Gary's POV

The brunette smiled sweetly at me as we danced in circles at the ball. King Blue looked approvingly at us and grinned at me with a wink. I recognized her immediately.

Her forest green dress flowed smoothly as she danced with me, never dropping her smile. Her blue eyes sparkled as she looked into my brown eyes and her hair was swaying below her shoulders with every movement we made.

I wasn't sure what was happening, but I was sure about one thing, I loved her and only her.

"My Leafy."

I awoke with a startled groan as I felt water dripping down my face and water droplets landed on my bed sheets, completely dampening my bed.

"Wake up Gerald, it's punishment day." I saw a familiar green head smirking at me.

Two things were going on in my mind right now. Who the heck was Leafy? And who was that girl who I was dancing with? She looked so familiar. And the second thing that went through my mind was my fear for what punishment I was about to receive from the adults. All of a sudden, I couldn't recall my dream, nothing came to my head when I tried to remember.

"Who's Leafy?" Drew asked not getting rid of his smirk.

"Uh, I don't know." I said truthfully.

"Hm, whatever you say." Drew said not believing me.

"I'm being serious." I said in a serious tone.

"Brendan and his parents are coming over tomorrow. We have to be prepared." Drew said but I could hear annoyance in his tone.

"Alright then. Let's go." He gestured towards the door of my room and walked out of it himself leaving me alone to get ready.

I put on some of my formal clothing and tried to look as polite as possible. I grinned at myself awkwardly in the mirror feeling uncomfortable wearing these clothes as I preferred normal t-shirts and jeans. I stepped out the doorway to immediately hear people rushing around frantically. Actually, one person to be accurate.

"Ashy boy, what in arceus' name are you doing?" I asked him in confusion as I saw him running in circles in his ridiculous looking clothing.

"They are going to punish us! How are you not scared?!" He asked breathlessly while spinning in circles. "I know King Cilan is scary, King Blue, and Reggie too. MY MUM WILL KILL ME TOO!"

"Calm down, I'm sure our punishment can't be that bad." Drew said reassuringly to Ash while Paul just huffed in annoyance.

"Let's get going before we are late for this meeting too." Paul spoke up with a hint of irritation in his tone.

They all nodded while Drew was still calming Ash as they approached the doors to the throne room. We took a deep breath before knocking loudly on the door.

There was a pause, before the doors swung open and there stood a fuming Cilan, a grumpy Reggie, a frustrated Delia and a grinning Blue.

Why the heck was Blue grinning? We may never know.

"You were late last night." Cilan said sternly, mainly looking at his own son in disappointment. "And you failed to bring back the thieves, or any information whatsoever."

"We have decided on your punishment through a discussion." Delia began.

"You will not be allowed to leave the castle at all, that includes into the gardens or to the stables, and you must do all your chores, work and training." Reggie finished.

Blue nodded in agreement although I could tell there was more.

"And if you fail to do those tasks, you will be forced to look after the plumbing and cleaning of bathrooms." Blue stated with a smirk. He had probably thought of that himself.

How he got the others to agree with that, I have no idea.

"What! That's disgusting though." Ash groaned.

"That's what you deserve for not obeying orders." Cilan spoke up with a glare.

The four of us just sighed and we were soon dismissed by our angry parents. And that began our horrible work filled day.

I looked at the rest of us and smirked. They rolled their eyes at me before nodding. It's decided.

Leaf's POV

I was at a ball and I was enjoying it too which was a surprise since I never liked dancing unlike Dawn who loved it so much. But I wasn't dancing alone. Someone was holding so tight as though they were afraid to let me go.

"My Leafy." He whispered happily.

I felt myself smiling warmly back at this guy who looked very familiar. He had brown spiky hair and was wearing this nice suit. But one thing caught my eye, on his coat there was that familiar symbol. A rose in the center of a four pointed star.

Then I shot out of bed in surprise and realization. But my mind suddenly blanked. I couldn't remember whoever I was dancing with. All I could remember was the symbol. Exhaustion overwhelmed me as soon as I stood. Then I recalled yesterday's events.

Last night had been very eventful and we were extremely lucky to get a home in town. After the boys left, we passed out under the Great Oak Tree. We were found in the morning by an old woman who took us to town.

We had to wear disguises so the guards wouldn't recognize us as the thieves who stole the food from the royals. We had been offered a house when the old woman took pity on us when she found us once again but this time we were scavenging for food this morning when we left the town.

She brought us to her house and allowed us to stay with her. She allowed us to take the two rooms upstairs and I shared a room with May. Her house was a small wooden house with an upstairs just for the four rooms. Her own room was a little room downstairs just outside the kitchen.

Her name was Ms Greenfield and she was well respected gardener for the Kingdom of Stars. She was a kind old lady with no husband and she was known around the town very well. Although, she took upon the responsibility of keeping us secret. She was the one who gave us our disguises which we had gratefully accepted.

"Good morning Leaf." A voice greeted me.

I looked over to see May smiling at me.

"What's up?"

