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Misty's Awakening
Part 13
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Misty, exhausted from the day's therapy, sat on Ash's bed with her new crutches at her side. She watched tiredly as Ash got another Tetris, beating his current high score.

"You sure you don't want to go somewhere, Mist?" Ash asked her as he began a new game.

Misty winced. "Naw... then I'd have to use my crutches, and I'm aching too much to even move right now."

"Well, I'm still glad you got them," Ash said. "Just think— soon you won't even need them at all."

Misty smiled at the thought. "Yeah..."

The phone rang.

Pausing the game, Ash leapt up to answer it.

"Hello? Oh, yeah, right here." He looked to Misty. "For you," he whispered.

She took it uncertainly. "Hello?"

"Hi!" Yes, it was obviously her sister. Wouldn't anyone else call her?!

"Hi... so, what's going on?" Misty asked.

"Well, don't worry, it's nothing bad...this is Violet. I'm just calling to talk about the wedding— you know it's only a week and a half away..."

"Yeah?"

"...and, like, since Daisy and Lily are going to be bridesmaids, I was thinking that you totally should too."

Misty felt a tinge of excitement. "Me? Your bridesmaid?"

"Uh-huh! Totally! And, well, I don't want to get you too excited or anything, but because I'm so glad you're awake to be at my wedding, well...I was also thinking that you should be the Maid Of Honor. Then it would go perfectly, because Ash is going to be Brock's Best Man! So, like, both of you will be in the wedding and stuff!"

Misty felt almost speechless. "Wow...that sounds so neat!" she said, unsure of what to say.

"Well, anyhoo— I thought I would let you know that, because we're going to go get the dresses for you, Daisy and Lily really soon. Then, you'll get to try on a bunch of pretty gowns, 'k?"

"Sure."

"Well...I'm meeting Brock for dinner, so...ciao!"

"Bye!"

*Click*

Setting down the phone, Misty looked to Ash. "Hey, how'd you like to be Best Man at Brock's wedding?" Misty enquired, a curious smile on her lips.

This got Ash's attention, and he dropped his controller. "Huh? Me?! Best Man?"

"Yup." Misty brushed a stray hair from his face with her finger tip. "And...I'll be Maid of Honor!"

"Whoa! That works out perfectly, doesn't it?" Ash said. "Is this a set-up?"

"I don't know, but I don't have a problem with it." She sighed, tapping her fingers on his back. "But... Ash, before the wedding, I really want to walk on my own. I mean, I'm supposed to look nice and stand tall, right? Well, I don't want to drag crutches around with me!"

Ash stood up and sat near her on the bed. "Don't worry about it too much, Misty. You've got a few weeks, right?"

"A week and a half."

"Yeah, a week and a half to start walking...I think you can do it." He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight.

"I sure hope so."

Ash kissed her neck lightly. "Mm, either way, I know you'll be a pretty bridesmaid. I can't wait to see you in you new dress and all, and I know you'll look beautiful because you always do."

Misty knew that she was blushing. "Ah, Ash, you're way too kind."

Just then, they heard Ms. Ketchem, calling in her sing-song voice that dinner was ready.

"Oh, yeah," Ash said, "we were going to have Professor Oak for dinner, I think. Don't know why, though— Mom even made his favorite food, Tofu Casserole."

"I can't imagine why," Misty said, and she giggled to herself as Ash carried her downstairs.


* * * *


A light streaked across the dark ceiling from a car's headlights outside. Misty gazed at it thoughtlessly as it faded into shadows, finding it to be somewhat hypnotizing, and she let her heavy eyelids fall over her eyes as he own mind cascaded into darkness.

She thought of a few things first— her day, how sweet Ash was, the upcoming wedding— and then her imagination was whisked away into slumber.


~ ~ ~ ~


Misty walked alone, her long dress sweeping through the yellow grass. In the outcast light, the dress seemed a pearly-white color, but a closer inspection would show it to be a fair violet. She seemed to shine amidst the golden turf.

Misty looked around, as if searching for someone. Thunder echoed suddenly from the heavens, and Misty whirled around in dismay. She could feel already the rain drops splash against her skin, slowly seeping into the dress, and Misty found herself running.

She looked frantically around for shelter— anything to give her cover from the threatening storm.

The rain thickened, beating against the girl like thousands of tiny, stinging whips. Salty tears found their way out of her eyes as she ran, sighting a flash of lightening close by, and she fell to the ground in exhaustion and fear.

She was freezing, and she closed her eyes and tried to forget the cold. Shivering, she hugged her arms to her, but it didn't do any good.

As Misty prepared herself to drift away into darkness, she heard a voice coming closer, calling...

"Misty...Misty..."

It was Ash.

If only she could wake up...


