Charlie: A Pokemon Cinderella Story. Chapter 16 by troy168 < Submission

Keywords male 1169902, female 1059246, pokemon 186291, human 106070, fantasy 26274, lucario 11780, gardevoir 3465, mightyena 1203, delphox 1188, greninja 986, persian 607, liepard 425, fairy tale 222, gothitelle 162, blissey 65

The Princess and the House Work

As the sun shines over at the Lestorm's house, Charlie slowly opens his eyes as he feels weak today. As he hears Albert's voice saying: "Charlie! Charlie! Get down here at once!" Charlie starts to cough as he feels like his body is on fire and his throat is quite sore. He knew right then and there, he is sick from an illness. But as much as he wants to stay in his room and rest, he knows that Albert won't let him rest as he slowly turns his head to the stairs as he says: "Uuuhhh… Father…" He then heard Albert's voice saying: "Charlie!" Charlie then slowly got up from his bed as he turned to the side of his bed and got out. Eventually, Charlie can change into his clothing and slowly makes his way down the stairs as Albert says: "About time you show up. I was about to come and get your lazy self." As Charlie reaches the bottom of the stairs, he says: "I'm sorry…" Albert then says: "No madder. I want you to clean the garden, wipe and dust the living room, chop some wood, clean the floors and prep dinner for us. And today, we're having Duchess Emily coming over for supper and I want things to be perfect."

After Charlie is forced to make breakfast for them. He made his way outside as he started to sweep the ground. But due to his illness, he is cleaning the ground more slowly than usual. As Charlie continues to clean, Zeus and Jen are watching him and are worried about him as they see him moving unusually. Jen proceeds to go over to Charlie and look at his face as she discovers the symptoms of an illness. Jen then lets Zeus know that Charlie is sick, which causes Zeus to go over and pull on Charlie's leg to get him some rest. But Charlie then says: "I can't… I have to get the job done… I'm already behind as it is…" Even though Charlie knows that Zeus and Jen are trying to help him, he can't risk leaving his work post so that Albert would scold him by making him do more chores. And with an added pressure of Duchess Emily coming over to visit them, he has no way of stopping his chores. As Zeus starts to whine, Charlie says: "It'll be okay…"

Meanwhile, at the castle. Madam Nicole is observing both Princess Maria and Skarlet as they paint a portrait of some flowers in a vase as Nicole enjoys her tea. But while in amidst of the two's painting session, Maria suddenly tosses her paintbrush to her side as it catches both Skarlet and Nicole's attention as Nicole asks: "Is there something wrong, your highness?" Maria then walks towards the window as they hear a knock on the door as they hear: "I'm here with your tea, miss." This causes Nicole to head over and open the door as she sees the maid with a tea set as Nicole says: "Thank you." As Nicole grabs the tea set, the maid asks: "Shall I take the breakfast dishes from the princess." Nicole then looks over to the next room as she remembers that she barely touched her breakfast, Nicole then looks at the maid and says: "That won't be necessary." The maid then bows as she closes the door while Nicole carries the tea set over, while Skarlet looks at Maria and says: "What were you doing in that room, Maria?" Maria then says: "I was simply reading a book. And yet I still don't feel hungry at all." Maria then looks up and sees the royal flag flapping away as she wonders. Maria then says: "Tell me, Nicole, what makes this throne special?" And as Skarlet is confused, Nicole says: "What do you mean, your highness?" Maria then says: "It's just that, everybody is expecting me to be some kind of symbol to them. And now my parents are expecting me to marry someone." Nicole then says: "Well they are looking out for your future. It's not like your past adventures have caused them to believe you're responsible." Maria then says: "Yeah… I know. But with Emily plotting to take over the kingdom, I'm starting to wonder why she would want the castle to begin with."

