Hello everyone! You may be wondering why I'm updating early. Well, it's because I managed to squeeze in some writing-time, and succeeded in finishing the chapter. Plus, I might be busy during the weekend, so I don't know if I'll get time to update then. So here's the next chapter! Happy reading!

Today's topic was suggested by jg13145.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon in any way, shape or size!

Princes and Dragons

Grade Three

May (8), Drew (8), Dawn (8), Ash (9), Gary (9), Leaf (8), Misty (9), Paul (9)

It was Spring Break, which meant no school, and plenty of time to enjoy the weather, which was steadily becoming warmer. May was hanging out at the park with her seven best friends. The only problem was that the eight of them were at a loss on what to do. They all seemed to disagree on anything they came up with, and were currently lying on a grassy hill beside the playground in sheer boredom.

"Hide-and-seek?" Ash said, trying to think of something that they would all enjoy.

"Where would we hide, though?" Misty pointed out. "There aren't many places to hide here at the park where we won't be seen easily."

"Tag?" May suggested.

"No, I don't wanna play tag." Dawn refused. "I don't feel like running around and getting all tired right now."

There was a silence before Gary spoke up. "This is booooring! Isn't there anything we can do?"

"I've been saying things we can do all day, but everyone keeps saying no!" Ash said, frowning.

"Yeah, but I want to do something new and exciting!"

"Like what?" Leaf turned to him.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe something like fighting a dragon, or going on an adventure!"

"Yeah, like we can do something like that right now." Paul said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Actually, that's not such a bad idea!" Dawn exclaimed thoughtfully. The others stared at her.

"Um, Dawn? Where are we going to find dragons to conquer?" Drew asked a bit exasperatedly.

Dawn stood up, a huge grin on her face, and her eyes sparkling with creativity. "The same place where we find wizards and princes and kingdoms and magic!"

"Um, I don't know..." May tried hard to think of something. "An amusement park?"

"A fairy tale?" Leaf guessed, sitting up.

"Yes!" Dawn punched the air enthusiastically. "And where do fairy tales exist? "

"In books?"

"Yes, but mostly in our imagination!"

"What's your point?" Gary asked, his eyebrow raised.

"My point is," Dawn planted her hands on her hips. "We now have the perfect idea for a game!"

The others stared at her blankly.

"Wait... what exactly are we playing?" Ash wanted to clarify.

"A game made up of our imagination! One of us can be the prince, and the other can be the princess, and there will also be the evil villain, and then we can all make a fairy tale story! The villain will capture the beautiful princess, and then the prince will have to save her, and-"

"But there are eight of us." Misty interrupted. "How are we all going to have a part?"

"There can be more than one princess. And everyone else can have different parts, like a wizard, or a sidekick or something."

"I don't want to play such a girly game." Gary said, scowling. "Let's play something else."

"Like what?" Ash asked.

"Um... we'll think of something." Gary mumbled.

"We've been trying to think of something for so long." Dawn said, huffing. "And we've been bored the whole time. C'mon, guys, it'll be fun!"

May stood up, smiling. "Okay! It does sound like fun!"

Leaf joined them. "I don't have a problem with it."

Dawn beamed, and then turned to the others expectantly. Ash hesitated before standing up too.

"Sure! Let's do it!" He faced the others. Drew got up calmly.

"I guess if everyone's doing it."

Misty stood beside them soon after. "Fine. Just don't expect be to be some damsel-in-distress princess or anything."

"Come on, Gary, Paul." Ash urged. "Maybe it won't be that girly. And you guys don't want to end up doing nothing, right?"

"It doesn't look like there is much choice." Gary said begrudgingly. "Come on, Paul. Let's just get this over with."

"Come on, smile!" Dawn encouraged. "We are supposed to be having fun!"

"So who's going to be who?" Leaf wondered.

Dawn twirled around like a ballerina. "I want to be one of the princesses!" she announced.

"I'll be one of the princesses too!" May said excitedly.

"We need a prince! Let's see..." Dawn observed the boys.

"Not me!" Gary folded his arms, not wanting to be involved in a romantic princess-rescue.

"Do you really want me as a prince?" Paul pointed out.

"I'll be the prince." Drew offered, shrugging. "All I have to do is save you guys from the bad guy, right?"

Dawn nodded happily, glad that (almost) everyone was getting into the spirit of the game. "Okay, good! Now, Ash, you can be... um..."

"I can be the helper." Ash said. "You know, like the prince's sidekick."

"Yes!" Dawn clapped her hands. "And Leaf can be the wise adviser who tells Drew what he can do, and Misty can be the mermaid who gives them hints on where to go."

