Cinders and Ashes

A/N: Finally! I've been really busy with work, and now school that I haven't had time to write much of anything lately. But I really hope that you guys have been patient, since like I said before, as much as I could write all day, I do have a life that doesn't fully revolve around it. Now that I'm in school, maybe I can finally update some stories, as well as sharing new ideas I've had recently.

Well now, let's get on with Chapter 7, where the real chase begins. Roll it!

Chapter 7

Midnight Chase of the Last Night

The next morning, Ash had noticed that everyone in the manor seemed to be in a negative mood. At least everyone who was human. Giovanni looked almost furious, and Miette was trying to make doubly sure that she and Serena would catch the eyes of every man there, including the princess's mysterious suitor, by tightening their corsets until neither felt like they could really breathe, but would greatly accentuate their curves on their chests and hips. Ash, along with Pikachu, wisely made the decision to stay out of everyone's way throughout the day. No one seemed very happy at the moment, and it was because of him. Or rather, the Mystery Prince.

The familiar small twang of sorrow hit his chest as he washed and scrubbed the pile of dirty dishes that were in the sink. Tonight was his last night with Dawn, and as much as the thought hurt, there was no way that anything was going to stop him from seeing her. He had promised her, after all. The reminder of that, as well as spending more time with the pretty princess, quickly lifted his spirits as he continued to scrub at a tough stain on one of the plates.

When evening came, Giovanni and his daughters were ready to go. Since the last night of the festival was formal wear, they were all dressed in their finest clothes. Giovanni wore a black suit with gold buttons. Serena wore a strapless red ball gown with a darker red sash with ribbon and dark red and orange frills on the skirt and white gloves on her hands, along with a matching hair ribbon in her hair. Miette wore a blue ball gown with off-the-shoulder straps and light lavender frills on the skirt, with longer white opera gloves on her hands and a blue bandana in her hair.

"Tea and biscuits upon your return, Your Grace?" Ash asked the Grand Duke.

"Don't bother." Giovanni answered. "We will be back very late, and we'll be very tired. But I do expect the entire main floor to be spotless when we return."

"Yes, Your Grace." Ash answered, bowing his head.

Once the carriage left, Ash carefully bided his time by sweeping the hallway again before racing towards the garden, followed by Pikachu. Already, his parents had changed the pumpkin into a carriage and changed the Pokémon into their disguised forms. They smiled brightly when they saw their son, looking excited to be going.

"And now for the finishing touch." Delia said as she and Jayce both waved their wands at Ash.

Their son was surrounded by gold glitter and light for a brief moment as he let the magic wash over him and Pikachu. When the light faded, he took in his new appearance.

He was dressed in a blue suit with gold buttons, matching dark blue trousers, and black dress shoes on his feet with a golden clasp. On his hands were white gloves. Pikachu wore a blue silk bow tie around his neck. It was a little more dressy than their previous clothes and accessories, but Ash hardly remembered ever dressing this fancy when he was younger, so it was to be expected that he would be a little uncomfortable in them at first.

"This thing is pinching on my neck a little." Ash said, trying to slightly loosen the tight Windsor knot tie at his neck. Pikachu chirped out his own agreement as he adjusted his own little blue bow tie.

Delia giggled. "Well, you're definitely not used to dressing up like that, honey." She said to him. "It will loosen up a little eventually. But regardless, you look very handsome."

Her words made Ash blush a little in embarrassment. But then his face turned melancholy.

"I'm not gonna see you two again after this, am I?" He asked.

Jayce and Delia shared a glance with each other before coming up to their son and placing a hand on each of his shoulders, making him look up at them.

"Son, we had to work hard and practically beg for a long time to get these abilities to see you again." Jayce said to him with a soft smile as tears slowly filled his eyes and his wife's own. "No way are we going to give that up. You'll see us again soon. That's a promise."

Ash smiled at his parents, tears in his own eyes before hugging them both tightly, along with Pikachu to the best of his ability. He really hoped that this wouldn't be the last time he saw them. Jayce and Delia returned the hug with just as much love, the latter kissing her son's forehead before the former playfully ruffled his hair.

