L I S A

“Come on and stop whining.” I growled at her as we neared the best evening of her life. She still hadn’t had a clue regarding this wonderful and magical twilight. I couldn’t stop giggling at the thought of seeing her gaping at something as well.

My fist was wrapped around her wrist as I dragged her behind me. My little knight had given me the location to where I was supposed to take her and with a lucky guess, we’re almost there.

She was holding the edge of the skirt in her hand so that the dress would elevate up to her knees and wouldn’t be drenched in the mud but considering the pace we’re running in, it was kind of hard to avoid. “If I got dirt on this dress I’m blaming you.”

I ignored her sassy comments and led her behind the criss-cross of two trunks that formed a perfect X and was veiled by the curtain of interweaving forget-me-nots.

As we slid under the X, I came in contact with an immense track of shadows. There wasn’t a single ray of the moonlight bouncing on the ground, no sound of the crickets’ wings, no chit-chat and nothing but a hollow silence akin to the one after death.

“Where are we?” Rory whispered quietly into my ear as she took my wrist between her clutches.

I didn’t know the answer myself. This couldn’t be a marriage site—okay I did think of something exceptional when I heard of ‘Vampire Wedding’ but I wouldn’t imagine it to be so bare and poignant and wretched. It had no life, no joy to live; it was a place where love couldn’t persist.

Where was I? I was pretty sure I followed the same instructions as he’d given me.

“Wait there after entering through the X. Wait till the moon had polished on every part of your skin and all you could see was your reflections at everywhere your eyes wandered off to. Wait till you’ve found yourself awestruck by the beauty of the night.”

“Till the moon had polished on every part of my skin?” I recalled his words trying to understand the hidden meaning. It almost sucked my energy out as I figured to find a solution of his question.

Why did he have to talk in riddles? It was so not like him.

“Till you’ve found yourself awestruck by the beauty of the night.” I stared up at the sky hoping to see a little of the moon but nothing came before my eyes.

It was all too dark and the thick clouds wandering in the sky blocked out any possible beam. The moon was there but it was not glowing which made it difficult for me to understand his riddle. How was I supposed to find an answer if the moon wouldn’t even shine?

I kept staring at the sky and waited as my clutch on her wrist tightened to avoid her from leaving. I couldn’t risk that, if I let her go now this all would be for nothing.

As I was wondering she wriggled her arm harshly away from mine. “Stay here if you want, I’m not wasting another second in this pit!” She spat at me and twisted around to leave. In all the darkness I could barely even see her but I tried my best to get a hold of her.

“Rory stop.” I yelped but she wouldn’t stop running away.

A stinging sound pierced into my ears which stopped me on my track. I quickly slapped my palms over my ears to stop them from hurting. It was so high-pitched and of long wavelengths that I was almost about to cry. I saw the trees and the environment responding to it as well as they shook wildly against the winds that brushed through them.

It took more than ten seconds before the sound disappeared and again a bare and hollow silence hugged me like loneliness. But none of it lasted long enough for the sky was now slowly clearing.

As the moon shone wildly among the stars, the first ray of it fell on Rory and then the several others followed. Gradually the whole place started to get illuminated but all I could see was a ten or twenty Rory all standing in a circumference providing a boundary to the one that stood inside the circle. Every one of them had worn the same dress and same jewels, even the same face; it was like twenty different reflections of her were grouped together in a beautiful way.

“Wait there after entering through the X. Wait till the moon had polished on every part of your skin and all you could see was your reflections at everywhere your eyes wandered off to.” I finally understood Edward’s words.

As the illumination became more visible and vibrant, all the things around us came to life. All the greeneries, flowers, small twining lights everything—even the fireflies were dancing in glee around Rory. Right now with the beauty that beauty enveloping her and hugging every part of her skin, she didn’t look any less than a living goddess. She looked startling.

“Wait till you’ve found yourself awestruck by the beauty of the night.” I was awestruck by the night, by the moonlight and its miraculous imprinting on Rory. I was awestruck by her.

