Hello, I hope that the start on your new year has been very pleasant!
And I would like to apologize for the late delay of the chapter, but things came up and I sometimes didn't have any access to the Internet...
Alright, let's get this story going, shall we?
Enjoy the chapter and don't forget to review at the end of it!
R&R!
Ash didn't know if it was luck, or if it was something that he had said … but, when he and Dawn walked back into the dining hall to reunite with the other guest, they found out that the royal family of Johto had left with haste.
Dawn Berlitz had of course asked her father why that was so, as in why King Tracey, Queen Clair and Prince Kenny had left... but Cyrus had only shrugged and told her that they had left without so much as a word.
It hadn't been until two weeks after the incident, that the King sent Cyrus a message and explained the tragic events that had occurred... but, what's even more surprising, is that he actually apologized on his son's behalf, and promised King Cyrus that such things would never happen again.
You would have believed that Dawn and Ash would get in trouble for the things that they had done, even if Ash was only acting out of duty. That's why it came as a relief to Ash that Cyrus declared that 'Sir Ash, knight of Sinnoh' would always be welcomed and respected in their house...
"And I take it that you've no idea how it makes sense..." The raven haired bodyguard sat on the inner wall of the castle walls along with his partner and the king's advisor, as they watched the sun set in the horizon. "I really thought that we would be punished for what we did."
"And you should have!" Brock Harrison, one of the king's most trusted men, scolded the mercenary. "You struck the prince of Johto, for Mew's sake!"
"I didn't know you were from Kanto, Brock." Ash and Pikachu looked at the squint-eyed man, who was looking rather uncomfortable at the moment.
"What? How did you-"
"'For Mew's sake'." The two bodyguards smiled, taking the advisor by surprise. "Only a man from Kanto would use Mew that way... especially since the other regions are sure that their legendaries are stronger."
"Darn it..." Brock mumbled, slightly embarrassed that the mercenary had figured out his secret in just a couple of weeks. "I really should watch what I'm saying."
"Yeah, you should." Ash chuckled as he looked at the troubled older man at his side, the guards were starting to close the outer gate for the day. "How many know about this fact?"
"King Cyrus and Queen Johanna..." The advisor muttered, not wanting to look the young man and pokemon in the eye. "I came to them as a little boy... my father was a very well known man back in Kanto, he was actually a landlord of Pewter City! But... he went crazy, so me and my siblings split up and decided to test our luck in different places."
"I'm sorry to hear that." His words were followed up by a rather sad: "Pika-chuuu..."
"Thanks." Brock smiled sadly, he hated talking about his past, he doubted if anyone in the castle had as bad a childhood as he did... "What about you? Nobody knows where you're from... and how did you and Pikachu meet each other?"
Ash and the rodent looked at each other, sharing a look that nobody except them, and one other being, could read... before they turned back to the advisor.
"We met each other when I was three years old, and we've always been together eversince." Ash spoke slowly, as though he were choosing his words carefully.
"And where're you from?"
"Does it matter?" The bodyguard and rodent turned to look at the advisor, their eyes had flared up at that question. "I'm here to protect, not to answer unnecessary questions!"
"Whoa! Calm down, Ash!" Brock held his hands in front of him to protect himself, as though Ash was sending out heat-waves towards Brock. "It was only a question, you don't have to answer it."
"Thank you." The newly ennobled human and pokemon smiled weakly at him. "I apologize for my outburst... you're not the only one with uncomfortable memories from your past."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up." Brock gazed at the horizon as the sun went down. "It's just... It seems like we know everything about you! But, when I think about it, we don't really know a thing!"
"And that's the way I want it." Pikachu nodded along with his partner, as he spoke those words, their duty would start soon. "It's easier for us to live alongside you if you don't know that much."
"Alright, I understand." The advisor nodded, took a deep breath and then got up from his sitting position. "Well, I think it's time to get back to work... for all of us."
"I agree." The two bodyguards and royal advisor left the wall, saluting a few guards and continued on their way down towards the castle.
The sun had completely disappeared in the distance...
"You're so lucky..." The seventeen year old blunette looked at her friend with a deep frown.
"Are you crazy, Leona?" Why did she always do that? "You know how much I hate the royal life!"
"No, not the fact that you're a princess!" Leona shook her head quickly, then got a goofy smile on her face. "I'm talking about the fact that you get to be guarded by Sir Ash day and night!"
"Leona!" Dawn could feel her face grow red as she heard her friend's words; the blue penguin and brown rabbit only looked at her strangely. "Stop it!"
"Stop what?" The brunette with short hair asked, puzzled.
"That!"
"What?"
"Saying that I'm lucky since Ash guards me!"
"But you should!"
"No!"
"Why not?"
"B-Because!"
"Because...?"
"Gah!" The princess kicked a chair, which resulted in a tearing noise being heard before the chair fell to the ground with a thud. Both occupants of the room froze.
"Oh, no!" Leona exclaimed as she ran towards the princess, who only stood there looking confused. "The dress! It's ruined!"
"So? We can fix it, right?" Dawn shrugged as she removed it from her body.
"Well, yeah! But what're you going to wear now?"
"How about some of my other clothes?"
