Ash and Brock are running through the castle courtyard as fast as they can. As soon as they climbed their way down from Serena's bedroom, they begin running for their lives only for Calem to come down with a crash causing a hole on the stone ground. The enraged giant roars before grabbing large chunks of the rubble he created and throws them at Ash and Brock. The two men barely dodge the stones thrown at them.
"We got to lose him!" Brock yells.
"But how?" Ash asks.
Just then, a giant boulder flies right above Ash and Brock and crashes onto a column that falls right in front of their path. The giant lets out a deep, menacing chuckle as he catches up with them and prepares to throw another giant boulder. In a moment of desperation, Brock takes out his sword and throws it at Calem. The sword impales Calem on his chest, but the giant merely grunts in annoyance before pulling it out and dropping it on the floor. Calem then proceeds to throw the boulder at Ash and Brock who barely jump out of the way in time.
As Ash gets up to run again, he notices the well where he, Brock and Holly climbed out of and gets an idea.
"Brock, follow me to the well," he calls out.
Brock looks at Ash curiously as he too gets up but doesn't hesitate to obey his friend as he ducks just in time to avoid another boulder thrown by Calem and runs after Ash. The two men run as fast as their legs can carry them while the giant leaps over the fallen column and storms after them. As soon as they make it to the well, Ash stands on top of the well and gives Brock a serious look.
"When I say so, we're gonna jump into the well," he says.
"Jump into the well? Ash, are you crazy?" Brock asks horrified.
"We're going to fall right onto the beanstalk and pretend we fell to our deaths," Ash explains.
"But we could miss it and actually fall to our deaths," Brock says.
"What choice do we have?" Ash challenges.
Brock looks away and hesitates for a proper response, but his train of thought is interrupted by another growl from Calem. Brock shakes his head before standing on top of the wall well with Ash and they both nod before they simultaneously jump into the well. Calem stops running and stands there surprised as he hears the two men letting out screams of horror as Ash and Brock fall deep into the well until they land right on top of the Beanstalk and grab its branches before they fall off. They continue to scream until they slowly lower their voices to indicate that they have fallen all the way to the ground where they cannot be heard. Calem walks over to the well and peaks inside in disbelief only to see nothing but darkness inside the well that covers Ash and Brock hanging on to the Beanstalk. The giant keep staring until he slowly chuckles and lets out a cruel grin.
"Goodbye," he bellows before he turns around and walks away. Ash and Brock wait a moment until Calem's footsteps can no longer be heard and they let out sighs of relief.
"Okay, that was a decent plan," Brock admits before giving Ash a serious glare. "But don't ever come up with something like that again."
"Fair enough, Brock," Ash says with a toothy grin. "Fair enough."
Back in the mice's secret hideout, Holly, Cilan, General Wulfric, and the rest of the people turned into mice wait eagerly for Ash and Brock to return with their queen. General Wulfric paces back and forth in frustration while Cilan, Holly, and the other mice stare at the floor with worry covering their faces. Holly begins to worry that something terrible happened to her beloved fiance and is eager to see his face again.
Suddenly, the mice hear footsteps coming from the hall and they watch with anticipation as Brock and Ash enter the hideout with looks of defeat. General Wulfric glares at the two men and begins squeaking angrily. Ash and Brock look at each other before they sigh sadly.
"We couldn't bring back the queen," Brock says apologetically. "Calem suddenly came into her room and chased us down."
The mice look at the tall man devastated and begin to let out tiny cries in response to his news.
"The good news is we managed to fake our deaths so that probably means Calem and consequently Madame Venus won't go looking for us," Ash says. "But what was he even doing going to her room."
"Hunting you filthy simpletons down, of course."
Ash and Brock look around confused until General Wulfric grumbles and gestures some of the other mice to come in showing that they have the magic harp.
"Honestly, you worms were stupid to think I would not squeal at my own master after you came up with your plan right where I could hear you," The harp rebukes. "When all of you were gone, Master Calem had come to the treasury to look for you and I told him everything. What did you expect when he and Madame Venus are my masters?"
Ash, Brock and the mice glare angrily at the harp. Ash stomps toward it and picks it up with an angry look.
"Give me one good reason I shouldn't take out my sword and cut your strings right now," he growls.
