May burst into her room at exactly 1:59, panting and sweating. She bent over, her hands on her knees, while she caught her breath, then stood straight, just in time for the drone to enter her room and leave again. She'd been to Ash's room, to check if he'd returned yet. He hadn't. So now they would have been notified that he was missing and would be looking for him. They might even question her. She wouldn't be able to settle until he was back and safe. Though she worried, his speech before he left made her confident that everything would be okay after all. There was no way they'd search beyond the wall if there was no way out. She sighed and fell back onto her bed. She debated whether to curl up and sleep until she woke to him entering her room, and sitting by her on her bed, and she would sit up and throw her arms around him and feel his warmth, relieved that he had returned safely. She curled up, letting herself daydream about his return.

She woke again to the sound of her door opening and bolted upright expectantly. Light filtered into her room and revealed Dawn. May sighed slightly. Dawn flicked on the lightswitch.

"It's almost 5 now. I think we should go wait for him. They're currently searching the lakeside."

Pushing herself out of bed, May nodded and grabbed her shoes. She and Dawn met Paul, Drew and Serena outside, where the group headed towards where the fence was located. Soon Ash would return, and Dawn would need to be there to disable the fence for him. Nobody spoke as they entered the woods. May knew they'd reach the fence in just a little while, and he might already be waiting there for her. Nerves got the better of her, and she was feeling nothing but anxiety for him. All she wanted was his safe return. Nothing else mattered to her.

A little while later, May knew they were close. She began to speed up, and the others joined in to keep up with her. They were only a minute away when Paul, who was in the lead, stopped suddenly, holding his arm out to stop May from getting past him.

"Paul?"

"I heard something."

The group fell silent. After a moment, the sound came again. Voices. More than one. May's heart sank to the ground, and started to race as her legs became like jelly. Pushing past Paul's arm, she sprinted in the direction of the voices, pushing violently past branches, and burst out into the small clearing by the fence, only to be greeted by the sight she dreaded the most. On the other side of the fence, two guards had Ash by the arms. He seemed weak, and May noticed the blood on his face, even as it hung low. He could barely keep himself upright. Her adrenaline kicked in. The guard looked in her direction.

"Ash!" she cried out, her hand flying over her mouth. "Ash!"

"Keep out of this," one of the guards spoke. In the distance, another four guards had crawled back through the hole and stood behind them. "There's no need for you to be in trouble too."

Anger began to rise in May. She was fire type for a reason, and her temper had always been a prominent part of her personality. Overwhelming anger flooded her at the sight of the person she cared so much for in pain. Her chest began to feel heavy as she watched the guards drag Ash in the opposite direction. She cried out suddenly, running forward and holding her hands out, shooting fire in their direction. The heavy ball of fire struck the fence, but didn't break through. The guards turned now, dropping Ash onto the ground, and took out their weapons. Crying, May shot another fireball, this time breaking through the fence, and another which sent two of the guards flying. Before they had time to react, May was firing another, fury in her eyes. In a panic they scattered, but May found them one by one with her fireballs, not stopping when the last one tried to run. By now she'd stepped through the hole she made in the fence, and seeing the last guard fall, the anger dissipated, and May stared at the scene she'd caused in front of her. Crying still she ran to Ash's side, who was trying to rise but struggling, and took his face in her hands.

"May!" Dawn called from behind. May turned to her friends, and their faces were nothing but panic. May began to panic herself. What are we gonna do… What are we gonna do?

"Quick," Paul said, pushing through the gap in the broken fence. "We have to leave! Quickly! Drew, help me get Ash."

Drew and Paul rushed to Ash's side, pushing May out of the way gently. May's mind was flooded with panic and fear and worry for Ash. Time seemed to fly as the group rushed to the hole in the wall. A lump formed in her throat as she was the last one to crawl through, and she got down onto her hands and knees, crawling quickly out onto the other side, and burst out into the open. She was surrounded by an area which she'd never seen before, and in that moment she forgot the situation, and was completely in awe at her surroundings, her heart filled with satisfaction and excitement. She was outside. For the first time in almost 18 years, May saw the outside.

"Hurry May!" Drew called from ahead, and May rushed to his side. Ash had muttered something to Paul, and Paul nodded in understanding. They ran with Ash as fast as they could, soon hearing shouts behind them, but the shouts became more distant as they ran into the forest.

