Switching Lives

MDM: Geez! Sorry for another long wait! But, I had such a great day yesterday, and now, this chapter is finished.

PokemonFreak90: Yeah, it's been too long! So we won't waste any more of your time. Roll it!

Chapter 5

Growing Closer

Dawn had just closed the door behind her and she slightly slid down it with a smitten smile. Today was like a dream, and it was all because of Ash.

Togekiss waddled over to the doppelganger princess and chirped at her curiously, wondering why she was so happy. Dawn gently rubbed the top of the Fairy and Flying type's feathery forehead with her hand and started to walk around the room in a daze.

"Togekiss, I just can't believe it." She said to her. "Ash, he's... he's like no one I have ever met. He was definitely not what I had first expected of a prince. He's nice to all the servants, like I am with Zoey. He doesn't care that he is a royal when he goes to help someone, and he's so easy to talk to."

The Jubilee Pokémon trilled, seeing that there might have been a spark formed between them.

"He also has a strong connection with his Pokémon, like I do with Piplup back at the manor. Ash just acts like himself, flaws and all. And I feel like I don't have to pretend like I'm an actual princess around him." Unbeknownst to her, a small pink blush was slowly spreading across her face.

"I don't know why, but every time I'm around him, although it wasn't many times since I just met him today, I feel like my face is blushing." She then stopped and turned to Togekiss. "Am I...blushing right now?"

Togekiss trilled, as if she was giggling, and that confirmed Dawn's suspicion. She felt her strawberry red face and tried to suppress her growing blush.

"Anyway," she continued, "He is just so... incredible."

Togekiss shook her feathery head. It was obvious that Dawn was falling for Prince Ash. Dawn fell down on her bed, feeling the happiest that she had ever been in her entire life. She thought that yesterday was the best day ever, but after meeting Ash, today definitely topped it.

The Fairy and Flying type went over to her bed and nestled in it, feeling happy for her friend. She was glad that Ash wasn't like the other pompous princes that came to court Salvia. Pikachu also was very friendly, as she remembered the Electric type and the time that they spent together while Dawn and Ash were out on their own.

Dawn then sat up, her grin splitting her face. "I can't wait to see him again tomorrow!" She happily exclaimed, her smile still not leaving her face. "Then we can spend some more time together!" With that thought in her mind, she went with a skip in her step into Salvia's humongous closet to change.

When she emerged, she was dressed in a long, pink silk nightgown, feeling the most comfortable she had ever felt, since most of the time back in the manor, she always had to wear her work uniform, even to sleep. So this was such a nice change for her.

Dawn slowly slid into the soft mattress and plush blankets. As soon as her head hit the cloud-like pillow, she was out like a light.

The next morning, Dawn woke up with the early morning sun hitting her face. She felt like she hasn't stopped smiling since the night before. She blushed slightly when she remembered the dream that she had just been having. Ash was in it, and the two of them were out in a beautiful meadow, with pink flower petals dancing in the wind. When she had looked over at Ash, the sunlight picked that moment to shine behind him, lighting up his head like a halo.

Dawn didn't want the dream to end, but then, she had woken up. She turned to Togekiss, who was also stirring out of sleep, and having the sun warm her up while she preened her feathers.

"Oh my gosh!" Dawn suddenly remembered something. "I promised Ash that I would meet him for breakfast!" She excitedly threw her covers off and dashed into the huge closet.

Togekiss trilled with amusement at Dawn's enthusiasm. It was obviously that the doppelganger princess had fallen head over heels for that charming prince.

A few minutes later, Dawn emerged from the closet. She was dressed in a darker pink gown with small red bows. On her feet were matching low heeled shoes. Her midnight blue hair had been tied up into a ponytail with a matching hair tie.

A knock then sounded on the door. Dawn double-checked her hair and the skirt of her dress. Seeing that she was presentable enough, she turned back to the door. "Come in." She called.

The door opened and Zoey stood in the doorway. "Good morning, Your Highness." She greeted. "I see you are up early."

Dawn quickly began thinking of a response. The reason why she would wake up early was because as a maid, she had to rise early to begin morning chores, or else, no breakfast for her, though it was never much of a breakfast, anyway.

