Part 4-A Family Feud

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"Anna, where are you? Show yourself!"

A peeved-looking Anna emerged from the building, wearing a Cobbler Shoes apron dusted with shoe polish and a simple peasent outfit. Her hair was tied up in a tight bun, and she crossed her arms in annoyance. "Back so soon?"

Gilly fought to kept her temper in check. "Why did you curse me?"

Anna rolled her eyes. "I thought I made that clear."

"Do you know what Jocelyn said?" Gilly yelled. "If I don't fix this now, no one will ever be able to remember or create memories of me. Ever. I'll fade from the world and die alone. Is that what you want?"

Anna looked terrified. "Not possible." she mumbled. "He promised-he said it wouldn't-there'd be no long-term..." 

"Someone gave you this spell?" Gilly gaped at her for a count of three before the realization hit. She crossed her arms. "Let me guess. Rumpelstiltskin."

Anna said nothing. She seemed to be frozen in a state of shock. 

Someone behind Gilly sighed. "Now do you believe me?"

Gilly spun. Jax had arrived.

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Jax spent a moment observing Gilly. Thankfully, she looked no more battered than usual. Just annoyed and looking for a fight. Gilly silently stared at him. Anna broke the silence, stamping her foot in frustration. "You always ruin everything!" she yelled. Jax blinked in shock, fingering the hilt of his sword. "You and your stupid friends always have to show up and save the day!"

"Nobody messes with Gilly." Jax snapped. "Back off."

Anna looked shocked. "You-you're not supposed to-you shouldn't-"

Gilly seemed equally flabbergasted. "You remember me?"

"Of course." Jax said in surprise. "I could-I'd never forget you." 

Jax blushed. Gilly's cheeks turned pink. Behind him, he could sense Ollie, Kayla, Jocelyn, and AG's confusion. They would have no idea what was going on.

Behind Anna, the door to Cobbler Shoes opened, and Hal Cobbler stepped out. "Anna, my dear, are you-" Gilly's father froze. He turned to her in annoyance, as if this whole thing was somehow Gilly's fault. "Who are you? And why are you threatening my daughter?"

Fury lit in Jax's mind. He remembered the last conversation he'd had with Gilly's father.

She'd gone home to visit her family with Jax and Ollie. Her father had wanted to talk to her. While Jax and Ollie waited behind a closed door, Gilly and Hal yelled at each other. He only caught snippents "...reckless behavior...dangerous work...ill-advised nonsense...consulting with riffraff...deserting your siblings...away at that abonimable school..."

Gilly had vented her feelings, but when Jax heard her start crying, he and Ollie had opened the door and guided her out of the room. He'd been furious. How could anyone talk that way to Gilly, watch her armor of sarcasm crumble like that? Jax had said some very scathing, un-becoming-of-a-royal things to Hal as they led her away. Jax didn't want to repeat them mentally. She'd cried silently all the way home, Jax and Ollie holding her hands all the way. 

Gilly's dad was always blaming her for everything, even when he didn't recognize her! Gilly never got a break from anyone. It wasn't fair. He fought to compose himself. "Stay out of this, sir. We don't want any trouble."

"Yes you do!" Anna yelled, her face cherry red and desperate. "You're ruining everything!"

"Mr. Cobbler, surely you must know that your daughter has a history of foul play." Jax pleaded.

Hal blinked in surprise. "Prince Jaxon, I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

Gingerbread. Either Anna had spelled her Dad, too, or he was just playing dumb to defend her. He couldn't worry about that now. Gilly met his eyes hesitantly. He sensed his friends behind him, still baffled, but ready for the call to attack. "Guys," he began, "keep Anna busy." he stared at Gilly. "We've got a spell to break."

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AG, Ollie, and Kayla charged Anna, who screamed, "No!" and cowered behind a sizzling wall of green energy. AG went full beast mode, trying to slam against the wall, but received two scorched hands for her trouble. She yelled in agony. Jocelyn spread her hands in front of her and pushed. Mr. Cobbler fell on his rear end, and a long purple box fell on top of him. With a cheerful pop! it sealed him inside.

Gilly processed all of this in shock as Jax ran toward her. "Jax, what-"

He seized her by the shoulders. "Do you know how to break the spell?" 

She shook her head. "I...I don't know..."

"Jocelyn said something...something about memories, and connecting the new and old, and-"

"Sharing feelings." Gilly supplied. 

Jax blushed. "And...something about new memories."

Gilly's cheeks felt hot. In the distance, she heard her father shouting, and Ollie taunting her sister. Explosions roared in her ears. "We don't have much time."

Jax seemed to struggle with something for a moment. Gilly saw herself reflected in his deep violet eyes. "Gilly, I-"

"Any time now!" Kayla yelled. 

She barely had time to look back at Jax before he pulled her toward him by the waist and kissed her. 

Gilly let out a noise of surprise. She had half a mind to punch him, but...new memories. Though Gilly was blushing internally, knowing a crowd watched them, she didn't pull away, and Jax kissed her harder. She shut her eyes. 

Memories flashed through her mind, but somehow she knew they weren't hers. Gilly was seeing herself. From Jax's point of view. She saw herself laughing hysterically, smiling, teasing him, fighting fiercely in a battle, yelling at him, flying beside him on a pegasus, and a dozen other things. Gilly felt his awe as he watched her charge the wvyern. She felt his blissful happiness as he danced with her at the FTRS ball. She experienced his worry and fear whenever she went somewhere without him, though he tried to reassure himself that he didn't need her help. She saw Ollie and the others teasing him about his obvious crush on her. 

Suddenly millions of things made sense to her. The times when she'd caught him staring at her. The random, seemingly out-of-nowhere questions he'd asked her. No wonder he was the one person who remembered her. Jax was more than her best friend. More, even, than her partner in crime. 

He was in love with her.

A blast of orange light knocked her away from Jax. The two landed feet apart from each other, like two people ripped mercilessly from a dreamland and sent back to a harsh reality. Anna screamed in anger. There was a sound like a ginormous snap, and the orange light swirled into an enormous ball, rising above Enchantasia. 

"NO!" Anna shouted, she scrambled to her feet, but Ollie pulled her back down, tying her wrists with gingerroot. Jocelyn cast a purple ball of light at the orange orb. The orb exploded, sending orange light across the village, across the hills, farther than Gilly could see. A pale orange tinge coated everything for just a moment...and as fast as it had appeared, it vanished.

"Gilly, look out!" 

Gilly looked up to see a green smoky boulder the size of her family boot towering over her. Her body lurched to one side, rolling out of the way just as it came down. Gilly gasped as Jax's blonde hair disappeared underneath the cloud of smoke.

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