#who created mias bracelet and the book

[modern-day-bard]

Worth The Feeling

Content Warning: 18+ This series contains explicit smut, intimidation, and an age gap relationship. Minors, do not interact.

Chapter 29

Dozens of celebrities visit LAX every day, from both arrivals and departures. Even still, it feels like a risk. I asked David to park us outside while I looked for a flight. On another day, I might be embarrassed, asking him to wait while I frantically look for the soonest flight to Connecticut. There are several arriving in New York that leave much sooner, but I don't want to risk being seen even more. I book one straight to Connecticut leaving in three hours, thank David, and shoot a text to my mom. I'm crossing all of my fingers that my parents have not seen the pictures. Not that they're superbly technologically savvy, but with my mom's friends and their stalking tendencies...I can't even think about that right now.

I buy one of the first books I see after getting through security, ignoring the two tabloids with Javi's face on the cover, and the one with both of us. At my gate, with my knees pull up to my chest, cat down over my eyes, and my book in front of my face, I feel like I've created a little cocoon of safety. After about ten minutes, I realize I bought an informational book about marine life. Absolutely no connection to Hollywood, romance, or mistakes. I'm thrilled.

Sitting here for a while, I feel too numb to even be afraid of my flight. I look down at my bracelet occasionally, and remember that my last flight was also riddled with anxiety. Except this time, the worst of the worst has come true. But I still don't feel scared. I feel like the most important thing is just to get to Connecticut. If I can get there, I can breathe. No one will be able to find me at my parents house. There's no way they'll be able to find that much information about me in such a short time-span. And I don't think my face is the one that would be worth flying out for. Sure, they might hound me here, but from what I know, they would only follow Javi.

Javi, who has called three times since my arrival.

I told David to text Javi once I left the car. I couldn't handle the idea of him calling me before I bought the flight. Hearing his voice would make me change my mind. And it was convenient that I would be too busy going through security and getting to my gate to miss the first two. But now I had no excuse for the third. With an hour and a half left before my flight, I send out a text to Javi.

Me: I'm sorry I missed your calls. I asked David to let you know my plans... I can't let you get more heat if they figure out I'm staying at your house. I'm so sorry, for all of it. I'll call you when I get home.

I send one to Lana and Mia as well, giving them the sparknotes, and I turn off my phone. I know the girls and Javi will be kind, but I don't want to think about it anymore. I zone out staring at a photo of a beluga whale until it's time to board.

- - -

I came dangerously close to collapsing in my mom's arms when her and her sedan greeted me at New Haven's much smaller airport. I had many heart palpitations during takeoff, and there were a few times I thought my body would turn into full-blown panic. But thankfully, flying when you know you're flying away from a public relations crisis that could cost you your job seems to be easier for me. Though that is a lesson I would've been happy never to have learned.

Now that we're safely in the walls of my parents' Cape Cod-style home, I'm bordering on big, big tears. I never miss home. I miss my parents, of course. But I never think of Connecticut in that wistful way everyone else talks about their hometowns. There's some nostalgia, but there's some bad memories, too. I push that thought away as I plop down on their couch. There are other, more recent memories I need to forget. And right now, this feels like the most comforting place in the world.

My mom fiddles with her keys before dropping them on the entryway table. I could tell she was holding back the entire ride home from the airport. She asked about the flight, and about my recent projects, about my friends, and now...

"Where's dad?" I beat her to the punch.

"He's out picking up your favorite."

"Pepe's?" I ask hopefully and she nods, "At 10pm? You're both saints."

"Yes, ma'am," she giggles.

She sits down next to me, placing a hand gingerly on my knee.

"Honey," her voice is much more serious than before, "Are you sure you're okay? You rarely come home. And then within a few hours you text us you're on your way, and you only have a purse with you and no return flight. What's going on?"

"You should've been a detective."

This time she doesn't giggle, she just pins me with her worried expression.

I fiddle with a thread on one of the throw pillows. "Have your friends said anything about me?"

Now she just looks confused. "Uh, no. I've been at work today though."

"Right. Well, I sort of became a topic of conversation recently and—"

"Hello!" My dad bellows, pushing open the front door, two large pizza boxes leading the way.

"Dad!" I hop up. I hug him tightly, nearly sending the pizza to the floor before my mom catches it from behind us.

"Hi, sweetie." He gives me a kiss on the top of my head, and I can feel my eyes sting.

This part of home, I miss.

As we gather in the kitchen, I fill my dad in on what I had already told my mom. I ask them both about work, and their friends. Some of their friends became grandparents, and the thought of that makes my stomach lurch. They laugh at my expression, and I'm relieved there's no additional pressure there. I don't feel much pressure at all as we talk in between pizza slices. I feel lighter than I have in a while. Like all of that attention was some wild Hollywood dream, and I woke up in the safety of my old life.

"Okay, this old man has to call it." My dad finally says, pointing at the clock on the stove. 12:06am.

"Me too," my mom says, kissing my cheek. "I got your room set up for you. Do you need anything before bed?"

I shake my head, hugging them both. "No, just this. Thank you guys."

"You're welcome. But you know I will be wanting to finish our conversation tomorrow," My mom whispers before patting me on the back.

"I know," my laughter is nervous, but she lets it go.

I follow them upstairs, bringing my purse with me. My old room is now half an office, but they left some of my old stuff behind. I rummage through the closet, finding an old high school pep rally t-shirt to throw on. Though "throw on" may be a stretch, because speaking of stretch, this thing barely fits. I decide to go with just a fresh pair of underwear I brought, and make a mental note to raid my mom's closet tomorrow.

I plug in my phone, slipping under the covers. I brought my marine life book into bed with me, just in case any distracting thoughts kept me awake. But staring at a rather spritely looking sea turtle, my eyes are getting heavy. With the time difference, it's past 3am for me. Before I know it, I fall into a dreamless sleep.

- - -

The next morning, after a cold slice of Pepe's for breakfast, I took a walk around my neighborhood. My charged, but turned-off, phone in my pocket. My mom told me that she would probably be able to get off of work early, but didn't have time to warn them last night. My dad said he would try to do the same, but client meetings might keep him later. I didn't mind. I knew I would need some time to figure out how to explain the situation to them, and I would also need to check this phone of mine. I don't want to leave anyone hanging, but...the quiet is nice. The air here is slightly cooler with September rolling in, and the streets are peaceful. I decide that once I remember which houses used to hand out full-size candy bars, I need to turn on my phone.

I gather up the courage sitting on the front stoop, even though the cool bricks freeze my bum. I'm glad this stoop is paparazzi-free at least.

There are less messages from yesterday. Lana and Mia just said to text when I'm settled and that they understand, so I fire another one off to them letting them know I'm safe and I'm cooling off. I wait a few more minutes before reading Javi's messages. I feel a pit in my stomach. I can't imagine that he'll want to deal with all this. And now that I've given him some space, he'll probably be able to see that it's easier with me far away, or just...out of his life in general. I swallow the lump in my throat and open the conversation anyway.

Immediately after I texted him that I was going home he replied.

Javi: Do what you need to do. I completely understand. Though I will be wishing you were here with me instead

And again once he figured I had landed.

Javi: You're probably catching up with your parents, but sleep well. It's late here at home This morning, 5am L.A. time, 8am East Coast time.

Javi: Good morning beautiful. Jonah and I are speaking with Dwayne today. I know it's probably not the best thing to hear this morning but I want to keep you up to date. Call me when you can. We're meeting at 9

I look at the clock. In that case, with the time difference, they're meeting now. I wish I still had more of my neighborhood to walk. The idea of Javi, his lawyer, and Dwayne all in a room together is enough nervous energy to walk five more miles. Besides the idea of the meeting, however, his texts calm me. I thought that looking through my phone would feel like it did yesterday: uncontrollable chaos. But it's the opposite. They soothe me, and it makes me want to speak with him even more. Not just to know what happens in that awful meeting, but just to hear his voice.

Me: Thank you for the update :) I'm sorry for the late reply...and for leaving. But it's been good to be here. Call me when you're out of the meeting if you can

I decide the next best thing is to shower. I take my time, going through my mom's closet afterwards like I had promised last night. I find a t-shirt of hers that actually fits, as well as a hoodie and some soft shorts. Me, my wet hair, and my hoodie are enjoying another slice of pizza when my phone rings.

My heart flutters before I look at who the call belongs to, and then I spit my pizza out onto my plate.

"Hello?" I say, even though I know who it is.

"Ava? It's Dwayne. I've got our lawyer, Devon on with us as well as Tom from public relations. Is now a good time?"

Holy fuck. Holy. Fuck. "Um, sure." Do I need a lawyer on this call?

"We just spoke with Mr. Gutierrez. I've been told that you are aware of the recent press. Is that right?"

"Yes," I swallow hard, "I've seen it."

"We've been in talks this morning about how to handle the situation. Tom has advised Javi on what the next steps are going to be. When it comes to you, I want to reiterate that you aren't in trouble. What we spoke about beforehand remains true, however, I need to ask again, do you plan to press any charges?"

I splutter for a moment. "Charges against–against Javi?"

"Yes. Or Mr. Henley."

How does he factor in this situation?

"Dwayne, I'm a little out of the loop here. I won't be pressing charges against Javi. But why would I want to press charges against Blake? Do you mean for before?"

"Uh, no, not from before..."

There is a pause on their end of the call. Some rustling, and then a new, deep voice begins.

"Miss Cohen, my name is Devon Wallace. I'm the studio's lawyer. As Dwayne said, you are not in any trouble. You aren't in breach of contract for becoming intimate with Javi. It is also helpful, for managing PR, that this has come out after filming has wrapped. However, we would like to avoid another scandal if we can."

I'm still lost. "What other scandal?"

"To be ahead of the news cycle, and to protect you as an employee of Norwick, we want to know if you plan on taking legal action against Blake Henley."

"Why would I be suing Blake Henley?"

Devon clears his throat.

"Because he's the one who captured and leaked the photos."

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter

Series Masterlist

[aquamarinescarlet]

Don’t give up just yet

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Word count: ~3.6k

Warnings: two curse word (I think), brief mentions of sex and cheating, angst (bare in mind these warnings don’t apply the way you think they do, you’ll have to read to understand)

Summary: The classic soulmate AU, sentences written on each other’s wrists, but with a twist.

Author’s note: This was basically an excuse for me to reinvent the soulmate AU with the wrist tattoos thing. It’s sorta angsty, but I just thought the ending was too funny. Just experimenting here, tell me what you think.

PSA: Dividers are the count down till the day: black is reader focused, red is wanda focused, gold/yellow is also reader focused, but I thought it deserved a little spark.

“You should call her, y’know.”

“Why would I do that? She made her point very clear.”

“It’s her wedding day, Y/N,” Mia reasoned, “and this fight was months ago, you have to get over it.”

You rolled your eyes at her insistence. This discussion has been happening every day for the past two weeks.

“I didn’t do anything wrong, why am I the one who should get over it?” You emphasized.

“He is her soulmate, and she is your sister, the least you could do is pretend.”

“Ugh,” you let out a guttural scream, “I can’t do this anymore Mia, I stand by what I said. That man is an asshole and this soulmate thing is stupid. I don’t trust him, no matter what the words on both their wrists say, and I’m not gonna watch her go down with this and not do anything about it.”

Mia didn’t respond, she knew she’d reached your last nerve. You watched as the woman left your office, sending a last sympathetic glance your way before walking into the hall. 

Mia was right in some points, and you knew that. She was right about it being your sister’s wedding day and that you should be there to support her. She was wrong about you needing to be the one to apologize though. The way people manipulated their lives to fit this whole twisted Soulmate Theory made your blood boil.

The Soulmate Theory was quite simple: everyone was born with a sentence written on their wrists, popular belief is that those are the first words your soulmate will say to you. It was cute, and it worked most of the time, not for your sister though. Or at least you thought so.

Oli's soulmate was Isaac. They had met three years ago and eventually started dating. Oli was a firm believer of the Soulmate Theory and had never dated anyone before, so it was all new and exciting.

You started noticing the patterns roughly one year after they started dating. He was controlling her, discreetly, barely noticeable, but it was there. 

First with clothes, Oli had made it a habit to always ask for his opinions on her clothing, and he would tell her he hated something, regardless of her telling him over and over again she had liked it. You made little comments here and there about his actions, mostly jokes but with some truth behind, she didn’t notice.

Second was friends, Isaac would always want to meet Oli’s friends, and if she went out with one he didn’t know he would make her feel guilty. You started giving more serious warnings, pointing out what he was doing more clearly, she didn’t care and called you crazy.

Third was her feelings, he had his mind set on what her role should be in his life. He praised Oli endlessly when she cooked or cleaned. Other than that, he didn’t care, didn’t pay attention to her stories, didn’t appreciate her paintings and drawings… 

It got to the point where she wouldn’t want to paint anymore, when she was telling a story it would be without her usual excitement. Her smile no longer reached her eyes, she was constantly tired. 

