Wally opened his eyes to find his father skimming the pages of the book.
Wally's father grinned at him, "Ah, I see you've awakened now. Would you like me to continue reading the story?"
Wally nodded and his father opened the book.
"Let's see-"
Earlier the next day, May received a letter from her friend, Princess Misty of Kanto.
To My Good Friend, Princess May of Hoenn,
How have you been? It's been a long time since I spoke with you! My sisters, the other princesses of Kanto, decided to play a prank on me and set me up with my servant boy on a date! It was so embarrassing; I thought I was having dinner with a noble from the Orange Archipelago, Rudy! And my servant boy is a messy eater. But when he's all suited up and not stuffing his face, he's actually kinda cute. So I've been secretly dating him, making sure that my sisters don't find out. After all, princesses are not supposed to be seeing commoners. Oh yeah, his name is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town. It's not so far from Cerulean City.
-Write Back Soon,
Princess Misty of Kanto
May smiled as she headed down to the ballroom in search of tailors. Her friend had found love in a simple commoner. If only things were that simple for her. May entered the ballroom and immediately all the tailors stood up in respect.
"Good morning Princess!"
May nodded, "Good morning to you all. I'd like to speak with the Head Tailor."
"That would be me, madam," said a middle-aged man with small eyes. His hands were constantly twitching, needing something to occupy the space between his fingers.
The Head Tailor asked, "What would you like us to make, your majesty?"
May thought about it for a few seconds, "I need you to make something. I want to give my friend Misty some casual clothes. She wants to travel around Kanto to explore the cities. She wants a… uhh red… short sleeved jacket. You can add some blue in it if you'd like."
The Head Tailor pulled out a notepad and began to scribble down notes, "Red… short sleeves… jacket. Would that be all mistress?"
The princess added, "And a pair of errr… white… and blue shorts too."
The Head Tailor wrote down more notes, "Would your friend like any shoes to accompany that selection of clothes Princess?"
May clapped her hands, "Right! Uhh.. red tennis shoes would be good."
The man nodded his head while writing down his notes, "Of course. Any other accessories Miss Misty would like with her outfit miss?"
May tapped her chin while thinking, "Hmm.. I think she also wanted some… gloves! White and blue. Oh! And could you also throw in a belt to hold items and stuff?"
The Head Tailor nodded, "Not a problem madam. And what are Miss Misty's measurements?"
May smiled, "She has the same measurements as mine. I'd like this outfit to be done as soon as possible. Oh! And could you keep this project a secret? My friend doesn't want her sisters in Kanto to find out about her clothes. So not a word to anyone."
The Head Tailor smiled, "We will work on it. And your secret is safe with us Princess!"
May grinned, "Excellent! I will see you later then, Head Tailor!"
The Head Tailor and the other tailors chorused, "Goodbye Princess!"
May returned to her room and picked up The Next Journey once more. There, she read it to herself again while Beautifly and Skitty where snoozing in there respective miniature beds.
After a couple of days of waiting, the Head Tailor announced to the Princess that the clothes were ready. The clothes had been gift-boxed in plain white packages. Princess May smiled and thanked the tailors for their hard work. After hiding the boxes in her room from the cleaning staff, the princess walked to the palace stables. She found her beloved Ponyta nibbling on some hay. After stroking its gleaming white coat, May took her out of the stables before climbing on top of her. It always amused May that Ponyta's flames never hurt her even when she grabbed a fist full of the fire. With the reins in her hand, May steered Ponyta around the horse track. She had ridden on the trail so often that May hated the consistent path. She wanted something new. After trotting the course several times, May took Ponyta back to the stables and patted her mane one more time before leaving to go to her room.
After closing the door, May pulled out the boxes containing her clothes. Beautifly and Skitty gathered close in order to see what was in the box.
May smiled and gently took out the jacket. It was perfect. The material felt so soft yet flexible in May's fingers. The red and blue coordinated one another to create a simple yet suave design.
A muffled voice was outside her door, "May!"
Alarmed, May quickly stuffed the jacket back into its box and stuffed the containment units underneath her four-poster bed.
A small knock resonated through the room before the door opened. Queen Caroline beamed at her eldest daughter, "Come to the ballroom. We're having your dress rehearsal today."
May nodded, "Yes mother" and she followed her to the ballroom.
May could honestly say that the dress rehearsal were the worst hours of her life. After the introduction ceremony that lasted two hours, the marriage ceremony started and lasted half an hour. May was forced to stand in her white wedding dress while the priest droned on and on.
Wally interrupted, "Could we please skip this part?"
Wally's father stared at the book for a few seconds before replying, "You don't like weddings?
Wally shook his head, "I just don't understand how it works. So could you skip to the part after Princess May's dress rehearsal?"
Wally's father shrugged and turned the page. Then he turned the next page, and the next. He continued to do so until he finally stopped.
"It's a good thing you didn't want to hear that part," he said, "It takes up twelve pages."
Princess May collapsed on her bed, exhaustedly.
The sooner I leave, the better, she thought before falling unconscious.
After a few days from the dress rehearsal, May learned that her parents were traveling to Slateport City for the opening of a new museum. She decided that it would be a perfect opportunity to escape.
Caroline walked into May's room while she was reading The Next Journey.
Caroline smiled, "May, darling, I know that the last couple of weeks have been a little hectic. But I want you to know that I'm extremely proud of you for your cooperation."
King Norman poked his head into May's room, "All ready dear?"
Queen Caroline smiled and nodded. She stroked May's hair affectionately and waved good-bye. May smiled back and waved goodbye.
That was the last time she would see them.
Two o'clock at night was when the palace was the quietest. It also meant that there wouldn't be many servants or guards roaming the halls. So when the Pokegear her father had gifted to her beeped at two, May sprang out of bed. She already had her pre-made clothes donned on and her waist-length hair was tied back in a long braid. Beautifly and Skitty were safely tucked in their Pokeballs.