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

When Ash and Pikachu arrived at the palace, the ball had already begun. They had arrived a little late, just like with the other two nights, so that no one could introduce them and say Ash's name. Immediately, Ash's eyes scanned around for Dawn.

He soon found her, and their eyes met. She smiled brightly, left a stoic looking man with purple hair and quickly went over to Ash. As she came over to him, he felt like his breath was stolen away. Now, she definitely looked like a princess from a fairytale.

She wore a simple, pale light blue sleeveless dress that had a large yellow ribbon tied around in the back. Her hair was let down in straight waves, and there was a pretty blue pearl collar necklace around her neck. On her feet were matching powder blue heels, and on her head was an intricate silver tiara with little red and green gems. Her constant partners, Piplup and Buneary, were ever right behind her. The little Water type penguin had a light blue bow tie around his neck, while the Normal type rabbit was wearing a smaller version of her mistress's attire.

"I was getting worried." Dawn said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "I thought for a moment that you weren't going to show up."

Ash cleared his throat, feeling a nervous blush bloom across his cheeks. "Well, um, I guess I was trying to be.... fashionably late." He answered.

Dawn blushed as she giggled and looked over at Ash's attire. "Well, don't you look nice." She teased.

Her compliment only made Ash blush a little redder. "In all honesty, I really am not a fan of dressing up like this." He admitted. "But I wanted to see you again, so I went along with the theme."

Dawn giggled again before taking Ash's hand. She then led him onto the dance floor as couples began pairing off and joining them on the dance floor. Miette once again tried to get close to the princess's Mystery Prince, but both of them seemed too enraptured with each other to notice her failed attempts.

Meanwhile, Serena was watching the couple dance from the sidelines. She really wished that she could find someone who could look at her like that, like she was the only important person in the room to him. There was one boy that she had wanted to be with like that before, but now it was obvious that due to her attitude towards him for the past few years, it was very unlikely that he would give her a chance, even if he knew the truth. She shouldn't have let the judgment of her father and stepsister run her life. It cost her at least the possible friendship with the secret object of her affections.

Just then, a young man with dark hair and gray eyes wearing a burgundy red suit came up to her. "Excuse me, miss?" He asked, getting her attention. "Would you like to dance?"

Serena stared at him for a couple of seconds before smiling politely at him. He seemed nice enough. "I'd be honored." She said, elegantly curtseying to him before taking his offered hand and following him onto the dance floor.

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

After the dancing, Dawn led Ash back outside to the castle gardens, letting their Pokémon play while they watched. They both sat down on the grass in a comfortable silence, just watching them and briefly looking up at the stars above. Dawn even mustered up the courage to interlocked her fingers with Ash's, and he didn't pull away. Rather, he scooted closer to her so that their conjoined hands would fall in his lap. Dawn blushed with a smile and leaned her head on Ash's shoulder, the latter gently placing his own head on top of hers.

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After several minutes, Dawn pulled their hands out of Ash's lap. "Come on." She said, pulling both of them onto their feet. "I want to show you something."

Ash smiled and followed Dawn over to a nearby group of hedges. The princess looked very much excited, practically skipping in her gown.

"I've never shown this place to anyone else." She said to him, holding her hands behind her back.

Finally, she arrived at a large wooden doorway built into the hedge. She opened the door to reveal a hidden piece of tranquility. It was a little circular garden with a large enough space of clearing in the middle of it for the walkthrough, along with a large willow tree. One of the largest, arching branches had a handmade swing hanging from it. Although Ash wasn't much of a flower buff, having a gardener mother made him more appreciative for the little things of nature.

"Wow." He breathed. "You have your own secret garden."

"Yeah." Dawn said. "My mother designed it when I was a little girl. It was our own little place when we wanted to get away from everything."

Ash looked around, admiring the little space. "This is really nice." He said. "My mother took care of the gardens back at my home. When she passed.... I started trying to keep them alive for her. I'm not good with plants, but I try my best. I'm surprised that they're still alive after all this time."

Dawn lightly bit her lip. "I'm sorry about your mother." She said, plopping down on the swing.

After a couple seconds of heavy silence, she spoke again. "Hey. Please give me a push."

