So uhh... this is my third fanfic...
Nothing else to say :D

The Princess and the Mercenary

Chapter 1: The Meeting

It was a normal day in the Petalburg kingdom; the people were busy with their own business, it was a peaceful day, until a mysterious stranger came.

The stranger had black hair, with a red bandanna that covered his forehead; we wore the same armor that knights wear but his upper body is covered by a torn blood-red cape; he also had a fanny pack where he puts his snacks like biscuits or fruits; he wields a great sword that is strapped on his back. The stranger's name is Ash Ketchum, also known as 'The Devil'. Ash is 16 years old, despite the fact that he's a mercenary with a high reputation due to his leading and battling skills; Ash is feared by many and only few are brave enough to engage in battle with him.

*Flashback*

Ash was in a bar where most mercenaries 'hang out'. It was a normal day for some of the mercenaries, they have nothing to do, no jobs no anything, all that they could do is drink 'some' beer and forget about their problems and about what happened in their past. (Note: I only know less about mercenaries, but in this story, let's just say that most of the mercenaries are not really bad guys, they just take jobs for money, for their family, and most of the mercenaries have a terrible past and most of them wanted revenge)
Ash was drinking some beer until someone sat beside him, he handed Ash a letter and said "The king had a job for you…"
"What's the reward?" Ash asked while reading the letter
"Anything" Ash's eyes widened at what the messenger said
"Anything? Well that's funny, looks like the king don't know what Anything really means, and it could mean Everything if I want to…"
The messenger chuckled at Ash's statement "Well, of course the king would have some 'limitations'"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it" Ash rolled his eyes "Tell the king that I accept his request, and that we'll talk about the reward at the castle"
"If that's what you wish," The messenger stood up, preparing to leave "Now if you don't mind, I shall take my leave"
Ash smirked when he read the letter again 'What should be the reward?', Ash thought to himself

*End of Flashback*

As Ash was walking down the streets, he received glares from the townsfolk, he noticed that some of them are whispering something, but he just ignored them. After minutes of walking he finally reached the castle gates of the Petalburg Castle, there were two guards and as he was about to enter the castle gates he was stopped by one of the guards.
"Stop! You are not allowed to come inside." Said the first guard.
"Pardon me, but I have an appointment with the king." Said Ash with a calm voice.
"Prove to us that you have an appointment with the king." Said the second guard.
Ash handed them a letter that the king sent to him; the two guards hesitated at first, they stared at each other for a few seconds and nodded.
They allowed Ash to enter the castle.
"I never thought that the king would be so desperate." The first one said
"Me too" The second one agreed

Ash was walking through the castle's garden but stopped when he saw a beautiful girl trying to pet a kitten, but the kitten was afraid at the girl. Ash went to the girl, crouched beside her and took a biscuit from his fanny pack and placed it on his palm. The kitten walked slowly towards Ash and ate the biscuit and licked his gloves.
"What are you waiting for? Pet him now." Ash commanded
"O-okay" said the girl, she hesitated at first, but she stroked the kitten's fur gently. The kitten was no longer afraid of the girl, and the girl was happy because of this. Ash was about to leave but the girl grabbed his arm
"Wait! I wanted to know your name." the girl said, not letting go of Ash's arm
"You don't need to know, it would just be a waste of time for the both of us." Said Ash coldly, keeping his eye away from the girl
"It's not a waste of time for me, besides; I don't have a lot of friends in here." Said the girl while leaning in front of her to see Ash's face
"Like do I care" said Ash silently to himself but is loud enough for the girl to hear
"You're so mean!" the girl whined
"And so what?" Ash finally broke free from the girl and glared at her
"Hmph!" the girl turned her back on Ash, crossing her arms "How rude of you, not even asking my name"
Ash let out a sigh of defeat "May I have your name, miss…?"
The girl turned to Ash and gave him a smile "My name is May, and I'm the daughter of King Norman"
May was about 15 years old, and was wearing a sapphire-colored dress, the same color of her eyes, blue stockings and blue long gloves (gloves that reaches above the elbow)
"So, you're the princess?" asked Ash with a plain expression on his face. May nodded, smiling at Ash
"It's nice meeting you and all, but I should take my leave" Ash rolled his eyes and was about to leave (again) but the girl grabbed his arm (again).
"Not until you tell your name" said May in a childish tone.

"I already told-"Ash was about to answer but stopped when he heard the King's voice
"May, what are you doing here?" The king said, trying not to raise his voice
"I was just playing in the-"
"Go back in your room, we'll talk later." King Norman commanded
"But father!"
"Now!" The King finally shouted because of her daughter's persistence
"Yes Father" said May while walking slowly towards the castle
"Follow me, let's 'talk' in my throne room" The King commanded
"Yes, Your Highness" Ash followed the king.