"Where are we going?" May asked as they ran. No one answered her. Paul wore a guilty look on his face. "Guys? Where are we going?!"

They ran for what seemed like forever, but in reality was only an hour, stopping to let Ash rest every now and then. They could no longer hear the guards, but knew they had to keep moving or they'd easily catch up. They kept their eyes peeled for other people that might recognise them, as they would most likely have appeared on the news as missing by now. It was hard to imagine they'd be able to stay away from people for long.

"Nowhere is safe," May cried as they ran, the tears suddenly streaming down her cheeks. "Someone will see us wherever we go."

"Don't worry." Paul seemed to be calm. "We're going somewhere safe."

Choosing not to question him, May continued to follow Paul, who had begun to walk now. Ahead, a sign told them they were headed to Petalburg city. May had seen photos of Petalburg on the TV, but she couldn't imagine what it would look like in real life. Her heart was racing again. Soon, they reached the top of the hill they'd been climbing, and May realised they were looking over the city. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of all the buildings and new places she'd never seen before. On the outskirts of town a mansion stood, closer to them than the city. Paul set off down the hill.

"We're going to Petalburg?" May asked Paul as they walked quickly, almost reaching the mansion. "What are we gonna do there?"

"We're not going to Petalburg," Paul replied cooly. "We're going there." He nodded in the direction of the mansion. They had almost reached the gates. Suddenly, Ash stood on his own, although he swayed, and turned to May. Her heart caught in her throat.

"May… There's something you need to know."

"Yeah?" May squeaked, frightened of what he had to say.

"This is your home."

May's heart stopped, and she could not reply. The shock of his words hit her quickly, and she froze like a statue. "I came here when I left." Ash continued to speak. "I noticed the sign outside read Maple, and that's your surname. This is where your parents live. I know it might be a bit much for you to take in… that you're going to meet your parents, but they're the only hope we have. Except, you're going to have to go in first… incase."

May still could not find words to reply. She stared up at the mansion she'd just been told was her home, and the vast gardens surrounding it. The huge metal gate was shut, and a guard stood by it. From the trees they were not visible.

"O-Okay…" May spoke, still stunned, and walked out towards the gate, leaving her friends behind. She walked, her eyes wide open, up towards the gate, where the guard dropped the phone he'd been holding as he caught sight of her, and fumbled around for the key, speaking to May, but she was so shocked and frightened she could not hear him. He unlocked the gate, and she walked inside. He walked beside her, a look of shock on his own face too, until they'd climbed the steps up to the main entrance and stood by the door. He pressed a button by the door and spoke into a speaker, but she didn't listen. The door slid open, and he entered, leaving May outside. The open doors revealed a large main room, with two flights of stairs in the centre leading up to the second floor, and a number of doors around the room leading to other rooms. The floor was larger than even the canteens had been in The Arena. May caught her breath. At the foot of the stairs, a woman came around the corner, with auburn hair curled around her shoulders.

They stared at one another. The woman blinked in shock, and then began to cry. She ran towards May, and before May could react the woman's arms were around her. She was a little shorter than May was, but the heels on her feet meant she was around the same size. May's arms hung by her side until the woman moved away, keeping her hands on May's shoulders and looking her up and down.

"You've turned into such a beautiful young lady, haven't you? I've missed you so much, May."

"Mom?"

Caroline laughed slightly through her tears. "Yeah, that's right. I've waited 18 years for you to come home, but…"

Suddenly she stopped, and fear spread through May again. It wasn't her birthday yet. She was still 17, and she knew Caroline had just realised.

"Your birthday hasn't passed yet… they let you out early?"

"About that…" May finally spoke. "I… I need your help."

"Oh God…" Caroline's face dropped. "What's happened?"

"I had to run away… Because…" May began to cry again, and her mother kept her hand on her shoulder, offering her comfort as she listened to her explain about her friends, and the plan they'd made, and how things had gone wrong. May spared her the details of her fake relationships, and failed to mention that one of her friends was a water type. She wasn't sure if that was allowed in the outside world. Her mom listened intently until she was finished and pulled May in for another hug.

"God, I never agreed with that place… I always wished there was something we could do about it, but even we were powerless against those people… Where are your friends now, May?"

"They're waiting outside. Please, I can't see them get taken back. They'll be killed for running away with me…"

Caroline sighed, her face twisted in thought. May prayed her mother would let her friends inside.

"Let them in," she said to the guard. May exhaled deeply in relief.

