A Heartwarming Christmas

A/N: Once again, this chapter is way shorter than I would've liked it to be, but then again, this was the best that I could do. I've been pretty busy this week with lots of things. Hopefully, the next chapter will be much better than this. My co-author does give me a bit of encouragement, and I'm grateful for that. 

Anyway, let's just get this chapter over and done with. Rip it off like a band-aid, because I really disliked writing this part. Roll it!

Chapter 8

From Girl Back to Beast

Meanwhile, Dawn was searching the entire castle for Ash. She was hoping to first apologize to him for her attitude earlier and then have a nice little conversation with him, hoping that it would help spark some ideas about what he would like for Christmas. She needed to get an idea, and fast.

Just then, she saw Kenny ahead of her, humming a Christmas carol under his breath. He was carrying something in his flippers, but when he saw her coming over to him, he quickly hid it behind his back.

"Oh, uh, good afternoon, Mistress." He said nervously.

"Kenny." Dawn returned his greeting. "Have you seen Ash?"

The enchanted Prinplup shook his head. "No, Mistress."

"Well, when you do see him, tell him that I need to talk to him." Dawn said.

"Yes, Mistress." Kenny said with a slight bow. Dawn nodded at him and continued on her way. The enchanted Prinplup then let out a sigh of relief as he took out the Christmas wreath from behind him. That was a little too close.

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At least half an hour had soon gone by and Dawn still hadn't found Ash. She was starting to get both a little worried and a little frustrated. She thought that she would've bumped into him sooner or later, since she knew that he couldn't stay in one place forever, whether it be out in the world or in the castle.

She then came into the kitchen, where Leona was helping Zoey and some wild Pokémon with prepping and cooking some food. Was it something for that evening's supper?

"Ash?" She called out. Immediately, everyone stopped what they were doing when they saw the mistress standing in the doorway. "Have any of you seen Ash?" She asked.

"Uh, no, Mistress." Leona answered. "But if he drops by, or we see him, we'll let him know."

"Thank you, Leona." Dawn said, before continuing on her way.

When her back was turned, Leona did her best to hide a knowing smirk on her face. Then, the enchanted Swinub looked over at Zoey.

"Do you know where Ash has gone?" She asked her.

"MJ told me that she was going to convince him to help her pick out a Christmas tree." The enchanted Glameow explained.

"But knowing her, she has a vision of a perfect tree." Leona said. "And I doubt that any of the trees here on the grounds fit that image. And we all know Ash. He is a people-pleaser."

Zoey looked out the window, wondering where they could've gone if they wanted to find a perfect Christmas tree. Suddenly, her ruby red eyes widened in horror and realization.

"They must've gone into the forest!" The enchanted Glameow exclaimed.

"But... I thought Ash... The mistress!" Leona sputtered. "He gave her his word!"

"We know that Ash is not one to break a promise on purpose." Zoey said. "He must've thought that having a perfect tree would make the mistress happy, and he'd get one at any cost. After all, from what I remember, the tree was her favorite part of the holiday."

"Sometimes, I think that kid cares too much!" Leona said. "Well, Kenny and I will go out and find him. You stay here and keep the mistress distracted for as long as you can."

"I'll try my best." Zoey said as Leona started to leave the kitchen. "Be careful out there!"

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Another fifteen minutes had passed and Dawn was getting more and more frustrated at not being able to find Ash. As she came back into the west wing, Zoey was trailing behind her, carefully balancing a tea tray on her tail.

"Would you like some more tea, Mistress?" She asked the Zoroark-like beast.

"Zoey, I already had two cups." Dawn said. "I don't need a third, and I need to find Ash."

"Well, there's always room for more tea, Mistress." Zoey continued, smiling nervously.

There was something about the way that she was acting that made Dawn a bit suspicious of her actions, and she raised a proverbial brow. "What's going on, Zoey?" She asked the enchanted Glameow.

"N-nothing, Mistress." Zoey answered nervously.

"I'll ask you this one more time." Dawn said sternly, narrowing her icy blue eyes into slits. "Where. Is. Ash?"

Zoey was trembling like a leaf under the mistress's icy glare. Finally, she couldn't handle it anymore.

"We don't know!" She answered, shutting her eyes tightly. "We've looked everywhere! But we can't find him!"

"What?!" Dawn shouted, her blood boiling furiously. Then she turned around, not facing Zoey anymore. "Leave me."

