I was still in Drew's and Solidad's house. Solidad said Drew would drop me off at the palace this afternoon. Hopefully by then my feet would be better, even a little.
Suddenly, we heard a knock on the door. Drew answered it, revealing Ash in his tunic. For some odd reason, he was holding this remote with a blinking red light at the top. I was supposing it was Misty's. I guess she was able to invent something already with the material she bought.
"Ash?" I asked in surprise.
"Wow, I'm just surprised this tracker worked." Ash said somewhat amazed.
I sweatdropped, "Um, tracker?"
"Yeah, apparenly yesterday afternoon, Misty made this tracker thing and tested it on you." Ash explained.
"Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't remember testing out anything."
"Oh it's because of the pellets she made with our food. This little thing in my hand tracks down the water nutrients from the pellet."
"Uh... thank you but next time please tell me before I eat any strange pellets."
"Don't tell me, tell Misty. So what are you doing here? I couldn't find you anywhere in the palace." Ash said.
"Some guy named Harley tried to kidnap me in my room and I ran away. I injured my feet but I managed to run into Drew. He took me over here at his place so I could recover a bit."
"Drew did that?" Ash asked with a look.
Drew had his usual look, thinking to get back at me latter. "Like I said to May, that was a one time thing."
Solidad re-entered the room. "So May, this is your friend from that other time period?" Solidad asked, joining in on the conversation I had explained to her everything overnight.
"Yeah, this is Ash. Ash this is Soladad, Drew's older step-sister."
"Nice to meet you." Ash greeted.
"Good to meet you too, kid," Solidad replied.
" So tell me Ash. Why do you have Misty's tracker? She never trusts you with her gadgets," I said with a laugh.
"Yes she does. There was that one time last year on Halloween."
"Ash it was a candy dispenser. And she wanted you to test it, which by the way did not go well. All of that candy got soaked in water. Now back to the original question: Why do you have Misty's tracker?"
"Uh... She didn't really give me permission. I found it in your room."
"So where is Misty and Dawn then?" I asked.
"That I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"That's just it. I do not know. Misty, Dawn, and a lot of the girls from town have all been kidnapped."
"Harley..." I said with a grimace.
"Geez, that man just doesn't give up does he," Solided said, shaking her head.
"Do you know something Soladad?" I asked.
"Harley's the ruler of the neighboring kingdom, Kurai. He who kidnaps wealthy women for ransom, and sometimes other things you wouldn't really wanna know about."
"Eww." Ash said with a disgusted look on his face.
"Huh? What? I don't get it." I said, looking back and forth at everyone.
"Keep quiet," Drew said, pushing a hand over my head. I sent a glare to the boy.
"I'll be right back. May you stay here with Drew and Solidad okay?" Ash said.
"Ash wait where are you-" He shut the door and ran down the road back to town. I sighed as I slumped in my chair. Apparently he was just as stubborn as I was. "This is horrible. Misty and Dawn were kidnapped."
"Are they even wealthy?" Drew asked.
" No, but they live with me so they're bound to be something," I replied. Now I had anime tears falling from my eyes. "It's all my fault."
"Now now, don't say that. You should be happy you, the most important and wealthy person in the Kingdom, weren't kidnapped. If you haven't jumped down from that balcony you'd be who knows where," Solidad said. Was that supposed to cheer me up?
"She's got a point May," Drew said.
"I just hope everything will be okay." I said, looking down at my feet. By now it was just past sunset. My feet were somewhat healed enough so I could walk on my own. Drew kept telling me to sit but, I just kept on walking just to bug him. I was helping clean the house with Solidad and Torchic while Drew was outside at the fields. I opened the door so I could clean the porch. When I opened the door, I saw a scroll at my feet. I had no idea if these scrolls were this Kingdom's idea of mail so I decided to give it to Solidad.
"A scroll? Man, must be something bad." Solidad said with a worried look on her face.
"Why? What it is?"
"Do you see the seal on the scroll?"
I looked in closer, seeing the purple seal. "Yeah, what about it?"