A few minutes later

The king was sitting on his throne with the queen and two royal guards at his side, while Ash is standing at the middle of the room.
"So have you decided on what should be your reward?" The king asked
"Yes I have" Ash smirked
"Okay, but before you tell me what you want, I'll repeat my request," The king leaned down on his throne "I want you to be the captain of the royal guards. Every week, our kingdom is being attacked by the Twinleaf Army; the Queen of the Twinleaf Kingdom declared war against us, and I'm sure that you know that we are peace loving people, so we would just defend the kingdom until their attacks would stop, but…." The king stopped...
"As time passes by, their attacks kept on getting stronger" Queen Caroline continued "Last week, the royal guards successfully defended the kingdom against the attack, but they received many casualties. I'm afraid that the royal guards won't be successful next time."
"I'll give you anything that I can give, just help us defend our kingdom. I want you to think carefully about what reward you want." Said King Norman in a worried tone….
"I want the princess" said Ash in a calm voice. All of the people in the room gasped, the King and the Queen, the guards and the servants.
"Insolence!" The King roared angrily

Meanwhile at May's room a few minutes ago

May had a large room, it had a king sized bed, a bathroom, a balcony, a dresser with a large mirror, a study table and two large cabinet for May's clothes. May was at the balcony, 'That guy I met earlier was a little cute', May blushed wildly red because of what she thought, 'What am I thinking! I bet father would be mad at me once he discover this', May just sighed while staring at the town in the distance. May was in deep thought until she heard something
"Meow" the kitten meowed softly. May jumped a little because of what she heard.
"Oh it's you little guy" said May while carrying the kitten "How did you get here?"
The kitten pointed at the vines at the walls (Note: Let's just say that this kitten is intelligent compared to the other cats)
"Oh, you should not be here, I'll take you back at the garden…." the kitten's expression changed from happy to sad because of what May said "…after we went to the kitchen" the kitten meowed happily and jumped towards May's shoulder and the two went towards the kitchen.

After they went to the kitchen, May decided to go to the throne room and check his father, but stopped in front of the door. May peeked at the small crack at the door and saw the stranger she met earlier talking with the king and the king doesn't seem to be happy.

"Insolence!" The King roared angrily "You expect me to reward you with 'that'!"
"Well, you said anything" said Ash in a calm but rude tone "besides, if you won't give what I want, I won't accept your request"
Ash was about to leave the throne room but was stopped by the king.
"Wait, I could give you information about your family, Ash Ketchum." Said the king with a threatening tone
"So this guy's name is Ash…" May said to herself
"I already know what everything about that 'incident'" Said Ash, facing the King boldly "In fact, I was about to do this for free but it would be foolish if I would do so."
"So you already know…"
"Well, it was I who tortured and killed the King of Twinleaf" said Ash clenching his fists "That bastard burned Pallet Town and slaughtered the villagers there, including my family!"
The King's eyes widened because of what Ash said "So you mean you're the one that ambushed his caravan?!"
"My band and I, it wasn't that hard anyway." Said Ash "And don't change the subject, do we have a deal or not?"
The king let out a sigh of defeat "When would you want to get your reward"
"This very day…" Ash replied

"Are you crazy!? Don't be a fool Norman" whispered Queen Caroline to King Norman
"I know what I'm doing" answered Norman

"Okay, I'll let you have our daughter, but once I have discovered that you have done 'bad' things to our daughter, I shall have your head served in a platter." Norman said coldly
Ash smirked "It's nice working with you…"

Ash left the room and noticed that May was outside
"Hey Ash, what did father mean?" asked May curiously
"It's something that you wouldn't want to know" said Ash while walking down the hallway
"Aaash?" asked May in a childish tone, trying to get his attention "Could you do me a favor, pleaaase?"
"No." said Ash coldly
"Pretty please!" Ash looked at May, who was doing her puppy dog eyes. Ash let out a sigh of defeat
"Fine."
"Yay!"
"What's your request?" said Ash, who continued walking down the hallway
"You see, I've never been outside the castle, father said that it's dangerous outside, that I should just stay here." Said May who was walking backwards so that she could see Ash's face "Could you please take me outside?"
"No. It's a bad idea."
"C'mon! You already said yes!"
"I didn't say 'yes', I said 'fine'" said Ash, rolling his eyes. May was about to trip because she was walking backwards but was saved by Ash; both of them blushed deeply red.
"Fine, but you can't just go there with that outfit, you would attract too much attention" said Ash who was helping May stand up. "Can't you just dress formally?"
"Well, I've got some other dresses and gowns" Ash just face palmed and took something from his fanny pack. Ash took a cloak and gave it to May.
"Here wear this."
May wore the cloak and they both walked towards the gate with the kitten on May's shoulder.

When they reached the gate, they saw the guards playing chess
"You know, I'm starting to feel that the author of this fanfiction really hates us." Said the first guard
"What do you mean?" asked the second guard
"I mean, of all the roles they could give us, why the castle guard, I mean, it's not like there would be any intruders or thieves that would break in and out" said the first guard with a lonely voice
"You're not making any sense" said the second one with a confused tone "CHECKMATE!"
"GRRRAAAA!" The first one shouted angrily.

