I'M STILL ALIVE.

I'm sorry for the lack of updates. I know I always come up with some stupid excuse but there has seriously been so much going on in my life- including the loss of a loved one. So I ask that you forgive me yet again for the long time it took to actually sit down and write a new chapter. I PROMISE that this series will be finished. It will just take a bit sometimes. ANYWHO, here's the next chapter! Thank you all so much!


The castle was covered in the darkness of night, as bright blue flames illuminated the various windows and main entrance. There was a constant snowfall that began to grow heavier as the carriage approached the front gates. The rhythmic gallop of horses trotted against the icy path, with the wooden-wheeled carriage following behind.

The horses pulled the carriage around a large frozen fountain in the courtyard, as the castles main doors opened. The carriage came to a stop, as a servant shuffled his way quickly to its door to open it. A fancy booted foot touched the icy pavement, as Prince Aspen stepped out in front of his home. He could feel the coldness bringing a familiar feeling to him. It was much to warm at that princess's kingdom.

"Your father is waiting for you in his study." The servant said clearly, causing Aspen to roll his eyes. The prince adjusted his collar and popped his jaw. "When Isn't he..."

His footsteps were delicate, but still seemed to echo through the hallways of the castle. The sounds bounced off of the walls in the seemingly empty castle. It was filled with lavish jewels, and everything seemed to be lined with pure silver and diamonds. It all looked like a winter wonderland, inside or out- even during the current summer.

Aspen opened the heavy door to his fathers study, and walked in without a knock or warning. The king had his back to the desk, as he stared out the window to the farthest side of the room. He spun a glass in his gloved hand, which was all that was visible to Aspen. The ice cubes that were in the glass were nearly invisible due to their high quality, but the noise of them sliding against the side of the glass still filled the silence.

"How did it go?" He asked, taking a sip of his drink. He made no effort to turn around to face his son. Aspen didn't seem surprised by this, as it was a regular thing they did.

"Maybe if you came, you would know." He answered back. The kings seemingly constant stirring came to a halt, as he threw back the rest of his drink before pouring himself another. Aspen sighed before continuing. "Remind me again why you decided not to make an appearance?"

The king scoffed. "I refuse to attend such a ridiculous event." he said with slight disgust in his voice.

"Was it not mandatory?" Aspen questioned again, waiting for his father to finish the gulp of his drink before responding.

"Coronations are held for queens, which requires mandatory attendance. A princess becoming a princess however-" He started, turning his chair around to face his son. He had dark gray hair, that obviously had used to be completely black like his sons. It matched his beard and mustache, which were medium length but were groomed to 'perfection'. His icy blue eyes matched his sons as well, and the crown upon his head which held gems of the same color. He gave a smirk to his son.

"Is an utter waste of time." He finished, leaning back in his chair, taking another sip of his drink. Aspens eyes narrowed in mild annoyance.

"So, without questioning my choices, how about you tell me how it went?"

Aspen audibly groaned and rolled his eyes once ore before confessing to his father.

"Well, she's rather ignorant and doesn't seem to be much of a princess. She's clumsy and stumbles over her words like a 3 legged horse." He said flatly, making his father chuckle. "But, I guess that just makes it easier to lie to her." Aspen finished, making his father smile.

"She believed you?" He said through a wide grin. "Every word. Even about how we'd met in secret and that she was the only one who ever knew." He finished with a laugh, that was returned by the king. "She told me she remembered the feelings of 'love' that we shared and everything. It was far to easy." He finished with yet another chuckle. His fathers coldness was replaced now with an ironically warm sense of pride.

He leaned forward, and placed his elbows on the desk in front of him, with a large smirk.

"Now, what about how she looked, huh?"

"She's on the fat side- A rather disgusting trait she inherited from her father. But other than that she looks just like the queen did in her teenage years from those Mushroom Historia photos. I wouldn't mind going all the way with her." He said with a devious smirk. The king laughed at his sons remark, and seemed to be mentally patting him on the back.

"And with all the money they have, we wont even have to pay for the wedding." The king said through a satisfied grin as he thought of all the money he would be making when the two merged kingdoms. They were wealthy as it was, but to the King, you could never have too much money.

"Or the after party," Aspen said with an evil grin, imagining how devoted the princess was to him, and wondering how far she'd go.

"When are you meeting again?" the king asked, smile still wide on his face. "Tomorrow night," The prince said, walking forward slowly. "And probably every day afterward."

"That's my boy."

o0o0o0o0o

"What are we going to do, Mario?" Peach asked, looking at a blank table in front of her. The sun shone down through the windows, casting dancing colors along the shiny wood, although Peach hadn't been paying much attention to it.

