Chapter 19: Back in Sinnoh

May is riding behind Riley on his horse. Oreo is hiding in her bag. They're on their way to Sinnoh.

"Thanks for offering to take us to Sinnoh." May said.

"Don't mention it." Riley said.

May leans a little to the side to look at the horse's head. "We're going so fast."

"Of course. My horse is the fastest in all of Sinnoh. His name is Storm."

"Storm suits him."

"I gave him that name because I actually found him caught in a storm a long time ago. I was only ten, and happened to be lost in the woods. I got separated from my family. But then I saw Storm. He seemed lost as well, and I approached him, hoping to talk to him about my situation. And let's just say…we decided to help each other. I kept him company while he took me out of the woods where my parents were. We've been best friends ever since."

"Wow…that's the sweetest story I've ever heard."

"Tell me more about you. Does being a Royal Healer call to you? Like…is it your dream career?"

"Definitely is. After I learn more from Cynthia, that's all I'd want to do. Be a Healer. I love it because I get to help people. And make them happy. Animals too."

"That job is perfect for you."

"Thanks."

Gloria bandages up a little girl's knee. "All better."

"Thank you." The girl says before standing up and running to her mother.

"Come on. Let's get you home." The mother said, walking the girl out of the infirmary.

Gloria stands up. She walks right past Prince Drew to the waiting room. "Hello, little fella." She picks up a kitten and takes her to the back. Drew follows them to a hospital room.

Achoo!

Gloria hands Drew a pill. "Watch your allergies, Prince Drew."

Drew smiles. "Thanks." He takes the pill.

"Now, what seems to be the problem?" Gloria drinks an Animal Transformation potion to transform into a brown cat with brown eyes.

Drew watches Gloria talk to the kitten. He smiles. Gloria walks over to her Nurse counter in the room and bites onto a beautiful pink flower. It seems to be…mystical and magical…

Gloria sniffs the flower and smiles. She transforms right before Drew's eyes. Back into a human!

Drew gasped. "How did you…?"

Gloria starts to mix together some herbs. She adds water and places the bowl in front of the cat. The cat starts to drink the water with the herbs inside.

Afterward, the cat feels completely healed. Gloria walks it out and Drew follows.

"Gloria, how did you turn back to normal?" Drew asked.

"What do you mean?" Gloria asked.

"I mean…I've learned that the cure for an Animal Transformation Potion is true love. How did…that flower work too?"

Gloria smiled. "I've been into potions and things for a long time. I've learned a different cure for it. I assume your May didn't know this either?"

"I guess not…"

"Well…I've got no patients at the moment, so if you'll excuse me, Your Highness." Gloria curtsies. "I'm going to take a small break." She walks out of the infirmary.

"Hmm…" Drew leaves too and notices Ash by the door.

"So, how's she doing?" Ash asked.

"I don't want to admit it, but…she might be a better Healer than May."

Ash gasped. "Really, Drew?"

"Yeah…I never thought someone could know so much about this other than May…I guess…Gloria is May's replacement. Let my parents know."

"Of course, Drew." Ash walks away.

Drew watches Gloria walking in the distance. "I can't believe this…"

May exhales happily, laying down on some grass. "So relaxing…"

BOOM!

May stares at the sky, seeing it start to turn gray.

"Spoke too soon…" Riley said, helping May stand up. He helps her up onto Storm. He climbs up and sits in front of her. "Let's go, Storm."

Neigh!

Storm starts running through the grassland. Rain begins to pour down.

BOOM!

The thunder sounds again, and Oreo gets startled and hides in May's bag. May holds on tightly to Riley's stomach.

"Let's find some shelter, Storm." Riley said.

Neigh!

BOOM!

May jumps in surprise.

"Don't worry, May. I got you." Riley said.

May smiles slightly. She shivers.

"Look. There! A city!"

Storm runs through the rain. Riley narrows his eyes at the road ahead. He sees a tree get struck by lightning! It starts to fall.

