"Nothing makes a woman more beautiful than the belief that she is beautiful." -Sophia Loren

'~-Ameliaã̶̧̨̨̢̭̥͎̗̼̣̖̦̲̼͔͚͙͚̲͎̜̥̜̭͔̝͍̣̥͈̣͚͕̙͈͚̤̮̗̺͚̭͎͉̗̞̮͉͓̭̪͍̺̗̯̝͉̩̪͚̭͑͋̄̈́̾̔̎̍̿́͌̉̔̾̓̌͘̕͜͜͜͜͝ͅą̴̢̡̢̡̗̗̰̰̱̘̝̻͔̭̙͖͓̩͙̩͔͈͎̯̣͚̳̹͙̣̘̩̼̠͓͈̣̜̘̪̼͙͔͚̤͂̋̍̓̀͛̊̅̓̇̏̔̅̅̋͗͛̇̌́͛̓̋̓̂͆̕̚͘̚̕̚͘͜͝͝͝͝ͅͅͅą̷̡̡̢̢̢̛̲̱̮͈̱̮͍͖̼̝̯̖̲̟͓̟̝̣̺̼̺͇̤͎͙̞̳̝͕̩̮̤͎̯̜̠͖̰̮̞͉͍͖̓̑̐̇͛̌̈́̂̀̈̇̇̎̆̌̇̉͂́̋͛͛̋͋̈́̑̀̐̌̾͐͆̆̎̓̓̀̈́̓̚̕̚̕͝͝͠͠͝͝͝͠ͅͅ ̷̢̡̧̧̧̢̧̢̢̨̛̛̛̛̛̟̠̗͖̬͍͉͚͈̤̹̻͙̠̞̝̳̘̰̙͇̙̹͎̻̰̬̼̪̣͈̙̹̭̲̫̻̳̘͍̮̼̱̬͖̤͎̜͉̞͈̥̬̝̹̗̩̖̩̻̥̞͉̱̰͙̗͔͕̠͈̞͚͙͇͕̣̻̦̙͉̱̱̞̞͈̱̪̟͎̖͇̥͙̝̹̯̟̖͎̹͔̹̝͖̯̫̣̠̹̗̃̐̋̌̍̍̉̂̈́́̀͗̇͐̄͛͆͐̉͋̿̏̾͊̈̽̀̔͒́͊́͆͒̒͌͆͒͑́̈́̔̌̈̀̈͆̂̐̇͋̊̾́͛̍͊̆͛̓̓͋̔̍̀̿̉̀̆̽͊̉̔͒̊̐̈́͌͆͛̂͛͛̂͆͂̒̓̀͂̊̄͗̌̾͂͂̊́͋̉̄̿̽̓́̋͐̀̏̊͋͐̌̃͌̃̔̈́̔̔͐̂̑̚͘͘̚͘̚̚̚̕̚̕͜͜͜͜͝͠͠͝͠͠͝͝͝͝͝ͅ ̵̡̡̢̧̢̧̧̢̡̢̛̛̛͖̮̰̞̦̥͈̺̭̲̙̜̙̰̼͍͕̪̖̙͖̠̟̥͇͎̬̯̭͕͕̪͎͓̫͚̣͔̖̤̤̯̰͖̥̻͚͚̺͎̬̖̰̠̯͓͙͕̘͈̤̪̩̲̙̻͎̮̘̟̠̟̱͍̰̙̮̯̞͉̦̞̻̩̹̩̗͇̥̙̻̣̫̘͓̝͉̝͎͓̫̥̥̖̯̤͎̭͚̗͇͓̰͉̙̮̞̦̖̣̩̺̥͚͙̼̱̬̝͇͎̘̼̻͕̼̩͚̭̥̘̱̗͉̳͎̤͚͌͆͛̈́̉̀̓͂͗̈̔̎̅̈́͌̓̓̄̉͑̒̀̌̋́̓͑̉̋̀̈́̏̉̈́̇̀͐̓͑̑̾́̉͂̈́̅̋͗͋̈́̑͐͆̀̍̋̀͂̓̓̀̊̆͑̈́̃̉̽̃̐͌̄͗͂̀̅͌͌̈́̇̆̐̒̊̉̊͛̓̃̈́̏̏͌̾́͑̔̈́̌͒̈̈͆̐̾̊́̀̽̀͛̆̈́̈́̏͋̈́̀͒̿̌̓͆͐̈́̊̀̋̑̇͗̈̀͑̉̽̉͛͐͗͆́̚̚̕͘̚͘͜͜͜͜͠͝͠͝͝͠͠͠͝ͅͅͅͅͅͅͅ ̸̢̢̨̡̡̨̨̡̢̨̨̢̧̧̨̛̛̛̰̥̠̹͙̖̩̮̰̯͔͕͚͍͔̰̫̣̞̜̥̣̘̲͚͍̙̮̠̩͇̪͚̼̼̗̹̖̰̻͈̙̙̱̮̖̤̺̣͉̯̖̠̳̪̜͈̦͚͔̼̱̻̳͖̞̹̙͚͉̙̙̪̮̞͚͍͇͙̲̙͈̺̙̻͍̱͖̼̤̳̖̹̱͍̜̝̣͎͎͕͇̙̼͔̰͔̫̱̻̰̫̞̜̹̫̝̩̬̙͋̋͛̾͆̽̃̍͗͗̍̀͊̈́̈́͒̆͋͋͒̊̔̍̅̉̈́͒̄̇̓́̅͐͌͋̃͗̆̓̿̆͊̽̍͌͛͋̃͌̈͐̋̈́́̎͐̄́̃͌͐̓̓͐̉̈́̃́̽̍̿̑͐̃̄̄̈́̓̇̓͑̃́̅̈́͌̀͗̋̈̆̓͗̽͒̋͑̋̒̎̓͒͒̒̏͋͒̆̔̃̈́̇́̓̈́̒̏̽͂́̄̅͐̾̋̊̉͛̓́͗͂̈́̀̋̂̽͘͘̕̚͘̕̚̚͜͝͝͝͝͝͠͝͝͝͠͝ͅͅͅ-~'

