Title: All that glitters
Author: Shadow/Phantomness
Pairing: Championshipping (Lance x Ash/Red)
Fandom: Pokémon
Theme: #39, Too Late
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me under international copyright laws and taking it is plagiarism. Thank you. *Phantomness bows*

Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks

Warnings: AU, Implied het, OC, fairy-tale-esque, Shonen-ai

Red trudged through the muddy woods, the sword against his hip banging against his legs with a sharp slap every so often. Of course it was inconceivable for a poor soldier to fall in love with the King’s beautiful daughter, Princess Orange, but what could he do about it? He had seen her in the moonlight and fallen heads over heels in love, and as the King was not a particularly cruel man, he had demanded a task, as was the norm, for Red to prove his love to the maiden.

But how was he to find a magical trinket? For though the land itself was of magic, the King had not specified any marvel he wished, only something that would dazzle the maiden and make her laugh!

He sighed as he sat down by a wooded spring, and filled the waterskin in his pack, and drank deeply, before turning his attention to dinner. He had food for perhaps three days before he ran out, and no idea where to go. His best hope would be to find an old beggar woman, a fairy in disguise perhaps, who would grant him wealth beyond his riches and perhaps some trinket.

So he plotted, and he ate his bread and cheese and apples with a good will on the first day, and slept well, though he was alone, for the King had allowed him no companions, afraid they would lead him astray, and Princess Orange had shed a tear for him as he rode out.

Ah, beautiful Princess Orange, with hair like golden sunshine and eyes brighter than the blue sky, so slim and lovely in her gown of lavender twilight! Would he ever see her again?

So he slept, and as he fell asleep, he dreamed, for the spring where he slept was one of the thin places in the world, where the fairyland can almost touch the land of men, and as he slept he sank beneath the earth, and woke in a humming, a singing, a noise of a thousand voices, of all the plants and animals and above all, the songs of the wind and the water and the earth, and even a little song of fire and starlight.

The earth he was on was of fresh green grass, but such beautiful grass he had never seen, and the air tinkled with the sound of silver bells.

“Well, well.” A voice spoke, and as he opened his eyes, he saw a strange face, a fairy, he supposed, dressed like a man, in pure white cloth, with silver and sapphires at his throat and wrists. “A mortal. How odd.”

“Who are you?” Red asked, frowning. He felt surprise, but no fear, as might have been expected.

The fairy laughed, and shook his head, letting his hair fall over his shoulders, long, long white hair that almost brushed the grass.

“Why I cannot give you my name, mortal, for it is not meet for mortals to know the Names of spirits. But you are here because you have some great wish, is that not so?”

Red nodded.

“Yes, the ways will open, for one who is true of heart and in dire aid of assistance, and we of the fae shall lend our aid, but be warned, the price of what the seeker seeks may be higher than he can pay.”

Red blinked then, and the fay laughed then, a light laugh.

“But I am sure you do not wish to sit in the grass all evening listening to my tales. Take my hand, and I shall bring you to the Lord of us all, and after a good meal, perhaps he can grant you your heart’s desire.”

So Red rose, and took the had of the fay, and they vanished into a beautiful palace, and his clothing became beautiful and clean, with cunningly wrought embroidery of brown, to mark him as human, and before them was spread a delicious meal, and the courtiers were all fay, nymphs and sprites and faerie, many strange creatures that he had never seen before, but he was polite and he ate with a good appetite.

After he had eaten, the Lord, who wore white armor studded with deep gems of the ocean, requested of him a tale, and so he told tales through the night, while the musicians played lightly on their instruments, tales of men and even tales of the fay, though they laughed uproariously at how the legends had changed in the other world.

When morning came, he was tired, and fell asleep on a soft divan of white, and when he had woken, and refreshed himself with a bath, he was brought before the Lord.

The Lord fixed upon him a kind eye, and showed him treasures – trees of gold and silver that bore clusters of gems as fruit, fountains of sparkling wine that never ran dry, cunning emerald birds that sang a million languages of song, and even lesser objects, of fay power but less showy.

Red watched them all, and finally selected a beautifully crafted golden horse, with emeralds for eyes and teeth made of mother-of-pearl, saddled with fine black leather studded in ruby and sapphire.

