by Gayla Twist
“It’s so beautiful,” I breathed, enchanted in spite of myself.
“I’m so glad you approve,” Lord Vagnar said. With a glance toward Worth, he added, “As long as you don’t feel it detracts from your masterpiece.”
“Of course not,” Charles Worth said. “And this is your wedding, after all.” He wore a smile, but it literally looked like he had screwed it to his face. And I couldn’t blame him. He wanted his creation to be the jewel, not just the setting.
“Too true,” Vagnar said with a pleased smirk.
His smug demeanor annoyed me beyond words. It wasn’t supposed to be his wedding. It was my wedding. Mine and Jessie’s. But we weren’t allowed to have anything our way. We were just playthings for this irritatingly handsome vampire who apparently had too much pull in the Bishops hierarchy of officials.
“Lord Vagnar,” I began, fully recognizing that I had to choose my words wisely. “This necklace is so lovely. I mean, it’s really one of the prettiest pieces of jewelry I’ve ever seen.” Thinking quickly, I came up with the best fib I could with so little time to think of one. “But there’s a tradition in my family that a bride should never wear a piece of jewelry that hasn’t been given to her by the groom. Unless it’s a family piece, of course.” I tried to produce the sincerest smile I could. “So while I really appreciate your incredibly generous offer, I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline.”
The whole room stared at me, stunned. “Don’t be ridiculous,” Charles Worth said after several seconds of silence. “It’s Lalique. Even I can’t argue with Lalique.” Taking the necklace out of its box, he went to fasten it around my neck.
“But it’s bad luck,” I insisted, even with his arms encircling me.
“Don’t be a simpleton,” Worth whispered in my ear. “A little bad luck isn’t what you should be afraid of right now.”
Chapter 19
The next thing I knew I was standing at the back of the great hall, which had been transformed into a makeshift cathedral. An altar had been erected at the far end and I noticed, with some horror, that the cross above it was the same one which had hung in the crypt where Jessie and I spent the previous day. I felt a wave of terror for the family who lived in the red brick chateau. I knew in all likelihood they were dead, and the blame for that rested on Jessie and my shoulders.
“I’m sorry your father is not here.”
“Huh?”
“I’m sorry your father isn’t here to lead you down the aisle,” Lord Vagnar said.
“I’m not,” I said as a knee-jerk reaction. And then I regretted my words. He didn’t need to know any more about my life that he already did.
“I see,” Lord Vagnar said, nodding and looking me over carefully. “You don’t get along with your father?”
It was a little too late for me to lie, so I simply said, “No.”
“I see,” Lord Vagnar said again, this time with a smirk. “I guess that goes a long way toward explaining why you fell in love with a man a hundred years older than you.”
I wanted to tell him that had nothing to do with it, but saying anything would only mean revealing even more of my life. So I choked down most of my words and simply said, “I guess.”
“Aurora,” Lord Vagnar said, looking into my eyes. “You make a beautiful bride.”
“Thank you,” I said, feeling my belly quiver. He was just too darn handsome for my own good.
“I know this isn’t exactly the wedding you were hoping for, but I appreciate you indulging me in my little whim.”
I found it just plain stunning that my wedding was now being billed as Lord Vagnar’s “little whim”. He had to be one of the most self-centered people on the planet. I wanted to tell him to go stake himself, but then I forced myself to think of Jessie and my safety. Lord Vagnar was throwing us a very beautiful wedding, and with that wedding came the shield of his protection. Plus he had arranged for me to wear a gorgeous gown and he had given me a necklace that I was sure cost about as much as a two bedroom townhouse. The least I could do was be gracious.
“Of course,” I finally managed to tell him. “And I want you to know that we really appreciate you hosting our wedding. I have to admit that the whole thing has taken us a little by surprise, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t wonderful.”
“I’m so glad to hear you say that,” he said, reaching for my hand. “I know that we haven’t known each other for very long, but would it be too much for me to ask for the honor of walking you down the aisle?”
