Cinders and Ashes

A/N: Okay, so this one is much shorter than the last one I posted several months ago, but hey, there's not a lot to go about in this chapter. Why waste prolonging two scenes? It would be a waste of both a lot of words and a lot of breath. However, to make up for it, some pretty big stuff will be revealed in this chapter. Well, I think they're big, but I'll let you guys decide that.

Anyway, let's get on with Chapter 9! Roll it!

Chapter 9

Finding Sympathy and Hope

Ash laid against the wall, near the door, his soft crying having stopped a couple of hours ago. It was the middle of the night, and the cost of his body slowly stopping his blood from continuing to leak through the makeshift bandages was great hunger. He had already heard his stomach growl five times.

He then sighed as he held his empty and pleading stomach with one arm. He turned to look over at the window, the moonlight gleaming through the narrow window. He really hoped that one of his other Pokémon friends would come by again with some food.

Pikachu must have told their friends from the forest about what had happened, and little by little as the day went by, they brought Ash some Berries to replenish his strength and help with his wounds. He was grateful for the tidbits of food, but because it took so much for his body to ease up with the blood flow, he would get more and more hungry. He needed more food.

Why wouldn't Giovanni finish me off already? Ash thought to himself bitterly. Then the answer came to him.

Apparently, he wants him to suffer. He was convinced that eventually, Dawn will give up searching for her Mystery Prince and will be forced to marry someone of the court's choosing. Then once that was done, he would then kill him to put him out of his heartbroken misery.

Just then, Ash heard something shuffling outside. He immediately sat up and slightly backed away from the door.

"Who's there?" He asked. "Hello?"

"Ash, it's me." came a quiet whisper.

He blinked at the familiar voice. "Serena?"

A faint golden light soon came from behind the door, gradually getting brighter. "Finally got this candle lit." Serena muttered to herself.

On the other side, Serena had lit the oil lamp that was in her hand, while under her arm, she was carrying a roll of fresh bandages. Her Sylveon was carefully holding a plate of food with her ribbon feelers; a good-sized slab of steak, mashed potatoes, peas, and a fork to eat with.

"Here, Ash." She whispered to the captive on the other side. "Food. And some fresh bandages."

She and Sylveon then slid the plate and the roll underneath the door. "I would help you change your bandages, but Father has the key to the attic hidden somewhere. I couldn't find it."

"It's okay." Ash assured her as he took the plate and bandages. "Thank you."

Serena listened to Ash hungrily devour the food she brought, shaking her head lightly at his lack of manners at the moment. She didn't mind this time; he was practically starving. After five minutes, he slid the plate back under the door, having nothing left, not even a little scrap. She smiled faintly before she heard him speak up again.

"Why are you helping me?" He asked her as he removed the makeshift bandages around his shoulders and began to unroll the unused roll of clean ones.

"You don't deserve this." Serena answered softly. She could sense Ash looking at the door as if he could see through it to look at her when she said that.

"Yes, I know that you are a servant, and my father can be ruthless at times, but this... this is too much, even for him. I couldn't let him kill you."

Ash was silent for a few moments as he wrapped one shoulder with the bandages and then proceeded to wrap the other one, carefully as his wounds were still tender.

"I always had a feeling that you were not like your father or your stepsister." He admitted. "I know that the only reason you pretended to act in that way is to have their approval. But... why? Why are you acting kind to me now?"

Serena felt her face flush with heat at his question. She knew the answer, but to say it was harder than she had imagined. She felt her Sylveon partner nuzzle her side in assurance, purring. The faith of her loyal Fairy type gave her enough courage to swallow the lump in her throat before confessing the truth.

"I've... held the strangest affections towards you ever since you and your mother came to the chateau looking for work." She began before continuing, not ready to let Ash answer until she got everything off her chest. She had already said the hard part, she couldn't stop now.

"I always thought that you were handsome, charming and compassionate, unlike any man that I had met. You are also brave, not letting anyone get away with mistreating the Pokémon or one of the lower servants. I really admired you; so much that I began fantasizing about asking your mother for her permission to extend an invitation of courtship.

