Marco gaped around at the library. It was more impressive than he had been expecting. The shelves were nearly ten feet high, and lined with books on every subject known to man and beast. He couldn't help but gape around at the room, at the expanse of knowledge that had been amassed here over hundreds, if not thousands of years.

"The book is over here!" Star shouted from across the room. She was atop a rolling ladder, pulling out a large book. She held it delicately in her arm as she descended the rungs and walked over to the table. She set it down and opened it, scanning down the table of contents. Marco sat down next to her, and the feel of him close was reassuring to her. As if she were stronger somehow. She looked at him and his eyes were focused on hers. Her heart skipped a beat as she noticed how warm his brown eyes were. Comforting, like someone you love being near you all the time. Blushing, she looked away and found a chapter that might help them.

"Here. 'Famous and Infamous Wandmakers of Mewni'. Infamous? How?" Star pondered aloud as she flipped to the page. It was another thick book that sent a cloud of dust into the air. Both she and Marco coughed and waved the dust away as Star began to look for what she hoped was the answer to their first problem. Who made her wand.

"Farlamen, made wands for sorcerers only. Hithersei made wands for battle generals and other high ranking officers. Ugh! Not a single one who crafted for royalty!" she exclaimed, almost ready to give up.

"Here, look. Anther Gorlog," Marco said. "Listen to this. 'A wandcrafter from the mid millennium of Mewni, he was famed for his spectacular wands, scepters and staffs created especially for royalty. Known to be one of the only crafters to write spell books for his patrons.' That's something." Marco looked at Star and she at him, the two of them in sheer disbelief that they had found exactly what they were looking for.

"He's got to be dead though. This was in the mid millennium," Marco announced. Star looked at him with a smirk on her face and he began to grow increasingly worried.

"Sorcerers and other practitioners of magic tend to live longer than most on Mewni," Star said. "There's a chance he may still be alive. Their use of magic prolongs their life."

"Yeah, that's great. But how does that help us here?" Marco asked sarcastically.

"We're going on an adventure!" Star exclaimed. Marco gaped at her. not another one of her harebrained schemes.

"No way. Not a chance. You don't even know where this guy lives! Besides, if you haven't noticed, we aren't on Mewni!" Marco exclaimed. He wasn't going to let her drag him on another adventure through the wilderness of Mewni, let alone anywhere else. But looking at her, he realized she wasn't going to give up until he went with her.

"Please, Marco? I have to find out what happened!" Star begged. Marco sighed defeatedly and shrugged.

"I'll go see where the camping gear is," he said reluctantly, smiling at the princess. She squealed and latched her arms around his neck tightly, jumping up and down. Marco's heart skipped a beat. This was Star. Energetic and incorrigible, happy and carefree, ready to go on a magical quest at any given moment. But he also knew that this Star was rare to be found anymore. Soon, she would revert back to her regal, queenly self, unable to crack a smile if her life depended on it. Taking the moment for granted, he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly to his chest, unable to let her go. She went stiff and her arms dropped to her sides.

"Marco, what are you doing?" she asked, her tone back to the way it was when she first arrived back to Earth.

"I can't lose you, Star. Something stole your memories, and I can't let it steal anymore of them. I need you in one piece, Star," he whispered, holding her tight. He felt her breath catch in her throat and a light touch at his back made him jump slightly. But Star didn't relinquish her embrace. She hugged him back, tighter than she ever had before, burying her face into his chest. He rested his cheek on her blonde hair.

Letting go of each other, they left the library and Star started to collect things from around her room, putting them in a pile in the center of the rug.

"What are you doing with all that?" Marco asked. Star smiled.

"It's all for the mission, Marco!" she said, tossing a rolled up sleeping back into the pile. "You should go look for the camping gear!"

With a nod, Marco left the room and closed the door behind him. Star sighed sadly and walked over to the box that contained her memories. She felt terrible lying to him, but she had to. She had to know why she took these memories from herself, and how she can restore them. Memories of love? She had to have had a particularly good reason to remove them. Lifting the lid of the box, she picked up the phial and turned it over in her fingers, looking at the swirling blue liquid. It looked just like a potion. Maybe it was just like a potion. It had a cork in the top, stoppering the blue liquid, so maybe it was a potion.

She uncorked it and put the phial to her lips and backed the drink. It tasted terrible, like galaxy whiskey mixed with meedleberry juice. Grimacing, she doubled over instantly from the headache that bubbled up from the back of her head. She put her hands to either side of her head as memories flooded back to her.

Tom, her failed engagement, her birthday parties, the Blood Moon Ball from six years ago, then finally what she had erased in the first place. Marco. When she realized she loved him, writing in her diary about how much she loved him, throwing away his invitations and letters from when he was dating Jackie, him going to see Jackie when she arrived back on Earth. And how much she still loved him. She loved him more than anything in the world. She loved him so much that it hurt her heart to love him.

There was a knock on her door that startled her out of the flow of memories. She dropped the phial and it shattered on the marble floor. Her heart started racing in fear of Marco's realizing she lied to him. She broke his heart, telling him she never loved him.

"Star, you oka... What happened?" Marco rushed to her side, and saw the broken, empty phial on the floor. He looked from the phial to Star and back at the floor, finally making the connection.

"I did it, Marco," Star confessed, tears welling in her large, blue, beautiful eyes. "I removed my own memories, I lied to you. I didn't want you to think me a coward. I couldn't bear the pain of knowing that you... that you..." She couldn't finish her confession due to the fact that the tears that had been building up in her eyes finally poured over and she started weeping severely.

"That I what, Star?" he asked, taking the crying princess into his arms. His tone was so gentle, it only made Star cry harder.

"You loved Jackie," she whispered into his jacket. Marco froze and started chuckling to himself. Star felt his shoulders shake and when she stepped away from him, he burst out laughing, nearly doubled over.

"What's so funny?" Star cried, not understanding why he could be laughing. Marco straightened and gripped her shoulders tightly.

"I could never love Jackie as much as I love you, Star! She and I broke up!" Marco laughed. Star gawked at him and, without thinking took his face in her hands and pressed her lips to his firmly. Shocked at what she was doing, Marco jumped away quickly and stared at Star. She stood there completely bewildered as well, probably wondering why he jumped away from her.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to kill me? Because I am so terminally in love you Star, what are you doing to me?" Marco begged, this time it being his turn to cry. Star walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face to his chest.

"Didn't you hear what I had said? I removed my own memories. I did this to myself! And drinking that small bottle restored them. Marco, I've loved you for years!" Star exclaimed, stepping back from him once more. He looked at her with wide eyes, complete disbelief on his face. He kept shaking his head, like it didn't add up somehow. But the realization of what Star had just said started to make sense, and finally he came around.

"Why'd you do it, then?" he asked. Star was surprised that this was the only response her actions elicited.

"It hurt too much, thinking that you loved Jackie and not me. I wanted you to love me more than anything, Marco." Star walked closer to him and reached out for him. He wrapped his arms around her and sank to the floor, his face buried in her golden hair.

"I do, Star. More than you could ever know," he whispered, his voice partially muffled by her hair.