"Well, I suppose it's because I want to see A- Prince Ash again. I said that I would meet him for breakfast." She eventually answered. Technically, it wasn't a lie. She actually couldn't wait to see Ash again.

Zoey smiled. "I see." She responded. This had been going better than she had thought. Seeing how charmed the princess was with the prince, there just might be hope for a happily ever after. "Well, then. Let us head on to the dining room."

Dawn nodded and began to follow Zoey, with Togekiss waddling beside her.

Soon, the three of them had arrived in the dining hall. Along the beige walls, there were several beautifully colored portraits and landscapes. A long table stood in the center of the room, covered in a white tablecloth. Dawn turned her attention towards the far end of the table and there were two place settings already prepared. On the adjacent side, there were two bowls for the Pokémon. Dawn subtly scanned around the hall for Ash, but then realized that she was early.

Dawn sat down at one of the place settings, the one on the end of the table, since she remembered that Salvia had told her that royals usually sit at or close to the ends of the table. Togekiss then sat down on her right, where a bowl was placed for her.

After a couple of agonizing silent minutes, the doors opened and Ash entered the dining hall with Pikachu on his shoulder and Misty following behind him.

"Good morning." Ash greeted Dawn with a smile.

Dawn grinned back while feeling a faint blush on her cheeks. She hoped that he didn't see it. "Good morning."

Ash sat down at the other spare place setting while Pikachu hopped down and sat down in front of the other bowl.

"You look nice today." Ash said, looking over her attire.

Now Dawn knew that she was turning bright pink for sure, almost as pink as her dress. "Thank you." She said, shyly.

She quickly glanced at what Ash was wearing. He wore a plain and casual black suit with a matching fedora hat on his head. On his hands were white gloves.

Soon, servants entered into the hall, carrying silver trays with many plates of food for the two of them and berries for the Pokémon.

One servant spoke to the doppelganger princess. "We have made plenty in the kitchen, Your Highness. So if you or His Highness want more, just call for one of us."

"Thank you." Dawn said. The servant then bowed and then all of them left the dining hall.

There was piles of toast, scrambled, fried, and boiled eggs, fruits of every kind, and a pitcher of lemonade. Dawn had wondered why not tea, but then she remembered that Salvia had told her that she doesn't like tea. There was also a large bowl of Berries in the center of the table, along with different types of Pokémon food.

Dawn followed Ash's example of carefully getting food as she put food on her plate, keeping up her illusion of being royal, and began to eat. The two laughed as they watched Pikachu gobble up an Oran Berry.

"So...did you enjoy your room?" Dawn asked Ash, attempting to start a conversation.

"Yeah." Ash answered, after swallowing a bite of toast. "It was so comfortable, I felt like I couldn't get out of bed today."

Dawn slightly smiled, remembering her similar experience when she had an actual bed to sleep in. "Did you need anything else, or is everything fine?"

"No, I'm okay." Ash assured her.

Dawn then noticed, as she slowly drank some lemonade, that Ash's plate had three scoops of scrambled eggs, two pieces of toast, an apple on the side, and he had just finished his glass and was pouring himself more lemonade. "You do eat quite a lot." She observed, but then immediately froze. That was so out of the blue, and to the point.

Ash glanced over at her and Dawn prepared for the worst. But instead, he just grinned sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, I do. Misty jokes that I have a black hole for a stomach, and I know she's right about that."

Both of them started laughing at that comment. Dawn kept her eyes on Ash as she did. Could he get any more amazing? His sense of humor only added to his charming personality. It was more evidence that he was unlike most other princes.

What neither of them knew was that Zoey and Misty were watching from behind the door that led to the kitchen. They knew that spying was not approved, but their curiosity had gotten the best of them.

"Things are going better than I thought." Zoey quietly said.

"I know!" Misty squealed quietly as she watched her master and friend interact with the princess. "They seem to be quite a couple."

"I agree." Zoey added. "Especially since Princess Salvia has turned down every royal who has come before Prince Ash."

