Charlie: A Pokemon Cinderella Story. Chapter 19 by troy168 < Submission

Keywords male 786811, female 668175, pokemon 107068, human 63139, fantasy 15171, lucario 7011, gardevoir 2187, mightyena 731, delphox 682, greninja 672, persian 381, liepard 251, pangoro 221, zebstrika 157, gothitelle 98, fairy tale 95

To Exquinish an Arsonist

At the Lestorm's house. Ruby is relaxing on the stairs to the back entrance as she basked in the sun. But her relaxation is constantly being interrupted by Zeus and Jen nearby as when Ruby looks over, she sees the two of them chasing each other around. It was bad enough that Jen was spending more time with that mutt and a fraud who believes that he's a nobleman, but now is ignoring her true master of the house. But that doesn't concern her as she closes her eyes so she can rest. What she doesn't expect is that when Zeus starts to chase Jen, Jen reaches up the stairs and jumps over Ruby, which causes Zeus to end up crashing into Ruby. And even though Zeus sees Ruby getting up from the crash and tries to say sorry, Ruby was having none of it as she turns and faces Zeus. And within a quick second, Zeus ends up being chased by Ruby as Jen tries to go after Ruby to calm her down. But as Zeus continues to get chased by Ruby, Albert exits the back entrance as he calls out: "Ruby! Ruby! Come here, girl! We're going out!" This causes Ruby to stop and head over to Albert, which gives Zeus a break. As Ruby heads to Albert's side, the two head back inside the house. But not before Ruby looks at Zeus and sticks out her tongue. As the two head insides, Zeus and Jen know that Ruby has poor sportsmanship.

In the town. Albert and Ruby are doing their shopping at a fancy hat tailor as he says: "Hm… What to get for Alex and Max…" Even though Albert has bought Alex and Max plenty of new clothing, Albert always wants to make sure that his sons remain at top of their game as he believes that either one of the two of his sons will be destined to marry Princess Maria. And as he browses the store with Ruby, Albert hears one of the customers saying: "So what do you think? This hat does the trick?" Then another customer says: "I doubt it. It's the type that would get you mugged." And as the first customer says: "Really? I figure this hat would fetch me a royal meeting?" The other customer then says: "If it is with Princess Maria, then you better give it up. After all, it looks like Princess Maria is never going to marry anyone." This catches Albert's attention as he looks over to the two customers as one of them says: "And why would you say that?" And the other customer says: "There's been a rumour going around that she went to the flower festival, just to look at the bachelor of the pageant. And she didn't fall for a single one." This causes the first customer to say: "Really? Is it because she's too beautiful?" And the other customer says: "Who knows." Albert knows these customers are the type of people that would spread rumours, regardless if it's true or not. And it's the type of people that Albert can take advantage of as he heads over there, leaving Ruby to be confused.

As the two customers continue to browse for hats, Albert joins in on the two as he grabs the hat that's obviously too small for him as he says: "Excuse me." As the customers move over, Albert heads to the mirror as he tries the hat on as he says: "Do you believe that this hat would be suitable for a visit to the castle?" And as Albert expects, the two customers wonder what he is doing as Albert then explains: "I should explain that it's not for me, but for my two sons. They are in desperate need of some new hats." This causes one of the customers to say: "You mean your sons got invited to the castle?" And Albert says: "Yes, by the King himself." This causes the two customers to look at each other before the other customer proceeds to say: "Well it must be quite special for your sons to get hired as servers for the castle." While this comment got Albert mad, he calmed himself quickly as he then said: "No, no. It's nothing like that." Albert then proceeds to begin his plan by going in between the two customers and whispers: "Now… I'm not supposed to say this, but I can trust that you two can keep it a secret. You see, both of my sons have been accepted as top candidates for the royal fiance." This shocks the two as Albert goes and switches the small hat with another as the two customers say: "You mean your two sons could be the next king?!" Albert then laughs as he says: "Of course. I'm surprised that you didn't hear about it." But then the two customers started to laugh as one of them said: "Do you honestly believe that rumour is true?!" And the other customer says: "Yeah! Anyone can claim that they're right for Princess Maria's Fiance, yet none of them came true!" However, Albert keeps his cool as he says: "While I don't know about the other candidates, I know for sure that the two have a very good chance of marrying the princess since they have a strong relationship with Duchess Emily and Madam Nicole." This shocks the two as they say: "Madam Nicole and Duchess Emily?!" Albert then says: "Now if you excuse me, I must finish with my shopping." As Albert heads off, the two customers start talking to each other. Which was expected for Albert.

