I met Vivian at a wedding. The wedding of the century, they called it then.

It was outside on a warm Summer night. The couple, two very well known local vampires, was finally tying the knot after 137 years and they had spared no expense. That meant a dozen bridesmaids, seven groomsmen, 50 waiters, a huge amphitheater, and enough flowers to frighten away anyone who ever had allergies.

Yours truly, I was a groomsman.

Now most invitation places don't have a 'vampire wedding' section and with a guest list that was allegedly over a thousand people long there were bound to be some humans in the crowd. Just because Virginia and Salvatore couldn't spell out the story of their romance they still wanted the story to be there.

The wedding ceremony was to begin at 6:39 which was, according to the humans, the exact time that they met. 6:39 though, was actually code for 1839, the year they had met. The 7 groomsmen and dozen bridesmaids were symbolism for the original number family members they had both had, having passed many long years previous. The wedding flowers were irises and white lilies; and while florists couldn't make the connection, the vampires knew that irises were the national flower of France, the bride's native country. The white lilies were for Italy, the groom's homeland.

I knew several of the groomsmen. One of them was Josef, Salvatore's best man.

The space was too big to be considered cozy. The local mountainside garden had been entirely rented out. A huge arch had been set up in the rose gardens and more chairs than I could count had been set up. The sun was just starting to go down and the smells of the flowers were intoxicating to human and vampire alike.

The dinner space, dance floor, band, and bar were located in a tent of sorts, an elegant metal framework draped with gossamer. Fountains gurgled and the lights that had been strung in all the trees were just beginning to set the place aglow. All the groomsmen, and the groom, were over by the bar having drinks.

Guests were supposed to start arriving any minute and the help was scrambling. Waiters ran from table to table, adjusting place settings. Florists were assaulting all plant matter with bottle sprayers. They were all deliciously human. Extra precautions had been taken to assure the safety of all human present of course. The bartenders were serving the vampires blood very discretely hidden in wine glasses. However, the humans were entirely unaware of our presence at all.

Josef raised his glass, "to Salvatore, established in 1773, two hundred and five years of dedicated service."

Collective chuckle and a muted, "to Salvatore." We all drank.

Salvatore spoke. He was an attractive looking man. He was tall, well built, with thick blond hair that Josef said made him look like a Norwegian superhero. Of course his vampire body had defied all signs of aging, but the years seemed to have had their toll on his eyes. He simply looked older; and that is the only adequate way to describe it. He may have walked the body of a 20 something year old but Salvatore was ancient, with hundreds of years of knowledge in how to survive and he was a dangerous enemy. Even on the day of his own wedding he was calm, cool, and collected.

"I want to thank you all for being here as well. You know how much each of you mean to Virginia and I and this moment wouldn't be complete without any of you."

As the kind words of a good friend tend to, the air became a bit more somber. Glasses clinked and we all drank again.

"You've all been so helpful. As it is however, I have one last favor to request of you all. I would ask you to keep your eyes out during the wedding. You don't get to be so old without meeting a lot of people, and a lot of vampires, some of them less than savory. Of course they've all been informed of the presence of humans and been asked to abide by our rules of hospitality; but all the same I would appreciate you all keeping your eyes open should anything go wrong."

Josef piped up. "Of course we will Sal. Now stop worrying about the guests and start worrying about your loss of eternal bachelordom."

We all laughed.

"Yeah, it's your last chance to run Sal," I joked.

Salvatore laughed hesitantly and scratched the back of his head. "If you'd have told me a hundred and forty years ago that I was going to marry the woman who called me a stuffy old fool I'd have said you had another thing coming."

Another round of laughter.

One of the bridesmaids came walking over in the uniform of pale blue satin and a pair of heels that sank into the grass a little as she walked over.

"Sal, the caterers were wondering about where we wanted the appetizers set up."

One of the other groomsmen piped up, "oh come on Adrian, give the man a few minutes peace."