Back at the Lestorm's house. Albert is observing the progress with Ruby as they are quite behind with their work. But just as the two head down the hall, with Albert hearing his two sons bickering over which suits to wear, when they come across some clothes that are scattered all over the floor that was caused by Alex and Max. This causes Albert to say: "Look at this mess. Why hasn't that lazy boy picked them up already." Albert then looks outside as he sees Charlie as Albert says: "Charlie! Charlie! Get over here and clean this mess up!" This causes Charlie to look up at Albert and says: "C-Coming…" As Charlie slowly makes his way to the entrance, Jen and Zeus follow  Charlie as they want to make sure that he doesn't faint. But as they make it to the entrance, they are greeted by Albert and Ruby. And as Charlie slowly enters the house, Zeus and Jen try to follow him, but Albert stops them as he says: "Don't even think about it, runt. I can't let you two go and run around the house." But then suddenly, the sound of someone crashing onto the floor is heard, which causes them to look over at the source of the crash and discover that Charlie had collapsed on the floor. As Ruby stands guard to prevent Zeus and Jen from entering the house, Albert says: "If this is some kind of joke, Charlie, I'm not laughing." But when Charlie doesn't respond, Albert says: "Charlie?" He then makes his way over to Charlie and places his hand on Charlie's forehead and discovers that his forehead is quite hot as he discovers that Charlie is sick, much to the worries of Zeus and Jen.

After placing Charlie back on his bed, he heads downstairs as he angrily says: "I can't believe that boy. We are far behind in preparations and he ends up getting sick from all of it." Despite things going bad for Albert, he knows that pushing Charlie with the chores at his state would make things worse in the future. But with Cesar busy with his other duties by Albert, they are quite underhand. And when Albert reaches the bottom of the attic's stairs, he looks up at the room and says: "As if things aren't already bad enough." But then Alex and Max enter the stairway as Alex says: "Father.  Does this suit make me look good?" Max then says: "Mine is better, right?" But Albert ends up saying: "Nevermind about those. Get into your housework clothing, we have a lot of work to do." While this confuses the two brothers, Albert explains: "We need to take care of the cleaning, the cooking and the firewood." But then Alex asks: "Pardon me for asking, but aren't those tasks Charlie's responsibility?" And Albert explains: "Yes. But unfortunately for us, he has gotten sick. Though there's a good chance that he got sick on purpose."

In the attic. As Charlie is laying on the bed, Zeus and Jen are watching him as they worry if they can't save him. It was clear that Albert's constant chores being shoved into Charlie is what got him sick in the first place and now they won't provide him with a doctor or give him some medicine to help Charlie recover. Zeus then decided to head downstairs to find some medicine with Jen joining him. As they head into the halls, the two discover Alex and Max are wiping and cleaning the floors as Alex says: "How come he gets to relax while we have to do the heavy work." And Max then says: "Yeah, my skin is getting wrinkling from all of this scrubbing." And as both Zeus and Jen sneaked into the next room, Albert was having none of it as he says: "Quit your whining. We have a long day ahead of us and I want you to focus!" In a separate room, Jen searches the closet for any signs of medicine, while Zeus searches the cabinets. But then they heard Albert saying: "And I expect this whole house to be tidy for our guest. Hey!" This causes Zeus to turn around and sees Albert as he says: "I thought I told you to stay out!" This causes Albert to chase Zeus out of the room, while Jen remains hidden in the closet. At the hall, Max says: "Finally… It's all done…" But then Zeus proceeds to rush through the hallway as it leaves a trail behind, which Max notices as he says: "Why do you keep making me suffer, you stupid mutt!" Once Zeus was chased out of the house and Jen managed to get out through an open window, the two pounders over how they can help Charlie since Albert and the two brothers are too occupied with the guest coming to their home. At that point, Jen has an idea and tells Zeus that they should head into town and find a doctor for Charlie. Liking the idea, Zeus and Jen proceed to head towards the town to find a doctor.

In the town. Both Jen and Zeus are searching the area for any signs of the doctor. As they search, they're having a hard time trying to find a doctor. And at one point, Zeus thought that he discovered the doctor's scent, only to discover that it was actually some bread from the bakery. Just as the two were getting close to giving up, Jen quickly spotted Blissey in a nurse outfit as she entered the building. Realizing that they found the clinic, Zeus quickly rushes to the doors, only to get pushed away by the nurse as she says: "Shoo! We can't allow pets in the clinic!" As the nurse closes the door, Jen goes up to Zeus as she's worried about Zeus. "Oh. Hey Zeus and Jen." Said a familiar voice as the two quickly looked and saw Maria. Maria then says: "I didn't think that I would see you two here." She then gets on her knees as she then says: "By the way, where's Charlie?" Realizing an idea, Jen proceeds to act like she's sick as Maria notices her and says: "Huh? What's wrong?" Jen then proceeds to sway left and right as she simulates that she's getting weaker. What is Jen doing? Is she trying to tell me about Charlie? Jen then proceeds to fall to her side and starts to moan, which causes Maria to say: "Are you telling me that Charlie is sick?" Jen then gets on her feet as Zeus lets out an acknowledgement bark. This causes Maria to get worried as even though she was supposed to get some time off, she can't leave her friend sick at a time like this.

