Really Important Note (please please please read and I know you don't want to because my notes are pointless and long but still please please please read for a moment before you begin and it's IN BOLD AND UNDERLINED SO DON'T YOU WANT TO READ IT? NO? Still please please please...):

Okay well Crystal's middle name is a constellation, Andromeda, which is "the princess". Aries and Lyra are constellations, so I figured.

And...remember how I said King Corvus was an OC? Guess what?!

I LIED! HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!

Also, this will be the final chapter of Part One.

Rant over. Read on. If. You. Dare.

Disclaimer: I do not own rights to anything. This is purely fan-made.

The day of days had come. It was a cold December morning about a week after King Oak's death and Blue came hammering on the door, but Crystal was already wide awake.

Today is the day I marry Red.

She knew that already. Why did she have to keep thinking it?

Because I don't love him.

Crystal shook her head and got up from her bed to open the door, and Blue entered in a flurry, a few other maids closely behind. Even so early in the morning they were already fretting over her. Blue was talking a mile a minute, but Crystal didn't hear a word of it. She was staring at the window, longing to leap out of it and race into the city. Thankfully, later she did get to see her beloved Viridian, if only for a small while. For a few fleeting moments as Crystal was ushered by a heavily-guarded carriage down a few streets, she allowed herself to think about her common friends. Gold especially came to mind. She wondered over and over if he was still angry or upset with her. But each time, she tried to push those thoughts away. Eventually, she was pulled out of the carriage by her lady-in-waiting.

"I'm just letting you sneak a peak," Blue giggled, guiding Crystal up the steps of the grand church in the center ring of town. It was so grand that there were multiple stories—the ground floor used for services and the second scheduled for special occasions. For the wedding, the latter had obviously been reserved. "And then it's into the back rooms we go, to get you all dolled up."

Crystal sighed for what felt like the fifteenth time. She felt as though she should be feeling downcast, but she was just too numb. "Blue, I thought you were not going to get overexcited."

Blue opened her mouth to retort, but that was when the guards shoved open the doors for them, and they stepped into the chapel, both aghast.

Not only was the layout beautiful already—a swooping, arched ceiling, awe-striking mosaics, fine wooden pews—but the chapel interior had been decorated to look like a winter wonderland. Tufts of false snow were dusted onto windowsills and flat surfaces, glass icicles drooped from any place a decorator could find, lights glittered all around, and snowflakes hung from the ceiling as if suspended in time. Only the best for the royals.

"It's amazing," Crystal breathed.

"Enchanting," Blue agreed. She surveyed the setting approvingly. "I always wanted a winter wedding," she murmured sadly for a moment, then shook herself and ushered Crystal away into a back room, where a certain violet-eyed girl was waiting. And despite being small, she instantly crushed the princess in an embrace. Crystal gasped audibly.

Tanzanite grinned. "At your service, Your Highness. Blue decided to sneak me in today since I won't be here for much longer."

Crystal's heart sunk even more, if that was possible. "What?"

"I, um…I'm not staying long after the wedding," she confessed. "I'm actually going to Unova." At Crystal's wide gaze, the frail girl waved her hands frantically. "Not permanently. And it's not as if I agree with them now or have any attachment to that kingdom—because I don't—I just offered to take Cheren there. We're going to find Yellow's sister, Belle. And you'll be so busy, I just figured I wouldn't get to see you often anyways." Crystal nodded sadly, but Tanzanite only winced and went on, "One more thing. Gold. He, um…he left."

"He left?" spluttered Blue before Crystal could get out a word.

Tanzanite nodded. "Er, 'fraid so. He said that with the whole Unova thing and everyone so busy, it would be better for him to go back to Johto. He hardly even said farewell to me this morning."

Crystal believed she could not be more crestfallen. She would be married to a kind man who she didn't love, she would have to take over a kingdom she didn't know, and she would lose the only pieces of Johto she had left.

"Where's Yellow?" Crystal wondered suddenly.

Blue frowned. "I have no idea. I haven't seen her all day."

A knock came at the door. An older maid entered, curtseyed, and stated, "Princess, your brother is here."

Crystal could not have been out the door faster. She raced to where her older brother stood, looking grim. Without knowing what to say, she started, "Was your journey alright?"

He nodded. "Except for the boat. I hate boats."

"Right." She glanced around. "Where's Lorelei?"

