Me: Can it be?

The chapters number THREE!

Hooray for you!

There are no longer two!

Rabel: *rolls eyes* Please excuse my pathetic poet of a sister. I think she has brain damage.

Me: Okay, do you want to do this yourself?

Rabel: Yes. This chapter is the chapter where Mal tries to have the wedding. Courtney needs help. Zoey has been given a talent with animals and she loves them. Miss Puffy Cheeks is her Angel Bunny. Also, my brilliant sister would like to retract a statement from the first chapter. Gwen and Cam are NOT married. This was an error due to a massive brain fart.

Me: Cut me some slack! I wasn't thinking!

Rabel: That's not unusual.

Me: *groans* Please excuse me while I punch the snot out of my sister! Read and Review!

Zoey woke groggily from her bed.

"What a weird dream!" she murmured to herself. "Mal came back, demanded a bride, and I accepted…" Her voice trailed off as she gazed at her left hand. An amethyst ring glittered there. "I'm engaged to Mal!"

"You called?" he said, appearing in front of her. She squealed. "Now, first things first. We need you to be fitted for your wedding dress."

"What?" She found herself in front of a mirror.

"Now, it may be bad luck for me to see you in your dress before the wedding, but given the circumstances…" Several dresses appeared on her. "Too white. Too blue. Too flowery. Too loose. Too tight." He finally stopped on an ivory-colored dress with blue trimming. The veil had a crown made out of blue topaz and amethyst. "Now that looks good."

"Mal!" Zoey exclaimed. "When is our wedding, anyway?"

"Oh, it's tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Is there a problem?"

"Well, it's just that, if I ever got married, I'd thought I'd fall in love with him first."

"There's plenty of time for that!"

"You said you wanted a willing bride, right?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"I'd be more willing if we got to know each other first."

"All right. I will ask you a question every night. If you don't give me the answer I want, I'll ask you again the next night."

"And if I give you the answer you want?"

"Well, that will be our wedding night." He gave a little smile. "Come on. Let's go have some dinner."

Zoey found herself at a long banquet table.

"Now, what would you like?"

"Maybe just some chicken salad." The dish appeared in front of her.

"Dressing?"

"Ranch, please." She put it on her salad. Mal had some chicken salad, as well.

"Now, I'm going to ask you my question: do you love me?"

"I'm sorry, I don't." He frowned. By that point, Zoey felt even more tired than she had been at her arrival. Now finished with her meal, she excused herself to go to bed.

"Great," Mal said to a duplicate of himself. His duplications had had some difficulties. He had named them Mike, Manitoba, and Vito. "She doesn't love me."

"Give her time," Vito said with a Jersey accent. "She'll be putty in your hands before long."

"How do we even know what this sheila looks like?" Manitoba added. "She could be ugly as a snake for all we know." Mal groaned and summoned a mirror. On the mirror was an image of Zoey, sprawled on her bed, crying her eyes out.

"Dude, what did you do to her?!" Mike asked in surprise.

"She needs a tan, but otherwise, she's a hottie," Vito added.

"She's quite the looker," Manitoba agreed.

"Mal, what did you do?" Mike asked.

"I don't know!" the evil teen said. "All I did was ask her if she loved me. She said no! How is that my fault!?"

"You did take her away from her family and friends," Manitoba sighed. "She needs a bit of time to get used to being here."

The next few days went along fairly smoothly. Mal asked the question every night, and she answered with a polite "no" each time.

On her fifth day there, she refused to come out of her room. Mal didn't try to get her out until evening.

"Oh, Zoey! Your knight in shining armor is here!" He still felt disgusted with the outfit Manitoba had suggested; the armor was hot and stuffy. He looked at the bouquet of lilies in his hand.

He saw her eye through a crack in the door, and then she slammed it shut again.

"Come on," he groaned, the armor disappearing. "You can't stay in there forever!"

"Yes, I can! I have an endless supply of food in here!"

"I really should have rethought the microwave," he muttered. "Come out right now!"

"You're not my mother!"

"Well, I am your future husband, so get used to my demands!"

"Well, I'm your future wife, so get used to my complaints!" she retorted. He teleported her out of her room.

"Well, we're getting married in the morning whether you like it or not!"

"Fine!" She ran back into her room. He put his ear to the door. The sound of her sobs made his heart ache. He definitely needed some help.

Dawn got up from her desk as soon as she heard the knock at the door. She was startled to see Mal on her doorstep.