After managing to convince the doctor to come with her, they take the carriage as she follows Zeus and Jen. Along the way, the doctor says: "Look, I know that you are worried about your friend, but would you mind telling me where we're going?" But Maria doesn't respond as she is focused on following the two. Eventually, Maria notices a three-story mansion as both Zeus and Jen are heading towards it. Is this where Charlie lives? As Maria pulls up to the entrance of the house, Zeus tries to enter through the door, only to get knocked back by Albert as he says: "How many times do I have to repeat myself, you-" But then Albert notices Maria and says: "Oh, so you must be one of Charlie's friends." Maria then says: "Hello, sir. I've heard that Charlie-" But then they heard a huge crash as Albert looked at the source of the noise as they heard: "Ow! Who put those plates here?!" This causes Albert to say: "Hold on, Alex. I'll give you a hand." He then looks at Maria and says: "As you can see, we are quite busy and Charlie decided that he doesn't want to do it. You can find him in the attic." As Zeus tries to enter the house, Albert blocks Zeus's path as he says: "Not through the entrance, we've spent all day trying to get it clean. Use the servant's entrance to the side." As Albert closes the door, Maria is shocked over how he describes Charlie, since she knew that Charlie isn't the lazy type. And she does know that if she was here as a princess, Albert would be singing a different tune about Charlie.

As the four enter the servant's entrance, Zeus and Jen quickly run up to the attic as the doctor follows them. This gives the chance for Maria to look around as she heads upstairs as she hears: "Hey, Alex! I've managed to get our best suits cleaned!" She then heard another voice saying: "Nevermind about that, Max! Just hurry and get to the kitchen!" "Fine." Max's voice says as Maria reaches the second floor. She looks through the hall and notices several doors as she knows that there should be room for Charlie to stay in, since mansions tend to have several bedrooms, especially with a huge place like this. She then looks up to the third floor as she sees the entrance to the attic as she wonders why they would place him up there. "Max. Come here, right now." Albert's voice says as Maria turns and sees Max walking down the hall as he says: "Coming, coming." After Maria sees him leave, she makes her way up the attic. When she enters the attic, she sees how dusty the room has become, but then she notices the doctor with the ill Charlie as both Zeus and Jen watch him with a worried look on their face. Worried about him, Maria says: "Doctor…" The doctor then looks at Maria and says: "He should be okay, he only has a minor illness. He should recover with a good amount of rest." This causes Maria to smile as she says: "Thank you, doctor…" As Zeus and Jen start to get excited about hearing the good news, the doctor says: "You should thank your friends for bringing me to his aid. But I must tend back to the patients." Maria then says: "Of course." Once the doctor leaves the attic and Zeus and Jen left Maria alone with Charlie, Maria looks at Charlie in his state. She then looks at the window and decides to walk towards it so she can close it to prevent the sunlight from hitting his face. Charlie… She then walks towards Charlie and grabs his hand as she sits down and says: "I promise that I won't let you go until I know you're better."

As Charlie rests in his beds, he visions himself in the castle as he sees the other guest members enjoying their time at the ball. While Charlie is hoping that he can enjoy the ball, he hears a voice saying: "Would you like to dance with me?" Curious, Charlie looks over and sees none other than Princess Maria as he is quite surprised that she would ask him to dance with her. He starts to blush as he gladly accepts her offer to dance with her. But just as the two are starting to dance, his fantasy disappears as he slowly opens his eyes. And as he does so, he sees Maria smiling as she looks at him. This causes Charlie to say: "Maria…" He then notices that  she's holding on to his hand as he lets her hand go as Maria asks: "Are you feeling better, Charlie?" Charlie then nodded as he said: "Yeah. I even had a pleasant dream." This causes Maria to get curious as she says: "Oh? And what dream did you have?" This causes Charlie to blush as he says: "H-Hold on. I-I can't go into details." This causes Maria to giggle as Charlie then says: "A-Anyway… Why are you here?" Maria then says: "I heard from your friends that you've gotten sick, so I brought over a doctor to come help you. And all you need right now is some rest."