"Thank you." She sniffed, rubbing her eyes. She was still afraid and in shock, but the situation was beginning to sink in now. She was home, and her friends were with her. A moment later the guard returned, with her friends behind him. May ran to Dawn, throwing her arms around her friend, who returned her tight hug. Caroline stood watching as May pulled away and then turned to Ash. Ash gave her a smile to let her know he was okay, and May couldn't help but throw herself at her head resting on his chest she hugged him even tighter than she had hugged Dawn, feeling nothing but relief and love. When she turned back, her mom didn't seem angry. Nobody knew what to say. The guard closed the doors and Caroline stood before the group.

"My doors are always open to friends of May. I have plenty of spare bedrooms right now besides May's. I'll show you where to go."

They followed Caroline in silence up the flight of stairs and through a door to a corridor of bedrooms. She pointed out which was May's, and left the group alone to call May's father and let them rest. When the door behind them shut, May sunk back against it.

"Holy shit, May, this house is huge…" Drew muttered, looking around.

May took Dawn's hand and headed in the direction of her room, letting the others decide which room they'd stay in. When they opened May's bedroom door, they were greeted with a ridiculously large bedroom, with a king sized bed in the centre, and wardrobes all around. A desk was littered with a number of different accessories and Pokémon plushies. The high ceiling was embellished with little stars that would light up. In the back corner a large white sofa sat underneath the window. Dawn stared in awe, while May headed into her room and threw off

"You think they have clothes for you?"

"Probably," May answered, heading to the wardrobe. "They probably send you the information you need before you turn 18 when you're like me…"

She flung open the wardrobe, and was greeted by more outfits than anybody would ever need. Dawn squeaked behind her in joy. May flicked through an array of dresses, blouses and skirts until she found a light pink blouse and high waisted black shorts.

"You should pick something too, Dawn. They'll fit you. While you're looking I'm gonna get changed."

Leaving Dawn to look in excitement, May pulled off the tight suit she'd worn her whole life. She pulled up her shorts and buttoned up the blouse, tucking it into the shorts at the waist, and looked at herself in the mirror. She couldn't help but wonder if this would impress Ash. When she finished, Dawn was still looking.

"I'm gonna go see Ash…" May spoke.

"Okay, May, I heard him say he was taking the room at the end of the corridor on the right."

After thanking Dawn, May left the room again, nervous this time. After everything that had happened, May was still only thinking about Ash. After all the worry over him, she knew for sure that she loved him more than anything in the world. She had been so scared of losing him, she'd been ready to sacrifice herself in order to save him.

I have to tell him how I feel. Now that we're out of the arena, we don't have to pretend that we're a couple and things will go back to normal… I don't know if I can do it.

She reached his door and knocked gently. Ash answered, still wearing his suit, and turned away quickly. Confused, May tilted her head. Ash cleared his throat.

"Come in," he mumbled without looking at her, and turned back inside his room. Confused, May followed him inside and pushed the door shut. His room was not quite as big, but still big enough. May walked over to the bed and sat down, watching him as he stood looking out the window.

"Ash…" she started, her heart hammering inside her chest. You have to tell him.

He turned to her, an unreadable expression on his face, and she swallowed hard, her nerves getting worse with every passing second. I can't do it…

"About the other day, when I fell asleep on you, and when I woke up I… I seemed like I was going to…"

"I get it," Ash spoke suddenly.

"Huh?"

"You were going to practice so we wouldn't look awkward in front of people later on. It's alright, I get it."

May mentally cursed him. Is that why he was going to return it, because he thought I wanted to practice? Man…

"Well, I, ah…" May stuttered, looking away. Ash blinked. "No, that's not… not what I was gonna say…"

"Oh," Ash spoke again, "then what was it?"

May's face felt too warm, and the nerves had taken over her now. Her heart raced faster than ever in her chest, and she sat in silence. Ash walked over to her, sitting beside her on the bed and looked down at her.

"You can tell me, May. Whatever it is."

It's easy for you to say that…

"It doesn't matter," May rose from the bed again, leaving him sitting alone. "It was nothing really. Besides, we don't have to worry about that now that we're out anyway, right?"

"Uh, right," Ash said, scratching the back of his head, oblivious to her strange and nervous actions.

I have to get out of here.