Dawn turned to Paul and Gary, both who were looking very reluctant. "For you guys..."

"I'll be the evil villain." Paul cut in. "I know you'll make me him anyways."

"Actually, I was going to make you the king. But evil villain works too. That means Gary's the king!"

"What does the king do?" Gary asked sulkily.

"Well, whatever kings usually do. He tells people what to do and stuff like that. You know."

"So I get to order everyone around?" Gary smirked. "I think that works for me."

"Great!" Dawn looked at her friends enthusiastically. "Let's play! So, we start with the princesses getting captured!"

Everyone turned to Paul. He noticed their gaze. "What?"

"You're supposed to capture us." Dawn reminded him, gesturing to herself and May.

"Oh."

And thus, the adventure began.

Once upon a time, in a land far away...

"King Gary!" a black-haired knight yelled as he barged through the door of the castle.

"What is it, Sir Ash?" King Gary snapped. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of playing a video game?"

"The princesses - both of them - have been captured by the evil wizard Paul!"

The king snorted. "Evil wizard Paul?"

"The Dark Conqueror!" the villain's voice floated through the air even though he wasn't there, as if sending his title to the king with the use of magic.

"Okay, then, the Dark Conqueror. So, why did he capture them?"

"Um, I don't know." Sir Ash sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "He never said why. He just used a spell and forced them to go with him."

"Oh." King Gary thought for a moment. "I don't feel like going all the way to the wizards evil lair to get them back. It might be a trap for me, and I'm too important to be trapped. You go get them."

"M-me?" Sir Ash sputtered. "All alone? Won't that be too dangerous?"

"You're right. You're too weak for this. Call Prince Drew."

Scowling, Sir Ash left, and then came back, this time leading a green-haired (and, might I add, exceedingly handsome-looking) prince, who calmly turned to the king.

"Yes, your Majesty?" he addressed politely.

"The Dark Conqueror Paul took the princesses to his castle for some reason, and he won't let them go. You have to go get them back."

"Sounds easy enough." Prince Drew flipped his slick, gorgeous hair, to add dramatic effect. "Sure, I'll go."

"And Sir Ash, you go too." Gary ordered.

"Huh? Why?" the black-haired boy asked, befuddled.

"Cuz I said so. Prince Drew, Sir Ash is your servant now."

"What?! I'm I knight! You can't make me a servant!"

"Yes I can, because I'm the king. So go already! You're supposed to save the princesses."

"Okay!" Prince Drew winked charmingly. "I'll be back with the two ladies before you know it!"

"Just go."

"Okay, okay! Come on, Sir Ash. We've got a mission to accomplish!" The two brave warriors left on their quest.

Meanwhile...

"Let us go!" the beautiful Princess Dawn commanded shrilly.

The Dark Conqueror, who was napping on an armchair with his feet on the coffee table, opened an eye lazily. "Can you be quiet? I'm trying to sleep."

"Me too." the equally stunning Princess May said. "But I can't sleep, because I can only sleep in a huge, comfy bed."

"Then go to the guest room." the Dark Conqueror suggested, shrugging. "Just be quiet."

Princess May seemed to be about to eagerly leave for the guest room when Princess Dawn spoke up. "We can't go anywhere when you have up chained up like this!" she said hotly.

"Yeah?" the Dark Conqueror briefly glanced at them, as if just realizing they were being restrained. "Well too bad for you, then."

"You can't do this to us, Paul!" Princess Dawn shouted. "You'll never get away with this!"

"Okay, first of all, it's the Dark Conqueror, not Paul." the wizard corrected. "Second, I just put a spell on you, so you can't talk anymore."

Princess Dawn scowled while Princess May just watched on worriedly. She turned to the villain. "Um, you didn't put the spell on me too, right?"

"Are you going to talk?"

"N-no! I'll be quiet if you want!"

"Good. Then I didn't put the spell on you."

They were silent for a moment, before Princess May spoke up nervously.

"Um, can I have some chocolate?"

Back with the heroes...

"Um, so which way are we supposed to go again?" Sir Ash asked.

"I already told you," the devilishly handsome Prince Drew reminded him. "The Dark Conqueror's castle is at the end of Night Green Forest."

"And where is Night Green Forest?"

"How am I supposed to know? You're the one with the map."

"What map?"

"The map that you were supposed to bring along." Prince Drew's eyes narrowed. "You did bring the map, right?"

"How can I bring it if no one gave it to me?" Sir Ash justified.

Prince Drew groaned. "You were supposed to bring it, you being- ah- the servant and all."