The horse would bear a rider for a full nine days, and during those days, neither hunger nor thirst would plague either. But after nine days, the horse must be rested for a day and a night, and fed pure wine in a golden cup, and a measure of grain in a golden trough, before it could bear again.

So it was, that he returned to his kingdom.

The king was well pleased with the golden horse, but he was greedy in his heart, and so he asked of Red to bring another gift. And Red, though discontent, nevertheless did not disobey his king, and again slept a night by the enchanted spring.

The same fay came, and bore him away to the palace of the King, and again, Red wove his tales for a spellbound audience all night long, and in the morning, he was presented with another gift.

This time, he brought back a beautiful golden bird in a cage, to sing songs of delight. The King clapped his hands childishly, and Princess Orange sighed, but still, it was not enough, and the King demanded still another gift, more magnificent than before.

So Red returned a third time to the enchanted glen, and as he slipped into the land of the fae once again, his guide of before came up to him with a serious look.

“This is your last trip into the land of the fae, my friend,” He said, and Red colored, for to be called ‘friend’ by a faerie was a compliment indeed. “Much danger lurks in waiting for you this time, for do you not know how new fae are born?”

Red did not, and the fay sighed, his long wings of strange silver metal rustling like the leaves in a tree when it is blown by a strong gust of wind.

“The men and women of the highest virtue, or the keenest magic, or the purest hearts, will become fay when they visit the fourth time.”

“But I will not return a fourth time.”

“Are you certain? What of the King and beautiful Princess for whose cause you enter our Realm?”

Red frowned then, and thought of the greedy light in the King’s eyes as he admired his new treasures, and was forced to admit the possibility. But, he decided, it would do well for a test, and so, he said no more.

If the King was so desirous of gold, perhaps he could bring back a ring that made it’s wearer touch gold.

The Lord of the faerie looked very grave, and finally he spoke.

“We do not have such a thing here, mortal, but we have heard that in the barren lands beyond the faerie realm, there lies the water of gold, which serves much the same purpose. If a ring, forged from the white gold deep in the heart of the earth and blessed with water from the river of gold is fashioned, it could convey the power you seek. But why would you wish such a thing?”

“It is not for myself.” Red said hesitantly, “But for the King I serve.”

“Are these gifts your bride-price then?” The Queen asked.

Red nodded, and the two conferred among each other quietly before they spoke.

“You are a good human, Red, and your heart is pure. However, no mere mortal could hope to withstand the trial that lies before him alone, so we shall grant you aid. Lance!”

The faerie Red had seen and spoken to earlier now appeared with a confused expression on his face.

“Yes, my Father and King?”

“You are to accompany this human on his quest. After all, he has chosen you as his Guide. You shall go with him into the earth to find the white-gold, and fashion it into stone, and then lead him to the River of Gold.”

Lance swept a low bow. “Yes, my King.”

With that, Red found himself standing outside the palace, packed with a magic backpack of provisions on his back, along with a few other magical items the fairies thought would be handy. Lance gave him a half-smile, and they walked off.

“So, how long will it take?”

Lance frowned thoughtfully. “The white-gold is not hard to find. True, it lies deep in the earth, but we do not need to dig it up ourselves. Bartering with the dwarves should be easy enough, and that will give us the ring. The part I am worried about is finding the River of Gold.”

“There’s no map.” Red guessed.

“Quite correct.”

Well, he should never have expected things to be too easy, right? What would be the challenge in that? Red packed up his supplies, and sure enough, within two or three days of walking, they reached a dwarven outpost. The dwarves were more than happy to trade, and soon Red had a plain band of platinum in his hands. He told tales late into the night, and the dwarves proved just as susceptible as the other mythical creatures, to the lure of telling tales, giving him the ring for free and throwing in plenty of bread, beef and beer as well.

Lance declined the earthy fare, choosing instead to eat light, airy sugar cakes from their provisions. Red didn’t begrudge him anything, though he had plenty of time to study his traveling companion. He guessed that Lance was of some high position, for had he not called the King of the Faerie father?

If so, why had he bothered? For Red was sure there were many lower fairies, ones who did not wear gold and jewels, for he had observed that though all wore fabrics of glistening color, and adornments that were very beautiful, only the highest wore gems.

“Lance?” He asked one day, as they walked through springy heather. “Why are you my Guide?”

