Midsummer Nights

by Trish

The third instalment to the Midsummer Series. Chapter Thirty Nine now up.

35. Chapter 35: From You I Cannot Hide

Midsummer Nights

By Trish

Disclaimer: Of course Pokémon does not belong to me. Nor does Puck belong to me, he belongs to William Shakespeare. But the storyline does and any original characters. The lyrics in the title come from "Breathless" by The Corrs.

Chapter Thirty-Four: From You I Cannot Hide

Despite Trish's 'strict' instructions to "have a good sleep", there was one being who could not sleep at all.

Puck sat on the stone bench on the balcony outside his room and gazed over the darkened realm of Elysium and sighed. The chestnut-haired Fae had felt sick to the stomach all throughout the trial, and his discomfort only increased at the thought of the impending verdict.

What it came down to, at least in Puck's eyes, was a verdict in the 'contest' between Lu and himself. A guilty verdict would cement Puck's hard won victory over his arch nemesis and see justice served for all the wrongs done to his mortal friends. A not guilty verdict would be all his nightmares come true.

Not only would it signify that the Fae Realm tolerated, but sanctioned evil done against humans; but that Lu had more support than Puck did.

Puck knew that he had pissed off more than a few Faes with his pranks over the years, but surely not enough to turn a blind eye to evil just because they hated him more?

What he dreaded most in that case, was the possible reactions of his mortal friends. Not only had they suffered terribly because of him, but he had asked that they come to the Fae realm and relive their ordeals.

They'd have to be less than human if they did not think worse of him if Lu was exonerated. All that pain and suffering and for what? Why couldn't Puck have done more to save them in the first place?

"What are you still doing up, Little Brother?" a familiar voice came from the darkness to his right. Callie walked up and sat down next to him, and stretched out her long legs. "If Mum and Dad knew, they'd have a fit."

Despite himself, Puck felt a grin spread over his face at his sister's words. Like all parents, mortal or Fae, Demetrius and Helena found it hard to realise that their children were grown up and not little kids anymore.

"Yeah, I know, Mum would prefer to have me showered and in bed by nine at night," he shook his head good-naturedly. "Ain't gonna happen and in fact hasn't happened for a long long while."

"So what's on your mind," his sister asked gently. "Is it to do with what the morrow will bring?"

Puck forced a smile, "I've thought of nothing else but the verdict ever since we came home. What if…what if they find Lu not guilty? What will our friends say? They'll hate our guts."

"They won't hate our guts," Callie tried to reassure him, though her tone belied her confidence.

"How do you know that?" Puck turned an anguished face towards her. "How do we know what they are really thinking and feeling deep down inside. Even our magic doesn't have the power to see into the deepest recesses of the human mind."

"Easy for us to say that they won't mind, but we're not the ones who suffered at Lu's hands. We're not the ones who nearly died because of a stupid vendetta that had nothing to do with them. What's more is that they suffered because of me."

Callie sighed and gently touched his arm. "Listen to me, Puck, you mustn't keep on blaming yourself for what happened. While Lu did target our friends because of his hatred for you, you never made him do it. It was his decision and his decision alone."

"But maybe, maybe I could have foreseen the attacks or at least done something to prevent them from even happening," her brother ran a hand through his thick chestnut locks.

"Once again, you are not to blame for that," Callie said firmly. "You are not a powerful psychic nor are you omnipresent. How could you have stopped them?"

"I still should have done something," Puck said miserably.

"I think that you are not giving your friends enough credit to be able to think rationally," Callie said gently. "I think they are wise enough to know that you cannot be blamed for what happened."

"Some of them, yeah," Puck shook his head. "Others like Jenn, Jaime and Chris, I'm not so sure. Especially Jenn. That blonde is so impulsive and hot-headed that she leaps before she looks."

"I'm sure that Trish or Ash would be able to talk some sense into her."

"I hope you're right."

ooo

The morning's rays hit Jenn right in the face and the blonde merely groaned and rolled over to face the wall.

You'd think the Faes would know how to dim the sun or sumthin' she thought fuzzily as her brain started to wake up.

Jenn stretched lazily before getting out of bed slowly and went to her suitcase to choose her outfit for the day. Today was the verdict day, the big decision, so she wanted an outfit that told Lu that she was not fazed by him anymore.

She settled on her favourite pair of jeans, the flared bottom ones that had a little bit of fray to the hem of them, as well as a red silk kimono styled shirt. Jenn grinned at the shirt. "Cuz there's nothing like apple red that flies the proverbial bird in someone's face.'

Of course, she'd probably get teased for wearing long sleeves, but it was a loose fit to the sleeves. Plus, it had been a touch on the cool side in the court room yesterday. After dressing and brushing out her hair, Jenn sat back on her bed. Though she was more than tempted to fall back to sleep, she mused more on how much she wanted to get back to the real world. She missed her Pokémon most of all, especially now that her little Dratini and Absol were getting closer by the day.

Those two, she thought, will make a great team one day.

Her internal musings were interrupted by a knock to her door. "Identify yourself and the Goddess may or may not permit you entry," she called out.

"Just the usual suspects," the familiar Aussie accent floated through the door.

"Ontray vue."

Trish and Shannon entered, both also dressed for the day. Trish was in a deep blue v neck top and black pants, and Shannon was in a lilac t-shirt and jeans combination.

"So how are we, this fine day?" Trish drawled as she drew up chair and sat down.

"I dunno, it's too early to tell," Jenn wisecracked before peering closer at her friend's shoulder, where something small and fluffy seemed to be sprouting. "Trish, maybe you shouldn't have eaten that Fae dessert last night. Because if you haven't had an allergic reaction, then you're getting mouldy in your old age."

Her friend blinked and twisted her head slightly to see the shoulder in question. She sighed once before reaching up and tickling the fluff in question. The fluff giggled and two big brown eyes opened and peered out at Jenn.

"Eeew!" The blonde shrieked. "What is that?!"

"Awww, it's that Fluffy that always follows Trish around," Shannon squealed in delight. "Don't you remember, Jenn?"

"Shan you should know better than to ask about me and my memory by now," Jenn said, dryly. "But now that you've told me, I do remember."

The Fluffy jumped down from Trish's shoulder onto Shannon's lap and sniffed her hands inquisitively.

"Awww what a cutie!" the brunette cooed and gently stroked the soft fur. The creature purred contentedly.

"I still say it's the weirdest thing I have ever seen," Jenn said with a slight frown. "It doesn't look like anything I've ever laid eyes on."

The creampuff looked at her, cocking its head slightly and squeaked.

"What did it say?"

Trish shrugged. "I don't know. I don't speak creampuff."

The Fluffy squeaked again before a soft glow enveloped its entire body, the shape twisting and turning until the glow subsided to reveal a fluffy cream kitten.

The kitten mewed once and Jenn was putty.

"Now that is the cutest thing I have ever seen!" the blonde squealed. Trish could almost swear she could see hearts in the girl's eyes.

Shannon was gobsmacked. "Wow, I never thought any other creature than Ditto could change shape like that."

"Well it is a Fae species," Trish shrugged. "It must be pretty magical."

"So what are you gonna do when we leave?" Jenn asked. "It seems pretty attached to you."

"I don't know," the Australian shrugged again. "I don't think I can take it with me."

"So when do we leave?" Shannon asked.

"Soon I hope," Trish said. "I'm missing the real world. It's been nice while it's lasted but I wouldn't want to live here."

"So can we leave now?" Jenn asked.

"Get real!" Trish laughed. "You know we still have the results of the trial to go through."

"But there's a party in our world," Jenn grumbled. "I'd rather go to that than to go through this."

"Who wouldn't?" Shannon asked dryly.

"I wouldn't miss it," Trish said. "Though it might have been better if not for Lu."

"It definitely would've been better without Lu," Jenn said smugly. "I mean, c'mon, the guy's a nutcase."

"Certifiable," Shannon agreed.

"Let's just hope that trait isn't looked upon favourably in this realm," Trish said seriously. "Though who knows what the Fae mindset is like."

A worried frown creased Shannon's brow. "You don't mean that they'd let Lu off lightly? Surely they wouldn't do that after all that he's done!"

"Yeah," Jenn's face darkened. "If they did, then that would totally and utterly suck. I'd never be able to like anything Fae ever again."

"I'm pretty sure they wouldn't," Trish tried to reassure her friends, though after what Fiore told her in the gardens, she wasn't so sure. "After all he did try to overthrow the King and that is high treason. Anyone can see from our stay here so far, that the King and Queen are much loved by their people. I don't think they would stand for such a crime to be committed against them."

"I just hope you're right," the blonde muttered.

"When am I ever not right?" the Australian grinned as she rose from the chair and helped her two friends up. "Come, let us go and get the others and go to the courts to get it over with."

"Nothing like suspense," Shannon quipped.

"I hate suspense!" Jenn wailed. "It destraightens my hair."

"Is that even a word?" Shannon rolled her eyes.

"In Jenn-ese, yes," Trish said dryly. "Language is relative when it comes to her."

"Duh," Jenn snorted.

"Maybe you should publish a dictionary of Jenn-ese and Jennisms, Trish," Shannon suggested. "You're used to it and can understand her pretty well, but it would help the rest of us to understand her better."

"Good idea, but it'd be a waste of time," the Australian shook her head. "It would be out of date before it's even published. Jenn-ese is an ever evolving language."

"I guess we shouldn't go down too early," Shannon quirked a grin. "Unless we want to suffer the consequences of Jenn's hair going frizzy."

"Nah, she'll be right, mate," Trish said cheerily as she grabbed each girl by the arm and dragged them from the room. "All Jenn needs is something to distract her."

"Like what?" Shannon frowned.

"Hello!" Jenn looked annoyed. "I am standing right here."

Trish cheerfully ignored her friend. "Oh well, I passed by Ash on my way to collect you girls, and he looks damn hot today," Trish confided with a sly grin. "A dark blue open neck shirt and black jeans that hug his toned butt and legs. And he has some very nice cologne on too, I believe it's the one you said you liked, Jenn."

"Really?" Jenn squeaked before she self consciously smoothed her hair and pulled down her top so it fit better. She flushed at the knowing glances aimed at her actions. The blonde crossed her arms across her stomach. "I mean, you shouldn't be looking at him like that. It's not something an engaged girl does."

