Cinders and Ashes
A/N: Yikes. It's been a while since I updated this story. Well, I wanted to update one of my stories that I haven't made a lot of progress on in a while before I continued to work on the others that I've been working on more frequently.
Now, let's get on with Chapter 3. Roll it!
Chapter 3
Announcing a Ball
In a matter of minutes, Captain Flint was escorting Dawn back to the castle. After dropping off her borrowed Dodrio at the stables, Dawn was holding Piplup in her arms as Flint brought her into the castle drawing room, where her mother, the queen, was waiting for her. She looked so much like her, with the same hair, eyes and skin tone. She wore a casual turquoise gown with white slippers on her feet. On her head was a simple gold crown with a few jewels.
Dawn looked down at the floor briefly before looking back up at the queen. "Go ahead. Say it." She muttered, crossing her arms as a couple of seamstresses began to take her away to get her dressed behind a nearby curtain.
"Dawn, that is not proper behavior for a princess." Queen Johanna said. "Plus, even if I did say it to you for the thousandth time, you would still run off at the first chance that you'll get. I would really not like to have you confined to the castle."
"Mother, I'm practically suffocating here." Dawn said, having emerged from behind the dressing curtain.
The seamstresses had removed her hunting uniform guise and changed her into a lovely pink floor-length dress with white off-the-shoulder straps and a darker pink ribbon tied around her waist. She also wore long white opera gloves and there was a pearl necklace with a diamond pendant around her neck. Her hair was tied into a bun with longer strands of hair framing her face and on her head, she wore a silver tiara. Like this, she actually looked like a princess.
"And your insistence on me getting married isn't helping me very much." Dawn continued as she was led to stand in front of a large backdrop where an artist was in front of a canvas, waiting to start painting.
"Dawn, my darling. I know how you are feeling." Johanna said. "Even I had reservations about marriage when I was your age."
"It's not that I don't want to ever get married, Mother." Dawn said as some maids came over and adjusted her make-up. "It's just that.... I feel like this is all happening much too fast. Why can't I marry for love instead of advantage?"
Just then, the doors opened up. "His Grace, the Grand Duke Giovanni Van Der Wylen."
Giovanni then came inside, dressed in a slick black suit with copper colored trimmings. "I'm sure your mother had spoken to you about your behavior today, Your Highness." He said.
Dawn bit back a groan. She had never liked the Grand Duke; with him always sticking his pompous nose where it's not wanted.
"Is it any of your formal business, Your Grace?" She asked.
"My business is your business, Princess." Giovanni answered. "And yet you convinced everyone to call off the hunt, letting that Stantler go free."
Dawn had a little smile appear on her face when she recalled the words that were spoken to her not even an hour before. "Just because it's what done doesn't mean it's what should be done." However, no one else understood the reference.
"Listen to me, Dawn." Johanna said to her daughter, making Dawn focus on her again.
"I'm not going to be around forever. When I pass, you will become queen. And a good and strong queen needs an equally good and strong king by her side. While your marriage must benefit the kingdom, not only don't I want to see some grandchildren before I go, but I also want to be assured that you will be well and cared for for the rest of your days."
"I understand, Mother." Dawn said. "But...." She trailed off.
"Still thinking about that boy you met in the forest?" Captain Flint said with a knowing little grin.
"Captain, please hush your mouth." Dawn quietly hissed, trying her best to mask a pink blush that was beginning to show on her cheeks.
"Don't move, Your Highness!" The artist said, making the princess freeze in place.
"Oh?" Johanna asked, a little curious. "Has my daughter already met someone?"
Dawn sighed, knowing that she couldn't hide it. "A good, honest country boy." She answered. "Kind and simple. Quite charming, too."
Johanna raised a brow. "But not a prince?" She asked.
Dawn resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Does it matter?" She asked back.
"A prince would be the ideal choice." Johanna answered, and this time, Dawn didn't hold back rolling her eyes briefly, which her mother caught. "Come now, Dawn. You're acting like you're the first young girl to meet a handsome boy."