May looked around her room. She pursed her lips and sighed. Would this be the last time she would be in here? May started to have her doubts. After all, the palace was her home. This was the house that she grew up in.
Exactly, this is the house you grew up in. It's time to move on. It's time to live a little.
May left her room and closed the door behind her. The palace halls were dark, barely lit with the lights overhead. May felt fidgety-nervous at the idea of being caught. But at the same time, she felt a kind of exhilarating rush. This was her first time at disobeying her parents and breaking the rules. She was a princess, she had expectations to fulfill. But not anymore.
May was lucky enough to not encounter anyone as she made her way to the palace stables. After creeping inside, she found Ponyta already wide awake and ready. May had explained her plan to Ponyta, originally having her left behind. But the fire horse Pokemon insisted accompanying with May on her journey. Unable to refuse her pleas, May agreed to let Ponyta come along.
May quietly greeted Ponyta with a pat on her snout before returning her to her Pokeball. Every night, before he went to bed, the stable boy would count the number of Ponyta and Rapidash in the stables to make sure they were all there. Later that morning, he would count them all again before feeding time; except he would notice that there would be one less hungry mouth to feed. Then an alert would be sent throughout the castle and then May would be discovered missing. May needed to hurry is she wanted to put a good distance between Petalburg City and herself.
Creeping back to the castle, May headed to the kitchens. Turning a corner, May nearly fell while hiding herself. Two guards were standing in front of a pair of wooden doors leading to the lower levels of the castle. After calming herself down, May quietly summoned Beautifly.
"Use your string shot Beautifly."
Flying over the unsuspecting men's heads, Beautifly launched its sticky thread and quickly wrapped one of the guard's mouth.
The other guard dropped his Pokeball in surprise, "Wha-?"
But he was quickly silenced when Beautifly shot another string shot to bind him. Pretty soon the two guards were covered in a sticky white mold with the exceptions being their noses.
May rushed out from her corner.
"Good job Beautifly, return!"
A red beam sucked Beautifly back into its Pokeball and May opened the twin doors open. Walking swiftly, but making sure there were no additional guards, May quickly found herself in front of the kitchens. Pushing four familiar bricks of stone, the hidden passageway appeared and May quickly disappeared into it. After scrambling down the stairs, May summoned Ponyta and climbed on her back. She rode her Pokemon until she reached the other portion of the stairs. Instead of riding her up the stairs as well, May returned her Ponyta to her Pokeball.
"Sorry girl," she whispered, "But we can't risk letting anyone see your flames. It'll draw too much attention."
Stepping out of the trapdoor, May was back in the Petalburg Woods. The crisp cool air filled her lungs as May sighed deeply. May stumbled as she tried to navigate herself through the thick trees. After walking around aimlessly for a few minutes, she heard voices.
"No no. It's obviously around here somewhere. We just gotta -grunt- move these dumb branches out of the way.."
"Are you stupid? The map clearly says that it's further up ahead. I knew I shouldn't have accepted this mission."
Two men, dressed in dark clothing, suddenly walked in front of May. One of them hid an old piece of parchment behind their back and asked cautiously, "Who are you..?"
May smiled friendly, "I am Prin- uhh, I mean, my name is May." She wasn't a princess anymore.
The other of the two smiled back, "Really? You wouldn't happen to be the Princess May of Hoenn right?"
May's eyes widened in shock, was she discovered that easily? She laughed nervously, "No, of course not! What makes you say that?"
"Well," May yelped as the voice came behind her. Their black clothing really helped them blend in the dark night, "You look like the princess. With your beautiful long hair," he gently stroked May's braid causing her to shiver. "And you have the world famous pair of blue eyes that belong to the princess. And your name just happens to be May. Now I don't know about you, May, but my partner and I are fairly convinced that you are the princess."
The man in black rejoined his partner and May slowly backed away from the duo before sprinting into the woods.
One of them growled, "Get her! Go Venomoth!"
Looking back, May's breath hitched in fear as she saw the Poison Moth Pokemon race after her. She took out a Pokeball, "Ponyta!"
Ponyta leapt out and May sprang onto its back. Nothing could compare to Ponyta's speed as she dashed through the woods.
"Use Psychic to stop them!"
The wind blasting in May's face stopped and she immediately felt her muscles clench. May stared at the unmoving trees in front of her. Suddenly, she was thrown to the ground and Ponyta whinnied as it was forced to its knees.
"Finish it up with Sleep Powder."
May felt dust sprinkle on her, and her eyelids began to grow heavy. Her consciousness slipped away as May was picked up and tossed over one of the man's shoulder like a sack of flour.
He told his partner, "We were told to find the secret passageway that led into the castle to kidnap the princess. But the princess decided to walk right into our open arms!"
The partner sniggered, "Let's take the Ponyta too. It was really fast, we'll be able to get good money for it."
Reaching in May's belt, they found Ponyta's Pokeball and returned her to it.
The two men walked away, laughing at their good fortune.
Wally's father shut the book and said, "I think we should leave it there for tomorrow."
Wally looked at his father in surprise, "Why? It was getting to the good part. Something actually happened!"
Wally's father grinned behind his bushy mustache, "One, because it seemed like a good place to end for today. And two, your mother wants to spend more time with you, and I'm taking that away from her. Oh, here she is now."
Wally's mother stood at the door frame and smiled at her husband and child.
Wally protested, "But you can still read the story while mother's here."
Wally's father shook his head, "This book is between you and me. It's our little thing that I don't want to share with anyone else. I'll see you tomorrow boy."
He ruffled his son's hair and kissed his wife on the cheek before leaving the hospital ward.