"You wouldn't do that," the harp says plainly. "You have too much of a kind heart to harm a hostage. Your threats mean nothing to me."
Ash keeps his angry glare fixed on the harp for a moment before he sighs.
"You're right, I'm not that kind of person," he says stepping back before turning to Brock. "But I think Brock is desperate enough to turn Holly back into a human to not care about your strings. Is that right, Brock?"
Brock merely takes out his sword again and points it at the harp with a menacing look. The harp yelps in fear.
"Alright, alright, I promise never to snitch on you two again!" it cries out in a panic. "I'm only capable of speaking the truth so you must know that I mean it!"
Brock and Ash keep looking down at the harp with Brock's sword pointed at it for a few seconds before Brock slowly puts his weapon away. The harp sighs in relief as Brock turns away to kneel down so that Holly can hop on his hand and hug his thumb affectionately, glad to see that he's alright. The tall man smiles at the sight of the woman he loves looking so happy despite still being a mouse before turning to Ash.
"So what do we do now?" He asks. "I mean we can try again with retrieving the queen now that Calem thinks we're dead and the harp can't snitch on us again."
"Maybe," Ash says. "But then I would still need to work out having the courage to kiss her while we keep her here."
"If I may intervene, I must point out that, that wouldn't work," the harp says.
"What? Why not?" Brock asks.
"It is as I said, the queen must be kissed by someone brave and courageous," the harp answers. "I'm afraid that it is clear that this man doesn't even have the courage to be upfront with his feelings for her much less kiss her. If he is just kissing her here with little true meaning behind it, then the spell won't break. He must face what he fears concerning the outcome of the kiss in order to show his bravery."
Ash stares at the harp surprised by what she said and thinks about it for a moment before he reluctantly accepts the truth.
"She's right," he says. "I have always been afraid of how Queen Serena would react if I tried to act on my feelings since we were children. I believed that any attempt I made would result in rejection no matter how much she would let me down with the most sincere care. As a result, I have always been afraid to show so much as a hint of my affections to her even if everyone else in the kingdom knew how I feel. If I am supposed to break the spell, I have to do it in a way that shows I'm not afraid of what happens after I dare kiss her."
Brock hesitates before he says, "Okay, I guess that makes sense, but how are you going to do that?"
Ash pauses for a moment before he says, "We have to wait until the wedding starts and when the two of them are at the altar, that's when I'll break in and kiss her."
The mice all squeak out little gasps and even Brock stares at his friend surprised.
"Ash, that's crazy," Brock says. "You could get pummeled by Calem before you get close to her."
"Not if we take him and Madame Venus by surprise," Ash points out. "Besides, facing the danger of getting killed just to free her from her mental prison is probably another good way to show my bravery."
"This is true," the harp says. "If you prove yourself willing to risk your life in order to do the deed then that should further secure the spell breaking."
Brock becomes uneasy after hearing all of this. He then turns to Holly who is still holding on to his thumb and is looking back at him.
"What do you think, Holly? Should he do it?" He asks.
Holly nods making the tall man sigh as he would never disagree with the woman who has his heart. He turns to Cilan and General Wulfric who also nod in agreement. Even the other mice nod and let out squeaks of support. Brock thinks about the position he is in before turning back to Ash.
"Fine, but I'm coming with you," he says before giving Ash a teasing look. "Someone has to make sure Madame Venus and Calem don't intervene while you finally get some smooching time with Her Highness."
Ash's face turns red much to the amusement of everyone around him.
"F-fine," he manages to say. "The Queen and I are probably gonna need help getting out to there as soon as she's free."
Brock nods in agreement with a smirk and Ash looks away with a blush still on his face as he feels his heart swelling, knowing that he is going to actually kiss the woman he loves.
It is the day of Calem and Serena's wedding. The Queen is up in her room looking at herself dressed in a simple wedding gown in the mirror. The honey blonde woman has a bland smile on her face as her brainwashed mind convinces itself that she is wearing the most beautiful dress in the world.
Meanwhile, down in the castle chapel, Madame Venus is cutting out large pieces of paper into people figures and laying them on all of the seats in the chapel. Calem is pacing back and forth in his groom suit with a gleeful look in his ugly face. Neither the giant or his magical sister are able to contain their excitement as their evil plan is soon to finally come into full motion. Madame Venus was thrilled when Calem told her that Ash and his companion fell to their deaths. She was surprised to learn that there was another man in a castle the entire time, but deep down all that mattered was that the raven-haired man, in particular, is out of the way.