"Hello, neighbor!" he said. "Sorry about turning your house upside down. Chaos, you know. Can I come in?" She stepped aside to let him in.

"Now why have you come to see me? May I offer you some soothing tea?" she asked, still speaking in rhyme.

"Sure." As soon as he finished, the blonde grabbed his cup.

"For a long time, I see, you have been so lonely. Now, your castle has inside, a girl who has chosen to be your bride."

"Yes, but today she locked herself in her room and won't stop crying."

"Well, her unhappiness should be there, as you've taken her away from ones for whom she cares."

"I know, but I gave her flowers, I gave her gifts, and she still isn't happy!"

"Zoey cannot be won by gifts and jewels. Love and kindness will be your tools."

"Speak English!" Mal snapped, finally losing his patience with her.

"Look, Zoey's the Element of Kindness, right?"

"Yeah."

"So be nice instead of a jerk."

"I don't do nice."

"Look, do you want the girl or not?"

"I want her."

"Then you know what you need to do."

He turned to leave, and then grabbed Dawn by her collar.

"Breath one word of this to anyone and I'll turn you into food for the animals."

"Understood. Now just do some good." She had begun to speak in rhyme again. He dropped her, and then left.

"Zoey?" he said kindly, knocking on her door.

"What do you want now?" she asked, her voice dry and cracked.

"Look, you don't have to marry me tomorrow."

Silence.

"And I'm s-s-s-s-s-s-s-sorry!" The words caught her attention. She opened the door. Her eyes were red from crying. Her hair was a mess.

"Look, I'm sorry that I was so unkind. Let me make it up to you."

Meanwhile, Courtney and Scott were chasing down Zoey's pets, which were out of control.

"I wish they would just disappear!" Scott growled. They all disappeared. "I didn't mean it!" A letter floated into Courtney's hands. They took it to Sierra.

"It's from Mal," Courtney told her friends.

"Dear Zoey's friends,

Do not look for the animals. They are with their owner.

Mal.

"Why'd he use letters from a magazine?" Gwen asked.

"To disguise his identity," Izzy said. "But he signed his name. And we know who he is, 'because he has Zoey…"

Mal, however, wasn't thinking about his bride's friends at that moment. He led her out of the castle, covering her eyes. He let her look as soon as they got to the spot. Mal saw her mouth drop open.

In front of them was the most beautiful garden ever. Plants of every type were inside. Animals ran to and fro. A gazebo loomed over a lake.

"Now, keep in mind, all of this is yours," Mal said. She didn't move, didn't speak.

She hates it! he thought, slapping himself mentally. To his surprise, she suddenly grabbed him in a hug.

"Mal, this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me!" Her smile was so wide, so happy, that Mal realized he would do anything to keep that smile.

"Shall we have dinner outside tonight?" he asked.

A picnic blanket appeared inside the gazebo. Mal escorted her to the spot. They had a peaceful meal. Zoey, after she had finished, heard a frantic squeaking behind her. Turning around, she spotted her hamster, Miss Puffy Cheeks, or Cheeks.

"Cheeks!" she squealed. The little rodent jumped into her hands, then blew a raspberry at Mal. Before he could retaliate, Zoey scolded her pet.

"Cheeks, be nice." She then turned to Mal. "Sorry. Cheeks is overprotective."

"It's fine." As the sun went down, the couple headed inside.

A few days later, Zoey was out feeding her animals. Mal watched her from a tree.

"What should I give her as a gift? A necklace? Some roses?" he murmured to himself, taking his eyes off her for a moment.

"How about some privacy?" She startled him. Mal fell to the ground. "Are you okay?"

"Just peachy." She came down and helped him up.

"Didn't mean to scare you. I've noticed you watching me several times. Now that I've caught you, why don't you help me with the animals?"

"Sure." He felt her hand touch his own. Some food was poured into it.

"All right! Come on, everyone! Time to eat!"

"Here." Mal tossed the food on the ground. The animals refused to eat it. "Oh, come on! It's food!" Zoey glared at him.

"You have to be gentler." She poured food into her own hand. She lowered it to the ground. Several of the creatures came and got some from her hand. "Now you try." He followed what she had done. They came and ate the food.

Zoey was happy with Mal, though she didn't love him quite yet. Whenever she was alone, however, she felt watched. Not only that, she missed her friends terribly.

One afternoon, she and Mal were chatting in her room. All of a sudden, she remembered how much she missed her friends. Mal was startled as she burst into tears.

