The first thing in my mind was pain. Nothing else, only a stinging pain, as if someone was driving an ice-pick through my eyes, deep into my skull. A moan escaped me, as I curled up, trying to get away from the pain. A cool soothing hand was placed on my forehead, the sensation allowing me to think past the blinding pain, if only for a moment.

“What...?” I tried to ask what was going on, but my voice came out as a hoarse croak, not a sound a human should make. Pain shot through my throat, making me cough and rasp.

“Stay still.” Claire’s quiet voice told me. Yet, regardless of how quiet her voice was, in my current state, it was akin to a loud shout, causing me to flinch in pain. After a few moments, my limp body was pulled into a somewhat upright position and a cool, moist sensation touched my lips. Opening them, just a tad, a sip of water entered the desert that was my mouth, only to get immediately absorbed. A few more followed, but when I tried to swallow, my raw throat convulsed in pain, the water getting expelled in a coughing fit. The sudden, jerky movement from coughing made me wonder if my skull would burst. Instead, I merely slumped over, before Claire put me back into a somewhat stable position.

Again, I tried to speak but the sound was even less understandable than before. But maybe, Clarie understood regardless.

“You fought those Zubat, you and little Violet. I couldn’t see what was going on, only hear your shouts and Vio’s song. It went on for what felt like forever but once it was over, there was only silence.” Claire explained, her voice barely a whisper. Slowly moving my head up and down in something that might be recognised as I nod, I tried to make her continue. Any more movement was impossible, as I was afraid my head would fall off if I tried.

“By the time I had recovered enough to crawl out of that hole you stuck me in, Vio and you had fainted, with dozens of Zubat lying on the ground around you. You and Vio were clinging together, or maybe you were trying to shield Vio, I couldn’t really tell. After putting her back into her Pokéball, I had Twiggy carry you away. We should be safe here.” she explained, and I let myself settle down, noticing the soft and warm pillow under my head. Instead of trying to hold onto my consciousness, I stopped fighting, simply letting myself fade into sweet oblivion once more.

Once more, there were dreams. Dreams of family, of my brother. A ball, during which I had been dancing with him. The music sounded familiar, a slow, steady beat as we slowly turned under the light. But I couldn’t remember where I had heard it.

In another dream, I was walking, alone, on a dark road through the forest. There was a strange sound and a violet light, confined in a golden ring. For a moment, there was a sensation of vertigo, as if I was falling. And then, nothing.

Swirls of colour, impossible forms and shapes, things that should not be. Surrealism, only it was all around me, as the world spun, twisted and turned. Figures fading in and out of view, as if there was a mist all around me. Acquaintances, mixing with people I had never seen before, Pokémon and strange, metallic things that seemed to move on their own accord. Nothing made sense, and yet, there were parts of me that insisted it was all as it should be.

When I awoke again, the pain had dulled somewhat. Thinking was still unpleasant, but it was no longer to the point that I longed for the sweet release of death. It took physical effort, and the use of my hands, to peel open my eyes, tears and even a little blood, had crusted them shut beyond the strength of the muscles normally responsible for them.

My movement must have alerted Claire, as she gently took hold of my hands, as I was owlishly blinking open my eyes.

“Let me help you.” she quietly offered and I simply let her guide me, too groggy to question what was actually going on. Given that asking would be incredibly painful, going by the feeling in my throat, I restrained the urge. She guided me out of the tent and around us, there were a few trees, a small patch of grass in the middle of the forest, There was a small brook flowing nearby, the water happily gurgling and it was towards that brook that she guided me.

“Sit, I’ll help you wash.” she told me and I just accepted it, sitting on a low rock. I was simply beyond caring.

With a canteen of water and infinite care, Claire carefully washed my face, the cool water helping me to feel a little more human again. I even managed to drink a little, despite the water feeling like sand as it went down my throat.

Once she was done, I reached down, needing to make sure that Vio was alright. Her Pokéball was there and when I pressed the release-button, she appeared before me in a flash of light. Not even trying to restrain myself, I wrapped her in a hug, feeling a weight I hadn’t really noticed flowing off my shoulders. Fresh, hot tears trickled my eyes, as I remembered her bravery, standing next to me without even trying to hide behind my legs, as we stood against the swarm of Zubat.

Turning my head a little, I gently kissed her cheek, trying to convey the affection I felt for her. While she wasn’t my Prince Charming, she was my cute shrinking Violet, my adorable little fairy.

Suddenly, there was a bright light blinding my eyes and I stumbled backwards, not quite believing what I was seeing. The light was familiar, the light of evolution. But why now, why this way? It didn’t make sense, it shouldn’t be possible and yet, I was seeing it. Right in front of me.

There was a soft, ethereal sound in the air, as if Violet was singing as her body changed, the voice first sweet and gentle, before lowering a little, gaining maturity and a sense of presence.

When the light faded, the sound was still there, coming from the lips of the fairy-like creature before me. Gone was the childlike, slightly clumsy-looking body, replaced by a taller, slender being. She was still petite, the teal of her hair had shifted a little further into blue, and there was an almost leaf-like, lightly violet skirt covering her thin, dancer-like legs.

Her now much larger eyes gave me a look of wide-eyed wonder, before she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around me, making sounds I could only describe as happy.

“What just happened?” Claire asked the obvious question, her voice filled with disbelief.

Trying to answer, I could only croak, before settling on a shrug. I had no better idea what was going on than she had. If possible, I wanted to discuss it with Cynthia or Joyce but both were far away.

Instead of dwelling on something I couldn’t really do anything about, I decided that pushing forward was more important. With a grimace, I took another drink of water, managing to get it down without a coughing fit.

After giving Vio’s new, longer hair a quick caress, I sent her back into her Pokéball, where she could rest some more.

“Lead.” I managed to force out, my voice little more than a hoarse whisper. We had to keep moving, or who knew what would happen come night. It was difficult to estimate the time, but I thought it was late morning, so we had an entire day ahead of us. No matter how shitty I felt, spending the day lazing around on a small mountain meadow just wouldn’t do.

Claire must have understood my intentions, and with only minimal resistance, I managed to push her into moving without having to speak again.

Walking was not fun in my state, my mind was filled with cobwebs and my body felt bruised all over, every muscle aching as if I had been running throughout the night. I didn’t even try to remain vigilant, instead, I just focused on setting one foot in front of the other, following Claire and hoping that she could deal with any problems that might come towards us.

There was a part of me that rankled at the dependency but a much larger part of me was exhausted, beaten and just done. If necessary, I could call out Prince Charming, but I just wanted to rest, at least once we were somewhat safe.