"He wasn't a handsome boy!" Dawn retorted. "Well, I mean, he was a very handsome boy, but there was so much more to him."
"And how will this good, honest country boy make our fair kingdom stronger?" Giovanni added. "It's a dangerous world out there, Your Highness."
"Listen, Dawn." Johanna said, getting her daughter's attention again. "In a couple of weeks, we'll have that three-day festival, in which you will choose a suitor that you will at least consider marrying. And I want to see you and the kingdom safe."
"This festival is a tradition." Giovanni added. "One that is beloved by many."
Dawn sighed through her nose. Her mother wasn't really forcing her into marriage, and at least she would have one of her choosing if she really liked the man. But all that was ringing in her mind was that this could be an opportunity.
"Alright, Mother." She conceded. "On one condition. Let the invitations go out to everyone, not just the nobility."
Johanna raised a curious brow, and then turned over to Giovanni and Flint. "What do you think, gentlemen?" She asked. "Would that please the people?"
"I wouldn't mind a good party." Flint said with a smile.
"It appears that we have made a compromise." Giovanni said. "A ball for the people, and a prince for the princess."
"Very well." Johanna said. "We'll begin sending out invitations to every eligible bachelor in the kingdom."
Dawn smiled softly, trying her best to hide her excitement. The artist noticed the little smile on the princess's face and quickly began painting it to capture it. Sending out the invitations to every eligible bachelor in the kingdom meant that she could see the boy from the forest again. She hoped that he would come to at least one of the three days.
But no matter what, there was only one thought ringing through her head as she resumed an elegant pose for the painting. I just have to see him again.
*****************************
Later that very day, Giovanni returned to the country manor where his daughters were in the music room, practicing their instruments, while their partners, Braixen and Slurpuff, were listening to them play. Ash was in the hallway outside of the room, scrubbing the floors, a little smile on his face and quietly humming the same song that the girls were playing under his breath as his Pikachu helped him as well. The little Electric mouse was wetting the rags and occasionally putting in more soap flakes in the bucket of water that his master was using.
Giovanni was a little confused why the younger man was smiling after that little debacle at breakfast earlier. But he remembered that he went for a little joy ride before returning to his chores. Probably the ride put that smile back on his face. His father's smile, but it also brought the same sparkle in his eyes, just like his mother's.
"Girls." Giovanni said, entering the room and getting his daughters' attention. "I have some exciting news." As he was saying this, his words piqued Ash's curiosity and he quietly came closer to the doorway to listen, having finished the floors.
"In two weeks from now, there is to be a three-night festival held at the royal palace, each night having a ball." Giovanni said. "By order of the Queen, on the final night, the princess shall choose her husband-to-be. So by royal decree, every eligible bachelor is invited to attend."
"A party?" Serena asked.
"How does that matter for us?" Miette questioned.
"Every eligible bachelor?"
The three dignitaries turned around to see Ash standing in the doorway, eyes slightly wide from speaking out loud. But then, he composed himself, an excited gleam in his brown irises.
"That means that I can go, too." He realized, a wide smile on his face.
But the girls just laughed. "You? Cinders and Ashes at a royal ball?" Miette asked, giggling cruelly.
"Maybe even dancing with the princess?" Serena laughed.
Ash lightly glared at them. "Well, you two won't be pursuing the princess for obvious reasons." He said, halting their laughter. "But I think what your father meant is that it could be an opportunity for both of you to make matches of your own."
He then turned over to Giovanni. "Is that right, Your Excellency?"
"Yes." Giovanni answered, slightly stunned by how cool and collected Ash was behaving. His daughters quickly changed little glints in their eyes of having matches at a ball organized for the princess to find one of her own.
"Plus, I don't even want to meet the princess if she is as pompous as you two say she is." Ash added, turning back over to Serena and Miette, remembering the couple of times that he had heard them gossip about the princess, although he was quite certain that they were just jealous of her.
"And the letter says that it is ordered by the queen that every eligible bachelor is to attend."
