A Heartwarming Christmas

A/N: This week has been slow torture for me. I had to help with most of everything around the house, since both of my parents were sick with the virus. My younger brothers were fine, but they were tested positive for it. But everything's good now.

Now, let's get on with Chapter 10! Roll it!

Chapter 10

Hope Glimmers and Sparks Again

Up in one of the unused rooms in the west wing, Dawn was staring out the window towards the moon, feeling completely downcast as Ash's harsh words from earlier echoed in her head. He had said some pretty harsh things back when they were at each other's throats when they first met, but he had never once called her a beast, even if she was one. Truth be told, that single word hurt worse than the other times he'd acted so defiant against her wishes.

Ursula was watching her as she removed that last of the paintings of the king that she wanted destroyed. She hid the smirk on her face as she watched her Zoroark-like mistress stare out the window glumly.

"Oh, Mistress." She said to her, sounding pitiful. "I told you not to feel for him. Things were so much simpler before he arrived. Before we dared to even..." She almost gagged at the next word she said, but controlled herself. "Hope."

Dawn swallowed thickly, willing herself not to cry as she recalled the quiet, heartbreaking sobs that she'd heard coming from Ash as she left the dungeon not even half an hour ago.

"I...I really thought that...he was the one." She confessed, holding her arms, her eyes never straying from the snow-covered forest in the distance.

Ursula just smirked. It served her right, for even daring to hope.

*****************************

Back in the dungeon, Ash was still curled up, hiding his face in his arms. He had long since stopped crying, but he still felt pretty low. Pikachu was lying down next to his legs, not saying much. Just being there for his Trainer and best friend was the best assurance that he could give him at the moment.

Just then, they heard a little creaking sound coming from the door. They both looked up and saw that there was a little flap in the prison door for food to be sent through, and it had opened to reveal the enchanted servants that they had befriended.

"Ash?" MJ called out to him as she and the others entered the cell one by one.

"Hey there, kid." Leona said to him.

"Hi, Ash." Zoey greeted him as she came to him, followed by Lila.

"Merry Christmas." Kenny added.

"Doesn't look so special to me." MJ replied glumly.

Ash focused on the enchanted Bellossom. "I'm sorry, MJ. Nothing's changed." He said. He had promised to show her a wonderful Christmas...and he'd failed. He failed to keep his promises, both to her and to Dawn.

Lila then came up to him. "I told you that nothing would change." She said. "I told you that the young mistress wouldn't allow this! I told you that Christmas was hopeless!"

"Lila!" Leona, Kenny, and Zoey chided the older enchanted Delcatty.

But she just nodded her head at them, asking them to let her continue, before turning back to Ash.

"But...I was wrong." She said, making everyone look at her with confusion. "I thought that I had lost all hope of having this curse to even have a chance of being broken, much less to have another wonderful Christmas holiday. But then, you came along, young man.

"You showed all of us that it is never too late to stop hoping for better things and happier times. Because that is what Christmas is truly about: hope. For the longest time, I thought that it was gone, but it wasn't. Christmas spirit never leaves us, we just lose sight of it."

She then slowly approached the Kanto native, coming to stand next to him on the side that was free. "If I recall correctly, there is a Christmas song that speaks about this very thing. Isn't there?" She asked him.

Ash slowly racked his brain to think about what song Lila was talking about. Then, he remembered it, and it was one that his mother would sing to him whenever he felt down around Christmastime.

"Yes..." He answered.

Lila smiled kindly at him. "Maybe this song will lift our spirits once more." She said. Then, in a soft voice, the enchanted Delcatty began to sing as she looked at everyone else that was in the dark, damp dungeon cell.

Lila: Ohhhh, hmmm.

Where are you, Christmas?
Why can't I find you?
Why have you gone away?

Where is the laughter
You used to bring me?
Why can't I hear music play?

My world is changing
And rearranging.
Does that mean Christmas
Changes too?

Lila then looked back over at Ash. She then silently gestured to him to join in with her. The Kantonian young man briefly licked his slightly chapped lips before quietly singing himself. As he did, he started to feel something stir inside of him, making him feel stronger, and he slowly pushed himself up onto his feet, the chains slightly rattling as he did so.

Ash: Where are you, Christmas?
Do you remember
The one you used to know?

I'm not the same one.
See what the time's done.
Is that you have
Let me go?

Then, Lila and Ash took turns singing.

