

"Faith usually came in the castle anyway," the girl thought; so the girl temporarily decided not to worry about her Pokemon. "But…"

The silent stranger still stood by, observing her carefully. Seeing him, Marie slapped herself mentally: she had forgotten to thank him! How ungrateful was she?

"Uhm…" the girl finally said, albeit awkwardly. "I can't thank you enough…for helping me out and everything…"

The words sounded awkward to her ears, but the stranger seemed to understand. Marie looked at him again and thought she saw a smile...

"It's nothing. And you're welcome," the shadowy figure replied.

Then he took something out of his coat pocket, and threw it in Marie's direction. The girl automatically caught the object, and stared: it was one of the blood-red roses she had seen earlier. But before Marie could look up and ask him about the sudden gift, the figure was leaving…fading, uttering a phrase that inexplicably burned in her memory.

"Tis for your Beautifly."

THUD.

"…Woah!"

Sunlight came into Marie's eyes, instantly waking her up and unfortunately, making her fall off the canopy bed. As a result, she became tangled in her blankets in an undignified manner. It took Marie a good few minutes to get herself from the mess.

"Well, good morning me," Marie muttered to herself; she trudged to the full-length mirror and looked upon her reflection.

A quiet, pale face stared back with wide blue eyes. Brown locks flew out in random directions, most notably those in front: they framed her delicate face and swayed slightly in the faint, spring breeze.

"Heh, nice day…and I don't look too shabby…" she mused.

"Skiii!!"

A young Skitty suddenly bounded out from its bed, happily skipping around her feet. It's pink fur shone brightly – one of the servants must have brushed its coat this morning.

"Well! Come here, Nari!" Marie said delightedly, lifting the hyper thing in her arms and hugging it affectionately; Skitty was one of the newer Pokemon she was beginning to raise…and its charms already had captured much of Marie's heart.

"You seem so happy and cute!!" the girl laughed as Nari purred in her arms.

But she suddenly noticed something unusual in her room, and had stopped lavishing affection on the hyperactive Skitty.

"Huh? What is this?"

Near the window sill, where the sunlight was sure to welcome Marie's room every morning, was a potted morning glory. It had already bloomed a few hours ago, but the girl had not noticed until now. The flower's bluish-purple petals were adorned with white streaks. Its funnels trumpeted outward to the skies, open to greet the sun.

It may have been considered a common weed in every other way, but to Marie, it was something different...something new.

Carefully dropping Nari, who was too glad to scamper around the room once more, Marie walked to the little blossom, admiring its smallness and beauty. Fingers crept closer to stroke the soft leaves, which felt cool to the touch.

"It's…beautiful…"

But she also wondered: who had left this pot here? She certainly never had any plants lying around randomly in her room…

However, Marie's reverie was broken by several, sharp knocks that came from the door.

Rap. Rap.

"Milady?" a rich voice inquired from the closed door. "Are you awake?"

"Come in!" Marie replied.

After a brief click from unlocking the door, Solidad entered the room; as a close friend – she was a highly-regarded duchess from a Spanish nation – the elegant woman had access to many of Marie's private chambers.

"Lady Marie…" Solidad began to say while giving a formal curtsey; her fawn-colored dress matched well with her orange hair.

"Solidad! I told you for the hundredth time NOT to call me that! It saves you a lot of breath and trouble if you'd just call me May…"

"But May," the older lady chuckled good-naturedly. "What if your father, the king, finds out I am not giving you the proper respects you deserve? Surely he will punish me!"

May laughed; it was an old joke of theirs; it never got old.

"Well, then tell my father Norman," May giggled as she called the king by his first name, "that I do not mind such shows of disrespect."

Solidad smiled in return, "Ay, you are a good friend. Well, it's another wonderful day to-day…and I believe you need to change into your proper wear. Your father did call you down. And…" she glanced outside to the clock tower, "it's almost breakfast."

"Right! Um, so…want to pick my clothes again?"

As Solidad helped May dress up, they began to talk about the activities and the exciting gossips that circulated around court. Often they consisted of empty talk: someone was courting someone else, someone had a horrible taste in clothing, etc.

"So May…" Solidad was helping the princess button up from the back. "Why is there a morning glory in your room? I don't think you liked flowers that much."

A moment of silence passed before May found the words to answer her friend.

"Hm? Oh…" May looked up to see the morning glory again, which still seemed to thrive in the sunshine. "I just…found it today on my window. I certainly didn't put it there…"

Another silence...meanwhile Solidad, who had been thinking for a bit, was not too convinced. She briefly checked her slender frame on the mirror, then turned around to address May.

"Hm. Odd. The only person to bring such things into the castles is the Master Gardener. Did you-?"