Trish managed to stifle a grin at her friend's antics, and patted Jenn on the shoulder. "Relax, you look fine…that colour really suits you." Inside, she was elated. She hadn't seen her best friend act that way at the mere mention of a guy's name since she first went out with Gary.

Shannon also grinned at the blonde. The teasing had certainly gotten all of their minds off of the one thing that worried all of them. The results of the trial. Inwardly she winced, but brightly said, "Guys, I think we should head down to get something to eat."

Jenn shrugged, "If you think we should." But her nonchalant actions were belied by her stomach, which picked just that moment to let out a little growl.

Trish snickered at it. "I think we should." The Australian led the way out of the suite and down the hall. From behind her, she could hear Jenn groan.

"How do you keep track of all of this? I can't go through these halls without a guide." Another low growl, this time from Jenn and not her stomach. "I'd get lost and be wandering around here for centuries."

"Unless your stomach led the way," Shannon teased.

"Har har," Jenn said.

"Oh this is nothing," Trish said breezily. "You think this is bad, you should see the building of Doom down in Canberra." She referred to the job she'd once had that required her presence south of her hometown in Sydney more frequently than she preferred. Business trips that took her away from home were never fun!

"There is that," Jenn said, sounding a little lighter than before.

Trish took a deep breath and let out a little laugh, "Wow, smell that, guys?"

"What?" Jenn took a breath. "I don't smell anything."

"Your nose must be stuffed up," Shannon said, "I smell bacon."

"I was smelling something a little spicier," Trish teased.

Jenn took another deep breath, "It smells like…" She trailed off and Trish turned around. The blonde was practically glowering at her.

"What?" Trish asked innocently.

Jenn glared. "That's cologne and you know it!"

"So?" the Australian grinned, not fazed by her friend's anger. "Doesn't mean that Ash is nearby, it could be Drake for all you know."

"Well it's not, T-vizzie, cuz I know that cologne and it's one that Ash…"

"What about me?" a new voice entered the conversation as Ash came out of the room along with Drake. The Grand Master was indeed dressed as Trish had described and looking extremely hot in Jenn's eyes. He smiled at her and Jenn felt her heart flutter a bit before she smothered that down. She wasn't about to let him see that she was feeling like a nervous schoolgirl on her first date.

"Uh…I was just saying that you wear too much cologne," the blonde said and waved a hand under her nose. "Whaddya do, anyway? Bathe in it?"

Ash wasn't phased in the least and grinned as the blonde strode by all four of them. "I mist it on ever so delicately."

"Whatever," Jenn said and walked around the bend in the hallway.

Trish paused and went to walk after her friend. "She'll get lost."

"I know," Ash said, still grinning. "Funny, isn't it?"

"This gives me so much material for tormenting her," Drake said in a satisfied tone.

They waited for a few minutes before Jenn came walking back. The blonde's cheeks were pink and her tone was slightly surly when she said, "Puck needs to give us maps. Or maybe GPS."

"Do they even have things like that here?" Shannon wondered.

Jenn shrugged. "I dunno, but if they don't, they should."

As they resumed walking, the blonde leaned over and hissed in Trish's ear, "That was deliberately set up, wasn't it? You are so totally Evile."

Trish just grinned cheekily.

ooo

The courtroom was packed to full capacity when proceedings began, and it was a nervous bunch of mortals and two Faes who sat in the front row of the courtroom.

So much was riding on the verdict, and Jenn refused to even think of the possibility that Lu could go free and all charges be dismissed. She was feeling a little sick to the stomach as it was with all the waiting.

Beside her, Trish shifted a little in her place. Like Jenn, the Australian was feeling a little queasy and uncomfortable about the wait. Lu being exonerated and set free would be their worst possible nightmare. They would never be able to live their lives in peace ever again. No matter where they went and what they did, they would forever be looking over their shoulders for Lu to strike. Trish did not like feeling helpless and not in control of her life, and she knew that Jenn was the same.

"So where you gonna go if Lu gets let out?" the blonde whispered in her ear. "I'm thinking the Caribbean or Bora Bora sounds like a nice remote place to hide."

"I'm thinking any place would be good," Trish shrugged. "He's gonna find us no matter where we hide."

Jenn levelled a glare at her. "You're not very reassuring, Trish. Come on, work with me on this!"

"Okay, okay, your idea of hiding on Bora Bora would be absolutely brilliant because he'd never find you in amongst all the nooks and crannies of the caves on the island."

The blonde nodded, satisfied. "That's much better."

Trish rolled her eyes good-naturedly as there came a sharp rapping in the back from the sheriff. "All rise for the entrance of Their Majesties and Honourable Justices."

The court rose as one and stood to attention as the King and Queen, and Justices entered in a solemn file and took their seats on the bench. Once they were seated, the court sat back down.

"Bring in the prisoner to hear his verdict," Oberon commanded and the sheriff bowed.

"At once, Your Majesty."

There was a murmur among the crowds as Lu was marched in, handcuffed and scraggly haired. But the prisoner did not take any notice of them, his piercing green eyes searching for one person in particular. And found them.

Puck resisted the urge to shiver at the hate filled glare that was directed his way, and instead forced himself to glare back. There was no way that he could let Lu think that he was afraid of him.

Lu was forced to stand in front of the ruling populace and he began to speak most unexpectedly. "Your Majesties, if I may…"

"No, you may not, Lucius," The Queen interrupted him. "And if you speak at all during this ruling I will personally silence you magically."

"But your Majesty!"

"QUIET!" The Queen snapped angrily.

Lu, for once, paled and fell silent.

"If it were simply left to me, I would transform you into the rat you are," Titania ground out. "I would strip you of your magic and give you the form, mind, and life span of an average rat, and I would place you into a room full of hungry cats." She sat back in her throne. "You are most fortunate that this decision is not left purely to me."

In the audience, Jenn cheered the Queen on, but only in her head. She didn't dare redirect that anger onto herself!

"Lucius," the Chief Justice intoned gravely. "You have been previously convicted of high treason against Their Majesties with the intention of overthrowing them. You are now charged with crimes against humanity, kidnapping, attempted murder and mass murder. The Court has heard and seen eyewitness accounts of your crimes."

Puck and Callie held their breaths. The verdict was coming up next.

"After careful deliberation, the Court has come to a unanimous decision. You are found guilty on all charges."

There was an explosion of cheering and yelling throughout the room, most of it coming from the front row of humans, who were laughing and hugging with joy. A huge weight had come off all their shoulders and the relief was intoxicating.

The Chief Justice smiled as he waited for the tumult to die down before he continued. "The Court has decided to subject you to a suitable punishment. You are to be stripped of your Faehood and powers, making you mortal. But you will remember about being a Fae."

Lu felt as if he had been punched hard in the guts. Stripped of his Faehood and becoming a pathetic human mortal? The very species that he despised? He'd rather have been put to death than suffer such humiliation.

"The King will ensure that you will not be able to contact anyone in Elysium and that you will have no memories of the human victims so that you will never go after them again. And as added protection for the human race, you will be made to fear all violence."

Jenn sat back down, amid all those still standing and cheering. She felt sick to her stomach. All the constant stress had finally gotten to her and her innards felt all twisted and churned.

"What's wrong?" Ash asked and sat next to her. "We won. Lu's completely defeated." He smiled. "He can't hurt anyone anymore."

"Yeah, I know, I just think the whole thing has just hit me," she smiled back, weakly.

While the guards led a struggling Lu from the room, the Chief Justice approached the humans. "You all have the option of watching the sentence being carried out."

"Ooh, count me in!" Shannon cheered. "I just wish I could have some popcorn!"

"Me too," Trish nodded. "This will give an end to all of those nightmares I've been having."

"No thanks," Jenn declined. "I want to go back to my room."

"Why?" Trish looked as surprised as Drake and Shannon.

"I don't feel very well."

"You were just cheering fifteen minutes ago," Drake said.

"Yeah, well, I feel sick now," Jenn said back. "And unless you want your shoes christened with what I had for breakfast, then you'll just let me go."

"You want Ash to go with you?" Trish asked with a mix of concern and insinuation.

"No," Jenn looked over at Ash for a second, then back at the others. "I need to be alone."

Trish's eyes widened. "Wow, you must be feeling sick!"

"I mean, if it's okay with everyone here," Jenn waved a hand around.

Puck walked over, "I heard what you were saying. It's okay to leave. Once the verdict was handed out, the Court was adjourned. You're all free to come and go as you please."

"Well then, I'll see you guys in," Jenn turned to Puck. "When will all that be done with?"

"It shouldn't be any longer than a half an hour," Puck said, "I can bring you down or send everyone up to you. There'll be a celebration later tonight."

"And a bigger one all day tomorrow," Callie walked up behind her brother. "Now that everyone's free to live their lives without fear."

"Okay then," Jenn said. "I'll see all of you in a half hour."

Trish watched, full of concern, as her best friend disappeared within the crowd. "Someone should go after her. She'll get lost."

"I'll take care of it," Fiore walked away from the group. "I'll bring her back down, too."

"Uh, did anyone see where he came from?" Shannon asked.

"Did he call Jenn or the situation at hand an it?" Drake asked. "Because if it's the first one, I'm amused."

"I can't believe you didn't go after her," Trish elbowed Ash in his side. "Getting a little slow on the uptake?"

"Not really," Ash rubbed his side. "But I know that she does want to be alone."

"Care to talk about it?" Trish asked.

"I would, but they're ready," Ash said, motioning to the guard walking over to them. "Let's go see justice done."

ooo

Jenn blinked in confusion as she stood in a marble foyer with corridors going off in all four directions. Everything looked exactly alike!

'Which is the one that takes me back to my room??!!' she wailed internally. 'Puck should have given us GPS or maps. This totally sucks.'

"Need some help?' an amused voice came from behind her. She whirled around to find a Danny look-alike standing behind her, dressed in the garbs of royalty.

"Who are you?! You guys really need to learn to not sneak up on people like that!"

The Fae was unruffled. "I'm Prince Fiore, one of the sons of King Oberon and Queen Titania. I can take you back to your room."

"You're a prince?" Jenn asked. "You don't look like one."

Fiore was taken aback. No one had ever talked to him like that before! He raised his chin a notch. "Well I am. Am I not garbed in that of royalty?"

Jenn raised an eyebrow. "If you say so, bub."

"I beg your pardon!"

Jenn shrugged. "If you want to."

"You mortals are quite vexing."

"Thanks," Jenn smiled. "You're not bad looking yourself."

