A/N: Dudes, I have some fantastic news, my semester ends in three weeks!!

And you know what that means, much faster upload schedule!

Yaaaaaaay! 🎉🎉

Now then, on to some story related matters. This chapter is going to be another two-parter.

I'm sorry, but if I don't write it this way, things won't fall into place as well as I'd like. I'm sure you know what I mean.

Okie dokie, let's get this chapter started!

Enjoy!

*Sorry for any grammatical errors that you might encounter.

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(Ash's pov)

I heaved a heavy, frustrated sigh as I slouched down into the large chair inside my room.

"Uggh, this is so stupid! I'm already involved in this mess, so why the heck can't I attend the meeting!?" I complained aloud.

Yep, that's right, today's the day we finally sit down and figure out a plan to deal with the Berlitz bunch.

Or at least that's what I THOUGHT was gonna happen, buuut nooooo, the gears of bureaucracy just had to go and grind me up.

(Flashback)

It had been an hour or so since we had woken up. Dawn had been taken to a separate room to rest and receive further treatment, while Serena and I were making our way down the hall towards the castle war room.

Things were going according to plan, that is, except for one tiny detail.

"So you're sure I can't go with you?" I asked.

"Yes Ash, I'm as sure as I was the last time you asked." Serena replied in a frustrated tone.

Yep you heard right, the big whigs have barred me from attending the meeting.

"Oh come on Serena, can't they make an exception just this once?" I asked.

Serena sighed heavily.

"Ash, for the hundredth time no! Only a select few of people are allowed in the War Room. There are highly classified secrets that are going to be discussed that no one outside of the royal family are allowed to see." Serena replied, clenching her temples.

"But Sere..." I said, trying my best to guilt trip her.

"Don't 'but Sere' me mister, the laws are laws, and at some point I have to take off my girlfriend hat and put on my princess hat." Serena said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Fine, I understand." I said, lower my head in defeat.

"Good, now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Serena said with an innocent smile.

"Whatever..." I said with a pouty face.

"Aw come on Ashy, don't be like. I promise I will fill you in on the plan once we reach an agreement." Serena said.

"Sometime today, Sis!" Called Calem from down the hall.

"Coming!" She replied.

"See you later." Serena said.

"Yeah..." I replied.

We shared a quick hug and began heading our separate ways.

"Bro, she's totally got you whipped." Came a familiar voice.

I wheeled around to see Brock snickering.

"Sh-shut up, man!" I stammered.

(End of flashback)

So yeah, that's my dilemma right now.

"Figures." I mumbled, sighing even more heavily.

I sat in silence for a few moments, just listening to the sound of the clock ticking.

My gosh, this is boring.

"I suppose I could go check on Dawn, certainly beats siting around here for God knows how long." I thought aloud.

I headed of to Dawn's room. It's 10:30, so I'm sure she's awake by now.

After a few minutes of walking, I found myself in the epitome of face-palm situations.

'Wait a second, where is her room again?' I though to myself, feeling like a total idiot.

Man, the stress of all this really must be getting to me. That, and I still haven't quite figured out this labyrinth of a castle.

Eventually, after having to swallow my pride and ask for directions, I managed to find Dawn's room.

I knocked.

"Who's there?" Dawn asked, sounding groggy.

"It's just Ash." I said.

"Oh, uh, wait just a second!" Dawn said quickly.

"Um, alright then." I replied, a bit confused by her sudden burst of energy.

"Okay, you can come in now." Dawn said after about 30 seconds.

I opened the door and headed in.

"Hey Dawn, sorry to bo- Dawn?" I said as I entered.

Dawn was nowhere to be seen.

"Uh...Dawn, you in here?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm over here." Dawn replied.

I looked in the direction of her voice.

"Over where? I still don't see-" I started to say.

I noticed that there was a lump under the covers on Dawns bed.

"Uhh Dawn, what are you doing under there?" I asked.

"Oh ya know, just hangin' out." Dawn replied, laughing awkwardly.

I narrowed my eyes.

"Really, you're not even gonna try to be convening? Seriously, what's the deal?" I asked.

"Ugg, fine, I haven't fixed my hair yet, alright. There, are you happy now?" Dawn replied.