"Yeah, that could work..." The chambermaid pondered as she quickly started to look through the wardrobe for something presentable for the princess to wear. "Let's see... no, no, no, maybe, no, no, ye-no, no..."
Dawn only sighed as she heard her friend go through her entire closet, which was pretty big; she only lay herself on the bed and looked up at the ceiling.
"No, no no..."
The blunette watched on as Piplup and Buneary played some kind of game, they ran around in the room and tapped each other and then started to run the other direction... it looked kinda fun, but Dawn knew that she couldn't join them... so was almost a grown-up, and a princess, so she couldn't do such childish things. Even if she sure missed them.
"I've found it!" Leona's voice was so eager that Dawn quickly got up from the bed and ran towards her... a little too quickly... so fast that she barely saw things she passed... so fast that she tripped over a little footstool...
"Aaah!" Dawn cried out as she was sent crashing down towards the floor, but Leona quickly caught her in her arms. "Phew, thanks, Leona..."
Suddenly, the door was kicked down by an incredible force as Ash and Pikachu charged in with wild looks and their weapons at the ready.
"What's wrong? Who is hurt?" They demanded to know as they looked around wildly in the room... until they both started to blush heavily... "E-Excuse me! P-Pince...ss!"
Dawn frowned and looked at the embarrassed bodyguards, and then at the extremely bothered Leona... but she finally realized what was going on, since she felt a chill in her body due to the lack of clothes...
Ash and Pikachu clasped their hands over their ears as they heard the princess's scream, they groaned and hurried out of the room, closed the door, and slid down the wall as they panted heavily.
"Never... never again..." Ash breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm his pulse down. "We're lucky if we get to live till tomorrow..."
"Pika..." The rodent cooed sadly as he held his little paw onto his stomach and felt how it raised and lowered itself. "Chuuu..."
"I know we're going to hear this for the rest of our lives..." Ash groaned as he slowly got up, since people who passed them started to look at them strangely. "But..." His face had the slightest of blushes as he said this. "... it was worth it..."
"Pi? Pikachu! Pika-Pi, PikaPi!" The rodent quickly scolded his friend as he jumped onto his shoulder and pulled his ear. "Pika!"
"Ouch! Hey! What's the big idea?" The mercenary was now red in anger as he held Pikachu in front of him, out of reach from his ear. "I was only joking!"
"Pi-hi..." The rodent held its little paws in front of its mouth as he tried not to laugh. "Pika-ha-ha-ha!"
"Very funny, Pikachu... very funny..." Ash muttered and let him down onto the floor, where he continued to roll around and get every passer-by's attention.
Then the door opened and the two warriors tensed themselves and stood in some kind of half-salute...
The open door showed Leona and Dawn... The chambermaid glared slightly at the two mercenaries, even if they hadn't done anything bad... intentionally anyway... Dawn, on the other hand, gave him a wink as she walked pass him and continued towards the big hall where she and some other nobilities had decided to meet.
"Oh, brother..." Ash sighed as he realized what had happened, Pikachu gave him a light smack on the back of his head with his, now healed, tail before they started to follow the princess and her friend.
"Hey, Ash, Pikachu! What's wrong?" The two bodyguards' heads snapped up at the voice of the royal advisor.
"Brock? Why should anything be wrong?" Ash looked at his companion, who gulped; they feared that the rumor had been spread.
"I don't know... but you've been awfully quiet-...er... " Brock suddenly reminded that Pikachu and Ash were two beings that tended to communicate with each other only. "Anyway, you've been looking a little down lately."
"I have things on my mind, nothing else." The young man shrugged and then looked at the advisor. "What about you? Shouldn't you attend to your duties or something?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing!" Brock chuckled and made a motion to Dawn and Leona whom had already left. "Can't keep up?"
"Crap!" The two mercenaries hurried after the princess and chambermaid, with the advisor hot on their heels. "Why are you following us?"
"The same reason as you: I'm here to prevent the princess from making any bad decisions!" The slightly older man smirked as he felt his pulse starting to rise.
"What?"
"You've no idea where they're going, don't you?" Brock chuckled once again. "Seriously, Ash... do you never think about the future? Have you always lived in the present? You know, dreaming won't kill you!"
"What do you know about that?" Once again, the two bodyguards' sullen attitude took Brock by surprise, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. "Care to explain?"
"Right..." The advisor paused, as to gather his thoughts. "You know what day it is?"
"Yeah, it's Friday."
"No, not like that..." Brock shook his head, clearly disappointed that Ash didn't know about the great event planned for today. "It's Princess Dawn's birthday!"
Ash didn't answer him; he walked right up to the two girls and spread out his arms, stopping them.
"Hold on..." He glared at them, not caring about the awkward and embarrassed incident that had transpired. "Is it true, is it your birthday today?"
"Why... Yes, Ash... It's my birthday." Dawn answered him, confused at his harsh and suspicious attitude.
"Alright." He nodded and took a deep breath. "First off; Congratulations..." Followed with a: "Pika! Pika-chu!" He then narrowed his gaze. "Secondly; Why haven't I been informed about these events?"