Fiore felt the corner of his eye twitch. If all mortals were like this, it was no wonder Lucius went mad. "What I meant to say was that you are very odd."

"Yeah, I know," Jenn looked around. "Do you know the way to the rooms we were in? I mean, since this is your house and all."

"And why do you assume I know where you are sleeping at?"

"Duh much," Jenn gave him a pointed look. "It is your house."

Fiore let out a long suffering sigh. "Follow me."

As he led the way, Jenn trotted to keep up with him. "See, I knew you knew the way. Even if you do have to make someone jog to keep up with you."

Fiore altered his walking and saw her walk next to him. "You're walking beside me?"

"Why not?" Jenn looked over at him. "This isn't the Stone Age, ace. Girls can walk beside or in front of guys." She did just that for a second before walking next to him again. "So what I'm wondering is why you look so familiar."

Fiore knew why, but didn't want to reveal all his secrets just yet. He knew that he bore a striking resemblance to the mortal gym leader named Danny, but there were obvious differences. His eyes, for example, were a deep amethyst hue and had the tilt to the edges that all Royal Faes had, along with the shimmering hue aspect natural to all Faes. He was also a couple of inches taller than the mortal.

"Well?" Jenn pressed on. "Who are you? Where have I seen you before?"

"Can you not wait until after you are in your suite?" Fiore grumbled. "Some things are better left unheard of by those not meant to hear."

"Like who?"

"It doesn't matter," Fiore turned a corner and into a hallway that was familiar to the blonde. "Let's just get you back to your suite."

"Fiore, hun," Jenn teased. "This is all so…so sudden!"

Fiore groaned quietly. He was very tempted to teleport her to the suite. "Are all you mortals this strange?"

"No, just me. Everyone says that I'm the strangest," the blonde said proudly. "Not even Trish can figure me out and she's known me the longest."

Fiore wondered about the sanity of the Australian. If this was her best friend, it was a wonder to him that she hadn't gone insane long ago.

He led the way down the corridor until Jenn recognised the ornate vase in a wall niche outside the suite she was staying in.

"Here we are, home sweet home," she grinned as she walked into the suite and through to her room. She fell backwards on the bed with a sigh. "Oh that feels good."

Fiore sat down on the chair at the foot of the bed and muttered a spell to prevent anyone from eavesdropping on the conversation.

Jenn raised her head and fixed the Fae with a steady blue-grey gaze. "So again why do you look so familiar?"

"Trish told me that I look like a certain Gym Leader that you all know back home," Fiore explained. "Think of a dorky sweater vest that you particularly hate."

Jenn's eyes widened. "Danny! You're a spitting image of Danny!"

Fiore looked a little insulted. "I do not spit!"

"It's a mortal term for looking exactly alike someone," Jenn explained, rolling her eyes. "Capisce?"

"Pardon?"

A sigh. "Never mind."

"But you have seen me before," Fiore spoke again. "Remember when Lu sent you back onto the Titanic? You thought I was Jack."

The blonde's eyes widened. "Ohmigod, that was you? I thought I was going crazy with thinking that Danny could be looking like Jack."

"It was me," the Fae confirmed.

"Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but why would a royal Fae like you want to save lil 'ol me?"

"I couldn't watch and leave you to die at Lucius's hands," Fiore said simply. "Just like I couldn't have left Trish to die."

"So I was a pity case?" Jenn shrugged. "Whatever. So if I said it would kill me if I didn't have a handful of two carat diamonds, you'd probably…"

Fiore glared at her. "I'm royal, not stupid."

"I was just asking!"

Fiore shook his head. "Should I have been surprised?"

Jenn looked thoughtful. "Nope."

ooo

Trish took her seat alongside Drake, and let him hold her by the hand. This was it. She'd finally see Lu punished. She never thought she'd see the day.

If only he could experience the trauma they'd gone through. She knew that it wasn't nice to wish that upon someone, and normally she would be the first to agree. But this was different.

Lu had certainly shown no mercy to any of them, and if he had been free, he would have gone after them until they were dead.

Of course, there was no way that he would ever experience being chased by the Hound of the Baskervilles or going down on the Titanic... But there was every chance that he might experience a severe hurricane like the one he had visited upon them.

Puck had told them that Lu would be relocated to the American state known as Florida. It was known rather well for the hurricanes that occurred there. At least Lu would know the power of a hurricane, instead of being the power that formed it. He would know how it would feel to be powerless in the face of such raw, untamed power.

Still and all, Lu glared defiantly until the very end. Right until the King cleared his mind of violent thoughts and desires.

Golden sparkles surrounded him and soon blocked him from view, as the King intoned. "From Fae to mortal, your destiny leads, the rest of your life in Florida to be."

There was a surprised yell before it faded away, along with the magic; leaving no trace behind.

It seemed as if the entire room slowly exhaled at once, letting out breath that they did not realise they had been holding.

Lu was finally gone. Never more would he be able to use his powers to torture anybody. Never would anyone have to be afraid of him ever again.

Trish gripped Drake's hand tightly. She never thought she'd live to see the day that her attacker would be brought to justice, or that she would ever have to see him again.

Sure there was the chance that they might one day, run into the human Lu, but if she made sure to steer clear of Florida, that would never be a problem. Not that she had ever wanted to visit Florida anyway, for she found the north eastern states far more interesting.

"Jenn should have seen this," she said to her fiancé. "It would really have helped her achieve closure."

"Yeah, but you know how she is," Drake said. "Once she's made up her mind, she's too proud to change it."

"Truer words were never spoken," Trish laughed, "Let's go get the others and see about that party."

"You don't need to say another word!" Drake agreed. "Partying is my thing."

ooo

"So are you still feeling ill?" Fiore asked.

Jenn wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, stomach's telling me it's not too happy with me at the moment. I don't deal too well with a whole lot of stress. It really churns up my insides."

"I can help you with that," the Fae offered and before she could reply had uttered a spell which sent a warm soothing feeling through her body.

Jenn could feel her stomach gradually relax and unwind, and the feelings of nausea slowly dissipate. The blonde perked up almost immediately.

"Thanks! Wow, you guys should seriously consider bottling your magic in pill form or something. I could do with such fast working medicine like this! You'd make an absolute fortune! People would pay big bucks for it," She paused and reconsidered. "Nah, more like mega bucks."

"Glad to have helped," the prince smiled, before tilting his head slightly. "Your friends are on their way back." He rose to his feet and stretched slightly. "One last thing before I go – please don't tell anyone of what you learned from me. I wasn't supposed to intervene and I could get into trouble."

"Ain't no thang, Princely. I won't tell anyone," Jenn shook her head with a wry grin. "I'm more likely to forget about it than anything. But thanks for saving me and for saving Trish. I know we'll never be able to thank you enough for that."

Fiore smiled again, then vanished from the room.

Jenn blinked then sighed. "You could have said goodbye first."

ooo

The day passed rather quickly in a blur of preparation for the huge celebration of Lu's departure.

Trish had come to the girls' suite to help decide on gowns for the occasion, with Callie stopping by later to add a little magical pizzazz to their outfits.

Jenn was lying flat on her stomach, propping herself up on her elbows as she stared at two equally beautiful and elegant evening gowns that were hanging off the top of the wardrobe.

"Which one should I wear, Trish?" she groaned. "I can't make up my mind which one. I like both of them the same!"

The Australian tilted her head slightly as she gazed at the gowns in question, but felt herself drawn to one in particular.

It was a sinfully soft silk gown in a rich, deep, purple. Imperial purple like only the Caesars could wear in the glory days of Ancient Rome.

It was a good colour on Jenn.

"I think you should wear the purple one."

"Uh huh," Jenn agreed. "I guess it's better than the gold one."

"You should eBay the gold one," Shannon said. "Better yet, eBay them all. Dresses suck."

"I'm totally inclined to agree," Jenn said. "But maybe after we get home and we're near a computer."

Shannon directed a withering glare at the blonde. "Do I need to add DUH to that?"

"Trust me," Trish said, "You're not alone."

"But what should I wear with the dress?" Jenn's next question threw all of them for a loop.

"What?!" Shannon looked incredulous. "You don't need someone to be telling you clean unmentionables and hose and shoes, do you?"

"Of course not!" Jenn seemed mildly annoyed. "I meant what kind of jewellery should I wear?"

"Got diamonds?" Shannon cracked.

"No," Jenn answered honestly. "Wish I did."

"Maybe Callie can conjure up some for you later," Trish patted her on the back. "But if you can't have diamonds, then the amethyst pendant on the gold chain that you brought with you would work just as well. In any case you'll look like a movie star or a Goddess, take your pick. You'll be dressed to impress."

"Especially a certain Grand Master we all know," Shannon said with a sly wink at the blonde.

Jenn tossed her head, "Who said I wanted to impress him?"

"Geeze, Jenn," Shannon sighed. "I don't know why you just won't admit that you're in love with Ash. We're all close friends here and it's totally obvious that you have a crush on him, and he obviously is attracted to you. You're in denial."

"Jenn is Queen of Denial," Trish wisecracked. "And I don't mean the river, either. It just isn't the Jenn way."

"I just don't want either of us to think that we're rebounding with the other," Jenn said with a shrug. "I wasn't married, but Ash was. I mean, it's a little soon for him to be professing undying love."

"Oddly enough…she kind of made sense," Shannon said.

"In that odd little Jenn way," Trish said teasingly. "Come on, the both of you. We've a party to ready ourselves for!"

ooo

An hour later, Jenn surveyed herself in the mirror with a satisfied gaze. The dress and the colour really did suit her well. The deep hue complemented her skin tone and the fabric clung to her body like a second skin, accentuating her figure.

She had settled on wearing her amethyst pendant with the matching earrings, and her long hair loose and carefully straightened, with make-up artfully applied. Definitely looking like a movie star or a goddess, J –Girl. The men will not be able to resist your charms tonight.

Though she had to admit to herself that there was only one man that she was hoping to impress tonight. After her near rape by Cormac, she was completely turned off by male Faes, and vowed to only look at human ones. But since there was only Drake and Ash, and Drake was completely and totally taken by her best friend, the only human guy left was Ash.

The mere thought of the dark and handsome Grand Master sent her stomach a flutter, which she quickly and hastily suppressed. No way was she going to the trouble of looking like a million dollars and ruin it by feeling sick with nerves.