"Hello. You guys are looking hopelessly lost." a voice spoke up. The two boys turned to meet a girl with large green eyes.

"We are." Sir Ash confirmed."Do you know where to find Night Green Forest?"

"No, not really. But I can advise you on what to do right now and stuff."

"That would be greatly appreciated." Prince Drew said in a mannerly fashion. He smiled as he flipped his hair. "I'm Prince Drew."

"Sir Ash here! At your service!"

"Pleasure to meet you." The girl tapped her chin reflectively. "I guess that makes me, um, Lady Leaf of Wise Advice. You can call me Lady Leaf. So whatcha guys doing?"

"I have to go rescue two princesses from the evil Dark Conqueror." Prince Drew explained. "His castle is at the end of Night Green Forest, but Sir Ash - who, by the way, is my servant - forgot the map."

"You never even told me to bring it!" Sir Ash protested resentfully.

"Well, what you guys can do," Lady Leaf pointed to the sky. "Is spin around and around while looking at the clouds and singing 'Twinkle, Twinkle Clefairy Star'!"

"What! Why do we have to do that?!" Sir Ash blurted out.

"There is no way I'm going to do something so foolish-looking." Prince Drew stuck his nose in the air.

"Fine." Lady Leaf shrugged. "If you don't want to save the princesses, that's your choice."

Prince Drew scowled before letting out a defeated sigh. "Fine." he conceded. "We'll do it."

"We will?" Sir Ash seemed opposed to it.

"Yes." Prince Drew said forcibly. The two did as Lady Leaf had ordered them to. By the end, they were both very dizzy, and fell to the ground. To their fury, they saw Lady Leaf laughing at them.

"What?" Prince Drew growled.

"That was hilarious!" Lady Leaf wiped a tear from her eye.

The prince was red in the face. "How was this supposed to help us find the forest again?"

"It wasn't. I just always wanted to see someone do that!"

"WHAT?!" both boys yelled out angrily.

"Oh, relax! I was also testing to see how far you guys will go to do your mission. So now, here's my real advice: go to the Lake of Milotic Scales, where you'll find a mermaid. She knows exactly where the forest and all those kinds of stuff are."

"And where is the Lake of Milotic Scales?"

"Over there." The girl pointed to the sparkling lake, which could be seen nearby.

"Okay then. Let's go!" Prince Drew marched onward and his two companions followed close behind. They arrived at their destination, where there was a beautiful mermaid with orange hair.

"I am Mermaid Misty." she introduced herself. "Aaaand, who are you?"

The three answered her question, and told her about their problem.

"I can help you with that." Mermaid Misty said. "Okay, so you go down the strawberry path, then, when you reach the forest, you have to cross the Quicksand of Goopiness, go through the Pointy Thorny Place, and then - the worse part - you have to get through the Branches of Big Bugs!"

"Really? Big bugs?"

"Yeah, and they're poisonous too."

"Okay, thanks then." As they started heading away, Mermaid Misty called out to them.

"Wait, I'm coming too!"

"How can you come?" Sir Ash asked, nonplussed. "You don't have feet. Only a tail."

"When I come out of water, my tail turns into feet."

"That's freaky!"

Frowning, Mermaid Misty climbed out of the lake and walked up to him. "It is NOT!"

"Yeah it is! So your tail becomes a foot? That's so weird!"

Mermaid Misty furiously pulled out a huge mallet from the magic lake and used it to hit Sir Ash on the head. "It turns into TWO legs, dumby! Not one! Can't you see since I'm standing right in front of you?!"

"Ow..." Sir Ash moaned, rubbing his head. "Okay, okay! Sorry! Wait, where did you get that mallet?"

"From my house in the lake, duh."

"No, really Mist, where did you get it?"

"HOLD ON, GUYS! WAIT FOR ME!" a voice yelled out, along with huffing and puffing.

"King Gary!" Prince Drew said, clearly surprised. "What are you doing here? Weren't you back at the castle?"

"Yeah, but I got bored." The king shrugged. "I thought I'd come along too. Just to watch."

"So you're King Gary." Lady Leaf noted. "Just as I thought. You don't look like someone who would do a lot of fighting." Her comment earned her a glare from the mighty ruler.

"But weren't you saying you could get hurt, and you're too important-?" Prince Drew started, but was interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah." King Gary waved him off. "I'm just gonna watch. You're gonna be the one doing all the fighting."

Prince Drew frowned, but he didn't argue. He was the king, after all. The group of five began heading into Night Green Forest, where dangers awaited them, along with multiple factors to fuel their quarreling with one another.