Ash and May slipped out of the gates without the guards noticing them. Ash and May went to the town; Ash was trying to look for a house to rent, while May was trying to pull Ash into the shops. Ash just gave a sigh of defeat as he saw May's irresistible puppy-dog eyes. May bought some clothes; she bought a red shirt with a blue collar, a white skirt, blue biking shorts, white and blue sneakers and gloves, and a red bandanna (Note: The clothes that she wore at the Hoenn Region)

At the end of the day, they were sitting at the edge of the cliff while staring at the beautiful sunset.
"Hey Ash, thank you for taking me out of the castle today."
There was no answer from Ash
"Are thinking about your family?" asked May to Ash who was watching the sunset
"Please don't talk about them" replied Ash with a lonely but kind tone
"Okay, I'm sorry. You know Ash, you're a kind person, even though you're a mercenary" said May while leaning over Ash's shoulder.
"You know nothing about us mercenaries. Well May, it's time to go home now" said Ash while trying to stand up. Ash also helped May stand which made her blush.

A few minutes later, at the castle gates.

Ash and May came at the castle gates (May was wearing her dress and the cloak that Ash gave to her) and were surprise to see the guards playing cards this time, May slipped through the guards but Ash decided not to come closer. Before Ash left, he waved goodbye to May, and May did the same to Ash.

May removed her cloak and went to the castle and the kitten was sleeping at May's shoulder and May did her best not to wake it up. She went to her room and lied at her bed, and within seconds, she fell asleep.

While Ash went back to the town and searched for the house that he was about to rent. After a few minutes of searching, he finally found the small house and talked to the owner. The house is small but is enough for 2-3 people, there's the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom and 2 bedrooms. After minutes of 'talking', he finally rented the house and immediately went to the bedroom. After slipping into his sleeping garments, he immediately jumped into his bed and drifted to sleep.

But unfortunately, Ash had a nightmare...

It was a peaceful day in Pallet Town, and Ash was playing with his friends at the park. Pallet is a small town covered by trees to keep them safe from intruders. A few minutes later, Ash's parents, along with his brother, Cain, came. Cain was a year older than Ash; he had blond hair, he was wearing blue T-shirt with yellow stripes, and he also wore brown cargo pants. He had an upside-down-star symbol on his forehead, his back, and on his palm.
"Let's go home now Ash" Ash's mother said while smiling
"Aww! I don't want to go home yet!" replied young Ash
"Your mother's right, it's getting late, let's go" Ash's father said
"Alright..." Ash said before waving goodbye at his friends
"Bye Ash!" Ash's friends yelled. The happy family started walking home.

They walked silently, but Cain broke the silence
"Hey Ash, let's train later after dinner!" Cain said excitedly, but their father just crossed his arms
"I disagree, I want the both of you to grow and live like humans, to live normally without being feared by them"
"But father! This power is a gift given to us! Are we just going to waste that?!" Cain yelled
"And where did you learn that, young man?" their mother asked as she raised a brow
"The library" Cain responded. Ash just snickered at his brother's answer.

A few seconds later, an arrow came out of nowhere and hit the back of Ash's father, and unfortunately, the arrow was coated by a strong poison that could kill a person within seconds. Ash immediately ran towards his father's side to assist him
"Father! Are you okay!?" asked Ash
"Ash... run..." was the last words that Ash's father said before he died. A few seconds later, soldiers, countless soldiers came from the woods and started slaughtering the villagers, and at the same time, they burned the wooden houses. Cain and Ash just watched in horror as they saw the villagers being slaughtered without retaliating. But what startled Ash is that his best friend, Gary, was with them
"Humans... I hate every single one of them...!" Cain whispered to himself but was loud enough for Ash to hear. They just stared silently at the soldiers until their mother started pulling them away from the area. But unfortunately, their mother got hit by a poisoned arrow at her back.
"Run...! You need to get away from here!" Ash's mother said while lying on the ground. Ash wanted to carry her mother away, but when he saw the approaching soldiers, he started running away with his brother

Ash and Cain started running aimlessly at the woods, all they wanted to do was to get away from the soldiers that were chasing them. But the thought that Gary, Ash's best friend, ditched them, was ringing inside Ash's mind. A few moments later, Cain tripped and starting rolling down before falling from a cliff
"Aaaahhh!" screamed Cain while falling
"CAIIIN!" yelled Ash as he saw his brother falling to his death

Ash suddenly woke up while breathing heavily. He looked at the clock and saw that it was still 3:00 am. Ash just buried his face under his pillow before falling asleep (again).

So that's it, I hope you liked it and please review.
(Please help me become a great writer in the future :D)
Also, the action will start in the second chapter.
Please don't forget to review.