Mario sat across from her, in the same state that she was. He didn't answer immediately, begging to hear an answer in the soft chatter of townsfolk outside. Peach closed her eyes, hoping that maybe it would help her think.

"Last night was a big night for her, Maybe she was just swept up in the moment." He answered, hoping he was right but knowing he wasn't. Peach could sense his uncertainty, even through his poker face.

"Maybe." She answered almost statistically, bringing a different sent of silence between the two. Their minds were both stirring with ways to avoid Bella's choices.

"Is this really... Such a bad thing?" He said through his own disapproval with the statement. Peach looked up at him, with a confused stare. "I would be lying to you if I said I didn't disagree with them being together... But the more I think about it, the more I realize that I have no reason to really dislike him." He said, thinking about how it was possible he'd only disliked Aspen because he was making advancements towards his daughter. His teeth clenched lightly before he took a breath and relaxed.

"She seemed very happy with him, and I don't want to dictate who she can and cant be with... You know how hard it was to convince everyone that you just wanted to be happy?" He questioned, Peach biting her lower lip at the memory.

Her Father completely disagreed in Mario being her significant other, causing the two hell when they were younger. She just wanted to be happy, and she couldn't begin to explain how emotionally draining it was to deal with a situation such as that. She thought about Junior, and how they'd both left after that incident with Bella. Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision.

"I remember..." She choked, her emotions getting the better of her. "Peachy..." Mario said softly, moving from his chair to hers, hugging her and rubbing her back gently as silent tears fell from her eyes.

"Isn't that why we're doing this?" He asked, uncertainty creeping its way into his voice. He felt Peaches grip tighten on him, as if she sensed his questioning tone. He took a deep breath and knew he had to act as if he knew what he was doing to keep his wifes sanity. "We've taken steps to not reveal Juniors identity to her to make her happy... Here we are, having second thoughts..." He said, boldly at first. Peach pulled away from him and wiped her eyes before calming herself down.

"I just feel like we're making a mistake in doing this... Can we condone this behavior in front of Junior?" She asked again.

"We have no reason not to."

Peach didn't seemed to be satisfied by this answer, but she sighed and accepted defeat. He did prove a point, even though they both were still un-easy as to the overall situation they were in.

"Lets just try and brush it off for now. It will probably fall apart after a few dates." Mario said, forcing a smile, almost convincing himself he was doing the right thing. Peach returned the smile and stood up. "Agreed."

"Besides, Now would be a wonderful time to deliver her her coronation gift." Mario said with a genuine smile, as he took his wife's hand. She squeezed it tightly and quickly let her mind drift to different things.

o0o0o0o0o

"Coronation gift?" Bella asked, following her parents down yet another long corridor. She followed behind otherwise quietly, beyond the few questions that were being asked. Mario and Peach both smirked at their daughters questions.

"Yes, it's mandatory." Peach said sarcastically, letting out a light giggle. Bella furrowed her brow, although she still had a wide smile.

"I really don't need anything-" She began to protest, as they stopped in front of a wide set of doors. Mario turned to face her, and placed a finger against her mouth, signaling for her to stop protesting.

"We know you don't. We wanted to give you this." He said with a smile. Bella silenced her self, and smiled again. Though she protested the gift, she was still very excited to see what it was.

He placed his hands on each door, and pushed them open gently. Bright lights filled Bellas eyes, making her momentarily blind as she eagerly blinked to focus on what was in front of her.

The white lights turned into tubes of colors, and textured white canvases that spread wider than she could have ever imagined. There were rainbows of colors She felt a spark in her heart at the sight of all of the paints in front of her. She felt a sense of familiarity and the beginnings of what seemed to be a headache. A wide smile spread on her face as she realized just exactly what everything was.

"Paints!" She smiled and ran happily, almost kicking off her heels with excitement she picked up brushes, and ran her bare fingers across them, feeling how soft and plush they were. She nearly closed her eyes to fully picture her first work with them. A blurry image passed through her mind- almost as if she'd had a sudden spark of inspiration but it wasn't as motivating. She shook it off and continued to stare at all of her new supplies in awe.

"Oh wow!" She said loudly, turning to face a wall as tall as she, filled with the most expensive paints money could buy. Still with a fistful of brushes, she made her way to them slowly, tracing the bottles with her hands, and admiring the complete collection before her. Something was incredibly familiar about them, and it made her headache worsen. She assumed it was just in frustration.