Ash turned over to her and smiled, briefly wiping away a stray tear. Then he walked towards Dawn and started to gently push her on the swing. Memories of his mother and father pushing him on a little swing of their own went through his head. Then, it changed to when he would be in bed, and his mother would be stroking his head while singing him the lullaby that she would sing to him and his little Electric type friend almost every night. Then, he started to hum under his breath. Dawn heard it and turned to look up at him.

"That's pretty." She said, snapping him out of his thoughts. He slightly chuckled in embarrassment.

"It's just a little song that my mother would sing to me when I was younger." Ash explained, feeling a little blush on his face.

"Can you sing it for me, please?" Dawn asked.

The blush on Ash's face slightly increased, but he smiled. "Okay." He said.

He stopped pushing the swing, letting Dawn swing by herself. He moved over to lean against the willow tree, next to the swing. He closed his eyes and let the peace of the moment wash over him. Then, he softly started to sing.

Dawn never imagined that he would have such a sweet voice. She too closed her eyes and listened to her Mystery Prince sing something from a fond memory of his childhood. As he continued to sing, Dawn eventually let the swing come to a gentle stop before getting off. She then came over to Ash and stood next to him closely.

When he finished, he had a longing smile on his face. Dawn placed a hand on his shoulder, getting him to look at her. The smile on her face made him smile back at her more genuinely and then he put his own hand over hers. She leaned against him, to which he took her in a loving embrace.

When they broke away from each other, but still in each other's arms, they stared deep into each other's eyes; sapphire blue eyes lost in chocolate brown and vice versa. Slowly, they began to lean in closer, eyes fluttering closed. Their lips were almost about to touch-

DONG!

Ash's eyes snapped open as he looked over at the giant clock tower in the distance. Midnight. His blood immediately ran cold.

"I have to go!" He exclaimed suddenly, abruptly moving away from Dawn, and she almost lost her balance.

"Go?" She asked as she regained her footing. "Can't you stay for a couple more minutes? I-I really need to tell you something."

"I'm sorry, I really can't!" Ash said, bolting towards the door and pushing it open with all his might. "It's really hard to explain. Magic pumpkins, parents that are now fairies.... Uh, bye! Thank you for giving me the best three nights of my life! I loved every second of it!"

With that, Ash ran out of the secret garden. Dawn watched him leave before slowly sitting back down on the swing. But instead of feeling disappointed that she still didn't get to tell him how she felt about him, she was feeling intrigued by his frantic words.

"Magic pumpkins and fairy parents?" She repeated, an amused smile on her face. Then she started to run after him. Oh, she knew that by doing this, there was no going back. She is so in love with the Mystery Prince, no matter how strange and mysterious he appeared to be.

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

DONG!

Ash got back to the main gardens, where Pikachu had already broken away from the other Pokémon. "Pika, pika, pikachu!" He shouted at him as he quickly climbed onto his master's shoulder, most likely reprimanding him for losing track of time.

"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Ash shouted back as he raced up the stairs, getting the general idea of what his Pokémon partner was saying, even though he couldn't understand him fully.

"Wait!" Ash heard Dawn's voice calling out to him right when he got up to the doors. "I don't even know your name! How will I find you again?"

Ash fought back the urge to flinch in sadness. "You won't!" He shouted back at her, sorrow in his voice as he raced inside the castle.

"Oh, yes I will." Dawn muttered under her breath as she went after him. She noticed that she had Piplup and Buneary following her. She supposed that they got pretty close with the Pikachu that is the companion of her Mystery Prince.

Ash ran through the hallways of the castle as fast as he could, almost skidding along, eventually coming back into the ballroom. There was no time to run around the perimeter of the room, so he went straight through the dance floor, dodging dancers and swinging arms. Miette had tried to cut him off and bring him into a dance when she saw him without the princess in sight, but she failed when Ash abruptly stopped and she went spinning into another man's arms, missing him.

DONG!

Ash was running up the stairs as fast as he could, almost missing a couple. When he reached the top of the staircase, he almost ran into the queen herself!

"Oh!" He exclaimed before bowing deeply to her. "Forgive me, Your Majesty! I am so sorry!"

"You're leaving so soon, young man?" Queen Johanna asked him.

