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“Sorry. Of what are you speaking?” I ask.
“Well, Quinn could never confront her mother, and probably never will,” Rory says. “But here you are, telling her off better than even I could. Mad props.”
I look around the room, still puzzled that she’s taking this cordial tone with me. Did I suddenly change form and become somebody else? That has happened, once or twice.
“I thought you hated my guts?” I ask.
“Do you have guts?” Rory asks. “I wasn’t aware vampires retained their digestive systems.”
I legitimately laugh. This is quite the change of circumstance.
“I guess I came to tell you ‘no hard feelings,’ and to apologize for misjudging you,” Rory says. “And to thank you for helping out with the whole kidnapping and human sacrifice thing. That kinda sucked too.”
“It was my pleasure.”
I had anticipated a fight breaking out at this wedding, if Rory even showed up at all. I am glad that she is on board with it.
“Anyway, don’t you need to get ready?” Rory asks. “If you leave her at the altar, I will hunt you down and stake you myself.”
I put my hands up in defense.
“No need for that,” I say simply.
I move back to the changing room and fix my hair. It has a small issue, where it seems to want to stick up today. I try combing it fruitlessly, before instead settling on globbing up some gel in its place to hold it down.
The wedding procession should be starting in about ten minutes. As soon as I hear the drone of the pipe organ, I will know that I need to approach.
The theme is Victorian Gothic. I know people prefer traditional weddings, but Quinn’s father isn’t in the picture, and her mother cares so little about her life that she wouldn’t raise any issues. And my parents died over five centuries ago, in the Cornish Rebellion.
So if we wanted to decorate our wedding black like the night, we were free to, and we did. My outfit is all black, with a black dress shirt under my tuxedo, a top hat, and a walking cane. I have not seen her wedding dress, but she was given no shortage of finances to purchase it, and she has very good tastes, so I eagerly await it.
The organ rings out over the cathedral, signaling the arrival of the occasion. Its melodic undertones, set in a key of D minor, bring me great satisfaction.
I cannot remember the last time I was truly nervous like this - perhaps upon meeting her, or at any of the points where I feared losing her. But my nerves are about as on edge today as they were in the cavern.
After everybody has found their seating, I lead the path down the aisle, approaching the old cathedral altar. For two centuries, I have looked at this cathedral and thought it would be the perfect place to make my bride, in the event that I found a woman who suited me. Today, I am gleeful that it is happening.
Ren advances down the aisle, standing at my side as best man. I look toward the head of the aisle, where any minute, I know that the love of my life will be walking toward me.
She does not disappoint. She arrives, an all black veil almost concealing her from me; but beneath it, I can see her cherry red lips, her flowing brunette hair, and her piercing green eyes. They still me, and make me feel as if my soul has been returned to me, and now is doing leaps from the top of the organ.
As she gets closer, I see Rory holding up the back of her dress, as she walks down the burgundy carpet between the pews. I do not think anything could ruin or taint the joy of this occasion.
She arrives in front of me, on the altar, giving me a meek smile. I want to say something, anything, to convey how beautiful she looks, but words escape me.
The priest stands between us, having removed all religious icons from the ceremony as is customary for a wedding of this variety, and the music cuts off.
I can feel all eyes upon us, and it gives me such joy, to have her pronounced mine, in front of all of these people. It will be the start of a new era for both of us, beginning with each of simply declaring ‘I do’.
We asked the priest to leave out all mentions of conventional religion, given my existence as an undead creature of the night, and he was remarkably understanding. The speech he instead gives is one where he focuses on the chase and the journey of love - how it overcomes all odds, and judgment, to stand out and grow as something beyond mortal comprehension.
I think of all we had to overcome as a couple, to get to this point. Perhaps my pursuit of her was unconventional, but it all worked in support of this moment. At many points, I was told to stop, and she was told to run away; I am glad that neither of us listened.
The priest pronounces us man and wife, and I resolve to take her and make her mine tonight. But that will come after our reception.
We serve everything under the rainbow that avoids garlic - finger sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers, asparagus spears, salads, spring rolls, feta cubes, shrimp, prosciutto peaches, and even sushi, among so much more. I spared no expense on this wedding. And when you’ve been alive as long as I have, you build up quite a large nest egg.
I vow that as long as we shall live, Quinn will never leave my side. I look at her, and I kiss her passionately, caressing her cheek.