"Chill, Ash!" Dawn laughed and pushed him playfully, only to earn another glare. "Alright! We didn't tell you anything since you'd only do something boring!"
"'Boring'?"
"Yeah! As, trying to not make me go, have me sit down all the time, and so on." Dawn laughed slightly, trying to ease his mood... although, that stone-face didn't budge so easily. "Come on! It's only one evening! What could happen?"
"Do I need to remind you about the Prince of Johto?" Ash growled, clearly not wanting to get stuck in the same situation again. "Princess, I highly advise you to-"
"Forget it, Ash!" Dawn held up her hand in front of his mouth, now taking command. "It only happens once a year, and I'm not going to let you ruin this for me!"
"She's right, you know..." Leona added in, glad that the princess finally had a point against the mercenary. "The princess can't live in a bubble her whole life!"
"But- But... How..." Ash let out a long sigh, he hated it when people beat him... verbally or physically... "Alright... But this cannot go on for too long!"
"Don't worry!"
"And you'll not leave the room."
"Of course not!"
"And you'll not be more than three meters away from me."
"Of-... hey!"
"Ash, I highly advise you to listen at her..." Ash ignored Brock as he started to whisper to him. "The princess will become 18 in a few hours... and that makes her an adult, so she'll be able to order you around too..."
Dawn, Leona and Brock couldn't see any emotions on Ash's face... But Pikachu could tell that his friend was clearly annoyed and pissed off.
"Alright..." He took a deep breath. "I won't follow you in there, as long as you don't leave the room..."
"Deal!" Dawn smiled and then, to exactly everybody's immense confusion, she gave him a hug... "Come on, let's go!"
Leona shook her head, fighting an internal battle... but she still followed Dawn towards the hall. Brock also shook his head, but it was more in amusement as he followed the princess. Pikachu shook his head too, showing disdain for the event that had occurred.
Ash, on the other hand, had a very confused face that was full of many conflicting emotions…He then slapped himself on the cheek, brining himself back to reality.
"Pikachu." The rodent sighed in relief, glad to see his friend back into action. "Follow the princess... do not let her out of sight until I'm back!"
"Pika!" The rodent saluted his friend as he sprinted after the princess.
Ash, on the other hand, started to run in the other direction...
"Are you ready, lady Dawn?" Brock asked carefully as they were at the big doors to the hall. "Remember now... Many of the people in there may be your good friends, but you still need to show maturity and elegance befitting a princess."
"I know, Brock... I know..." Dawn answered him. She was annoyed that Leona couldn't come in with her... but she suspected that her very good friend saw it as a relief. "Just open the door."
"Alright." Brock smiled as he grabbed the door with both his hands and pushed it open, allowing the slight creaking noise to attract everybody's attention... he then, when it was all quiet in the hall and everyone was looking at them, cleared his throat and said loudly. "Presenting... Lady Dawn Berlitz, Royal Princess of Sinnoh!"
The murmurs started as everybody laid their eyes on her... everyone all had different emotions on their face ranging from pride and admiration to jealousy and even lust.
But Dawn had learned a long time ago to completely ignore their looks and walked, as planned, towards her father so he would be able to give his little speech.
King Cyrus smiled as he took his daughter into a hug, proud to see her turn into a grown woman. He then nodded towards one of his guards, who then raised his halberd and slammed the end of it into the ground... making it silent once again.
"My friends!" Dawn looked up towards her father, her head tilted slightly as he spoke, he had been practicing that speech for several weeks now. "This is a day of joy! This is the day when our princess becomes an adult!"
People started to clap and cheer, some forced some not...
The king waited until it had all calmed down before continuing.
"I want to thank everyone who's graced us with their presence!" Cyrus looked from one person to another, smiling greatly. "It's no coincidence that you've been invited to this big celebration!"
Dawn shook her head... she knew that he had sent out invitations to just about EVERY noble in the region, in the hopes of finding a husband for her... since many of the nobles were related to royal families. She was so deep in thought that she actually missed her father speech.
"-And, with that, I'd like to say... Happy Birthday, Dawn!" The blunette looked around quickly as the room echoed with 'Happy Birthday's. The only thing she could do was to smile sweetly and do an elegant curtsy towards the audience.
"Now..." King Cyrus was really fond with his dramatic pauses... "Let the party begin!"
"Remember, princess..." Brock, who had mysteriously appeared behind her, whispered. "Behave as a royalty should!"
"Don't worry, Brock." Dawn winked at him... only to see some of her friends, squeal, and start running towards them. "Autumn! Marilyn! Rebecca!"
"Princess..." Brock face-palmed as he groaned loudly, Cyrus sending him a strange look...
"Dawn!" Autumn, who had short brown hair and brown eyes, cried out as she saw her royal friend. "So good to see you!"
"Dawnie!" The blunette stopped her sprint as she heard her other friend's very embarrassing nickname for her... "Happy birthday!"
"Thanks, Marilyn..." Dawn sweat-dropped, why did she call her that? "Nice to see you again!"
"Don't forget about me!" A girl with pink hair and eyes and a silver tiara on her head, smiled as she walked towards Dawn. "Let me also say: Happy birthday!"