"So, do you like it?" Peach asked, now standing with Mario only a yard away. She seemed rather unsure, which struck Bella as odd. "Like it?" She began, setting the brushes down on the nearest table and spinning lightly. "I love it!" She said, still with a smile.

Her headache began to throb harshly, making her collapse to the floor suddenly.

"Annabelle!" Both her parents shouted in unison, as they rushed over to her. She lay on the marble floor, motionless. Peach began to panic as Mario tried to think of what could have possibly caused such an event. "Annabelle? Can you hear me?" She said, lightly moving her daughters hair from her face, revealing her shut eyes. She had passed out.

Peach's breath began to speed up, as Mario tried to maintain a calm sense of assurance.

"Toadette! Toadsworth!" She shouted loudly, scooting Bella closer to herself as if to pick her up. "Peach! She's okay, she's just passed out is all." Mario said in a soothing tone that seemed to calm Peach down a little. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, as he placed a hand on hers.

"I'm sorry... I just-" she began, trying to find the right words. "I didn't want to loose her again."

Mario gave her a weak smile, signaling that he understood what she had felt. She smiled weakly back, understanding him. Soon, the gentle pitter patter of feet filled the halls, as an out of breath Toadette was nearly tripping over herself.

"What's... wrong... your hi-" She began, lifting her head up to see the king and queen, holding their motionless daughter. "Bella!" She said loudly, running to the group, almost as if her stamina had replaced itself instantly.

"What happened?!" She asked again, becoming nearly as panicked as Peach was. "She fainted. We're not sure why though." Mario said, as his hand dropped from Annabelle's wrist, finishing checking her pulse. Her pulse was steady, letting a wave of relief cross over his paranoid head. Toadettes worried eyes seemed to glance up to the scenery around her.

The bright colors of the paints filled her eyes, almost in the same way they had to Bella. There was a large sense of wonder that blanketed itself on her shoulders. "What is with all of these paints?" Toadette asked, curious.

"They're for Bella..." Peach began, observing the paints as well, and smiling at the thought of how happy Bella was to see them. "Rose told us that Annabelle loved painting..." She finished, looking back down to her daughter who still seemed to be asleep. She felt off at the mention of Rosalinas name around Bella.

Marios eyes narrowed, as if he was thinking of something before they shot open wide.

"What is it?" Peach asked, in a panicked tone again, causing Toadette to turn around. It took him a second to find the words, but he eventually spoke.

"The one thing Powerful enough to reverse a memory erasing spell... Is love." He said flatly.

Peach gasped lightly before tears started to well in her eyes. Peach knew what this meant, and her mind began to travel through scenarios. "She cant remember! I don't want to loose her again!" She cried out, almost waking their daughter. Mario seemed to feel the same way his wife had, as his motions were more wobbly and he didn't look into her eyes as he had before. "There's no use in worrying now, what's done is done.." He said again.

Peach's head seemed to get heavier, as it slumped down to face the floor. Even in his uneasy state, Mario placed a hand on Peach's shoulder. "We will just need to be prepared."

o0o0o0o0o

Where Am I?

I felt myself floating, the sensation being very relaxing and soothing to me. Little white dots seemed to fill the space, as it took me a minute or two to realize they were stars. They began to twinkle and shoot passed me delicately. I felt as if this should be terrifying to me, but the scene wrapped my mind in a soothing blanket. It all seemed so familiar.

After admiring the star shine, an image began to appear from thin air in front of me. It was a canvas, with textured oil paints next to it- ones that had also seemed familiar to me. I tried to remember where they were from, but I couldn't.

The canvas in front of me began to seemingly paint itself, as blues and yellows danced across the canvas, swirled together and seemed to just be making a mess. I couldn't help but admire the color combination.. The blue was a fair aqua, and the yellow was nearly a platinum color. I still didn't understand what was going on, but I thought it best not to question it anymore.

The colors continued to mash themselves together, making what looked to be hair draped over a set of shoulders, with the platinum streaking the hair length and the pale aqua covering the chest of the drawing. "Who can that be?" I asked, squinting, as I began to notice that the canvas had been becoming blurrier and blurrier as time had progressed. The image seemed to blur so much, that it was almost UN-identifyable as a canvas being painted anymore.

I opened my mouth to shout in protest, but the words didn't come out. I tried several times, and grabbed my throat as if to make sure it was still there.

Shouting once more, I felt the vibrations on my neck, meaning that what I was saying was coming out, but I couldn't hear it. All that could be heard was the faint twinkling of stars that were gradually increasing in volume. They almost reached a deafening height in volume, casing the hand that was on my neck to cover one of my ears.