"I'm sorry, but I really must!" Ash replied before straightening up and dashing towards the doors.

He did take one brief moment to look back at the queen. "But I hope you understand that your daughter is just amazing, and that she loves and respects you so much! Please excuse me!"

The queen was a little surprised that the mysterious young man was leaving so abruptly, looking so panicked as he ran. But then, she saw her daughter chasing after him. The sight of the running princess was enough for Flint and Giovanni to go after her.

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

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Ash finally made it to the front doors of the castle and started running down the stairs as fast as he could. But suddenly, in his rash and sometimes clumsy fashion, he tripped on one of the steps and then tumbled down the rest of them before landing on the second platform between both sets of stairs.

He groaned in slight pain as he slowly peeled himself off the stone ground. "Ow." He moaned, slowly pulling himself onto his knees.

Pikachu had been thrown off of his shoulder during the fall, roughly landing near his master. He got back on his paws and shook himself, brushing off the dizziness and the soreness of the fall.

"Wait!" Dawn called out again from inside the castle.

DONG!

Ash's eyes widened and hurriedly pulled himself onto his feet and started running again, with Pikachu following closely next to him. However, in their desperation, when Ash turned to sneak one last glance at Dawn, they saw that one of the halves of his wooden shield pendant had broken off clean. It wasn't really broken since it was designed that way, but there was no time to go back and get it. He then began running towards the carriage.

Dawn noticed the half of the pendant when she reached the platform and picked it up. She turned it around and saw the engraved words on the pendant, "The true", "comes", and "a loving".

She looked back up just in time to see her Mystery Prince literally dive headfirst into his elegant carriage along with his Pikachu as it began to quickly roll away. A smile came onto her face as a pretty and thin leather cord suddenly appeared on the half she was holding, unbeknownst to all.

"Captain, ready the Dodrio." She said to Flint.

"This could be a trick, Your Highness." Giovanni said to her. "A trap to lure you away from the castle. Plus, your mother needs you here."

Dawn was about to retort back, but Flint cut her off. "We will follow him." He assured her. "Me, the Grand Duke and a few guards."

Giovanni briefly looked like he didn't want to get roped in this, but his burning curiosity and frustration about the Mystery Prince overrode all reasoning.

"Very well, Captain." He said before heading back inside the castle.

Flint let out a sigh of relief before looking back over at the princess, who was staring down at the little piece of wood in her hand while gently fingering it, the lovestruck little grin on her face back on.

"We were all having a pretty nice time this evening, and then you just had to go and choose that one, didn't you?"

Dawn just giggled, holding the half of the amulet in her hand close to her heart. "Oh, you bet I did." She answered.

And I'm going to find that boy, no matter how long it takes. She added in her thoughts.

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

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Ash finally regained his breath from running as the carriage rumbled forward as fast as it could. But it wasn't fast enough for his liking, and he yelled ahead towards the disguised Mr. Mime.

"Can't this overgrown squash go any faster?!" He shouted.

"Keep calm, Ash!" One of the Pichu brothers shouted to him. "We're almost out of the village!"

DONG!

Mr. Mime snapped the reins again, urging the four Ponyta to gallop even faster. Just then, they heard shouting coming from behind them, and it wasn't Ash.

"Stop in the name of the Queen!" Everyone felt their blood freeze. It was Giovanni, leading a small group of soldiers after him.

The carriage kept going faster as the gate that led outside of the village was starting to close, lowering down little by little. Mr. Mime snapped the reins once, urging the Ponyta to go at their top speed. Luckily, that was the boost needed to get the carriage through the gate right before it closed. Giovanni then began shouting for the gate to open again, but it would still be enough time for them to gain more distance between them.

Ash let out a huge sigh of relief, slumping back against his seat while Pikachu collapsed on his lap. "Now that was a close one." He muttered. Pikachu just chirped out a tired reply.

DONG!

That was the sixth chime of the clock, the giant bell tower in the distance ringing out loudly. It was almost like it was echoing throughout the kingdom, letting him and everyone know that his time was running out fast. Ash straightened up, knowing that they weren't out of this yet. Only six more chimes before everything would revert back to what it was before. He and Pikachu were starting to see some pumpkin seeds beginning to pop up inside the carriage.