As the rays finally beamed on the end of the cul-de-sac I saw Malcolm and Edward standing there. Malcolm was dressed in a white shirt under the black suit and Edward looked nothing less than his twin. I had to suffocate an appeased laugh as my eyes landed on the two brothers.

There were more, every one of the vampires was there to bear witness of this matrimony. I perceived a few known faces in a queue beside the aisle at the end of which Malcolm was standing and waiting patiently for his bride whilst on the other end, Rory stood flabbergasted, she seemed as if the ground had slipped beneath her feet and the shivering of her wobbly feet didn’t go unnoticed by my eyes.

When both of them found each others’ eyes, they seemed to have forgotten the whole wide world but remained lost in the token of their love, unbothered by everyone else.

Rory had seemed to finally catch her breath as the tranquility returned in her guts and her feet gained their steadiness. She caught the pace and to my surprise, started to dawdle towards her ultimatum. The reflections around her were nothing but mirrors held by vampires and they slowly slid aside, not trying to gain much attention as she achieved her direction.

She kept walking, neither too slowly nor in hurry. She walked in a perfect pace until she was stopped midway by someone. Christophe came by her side and intertwined their arms in one another and they continued her journey again after Martha put a veil on Rory’s head.

I must’ve cried as I stood far away from everyone and witnessed the unification of two longing souls. I was glad no one could see me otherwise they’d call me a crybaby. Though I was really glad, it was a gladness that was beyond any feelings I’d even felt and I knew almost instantly, this day would always hold a special place in my heart.

“They look happy, don’t they?” A voice asked from beside me. I was too busy crying to notice who it was and just nodded. My eyes stayed fixated on her as she reached the end of the aisle and Christophe placed her hand in Malcolm’s. It was when I let go of my last tear.

“Yes they’re happy.” I murmured enough for myself to hear but I was pretty sure she’d heard it too. I finally looked around and perceived a face I was really terrified of these days. I involuntarily jumped a few steps back as Julie came next to me.

After all that had happened to her, she was standing here right now like nothing had happened and pretended as if she wasn’t just laying in a pool of her own blood this morning. She should’ve been scolded for even making herself walk all this distance just to come witness a wedding but at the same time, I knew I would’ve done the same.

“I wanted to be a part of their happiness.” She chimed but not how she usually did. Her voice was dead. They possessed the softness of her heart and her soothing nature but it lacked to show any of her childish traits; I loved that so much about her.

“Me too.” I admitted. I was here because I wanted a relief too, relief from everyday’s life and chaos, relief from pain, relief from misery and grief of losing yet another beloved of my life, I wanted a relief from myself.

Seeing Edward playing the role of a minister brought a smile on my face. I had imagined him in so many ways but never as a minister. I couldn’t define how funny it was to watch him say all those things to them as they repeated it and Julie would agree to the same as she giggled just as much as I did. At last he told them to read their vows.

“Rory. I’ve been head over heels for you since the first time I saw you in that castle up to this very day. My love only grows stronger for you with every passing second. I know it’s not the best time to start the beginning of a new life but someone close to my heart once told me that tomorrow will always be just as complicated as today and if we don’t live this night, there’s no possibility in the world we’ll get to live the next morning. With all my heart Rory, I want to love you for all the next centuries to come and even millennial if life favored us. I love you and I will, till my heart stops beating.”

The vow was meant for Rory but tears slithered down my eyes. I didn’t know he was so romantic! Rory steadied her voice and looked up at him devotedly before saying her vow.

“Malcolm. The first time I realized you’re in love with me I prayed for the first time in my life, I prayed for your love to last forever, I prayed for you to be the one. You changed me in multiple ways, you taught me to care and love when I was my darkest self. I’ll always love you for that. And I know you think Mal that you can’t give me what I want but the truth is, you’ve already given me everything and I’ll never forget that, I’ll never forget your love for me. And I vow to love you just as much till the day I stop breathing.”