May 21st, 2003

Spence's hand ran soothingly through my hair. The past four days had been long and stressful as Spence and I planned the wedding. Plus, we had been talking about getting a bigger house, since the one we were currently living in was starting to feel cramped.

A call came from my phone as it buzzed on my lap.

"I'll be right there," I told Nova, hanging up.

"What is that about?" Spence asked as I stood up and stretched.

"I'm going to get my wedding dress picked out." I grabbed my purse and quickly kissed his lips.

"I'm sure you will look beautiful." He mumbled, waving goodbye as I exited the house.

After a moment or so, I appeared in front of the bridal shop. Aiyanna, Nova, Lena, Mallie, and Luna were already waiting for me. Mallie, the shorter one of the group, ran up to me and squeezed me in an airtight hug, her dirty ponytail bouncing as she did so. All five of them began to chat up a storm, each one discussing what they thought I would look best in. 

"Ooh, I'm so excited!" Lena, the girl with dark, wavy hair, exclaimed.

"How long should the back of the dress be?" Aiyanna asked Mallie.

"She would definitely look good in something short, and that hugged those gorgeous curves." Mallie thought aloud.

"Ladies, ladies. This is Amelia's dress, so she is the one who will pick it out." Nova was smiling.

"We know, but this is so exciting! Amelia hates dresses." I laughed at my sister, though she spoke the truth.

"Hello, my name is Alannah! Who is the beautiful bride for today?" I raised my hand sheepishly. "Alright! Follow me, please." She waved her hand, and the six of us followed her to one of the private rooms. 

Sitting on one of the couches was a girl with simple brown hair. Tola.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Tola laughed, standing up to hug me. "I know you!"

"Small world, ain't it?" I smiled at her as everyone stared in confusion.

"I work part-time as a waitress, and a few nights ago, I served her and- let me guess, he proposed?" I nodded enthusiastically.

"Small world, ain't it." Luna's deep voice echoed as she set her purse down on the leather couch. 

"Okay, do you have anything in mind as we start to look through some dresses?" Tola asked.

"Um, I like the princess look. Oh, and keep it modest." Tola nodded, motioning for Alannah to follow her. As they left to choose an assortment of dresses that I would then pick from, I noticed the way their hands brushed against each other. I smiled.

Eventually, they returned with many dresses in each hand. Tola led me to the dressing room, where she and Alannah set the clothes on the clothing racks. There were nine dresses in total. After a few moments of exchanging sizes and trying on gowns, I had chosen four dresses that I could not pick between. I stepped out of my dressing room and into the view of my bridesmaids. Squeals erupted from my friends as they surveyed my wedding dress.