She was telling the truth about not wanting Ash to profess his feelings for her, only for her to find out she was a rebound, or worse, a pity case. That would hurt like hell, and she wasn't willing to have her heart broken all over again.

Deep down inside though, Jenn felt that Ash's feelings were genuine and not simply a rebound. There had always been a strong attraction between the two of them, ever since they had first met. Surely that would never have happened if they had both been as deeply in love with their respective partners as they had first thought.

Although, Jenn looked over her shoulder at her reflection, There's nothing wrong with a little flirting, so long as it doesn't go beyond that. Of course, with a piece like Ash, I doubt I would.

Then she scolded herself for imagining a happy ending. Maybe some day she'd get married, but she didn't…no, she wouldn't…romanticize anything with Ash. Most people would think there was nothing worse than getting your heart broken. Nope, Jenn thought as she walked towards her bedroom door, It was getting your heart broken when you were the one to set yourself up in the first place.

ooo

Trish sighed happily as Drake escorted her towards the ball room. There was a low noise that she'd heard a long way down the hall. At first, she thought it was some huge creature, but then she realized that it was the voices of many people all talking at once.

There was a huge crowd awaiting them, and after the herald at the door announced their presence, the room broke into thunderous applause and cheers.

Both were a little startled and exchanged puzzled looks. "Why are they cheering us now?" Trish whispered to the Orange Crew Leader. "It's not as if we've just arrived and they're making us feel welcome. We've been here for a few weeks now and they never cheered like this at the first dance."

"Maybe they're signalling that they're pleased to see us go, now that the trial is over," Drake whispered back.

Trish was about to reply when a nearby Fae grabbed her hand and started shaking it so heartily that the Australian was afraid her hand might fall off. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you so much for what you've done," the man gushed happily.

"Er…thank you….but we really haven't done anything," she managed to stammer in reply.

"What nonsense, of course you have!" the Fae was shocked. "If it had not been for you and your friends coming here, we never could have got rid of Lucius so thoroughly and permanently. Your testimonies and memories was what really nailed him." He grimaced as if recalling painful memories. "You cannot believe how many of us are so relieved he is gone. Lucius has been like a diseased parasite in Elysium for ages."

"So why didn't you do something about him before?" Drake questioned. "Why did it take us humans getting involved, to finally bring him to justice?"

The Fae looked shamefaced. "We were too afraid of what he could possibly do to us. So we let him be."

Trish's expression changed from astonished to outraged in a few seconds.

Drake noticed the change and squeezed her hand firmly in an attempt to calm her down. He hoped that she would have the presence of mind not to burst out with any inflammatory remarks but he couldn't be too sure. Trish did spend a lot of time with Jenn, who was known to be a bit of a hot-head.

The Australian forced herself to calm down and fixed a sweet smile on her face before looking the Fae square in the eyes.

"Oh really? Surely with all the magic at your disposal, you could have handled a rogue Fae quite easily. There's more of you against him and he would have been outnumbered. It would have prevented a lot of misery back in our world that's for sure. Or do you people enjoy watching helpless and magicless beings such as myself, suffer and nearly die because you did nothing?"

The man looked down at his feet and said nothing.

"Now if you will excuse us, we have some celebrating to do," the Australian lifted her nose in the air and swept regally into the room. Drake trailed dutifully behind.

"Was that really necessary?" he whispered in her ear once they were out of earshot.

Trish gave him a look. "Of course it was! We come all this way and relive our horrific ordeals in which we nearly died – only to find out that they could have taken care of Lu ages ago except they were gutless. That just makes me so mad, because I really could have done without the asthma attack and all those weeks in hospital."

"Yeah," Drake nodded. "For a magically powerful race, they aren't very big on the courage quota."

"Just don't tell Jenn about this," Trish decided. "If I got mad, then she would be irate, and perhaps we'd have an incident on our hands."

"I agree, Jenn always has to go one better than you."

"In most things, yeah."

"Especially in levels of insanity," Drake grinned.

Trish just grinned back. "Well, in that, she's always right." She squeezed his hand gently. "And now good sir, how about we take a turn around the dance floor?"

The Orange Crew Leader smiled. "If that is what milady wishes."

ooo

Jenn poised on the threshold of the grand ballroom and looked around for her friends.

No sign of them.

"You know, I really shouldn't be left alone in magical dimensions," the blonde mused. "I tend to do dumber things than I normally do." After all, the last time she was alone in such a party atmosphere, she'd been duped by Cormac and then nearly been raped. There was no way she was going to take any chances this time!

Dumb luck prevailed. Ash arrived with Puck in tow and the chestnut-haired Fae gave her a reassuring wink.

"Yes, Jenn it's really me," the Grand Master smiled and spoke before the blonde got a chance to say a word. "I know about the time you stayed with me when you were an Absol and the Jewel of Coni Neume."

"Okay, enough," Jenn said quickly, but breathed a silent sigh of relief. "Let's not start talking about embarrassing things. I know you're the only one who knew about that Con jewel thing."

"I knew about it, too," Puck said, then fell quiet when he saw Mia across the room. "But I was just a part of keeping you alive."

"Uh…"

"Don't mind him, Jenn, just relax. Have fun." Ash grinned. "Just trust that we're who we say we are."

"Good, cuz I'd really hate to have to hurt you if you're not who you say you are."

Ash just laughed and offered her his arm, which Jenn accepted, and they entered the room. They looked around for their friends and finally spotted Trish and Drake on the dance floor, as Mia, Shannon and Jaime stood on the sidelines, talking.

"If you will excuse me," Puck bowed slightly to them. "I shall take my leave and sweep a lovely Mia off her feet."

The two watched him go.

"He's a strange one," Jenn shook her head. "And coming from me, that really means strange. I just can't figure him out."

"He's a Fae, and Faes are known to be inscrutable," Ash shrugged. "Anyway, they're not a species that we know much about, so as a result we think them strange."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Enough about him," the Grand Master grinned. "How about we join Trish and Drake on the dance floor? I didn't get my dance with you last time."

"Pushy, aren't you?" Jenn said flippantly. "Well, since you asked so nicely, I suppose so."

Despite her flippant words, Jenn was really feeling quite dreamy. In fact, she almost felt like she was dreaming. Everything around her had a hazy look to it. The mass of people around her was phenomenal.

As Jenn let Ash take the lead, she looked around and hoped Trish was having just as much fun as she was.

ooo

Jenn needn't have worried, for her best friend was having a fine time, dancing with her fiancé and not having to worry about a maniacal Fae anymore.

Trish's enjoyment level was raised even further when she glanced across to see the blonde dancing with the Grand Master. To add to her delight, Jenn looked like she was relaxed and enjoying herself in Ash's company.

She didn't realize she was grinning like mad until Drake spoke up.

"Penny for your thoughts? You look like a cat who got the best cream."

Trish inclined her head towards their friends. "My reason for grinning is dancing over there."

Drake looked in said direction. "Ash and Jenn? You know, they really do make a fine looking couple."

"I agree," the Australian smiled as she watched Ash and Jenn talk as they waltzed. "What's more, Jenn's not all angsty and tense like she has been around Ash. I guess she's not trying to deny it now."

"It's about time."

Trish sighed. "I just hope that neither of them mess it up. I just want for Jenn to be happy. Truly happy."

"You're a great friend to Jenn," Drake smiled at her. "Just remember not to neglect your own happiness."

"Oh I won't," the Australian smiled back. "But right now, I have everything I need to be happy. My friends, my health and you."

The Orange Crew Leader pouted. "I'm last on the list?"

Trish smirked and kissed his pout away. "You know the best is saved for last."

"So true."

ooo

By now Jenn had completely relaxed and was enjoying herself immensely, much to her surprise. She was never into dancing, being rather uncoordinated and always afraid of making a fool of herself in public. But Ash was an expert dancer, and steered her so smoothly across the floor that she felt like she was gliding on air. Jenn thought wryly, Of course he's good at dancing. He'd have to be with being the Grand Master. He probably goes to so many of these dance things that it's practically second nature by now.

"Man, I wish I could dance as well as you," she sighed.

Ash laughed. "It wasn't always the way, I can assure you. Jessie made sure I had dancing lessons as soon as I started winning more tournaments. She said that I could never be seen to have two left feet. Something about it being bad for my image."

Jenn wrinkled her nose. "You didn't get lessons from Rudy, I hope. Trish would probably make like she didn't know you if you did."

"Oh no, Jessie hired a professional dance instructor. The guy had won heaps of competitions."

"This is really nice," the blonde sighed happily.

"Mhmmm, and while I have you here, would you like to dance with me at the celebration ball when we get back to Pummelo?"

Maybe it was the atmosphere, or his dark, pleading eyes, but Jenn found herself unable to say no. In her dreamy state, she didn't care that it might be too 'dangerous' to be seen dancing with Ash so soon after his divorce. She was happy. "I'd really like that."

Ash grinned, "Just what I wanted to hear."

ooo

It was obvious to everyone once the night started to wind down. Faes began to leave the ballroom after bidding farewell to their rulers. The ballroom began to thin out until there were just the humans and the Faes who lived at the palace.

"I think I'm about ready to crash," Jenn yawned.

"About ready to?" Ash had a sly look on his face. "I think you already fell asleep a couple of times."

"Whatever," Jenn yawned again. "I just wanna go to sleep."

"I'll walk you back to your room," the Grand Master offered his arm and Jenn shyly accepted. It would be the perfect end to a wonderful night. It also meant that she wouldn't get lost on the way back to her room which would make it even more perfect. Spending the rest of the night wandering the halls would totally suck.

The blonde hugged her friends good night. "Ciaoness, T-vizzie, I'm gonna go to bed before I crash."

Trish hugged her back, a little concerned. "You want me to come with you? Just so you don't get lost in the corridors."

"Nah, you stay here with Drake and enjoy yourself. I think that Ash can get me back to my room safely." She frowned. "Though there were those nasty rumours of him getting lost all the time…"

"Oh?" A sly grin spread over her friend's face. "Oh? Ash is walking you back to your room. Is that so?"

"Don't say another word," Jenn held up a hand. "I know what you're gonna say, and my reply is that the only nocturnal activity that this Goddess will be doing is sleeping."

"Nothing else?" Jaime also had a sly grin.

"Nothing else." Jenn rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you people have your minds in the gutters."

"Some things are a long time coming," Trish said sagely.

Jenn sent her a withering glare. "It's not coming now or for a good long time yet."