"Remember it. It's the seal of the Royal Court. They take care of the town's laws and taxes." She unrolled the scroll and her eyes widened in fear as they scrolled down the calligraphy words written on it.
"Um, I'm guessing it's something about taxes?"
"Much worse... Since Harley kidnapped every wealthy woman in the Kingdom except you, our kingdom will fall. He even kidnapped our queen."
"Queen Somei? My grandma?"
"Yes, and there for the Royal Court is sending out their knights throughout the kingdom, gathering up men, peasant boys, and male orphan children to fight in the invasion of Kurai so we could rescue our kingdom's women." she explained, reading down the scroll.
"What no way! I don't want this to happen!"
"It's no use May. You're just a princess. Not even a legal Princess until you're thirteen. Even the Queen wouldn't stand a chance against the Royal Court. if she were still here."
Suddenly we heard a crash from outside. We immediately ran out there seeing a carriage of black. There were two Tauros with these knights. They were holding Drew's arms at his back while he was struggling to get out. Rosellia and all the other Pokemon were laying on the ground defeated by a bunch of these Honchkrows. The best guess here was that these knights served the Royal Court.
"Hey let me go!" Drew yelled, trying to break free of the Knights' grasp.
"Shut up. You're coming with us. Honchkrow use Hypnosis!" said one of the knights.
I watched terrified as the crow Pokemon stared into Drew's eyes. I saw him trying to resist, before too long, Drew's head fell forwaed and the knights threw his limp body into the metal carriage. Inside were many other boys in rags like Drew, as well as Ash. The knights got on the Tauros and began ridding off. I tried to run after them but Solidad grabbed my arm.
"Drew! Drew Ash come back!" I cried out, trying to release myself from Solidad's grasp.
"May it's no use! He's... He's gone..." Solidad said, crying. By now she was on her knees holding onto my wrist to keep from following them. It started raining after she said that. Then I stopped, and glared in the direction of the disappearing carriage. Clearly Harley kidnapped all those women for a reason. And now we were paying the price.
Now me and Solidad were in town. We decided to go to this restaurant Solidad recommended for a decent meal. The restaurant wasn't very fancy so only lower class women came, since it was all they could afford. Right now since the knights were running through town, trying to take all the boys and men at their disposal, the windows were covered by curtains and the door was locked, only letting in special customers. Since I was recognized as the Princess of Petalburg, I clearly got membership inside and got me and Solidad free drinks.
"This is horrible. It's only been a half hour and already the town looks dread," Soladad said, starring at her clasped hands.
"Are you sure there's nothing in our power we can do?" I asked. "I mean we can't just wait here."
"Unfortunately there isn't your highness," said the waitress giving us our drinks. "Us women, poor lower class women - we are helpless against the Royal Court and in battle."
"This is true Princess May," said another woman. "All we are good for is house work. It will be very lucky for our men to come back home alive, let alone the young boys."
The next to speak was a woman in tears. "Oh my poor son. The Royal Knights took him away, right out of the house. The children in battle will surely die. I'll never see him or my husband ever again."
Out of rage I banged my fist on the table. "There's gotta be something we can do! We can't just sit back and do nothing! Those guys will be going into battle for nothing! Harley's a really powerful Pokemon trainer and humans alone won't win! And I doubt the Royal Court will allow Drew, Ash, and all the guys to use Pokemon to battle!"
"As you can see, we are suffering plenty. Husbands and sons. Friends and Family. All being taken away for nothing. All that man Harley wants is power over the land for as long as I can remember. The Royal Court knows nothing of offence except for violence," explained the waitress.
Solidad nodded. "She's right May. What other choice would we have? We can't just surrender."
I narrowed my eyes. "That may be true Solidad, but the Royal Court shouldn't force men into battle, let alone children. It's outrageous! Plus the higher class and wealthy men of Petalburg get to stay safe in their homes, while peasants and orphans go without a care. We may not fight, but we will come up with a plan to save Petalburg's women and prevent any of the men and children from dying in battle."
"Hm, I like this Princess. She's got spunk, not letting anyone take control of her or her people," the waitress said, eyeing me. "So you got a plan missy?"
