"Dude. You cannot go through with this," Jason protested.

My friend and I were back in the castle and preparing for my wedding. Yeah. I gave in and was going to marry Ashlee Garden. She was over the moon when I accepted her offer. After all, how could I say no to someone as stunning as her and who was putting others ahead of herself?

I wore a black suit and was looking in the mirror as I straightened my tie. Jason had on a grey suit and was sitting on his bed. I did not think that it was awful for me and Ashlee to marry. Jason felt the opposite. He pointed out the problem with said marriage and described it as disturbing.

"Just find her right now and tell her that you changed your mind," he said. "It is not that difficult to say no to girls. I have refused girls all the time at school."

"This wedding is happening, Jason," I stated sternly. "I want to do it. I want to honor her final wish. This is not some marriage that will last forever. Ashlee will be dying today, and her last days should be special."

He stood. "You know, you and Ashlee will be the next fairytale characters. You two are doing exactly what the traditional fairytale characters did. A boy who is usually a prince and a girl who is usually a princess meet each other and immediately fall in love. But that is not the awful part. The awful part is when the prince and princess marry after less than a month of knowing each other."

I finished fixing my tie and turned to him. "First of all, Ashlee and I are not royalty. Second of all, the reason behind our wedding is not because we are naive. I have a feeling that she does not want to wed a guy whom she just met. But she always desired to be married and have the wedding of a lifetime." I sighed out of sadness. "She should not be sad and crying during the sacrifice. She should be as happy as she can be, and if this wedding will make her happy, then so be it."

He crossed his arms. "I just have a bad feeling about this."

The door to our bedroom opened, and standing in the doorway was Skippy. I was glad that it was him. He was the kindest and most respectful of the three puppets. He clapped and congratulated me.

"Thanks, I guess?" I said. "I love Ashlee and would do almost anything to make her happy."

"I know that you would," Skippy replied with a smile. "I can see it in your eyes."

I do not know whether or not to be a bit creeped out by his last sentence.

The polite puppet told us to follow him, and we did. For a puppet who had wooden legs, he sure was walking pretty fast. When we reached the top of the staircase, Skippy raised a wooden hand for us to halt and snapped his fingers. Zing! We teleported to the bottom of the stairs. Jason and I felt ourselves, and Skippy chuckled.

"I take it that you two liked my trick."

"How did you do that?" I asked.

"Duh. I am a living puppet. Take a wild guess."

Not far from where we were, there was a young girl in a red dress. She looked to be in her teen years. She let out a small gasp when she saw us and hurried to Skippy.

"Skippy!" she proclaimed his name. She scooped him up and hugged him.

"Who are you?" Jason questioned.

"I am Scarlett. Scarlett Morgan. Older sister of the Monster Protector."

It took me a few seconds to remember the Monster Protector. "You are Margie's sister?"

"Yep," Skippy chimed in. "Scarlett is also my girlfriend."

Jason cleared his throat. "I have a question. What is with you boy puppets having human girls as your partner? Why not be with girl puppets?"

"We have the ability to transform into a human whenever we wish. And let me tell you that the ladies love puppets who are human."

"Why is this sounding like a fanfiction?" I whispered to my friend.

"Is the bride ready for her big day, Scarlett?"

"Yes, Skippy. She is a little nervous, but overall excited. Who is marrying her by the way?"

I pointed at myself. "I am. She loves me. I love her. She desires to be a married woman before she is gone."

Scarlett set her boyfriend down. "I am going to be honest with you. I hate weddings where the groom and bride marry when they know not one thing about each other. This wedding would be no different had I not learned that Ashlee was dying later today. My condolences for losing her."

"Thank you. I will get through the grief...somehow.

Scarlett bent down and kissed the puppet's wooden forehead before waving goodbye to us and hurrying to the chapel. Skippy blushed and looked up at me. He asked if I was ready to proceed, and I said yes.

We did not even receive the chance to take a step forward because Skippy's father, Tappy, and Skippy's brother, Tippy, came over to us. They were panicking.

"What is the matter with you guys?" Skippy asked his relatives. "You two look as if you have seen a ghost."

"Worse than seeing a ghost," Tippy stated. "We went in Ashlee's bedroom to fetch her and..."

I glanced at Jason, and then back at Tippy and Tappy. "And what? Is something with Ashlee?"

Tippy slowly nodded. "She was lying on the floor and not moving. I...I think that she is dead."

My heart felt as if it had stopped. Ashlee could not die. Not yet!

I ordered the puppets to lead me to Ashlee's room, and they did so. I burst through the door...

...and spotted my bride lying on her stomach.