"Thanks, guys!" Dawn laughed... although, the memory of Leona still not being able to be here still rang in her head. "What have you been up to?"
Marilyn pushed Rebecca forward and winked at the blunette.
"Becky here is engaged!"
"No way!" Dawn's eyes widened as she quickly clasped her hands in front of her mouth. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah, I am!" Rebecca squealed and showed off her left hand where a beautiful diamond ring adorned of her fingers.
"That's so awesome!" Dawn laughed and hugged her friend, along with Marilyn and Autumn.
"And we heard you also had a little suitor..." Autumn sang in a sing-song voice as she tried to look innocent. "But... he wasn't to your interest?"
"'Interest'?" Dawn got a disgusted look on her face as she began to explain the events that had occurred with Prince Kenny.
And at the end of the story, the other three girls thought as badly about the prince as Dawn did.
"How dare he?" Exclaimed Marilyn, who didn't find that boy so cute anymore... "Who knows what would've happened if your bodyguard hadn't been there?... By the way... is he cute?"
"WHAT?" Dawn's outburst gave the girls an idea to their question. "N-No!"
"Aha, so where is he then?" Rebecca giggled.
"I... don't know..." Dawn was also started to look around, but she couldn't find that raven haired young man. "He told Pikachu to guard me... but I haven't seen him since..."
"Why-"
"Euhm... excuse me, ladies?" All the girls turned towards the taller man, with squint-eyes. "But... King Cyrus sent me to inform you that the dance is about to start."
"Brocky!" Marilyn exclaimed happily and jumped around him. "How've you been! Good? That's nice to hear! Alright! Goodbye!"
"Wait... what?" Brock's frown got even deeper as Autumn looked shyly at him. "Did you hear me?"
"Yeah, Brock, we did." Dawn nodded, slightly ashamed by her friend's small crush for her father's advisor. "You may leave us."
"Thank you, princess..." Brock bowed, happy to finally get away from his shy, young fan-girl...
He continued to walk away from the scene; He walked towards a door, one of which he had had never been into before in all his years at the castle, as he was curious where it would lead to...
He walked into the room and looked around.
The kitchen... Why were there so many kitchens in this castle?
Brock shook his head and continued to walk through it, many people of varying ages were working there. Some cooked, others sliced, others cleaned and so on...
"Excuse me, sir?" The advisor looked towards the source of the voice and saw a girl of about his age. "Can I help you?"
"Yes, lady, you can..." The squint-eyed man cleared his throat and looked important. "What's your name?"
"It's Theresa..." Said the brown haired girl with purple eyes, her long hair tied up in a knot. "Are you lost?"
"My dear!" Brock quickly got down on one knee and grabbed her hand, hearts in his eyes. "Long have I been lost in the hunt for the love that would fill my heart! But now I've finally found it! Come, let's make two beings a little less lost in the word by-... GAH!"
The advisor fell towards the floor in slow motion...
"I... thought... I... had... lost you..."
"Croa... croa... croa..." Was the only sound the bluish frog made as he dragged the man away from the scene... leaving a VERY confused woman behind them...
"So, which one's yours?" The man in a black cloak looked at the gray-haired girl who wore some kind of black spandex outfit, two knifes strapped to her sides.
"The one with blue hair, the birthday child..." The mercenary/bodyguard muttered in his corner as he continued to glare at people who passed them. "You?"
"That one!" Ash didn't bother to look in the direction she pointed, he only did some kind of grunt-sound and kept watching Dawn.
"So, you're a bodyguard too?"
"That's right!" She quickly got up and looked very proud. "I may never be sure who spilled the beans, but now that they've been spilled, I'm the super-duper ace bodyguard, Marble!"
"You're not a bodyguard, are you...?" Ash almost yawned at the girl's antics, not at all impressed. "I hope you realize that lying means execution in some regions."
"I'm sorry, sir..." Marilyn looked down, looking deeply ashamed. "I'm a guard in Twinleaf Town... but my cousin is Lieutenant Jenny, and she said that if I just work hard I'll become a bo-"
"Don't become one." Ash shook his head. "It's a dangerous, hard and very boring profession. You should aim at rising through the ranks... at least you can walk anywhere you want and will not need to stand in the same place all day."
"But-"
"I'm serious, don't become one."
"A-alright..." The girl, Marble, sniffed a bit as she got up from her chair and walked out of the hall, leaving Ash to feel a slightly bad about himself.
Dawn couldn't understand it... it had happened again!
This was probably the sixth dance that she had had tonight... and they all ended in the same way. A boy would and ask if he could dance with her, she would say yes, they would dance for a while, the boy started to feel uncomfortable, and after the dance he thanked her quickly and hurried away... was she a bad dancer? She had taken many lessons, and she had thought that she was good at it...
"Hi, Dawnie!" Marilyn looked at the princess with a frown, even if they had known each other a few years, she would never completely understand her. "What's the matter?"
"It's just..." She paused. "Every time a guy asks me to dance with him, it always ends with him getting all sweaty and then hurries away from me!"
"Oh... you haven't realized it yet?" Marilyn gasped as she held her hands in front of her mouth.
"Realized what?"
"Next time... look at your surroundings while you're dancing!"
