Allie felt like it had been ages since she'd been home. She had gone through so many examinations she felt as though she wouldn't need any for the next few years after what she'd experienced. The more she thought about it, the more unbelievable it seemed. What's more, she had to explain everything to her parents which wasn't the easiest thing in the world for her to do. How does one tell their family that they'd died and were brought back to life by an all powerful legendary being? And then there was Seth.

There wasn't a moment that went by where her heart didn't flutter at the very thought of him. She almost considered it sinful how much she was pining for him. She remembered every second of that moment in the Geosenge Pokémon Center. The touch of his lips, the racing of her heart, it all rushed back to her again, drowning her mind with thoughts too shameful to reveal. She gasped and cupped her mouth with her hand while gripping the balcony handrail, her face turning a bright crimson.

Her eyes shifted downward to find Furfrou who was now looking up at her with a self-satisfied grin. Allie frowned as she met the eyes of her troublemaking companion.

"Don't you dare... I know that look. You're judging me aren't you?" Allie huffed, placing her hands on her hips as she stared her canine friend down.

Furfrou tilted her head in a manner that seemed to say, "who me?" But Allie wasn't buying it. Recomposing herself, Allie took a deep breath and looked out over the balcony again at the restored garden. It took some doing to get things back to the way they were, but with the help of her amazing staff and a surprising visit from Serena and her crew, the garden was finally brought back to its former beauty. Even Seth came by to assist them when he wasn't off catching more Pokémon to fill the quota. A quota she felt she should have simply discarded after the Team Flare incident.

Due to the remaining competitor's enthusiasm for that particular part of the competition, she decided to keep it as part of the qualifications. Within the span of the month that had passed, every one of them filled that requirement. The badge hunting had been completed and all that remained was the Lumiose Conference. It would be a test for all of them as it would reveal more about each candidate to Allie than her visitations did. It was the culmination of all their efforts.

They had proven that they were all willing to go the distance to impress her, but there were only a few who were bold enough to say those three little words to her without hesitation. While some professed their love for her from the start, she was never quite convinced that they were truly in love with her at all. She was certainly happy to hear it, but for whatever reason she still felt this deep emptiness that she couldn't explain. But—over time—she had gotten to know each of them and knew just where they stood.

As a result, she had come to terms with how she was feeling toward each of them. She saw some of the remaining contenders as eligable and while she wouldn't mind becoming espoused to any of them she would be a fool to ignore what she was currently feeling. She was stupidly, ridiculously in love with Seth. That one moment alone with him had solidified it and as much as she wanted to tell him, she had to see this contest through. Seth had confessed that he loved her and while that made her extremely happy, she needed one more thing to be fully convinced that his words were truly from his heart and not because of the heat of the moment.

Pushing herself away from the balcony, she made her way into her room and opened up her walk-in closet and strode toward the back where a single wooden wardrobe stood. Reaching for the brass handles she opened them and looked at the dress inside. It wasn't finished, but progress was being made on the dress she would wear on what would undoubtedly the happiest and most important day of her life. Closing the doors, she walked out of the closet and sat on her bed, Furfrou hopping up beside her and placing her head on her lap, her tail swaying happily as her trainer scratched her ears.

"This is it Furfrou. In just a few days, the Lumiose Conference will finally begin. Many still remain but only one of them will be able to cross that battlefield and put a ring on my finger," Allie said with a faint smile as she imagined a ring being slid onto her ring finger. "It's enough to make a girl nervous you know?" Allie laughed, shaking her head as she thought of all the people who would watch her become engaged at the end of the League.

"Still... I'm going to make them work for it," Allie said firmly as she rose to a stand to walk over to the wooden wardrobe standing beside her desk. "After all," she paused, a grin forming on her face as she pulled the doors open to reveal its contents, "as a previous conference champion... I can't afford to slack off now can I?" Allie chuckled to herself as she looked up at the Lumiose Conference trophy sitting on the top shelf.

Not only was there a trophy from the Lumiose Conference, but there sat two more trophies beside it, one from Sinnoh and another from Unova. Each trophy had a picture of Allie's team with her standing directly in the center with her hair dyed and color contacts in for disguise purposes. Each plaque on the trophy had a variant of her name for confidential reasons. Being the princess of one's home region didn't come without its difficulties.

"I need to show them exactly what it is that they'd be getting themselves into once they become my husband. I won't be pulling any punches with any of them," Allie said as she turned to face Furfrou. "The preliminaries for this competition are over. Now it's time to move onto the semi-finals," Allie said smirking.

