Charlie: A Pokemon Cinderella Story. Chapter 03 by troy168 < Submission

Keywords male 1251999, pokemon 202937, human 112427, fantasy 27834, lucario 12728, romance 9431, gardevoir 3702, mightyena 1775, female. 1489, delphox 1377, greninja 1044, nidoqueen 860, persian 646, liepard 471, gallade 312, zebstrika 287, alakazam 209, gothitelle 204, fairytale 132

03: The Mysterious Gardevoir

The castle of Espérer is home to the most respectful kingdom that people worship. And the throne of the castle is home to the two respectful royalty known as King Lionhart the Gallade and Queen Oracle the Gardevoir. For years, they run their kingdom with honour and respect towards the village, while the villagers provide the people with luxurious goods. And within time, a child is born in the kingdom. And in the following years, the village is introduced to the one that will capture the hearts of many men, is a princess named Maria. However, due to their royal duties, the two cannot tend to their daughter's needs. Fortunately for them, they have two advisors that they trust. A dutchess is known as Emily, a Lucario that lives nearby with her only son, Dan the Lucario. And a mentor that Oracle knows since her childhood is none other than Madan Nicole, the Gotheitelle that is mentoring their daughter. While Nicole has been with Oracle for years, she does have a sense of familiarity when it comes to Oracle's daughter.

Nicole is making her way through the halls of the castle as she sees the maids and servants cleaning the halls of the castle. She can tell that they are working hard on ensuring that the castle stays clean. She then walks past them as she makes her way towards the princess's room. She knocks on the door and is waiting for an answer from the princess. When there's no response, she opens the door and peeks inside, only to see that the room is quite dark and that the princess is still asleep in her bed. To some, that would be quite worrisome, but to Nicole, it's just a normal part of her duties to wake the princess up. She then enters the room and said: "Good morning, princess. I hope you're ready to take part in today's lessons." Nicole then walks up to the curtains and opens then to shine rays of sunlight into the room. And when the light shines on the princess's face, she covers her face with her blanket to block the light. Nicole sees this and knows what to do as she walks up to her bed and grabs the corner of the princess's blanket as she then said: "Now now. You know you can't lay around all day. You need to tend to your duties." Nicole then proceeds to yank the blanket away from the princess, causing the princess to get up and yell: "Hey!" As the princess gets flustered while grabbing her pillow, Nicole heads to the door while saying: "Don't mind me, I'll just get these clean for you. After all, a princess deserves to have the nicest of things." Nicole then closes the door just as the princess tosses the pillow at her, causing the pillow to hit the door.

Even though the princess just had a rude awakening from her mentor, she is pretty excited about her fencing lesson. While she has to take part in a lot of classes in the castle, aside from fencing and hunting, she doesn't show that much interest over them since she doesn't find them fun. At the courtyard, both the princess and her instructor are clashing swords with each other as the other students are watching them. Even though it was supposed to be a lesson, the princess managed to match blow to blow from the instructor's rapier. Among those that are watching is a Greninja who is also her best friend, as well as Dutchess Emily, who is observing her sword skills. And then with a flick of her wrist, she manages to disarm the instructor's weapon as it went flying before landing on the ground. As the instructor is shocked over his disarmed, the princess aims her rapier at his instructor and said: "So is that it for today's lesson?" The instructor then replied: "Y-Yes, princess… You have surely improved a lot." The princess then lowers her rapier as her instructor falls on the ground as she said: "And it was all thanks to your lessons, sir. You are a wonderful teacher." The princess then turns to her best friend and tosses her the rapier and said: "So what's next in our lesson, Skarlet?" The Greninja that was called Skarlet, catches the princess's rapier and said: "I believe it's power in politics, Maria." The princess then shows a disinterested look as she then said: "Aw… But that's boring. I rather do something more fun than that."

With some time before her next lesson, she walks down the hallway as she expects her next lesson to be boring. As she makes her way down the hall, she hears a couple of Houndooms growling. Curious, she turns to the source of the sound. And she saw two Houndooms guarding the royal library from the floor below, which she recognized as Emily's guard dogs. Why are Emily's dogs guarding the library? She then goes downstairs to see what's going on, which causes the Houndooms to growl at her. Though the princess does know that they're trying to scare people away, rather then threatens to attack them. So she got close to the two and offers them some berries that she has in her pouch. As the Houndooms quickly lower their guards and eat the berries from her hand, the princess said: "Hey there, you two. Are you guarding the library against forty thieves? Where's your master?" She then looks at the library doors and sees that it's partially open, which gives her a chance to peek inside.

As she peeks inside, she saw that not only is the room dark, but also that Emily is in the room, reading a book that the princess couldn't see from the distance. I wonder what she's looking for? And why does she have her dogs guard the room? Before, the princess doesn't usually have that much interaction with Emily as she figures that she is just another helper that his parents hired. And although the dutchess has her study room to herself, the princess does find it odd that she would read a book in the dark. Just then, Emily felt that somebody was watching her as she quickly turned around and said: "Who's there?!" After hearing no response, she puts away the book she had and goes to the doors. When she exits the library and look around, she saw that there was nobody around. Feeling that it was just her imagination and that she should hurry on, she proceeds to walk away from the library while saying: "Come on, you two." Signalling her Houndooms to follow her. Nearby, the princess manages to hide behind one of the pillars in the hallway as she is starting to get suspicious of Emily.I have to find out what's she up to.