A red blush rose from May's cheeks: a secret admirer?

"What? No! I don't even know him!"

"Are you sure, Mila- oh my apologies…May? Your father does fancy his taste with horticulture and other things. You might have seen each other at one point..."

May blushed. Why was Solidad teasing her? She didn't even know who he was!

"Sol…I assure you, I have no idea who the Master Gardener is. In fact, I'm sure he could care less about me…whoever he is."

"Hn." Solidad mused; she still was not convinced. "Well, you're all freshened up. I'll be going now. Goodbye, I shall see you during breakfast!"

With a graceful swish of her skirt, Solidad left the room. Her slippers made light pattering noises as she walked away.

May, now out of her nightgown and in her violet gown, sat resignedly next to the window. Glancing at the little morning glory, she began to wonder…

Who had put the flower there…and why?

Patter. Patter. Patter. DASH. DASH. DASH. Patter.

But different kinds of noises broke May from her reverie.

"Roselia! Rose!" a Pokemon's laughter ringed in the hallway; its footsteps were light and quick, as if it were running away from someone…

"Damn you, Rosamunde! I'm not supposed to be here! This is the royal-" a male human voice suddenly trailed after the Pokemon's giggles.

Suddenly the dashing noises stopped and the male sounded frustrated.

"Where in the Darkrai did you hide…?" suddenly he seemed to catch sight of the mischievous monster. "THERE YOU ARE! Get over here you ungrateful, mischievous scoundrel!"

The racket came closer and closer, and the noise seemed to echo throughout May's chambers. Anxious to see who was causing all this trouble, May got up to open the door…

"ROSAMUND-!!"

CRASH.

"Skiitttyyy!"

Drew, who was not exactly having a wonderful morning (he had woken up only to find his plant pot missing and his Roselia laughing at his owner's confusion), ran right into May. Several undignified squeals hurt his ears as he and the girl fell to the floor. It took them a few minutes of fighting, arguing, and cursing – the third was more on Drew's part – to get them untangled from each other.

Meanwhile, Nari scampered around, oblivious to the chaos nearby. Roselia was still smirking in a corner as the two humans calmed down to take a good look at each other.

"Erm. Hello, milady," Drew managed to say.

May just stared back. The boy who she just ran into seemed to be from a dream…his green hair was a little mussed, but it gave him an appealing daredevil look. He wore the usual dress of a common male courtier: shirt, vest, leggings. But he looked like he had rushed out of bed – the shirt and vest was half open, revealing more skin than May would have wanted to see…at least his leggings were on properly.

Surprised emerald eyes gazed back at her astonished sapphire ones. As they met, they quickly looked away. Just then Drew, glanced into May's room, recognizing the coveted morning glory he had been searching for.

"So…er, I see you have my plant…M-may I…" Drew's face began to resemble more and more like a Cherubi.

"Sure…" May finally replied; her voice seemed a bit cracked. "I'm sorry if I did anything-"

"Oh no, it's fine," Drew said quickly; he got up and retrieved his plant. "I…Excuse me."

The gardener suddenly ran off, leaving May and her Pokemon confused. Rosamunde had already disappeared, probably to see how his owner was faring.

"I wonder who he was…" May mused, heat still burning her cheeks; her mind soon was occupied with that emerald-eyed stranger.

"I hope to see him again…"

--Night--

Merysao dinner was quite a simple affair.

On certain holidays, the court outdid themselves by serving up dishes of extremely lavish food. But today, it was not so.

Drew mulled over his drink and food, still embarrassed by this morning's events. As a result, he had stayed in the garden longer than usual and was much ruder to the courtiers…not that it bettered his mood much.

"Yo, why are ye being all dull and blah now, eh?" Harley suddenly sauntered to Drew's seat. "Ye were whole lot cheerier yesterday…hm, are ye feelin' guilty fer hittin' me or something…?"

"No," Drew replied curtly; he pretended to look elsewhere – he soon found some diversion from the great stained-glass window across from his seat.

"Aw," Harley drawled in an exaggerated sad tone; suddenly, his face flickered with a roguish smile. "Or...was it the Princess that startled your lil' heart?"

"Huhh…what?!" Drew suddenly snapped out of his indifference. "W-what are you…wait. Who told you this?"

"Hmmm," Harley began to hum in an annoying manner, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Why should I tell you, Master Gardener? You weren't very nice to me last night ya know."

Harley gave a mean smirk. Drew frowned.

"Well..?" Harley started to annoy the gardener, nudging him as if they were two conspirators...

That action was his last straw. So Drew suppressed his urge to kick Harley and only managed a strangled noise of exasperation before speaking.