"A-alright..." Dawn hesitated. But, as soon as she did said that, a slightly shorter guy with blond hair asked her to dance with him, and she accepted.
They didn't say a word as they did the simple waltz, which Dawn found ridiculously easy. But, she started to feel that the boy she was dancing with tense up, and then she remembered her friend's advice.
The princess looked around as she was being spun around... but, she didn't notice anything strange, that was until she saw a being in a black cloak...
She followed him with her eyes, and she could see that he was tracking her and the boy movements very closely... and, sometimes, he would bring up two of his fingers to his eyes, and then pointed towards the boy she was dancing with... and then he would tense the bow he had in his lap...
"Ash..." Dawn shook her head in both annoyance and amusement. "So, that's why you were away for all this time..."
"D-Did you say something?" The blond guy asked as he eyed the mercenary in the corner carefully. "Do you know that guy?"
"Well, yeah! He's my bodyguard." Dawn couldn't help but giggle as she saw the scared look on the young man's face.
He was lucky that their dance ended quickly... since he hurried away as quickly as his legs could take him.
"Oh, yeah? You wanna play that game...?" Dawn muttered to herself as she made a signal to her lady-friends to rally with her. "Hey, you wanna see who that weird guy is in the corner?"
"Yeah! He's been staring at you the whole night!" Rebecca nodded energetically. "He kinda creeps me out."
"I know... who sits in a ballroom wearing a black cloak with its hood over your head?" Marilyn frowned as she also looked towards the man, who seemed to notice that they were talking about him. "You think prince Kenny sent him?"
"I doubt that." Dawn giggled as she started to walk towards the man. "But, let's ask him."
"What now...?" Ash muttered as he took a firm grip around his bow and looked at the group of girls coming towards him. "I thought she wanted me to stay out of her way..."
He only watched as the girls came closer and closer... until they were about one meter away from him, where they stopped.
"What are you doing here?" The girl with blue hair asked, as she secretly winked at him so only Ash could see. "Who are you?"
"I'm hurt that you don't recognize your own bodyguard, lady Dawn." Ash removed his hood and blinked slightly as the bright light blinded him for a second. "Or... have you already forgotten about me?"
"Aww... you're no fun..." Dawn half-whined at him as he destroyed her little game. She then turned her head towards her friends and let out a deep sigh. "Yeah, he's right... this is my bodyguard, Ash, the man who never laughs."
"Ha... ha... ha..." Was the only thing they could hear from him. He got up and looked at the girls, did a bow and used the standard introduction for any non-royalty. "Greetings, I'm Ash, royal bodyguard to princess Dawn and a knight of Sinnoh."
The noble girls introduced themselves to him, even though some of them only did so halfheartedly since he wasn't a member of any royal family.
"Pika!" The quartet of girls looked towards the sound that came from behind them, and then a yellow blur jumped into the cloaked man's arms. "Pikachu, PikaPi!"
"Yeah, good to see you too, Pikachu." Ash smiled calmly as he rubbed his companion behind its ears. "Any problems?"
"Pikachu, pi-pi chu kachu pi." The rodent exclaimed while he waved his little arms. "Chu, pika ka pi!"
"Good, well, hope the night continues to be this cal-..." Ash stopped himself in his sentence as he realized that the girls still stood there listening to him, all the while looking at him as though he was crazy. "Excuse me... but can I help you?"
"You... talk... to the Pikachu...?" Marilyn looked dumbfounded as she asked that... so dumbfounded in fact that she didn't notice the dark look that settled over his face.
"'The Pikachu'?" He repeated and cleared his throat, to give the half-royal girl a piece of his mind. "Let me tell you-"
"Ash and Pikachu has been friends for a long time!" Dawn, who knew how easily offended her two bodyguards became if they were treated like that. "So he can probably only understand Pikachu, right?"
"Yeah... that's right..." The mercenary didn't want to talk about it any further, especially since he could actually communicate with any pokemon that he desired... with a method that only a very few knew about... "Pikachu and I have been friends for as long as we can remember..."
"That's so cool!" The young man and rodent frowned at Rebecca's statement. "How come-"
They were interrupted by a smattering of applause that echoed throughout the hall, causing all of them to turn towards the little stage that had been set up.
A woman, of around 25 years old, with long green hair and blue eyes, stood on the stage with a red top-hat in her hand. She wore a red vest, the same color as the hat, and held a short black stick in her other hand which had white-colored ends...
Ash watched as she moved the stick towards the hat, gave it a slight poke and then his eyes widened as he saw a Pidgey fly out of it.
"How..." Was the only thing he could say as he and Pikachu looked stunned at the display, they had never seen such thing in their whole life. "How's that..."
But, it didn't end there... She lifted a purple tablecloth into the air, pointed her short staff towards it and seemed to mumble a few words, she then removed it and showed three yellow bell-looking pokemon with different colored ribbons tied to their 'ears'.
"Chingling!" Was the only thing the three pokemon said as the audience gave out thunderous applause. "Ling!"
"A witch..." Ash growled and Pikachu sparked his cheeks as the mercenary tensed his bow. "Princess, get down!"