You confronted her about it, several times, but it was of no use. You’d point out the facts and she’d retort with ‘he is my soulmate, the universe bound us together, he wouldn’t do this to me!’

Three months ago was the last time you two talked. She told you he asked her hand. She knew you would be against it, she tried to ease you into the idea of her being with Isaac for the rest of her life. You weren’t having any of it. 

After hours of screaming, arguing and loads of tears, she told you not to come to the wedding, and you said you wouldn’t. 

It’s now four days from the date and you’re not going as long as he’s the one she’s marrying.

You stared at the words on your own wrist. ‘It’s you’. That sentence haunted you for years. What a stupid set of words for your soulmate to say.

As a kid you adored the Soulmate Theory, you paid meticulous attention to the first words you’d exchange with anyone, you made new friends nearly every day in hopes of hearing those words, but they never came.

Until they came. At first it was exhilarating, but the ones you said didn’t match the ones on the person’s wrist. You were extremely disappointed. And then you heard them again, and again, and again… It became almost routine. Every single person you met would say ‘it’s you’ or some variation of it. 

You being who you are certainly didn’t help. During college you had started a tech company and now it had grown to be one of the biggest and most important in the field. The new inventions did win you several prizes and a lot of money. You were also stupid famous, being the young brilliant CEO and all. 

Ever since, you gave up on looking for your soulmate. It seemed counter productive to get yourself all worked up just for it not to happen every single day. You made your peace with it, although a small part of you just wanted to meet said person.

The situation with Isaac and Oli helped. Seeing that it could end up hurting you made it easier to not fixate on finding your soulmate. Nonetheless, the desire was there; hidden, pushed to the back of your mind, but still there.

You just wished your sister could see it too, that the Soulmate Theory is not the solution to all her problems. 

“Relax Steve, it’s all taken care of.” 

“What about the flowers? Did you book the buffet? Did you check with the band? And the decorations? I saw some people didn’t RSVP yet, should I redo the seating charts?” Steve rambled on as Wanda just laughed.

“The flower problem is solved, the buffet confirmed, so did the band, the wedding planner is working on the decorations and redoing the whole seating chart seems… unnecessary, they still have three days to confirm their presence.” She reassured the man who was more stressed than her about the whole situation.

“Okay, sorry, I just want to make sure everything is perfect.” He huffed, taking a seat on the couch. 

“It’s going to be perfect, don’t worry.” She couldn’t help the weirdness that surged upon uttering those words.

“How are you so calm?” Wanda just shrugged, not really sure how to answer. 

Steve took a deep breath and gazed at the red head, offering her a smile. 

“I’m going to sleep, all this wedding stuff has been stressing me all day.” 

“Okay,” Steve made his way to his bedroom but she called him before he reached the hallway, “thanks for the help Rogers.” 

“No worries.” He shot a last smile before disappearing. 

Wanda found herself alone in the living room, the silence only making her thoughts scream louder.

She would be married in three days. It seemed unbelievable. After losing her parents, being experimented on at Hydra, fighting along Ultron, losing her brother and becoming an Avenger, she never thought she would have time to fall in love.

Yet, here she is. Although the feeling wasn’t quite what she thought it would be. It wasn’t exciting, or nerve racking. She felt no different than any other day of her life. Steve seemed like the one who was getting married, not her. 

Vision is sweet and caring, she feels so happy around him. Then what is causing all these doubts to haunt her?

She knows what it is, she just doesn’t want to admit it.

Those words. Those stupid words painted forever on her wrist. ‘Don’t do this’. Ever since joining the Avengers she started using several bracelets to hide them, but they still burned on her skin every single day.

She’d heard of the Soulmate Theory at a very young age. Her parents had explained how those were the first words she’d hear from the love of her life. She would spend hours daydreaming all sorts of scenarios in which someone would say those words to her and they’d fall in love.

After her parent’s death, that stopped being her priority. At the Hydra base she’d only see her brother and a couple dozen different Hydra soldiers, too old and mean for a soulmate. 

Gaining powers was a game changer. She was older then. Stronger. They finally allowed her and Pietro to leave the base and create chaos in Hydra’s name. “Do good” in Hydra’s name. She believed she was doing the right thing. She truly did. 

Hearing her first ‘Don’t do this’ made her question everything. It came from a little kid nonetheless. A scared little kid. It must’ve been a mistake, she thought at the time. But that mistake happened, again, and again, and again… 

When she joined the Avengers her eyes were opened to all the pain and terror she had caused. All the people she hurt. Then it dawned on her, what if one of those ‘Don’t do this’ came from her soulmate? What if she had hurt them, or worse, killed them?

The idea terrified her. So she hid those words on her wrist. A reminder of the evil she’s done and the love she’ll never have. She promised herself to never look for her soulmate, she already caused them enough pain, they didn’t deserve to get tangled in the mess that was her life.

And then Vision was created. Him and Wanda got along greatly. He made her happy. They fell in love, or at least that’s what Wanda told herself, that she fell in love with him. It was possible, there’s no rule on the Soulmate Theory that says you can only fall in love with your soulmate. Plus, Vision is not human, so he doesn’t have words written on his wrist, he doesn’t have a predestined soulmate, technically he doesn’t even have an actual soul for this sort of thing. They could be each other’s soulmate. A loophole on this stupid theory.

Why didn’t it feel like that though? Why was she questioning it so much? And why now? Three days before her wedding?

She took off the bracelets and stared at the ink, brushing her fingers lightly over it. She loved Vision, she affirmed to herself. She wants to marry him. This is what she wants. And she believes in these words, for a while. Long enough for her to fall asleep, turning off her brain from overthinking the situation too much.

Work has had you occupied all week. With back to back meetings and loads of paperwork to fill out, you’ve barely had time to think of anything else.

But now it seems like everything is done and you have more free time than you’d like. 

You left the office early, not having much to do there anymore, and, instead of spending all afternoon home alone, you decided to go out for some coffee.

You were sitting on your usual table in the small coffee shop close to your place. It was calm, quiet and homely, a nice contrast between the places you frequent. The warm cup on your hands did nothing to distract you though.

The book you’d brought was long forgotten on the table as you glanced at your phone every few seconds. It’s two days till the wedding and, even though you tried not to think about it, you hoped your sister would text you saying she broke it off. It was unlikely, but wishing she could get some sense knocked into her wouldn’t kill.

You were so focused on your thoughts that you didn’t notice a woman glancing at you until you caught her trying to call your attention.

“It’s you!” She said, astonished, pointing to the cover of a magazine showing a picture of you.

Recognizing that issue as being a rather old one, you just nodded and offered the woman a friendly smile. She took that as an opportunity to approach you.

“Hi. Sorry,” she sounded excited and also nervous for bothering you, “I just wanted to say what an inspiration you are to women all around, to me especially. I’ve been opening my own business and seeing what you do has been such an encouragement to me. So, thank you!” 

You were surprised by how nice she was. You’d expected her to ask you to invest in her business or something, like everyone who approaches you does, but she didn’t and it was a nice change of pace for once.

“What kind of business are you opening?” You asked. Listen to her talk would be a good distraction, plus, you could use the company.

“Oh, no, that’s ok,” she said, “I don’t want to bother you any further.”

“Please,” you urged, “I have the rest of my day off and I could use someone to talk to. Unless you’re busy, then I wouldn’t want to be a burden to you.” You laughed to ease the woman’s nerves.

“Sure?” You nodded and gestured to the empty seat across from you. 

She accepted it and you spent at least an hour talking before she had to leave. It was a pleasant conversation, she praised your work but didn’t refrain from giving some interesting criticism on your business. The topic of an investment or a partnership never even came up. 

It got your sister out of your mind for a while, although it didn’t last long.

Laying on your bed, your eyes fought to stay open, your mind swirling with all possible scenarios regarding Oli. She would be miserable if she went through with this, and you couldn’t do anything about it.

You love your sister, you care so much about her, but she refuses to listen to your warnings. You could swallow your pride and go to the wedding. You could try and support her. But that would just make an accomplice to her stupidity and you’re not going to just stand there and pretend that that’s ok.

You thought about texting her, way too many times. But your relationship is already rocky as it is, the least you could do is hope she gets some clarity on her own.

One day till the wedding. She’s 24 hours away from the happiest day of her life. Why is it, then, that Wanda doesn’t feel as happy as she should be. 

She didn’t have to fake a smile, she was happy, but that smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. 

None of the others seemed to notice it. They just thought it was the nervousness of having everything set so the day could run smoothly. Vision even brought up the possibility of her having cold feet about it, but she denied it thoroughly, assuring him she wanted this.

And she does. She wants to get married, have kids and build up a family of her own. She wants it all. 

It still seemed weird though. Like something was off. 

“Steve just called,” Nat interrupted her thoughts, walking back into the room, “everything is set, prepped and organized for tomorrow.”

“Let’s try on the dress then.” Carol urged the girl to put on the piece of clothing for the millionth time.

It did her justice. Slim at the top and flowy at the bottom, accentuating all her curves perfectly. It wasn’t big and puffy but light and delicate. She smiled at her own reflection as the other women crammed around her to take a look.

“You look beautiful.” Pepper said in awe. 

“She does, doesn’t she.” Laura agreed, even though she’s the one that helped her choose it.

Wanda didn’t say anything, just smiling and appreciating her own image, excitement growing on her chest from wearing it in front of everyone the next day.

The girls spent hours planning how they would do her hair and makeup. There were so many ideas, disagreements and arguments that Wanda was completely drained by the end of the day. She was happy though, to see her friends being there for her, eager to help and make sure everything was perfect.

It was nice to have people around since she lost so much throughout the years.

After the women were gone and she found herself alone, Wanda’s thoughts from the beginning of the day came back, hitting her like a train.

Was she really more excited about wearing a dress than about getting married? Was this a sign of her actually getting cold feet? 

She shrugged them away, affirming to herself these are just stupid uncertanties people always get before their wedding day. At least that’s what happens in movies, so nothing to worry about... right?

Thankfully your work slump had subsided as now a gigantic pile of papers sat on your table. Some contracts had to be restructured and a set of stores had to be chosen to distribute your newest technology. 

You thrived in that scenario, with countless reports and 2D drawings of the prototypes scattered about the room. Your mind was going a thousand miles a minute, seemingly unaware of the events that would take place later that day.

That peace, however, was short lived. Your brain short circuited for a second when you checked what had caused your phone to buzz.

Two voicemails. 

From none other than Isaac. 

It was right then that it dawned on you: Oli was marrying that asshole today. In only a couple of hours actually.

Before listening to the messages you started to record your phone screen, maybe he would try to threaten you or something and you could use that to convince Oli to break things off with him. It wouldn’t kill to be precautious.

The first one was sweet, although it almost made you gag, it was sent with good intentions. Isaac was asking you to go easy on Oli, regardless of your feelings towards him, you should be supportive of her and her decisions. Too pretentious for your liking, but sent with good intentions nonetheless.

The second one started awfully weird. Some muffled sounds, things you couldn’t quite make out. Until you heard a loud moan, your eyes going wide as you pushed your phone away from your face. Isn’t it technically ‘bad luck’ to see the bride on the wedding day? You didn’t have time to dwell on those thoughts as the voice on the phone started to moan each other’s names. The woman didn’t sound anything like Oli, because it wasn’t Oli. Isaac was cheating on your sister? And on their wedding day!?

Oh you weren’t about to just let that go. You stopped the recording, thanking your intuition, and quickly ringed Oli.

It rang once… twice… three times… and then voicemail. You tried at least four more times until you figured she just didn’t want to talk to you.

“Marie can you come in here please?” You called your secretary.

A few seconds later she popped her head inside your office.

“How can I help?”

“Can I use your phone!?” You sounded more exasperated than you wished.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to call your sister today?” Damn, that woman knows you too well. You sighed loudly.

“Please… I just…” You trailed off, sounding desperate this time around.

Thankfully Marie gave in and lent you her phone. You typed Oli’s number and rang it, several times, she didn’t pick up once. You were starting to get truly desperate now.

“Do you have the address?” You handed Marie her phone back.

“Here.” She handed you a piece of paper from her pocket. 

It was on the other side of the city, at least a one hour drive. You quickly grabbed your coat, purse and phone, rushing out of the office, only being stopped by a hand wrapping around your wrist.

“Don’t do anything stupid.” You gave her a reassuring smile and a quick nod before making your way to your car. Marie has been working with you since the beginning, she always knew when you were up to nothing good. She also knew that when you set your mind to something, there was no stopping you.

The drive was excruciating. You kept making stupid mistakes and taking wrong turns. Everything seemed to work against you, being it: accidents, red lights, slow drivers, pedestrians. Even the birds chirping around were pissing you off.

