"Do you remember?"

I stood in the forest clearing amidst a heavy curtain of white. Tree branches laden with snow brushed the ground, dusting the ground with pine needles. The pond I stood before was frozen over, and a woman appeared beside my reflection. Looking up, I saw the woman with gold eyes. She was in her usual Victorian dress, hands clasped before her. Her head was cocked to one side, waiting for my answer.

"Almost."

She nodded expectantly.

"It won't be much longer," she stated softly.

"Do you know what happened to me?"

She looked at for me a moment, before shaking her head with a sigh.

"My time with you is short, so please bear with me."

I blinked in surprise, but motioned for her to continue.

"This will be the last time we will meet here," she began sadly. "Though perhaps you will find me outside of these dreams. Regardless, I still have a few things left to tell you.

Firstly, this madness will be ending soon. It will not be in the way you want, but when the time comes, you will know what you need to do. What happens after that will be up to you. Secondly, you will regain your memories, but not until the end. No amount of searching will change that. You must be patient. Lastly, you must decide where your heart lies. Keep in mind that the past will suffocate you if you refuse to let go."

She place a hand on my shoulder.

"You will need your necklace if you wish to defy fate. Farewell, my dear. I pray we meet again."

It was almost over. I should be overjoyed, yet, there was a part of me that was sad. After this was over, what would happen to my little group? Would my maids return to their lives? Nali and Lacey were both rulers of their respective races, and Alex was next in line for the throne. Surely they would have to leave me once this ended. Derrick would resume his work, and I wouldn't see him again until I died. I had no idea what Ciel and Damion would be doing, but it would be together. Then, there was Sebastian. We would be married soon. Then? I wasn't sure. Would we start a family? Where would we live? This ending left me with so many questions and a bittersweet feeling.

I placed a hand on the sandbag to steady it, the other at my chest. The thought of not seeing everyone made my heart ache. How would I live without hearing Nali's voice ringing through the manor? What about Lacey and her potions for just about anything? The mothering Witch always clicked her tongue at me when I stumbled into her room battered and bruised from sparring with the Amazon. Life wouldn't be the same without Alex's demented personality, though I wish she would stop trying to buy me lingerie. Even though I was a few sizes bigger than her now, she still managed to buy things that fit me. I started hiding the boxes at the bottom of my closet, but I'm pretty sure Sebastian found them. Last week, I noticed he was giving me a strange, but appreciative look every time I passed him in the hall. Ciel and Damion were basically inseparable at this point, though Damion was currently away with his father. I think they were attending a ball or something. Ciel was moodier than normal, but he seemed to enjoy talking to me when I hid from Nali or Sebastian in his study. I loved the Amazon, but she had been putting me through the ringer. On top of my swordsmanship training, I was learning Amazonian hand-to-hand combat as well as archery. I was horrible at the latter, barely able to draw the bow enough to shoot an arrow. Hand-to-hand combat wasn't too bad, but there were times where Nali would forget how strong she was. So far, she had dislocated my shoulder twice, broke my arm in four different places, and fractured my ankle. Lacy scolded the giant woman fervently every time while Alex healed me. As for Sebastian, he was determined to teach me how to act like a lady. I had to learn to walk without slumping and what to say and what not to say, and ugh! I would take broken bones over his lessons any day.

When I finally had enough of dealing with either of them, I would scurry off to Ciel's study. I could outrun Nali, but with Sebastian, I had to use a distraction. Luckily for me, Grell had recovered from his injuries. The fiery Reaper was still assigned to guard me, and I spent most of my time with him. Resting his chin on his knees, he would watch with curiosity as I sparred with Nali. I was pretty good with a sword, though I had yet to beat the Amazon. With the Amazonian hand-to-hand combat, which I believe was called Chorus Bellum, Grell would wince each time Nali jabbed or kicked me. It was an interesting technique as it favored fluid movements and precise strikes. It was incredible to watch, almost like a perfectly choreographed dance routine that just happened to be lethal. As for archery…well, let's just say Grell learned to duck. A lot. Sebastian wouldn't allow him during our lessons, but he was never far away. When he saw me dashing from the ballroom, our eyes would meet and he would grin. We had the understanding that if I needed a break from Sebastian, he would keep him occupied until I was safely away. I would get a few hours to chat with Ciel, and he got to spend time with an unwilling Demon.