Some time has passed in the Lestorm's house as Charlie is doing his chores when he hears the front doors knocking. This causes Charlie to stop with his usual chores as he heads to the front door while saying: "Coming." But as he gets close to the front door, he can hear chatter from the other side of the door, which confuses him. But when he opens the door, he is overwhelmed by merchants, traders, tailors and designers as they enter the house and blabber on about stuff Charlie doesn't understand. This causes Charlie to say: "H-Hold on for a moment." Charlie then heads into the living room where his family is as Charlie says: "Father. There's a lot of merchants, traders and designers at the door." This causes Alex to say: "Oh? They must have heard the rumour about me and the princess." Albert then says: "My… I'm surprised at how the truth can get distorted. Shall I go and tell them the truth?" And Max says: "Don't worry, Father. They're only believing that we would get married. Who are we to crush their dreams." And Alex says: "Max is right. We just got to get used to the fact that everyone would be chasing after me." Albert then says: "If that is what you wish, then who am I to go against it. Send them in, Charlie. We're ready." Even Charlie realizes what's going on, he can't help but say: "Yes… Father…"

Elsewhere. The rumour of either Alex and Max marrying the princess has even reached the castle as the servants and workers are considering the rumour to be true. This doesn't bode well for Emily as she sits in her study room with Maximillian and Lucard as she says: "Now, this stupid rumour has reached the castle. Everyone is talking about it non-stop." Maximilian then says: "Yes and if we don't stop this, then there's a chance that the King would consider Alex and Max Lestorm as serious candidates." This causes Emily to get angry as she says: "You idiot! Don't you think I already know that! What I want to know is who was it that spread the rumour in the first place?!" And Maximillian then says: "Well… I don't know the exact source… But I did learn that Duke Albert claims that his sons have an excellent relationship with you and Madam Nicole. He was on his way to buy his sons hat for their visit to the castle." This causes Emily to say: "What?! Albert has gone too far!" This causes Lucard to say: "Not to worry, Duchess. I have already set up a plan that involves a rather… Infamous man to teach Albert a lesson he will soon remember." Knowing what Lucard is talking about, Emily smiles as she says: "Good. Then all I need you to do is to make sure this plan goes through, Lucard." Lucard bows his head as he says: "Of course."

As the night skies shine over the Lestorm's house, Albert is looking over the gifts and suits that were given by the group of merchants and tailors from earlier as Charlie enters the room. Albert then says: "Good timing. I want you to make a list of all the things that we'll need for a wedding." As Albert hands Charlie a small notebook and pen, Charlie asks: "Um… If I must say, do you think that it's a little risky?" As Albert looks at Charlie, Charlie then says: "I mean, you haven't even announced the engagement yet. It's only a rumour." Albert then smirks as he says: "While it is a rumour at first when you play your cards right, that rumour can transform into reality. Though perhaps your "concern" is only an excuse to get out of your chores since you are jealous of your brothers." And as Charlie quickly says: "No! That's not true! I just though-" But Albert cuts him off as he says: "Well don't, Charlie. For now on, you will do as I say. And I won't have you ruin this big moment, do you understand me? This kingdom will have their eyes set on us and I expect that you will not embarrass us." And as Albert leaves the room, Charlie remains in the room as he worries that things will backfire for Albert and his brothers.

In Alex's room. Alex is reading his book on the bed when he hears a knock on the door. As Alex looks at the door, he hears Max saying: "Hey Alex, mind if I enter?" And Alex replied: "Sure, why not." Max then enters the room as he says: "You know… After trying out the suits Father got for us, I'm actually convinced that I would get to marry the princess. It's so exciting that I couldn't get some sleep." But Alex just laughs as he focuses on his book as he says: "Then I suggest you head back to sleep. At least there, you can dream whenever you want. Because once you wake up, you'll only be seen as the Prince's younger brother." Max then says: "Easy for you to say. But let's not go through with this argument again. I've actually had a reason for coming here." Alex then says: "Oh? And that is?" Max then says: "I want you to teach me how to tell scary stories." While this confuses Alex, Max says: "Come on. You're always good when it comes with stories, I'm sure you can give me a few pointers." Alex then closes his book as he says: "Fine. But I'm only going to tell you one story."