They looked ahead and saw that the footmen now had Pichu ears and were slowly starting to shrink in size. The Ponyta pulling the carriage were getting smaller as well, except for one of them, but its flames were starting to turn from orange to blue. It was Skychaser.

"Come on, come on." Ash began to panic.

DONG!

Ash then noticed a familiar path up ahead. "Mr. Mime!" He shouted to the driver. "Head down that path! It's a shortcut! If they're still following us, we can lose them in the forest!"

Mr. Mime almost lost his grip on the reins as they started to disappear as if he was just miming them, but he managed to steer the Ponyta onto the forest path with the visible reins. Ash snuck a glance behind him and thankfully saw no sign of the search party.

DONG!

Suddenly, there was the loud crowing of Dodrio as the party started to get closer to them from a fair distance. The light of their lanterns was starting to get a little brighter. Ash was almost bouncing in his slowly getting mushy seat in nervousness.

"Just a little longer." He pleaded quietly, hoping that there would be enough time for them to get ahead before they would catch up. He can't lead them to the manor, otherwise Giovanni would know that it was him that had been dancing with the princess. He would be absolutely furious with him and reveal that Dawn's Mystery Prince was not a prince at all, but a common servant boy.

DONG!

The carriage was now more pumpkin than coach. Starting to feel sick of the strong smell of the reappearing insides of the gourd, Ash held his breath and began to climb out of the window to climb on top of it. Pikachu followed him right before vines appeared at the top of the destranforming carriage to cover up the hold in the orange squash. The now detransformed Pichu twins joined them.

Pikachu looked behind them and saw something. "Pika-pi!" He called out to his master.

Ash looked behind and saw that due to the rougher terrain, the party was falling further and further behind. "Yes!" He cheered.

DONG!

The wheels of the carriage started to grow leaves. They were also beginning to turn green. After riding across a large hole in the ground, the pumpkin carriage bounced upward and jostled around a bit. Ash grabbed onto the top part of the carriage, which was now reverting back into a stem. Pikachu and the Pichu twins held onto the boy as tight as they could.

DONG!

The stirrups that were keeping the Ponyta in place as they ran were becoming vines again, and Mr. Mime was almost back to normal. Now, Skychaser had her blue flames back, showing that she was really a Shiny Pokémon. The other Ponyta had changed back to their original Bug type forms, with Skychaser being the only one strong enough to keep pulling the reforming carriage.

Ash squeezed his eyes shut as he and the others braced themselves. We're almost there. We're so close. He thought to himself, hoping that time will be merciful just this once. Just a couple more miles.

DONG!

In a bright flash of golden light, everything went back to what it was before. All of the Pokémon had reverted to their original forms, Ash's formal attire was now back to his normal ragged work clothes, and the carriage had transformed back into a pumpkin. He, Pikachu and the Pichu twins had been thrown off the pumpkin due to it hitting a log right before it had changed back.

Skychaser, Mr. Mime and the Bug Pokémon gathered around them, worried. "It's okay." Ash assured them as he dusted off his work tunic. "We're fine."

Just then, they heard the sounds of the search party getting closer. Immediately, they hid deeper into the forest, with Ash and Mr. Mime each picking up a few of the Bug types in their arms. Once they were deep enough, everyone looked back and saw that the guards went right by them, most likely riding over the pumpkin they left there, destroying it.

Ash breathed out a sigh of relief before letting go of Caterpie and Sewaddle. Mr. Mime then let Scatterbug gently down. Then, a familiar Starly and Pidove flew over them. Ash waved down to them, recognizing his friends.

"Hey, you two." He said. "Do you mind showing us the way home?"

The two little Flying types chirped out an affirmative answer, and then Ash climbed onto Skychaser. The Pichu twins rode along with him and Pikachu. The Bugs climbed onto Mr. Mime, who walked alongside the shiny Ponyta. Scatterbug began squeaking and chittering at Ash, most likely scolding him for forgetting about the time. Pikachu just chirped in agreement.

"Okay, okay." Ash said in surrender, a distracted smile on his face. "I get it. I lost track of time."