You finally reached the venue and stopped the car messily in the front entrance. You quickly ran up the stairs, and almost tripped and fell when you heard the officiant was already performing the ceremony.

You reached the doors and yanked them open, hopefully interrupting the wedding before it was too late.

“Don’t do this!” You screamed at the top of your lungs, nearly breathless. 

The guests all turned towards you, surprised. So did the couple on the podium.

Except those people weren’t Oli and Isaac. You recognized them, Vision and Scarlet Witch, or at least that’s the names they went for on television. You’ve seen them before, doing business with Stark had its perks, but had never been introduced.

You could’ve felt bad, but your stomach was a turmoil of faith and nausea. You were either really early or really late to stop Oli.

“Sorry,” you said, trying to catch your breath, “wrong wedding, carry on.” You turned around to leave, but not before noticing the bride glancing at her own wrist.

You didn’t get the chance to take a single step out the door before her voice filled the silence that had settled.

“It’s you.” You stopped dead on your tracks. Your wrist burning slightly, not the kind of pain to cause discomfort, just enough to be noticeable.

Those words. 

Her looking at her wrist.

Your’s burning now.

You turned back around, earning all kinds of confused glances from the guests. Your eyes fell on the woman, a smirk plastered on your lips.

“Seems like this isn’t the wrong wedding after all.”

[boundtoyouphff]

Chapter 16: Unwritten

A/N: Here is the next chapter! I hope you have enjoyed Chapter 14 and Chapter 15 that were posted yesterday! Please read those first before continuing to this one.

Oh, the magic of new beginnings.

The hope that fills you and inspires you that a fresh start is that key ingredient that you have been missing.

Opening the book to a new page, the start of an amazing adventure yet to come instills me with such joy and happiness looking into the unwritten future. It is time to start a new book in my life and close the chapter of the past. You cannot start a new book while remaining stuck in the last one. So I'm putting you away on the shelf because you are still a part of my past that has brought me to this moment. One I must not forget, but I cannot linger amongst the pages any longer.

But, when I looked one last time at the cover of the book I realized that I was not the author of this. That somehow this book of my life was not written by me, but by those who thought they knew me and those who tried to steer the plot into their own direction.

It is time to write my own book. But, this book is still unwritten. Filled with empty pages, but bounded in hope for what I will be writing in them.

It's time for me to write my own story, to be the author of my own life and the creator of my own voice.

It's time to show the world who really is Emilia Andelle.

--------------------------------

Emilia took in a deep sigh as Ella continued to style her hair for her engagements with Green Peace this afternoon. The princess was handed a briefing by her new private secretary Evie Sharpe. Emilia released a genuine smile seeing how engaged and enthusiastic Evie was about today. She was a stark difference from her previous private secretary, Mia Deacon.

From the moment she had met Evie, Emilia eagerly wanted her to be spear heading her newly developed team. Even her father was impressed by the young woman's resume and further encouraged Emilia that she would be a great fit. Throughout the interviews of Emilia's new staff, her father Frederick was present for all of them as per the Queen's request. But, he made sure to take a step back and only provide advice when Emilia asked his opinion only after she had shared her own thoughts on the candidates. He wanted this team to be purely Emilia's choice and to find people who could not only share her vision, but help her successfully create it. The Crown Prince was proud of his youngest daughter for showing the initiative to create this remarkable team, one of her own making. The ideas she presented to him were well thought out like she had been visioning this idea for a while and now she was finally making that vision come to light.

"The director, Mr. Langford, of Green Peace will greet you when you arrive and introduce you to key staff members. Then we will proceed inside and have a tour of some of the sanctuaries before opening the new wing dedicated to helping the endangered, but also extremely adorable if I may add, Fennec Foxes." Evie was beaming as she finally took a breath and sat down across from Emilia. "They told me yesterday that they have a new litter of baby foxes that are dying to meet a princess and need to be named."

Emilia tossed her head back in laughter. "Well I certainly can do that. Thank you Evie for this."

"Speaking of endangered animals..." Ella piped up into the conversation. "I have this piece of jewelry that you wanted me to order for today." Emilia's stylist held up a pair of earrings that were very delicately designed butterflies with a custom emerald green gem stone.

"Wow! These are perfect!" Emilia carefully cradled them into her hand. The princess was able to sit down with Ella and Evie to go through her personal style for attending engagements. Emilia wished to add even more of an impact through the clothes and accessories that she chose to wear to shine a light on young sand upcoming designers, local designers during her tours and showcase accessories that profits go towards a charity project or change initiative. These butterfly earrings were created by a Illyrian college student who was using the proceeds from purchases to fund her non-profit conservation project of protecting at risk butterflies and birds. It was Emilia's hope that she could shine a light on this piece and use her influence to aid this young college student that shared her passion for conservation. It was little things like this that Emilia would use to create her own identity. To show how far her reach could go beyond engagements and simply making an appearance.

Emilia suddenly became quiet as she dug out a bracelet that was sent to her by Harry. She noticed it on one of their recent video chats and asked him about it. It was a piece that represented Harry's rhino conservation project in Africa. Emilia was hesitant to ask the prince if she could have one and wear for today's engagement. Harry's smile lit up at her question and was happy to send her one. But, he did feel the need to remind her that he is known for wearing it all the time and that the press could link them together if she were to wear it.

"Ooooh, I love that bracelet. It would work so well with your outfit today Emilia! Those blues would tie in perfectly." Ella smiled happily before she got a glimpse of Emilia's uncertain expression that had formed on her lips.

"I know, I just don't know if I should wear it." The princess released a deep sigh. She stood up quickly and grabbed her phone. "I will be right back. I need to call someone." Emilia didn't feel right wearing it today without Harry's blessing for the simple fact that they could be linked, but a piece inside Emilia wanted Harry along for the start of her new journey today and by wearing the bracelet, he could be.

Evie and Ella both watched the princess find a private area to make a call. Evie slowly turned her head to look up at Ella who was displaying a happy grin as if she knew exactly who Emilia was calling. "Should I know anything Ella?" Evie stood up and faced her with an inquisitive look.

Ella shook her head. "No. Whatever do you mean?" Ella perfectly played it off and got back to her work.

"Hello?" Harry's deep voice resonated on the line immediately bringing a smile to her lips.

The princess closed her eyes and sighed. Just the sound of his voice was enough for Emilia to miss him. "Hey." She quietly responded.

"You ok?" Harry had picked up on her quiet tone. He knew that today was a big day for Emilia and her new team. He had stayed up quite late talking to his girlfriend and calming her nerves.

"Yeah I am alright. Getting ready for my engagement." She told Harry while finding a chair to make herself comfortable in.

"I am honestly so nervous. It needs to go perfectly well." The stress in Emilia's voice was evident. It was clear the amount of pressure Emilia was facing today was insurmountable. She had to prove to her grandmother what she was capable of achieving on her own merit.

"Babe..." Harry breathed out. "You are going to kill it. Just don't kill any of the endangered animals and you will be fine!"

Emilia groaned loudly at his attempt to make her laugh. "Henry..."

"Oh come on love. That was pretty funny." Harry continued to snicker on the other line being unable to hold in his laughter.

The princess could not hold in her laughter, hearing her boyfriend's infectious giggle ring out. She dissolved into a fit of giggles feeling the anxiety about her day float away. Emilia sighed deeply, silently thanking Harry for that moment of relief.

"Thank you for making me laugh." Emilia suddenly became quiet, thinking about the reason why she had originally wanted to talk to Harry. She held the bracelet he had given her in her hand, analyzing it carefully. "There was something I wanted to ask you..." she trailed off.

"What's that?" Harry encouraged her.

"You know how you sent me your Rhino bracelet that you always wear?" Emilia led on.

"Yeah, you got it?" His soft voice spoke.

"I did. But, I wanted to ask you if it would be ok if I wore it on my engagement today." The dark haired princess breathed out. "Before you say anything, I want to explain." Emilia felt the need to, as the bracelet would surely link Harry to her if the media picked up on it. "I know that the press could find out that it is something you may have given me, but it has been reported that we are merely royal friends. I want - " Emilia was hesitating to tell Harry what was growing in her mind.

"Just tell me, Emilia."

"Today is a fresh start for me. My first engagement with my new team who I chose and this is something that I have wanted for so long. A new beginning to do the things that I want to do in the way I want to do them. You were a big factor in encouraging me to do this Henry. I want you to be a part of this new start today and I know you cannot be here. So I thought I could wear the bracelet today... so I know that you are still with me in another way. You are a part of this new journey for me." Emilia took in a shaky breath after finishing her rant while she waited for her boyfriend's reply.

"Emilia, you did not have to ask me permission to wear it." Harry's deep voice sounded over the phone. "I want you to wear it today and remember that I always have your back, no matter what. I don't care if they link it to me." The prince spoke freely. "You came here for the Invictus Games and I just did a whole tour with you in Illyria."

"I just wanted to check with you first." Emilia smiled happily at her boyfriend's response. "Thank you for supporting me babe and believing in me."

"Now, go out there and kick some ass. Call me when it's all done and let me know how it goes."

The smile plastered on Emilia's lips was hard to miss. "I will." Emilia sighed heavily. "God I can't wait to see you..."

"Don't remind me that I have to wait a few extra days because someone was leaving later than planned and I have to sit through two days of engagements knowing that you are in the same damn city as me!" Harry started to moan.

"It's not my fault!" Emilia giggled. "I will try my best to distract you anyhow."

"You better. Have a safe flight tomorrow."

"Bye baby."

Emilia hung up the phone and saw the press secretary Olivia Holmes and her new head of security Hugo Blackburn walk into her apartment.

Olivia searched the room for the princess and found her off to the side. She smiled warmly and started to approach Emilia. "Are you ready to go, your highness?"

Olivia Holmes was hired as Emilia's new press secretary, a liaison between the palace communications team and the Illyrian media. She came highly recommended by one of her closest friends, Scarlet, who was a news anchor. Scarlet was even afraid to cross Olivia and with her impressive resume of working for the British Illyrian Ambassador and for the famous female empowering Illyrian Senator Louisa Banks. Olivia was a force to be reckoned with, but she was a hard sell initially until Emilia shared her vision of what she wished to achieve as she found out that she was not planning on being the same cookie cutter royals as the rest of her family.

"For the last time Olivia, please just call me Emilia." The princess smiled warmly then released a deep sigh. "I would be lying if I said that I was not nervous about today..." Emilia glanced down briefly and put on Harry's bracelet.

"I would rather you be nervous right now than over confident." Olivia smirked. "Now, I will go over the journalist who will be asking you a few questions. She has been told not to drift away from these set few or she knows the price she will pay if she does." Emilia's press secretary giggled, lightening up the mood.

Emilia was half listening to Olivia when she saw Hugo approach her RPO Tristan who was standing beside the newly hired RPO, Kane McKinney. Her eyes locked in Tristan's gaze as a proud smile grew on his lips making the princess beam in return.

The princess had endured a long internal debate while she thought of giving Tristan the position of her head of security instead of Hugo Blackburn. It was not because he did not deserve it, more so the fact that Emilia trusted him more than anyway on her team and she wanted him right beside her. She sat Tristan down and told him why he was not getting the position while she was in near tears, but Tristan understood her reasons and told the young princess that he would rather be out protecting her than having the worries of being head of her security.

Kane McKinney had actually been recommended to Emilia from Prince Harry. Kane and Harry served together in the British Forces and went through basic training together. He had recently lost his Illyrian wife to a long battle of cancer, but was not ready to return to the life of the military and had chosen to stay in Illyria after his wife's passing. Harry was able to convince him that he could use his skills as a protection officer and when Emilia told Harry of her plans to form a whole new team, Kane was the first to come to his mind. Tristan had been showing Kane the ropes of being a royal protection officer even though he had completed a rigorous training course prior to his employment.

Hugo was lecturing them when Emilia approached her security team with a kind welcoming smile.

"Hello ma'am." Kane bowed his head. 'Ohh, I mean your highness." He stumbled out of his mouth clearly putting his nerves on display. Tristan rolled his eyes with a light shake of his head.

"Good morning Kane." She giggled at his expense. "Just take a deep breath and remember to watch Tristan. Luke is with us for a few more weeks to help out until you find your feet" Emilia rubbed Kane's shoulder in a warm comforting manner. "Also, like I have said please address me as Emilia. Just don't call me by Tristan's nickname for me and I won't have to fire you." She made light of the situation and got a quick laugh from Kane.

Hugo remained standing there in silence rather stoic and serious. Mr. Blackburn was the only one on Emilia's new team that she had a few doubts about. Emilia's father Fredrick did like what he saw on paper, but the man was a bit of a drill sergeant. She wanted to give the position to Luke Balvondio, one of her present RPOs but his wife was having a child in a few weeks and planned to take some leave to which Emilia was happy to grant. Luke knew the ins and outs of the security side and would have been the perfect fit. She secretly hoped to make the change once Luke was ready to return to his duties.