"That's what you say now," Jaime grinned. "You may just change your mind later. After all, you're both adults and Ash is a free agent. Nobody can tell him what he can or can't do."

The blonde crossed her arms. "Aiight guys, that's enough of that. What Ash and I do or don't do is none of your bizziness."

Trish gave her a quick hug to soothe her ruffled feathers. "Aw, we know that Jenn, but you gotta admit that it's pretty exciting for us to see you with Ash instead of your usual hiding from his sight."

Jenn tossed her hair. "You still shouldn't tease me over him."

"Hey, fair's fair," the Australian laughed. "I remember when I first started dating Drake, you used to tease me mercilessly."

"But I'm not even dating Ash!" Jenn whined. "I'm only gonna be dancing with him at the ball when we get back to Pummelo."

"That sounds like a date to me," Shannon grinned.

"Whatev," Jenn waved and flounced off to where Ash was standing before her friends could tease her anymore.

ooo

"What took you so long?" the Grand Master wanted to know as Jenn took his proffered arm and they left the ballroom.

"We were just talking," the blonde yawned slightly.

"About what? Things looked pretty lively to me."

"Nuthin."

"You were talking about me, weren't you?"

Jenn's eyes widened for a fraction, then she snorted. "Someone's got a high opinion of himself."

"No," Ash grinned. "But someone does have a little psychic ability."

"Oh, great. Now you're stuck on the Orange Islands definition of little," Jenn grumbled.

Ash laughed and guided her down the stone corridor.

ooo

"Well," Drake guided Trish around the ballroom one last time. "Now that the kids are off to bed…"

"Drake! There isn't even any music!" Trish laughed. "We can't dance!"

"But we are," Drake waltzed with her gracefully. "And there's music if you listen."

Trish concentrated and listened carefully. Sure enough, there was the faintest strains of a melody in the distance.

"You're right," she admitted. "I hear it now."

"Mhmm…and after this, I think we should take a moonlit stroll through the gardens."

The Australian raised an elegant eyebrow. "It's getting rather late."

"C'mon Trish, the night is young and so are we!" Drake grinned rakishly. "Maybe Jenn didn't get a good sleep last night because normally she would be partying on like there's no tomorrow."

"That's true…"

The Orange Crew Leader drew her closer. "Enough about Jenn for now, the night is ours."

ooo

"Thanks for coming back with me," Jenn smiled at the Grand Master as they reached the ornate doors that led to her suite. "It was really nice of you, and I had a really nice time at the dance too."

It was true. It had been a very long time since Jenn had really enjoyed herself at a function like this. After Gary had dumped her, she had mainly gone along to these functions for the lack of anything better to do. She also needed to keep up appearances so that Gary couldn't have the satisfaction of believing that she was pining for him and him alone. There wasn't a single chance where she was going to let that putz get the better of her.

But tonight, had been fun. When not dancing, she sat off to the side with Ash, just talking or sitting in companionable silence. Ash was a great story teller, and the blonde got a stitch in her side from laughing over his anecdotes about his journeys.

Ash was also greatly interested in learning more about Jenn, and she was immensely flattered that he listened to every single word she had to say, without any smart comments. He was the complete opposite of Gary.

Plus it was really nice to not have to walk back to her room alone, like she normally would. Tonight she had someone to talk to about the night and to make sure she got back safe.

The Grand Master smiled and took Jenn in a gentle embrace, taking the girl by surprise. "No, thank you, Jenn. I had a really great time tonight too."

The blonde hugged him back. "I haven't had anything resembling a fun time at one of these things for a long time."

"Me neither," Ash said, his dark gaze holding hers.

"I should really get going," Jenn said, not looking away. "I was getting tired and I should go to bed and…damn, you are really irresistible."

"Uh-huh," Ash said, getting a little closer.

"You're not using any powers on me, are you?"

"Nope."

"That's what I thought."

Anything else Jenn was going to say was soon forgotten as Ash leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips. After a moment's hesitation, she began to kiss him back, wrapping her arms around his neck to draw him closer.

ooo

Jenn got the grill from her friends the next morning over breakfast.

"So…how was the walk back with Ash last night?" Trish asked, a twinkle in her eyes.

"It was very nice," Jenn said calmly, as she spread cream cheese over her bagel.

"You two did it didn't you?" Jaime grinned madly.

Jenn set her butterknife down and glared at the Canadian. "You're all staying in the same suite of rooms as I am, so I think you'd have heard something if I had slept with Ash. Anyway, I wouldn't have come out of my room by myself."

Jaime looked thoughtful. "That's right…maybe you didn't do it."

"He could've teleported out," Shannon pointed out.

"He could've," Jaime agreed.

"Well he didn't and we didn't," Jenn sniffed. "I don't move that fast. Besides Ash got divorced, like, a week or whatever ago. Dude's probably got commitment issues or something."

Just then they were interrupted by the entrance of Savin into the dining room.

"Excuse me for interrupting," the blond Fae said apologetically. "But I have a request from the King and Queen that you all join them in the throne room before you leave for your world."

"Why?" Jenn asked, "I thought we were done and stuff."

"There's still the room checkout and the matter of taking care of the bill," Savin deadpanned.

"WHAT?!" Jenn's jaw dropped as everyone around her laughed.

"Jenn, there isn't any bill," Trish shook her head. "We're guests here."

Jenn rolled her eyes, thoroughly annoyed. "Fine, then he can leave until we're done."

"Ooh, cold words," Shannon clucked her tongue. "Be nice!"

"Yeah, yeah," Jenn waved her hand dismissively. "Sometime next never."

"Don't believe her, she was being nice just this morning," Trish smirked.

"Triiiiiiish!" the blonde wailed. "Ix nay with the ice nay! I have a reputation to keep up!"

"Sooooorry," her best friend said, not looking sorry at all.

"You're not looking sorry enough," Jenn huffed.

Trish just poked her tongue out at her.

"You can finish your breakfast first," Savin brought them back to topic. "Their Majesties have some news which might interest you."

"Ooooh, like a reward consisting of lots of diamonds and stuff?" Jenn perked up. "Cuz that would be really interesting."

The Fae exhaled a breath. "Just call my name when all of you have finished your breakfast."

With that, the Fae walked out of the room. Once his footsteps had faded, Trish looked over at the blonde. "Diamonds and stuff?"

"What? I didn't see him save the world," Jenn shrugged. "Or help out in any way. I at least helped out a little. I figured jewellery is the least they could offer."

"And the most?"

Jenn grinned evilly, "Fire power!"

"Oy," Trish groaned over her coffee. "Just…oy."

ooo

When they had finished breakfast they called for Savin, and the blond Fae led them to the private throne room where the King and Queen of Elysium were waiting.

"I trust you all had a restful sleep and are quite recovered from last night?" Titania asked in her musical voice.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Jaime replied politely.

"We really are grateful to all of you for coming here to testify against Lucius," the Queen continued. "After seeing what happened to you, we realise how much courage you showed by agreeing to relive it."

"And so," she gestured to a number of servants who came forward bearing trays laden with jewellery. "Please feel free to take as many of these jewels and necklaces back with you as a token of our thanks."

"They're not going to disappear on us when we enter our world are they?" Jenn asked, a little suspicious.

"Jenn!!" Shannon hissed.

"Of course not," the Queen laughed, taking no offence at Jenn's rudeness. "These are all quite real and not at all magical."

"Good, cuz that would really suck," the blonde sighed.

"And now for Puck," Oberon smiled.

"What about me?" the Fae in question was a little nervous. What had he done wrong, now?? He couldn't think of anything it could be.

"Remember a conversation we had a while ago, before you left for the mortal world to attend your cousin's wedding?"

Puck tried but failed. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but so many things have happened since then that I can't possibly remember."

"I made you a proposition, Puck," the King reminded him. "I said that if Mia should prove that her love for you was true, then you could stay with her forever. If not, then you were to come back to Elysium for good."

Mia's eyes widened and she looked at Puck. "You never told me anything about this…"

"He wasn't allowed to," Oberon told her. "If he had told you, then the test results would not have been really truthful."

Puck gulped and gripped Mia's hand tightly. He had forgotten all about it with everything that had been happening. Now I guess I'll find out what our fate is…

"You can stay with Mia," the King smiled widely. "When she took the bullet for you, of her own free will, told us that she loved you more than life itself."

"That is so uber romantic," Jenn sighed wistfully.

Puck ignored the melodramatic blonde. What his King had just said…Could it be true?

"Have you nothing to say, dearest jester?" The Queen remarked teasingly.

Puck felt his face redden, "N…no…I mean, yes! A thousand times, yes, my Majesties!"

"Well then?" Oberon grinned. "Or have we managed to finally stump you for words?"

"No..no…" Puck was now beet red. "Ah…it's just that…did I hear you right, Your Majesty? That I can stay with Mia? Forever?"

"Yes, you can," Oberon smiled. "Mia proved her love was true and strong. And as a reward for all the years of faithful service given to me, you can stay with her and be human."

Puck broke into a huge grin. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you sooo much, Your Majesty! This is like all my dreams come true at once. How can I ever thank you for this?"

"Just take good care of her," Oberon winked. "You won't find a more devoted and loving girl than Mia."

"Oh I will!"

Meanwhile Mia was in a state of shock over the news. Could it possibly be true? After all she'd been told by family and friends that her relationship with Puck would never work, would never be anything more than a wistful dream, that she should just give up and find a nice mortal boy to settle down with.

But Mia was stubborn and clung to the hope that Puck would come back to her and wore his ring on her left hand as a reminder and a promise. There was no other man for her but Puck.

Now the King of the Faes had given her the news that she had been longing for all these years. Puck could stay with her forever and be human. It was too good to be true.

"Is it true, Your Majesty?" she blurted out. "Puck will be human?"

"Yes, he will be human," Oberon confirmed. "But he will still have some magic to command. I do not think you could take all magic from him, as we did with Florian. It is a part of who Puck is, and what makes him so lovable. But rest assured that I will not send you away without some form of controlling him, Mia. He is after all a notorious prankster."

"I agree."

"Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiia!!!" Puck wailed. "You're not supposed to agree with him! You're supposed to say that I am the most angelic person you know."

"Psh," Jenn scoffed. "Everyone knows that's me."

"I have not known you long, my dear," the Queen said smoothly. "But even I do not buy into that."

Jenn's jaw dropped. "Well I never!"