Giovanni thought back to the royal decree. "Yes. So it does." There was no way that he could refuse an order from the queen herself. But then again, there were always loopholes.
"Well, I see no reason why you can't go." He said, surprising the girls and Ash's spirits began to soar. "If you get all of your work done."
"I will! I promise!" Ash exclaimed, the smile on his face threatening to split his face in half.
"And if you can find something suitable to wear." Giovanni added.
"I'm sure that I can find something." Ash answered. "Thank you, Excellency!" With that, Ash left the doorway, closing the door behind him and then he grabbed his bucket and rags and headed up the stairs, Pikachu hot on his heels.
When he had closed the door, Serena and Miette turned over to their father. "Father!" The latter exclaimed. "Do you realize what you just said?"
"Of course." Giovanni answered coolly. "I said, 'if'."
Immediately, his daughters caught onto the implication. "Oh. 'If'." Miette said, sharing a smirk with Serena while chuckling.
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In his room in the attic, Ash was looking around his trunk of treasures. He knew that he had some old clothes belonging to his father; some that looked fancy enough for a party. After rummaging around for a little while, he found some that seemed nice enough; the colors faded from age.
It was a simple black tuxedo with a white undershirt, silver embroidery on the hem of it, and a matching black bowtie. He also had found some nice dress shoes to go with it. He brought everything out and then placed them on one of the old desks, the shoes underneath the pants.
Pikachu came onto his shoulder as their three Bug Pokémon friends; Caterpie, Sewaddle and Scatterbug came out of their hiding places. The little green Kantonian Bug type chittered something to his human friend. Now Ash might not fully understand the language of Pokémon to a T, but he certainly had been around them long enough to get the general gist of what they're saying to him.
"No, I'm not going to see the princess." He answered. "I'm going to see Dawn."
Ash then examined the articles of clothing placed on the desk. "Now Giovanni said that I needed something good enough to wear. These belonged to my dad."
Sewaddle came up to the suit and examined it. Then, he squeaked out his opinion on them. Ash rolled his eyes at its response.
"Yeah, I know that they're a little worn out. But I can try to fix them up as best as I can." He answered as he began his own inspection of the clothes. "I just need to mend a few holes in the overcoat, reinforce the buttons, clean up a few old stains in the undershirt, and-"
"Ash!" Miette's annoyingly shrill shout rang out.
The person in question just groaned. "Oh, now what do they want?" He asked.
"Ash!" Serena cried out next.
The raven-haired man just sighed heavily, gently fingering the worn out black tuxedo. "Oh, well. I guess this will have to wait."
Scatterbug squeaked out something to the human, sounding a little worried. Ash just smiled at his little friends.
"Don't worry, guys." He assured them. "The festival's not for another two weeks. There'll be plenty of time to fix them up before then."
"Ash!" Both girls called out for him.
"Okay, okay! I'm coming!" Ash answered back, heading towards the door. "Calm yourselves!"
Once Ash had closed the door behind him, the door hovering a couple of inches away from the lock, Pikachu was about to follow him when he stopped, thinking about something. The three Bug Pokémon asked the Electric type why he stopped and didn't follow Ash.
Pikachu then saw the old, fancy clothes hanging on the chair of the desk. He already knew that Giovanni had tricked Ash into thinking that he could go to the festival. He and his daughters would make absolutely sure that he would have no time to fix his clothes in time. And the clothes he had chosen would need quite a bit of mending, even with his worth ethic.
Just then, Caterpie had an idea. If Ash wanted to go to the festival, he was going to need some help. The Bug types will start mending his clothes, while the others would help him and Pikachu with any extra chores that his stepfamily would throw at him.
Pikachu was delighted with the idea, and then afterwards, when it was done, they could surprise his master. The Electric type then ordered the Bug Pokémon right to work while he went to first tell the Pichu twins, Starly, and Pidove the plan, and then catch up to Ash to help him with his chores. He was going to be so surprised.
**************************
True to the suspicions of Ash's Pokémon friends, Giovanni and the girls did everything in their power to keep Ash busy for the next two weeks. On top of his normal chores, he also had to do an array of odd jobs around the manor, such as polishing all of the girls' jewelry, polishing the silver, and mending and ironing all of the fancy clothes that all three of them owned.