"Not much. Breakfast is being cooked right now." She informed me as my stomach rumbled.

"Alright. I'll come down in a second." I told her as I noticed she was wearing her disguise.

She wore glasses and brown eye contacts to cover her sapphire ones. Her hair was braided and she wore a red fedora that actually suited her. She hadn't worn a wig unlike Misty and Dawn.

My disguise consisted of blue eye contacts and I didn't wear fake glasses like May did. I tied my hair up in a ponytail and let some strands of hair loose. (A/N Similar to Hilda pretty much but they don't look the same.) I decided to not wear a hat.

We walked out of the our shared room and found Misty and Dawn already downstairs, preparing breakfast with Ms Greenfield. We all greeted each other and May and I began to help clean up after they finished cooking.

"Bacon and eggs!" Misty announced and began serving us the meal each.

After a while of stuffing our stomachs, I realized something.

"Misty, Dawn, disguises?" I asked them.

"Oh right." They both said in unison. They hurried upstairs and came back down a few minutes later looking completely different.

They actually looked so different that I couldn't tell who was Misty and who was Dawn. After a while I realized. Misty was wearing a blonde wig which reached down her back and she wore a blue headband. Her eye contacts were changed to dark brown.

Dawn had a similar blonde wig that was even longer than Misty's and was tied up in a ponytail and she didn't wear eye contacts. Overall, the four of us looked pretty different.

May kept adjusting her glasses and her hat while Misty kept fixing her head band and Dawn kept fixing her hair. I was checking my eye contacts to see if I put them on properly.

"Are you guys ready?" I heard Misty ask us as we prepared to leave.

We all nodded simultaneously before saying goodbye to Ms Greenfield who waved back at us with a warm smile.

Today was the day we were responsible for shopping. The four of us split up halfway to the market and I decided to go to the vegetables section.

But I saw a familiar face that made me freeze in place.

It was Gerald. The flirt that saved me in the forest. He was wearing something completely different and his hair was covered by a cap that shadowed his face but I recognised him either way.

I felt myself panic a bit then realized I had a disguise on so I let out a sigh of relief. I attempted to walk passed him without being noticed, but Gerald being his usual self, noticed her immediately with interest.

"Who might you be?" He asked with a smirk and I let out a sigh of annoyance. This guy was infuriating.

"None of your business sir. If you may excuse me, I have to go." I said as calmly as possible.

I was about to walk off when a chorus of screams echoed around the market. My eyes flared in panic as I didn't know where the girls were. They could be in trouble if I didn't find them immediately. Before I could go look, a protective arm wrapped around me. I looked up to whoever was holding me and I blushed slightly. Then I grumbled in annoyance. How smooth.

I pulled his arm off me with force and hurried through the crowd of people who were running in all directions. What I saw in front of me made me both frightened and shocked. After all, it wasn't everyday you'd see a dead body. Especially one of this kingdom.

But what scared me the most was how he'd died. He was pierced in the heart by an arrow and his arm was bent in a weird direction. His blood was smeared on a piece of paper he clutched in his deathly hands. I gulped and took a step forward. Reaching out to the piece of paper, my eyes widened as I realised what it was.

The blood wrote a message. One that sent chills up my spine. Gerald was coming up from behind me and I saw him stop and stare at me holding the note in my hands.

"I don't know your name sir but do you think you could pass this on to the royals?" I asked him with as much politeness I could muster.

"Of course." He answered quietly, gazing at the lifeless man on the ground in horror.

He took the piece of paper from my fingers and his face scrunched up a little in disgust as he felt the fresh blood on the paper. But either way, he ran off with it in his own hands back to the kingdom. But how was he going to enter the kingdom without permission?

I decided to follow him being the curious person I am. I wove through crowds of people making sure my eyes never left him. I ignored the stickiness of the blood staining my fingers and continued following Gerald.

He made it to the gates of the castle and I hid behind a pillar to see him. He spoke to one of the guards and showed him the paper. I saw him raise his cap slightly and the guards nodded in confirmation. They allowed him to enter the gates and they also bowed.

I raised an eyebrow in confusion. Surely they wouldn't just let any stranger through the doors that easily. Especially one holding a blood covered message.

Unless he wasn't just any ordinary person.... Who really was Gerald?

3rd person

Far beyond the Kingdom of Stars, an army was being formed. One deadlier than most, each armed with weapons made of the finest steel. They were preparing for the end. The end to all kingdoms.

"Is everything ready?"

"Of course. We'll head down to the kingdom of Sapphire. The king, queen and prince have departed to go to the Kingdom of Stars temporarily."

"Excellent. Get the troops prepared."

"How was the warning sir?"

"Perfect. The message should've been passed onto the kings and queen very soon..."

—-

To be completely honest, it feels weird to call Gary 'Gerald'.

This was more of a Gary and Leaf chapter but not really much shopping involved quite yet.

Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. Thanks so much for reading as always.

Our book just reached 80 reads! That's like a huge achievement for me hehe thank you so much ^_^

Byeeee

- April

11th Jan, 2018