With the lights dim, the two brothers sit on the bed as Max says: "Oh man… I can't wait…" Alex then begins his story by saying: "There's a legend around that there was a young maiden who has magic on her side. But then a terrible illness has taken the young maiden. And the mansion that she lives in has started to rot and decay… And they thought that nobody would touch the rotting mansion until a necromancer enters the mansion." Max then says: "Man… It's getting creepy…" But then a sudden crashing noise can be heard, which shocks the two brothers as Max says: "Alex… Is this part of your story…?" And Alex says: "W-Why would I do something like that…" And as the crashing sounds continue, Max says: "M-Maybe… Jen and Ruby are fighting over a Magikarp again…" And Alex replied: "N-No way… These noises are more frequent than that…" As the two brothers are getting terrified, the crashing noises continue. In the attic. Charlie is going through the list as he says: "Man… I don't even know where to start… As if I have ever been to a big wedding before..." But then the crashing sounds have caught Charlie's attention as he wonders what's going on.

The noises that were going on had woken Albert as he left his room and shouted: "What's going on here?!" As he heads to the halls to discover the source of the noises, he quickly realizes what's going on. And that his house is getting raided by bandits. But what catches his attention, much to his horror, is a lone man standing next to a lone small bowl of oil. Just as Charlie heads to the hall with the brothers following behind him, Albert spouts out: "Charcoal Flaze…" The man that was called Charcoal proceeds to say: "Albert the Pride. A fool who managed to convince the town of your lies." And Albert says: "What are you talking about?! Who are these cowards?!" And Charcoal replied: "Coward? They're no coward. They're the results of your lies, Albert the Pride. But fortunately for you… Fate has granted you a chance..." As the family is confused, Charcoal proceeds to light a match from his pocket as he then says: "Leave the kingdom behind, Albert the Pride. For if you failed to listen…" Charcoal then proceeds to toss the match into the bowl, which causes the oil to flair up high as he then says: "Then the flames will consume all of you…" Charcoal then turns around as he says: "Our time is done. Let us go." The bandits agree as they leave the house. And as they bolted in their Zebstrikas, Zeus started barking at them, even though he knew it had little effect.

As the sun rises. Charlie is forced to clean the mess the bandits made as Albert says: "I can't believe those cowards would dare trash the home of our future king." And as Alex says: "Are we going to move out like he said, Father?" Max says: "And who was that Charcoal Flaze guy?" Albert comforts them as he says: "He's just some coward who thinks he can intimidate us. And we won't leave this house behind." Charlie then says: "At least we're lucky that nobody was hurt." But this causes Albert to say: "Luckey?! Charlie, this mess is your fault! Had you simply informed me of the danger and not babble on with some nonsense, I would have hired some guards!" And although Charlie was shocked, he resumes with his cleaning as Albert then says: "I refused to let anyone push me around. I'll have to move Cesar to go guard the house. In the meantime, I want the two of you to remain home for your safety. Who knows what sorts of danger we could be facing." And as the two say: "Yes Father." Albert then says: "And as for you Charlie." As Charlie looks at Albert and says: "Yes?" Albert then proceeds to say: "You will join Cesar on guard duty at night, instead of sleeping." This causes Charlie to say: "You want me to stay up for the whole night?" Albert then says: "Of course. It is your punishment for your ignorance. I don't want anything to happen to my sons." This causes Charlie to say: "Yes…" Albert then says: "I will make sure that nobody will take your dreams, my sons."