"Are you ready to leave ma'am?" Hugo's deep voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"Yes, let's arrive on time today." Emilia took in a deep shaky breath and glanced around the room at her new team. A sense of excitement filled her making her lips spread into a beaming grin. She had done it and now she was about to show the world and her grandmother, The Queen, who this new Emilia was.

—————————

Tristan was quietly speaking to Kane, telling him what was about to happen as Emilia's convoy pulled up to the entrance of Green Peace Conservation.

Emilia sat quietly across from them, peering out the window to see the mass crowd lined along the metal barriers that had been waiting just to catch a glimpse of the princess. Her eyes wavered away from the crowd to see the media with cameras at the ready.

Clearly someone had felt her nerves exude from her body as she felt a soft touch on the arm. "Emilia, just remember to be yourself and that is enough." Evie's soft comforting whisper immediately dissipated all of her fears.

The princess turned her head slowly to lock in Evie's kind gaze. "Thank you Evie."

The car rolled to a stop in front of the entrance making the princess shift her gaze onto Tristan. "Ready Emilia?" His blue eyes held her gaze steady.

Emilia gave a light nod of the head signalling that she was indeed ready. Tristan jumped out of one side of the car, while Kane followed suit through the other side. Within a matter of seconds Emilia's door was opened by Tristan as a wave of screams greeted the princess.

She stepped out elegantly with a bright smile and turned back to wave to the crowd. It was the plan to do a walk about after the engagement, but Emilia felt it was best to do one now as well. These people had been waiting for her for hours and it only felt right to do so. Besides, part of her vision was to connect with the people and show the people that Emilia was merely one of them.

"Tristan?" Emilia only had to say his name to let him know what she was wanting to do. Tristan replied with a simple nod and spoke into his coms to alert the security team in the change of plans.

The princess stepped away from the entrance alerting the crowd that she was about to do a walk to greet them and they erupted in the loudest cheer that brought an enormous grin to Emilia's lips. Her light blue dress with white flowers that hung well off of her body flowed in the wind with each passing step. She tucked behind a few stray strands of her hair behind her ear while glancing quickly at the ground.

Emilia's Dress

Emilia's Hair and Makeup

She made it to the first awaiting group and took her time greeting the happy smiling crowd who were so eager to meet the princess. Emilia engaged in a conversation with a nursery school group who had come out to see the exhibition of the fennec foxes as well. They all had drawn pictures of their favourite animals for Emilia, giving them to her as a present.

"I might have to buy a new castle to put all of these pictures up!" Emilia joked and the crowd roared in laughter. "Thank you! I will see you inside." The princess was about to step away when a little girl escaped through the barrier and came running at her with her arms stretched open for a hug.

The little girl was so ecstatic that she had escaped through the confines of the barriers, but she was running so hard that she tripped and fell, scraping her knee on the concrete.

Emilia hastily went to her and knelt down to tend to the little girl who was now wailing. The blonde curly haired child clutched her knee and whimpered. Emilia brushed away the dirt and comforted the young child until the police officers let her teacher through. "It's alright sweetheart. Let's get your knee cleaned up so you can feel better."

The princess stood the young girl up and wiped away her tear stained cheeks and spoke to her quietly until she calmed down. Emilia then pulled the little one into the tight hug that she had come to receive and the whole crowd awed at the kind gesture. The child's teacher kept on apologizing, but Emilia simply brushed it off as no big deal and continued down the way to greet other members of the crowd.

She was stopped by a young woman seeming to be similar in age to the princess. The brave woman asked if she could spend a few minutes interviewing her for one of her college papers for her Journalism degree. Emilia knew she did not have time to stand there for an interview at that moment, but she told the college student to give her details to Evie and she would be happy to arrange another time to be interviewed.

Emilia felt Evie lean in and whisper in her ear that it was time for them to go for their engagement. The princess shook a few more hands and then stepped away from the crowd who was calling her back. "I will come around again after!" She hollered back and walked purposely towards a patiently waiting Mr. Langford, the director of Green Peace.

Mr. Langford politely greeted the princess in a bowed head and a firm shake of the hand. "Welcome back, your royal highness. It's a pleasure to have you visit us again."

"I am so sorry to keep you waiting, Peter. I appreciate the invite again to come and see all the work you and your amazing team are doing. Plus, I hear the Fennec Foxes are adorable and quite playful." Emilia was beaming. She felt relaxed, confident and excited to get this engagement underway.

"Emilia! Over here!"

"Give us a smile will you?"

The press behind the barriers started to holler at Emilia all eager to capture that one headliner image for the papers tomorrow. The princess put on a brave face and turned to smile at the media for only a brief second. Giving them limited time to photograph her which many photographers would surely be complaining about in the upcoming days. Olivia had briefed the media team and royal photographers that there would now be a few select members of the photographers actually allowed in the events and engagements coming forward. This change was quite the sore spot for the vulturous press pack that loved to capture every little moment of Emilia's engagements and fished for anything to use against her in the papers the next day. This idea was given to Emilia by Harry himself as he explained how the British royals conducted engagements with the press.

Olivia was hesitant to limit the amount of access to Emilia during engagements but found a way to work around this by allowing one or two photographers selected by Olivia to capture photographs of Emilia during her engagements. But, the catch was they had to share their content with any willing member of the media upon a request. The photographers had to sign an agreement before hand to ensure this would happen.

Emilia knew that there would be immediate backlash with this decision, but she wanted the engagements to be a bit more intimate. To be able to truly focus on the reason why she was there and not have a hungry pack of wolves on her back. By limiting their access to Emilia showed that she was not going to play their games anymore and that she held the power hand.

The princess continued on her way into Green Peace being introduced to some familiar faces and new staff before her official tour began. She sat in some of the teaching sessions that were being taught to local school children.

Olivia had pulled Emilia out of one of the sessions to conduct a short interview with Kelly-Anne Arbour, an Illyrian journalist. This was the part of the engagement that Emilia had tried to convince Olivia to forgo and not conduct one. She had never really been keen to do interviews as her parents had taught her from a young age to keep a healthy distance between the royal family and the media.

Emilia sat down across from Kelly-Anne and put on a smiling face, hiding the fact that she did not want to be a part of this. An innate gut feeling had settled in the princess's stomach that convinced her mind that something was not right about this situation. But, Olivia had vetted the journalist and she was to adhere to a strict line of questioning. She had to put her trust in Olivia.

"It's such a pleasure to sit here with you today, your royal highness, and be able to speak with you." The journalist welcomed here kindly.

The princess smiled with a gentle nod of reply. "Thank you for having me."

"Now, I know you are quite the busy woman here today out at Green Peace. But, I must steal a few of your minutes to ask you some questions." Kelly-Anne started out. "Now, as we have all been briefed, you have formed a new palace team as of late and today is your first engagement back with them. May I ask why you thought this change was needed? Why The Queen's previous choice of Mrs. Deacon was fired?"

Emilia took in a deep breath. None of these questions were what the journalist was supposed to ask Emilia.The princess turned her head and briefly locked eyes with a furious looking Olivia. "I appreciate your question, Kelly. But, the matter is rather simple that was outlined in the briefing you received." The princess informed her.

"Yes, but if you wish to comment about Mia Deacon?" The interviewer pushed further.

The princess tilted her head at the bravery she boasted. "I do not comment on past employees' work just like any other employer. Now shall we move on because you now only have two minutes left. As you said, I am quite the busy woman this afternoon." Emilia's sass came forth rather strong as Olivia got a glimpse of it first hand.

"Yes, let's talk about a few of your jewelry pieces." Emilia braced herself for what was about to be asked. "I noticed that one of your bracelets today is also famously worn by another royal, Prince Harry, who had recently visited Illyria on tour. Was this given to you by the prince himself? What sort of relationship would you say the prince and you have as it seems you two have been spending a lot of time together lately?"

Emilia was prepared for this and had the perfect reply. The princess glanced down at the bracelet and played with it a little before answering. "I am glad you noticed it. It was given to me by Prince Harry when he was in Illyria in an official capacity and I decided to wear it today to showcase how conservation is so important right now in the world. We are seeing animals getting added to the endangered list on a daily basis while their numbers are continuing to dwindle. It's important for everyone to play their part in protecting these magnificent creatures and give them that fighting chance at survival. As the reach me and Prince Harry have and the global platform that we are given, we have the responsibility to bring these issues into the light and broadcast the efforts of so many people that are trying to make change in the conservation world right now."

The journalist attempted to ask another question when Olivia stepped in and pulled Emilia out of the interview. "Thanks for your time Kelly-Anne, but her royal highness must continue to adhere to her tight schedule this afternoon."

Olivia fell into step beside Emilia and quietly scolded her. "Emilia... we need to talk about what you just confirmed about the British Prince Harry. This should have been run past me first."

"Not here Olivia. Clearly she was not even supposed to ask that question, this is why we don't do interviews." Emilia was furious at the journalist. "Scold her for not staying with the pre-planned questions, not me." The princess walked off being unhappy already with Olivia.

The princess stepped into the enclosure with a few members of the crowd watching her as she was guided through the endangered Fennec fox enclosure. Emilia was eager to learn more about these animals and how Green Peace was aiding them. She nearly gushed when asked if she wanted to meet and name a new litter of foxes, simply replying with a beaming smile and excited squeal to which the crowd found adorable.

She sat down on a nearby rock as a member of staff pulled out a couple of freshly born foxes who were fast asleep. Emilia had a few in her lap all snuggled together while she gently petted them. The mother then came out and rubbed up against Emilia.

"Is it ok for us to be handling them? They seem rather used to humans and the mom isn't as protective as I thought she would be." The princess questioned with slight concern. These were supposed to be wild animals after all.

"Excellent question. We are the only things that they know. Most of the foxes here will stay in a sanctuary like this until we are able to build a place more relatable to the wild and re-train them to be self sufficient." The handler informed her. "Now, we need to name them and thought it was best if our patron helped us with this batch!"

"I'd love to!" Emilia looked down adoringly at the little sleeping foxes then back up towards the crowd. An idea clicked in her mind.

"Would anyone like to help me name these little guys?!" Emilia hollered out and a few school aged children jumped at the chance to help the princess come up with names.

Emilia sat down into the backseat and released a heavy sigh. She closed her eyes and felt the door slam shut and the car pull away.

"Thank god that is over!" The princess chuckled lightly as. A wave of relief coursed through her. "Well done everyone!" Emilia glanced around at her team and thanked them for their hard work in such a successful visit.

—————

Later that evening, Emilia had called in Olivia and Evie into her apartment. She was dressed casually while finishing up packing for her trip to London for her training and Olympic trials for quite a few weeks.

Evie knocked lightly while she stood at the opened door to Emilia's private bedroom door with Olivia in behind her. "Good evening, Emilia. You wished to see us."

"Yes! Come on in!" Emilia waved them through as she placed a few more items into her suitcase. "Please sit down and make yourself comfy wherever."

The princess had picked up on Olivia's quiet demeanour when they arrived back at the palace. Emilia knew that she had to inform Evie and Olivia about her relationship with Prince Harry. But, she only wanted people to know who absolutely were required to.

Emilia sat across from them and smiled warmly. "I wanted to thank you for all of your hard work for today. You guys made everything run so smoothly and I think it was an amazing start for what's to come. So again, thank you!"

Evie was all smiles and said it was all around a team effort. Olivia was simply pleased with the results of the engagement today.

"I also called you here this evening because I wish to disclose a private matter to you that I only want your ears to know." Emilia lowered her gaze and found herself playing with the rhino bracelet on her wrist half indicating what she was about to tell them. "I am very cautious about my private life and do not wish to have many people in the know about my relationships, but I do understand that certain members of my staff need to be aware...." The princess trailed off and lifted her head to lock in Evie and Olivia's gaze while they patiently waited for her to continue.

"Prince Harry and I are in a relationship and have been since he ended his tour of Illyria last month. No one in my family is aware of this except for a few key people and it must remain this way until I deem it so. I realize that you need two need to be aware of this as key members of my staff. If any personal matters need to be addressed in this case then they must be done so in private and only with you two present." Emilia confessed solemnly. She did not want more people to find out about Harry and hers relationship at this time.

"Emilia, thank you for informing us." Olivia smiled warmly seeing how difficult it was for Emilia to openly trust them with this information, but it was vital that they were aware. "Will you be seeing him in London?" Olivia offered a kind hopeful smile.

Emilia lifted her head with a beaming smile graced on her lips. "Yes... it's been a long time since I have."

"I am sure that you miss him. I think you two are a perfect match, Emilia." Evie was gushing about this revelation. "We promise that this information is for our ears only." Evie took her leave.

"I am sorry about earlier, Emilia." Olivia began to apologize. "But, I need to know these sorts of things or else I would have advised you not to wear the bracelet today."