"No not really." I felt multiple stares around me suddenly.
Soladad started rubbing her forehead. "You really haven't changed, have you May."
"Well what i said is still true," I opposed. "And I'm worried about Drew and Ash the most. Ash has no clue how to fight. Drew... I don't really know. Would he survive out there, Solidad?"
"Be as it may that Drew's a strong guy, he wouldn't last very long in the battle field. Especially without his Pokemon," she said with concern, looking down on the table.
"Then that settles it," I said standing up. "I'm going out there to save Drew, Ash, and all the others forced into battle. Plus I'll defeat that Harley and rescue all the kidnapped women. I may not have a straightforward plan but I'm definitly good with luck."
This made the waitress smile. "You'd make a fine ruler one day your highness, putting your people first."
"But what will you do first, Princess May?" asked one of the women, "The Royal Knights' base is hidden very well at the borders of Petalburg. It has high stone walls and a moat. They will not let even you, the Princess, through its gates."
Sounds more like military school. "If I've learned anything from back in my time, it's that girls are not helpless. I can even fight on my own."
"Someone's getting full of herself?" Solidad remarked.
"Watch it," I grimaced at her. "Besides, I spent most of my life cooking and cleaning everyday. Those gruesome chores gave me a lot of exercise and strength for fighting."
"So that where you've been all these years, in the future," said the waitress in amazement.
"Yeah, she was frozen in a block of ice and was unfrozen almost 90 years later. Now she's back." Solidad explained for me, holding a flat face. "I still find that very hard to believe."
"Well you don't need to belieeve it. All I need is some info on where that hidden base is and I can take care of the rest." I said, trying to think up ideas. Just then we heard banging on the door. All the women startled as they starred at the shaking door in horror.
"Go away knights! We are only peasant women! Now leave us be!" shouted the aggresive waitress.
"No I'm not a Royal Knight! Please! Let me in! Hurry!" It was the voice of a little boy. The waitress quickly changed her expression and unlocked the door, letting the little boy run in. Then she hurriedly shut the door, locking it again. I took a good look at the strange new boy. He had dark blue hair and glasses., and wore raggy clothing so I supposed he was a 'peasant'. On his shoulder was a Ralts who too was trying to catch her breath with the boy.
"Max, oh my poor lad. If had known it was you I would have let you inside in a flash! Come come sit. I'll get you a drink." As the busy waitress went into the restaurant's kitchen to get more drinks while I looked at the poor young boy.
"Max? Wow, I'm surprised the Royal Knights haven't taken you yet," Solidad said.
"Yeah, I think I'm the last peasant boy left in Petalburg. I figured since mostly only women came here, I thought I could hide here for a while," the boy explained. Was it 'Max' Solidad called him?
"Well of course you can wait here, Maxie." assured one of the women.
"So who is this?" I asked curiously.
"This is Max. He's an orphan here at Petalburg. He helps Drew out in the fields for money sometimes. He's a strong worker, he and his Ralts," Solidad explained.
I smiled down at him. "Good to meet you Max."
"Wow, you're the Princess of Petalburg!"
I didn't even tell him my name. "How'd you know that? It took everyone forever to figure out who I was when I arrived in Petalburg."
"Max may be a peasant, but he has a great education. His parents were of upper class and taught him very well at his young age until they passed away," Solidad added.
"He knows just about everything about Petalburg," added of one the women.
"Well then it's an honor to meet you Max."
"It's an honor to meet you, too," he replied, shaking my hand.
Solidad stared at the young boy, "It's an honor to meet you? Wow Max since when did you become so mature?"
"You see Princess May, Max doesn't really look up to the nobles of Petalburg, let alone the Royal Maple Family," explained another one of the women.
"Yeah, what made you change your mind about May here?" Soladad asked.
"Well I could overhear that conversation you were having here a mile away," Max admitted.
"I'm that loud?" I said with a sweatdrop.
"Max has really good hearing since he has poor sight. Since he's almost blind, his Ralts guides him," said another one of the women.
"Anyway May, you're different from those high class jerks. I hope you'll become our next ruler," said Max.