Misty glanced at her, thinking about her words. She then turned back to the two royals, who were talking and laughing. Maybe those two would get along better than she had originally thought, too.

Soon, breakfast was over and the plates and bowls were empty. As the servants took the dirty dishes away to the kitchen to be washed, Zoey came up to Dawn.

"Your Highness, may I remind you that you have some duties to attend to today." She said.

The doppelganger princess slightly froze for a moment. How could she have forgotten about that? Salvia did tell her two days ago that there may be princess duties to do. But then she remembered that even princesses have responsibilities. But how hard could it really be? It certainly must be easier than her chores back at the manor.

"Alright then, Zoey." She eventually replied, hoping that it was an appropriate answer. Luckily for her, it seemed so.

"Yes." Zoey said. "Now, I've had some of the servants get some books and other resources that you will need for your studies, since your tutor is unfortunately ill today. Remember what you need to know: the laws of the kingdom and all of the countries that we have relations with."

Dawn slightly smiled. She did love to read whenever she got the chance. When she would clean and dust the books in the library at the manor, she would spare a couple of minutes to read a couple of the books.

"Okay. Thank you, Zoey." Dawn said to her, and stood up from her seat. Ash then got up from his. "Sorry, but as you can see..." Dawn began apologizing to him.

But Ash only smiled and brushed it off. "No, that's okay. I'll see you around, Princess."

With his smile bright, he held out his arm to Pikachu. The little Electric type stuffed one more Sitrus Berry into his mouth and then quickly scampered up to the prince's right shoulder. Both of them then left the dining hall.

Dawn felt her face grow warmer as she watched them leave. But she couldn't swoon right now. Not when she had more important things to do than staring at Ash. Dawn excused herself and then gestured to Togekiss to follow her.

Once the two of them left the dining hall, the doppelganger princess turned to the Fairy and Flying type. "Come on, Togekiss." She said. "Let's go to the library."

Togekiss trilled and then followed Dawn to the library. Once she opened the doors, she was shocked to see the large pile of books piled on one of the desks.

"Oh boy." Dawn nervously whispered to herself.

A couple of hours later, Ash and Pikachu were wandering throughout the hallways of the castle. They had spent most of the morning outside, working on their battle techniques, and luckily enough for them, there was a battlefield beside the castle to train on, too.

A loud and exasperated groan caught their attention. Ash saw that one of the library doors was slightly left ajar. He and Pikachu peered inside and saw that "Salvia" was banging her head against an open book while many other books that were also open were scattered across the desk that she was sitting at. Togekiss was trilling at her, not liking this, either.

Ash slightly snickered, making the doppelganger princess sit straight up and turn to the doorway, and he entered the library.

Dawn was very surprised to see him. "A-Ash." She slightly stuttered, hoping that he didn't see her act of unroyalty. "What...what are you doing here?"

"Pikachu and I were just outside, working on our battling skills." Ash explained. "We're taking a little break right now, and were just walking around until we heard you groan in here."

He then glanced over at the books. "Not much of a bookworm?" he asked.

Dawn looked back towards the pile of books. "Don't get me wrong, I like reading, but even I have my limits."

Ash laughed and said, "I hear you. I'm not exactly the studious type, either. Sometimes, though, I do enjoy a good book, but put me in a study group that doesn't involve interaction, and I fall asleep for a good three hours."

Dawn giggled as she pictured that image in her mind.

"So, is this part of your preparation to take the throne?" Ash asked.

Remembering that Salvia was getting herself ready to rule Sinnoh after the Queen passed away, Dawn nodded, looking down at her feet while putting on a sad face. Ash then got himself a little closer to her, but still maintained a proper enough distance.

"I remember when I had to learn stuff like that." Dawn looked up at him, a little surprised. "Back in Kanto, my mom had to always remind me to learn about our laws, traditions, and relations with other regions." he explained. "Personally, I learn things better through actions and experience, rather than with lots of reading." He then walked over to the desk and started putting the books back in a neat pile. "Maybe that could work for you, too. Want to try it out? It wouldn't be as frustrating or boring."