He was looking at me so intensely that I felt practically paralyzed by his gaze. His eyes were a deep emerald green and when I looked into them, it was almost as if they were radiating some sort of inner light.
“Lord Vagnar,” a woman’s voice said. “What is the meaning of all this. Do you really intend to marry off my sole surviving son without me even being invited to the wedding?”
We both turned to see the face of Alice Vanderlind. She looked about as haggard as a member of the undead can look, which is to say only slightly off color. The wrinkles in her clothes let me know that she had just arrived from an international flight.
“Of course you are invited,” Lord Vagnar said, with a rueful laugh. “How can you even think of such a thing?”
“I see a bride before me and I’m quite certain that my son must be up near the altar somewhere,” was her reply. “What am I supposed to think?”
“Well…” Vagnar laughed again. “The young people were very eager to get married, if you know what I mean.” He gave a bawdy wink. “And I didn’t have the heart to deny them.”
I was on the verge of voicing a protest, but then bit back my words. Jessie could explain things to his mother later. But I found it very annoying that Vagnar had just thrown me under the bus to my future mother-in-law. It was a very weasely move.
“Anyway, the ceremony is about to begin,” Lord Vagnar said. “So you’re just in time.”
Despite the fancy dress and the fact that I was about to marry my soul mate, I wasn’t very happy about the wedding. It distinctly lacked intimacy and I felt devastated that not even my mom could be there with me. And then an idea occurred to me. Maybe there was a way that I could make it feel more like my wedding and less like a spectacle performed to entertain a crowd of restless vampires. “Alice,” I said in a small voice, feeling suddenly shy. “I know that these aren’t the best of circumstances, but would you please walk me down the aisle?”
The expression on Alice’s face let me know I had made a mistake. She looked at me like I was something disgusting she had found stuck to the bottom of her shoe. “That’s so sweet of you,” she said with a tight smile. “But I wouldn’t want to deny Lord Vagnar the privilege. You two have obviously grown quite close.”
Oh no, I thought. Alice somehow had it in her head that I wanted the wedding that was being thrust upon me. I opened my mouth to say something, anything to let her know it wasn’t true. I didn’t want to be railroaded into some masquerade of a wedding. None of the festivities before her were my idea.
But I couldn’t say anything; not with Vagnar standing right there. I just had to pretend that her rejection didn’t feel like a knife sticking out of my chest.
Some organ music started at the front of the church and everyone turned in their seats to look in our direction. Lord Vagnar took my hand and looped it over his arm, then gave it a little pat. I had the distinct impression that he felt a little sorry for me. Turning to Alice, he said, “You’d better grab a seat.” He gestured with his chin toward the spectators. “That is, if you actually want to attend the wedding.”
The organist started playing Here Comes the Bride and Lord Vagnar began leading me down the aisle. Everything felt so surreal, like I’d been superimposed in someone else’s life. I knew it was impossible, but it felt like my blood was pounding in my ears. I wondered if a vampire could hyperventilate.
But then I saw Jessie standing next to the altar. He looked so tall and handsome in a perfectly tailored t
uxedo. Immediately I felt a little calmer. The whole wedding felt like a strange dream after eating too much Halloween candy, but my love for Jessie was strong. My love for Jessie was real. I just had to focus on the way I felt about him and everything else would be fine.
“You really are stunning,” Lord Vagnar said as he escorted me. “I’m a very lucky man.”
“What’s that?” I asked. I’d been so focused on my love for Jessie that I hadn’t been paying close attention to his chatter, but I had to have heard him wrong.
“I said that Jessie is a very lucky man,” Vagnar repeated himself, giving me a warm smile.
“Thank you.” I had to wonder if Yvette was actually right about Lord Vagnar. Was he a true romantic underneath the exterior of being a rogue? Was there a reason he was basically forcing Jessie and me to get married under his roof? Would being married somehow lend us more protection? And if it would, why didn’t Vagnar just tell us that, rather than making this weird display out of our wedding? None of it made any sense.