"She couldn't make it," Green answered. "She's probably distraught from your last meeting. Either that or she's fully recovered and thinks it to be below her to come."

"And rightfully so. I'm glad you came in her place."

"You don't look very glad," he noted at the same time as she noted how chatty he was being. "In fact, you look downright distraught yourself." Instead of asking and showing any sign of compassion, Green just stared at her as if he expected her to tell him what was wrong.

She sighed again, conceding. "I'm not sure what's wrong myself," she admitted, irritated with her own angst. "Maybe I am simply being silly. There are so many people buzzing about here, so how can I even feel alone?" At Green's knowing glance—he probably assumed she was heartsick—she added, "I'm not in love with that boy Blue told you about, my friend from Johto. But maybe it would be better if I was. Maybe he would have stayed and I still would have had a friend. Maybe I would have at least some emotion in my heart other than hopelessness. I'm pitiful, Green, because I want to but I can't even find a way to love someone."

Her brother's face darkened. "You don't know anything about love." Eyes widening, Crystal took a step back. "You don't want to be in love, Crys. You think that it's something that will bring you joy, that it will lift your spirits, but there's a price. It can weigh you down. It can hurt you and that feeling lingers until it snaps when you least expect it, and you just can't get it off of your mind.

"But as for what you can have…look around you, Crys. Love is all around you. Your friend from Johto, the sickly little thing, and yes I can see her spying on us. She loves you. Why else would she have come all this way for you? And the blonde maid who's always fretting over you, her too. She holds respect for you, and with respect can certainly come love. Even that prince you're marrying. You may not love him in a romantic way, but maybe a small part of you thinks of him as a friend. Even that annoying woman of yours loves you with all of her heart. She's stood by you all this time, after all. Love is a great thing for people, until it becomes too strong. Then it can taint them, stab them through the heart. Be careful, Crys." He turned to walk away.

And that was when Crystal knew.

Her brother was in love.

As Blue bustled about behind the scenes, she felt a strong hand grab her and pull her into a vacant room, when she turned round, confused and rather miffed to be interrupted from her frantic preparations, she was surprised to see who had summoned her so suddenly. It was none other than the groom, Prince Red himself.

"Your Highness," she choked out with a curtsey. "To what do I owe the—"

"Save it," he interrupted rudely. His hair was disheveled; obviously he had not been wrestled into a chair and made-up yet. Probably because he was also running around anxiously, judging by his expression. "Have you seen Yellow anywhere?" Blue raised an eyebrow and Red groaned. "No, not for any sort of strange reason."

Blue shrugged. "Forgive me, it's just that you call her so familiarly."

His expression darkened. "I don't think of her in such a way. I just need to find her. It seems she misplaced her locket." He brandished the silver locket that she was always wearing.

"So? Why is that important today of all days?"

"Because I haven't seen her all day and because of what's inside of it." Red's namesake ruby eyes were as hard and bright as the red of a bloodstone.

"What…what could possibly be in there?" Blue asked, with less breath than when she had previously spoken. Red opened the locket and showed its contents to her.

"That's not possible," Blue said immediately. "That's either a fake, or it's not her locket."

"She showed up her first day at the palace with this locket and has worn it every day since," Red replied witheringly, "so I know that it's hers. And it feels real. It looks real."

"Why would she have that? Why would she have ammolite set into a locket? Red, why would she have an amulet belonging to the royals of Hoenn?!"

Little did Red and Blue know, but someone was listening to their conversation. A measly serving boy called Joey had thought it suspicious that the prince and a maid had entered and empty room together, so he decided to listen in on what they were doing. What he heard was certainly not what he expected.

Maiden Yellow is native to Hoenn? Joey questioned mentally, his thoughts racing. I would not think so. She acts as though she was born and raised in Kanto; she does not have an accent. Of course, she's older than I am and could have been around enough to pick it up. But why would she be here? There's still a monarchy in Hoenn, and in fact many people have to be stopped from fleeing their kingdoms to go there. Perhaps she's working with Unova and Sinnoh. Perhaps all of Hoenn is, secretly. No, I shan't get ahead of myself. But why else would she be here other than to carry out some plot? If they have not seen her all day…then I must find her.

He set off, checking that each occupied room had a purpose and was not being used suspiciously. As he went down the hall, attempting to appear like he was simply doing as he was supposed to, a closed door caught his eye. Not wanting to alert whoever was inside, he made sure no one was around to see him press his ear against the wood of the door.