After Madame Venus puts the last paper figure on top of the altar, she waves her hand and immediately the figures all come to life and stand up. The one at the altar picks up a bible and with another wave of Madame Venus' hand, a mouth appears on its face.
"Let us begin the ceremony," the figure commands in a strangely high pitched voice.
"An excellent idea, puppet," Madame Venus says with a mischievous grin. "Calem, collect your bride."
The giant nods his head excitedly before he races out of the chapel. Madame Venus' grin grows as she is unable to contain her enthusiasm.
"Oh, I've waited such a long, long, time for this," she says to herself. "Soon I shall rule Kalos just as we planned and when the time is right, I will dispose of my dimwitted brother and that stubborn bride of his and I shall proceed to take over the world. And to think my plans were almost spoiled just because of that annoying brat's presence."
The wicked woman let out a maniacal laugh and begins to pace back and forth just like her brother as she waits for him to return with his wife-to-be. It isn't long, however, before she hears a loud knock on the door to let her know that Calem and Serena are on the other side. With an evil cackle, she waves her hand once more and music loudly begins to play out of thin air. She runs over to the door and knocks before standing back to allow Calem to enter the room and walk down the aisle with Serena sitting on his arm. Madame Venus puts her hands together with wicked joy as Calem puts Serena down and they stand in front of the altar as the paper priest sings.
watch?v=yT14LUuSEm8
Two of you stand here in front of me tonight.
Are you happy?
It's your wish to be married now, am I right?
Are you happy?
Will you stay together till you're old and gray?
Can you stand living with each other till that day?
Well then can you?
Sickness and in health,
Will you help each other out?
Will you share your wealth?
You must tell me if you have any doubt!
Is this the man whom you take as your husband?
Tell me if he is.
Is this the woman you take as your wife?
Tell me is she?
Are you two in love?
Speak if it's true.
Do you love this man?
Do you?
And this woman too?
Speak if you do.
Are you in love?
Are you?
As the paper priest sings, Madame Venus stares at Serena with a mischievous grin.
"Yes, they will be very happy," she says in her mind. "A perfect match. Say that you love him, Serena. Say that you love him. I command that you say that you love him."
The tall, scrawny woman stares at her brainwashed prisoner in anticipation as she waits for Serena to speak. Calem also turns to his bride eager to say the very words he wants to hear. With all eyes on the brainwashed queen both her captives and her animated audience, Serena stares blankly as she tries to speak.
"I…" she says. "I...I love -"
"STOP!"
Madame Venus and Calem look around in confusion until the music suddenly stops and Ash and Brock break through the glass window behind the altar with Brock's sword drawn. Madame Venus becomes so shocked that she loses control of her paper people and they fall down on the floor lifeless.
"Stop this at once!" Ash yells angrily. "A wedding done with magic tricks is no wedding at all!"
"So you didn't fall into the bottomless well after all," Madame Venus growls angrily. "You're going to wish you had, you filthy wretch!"
"Try it, lady," Brock says threateningly with his sword pointed at the wicked woman and her giant brother. "Ash, go now!"
Ash nods and runs over to Serena. His angry face fades as he stares at her beautiful face.
"Oh, Queen Serena," he says wholeheartedly. "If you can hear me, I want you to know from the bottom of my heart that no matter what happens I wish I could have this moment with you under far better circumstances."
With that, he silently prays to The Lord to give him strength before he places his hand on Serena's cheek and kisses her full on the lips.
The entire chapel is silent as everyone watches the raven-haired man pour out all of his love for the Queen of Kalos as he presses his lips against Serena's. After several seconds, he slowly breaks the kiss and stares at her with anticipation.
For a moment, it seems like nothing happened, but then the queen's eyes become saturated until they shine ocean blue once again. Ash sighs and lowers his head in relief until he suddenly feels Serena's right hand lift his head up by his chin to show her smiling brightly with tears in her eyes.
"So do I, Ash," she says with pure sweetness in her voice.
Without another word, the queen pulls her faithful esquire toward her and smashes her lips together with his.