My fingers brushed against the warm stone at my throat. Grell returned it to me the day he regained consciousness. I thought back to what the woman in my dreams said. Was this really something that could defy fate? A sudden presence appeared beside me, and I instantly fell into my fighting stance. Bouncing on the balls of my feet, I held my fists up, ready to fight. Sebastian simply smirked and patted my head.

"Nali has trained you well."

"You want to spar?"

I caught a glimpse of a starry-eyed Grell swooning on the grand staircase. Let's kill two birds with one stone. I wanted to fight someone different, and I could give Grell a reward for helping me escape my god awful etiquette lessons. Before Sebastian could refuse, I threw a punch. The Demon deflected my fist and I danced away from him. Rolling his eyes, he unbuttoned his jacket and tossed it to the side. Grell dived for it and greedily cuddled it while Sebastian and I circled each other.

"You do realize I can easily overpower you," my fiancée reminded me.

"Yep."

With a shrug, he vanished and reappeared to my left. Twirling out of his reach, I used my momentum to swing my leg around to smash into the back of his knee. He jumped out of the way and landed a few feet back. Charging at him would be a death sentence. Instead, I turned to run up the staircase until I was few steps above the Reaper. Intrigued, Sebastian followed me. With a shriek of joy, Grell wrapped himself around the Demon's legs. Hissing, Sebastian shook him off as I jumped down feet first into his chest. He allowed himself to fall, bringing us crashing to the marble floor. Staggering to my feet, I sidestepped his jab, but walked right into his roundhouse kick. Had he been trying, I would have been sent careening through at least four of the adjacent rooms. Instead, his foot hovered inches from my neck, the man it belonged to grinning. I let out a strangled noise and slid down the wall. It took me a minute to catch my breath, shaking as the adrenaline wore off. God, that was intense.

"Satisfied, darling?" he purred.

I glared at my fiancée as he recovered his jacket from the gushing Reaper. Why did he have to make this sound sexual?

"I might want to stick with Nali for a while," I grumbled.

I ignored his snickering.

"Did you need something?"

His eyes lit up in remembrance.

"Ah, yes. It's time for our lessons."

I glanced at the clock. Oh, shit. It was.

"Hey, Grell?"

He looked up with sad puppy-dog eyes, knowing he wasn't welcomed. Sebastian watched gleefully as the Reaper walked passed us dejectedly. When he reached me, I put a hand on his shoulder, and leaned to whisper in his ear.

"Code Black."

Keeping his head down, he continued towards the door as a smile stretched across his face. Sebastian's brow furrowed. I know he heard me, but he had no idea what it meant. Good. My fiancée waited a few minutes after the door closed before speaking.

"Whatever foolishness you have planned will not get out of your lessons," he said sternly.

I kept my expression neutral. Keep thinking that, dear. I know you better than anyone. Regardless, I would still have to endure some of it for Grell to prepare.

The lesson consisted of me walking up and down the stairs with a book on my head. I guess it was supposed to help me with my posture, but all it did was give me a headache. The removal of the book led to Sebastian smacking offending body parts with a ruler if I slouched or moved wrong. I glared at him each time. I had a much higher pain tolerance than most people, but pain was still amplified for me with the Fibromyalgia. After being whapped particularly hard on my lower back, I started to curse Grell for taking so damn long. Speaking of the devil, he was discreetly lowering a basket through an open window. The clumsy Reaper almost fell on his face, and was nearly caught. To keep Sebastian's attention on me, I made sure to noticeably slouch. I gritted my teeth as the ruler connected with my shoulders, silently urging Grell to hurry up. Lifting the lid to the basket, the Reaper sprinted off. Perfect. Now, to wait.