Going back to the Dark Conqueror's Lair...

"This is so booooooring!" Princess Dawn whined. "We're not doing anything!"

"I am. But you keep waking me up." the evil wizard grumbled. "And didn't I put a no-talking spell on you?"

"Yeah, well I broke it." Princess Dawn said irritatedly. "I wear a magic ring that breaks that kind of spells."

"Don't worry." Princess May assured her. "I'm sure Prince Drew will come rescue us."

"No, he won't." the Dark Conqueror grunted. "I put a spell on the castle so it's invisible. They won't be able to see it."

"That's terrible!" Princess Dawn gasped in horror.

"Yes, it is," the Dark Conqueror agreed. "Because now I have to put up with your annoying chatter for the rest of my life. Why did I capture you, again?"

"Seriously? You don't even know why you captured us?"

"Ooooo, can I make a reason!" Princess May offered excitedly. "I watched a lot of movies like this!"

"Go ahead. Be my guest." the wizard permitted.

"Actually, we're you're prisoners." Princess Dawn's statement went unheard.

"Okay!" Princess May squealed in joy and enthusiasm. "So, you want to be the king, so you kidnapped his daughters, the princesses, so that you can marry one of them and become king. But then the prince who was supposed to marry one of the princesses and become king saves us, and then we almost live happily ever after. Almost, because the princess who doesn't become queen gets angry, and then joins you again so that you two can take over the world! Then, there is this huge battle, and you and the prince defeat each other. The princesses are sad, because they lost their true loves, and that's the end."

Princess May sighed dreamily, with her hands clasped together, and a sad, faraway look in her eyes. "Such a romantic tragedy!"

"No way that's happening!" the Dark Conqueror said disgustedly. "That was a terrible story! I don't want to marry! What kind of movies do you even watch?!"

"And which one of us two princesses was supposed to be the one who becomes evil?" Dawn questioned, her hands on her hips. "If you're going to be the good one, does that mean I have to be the evil one?"

"Well, I hadn't really thought about that..."

"Hey! Princesses! Are you there?" A shouting voice could be heard. Princesses Dawn and May immediately ran to the window. Their rescuers had come!

"We're over here!" they cried. The evil wizard pushed them back from the window and stuck his head out.

"You'll never find us! I put a spell, so my castle's invisible, so you can't see us!"

Prince Drew frowned. "Now what do we do?"

"Easy." Lady Leaf said. "You just have to find a magic tree and climb it. That would help you see it no matter what spell Paul uses."

"My name is the Dark Conqueror!" the evil wizard's voice rang out, but was ignored.

"So where do we find a magic tree?" the prince asked.

"Hmm, that's one!" Mermaid Misty pointed to a tall tree with a thick trunk and sturdy branches. "That's a magic tree."

King Gary turned to Sir Ash. "You climb it and look."

"Why me?"

"Because you're the servant and I'm the king, so I get to order you around."

Scowling, Sir Ash had no choice but to obey. He reached for branch after branch, hauling himself up higher and higher. He was climbing remarkably well, and much better than he used to. Watching him go up so high in that tree, Princess May felt a wave of deja vu wash over her. Had something like this happened before? And why was she getting the feeling that something was going to go wrong?

Sir Ash finally stopped on a thick, stable branch. He scanned the area, and pointed to where he could see the princesses and the wizard looking out the window.

"There!" he yelled out. "They're over there!"

"Excellent job, Sir Ash!" Prince Drew praised. He began heading to the direction Sir Ash had pointed to.

"Uh, guys?" Everyone looked up to where Sir Ash was still seated.

"S'matter, Ashy-boy, just come down already!" King Gary called out.

"Yeah, well that's the thing."

"What?"

"I don't know how to get down."

"Okay, time out!" Misty shouted. She gestured to May, Dawn and Paul to tell them to come join the rest of the group. They arrived, puzzled at the interruption of the game, but they understood once they saw what the situation was.

"Ash! Are you okay?" May yelled out worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Ash reassured her. "Just don't know how to get down!"

"Hang on, I'll call for help!" Drew began to look around to see whether there were any grown-ups around. Gary's grandpa hadn't come to supervise them, since they were no longer six, but eight and nine years of age, and were capable of walking to the close-by park and back during the afternoon without any trouble. Which meant Drew would have to locate someone else.

"Is there a problem here?" A woman wearing a coat and a large hat on her long, blonde hair appeared at the scene, her face hidden by the shadow of her hat. The eight friends were unfamiliar with her, but she seemed to give off a positive aura.