"No, Ash!" She actually jumped in line of fire, forcing Ash to lower the bow. "She's not a 'witch'! She's a pokemon magician!"
"What's the difference?" The two mercenaries wanted to know as they didn't stop tracking the woman's movements with their eyes, her bell-pokemon had started to sing. "She's trying to hypnotize us!"
"No, listen..." The princess shook her head. She couldn't believe that Ash, who seemed to know everything, didn't know what a magician was. "She's not doing any real magic, it's only illusions!"
"Not a witch?"
"No, not a witch! Seriously, what's up with you and witches?" Dawn sighed and shook her head once again. "Dad hired her to do a performance during the party, as a kind of birthday gift for me!"
"Alright..." The raven haired young man seemed to have accepted it for the moment, even though he still kept a watchful eye on the woman on stage. "Then... why don't you go and take part in it?"
"I will, don't worry." The blunette winked at him as she then started to run towards the scene.
Ash got a quick flashback of the events that had occurred a few hours ago... He tried to get rid of the image, to concentrate on his job... but, it wouldn't go away.
"Do you think the princess has starting to develop feelings for me, Pikachu?" Ash asked carefully, not wanting his friend to make fun of him.
"Pikachu?" The rodent looked at him like he was stupid or something like that. "Pika, chu chu chupika!"
"Really?" He let out a long sigh. "Seriously... what's up with me and princesses?"
The show had just ended as Dawn and her friends started to chat with each other about it... or, at least that's what Dawn would've wanted them to do...
"I don't know if I can trust that Ash-guy..." Marilyn pondered, more to herself than to the others. "I mean, he seems like a big brute!"
"I think he's kinda cute!" Autumn stated, but got slightly flustered as she received looks from the others. "W-What?"
"You think every boy you meet is cute, Autumn..." Rebecca shook her head, amused with her friend. "But I would say... he's rather attractive. A nice change from all those other boys who are scared of getting so much as a little dirt on their shoes... But... appearances can be deceiving..."
"Nope, he's the real deal!" Dawn beamed as she said those words, although she didn't do that after her friends looked at her with disbelief. "Alright, let me tell you something that happened a few weeks ago: It all started with me running off again and..."
So she told the about the story about her latest attempt to run away, how she had gotten to the lake, got attacked by the Gyarados, how Ash had charged into the heat of battle, how he had told her to run, and how he came back on a stretcher on the brink of death... she might have exaggerated her story just a little though...
"Wow..." Was the only thing Marilyn could say. "I didn't... expect that... from him... Excuse me, I'm going to speak with-... Hey! What's the big deal?"
"You're NOT going to seduce MY bodyguard!" The blunette stated stubbornly, as though she was protecting a toy. "He's mine! I mean... no, he works with me- or..."
"It's alright, Dawn, we understand." Rebecca nodded knowingly. Dawn let out a sigh of relief. "We know that you've fallen for this guy!"
"WHAT?" Dawn's scream was so loud that some people turned towards her, and the young man and rodent got up from their seats... only to sit themselves down again as they saw there was no danger. The blunette continued in a softer voice. "I've NO idea what you're talking about!"
"Alright, it's free game for you, Marilyn." Rebecca winked at her friend. And Marilyn, who got the wink, smiled as she playfully made her way towards the mysterious mercenary... only to be pulled back by her blunette-friend. "What's wrong, Dawn?... Something not right...?"
"Alright! Alright!" Dawn breathed heavily in frustration and embarrassment, as she felt her face fluster. "I don't want you to go and talk to him."
"Because...?" Those girls really wouldn't let her slip away so easily.
"Because, I... care... for him." The princess cursed her red face as she spoke those words, but they weren't satisfying enough for her friends.
"'Care'?"
"Okay, I like him!"
"'Like'?"
"I'm NOT going to go any further than that!" Dawn roared at them, actually making them back away a bit... however, they soon regained their composure and smiled knowingly.
"Fine, then talk to him." Rebecca encouraged her friend, really wanting her to find a boy she likes since she suspected that she was afraid to commit herself to just anyone. "I mean, what's the worst thing that could happen?"
"I'm going..." The princess sighed as she smoothed out her dress and took another deep breath, and started to walk towards the young man.
"What's wrong with you?" The voice echoed in Dawn's head over and over again, her palms felt sweaty. "You're a PRINCESS you have nothing to worry about! He's a mercenary! Sure, he saved your life, but you can't just fall for hi-... NO! I'm NOT falling for him! He's a friend, a very good friend, a friend who I want to-... STOP IT!"
Seconds that felt like minutes later, she stood face to face to him, neither of them saying a thing as they looked at each another.
"Umm... Hello..." Dawn felt her face turn a crimson as she forced her eyes not to look down towards the ground. "How... are you... doing...?"
"Everything alright, princess?" The mercenary could tell from her aura that she was distressed, was she feeling threatened? "You have something on your chest?"
"WHAT? I mean-... No, I think-... Why should I..." Dawn stopped rambling on as the young man got up from his chair and held a finger to her lips, calming her down and making her take a deep breath. "Thank you... I was saying: Why are you sitting here? Why not have some fun while you're here?"