After a few more smacks, I paused at the bottom of the stairs. A tiny black head had popped out of the basket, looking around with big blue eyes. Seeing us, it opened its mouth and mewed. The Demon froze beside me as the kitten climbed out of the basket. Two more joined it, one white and the other orange. Spellbound, Sebastian knelt down as the black kitten stumbled towards him. Cuddling it against his chest, he moved to the basket and sat down. The kittens, five in total, crawled into his lap. A chorus of purrs followed as Sebastian played with them. Giggling, I escaped the ballroom to where Grell waited.

"That was beautiful," I giggled.

"Can we go swimming now?"

The Reaper was giving me a wide-eyed, hopeful look. Oh, what the hell.

"Sure. Let me grab my swimsuit and we can go."

Grell linked arms with me, and started dragging me in the opposite direction. He was trying to hide it, but something was making him nervous. Shit. That's right. Code Black only worked for a few minutes.

"Can you carry me?" I hissed.

He nodded, glancing over his shoulder.

"Pick me up and run."

Scooping me up, Grell darted for the nearest window. We crashed through the glass as the ballroom door slammed open, a low growl echoing through the hall. As soon as the Reaper's feet touched the ground, he took off towards the city. Glowing red eyes appeared at the window, and I had to physically keep Grell facing forward. If he saw how angry Sebastian was, he would turn into a blubbering mess on the ground. As we passed through the gates, I saw the Demon slowly step through the window. Yep. He was pissed. Not that I could blame him. Every day I came up with a new way to escape his lessons, usually involving Grell. I was starting to wonder if there was an event coming up that he had to attend. While he had being pushing these etiquette lessons on me for a while, it was only recently that my escape attempts had started to irritate him. I know I should be more receptive, but being forced to take time off from school had made me just a tiny bit upset.

"Is he following us?"

"Well…um…"

The Reaper winced.

"Is he doing the slow, "I'm going to take my time hunting you" thing?"

I pressed my lips together.

"Mhm."

Grell hesitated at the border of the Market District.

"Maybe we shouldn't…"

I poke his chest.

"He's going to be mad at me, not you. Besides, stopping here is not going to make him any less upset."

Nodding, Grell continued into the city. We had to make a pit stop to buy swimsuits, but I made sure to avoid Abbi's boutique. I'm sure that would be one of the first places Sebastian would look. I picked a modest black swim dress that I found I much preferred over the bikini Alex persuaded me to buy. It took some convincing to keep Grell from buying something too…skimpy, but we finally agreed on red and black swim trunks. We wore them under our clothes, and I handed the cashier the tags to scan. After we paid, Grell carried me on his back to the Diamond District. I kept an eye out for Sebastian, but either he was really taking his time, or he was just out of sight. I'm not sure which worried me more.

Grell didn't stop until we had disappeared into the small crowd on the beach. It wouldn't keep the Demon from finding us, but it should buy us enough time to enjoy the ocean. Stripping down to our swimsuits, we left our clothes with a girl I knew from Bio and dove into the ocean. I braced myself for icy water, but found that it was actually rather warm. I broke the surface with squeal of delight, giggling as Grell emerged with his long hair covering his face. We swam around for a bit, chatting with people floating on their backs. Diamond Beach was absolutely beautiful. Its white sands sparkled in the sun, untouched by litter. Blankets dotted across the span of it with umbrellas rising up like flowers. I wondered what it would look like from above. Grell floated past me, head resting on his arms.

"It's like a garden!" he said cheerfully, as if reading my mind.