At the entrance to the throne room, two guards are guarding the doors as a servant is walking up to the doors with the king and queen's tea set prepared. "Is that tray meant for his majesty?" Emily said as she walks up to the servant, after bringing her dogs back to the study room. The servant replied: "Yes, your dutchess." Emily then said: "Give it to me. I'll take it to their room, myself." Inside the throne room, Nicole has been filling in on the details the princess has been doing to the King and Queen when Emily enters the room with a tray in her hands. "Your majesty. Allow me to say that you are the perfect definition of health. May I be the honour of serving you your tea?" As Nicole turns around and sees Emily, Lionhart nodded his head as he said: "Of course. What a lovely surprised." Emily then walks towards the throne as she then said: "My queen. You look ravishing as usual." And the queen replied: "Oh, I'm flattered." As Emily places the tray on the stand next to the two thrones, she then said: "I'm sorry that I came here without an appointment, but I must discuss something important about your daughter."

"Of course, Dutchess Emily. Madam Nicole has filled us in about our daughter, but we would love to hear your words as well." King Lionhart said. Emily bows her head as she then said: "As you wish, my lord. It seems that your daughter is doing extranordally well when it comes to her fencing and hunting classes. But I'm afraid that when it comes to her other classes, she shows little to no interest in them." As one of the maids prepare the tea for the king and queen, Queen Oracle said: "Yes, indeed. Our tutors have brought it to our attention countless times." "Madam Nicole says that our daughter wants her lessons to be more fun. But we want her to be more responsible." King Lionhart said. Emily then said: "Well, I wouldn't worry about the tutor so much. I'm pretty sure that your daughter is such a bright young girl, as everybody knows. But I do think that her disinterest may lie elsewhere." This caught the King's attention as he leans forward and said: "If you have any ideas on how to make her into a serious student, please let us know." Emily then said: "Perhaps, she needs a bit of an… "motivation…" Like, a nice young man who is willing to marry the princess and settle down." "You mean, find her a fiance?" King Lionhart said and Emily replied: "Yes. It would be the best way for her to understand that she's an heir to her throne and that she must take responsibility for her kingdom." The queen then said: "Of course. I was seventeen when I was married to Lionhart. And our daughter has turned seventeen this year." Emily then said: "My words exactly. I think we should act right away."

"I would advise against that." Nicole finally said as she was waiting patiently for her moment to act. Queen Oracle looks at her with confusion as she said: "What do you mean, Madam Nicole?" Nicole then said: "While Emily's plan on finding your daughter a fiance would motivate her to be serious, we must remember that we need to find the right fiance for her. Otherwise, her future would be in jeopardy." Emily then said: "Of course. I would never risk her future if I made a poor choice, Madam." The king then said: "Still… Both of you made a good point. I would like both of you to come here for a moment." Both Nicole and Emily proceed to go up to the king as he leans in and whispered: "I want both of you to go out and find some good candidates for my daughter's hand. But be discreet, I cannot let our daughter know of this plan." After hearing what he has to say, the two take a couple of steps back and bow gracefully to the king as they said: "Of course. Your wish is our command."

Elsewhere, a class is currently in progress over at the castle's private classroom. Inside, the princess is bored out of her mind while her tutor, Khan the Alakazan, is teaching her and Skarlet a lesson on treating their powers responsibly as a queen. Feeling bored, the princess looks over at Skarlet, who was busy with the lesson and decided to mess around with her. So she rolled up her paper before turning to Skarlet and whispered: "I challenge you to a duel, Skarlet." The princess then proceeds to poke Skarlet in the arm with the rolled-up papers as Skarlet said: "Not now, Maria…" But the princess continues to poke at Skarlet with the rolled-up papers… Only to get hit in the head by a chalk. Causing her to drop the papers and rub her head as Khan said: "Girls… I must ask that you don't mess around during your lesson. That behaviour is not appropriate for a queen. When your mother was your age, she was a more serious student." Khan then turns around and said: "In fact, she would often come to my studies during the coldest of nights, just so she can learn more about her duties, as well as the world around her. She is quite a brilliant student." But when Khan turns around again, he saw that both the princess and Scarlet have vanished from the room. This causes Khan to say: "Oh… Where did they run off to, this time…"

Outside the courtyard, the princess is busy changing into her civilian clothing as she said: "Skarlet, I need your help." "Again? But this is the second time you run off, this week." Skarlet said as she waits for the princess to change. After all, she is the one that handed the princess her clothing so she can go out to town without getting caught. Although it was odd that the princess was going out again since they agree that she'll run off once per week. But the princess then said: "Hush. No one must know that I run off to town." "Well, can't I least come with you? What if somebody recognizes you and kidnapped you for a large ransom?" Skarlet said as she is worried about the princess's safety. But the princess finishes changing into her clothing as she then said: "Don't worry, Skarlet. Nobody will recognize me." The princess then proceeds to mess around with her hair to give it more of a civilian look then runs off while saying: "I'll see you later, Skarlet. I'll bring you something nice." As Skarlet sees her off, she said: "If the king and queen find out about this, we'll be in serious trouble…" Skarlet is truly worried about the princess's safety since they have been friends for a long time. And if the king were to find out about her involvement with the princess running off to town, she'll face some serious punishment.