Suddenly there was a pop in my ears, and I felt gravity catch me laying on my back. With a soft blink, my eyelids felt very heavy, almost as if I'd just woken up from a sleep. "Was that all a dream?" I asked, my eyes finally focusing on the ceiling of my bedroom.

My soft and squishy comforter cradled me gently, almost lulling me back into my previous slumber. I didn't remember going to sleep- but then again, I didn't remember anything else in these past few weeks. I remembered my painting room and got a bit excited. I was so inspired by the dream I'd just had- The color combinations were beautiful together, and seemed to have a calming effect on me. Maybe re-creating the painting would be a soothing activity for me.

"Bella's awake!" A familiar voice called out, catching my attention. Toadette began nearly tripping over herself to rush towards me. "Bella!" My parents both called, making their ways over to me before wrapping me in a huge hug. Their warmth was comforting.

"What happened?" I asked softly, as our shared hug separated. They both looked to each other cautiously, before turning back to me.

"You fainted." She said plainly, looking into my eyes as if to be searching to see if I was understanding. "Oh... Must have gotten to excited over the paints." I joked, causing my parents to ease their tense posture. I could almost see them let out sighs from their chests. Another thing that confused me.

"Well, you were out for so long. We were really worried." Toadette said from the floor. My eyes suddenly went wide as I shot up from the bed I sat on. With wobbly knees I walked quickly to the mirror. "What time is it?!" I asked the group, looking at my unruly hair and messy appearance. I groaned internally, as I sat down and began combing my hair quickly.

"Woah woah, What are you in such a hurry for? You just woke up from injury." My father said sternly. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, knowing he wouldn't like the reminder I was going to give him.

"Aspen.. I told him I'd meet him in the garden at 9..." I continued, grabbing light brown bobby pins from the vanity drawer to my left, and placing them in a bun that I had placed high on my head. I pulled some strands from the lower half of it, and tried to mimic the hairstyle i'd been given during the party. I thought about how gorgeous Aspen was sure to be, and didn't want to disappoint.

There was an awkward silence between us as I finished my hair and tried to find the makeup that had been given to me by the makeup artist the previous day. I lightly put powder over my cheeks and began to put mascara on my eyes.

"It's only 8:30..." My mother said, as she began to walk up behind me. She placed her hands on my shoulders before looking in the mirror at me. "You don't need the makeup, either." She said making me blush lightly. "Yes I do," I answered back, thinking of how I looked the previous day, and how beautiful I felt. The whole night aspen told me about how beautiful I was. I couldn't show him any less of me, could I ?

I heard her audibly sigh, as her grip tightened a little bit. I ignored her for a few seconds, As I finished my makeup until I was satisfied. I was going to add lipstick, but realized it wouldn't be that good of an idea for the subtle I was now trying to achieve.

I ran my fingers through my hair once more before standing up from my chair and rushing to my closet to find something to wear. Both of my parents seemed to be upset, but I wasn't sure why. I didn't feel like I could ask them.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it." My father said, looking to the floor before looking to me with smile. I felt a strike of guilt hit me in the heart, as I immediately rushed up to him and embraced him in a hug. "I love you, daddy." I said happily. He hugged me back tightly. "Don't grow up too fast, okay?" He said into my ear softly. I wasn't sure what he meant by that, but I couldn't stop thinking about it.

o0o0o0o

"Hey, sorry I'm late." I laughed, even though I was perfectly on time. Aspen sat on the bench we'd both sat at the previous day, staring at the stone pathway. He looked up to me, with no change of emotion. He looked at me unimpressed, almost seeming to be staring through me. I felt bad for disappointing him. My legs quickened their walking pace as to not waste anymore of his time. He sighed before shutting his eyes, and looking away from me.

"It's not nice to keep someone waiting. Didn't they teach you any manners?" He said harshly, as I approached him- now hesitantly. His words hurt me, and I wasn't sure why he'd say such a cold thing to me. I still managed to feel guilty for keeping him waiting, as my eyes fell to the ground in front of me. "I'm sorry.." I said softly.

"Well, sorry doesn't buy me my time back now does it?" He answered harshly again. I felt myself bite my tongue. I had feelings for this boy- I needed to suck it up and deal with it. For a few brief moments I questioned if I'd just fallen for his looks. I felt myself shrink down, which was another unusual feeling for me.

Another sigh escaped his lips, as he stood up and walked closer to me. I felt my heart beat faster, as I was unsure as to what was about to happen. I still didn't look at him, feeling submissive under his height.