"No thank you, princess." The cloaked man bowed slightly, disappointing her. "I never mix duty and entertainment."
"Yeah, I can see that..." Dawn muttered as she glared at him with a soft look. "When was the last time you had fun?"
"It was-... Alright, this isn't about me here." Ash tried to change the subject as he couldn't figure out a logical answer to her question. "It's my job to guard you, and it's your job to have fun."
"I will... if..." She leaned towards him, and whispered in his ear so Pikachu couldn't hear. "... if you dance with me."
"W-What?" She had never seen Ash so surprised or embarrassed since she met him. "I-I... That's highly inappropriate, princess."
"You don't want to?" The princess put on a face that was so adorable that the mercenary had to bite his lower lip discretely to not smile.
"It's... not... what I... want..." He breathed heavily. "I'm saying that... Your father's orders are strict, and I need to obey them."
"So..." Dawn seemed to ponder for a few seconds. "If he now changes them... will you dance with me?"
"Absolutely, princess." The mercenary smiled, he knew for sure that it was a thing her father wouldn't do, he could bet his sword on it. "It's only a shame that we know that King Cyrus will never do such things."
"Yeah, I know..." The blunette also smiled, even if it was for a different reason. "Do you know what time it is?"
"It's soon to be midnight, isn't that right-..." Ash's eyes widened when he realized what was going to happen. "No... no, you wouldn't dare..."
As soon as he said those words, several trumpets and other instruments started to play, to celebrate the day the princess turned 18...
"Sir Ash, knight of Sinnoh!" The mercenary gulped as he looked up towards the princess who was looking very commanding. "As a royalty of age of the halls of Sinnoh: I hereby command you to have this dance with your princess!"
Ash tried to sink down into his seat as everyone's eyes fell onto the very odd couple...however ... Dawn drew him up from his seat and forced him to stand up.
The knight looked towards the king, looking for support with his eyes, pleading... Unfortunately, the king seemed to translate his look as if seeking permission to dance with his daughter... So that's why Ash doubled his initial estimate for his pay in his head, as the king smiled towards his daughter with a nod.
"I've got to warn you, princess." He tried every way possible to get out of this situation. "I have never actually danced in my whole life and-"
"Oh, Ash... It's not that hard." She winked at him as she grabbed his right hand with her left and put her right on his back. "Put your left hand on my hip."
"On your-..." The mercenary closed his eyes as he let out a deep sigh and did as he was told, he mumbled a silent prayer to Ho-Oh as he felt something soft. "There."
"Good, now, follow me." With those words, she started to slowly move her feet, so Ash could understand how it went. "Listen to the rhythm of the music."
He tried to do that... however, he almost tripped on his very long cloak, causing some of the spectators to chuckle at him and him to growl dangerously.
"You have to get rid of the cloak, Ash." Dawn whispered to him, but when he shook his head, she said: "I order you."
The mercenary got an embarrassed look over his face as he dropped the cloak to the ground, showing that he was actually wearing some normal clothes underneath...
Dawn and the crowd around them gasped as they saw Ash in a silken white shirt that was done to his elbows, a pair of black leather shoes and some black pants, still a little too baggy for most people.
"A-Ash..." Even if his clothes weren't that 'fabulous' or outstanding, it was still a very nice change to see the mercenary dress like a normal person for once. "It looks great!"
"Thank you, Lady Dawn." Ash bowed, and was about to leave. "Seems like we're done here."
"Oh, no!" Dawn grabbed his arm and pulled him back, causing them get into dance-position again. "I don't care if people laugh or not, I will teach you to dance no matter how long it takes!"
"As you wish, Lady Dawn." Ash sighed and prepared himself for a life-time of embarrassment.
And, true to his thoughts, it was only a few seconds later when Dawn wince as he accidentally stepped on her feet and made him feel terrible about himself.
"I'm truly sorry, princess!" Ash bowed deeply, wanting to quit while he still had some sanity. "I think there's no hope for me in this thing."
"Ash..." She growled at him... not because he stepped on her foot, but because he was trying to get away at every chance that he could. "I command you to continue doing this until you get the hang of it!"
"But, princess, I-..." Ash stopped himself as he felt the rodent jump onto his shoulder, smack him in the back of his head, and then whisper some things hastily in his ear. "Really?" Pikachu nodded and jumped down, only to rush back towards the wall so he wouldn't get stepped on...
"Alright." Dawn smiled to herself as she saw Ash straighten his back and put on one of the usual brave looks that he usually had on his face. "It's time to do this!"
He then grabbed Dawn's hand and spun her around, causing her to come close into him as the dance continued.
People who had stood there to see Ash make a fool out of himself dispersed soon enough, and the people who wanted to see him succeed soon came towards them and formed a ring around them. The people of Sinnoh were starting to believe that Arceus himself had bestowed the royal knight with some amazing dancing skills as he danced like he had done it when he was a kid... even Dawn was starting to think it was so.
"Ash...?" She whispered carefully, making sure that only he heard. "How do you do that?"
But he didn't answer her... or rather, he mumbled something that she couldn't hear, so she leaned closer to him and heard it...