Emilia stood up. "No no. I need to apologize. I know you needed to know and that is why I am telling you now." She sighed deeply. "I am sorry I didn't tell you sooner about him, but I just wanted Harry to be a part of my day today. I do realize that may have been a mistake in how I achieved that. I don't always get it right Olivia, but I learn from my mistakes."

"No need to explain, Emilia. Have a safe trip tomorrow. We will be in touch."

--------

Emilia had finally landed into London after what appeared to be a long flight, but was only a few short hours. She was whisked away into an awaiting convoy with Tristan climbing into the backseat with her while Kane took control of driving the car.

The princess felt a sense of relief wash through her as she had made it to what would be her new home for the next month for her Olympic Training. She was still on a high after her successful first engagement yesterday with her new palace team and even received an adoring message from her father who watched the full coverage of it.

"Feels a bit like deja vu." Tristan commented as the memory of their last time in London came to the forefront of his mind. "Except this time we actually have a proper security team for you and I know I won't lose my job when we go back to Illyria or get my ass chewed off by the queen." He tossed his head back in laughter at Emilia's expense.

"Tristan... I can still fire you." Emilia glanced up and smiled warmly into his blue eyes.

"You could never get rid of me princess." He cocked a crooked smirk. "I think we have already established this on the fact you never could really lose me unlike my predecessors."

"You are right." Emilia shook her head. "Then I would have to stare at poor Luke all the time."

"Ya, I heard that Emilia." Luke hollered from the front.

It had been nearly an hour when Emilia looked outside the window wondering why they had not even reached the outer city limits of London yet. "Tristan, why aren't we in London?" The curious princess questioned as she looked further out deciphering that they were still indeed in the English countryside, but the setting of the sun made it quite difficult to make out where they actually were in combination with the dark tinted windows.

"We had to take a detour to avoid an accident, Emilia. Shouldn't be too much longer until we reach the city." Tristan avoided eye contact with the princess making Emilia inwardly question his response.

A few minutes later, Emilia felt the vehicle turn down a country side road hearing the gravel crunching beneath the tires. The princess glanced outside quickly to find that they were still in the middle of the English countryside, but could barely make out their surroundings through the dark tinted glass. She locked eyes with Tristan and raised her eyebrow up in suspicion as her gut held a feeling that something was indeed up.

"Tristan... you have one chance to tell me where we are or where we are going." Emilia's tone was serious, but her protection officer simply shrugged in response.

"Like I said, we took a detour and should be arriving soon." His answer was vague and nonchalant.

Not even a moment later the car rolled to a complete stop and Tristan motioned to undo his seatbelt. "Guess we are here." He finally looked at Emilia with a glint in his eyes.

"Stop!" Emilia stopped him from getting out of the car. "Where's here?!" The princess was beyond confused and wondering why Tristan was acting so strange.

"You will find out soon enough." Tristan got out of the car and rounded the vehicle to open Emilia's door.

Emilia slowly climbed out, looking at a happily smiling Tristan who closed the door behind her. The princess glanced around at the exquisite countryside manor that greeted her amongst the dimly lit sky.

"We took a detour to the countryside, Emilia. To surprise you." Tristan quietly spoke.

"Surprise me?" Emilia looked away from the manor for one second to glance at Tristan. But, when she turned her head back to the manor she saw that someone had come walking out the front door towards her.

She gasped loudly and covered her mouth with both hands at the surprise walking towards her. Emilia could not believe what rather who was before her eyes.

It was Harry casually walking towards the princess with a beaming smile.

"Harry." Emilia whispered his name as if she had to speak it to believe that she was actually seeing her boyfriend. Her heart tugged in her chest at the mere sight of him as her eyes welled up.

The princess was frozen in shock, unable to move her feet forward for a few seconds. The prince had stopped walking towards her and placed his hands casually in his jean pockets. The beaming smile that was evident on his lips, present for everyone there to see, caused her feet to finally run towards him. It had been a month since she had last seen Harry and Emilia did not want to waste one more second not being in his arms.

She took off running towards the prince. "Harry!" Emilia called his name louder being unable to hold in her excitement from seeing him.

He started to laugh at her shock while opening his arms to welcome her. Harry felt Emilia's body come crashing into him making him take a few steps back to try and steady himself from the impact. Her arms wrapped around him tightly while she buried her head into his chest and squeezed him tight.

"Hi love." He cradled the crown of her head gently and closed his eyes, relishing in the fact that Emilia was once again in his arms. The couple stood there for a few quiet moments embraced tightly with one another before Emilia broke apart and wrapped her arms around Harry's waist while peaking up at him. "I hope you didn't mind the detour." Harry chuckled while he stared into the depths of her icy blues eyes that the prince so terribly had missed.

"You are here..." Emilia slowly shook her head as the shock continued to linger in her body at the surprise of it all.

Harry's blue eyes softened while he angled his head down at his girlfriend with an adoring smile. He nodded his head lightly. "I'm here Emilia." His hand reached out and cupped her cheek tenderly before gently stroking it. He watched her eyes close and squint shut before opening them again as if she was trying to convince herself that this was not a dream.

"I have missed you so so much." Emilia became emotional and stood up on her tippy toes to snake her arm Harry's neck to pull him down towards her lips.

Harry controlled his urge and stopped a few inches away from her lips. He could feel her hot breath float across his lips as if they were calling to him. Emilia nudged her nose against Harry's, but the smile that formed on her delicious lips was the one that he had longed to see the one he often dreamt about. It was her natural happy smile that very little people were given unguarded access to.

"I have missed that smile." His deep voice weakened Emilia's knees as her other arm grasped his forearm to steady herself.

She could not wait a second longer as she crashed her lips into Harry's, connecting them with a passionate kiss that lingered. Harry immediately cupped both of her cheeks to hold her still while he continued to taste her delicate lips. The world around them ceased to exist as they found themselves locked into their own embrace while time stood still. The universe allowing them to share this moment of reuniting together.

Emilia was feeling the cloudy haze effect that her breathlessness had caused her. Her lips gently fell off of Harry's as she inhaled and breathed in his signature scent that brought a sense of comfort within her. She moaned softly causing Harry to suddenly capture her lips once again, locking them back into the passion fuelled kiss.

The princess gave up all control and succumbed to Harry's touch, loving the way he kissed her hard with such desire. Emilia felt his tongue seeking further permission to lock with her own to which she freely gave, allowing Harry to deepen their kiss further. His hand trailed down her cheek to the side of her neck feeling her heartbeat pounding through her soft skin.

Harry broke apart from their kiss and opened his eyes to find Emilia staring up at him with lust filled blue orbs greeting him. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers, resting it while they both attempted to regain their breath. Emilia's chest was rising and falling hard as the prince heard her jagged breath.

"I hope it was ok to surprise you like this." Harry was the first to break their comfortable silence. "I asked Tristan to keep it from you. I just couldn't wait a few more days to see you." Emilia's heartstrings tugged at his confession.

"It is the best surprise anyone has given me." Emilia giggled happily. "But, where are we?" The princess broke apart from their embrace to quickly look around.

"Highgrove House." Harry's hand dropped from her hip and blindly found her hand to hold. He turned around and gave her hand a light tug to follow him. "It's my fathers estate, but I used to spend my weekends here after school. It's quite secluded so I thought it would be best for us to spend the weekend here before you start your training."

Emilia lightly stepped beside Harry as she leaned into, grasping his forearm with her free hand. "Wait... what about your engagements?" She snapped her head up to find Harry smirking mischievously.

"They were never booked, Emilia." Harry chuckled lightly. "I lied to you so you would not suspect a thing, I'm sorry."

Emilia shook her head. "Just don't lie to me again, unless it is a surprise like this." The princess stood up on her tippy toes and placed a soft kiss to Harry's cheek.

"Come on, let me show you around." Harry squeezed her hand tightly. "I cannot wait to have 3 full days to have you all to myself."

"Hmm, whatever shall we do Henry?" Emilia could not hide her excitement even if she wanted to.

Quite frankly, she did not really care as long as if she was with Harry.

[helloworlddemo1122-yahoopar-blog]

'Pretty Little Liars': Everything You Need to Remember and 13 Biggest Questions We Need Answered!

It's time to a take a trip down Rosewood memory lane!

The final 10 episodes of Pretty Little Liars are almost here, and we know that many of you have probably forgotten all the biggest twists and turns from the last 150 episodes. (Hey, we're not judging you! We forgot a lot of it, too, seeing how it’s been a whopping 230 days since the last all-new episode of PLL.)

Luckily for you, we at ET are ready to refresh your memory with everything you need to remember before Tuesday night's season seven B premiere. Press play on our video above to watch a quick recap of all the most shocking moments in PLL history and then scroll through our list of the 13 biggest questions we need answered before the series finale!

EXCLUSIVE: Watch the First Minute of 'Pretty Little Liars' Final Season Premiere!

1. Who is A.D. – AKA Uber A? This, of course, is the biggest question that we desperately need an answer to! After seven seasons of watching the torture baton get passed from one hooded figure to another, we're at our wits' end and need to finally know the truth: who is A.D. and why is this person (or persons!) so hellbent on ruining the lives of the Liars?!

2. Who shot Spencer? At the end of PLL's summer finale, Spencer took a bullet to the chest! Luckily, it looks like she's going to be OK (although the same can't be said for Toby and Ivonne…), but we're beyond curious to know who pulled the trigger. Was it A.D.? Someone else? Were they actually aiming for Spencer or was she in the wrong place at the wrong time?

3. Who killed Charlotte DiLaurentis? Just when it looked like Charlotte DiLaurentis had turned a corner in her mental health, she was unexpectedly murdered. For a while there, the Liars thought that Ali had killed Charlotte, but that theory was eventually disproved, so now we're back to square one. However, we know one thing for sure: this latest Uber A -- aka A.D. -- is torturing them because he or she thinks they know who killed Charlotte.

4. Who’s is Charlotte's father? Initially, we thought that Mrs. D was Charlotte's biological mother, but once Mary Drake -- Jessica DiLaurentis' twin sister -- moved to town, she revealed that she's actually Charlotte's mom. (And Spencer's mom, too, for that matter!) Now the only branch that we need to know from this twisted family tree is who Charlotte's father is.

PHOTO: Did 'PLL' Just Drop a Serious 'A' Clue in the New Season 7 Poster?!

5. Who killed Jessica DiLaurentis? Poor, Mrs. D. At the end of season four, fans watched as her lifeless body was dragged through the dirt and buried by an unknown assailant. At first it was believed that 'A' killed Jessica, but in "Game Over, Charles," Charlotte revealed that she found Jessica's body outside the DiLaurentis house after she escaped police custody, so she buried Jessica's body in the Hastings' backyard.

6. What was the point of Sara Harvey? Oh, Sara Harvey, how can we put this nicely? You are, by far, the most frustrating character in PLL history! Not only did it seem like you popped up out of nowhere, but suddenly you were the go-to scapegoat for the show to pin all their unanswered mysteries on to. Who was Red Coat? Sara Harvey. Who was the Black Widow? Sara Harvey. Who was conveniently by Charlotte's side the entire time helping her with her diabolical plans? Sara. Freakin'. Harvey. Ughhh. What a cop-out!

7. Who killed Sara Harvey? We don't actually care that Sara Harvey is dead, but we do want to know who killed her so that we can send that unknown person a thank you card and a basket of mini muffins.

8. Is Wren really a doctor and how does he fit into all of this? We met Wren waaaay back in season one of PLL, but he always seems to be weaving in and out of the shadows on this series and we think that's very shady! Who are you, Wren? How do you fit into all of this? Are you really living it up with Melissa in London, or are you secretly the mastermind behind all of this? Tell us, you beautiful Brit!

9. Why was Melissa helping Shana and Jenna? Speaking of shady characters, Melissa Hastings is the queen of sliding herself into situations where she doesn't belong, and then somehow managing to provide a barely-good-enough alibi to avoid the blame. Why was she seen working with Jenna and Shana? What is her motive for all of this? Does she know that Spencer is only her half-sister?

WATCH: Troian Bellisario Reveals What to Expect From The Final Episodes of 'Pretty Little Liars'

10. What's the deal with Archer Dunhill? We hate Archer Dunhill -- aka Dr. Elliot Rollins -- and that's not just because he wedged himself between Ali and Emily's relationship. (Come on, admit it, you love Emison too!) Archer's presence has been nothing but poison in Ali's life, and once we discovered that he and Charlotte were actually secret lovers, we were left with one massive question: Huh?!

11. If Mona killed Bethany, and Melissa buried her, how did Alison’s bracelet get on her Wrist? Bethany, like Sara Harvey, is another catch-all character that the writers conveniently created to get themselves out of a corner. But here's where Bethany being buried in Ali's grave doesn’t make sense: how on earth did she end up with Ali's bracelet on her wrist? Hopefully, this will be addressed by the series finale because it's been bugging us for years!

