Interlude: The Hero and the Guardian's Review

Later, an Arcanine welcomed Ruby, Brenna, and Lita into the scene of a throne room. "Welcome, all of you...heroes of the realm."

"Forgive us, Your Majesty--we are not used to meeting royalty." Lita stammered.

"Just follow my lead--I will show you the proper protocol." Charlotte, in the role of a herald, assured Lita.

Just then, a Dedenne spotted Lita from a nook near the beautiful prop throne. "That's them! These are the true heroes!"

"What do you mean?" a yellow cloaked Sneasel asked. "They should still be off looking for the Rings of Power, Wisdom, and Courage...how do you know they are the true heroes?"

"This is Christine..." the Dedenne explained, gesturing to Lita. "I gave her my topaz pendant...."

"Oh, that..." Lita smiled. producing the prop pendant from a bag, to gasps from the court.

"That pendant...it is Princess Alyssa's!" a yellow clad Manetric playing a coachman gasped.

"But what about the Rings of Power, Wisdom, and Courage?" a blue cloaked Sneasel asked.

More gasps filled the stage as Ruby, Brenna, and Lita set three beautiful prop rings for the crowd to see. "Behold...the Rings of Power, Wisdom, and Courage." Ruby smiled.

"Sire, we can prove these three are the real heroes, and not these cloaked rogues." the Manetric explained. "We know because we saw every moment of their epic battles." The other Manetrics playing coachmen nodded in agreement.

The Arcanine grimaced as he got up from the prop throne. "Guards! Take these three frauds to the dungeon! Deception will not be tolerated in the realm!"

As the three cloaked Sneasels were led away, the Arcanine addressed Ruby, Brenna, and Lita. "Please...accept a royal apology from me for listening to those rogues, and leading you on a wild Yungoos chase across the realm."

He next addressed Ruby. "Rowan...you have more than earned Princess Robin's hand, and the right of succession when I join Arceus in heaven. Your sisters will serve beside you on the royal court, as heroines of the realm.

Cheers filled the stage as the lights went down. "And so it was that Rowan, Meriel, and Christine reigned together as heroines of the realm." Shimmer concluded. "They went on many more adventures with the Beasts, but that is another story for another day!"

The Hero's Grove roared with applause as the lights came up for the curtain call...

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"All right...now that your performance is over, here are some of my thoughts." Erza began. "Overall, you did well remembering what we went over in rehearsal. But I acknowledge that going through a fight progression in the heat of a performance for the first time is terrifying. The more you practice, the easier this becomes. I will not send you out onstage to perform a progression you have not rehearsed."

"That's a relief..." Brenna mused. "I hope no one noticed I was nervous during my fight..."

"It's okay to be nervous." Ruby assured Brenna. "Especially when you do something for the first time. But the audience is your friend, not a foe."

Brenna smiled. "Thanks...come to think of it, playing a hero wasn't that bad--even if I was terrified by my first stage fight."

You gave your all in performing that fight, and that's what matters to us. Zacian assured Brenna.

I'd say you all are ready to try a longer show... Zamazenta agreed.

With that, he conjured scripts before the group. You will be performing 'Grace and the God of Light'...do well, and Erza or another fight trainer of your choosing will go with you, plus some gifts from us.

Ruby studied the script for a moment. "This is based on 'The Prince's Spellsong...'

"The only major difference is, the princess isn't pining for Tristan all the time." Lita mused as she too paged through the script. "That, and Duchess Amara gets some proper comeuppance this time."

"I'll be happy to narrate like always..." Brenna smiled as the group huddled to discuss who would play what role.

"When you've decided on roles, we'll do a readthrough and discuss the fight scenes--including the big tournament scene." Erza explained. "This time, instead of just sword fights, we'll have other weapons involved and special effects for magic."

"Come to think of it, we have done enough shows to do a proper tournament scene..." Lita mused. "So how do we do an interesting tournament scene without it taking too long?"

"If the script doesn't suggest what to show, you ideally want to show a few meaningful battles." Erza explained. "You do want to show Tristan arriving, his battles, and his showing off of Grace's portrait. Showing every single battle would take too long, and bore the audience."

"Charlotte has to be Grace..." a Torchic sighed dreamily.

"With Ruby as Tristan!" a Fletchling agreed.

Ruby just smiled. "I can do that--always wanted to do that story with a stronger princess. Asked Mum all the time why the princess pleaded for Tristan all the time..."

"Well, I will not make Grace a delicate flower screaming for Tristan all the time." Charlotte vowed. "She will be as brave as she is beautiful, and know how to rescue herself, thank you.

Even Erza couldn't help smiling at Charlotte's vow. "Very well then...if you all are ready to begin rehearsals, let's go back inside. We'll finalize roles, do a readthrough of the script, and answer any other questions you all may have about the show."

"Right!" With that, Lita led the charge inside the dojo, with Zacian and Zamazenta looking on...

To Be Continued...