Lila: Christmas is here
Everywhere, oh.
Christmas is here
If you care, oh!

Ash: If there is love
In your heart and your mind,
It will feel like Christmas
All the time!

By then, everyone started to sing along with them.

Everyone: I feel you, Christmas.
I know I found you.
You never fade away, oh!

The joy of Christmas
Stays here inside us;
Fills each and every heart
With love.

The song then started to get softer as Ash and Lila finished the song.

Ash and Lila: Where are you, Christmas?
Fill your heart with love.

When the song finally ended, everyone was smiling at each other, feeling lighter and happier than they had when they first came together in the dungeon cell. Ash smiled softly and gratefully at his enchanted friends.

"Thank you." He said to them. Everyone just returned his smile, feeling their spirits getting lighter.

*******************************

Meanwhile, back up in the west wing, Dawn still felt lower than low and Ursula was taking advantage of it joyously.

"Oh, I do hate to see you sullen like this, Mistress." The enchanted Gabite crooned. "Why do you keep tormenting yourself like this?"

She then gestured over towards the enchanted Gracidea that was under its bell jar on the table. "There's the symbol of your curse. Destroy it and just end these foolish notions of...love and redemption."

Dawn slowly walked over to the pretty pink flower bud and slowly removed the bell jar. Her claws almost touched the flower itself. A cold glare entered her Zoroark eyes.

"Yes..." Ursula said, hiding her growing smirk. "Smash it!"

Dawn raised her paw, ready to smash the enchanted flower. But then, there was another sliver of pink that showed up in the closed bud. A loose petal extended forward and a little beam of moonlight shone through it, casting a thin, faint shadow on top of a familiar sight: Ash's present to Dawn that he had left there earlier.

Dawn's eyes softened when she saw the gift. "Ash?" She whispered.

Her paws carefully took the gift and began to unwrap it, knowing that it was midnight and that technically, it was Christmas Day. Ursula was confused as to what Dawn was doing.

"What is it?" She asked, trying to get a better look from where she was standing. "What are you doing?"

Finally, Dawn pulled out a small paperback book. It had the words, "Hope Still Lives" written in clumsy but fancy writing, along with a couple of swirly designs in the corners.

"Oh, a storybook." Ursula cooed falsely. "Does this one have little pictures for you to color? Honestly!"

Dawn narrowed her eyes at the enchanted Gabite. "No." She said firmly. "This one is different. It's...from Ash."

"Well, that would account for the cheap wrapping." Ursula muttered under her breath.

"Shut up!" Dawn shouted with a growl as she headed over to the lit fireplace in her room and sat down in the chair in front of it. "I want to read."

Ursula just rolled her eyes and remained silent as she started to stack the paintings into a pile, all of them heading for the boiler room. Dawn carefully opened the handmade book, making sure her claws didn't tear the pages, and began to read.

"In all of my travels, I've never seen anything like this. And that's saying something, considering the fact that I've seen many Legendary and Mythical Pokémon. This whole thing sounds like it came out of a fairytale that Mom would read to me when I was little. A mistress cursed to look like a beast? Actual talking Pokémon, excluding that annoying Meowth from Team Rocket?

"The mistress offered me a choice. Mom would go free if I take her place. Even if that was a little bit extreme, I agreed. At first, I will admit that I hated her, and Pikachu and I were planning on escaping so that Mom and I could get far away from this place and find a nice place to call our new home, since Mom thought that Pallet Town was too dangerous, since Team Rocket knows where I live.

"But after we saved each other from a pack of Mightyena, which was after I ran away because she scared the complete living daylights out of me, I realized that maybe she wasn't as cold as I thought she was. She may look a little frightening, but deep inside, I know that she still cares. Why else would she come after me and help me if we hated each other?

"We then started to become friends. Now that Christmas is almost here, I want to get the others to help me try to cheer her up and help her become who I know she's capable of becoming if she just tried to let go of whatever it is that's bugging her, which is also the reason why she's afraid of letting people into her heart. I want to show her that there are people that care about her, and that I care about her.

"Christmas is a time of happiness and joy, and it also gives us a promise that no matter what happens during the year, it's always something to look forward to because of the vow of hope it gives to each of us. But the greatest gift imaginable that it could give us is hope.

"My new strange friend? I know that she will overcome her dark memories and rise up, just like her namesake: Dawn. She will become stronger than ever if she only tries to let go and look towards the future, which is brighter if she only looks for the light within the world and within herself."

