6Shauntal looked sinister in her purple velvet ball gown. A dark, flowing cape trailed behind wherever she walked, adding to the overall appearance that she was some strange, shadowy creature from the Shadow Realm. Truly, Grimsley nearly believed her to be exactly that—a siren come to seduce him away to his death—but for the shy smile she wore. No matter how sinister she appeared, she was still the wallflower novelist he had grown to love.
Tonight was the Star Festival, an event celebrated all across Unova, a night when romance roamed unbound.
All of the Elite Four had traveled to the Region's capitol, Mistralton City, and were dressed in their finest—Shauntal her ravishing gown, Caitlin a slender pink strapless, and Marshal and I in tuxes. Marshal and Caitlin had just left, to "be alone", they said, leaving Shauntal with me.
"Well, my lovely, how shall we celebrate first?" I asked, taking her elbow in a gentlemanly fashion.
The shadowy seductress beside me blushed. "Um, w-ell…I thought it might be nice to…visit the…Tunnel of Love?" Her voice became softer as she reached the end of her sentence, her blush reddening further.
I chuckled quietly, loving the color it gave her fair skin. "Well, of course we shall visit the Tunnel of Love, my enchanting vision." I led her toward the Tunnel, guiding her with my hand still on her elbow.
The Tunnel of Love was dark, matching Shauntal's appearance perfectly. I helped her into the boat, making sure she was settled comfortably before stepping in myself. We were launched into the dusk, and her face abruptly disappeared from my view.
We were silent for a few moments, the darkness seeming to seal us apart from each other. Then I heard Shauntal say, quietly, "Aren't there supposed to be…hearts and doves, or something?"
She was right; what Tunnel of Love was complete without the usual flowery decorations designed to fill the mind with thoughts of romance? This resembled a Tunnel of Love less than a Tunnel of Despair. And yet…it seemed so appropriate. Here we were, two dedicated Trainers madly (in my mind, that is) in love, devoted to the most ominous of Pokémon, Ghost and Dark. And didn't these types thrive in the same shadows that we now found ourselves in?
I leaned forward and put my lips against her ear. "Perhaps we should take advantage of the darkness," I said, feeling her shiver slightly as my breath tickled her. My lips left her ear and met with her lips. She was so much more self-assured in the dark, losing all the awkwardness she'd shown before.
I was forced to break the kiss myself, lest it continue the entire boat ride. "Shauntal," I murmured, leaning my forehead against hers and wrapping my arms around her waist. "I love you. You know that, yes?"
"Yes. I love you, too, Grimsley." My beautiful novelist's voice almost seems to shimmer in the dark, and I quickly press my lips to hers once again.
By then, I could see the light at the end of the Tunnel rapidly approaching. I slipped my hand into my pocket and felt for the mall box inside. "Shauntal," I said again, and felt my own blush forming. "When you arrived at the Pokémon League three years ago, I saw at once how gloriously beautiful you were." Finding the box, I pulled it out and, with my other hand, gripped both of her petite ones. "As I began to know you, I found that you were also exceptionally intelligent, amazingly clever, and exceptionally creative. I grew to love you, deeply, more so than I have ever loved anything or anyone in all my life."
"G-grimsley…" she gasped.
I opened the velvet box just as we passed out of the shadows and into the light. "Shauntal, my ravishing beauty, will you marry me?"
The amazing woman across from me let out a squeal and launched herself at me, tackling me over the side of the boat and into the water.
We came up, splashing and laughing and coughing, and I said, "So, I'm assuming that your attempt to drown me was a 'yes', am I right?"
She kissed me, the first time that she had ever initiated a kiss.
I took it as a "yes."