a/n: This fic happens to be my brainchild. I think I started writing this ages ago, but have rewritten it so many times, I'm only posting it now. I'm never quite sure what to say in my author's notes, maybe I should just stop writing them, but I want to damn it, even if they are complete rubbish. I'm quite excited to finally be posting this, so please enjoy it!

disclaimer: I don't own pokemon. Awww...

Tragic Kingdom: Act I

The Prologue

"Thus I pacified psyche and kissed her, And tempted her out of her gloom."

There was something about the color of the sky that cold winter. No trace of blue could be seen. Only grey masses of cloud hung stagnant overhead like an impenetrable wall, to any who observed it, it was like sorrow blocking out all warmth or light. A constant drizzle had kept up the whole day, leaving the streets of Vermillion wet and dreary. That's why it was odd to see a lone figure walking quickly down the pavilion. The insistent bluster of the soggy wind bothered Jessie as she walked, leaning forward against the wind's perseverance, it whipped her chin length hair into her eyes and made it difficult to see. There was a heavy fog drifting along the coast, a cold front that had its origins in the Seafoam Islands so visibility was minimal. There were no boats out at sea that day as the ocean was rough and thrust against the shore in large billowing crests and then sucked back into itself with the roar of a monster. Wingull floated above, smears of white against the gloomy sky, bobbing in the air against the wind. They squawked but it couldn't be heard through the wind's howls.

-It howled even then when she slipped quietly through the rotten, crumbling door. The hinges rattling loudly in her ears prompted her stomach to churn in anxiety. But she couldn't hear anything else save the morning birds beginning their time-old day song. She crept into the waist high grass, keeping low to the ground and sticking closely to the wall. Usually she would look with distaste on the unruly garden, disliking how the grass grew without tending and how the weeds had overrun the flowers, but today she was glad to look at it for she'd never see it again if all went well. The gale buffeted the backs of her legs sending goose bumps up her entire body. She was in sight of the gate now. If she failed today then…-

The ocean yawned out before her like the maw of a giant creature, a kin to a gyarados perhaps, it looked as if it was ready to eat her up. It had an enchanting quality to it even like that of a sweet smelling bellsprout just before it snaps down shut on its lured prey. The waves rushed against each other in oily swills stirring up a thick foam, almost predator like, salivating and gnashing its teeth. She was drawn to it. The wind urged her towards the shore, she stepped from the boundaries of the pavilion and onto the sand. Her shoes sunk into the soft grain. She trudged towards waves, discarding her socks and shoes, as she ran straight into the surf. Salty air ran its fingertips through her hair and the ocean surged around her ankles.

-The handle was wet when she touched it. She stole a glance back at the house. All the curtains were drawn and the rickety shed door was veering wildly off its hinges in the wind. Jessie cringed with every shriek it emitted. She wasted little time, pulling down the handle and disappearing into the thick fog rolling down the street, she heard a shout behind her-

Her skirt fluttered around her knees twisting to the wind's every whim. The skirt had been acquired exactly five years ago. It was a wispy sky blue number that fell in folds to her knees. It wasn't the most practical skirt for travel but it was her favourite one because it was her only memory of her past freedom. It had become a symbol now.

-She started and began running. She had never run as fast or as feverishly as she did then. She ran like a frightened buneary would from a mightyena. Even though her chest began to burn she didn't stop, knowing that the fire she would experience if she got caught would be much worse than the one engulfing her lungs. She wouldn't give up so easily. She knew that this was her last chance and she couldn't let it slip. She only had one shot. She could not miss this time-

Jessie looked up. There was something on the beach behind her. She stared hard at it, hardly believing what her eyes were seeing. A great hulking shadow that was neither threatening nor comforting watched her from the head of the shore. It had white somber eyes, pupil-less, and a fragmented body that seemed to be breaking up and re-assembling as she watched. It had ragged ribbon-like appendages fluttering in the ocean breeze. A lot like the sacred pokemon god, Suicune. But it couldn't be Suicune. What was it? She wondered if she was hallucinating. Was she high on the opiate that

was freedom? Maybe. In any case the apparition disappeared.

-time it had slipped so quickly away from her like the wind that flew against her as she ran. She couldn't hear anything. She blocked out everything. She was completely focused. But suddenly she felt a hand on her arm, strong, she stopped. But she didn't know why. She was trying to escape…no…don't take me back…I…

"Jess…"-

Jessie fell into the waves, as her knees gave way, her breath was caught in her throat. She continued to stare at the place where the apparition had been before it had vanished, as if expecting it to re-appear again. Although she was sure that it was just a manifestation of her sub-conscious she still felt fear within her. What business had such a creature visiting her, what did it want to tell her?

-She looked back, afraid. Was this the end of the road? But it was only the girl. Dolly. One of my captors but not the dangerous one. Jessie relaxed but only a little. Would the child alert her father? Would she try and stop Jessie? Would she ask questions? But then Jessie looked at her, really looked, and saw that she was crying. How odd. The child had developed affection for her. Why...?-

Jessie stood in the cold, her attention back to the ocean. She didn't feel like herself. She was a lost soul, she had no one anymore, she was a flower ripped out of a garden and planted amongst weeds. That made her a weed technically. The outsider. The lonely. Rootless. She cried. Who was she now? How would she know her future, her destination if she didn't even know the woman who looked back at her from the mirror? Who was there to remind her of who she was? There was no one anymore.

She watched the water collect around her waist, creating current around her. The world went on, whether she was here or there. It went on.

- "Where are you going?" She asked, quietly. "Why are you running?" She knew so little, understood so little. Didn't she see Jessie as Jessie saw herself? Did she not see the shackles and the chains? Or the cold wind and dirty hands? Didn't she wonder where the dignity was or why Jessie slept in a shed while she slept in a warm house? How could she possibly not see all these things? Jessie looked into the child's eyes and tried to see what had caused such distortion? Where was the truth and reality? Jessie looked away, she couldn't bear the emptiness.

"I-" she began. But she couldn't explain anything, at least not the truth of the matter. The girl wouldn't understand. "I'm going to the grocers, I'll be back in an hour. If I'm not, then…" She trailed off, unsure what to say. The girl was smiling enigmaticly.

"I'll be waiting." She said. And that was it. Jessie was free. So, quite simply, she walked away. -

Now she stood, completely submerged in the present. She was actually standing on a road that had suddenly split into two. She had to decide which route to take. It was difficult. She had no map. How would she decide? She looked down at her dress, completely drenched in sea water, floating bloated on the water's surface. A symbol, indeed. Where had she left off? Who were those smiling faces that she missed so much? Could she go back to the only friends she'd ever had?

The dress billowed in the wind, dragging her towards her destiny.

"I'm going back." She whispered. "I'm coming back."

James.

I'm coming back to you.

I wonder if anyone can place who the authors of the quotes are at the head of each chapter are? A super awesome shiny meowth will be handed out to anyone who suceeds! Please review! I know you want to ;)