Chapter 7: I Had a Nightmare, Master!

The police arrived at the scene and took the four fugitives in custody and eventually behind bars. After returning the money the thugs have taken during the first few days of operation plus the damages done, the restaurant can finally feed its customers and rest easy at the same time. Both the old man and Kelly are so grateful to Drew and May, tonight's dinner was on the house. That night, even if there were only the four of them celebrating, a huge feast was prepared. They raised their glasses and it was bottoms up. Don't worry, there's no liquor here; just plain refreshing orange juice.

"Please don't do something like that ever again, grandpa." Kelly sighed. "My neck still hurts."

"Sorry if I made you worry, dear." The old man replied. "I just don't want to let my friend down."

"Well, I hope we all learned our lesson today."

The purple-haired girl turned her eyes on Drew and May.

"I just want to say thanks for saving the shack." Kelly said. "If it weren't for you, those goons would be coming back. Where did you ever learn to fight like that, May?"

"Well, uh…it's kind of complicated to explain." May replied; giggling. "I tend to do things impulsively."

"Yeah, so I've seen. You looked like a real live action star out there. You'll be the talk of LaRousse City tomorrow."

"Huh? What? No, I'm too shy for showbiz. Oh dear…"

"Ha, ha, ha, ha…I'm only kidding, May."

"Oh well…ha, ha, ha, ha…"

"Don't worry, May. Your secret as a genie is safe with us. Nobody will know, I promise."

"Thank you, Kelly. Now I'm indebted to you."

"It's the least we can do for saving my grandpa's livelihood."

They all feasted on what was on the dining table that night. May changed her clothes to her default ones and presented a dance number with matching music for entertainment. Drew provided a song number with his charming voice (Kelly plugged her ears during Drew's performance). All of them had a great night until bedtime. Drew and May returned to the Hayden manor late at night where Drew fed his guard Pokemon Roselia with some yummy Pokemon food he bought at the store for a job well done in guarding the house.

"Our little walk turned out to be more interesting than I had hoped. Thanks again, May." Drew said.

"You're very welcome, Master." May smiled. "I'm glad that I made your day worthwhile."

"How many wishes do I have left? Just to make sure…"

"You still have four wishes left, Master."

"Oh okay. Well, I'm going to hit the hay now. You go get some sleep too."

"Good night, Master. Sweet dreams."

"You too, May."

The magical May bowed down to her master before closing her eyes and disappearing in a cloud of pink smoke and turning into the same sparkling rose Drew saw in his plant box a few days ago. Drew put the rose back at its flower vase and returned to his bed for a good night's sleep. Both of them were sound asleep in their turfs: Drew in his room and May inside the deepest depths of the red rose. It was ten in the evening and the night was very quiet.

It was also in that silent night that May started to dream about something.

---0---

Screams of agony and cries for help echoed throughout the desert kingdom. Outside the castle walls, large trebuchets hurled huge boulders over the walls and into the unfortunate buildings within it. Clattering armor and marching footsteps were heard across the city along with the clashing of steel and the strafe of arrows. Inside the castle, the royal family was packing their things and preparing to leave their beloved home to seek sanctuary somewhere far away from danger.

"Quickly, Your Highness, you must leave this place at once." The captain of a platoon of soldiers said to the queen.

"No, I won't leave without my husband!" The queen cried.

"Don't worry about me. Get away from this place as far as possible." The king said. "Captain, the safety of my family is now in your hands."

"I won't fail you, sir."

"No! You must come with us! I don't want to see you all bloody."

"Captain, there's no time! Take them to safety now!"

The queen and her children fled with the platoon of guardsmen as soon as the foreign invaders rammed the throne room door open. The king along with a handful of loyal soldiers engaged the enemy; attempting to give his family enough time to escape. A convoy of caravans went through the back door of the castle and traveled across the scorching desert. But they, too, weren't spared from the atrocity of the foreign invaders. Two platoons of enemy cavalry surrounded the caravan convoy and raided it. The guardsmen sent to protect the royal family tried fighting back despite the sheer numbers of the enemy.

A stray arrow almost hit May from behind if it wasn't for her younger brother who pushed her out of the caravan and took the lethal shot instead.

"No, Max…!" May shrieked.

It was fortunate for May to get out because the next thing that happened was beyond horrible. A flaming chunk of rock was catapulted from one of the enemy-controlled catapults and directly hit the caravan. She saw the horrendous sight of both her mother and her dead brother burning.

"Mom…Max…NO!!!" May couldn't help but cry.

Everything happened too fast for her eyes to see. She heard the trample of cavalry behind her. When she turned around, she saw the view of the tip of a spear aiming directly at her chest. The spear was thrown and pierced through her chest.

---0---

That same night, there was a loud crash in Drew's room. Drew woke up as soon as he heard the sound of something fragile breaking. He looked around and grabbed something hard like a book as a weapon. He thought that somebody broke into the household. He then realizes the fragments of the flower vase on the floor. That's when it hit his mind that something was definitely wrong with his magical companion.

"Roses are red, violets are Drew! Roses are red, violets are Drew!" Drew had no time to fool around. He was such in a panic; he repeated the chant over and over until the rose disappeared in a puff of pink smoke.

As soon as the smoke cleared, May was rolling recklessly on the floor while suffering from a bad dream.

"May, wake up! May…! May…!" Drew shook the brunette girl as hard as he could but to no avail. May kept on pushing Drew away as a result of her bad dream.

As a last resort, he grabbed a Pokeball in his desk.

"Masquerain, let's go!" Drew sent out his Masquerain. "Shower May with Bubble!"

Masquerain let out a steady stream of bubbles at the intended target. The popping bubbles let out tiny drips of water that were enough to snap May out of her misery. Drew then ordered his Masquerain to stop and return to its Pokeball.

"Huh? What? Master…?" A confused May woke up.

"May, you were having a bad dream." Drew explained.

"A bad…dream…?"

"Care to tell me what's wrong, May?"

"Master, I…I…"

She cut her words and embraced Drew like a stuffed toy. She cried and cried that silent night. Drew brushed his hands on May's back.

"It's alright, May. Everything's going to be just fine." Drew said.

May continued to cry as tears ran down the side of her face like a steady stream. "Master, I'm scared. I'm really scared."

"Don't worry, I'm here for you. It's okay to cry. Just let it all out."

"I'm scared…I'm really scared."

"Why don't you sleep with me for the night? Don't turn into a rose tonight."

"A-Are you sure?"

"As your master, I'm ordering you to do so. Besides, you just broke my flower vase and I don't have a replacement."

"If you insist, Master…"

A few minutes later, the night has become silent again. Drew and May shared one bed during that night and slept the remaining hours before daybreak. May wasn't scared anymore now that she felt very secure with her master by her side. The feeling of a fast heartbeat began to set in again. It was love.

END OF CHAPTER 7