Meanwhile, in the kitchen. The three are currently searching around the kitchen for a pot so they can make some stew. Though given how the three have never used a kitchen, it makes things harder for them. As Alex asks: "Do we even have a pot to begin with, father?" Albert says: "Of course we do, keep looking. And as Max says: "But if we were to cook the dinner, who's going to set the table?" And Albert says: "We'll worry about that later. Right now, we need to cook." Alex then says: "Father, do we even have the tools for the job?" And Albert says: "Of course we do. Though I don't know where Charlie hid them. At this rate, we are so far behind that we may have no choice but to… Delay the invitation…" This shocks both Alex and Max as Alex says: "Father, no…" Max then says: "Surely you don't mean it." But then Albert proceeds to say: "Unless…" He then remembers meeting Maria from earlier as she is meeting with Charlie right now, which gives him an idea as he says: "Yes, of course. I know how we can change the tide to our favour."

With orders from Albert, Alex and Max had managed to bring Maria over to the living room and had her put on a maid outfit, much to her confusion. Albert then enters the room with a duster, broom and bucket in his hand as he explains: "I can imagine that you are confused. But as you can see, we are in desperate need of some help. And since you and Charlie are friends, we were hoping that you can finish off the rest of his chores." He then passes the cleaning supplies to Maria as he then explains: "We have a very important guest coming over and we want to make this place perfect. So I need you to get this place spotless for when our guest arrives." He then leaves the room as the very confused Maria looks at the stuff she has in his hand as she doesn't really have that much cleaning experience. But then she recalls how her maid would clean the castle as she puts the bucket down and flicks her duster a couple of times. She then proceeds to sweep the floor and use the duster on the fireplace as she is relatively having an easier time than she thought.

But then she hears a voice saying: "It's a good thing you had that idea, father. Now we can focus on much more important things." As Maria wonders what they are talking about, she hears someone saying: "Nice job. You've managed to make it dustless." She then turns around and sees Max in the living room as he observes the fireplace she had dusted. Feeling happy about her decent attempt, Maria bows as she says: "Just doing my job for a friend." But then Max says: "Speaking of which, do you have any plans on marrying Charlie?" This causes her face to turn red as she nervously says: "H-Huh?! U-Um... " But Max then says: "Don't worry about it. If you do marry Charlie, I'll make sure that both of you can work at the castle." As Maria starts to get confused, Max then says: "Though. For that to happen, I have to make sure that I marry the princess." This causes Maria to say: "Are you engaged with the princess?" But Max simply goes up to her and hugs her with his elbow and says: "Not yet. But if you keep up the good work, there's a chance that it will happen. And besides, I can be a great prince, right?" This causes Maria to say: "O-Of course..." Max then lets Maria go as he then says: "Good. Now I must head off, but keep up with the good work." Max then starts to laugh as he leaves the room as Maria knows one thing for sure, the chance of her marrying Max and then pretending to be her maid is a flat out zero.

At the attic, Charlie is still resting in his bed as he starts to worry about Maria. But then he hears Albert's voice saying: "Now that you are done with the room, I need you here for some firewood." Curious about what he's talking about, Charlie gets out of his bed as he slowly makes his way to the window. Upon looking through the window, he saw Albert and Maria in a maid's outfit as Albert then says: "So I want you to chop down some wood for us. You'll use them for cooking." As Albert passes Maria the hatchet, Charlie says: "Oh boy… It looks like father is putting Maria in some chores… And from the looks of it… He's making her chop some wood…" Charlie then hears Albert saying: "Now I must get back to my duties, so hurry up and chop some wood. Our guest is arriving soon." As Albert leaves Maria to her task, Maria looks at the hatchet she has as she has no idea what to do.