"—can handle this," spoke a male's voice, muffled slightly by the door.

"But…what if we're found out?" replied a girl's voice. "Don't think that I am afraid; I'm not. I just don't want to disgrace our family."

"I know, Yellow. Neither do I."

"Stop calling me by that name."

"Right then."

"We must finish this task, and then we must run," the girl went on, quieter so that Joey had to strain to hear. "I just do not want a horrid future for my siblings. I don't want my phoenix, my bloodstained flower to live in a world where she is always looked down upon again."

"And she won't, and neither will anyone else," the male replied. "Even if we fail, we will be alright. A beautiful loss is still a loss, and an ugly win is still a win. No one will know of this."

But Joey knew.

Maiden Yellow is committing some sort of crime.

Gold paced the streets near the chapel, appearing no different from any other villagers who wanted to witness their prince and new princess emerge from the building after their wedding.

Gold had considered many things. First he decided to march right down there and object to the wedding. Immediately after he knew that could only end in disaster. He would not have the nerve to do it anyways.

Then he decided to wait with other city people. Get a good spot on the side of the street, right where Crystal could see him. And then when she came out, he would smile. He would show her that everything was okay, that she had not hurt him. That he approved of her marriage. That he hoped for the best life for her.

But after a while he knew he could not do that. He would not have the strength to smile for a long while after she was married. He did not know what to do. He supposed it was time for him to leave; he had already bid everyone back at Yellow's house farewell, and there was no point in staying near the chapel if he wasn't going to do anything.

So he just paced around the street, nobody giving him a second glace. It hurt him to stay, but he still did not want to go.

Unfortunately, that was when she spotted him from a window.

Tanzanite came hurdling out of a side door and bolted over to him, panting and sputtering and stumbling clumsily. "Where have you been?" she asked breathlessly.

"Here," he answered. "Just here. And I was just about to leave." He turned to go, but Tanzanite grabbed his arm, pulling him with much effort.

"Wait!" He stared at her, annoyed. He just wanted to leave so he could try to forget. "You must at least say farewell to Crystal. You should have seen how pale she got when she thought you had already gone."

Gold shook his head. "She cares nothing for me."

"How can you say that?" Tanzanite asked in disbelief. "Are you upset with her?"

"She just does, alright?" He sighed, averting his eyes from Tanzanite's imploring violet gaze. "I'm not upset with her. I could never be. She's just…incredible. When she was with us, she seemed so normal. Like any other girl you could come across. But then, in the end, she's just like them." He scowled. "Just like every other one of those stuffy nobles. She always does the proper thing, she doesn't let herself feel what she isn't supposed to." He laughed bitterly and shook his head. "And for a split second I was stupid enough to think that I meant something to her."

"Gold…" Tanzanite said, watching the hurt and anger flash through his amber eyes.

"It breaks my heart," he continued seriously. "Because I know that even if I were a prince or someone important, I still wouldn't matter."

He sighed and silence fell around them like heavy curtains. Their story was closing. Both of them were leaving and Crystal was following her own path. Their little bird was flying so far away, so high above them, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

"Thank you, Tanzanite." Gold smiled, but it was not his usual, characteristic grin.

"For what?" she questioned.

He considered. "I actually have no idea. It just seemed like the right thing to say." He hugged the frail girl once and then he left.

She had tried to stay away from the church. It was all too much hubbub for her to handle. But like many people, she was drawn towards it so that she would be able to watch the newlyweds when they happily exited.

Before she could reach it—she was so close, she had gotten close enough to brush the outskirts of the rather thick crowd that had gathered—someone reached out and grabbed her arm. A young boy. Joey, he was called. His other sleeve hung limp, handless. Guards stood behind him.

Confusion and anxiety spread through her like the plague, causing her body to shudder all over. What do they want with me? She looked to Joey, who shook his head sadly. She could not run. Not from the guards. She was stuck where she was, her mind racing.

"Yellow Nympharum," barked one of the guards. She could never keep track of their faces, only their hard-set expressions. "You shall be taken into our custody for your crimes and sins against the kingdom of Kanto."

She glanced around frantically. This was all wrong. They were mistaken; they did not know who she actually was. They could not possibly know what had happened to her; that it was not her fault. They had it all wrong.

They guards forcefully moved her arms behind her back. She winced in pain. Before they could bind her, though, someone stepped up. A thin girl with long golden hair and bright eyes.