I nodded enthusiastically, floating peacefully on clear, blue water. We were just far enough away from the other swimmers that we couldn't hear them, and it was serene here with just the sound of waves lapping against the sand. As we floated, I started to reflect on my life. Despite how difficult it started, I didn't regret it. All I ever wanted was to be normal. Now, I was glad I wasn't. I had a family. My three maids were like sisters to me. Ciel had become my little brother back when we were neighbors. Damion was technically still my bother-in-law, and Derrick was the protective older brother who dealt out punishment to those who hurt me. Grell and I were still in the early stages of our friendship, but we were already thick as thieves. He was my twin in all the ways Alex wasn't. Then, Sebastian… I closed my eyes, envisioning the beautiful Demon. He was the dearest to me. Our love was rocky at best some days, but it was starting to even out. It was him that I woke up next to with my heart singing. I had come to appreciate his small gestures that popped up during my day. The bouquet of midnight blue roses that would randomly show up on my desk after a long day. The packed lunches when I was still attending classes. A warm towel appearing on towel rack while I showered. Just hundreds and hundreds of tiny things to remind me that he was still there even when I didn't see him. When he left to help Damion and Ciel with a mission, I received a letter every day until he returned. He was also the reason why Cosmo always had a bone to chew on. A few months ago, my dog had caught his nail on something and partially ripped it out. I had gone to find something to trim the nail, but when I came back, Cosmo's foot was bandaged and he was nibbling at a small pile of mini Milk-Bones.

Grell tugged at my arm. Sighing, I opened my eyes.

"Where he is?"

The Reaper pointed towards the beach. It took a moment to pick him out of the crowd, but I spotted the Demon chatting with the girl from my Bio class. I sighed as the infatuated girl handed over our clothes to him. With a dazzling smile, he set up not too far from her, blanket and umbrella included. Taking off his black t-shirt, he leaned back on the blanket and closed his eyes. A swarm of woman surrounded him, and I face-palmed. This bastard wasn't going to hunt us down. He was going to make us come to him, and make it super obvious where he was. Well, I could either ignore him and wait for him to hunt me down, or I could brave the ogling women.

"C'mon, Grell. I think we've escaped for long enough."

We swam back to shore, a knot forming in my stomach. God, I hated confrontation. Maybe that was why my default reaction was to run from things. I was getting better with that, but only for important issues. My legs felt like jelly as I marched across the white sand. Grell followed meekly, tapping his pointer fingers together. Even though he was hardcore crushing on my fiancée, the Demon still intimidated him. I had to push my way through the mob of women to reach Sebastian who looked all too relaxed laying beneath his umbrella. Hands on my hips, I sighed.

"Alright. I'm here. Can I have my clothes back?"

The only movement from the Demon were his lips curling upward. Oh, the hell I was begging.

"Look, I'll walk back like this. I don't care."

The fiery Reaper gave me a worried look. Damnit, Grell. Never show fear in front of him!

"Will you at least give Grell his clothes? You know damn well he was just following orders."

A single ruby eye opened for a brief second. Goddamnit, Sebastian. You're planning on savoring on this, aren't you?

"I might be convinced," he said after a moment.

"Yeah, sure. What do you want?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

With a wicked grin, the Demon sat up. He pulled me down to whisper in my ear, and I jumped back turning a lovely shade of red. I knew that bastard had found those boxes! Cheeks burning, I turned to my companion.

"Grell, how capable are you of getting us home?"

He poked a hole in the sand with his toe, looking sheepish.

"Grell?"

The fiery Reaper waved a hand in front of his face and I realized with horror that his glasses were gone. A light chuckle from Sebastian made me turn and I watched him twirl Grell's glasses mockingly. He winked at me, dangling them loosely between his fingers. This bastard! I didn't even see him snatch them off Grell's face.

"Oh, fuck you."

He pondered on this for a moment.

"I believe that was the point."

I could feel the mob of women glaring holes in the back of my head. Nice, dear. Nice. Send a pack of scorned women after me, why don't you?

"I-you-goddamnit! Fine! Now can we have our clothes back!?"

Sebastian tossed me a ball of Grell's clothes. While the Reaper dressed, I held out my hand for his glasses. The Demon handed them over reluctantly, sighing dramatically. Satisfied that Grell was ready to go, I waited for mine. Sebastian only raised an eyebrow.

"Expecting something?"

"You seriously want something else?"

His smirk said yes.

"God, what do you want now?"