Over at the mansion, Albert and his sons are preparing to go out and do some shopping. Though it's mostly just to get Alex and Max a new set of clothing for them. Although they do have some, they needed to be on top of everything if Albert has any chance of getting either of his two sons married to royalty. With Cesar ready to bring them to the village, they are currently waiting for Charlie as Max yells out: "Charlie! Hurry up! We should've been there by now!" Alex then said: "Father, would you get me a suit that makes me look like an older gentleman, like the ones at the royal court?" "Oh, and can you get me one of those suits that have lots of padding and jewelry?" Max said as Alex then said: "Well in that case. I would also like to have a tophat with a fancy feather and a rose to boot." "And I want a top hat to match with my suit, exactly." Max said. Getting fed up with Alex and Max's pestering and Charlie not showing up, Albert said: "Alright. Alright, you two. I'll get you two whatever you desire. Just stop pestering me." He then turns to Cesar and said: "Cesar, I want you to go and find that boy. If he keeps making us wait, the stores will be closed and we won't be able to do any shopping done." Cesar quickly bows his head as he said: "Of course, sir. I'll go find him, right away."

In the kitchen, Charlie is busy with the dishes that his step-father orders him to do. And even though he didn't get to take part in the final days of the flower festival yesterday, he at least is excited to go on a shopping trip with his step-father and his step-brothers. Unbeknownst to Charlie though, Jen and Ruby are ready to cause some havoc for Charlie as they spotted a stack of plates on the counter. "Phew… Almost done…" Charlie said as he places the clean plate on top of the stacks of plates. Zeus then proceeds to enter the kitchen as Charlie grabs the last plate as he said: "There… This is the last one." But just as Charlie places the last plate on the stack of plates, Jen and Ruby made their move as they both pounce on the stack of plates. This causes the plates to fall forward towards the ground, just as Charlie realizes that the plates are about to hit the ground. Jen and Ruby then proceed to land on the ground as they wait to hear the plates crashing and breaking on the ground, then Albert coming in and blaming Charlie for the mess. But instead, they heard Charlie saying: "Phew… Thanks, Zeus. That was a close one." Confused, Jen and Ruby look over…

And saw that Zeus has managed to catch the plates, using the apron Charlie has for cleaning dishes and thus, ruining Jen and Ruby's plan. This causes the two cat Pokemon to get angry and starts to chase Zeus, just as Charlie grabbed the plates from the apron. As Zeus spots the two and quickly runs away, Charlie places the plates back on the counter as he sees the two and said: "Jen. Ruby. Cut it out you bad cats." Jen and Ruby continue to chase Zeus throughout the kitchen until they cornered Zeus to the corner. But before they could do anything, Charlie grabbed a broom nearby and said: "That's enough you two. I want both of you to get out of the kitchen, now." This causes the two cat Pokemon to look and hiss at Charlie, before proceeding to run out of the kitchen as Charlie chases the two while saying: "And stay out, you trouble makers!" He was about to chase them out when he saw Cesar entering the kitchen. He lowers the broom as Cesar said: "Charlie. Your father and brothers are currently waiting for you to go to town." Charlie places the broom next to the wall and said: "I'll be right there. I just need a few minutes to change out of these messy clothing." As Charlie takes off the apron, Cesar said: "Oh, do not worry. Even in your house dress, you are still the most charming boy that I have the honour of serving." Feeling a bit embarrassed, Charlie rubbed the back of his head as he said: "Oh… You would probably say that to a lot of people." Although in reality, Cesar truly means what he said.

With the carriage ready and Albert and his sons and his pets inside, Charlie locked their house before proceeding to run to the carriage and said: "Sorry that I'm late father." Albert then looks at Charlie and said: "That's all right, Charlie. Although that does mean that we won't have any time to go to any cheaper stores for you. Still, we must hurry so hurry on in." Although Charlie was a bit sad that they won't get anything for him, at least he is getting to spend some time with his family, so he nodded as he opens the carriage door. "Hold on, father. Are you seriously letting him join us? Look at him. He's degrading. He'll make us look like we're a poor family." Alex said as he objects, while Max said: "Yeah. There's no way I'm going anywhere with him." "Hold on, I didn't get a chance to change my clothes." Charlie said as he tries to defend himself, though Albert then said: "I don't know… What do you think, boys?" Both Alex and Max looked at each other, before nodding and looking at his father as they both said: "We're leaving him here!" Albert then closes his eyes as he said: "I see… So what you're saying is… You two are willing to carry the packages yourself. Right?" This shocks both Alex and Max as they look at each other again before they remain silent. Their silence confirms their answer as Albert then said: "Then it's decided. Charlie, you're coming with us. But I'm afraid that there's no more room for you. So sit next to Cesar." Charlie notices a clearly empty spot in the carriage as he tries to say: "But… I can see-" But suddenly, both Jen and Ruby quickly hopped onto the empty space and hog it from Charlie as an act of revenge for their failed plan.