"Hey," He said in a sweet voice that made my heart flutter. The rage I felt seemed to melt away, as I felt him place a bent finger under my chin, and lift it up so our eyes met. I studied the hues of blue in his eyes, and remembered the painting I wanted to complete. He gave me a smile, along with a light chuckle. "You are so beautiful." He said to me. I blushed wildly and turned my head as if to hide it. My heart beat softly again, as I found myself incredibly happy by his words. I assumed this was where the feelings for him stemmed from. He was assertive and bold, and I just needed to not be out of line in order to make him happy. The feelings of happiness I felt swelled. I was happy that I was no longer forgetting him.

"I could just kiss you," He said, making me blush even more. I gasped lightly, feeling his hand that now gripped my lower back, and moved lower. I blushed even more, and grabbed his upper arm with my hand, signaling him to stop. I felt slightly embarrassed and uncomfortable at his motives. He didn't say anything, but the smile on his face widened as he pulled me closer to him.

"Oh, I don't know ab-" I began, before getting cut off.

His lips met mine, as my throat and chest tightened. I felt slightly sick, as I separated the kiss as quickly as I could. He stared at me with a look of confusion. "What was that about?" He said in the same heated tone he had before making me shrink yet again.

I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn't find the words. I didn't really know why I'd separated the kiss. Didn't I love him? Why did it feel so weird to be kissed by him? I hoped that the amnesia hadn't somehow made me attracted to different things. With Aspen, he was a gorgeous prince- but there was something scary about him that I cant imagine I'd have felt with someone I loved. I shook my head slightly and placed my gloved hands on his chest, pushing him away slightly. His grip on me tightened, making my heart beat faster.

"Hey, what the hell?" He said a bit louder. I could feel tears welling in my eyes. Why was this happening to me? What was wrong with me tonight? I'd suddenly felt so violated and trapped, but also as if I should just deal with it. It was as if something inside of me was trying to tell me I was doing something wrong. I felt a wave of guilt, and I assumed it was because of how I was treating Aspen.

The tears leaked out of my eyes and to my cheeks. "I'm so sorry.." I mumbled, wiping the tears from my face. Looking at my white gloved hand, it was now stained black on the sides of the index fingers. Aspen suddenly let his grip go of me, which made me feel relieved but only for a minor moment. "Ech.." He said, face crumpled slightly in disgust. I Felt more tears coming, as my face was now warm with embarrassment. I hid my face in my hands. I probably would have run away if not for my knees suddenly feeling unstable and wobbly.

"Here,"

I looked up from my hands to see Aspen, with the moonlight reflecting off of him in a way that gave him an angelic glow. He lifted a handkerchief into my field of vision before gently dragging it underneath my eyes. I laughed a bit at myself, gaining an awkward smile from him.

"I'm sorry-" I began, before getting cut off again. "No, I'm sorry." He said. I was shocked to hear him say that after the negative behavior he showed me.

"Making you cry is the last thing I wanted to do.." He said softly, in the same lulling tone that Id grown fond of.

"N-no, it wasn't you." I lied. He audibly sighed as he finished wiping my eyes. It was obvious that he didnt believe my lie either.

"I didn't know kissing me would make you feel so bad." He said sharply, causing a jolt of guilt into my heart. "No! It's not that!" I said back quickly. He had narrow eyes and seemed to be annoyed with me. I felt awful for hurting him.

"Then what is it, Annabelle?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but I had nothing to say. The kiss with him felt forced and made me very uncomfortable. I could hear the light trickling of a nearby fountain that filled the silence between us.

"Ever since you've come back you haven't shown me any love at all. You said you loved me, didn't you? Because you're sure not showing it." He said coldly, making my guilty heart weigh heavier.

"I have amnesia, Aspen..." I clarified, hoping it would make him stop his rant.

He scoffed as he rolled his eyes. He mumbled something underneath his breath in obvious frustration. "trust me, we all know."

I looked down to my feet, feeling small again. I felt so guilty. If only I hadn't hit my head, Id still remember him. I couldn't begin to imagine the pain he's feeling. Tears almost started welling in my eyes again, before I heard another sigh from Aspen.

"I just love you, Annabelle. I've missed you so much." He said again, a hint of annoyance still in his voice. I still believed his words, however. I walked up to him and hugged him, which he eventually returned. "I'm sure I'll remember soon." I said, feeling my heart warm again. I needed to make it up to Aspen.


I WANTED TO MAKE THIS CHAPTER LONGER BUT WRITERS BLOCK IS HITTING ME HARD. I hope there are still people who are interested in this story! Sorry for taking so unbelievably long!