Maria then notices the small woodpile and a tree stump nearby as she thinks that she should chop some wood.  She then placed one of the small wood on the stump and got her hatchet ready. But when she raises her hatchet, she ends up falling backward and she lands on her behind as the hatchet falls behind her. As she gets up and rubs her sore behind, she grabs the hatchet and faces the stump with a small wood on it as she tries again. She then tries to swing the hatchet down, but she ends up stumbling and misses the wood. She tries to do it again as she keeps missing the wood. But once she managed to get her stance, she swung the hatchet again. This causes the hatchet to cut through most of the wood as it gets stuck. She then lifts the hatchet as she sees the wood and starts to smile as she figures out what she was supposed to do. She then swings the hatchet down to break the wood apart as it splits in two. She then grabs another wood, before proceeding to split the wood in two. She does it again a couple more times as she says: "So it's all about the position of my legs. Now I understand." Though… Now that I think about it… Does Charlie have to do all of this alone? Does he always have to do these chores, while the three do nothing to help him? "Hey, you!" Alex says as it breaks Maria's thought process, which causes her to look at Alex and says: "Stop standing around, we need you at the kitchen. Now."

In the kitchen. Maria is forced to put on an apron as she says: "Um… I should let you know that I don't really know how to cook…" But Alex cuts him off as he says: "It's not that hard. Charlie does it all the time. We want you to go and make some bread and stew for us and our guest." "Alex! Get over here, our important guest is about to arrive!" Albert says as Alex yells out: "Coming!" Alex then looks at Maria and says: "Anyway. It's important that you make us a good meal for our guests. Understand." Alex then gets close to Maria and says: "And who knows… If you manage to do a good job and I end up marrying the princess, I can make you our chef. Consider it a motivation for you to do your best." And while Maria says: "Right… Motivation…" They then heard Albert's voice saying: "Alex!" This causes Alex to turn around and says: "Coming!" And as he leaves the kitchen, Maria looks around the kitchen as she has no idea on what to do. Little does she realize is that Zeus and Jen are watching her from the outside as both agree that she is going to need Charlie's help.

At the front entrance. Albert and his two sons were waiting when they spotted a carriage coming to them. Once the carriage stops in front of their house, Duchess Emily steps out of the carriage as she meets the three. While she knows that they will try and manipulate her into trying to get the two brothers to marry the princess, she'll at least let them entertain her for the day. And if she believes that they managed to entertain her, then she'll use them for her future schemes. Albert then bows his head as he says: "Welcome, Duchess Emily. It would be a great honour to welcome you to our house." And as the two brothers nodded, Alex said: "We do hope that we can serve you, Duchess." This causes Emily to smile as she likes their little introduction. Meanwhile, in the attic. Charlie is resting in his bed when he hears Zeus and Jen entering the room. When Charlie looks over, he sees that Zeus is holding on to a wooden spoon from the kitchen as Zeus grabs it from the kitchen without Maria knowing it as Charlie says: "What is it? Are they going to make her cook dinner?" Zeus and Jen nodded as Charlie realized that she could need his help. So he reaches into the drawer and grabs the book from inside the shelf and passes it to Jen as he says: "Here… Bring this to her… It should help her with the knowledge on how to cook..." Jen nodded as she grabs the book with her mouth from Charlie as the two make their way to the kitchen.

In the lobby. As Alex and Max are preparing some tea for Duchess Emily, Albert is showing some paintings that he has in the lobby to Duchess Emily. Emily then notices a particular painting as she says: "Oh my. I've never seen a painting like that before. Do you know who made this?" Albert then notices the painting that Emily saw as he says: "Oh, that painting? That one was actually bought by my wife during one of her important exhibitions. It was from the artist that was called Misery." Emily then says: "Misery… Yes. I've heard tales about this Misery. It makes me wonder if the artist is still alive from all of this. Though I must ask, does your wife own a collection of art like this?" Albert then explains: "Of course, Duchess. She bought them and from the times she voyages out of the region. You will be quite amazed by the stuff that she can get her hands on." Emily then asks: "And do you have any idea on where she could be?" And Albert then explains: "No. I do not know her current whereabouts. It would be a miracle if I received a letter from her since her exhibitions are important to her."