Seth sat on the fountain in the center of Aquacorde Town, enjoying a fresh glass of nomelade with Melody. In her lap was a scrap book that Melody had started. Each page marked different events that happened during the year, each as treasured than the last.

"I swear, this year has been the craziest ride," Melody said as she flipped another page of the scrap book to show Seth. "I know one thing for certain, I'm glad things are finally getting back to normal. I can't wait for the League!" she chirped excitedly.

"You've always liked seeing trainers in action haven't you? Ever since you were little you would always be there with that camera of yours, taking pictures of every battle you ever got to see," Seth replied grinning.

"Mhm, and I intend to keep up this tradition of mine as this year's Lumiose Conference is by far more special than any of the others because my favorite person in the whole world is going to be competing!" Melody exclaimed, flipping the page over to reveal it to be blank. "And this is exactly where those highlights are going to go."

Seth chuckled at his sister's excitement. Despite the chaos that had unfolded the previous month, Melody remained cheerful and upbeat as always. There were days where Seth wished he had half of her enthusiasm and love for life. In truth, it was those aspects of her that got him through Mathilde's rigorous training sessions most of the time. She had always been there to offer advice and to see him through the rough patches, even when she really didn't understand what he was doing. All he knew was that he wanted to be a big brother that she could be proud of.

"And this... is a special page," Melody said as she turned to the last page of the book. "If you recall, I started this book with how your journey kicked off. While I don't have pictures of everything that happned, I have a few of you and her together. This last page will mark the end of the journey and where things will go from there. Whatever happens, just know this... I'll always be proud to call you my big brother. That will never change, although I would love a sister-in-law if you catch my meaning," Melody said, playfully nudging Seth's side and tossing him a wink.

"So what you're saying is, you want me to win, right?" Seth replied with a smirk.

"I mean, if you're just gonna say it... yeah. I would like that... love that. Allie is awesome and I want her as a big sister, plain and simple," Melody said while crossing her arms. "Besides, you already admitted that you loved her so you've no choice but to go for it, that way when you two finally kiss again I'll be there to take a picture and put it in this book!"

"Why do I get the feeling that's all you've been thinking about this past month?" Seth replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Because it is? I mean, it's kind of a big deal. You kissed a princess. You, who never pursued any sort of romantic relationship at all during your time at the academy, was able to get the most sought after woman in all of Kalos to fall for you. So don't you even try to tell me she didn't because according to what you told me, she kissed you first. That is a feat that I didn't think anyone would be capable of, so you'd best believe I'm gonna be there when it happens again." Melody said with a determined look in her eyes.

"Alright, alright, I got it," Seth laughed, holding up his hands defensively. "I'll do my best. I don't want to guarantee that I'll win since it's not just the people in the contest that I'll be facing. Jamie and Felicity are going to be there and if I know them, they'll want to try to take me down. They're both really good so I have a feeling I'll be seeing them in the later rounds."

"I know it'll be hard to battle them since you three are practically inseperable. Just know that I'll be rooting for all of you... but mostly you for obvious reasons," Melody said with a wide grin.

"I guess I don't have a choice now do I?" Seth replied, shaking his head with a low chuckle.

"Nope," Melody quipped, pulling her brother into a tight squeeze before getting up. "Well, I need to get going. I have a final to study for and I really can't afford to fail it either. Especially if I want to get into that program with Viola."

"Good luck sis, I know you'll do well. You're going to get in, I just know it," Seth added, giving her a knowing look as she waved goodbye.

As Melody headed back home, Seth watched her until she was out of sight. He was glad to have had the time to speak with his sister. With the Lumiose Conference just days away, he needed all the support he could get. Reaching down to his belt, Seth unclipped every member of his team and released them into the open. As they appeared, they looked around as if trying to figure out what was happening. When Seth cleared his throat, they all snapped to attention.

"It's almost time for the Lumiose Conference and I just wanted to thank all of you for your hard work. As you all know, this is going to be the toughest challenge any of us has ever faced, so I'll need you all to be at the top of your game. The trainers we're going to battle are some of the strongest opponent's you've ever met so hold nothing back. Through all of this, win or lose, just remember one thing..." Seth paused, a smile breaking the serious expression on his face as he said, "I'll be proud of you all no matter what. You're all my friends, and there isn't anything that could ever change that. So let's give this everything we've got!"

Seth watched as a cheer went up from his companions. Seeing them all so excited for the League did his heart good and made him more confident that he could win.

"Just you wait Allie," Seth said to himself, smiling as he placed his fingers over his lips where hers had been, "I'm going to give this everything I have and more!"