"Attack, withdraw, avoid, attack, withdraw, avoid, attack, withdraw, circle, attack..." She smiled to herself, she now knew what Pikachu had said to the young man... Since it was pretty clear that Ash would never learn to dance the conventional way, he decided to use his own method... his method of combat... "Huh? Did you say something, princess?"
"No, nothing at all!" Dawn smiled sweetly, feeling really proud of him, until she eyed him. "Where's your sword? I've never seen you without a weapon?"
"I left the bow in the corner..." She didn't know if Ash spoke slowly to focus or to think of what he did with the weapons. "And I've hidden the sword somewhere in the castle."
"So, you're finally unarmed?" The blunette asked with a relieved smile, maybe there was still hope for the man. "That's a nice change."
"I'm sorry, princess..." Ash smiled apologetically as he took the princess's hand away from his back and put it on his thigh, causing several people to gasp, as Dawn blushed as she something hard and metallic under the thin fabric of his pants. "But I never go unarmed."
"You-You're carrying a... knife...?" Dawn asked, as she had quickly withdrew her hand and put it back onto his back as they continued with their dancing.
"It's a short-sword." Now, when Dawn looked a little closer, she could actually see how his right leg didn't move as fluidly as his left leg, and that it seemed a little stiffer. "I will always be armed, so long as I suspect your life's in danger."
"Oh, Ash..." The mercenary had of course no idea what he was saying, since he only spoke the truth. He had never cared much for love or any such emotions, except honor and friendship, so that's why he became slightly confused when he heard the girl talk with such a soft voice... but he tried to ignore it and keep on dancing. "The song's about to end, do you know how to finish it?"
"What are you taking me for, an idiot?" Ash smiled as he now imagined the rhythm in his head, it was only a matter of seconds until it would end. "Alright, let's do this: Attack, attack, withdraw, circle, withdraw, attack and... finish!"
With his last word, he lightly kicked away the blunette's legs, causing her to fall to the floor. But then he quickly caught her in his arms, so it looked like a perfect ending to any dance.
A storm of applause was heard as the couple had stopped dancing. Even if the applause was not strictly for the two of them, as many other people had also joined in the dance, but there were many... many jealous looks being sent towards Ash since he had to honor to dance with the beautiful princess, especially since he was but a simple servant!
"Wow..." Was the only thing the blunette could say as she looked at the raven haired young man in front of her. "Ash... you're very good!"
"Thank you, princess." Ash did a deep bow, before he returned to his usual corner in the room and continued to glare at passer-bys who let their gazes linger on the princess for any period of time.
Dawn only stood there, dumbfounded, as she looked in her bodyguard's direction, that she didn't notice her friends run up to her and started speaking in excited tones.
"Dawnie! That was so cute!" The princess let out a short shriek as she felt herself get hugged from behind by Marilyn, causing her to jump. "Sorry!"
"Don't do that!" The princess breathed heavily as she said those words, both in annoyance and fright. "I almost got a heart-attack!"
"Sorry, Dawn, but we couldn't resist." Rebecca smiled calmly, since she was some years older than the others. "I just got a flashback when I saw you and Ash dance... it reminded me about mine and my fiancé's first dance!"
"Becca, stop it!" Dawn's face got all flustered for the hundredth time tonight, as she thought of the possibility of her and the mercenary together. "He's just a friend that I'm very fond of!"
"Whatever you say..." Autumn giggled slightly, and then she got a serious look. "But you should keep this in mind: King Cyrus is getting impatient, all the royal princes are being taken up and there's no way he's going to let you marry a non-royal as long as he can do something about it... And, from what I've heard, Ash is a famous mercenary, he's mostly known for his crazy habit to take on the most impossible and dangerous missions ever, so you can't take him for granted..."
"Don't talk like that!" The blunette snapped at her friend, but then she realized that she was right and let out a long and drawn sigh. "Tell me; What do I do?"
"You need to show him that you're more than a princess, Dawn." Rebecca encouraged her. "Show him that you're strong and independent, especially without your servants!"
"Alright." The royalty of Sinnoh got up and looked determinedly towards the raven haired young man. "That's exactly what I'm going to do!"
End of chapter 11
I can't believe I'm saying this... but there's a possibility that the next chapter won't come for a while... the school's starting now and they really like to watch us work our butts off...
It came actually as a surprise to me when I realized that, through all the story, I had never put a 'Brock-runs-after-ladies'-moment! So, I just had to put one in!
Will Ash come to accept Dawn's feelings towards him? Or will he reject her and move onto the next mission? Only the next chapter'll tell... alright, maybe not the next chapter, since then it would be rushed... but, maybe some chapters later!
By the way, I've two questions for you:
1. When I keep the word-limit under 10k, I get complains that it's too short... but, actually, the reviews are many more and more evolved as criticism... While, if it goes over 10k, I don't hear a thing about it... can someone care to explain, since I prefer to read 5-7k words in a chapter, 10k is too much to read on a computer-screen.
2.
My shiny version is NOT in MM's sig,
I'm constantly eating like a pig.
Unlike my evo, I won't sleep that much,
So I can eat more food and such.
What am I(pokemon)?
It's better to review later than never and I'll be seeing you in the next chapter!
R&R!