"Our friend is stuck up there!" Leaf pointed to the high branch where Ash was.

"I'm okay!" he called down. "Just need to get down!"

"I think I can help with that." the woman said thoughtfully. She pulled out a pokeball, which the children eyed curiously.

"Garchomp, battle dance!" A ferocious-looking Garchomp emerged, but seemed puzzled when it couldn't detect an opponent in sight.

"Gar?" It turned to its trainer.

"Actually, we're not battling." the woman said, laughing lightly. "I want you to go up this tree, and help that boy come down. Think you can manage?"

"Chomp!" The Pokemon nodded, and faster than anyone could blink, it was up in the air beside Ash. It helped him climb onto its back, and then descended, making sure to not go too fast.

"Great job, Garchomp!" the woman praised, petting it as Ash climbed off.

"That was so cool!" Ash exclaimed. "Riding a Garchomp!" Gary eyed him jealously.

"Wait, I know who you are!" Paul blurted out unexpectedly. He was gaping at the woman, whose hat had flown off when Garchomp had taken off, revealing her face.

"Hm?"

"You're Cynthia the Sinnoh Champion, aren't you?" The others went wide-eyed at Paul's statement. They turned to the woman in wonder.

"That's right!" Dawn exclaimed, enraptured by the presence of someone so famous. "I didn't recognize you because of your hat! I see you on TV and in magazines all the time!"

"Wow, a real champion! Here at the park!" The eight crowded around, marveled at the sudden, unexpected appearance.

"Cynthia, didn't you say you wanted to have a nice, quiet afternoon without your fans today?" A man with red hair sticking out from under his hat walked up to the group. "And here you are, displaying your glory here in a public park."

"Lance, I was just helping these kids out. They just happened to recognize me." Cynthia said calmly as she recalled her Garchomp.

"Wait, do you mean Lance, as in the Kanto and Johto Champion?!" Gary exclaimed loudly. The only answer he received was a glance from the man, whose eyes travelled to his for only a second.

"You are?!" Misty stared at the two dumbfounded.

"No way!" Ash whispered in awe. "Two champions. Here, right in front of me! I never thought that would happen!"

"Why are two champions here at the park like this?" Drew asked.

"Well, there is a meeting in the city that both of us have to attend, but it isn't until tomorrow." Cynthia explained. "So the both of us decided to take today as a relaxing day off. Unfortunately, it's very hard for that to happen, since whenever people see that we're the champions, they want to hang out with us."

"Oh, so are we bothering you?" May asked nervously.

Cynthia smiled "No, not at all! Just don't tell anyone we're here, okay?" she added with a wink as she put her hat back on, hiding her face.

"We won't!" they promised.

"Lance?" Gary caught the champion's attention. He grinned eagerly. "We got to see Cynthia's Garchomp, so can we see your Dragonite? From what I know, it's really strong!"

"Gary!" Leaf elbowed him in the side. "They want a nice relaxing day! Don't go bothering him like that!"

"I guess you can." Lance replied. "There aren't many people around, so it probably won't attract too much attention. Just for a second, though."

He let out his dragon-type, which they all admired, before he quickly called it back.

"Nice to meet all of you!" Cynthia said, smiling warmly. "But we have to go now. There is an ice cream shop that we were planning to try out!"

"That you were planning to try out." Lance muttered. Nevertheless, the two champions bid their farewells, and soon disappeared.

"Wow." Ash breathed.

"That. Was. Amazing." Leaf commented breathlessly. The others murmured their agreements.

"Wait!" Dawn realized suddenly. "We haven't finished the fairy tale!" It took the others a second to figure out what she was talking about. Paul responded first.

"So?"

"So we need an ending! We have to continue playing!"

"No we don't. Here's what happens: The Dark Conqueror fights the prince and wins. Then he tells the princesses to leave, because he only captured them because he was bored and wanted to do something like fight the prince. And they all go home. The end."

"That wasn't a very nice ending." Dawn said sulkily.

"Yes it was." Paul defended the conclusion he gave.

"So what are we gonna do now?" Misty wondered.

"Oh, I know!" Leaf said. "Come over to my house. It's only a few minutes walk from here, and there are two boxes of popsicles in the freezer. Anyone wanna help me finish them?"

Naturally, everyone thought this was a great idea, and they all began headed to their friend's house.

And they all lived happily ever after! The end!

It was fun writing a story within a story! Hope you guys enjoyed! I'll try to write out the next chapter by next week, though if I somehow finish early, I'll post it.

Please review, and thanks for reading!

Bye bye for now! And have a smiling day! :)