The Union of Peanut Butter and Jelly

A Family Love Story and Sisterly Advice

One night as Celestine was working on the second to last batch of the antidote, she heard a strange noise coming from the kitchen. Although she had been working on the remedy throughout most of the day, only taking breaks to walk her dog and to eat, she knew that everyone was already asleep, so she went to investigate. When Celestine entered the kitchen, she turned on the lamp that lit up the whole room, and to her surprise, she saw Caddaric trying to hide a small box in one of the drawers. "Wouldn't you have better luck hiding your surprise for Aimee somewhere in your luggage rather than in one of my kitchen drawers?" Celestine asked the lovestruck prince as he turned his attention towards her as she gave him a knowing look. 

"I thought you were asleep. Also, I thought you wouldn't notice it," Caddaric said, somewhat embarrassed by the fact that he got caught. "I notice everything that is out of place, Caddaric, and right now, I can tell that you are nervous about what Aimee might say when you ask her," said Celestine. "Although, even if you decide to ask her during a simple private dinner, she will still say yes. Plus, the two of you remind me of another pair of soulmates whom I've known since I was a child."

"Really, who are they?" asked Caddaric. "They would be my eldest brother and his wife, my sister-in-law," Celestine answered with a small smile. "Sit down, and I'll tell you the story."

As Caddaric and Celestine sat down at the table with some hot chocolate, Celestine told the young prince, whom she now viewed as a younger brother figure, the story of her eldest brother, Edward, and his wife, Catherine. Nearly twenty years ago, Celestine was a young seven-year-old girl. She had just begun her formal and magical education when her eldest and favorite brother had finally met the woman destined to become his wife and the love of his life. At the time, Edward was about to finish his education since he was nearly sixteen years older than his sister, and he would soon begin his training as a lawyer. Although Edward was a handsome and attractive young man in his early twenties, he never had any serious relationships with any girls during his teenage years due to his shy and awkward personality.

However, in his literature class, Edward had met and developed a close friendship with a young woman named Catherine, with whom he shared a lot in common and was almost a year younger than himself. Despite his romantic feelings for Catherine, Edward had yet to ask her out due to his shy nature. Despite his intelligence and love of knowledge, his long hair, pierced ear, and clothing choice made him look like a standard tavern keeper rather than the grandson of a powerful lady and sorceress, which made Edward afraid that she would reject him. However, during a class summer trip overseas, Edward finally plucked up the courage to ask Catherine out on a date, and despite his outward appearance, Catherine agreed. As time passed, Catherine began to see more of Edward's kind, loyal, and loving nature, and during the winter holidays, when she and Celestine first met, she saw how much of a loving son and brother Edward was.

He treated both his stepfather, Celestine's father, and his mother with love and respect, and he showed how much he loved and cared about his younger brother and sister. Despite how busy Edward might have been, he always made sure that he could spend some time with Celestine and Catherine; not only liked having her around, but she also enjoyed the little girl's company. When the lovers had finished their formal education, Edward in the winter and Catherine in the summer, Edward remained at the university they had both attended to begin his law training. At the same time, Catherine left for another kingdom up north to work as a portrait painter. Despite this separation, Edward and Catherine's relationship continued, and as the years passed, their love for each other continued to grow stronger.

The two lovers remained in daily contact through their magic mirrors and their messenger birds. Edward and Catherine would also visit each other whenever they could, and they would on vacation together, and sometimes their families would accompany them. By the time Edward had reached the end of his law training, not only had he cut his hair and changed his style to appear more mature and to be taken more seriously by the law courts, but he had also been thinking about both his and Catherine's future together. A few months before Edward had received his attorney's license, he proposed marriage to Catherine, using a ring that he had saved up money to pay for, and she accepted his proposal. After Edward had finished his law training, he moved up north, and he and Catherine moved in together.

The following year, just three months after Celestine's thirteenth birthday, they were married. Although Celestine had finally gotten the older sister she had always wanted, she could not attend the wedding since she hadn't been let out of school for the summer yet. For the first four years of their marriage, Edward and Catherine lived in the Cucumber kingdom's capital, working as a lawyer and a portrait painter. Celestine, along with her parents, had even visited them a couple of times during the summer.

However, by the time Celestine had turned seventeen, both Edward and Catherine had decided that they were ready to start a family of their own. Since a large city was not a good place to bring up children, they left the Cucumber kingdom and returned to the Ice Cream kingdom to be close to family. Edward had already found a job with a local law firm, and Catherine had gotten a career as a schoolteacher. Nearly a year after they had moved into their new home, and just three days after Celestine's eighteenth birthday, Catherine gave birth to her and Edward's first child, a son named James. Although Catherine had returned to work the following school year after James's delivery, when James's younger sisters, Elizabeth, and Anna, were born, she left her job. She promised that she would return to work once Anna was old enough to start school.

Despite their infrequent arguments and disagreements, both Edward and Catherine knew that neither one could imagine their lives without each other because relationships between all couples, married and unmarried were all about trust, honesty, compassion, and compromise. They also knew that a person only has one life and that a person will only meet the one who will be the love of their life once. Once they had found one another, they should keep each other in their lives and unite their identical souls forever in holy matrimony. When Celestine had finished her story, Caddaric then asked the young sorceress, who was wiser than her years. "You are certain that when I ask Aimee, she will say yes?"

Celestine smiled at the young lovestruck prince as he gazed at the ring box in his hand with thoughts about his beloved princess before responding. "Just be honest with your feelings towards her and make sure that the words you speak come directly from your heart."

Caddaric placed the ring box in his robe's pocket with those words of wisdom, thanked Celestine, wished her good night, and returned to the bed-chamber that he shared with Aimee. When he entered the chamber, Caddaric smiled as he saw his beloved Aimee sitting up in their bed reading a book of poetry. "Can't sleep, darling?" Caddaric asked as Aimee looked up from her book once she had heard his voice. "No, I couldn't," Aimee softly answered as Caddaric walked over towards the bed. "However, I can easily ask you the same question."

Caddaric chuckled at Aimee's response, and he lovingly kissed her cheek. "Are you worried about the future as well?" asked Caddaric. "All the time, if Pelmazo and his allies learn about our plans to save both of our kingdoms, he could threaten to harm either you or me," Aimee said as she curled herself up in Caddaric's arms. "Don't worry, love. He would have to go through me to get to you, and I can handle myself," Caddaric declared as he comforted Aimee. 

"Oh, Caddy, I can't bear the thought if anything were to happen to you. For if your heart were to stop beating, then my heart will stop as well," Aimee confessed as she and Caddaric looked deep into each other's eyes. "It's alright Aimee, I feel the same way about you," said Caddaric. "While I was downstairs, Celestine told me the story of her brother, Edward, and his wife, and I can't help but think that they almost sound similar to us in a way."

"Oh really," Aimee said rather curiously. "Would you like to hear it?" asked Caddaric. "I would love to," Aimee answered as she made herself comfortable. By the time Caddaric had finished telling Aimee the love story of Celestine's eldest and favorite brother and her sister-in-law word for word, Aimee could see the similarities between them and her and Caddaric. Once Caddaric had finished the story, both he and Aimee returned to bed and spent the entire night sleeping soundly in each other's arms.