"You look gorgeous, Mimi," Luna said, walking up to me as I examined the dress. It was simple, and it didn't have any defining features. Though I could agree that it was stunning, it just wasn't me.

"What do you think?" Tola chirped.

"Let's try on the other ones," I told her. So off we went to try on the next dress. A minute or two later, I walked out of my dressing room with a new dress on, more fashionable than the last.

"It suits me," I commented, doing a little twirl. Nova shook their head.

"I think it does suit you, but it doesn't exactly scream 'Amelia'." I grinned at their honesty.

"You do look stunning, though!" Lena commented. Minutes passed before I tried on the next dress.

"Nope," I automatically said as I exited the room. "It's really pretty, but it could use something more." My friends agreed with me. As I tried on the final dress, I let out a gasp, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. This was the dress.

I hurried out towards my friends, whose jaws dropped to the floor.

"Amelia, It's perfect!" Nova cried.

"Thank you, Mx," I responded with a laugh.

"That- is the most- gorgeous dress I have ever seen." Aiyanna held her hands to her chest.

"Now, this is Amelia's style." Luna smiled.

"Yup. You look good, dude." Mallie was grinning from ear to ear.

"So, this is the dress?" Tola asked. I looked over at her wordlessly. 

"Oh wow, that is the dress," Alannah said, taking in the way the gown twirled.

"When Spencer sees you, he will not know what to do with himself." Lena helped me off the stool I was using to get a better look at myself.

I changed back into my regular clothes, which had just been a simple sunflower dress with leggings. We paid for the dress upfront, giggling amongst ourselves. As we began to leave, Alannah jogged up to me, whispering in my ear.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty. I would ask to go, but my wife would also want to go if I did, and she's a human." I looked at her in awe, giving a respectful nod before exiting the store.

"You are right, Lena," I said as I caught up to my bridesmaids. "Spence will adore this dress."

"We still need to go shoe shopping. Come on, walk faster." Nova urged, making us laugh.

'~-Ameliaä̷̡̡̡̢̧̡̢̧̨̧̢̨̨̨̧̧̧̧̛̛̛̛̹͉̬̥̺͔̬͉͙͕̙̱̱̫̗̗̤͕̜̖̩̺̫͇̯̻͖̘̠̬͙̦̳̳̫̠̹͉͚̖̼͔͙͈̙̪̫͚͈͈͙͈̗̦͈̠̫̞̮̝̗̥̘̝̖̯͖̞̪̠̥̫̘͈̯͍̟̰͕͉̟̗̙̥̬̲̯̘͇͎͓̦͕̞̱̮̩̳̬̫̫͇̣̹̼̦̭͕͔̼̹̪͍͙̗͚̭̜͎̲̜͓̮̭̬̪̻̣̳͍̱̥̱͕̰̭̱̮̩͈͈͈̖̪̖̥̯͚̱̣̳̝̟̩̭̬͍̙̯̭̳̠̳͖̲͈̱͔̗̝͇̼̹̯̜̙͚͓̲̩̟̳͇̝͉̻̦̞̥͇͉̯̲̥̜̖͇͙̥̟̼̯̘́̇̐̄͐̇̆̏̓̽́̄̐̎͗̊̏̈́̈́̀͛̆̃̆̌̌̃͋̌̄̊̑́̈̈́̈́̍̋̽̒̾̍̔̀̌̎̐̂̒͗̀͐͐͒̈̒̀̓̿̆̇̈́̑̓̓̌̄̆̂̔͆̍̋̉̓̎͊́͌͗̿͌͑̋̂͛̂̅̊̽̆̅̉͋̏̅̂̍̽̉̓͆͆͊͆͐͐̌̄͌̒͂̀̀̐̽̈́̊̑͗͊̿̽́̑̂̓͋̈́̔͊͐̄̏̑̎̔̋̾̓͊͆͌̎͂͆̋̐͊̍͂͗̇̇̃͒͌̄̅̐̑̈́̊͂̾̋̂͊͊̔̍̀̂̑̿͋̔̍̾̇̊̓̕̕͘͘͘̚̚̕̕̕̚͘̕̚̚͘͜͜͜͝͝͝͠͝͝͝͝͝͠͝͝͝ͅͅͅͅͅͅǎ̶̧̧̢̢̡̨̡̨̧̡̨̛͇̘̠͓̤̰̞̘̱̺̹̘̣̬̥̩̘̖͍͔͉̜͓̱̘̤͓͔̳̦̞͓̲͉͍̲͉̰͎͖̗̮̤̙͇̻̦̗̭̙͈̮̭̻̖̻̺̖͍͚̜̰̭͔̪̭̩͕̯̖̘̥̮̭̙̠͈̟̗̦̥͎̰͇͉͙͚̙̱̫̮̫͖̩̻̫̩̞͖̤̯̻͖͖̲̯̤̝̬̞̘͖̟̲̭͇̗͚͚͇̥͍̫̄̐́̆͆̔͑̾̆̏͂̀͂̌͐̍̅̈́̏̏̏̔̃̆̅̆͑̋͆̈́̐͒̉͐̂̆̈́̒̅̓̋͋̒͒̈́̓̔͌̀̏̽̓͑̒͐͋̊̾́̊̈̄̈́́̑̍̅͛̑͆̎́̾͒̐̅̐̽̿̌͂̒̃̿̈́̋͐͌̏̈̒͆̈́̅̍̀͒̾̾̒͊̾́̈́̿̓̀̾͆͗̆̆͑̒̇̌̊̅̇͂̕̕̚̚͘̚͜͜͜͜͠͠͠͠͠͠͝͝͝ͅͅͅͅͅͅ-~'