In the kitchen. Maria still has no idea how to work in the kitchen, when she hears Zeus's bark. She then turns around as she sees both Jen and Zeus, but then she notices the book in Jen's mouth as she says: "Huh? What do you have here?" She then grabs the book from Jen and opens it. Inside the book are actually recipes that Charlie wrote down when he was in the kitchen, as well as details about the stuff he cooked. Realizing that this could help her, Maria says: "Put some flour, add a scoop of butter, knead and shape. These instructions are very helpful. Thanks, guys." And as Zeus lets out an acknowledge bark, Maria proceeds to grab a bag of flour and pour it onto a counter. Once she's got a good pile, she adds a scoop of butter onto the flour pile as she looks into the book for further instructions. Once she's done, she proceeds to mix the two together as it forms a dough. She then proceeds to knead the dough into some bread doughs and put them on a bread peel pan. With the bread dough set, she proceeded to carry the peel pan to the stone oven and slid the bread dough in. With the bread dough baking in the oven, Maria proceeds to say: "Okay. With the bread taken care of, that leaves the stew…"

As Albert, Alex, Max and Duchess Emily enjoy their tea in the living room, Maria is busy looking through the book as she says: "Okay… Let's see what we got for stew…" She then finds the page for how to make stew… Only to get stump by the directions, since she doesn't know the cooking terminologies that the page describes. She then closes the book as she says: "Man… It's quite confusing… I better get to it…" Maria then goes over to the section and starts to wash the vegetables from the basket as Zeus remembers the first time Charlie tries to cook for the family, except that Maria doesn't have Taillows to help her out. Jen then looks at Zeus as he explains to her about the situation and that they should help her. Jen agrees as she grabs the knife from the counter as Zeus grabs the cutter. But before they could put it on the counter for Maria, she grabs the vegetables and carries them over to the boiling pot as she says: "Okay. In you go." As Maria sees the vegetables floating in the waters, with Jen and Zeus getting worried, Maria then grabs a Tomato as she says: "Maybe I should give it some colour." She then notices the knife that Jen has as she says: "Oh, thanks, Jen." Before Jen could move, Maria grabs the knife from her as she goes over to the pot and starts cutting slices of tomato into the pot. The slices of the tomato have caused the water to turn red as Maria says: "I believe that I did it right." As Jen and Zeus know that things are not going well, they hop on the counter to see if they can find anything to salvage it. But that causes Maria to turn around and notices two as she says: "Huh?" But then she notices the salt and pepper shakers and grabs then as she says: "Oh! Thanks for reminding me, guys." She then looks back at the "stew" and starts shaking the salt and pepper a couple of times as she says: "I can't forget about the seasoning." But after doing it, she looks at it before proceeding to shake it a couple of more times as she says: "Um… Maybe a couple more…" But then she continues to shake again as she then says: "Maybe a few more." As Zeus and Jen fear that it would be over season, the shakers that Maria has had caused the lids to pop open and pour both batches of salt and pepper into the "stew". This causes Maria to get surprised, before proceeding to say: "Well… At least it won't be bland…"

"Hey. It's the supper ready?" Alex says from the dining room as Max joins him as he then says: "Yeah. Our guest is starting to get hungry." Maria then looks over and says: "I believe so." In the dining room. Emily is sitting at the table as she says: "Oh. You even made dinner for me?" Albert then says: "Of course, Duchess Emily. We wanted you to enjoy your time at our place." He then looks at the kitchen as he then says: "Alex. Max. We're ready when you are." This causes Alex and Max to enter the dining room as they both say: "Coming father." And as Alex brings in a bread basket and Max carries two dome covers with the "stew" in it, Maria enters the room with the other two dome covers. But Maria took one quick look at Emily to immediately stop and turn around so she doesn't see her. Emily?! They're having Emily over as a guest?! Why didn't they tell me?! She knew right then and there that if Emily spots her, not only is she going to have a hard time explaining herself to her parents, but it could put their family in danger. And as Alex sets the breadbasket on the table and Max places the dome cover in front of Emily, with Max saying: "Here you are, Madam." And Emily replying: "Thank you, young sir." Maria side steps to the other corner of the room as she places the dome covers in front of Albert and Alex's seat, before proceeding to sidestep back into the kitchen while keeping her face hidden from Emily.

With everything set, Emily takes in the smell of her meal as she says: "I must say that it does smell delicious. And it is also quite flattering that you would go this far and so much trouble, just for me. I'm sure that it will be exquisite." As Albert laughs, Alex says: "You are too kind, Duchess Emily." As Emily laughs, she lifts her dome cover to enjoy her meal… Only for her to look surprised as she sees the "stew". Seeing her expression changed, Albert asks: "Is there something wrong, Duchess Emily?" Emily then looks at Albert as she says: "No, no. I'm just surprised, that's all. This stew is quite unusual, but I'll give it a shot." Emily then proceeds to take a spoon full of the "stew" and eats it. And as the three watch her expression, Alex asks: "So, Duchess. What do you think of our stew?" Emily's expression quickly changed from curious to disgusted as she covers her mouth to prevent it from gagging as she says: "What… Is this…" This causes the three to get confused as they lifted their dome covers… Only to see that the "stew" is a murky mess with chunks of vegetables still in it and the colour disorienting. This causes Alex to say: "What the…?!" This causes Max to quickly say: "D-Don't worry, Duchess. I'm sure that our fresh bread would take the-" But when he lifts the bread cover, he discovers a shocking scene.