"But Miette, she only saw you as just another possible notch in her bedpost. Yes, I will admit, she had snuck a man or two into her bedchambers, but they were nothing serious, so I never reported her little flings to Father, although she did threaten me if I ever did anyway. I made doubly sure that she drank that tea that would prevent her from conceiving out of wedlock. But you, she saw you as a challenge. You were not swayed by her flirtations, so that made her both lust and despise you."

"She eventually discovered my feelings towards you, and offered me unsolicited advice on ways to try and seduce you. But I believed in love, while she believed that love is frivolous and unnecessary for marriage. I listened to those unwanted tidbits of advice, but I never wanted to do any of them. So I acted cruelly to keep you away from Miette, which in turn, also from me.

Serena then took a deep breath. "Now, I know that it is too late for me. I know that I don't deserve your love after the way I treated you for so long. Especially now, since you are in love with Princess Dawn. You are the Mystery Prince they're all talking about, yes?"

Ash was still trying to wrap his head around everything that Serena had confessed to him, both his shoulders now wrapped in fresh bandages. She was in love with him? All this time, she had been in love with him, but only pretended to be cruel and selfish not only to gain her family's approval, but also to protect him? He knew that Giovanni would never let his daughters taint themselves with a servant; even though Miette apparently was already impure; but Serena actually cared about him. Enough to sacrifice any chance of a possible courtship between them if things had turned out differently.

Then the question she had asked him about his identity as the Mystery Prince finally registered in his head, and it took him a few moments to answer.

"Yes." He whispered.

Serena smiled sadly. "The way you two looked at each other and danced together, it was just like the love I would read in my books. I know that you two are made for each other."

Ash lightly chuckled as he felt a blush bloom on his cheeks. "Will... will you be okay?" He asked carefully, knowing that Serena also had affections for him.

Serena took a deep, slow breath through her nose. "I've long accepted the fact that I lost my chance with you because of my act. It was a little hard to actually do it, but... I'll be okay."

"I heard you mention a Calem a few nights before, when you were arguing with Miette and the Grand Duke in the foyer after the last ball." Ash said, changing the subject a little bit to lighten the mood. "You sounded like... you've taken a liking to him."

"Well, I wanted to actually have some fun at the ball instead of watching Miette fail miserably at trying to snatch the Mystery Prince, aka you, from the princess. He asked me to dance, and I accepted. We had a nice time together."

"What was he like?"

"He's... polite, intelligent, friendly, respectful. A little on the shy side, but still... charming."

Ash smirked, knowing that Serena wouldn't tell that he was smirking because of the door that separated them. "He sounds like a nice person. Perhaps you should send him an invitation of courtship."

Serena giggled nervously. "I don't know." She replied. "Besides, we currently have a bigger problem to deal with than my crazy love life."

Ash bit the corner of his lip. "Right." He said. "Any ideas?"

"I'll keep looking for the key." Serena said. "Father is going to the palace in the morning. Apparently, the queen and the princess had summoned him."

Ash felt his heart rate begin to quicken with fear. "You don't think Dawn has given up on looking for me?" He asked.

"No." Serena assured him. "If there is one thing I had noticed about Princess Dawn from the times Miette and I had tea with her, it's that she has a mind of her own. Quite stubborn. She kind of reminds me of you when it comes to tenacity."

Ash breathed out a sigh of relief while chuckling. He too had noticed Dawn's stubbornness, even back when they first met, since she had snuck along with that hunting party.

"But with how long it will take for him to go to the palace and come back, it could grant me a couple of hours to search." Serena continued. "But that will also depend on how long he will be at the palace until coming home."

"I sent Pikachu ahead to the palace with my half of the amulet I was wearing to the festival." Ash said. "I just hope he can get there in time."

"On foot?" Serena asked in astonishment. "It will take your little friend all night and well into the morning to reach the palace."

"I know he could do it." Ash replied confidently. "Then maybe he could lead Dawn here."

"Let's hope so." Serena added. "In the meantime, Sylveon and I will keep searching for that key."

"Thank you, Serena." Ash said gratefully.

"You will be free, Ash." Serena assured him, picking up the oil lamp by her feet and standing up. "I promise. This fight that I'm joining you in, it's not over yet."