Fortunately, he did have a little help. Starly, Pidove and the Pichu twins would help Ash with his chores outside, while the Bug types got to work on his clothes. They had found an old sewing book that belonged to Ash's mother, which included the same design for the suit, which the Bug types used as a guide.
The pants needed very little work, it was the overcoat that had the most problems. The little intricate silver embroidery on the hem was starting to come off, the cuffs of the white undershirt had turned yellow and wrinkled with age, the buttons were coming loose, and there was a hole that needed to be stitched up. The shoes also needed to be polished up.
Soon, there were only three days left until the festival began. The hole in the overcoat sleeve was fixed and the fabric of the cuffs was as good as new. But the embroidery was too worn out to repair, and Sewaddle, who was a bit of a designer at heart, felt that there should be something in between the buttons to make the suit stand out. So he and Caterpie went to explore the house for anything that they could use while Scatterbug went to work on strengthening the buttons and polishing the shoes.
***************************
Downstairs, the girls had spent the entire day trying to choose what to wear for each of the three nights, since each night had a theme. The first theme was casual formal, the second night was a costume party, and the third night was full black-tie affair.
With the dresses that they didn't like, they threw them over at Ash, who went back and forth between them to catch them. Watching from high above, hanging onto the high ceiling, Caterpie and Sewaddle examined the flying clothes, which were quickly turning into two large, separate piles in Ash's arms, their human friend trying his best to balance them, and his Pikachu on the ground, catching the little bits of jewelry that his master missed.
Although the girls weren't really excited to attend a festival meant for the princess to choose a possible groom, they were excited to find potential husbands of their own. And their constant chatter of the idea was starting to annoy Ash greatly.
"To think," Miette said, "that we might find a husband before the princess!" She squealed as she examined one of her fanciest dresses.
"That might show to everyone in the kingdom that we are much better than her." Serena added, a dreamy daze in her eyes as she held a dress to her chest. "And I pity the man that she will eventually choose to become her husband."
Ash was getting more curious about why they hated the princess. "What has the princess ever done to you that you say these things about her?"
"It's obvious." Miette said. "She's just jealous that we are so much prettier and more eligible than she could ever hope of being."
Right after she said, Ash knew that it was really the other way around. They were envious of her.
"But of course you wouldn't know that, would you?" Serena asked, pretending to sound sweet. "Other than us, I bet you have never spoken to a lady, have you, Cinders and Ashes?"
Ash resisted the urge to smile fondly as the memory of Dawn came into his head to avoid suspicion from his stepsisters. "I have, once." He answered. "To a noble woman."
Miette just laughed at him. "Someone of little importance, no doubt." She said. "Some apprentice."
"She was an apprentice, yes." Ash answered.
Soon, the clothing throwing had ended, and Ash began to put them all away in their proper positions. Once he was done, Serena threw a red sash at him, hitting him in the face.
"Here! Take that thing and throw it out."
Ash removed the sash just as Miette next tossed at him a string of blue pearls, which he barely caught before it too hit his face. "If you're taking out trash, throw that away as well." The periwinkle-haired girl added. I'm sick of looking at those things."
"Are you sure?" Ash asked the girls. "This stuff looks pretty expensive. Maybe you should hang onto them, just in case."
"Oh, please!" Serena scoffed. "I wouldn't be seen dead in that hideous thing."
Ash rolled his eyes and left the room, making his way towards the attic. If his stepsisters won't wear them, then maybe he could make better use of them.
"Ash!" Giovanni's loud voice stopped him in his tracks before he even made two steps up the stairs. So close! He thought.
"If you are done with helping my daughters, and before you begin your regular chores, I have a few little things for you." Giovanni called out.
Ash sighed. The next three days will go by so fast, and for the past week and a half, he hadn't even looked at his own chosen clothing for the first night of the festival. He and Pikachu had been so busy that they hadn't even gone up to the attic to sleep, instead just crashing next to his father's Arcanine by the fireplace in the kitchen.