"Never shut up is what you've never," Puck said, but he was grinning ear to ear with his King's news. "Mia…After all this time!"

Mia's answer was to throw her arms around the Fae in tight embrace. "I knew there was a reason why I would never give up," she whispered in his ear. "We were meant to be."

Puck hugged her back tightly. "I know we were."

Their watching friends were either sniffling or looking a little misty-eyed at the tender scene. All of them knew how hard the past two years had been on Mia.

Trish and Drake thought they had it tough being separated by thousands of miles of ocean, but Mia and Puck had it far worse. They were separated across worlds...

Not only that, but Mia had to deal with her family as well. They had not been at all comfortable with the fact that their daughter had fallen in love with a non-human. They told her that she should stop this nonsense and find a nice human guy instead.

Mia told them that Puck was a nice guy and the only one for her. After many heated arguments, her parents realised that their daughter was never going to give in, and openly despaired that she would never get married.

"This is so wonderful," Shannon sniffled. "And so romantic, it's like the ending of a fairytale."

Trish chuckled as she leant against Drake. "It is a fairytale, as Puck is a Fae after all. And this is one fairytale that's going to come true."

"Wish I had that luck," Jenn said wistfully.

"You will, Jenn. You will," her friend reassured her. "You just gotta be patient."

"I know, I know but being patient is not my thang," Jenn grumbled. "I'm an American and we expect instant gratification!"

"But Shannon's an American and she's very patient," Jaime said slyly.

"Yeah, well she's strange," Jenn snorted. "Not only does she like snow but she also loves math."

"Hey!" the girl in question pouted. "I'm not strange."

"You are strange," the blonde said sagely. "We are all strange in a way."

"But none more so than you," Trish teased.

"You got it," Jenn grinned back.

ooo

Finally, Puck and Mia pulled apart and they faced the Fae King and Queen. The young brunette gave a deep curtsey.

"Thank you, Your Majesties," she said with heartfelt sincerity. "I don't know how I will ever be able to repay you enough for making all my dreams come true."

"Me neither," Puck said humbly. "We owe you our happiness."

"You two owe us nothing," Oberon smiled warmly. "Just promise us these things and that will be all."

"Okay…" Mia felt a little hesitant at answering. What would the King of the Fae require from her in return for losing his favourite courtier? Mountains of gold and silver? Her first-born son? Both? That was what happened in Rumpelstiltskin wasn't it? Some might scoff that she was taking a fairytale too much to heart, but she was living one. Anything could happen!

"Puck, I want you to take good care of Mia and try to be a good model citizen," Oberon instructed.

"I will, Your Majesty."

"Mia?"

"Yes, Your Majesty?" Now she'd find out if she would be living out Rumpelstiltskin or some other fairytale.

"Make sure that Puck stays out of trouble, will you?"

Mia chuckled. "Will do, Your Majesty."

Puck blinked. "Heyyy….."

ooo

Jenn was stuffing the last of her clothes into her suitcase when there was a knock at the door.

"You finished packing yet?" Trish called out.

"Just about, come on in."

The Australian entered and sat down on the bed next to Jenn's bulging bag. "Having fun?"

"Nope," the blonde muttered as she tried to press down another layer of clothes and jewellery. "If you think packing clothes is fun, then you have a strange idea of fun."

Trish grinned.

"Say, T?"

"Yes, Jenn?"

"When we get back to Pummelo, do you think that we could go coacher shopping for the upcoming ball?"

"It's couture, Jenn," her best friend blinked. "Well, sure but didn't you already pick out a couture dress for the ball a few weeks ago?"

"Yeah, I did," Jenn said as she sat down on the other side. "But I changed my mind. I don't think it's good enough for the occasion."

"But it's Vivienne Westwood, one of your favourite designers. Of course it's good enough!"

"Well I don't think so," Jenn shrugged nonchalantly. "Not anymore."

Trish looked baffled until a knowing look came across her face. "I know what it is. You want to dress to impress Ash don't you?"

"Of course not!" the blonde crossed her arms. "I just want to dress as a Goddess should and for no other reason."

"You're in love with him aren't you."

"That sounded suspiciously like it wasn't a question."

"It wasn't."

Jenn shrugged again, "It's not something I want to say out loud. Scratch that. It's something I'm not gonna say out loud."

"I think all those little grins you get when you see him or hear his name says differently."

"I so seriously doubt that."

"Oh really?" Trish arched an eyebrow. "So if I said that Ash was going to help you work out that Rapidash he got you, then that wouldn't mean a thing? That you wouldn't be grinning?"

"Of course not!" Jenn, who had begun to grin, frowned. "Why don't you scoot before I kick you out."

"Whatever you say," Trish grinned and walked out, closing the door behind her.

Jenn rolled her eyes at the closed door, but turned to repack. She grinned as she did. "At least out loud, I won't say..."

The door opened and Trish looked back in, "Don't forget to pack that black Chanel jacket!"

Jenn's eye twitched, "Yes, mom."

The door closed.

She ducked to look under the bed, pulled out the jacket, and murmured, "I'm in love."

ooo

Once all the baggage was in the expansive entryway to the palace, Puck turned to look at Mia. The girl of his dreams had not stopped smiling since the King's announcement.

"How about when we get back, that you and I go out for a romantic dinner to celebrate," he whispered in her ear.

Mia grinned even wider. "I like the sound of that!"

"Good, let's do it!"

"But….how are we going to pay for it? I don't have much money and you don't have any."

"I have some," Puck protested. "But perhaps we can convince Drake to pull some strings and get us a cheap deal at some fancy restaurant."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind. It's a very special celebration for us after all," Mia smiled as she gave him a kiss.

Puck smiled back. "It is indeed."

ooo

Jenn leant against one of the walls and sighed. If there was one thing she was never very good at, it was waiting. And right now they were waiting for the King and Queen, as well as Puck and Callie's parents to arrive to see them off.

The blonde was impatient to get back to her own world to check on her Pokémon as well as to get away from insanely powerful Fae who could hurt her. At least in the mortal world, she was on equal fighting terms with anyone and could kick some serious butt.

Her current position also allowed her to gaze on Ash as much as she liked without anyone noticing. Trish might think she was silly for not admitting that she was in love with the Grand Master, but after Jenn's past romantic experience, she wasn't going to allow herself to fall in the same trap of thinking 'happily ever after' when it could turn out to be 'happily never after.' That's what happened with Gary and she was now wise to the ways of men. Once bitten, twice shy? You bet.

Suddenly her eye candy was gone from her view, and Jenn blinked.

"What are you doing over here all by yourself?" his voice came from her right.

She turned, blushing slightly at his closeness. "Just bored from all the waiting."

"Jenn…when we get back you're not going to start avoiding me again are you?" His dark eyes bore into hers. "Not after that kiss we shared."

Her blue-grey eyes widened in shock, "Hello! Loud much?" She turned her back to him and stared at a landscape tapestry that hung on the wall across from her. "Why not just..." Jenn bit her lip. It would be like Ash to say something sure to be more than slightly embarra...

"What? Announce it to the world?" Amusement tinged his tone. "If you insist…"

Jenn spun around, "If you do, I'll put you in such a world of hurt!"

"C'mon, Jenn, I'm just teasing."

"For one thing, that's pressuring me, okay?" Jenn ticked off a finger, "I'm claustrophobic. You pressure me and I'll just lash out. Chosen One powers or not. Two," she ticked off another finger, "We're going back to the real world. Stuff like that was great in fairy land, but not there."

"Well, at least I got you to admit that it was great," Ash said with a grin.

"You are completely insufferable!"

"You know me, always looking on the bright side of life," the Grand Master chuckled. "But seriously Jenn, are you really going to shut me out again when we get back because you're afraid of what might happen? Are you thinking that it might be a repeat of what happened with Gary?"

"No, you're not a dog like he is. It's the billion other things that could go wrong," she admitted with a sigh. "You can't possibly forget how the media and public will react if this ever gets out."

"Even though this relationship is something that you want very, very much?"

Jenn opened her mouth to automatically deny it but then closed it shut. There was no use denying the truth with Mr. Chosen One around. With his powers, he'd know in a heartbeat if she was lying. Still and all, she wasn't going to give in and admit it. Her pride wouldn't allow it.

"Maybe."

"I still want that dance with you at the ball when we get back," Ash said softly. "You promised me you would and I'm gonna hold you to it."

"Whatev," Jenn attempted to be nonchalant but secretly inside her heart was thudding wildly. Maybe that kiss wasn't an illusion created by all the magic in the air around them. Maybe he really did have feelings for her. Stay cool, J-girl.

He leaned toward her and whispered in her ear. "I'm not going to pressure you into something you don't want to do, Jenn. But that doesn't mean I'm going to give up on you either." He walked away to talk to Drake, and Jenn sighed.

"They're called breath-mints!" Jenn shot after him, "Try 'em!"

Ash looked back and shook his head. His expression was of a person seriously amused.

Jenn sighed again when she saw her best friend head toward her way, a knowing grin on her face. Here we go again, she sighed inwardly. When T-vizzie makes up her mind about something, she really latches on it. She's like a puppy with a chew toy.

This last thought gave her a bit of the giggles as she realized that Trish did own an Australian Silky Terrier, and that the hyperactive puppy almost never stopped playing with its chew toys. Not unless it was sleeping.

"Find something amusing?"

"Uh," Jenn shrugged, "Not really. What do you want?"

"Me? Want something?" Trish pouted. "Do I look like someone who would come over just to bother you?"

"Yeah," Jenn said, "Especially after Ash just walked away."

Trish grinned, "Spill it!"

"Huh?"

"I know he said something to you about when we all get back," Trish was in full investigative reporter mode. "So tell me all the juicy details."

"He said that he was sorry if I was interested in him, but we simply couldn't continue it once we got back to the real world," Jenn looked hurt. "I…I understand though. I can deal with it."

"Liar!" Trish looked triumphant. "He's going to pursue you, isn't he?"

"Yes, Trish," Jenn nodded, "That is exactly what 'I can't see you anymore' means."

"Ahh, normally it would, my dear Watson," Trish wagged a finger at her friend, "But I know Ash and he is a man seriously in luuuuuurrrrve with you."

"Well, I'm seriously not in luuuuuuurrrve with him," the blonde snorted. "So you can forget about teasing me about him. There's absolutely nothing going on between us."