12. Who's the father of Ali's baby? We have a feeling that Ali's pregnancy is not your typical run-of-the-mill-conception. It's a little too convenient that Ali gets pregnant while Emily's donated eggs are MIA, so we have a feeling that Uber A whipped up a baby via IVF using Emily's eggs, but the question remains: who could the father be? Archer? (Eww, we really hope not.)

13. What's with all the twin references in Rosewood?! We know that in Sara Shephard's book series, Ali had a secret twin named Courtney DiLaurentis, and the show has paid homage to that twist with Jessica DiLaurentis and Mary Drake. However, we have a feeling that there could be another MIA twin lurking in Rosewood, now we just have to figure out who!

The final season of Pretty Little Liars premieres Tuesday, April 18 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Freeform!

[quicksilversquared]

Tikki’s Hobby

Tikki discovers origami during her quest to find something to do while she's sitting around in Marinette's bag. It's fun, it's pretty, and it doesn't take long for her to learn. Tikki is thrilled. She can make the little figurines all day and still be entertained.

Marinette just wants her room back before she drowns in a sea of miniature origami pieces.

(AO3) (FF.net)

Being an immortal god meant having a lot of time on one's hands.

Being an immortal god who had to ride along in a teenager's bag while she was at school meant having a lot of time on one's hands during which one couldn't really do much anything interesting, like flying laps or watching cat videos or listening to all of the music that had come out since the last time the Miraculous were activated, since those activities tended to make enough noise to draw unwanted attention. She couldn't very well paint in a bag without making a mess, and even an attempt at using a tablet and Microsoft Paint had ended in failure because the glow the screen gave off attracted too much attention, even through the bag's fabric.

So Tikki had to get creative.

"Can we buy that, Marinette?" Tikki asked as they browsed through the arts and crafts department of a neighborhood store. Marinette had been looking for a book about embroidery, but a thin book with pretty things made out of folded paper on it had caught Tikki's attention instead. "Does it say how to make the paper animals?"

Marinette turned around and spotted the book almost immediately. "Oh! It's an origami book. It shows all of the steps so you can make the animals, and it comes with some pretty paper, too."

Tikki bounced. There was a folded paper ladybug on the cover, and a cat, and a turtle, and a butterfly. When Marinette opened the book, she could see designs for a bee and a fox and a peacock among the other animal designs.

Tikki had to have it.

"I think I still have a couple origami books from when I was younger," Marinette said as she paged through the book. "Some of them have the same patterns as this one, I think."

Tikki peered up at Marinette. "Can we buy the book? Pretty please?" She widened her eyes as much as she could, knowing full well how susceptible Marinette was to kitten eyes. Perhaps it was cheating, but she wasn't using it for bad. "I think it would be fun to learn!"

They bought the book.

Tikki learned quickly that her body size put her at a bit of a disadvantage with the paper folding. The paper squares that came with the book were a bit too unwieldy for her, but any smaller and the creases and thicker paper layers started to interfere with the design. She had to back away from the more difficult, more interesting designs at first until she got the hang of simpler origami designs. It took a lot of practice, and Marinette ended up helping Tikki with a couple designs in between homework problems.

The god of creation was not going to be brought down by folded paper. She was going to get the hang of it, of that Tikki was certain.

Two weeks after buying the book, Marinette suggested that Tikki use tissue paper instead, or maybe another, thinner sort of origami paper. She could use smaller pieces then, without the thickness being such a huge problem. Tikki pounced on the suggestion immediately, and soon the little god had mastered the basic designs. Slowly but surely she moved on to the harder designs, and then the designs that used several pieces of the tissue paper, all folded differently. Tikki became an origami expert in no time, though to her great consternation she never got the hang of lucky stars. Her lack of fingers kept Tikki from pressing in the sides of the paper to form the stars, which frustrated the little goddess to no end. Still, Tikki didn't let her troubles with one design hold her back.

Slowly but surely, Marinette's desk vanished under a flood of tiny paper animals and flowers.

"Maybe you could make something with the origami pieces," Marinette finally suggested after she accidentally created an avalanche of folded paper by bumping into her desk. "A bracelet, maybe? Or maybe they could be hanging decorations."

Tikki pouted as she gathered up the small paper pieces in her arms and floated off to arrange the pieces on a windowsill. "But what if they get crushed? These are fragile."

Marinette bit her lip as she watched Tikki carefully arrange the tiny herd of giraffes on the windowsill. Her room was slowly being overrun by Tikki's hobby and, well, two artists in one space wasn't going to end well, especially since Marinette's sewing machine was currently being used as a display stand for no fewer than twenty-two origami cats of all colors and patterns.

"There might be a way to make them sturdier," Marinette suggested as she carefully moved seven origami peacocks to the side so she could do her homework in front of her computer. She wriggled the mouse to wake the computer up, almost crushing a paper flower as she did so. One quick Google search later, she found her answer. "This site says we could use acrylic paint or clear fingernail polish to make the paper harder so it could be used for other things."

Tikki whizzed away from where she was straightening a herd of elephants to peer over Marinette's shoulder. "But wouldn't anything wet make my animals warp? No thank you!"

Marinette giggled at her kwami's pout. "They only use a little bit at a time and do a bunch of layers so that the paper doesn't warp or anything. You could at least try it on some of your earlier attempts first, and if that doesn't work then we'll try something else."

Tikki looked undecided for a moment. "I don't know..."

Marinette waited.

"Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt," Tikki finally decided. She brightened and looked up at Marinette with a grin. "Okay! Do you have any nail polish?"

   "I didn't see where the akuma went!" Chat Noir shouted to Ladybug as they raced over the rooftops. "Do you have any idea?"

"Not a clue!" Ladybug shouted back as she slowed down to take a look at their surroundings. They were in a part of Paris that she hadn't been in much before. In fact, she had only been there once, to get the materials for an art project she did back in école. She and her father had gone to a giant art store that had absolutely everything any artist at any level would want. She had been overwhelmed at the options at the time, but now...

There it was, right over there, a beacon to artists all over the city with its flashy, art-themed storefront. Ladybug knew full well that they carried the product that Tikki wanted for her origami there, the product that she hadn't been able to find anywhere in any of the stores near her house. She had been hoping to maybe take the bus over to this part of town some afternoon soon before her chaise vanished under the growing collection of paper figurines, but she had never had the time before.

But she was here now, and with the akuma suddenly gone quiet...

Ah, Paris could wait three minutes while she ran in and bought a bottle of clear glaze for her kwami.

"I need to make a quick stop at that store," Ladybug announced as Chat Noir jumped over the street to join her. She could almost feel his quizzical stare on the side of her face. "I'll be right back out, I promise."

"O...kay?" Chat Noir sounded nothing short of puzzled. As Ladybug started forward, she could hear his footsteps following her. "May I ask why you are shopping in the middle of an akuma attack, my lady?"

Ladybug couldn't stop the blush that flared up across her face as she swung down to the street. Perhaps it was irresponsible of her, but she was getting desperate. She could barely do her homework anymore without worrying that she was going to crush the miniature owls surrounding her keyboard. "It's for my kwami. She's taken up an art hobby and needed something that I couldn't find near us."

"Uh-huh. And how are you going to pay for that?" Chat Noir landed next to Ladybug with a light thud and followed her as she made a beeline for the store. "Like, are you going to need to detransform? Because I can totally go take a hike for a few minutes while you do your shopping."

Ladybug froze a meter away from the door. She had been so incredibly focused on the store and getting the glue for Tikki that she had completely forgotten that her wallet had vanished with her transformation. If she wanted to get the glue without depending on the old "stuff is free for superheroes" thing that some shopkeepers had decided to do, she would have to find somewhere safe to detransform, get into the store, make her purchase, and then find somewhere to transform again, all of which would slow her down a lot.

She might have the time to make a quick stop in a store, but she definitely couldn't afford the extra time and danger that detransforming in the middle of a fight- with the akuma MIA, no less- would create.

She couldn't do it. Tikki would have to wait.

Almost as soon as the decision entered Ladybug's mind, a ripple of magic at her hip caught her attention. Ladybug looked down in confusion, only to see that her suit had sprouted a pocket, a pocket that was bulging a little from the wallet inside of it.

"I guess that answers that question," Chat Noir chuckled as they both stared. "Wow, your kwami must really be passionate about her hobby, huh? Mine only cares about cheese."

Ladybug could only flash a weak grin in reply.

It didn't take them long to get through the store, since everyone had gone into hiding when the akuma fight got too close. Chat Noir cracked art-themed puns as Ladybug hurried through the aisles towards the glues and paints section. He had actually been surprisingly helpful once they got to the right section- the glaze Tikki wanted was on the highest shelf and was almost out, putting it far beyond Ladybug's reach, even when she stood on her toes.

"I don't think the cashier even noticed we're the real Ladybug and Chat Noir," Chat Noir cackled as they left the store with Ladybug's purchase. Ladybug was busy trying to shove both wallet and jar into the tight pocket in her suit. "Like, did you see that eye roll he gave us when we got to the counter? We were just interrupting his texting time with his girlfriend."

Ladybug snorted. "You don't know that, chaton."

"I do! I was looking at his phone screen while he was ringing you up, and he was texting a girl that had, like, five hearts after her name. Totally his girlfriend."

Ladybug finally got the jar into the pocket and with another flash of pink magic the pocket vanished, leaving her outfit as smooth and seamless as it normally was. "You really shouldn't have been looking at his personal texts, Chat Noir."

Her partner shrugged, completely shameless.

"You're impossible," Ladybug sighed, trying not to grin. "Really, though-"

A scream cut off whatever Ladybug was about to say as both heroes whipped around to face the direction the scream had come from. More screams from the same direction left no doubt that the akuma had shown his face again.

"Ah, it looks like your shopping time is over," Chat Noir said with a wide grin. "Pity, since there's a great shoe store over a block and they have some fantastic deals on their fall heels collection right now."

"Maybe we can stop over there after we take the akuma down," Ladybug shot back with a grin. "I know how much you love your high heels. I'll even carry a bag or two for you if you buy too much to get in one trip."

Chat Noir clasped his hands over his heart as they sprinted towards the screaming. "My lady, you would do that for me? We should go shopping together someday! I could carry your bags one day, and you could help me with mine the next, and oh, it would be so much fun! I've been looking for a new shopping buddy-"

Ladybug snorted with laughter as they charged around a corner. "God, the media would have a field day."

"I don't know, we could probably wear something over our suits and maybe pop on a pair of sunglasses and bam! No press!"

"You'd have to find something to cover those cat ears of yours, kitten," Ladybug teased as she wound up her yo-yo to throw at the akuma. "They're not very subtle."

Chat Noir grinned over at her as he circled around to attack from another angle. "Maybe your kwami can make something for me to wear, hmm?"

"You'd have to ask nicely!" Ladybug called back before diving into the fray with a shout. There was little time for banter after that, and then once the akuma was defeated both Ladybug and Chat Noir had to save their breath for sprinting back to their side of Paris before their timers ran out. Ladybug had only just gotten into her room when her transformation dissolved early. Tikki rushed out of her earrings with a grin, little arms already held out for the bottle of glaze.

"Easy there," Marinette laughed as she regained her balance. "I think the jar might be a little heavy for you to carry down. Why don't you go find the pieces you're going to use for the test run, and I'll set up the glaze and your paintbrush?"

Tikki nodded eagerly and dashed off, making Marinette laugh at her kwami's eagerness. She headed down the steps from her loft as Tikki rummaged through the pile of less-than-perfect origami pieces for the ones that she was going to try the glaze on first. Marinette couldn't help but hope that the pieces either didn't go too well at first so Tikki could throw a couple pieces away or that Tikki would do well right away, at which point she could toss the less perfect pieces of origami like she had been promising to do for a month. Marinette poured a little bit of the glaze onto the lid of a container, then pulled out the brush Tikki had adapted for herself. The handle had been cut short so it wouldn't be so unwieldy, and the bristles had been trimmed down a little as well.

"I got the pieces!" Tikki squealed from behind Marinette as she finished setting up Tikki's workstation. "Can I start now, Marinette?"

Marinette giggled at her kwami. "Are you sure you don't want a cookie first? We did just fight an akuma, you know!" When Tikki hesitated, Marinette added, "And soon you'll be too covered in glue to hold a cookie without getting it sticky as well!"

"Ooh, that would be bad!" Tikki squealed. "Cookie first, please!"

   The paper glossing went very well from the start. It only took one ruined piece for Tikki to get the hang of using just enough of the gluelike substance at a time to stiffen the paper when it dried but not too much that it would warp the origami paper or make the ink on the paper run. Once Tikki got confident with her skills, it wasn't long before the army of paper animals and flowers around Marinette's room turned into an army of glazed paper animals and flowers.