Albert then said: "Well hurry up then, we've already wasted too much time already." Hearing that and feeling defeated, Charlie closes the carriage's door before proceeding to go and sit at the front, next to Cesar. As Cesar is driving the carriage, Charlie is looking down and feeling depressed as he learns of Albert's true motive for brining Charlie along on the shopping trip. Seeing how depressed Charlie is, Cesar decides to pass the reins over to Charlie as Charlie looks at the reins with a curious look. Inside the carriage, Alex and Max are sitting a little too close to each other as Alex elbowed Max while saying: "Move over! You're hogging my space!" Max retaliates by elbowing back at Alex while saying: "No, you move over! You keep trying to hog my space!" Alex then said: "What are you talking about? I'm slim as any real man. You, on the other hand, kept stuffing yourself with sweets and junk!" Max then looks at his father and said: "Father! Tell him to stop!" But Albert said: "That's enough, you two! Now it's best to hold on, the roads are about to be bumpy." "Bumpy?" Both Alex and Max said before a sudden bump causes the two to bounce out of their seats and landed on his father. As the carriage continues to bump around, Albert said: "What the?!" Meanwhile, Cinder is busy with her painting when she spots a carriage driving much faster than usual. Until she saw that Charlie is driving the carriage, while Cesar is pleading to Charlie that they should slow down. This causes Cinder to say: "It looks like Charlie is learning how to drive a carriage."

In the village, the citizens are going on with their lives after yesterday's flower festival. Among the citizens in the village, Maria is looking around in the marketplace as she searches for something that Skarlet wants. As she searches, she hears someone saying: "I heard the other day that the princess is very particular about her appearance." Curious, Maria looks over and saw a cafe nearby and inside are three gentlemen sitting around a table. As she goes up to the wall of the cafe so she can listen in on their conversation as one of the gentlemen then said: "She even order her maids to clean and brush her dresses, until there's not even a single spec of dust on it." Maria then looks at her sleeve and notices that there is dust on it, though she doesn't mind. Then she heard another gentleman saying: "I heard that the princess would throw away her shoes after only wearing them once." Maria then looks down and saw that the shoes she was wearing are worm out, though like before, she doesn't mind them. She then heard the gentleman saying: "Honestly, what a waste. But she is a princess. She can buy as many shoes as she wants." Hearing enough of them, she proceeds to walk away from the cafe as she laughs to herself over the silly rumours they're spreading. As she continues to walk down the marketplace, she spots an older gentleman with a Persian and a Liepard by his side, as well as two boys that are right behind the older gentleman. Though that doesn't concern her. Just as she walks past them, she also notices another boy carrying a large supply. And although that doesn't concern her as well, she can't help but admit that the boy does look familiar.

Albert and his sons are browsing the marketplace as they got some fancy supplies for them. All the while, Charlie has been carrying their supplies in his arms and while his arms are sore, he can still move around. "Here's the store that I'm talking about, father. That store is guaranteed to make anybody into a suitable prince." Alex said as they point towards the store nearby. While Max said: "Good. I'm looking for a suit with some strong lacing." "You're going to need a lot of laces if you're planning on hiding that stomach of yours." Alex said as Max replied: "Yeah! Well just wait till we try the suits on!" As the two brothers enter the store, Albert and his pets stopped in front of the store as Charlie stops behind him. As they heard both Alex and Max amazed over the quality of the suits, Albert said: "Charlie. Why don't you stay out here with our package." "But I would love to go and look around in the store, father." Albert then looks at Charlie and said: "Why should you. What you're wearing is already perfect for your work. And besides, it's not like you're going to need a suit." Albert and his pets then enter the store and closing the door in front of Charlie. Charlie then watches the family looking and trying on suits. I'll just wait until mother comes back home. She always gives me a brand new suit and some fancy shoes when she came back. I know that I don't need them, but I do appreciate the gifts that my mother gave me.

Knowing that standing around is going to make his body sore, he decides to browse the nearby stores as he sees a lot of merchandise being displayed on the window. He is amazed by the merchandise when he comes across a flower stand as he sees a bunch of beautiful flowers. "Would you like to buy some lovely flowers, mister?" Said the flower vendor, causing Charlie to look and saw a Pokemon with blue hard scales and long ears, as well as wearing an apron with a flower icon as he recognized her as a Nidoqueen. He shakes his head as he said: "Sorry… But I didn't bring any money with me today." With the flower vendor looking disappointed, she said: "Oh, I see. Then please come again." Just before Charlie could leave, he notices some flowers on the ground. He then looks back at the vendor and said: "Excuse me, miss. But what about the flowers on the ground?" The vendor then looks at the flowers on the ground, before saying: "Oh, those? Those are damage. They won't do me any good, so I'll just throw them away." Charlie then said: "Aw… That's too bad. Those flowers still look. Do you mind if I can have them?" The vendor then nodded as she said: "Sure. Knock yourself out." As she returns to tender with the flowers, Charlie proceeds to kneel and places the package on his knee. He then proceeds to grab the flowers with his free hand, while trying to balance the packages with his other hand.