Zoey gulped nervously, but obeyed, carrying the tea tray on her tail. Once she was out of the wing, Dawn grabbed the enchanted mirror that was on the other side of the table that held the bell jar, the gold trimmings and flowers only enhancing the crystal-like glass of it.

"Show me the boy." She asked, looking into it. The surface of the mirror soon rippled to life, revealing an image of Ash riding on his Charizard's back with Pikachu, soaring through the air, while flying next to them was his Staraptor, carrying MJ and Mikaela. They were all heading towards the forest.

The image of them then vanished with another ripple across the surface of the glass. Dawn snarled as she placed the mirror back on the stand. He'd broken his promise. He'd promised that he wouldn't leave the castle grounds. He promised her! ...But he lied.

"I have to bring him back." She said.

"You sure about that?" A voice asked. Dawn whirled around and saw Ursula in the room. "He's abandoned you."

"Ash wouldn't do that to anyone!" Dawn denied.

"Maybe for his Pokémon, but for you?" Ursula said, making Dawn growl lowly. "Now, when have I ever steered you wrong, Mistress?" She asked. "That boy has turned everything upside-down from the moment he set foot in the castle."

"That's true." Dawn replied.

"Plus, does he even know what love is?" Ursula asked aloud, a little smirk forming on her face. "Of course, he does know about the love for Pokémon and the love for family. But romantic love? Please. He wouldn't know about it, even if it was staring at him right in the face. Why fall for someone like that?"

"He...doesn't know what kind of love he has to give to me." Dawn answered. "If he did, then it wouldn't be...real love."

"Well, you know that it does have to be romantic love." Ursula said. "But you know that there's little to no chance that he's capable of it."

"Well...maybe just being his friend would be enough for me." Dawn tried to rebuff gently.

"But do friends break promises to each other?" Ursula asked her. "He gave his word that he wouldn't leave the castle grounds. And yet, where is he now?"

Dawn clenched her teeth when the image of Ash that the mirror had showed her seared into her mind. The feelings of hurt and betrayal clawed at her brain, chanting repeatedly that he betrayed her.

"You know just as well as I do that when you lost your mother, you and your sister grieved." Ursula said. "But instead of trying to overcome it, your sister just left you here alone with the king, who had no love to give to you or anyone else. If love is supposed to be so important in this world, then why is it that you weren't given it for so long? By your father, by your sister, who hasn't contacted you even before the curse took effect, and by this boy who claims that he's your friend?"

All of her words only made Dawn's blood boil even more. Her Zoroark eyes then lost that little bit of warmth, only showing coldness and animalistic behavior. She knew that what Ursula had said was true. Ash didn't truly care about her at all!

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Over in the ballroom, Lila the Delcatty was left alone to inspect the decorations for the Christmas party while the others either took breaks or were out searching for Ash. She was currently walking by the buffet tables and checking the centerpieces.

"Oh, honestly!" She exclaimed. "You cannot mix bells with holly!" She lightly pawed at one of the centerpieces, which had both a strand of holly and a string of little golden jingle bells.

She then moved away from the tables, overlooking the rest of the decorations. "Still, I must admit, this isn't half bad...for amateurs."

Suddenly, Dawn burst into the ballroom, snarling viciously. Lila jumped at her entrance and immediately ran to hide under a spare table, afraid of what the young mistress might do when she saw how the ballroom was decorated for Christmas.

Needless to say, it was a frightening scene. Dawn roared loudly with anger and then just trashed everything. Food and centerpieces went flying everywhere, scattering all over the floor, the wreaths and trimmings were torn off their places and into shreds, and the spare decorations that were still in boxes were thrown off to the side, most of them breaking at the action.

Within seconds, everything was ruined as Dawn panted heavily, her eyes narrowed and teeth clenched; and then stormed out of the ballroom, looking for the person who had brought this new feeling of betrayal and hurt to her.

Timidly, Lila slowly stepped out from under the table once the young mistress took her leave. She looked around the now-ruined ballroom with a heavy heart. She then sighed.

"I knew that it was hopeless." She said to herself sadly. And to think that she was beginning to dare to even hope in the first place.

That boy from Kanto was certainly something special, but even he couldn't work miracles.

A/N: Ursula is able to turn Dawn's heart back to the way that it was before, the way that it was for so many years. And with everything destroyed, it looks like Lila was right. It's hopeless. There will be no Christmas for anyone.

That's why I didn't really like writing this chapter. But here's a fair warning. Things only continue to go downhill from here.

Other than that, that's all for this time, y'all. Please leave a comment about what you think. They are highly appreciated. And remember to stay healthy.

Got to fly!