"Liar," Trish grinned even wider. "You forget, I know you even better than I know Ash. And no you are not seriously in luurrve with Ash. You are completely and utterly in love with him, but you just won't admit it. You're in denial."

A glint came into Jenn's eyes, but before she could open her mouth, her friend put a hand up to stop her. "And no I don't mean the river. But you are Queen of Denial, definitely."

Jenn shrugged, "Well I don't disagree with that."

"Why are you putting up such a fight about this?" A slight look of exasperation crossed Trish's face. "I mean, I understand some of why you are in constant denial, but I don't get why you're insisting on lying to the rest about what's going on. If you were Pinocchio your nose would be a huge tree by now."

"Nothing I can say will convince you that what I say is the truth, will it?" Jenn frowned.

"Nope," Trish smiled smugly. "Because we both know that it isn't the truth, and that's a fact. You can't fool me."

"You know what? I should just hold a conference about this," Jenn said it to no one in particular. "I have to explain it to Ash, to you, to the ground..."

"What a lovely idea!" Trish clapped her hands together. "Then everyone will know at once! I'll go tell Drake!"

Jenn's eyes widened, but she couldn't get a word out before Trish got to Drake. She could see her friend whispering to him, but couldn't even move before another voice chimed out.

"All Mortals ready to go back to their realm, please step forward!"

Oh yeah, Jenn thought, I'm so there.

ooo

The group that had gathered to see them off consisted of the King and Queen, Fiore, Savin, Helena and Demetrius.

"Take care of yourself, Puck," Oberon said with fond smile. "Don't forget to invite us to the wedding…"

Both Puck and Mia blushed scarlet.

"Whenever that may be," the King finished with a grin.

"Oh we certainly will, Your Majesty," Puck said, exchanging looks with Mia. "We owe our happiness all to you."

Meanwhile Trish walked up to Fiore with Drake in tow and held out her hand. "Thank you for having us here, Fiore."

"It's been a pleasure," Fiore bowed slightly before Trish then heard his voice telepathically in her head.

:You take care, and remember to not tell anyone of what I did.:

:Is this a secure link?: Trish sent back cautiously.

:Of course it is!:

:Just making sure! Okay I promise.:

:Thank you.:

:You're welcome.:

ooo

Jenn was not aware of any of these things happening around her. All the blonde could think about was what Trish could have possibly have said to Drake a few minutes ago.

Jenn was starting to regret her flippant quip about a conference, and was very much afraid it could come back to haunt her. Surely Trish knew better than to force her friend to hold a press conference when she knew how much Jenn hated public speaking.

Plus there was another, secret reason she didn't want to do it. She really didn't want to say out loud that she didn't care about Ash….because she really did. And her public dissing of him would certainly drive Ash away and she didn't want that to happen.

Then again, if she admitted it in public that she wanted Ash, then she'd be opening a huge can of worms. Misty would put pressure on Ash that he was involved with Jenn before their divorce. Fans would send the blonde death threats. Misty would send death threats. Everyone would have their eyes on any serious relationship she had with Ash.

Of course, her parents would be thrilled…

Jenn made a mental note to talk with Trish as soon as she could get her alone when they got back.

ooo

Finally it was time to go and the departing travellers were gathered together in a small circle.

"You need to stay together or else Callie and I won't be around to surround you effectively with our magic to take you back to your world," Puck instructed the group.

Jaime blinked. "…Your magic? How can you have magic, Puck? I thought the King said that you would be human! Humans don't have any magic."

"Everyone has magic deep inside," Callie said sagely. "You just have to find it."

"Yes, and some people have a bit more than others," Jenn said, with a smirk towards Ash. He rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"Hey, I can't help it if some great powerful force decided before I was born that I would be the Chosen One with matching powers," he grinned.

"You weren't listening properly, Jaime," Puck said, bringing everyone back on conversational track. "The King said he wouldn't take away my magic, he said he'd just give Mia a fail-safe way of controlling me."

Jenn glanced over at Puck with an innocent expression, "Oh, so he meant something other than marriage?"

"Hah hah," Puck gave Mia a quick hug, "Despite what you would evidently believe, I think that marriage is nothing more than spending a lifetime with someone you love."

Since there was no time for a witty retort, as the Faes gathered the mortals into a close group, no one noticed that Jenn had fallen silent very quickly. She had a tote bag over one shoulder and stood between Jaime and Shannon. Trish stood by Drake's side, with Mia on the other.

Puck and Callie stood opposite of each other, with the group of huddled humans between them.

"Ready, sis?"

Callie's eyes twinkled, "You bet, brother."

The two raised their arms as magic flowed around them. The energy from the two Faes blended smoothly, not that the mortals – save for Ash – could even tell.

"Those of you prone to nausea may want to close your eyes for the next few moments," Callie warned.

Jaime and Shannon instantly did so, as did Jenn though in her case it was more of not wanting to look at Ash, who was standing somewhere off to her side.

Trish leaned in against Drake and grinned widely as their surroundings began to blur and fog. Faster and faster things seemed to course by them, almost as if they were all caught up in a river, with only Callie and Puck to guard them.

Then, as soon as it came upon them, the blurring and fogging sensations began to slow and re-form. Gradually, the familiar sounds and scents of Pummelo began to surround them. Warmth from the sun, as it had been spring-like cool in the Fae world, touched them and a gentle breeze brought the scent of the ocean.

"And we're here," Puck said. "You may open your eyes."

Jaime opened her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as she found herself back in the landscaped lawns and manicured gardens at the back of Drake's villa. She wouldn't have put it past Puck to have transported them all to another dimension, even if Callie had been there. Those Faes could be really sneaky at times.

"Thanks for that Puck," Trish grinned as she pulled up the retractable handle on her small suitcase. "Now I think that we all need to go and unpack and meet again in time for some lunch."

Jenn managed to grab her friend's arm before she walked right past. "I need to talk to you about something after we finish packing."

The Australian nodded. "Sure, is it important?"

"Yeah," the blonde said grimly. Important enough to ward off possible public humiliation and hostility by having a press conference forced on me...

"Drop by my room after you finish then."

Jenn nodded, unable to help feeling like she'd just talked to her boss, and scooted off to her room to unpack. Suddenly her cute little Louis Vuitton carry all felt really heavy.

ooo

An hour later Jenn knocked on her best friend's bedroom door, ready for the little talk she asked for. She hoped that Trish was alone, because she wanted to nip this situation in the bud before it could escalate any further by more people being in the know.

"Come in," the Australian voice floated through the door.

The blonde opened the door and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Trish was indeed alone and flat on her stomach on her bed flipping through a magazine.

"Hey Jenn," Trish greeted cheerily. "So what's this important matter we need to speak about?"

Just like her friend to cut to the chase and get right down to the matter. Jenn sat down in the oversized stuffed chair at the foot of the bed and sighed.

"Before we left, I was joking around and told you that I should just hold a conference about my feelings for Ash. Then bam, you went and said something to Drake. Please tell me that you didn't organize a press conference for me! If you did, I don't wanna hear about it."

"Relax, Jenn," Trish grinned easily. "There is no press conference organised, I know how much you hate speaking in public. I wouldn't do that to you…."

"Sometimes I'm not so sure about that," Jenn gave a wry smile. "You are not the complete Mizz Innocent you like to make yourself out to be."

"Why, I never!" Trish feigned offence.

"Whatever," the blonde rolled her eyes. "So what did you say?"

"Oh I just thought it would be nice for you to talk about it with Drake, myself and Ash," Trish grinned evilly. "The truth will come out."

"What?" Jenn gasped.

"It's not as if I'm forcing you to say it in public public," her friend said. "I just thought if you could admit it to yourself and to Ash then maybe we can work out how to get the happy ending that you want. And don't try to say that it isn't, because I know you."

"But the public and Misty will slay me!!!" Jenn was wild-eyed. "The media will be all over it and make it look like I was the one who broke up the marriage."

"Yeah, but don't forget that Misty was the one who cheated on Ash, Brock can testify to that. And Misty was the one who walked out on the marriage and moved in with Gary. It's not as if the public sympathy will be with her. Different if Ash cheated on her and she was all sad and miserable and alone."

"And that's a sweet of her and all, but I can't fight the press!" Jenn protested. "Once they hear something like that, it's curtains for me. Curtains!"

"You really think so?" Trish asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Duh," Jenn rolled her eyes. "If I just go on out and say how much I like him and wouldn't mind being the next one down the aisle, then I'm totally toast. At least to everyone but my parents, who want to see me married off."

"So you're saying you wouldn't mind telling Ash how much you love him and wouldn't mind marrying him?"

"Need I repeat it? Duh," Jenn shook her head. "Honestly, sometimes I wonder about you." The blonde stood up. "Anyway, I need to go unpack. I pretty much just tossed my bag on my bed."

Trish watched as her friend left and shut the door behind her. "Did you hear all of that?"

"Sure did," Ash grinned as he and Drake once again came into physical view. The Grand Master had used his powers to make them invisible so they could listen to Jenn express herself freely and without any inhibitions.

Trish had suggested that approach to get the truth from her, because she knew that, had Ash been there, Jenn would have clammed up or lied to hide what she was really feeling.

Ash readily went along with the plan because he knew Trish was right. He had been on the receiving end of many a Jenn insult lately; the most recent one just a few hours ago about Ash needing breath mints.

Not only was that completely out of left field but it was just absolutely not true. Muk had bad breath, Snorlax had bad breath – but not Ash himself.

Of course, Ash thought with a grin, I could've turned that back on her and mentioned doggie breath. I might have gotten myself slapped, but I've dealt with worse.

"What's with the smile?" Trish asked.

"Oh nothing," Ash said, still grinning, "Just thinking of witty retorts long after the initial insult."

"You know, I hate it when that happens," Drake said sourly. "It's usually when Jenn's around."

"Yes, it usually is," Trish mused thoughtfully, "And speaking of the little devil, we have things to do."

"We do?" Drake asked. "What? We get to send her back to Pennsylvania? I'd love that idea."

"I bet you would," Trish said with a little glare, "But that's not the plan."

"Darn."

ooo

Mia laughed as Puck spun her out then back into his arms as the music blared from the stereo in the great room. She had not come down from the euphoric heights she had scaled since the Fae King had granted her dearest wish.

She was so ecstatic that she was almost giddy, and that made her giggly. Which was most un-Mia like.

"So where would you like to go for dinner tonight?" Puck asked. "Just you and me, my sweet."