Maria has managed to find a gift for her friend and has some extra time to kill before returning to the kingdom. As she browses through the market street, she didn't notice that someone is on his knee and is picking something up. Just then, her knee accidentally bumped into his behind. Causing her to trip and stumble, while he ended up dropping his stuff on the ground as he falls to the ground. As she turns around and sees the mess she made, she goes up to him and said: "I'm sorry. I didn't see you on the ground. Here, let me help with those packages." As she offers her hand, he turns around and sees her. At this point, they immediately recognize each other from a couple of days ago, as she said: "Oh. It's you again." And the boy she recognizes said: "Yeah. I remember you. You were the girl that I accidentally bumped into the other day." Maria starts to blush as she said: "Yeah… That's right." She can't help blushing as she hates to admit it, but she knows that he's the most charming boy that she has ever met. She starts to giggles as she said: "You know… This is quite a coincidence for us to meet again." "Only this time, you ran into me." The boy said. Maria proceeds to offer her hand as she said: "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking. Here, tell me where you're going. I can help you out." As the boy starts to blush, he takes her hand as she pulls him up from the ground as he said: "Oh, thank you."

The boy then turns around and picks up the packages that were on the ground as he said: "Oh no… They're going to be wrinkled…" Maria sees the packages and saw that they came from some fancy stores. So she asks: "Are those fancy packages yours?" After picking up the packages, the boy turns around and said: "Why... Yes. Of course." As he proceeds to walk away, Maria said: "Wait, let me at least help you out." The boy then looks at Maria and said: "Oh, that's quite alright. I can handle it from here, thank you." But Maria then said: "Oh, but if we ended up meeting each other again, then that must mean that fate wants us to get acquainted." But the boy then said: "Oh, I don't know about that…" As the boy starts to walk away, Maria said: "Well, could I least help carry some of the packages for you?" And the boy replied: "Oh no, I said that I'm fine. I must get going now." As the boy continues to walk off, what he doesn't see is a barrel in front of him, causing Maria to say: "Lookout." But it was too late, as the boy trips on the barrel and lands on the ground, while the packages fall out of his hand. As he slowly gets up from the ground and feeling the pain yet again, Maria goes over to him and said: "Now would you please let me help you?"

Charlie proceeds to carry the packages back to the store, where he is supposed to wait. Although it is lighter than usual since the Gardevoir that he met a couple of days ago and the same one that bumped into him earlier is carrying some of the packages for him. Although he doesn't want to let anybody help him, he knows he can't help but admit that the Gardevoir is actually quite beautiful. "Pardon me for my curiosity… But do you live in the village?" The Gardevoir asked as Charlie replied: "No, I don't." The Gardevoir then asks: "Oh? Then how exactly did you get into town, then?" And Charlie replied: "In a carriage, obviously." The Gardevoir then starts to joke around as she said: "Oh… Now it makes sense. Your Duke has sent you on a carriage to bring all of these supplies to him." But Charlie just dismisses it. Even though his father makes him do all of the chores, it's not like he's getting paid for them. So he just said: "No. I'm not working for anybody." Before Gardevoir could say anything, he starts to walk off as she quickly said: "Wait. I didn't mean anything by that." As she tries to catch up to him.

Meanwhile, back in the store. Albert is waiting patiently at one of the chairs while Alex is working on his custom suit. Max, on the other hand, is quite bored and hungry as he lays on the table while saying: "Father… I'm hungry. If I don't get something to eat, I'll faint from starvation." But Albert just said: "That's enough, Max. Just be patient." Alex then looks at Max and said: "Besides, the tailor would have to make a new suit if you keep eating those sweets, Max." This got Max pretty angry as he gets up from the table and said: "You take that back, Alex!" But Albert cuts Max off by saying: "Max. I want you to go and find Charlie so that you can tell him to bring Cesar here and come pick us up. But let me tell you this, Max." Max feels the tremors in his bones as his father stood up and said: "If you decided to go to the sweet shop along the way, then you shall get no supper for tonight. Do I make myself clear, Max?" It's one thing when his brother argues with him over eating sweets, and he would go and eat some sweets just to spite his brother. But when his father said no, he knew that he could not disobey his father.

Back out at the marketplace. Both Charlie and the Gardevoir are sitting on a fountain with the packages by his side. They didn't really speak much to each other while they sit there. And as much as he wants to say something to her, he doesn't know what's the right thing to say to her. Finally, the silence is broken when the Gardevoir looks at Charlie and said: "So… Do you know how to ride on a horse Pokemon?" As Charlie looks at the Gardevoir, she proceeds to stand on top of the fountain's edge and mimics riding on a horse Pokemon as she said: "If you can, I know a great place where we can ride together." Charlie then said: "Oh, I know how to ride a horse Pokemon not too long ago, since I used to ride with my dad." He then proceeds to mimic riding on a carriage as he said: "And recently, I learned how to drive the carriage." The Gardevoir starts to giggle as she said: "Oh my. You're quite talented. Then maybe I should see how you drive the carriage myself."