It crashes to the ground in flames. Storm quickly jumps over it. They reach the city and seek shelter by a restaurant. The restaurant has umbrellas all around it, so they stay underneath.

May tries to brush the water out of her hair. Riley jumps off of Storm. He feeds Storm an apple. "Good boy."

"I guess we'll have to wait out the storm here." May said.

"Yeah. But hey. This city has a ship we could take to get to Sinnoh. We'll be out of Hoenn tomorrow."

May frowns. "Out of Hoenn…"

Riley looks up at May. "Is everything okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. I guess I just…miss home."

Riley smiles softly. "When we get to Sinnoh, I'll let you stay at the castle. Sinnoh will become your new home."

May smiles slightly. It soon fades. "I just…don't know if I'm ready yet…"

Oreo pops her head out of May's bag. She lifts her front up, so her two front paws could be around the top of May's shoulders. She meows.

May looks at Oreo. "Hm?"

Oreo signals her head to the necklace May is wearing.

May looks down. She smiles, gently touching the necklace. "You're right…he still supports me…"

"What was that?" Riley questioned.

"This necklace was given to me from Prince Drew. I know that he believes in me…and since he does…" She nods and looks at Riley. "I'm ready for this."

Riley smiles.

Drew tosses and turns in bed. He squints his eyes while they're already closed. For some reason, he can't seem to fall asleep.

He sits up, eyes open. He groans and gets out of bed. He opens his mini fridge and gets something to drink.

His eyes roam the room, and land on a vase of flowers on a mini table in the corner. "Huh. I don't remember those being there…" He walks to the table and notices a note by the vase.

Dear Drew,

I'm leaving these flowers with you. Putting them next to your bed should help you to sleep. I know that you're still as busy as ever. Please make sure you get enough sleep each day. Please?

XOXO,

May

Drew smiles. He takes the vase and brings it to the table right next to his bed. He sets his drink down before laying in bed again and closing his eyes. He breathes in the soothing fragrance and finds himself finally drifting off to sleep.

He sighs happily.

First thing in the morning, May, Riley, Oreo, and Storm board a ship to Sinnoh. They get a room on the ship with two beds.

Riley sits on his bed. "We should be in Sinnoh tomorrow."

"Great." May said, sitting on her bed. "Riley, I've been wondering…"

"Hm?"

"Your sister is Princess Dawn, right?"

"Yeah."

"Do you two get along?"

"Mm…not really…"

"How so?"

"Well…she's older than me, so she's going to be the one that becomes Queen. And she really makes sure that I remember that." Riley chuckles. "She could brag at times. I try to tune her out."

May giggled. "Do you have Royal duties to do like Prince Drew?"

"Probably not as much as him since I won't become King. I have some paperwork to do at times. But very little. Dawn is the one that gets most of it."

"Do you enjoy being Prince?"

"Yeah. Aside from all the Royal appearances I have to make, and stuff…It could be fun. On a completely different note…do you sometimes wish you could be a Princess?"

"Me? Umm…I've actually never thought of that before…" May thinks for a moment. "I guess…when I was dating Drew…there was a time when I wanted to be a Princess…so that we'd have more time together."

Riley smiles softly. "He must've been good to you."

"Of course he was." May sighed with a frown. "I'll always miss him…"

"Well…I know I may not be as charming as Prince Drew…but I can promise you that I'll always protect you. And be there for you."

May smiles with pink cheeks. "Thanks."

Drew walks up to Gloria. "The wearer of this badge needs to always remember to be compassionate, kind, and loyal." He says aloud, so everyone could hear. "She must never lose faith in herself. And she must remember that she'll always have a friend in the Royal Family and kingdom. And today…it is your turn, Gloria, to take on the responsibility of treating every sick or injured patient in the kingdom. Don't be afraid to ask for help, and always remember…" He hands the badge to Gloria. "…there is always going to be more…in you."

Gloria smiles and turns around. She holds the badge up and the audience cheers.

