9. Immortality

I stood in the same spot I had stopped the first time I crossed the bridge. The river roared below, crashing against the cliff walls and ever eating away at the rock. I wondered, what would it look like in a hundred years, two hundred, five hundred? Would I still even be around then?

My chances of that are looking better now, I figured. Legendaries were known to live a long time if they refrained from destroying each other.

This time I was alone. I would miss having Reuniclus at my side. I hadn't thought about what my companion would do now that I would be off watching over the world. I knew Ash would be delighted to take care of it if Reuniclus wanted to stay with him, or maybe it could return to Fanum.

I closed my eyes and listened to the howling wind, the roaring water, the flapping banners, the chatter of the crowd. None of them knew that this girl in the white sundress with a pink and blue scarf in her blonde hair had been the slender white Legendary that saved Monaltia from destruction just the day before. I would like to keep it that way, too. After what happened with Bello, the less people who knew my true identity, the better.

A gurgling sound made me open my eyes and I looked over to see a familiar green Psychic Pokémon floating its way over to me. I grinned and laughed as Reuniclus wrapped its giant arms around me with such force it almost knocked me over.

"Pika!"

I looked down to see Pikachu jumping at my feet. "Hello, Pikachu!" I said as I reached down and scooped up the Electric Pokémon, squeezing it in a quick hug. Pikachu squealed in delight and climbed up over my shoulders and head before jumping back down to the ground and scampering back toward its Trainer.

Ash, Dawn, and Brock stood a few feet away. I smiled at them, suddenly feeling a little shy. We had parted on good terms the day before, but now that they'd had time to digest the new circumstances, I didn't know what exactly they thought of me.

Ash's feelings hadn't changed. He ran to me and swept me up in a close embrace, spinning me around before setting me back on my feet. He touched my face with one hand and said, "Have I ever told you that you're beautiful?"

I smiled. "I can't remember. You'll have to keep reminding me."

"I thought you'd gone already."

"I wasn't going to leave without a proper good-bye. I'm assuming you all are headed out?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, time for me to challenge the Elite Four."

"I'm sure you'll do fantastically. I wish I could be there to watch, but now that Concordia's returned, I need to re-establish my connections with each of the Legendaries."

"When will I see you again?"

I held out a hand with the palm facing up and focused a little bit of my power in the space. Light coalesced into a round shape above my hand, and then extended out in a loop. When the light faded, a copy of my crystal, leather cord and all, lay in my hand. The only difference between the original and the copy was that the copy was completely clear while the original that hung around my neck always held some color, no matter how muted.

I lifted the necklace over Ash's head and positioned it around his neck. I explained, "These crystals will keep us connected. If you ever need me, call and I will come."

Ash looked down and touched his new crystal, then looked back up at me and kissed me. It lasted a long time and neither of us wanted it to end. We didn't know when we would see each other again. It could be weeks or even years before we were able to be together again.

But at least this time, we were separating with the promise that we would see each other again, a promise that neither of us planned on breaking. This time, I wasn't running off into the rain, fleeing my fears. No, this time, I was flying high into the light, embracing my true identity.

I'd found peace at last.

AN: THE END! Yayyy I've now finished posting my first fanfiction on this website! Thank you so much to everyone who favorited and followed and reviewed and all that fun stuff! I hope you all enjoyed reading this story as much as I did writing (and re-reading) it.

But this isn't the last you'll see of Celia! I would like to write a prequel to this showing more of those flashbacks and how her and Ash's relationship grew. I don't know when it'll happen but it's definitely in the future.

In the meantime, I'll be focusing my attention on my Narnia fanfiction, To Move the Stars. If you haven't read it yet, please check it out! I may also start working on my planned Atlantis fanfiction. We'll see how things go. :)

Thank you again everyone!