Nearby, Max is looking for Charlie in the market street. It's bad enough that Charlie left with all of their packages, but also that he can't go to any sweetshops. "Charlie. Where are you? Honestly… Where would he have gone to…" But then he notices Charlie sitting on the fountain and a Gardevoir standing on the fountain. Curious and suspicious, he hides behind a pillar arch and spies on the two. What is he doing there? And who is that Gardevoir? And why is he talking to that complete stranger? I better listen to them and find out what they know. Max then heard Charlie saying: "Still… Being on that carriage does bring back some good memories." He then heard the Gardevoir saying: "That's wonderful. But tell me, do you like to hunt?" "Huh?" Max heard coming from Charlie's mouth. Then he heard Gardevoir saying: "From where I live, we like to hunt for some predator Pokemon in the garden." And although Max doesn't see it, but he can imagine that the Gardevoir mimics pointing a rifle in the air before making a gunshot sound.

Back at the fountain, Charlie then said: "Wait? You hunt for Pokemon in your garden?" This shocks Charlie as he doesn't go around hunting for Pokemon, yet a Gardevoir goes out and hunts for Pokemon, even though she's a Pokemon herself. The Gardevoir then said: "Of course." And after she makes another gunshot sound, Charlie looks down and said: "I… Don't really believe in hunting Pokemon. Especially for sport or just to have fun. Poor things…" This confuses the Gardevoir as she said: "Huh? Poor things?" Charlie then said: "Anyway… I know that you're lying. There's no way that you have a garden big enough for any predator pokemon. The only garden that's big enough is over at the castle." As the Gardevoir steps down and looks at the castle, Charlie then said: "You are nothing but a liar, miss." But the Gardevoir quickly turned around and said: "No. I'm telling you the truth, I do live in the castle. But I don't exactly hunt… Let alone touch the rifle." Back at the pillar arch, Max is listening in on their conversation as he said: "No way… That Gardevoir actually lives in the castle?" "Hey, Max! What's taking so long!" Alex said as he was sent to fetch Max, but Max quickly turns around and shush at Alex, causing Alex to look confused.

Back at the fountain. The Gardevoir then said: "You see, only King Lionhart and his hunting party are allowed to go on a hunting trip. And I'm actually one of the maids that's been assigned to the princess's room. I even help provide the princess with her training weapon for their practice bout with her best friend, Skarlet." "Fencing? The princess can actually fence?" Charlie said as he is surprised to hear details about the princess. And the Gardevoir then nodded as she said: "Of course. She's the star student when it comes to fencing, with her best friend only coming in second best. And she would often tell stories about her skills." Amazed with the story of how the princess is capable of fencing and curious about the rumours that's been spreading around in town, he then asks: "By the way, is it true that the princess is very particular about her appearance?" "Oh? You mean the one about how she throws away her shoes after only wearing then once?" The Gardevoir asked. And after Charlie nodded, she proceeds to sit back down while taking off one of her shoes while saying: "Well that's what I thought when I first started working at the princess's room, but boy was I wrong." This confuses Charlie as the Gardevoir then tosses her shoe a few feet away from her as she then said: "I noticed that one of her pairs of shoes was wormed out and I tried to throw them away. But the princess stops me from throwing them out. She then said that if there's a pair that she really likes, she won't stop wearing them until they fall apart on them."

This surprises Charlie again as the Gardevoir proceeds to stand up and walk towards her shoe that she tossed. But then Charlie starts to get skeptical of the Gardevoir's story as he said: "Hold on, are you really sure that it happened? You're trying to lie to me again." But the Gardevoir simply picked up her shoe, before proceeding to say: "Believe me. If you were the one that told me that story, I wouldn't have believed you either. But it is the truth. She is just an ordinary girl, just like the rest of us." She then turns to Charlie and said: "Just the other day, I was cleaning her room when I heard the door open. And when I turn and see who it was, I saw the princess being covered in dirt and mud. And while that shocked me, what really surprised me was the fact that she was actually smiling, despite being covered from dirt and mud from all over." The Gardevoir then puts her shoe back on, before proceeding to mimic a fencing stance as she then said: "And when I tried to clean her dress, she refused and instead tells me about her fencing stories about her and her best friend to me."

This pretty much shocks Charlie's view about the princess. But then he thinks to himself, did that really happened… After all, he heard a lot of people say the same thing about the princess… Yet here's this "maid" from the castle, saying that she's different than what the people are saying. In his mind, that can't be true. And she did lie to him before, so it's possible that she is lying to him again, just to make him look like a fool. In the end, he's fed up with her lies as he grabs the packages and stands up, before saying: "Look, miss. I don't believe you for a moment. Our princess is nothing like that. I have to get going now." As he turns around and proceeds to walk away, he heard the Gardevoir saying: "But it's the truth! Please wait!" Charlie then said: "I can't. My father and my brothers are probably waiting for me to bring the packages to them. I really need to get going now." But then the Gardevoir said: "But we haven't been introduced. Can you at least tell me your name?" But Charlie simply replied: "I'm sorry, miss. But I don't give out my information to those that intend on lying to me. So goodbye, liar." Charlie continues to walk back to the spot as Gardevoir watches him as she felt a bit sad.