At the old building. After Charcoal informs Emily, Lucard and Razor of what happened, Emily starts to laugh as she says: "Good. I wish I was there to see his face. And if Albert knows your reputation, he would be already packing his bags to leave this kingdom." But then Lucard proceeds to say: "I'm afraid that it didn't happen, Duchess. My scouts have informed me that the Duke has brought the caretaker to guard his home." This doesn't please Emily as she says: "What?!" Lucard then says: "That's not all. Albert has even gone as far as to spread rumours about a bunch of burglars breaking into his house, but he managed to chase them away." As Emily says: "Naive fool…" Razor starts to crack his fists as he says: "I guess we have to do the dirty work then…" Charcoal then says: "I am not surprised… Albert the Pride refused to admit his failures and shift his blame to someone else. Well, now his fate is sealed."

In the town. Charlie left the locksmith with a brand new set of locks for the door and proceeded to head home. But as he heads home, he hears the voice saying: "Hey, Charlie!" He turns around and sees Maria heading towards him as Charlie says: "Oh, hello Maria." As Maria says: "So, do you have time to hang out?" Charlie says: "Wish I could, but I'm glad that you came. I need to tell you something important." Charlie then grabs Maria and drags her as Maria says: "Huh? What are you…" At the park, Charlie explains to Maria about the situation that he's in. Including details such as Albert spreading the rumour and the bandits breaking into the house, though he does leave out the detail about Charcoal Flaze. After hearing all of that, Maria says: "Oh. So that bag is full of new locks." Charlie then says: "Yeah. Father wants to make sure that the house is secured." This causes Maria to say: "I see… And those bandits must have put a scare in your family." Charlie nodded as he said: "Of course… But the reason why I came to you is that I want you to teach me how to fight with a sword." This surprises Maria as she says: "Eh?! You want me to teach you how to fight?!" Charlie then says: "Of course. Would you mind teaching me how?" Even though Maria doesn't want to put Charlie in danger, she knew that if the bandits were to strike again, Charlie would be in danger. So in the end, she says: "Of course, if you insist."

After Maria grabs a couple of sticks and passes one to Charlie, the two take their stance as Maria says: "Okay, Charlie. See if you can hit me with the stick." Even though Charlie has no idea how to approach, he nods as he proceeds to strike. But Maria dodges his predictable attack, which confuses Charlie. Maria then decides to mess with him as she continues to dodge Charlie's predictable attacks. After Maria dodges Charlie's latest attack, Maria taunts by saying: "What's wrong? Tired already?" This causes Charlie to say: "Not in your life." But as Charlie is about to strike, he ends up being disarmed by Maria in a quick second. While this shocks him as he says: "Man… How did you do that…", Maria proceeds to say: "Well your attacks are pretty obvious. Even a Ralts could figure out your attack." But Charlie replied: "But I need to improve my skill if I were to defend my home." Maria then says: "Oh? And do you think that you can do this yourself?" Charlie then says: "Well it's not just me. I also have Zeus, Jen and Cesar to help me out." But Maria replied: "Sure. But you can't exactly defend your home when you lose your sword." This causes Charlie to get mad as he says: "Oh yeah…" Charlie then grabs Maria's stick as he then says: "Let see how you like it when you don't have this!" Charlie then proceeds to strike at Maria, though Maria continues to dodge his attack as Charlie says: "It doesn't matter how many bandits that I face, I will defend my home, no matter what!" But Maria continues to dodge his attack as she says: "Yeah, you sure will give them a scare." Getting fed up, Charlie stops his attack as he says: "Forget it. It's obvious that you're not taking this seriously." Charlie then tosses the stick down as he says: "I'll face them myself. Even if I have to face this Charcoal Flaze guy." As Charlie leaves, Maria says: "Charcoal Flaze?" Hearing that has frightened her as she knew the history of him since he is a dangerous arsonist and a deadly sword fighter that has taken many lives. And if Charlie is going through with this, Charcoal could claim another life. This causes Maria to run up to Charlie and says: "Hold up, Charlie! Let me teach you for real. Honest."

