Disclaimer: Pokémon doesn't belong to me so PLEASE don't sue! Churr!

Reviews:

fincache: thanks for the vote of confidence friend … don't worry LOL! I hope this update wasn't too late. Thanks for the support and all, I hope to see you 'round!

Warlordess: and once more greetings Warlordess! Upon re-reading understand what you meant about Ash's angsty-ness. At the time I wrote it I thought the angsty-ness lasted longer, but obviously not. That however can be easily fixed with proof-reading I suppose . Any who I do support MayDrew I just haven't seen enough of him to successfully write him as confidently as I can May y'know? But I will add his name somewhere lol. As for future stories I have a one-shot lined up, yes with another "Ash returning to Misty" storyline (please don't hit me:P). In saying so however I will be trying to be more detailed in that fic but I will be refraining from a completely romantic fic to just being sombre and descriptive, or at least trying to be! After that however I will hope to write a multi-chapter AAMRN and may be something else, unsure but I have end of year exams and University applications coming up so I'll have my work cut out for me. Time always seems to work against people like us, no? Anyway thanks for all your advice and careful reading, I appreciate your clear and precise honesty. Perhaps we could be friends? (It does sound a bit dodge but I think you know what I mean :P) Thanks again, I'll be looking to your stories when I can! They sound good!

AegisX: Hello again Aegis X! How have you been? I haven't from you in a long while :P! I'm glad to see your story-writing is coming along well! Thanks for your review, I hope to see it again!

Raine's Tears: thanks for the vote of confidence! LOL anyways I'm sorry to disappoint you but I don't actually read Eragon although I have heard of it. If you recommend it I'll be sure to give it a read over, y'know? My penname is actually from my fascination with Tamora Pierce so yeah … but thanks again, I'm glad you liked my chapter title. For a moment there I thought the kiss was to be between Ash and Misty myself … Well, if Eragon the movie is coming out I'll be sure to drag my friends out with me to see it. I trust it to be good if you say so! I hope you like this next part!

Sorrowful-Ragdoll: First off I must commend you on your penname, it's rather funky! Secondly I HAVE POSTED so please don't be too anger (yes that's right, I mean anger not angry LOL, inside joke XD…). I hope you like this chapter and thanks for the encouragement, ja!

L'Fleur Noir: well my black flower I'm humbled that you bothered with that other fic of mine LOL! That story was from, what, 2 years ago? I think my writing has much improved but thanks for your review! Creo que tu ingles es bueno. Desafortunadamente I'm not good at castellano … no? LOL! As you can see I am very good at spanglish!! Thanks once more for your kind words, I hope to return the favour when I finally get mi castellano up to a standard where I can read stories and understand them. And I'm right with you hermana! Ash y Misty FOREVER!

If only all reviewers were as kind and careful as you lot! Each review was helpful to me, an author who is always looking to improve my writing. Alors voilà mes amis!

Part III: Her Prince

"Where is she? Misty is so unreli-"

The Gym foyer door opened, Violet, Lily and Rudy turning as the warm air rushed out of the room, a cool breeze rushing in in its place.

As the door slammed the trio witnessed Misty march past them, her usually soft jaw hard and set, her eyes and brows narrow.

"Rudy move it, we have a show to get on the road," she barked as she disappeared into the hall.

Managing only curious glances at one another both sisters left after the younger leaving Rudy to dawdle in the foyer.

His eyes moved to the door where a silhouette stood a metre or two from the door.

Against his better judgement Rudy offered one fleeting glance toward the Gym before he left in the opposite direction,.

::X:X::

May witnessed the pool rise from its frame, her blue eyes never failing to widen as it did so.

The same scenery greeted her with the large makeshift castle on the far wall and the small shore beneath with great detail invested in the underwater component of the play with coral reefs and other oceanic parts that added to the play's authenticity.

Where is that Ash?

Before her thoughts could answer the question it posed the lights dimmed, Daisy's voice filling the entire arena.

"When we were here last the Mermaid Princess had found the human Prince's sister, returning her to the shore only to find a handsome male waiting for her. What the Mermaid Princess hadn't realized was that the human Prince had every intention of rewarding the Princess but perhaps not in the fashion she was prepared for …"

A soundless dive was seen, a slim figure moving through the water with such grace it was as if she were soaring through air.