May 26th, 2003

Five days remained until my wedding day. I remember when I was little, I swore that I'd rule the Magic Web alone for eternity. I chuckled at the thought, shaking my head as I grabbed my bag. Spencer followed me out the door, his leather satchel clutched tightly to his side.

"Alright, Apprentice," I joked as we arrived at the starry field. "Just because we are planning a wedding doesn't mean that we stop practicing our skills. Don't wanna get rusty, now do we?"

He smiled. "Yeah, it'll be good to get a sparring session in before we get married." His veiny hand brushed against my cheek. Spencer chuckled as he felt my breath become irregular. I sharply pulled away from him, setting my bag down, and walked into the clearing where we had first met. 

"Alright, Lover Boy, let's see what you got." 

Spencer sighed. "Go a little easy on me. I know how powerful you are, Beautiful."

"Shut the hell up, Spencer." White energy swirled around my right hand, forming my sword. He looked at me with a confused expression as he summoned his weapon.

Bursts of magic danced with each other as our swords collided. His navy blue aura sparkled as I dashed at him again, this time trying a side angle. Spencer saw this coming, countering with a quick dodge and sideswiped, which I expertly avoided. Left, backward, forward, forward, left, right. I had years of experience on him- years spent solely on developing my skills as a Magi. However, Spencer was a quick learner, picking up my strategy on a dime.

Suddenly a headache split through my brain, making me groan. I shook it off, not willing to admit defeat. Back, forward, back, forward, left-

One of his hollow spinning spikes grazed my shoulder, throwing me to the ground. I backed up against a tree, clutching at the wound along my collarbone. 

"Shit," I growled at the pain. "That hurts like Hell."

He placed a wet cloth on the bleeding site. Spencer locked his eyes with mine.

"Oh my god, Amelia, I'm so sorry. Hey, stay awake for me, okay?"

My vision blurred as I passed out.