He then looked up towards the sky, where a full moon shone its silver light down, illuminating the forest. "But these have been the best three nights of my life."

He then felt something slightly pricking and brushing against his chest. He looked down and saw that he still had half of his shield amulet. He realized that he must have dropped the other half on the stairs of the palace. Dawn had been following him just that far, so she must have it.

Well, she could keep it. He thought to himself, taking off his half and getting a better look at it before holding it close to his heart.

"I'll remember the way we talked and danced forever."

Ash then put the amulet half back on before gently nudging Skychaser forward. "Let's go home."

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

It took several minutes, but everyone made it back to the manor. Ash led Skychaser back into the stables while Mr. Mime went into the kitchen. Ash's Pokémon friends except for Pikachu went up towards the attic as Ash followed Mr. Mime into the kitchen. He grabbed a broom and began to pretend to sweep the floors, lost in his thoughts until he heard Giovanni and his daughters come inside. He quickly hid before they saw him and heard their conversation.

"Why did you spend all night dancing and chatting with that marquis's son instead of trying to seduce or figure out who the Mystery Prince really was?" Miette asked Serena, sounding disdained that her stepsister was occupied.

"His name is Calem." Serena corrected her. "And he's very nice. Plus, I actually wanted to have a nice night tonight instead of failing to pull that Mystery Prince away from the princess. They seemed to be in love, so just forget it, Miette."

"Serena!" Giovanni shouted at his elder daughter, and Ash could just picture her flinching in fear at her father's tone. "What have I said about love?"

"Love is not an attribute for marriage." She replied monotonously, having heard this a hundred times before.

"Yes." Giovanni replied.

"But why?" Serena asked, piquing Ash's curiosity at her unusual stubbornness towards her father. "I've never seen two people look at each other that way before, like they were each other's entire world. Not even you and Mother had ever looked that way at each other!"

Ash knew that what she meant by that, she was talking about her stepmother and Miette's biological mother, who had died when the girls were about ten years old. The grand duchess was the only mother Serena ever knew, since her own mother died in childbirth after she was born.

Just then, there was the sound of a firm slap and then Ash heard Serena fall to the floor. He resisted every urge to reveal himself and help her up, because he had the feeling that Giovanni was livid. He would only make things worse and even get caught in the crossfire himself.

"Love is sentiment, and we as the higher-bred society, do not need such frivolities in order to stay on top." He said in a low growl. "I was once in love a long time ago, and that destroyed me. Now I'm cursed with the result of her love for another for the rest of my days."

With that, he stormed up towards his room, while Miette just scoffed and headed up to hers. Once he was sure they were gone, Ash quietly left the kitchen and saw Serena quietly weeping, having not removed from her spot on the floor.

"Hey." He called out quietly, snapping her attention to him.

Serena's ice blue eyes were a little red and watery, and her makeup was beginning to run a little bit. There was also a large red welt on her cheek where her father slapped her. She sniffed and quickly wiped away her tears, smudging her makeup even more.

"You heard all of that, didn't you?" She asked.

Ash didn't say anything about that as he walked up to her and offered her his hand. "Come on." He said. Serena looked at him with confusion. "Let's get you cleaned up."

The honey-blonde woman stared at the raven-haired servant boy with confusion for a few seconds before finally allowing him to pull her onto her feet by placing her gloved hand in his own. Ash led her to the kitchen, where Mr. Mime was preparing some tea while Pikachu and Arcanine were resting by the fireplace. All of them stopped what they were doing when they saw Serena come in. Arcanine even growled at her, knowing the abuse that his master's son went through because of her and her family.

"It's okay, guys." Ash assured the wary Pokémon as he led Serena over to the table and then sat her down in a chair. "She just needs to get cleaned up a little."

Then he turned over to the Psychic and Fairy type. "Maybe a cup of tea would be nice as well."

Mr. Mime only nodded silently as he continued preparing the tea. Arcanine slowly laid back down next to the fireplace, while Pikachu went over to stay close to Ash. His master then filled up a little bowl with water, brought it over to the table and then dipped a handkerchief into the bowl.

"Hold still, please." He said to Serena, leaning in a little closer with the wet cloth in his hand. He then gently started to wipe away the mascara lines running down Serena's cheeks.