"Surely you are mistaken," she said calmly to the guards, wearing a tranquil yet melancholy expression, "for that poor girl is nothing but unfortunate to be caught up in this." The blonde girl took a step forward, and even the guards seemed confused. "I am Yellow Nympharum. I have come to confess to the attempted assassination of Prince Red Corvus, the murder of King Samuel Oak, and for one other crime that I am sure you will find most interesting. I do believe these sins disgrace—or rather, avenge—my homeland." Her smile faded and her eyes grew icy. "Unova."

"That's not…" Joey started, but then faltered, looking horribly befuddled.

The guards dropped their grasped and moved to bind the blonde girl—Yellow, apparently—who made no move to escape. Her eyes slid to the girl they had tried to arrest, whom had collapsed to the ground. The bright-eyed blonde girl whispered, as the guards carted her off, "Be safe."

But before the girl even had time to lift herself off the ground, someone grabbed her and pulled her away.

Pearl was sitting in an empty house for the first time in a very long time.

Gold had left rather angrily early on in the morning. He was going back go Johto, very suddenly, but very surely. Tanzanite was at the chapel with her princess. Cheren had gone to gather last-minute supplies. He and Tanzanite were leaving shortly after the wedding, and, sharp as the boy was, he wanted to make sure they packed all of the necessities for going to Unova. Pearl would not admit it, but Cheren's bag had fallen open at one point, and Pearl had peeked in to see that it contained various letters from Belle. That indeed was rather amusing, added to the fact that Cheren was going to his kingdom's enemy just for Belle.

Yellow…well, he had no idea where Yellow was. He hadn't seen her all day. But he didn't think much of it.

Belle was in Unova, so she was no help. Pearl was simply glad that in her most recent letters (how come she only seemed to write to Cheren?) she described how she had gotten much better after the frightening attack. At least that consoled poor Pearl. Another thing that he would never admit was how much he missed her and how much of an overprotective brother he was.

Emerald was out…somewhere. Pearl was never exactly sure what his brother did, in his room tinkering or when he would leave the house unannounced and wearing his stilts. Once, though, being the snoop that he was, Pearl had followed him. Of course, Emerald had caught the younger boy, but he confided that sometimes when he went out, it was to take a sword fighting class. What Emerald would need with that, Pearl had no idea.

And the one thing that Pearl would certainly never, never ever admit was how lonely he was. When his house was bustling and full of people it was warm and jolly, but when everyone was gone it was empty and hollow, like how he felt. He kept the hearth stocked, waiting for someone to come home. Waiting to do something.

But what Pearl didn't know was that soon someone would come home, and with them would come another. A strange, but warm person would come. Soft footfalls would hardly make sounds on the creaky wooden floors, and a ghostly presence would hang around his kitchen, a wispy presence that had never entered such a house before, and despite all the utter weirdness of the situation to come, Pearl would no longer be alone.

But for now, he sat and huffed haughtily and tended to his hearth and he waited.

It was time.

"Ready?" Blue asked, jittery.

"As I'll ever be," Crystal replied, smoothing her skirts. Quickly, she caught Blue in a hug. Then she stepped forwards, rounded the corner, and started off down the aisle, Green at her side in place of her father. He had not come. She tried—and failed for the most part—to maintain a calm smile. Her gaze found Red's. They held each other's eyes for a moment. His smiled was rather grim.

Red was so perfect, Crystal mused as she continued her eternal walk. He was kind and charming and brave. Perfect in every way.

But maybe that was what drew Crystal away. Maybe to fall in love with someone she first had to fall in love with their faults.

How she wanted so badly to turn and run. Suddenly all of her fear, her apprehension, her despair, crashed down on her all at once. She couldn't run and nobody would save her from this. She felt so pitiful; she could not even handle a marriage when she was supposed to handle a kingdom. Real people faced worse trauma every day, and she could not even handle heartache? She could not even handle marrying a man she did not love for the greater good?

They reached the end of the aisle. Green shook Red's hand calmly and stepped to the side. Crystal felt even more bare and alone than before.

The ceremony was endless. The princess had thought that it would go by in a flash, without giving her the time to think or even consider doing something reckless. But all it did was drawl on. The preacher continued to read passages and perform the service, giving her time for her thoughts to wander.