Back at the storefront. Max and Alex are back from their unintentional spying mission and told Albert about the "maid" from the castle and being assigned to the princess's room. With Cesar and the carriage ready, they wait until Charlie shows up with the packages. Charlie then walks up to them and said: "I'm sorry that I made you wait, father. I just went and browse at some items outside the store and I must have lost track of time." Albert then said: "You don't have to worry about that. But I must ask, who was that Gardevoir that you were talking to?" Realizing that they were referring to the lying Gardevoir he met earlier, he simply said: "Oh... Just some girl that I met when I was returning from the woods a couple of days ago." "Hm… I see…" Albert said as he opens the carriage's door and let his pets, Jen and Ruby, in. He then said: "Unfortunately, we have come across with more errands on our list. But you shouldn't have to wait for us, so I want you to take these packages back home on foot. And once you do, I want you to make us some dinner for us once we come back." And while this shocks Charlie, Max passes a couple of packages into Charlie's load as Alex then said: "And don't you even think about wrinkling them."

Once they enter the carriage, Cesar proceeds to drive the carriage as Charlie gets left behind. Charlie then sighs and begins his trip back home. Meanwhile, the Gardevoir is walking up the streets when she notices a wagon being driven by a farmer. She then quickly hop on the wagon without the farmer noticing. But nearby, Albert and his sons notice the Gardevoir and said: "Now, Max. Are you certain that this is the Gardevoir that's been assigned to the princess's room?" And Max said: "Of course father. I even heard her saying stuff, like how the princess would wear her shoes until they break and how she smiles despite her dress being dirtied." And Alex then said: "Yeah, I even heard that she's an excellent fencer in the kingdom, while her best friend is the second best." This causes Albert to say: "If what you are saying is true and what that Gardevoir is saying is true. Then that would mean that she would have valuable information about the princess. We could even ask her for details about her, what boys does she prefer. And once you got that information, one of you will use that information to marry the princess. Got it?" "Yes, father." Both Alex and Max said as the carriage continues to follow the wagon.

Back at their house. Zeus is lying on the kitchen floor as he waits for Charlie to return home. Just then, the sound of a tapping window caught his attention as he gets up and turns around… Only to see a familiar face that he hasn't seen in a long time. It was Cinder as she waves to the happy Mightyena. Cinder then enters the kitchen as Zeus runs up to her and jumps on her. Cinder goes on her knees as she lets the happy Zeus licked her face. This brings the giggles out of her as she said: "Hey, Zeus. I see that the others are out in the town, yes?" Zeus then stops licking her face as he lets out an acknowledged bark. Cinder then said: "That's good. Say, do you want to know where Charlie is?" Zeus then let out an excited bark as he hops off of her. Cinder then goes up to a large cauldron filled with water, as she said: "Then let's use this cauldron to see the world from the bird's view and find our friend Charlie if he needs a hand in need." The water begins to ripple as both Cinder and Zeus watches the water, until the water reviews a reflection of Charlie walking with the packages. But then Charlie collapses and dropped the packages on the ground. Realizing that he needs help, Zeus quickly runs out of the kitchen as Cinder said: "It looks like Charlie is going to need all of the help that he can."

Meanwhile. Albert and his sons are watching the wagon from the carriage as they drive near the castle. And while Alex and Max were distracted by the view of the castle for a few seconds, they haven't lost track of the wagon. But to the surprise of the family, they saw that the wagon is moving to the left and away from the castle, causing Max to say: "Wait. The wagon is going the wrong way." While Alex said: "I should've known… That Gardevoir was clearly lying when she said all of that. There's no way that she lives in the castle. Besides, her clothing is dirty and there's no way that the princess-" ''Shush" Albert said as Alex looked at his father with confusion. Albert then said: "Look to your right." He then points to the hill to the right as both Alex and Max looked at the hill that his father pointed. And at that point, the Gardevoir that they were tailing, got up from the ground and proceeds to walk towards the castle walls. As it turns out, while Alex and Max were distracted, Albert saw the Gardevoir hopped out of the wagon and climb up the hill so that she can hide from the farmer that's driving the wagon. Albert then said: "So it looks like she does live at the castle." After signalling Cesar to stop the carriage, the three proceeds to follow the Gardevoir from the distance. They then saw the Gardevoir looking around, before going through a wooden door. Max then said: "Well, what do you know. It looks like she is telling the truth." But Alex dismisses his statement by saying: "So? That doesn't madder. There's a possibility that she works at the stables, or is a maid at a different room." But this causes Albert to quietly say to himself: "I see…"

At the bridge. Charlie's body is getting sore from carrying all of the packages from town. He then collapses on the floor again as he drops the packages again. Oh… What am I going to do? I won't be able to get back home in time and cook them their dinner… At this rate… I'll end up being punished for it… But… I can't… I can't take another step… My body is sore from carrying all of these packages… Just then, he heard a series of barking as it caught Charlie's attention. When he looked ahead, he saw Zeus running towards him. As Zeus caught up to him and starts to snuggle up to him, Charlie said: "Zeus?! How did you… How did you know where to find me, boy?" But Zeus didn't respond as after snuggling up to him, he proceeds to grab the smaller packages from his mouth, causing Charlie to say: "Wait… What are you… Do you want to help me carry the packages?" After hearing a confirmed bark from Zeus, Charlie nodded as he grabs the other larger packages. While they're still heavy, they're now manageable to carry than before. He then stands up and looks at Zeus with the small packages in its mouth and said: "Okay Zeus. Let's hurry home!" They then proceed to run home with the packages at hand.

