A piece of cotton candy that she had been chewing on tumbled out of her mouth and to the ground when her bottom jaw dropped. She was taken aback by those three little words. I love you.

Ashlee kept to herself until her entire cotton candy was gone. She tossed the paper cone into a nearby trash can that was a few inches from the bench and folded her hands together and placed them in her lap. Her cheeks were now redder than any tomato that I have ever seen.

"I...I am sorry that I made you uncomfortable," I said softly before taking the last bite of my cotton candy. "It was not my intention. Even though that we just met...I thought...I thought that you would want to know the kind of guy whom are dealing with. One who loves you so much that he is willing to die for you."

Ashlee smiled at me and covered her blushing cheeks using her hands. "Are you serious? You would die for me?"

"If the plot calls for it, yes. I would sacrifice myself for you in a heartbeat because you deserve only the best."

I must have reminded her of something - and I did on accident - because her beautiful smile faded. She leaned back on the bench and played with her fingers. I took her hand into mine once again and asked her what was making her sad.

"You do not want to know, Brandon. It will break your heart, and the last thing that I want to do is shatter it into a million pieces."

"Tell me, Ashlee. Please. I insist. Whatever it is will not stop me from loving you."

You readers may or may not know this, but cancer is common in Forlot. Almost every day, some good person is diagnosed with a form of cancer. I remembered this fact while spending time with Ashlee and assumed that the bad news was that she had cancer. But what she admitted had nothing to do with cancer. It was worse.

What could be worse than cancer? How about sacrificing your life when you are not up to it?

She confessed that she was sacrificing her life for Territory of Terror and every being who lived here and explained to me as best as she could why. Only the Lubriem could bring the abandoned park back to its former glory, and she was the Lubriem. That is why those puppets took her from her home. They wanted her to restore Territory of Terror, and she accepted without giving it much thought. I then asked if she really wanted to go along with it.

Ashlee sniffed. "No. No, I do not." She burst out crying and buried her face in my chest. "I do not want to die. There is so much that I wanted to do."

I wrapped my arms around her and rubbed her back. "Then it is settled. You do not have to do it if you do not want to. Just go to the puppets and tell them that you are not willing to do it."

She looked up at me with tears streaming down her face. "You make it sound easy, Brandon, but it is not."

"Are the puppets putting pressure on you? Why do you not take me to them? I will straighten them out."

"They are not putting any pressure on me. Even they do not desire to see me go, but...I have to do it."

"But you just told me that you do not want to go through with it."

"I do not want to, but I have to. I am sorry." She pulled away from me and scrambled to her feet. "I am deeply sorry, Brandon. Territory of Terror needs to be filled with happy children again." She started to go.

I could feel myself tearing up. "Ashlee, wait." I grabbed ahold of her wrist. "Before you go, tell me. If you did have your whole life ahead of you...what would you want to do with it?"

I let go of her wrist, and she hugged herself.

"I always wanted to have a family of my own. I do not have a mother, father, brother, sister, cousin, niece, nephew, aunt, uncle, grandma, or grandpa. I lived in my house all alone. The puppets kept me company, however, I wanted to be part of a loving family."

I jumped up from the bench. "I can be part of your family. My parents and brother could care less about me."

"You love me, Brandon. How can we be brother and sister when you have a crush on me?"

"Who says that we have to be brother and sister? Not I. I have something else in mind."

"What is it?"

"First, do you like me?"

"Of course. You are a sweet and caring friend."

"No. I mean...more than a friend?"

"Are my cheeks blushing?"

"Yes."

"Then I like you more than just a friend."

I wrapped my thumb and fingers around her hand. "Do you have any free time before...you are gone forever?"

"I have to sacrifice myself in the afternoon. So yeah. I have loads of free time."

From that point to the afternoon, Ashlee and I went on rides, played games, and ate snacks together. It was the best time of our lives. Even Jason, Mahar, and Victoria joined in on the fun. I did not care if my parents discovered that I was missing from their home. What would be the point to avoid getting grounded if Mom and Dad were going to take Brendan's side?

It was a few hours before the afternoon. The sky was purple and made all of Forlot sparkle. Ashlee, Jason, and I were inside the castle and sleeping. Jason and I shared one room, while Ashlee had one all by herself.

I was somewhat awake when I felt Jason shaking me.

"Brandon. Wake up. We need to leave."