Eyes glowing, he put his mouth to my ear. To those watching, my face turned thirty shades of red before I slapped my hands over my mouth and leapt back. Sebastian laughed as I toppled into Grell. I landed on top of him, and the Reaper spat sand out of his mouth before crawling out from under me. I vehemently shook my head from my spot in the sand, tugging at Grell's sleeve. Nope. Nopenopenope. I was not doing that. Any of that. The Reaper helped me to my feet with a grunt, and I turned to him wide-eyed.

"You good?"

He nodded.

"Cool. Let's go."

Grell hesitated.

"You're wet."

"Uh-huh."

"I run really fast."

"Get to the point, Grell."

He started tapping his pointer fingers together.

"You'll get sick."

I was not liking where this was going.

"What did Derrick say?"

The Reaper sighed, his head drooping.

"I can't do anything that puts you or your health at risk. The only exception is when you ask me to help you escape Sebby, because Derrick said that he "can't fault me for a lover's squabble"."

Damnit all. Grell wasn't afraid of Sebastian. God, I was so stupid. The Reaper had gleefully attacked Sebastian before. It wasn't until Derrick got involved that he became meek as a church mouse. Groaning, I ignored my fiancée's triumphant look. Damnit Derrick!

"Did you said you had to stop me?"

"No…?"

"Cool."

I grabbed his arm and dragged him across the white sand.

"I'm walking home!" I declared loudly. "Grell had nothing to do with this!"

Sebastian started to pack up, if the dejected sighs of the female mob said anything. I could imagine the exasperated look on his face as he followed us, though I saw it before too long.

"Derrick asked for you," he said flippantly to Grell.

I released my hold on the Reaper, muttering under my breath as he vanished.

"Now, Taylor," he whirled me to face him, "this little game has gone on long enough."

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled.

He wasn't done with me.

"You cannot continue to put off these lessons," he scolded.

Scowling, I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I still don't see a point to them. Plus, I'm kind of pissed you made me drop out of school."

"It's just until after Kane's trial," Sebastian reassured me.

"That isn't stopping you from pushing the marriage thing."

With a huff, I continued down the sidewalk. Even though I told him I wanted to wait until I regained the rest of my memories, Sebastian was determined for us to get married in the next few months. He wanted me to pick a date and have me go wedding dress shopping, but I couldn't do it. Not yet. Besides my memory loss, I still needed to deal with Shay. How could he expect me to plan a wedding when my previous fiancée was still roaming the streets? I stopped right before the Market District, rubbing my temples. God, I needed a vacation.

The manor was buzzing with activity when we returned. My three maids were digging through their closets for something to wear when I checked in with them. Apparently, they would be going with Derrick to a show in the Art District. I was a little surprised I wasn't invited, but I told them to have fun before heading to Ciel's study. The blunette greeted me from behind his massive desk, dressed simply in a t-shirt and jeans. His mood had improved greatly from earlier, and I inquired about Damion.

"I'm meeting him for dinner in about thirty minutes," he explained, "I believe he wanted to speak with me about something. We most likely won't be home until late tonight or early tomorrow morning."

I grinned, giving him a quick hug. The boy grumbled about how it wasn't proper, but he didn't push me away.

"You two are so adorable!" I gushed, turning the boy's face red, "Have fun, okay?"

That left Grell. The fiery Reaper was in his room staring blankly into his closet when I slipped in. He hadn't noticed me, so I crept up behind him. Stifling my giggling, I leaned over and whispered 'boo' into his ear. Startled, he jumped about a foot in the air before spinning to face me. He blinked at me for a moment as I doubled over before snorting behind his hands. In tears, I embraced the Reaper and we fell to the ground in a giggling heap.

"You looked so serious! I couldn't help myself!"

We stayed like that until we got ourselves under control and I asked him what he was doing.

"I'm going with Derrick tonight. He didn't say where, but I'm supposed to dress nice."

I helped him to his feet and looked at what he had in his closet. It was basically a wall of red. Humming, I pulled a button-up shirt out with a pair of black slacks and handed it to him.

"Start with this." I dug through his closet for a moment. "Do you have any jackets that aren't red?"

