Tale 129: Saved from Fate (Misty)

(real tale: Stronger than Fate)

Ash notices Misty stringing some fishing line across the tent. "What's that for?" he wonders.

"It's a prop for my next tale." Misty explains as she gathers various small dolls from her bag.

Melody decides to help Misty set up, and spellsings two hooks into existence on each end of the tent. Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul...

"Thank you." Misty smiles as she sets the fishing line aside and gets the dolls in order.

Once all her props are in place, Misty begins "Once upon a time, a queen of a far off land gave birth to a healthy baby boy." She positions some fairy dolls gathered around a queen doll and a small baby doll. "The fairies of light gathered around the child--who had been named Kichirou--to bless him, but one light fairy shook her head." Some giggles go up as Misty makes one fairy doll do this.

In character as a young girl, she sighs "I fear it is the prince's fate to die by Croconaw or Arbok or Arcanine...there is nothing we can do to prevent this."

Fearful murmurs race through the crowd as Misty continues "The king and queen were heartbroken and decided not to tempt fate. So they built a castle atop a mountain and hired men to guard it day and night, and there Prince Kichirou lived, protected from anything that would potentially harm him."

After clearing off the dolls, she continues "One day Kichirou noticed a Growlithe playing outside his window, and decided that he wanted to have a Growlithe of his own." She shows her audience a prince doll. "Since the king and queen never denied him a wish, they decided to grant this one too. They found him a Growlithe, and trained him to protect his master."

Some "aw"s fill the air as a tiny Growlithe doll joins the prince doll on the rock Misty is using as her stage. "Prince Kichirou and his Growlithe were great friends, but one day not long after he came of age, he told his father he longed to see the world."

"I know about the prophecy," Ash fills in Kichirou's dialogue. "but my Growlithe will protect me."

"Again, the king could not refuse." Misty continues before setting a Ponyta doll on the rock. "He gave a beautiful Ponyta from the royal stables to him, and with his Growlithe by his side, Prince Kichirou rode far and wide; delighted by all he saw."

Tense murmurs fill the air as the audience wonders how the three fates will come into play. "One day while visiting another land, Prince Kichirou fell in love with a princess--we'll call her Shina." Misty explains to the audience as she shows them the princess doll, who has slightly tanned skin and black hair tied back in a neat ponytail and is wearing an ornate pale blue outfit.

"I wish to marry you," Ash fills in more dialogue. "but my fate is to die at the hands of a Croconaw, an Arbok or an Arcanine; I don't want to see you broken hearted."

"We shall resist fate," Misty assures Ash as Princess Shina. "True love can conquer anything so long as we believe it can."

As herself, she continues "And so, Prince Kichirou and Princess Shina were married."

Thunderous applause goes up at this. "A few years went by, and Prince Kichirou learned his father was very sick." Misty intones, signaling her story is not over yet. "The two of them traveled to Prince Kichirou's homeland to visit him. One night, while they were fast asleep, Princess Shina suddenly heard a sound that woke her."

Nervous giggles fill the air as Misty opens the tent and peers into the rain, as if she is Princess Shina trying to find the noise that woke her. "She stared into the darkness and spied an Arbok coiled in the corner." Laughter goes up as Misty rears back in feigned surprise, as if the Arbok is really there. "She tried to remember all she had learned from the fairies of light. Suddenly, she remembered that Arboks loved milk. So she slipped out of bed and filled a bowl with milk." As Misty closes up the tent, Brock pauses to set a saucer of milk before Mai. "When the creature saw the bowl, it began to lap it up so quickly that Princess Shina worried that it would choke to death."

Laughter goes up at this. "When the Arbok finished the milk, it fell fast asleep, and Princess Shina told the guards to catch it and release it somewhere far away."

She pauses for a few beats before announcing "She had saved her husband from a deadly fate!"

More applause fills the air at this, but Misty still isn't finished. "Sadly, the king died the next day." she sighs as she returns to her "stage". "After the funeral rites were completed, Prince Kichirou ascended to the throne. One day, as he was out hunting with one of his Arcanines, he suddenly tripped over a log on the riverbank. To his astonishment, he heard two voices speaking to him as he tried to regain his bearings. One was Darkrai, and the other Arceus."

In a deeper version of himself to represent Darkrai, Brock growls "You cannot escape fate. Wherever you go, I will find you."

He then switches to a soft and gentle deep voice to represent Arceus. "There is still a chance for you to escape--look for a hole in sand filled with water that never dissolves."

Misty then continues "Prince Kichirou was terrified at this, and told Princess Shina what had happened. Princess Shina assured her beloved she would find a way to save him. After thinking for a moment, she remembered a special mint plant an earth fairy had told her about. The four-leafed mint grew in the desert and could keep water in a pit for a year or more."

Awed murmurs race through the crowd. "Princess Shina set out to find the water mint early the next morning." Misty goes on. "She left in the middle of the night, guided by starlight. She rode her shining Ponyta west, toward the desert, enduring heat, storms, and thirst all the while."

"At last they came to a mountain that cast a cool shadow." she continues as she gets the princess doll into position. "The water mint grew at the very top of that mountain, but it was surrounded by a deep chasm. Luckily, Princess Shina had packed some rope." She shows the audience the fishing line. "She made a large loop with one end..." Misty proceeds to do this with the fishing line and hangs it on one hook. "and tossed the other across the chasm with all her strength, where it caught on a branch." Gasps go up as Misty gives the fishing line a mighty heave, where it catches on the hook at the other end of the tent. "Trusting this rope to hold her up, Princess Shina climbed across the chasm."

The audience watches as Misty guides the princess doll across the rope. "The wind assailed her, and still she climbed." she continues as she guides the doll. "Blinded by sand, she felt her way up the mountain to the very top."

Some light applause fills the air when the doll reaches the other end. "She climbed on until she felt plants beneath her feet, and taking one..." Misty sets the doll aside and picks up a mint sprout. "she counted leaves -- one, two, three, four. Her heart pounding, she held fast to the plant and slid down the rock, leaped over the chasm, mounted her Ponyta, and rode for home."

Melody discretely sings a quiet spellsong to tidy the tent as Misty continues "When she got home, Princess Shina saw her beloved standing near the river beside a pit of sand he had dug. Beside the pit was a pot of water, and only a short distance away stood a hungry Croconaw. Princess Shina ran to the hole and instructed Prince Kichirou to pour in the water. As Prince Kichirou did this, she tossed in the water mint. Sure enough, the water did not seep through the sand, but remained. The angry Croconaw plunged back into the river and swam away."

Mild applause goes up at this. "Prince Kichirou was amazed at all Princess Shina had done--with her strength and commitment, he had overcome the second of the three fates the fairies had predicted so long ago." Misty replies. "Suddenly a wild Ducklett flew past. Prince Kichirou's Arcanine got excited and began to chase the Ducklett, causing Prince Kichirou to trip over him, sending them both tumbling into the river. Luckily, Princess Shina tossed a rope to her beloved and pulled him and his Arcanine ashore."

She concludes "Prince Kichirou stared into his wife's eyes--Princess Shina's bravery had proven to him yet again that her love was stronger than even fate. They lived happily ever after, and went on even more adventures together--but that is another story for another day!"

Ash leads the applause as Misty gathers up her props...