"Now Max, that's no way to address the Princess of Petalburg," exclaimed one of the women, "You should address her as such-"
"No really, it's okay. He's... a good friend of mine now. He can call me whatever," I told them with assurance.
"Wow thanks," Max said with a grin on his face.
"It's a huge honor to call her just May. Few people have that privilege," Solidad waitress walked back into the room, giving Max a free drink of water.
"Say Maxie, you wouldn't happen to know about the base of the Royal Knights would you?" she asked.
"I think I do. It's up west a few miles."
"Well May, you could use little Maxie here as a guid to that hide out if you are still willing to rescue everyone," suggested the waitress.
"Ooh! I wanna come!" Max shouted, really excited.
"But how are you guys gonna even rescue all the hundreds of civilians, let alone leave the town? There's no doubt the Royal Knights will find Max if he leaves this restaurant," Solidad asked, sounding a little unsure.
"First off, Max isn't coming," I announced with crossed arms.
"What? Why?" yhe little boy shouted.
"You're still a child Max. As foolish as people make me out to be, I know limits. But, I do know one way you may be helpful in rescuing everyone." Solidad, Max, and all the women in the bar starred at me weirdly. I explained my plan to them as they listened intently.
-DREW'S POV-
I was in this huge castle-like base thing, me and many other guys. We just got through an explanation from the Royal Knights. Tomorrow morning we'd start training. The week after we'd go into battle. Ash and I were in our cellar since we were peasants. Ash was only claimed a peasant since they had no records of him. But duh, he's from the future. Of course there'd be no record of him.
"This is just great, I'm going into battle and I don't even know how to fight," Ash muttered, throwing a rock at the wall.
"No kid does. Especially thirteen-year-olds like us," I said, sitting against the wall.
"Well, we're going into battle to save Dawn, Misty, and all the other women of Petalburg. So I guess it won't all go to waste," Ash said, trying to find a bright side.
"If we don't die," I said nonchalantly, freezing Ash in a little bit of terror. I found this kind of amusing. "We won't stand a chance. You tried to lift that sword and you almost flinged it at me. And I wasn't even beside you when that happened."
"Heh, sorry about that," Ash apoligized with a sweatdrop and a sheepish smile.
I furrowed my eyebrows. "And knowing how stubborn May is, she's bound to try something to prevent us from getting involved with the war."
Ash pondered for a second, looking upwards. "Hm, that does sound like May. And you're right Drew, she is stubborn. But she never gives up."
"And that's a good thing?" I asked skeptically. "Never giving up could lead to your downfall sometimes."
"Eh, not where we come from. If you give up, you loose. And you should know this now, May hates loosing. And I bet she would survive out here longer than any boy or man could."
"Seriously?" I asked surprisingly.
"Yeah, I remember this one time when we had this field trip at school," Ash started, remenicing his old memories. "We all went camping and me, May, Misty, and Dawn got separated from our classmates. With with me panicking about wild animals, Dawn panicking about her clothes, and Misty panicking about no technology, May was our last hope for survival over night. Man, we must've annoyed her to death then. But she made a fire with these rock Misty found. And she made new jewelry for Dawn with these stones she found in a lake. Then with the wild animals all around, she kicked major butt. She warded off a bear with fire, led a wolf away with chips, and she caught like four fish just by throwing a sharp branch across a river."
What kind of class goes camping in woods like that? "I doubt that all happened," I denied.
"Either way, May is much more than she seems. Especially for a girl."
"All we can hope for is that she doesn't go over the top. By what I remember from our childhood, she can tend to over-do it sometimes. I always had to follow her around to make sure she didn't hurt herself."
"Because you were worried about her right?" Ash teased, poking my shoulder.
"Actually Solidad forced me to," I corrected Ash. "It was troublesome. But..."
"But?..." Ash said, getting interested in what I was gonna say.
"But... she can be serious when she's really into it."
"Well believe me, she will definitely be 'into it' in this situation," Ash smiled looking upwards. "Still, I hope Misty and Dawn will be okay."
"Let's hope so Ash, let's hope so. For everyone."