After Maria manages to properly teach Charlie how to use the sword, the two make their way back home as Maria tells Albert about how she can help the family with guard duty. But Albert simply says: "Sorry, but we don't have time for you. We are already busy as it is and I don't have time to deal with you." And as Maria says: "I-I see…" Alex looks at Albert and whispers: "Hold on, Father. We're pretty much short on guards and it wouldn't hurt to have extra help." And Max then whispers: "Yeah. I know she's not the brightest. But she is young and strong." And as Albert thinks to himself, Maria wonders what Albert is thinking. As the night skies shine, Cesar guards the back while Zeus and Jen guard the side entrance. While Maria stands guard near the front entrance with her Rapier ready as she scans for any signs of the bandits. She then hears the door opening as Maria sees Charlie as he says: "Ready to switch posts?" "Charle?" Maria says as she notices the outfit Charlie is wearing as he steps out. Charlie is wearing a musketeer outfit as she says: "Wow. You look like a real musketeer." And Charlie replied: "Well your lessons did help me feel like I'm a real musketeer." And Maria replied: "Yeah. And I'm surprised that you're a fast learner. But I think it's too early to switch." And as Charlie says: "Are you sure? You've been standing here for an hour." Maria replied: "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." Charlie then says: "In that case, let me make you some hot tea." And Maria replied: "That would be lovely." And as Charlie heads inside to make some tea, Maria resumes her guarding position. Unbeknownst to her though, is that someone is staring at her from the distance.

On the next day in the castle. Maria is fast asleep on her chair, after dealing with the night patrol at the Lestorm's house. As Maria sleeps, both Skarlet and Nicole are watching her as Nicole says: "Did you really stay up all night standing guard?" And Maria sleepily says: "Yep…" Skarlet then says: "Well while you were standing guard, we were practically worried about you. I almost sent out a search party just to find you." And Maria replied: "You shouldn't… Worry about it…" Skarlet then says: "Easy for you to say. You wouldn't believe the stories we have to make, just to cover for you." And Nicole then says: "At least you manage to scare those bandits away." But Maria then sleepily says: "They didn't show… They might strike tonight… Have to be there…" But Skarlet says: "But you can't go! Don't you remember what today is?! Your parents are throwing a huge party and they're expecting you to be there!" Nicole then says: "Skarlet is right. If you are worried about them, we can send some guards over." But Maria then says: "Can't… Only fuel rumour… Make things worse…" As Nicole remembers the rumour and realizes that it would make things worse, Skarlet says: "I'm sorry, but you can't bailout. I'll make sure that you can't leave." But as things remain silent, Skarlet asks: "Are you listening, Maria?" But Skarlet discovers that Maria is still sleeping as Skarlet lets out a frustrated sigh as Nicole says: "This is going to be a long day…"

As the night skies shine over the Lestorm's house. Charlie is standing guard when Cesar exits the house, wearing a knight's armour. This causes Charlie to laugh as he says: "What are you wearing, Cesar?" Cesar then looks at Charlie as he says: "You may laugh. But I believe that this armour is intimidating. After all, this armour has been through a lot of battles." Cesar then heads downstairs as he goes around to the back, while Charlie sits on the ground with his short sword read as he says: "Okay then. I'll guard the front entrance if you need me, Cesar." But as Charlie is on guard, Zeus and Jen are wondering where Maria is, since she promises she'll be back. Charlie can feel their worry as Charlie says: "You guys. I'm sure Maria is on her way right now. She maybe got caught up with something important. After all, she is a great friend to me. In the meantime, I'll stand guard until she's arrived." Even though Zeus and Jen are worried about Charlie, they trust him as they head to the side entrance of the house.

Upstairs, Max is watching Charlie guarding the door in Alex's room as he not only can't sleep from the last attack but also a fear of when they will strike again. Alex was sleeping when he saw Max as he says: "What are you doing in my room, Max…" Max then says: "I'm watching Charlie through the window. Do you think that he's going to be okay?" Alex then says: "He'll be fine. Besides, he's not as smart as us, so he's not that sensitive to danger. Now hurry and go back to sleep or Father will scold us." Max then looks at Charlie again as he says: "Right…" Back outside. Charlie is scanning the area to the best of his abilities when his eyes start to get sleepy. With the fact that he hasn't been able to sleep for the past few days, it causes him to feel sluggish. As Charlie is about to succumb to his sleep, he hears the front door opening, which puts him on alert. He then hears a voice saying: "Are you okay, Charlie?" He looks over and sees Max as he says: "Max?" Max then passes a tray with a cup of hot tea as he says: "Here. I figure you'll need this."Touched by Max's concern, Charlie grabs the cup as he says: "Thank you…" Max then says: "Just stay safe." Max then closes the door as Charlie is amazed that Max is concerned for him. Elsewhere, Zeus is hungry as the two know that they can't abandon their post or risk giving the bandits a way inside. Just as they wonder what to do, a loaf of bread hits Zeus in the head. While the two are confused as they look up and see who it was and find nothing, Jen believes who it was that dropped Zeus some food for them.