Meanwhile. The family is in the carriage that Cesar is riding after they have confirmed the Gardevoir's story about her being a maid. This causes Max to say: "Man… I can't believe that we managed to find a maid that's working at the princess's room." But Alex then said: "Hold on. I don't believe that she works in the princess's room. Besides, that maid looks too sloppy." But then Albert said: "Then tell me, Alex. Do you know any maids that goes out to town while wearing their uniform?" Alex then tries to think to himself when Albert then explained: "If the townspeople were to find someone in a maids uniform, they quickly put two and two together and will try and wring out information out of them. So in order to avoid that possibility, they would give them clothing that only a peasant would wear." Alex then said: "Yeah. Which is why there's no way that the Gardevoir is working at the princess's room." But then Albert said: "I'm afraid that you didn't pay attention to what she was wearing, Alex." Alex was getting confused as he then said: "That Gardevoir is wearing a high material clothing that only a noblewoman would wear. Which is something that no other maids should wear. Now tell me, boys. Who would give a noblewoman's clothing to a maid?"

They then think to themselves, before Max proceeds to say: "Oh. It must be a princess. She must be the one that gives that maid the clothing." And Albert then said: "Exactly, Max. This confirms that what she said about the princess is true. And while the others are prancing around with those silly rumours, you two will be practicing your fencing skills and your charms so you one of you can marry the princess. Do I make myself clear?" The two brothers then nodded as Albert then said: "Good." Still… There's something that I can't get a grasp on… How did that Gardevoir even know who Charlie is? And if he met her when he was returning from the woods, then why was she so far away from the castle? Could Charlie have… No… It can't be. I made sure that we didn't go to the festival yesterday… So them… Albert then said: "Cesar. Go faster." As the carriage proceeds to go faster.

Back home. Charlie and Zeus have managed to get inside before his family would show up. As they place the packages on the table in the living room, Charlie said: "Thanks, Zeus. You're a lifesaver." After Zeus let out an excited bark, Charlie goes and lights a candle in the room, before proceeding to say: "I don't think I'll have time to cook up a fancy meal for my family… They're going to be disappointed…" He then continues to light the candles in the hallway and then the dining room. But when he enters the kitchen and lights the candle, he discovers that the pot was boiling in the fireplace. He then said: "Huh? Who was cooking here, while we were away?" When he goes downstairs, he discovers not only are there three sets of plates of steaks with sauce and butter on it, but also a large bowl of beef stew next to it. It even comes with two small bowls of hot stew for both Jen and Ruby. Confused, he looks at Zeus and said: "Zeus? Did you cook all of this?" But Zeus just shakes his head as Charlie then said: "Well? Do you know who did?" And Zeus simply shakes his head before proceeding to bark as Charlie then realize and said: "Right. I should hurry and set the table before they arrived.

Nearby, Cinder was watching Charlie through the window as she giggles to herself. After all, with a mix of her cooking skill and her spells, she was able to whip up a meal for Charlie's family since she knows that he'll be too sore to cook for them. And at that moment, she saw the carriage that is carrying his family. Inside, Albert and his sons and pets enter the dining room. But as they enter, they saw Charlie, as well as the table, prepped for dinner. Charlie then bows his head and said: "Welcome home, father. I hope that all of you are hungry from doing those errands." Both Alex and Max are quickly amazed over the delicious food that's been set on the table. Charlie then said: "Please. Sit down. And allow me to serve you." Upon hearing that, Max proceeds to quickly sit down at one of the chairs and said: "Oh boy. Time to eat." But just as Max was about to reach for one of the utensils, Albert said: "Wait." As he places his hand on Max's hand. Max then said: "But father, I'm starving." Albert then looks at Charlie and said: "I have to say… You actually managed to do exactly as I was told. I'm pleased with you, Charlie." "Thank you, father." Charlie said as he takes in the rare compliment from his father.

Albert then said: "But there's something that I want you to do, Charlie. We're inviting someone over for a meal together. So I want you to go and assist us with it." Charlie then said: "Of course, father. But if I may ask, who are you going to invite?" Albert then said: "Why… That Gardevoir that you were talking to at the fountain." This shocks Charlie as he can't believe that his father would allow him to bring over a liar to have supper with. Albert then said: "I want you to go and find that girl. And once you do, you will invite her for supper." But Charlie then said: "But I can't. We only met each other by accident. And besides… I don't even know her name…" But Alex then said: "Oh? And who do you think you are? Refusing one of father's invitations? You're making it sound like we're ungrateful." And Max then said: "Are you ashamed of us, Charlie?" And Charlie quickly said: "No! That's not true!" Then Albert said: "Then it's decided. Starting tomorrow, I want you to go out and find that girl. And I want you to invite her over to dine. And if you were to fail this task, Charlie. I'll make sure that you'll regret it. Do I make myself clear, Charlie?" It was one thing to try and not give a liar some attention, it was another thing to try and refuse his father. So in the end, he said: "Yes, father." As if it may be, but it looks like Charlie would have to cross path again with the lying Gardevoir.

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Charlie: A Pokemon Cinderella Story. Chapter 03

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