Adrian, a very pretty brunette, who was very well suited to the low neckline of her dress, gave him a scathing look. "They'll be plenty of time to relax when this is all over."

The groomsmen cowered exaggeratedly 'oooh'ing in terror.

"Careful Adrian your fangs are showing," someone muttered. I couldn't help it, I sniggered. She glowered at me and I sobered up.

"Gentlemen," Salvatore said with a gentle tone of reproof. "Of course I can help," he gestured for her to lead the way and she hmphed once before throwing her hair over her shoulder and leading Sal away from us. Josef did a very apt impression of her to our raucous laughter.

While we were just having a few drinks over by the bar people were scrambling, like ants on an anthill; frantic over every small detail. Unfortunately, we could only escape notice for so long.

We heard the two talking before they even came over, one of the perks of superhuman senses.

"What are the groomsmen doing over there?" I heard the demanded question and I turned to catch the speaker out of the corner of my eye.

It was one of the wedding planners. You could tell from the clipboard and earpiece. Her skin was sepia in color and she wore a simple jasmine colored dress. The other girl whispered softly, "what are we supposed to do about it?"

The other woman's voice was amused. "Oh honestly Madie they're men not snakes, they won't bite."

I realized I wasn't the only one listening when everyone else burst into chorusing laughter.

"Hey not unless you like that," Josef said too softly for the women to hear. We all laughed some more until the confident one walked over.

"Sorry boys, bar is closed," she said with an authority that wasn't by any means apologetic.

"Oh come on," one of them said as she pulled the glass from his hand.

"Sorry, can't have anyone stumbling down the aisle."

Josef put his glass behind his back mischievously and she kept her eyes trained to his with a hint of a smile at the corner of her lips as she reached behind him and took it. He let her and all I could think was 'Josef the ladies man'. I sighed as she came to me and let her take my drink.

"You look like you could use a drink yourself," someone else said with a grin.

"So very tempting," she said stretching the word as she leaned over the bar to hand the bartender our glasses. The pose did very nice things to the lay of the dress on her back and the long line of her legs. "But, I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

She walked away and someone else murmured, "tempting's a good word for it."

Whether or not she heard she tucked her bangs behind her ear and I forgot about her for the following ceremony.

It all went down without a hitch. I had to walk Adrian down the aisle but that could hardly be helped. Virginia was a vision of loveliness and no matter how long I lived to be I was sure I would never see two people look at each other the way Salvatore and Virginia did. When Salvatore said his vows half the crowd, a high-pitched decidedly female half, gave an 'aw' that made everyone laugh.

The new couple cut the cake and Josef and I about died from laughter when Salvatore smashed the cake in his new wife's face and jumped about four feet when she picked up the cake cutter, looking rather menacing. That's how you can tell a couple that will last from any other: they can be themselves around each other no matter what day or who is watching.

They had their first dance and we were all finally allowed to go back to the bar.

Josef asked Adrian to dance because she was the only woman in the room that he found menacing enough to warrant attention.

All was well, until I took a trip to the little boy's room. The pathway was marked by short hedges strung with lights and was fairly deserted. I was heading back and the lights of the party were in sight. The band was playing a favorite song of mine, from the early forties, and I was straining to hear it when I heard something else. A cry.

I turned my head and looked off the path into a darker section, the arbor, judging from the neat rows of trees. It wasn't lit and it was hard to make anything out, but just when I thought I'd imagined it all I smelled it. The smell of fear.

I followed the scent of adrenaline in a rambling course through the trees and started to hear more, a woman's muffled yells. I started running.

Their outlines were just barely visible, their shadows morphing into the trunk of a huge tree. A man, a vampire, still in his suit, pressed up against a woman. I could smell the blood. He had her pinned between himself and the tree, one hand covered her mouth, and the other binding her arms. I could smell the blood. She had had champagne.

He looked up when I stepped on a twig and laughed awkwardly when his eyes found me in the darkness. "You scared me there, thought you were a human for a minute."