At the castle. A party is underway as many of the invited guests are enjoying themselves with the King and Queen. Among them are Maria and Skarlet as the two hang around by the wall. Though her mind is focused on trying to hurry back to Charlie so she can stand guard. But with Skarlet standing next to her, it makes things difficult for her. And as Maria says: "You know, Skarlet. You don't have to stand so close to me, I'm not a lost little Ralts." But Skarlet says: "Nice try, Maria. But I know you very well. The moment I have my back turned, you'll bolt out of this castle in a matter of seconds. Well, I'm not falling for it." This causes Maria to sigh as she says: "Sheesh… You made me look like I'm the most untrustworthy princess in the kingdom…" And as Maria takes a sip of her drink, she tries to figure out how to leave the place and fast.

Back at the house. Charlie continues with his guard post when from the distance, a set of eyes is staring at Charlie. Those sets of eyes belong to Charcoal Flaze. Charcoal was spying on the place for a few days as he waited for the perfect time to strike. And when he spotted Charlie succumbing to his sleep, he knew it's time to strike as he heads over down to his makeshift hay as he says: "Now… It's time for the flames to consume this mansion." He then grabs the branch and lights it with a match, before proceeding to toss it into the haystack. This causes the haystack to lit up in flames, which signals Razor and his bandits to strike. After a few moments, Razor and his bandits are charging towards the house while on their Zebstrikas. As they charge towards the house, Charcoal looks at the house and starts walking towards it as he says: "Albert the Pride… Tonight… The flames will consume you…"

As Charlie continues to guard the house, the sounds of clopping have caught his attention as he says: "What the…" And within a split-second… The bandits burst through the bushes as Charlie lets out a scream, which causes the whole house to be on alert. As Charlie tries to get into position, one of the bandits jumps out of the Zebstrika and tackles him to the ground as Razor and the other bandits get off their Zebstrikas and charge towards the front door. This causes the front doors to burst open as they charge in. Charlie tries to struggle from the one bandit that tackled him to the ground. But Charlie manages to get the upper hand as he got his legs on the bandit's body and pushed him away. Charlie then got his sword ready as the bandit decided to go around the building. Even though Charlie wanted to chase after him, he knew that the others are in danger as he headed inside.

Inside. Max bolted into Alex's room as Max says: "Alex! They're inside! Those bandits are inside!" As Alex gets up from his bed out of fear, his bedroom door breaks open as the two are backed up to the wall. One of the bandits then enters the room with a small dagger in his hand as he says: "Ah. Just the two that I'm looking for." As the bandit approaches the two, Alex spots the pillow and decides to grab it and toss it at the bandit. And although the bandit manages to chop the pillow with ease, the feathers scatter around him as he gets blind from the feathers. This allows Max and Alex to go past Razor with ease as the bandit gets distracted. Alex then proceeds to grab the chair and hits the bandit in the back of the head, which causes the bandit to fall onto the floor. This causes Alex to say: "Ha! You're not so tough now, are you!" Max, on the other hand, is running down the hall to try and get away when he hears footsteps heading towards him. He decides to stop at the corner of the hall and wait till he passes. And once the bandit passes, Max proceeds to trip the bandit. And as the bandit tumbles, Max shoves the bandit towards the wall, which knocks him out. This causes Max to boast as he says: "You sure are clumsy for a crook!"