The honey-blonde woman felt her cheeks start to catch fire at the gentle brushing of his fingers as he rubbed the handkerchief softly against her face. Once he wiped away the thin black lines, Ash dipped the cloth back into the bowl to wet it again.

"That mark will probably be gone by tomorrow, but it looks pretty bad." He said, gently pressing the handkerchief against the red welt on her left cheek. "This won't do much, but it will at least keep the swelling down."

Serena didn't say anything, trying to focus only on the coolness of the wet cloth pressed against her cheek instead of the man who was holding the cloth and being ever so gentle with her. A memory from six years ago came back into her mind, which was pretty similar to their current scenario: a familiar boy checking her badly scraped knee and treating her gently as he bandaged the wound with a handkerchief and then brought her back to safety.

Once he was done, Ash was handed two cups of tea from Mr. Mime. "Would you like some tea, miss?" He asked her, offering her one of the cups.

Serena wordlessly took the little teacup, but nodded gratefully in response. After she took a small sip, she watched Ash closely as he took a sip of his own tea. Finally, she spoke up.

"Why are you being like this?" She asked him, getting his attention. "Why are you being so kind to me, after I've been nothing but cruel to you? Me, Miette and Father?"

Ash stared at her for a few seconds before giving her his answer. "Whether I really like it or not, the Grand Duke is my legal guardian until he decides whether or not to allow me to assume ownership of my father's business. That makes all of you family to me, so I try to treat you as such. Even if you don't see it that way."

Serena was taken aback by Ash's answer. He considers her family? After all of the cruel things she and her family have done to him for the past six years? She tried her very best to not let her actions bother her so much because she was so desperate for her father and stepsister's approval. She joined her father in giving him chores until the sun went down, and she even let herself get roped into Miette's harassment of him. Serena would only touch his arms and shoulders if he got closer enough, but her stepsister would even go as far to touch his waist or hips. The only reason why she had never gone any further was because their father threatened to disown them if they tainted themselves with someone as lowly as a servant boy.

Feeling a little overwhelmed by her thoughts, she suddenly stood up. "Thank you for cleaning me up, and for the tea." She said to him before taking her teacup and slowly heading up the stairs.

Ash watched her with confused eyes as she left the kitchen. He looked over at Pikachu, who only shrugged, just as clueless as he was.

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

Later, Ash and Pikachu arrived at the attic, where their little friends were waiting for them. Ash chuckled as Starly and Pidove perched themselves on the window while the little Bug types gathered around the bed at the foot of it.

"Thank you guys for helping me the past three nights." He said, coming up to them. "It was like a dream. Better than a dream."

Ash knelt down on the floor and took apart a couple of loose floorboards, revealing a secret compartment underneath. There was a little box there that had held little childhood treasures from his parents. Ash took off his half of his father's shield amulet and carefully placed it inside before covering it up with the floorboards again. He was not taking any chances of having the Grand Duke or Miette finding that little compartment if they ever come up to the attic. Serena was starting to seem trustworthy, but he still wasn't quite sure since he still had some bad memories of her abusing him during the past six years. But now, maybe she really is starting to change.

Ash then went to his drawer, grabbed some thin nightclothes and went to change behind his dressing screen. Pikachu made himself as comfortable as he could on the thin mattress of the bed while he waited. When his master came back out from behind the screen, he went over to a little desk stationed near his bed and pulled out a little booklet that he kept as a journal. After grabbing a charcoal pencil, Ash sat down on his bed with Pikachu curled up next to him and started to write. He wanted to write down every single detail about the past three nights so that he will forget it, as if he was telling his parents about the festival and his time with Princess Dawn.

Above all, Dawn.

A/N: Holy cow! This was long! I really hope you guys are happy with this.

Now, I will ask that you continue to be patient, since I have no idea when I will post the next chapter. But when it does come, be forewarned. There will be some dark or sensitive topics brought up and/or mentioned in it, as well as pretty intense scenes; but not too intense, so reader discretion will be advised.

Until then, I'll see y'all! Please leave a comment about what you think! And remember to stay healthy! We're almost through the worst.

Got to fly! ;)