"Knights, please leave us." Queen Somei commanded, much to my relief. The knights in her order stood up and unchained my friends and me, leaving then shutting the two corridors on their way out.

"You're that old woman Somei, from before." I said in disbelief. The strangeness of everything was still sinking in.

"Yes, that is me."

"You're the queen of this place?" Dawn asked, speaking aloud my exact thoughts.

"Indeed. And May is our Princess."

Nevermind. "Whoa, whoa, hold on. I, am just a kid. I'm no Princess," I said with a very un-straight voice. There was a bit off trying laughter in my tone, like I was trying to believe this was all some practica joke. I mean, come on. Me a princess? That's like saying Ash's a body-builder who wants to go pro-wrestling.

"Oh but you are, May Maple. You are of Royal Blood, the next for the throne," Queen Somei continued, taking this a lot more thouroughly than us.

Luckily Misty was bold enough to speak while I recollected myself. "Hold it, where are we anyway? How did we get here?" the red-head asked, wanting answers first, just like the rest of us.

"This, is my kingdom. Petalburg. And as for how you got here I suppose you found the Maple Family's Pokeball," she assumed.

"If you mean the thing that had the glowing light inside then I guess we had that," I replied.

"That necklace... ," Somei said, walking towards me. "Belonged to your mother. I must say 'm very proud you still have it.... May, you are my granddaughter."

"Your... granddaughter?" I asked. First princess now extended family. Just say I'm half alien and I don't think I'll be that surprised.

"Yes. Your mother was my daughter, and you, are her daughter. You are a Princess."

"So your her grandmother." Dawn said in realization. "Wow... This is the weirdest Cinderella story ever."

"Wait let me get this straight. That pokeball...portal... thing... It transported us to some, pokemon universe?" Ash asked, looking back on what had just happened.

Somei laughed in response. "Oh no, that pokeball-portal-thing transported you all back in time. Silly," the old woman laughed with a waving hand.

"S-Say what?" my voice reacted, slowly forming a sweatdrop at the side of my head. As much as I wanted to take a step back, heck even just run out of the place, I found myself frozen.

"We're seriously in the Medieval Times... And there were really Pokemon back then." Misty repeated. Someone as logical as her wouldn't believe this stuff would she?

"Then, if this is the Medieval Ages... and May is the Queen's granddaughter..." Dawn tried to figure out. Now all of them turned heads towards my direction, only furthering my nervousness level. Couldn't they realize I'm just as confused as they are about this situation?

"May are you sure you're 12?" Ash asked me, only to recieve a whack in the head from Dawn and Misty. That was the last thing they wanted to speak first.

"After, what I just found out, I don't know what to think," I whined, a tired look on my face.

"Well, you are 12, thanks to the ice. But technically you are so much older. Perhaps even older than me," said Somei. "And that's saying something."

"I don't understand," I pulled on, promting her to give a better explanation for these, these assumptions. Apart of me was hoping this was all some mistake or dream, but weirdly enough, a tiny bit of me was also hoping for... more...?

"When you were 6, Petalburg was drawn into war. The kingdom was not safe, and their target was the royal family. Your father went to fight in the battle, and your mother took you to the underground hidden tunnel for protection. The tunnels let to a secret air pocket with water leading to the ocean. Unfortunately, the enemy had followed. Your mother threw you into the water and used her Beautifly to freeze you in an ice burg. Your mother died there, but at least you would be safe for a time," Queen Somei explained.

I blinked my eyes. Was I supposed to be more sad and upset that my parents gave their lives for me (if this story was true anyway) or more surprised and speachless that was left in ice for who knows how many years? "I was... incased in ice?... Trapped in time?... But, that's impossible."

"Then you were probably found in our time and sent to the orphanage with memory loss," said Misty with a pondering stature. "You were raised in our time period but had no idea about your origins. Now it all makes sense."

"Misty who's side are you on!?" I retorted immedietly, striking her Dawn and Ash by astonishment. "You don't honestly believe all this do you?!"

"Do we really have much of a choice, May?" Ash defended, trying to calm me down. "Until we find proof to use against this, we're just gonna have to go with the idea you just might be, weirdly enough, an actual princess."