In the dining room. Charlie searches for the bandits when he hears some noises inside. But as he searches, two bandits enter the room with daggers in their hands as they spot Charlie. And just as Charlie spots the two bandits, the two proceed to charge at Charlie with their daggers at hand. But thanks to Maria's training, Charlie is able to dodge the two bandits with ease and gets into position. The two bandits then try to charge at Charlie again, but Charlie is able to disarm the two bandits with a quick slice. As the daggers hit the wall, the two bandits cower in fear as Charlie points his short sword at the two as he says: "Stand down, you two." Even though Charlie has to take care of the other bandits, he is glad to have won his first battle. Outside, the bandit is dealing with Cesar after managing to escape from Charlie as the bandit charges at Cesar. But Cesar proceeds to use the blunt end of the lance to knock the bandit out as the dagger only touches the armour Cesar is wearing. Once Cesar sees the bandit is knocked out, he proceeds to say: "Looks like this armour has survived another battle." As this was going on, Charcoal finally arrives at the house, when he's confronted by Zeus and Jen. Charcoal just smiles as he says: "If you're smart. I advise you to stand down after you receive your pain." Zeus tries to charge at Charcoal, only to get kicked by Charcoal as he lands on the ground. Jen goes to Zeus to comfort him as Charcoal heads to the house.

Back at the castle. Maria takes a break from the party as she heads to her room to pick up something. And as expected, Skarlet is following Maria to make sure that she doesn't bolt on her. But when they arrived at her room, she stopped in the hall, which caused Skarlet to bump into Maria. This causes Skarlet to back up and says: "S-Sorry about that, Maria. I-I didn't see that you stop. I didn't mean to bump into you." And as Maria says: "It's fine. It's fine. You don't need to be a ball and chain for me. I'll just grab something from my room and come back." Maria then proceeds to enter her room as Skarlet says: "Right, right. I'll be here if you need me." Once Maria enters her room, Skarlet stands in the hall as she waits for Maria to return. Five seconds later, Skarlet wonders if she grabbed something from the back of her room. Ten seconds later, Skarlet starts to get suspicious as she stares at the door. Fifteen seconds later, Skarlet decides to burst into her room as she says: "You better not-" But upon entering, she quickly discovers that Maria had managed to escape her by using the window in her room. This causes Skarlet to say: "Maria…"

Back home. Razor and the few remaining bandits manage to circle around Charlie and his family as Charlie has his sword ready. But then they hear someone saying: "It looks like the flames have surrounded you, Albert the Pride." They then realize that the voice is coming from Charcoal as Razor moves to the side as Charcoal walks up to them. Charcoal then says: "I give you a chance to run, yet you forfeited that choice, Albert the Pride." This causes Albert to say: "What is it that you want! If you are after money, name your price and I will pay for it!" But Charcoal proceeds to say: "Your money has no value. All I'm after is your lives." As it scares the family, Razor then says: "You should have left when you have the chance." But then Albert proceeds to say: "I will not leave this kingdom! One of my sons is destined to be the future king of this kingdom." As Alex and Max nodded, Razor says: "No you won't! You two haven't even seen the princess, how can you expect her to marry someone who she doesn't met!" Charcoal then grabs a flask and pours a liquid down his sword, which confuses the family as Charcoal looks at Charlie and says: "You there. I know you're not part of Albert the Pride's corrupted family. If you value your life, I am willing to let you go. But if you choose to stand and fight…" Charcoal then proceeds to the candle that is lit and uses his sword to touch the fire. This causes the fire to burst into flame as he then says: "Then I shall take your life away." Charlie is scared since he hasn't heard of anyone lighting his sword up in flames on purpose. But he knew that if he runs and lets the family suffer, then he will never forgive himself. So he stands ready with his short sword as Charcoal walks back as he says: "I see… Then you have made your choice…" Razor starts to laugh as he raises his long sword and says: "Good… Then I can make this quick!"

Suddenly, a rock hits Razor's hand as he lets the sword go. As Razor feels his hand in pain, he looks behind and says: "Who did that?!" As Charcoal looks behind him, they see Maria at the entrance as she says: "I won't let you harm this family!" Charcoal then says: "So the unexpected ally shows up. Too bad it won't make a difference…" Charcoal then proceeds to strike at Charlie, which he manages to block. And Maria charges the group as Razor says: "Get her!" The bandits then proceed to charge after Maria with their swords, while Razor grabs two torches from the bandits. And as Charlie and Charcoal clash with each other, Maria manages to defeat the remaining bandits as she faces off against Razor. As Charlie and Charcoal continue to clash, Razor says: "You will never beat me. I stake my life on it!" Razor then strikes at Maria with the torch as she barely dodges it. As Maria continues to dodge Razor's torch strikes, Charlie and Charcoal continue to clash as the flames on Charcoal's sword are causing Charlie to get scared. But when he spots Maria struggling to deal with Razor, he realizes that he needs to help her. And with split-decision thinking, Charlie proceeds to block Charcoal's strike and proceeds to push him with his sword, which causes Charcoal to say: "What do you think you're doing?!" But Charlie manages to push Charcoal's flaming sword to the back of Razor as the sword touches the cloth.