Dawn was shocked. Just when she thought that he couldn't get any more amazing, he had just become more so! Ash was willing to go out of his way just to help her study? "Why are you doing this for me?" she hesitantly asked. "You're a guest here."

Ash smiled at her and said, "Ruling a kingdom is a big job, no matter what other people think. And sometimes, even royalty needs help. My mom helped me come up with a way to help me learn this stuff when I was struggling. Now, I'm helping you."

Dawn thought about that for a couple of long seconds. Ash did have a point. Even though she wasn't the real princess, she still needed to keep up the act until she and Salvia switched back. Besides, if Salvia and Ash were to be wed one day, then they would need to learn to start working together, since they might be ruling the kingdom together.

Ignoring the strange prick in her heart at the thought of Ash marrying the real Salvia, she glanced over at the Pokémon. Togekiss trilled at her with encouragement while Pikachu gave her a cute chirp of agreement. Dawn then turned back to Ash, who was smiling brightly at her, and she nodded.

When the sun had set that day and the moon had climbed up into the sky, Dawn was ready to just slump back in her seat with relief. Who knew that there was so much to learn about a kingdom? She had learned of some relation ties, some laws that she didn't quite understand back when she was a maid, and some other traditions that royalty needed to know.

Luckily for her, Ash was right there to help her. If she got something wrong, Ash would just chuckle and gently correct her until she got it right. The first time he did that, Dawn was a little surprised. Usually, when Cyrus saw that she did something that wasn't good enough for him, he would either scold or punish her. But Ash, even though he technically had a higher position than her, would further help her, kind of like how a loving husband would treat his wife.

A betraying thought then went through her mind, thinking that Ash was only being nice because they might get married in the future. Well, not her, but Salvia. With that thought in her mind, she carefully asked him, "Ash, why are you being so nice to me?"

The prince looked at her curiously, but then gave her a bright smile. "Well, we're friends, right?" He asked her, taking her aback. "Even if we don't eventually end up married, we can still be friends."

Dawn returned his smile shyly and then turned her focus back on her studies. He did have a point. He was mainly there to see if there could be a marriage between them, but if it couldn't work, then at least they could be still be friends. Having been a servant for her entire life, friends were something that Dawn was very short on.

Soon, Ash decided to stop. "I think it's a good time for a break." He said, glancing over at the pile of books. It had decreased significantly, but there were still quite a few left. "We still have a way to go, but let's just take it slowly for the next couple of days."

"I agree." Dawn said, slightly stretching her stiff arms. She then turned to the prince. "Thank you for all of your help today, Ash."

Ash softly grinned at her. "No problem, Salvia."

A sleepy Pikachu stirred from his nap next to Togekiss and crawled up on Ash's shoulder. The larger Pokémon then waddled up to the doppelganger princess and they all left the library.

When they arrived at her room, Dawn lingered in the open doorway a little as Togekiss headed inside. The disguised servant girl then turned over to the prince. "Goodnight, Ash." She said.

"Goodnight, Princess." Ash replied. He then took her right hand and gently placed a kiss on the top of it.

Dawn felt her heart skip a couple of beats. No man had ever done something like that to her. In order to calm herself, she spoke up. "I look forward to tomorrow."

"As do I." Ash added, and then walked down the hallway towards his own room.

Dawn closed the door behind her and then collapsed on the large bed. "This has to be the hardest day since I switched places with Salvia." She said to herself. "I guess being a princess has its challenges, too. But at least I had Ash to help me."

With that thought in her head, she changed back into her nightgown, climbed into bed, and quickly fell asleep.

PokemonFreak90: Dawn sees for the first time that being a princess isn't as easy as she thought. Luckily for her, Ash went out of his way to help her, which is just another reason why she's clearly falling in love with him!

But how long will her feelings last, since she knows that she can't ever be with him because she's not Salvia?

MDM: I'm hoping that things won't be that bad. Until then, we'll have to wait and see.

All right, then. We hoped that y'all have enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully, the next one won't take as long, but we'll have to see. Like everyone else, we have lives. Personally, if I could spend almost all of my time writing stories, I would.

That aside, we'll see you guys! Please leave a review about what you think!

Got to fly! ;)