The fay smiled. “Because you had a pure heart.”

“I do not understand.”
“You are correct in assuming you are not the first person who has walked into our realm. There have been many before you, and often they stay only a single night, and leave, bearing riches or knowledge or, rarest of all, a gift of magic that is of the fay. But you are the first I have seen whose heart is pure enough to shine golden.”

Red blushed. “The others…”

“They only thought of themselves, and their riches or knowledge or power. You could have become an Emperor, but you chose only gifts you thought your Princess’s father would like. You are very devoted to her.”

Red nodded, blushing faintly, both form the compliment and from thoughts of Princess Orange.

“It will be sad for me to see you go,” Lance added, and Red heard, but would not remember it until later.

They set up camp for the night, a beautiful little silken tent, and inside, there was a warm bed for each, and a bath. They both climbed into bed and slept, though Red often wondered how Lance slept with wings. He finally concluded it must be like wild birds and thought no more of it.

Lance was pleasant to be with, and as they journeyed, he told Red wondrous stories of his own, tales of the fay, even some famous battles that he had participated in, and as the grass became less green and the earth darker, the knew that they were nearing the barren land where the River of Gold lay.

Red was very sorry for it to end, but also glad he would be able to see Princess Orange again. As they began their walk onto the chunky black rock, a voice roared.

“Behind me.” Lance snapped, and Red instinctively obeyed, even as several misshapen beasts hewn out of rock and lava burst from the ground.

Lance narrowed his eyes, understanding. His wings shimmered as blades of sharpened frost glittered upon his fingertips, and with a roar, battle was joined.

Red hid behind a boulder, watching as Lance feinted and danced and parried, finally growing tired and calling rain from the skies to drown his opponents. While the creatures sank into the now-muddy stone up to their waists and got stuck, Red and Lance ran up towards the mouth of the volcano.

Inside, within a ring of fire, laid a small pool of water.

“Is that the River of Gold?” Red whispered.

“It appears to be so.” Lance casually wrapped his arms around Red’s waist. “I’ll carry you. Now, you must dip nothing but the ring inside, or you shall also turn to gold.”

Red shivered at the intimate touch, but nodded. They soared into the air, and as Lance flew them past the ring of fire, Red dipped the ring into the pool of water.

All at once, bells sounded, and the mountain of fire cracked. Lance shielded them both in wind as heat blazed past their bodies, and giant rocks sailed through the air along with sprays of magma.

Red shuddered, and did not let go. Neither was sure how long the destruction continued, but finally, finally, the dust and smoke and ashes cleared, and where once a volcano had stood now only a shallow dip, a lake, with streams of water running down it’s sides, cutting new rivers into being.

Red almost cried in relief, and as Lance set him down, he almost-almost kissed him in sheer joy.

Their return journey was a pleasant one, and Lance brought also a pair of golden gloves for his father, that would grant the same powers of the ring. They slept during the day and walked underneath starlight, and many mornings he woke up pillowed in Lance’s arms with a warm smile on his face.

He enjoyed that, and so when one morning, Lance was still asleep, he decided that he ought to return the favor.

That night, they slept in each other’s arms, as Red cried his surrender to the stars.

It was a pleasant few months until they returned to the Faerie Land, and while Red and Lance parted sorrowfully, they did it as friends, and with no hard feelings exchanged. In fact, now that he thought of it, he probably loved Lance much more than Princess Orange, but he had made a promise, so now he had to keep it.

When he gave the ring to the King, the King immediately turned everything he touched into gold to prove its powers. It worked wonderfully, but as the King turned to him with a mad gleam in his eyes, and lunged, he moved.

The King hit Princess Orange, changing her into a statue.

Red stared, stunned, but surprisingly, it was not as painful as he had assumed. He felt almost relieved.

Now, he could pick Lance and return to the wonderful world of the Fae.

And so he did.

And they lived happily ever after.

End Fic

Completed 9/14/06

Lance: Fairy tales, ne?
Phantomness: ^^

Red: *Hugs Lance*

Phantomness: I was quite inspired. Besides, I like fairy tales! As for the ‘Too Late’ theme, it’s too late for Princess Orange to get Red! Originally, I was going to write a story where a day in fairyland was a hundred years outside and so she’d be dead, but turning her into a solid gold statue serves her greedy father right!