This causes the cloth to burst into flames as Razor drops his torches while Maria is surprised by it. In an effort to save his skin, Razor removed the cloth that he was wearing. However, he ends up tossing the burning cloth to Charcoal, who has pushed Charlie away, as the cloth landed on Charcoal. As Maria sees Razor's face, she says: "What the!" Before Razor could say something, Charcoal has burst into flames as he screams in agony, which forces him to drop the flasks that he has on the ground as he flees the home. However, the flasks end up breaking as oil spills out and lands on the floor near the torches. As the flames of the torch touch the oil, it bursts into flames as it separates Charlie and the family from Razor and Maria. Realizing the situation, Razor says: "Come on, boys! Let's get out of here!" The bandits then proceeded to flee with Razor as Charcoal manages to douse the flames from his body and sword. As the others flee, Charcoal stands up and looks at the house as he says: "Listen to this… I've got your face memorized… I will not rest until the flames have consumed the two who dared to face against the flames… Farewell for now… But be prepared for the future to come, for when that happens… I will make my move..." Charcoal then proceeds to leave as Maria recognizes Razor. That Pangoro… He mentions that he worked with Emily…

"Maria!" Charlie said to get her attention as Maria turns around and sees the flames have surrounded Charlie and his family. It was at that point where Maria had no idea how to save them, since trying to find a water source to put out the fire would take too long as the family started to panic. Outside, Zeus manages to recover from the kick, when the two spotted Ruby fleeing the house with her tail on fire. Knowing what to do, Jen hurries to grab the bucket full of water from the well, while Zeus proceeds to tackle Ruby to the ground. And as Ruby struggles to get out, Jen proceeds to bring back the bucket and dump the water on Ruby's tail. While Ruby was whimpering, Zeus gets off of Ruby as Ruby looks at her burnt tail. But before they could get the chance to speak, they are distracted by the screams of the family inside. It was at that point, Cinder was heading there when she spotted the fire as she says: "It looks like they get into trouble a lot, so I better help them out." Cinder then cast her spell, which causes the fire to die out and dry up the oil that was spilled from Charcoal's broken flasks.

As the family sees that the fire is gone, Alex says: "The fire… It's gone." Max then says: "The wind must have taken care of the fire…" As the two sighs in relief, this gives Charlie and Maria some time together as Charlie says: "I'm glad that you made it here in time, Maria." Maria then says: "Yeah..." Maria then proceeds to hug Charlie as she says: "And I'm glad that you're unharmed, Charlie." As Charlie smiles and hugs back, Charlie asks: "And here I am, wondering if they did anything to you." Maria then giggles as she says: "Don't worry… They haven't laid a scratch on me. And I'm sure that they won't be back." The two then continue to hug each other as time passes as they are glad that nobody is hurt. Outside, Zeus and Jen grab some supplies as they tend to the burnt wound on Ruby's tail. But once they are done and Ruby looks at her tail, she takes a quick glance at the two before proceeding to head back inside. While Zeus was wondering what caused her to do that, Jen says that Ruby must be suffering herself as Ruby won't admit that she's glad that she was helped. Nearby, Cinder watches the event that happens as she says: "It's true. Your kind actions have touched your friend's heart. I'm sure that she will help you and repay your kindness." But then Cinder hears a voice saying: "Listen here! You will not stop me from getting my sons to marry the princess!" As Cinder looks at the voice, she discovers Albert on the patio as he then says: "I will only move when Alex or Max marries the princess and becomes a King of Espérer! You hear me!" This causes Cinder to giggle as she says: "Well, I can't blame him for having a dream."

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Inkbunny

Charlie: A Pokemon Cinderella Story. Chapter 19

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