~ ~ ~ ~


Her face wet, Misty was afraid for a moment that she hadn't really woken up from her nightmare. But when she realized a moment later that she was sobbing quietly in the darkness on her own bed, she felt a rush of great relief.

She turned over slowly, a loud sob escaping from her. She buried her head in her pillow, hoping that she didn't wake anyone. Truthfully, though, she wished that someone could be there with her, to hold her as she cried.

She held the pillow tightly to her face, stifling her sobs.

'No,' she thought, 'waking Ash won't do anyone any good.' Of course, that was partly a lie. Ash was all that was on her mind besides that terrible dream.

This feeling would pass, she knew, and as her crying softened, she finally fell into a fitful sleep.


* * * *


Violet led her three sisters into the large Bridal Emporium, holding the door for Misty as she entered on crutches.

"I have a basic idea of how I want the dresses to be," Violet said as they headed for the racks of clothes. "They should complement my dress, like, sort of, so they should be short- sleeved or sleeveless. But I want you three to pick what you like."

The colors for the wedding, as Violet had previously explained, were violet (a given) and silvery-gray. She and Brock had each chosen one, colors that suited them best.

Violet led them to the bridesmaids dresses, and she looked through them, pointing out ones that she particularly liked.

'This seems familiar,' Misty thought, thinking back to the day that her sisters had taken her shopping. She hoped, however, that this would be a better experience.

"Hey, Misty— do you like this kind of dress?" Lily took from the rack a knee-length dress, decked with sequins and ruffles.

"Um, well...not really," Misty said honestly. It looked more to her like a show girl costume than a bridesmaid's gown.

"Get real, Lily," Violet said. "Come over here, I found some nice ones!"

Misty and Lily found her and Daisy among the forest of bows and skirts, holding out a stack of purple-hued fabric.

"Misty, these are all in your size. Go try them on, and I'll be right there to see you."

She nodded, and Lily helped her to put the clothes into her room.

"Let me know if you need any help," she said, and closed the door.

Misty got undressed and set her crutches aside, sitting in the velvety red chair in the small room. She took in a breath, and removed the first dress from the hanger. It slid easily over her head, the cool fabric falling like silk about her legs. She stood up, leaning against the wall.

"Ok, Lily," she said, opening the door.

Lily helped her out, smiling as she led her out to the mirrors.

Daisy and Violet were waiting, watching Misty come out before the mirrored walls.

When Misty saw herself reflected on the surrounding mirrors, she was surprised. The dress was short-sleeved with a semi-low neck line. It had a princess waist with a poofy skirt that touched the floor, sweeping it as she walked. She couldn't remember ever looking so elegant.

"...Wow..." Misty whispered, turning a full circle.

"Hmmm... it's pretty, but...it won't look right at all with the wedding gown," Violet said thoughtfully.

Misty nodded. The dress, to her, didn't feel quite right for her or her sisters. It was far too formal for her especially to be wearing.

"Next one, then," said Daisy, and Lily took Misty back to the fitting room.

Dress after dress, Misty came out, twirling before the mirrors for her sister's approval. A few were too formal, some were too plain, and a couple were downright ugly.


Again in the fitting room, Misty found a dress that seemed to stick out from all the others left in the pile. She picked it up and took it off the hanger, holding the soft fabric to her body. She had a good feeling about this one.

A minute later, she called for Lily, and she helped Misty walk out to the mirrored walls.

The dress was sleeveless with a velvety top— a darker violet than the rest— with a floral beading along an empire waist. The skirt was light violet and it flowed out a bit, billowing about Misty as she turned before the mirrors. It came with a shawl, and Misty wrapped it around her shoulders in different ways, looking down at sisters for opinions.

"Ooh..." she heard Violet say, "I like *this* one..." The others agreed.

Misty smiled. It felt perfect to her.

"Okay, then— I think this is the one. Lily, Daisy— go find your sizes and show me."

They did as they were told, and five minutes later they came out in the same dresses, all looking simply elegant.

"That's it," Violet said, "this it the dress! It will be lovely with mine, and it looks, like, really good on you guys! Now, I think you'll need matching gloves and necklaces, and then we're all set!"

Misty smiled, and went back to her room to change. She'd never felt so pretty in all her life as she had seeing herself in that dress, and she was beginning to think that this whole wedding thing was becoming exciting. She could only imagine the look Ash would have on his face when he saw her wearing her new dress...



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...To be Continued...
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~ ~ ~
AN: Hi! I tried to hurry with this part, really I did. It was fun to write, though, because I just went though the whole thing of trying on bridesmaids dresses for my sister's wedding! Anyroad, I thought I'd tell you all to expect about two more parts in this series. I might change my mind, but until then, there will probably be a total of 15 parts.

Well, thanks bunches for sticking with this story even though it's so long. I love writing it, and I'll be kinda sad when it's finished =-/ Well, see you later!

--StarGlider