"Zoey, I thought we were past this."

"I just miss my friends. I want to see them, even for a moment." Mal left, then came back with a beautiful handheld mirror.

"Say the name of anyone, and this mirror will show you the person you asked for."

"Courtney." Mal left Zoey on her own. Courtney was cooking something.

Zoey watched her friends until she couldn't anymore from emotion. As Sierra's image left the mirror, Zoey felt a stab of pain in her heart.

That night, she had her usual nightmare about Mal. She woke up screaming, and Mal was by her side in an instant.

"What happened? Are you hurt?" he rushed.

"It was just a nightmare," Zoey said, still shivering.

"Mind telling me what it was about?" He sat down on her bed.

"Well, it was… um… about… you."

"Me?" His face twisted into anger. She cowered. "I'd better leave you, then! After all, you don't want to see the very cause of your nightmares!"

"Mal, no!" She grabbed his arm before he could do anything else. "You're not the Mal from my nightmares!" This statement calmed him down.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, right after you escaped, I began having the nightmares. It was more like reliving that time. It was only like that for a few months though. Then it changed. You started to come after me, not changing me, and just touching me."

Mal wasn't sure what to do. He thought for a few moments, then gave her a smile.

"How about tomorrow night we go out?"

"Out where?"

"Outside of Boney Island. Maybe Pakhitew?"

"Really? But you're not supposed to leave!"

"Who will know?"

Both began preparing the next morning. While Zoey simply needed to get together an outfit for the date, Mal needed to brush up—okay, take a crash course—in dating and etiquette.

"Now, ya need to be as polite as possible. Give her plenty of compliments," Manitoba said.

"What about if she asks questions?" Mike pointed out.

"Just be honest with her," Manitoba told Mal.

"Be yourself. The good one, not the freak show who conjured us up," Vito added.

Mal, after mastering etiquette, began searching through Zoey's past. He loved watching her lose her mind after being knocked off a cliff.

Zoey was having a consultation with Cheeks.

"How about this one?" she asked, pulling out an orange dress. Cheeks shook her head, as if to say, "A: It clashes with your hair. B: Why do you bother looking nice for that creep?"

"Cheeks, I am going to spend eternity with him, so I may as well learn to like him. Now will you stop being a pain in the butt and help me out?" Cheeks scurried over to the closet and began rifling through the clothes.

At 7 on the dot, Mal was just outside Zoey's room.

"Keep calm. You look great. She'll look great. This night will be per—"

"Mal?"

His mouth dropped open. Her dress was a beautiful blend of red and gold. The sleeves were ruffled at the ends, and her hair was curled in an elegant style.

"You don't like it? I can change—" she began, but he cut her off.

"No, it's perfect! Here." He handed her a bouquet of roses. She took them with a shy smile.

"I don't have room, though." She looked sorry. Mal made a new table and vase appear. The bouquet was in the vase. He took one of the pink flowers and tucked it behind her ear.

The duo found themselves in a clearing on Pakhitew with a pavilion and a gazebo. After a romantic dinner, Mal asked Zoey to dance.

"But there's no—" she began, but was cut off as music began to play. Mal and Zoey began to waltz. "Where did you learn to dance like this?" she asked.

"You'd be surprised what you can learn watching from afar." They danced a while longer, then they sat down on a bench.

"Zoey?" Mal said after they had watched the stars for a while.

"Yes, Mal?"

"Do you love me?"

She was a bit startled. He had stayed true to his word, asking every night, but she wasn't ready to get married yet.

"I'm sorry Mal, but no." He looked hurt. "I mean, not yet. I'll be here for all eternity, so I will eventually."

Before either could say another word, not able to control their own actions, they kissed. When they stopped, they headed back to the castle, Mal putting the clearing back to normal.

"Well… Good night." Zoey headed for her room.

Mal did a victory dance in his room.

"What're you so happy about?" Manitoba asked.

"We kissed!" Mal cheered. He suddenly stopped when he realized what was happening.

"I've fallen in love with her."

Me: *wipes hand* Now that Rabel is behaving, I can have more focus. Weren't some of those scenes just adorable?

Rabel: Owww! Sis! You're psycho!

Me: That's what they said about Mal, yet look where he is.

Rabel: Yeah, engaged to a girl who doesn't even love him yet.

Me: You're ready for the next chapter?

Rabel: How long is this story anyway?

Me: Three more to go after this.

Rabel: Yay! Read and Review!