On our way out of the Showcase doors, I'm stopped by someone calling my name. Glancing over my shoulder, I get to see who's calling it. Mother.

Her face is faintly visible in the darkness of the night, and I'm only able to see parts of it as glints of streetlights hit her. I cling to my robes as she gets closer and closer, the tension in my heart suddenly melting into relieving warmth.

"I knew I was wrong, even before you stepped on that stage." In her eyes are wet tears, something so unlike her, as she speaks to me in a soft and quiet voice.

Although I promised I wouldn't... I promised that I wouldn't cry upon speaking to her... Well, I guess the most ridiculous promises are the hardest ones to keep.

They rain down my face, but I'm smiling as they do. I don't bother to wipe them, but instead I walk towards my mother, crying even harder as she pulls me into a hug.

"At first I thought that you were just a little girl trying to take on the whole world, the performance world at that, and I always thought that you wouldn't be able to handle it."

  "Then what is it that made you think I could become a part of the Elite Four?" I have so many questions to ask, too many questions to ask. All this time I'd held everything in, but now I'm able to speak to my mother and everyone else without worrying. I don't have to view this as bravery. All this is is being unafraid.

  I feel her tight embrace loosen until she breaks away from me, her hands shifting to her face to wipe away her tears. "Believe it or not, it helped me."

  "I don't understand. You needed help? The former Champion of Unova?"

  Despite my disbelief, my mother gives me an honest nod, and she's never dishonest. "I had earned all eight gym badges needed to be able to compete in the league," she further explains, and her storytelling almost puts me in a trance.

  "But I didn't change at all."

  "It wasn't enough," I breathe, now able to somewhat understand what she means.

  She nods once more, a faint tinge of sorrow gleaming in her eyes. "Before I knew it, I had become Champion without ever developing as a person. I wasn't Champion for long, and I lost my title after the very first battle I had with a challenger. Yet, even before this, that title kept me up high, that if I was the Champion of Unova, that rank alone could compensate for the person I was, or rather, lack of a person I was."

  "So you didn't want me to become Kalos Queen to have the same thing happen," I conclude, the words leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.

  "Almost," she corrects."I didn't want you to become a performer. You see, Millie, I didn't want you to go up in the ranks and become a mere princess wearing the queen's crown. You hardly even spoke a word to me, and it frustrated me to see you believe that you could give speeches to an entire region."

  "Lil...." Lilligant, who'd been silent and unmoving this whole time, speaks quietly, shuffling closer towards me.

  I guess you had that idea, too. "To be honest, I never believed I was good enough to ever become a queen. I had simply always intended remaining one of the many princesses in Kalos, sticking to that inertia without believing in myself enough to aim for something higher."

  "But you've proved me wrong." Mother places a firm hand in my shoulder, her eyes shining with what I'd thought I'd never see in them. Pride. "It took me only so long to realize that I had to change, and even longer to make that change. I prayed and hoped that you'd never end up like me, but you didn't! You bloomed from a quiet princess to one I can't express how proud I am to be the mother to, into one ready to take the crown. And you did!"

  "I did, didn't I?" I chuckle, the thought of my old, weak timid self almost making me feel ashamed. "I couldn't have done it alone." Because I'm not alone.

  In one swift movement I pull my best friends towards me, my heart warming over with love. "All three of us went from Kalos Princesses to Kalos Queens! We opened the doors to our future, this future, together! I won't ever have to go the journey alone, because our journey is never over, no matter what! Even after we eventually lose the tiara on our heads, we won't start over; we'll continue side by side!"

  I owe so much to my Pokemon, and instead of being the ones to pick me up, we hold each other up, always!

    For a few seconds, my mother stands their without saying a word. Then, like a desert desperately needing rain, the shower of tears begins, flowing from her eyes to trail down her face. She wipes her red, sodden cheeks, letting out little sobs just like a baby.

  I smile as salty tears wash over my face and my friends, and all four of us close in to hug one another. In that moment, locked in comfortably by soothing warmth, I almost wish it could last forever.

  "Millie!" The doors to the Showcase fly open, and fan after fan after fan flood out. Weren't completely surrounded, blasted with the flashes from their phones.

  "Well, then, please do visit me sometime," my mother wraps it up, letting go once again. "And I want you to shine at Lumiose City, brighter than the city lights, my little Queen of Kalos."

  "Yes!" It's a promise! One I can keep! My mother's body slips through the crowd, leaving me, Lilligant, and Meowstic to bathe in the awe and adoration that comes with being queen.

                 ~One month later....

  Hoping all my friends well, the friend I'm certain I'll see sometime again, I give this performance to all of them. To Chloe, who said she'd go back to Geosenge to continue shining there, to Bijou, who said she'd try her best to become a Showcase Host like Monsieur Pierre, and to Matinee, who decided to break her family's chain by pursuing a new passion, one she said she'd fall in love with when she experienced it.

  "To everyone, I send all my love." My voice echoes across the stage even before I emerge onto it through the slowly rising platform.

"We will always do our best to ensure that everyone's hearts will be washed over with wonder, a beautiful light that will sweep away the darkness." Holding hands, we are one. Holding hands, we are Kalos Queen.

  "Now, we invite all of you...."

  Monsieur Pierre's suddenly thrilled voice cuts through the rising cheers. "Please welcome our Kalos Queens! The wonderful Millie, the enticing Meowstic, and the amazing Lilligant!"

  "To share our performance world." Our voices echo once more as we emerge onto the stage, driving out the darkness one by one. We step forward, lighting up the Lumiose City Showcase even brighter than ever.

                Story.... End! :)