I let out a chuckle.

"That's all? Come on, that's no biggie. I've seen Serena without her hair done plenty of times. Besides, your hair always looks nice." I said.

"No Ash, you don't understand, my hair is different! I have to put a lot of care into making look that way! It looks...embarrassing right now, to put it mildly." Dawn replied.

"Come now, I'm sure it's not THAT bad." I said.

Dawn sighed.

"You promise you won't laugh?" She asked.

"You have my word." I said, holding up one hand as if I was taking an oath.

"Alright, just remember you promised." Dawn said reluctantly.

Dawn removed the covers from over her head, and....oh my God.

Dawn's hair looked as if she had just stuck a fork into an electrical socket.

"See what I mean...?" Dawn said, her face a light shade of red from embarrassment.

".....pffffft...Wow, you really weren't kidding!" I snickered, covering my mouth to hold back my laughter.

"Ash, you big jerk!!" Dawn said, pegging me in the face with a pillow.

"I'm sorry, I was just messing with you!" I said, still laughing.

"Hmph! Whatever, you jerk." Said Dawn, crossing her arms and turning away.

Her angry facade didn't last long, and she too started to laugh. We continued to laugh together for a while, until one of the castle guards told us to keep it down.

After that, I gave Dawn some time to fix her hair. Once she finished, we took a seat on the bench outside on her balcony.

"My gosh, now I know why they say laughter is the best medicine. I feel so relieved." Dawn said, feeling content.

"You can say that again, I really needed that." I agreed.

We sat silently for a bit, listening to the sounds of nature.

"Hey Ash." Dawn said, breaking the silence.

"Hm?" I replied.

"I didn't get a chance last night, but I wanted to thank you." Dawn said, fidgeting her fingers.

"Thank me for what?I didn't do anything." I said.

"Yes you did, if it hadn't been for you and Serena, I might have become just another one of my father's pawns. And I don't know if I would've been able to live with myself if my actions caused anyone to get hurt." Dawn said.

"Dawn..." Was all I could say.

"What you two did for me, means more than you will ever know." Dawn said, putting her hand on mine.

I felt my face heat up, and immediately pulled my hand back.

"O-oh, there's no need to thank me D-Dawn, but I don't really...I mean I'm-" I stammered, but was interrupted.

Dawn giggled.

"You know, you're cute when you're flustered. And don't worry, I'm well aware of your relationship with Serena." Dawn said with a wink.

"W-wait what, how did you find out!?" I asked, astonished.

"Woman's intuition Ash, never underestimate it. I was just seeing how you'd react to another girl hitting on you. Think of it as a test." Dawn said with a smirk.

I was shocked, I had no idea Dawn had such a...cunning side.

"Uhh, so I guess I passed, huh." I said, not exactly knowing what else to say.

"I'd say so." Said a familiar voice.

Dawn and I turned around to see Serena standing in the doorway.

"Sere, when did you get here!?" I asked.

"Oh, not too long ago, I did happen to see that little exchange though." Serena said, eyeing Dawn.

"Don't worry your highness, I have no intention of taking your man, as good of a catch as he may be." Dawn said.

"I appreciate you saying that, but I'm not worried.'" Serena said, disregarding that last part.

I immediately changed the subject.

"So Sere, how did the meeting go?" I asked.

"It went great, thanks to some recent findings, we finally have enough intel to make our move. Come on, I'll explain everything."

To be continued...

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A/N: Who has two thumbs and got an extra long chapter finished early?  THIS GUY!!!
I think it turned out pretty good too!

It's good to see Dawn acting chipper again, as well as revealing a more mischievous side 😉.

Now then, I have some announcements.

1st: I'm trying to decide on what to do for the 250 follows milestone.

Should I do a re-face reveal?

OR

Tell a short, touching story about my first love?

It's entirely up to you guys.

2nd: I'm gonna be going to be at a Civil War reenactment this weekend.

And I will be posting a LOT of pictures.

So if you're interested in learning some history or just wanna see some cool pictures of cannons and whatnot, be sure to check out my "Blarg" book.

And that about does it, I hope you enjoyed and I will see y'all next time!

Next time on Amour Academy...

Battle Plans Part Two