"To hell with yesterday! I want to know how your silly nose got into this…this…information!"

"Well, Somers is Rosamunde's...accquaintance, Master Gardener," Harley finally said mockingly, motioning to the Cacturne nearby. "And he relays stuff back to me. It's quite an ingenious system."

Harley then chuckled. "Hawhawhaw! And you are one of the King's personal attendants. How silly and oblivious can you get? You didn't even know her?! My god…"

Drew was silent; at that moment, he was trying to plan a way to punish his crazy Pokemon from making more tricks…

"Ergh…"

But that thought did not last long. Soon he merely flicked a stray strand of his green hair in frustration – a habit he had developed as he joined the court – and resumed eating.

Seeing his victim lose interest, Harley decided he had to go torture someone else.

"Hmm, anyway…all this heavy stuff bothers me," Harley said suddenly, jumping up like a Buneary and ready to do his jester-ly job; he soon noticed a pretty courtier pass by, and he began to chase after her. "Toodle-do, Mr. Tradescant- O hello milady!! Haven't I told you before your face is bloomin' charming? Hmm?"

Drew muttered something foul as he saw Harley leave. "God," the gardener thought. "What a pompous as-"

But he stopped in mid-curse as Drew felt a small tap on his shoulder.

"Uhm…Mr. Tradescant?" a timid voice came to his ear.

Drew turned around and saw a young lady-in-waiting standing beside him. He inwardly complained about stalking admirers, but kept his face calm. Taking a sip of watered wine from his goblet, he casually looked up to answer the maid.

"Yes?"

"Well…milady…" she gestured towards the head of the table, "wishes to see you after dinner…"

Drew glanced at where the girl had pointed and his heart stopped for the second time. It was the princess he had bumped into earlier, the one with soft, sad eyes. He first didn't believe what was happening – why did she call for him?

If the gardener had a sane mind that day, he'd have cordially accepted the offer or coldy rejected it, depending on his mood. But for the first time, he was too inwardly afraid…too shy. He didn't have the heart to see her.

"I'm sorry, but I am too occupied tonight for such a meeting," Drew finally said, maintaining a cool tone. "Perhaps…tomorrow afternoon would be sufficient."

To make his point even clearer, he smartly turned away, as if the gardener had any better plans to do than chat with a shy, little maid. As he did so, Drew distracted himself with the thought of fixing the old knot garden the following day…

Meanwhile, the maid seemed disappointed about carrying this news. Although her face showed it, she did not express her feelings to the apparently indifferent gardener.

"Thank you, sir. I shall make sure that milady hears it quickly," she said smoothly before pattering off.

After seeing her go away, Drew sighed in relief. As he did so, however, he saw the same lady-in-waiting hover over her milady, who seemed a little saddened by Drew's reply.

Seeing May's expression, the gardener felt a pang of guilt. Still, he knew that his nerves were unable to endure such an encounter today…especially after that awkward first meeting.

Then Drew noticed an elderly woman – the Royal Healer, he recalled – motioned to the princess to follow. As the princess disappeared from the Hall, Drew was a little disconcerted. But he dismissed it quickly; he had to make plans for tomorrow, provided the maid remembered him and his promise.

He should do something nice for her tomorrow…

'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-TBC-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'

Heh, I thought the ch was a bit long…I think I went too far on the dream thing, but it was good, right? Hehe. Also about the Day and Night thing, its to keep track of how many days Drew got left to confess...the reason I do this will be disclosed in the later chapters. This is just like an introduction...more fun stuff will happen later. Stay tuned...

Well, you know the drill – some author notes!

1. Marie de Mai: I actually derived May's "Merysao Court" name after various women – notably Henrietta Maria and Marie Antoinette. Not for their negative qualities, but their positive ones. Also, I never used the name May until I added that name joke...just so I just don't say the princess is her rightaway. (I'm so evil.)

2. Drew's Height: was it just me, or is Drew shorter than May in the anime? It really confuses me. Anyway, I made him taller because their ages are 15 (Drew) and 14 (May).

3. Morning Glory: I was serious when I wrote that this plant is a weed. It's an invasive species and a problem in a few countries…Wikipedia can back me up on this.

4. Solidad: Soledad means "Solitary" in Spanish. So Solidad here is a Spanish woman courtier. How witty of me, hm? Oh yea, I never made up a Spain-sounding Pokemon Kingdom for her since I was too lazy - but you guys can give me ideas.

5. Clothes: People during this time had servants/etc to help them put clothes on. Durr.

6. Somers: I named the Harley's Cacturne after King Henry's jester, Will Somers. Will is too plain, so Somers sufficed. Hehe :3

Please review! Pretty please with sugar on top?