"Sorry to bother you. I should go back to Dawn now." May stood, looking anywhere but at him. He didn't respond, but May didn't dare turn back to check his expression. Her feelings for him were becoming overwhelming, and were beginning to crush her, so much so that it may have been noticeable, and things were beginning to change between them because she couldn't bring herself to tell him. As she reached the door, it flew open, and Serena stood at the other side, looking flustered.

"May, you lucky girl!" she cried, looking comically disappointed. "He is so handsome!"

May blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"I just overheard your mom talking to your fiancé to be! I never knew that princesses had their partners chosen for them, it must be a tradition huh?"

Just as she thought she couldn't feel any worse, her heart was torn from her chest once again. This time, it felt as though her words had taken it and smashed it into pieces on the floor in front of her, into too many pieces to ever put it back together away. She choked back tears that had quickly formed in her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, trying desperately to hide her fear.

"You mean you didn't know? Oh… sorry. It must be a tradition for arranged marriages to be held between the children of the leaders. I overheard your mom talking to this cute guy that had travelled here to talk to her and stayed last night. She was telling him you'd come home early, and I thought I'd warn you 'cause he said he's coming to meet you."

"Oh f-"

The sound of footsteps upon the stairs alerted both girls, and Serena scrambled away from the door towards her own room. May looked back at Ash across her shoulder, but he was sat silently, his hands in his lap, looking down at the floor. A lump quickly formed in her throat, and she felt her heart being pulled in a million different directions. All she wanted was to run to him and tell him none of this mattered, that she wanted to run away with him. There's no chance we can ever be together now…

She barely had time to turn back to the door, before she was greeted by a deep, smooth voice she'd never heard before.

"You must be May, right?"

He stood a few feet ahead of her, his hands stuck casually in his pockets, leaning against the doorframe. He was the same height as Ash, so the top of her head would just reach his nose. His jawline was impressive, to say the least. His eyes were like Ash's too, a deep brown, except his hair was a similar colour to her own.

"I'm Gary," he spoke again, offering his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Gary."

Gary turned suddenly to Ash, who had looked up and was staring at them. He looked as though he might say something, but then turned back to May again, and smiled slightly.

"Sorry, I know this is sudden, I was just wondering if we could talk?"

"Uh… sure."

"Alright, follow me."

May was still stunned, and the news hadn't quite sunk in yet for her. Gary turned and walked for the stairs. May stood a moment later, debating whether to turn back to Ash and say something. After a second she walked away, closing his door carefully behind her, and followed Gary down the stairs and out into the gardens. She walked a pace behind Gary, her hands clasped together behind her back, and she kept wringing them in nervousness. He didn't speak as they walked.

Back in his room, Ash watched May walk away through the gardens from the window, down the stairs into the beginning of the extensive maze of flowers and trees, completed with fountains and other decorations. They didn't seem to be talking, but May kept looking towards Gary, watching him move in curiosity. Ash wondered if she was looking because she thought he looked nice. Sighing, he forced himself to move away from the window and went back to sitting on his bed alone.

Gary continued to walk past the flower gardens to the very back, where they met the wall that marked the end of the long garden. They'd been walking for five minutes, and had only just reached the edge. At the bottom of the garden was a large fountain that greatly outdid the rest, and behind it a swinging chair under a rose arch. Gary reached the chair but stood, waiting for May to sit first. Once she did, he took his place beside her, with quite a distance between him, and rested his arm casually on the back of the chair.

"I know this is sudden, I didn't expect it to be this soon either. My parents just sent me here to meet your parents- I had no idea you would be here too."

"Well, I'm not supposed to be here. I'm not 18 yet."

Gary blinked. "You what?"

"I escaped. The Arena I mean."

Gary stared at her in disbelief. "Past all the guards? And they didn't notice you missing at 2?"

"You know how it works in there?"

Gary sighed and nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. I was in there too."

"You were?" May's eyebrows furrowed. "I never saw you."

"I know. I saw you though, winning the beauty contest two years in a row. That's pretty impressive."

May blushed and turned away. "Yeah, well my friend Dawn forced me to participate in those. It wasn't my choice," she insisted. Gary chuckled, and May suddenly turned back to him. "So how old are you?"

"I'm 18," Gary started. "I was let out a little under a month ago. I believe the fact that we're a similar age is why we've been put together."

May's stomach flipped and a wave of nausea hit her. "So… About that… What exactly is going on?"