Misty's face was cold, her eyes icy as she surveyed her pokémon.

As she beheld her underwater companions her face seemed to soften, May noted.

Within the pool Misty looked upon her pokémon with eyes filling.

My pokémon are all I need, I don't need anything else. In that respect the Princess and I are the same, she thought as she smiled a watery smile.

The thought was comfort enough for her to continue.

I don't need anything else, she repeated.

I don't need Ash.

Yet even she knew deep down that that was a lie.

::X:X::

"Ash!"

Ash's eyes did not lift.

Rudy paused a moment as he turned, looking back at the Gym that stood; a dome of light in stark comparison to the darkness the pair electively lingered in.

For Misty's sake I have to.

With that thought he continued forward, his eyes steady as he planted himself before the younger male.

"Ash …" he began tentatively as Ash didn't respond, "Ash, Misty didn't … I didn't … we didn't mean to kiss one another."

Rudy paused.

The wind brushed over them, leaving a trace of goose bumps along their bare arms.

Rudy eyes lifted to the moon before returning to Ash who remained unmoving still.

"Ash talk to me! I know you saw us kiss! Neither of us meant it, that I can tell you …"

"It sure didn't look like neither of you meant it."

Rudy released a sigh as Ash finally met his eyes.

"Misty was rather unstable at the time Ash, she was just looking for comfort. I have no doubt in my mind, however, that she would have rather kissed you Ash."

The unexpected reply made Ash's eyes widen as Rudy looked down at him, trademarkedly running his hand through his brunette locks.

Ash's eyes hardened.

"Oh? And all of the sudden you can read minds can you?" he demanded, still hurt from the apparently 'unfelt' gesture the pair had shared.

Rudy lifted his head once more as a silence settled.

"Ash you should know better than anyone else about how Misty feels. That first time we met I couldn't have cared less about you because I was more interested in trying to woo Misty Ash, Ash are you listening?"

Ash nodded slowly as Rudy grimaced.

"Good. Well, I tried the best I could. Really I did. I offered her my love and for a few moments during our battle I finally thought I had her. You know when I first saw Misty I thought I've finally found her, the one. But, alas, Misty had other plans."

"Me, right?" Ash interrupted with a smirk that made Rudy's grimace into a frown.

"Ash you sound like you're not taking me seriously!"

Ash glared.

"I am Rudy but what I can't seem to understand is why you're here. I don't need you telling me how special Misty is. I already know that."

Rudy's face became expressionless.

"If that's so Ash then why are you out here and not in there trying to tell her that? From what I saw she seems quite upset."

Ash hung his head, kicking at the dirt as if seeking some sort of council from the mystical ground.

Instead, his council came from the only other person that it could.

"Ash you have to go back in there and tell her how you really feel."

"I realized that Rudy," he responded tentatively as different manners of attempting to apologize to Misty rushed through his mind.

"Ash."

For the thirteenth time Rudy had mentioned Ash name.

He was beginning to get annoyed.

Before he could confront Rudy he felt something slip onto his head.

"What th-"

"Good luck, Ash," he said simply as he saluted him.

"And you better hurry up too, you're on soon no doubt," he added as Ash continued to stare at Rudy's fast disappearing figure.

He reached for his head, feeling the smooth, unfamiliar object.

It was a crown.

::X:X::

May's eyes drooped as she fought off a yawn.

Misty was swimming still in the tank with her pokémon, apparently considering her feelings for the human Prince, according to the narration.

To May it seemed as if Misty was just having a good old swim.

For some reason Misty lacked the conviction that night, as though her mind was preoccupied with other matters.

The lack of interest had May's thoughts wander as aimlessly as Misty's strokes through the water.

She glanced to the unoccupied seat alongside her actually surprised Ash was still not there.

She wished that she were sitting next to someone other than her brother.

She wished, rather strangely, that Drew were there.

I suppose I'm just feeling lonely.

Her thoughts drifted further as the excruciatingly long dramatization of the Mermaid Princess' thoughts on the human Prince continued.

Just as she slumped as further down as one could in a seat movement alongside her caught her attention immediately.

"Where have you been Ash?" she hissed as she straightened.

"Luckily for you you haven't mis-"

May paused as she stared at the latecomer.

He winked once as his eyes moved to the scene before them.

The following narration halted any interrogation May had intended on doing.