In the kitchen. It seems that when Maria was cooking the stew, she had completely forgotten about the bread in the oven. This causes the bread to completely shrank and blackened to the point of inedibility. And as Maria dumps the last bits of the burnt bread onto the plate, Zeus and Jen look at it as Maria says: "Okay, so maybe I left it in there a little longer than needed. But it's still edible, right?" Back in the dining room. An angry Emily says: "If this is some kind of joke, I'm not laughing." Albert quickly says: "No, Duchess. It's not what you think." And as Alex says: "How did this happen?" Max says: "Well I know that we didn't cook it. So it has to-: But then Max quickly covers his mouth as Albert says: "Not another word, Max!" But then Emily gets up from her seat as Albert says: "W-Wait, Duchess Emilly…" But Emily simply says: "I have never been so insulted in all of my life. You, sir, are a terrible host." But Albert tries to say: "Wait. There's been a terrible misunderstanding." Emily leaves the room as she angrily says: "Goodbye!" And as Albert says: "No, wait!" Emily has already left their home. And from the kitchen, Maria, Zeus and Jen have been listening to the whole thing. And even though it wasn't Maria's intention, she's at least glad that Emily won't be using them for her schemes anymore. But once Emily's carriage has left, Albert simply yelled out: "Why did this have to happen today! Why did Charlie get sick on this particular day!"

In the castle. Maria is telling her story to both Skarlet and Nicole as she starts to laugh as she says: "You should've seen her face when she tried that stew." And as Skarlet asks: "And why was Emily over to his place to begin with?" Maria says: "I have no idea, but I am glad that it was Emily that tried my bad cooking and not someone else." But as Skarlet asks: "Oh come on. It can't be that bad." Nicole looks at Skarlet and says: "Then you wouldn't mind letting her cook your meals then?" This causes Skarlet to say: "H-Hey, I'm not going that far." But then Maria says: "Believe me. I have no idea what to do in the kitchen since I have never stepped foot in a kitchen." Nicole then looks at Maria and says: "I'm pretty sure that it can't be a good thing to say to the citizens." Maria then says: "Yeah. But there is something that I did learn." As both Skarlet and Nicole are confused, Maria proceeds to mimick her hatchet chopping chore as she says: "I learned how to chop wood." This causes Nicole to giggle as Skarlet says: "So you're going to be our first carpenter princess?" But Maria then says: "No. That's not it." As Nicole and Skarlet wonder what she means, Maria then says: "What I learned is that I've been too reliant on my staff to pick up the slacks for me while I was having fun. And if the citizens were to see me as a symbol, then I need to show them the good side of me." Maria then walks over to the next room as both Skarlet and Nicole watch her. Maria then kneels near her cold breakfast as she says: "And in order to do that, I must take on some of the duties for the servants and take on the duties that are bestowed on me." As Maria removes the cloth and starts eating her breakfast, Nicole watches as she's happy that she is becoming more responsible in her life as Skarlet says: "Yeah, though I'm not sure eating a cold breakfast is a good idea…"

At the Lestorm's house. Charlie is watching the stars as he is slightly getting better from his illness. And although he has an earful from Albert as he has to suffer from Maria's bad cooking, he is at least grateful to Maria for helping him out when he was ill. Though he does know that Charlie will have to be the one that does the cooking for now on and that Jen and Zeus will have to pull Maria away from the kitchen if he gets sick again. Though little does he know is that on the ground, Cinder is watching Charlie as she says: "I'm glad that you are feeling better, Charlie. Though it is important that you still get your rest, cause there is still a future for you." Cinder then proceeds to cast her spell as it fabricates a blanket for Charlie as it rests on him. Charlie continues to watch the night skies as he wonders how the future holds for someone like him.

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Charlie: A Pokemon Cinderella Story. Chapter 16

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