We reached the altar and Vagnar placed a kiss on my forehead. “Congratulations,” he told me. “I’m really looking forward to the reception.”
“Thank you. Me too,” I said, although I really hadn’t thought about the reception at all. Did eternal life eventually become so boring that the idea of throwing complete strangers a wedding reception sound appealing?
But then Jessie was there by my side, holding my hand. And there was a man wearing a black robe with a white collar who was addressing the congregation of revelers with, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here tonight for the wedding of Aurora Keys and Jessie Vanderlind.”
I was marrying Jessie Vanderlind; I was marrying the love of my life. The circumstances could have been better, but the groom couldn’t have been any more perfect. Despite all our troubles and the bizarreness of the situation, I was truly happy.
The priest was talking, saying something about marriage. And then I realized he was speaking to me. He said, “Aurora Keys, do you take this man to love and to cherish until the end of time?”
“I do,” I said, even though I was so nervous I could barely get the words out.
The priest went on. “And do you, Jessie Vanderlind, take this woman to love and to cherish until the end of time?”
“I do,” Jessie said with conviction.
The priest addressed the congregation again. “The couple will now show their undead commitment to each other by the traditional lighting of the candles.” He turned his back for a moment and then faced us again, handing each of us a lit taper. He gave me a smile and said, “Ladies first.”
I glanced around the altar area, but didn’t see any unlit candles. Shooting a questioning look in Jessie’s direction, I received a shoulder shrug as my reply; he couldn’t see a candle either. “Um… Where is it?” I asked the priest in a hoarse whisper. He cast his eyes toward heaven.
At first I thought he was just rolling his eyes at my stupidity, but then I caught sight of a two-pronged candlestick mounted to the wall, a good thirty feet in the air. Oh, God, I said to myself. They actually expected me to fly, with a lit taper, and in front of a few dozen members of the undead who were all eager to laugh.
The priest gave me an encouraging nod. “Go on,” he said.
“But…” I had no idea what to say. I couldn’t exactly confess that I sucked at flying and would rather skip proving my undead commitment to Jessie. Wasn’t my undying love enough?
“Go,” the priest said, giving me an impatient look.
“Alright,” I said, feeling a little bullied. I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to center myself. I’d broken down a crypt door, after all. I knew how to fly; I just had to focus.
Opening my eyes, I started rising in the air. And for several seconds, I was doing quite well. Then someone in the crowd started snickering and that made me lose altitude, drifting to the left. I became angry and rose higher, this time very rapidly. In fact, so rapidly that I overshot the stupid candles and practically smacked into the ceiling. At that point, the entire crowd was doing a poor job concealing their mirth. Humiliation washed over me. I knew it would be only a matter of moments before I became tangled in a chandelier, or possibly set the room on fire with my smoldering taper. Trying keep myself from hating every single guest at my wedding, I aimed for the candle and missed again. I sucked at flying, I thought, closing my eyes and fighting back angry tears.
Suddenly, I felt a strong arm firmly encircle my waist. “Shall we light the candles together?”
I opened my eyes to see my beautiful bridegroom giving me an indulgent smile. “Is it over yet?” I asked him in a small voice.
Jessie gave me a quick kiss. “Not yet. But remember, by the end of the night, it will be.” With a little squeeze, he said, “Now, let’s show these jerks our undead commitment to each other.”
I couldn’t help but snortle. He was right. Eventually the wedding and reception would be over, and then our life together could begin. “Okay,” I told him. “Let’s go.”
Jessie floated us down to the candles and we lit them together. The guests let out coos of approval. After gliding back down to the altar, Jessie set me on my feet. The priest smiled at us for a moment and then asked Jessie, “Do you have the rings?”