It really wasn't much of an improvement.

"I'll get rid of some of it soon, I promise," Tikki said when she caught Marinette staring at her covered chaise. "Can I borrow a needle and thread? I want to make a chain of flowers."

Marinette produced the materials with a bit of a sigh. She was truly lucky that her parents didn't often venture up to her room, since it would be next to impossible to explain the origami overflowing from every corner and even, in some cases, stuck to the walls with a special wall putty Tikki had found.

"I can give some of this to Master Fu," Tikki said as she strung paper flowers and ladybugs onto the thread. She made a careful knot between the flowers, spacing them out along the thick thread. "Wayazz would like a chain of turtles, I know he would."

Marinette's mind went to Master Fu's shop. He probably couldn't display anything too obviously associated with the Miraculous in his front room, but he probably wouldn't mind a few more things in his back rooms. "Maybe you could do a chain with all of seven of the Miraculous animals on it as well. Master Fu would like that, I think."

"Ooh!" Tikki wriggled with excitement. "I'll make several things for him, I think. It's lots of fun!"

Marinette couldn't help but smile as she left her kwami busy working as she went back to her homework. If she was lucky, maybe Tikki could bring along the string and some origami figures to school in her bag and continue her work there; while the glazing kept Tikki busy while she was at home, it wasn't something she could do while Marinette was at school. As a result, the number of origami figurines in Marinette's room just kept growing.

She only felt a little guilty about encouraging Tikki to offload some of her origami on Master Fu. The older Miraculous holder could handle a couple decorations. He had the space.

"Oh, I love it!" Fu exclaimed when Marinette presented him with the two garlands Tikki had pulled together. Her kwami had decided to get a little more creative with the turtle garland and had added small shiny green glass beads on either side of the little turtles. "These are absolutely gorgeous, Tikki."

Tikki spun around in glee, clapping her little arms together happily. "Thank you! I made a bunch of origami animals. They're so much fun to make, but I can't keep them all."

"Yes, yes, I know the feeling," Fu chuckled. "I have had many hobbies over the years, and more than a few have resulted in too much stuff. Some of it I gifted, some of it I sold. You may want to consider the same; these pieces are gorgeous."

And that was exactly what they ended up doing. Several of Master Fu's customers complemented his new decorations, so he started selling the garlands that Tikki happily produced. Marinette breathed a sigh of relief as her room slowly cleared up, letting her see her chaise for the first time in weeks.

Much to Tikki's amusement, people seemed to like the ladybug-and-black-cat garlands the best. They always sold within a day of Tikki delivering them.

"Imagine what people would say if they found out that Ladybug was the one selling these," Tikki giggled as she strung together another garland. The kwami thankfully didn't seem to mind catering to the demand for certain animals; as long as her paws had something to do during class, the kwami seemed perfectly happy. "I don't think I would be able to keep up!"

Marinette smiled at Tikki as the kwami hummed happily, carefully putting a bead in place before stringing another black cat on. The glaze on the paper cat shone white for a moment as Tikki tugged it down the string.

While the kwami seemed enthralled enough with origami now, Marinette knew full well how hobbies like that could work. She had gone through more than a few arts-and-crafts hobbies when she was younger- origami, then jewelry making, then scrapbooking, painting, paper mâché, embroidery, knitting, and finally sewing her own clothes. The materials she had left from those hobbies were fantastic now whenever she was babysitting Manon, but at the time it had been incredibly frustrating to have to explain to her parents why she absolutely had to go to the art store to buy something when she still had loads of origami paper or paint or beads left to play with. Manon went through hobbies even faster than Marinette herself had, but at least her mother provided all of the materials for Manon to use.

At the moment, those materials involved a whole lot of glitter. Marinette couldn't wait until Manon grew out of it.

"I have a present for Chat Noir," Tikki announced, breaking into Marinette's thoughts. The little kwami held up the garland she had been working on. Spaced evenly along the black string were folded black cats, each edged by two brilliantly green beads. "Do you think he'll like it? Plagg only likes cheese."

"He'll love it," Marinette promised. It definitely was true; Chat Noir would treasure anything Ladybug gave him. "I know he will."

Naturally, she was right.

"I love it!" Chat Noir exclaimed, picking up part of the strand to peer at the origami cats more closely. "The cats are so cute! And you said your kwami made them?"

"She's gotten really into origami," Ladybug replied, smiling as she watched Chat Noir's grin stretch wider. "She'll be thrilled to know that you like it."

"I'm putting it up as soon as I get home," Chat Noir assured her with another grin. "My room needs more decorations. Tell her thank you for me."

"I will," Ladybug said. She grinned at him. "So I hear that your kwami isn't into anything but cheese?"

She laughed as her partner groaned. "Oh, is he ever. Let me tell you..."

   A few weeks passed, and Marinette mostly forgot about the chain of paper cats her partner had gotten. It was just one of many chains that Tikki had made, and there was no particular reason for that one in particular to really stand out.

And then there was.

"So this is my room," Adrien said as he ushered Marinette and Alya through the door into a huge sun-lit room. "Snacks should be up in a few minutes, and then we can get started on our project."

"Holy hell, model boy," Alya breathed, turning around slowly as she wandered into the middle of Adrien's room, eyes wide as she took in the expansive space. "Your room is insane, isn't it Marinette- Marinette?"

Marinette didn't respond. Her eyes were locked on the garlands crisscrossing the open area between the upper walkways in Adrien's room. One of the strands was strung with alternating ladybugs and black cats- which was normal enough, since Tikki had made over a dozen garlands in that style- but the other garland was purely black cats, set off with bright green beads. She could have sworn that Tikki had only made one strand like that- the strand that she had gifted to Chat Noir. But then that would mean...

Marinette's eyes snapped to Adrien's slightly concerned face, framed by perfectly styled hair. Both boys were blond with green eyes, yes, but picturing Chat Noir with Adrien's hair was laughable and besides, she didn't know for sure if Chat's eyes were actually green or if it was merely his suit that made them appear that way. There was no reason to jump to hasty conclusions over a strand of origami cats. It was far more likely that Tikki had simply made more of the black cat strands and Marinette hadn't noticed. As bad as it sounded to admit it, she really didn't pay a whole lot of attention to Tikki's hobby other than to ensure that her kwami's supply of materials wasn't running low.

She could ask Tikki about it later. There was no reason to needlessly freak out now. Sure, it was strange that Adrien just happened to know Master Fu- because where else would he have bought the garlands?- and strange that he had just happened to buy the same style garland that she (well, Tikki) had gifted to Chat Noir, but maybe Adrien went to Master Fu's practice every once in a while after a particularly strenuous basketball or fencing practice. She couldn't rule that possibility out, or the possibility of Adrien having received the garlands as a gift, possibly from Nathalie or his bodyguard, both of whom were a whole lot softer than they appeared at first glance.

"Marinette?"

"I'm fine," Marinette said hastily, finally pulling her gaze away from the decorations gracing Adrien's upper level. Surely there was an explanation. She was just jumping to conclusions. "Should we get started on our project?"

   As it turned out, Marinette completely forgot to ask Tikki about the black cat garland. The group project at Adrien's had gone swimmingly, and Alya had been a fantastic wingman, pushing Adrien and Marinette closer together whenever she could. The two of them had actually had a fully coherent (if short) discussion while Alya used the bathroom, and then Adrien gave her (and Alya as well, admittedly) a hug before she left. Marinette had been walking on Cloud Nine when she got home, suspicious decorations completely forgotten.

"We had an actual conversation," Marinette sighed as she flopped onto her chaise (after checking for stray origami pieces). "And we're going to work together for a whole month."

"With Alya," Tikki pointed out, carefully pulling out her newest additions to her origami collection from Marinette's purse. She smoothed out a couple of wrinkles and lined them up to be treated. "Don't forget that."

"I could never! Alya's the only reason I could survive this." Marinette fanned her face with her hands. "Ooh, this is going to be awesome, unless- oooh, what if I mess up my words again? That would be so embarrassing-"

Tikki sighed and let Marinette babble on as she folded another butterfly and propped it on top of the rest of her figurines. Her Chosen would calm down eventually.

Until then, Tikki could keep on creating.

  Of course, it couldn't last. Folding paper day in and day out was bound to get old after a while, even for one of the most patient kwami. And so one day, Marinette opened her bag after a long day at school and found her kwami staring a bit blankly at the side of her purse, surrounded by unfolded origami paper.

"Are you sick, Tikki?" Marinette asked after a couple seconds. She picked up her coat, ready to head right back outside and straight to Master Fu's place.

Tikki startled, glancing up at Marinette. "Oh no! I'm not sick at all, I..." She paused, sighing. "It's just that garlands take so many of the same thing, over and over and over, and I, I don't want to sound ungrateful because you bought all of this origami stuff for me, but..."

"You're tired of making the same thing over and over," Marinette finished. "That's perfectly understandable, you've been making so many."

Tikki perked up. "Exactly! And then today, I was going to start, but I just didn't want to, and then I told myself no, I had to so that I can get enough to finish the next garland, but it was worse than just sitting there and doing nothing while the teacher talks!"

"It's okay, Tikki, don't force yourself to do something you don't like!" Marinette said hastily. "You were doing it for fun, and it's not like there were people ordering the garlands or anything."

Tikki looked a bit relieved before she slumped again. "But what about the pieces I have laying around? There's so many odds and ends, but I don't know if I could finish enough of any of them for an entire string..."

"So we can do something else with them." Marinette placed Tikki down on her desk and wriggled her computer's mouse, waking it up. "I know I saw a bunch of other stuff online when I was searching to figure out pricing for the garlands- most of it was jewelry, like earrings or necklaces. Those would only take one or two origami pieces, and I bet a lot of people would like them."

Tikki blinked up at her. "But where would we get materials for that? Don't you need earring hooks, and chains, and special jewelry wire?"

Marinette giggled, scooting her chair over to a large box sitting in the corner of her desk. "Surely you didn't think that I didn't have stuff like that? I was really into making jewelry for a while maybe a year and a half ago, and I still have the stuff for that. It's useful if I can't find the right accessories to go with an outfit, but I really don't have much of a use for the earring stuff now, obviously." Marinette tapped at her earlobe, where her Miraculous were attached. "Well, except for as gifts. But you can use this stuff for now, and if it works out, I'll buy more. Do you want me to look up a tutorial for how to make earrings?"

Tikki nodded eagerly, energy returned, and thirty minutes later both of them were hard at work. Tikki sat on Marinette's diary box, bent over her first pair of earrings. Further down the desk, Marinette was hard at work on her homework. Tikki hummed happily along to the Jagged Stone song as she picked out what beads she was going to use with each origami piece- there were so many choices!- and strung them onto the earring pin, occasionally pulling everything back off and rearranging the beads. Marinette smiled at her kwami before returning to her French Literature reading.

"It's perfect!" Tikki announced half an hour later. She held up the pair of turtle-themed earring pieces. "But I think I need you to bend the top of the pin to attach it to the earring hooks. I don't have the strength to do it myself."

Marinette winced. "I should have thought of that." Setting her pencil down, Marinette reached over and picked up the needle-nose pliers before taking the pin from Tikki. "A lot of jewelry with the origami uses these pins, actually. Maybe you can experiment with other things." She carefully attached the first pin to the earring hook, then set it aside and did the same with the second. Tikki squealed in joy as she handed the pieces back.

"These look great! They're glorious!" Tikki spun around the room one earring in each hand. She settled back down after a minute, beaming as she hung the earrings back up. "I'm gonna make more!"

And she did. Another three pairs of earrings followed the first, and then Tikki decided to make a necklace. A tiny flower hung on a pin from the middle of the strand, offset by tiny seed beads.

"It goes with your jacket, Marinette," Tikki said as she held the necklace up. She had to hover in the air so that the bottom of the necklace wouldn't drag on the desk. "Do you want to keep it?"

"Oh, of course!" Marinette dipped her head so Tikki could slip the cord over her head. "Thank you, it's gorgeous!"

Tikki beamed, clapped her paws together, and flittered back over to her workspace to keep working.

Over the next few days, Alya got a ladybug necklace, Marinette's mother got a pair of earrings with flowers dangling from the ends, and a whole mountain of jewelry made its way over to Master Fu's place to be sold. The odds and ends of Tikki's origami stash dwindled down to a few of Tikki's favorites that she was keeping. She made a couple new pieces to complete a set of earrings, but otherwise Tikki had completely stopped doing origami.

Origami burn-out, Marinette called it. Too much in too short of an amount of time. Tikki would probably be interested in origami again after a while, but for now she would have to find another hobby to occupy the hours she spent in Marinette's bag.

