Siege Of Kalos

Chapter 2

Silence, bold, plain silence was the only thing prevalent in the rising cold between May and Ash. His beautiful amber eyes were flickering slowly towards a bright shade of blue at the sight of the woman in front of him, and the hapless woman could only pray and hope that he could forgive her for one mistake that she had committed, but based on the looks he kept giving her, forgiveness was a long shot and she might have had better luck in making a Golem fly.

"Please, Ash. Just...give us another chance", another voice pleaded him. This voice belonged to Dawn Berlitz, another traveling companion of Ash, and upon hearing her voice, his anger nearly doubled, but meeting them at his daughter's wedding was inevitable. After all, May was the mother of Laureline's husband Matt, and Dawn was the mother of the spouses of Ash's first twins - Arno and Leaf, named after his own late siblings.

"We...we're practically FAMILY now, Ash!", Dawn pleaded him, cupping his cheeks, while tears had already begun to flow down hers.

"My children have been married to yours, and that's all. For bringing the two of them to this world, I'm indebted to you for giving me two of the best humans I have ever met as my son-in-law and daughter-in-law, but that doesn't mean I've forgiven you, Dawn, or any of you for that matter", he snapped and walked away tearing himself from her embrace and all Dawn could do was sigh and plop down on a seat, cursing herself for her stupidity, for losing a best friend, a mentor and most importantly, her former crush at that point of time.

"So, were you disappointed when you came to know that your children were dating mine?", she asked him, hoping for the answer and Ash shook his head lightly.

"I admit I wasn't the happiest man to know about it, but my perspective on your children changed. Unlike someone else, the two of them STOOD by my children when time tested them, and supported them", he spat, with words as venomous as a Seviper's poison, causing Dawn to shrink.

"It's my daughter's wedding, Dawn. I'm trying not to scream or yell, okay? My children trust you, they like you, but that doesn't mean that I have to do the same", Ash said avoiding her eyes to prevent himself from looking at her heartbroken expression.

"I'm afraid, Dawn. I'm afraid if I trust you again, you'd repeat the same thing again. I don't know what possessed me to deal with those couple of years, but I don't think I have the mental strength in me to deal with such a situation once again", he said and Dawn just grabbed him by his arms.

"What makes you think that me or anyone would do something like that again? We'd never be able to feel the pain you went through, Ash. But we do know the feeling of guilt eating us up completely. How do you believe that we would have the heart to do something like that again?", Dawn asked him, her lower lip slightly beginning to tremble, coupled by her glistening eyes.

"I believed that people who knew me personally for a year at least, would know me and my character. I believed that I was a good friend and I thought of you as my best friends, those who would stand up for me no matter what happened. But I was proved to be wrong, and I don't have the bravery to gamble that once again. Have a nice day, Dawn", he said solemnly and walked away to the other bar which was empty, while Dawn returned to the one close to her, shoulders slumped and eyes boring holes into the ground.

"Why don't you have a drink, Dawn?", May asked her in reply to which she just gave her former rival a half-hearted smile and a nod. May poured her and herself a glass filled with champagne which the two of them stirred their drinks in silence, which was broken by a sudden burst of giggling, and the two of them turned to see three kids, two boys and a girl, chasing one another, and upon seeing them, they ran towards the two older women who quickly hid their alcoholic beverages.

"Grandma!! Grandma!! Where's mommy?", the eight year old girl asked Dawn and she just giggled, ruffling the little ball of energy's hair, who just pouted in return, causing the boy to roll his eyes. The boy was Red Ketchum, son of Arno - Ash's first and only son and Emily, Dawn's older daughter. Red was a clone of Ash and Arno in both terms, by looks, and by behaviour, while the girl was Joanne Berlitz, the daughter of Ash's oldest daughter Leaf, and Dawn's younger son Ian, being a clone of Leaf and Serena by looks, and Ian, by behaviour - the perfect offspring, according to Dawn.