She imagined a different wedding. One in the warm, sacred summer, not the stiff and frigid winter. One where Blue, Yellow, and Tanzanite could be her bridesmaids. One where her parents would actually come (but Green would still take her down the aisle. Her father, having been absent for most of her life, certainly had not earned that privilege.) One where her grandfather was still alive, laughing and jesting. One where she was marrying a man that she loved. In her mind's eye, though, she saw Gold there, doing something. Perhaps he was part of the wedding party.

Perhaps he was the groom.

That's it, she thought, her fingers tightening around each other, no more mind-wandering for me.

Instead, she focused on her very real, very heart-clenching wedding and all of its faults and oddities. She would have to kiss Red. She'd certainly never done that before. It would probably be awkward. And then she would have to fake smiles and thank everyone for coming, even if she had never met more than half of the guests. Even then, a small part of her still did not believe it was real. Did not believe it was happening. Thought something would stop it from happening.

But nothing did.

"Do you, Prince Red Lance Corvus," the preacher began, and Crystal found herself wondering, Lance? Then she recalled that that was his father's name. She had forgotten, since he had just been cruel King Corvus in her mind. The preacher continued, "take this woman, to love and to honour, to bestow your trust upon, to befall your tragedies, to bask in your days of grace, for better or for worse, through the sun and the storm?"

Red's eyes flickered to Crystal's for just the ghost of a moment. "I do."

The preacher turned to Crystal. "And do you, Princess Crystal Andromeda Oak, take this man, to love and to honour, to bestow your trust upon, to befall your tragedies, to bask in your days of grace, for better or for worse, through the sun and the storm?"

Her heart stopped. She was anxious that she would stutter or mumble or hesitate, so she answered quickly in a surprisingly even tone, "I do."

For better or for worse.

The preacher smiled and clasped his hands. "And now, by the powers invested in me by God, and by the love in the hearts of those in this church, in this world, I now pronounce—"

BOOM.

A force knocked Crystal to the ground, her ears ringing. For a moment her mind swirled, the ground swayed, and her intellectual head swam with explanations; thunder, fire, earthquake, she'd fainted…

People screamed and she tried to look around. She couldn't see the preacher. Nor Red. Nor Green. The chapel was burning, its winter landscape going up in smoke,people were running and many were not moving at all. That was not a good thing. The fire was quickly spreading; a fallen beam from the ceiling fell over the exit and people tried to move it, but their efforts were fruitless. Whoever had done whatever it was that had been done had planned it not so it would directly kill Red and Crystal, but so that it would block the exits and the fire would spread so that it would eventually and definitely kill them.

We're going to die in this church, the princess thought, over and over. Somewhere in her head she registered fire as a fitting end for her; after all, she was from Johto, the Kingdom of Fire, or, rather, the Kingdom of Dragons. Then the ringing in her ears stopped and she realized what it had been; an explosion. She couldn't think anymore, though. That had never done her any good, it seemed, and it certainly wouldn't now. She had to act.

"Green!" she screamed above the noise. No one paid her any attention. Where was her brother? "Green!" The room spun. She couldn't recognize any faces. She heard a few people call out to her, addressing her as "princess". Was that right? Was she their princess? Nothing made sense. She must have hit her head when she went down.

If I'm going to get out of here, she thought somewhere in her foggy mind, I might just have to hit my head once more.

Guests were breaking windows, trying to get the smoke out. Crystal coughed and put her hand on the frame of one of the broken windows. She was two stories up in a burning building. Her veil had caught fire. She'd tossed it away unceremoniously. Her dress was ripped, scorched, stained with soot. She couldn't think; couldn't understand anything. Debris was falling everywhere, even outside of the windows.

Someone must have seen her by the window, because there was a horrified shriek of her name. Was that her name? Yes, she thought so. Everything was so blurry, but clear enough to know that if her life was going to end, she would end it her way. And she would do it faster than anyone could stop her. And she would do it alone. She no longer could remember who she had been yelling out for. But she remembered enough to know that she had people that would have stopped her if they knew what she was doing—not because of what her title was, but because they loved her. In the blur of her thoughts, a pair of amber eyes came to mind. Maybe whoever owned them loved her as well. Smiling faces appeared in flashes. Were they smiling at her? Yes, she quite thought so. They loved her, they must have. And that was all she needed to know in her heart for her to die happy.

So she turned round, facing the burning chapel, the burning winter. She did not want to see the ground come up to her. And she leaned back.

And she let herself fall out of the window.

Everything faded into darkness as she fell through the air, a little bird's last flight.

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*runs away*