"Red goes with everything," Grell pouted.

So, that was a no. In that case… I replaced his red shirt with a black one and tossed him a red blazer. While he changed, I kept my back towards him and hung up the discarded shirt. While red was definitely his aesthetic, he would benefit from having more colors in his closet. Neutral colors like black, white, or gray would help to offset the bright color.

"Do you see my brush anywhere?"

Grell was fixing his cuffs when I turned to scan the room. It was nowhere near Alex's disaster, but it was messy and unorganized. I spotted the handle poking out from under a under a magazine (was that Brides?), and swiftly tossed it to Grell.

"I'm going let you get ready, okay? Have fun!"

The Reaper beamed at me, and I softly closed his door behind me. I was suspicious before, but now I was convinced. Ciel and Damion not being here? I could understand that. With the Prince's return, I'm sure the two would want some privacy. My maids joining Derrick for a night out? It was indeed strange, but I was pretty sure the Immortal was using it as an excuse to see Alex. As ridiculous as it sounded, Alex's twisted humor the night he captured the Angel had appealed to him. The two were constantly flirting, almost nauseatingly so, and Derrick made it a point to randomly show up when she was home. The thought of them together frightened me to some degree. God knows what those two would do. Again, the loss of my maids was strange, but not unlikely. Taking Grell with them? That had Sebastian's name written all over it.

I found Sebastian in the kitchen. Even with Ciel's staff fully trained, he seemed to gravitate here when deep in thought or upset. Scowling, I leaned against the doorframe and watched him whip up some type of dessert. I had a pretty good idea what he was trying to pull, and I was less than pleased. I glared holes in the back of his head, tapping my foot impatiently. He acted like he didn't noticed me, but his smirk gave him away.

"Really?"

"Is something wrong, my love?" he asked innocently.

I detached myself from the doorframe.

"Everyone in this house, with the exception of you and me, are going to be gone for the evening. Even Grell! You can't seriously expect me to believe that you have nothing to do with that."

He set down the mixing bowl and leaned against the counter.

"I might have had something to do with that. Is it so wrong to want some time alone with my bride-to-be?"

I snorted.

"I'm sure it has everything to do with making sure I keep my end of the bargain. Though, I'm already planning on burning those damn boxes. I just haven't decided when."

Sebastian shrugged, unfazed.

"It would be simple enough to purchase something else," he paused, his eyes glowing. "Though, I'm sure my tastes are more…scandalous than Alexandra's."

Oh, goddamnit! I wasn't going to win with this guy. Groaning, I spun on my heel.

"I swear to god I'm not doing this shit!" I called over my shoulder.

"God has very little to do with this," my fiancée chuckled.

I hid in the library as the hours ticked away. Ciel was long gone, but I still had fifteen minutes until Derrick's group headed out. Every minute that passed made my stomach queasy, and I could feel my heart racing. The thought of what Sebastian had planned made me anxious. I could handle having sex, though his earlier words concerned me just a little bit. I still shuddered at the imagery he had conjured up with his rich voice in my ear. No, I was anxious about having to subject myself to wearing one of those godawful things sitting at the bottom of my closet. My choice in clothing was relatively conservative. I wasn't wearing turtlenecks by any means, but I was very conscious about only showing only a small amount of cleavage. Skirts and dresses had to reach at least the top of my knees, and I refused to wear anything with a slit up the side. Clothes were supposed to hide my form, not accent it. I knew I had problems with body image. Even with Alex's uncanny resemblance to me, I told myself that she was what I could look like if I was thinner and less…average. Sighing, I immersed myself in the story of the warrior princess. I was at the part where she was saving a prince from an evil wizard.

I felt him before I saw him. His presence in the library stole my attention away from the book to glance at the clock. Groaning, I set my book aside. We were alone. Sebastian emerged from the shadows, grinning at my sullen expression.

"Can't this wait?" I snapped.

He cupped my face with a gloved hand.

"And miss this chance to have you all to myself?" he purred.

Sighing, I took his outreached hand.

"Let's just get this over with."