I cried more hilariously. What was happening to me! They stayed unaffected by each other’s words though I knew it was only externally, on the inside they’re bursting into tears as well, tears of joy. Please just get it over with before I decide to sob ridiculously! I begged.

Christophe and Martha brought rings to them and they didn’t waste any time to make the other person bound to them for an eternity. It was now time for the final announcement.

“And now, by the power vested in me by the community of Kismet, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” Edward needn’t finish the last sentence as Malcolm claimed Rory in a wild kiss that lasted for God knew how long. Everyone including me giggled at his action.

I turned to my right to make fun of it but I saw Julie was gone. It was weird and almost skeptical because she was standing right next to me a few moments ago. I tried to find a trace of her but my eyes landed on her back as she walked away into the X.

I rushed behind her and followed her into the woods. I was getting worried with what she was going to do. Following her should’ve been a bad idea since there was no wrong timing with her, what if he possessed her midway—no. then I’d have to follow her for sure. I couldn’t leave her alone to suffer this after all it was me whom he wanted.

I stopped catching my breath as I perceived her sitting near the pool we’re in the previous night, when the first time she was possessed. I couldn’t understand why she’d want to come here, why’d she want to recall the horrible memories?

I dawdled in the same track she had left behind until I was near her. She was into deep thinking but she was smiling widely so I guessed it wasn’t something bad. She looked better, not possessed perhaps. I took my seat near her and perched a hand on her shoulder to gain her attention. I didn’t know if it was necessary but I just wanted to ensure.

It took her a long while before she uttered, “I’m going to die.”

I was caught off guard. Die? We all were supposed to die one day but the way she said it, it meant something else. She wasn’t going to die someday, she was going to die soon and somehow she knew it.

“What makes you think so?” I questioned.

“He told me.” Those words were enough to get my heart react vigorously. He reached out to her. He was in her brain so it was easy to talk to her but why would he tell her she was going to die instead of just killing her?

“Because he thinks I can be of used to him.” She whispered, still smiling.

I gaped. “You can read my mind?”

“Only yours since he could.”

I was now far more than scared. It scared me to think what he’d wanted, what he was scheming, how could she be of any used to him? Was she working for him? Why was she telling me all this?

“So when the time comes,” She paused, “you wouldn’t think I betrayed you by not telling you the truth.” She finished.

“The time?”

“When it’d be the moment for you to finally know who you are, why you are.”

“Stop talking in riddles!” I stood up growling. I was perplexed and had had enough of these riddles. I needed a lucid answer.

She looked at me with apologetic eyes, making me even more terrified and panicky. “I know I will die because I’ve seen it and I don’t regret it. I’ll be far more than happy to be of some use to him.” She flashed a smile at me.

Her smile threw me over the edge. She wasn’t lying and she was willing serving a person who put her through hell not much but a few hours ago. Why was she doing it? Why was she willing to put her everything on risk? If she betrayed Rory, Malcolm would never forgive her along with the rest of the colony. What would she get out of this? What had he promised her?

“Why are you doing this?” My voice was shaking from a knowing fear, fear of losing someone, a good heart.

Her eyes grew darker, she lost the innocence in them and the black veins that used to pain her before were now slithering all over her skin without causing her any harm. She wasn’t resisting this evil now, she was letting him consume her and make her just as diabolic like himself.

My heart broke at this image. The purity that once resided in her was now gone, he’d taken it all away and turned her into something she could’ve never been by herself. He broke her and left her on her own. He turned her evil, he forced her darkest side, her demons to come out and take over her. He’d taken her virtue and offered her his worst parts.

I’d expected somewhere deep inside what she was going to give me as an answer but I prayed silently still holding onto hope only for it to be shredded into multiple pieces.

“Because he’s my king.” Her cornea turned crimson telling me to fear the power in them, to bow against that power and hand myself over to him.

I hated this part of her. I hated that she was gone.