Dawn felt her heart start to beat at Ash's written words. He really...believed that? About her? No one had ever thought like that about her before.

Just then, she heard something echoing through the room, although a human wouldn't be able to hear it. Her Zoroark ears twitched around at the faint sound, tuning into it as best as she could. It was singing, and she recognized the voice.

If there is love
In your heart and your mind,
It will feel like Christmas
All the time.

It was Ash. She had never heard him sing before, and she had to admit, he sounded pretty good. He truly was someone extraordinary.

Maybe it wasn't too late to make amends. She needed to talk to him and apologize. Dawn carefully closed the book and started to walk out of the wing.

"No, Mistress!" Ursula exclaimed. "He will only prolong your torment!" But Dawn was already gone.

******************************

Back in the dungeon, MJ came up to Ash and said, "You know what, Ash? I don't need a tree to celebrate Christmas. Or presents or food."

She then came up to him and jumped into his arms. "I already have everything that I need for a perfect Christmas. Being with my family and friends."

Ash smiled at her. "Yes, that's what Christmas is all about!"

"Exactly." Leona agreed.

"The most important things of Christmas, and in life, are the simple, little things in it that make it seem to be magical." Zoey came in.

"And that we all share it with each other." Kenny added.

"No matter where we come from or who we are." Lila finished as she finally got the shackles off of Ash's wrists by using her little claws. Ash rubbed his wrists gratefully, happy that he was free from them.

Just then, the door opened and everyone whirled around to see who it was. Coming inside the cell was Dawn.

"The mistress." MJ whispered as she and the other enchanted servants immediately backed away from Ash as Dawn slowly approached him. Pikachu was next to him, ready to attack her in case she was still mad at his Trainer. But Ash gently placed a hand in front of him, silently saying that he was fine.

As Ash looked over at Dawn, she felt a little nervous. "Um, Ash?" She asked him, and he just looked at her attentively. She swallowed thickly, shutting her eyes before opening them again and looking into his chocolate brown eyes. "Can you ever forgive me?"

Ash slowly blinked at her, searching within her icy blue Zoroark eyes, seeing if her intentions were really true. There was nothing but seeking forgiveness from him. He then smiled softly at her as he took a step forward and carefully took her paw in his hand.

"I already have." He said, remembering that feeling that he felt earlier while singing with the enchanted servants and realizing what it was. It was forgiveness towards her, which in turn, made the heaviness in his own heart disappear, and he felt stronger as it did. It gave him hope again, which in turn, made him forgive Dawn for her actions. Plus, he was never one to hold a grudge forever.

Then, Ash threw his arms around her and gave her a big hug, taking her slightly aback at the close contact. "Merry Christmas, Dawn." He whispered.

Dawn was frozen stiff for a couple of seconds before she eventually returned his hug, wrapping her arms around his smaller, human form and being careful of her claws so that she didn't scratch him. The enchanted servants all cheered at the sight of them finally making up.

When the two finally let go of each other from their first embrace, Dawn suddenly felt bashful because of their connection and tried to hide her face that was steadily growing red under her fur, while Ash had his own sheepish little grin on his face, and he rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. But they still hadn't released each other's hand and paw.

But the happiness that everyone was feeling was getting contagious and Dawn soon had a wide and excited smile form on her own face.

"Come on, everyone!" She exclaimed happily, turning to the enchanted servants, along with Pikachu, who took his usual spot on Ash's shoulder. "Let's give Ash the Christmas that he's wanted!"

"The Christmas that we ALL deserve!" Ash added, raising a pumped fist in the air, making everyone cheer even louder.

It looked like Christmas was back on, and ready to celebrate.

A/N: Thanks to Ash's gift, Dawn is able to learn how Ash truly feels about her, and they forgive each other. It looks like this is going to be a wonderful Christmas after all! But...something tells me that Ursula isn't going to take all of this lying down! Not a chance! But we'll soon see what will be her final stand. Only three more chapters left! We're so close!

The Christmas song that was used here was "Where are You, Christmas?", by Faith Hill. Personally, this is one of my favorite holiday songs ever, although I do have less than fond memories of the movie that it was a part of. But I don't own it in any way or form. All credit goes to their rightful owners.

Well, that's all for now, y'all! I'll see you guys in the next chapter! Please leave a comment about what you think. They are highly appreciated, and remember to stay healthy!

Got to fly! ;)