Jessie and I looked at each other, our eyes open wide. We hadn’t actually been intending to get married on our trip to Budapest, let alone have time to think about wedding rings. My groom frowned. I could tell he didn’t want to disappoint me. So I just smiled and gave him a little rueful shrug.
Looking back at the priest, Jessie said, “No, we don’t.”
“Oh,” the priest said. And then he quickly transitioned into, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Jessie swept me into his arms and kissed me. I know the crowd burst into cheers, but I was so caught up in our perfect embrace that it was almost like the rest of the world was on mute.
Chapter 20
I guess we kissed for longer than was customary because eventually the priest felt the need to tap Jessie on the shoulder and say, “I think there will be more time for that after the reception.”
“Oh,” Jessie said. He seemed to suddenly become aware that there were other people in the room and sheepishly released me. “Shall I lead you back up the aisle, Mrs. Vanderlind?” he asked, offering me his arm.
A laugh was expelled from my lungs almost like a cough. I was married to Jessie. We were husband and wife. I was, in fact, Mrs. Vanderlind. As Jessie led me back up the aisle, I was grateful for his arm to lean on because my legs felt all wobbly.
“What do we do now?” I asked as we ran the gauntlet of cheering vampires and arrived at the door.
Jessie smiled at me. “I have no idea.”
Yvette appeared out of nowhere and embraced us both. “Congratulations,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll be very happy, no matter what obstacles life throws your way.”
“Thank you,” we both said, simultaneously.
“May I suggest we go to the banquet hall, where you can greet all your guests?” she said, in the manner of someone who is trying to give instructions without appearing to give instructions. After a moment of us staring at her, blankly, she added, “I can show you the way.”
I was grateful to Yvette. She obviously realized that we were both too stunned to know anything, let alone where to find the banquet hall. I had to wonder if it was a different place than the dining room.
She led us down yet another large hallways to an enormous set of double doors. Two uniform-clad servants opened the doors and we entered an immense room filled with numerous long tables laid out for a banquet. For a moment I was excited, wondering about the feast. I was especially eager to see the wedding cake. But then I remembered that there would be only one kind of food served. Goblets were all anyone really needed. It felt like a waste of cutlery.
Through the doors and to the right was a large table nearly buckling under a pile of elaborately wrappe
d gifts. My eyes bulged for a moment. All of those presents couldn’t possibly be for us. Especially because we were married in front of a room full of strangers. Then I remembered what Jessie had told me about vampires and over-the-top gifts. Apparently they all tried to outdo each other with extravagant presents, but then sometimes forgot who had given what to whom and ended up re-gifting an expensive piece of jewelry back to whoever gave it to them in the first place. It made the gifts a little less enticing to think that the people giving them had no idea who we were or what we’d like. They were just trying to out-do their friends by giving us something fancy. That didn’t mean I didn’t want to open the presents; it just meant that I wasn’t as interested as I would have been if people were actually trying to give me something I might like.
“These are just the larger presents,” Yvette said, noticing the direction of my gaze. “A lot of guests prefer giving you their gifts personally.”
“Just the larger presents?” I said, half to myself. I had to wonder if there were any poor vampires. Or did the undead community just make sure that everyone in it was obnoxiously wealthy?
The guests started filing in and Yvette faded into the background. I thought it was going to be awkward trying to make small-talk with people I didn’t know from Eve, but it turned out to be remarkably easy. Most of the women gushed over my dress. Most of the men told Jessie he was a lucky man. No one said anything personal or displayed any true emotion beyond the enjoyment one might have from attending any kind of fancy party. It occurred to me that some of the guests had been attending black-tie festivities for over a hundred years. I had to assume that a certain amount of ennui would set in. But maybe they were in such a habit of partying that they couldn’t think of anything else to do.
Almost every other guest handed us some kind of velvet box filled with an ostentatious piece of jewelry or a large envelop bulging with cash. With so much money being thrust in my directions, I had a flash of what it was like to be a movie-style mafia princess.