It could have been worse, Marinette reminded herself as she finished up her lunch. Tikki might have not wanted anything to do with her origami after the burn out, and she would have been left dozens upon dozens of little origami figurines to store until Tikki could face them again. At least now, Tikki was dealing with the figurines. They were leaving the room, and Tikki seemed to be enjoying herself with picking out which beads to pair with which origami pieces. It was also nice that they could do something with Tikki's pieces- if they hadn't, if Tikki had gotten into something like sewing tiny, kwami-sized scarves or making similarly small paintings- it would have been far more of a problem.

"Ready to go, Tikki?" Marinette asked as she headed up the stairs and pushed her trapdoor open. "I want to be early for my next..." She trailed off as her eyes fell on her kwami. Tikki was sitting in the middle of a pile of beads in front of the computer. A beaded earring sat to one side of Tikki, completely origami-free, and another was half-done in the kwami's paws. The computer screen displayed step-by-step instructions for the gorgeous instructions.

Somehow Marinette suspected that Tikki had found her next hobby.

"Oops?" Tikki offered a little guiltily as a couple seed beads rolled off the desk and bounced to the floor. The kwami held up the earring. "I just was having so much fun with the origami pieces, and then I got curious about how other earrings get designed, and then I looked it up and it looked really cool so I had to try, and this is amazing."

"It's fine," Marinette assured her kwami quickly. Really, she shouldn't have surprised that Tikki would get interested in jewelry-making eventually; Tikki was Creation, after all, and of course creating things would be right up her alley. They might end up wrestling over the seed beads when Marinette needed to bead a purse or a dress or something, but she would rather have to deal with that than deny Tikki something that she enjoyed doing.

And besides, at least the jewelry making didn't involve glitter.

[helloworlddemo1122-yahoopar-blog]

'Pretty Little Liars': Everything You Need to Remember and 13 Biggest Questions We Need Answered!

It's time to a take a trip down Rosewood memory lane!

The final 10 episodes of Pretty Little Liars are almost here, and we know that many of you have probably forgotten all the biggest twists and turns from the last 150 episodes. (Hey, we're not judging you! We forgot a lot of it, too, seeing how it’s been a whopping 230 days since the last all-new episode of PLL.)

Luckily for you, we at ET are ready to refresh your memory with everything you need to remember before Tuesday night's season seven B premiere. Press play on our video above to watch a quick recap of all the most shocking moments in PLL history and then scroll through our list of the 13 biggest questions we need answered before the series finale!

EXCLUSIVE: Watch the First Minute of 'Pretty Little Liars' Final Season Premiere!

1. Who is A.D. – AKA Uber A? This, of course, is the biggest question that we desperately need an answer to! After seven seasons of watching the torture baton get passed from one hooded figure to another, we're at our wits' end and need to finally know the truth: who is A.D. and why is this person (or persons!) so hellbent on ruining the lives of the Liars?!

2. Who shot Spencer? At the end of PLL's summer finale, Spencer took a bullet to the chest! Luckily, it looks like she's going to be OK (although the same can't be said for Toby and Ivonne…), but we're beyond curious to know who pulled the trigger. Was it A.D.? Someone else? Were they actually aiming for Spencer or was she in the wrong place at the wrong time?

3. Who killed Charlotte DiLaurentis? Just when it looked like Charlotte DiLaurentis had turned a corner in her mental health, she was unexpectedly murdered. For a while there, the Liars thought that Ali had killed Charlotte, but that theory was eventually disproved, so now we're back to square one. However, we know one thing for sure: this latest Uber A -- aka A.D. -- is torturing them because he or she thinks they know who killed Charlotte.

4. Who’s is Charlotte's father? Initially, we thought that Mrs. D was Charlotte's biological mother, but once Mary Drake -- Jessica DiLaurentis' twin sister -- moved to town, she revealed that she's actually Charlotte's mom. (And Spencer's mom, too, for that matter!) Now the only branch that we need to know from this twisted family tree is who Charlotte's father is.

PHOTO: Did 'PLL' Just Drop a Serious 'A' Clue in the New Season 7 Poster?!

5. Who killed Jessica DiLaurentis? Poor, Mrs. D. At the end of season four, fans watched as her lifeless body was dragged through the dirt and buried by an unknown assailant. At first it was believed that 'A' killed Jessica, but in "Game Over, Charles," Charlotte revealed that she found Jessica's body outside the DiLaurentis house after she escaped police custody, so she buried Jessica's body in the Hastings' backyard.

6. What was the point of Sara Harvey? Oh, Sara Harvey, how can we put this nicely? You are, by far, the most frustrating character in PLL history! Not only did it seem like you popped up out of nowhere, but suddenly you were the go-to scapegoat for the show to pin all their unanswered mysteries on to. Who was Red Coat? Sara Harvey. Who was the Black Widow? Sara Harvey. Who was conveniently by Charlotte's side the entire time helping her with her diabolical plans? Sara. Freakin'. Harvey. Ughhh. What a cop-out!

7. Who killed Sara Harvey? We don't actually care that Sara Harvey is dead, but we do want to know who killed her so that we can send that unknown person a thank you card and a basket of mini muffins.

8. Is Wren really a doctor and how does he fit into all of this? We met Wren waaaay back in season one of PLL, but he always seems to be weaving in and out of the shadows on this series and we think that's very shady! Who are you, Wren? How do you fit into all of this? Are you really living it up with Melissa in London, or are you secretly the mastermind behind all of this? Tell us, you beautiful Brit!

9. Why was Melissa helping Shana and Jenna? Speaking of shady characters, Melissa Hastings is the queen of sliding herself into situations where she doesn't belong, and then somehow managing to provide a barely-good-enough alibi to avoid the blame. Why was she seen working with Jenna and Shana? What is her motive for all of this? Does she know that Spencer is only her half-sister?

WATCH: Troian Bellisario Reveals What to Expect From The Final Episodes of 'Pretty Little Liars'

10. What's the deal with Archer Dunhill? We hate Archer Dunhill -- aka Dr. Elliot Rollins -- and that's not just because he wedged himself between Ali and Emily's relationship. (Come on, admit it, you love Emison too!) Archer's presence has been nothing but poison in Ali's life, and once we discovered that he and Charlotte were actually secret lovers, we were left with one massive question: Huh?!

11. If Mona killed Bethany, and Melissa buried her, how did Alison’s bracelet get on her Wrist? Bethany, like Sara Harvey, is another catch-all character that the writers conveniently created to get themselves out of a corner. But here's where Bethany being buried in Ali's grave doesn’t make sense: how on earth did she end up with Ali's bracelet on her wrist? Hopefully, this will be addressed by the series finale because it's been bugging us for years!

12. Who's the father of Ali's baby? We have a feeling that Ali's pregnancy is not your typical run-of-the-mill-conception. It's a little too convenient that Ali gets pregnant while Emily's donated eggs are MIA, so we have a feeling that Uber A whipped up a baby via IVF using Emily's eggs, but the question remains: who could the father be? Archer? (Eww, we really hope not.)

13. What's with all the twin references in Rosewood?! We know that in Sara Shephard's book series, Ali had a secret twin named Courtney DiLaurentis, and the show has paid homage to that twist with Jessica DiLaurentis and Mary Drake. However, we have a feeling that there could be another MIA twin lurking in Rosewood, now we just have to figure out who!

The final season of Pretty Little Liars premieres Tuesday, April 18 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Freeform!

[helloworlddemo1122-yahoopar-blog]

'Pretty Little Liars': Everything You Need to Remember and 13 Biggest Questions We Need Answered!

It's time to a take a trip down Rosewood memory lane!

The final 10 episodes of Pretty Little Liars are almost here, and we know that many of you have probably forgotten all the biggest twists and turns from the last 150 episodes. (Hey, we're not judging you! We forgot a lot of it, too, seeing how it’s been a whopping 230 days since the last all-new episode of PLL.)

Luckily for you, we at ET are ready to refresh your memory with everything you need to remember before Tuesday night's season seven B premiere. Press play on our video above to watch a quick recap of all the most shocking moments in PLL history and then scroll through our list of the 13 biggest questions we need answered before the series finale!

EXCLUSIVE: Watch the First Minute of 'Pretty Little Liars' Final Season Premiere!

1. Who is A.D. – AKA Uber A? This, of course, is the biggest question that we desperately need an answer to! After seven seasons of watching the torture baton get passed from one hooded figure to another, we're at our wits' end and need to finally know the truth: who is A.D. and why is this person (or persons!) so hellbent on ruining the lives of the Liars?!

2. Who shot Spencer? At the end of PLL's summer finale, Spencer took a bullet to the chest! Luckily, it looks like she's going to be OK (although the same can't be said for Toby and Ivonne…), but we're beyond curious to know who pulled the trigger. Was it A.D.? Someone else? Were they actually aiming for Spencer or was she in the wrong place at the wrong time?

3. Who killed Charlotte DiLaurentis? Just when it looked like Charlotte DiLaurentis had turned a corner in her mental health, she was unexpectedly murdered. For a while there, the Liars thought that Ali had killed Charlotte, but that theory was eventually disproved, so now we're back to square one. However, we know one thing for sure: this latest Uber A -- aka A.D. -- is torturing them because he or she thinks they know who killed Charlotte.

4. Who’s is Charlotte's father? Initially, we thought that Mrs. D was Charlotte's biological mother, but once Mary Drake -- Jessica DiLaurentis' twin sister -- moved to town, she revealed that she's actually Charlotte's mom. (And Spencer's mom, too, for that matter!) Now the only branch that we need to know from this twisted family tree is who Charlotte's father is.

PHOTO: Did 'PLL' Just Drop a Serious 'A' Clue in the New Season 7 Poster?!

5. Who killed Jessica DiLaurentis? Poor, Mrs. D. At the end of season four, fans watched as her lifeless body was dragged through the dirt and buried by an unknown assailant. At first it was believed that 'A' killed Jessica, but in "Game Over, Charles," Charlotte revealed that she found Jessica's body outside the DiLaurentis house after she escaped police custody, so she buried Jessica's body in the Hastings' backyard.

6. What was the point of Sara Harvey? Oh, Sara Harvey, how can we put this nicely? You are, by far, the most frustrating character in PLL history! Not only did it seem like you popped up out of nowhere, but suddenly you were the go-to scapegoat for the show to pin all their unanswered mysteries on to. Who was Red Coat? Sara Harvey. Who was the Black Widow? Sara Harvey. Who was conveniently by Charlotte's side the entire time helping her with her diabolical plans? Sara. Freakin'. Harvey. Ughhh. What a cop-out!

7. Who killed Sara Harvey? We don't actually care that Sara Harvey is dead, but we do want to know who killed her so that we can send that unknown person a thank you card and a basket of mini muffins.

8. Is Wren really a doctor and how does he fit into all of this? We met Wren waaaay back in season one of PLL, but he always seems to be weaving in and out of the shadows on this series and we think that's very shady! Who are you, Wren? How do you fit into all of this? Are you really living it up with Melissa in London, or are you secretly the mastermind behind all of this? Tell us, you beautiful Brit!

9. Why was Melissa helping Shana and Jenna? Speaking of shady characters, Melissa Hastings is the queen of sliding herself into situations where she doesn't belong, and then somehow managing to provide a barely-good-enough alibi to avoid the blame. Why was she seen working with Jenna and Shana? What is her motive for all of this? Does she know that Spencer is only her half-sister?

WATCH: Troian Bellisario Reveals What to Expect From The Final Episodes of 'Pretty Little Liars'

10. What's the deal with Archer Dunhill? We hate Archer Dunhill -- aka Dr. Elliot Rollins -- and that's not just because he wedged himself between Ali and Emily's relationship. (Come on, admit it, you love Emison too!) Archer's presence has been nothing but poison in Ali's life, and once we discovered that he and Charlotte were actually secret lovers, we were left with one massive question: Huh?!

11. If Mona killed Bethany, and Melissa buried her, how did Alison’s bracelet get on her Wrist? Bethany, like Sara Harvey, is another catch-all character that the writers conveniently created to get themselves out of a corner. But here's where Bethany being buried in Ali's grave doesn’t make sense: how on earth did she end up with Ali's bracelet on her wrist? Hopefully, this will be addressed by the series finale because it's been bugging us for years!

12. Who's the father of Ali's baby? We have a feeling that Ali's pregnancy is not your typical run-of-the-mill-conception. It's a little too convenient that Ali gets pregnant while Emily's donated eggs are MIA, so we have a feeling that Uber A whipped up a baby via IVF using Emily's eggs, but the question remains: who could the father be? Archer? (Eww, we really hope not.)

13. What's with all the twin references in Rosewood?! We know that in Sara Shephard's book series, Ali had a secret twin named Courtney DiLaurentis, and the show has paid homage to that twist with Jessica DiLaurentis and Mary Drake. However, we have a feeling that there could be another MIA twin lurking in Rosewood, now we just have to figure out who!

The final season of Pretty Little Liars premieres Tuesday, April 18 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Freeform!