'~-Ameliaą̶̡̡̢̢̡̧̨̨̛̛̛̛̛͖̮̭̞̖͔̗̮̲̭̹̖͙̗̟͇͉͔̭̰̜̼̖͈͎̺͙̫͍͙̠̩̥̬̟̳̜͓͇͎̘̝̺̲̲͍̻͙͉̯͇͍̭̹̯̤̫̹͇̙̞̱̪͖̰͕̗̱͖̰̬͖̺͎̖͓̝͚̟͔̖͓̭̳͙̹̼̤͆̀͐͋́̒͑̍̑̾͌͋̏̀̅̂̈́̾̋͑͗̑̽́̾̍̽͋̈́̆̄͗̐͆̐̅̋̄̍͒̑͑́̇̄̌̈́̈́͒̓̓́̂́̅̎̿͌̅̕͘͘̕͘͘̕͜͝͠͝͝͝ͅͅ ̵̡̧̨̨̨̨̢̧̧̛̛̫̳̟̱̗̬̞͖̞̣̣̖̳͕͚̳̼̱̳͔̜͙̦͔̫̩͚̻̬̖̟̩̦̳̮̹̦͍̳̝͉̯͚̩̣̩̹͉̰̱̹̖͖̬̺̜̱̯̤̻̜̖͓̦̹̙͇͎̺͖̥͇̫͕̱̘̻̻̯̟͇̯̱̼̺͓̏́̎̒͑͑̒̓̾̐̒̒̈́̔̎͆̓̅͆̀̇͑͗͒̐͒͊̈́͐͆̊͐̎̿̀̓̿͊́̈̒̄̈̆̂̿̉̀͑́̒̆̒͐̃̉̇̾̈͗̃͛͊͌̀̚̚̕̕̚͜͜͝͝͝͝ͅ ̴̨̢̨̺̥͕͉͍͉̪̪͈̳̪̣̪̬̥͚͕̲̯̻̠̞̟͚̥̥̏̍̈́̍̔̿̿͋̏͗͠ͅ ̷̨̧̢̡̢̨̨̛̛̗̻̩̱͖̳̦̗͙̳̪̖̻̖̺̟̣̼͉͕̬͓̲̱̞̻̬̲̻̹͎̦͙̫͔͓̲̥̻̭̩̠̣̜̦͓̫̘͖̥̙̭͚͕̩̥̰̯̝̪̖̦͎̰̙̝̹̹̲͔͕̮͓̩͕̖͚̘̬̼͈̪̖͙̤̱̩͚̼̏̽̉̉͒̒̈́̌́̔̈̀̊̈́̎͗̑̊̉͛͋͊̾̆͛͒́̑́̀̏̌͛̀̾̉̑̃͌̈́̄̑̾͌̏͐̓̀̃̎̑̎̈̚͘͜͜͜͜͠͝͝͝ͅͅͅͅ-~'

Beep. Beep. Beep. 

I recognized the sound of a heart monitor instantly. Ugh. I hated hospitals.

I would have completely refused to open my eyes if it weren't for the sound of Spencer's sobs traveling through the sterile air.

"Spencer...?" I whispered, wincing against the harsh light as I tried to open my heavy eyelids.

In one quick motion, Spencer slammed his lips against mine. I was far too tired to kiss back, but I noticed the salty taste of his tears as they dripped onto my lips.

"Amelia! Thank Irene, you're awake!" He breathed out.

"What happened?" I asked.

"When we were sparring, you stopped focusing for some reason. I accidentally sliced your shoulder open. You were losing so much blood, and you were so pale that I thought you had died." Spencer tenderly kissed my neck. I flinched. "Sorry. I'm just happy that you're awake."

"'Can't kill me that easily," I muttered, causing him to laugh. "The last thing I remember is going to bed last night."

Spencer nodded, kissing me again.

I tasted the salt on my lips. "Why are you crying?"

"Because I hurt you...." He whispered, casting his eyes down to his shoes.

"Spencer, I am FINE. You do not have to worry about me." 

"Says the one in the hospital."

"Oh, so you have jokes now?" Spencer giggled with a nod. "You're adorable."

"And you're gorgeous, even when you're out of it." He pressed his lips to my nose. "Plus, you have a really cool scar."

I peeled back the bandage that covered my wound to reveal a long scar. "At least it'll be a cool story to tell."

"To who?" I made eye contact with him.

"Our children."

"But we already have children."

"Yes, but I mean our children-children. Now it doesn't even sound like an actual word." Spencer laughed.

"I thought you hated kids." He rested his hand on my face.

"That is true, but I think that I could handle your children. I could actually talk to them when they're little because they'll be baby geniuses."

"Baby Geniuses. That sounds wonderful." I sighed at his remark. "What's wrong?"

"I was talking to Nova recently about this. We ran some tests, and I have PCOS."

"Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome, I'm familiar."

"It's caused some issues with my fertility, and it will continue to cause issues. So that might not even be a possibility." Tears formed in my eyes. "I had forgotten about it until now."

"You are right: that syndrome does cause fertility issues. However, there are plenty of cases in which women with PCOS have been able to conceive. It is nowhere near impossible." I grinned at my fiancé.

"That's what Nova told me, but it's good to hear it from you." Spencer held me close.

"I love you." He whispered to me.

"I love you too," I whispered back. 

"Our wedding is going to be amazing."

"You're the one who is becoming a king." 

"Honestly, I forgot about that part." I laughed. 

"Spencer, you can't just forget that you're becoming the king of an entire species! Where is your eidetic memory?"

"I guess it vanished for a second. All that I've been able to think about is marrying you." He caressed my face. 

"Well, you still have six days to go."

"Five, actually."

"Shut up."

"Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale."
 -Unknown

The wedding is next chapter! I wonder what is in store...