"It's been a tradition for as long as our families have been around. When we reach the age of 18 we're released, taught how to live in the real world, and arranged marriages take place between the sons and daughters of the leaders. When I got out my mom told me that I was to marry you, and I remembered you from in there, and it made me wish we'd met properly in there so at least this wouldn't be as weird."

"Did we ever talk?"

"Once," Gary answered quickly. "When we were 12. You were out by the lake with Dawn at the same time I was there with Ash."

May choked. "Ash? You knew Ash?"

"Yeah." Gary sighed again. "I knew Ash… And I want to ask why he is here, but also I don't."

"So are you guys friends?"

"We used to be. We grew up in there together, the same way you did with Drew I believe. I met him when I was just learning to talk and we were best friends from that moment on."

"Then what changed?"

Gary seemed hurt by the topic, but answered her nonetheless. "When we were 15, a mutual friend of ours won his right to be released. With him gone, we were both sad for a while, and we began to argue sometimes, about stupid stuff. Then one day when we were hanging out with Misty and Brock, Ash seemed to be acting as if I didn't exist at all, so I pushed him into the water to make him pay attention to me and he broke his arm when he fell. I felt so bad, but Ash was so mad. A week later, Ash sabotaged a judged battle I was participating in so that I would lose and wouldn't be able to compete for a place that year. That was his revenge. We haven't spoken since, just kind of… looked at each other angrily. When my mom told me it was you… I remembered you and Ash had become close friends in the arena… but obviously I didn't expect him to be here with you."

I don't suppose you expect me to be in love with him either…

"He helped me to escape. He left through a hole in the wall and when I went to meet him the guards had him… so I got scared and used my powers… and we escaped."

They fell into a strange silence. Gary seemed calm, but May couldn't have been further from calm. Her mind was racing, trying its best to find some way for her to be with Ash still, or at least make everything okay. She was stuck.

"I don't want this to be awkward… I know… I know you love Drew so I'm sorry…"

May started, snapping out of her trance. "Oh no no, I don't love Drew. Drew is just my best friend. Drew and I were pretending to be together so people would stop the rumours about Ash and I."

"Oh, thank god. I thought that would really make it awkward, because I'm assuming he's here too."

"Yeah, he is."

Gary seemed like such a cool and calm person, but suddenly the atmosphere changed, and he seemed on edge, or nervous. May shifted awkwardly and waited for him to say what he was obviously wanting to say.

"That's good because… Well, I've never been in love with anyone, not many people in the arena get that, so at least there's a chance, we might… you know."

May's face turned bright red and she turned away again. Her heart ached in her chest. She felt awful. Now she had to decide whether she should tell him or not, or whether it'd be best to not say. After all, her chances with Ash were zero now, so what would be the point? Perhaps it'd be better to keep it from him and see what happens…

"Yeah. Maybe."

Gary seemed to relax. May didn't. "Well," he spoke up. "We better head back. It's getting dark. Your mom said she was making dinner."

"Alright." May smiled as best she could. Gary rose and offered his hand to her, which she nervously took, trying her best not to blush. She worried he'd keep her hand once she was up, but he let go, and they walked back to the house side by side again. This time, they engaged in casual conversation, and May found him interesting, and even began to chuckle and some of the awful jokes he told, still with her hands clasped behind her back, but they were relaxed this time around.

Inside the house, Ash had changed. He wore black jeans and a dark grey shirt, his messy black hair falling over his face. May turned away to hide her blush when she saw him, but he didn't seem to be looking. She figured it was because she was standing at Gary's side. Drew had changed too, into blue jeans and a white shirt. He smiled at her when they entered, and May quickly headed over to his side on his sofa to talk to him. Ash sat across the large living room, in front of the fire on his own. May wanted to go talk to him, but somehow it felt awkward. She smiled and waved goodbye at Gary, who stuck his hands in his pockets, smiled back and headed to another room.

"Who is that?" Drew asked quietly. May snuggled to his side, craving the safe feeling she had when he was with her.

"I didn't realise arranged marriages were a thing… but apparently that is my fiancé."

Thinking she wouldn't notice, Drew stole a glance over at Ash. She noticed. Sighing, she nodded sadly. "I know… I don't know what to do." Her voice wavered, and tears began to slide silently down her cheeks. Drew placed his arm around her shoulder, rubbing it to comfort her, and out of the corner of his eye noticed that Ash was watching them, and noticed how unhappy he seemed. For the first time he wondered whether May's feelings might be mutual.