"And besides, being a princess sounds pretty neat!" Dawn grinned, throwing her arm over my hunched shoulders. "The rich life, and all the princess and adventure and romance!"

I couldn't help but make an estranged face at her statement. "Dawn that's, not exactly pursuading me to be a princess."

"Being a princess is not your choice. You are born of royal blood, and there is nothing you can do to change that," Somei lectured, coming up in front of me. "However, I am giving you a choice. Before your thirteenth birthday, you must choose weather to stay here in the Petalburg Kingdom, or go back your time the Future." She was seriously giving me this choice? No doubt would I pick to go back to my time, but suddenly there was a tugging question in my chest that I couldn't help but ask.

"But what will happen to this place without a ruler?" I asked curiously.

"Obviously I won't live forever. Without a ruler... I do not know the outcome," Somei told sadly. "I also worry for the Pokemon's well-being."

"But in our time there was no such thing as Pokemon. They only exist in video games," Misty remembered.

"So your saying the pokemon became extinct?" Ash asked in disbelief.

"I don't know," Misty said disappointingly. "I wish I knew what happened."

"Me, too," Dawn agreed. "Maybe while we're here we can figure it out. How long do we stay, anyway?"

I put a finger to my chin, trying to recall my birth date. "My birthday is in July so..."

"You have one month to decide May," Queen Somei announced, "On your thirteenth birthday, you must choose to accept the tile as Princess of Petal Burg, or you can go home through the portal."

"What about my friends?"

"They may stay or they may leave. The choice is yours, May," Somei told. She then put on an assuring smile. "And don't worry too much over the subject. Wyrrying never does anyone any good no does it?" I made a small smile at her in thanks. "How about I lead you to your rooms. Young man you will get your own room. May your old room had sleeping spaces. You shall share with your two other friends."

"Guess this is our vacation time" Ash grinned, folding his arms over his head. He then turned towards the queen swiftly and carefreely. "And I almost forgot. I'm Ash Ketchum"

"And I'm Dawn Santezz."

"My name's Misty Waterflower."

Somei smiled warningly at them as well. "I hope you enjoy your stay here in Petalburg. You are excused. In the mean time I'm afraid I must say I will be out of town for a meeting in a distant neighboring kingdom. I'll be a few days but I trust you four can take care of yourselves." As she concluded her farewell we one of us bowed, and as a result the rest of us followed the action. I can't say we've ever experienced ever being around royalty, so we had na excuse. Once we left the room, we began wandering the halls of the castle. A real medieval castle.

" I can't believe what's happening right now," I said in a lighter mood, my curious eyes wandering everywhere. "Each second I wonder if this is all a dream that we'll wake up from."

"Me too," Ash nodded in agreement. "But what are you going to do May? You know, about the princess thing?"

I've been asking myself the same thing ever since my so called grandmother announced the ordeal. "To be truthfully honest I don't know. I feel like I should stay because it's my duty, but at the same time another side of me feels like I should go back home with you guys. Sure Kira may still boss me around to death and torture me like there's no tomorrow but you guys are my friends and you clearly can't stay here forever since you all have family to think about and, and... Oh this is so stressful!"

"Well you have a month to decide! Come on let's go to our rooms and we'll have a girl talk!" Dawn said cheerful minded once we reached my living quarters. Leave it to Dawn to remain in a good mood even at such times like these. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me into my assumed room, leaving the other two outside in the red-floor halls.

"I better go with them. Guess means you go to your room Ash," Misty said with a small amused laugh.

"Fine, I can take a hint," Ash said with his hands up. "I'll be across the hall. Knock if May's trying to find a hiding place." Misty shook her head and shoved the boy a little before walking into their seperate rooms. Meanwhile inside mine, after I looked around, I saw it very suiting for a medieval princess. There were was one Canopy bed and two fancy couches that I'd kill to have as a bed back home. And then there was a huge wooden wardrobe with a circular mirror standing beside it. Dawn was the first to the wooden-painted closet to see dozens of colorful gowns.

"Oh my gosh I'm in heaven!" Dawn squealed, trying to hold in her high-pitched screams.