"What about the approval of your father? And your stepsister?" Ash asked. "You do know that your father will likely disown you if he learns that you're helping me."

"Eh, it could be worse." Serena replied. "I've accepted that I'm never going to be like them, so I might as well stop trying to be and do the right thing for once."

With that, Serena and Sylveon left, the light from the oil lamp growing dimmer as they descended down the stairs. Soon, Ash was once again alone in the darkness. But this time, instead of drowning in despair and defeat, he felt a newly ignited spark of hope swell inside him because of his stepsister. Serena was right. This fight was far from over.

*****************

Over at the palace, Dawn was nervously pacing back and forth across her balcony, holding the piece of amulet in her hand tightly while her mother and Flint watched. All day, she had waited for someone to come up to the front doors saying that he was her Mystery Prince, but nobody came. Where was he?

"Where is he?" Dawn asked aloud. "I thought he would've heard by now."

"Perhaps he lives in another kingdom, sweetheart." Queen Johanna tried to reassure her daughter, coming up to her to stop her pacing. "It could take some time for the proclamation to reach other lands, and then for him to come here."

"I know, Mother." Dawn sighed. "But I've been getting a bad feeling. Like something must have happened to him to prevent him from speaking."

"Like what?" The queen asked.

"I don't know!" Dawn exclaimed. "But he lives near the forest. He should've heard the proclamation by now. I have to draw him out somehow."

She then looked at the amulet half in her hand. "Do you have any information about the amulet? Its composition, its origin, where it was traded. Anything?"

"It's carved from mahogany wood." Flint reported. "It was hand carved by the Pallet Trade Company, which also sold it and many other trinkets like that. However, the company has been declining, ever since the owner passed away thirteen years ago."

"Who's in charge of the company now?" Dawn asked.

"Well, it was supposed to go to his son, as is tradition." Flint answered. "But the son was too young to assume the position since he was only a child when his father passed. The company was in the care of a family friend, but then Grand Duke Giovanni bought it six years ago."

"How far did they trade?" Dawn continued to question.

"All over, Your Highness." Flint said. "In all honesty, there's no telling who might've purchased that particular amulet."

"He didn't purchase it." Dawn corrected the captain. "He told me that it was a family heirloom, that his father carved it himself and gifted it to his mother."

She flipped it around to look at the fragments of words that were etched on the back of it. Dawn knew that whoever her prince's father was, he loved his wife very much. So much that he would take the time and effort to create this beautiful piece of work to have in their family and pass down to their son. Even leaving a loving and sweet message graved on the back-

The inscription!

"That's it!" Dawn exclaimed suddenly.

"What is it?" Johanna asked.

"I know how to find him!" Dawn clarified. "On the back of the amulet, when the two halves join together, they show an inscription. A little passage unique to it and to his family. If I could find the one who knows all of it, then I will know it's him."

"How are you going to do that?" Flint asked her. "Go to every household in the kingdom that has young men in it and ask him to recite poetry for you?"

Dawn only gave him and her mother a knowing smirk, giving them her answer. The queen sighed, recognizing the glint in her daughter's eyes.

"Send for the scribe." She said to Flint. "It seems we have another proclamation to announce to the kingdom."

Dawn smiled as Flint left the balcony with an exasperated sigh, and then looked up at the moon glowing overhead, its silver halo illuminating the night. She held the amulet half close to her heart with a tender smile. Not all was lost. Not yet. There was still hope.

A/N: I think you guys just guessed what Dawn's plan is. Right? And how did you like the moment with Ash and Serena? I guess that moment, they were actually friends. Maybe even stepbrother and stepsister; nice ones, of course.

Two more chapters left of this story! Unbelievable! I haven't been this excited to finish a story in a long time! Mainly because I've been starting new stories and not finishing any of them in a really long time. But hey, I'm proud that finally, another one of my stories will be nearing completion. I just hope you guys get ready for what might happen next.

Until next time! Please leave a comment about what you think! They are highly appreciated, and remember to stay healthy. Summer has been brutal, so I guess I should say, "Stay cool!", huh?

Got to fly! ;)