Drew's smile fades. ("I never thought I'd ever have to replace May…")

Gloria puts on her badge. She turns back around and curtsies. "I promise to serve your family and kingdom well. Thank you for this opportunity, Your Highness."

Drew smiles slightly. "You're very welcome, Gloria."

It's morning now, and May just woke up. She looks out the window, and gasps. "We're here…"

Riley opens his eyes and yawns. He notices May. "What's going on?"

May turns around. "We're in Sinnoh!"

"Great. Let's go."

May, Riley, Oreo, and Storm make it off the ship. Riley helps May onto Storm before climbing up in front of her. "Okay. Let's go to the castle." He said.

Storm starts to walk. May looks side to side to see the passing civilians greeting the Prince.

"Welcome home, Your Highness."

"Hello, Prince Riley!"

Riley waves to the people with a smile.

May looks up over Riley's head to see the castle coming into view. "Wow…it looks bigger than Hoenn's."

"I try not to brag about that." Riley chuckles.

May laughs. "It's okay if you do. Your castle looks amazing."

They approach the gates. "You see those bushes of flowers in front of the castle and gates?" Riley asked.

"Yeah."

"They were grown by our Royal Healer."

"Wait. She actually grew them? With magic?"

"Yeah."

May smiles. "I can't wait to learn from her."

The Guards at the gates greet Prince Riley as they enter. They get to the castle and Riley jumps off of Storm. He helps May down. "I need to introduce you to my parents before you can stay at the castle, okay?"

"Okay." May said.

Riley takes May's hand and leads her inside the castle. May blushes. They go to the Throne Room. He releases her hand, and she curtsies.

"This is May." Riley introduced. "I brought her here from Hoenn."

"For what reason?" The King asked.

"She was the Royal Healer there. But she's not anymore, so…now she's kind of on her own path…"

"I was hoping I could learn more about healing from your Royal Healer." May said.

"So…is it okay if we give her a room in the castle while she trains with Cynthia?"

The King and Queen talk it over with each other. They look back at Riley and May.

"We'll allow it." The Queen said.

May smiles. "Thank you so much, Your Majesties."

"Riley, you can show her to one of the guest rooms. And May, even though you'll live here for a while…this will not make you special above anyone else. You will not get any special treatment from us."

"I know, Your Majesties."

"Whenever Cynthia gets some time off, she likes to come here." Riley said, walking out of a small forest with May.

"Whoa…" May stares in awe at a big pond that's in the middle of this forest. The water is crystal blue and reflects beautifully off the sun. Beautiful flowers of all colors surround the pond. And look who's floating on the water in the center…

May gasped. "How is she…?"

"She could be a little tough to get to." Riley said. "I wish you luck." With that said, he leaves the forest.

"Umm…C-Cynthia?" May approaches the pond.

Cynthia opens her eyes and looks over at May. She shows a smile. "Do you have what it takes to walk on water?"

"What?"

"It only takes a focused mind."

"Umm…" May steps forward. Her foot sinks in the water. She takes it out. "I don't think I can do this quite yet."

May watches as Cynthia stands up from her previous sitting position and she starts to walk towards May. Over the water! May's eyes widened.

"It's nice to see you again." Cynthia said.

"Y-you too…how did you…?"

"I already told you. A focused mind."

"Yeah, but…"

"What brings you here?"

May smiles confidently. "I want to learn from you. I want to learn everything I can about healing…and herbs…and potions…"

"Why?"

"Why? Because…I know that being a healer is my calling. If I could learn more about it…maybe I could eventually travel the world as the World's Greatest Healer. Helping people all over the world."

"What happened to your home in Hoenn?"

"Oh. I got fired from that job. For yelling at Royalty…"

"How is the Prince doing after that?"

"I think he's fine. I took it harder than he did."

"Hmm…so you want to learn from me…"

May nods. "Yes, please. You're the best Healer I know."

"If you're going to be my apprentice…you have to prove yourself first."

"Prove myself how?"