"Dawn do you really have to think about clothes right now?" I asked, taking a well-needed seat on the bed. It was actually quite soft.

"Quit being so up-tight, May. Be a girl for once!" Dawn said, pulling out two dresses from the rather small wardrobe, which had so much space astoundingly.

"Dawn's got a point," Misty said, walking over. "You've got a month anyway. Just be happy you're not at home doing chores."

"Hmph, believe it or not I think I'd rather do just that," I said with an exasperated sigh.

"Well while you take on your self-pity, I saw we get out of our twenty-first century clothes because we are obviously out of style," Dawn said upsettingly, holding two more outfits from the endless wardrobe. "And you both know how I feel about what I wear!"

"Yeah, that'll get your mind off things," Misty added as she rubbed my back.

It was a bit comforting, but as I looked up seeing Dawn go thorugh multi-colored wedding gowns, I couldn't help but sweatdrop. "You guys know how I hate gowns. Can't I just wear what I have now and stick out like the sore-thumb I am?"

"Well too bad missy. You're a Princess and in this time I don't see any girl wearing pants so move it!" Dawn shouted, grabbing me and pushing me behind a changing wall, which some unneccesary help from Misty, that traitor. All the complaining I was making along with Misty's and Dawn's constant overpowering and excited sequeals set a disturbance on this floor, causing Ash in his room to look up from his bed where he was resting.

"Girls," he said with an eyeroll before laying back.

After much struggling and shouting, I found myself stuck in a long dress with red and white, corset and all. My old clothes stored away in a woven basket. With a heavy sigh I walked out from behind the changing wall and was brought to look at myself in the full-lenght mirror. Misty had a yellow and orange one white Dawn had a blue and pink one.

"This is so not how I planned my Thursday morning," I said, still in a whining mood.

"Cheer up May! I know let's go explore the castle," suggested Misty as she retied her orange hair, which Dawn had tried to let go down freely, but ultimately Misty prefered her unusual choice of hairstyle.

"Good idea! Here we're considered VIP guests! Let's go get Ash!" Dawn supported, as if she were at a school baseball game. Together the two girls ran out of the room, leaving me to myself.

"I've never seen them so excited before," I said aloud. It was then I noticed a window I hadn't seen. Probably to busy sulking to notice. Now bored, I curiously looked out my high balcony window and saw the plains behind the castle a brighter side to this all. Probably my favorite feature to this entire property. I could also see the farm we stopped by earlier. Under this big tree growing Pecha Berries, pink berries I recognized from the Pokemon games, I saw that green haired boy and his Roselia resting in its spread out shade. The boy was reading a book, peaceful looking.

"It's that guy again," I said. "Why does he seem so familiar?" Finally deciding to stop starring out into space, I turned around to my wardrobe, seeing a red cloak left from what Dawn didn't touch, which was kind of surprising. I put it over my shoulders and ran out of the castle, hidden. Since I was apparently a princess, the town would surely find out and uneeded fame and recognition was the last thing I needed. I ran around the castle and to the plains out back, miraculously actually finding the exit. Running in my sneakers, which I wisely put on after Dawn and Misty left, I began to close in on the pecha berry tree. Once I arrived in the shade with the green haired boy reading his book, he looked up, seeing me.

"What do you want," he said rudely. I cocked my eyebrow at him. That was some way to treat a newcomer.

"I saw you at that farm," I replied, remembering him.

"And I saw you being arrested by the Royal Knights."

A vein appeared at the back of my head. "It was a misunderstanding. As you can see I'm no longer arrested."

The green-haired boy eyed my wear. "And I see you've made a change of clothing."

"I'm from... out of town."

"So, what do you want?" he repeated from before, his eyes returning to his book.

"I merely out of curiosity. You seem familiar to me. What's your name?"

Keeping his eyes to his book, he replied from behind it. "If you must know, I'm Drew of Petalbrg." He shifted his eyes up. "And it's only common courtosy that you tell me yours, unless you didn't know that."

My eyes narrowed at him. "May."

"Of Petalburg?"

"No, just May, Maple."

Drew closed his book, apprently my words having caught his attention. "Maple huh? Of they Royal Family?"

"That's me," I said, not exactly too keen on agreeing that I was 'royal'. I'm anything but that.