With another sigh of defeat, Ash tucked the clothing behind a large pillar leading up to the staircase. "Very well." He answered his master.
Pikachu chirped over at him worriedly, which he responded to with a gentle pat on his head. "Don't worry, Pikachu." Ash assured his best friend. "We'll get to my clothes tonight."
Then both of them quickly headed over to where Giovanni was waiting for them.
Once they had left, Caterpie and Sewaddle came out of their hiding places. They noticed the sash and string of blue pearls that Ash had stashed away. Quickly, they carefully placed the articles of clothing onto their backs and then both of them each launched a thin strand of gray, sticky webbing up at the extremely high ceiling of the tower to pull themselves back up to Ash's room in the attic. These little trinkets that the girls called 'trash' will greatly help their friend.
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Back at the palace, where quite a number of men were practicing their fencing skills, Captain Flint was sparring against one of the few in the room who wore a helmet that covered the entire head and face. Both of them went back and forth, trying their best to try and land a hit with their training swords. Finally, Flint landed a good hit by getting his foil on his opponent's shoulder, ending the match.
Once the rest of the men left to go and clean themselves up, only Flint and his opponent were left on the training grounds. The person removed their helmet to reveal Princess Dawn, her sapphire blue hair tied up in a bun, and she wiped away a couple beads of sweat off her brow. Of course, if her mother ever found out about her other secret extracurricular activities that were meant more for men, other than sneaking off on hunts, she would most likely have a heart attack sooner than expected for someone her age.
"Wake up, Princess." Flint said. "You're in a daze."
Dawn panted for breath as she and Flint began to leave the training grounds in a different direction. "Sorry." She apologized.
"You've been off since the hunt." Flint observed.
He had taught the girl to defend herself ever since she was young, since he believed that even though she is a princess, learning self-defense is essential. And Dawn saw him more as an older brother, who she could act as herself and forget that she is a princess. So Flint can see that she has been acting a little off ever since they came back from the hunt.
"It's that.... wonderful boy." Dawn admitted, a little bashful grin on her face while lightly scratching her flushed cheek. "I just can't stop thinking about him."
"Well, there are plenty of boys in the kingdom." Flint said.
"But his, his.... spirit. His goodness." Dawn added, her head being filled with thoughts of that boy she met in the forest a couple of weeks ago.
"Do you think he has a sister?" Flint asked, making Dawn laugh at his little joke.
"I don't know." She answered as they put their foils away. "I don't know anything about him."
"Well, perhaps your mystery boy may come to the ball." Flint suggested. "That's why you opened the doors, isn't it?"
Dawn bit back a smile, knowing that the captain had hit the nail right on the head. But she still looked ahead of her, not making eye contact with him.
"Captain, it is for the people." She answered, trying her best to sound cordial.
Flint fought back a knowing grin. She couldn't fool him. "Of course." He said, playing along. "How shallow of me."
After a couple of seconds of silence, Dawn turned over to look back up at him. "If he comes, then what?" She asked him.
Flint found it harder to hide his knowing smile. That didn't take long for a confession.
"Then, you'll tell him the truth; that you are a princess." He then playfully nudged her. "And due to you being royalty, a royal can choose a partner of his or her choice."
Dawn just scoffed lightly while rolling her eyes. "Yeah, that's not going to be possible." She said.
"Why not?" Flint asked.
"You know that my mother and the Grand Duke would only have me marry a prince." Dawn reminded, a little annoyance in her stare.
Flint just shrugged. "Well, if this boy from the forest is as charming as you say, they might change their minds." He suggested.
Dawn did her best to hide a smile that was beginning to appear on her face. She really hoped that he would come.
A/N: No promises on when I would update this again, but I'm still trying to push forward with at least finishing "Brave to Dare" before I could focus more on this story when it comes to my Pokémon fanfics.
Until next time, y'all! Please leave a comment about what you think. They are highly appreciated. And remember to stay healthy!
Got to fly! ;)