"The confused Princess did not know how she felt for the Prince. He had showered her with many gifts and accolades of her beauty yet the generous offerings could not sooth the emptiness she still felt. Could she honestly say she was in love with this Prince?"

May's eyes moved to the makeshift shore where a new figure appeared.

She should have been surprised yet the sight in itself made her smile genuinely.

This is going to be good.

::X:X::

Ash's knees were literally unstable.

Never mind battling in front of people, performing in front of people was another thing entirely.

Not only that but not being in costume would not make him too popular with Misty's sisters yet for that moment he didn't really care.

The crowd stirred as he dove into the water to meet the unsuspecting Misty, slipping the red mouthpiece between his lips to enable breathing.

As he moved through the water the crowd themselves faded from his view.

He was a man on a mission and nothing was going to stop him from what he had to do.

As he neared his breathing quickened, as did his heart beat.

Her pokémon parted at his sighting, Misty herself taking one glance at him before attempting to move away.

"Misty wait, I have to talk to you."

Misty only glared as she whipped her head in the opposite direction, her brilliant fiery hair moving through the water with such grace Ash was filled with a longing reach if only to touch her hair.

"Misty I'm sorry … Misty!" Ash cried as he reached for her hand, clasping it as though it would dissolve into water if his grip was not firm enough.

Misty paused a moment as she let herself drift downwards to be at eye-level with him.

"Oh I see, now you're sorry, right Ash?" she spoke as she pulled her hand from his hand with great reluctance evident in her expression.

That gave Ash hope.

"I'm sorry Misty, I didn't realize that I liked you like I do I just thought that I could come through here without seeing you…"

"Ash that's no excuse! You and I are friends fore mostly before anything else. Regardless of how you thought you felt you should have still, as a friend, come and said something to me even if you didn't love me like I do you," she responded firmly.

Ash stared at her, words failing to gather sense in his mind.

The fact that Misty was quite frank about her feelings made Ash some what ashamed.

"It wasn't that Misty. I was just … scared to face you," he blurted as he lowered his eyes.

"Scared? Unless you came here with a girlfriend or fiancée you shouldn't have been scared Ash. We've known one another for far too long to be scared of one another. For goodness sake Ash I was the one with more on the line than you! You've known of my feelings for you for a long time ..."

"I'm not like you Misty. If I like a girl I can't be frank or open about it …"

"Yeah, you keep it bottled up inside?" Misty snorted as she looked to the surface.

"Why else did you think I was trying to avoid Cerulean?" he mumbled still failing to bring himself to meet Misty's eyes.

Misty studied his hanging head.

"What … what do you mean?"

Ash remained silent for a moment as Misty's eyes hardened.

"Ash if you have nothing more to say to me then I will swim to the surface and leave with the expectation of not seeing you again for a long ti-"

"Misty, I love you."

Misty stared at him as a strange warmth filled her entire being.

He said love … Ash Ketchum said LOVE!

"Ash I love you too," Misty smiled as Ash's eyes lifted to meet her's.

Ash smiled as Misty moved into his unexpected arms.

Removing her mouthpiece before his own Ash let them float to the surface as he bent to touch his impatient lips against hers.

If the two of them had noticed the cheering crowd neither of them showed it as they remained there in each other's arms.

Rudy stood in Ash's seat with a firm smile, May at his side as the pair applauded along with the crowd.

In Misty's mind she knew their kiss could not last, that tomorrow or the day after Ash would continue his on his journey to being the greatest pokémon trainer in the world, that their time together was destined to be short, if only for the moment.

Yet despite it, despite it all Misty could not help but feel overwhelmed with the purest feeling of bliss.

She was with the one she loved, if only for that brief moment as their lips embraced.

Misty was truly happy.

::X:X::

A/N: yeah, the Queen of Corny here salutes you! Well thanks firstly to all you reviewers and those who are my invisible readers. Thanks for your support and words of encouragement and all that good stuff ! And although the title for this part was a bit off I liked it! Forget about the title having to have some sort of connection to the chapter, I mean look at … uh … hmmm … yes … XD I liked it okay? That's my excuse!
I do apologize if this final part of his triple-shot was a let down, in a way I think it is but thank you anyways … now you can flame away LOL!
Well, until we next collide I suppose!

:: Sapphira ::