His eyes glowered at mine. "That's impossible. Everyone knows that the queen is the last of the Royal family."

"Well, I'm her grand daughter, May Maple of Petalburg."

There was a long scilence between us two. Finally he put his book down beside his Roselia and crossed his arms. "You're telling the truth aren't you."

"Well it's not like me to lie... most of the time."

'Hm, she hasn't changed a bi,.' Drew thought inwardly. "How how old are you anyway, thirteen?"

"Twelve." I replied.

"Oh, so you're not officially Petalburg's Princess."

"No, not until next month."

"I see," Drew said. "Interesting. Then I guess until then I don't need to treat you like one. I can still act rude to you."

I crossed my arms. "Well I didn't ask for you to be polite, so you can be rude all you want."

"Fine with me, Princess." I glared at him. Only a few mere seconds and he knew that name got on my nerves. Fortunatly enough, I think, there were voies to prevent this from becoming something else, possibly something bad.

"MAY!"

I turned around and saw Misty, Ash, and Dawn running towards me. Ash too had medieval clothing, probably Misty's and Dawn's doing. (It's like the one from the Lucario movie.) "Hey guys."

"Why'd you run from the castle like that? We've looked everywhere for you," Dawn tried to scold, out of breath.

"So these are your friends," Drew asked with an arched eyebrow. "I remember them. They were with you when you guys were being arrested."

"Oh be quiet," I said instantly. "Thisis Ash, Misty, and May. Guys this is Drew."

"Nice to meet you," Misty and Dawn greeted, instantly taking a friendly liking to the appearingly nice boy.

Suddenly a light bulb flashed on top of Ash's head. "Hey isn't that name 'Drew' in that riddle Somei told us-?"

"Shut up Ash," Misty said, whacking him.

"Hehe, they do that often," I told Drew with a sheepsih smile, waving my hand at them. However my arm was suddenly grasped yet again by Dawn.

"Anyway May let's go shopping! Me you and Misty haven't had any girl time in forever!"

"Wasn't my bedroom enough tortue?" I reminded. "And that was just five minutes ago!"

"Whatever let's go!" Dawn cheered. She grabbed me and a surprised Misty, running all the way across the grass field towards town, leaving Ash and Drew alone sweatdropping.

"Is that normal too?" Drew asked Ash, still laying in the same spot under the pecha berry tree.

"Kinda. Dawn always liked shopping. Not even earthquakes and tonadoes would stop her. Especially in a time like this, I guess she needs a distraction."

"In a time like this?"

"Eh, it's complicated. So, how'd you know May?" Ash said, sitting down against the tree with his new male friend. A nice change for him.

"She came here and asked me my name. She said I looked familiar or something," Drew said, closing his eyes. "She's front-forward and straight to the point I'll give her that."

"Familiar huh?" Ash repeated. "... Uh, I know this might sound weird but did you happen know May sometime you were six?"

"Why should I answer you?" Drew asked with one eye open at the boy. "I'll tell you if you tell me why you're asking such a question."

WHat did he have to loose, he thought. "May sorta got some memory loss and, well, she doesn't remember anything from when she was a kid. Since you lived around here I was hoping you knew something."

"So that's why she didn't recognize me," Drew commented to himself, unaware he had said that out loud. "Either way, she still has the same troublesome personality; curiosity getting the best of her."

"So you do know her," Ash realized, his mood changing slightly into that of astonishment.

"I guess you can say that. We met when we were five and got to know each other for a year or so. Then came the invasion into town during the war and the Royal Family was killed off. The king died in battle and the queen was slaughtered underground. The princess was announced missing. I put our former friendship in the back of my head, tried to forget about her. I'll deny it later, but I kind of missed her. Her memory stayed there in the back of my mind for a while, that is, until May actually came to me."

"So that's what it is," Ash said after listening to Drew's story. Quite honestly he felt kind of proud of himself to have been the first to find out about this, unlike usual times in the present where as he would be the last to know of things. But how, he wondered, would May react when she found out about this? Ash remmebered my reaction to Somei's explanation, which was already bad enough as it was. Did he really want a repeatence of that so soon?