Mia didn't take long to think about it at all. "Le Chateau Pidgeot. Drake says it's one of the top restaurants in the Archipelago."

Puck raised an eyebrow. "Uh…that would also mean that it's very very expensive. How do you propose we're going to pay for this?"

His girlfriend merely giggled and kissed him on the cheek. "You've got magic. Use it."

The chestnut-haired Fae brightened. "But of course, now why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you're not fast enough," Mia teased him.

"Any further plans?"

"Yes," Mia smiled. "When we finally leave here, you're going to come home and meet my parents."

Puck gulped, "Don't…don't you think it's a little soon for that?"

"Aww, you're not scared are you?" Mia teased him gently. "Such a brave, powerful, sexy creature such as yourself shouldn't be scared of anything. You did defeat Lu."

"I had help," Puck said dryly. "And given the choice, I think I'd rather face Lu again."

"That's not fair," Mia said. "My parents are not that scary and anyway you've never met them before."

"That's what makes it so scary!!"

"Well you won't know until you've met them," Mia smirked.

"But what do you mortals do when it comes to courtship?" Puck asked, a little nervous. "Is it very different to the Fae Realms?"

"Depends on what you do."

"Well if two Faes fall in love they just get married straight away, no permission necessary."

"Yeah, see, we're going to have to work on that," Mia shook her head. "I've definitely got my work cut out for me."

"Huh?"

"Puck, sweetie, that's not how it happens in the mortal world."

"So how does the mortal world do courtship?"

"We date for a while…"

"We've done that."

"We get engaged…"

"That ring I gave counts, right?"

"Not really," Mia loved the ring he gave her, but it didn't come with the fanfare an engagement ring came with. "An engagement ring usually has a diamond with it."

"Oh, well that's easy enough," Puck looked relieved.

"You have to propose to me though," Mia looked thoughtful. "It has to be done in a romantic setting, you get down on one knee, Trish and Jenn and Shannon and Jaime will squeal and get sappy about it after we tell them, then we plan our wedding."

"That's a lot of stuff to do," Puck's relief had long turned to dismay. "Can't we just do it the Fae way?"

"No way!!" Mia stated firmly. "I may be a bit of a tomboy, but I'm a firm believer in tradition when it comes to romance and marriage. I want the whole proper wedding thing, frills and all."

"Frills?" Puck blinked. "But I thought you didn't like frills and…"

"It's a saying, sweetie. It means that I want the whole works that come with a wedding – the proposal, the engagement ring, the engagement party, the wedding, the wedding reception, and the honeymoon."

"You want all that?"

"Of course I do!" Mia grinned. "Plus if I don't get it, my father will most likely come after you with a loaded rifle."

Puck gulped. Humans were so very complicated.

"It's not as difficult as you might be thinking it is."

"Actually, I'm thinking that it is just that difficult," Puck sighed. "Mia…How do we do all of this?"

"Simple," Mia grinned, "We call in the reinforcements!"

"And that would be what?"

"More like who," Mia hugged Puck, "A whole lotta who."

ooo

Drake sank into his leather executive chair behind his desk with a grateful sigh. Ash, who had accompanied him to the office, looked over from his seat opposite, and grinned.

"That sounded heartfelt."

"It was," the Orange Crew Leader said. "A sigh of relief that this whole thing with Lu is finally and completely over."

"It is," Ash smiled. "He'll never be able to harm anyone ever again."

"Which is a relief," Drake folded his arms behind his head. "We were lucky enough to escape with relatively minor damage to the island as it was."

"How is the clean up going?"

"It's going along pretty well," the Orange Crew Leader said as he consulted a sheet of paper. "The only hold up is the fact that some of the building materials need to be shipped out from the mainland."

"As well as getting rid of all the debris that's lying around," Ash added.

"Yeah, and since the garbage only gets collected once a week, there's only so much you can put in the trash cans before they're full."

"I think you're doing a fantastic job of leading the whole operation," the Grand Master told his friend and colleague. "After all the celebrations are over, why don't you take a long vacation? You deserve it."

"After all that you've done here, I think you do too," Drake grinned. "The idea of a long vacation sounds seriously tempting."

"So why don't you? Take Trish along with you."

"I'd have to see if she can take the time off work first, or if she already has some madcap plans made with Jenn and Shannon," Drake shrugged. "But I'll ask her anyway."

"Surely Trish wouldn't say no."

"You wouldn't think so, but she just might," Drake said. "Especially if Jenn's around. Secret women's business and talk."

Ash shook his head. "Women…we'll never understand them."

"No," Drake agreed. "And speaking of not understanding women, I had a plea for help from a certain chestnut-haired Fae that we all know and love. Puck came to me looking a little distressed over a talk he had with Mia a few moments ago."

"Oh?" Ash raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me they're arguing and having troubles already."

"Nothing like that," Drake reassured the Grand Master. "Mia mentioned the 'M' word and Puck has no idea how he's supposed to do it all."

"The M word?" Ash looked a little confused.

The Orange Crew Leader sighed. "Marriage. Geeze, Ash did you never hear it mentioned as the 'm' word before?"

"Probably," Ash looked a little sheepish. "But I can't say that I ever took much notice. I was too preoccupied with Pokémon training."

"I didn't take much notice either, however I have sisters who often use that phrase when it comes to commitment shy boyfriends."

"So he wants us to help?"

"You got it. However I told him that you would probably be more helpful than me; and sorry if this causes you pain….but you're the only one who's been married."

"Don't worry about it," Ash shrugged, "If I let it cause me pain just by being mentioned, then I'd say I need therapy. Besides, the only pain anyone is feeling is Misty."

Drake looked confused, "Why's that?"

"Because," Ash grinned. "She's the one that signed the prenup."

"Uh…I don't think Puck and Mia are going to need that."

"Probably not."

"So you're cool to help?"

"Sure," the Grand Master smiled. "Anything to help a friend."

"Hard to imagine Puck being married and settled down…" Drake mused. "He's always been such a free spirit and now he's submitting to the ball and chain."

"You're one to talk," Ash gave the Orange Crew Leader a wry look. "Or have you forgotten so soon that you're doing the same thing?"

"That's different," Drake shrugged. "Just that I would think it would be harder for a Fae who's been coming and going as he pleases to just stay in the one place and play happy families."

"Well, I don't think Mia will leash him in that far," Ash rolled his shoulders, "I'm sure she'll let him come and go as he pleases. If she tried to cage him, he'd be seriously unhappy."

"That's an understatement," Drake mused. "Just as long as we keep all alcohol away from him. I guess thing's will be just fine."

"Yep," Ash nodded. "That means no open bar at the reception."

"Just at their wedding reception or all functions?" Drake raised an eyebrow. "That's a bit tough on everyone else, and Chris is sure to throw a fit."

"Or maybe the bar can be open to all but Puck," the Grand Master amended.

"Puck would then say that it was unfair to him. Perhaps we should just get Callie to cast a spell to make him hate the taste of alcohol," Drake suggested. "At least then we wouldn't have to worry about him going anywhere near a bar."

"Good idea," Ash grinned. "But we still have to tell Mia that their wedding reception has to be alcohol free. Think of all the Faes that will be attending."

"Oh yeah," the Orange Crew Leader grimaced slightly. "I'm sure Mia won't argue with that, unless she wants her wedding to be remembered for all the wrong reasons."

"I don't think any girl wants that."

"I don't think any guy does either."

ooo

Trish ushered Shannon, Jaime and Mia into her room before peering out into the corridor and then closing the door behind her.

"What's going on?" Jaime demanded. "Why all the secrecy and why's Jenn not here?"

"Because Jenn is the reason for this meeting," Trish informed them.

"Why, what's she done?"

"Nothing," Trish grinned. "More like what she's not done."

"Which is?" Shannon was clearly puzzled.

"She's yet to admit in public that she's in love with Ash," the Australian grinned. "And since she won't do it herself, we will have to do it for her."

"But maybe she's not really in love with Ash so that's why she's not admitting it," Jaime spoke up. "Ever thought of that?"

"To be quite frank, no." Trish smirked. "And not because I don't want to see the truth, but because I know that it's not the truth. Jenn admitted her feelings about Ash to me just yesterday."

"So if she can tell you, why can't she tell the rest of us?" Shannon looked a bit hurt. "Aren't we her friends as well?"

"Sure you are," Trish quickly reassured the girl. "But don't forget that she thinks that more than one person is a crowd and she is a bit shy."

"For the front she puts up, you'd never think that," Shannon said.

"Yeah," Jaime nodded. "She's as wild as they come."

"She is," Trish agreed, "But ever notice that she's only like that in public? She's rather quiet in private.."

"I never thought of it like that," Shannon said.

"Me neither," Jaime shrugged. "I guess I never thought of her as anything but loud."

"I guess that proves just how good an actress Jenn really is," Trish chuckled. "She likes to say that she could win a Best Actress Oscar and I agree. She manages to fool most people except for a select few, such as psychics."

"But you're not psychic," Mia pointed out. "So how do you know the real Jenn?"

"Jenn would say I'm psycho," the Australian grinned. "But nah, I'm just really persistent and bug the hell out of her until she caves in and tells me."

"It must work!" Jaime laughed. "I mean you're the only one who knows more about Jenn than anyone else."

"I wouldn't say I know the real Jenn…"

"Huh?"

"How can I know the real Jenn when she probably doesn't even know herself?"

"You have a point," Shannon said thoughtfully.

"I don't get it," Jaime said. "How could you not know yourself? I know me."

"Some people can be intuitive about everything but themselves," Trish said sagely. "It happens to the best of us."

"Like you?" Jaime asked.

"No, no," Trish said with a laugh, "Not me."

"So how do you propose to do this public confession?" Mia wanted to know. "Dupe her into thinking she's going to some event when it's really a press conference?"

"Heavens, no!" the Australian shook her head. "She'd just freeze and clam up. I wouldn't do that to her, I'm not that cruel."

"Sure you're not," Jaime smirked.

Trish just grinned at the Canadian. "I still wouldn't force Jenn to have a press conference. I'm thinking more of an unforced public confession. Perhaps at the upcoming festival or celebration dance?"

"So subtle moves?"

"Exactly."

ooo

To be continued…

Author's Note: I'm not dead! Nor have I given up on writing. However real life took priority for a while and procrastination set in. So apologies to any loyal readers I have.