I didn't believe that he had been scared of me. It was hard to judge his form in the darkness but he was probably about my height and size. That meant nothing though, if he were a few decades older than me, he would best me in strength. If it came to that.

"There's plenty of blood at the bar if you're thirsty."

He scoffed, "child's play. We're predators, what's the fun of cold dinner in a glass?"

"Let her go," I tried to be persuasive, not too commanding.

"What?" he asked disbelievingly. "You think she'll just pretend this never happened if you ask nicely?"

"It doesn't matter. You were invited here under the pretext that the humans were off limits."

He laughed again. "Oh come on. It's a party. I'll even share." He ran his tongue across the blood pooling on her neck and her body bucked once underneath him.

My own fangs started to push and my own eyes started to fog as the smell of her blood started to ensnare my senses.

"She's an excellent vintage." I could see her shadow shudder and hear her intake of breath. He murmured, "shhh sweetheart, it's alright," to her soothingly.

Salvatore had provided blood for all vampires present and requested that we leave the humans alone; but it took a while to remember that. "Give her to me," I ordered a little more roughly.

I saw his reaction in the darkness, that of irritation and surprise. "What you want her for yourself?" He unbound her arms and gripped the back of her neck and hair then tossed her aside like a rag doll, but not enough to kill her. I heard her cry of pain and a distinct snap. "Come and get her."

I jumped at the same time he did and we crossed the distance between us in less than a second. He took a snap at my artery which I stopped by feeding him a bite of my arm. The pain of his teeth sinking into my flesh was excruciating but I swung my arm and slammed his head into a tree. He was stunned for a moment and I grabbed his shoulders. Before I could move though, he socked me in the jaw. It was like being punched by a moving car. If I hadn't been superhuman I would have fallen to the ground and never moved again. As it was I only stumbled backwards, the unpleasant taste of my own blood in my mouth. He grabbed me and I was hurled sideways into the same tree.

That was when I realized he was stronger than me, older than me, and that I was in big trouble.

I waited for the blow but instead I was just swept to the ground as two other groomsmen tackled the vampire to the ground.

Josef sauntered over as they subdued him, as at ease as can be. He looked down at me, "don't be embarrassed or anything. I'm sure you had the situation well at hand."

"I would have figured something out," I said as offhandedly as I could manage for almost dying.

Josef pulled me up. "Wouldn't have to if you could just play nice for once."

"He attacked one of the guests." I glanced over at the still figure on the ground and listened for a heartbeat. It was very weak. I was no saint. She was probably already beyond saving.

Which is why it surprised me when Josef, the first to disregard a human life, rushed over to her side then looked back at me. "C'mon medic, get your ass over here and get to work."

"Why? She's already half dead and she knows our secret anyways."

He spoke to me like I was a child. "She's under Salvatore's protection, whether or not she knows it. That still means something. Now get over here."

I hurried over, surprised at his insistence. It was discouraging work assessing her wounds; Josef stood at my shoulder and watched me work.

The vampire had severed her carotid and her heart beat was getting softer. I wadded up my tux jacket and used it to staunch the bleeding. Her form was limp and might as well have already been dead, but when I jostled her arm she was suddenly animated. She went stiff and jerked away from me, crying in pain.

That was when I recognized her as the wedding planner who had taken our wine.

"He broke her arm," I said aloud, readjusting my jacket on her neck. I looked over my shoulder but Josef was gone. I could hear the others struggling to drag the vampire somewhere where he was going to pay the penalty for violating the codes of conduct.

My jacket was doing no good, the fabric wasn't absorbent enough. The bathrooms were close and I could run and grab towels; but if I took the pressure off her neck she was going to bleed out; and I couldn't work if I couldn't see. It only left one option.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," I muttered. I picked her up, vampire or not she wasn't exactly a heavyweight, and carried her to the bathroom. Don't follow my example; always keep the injured stationary, unless you happen to have superhuman speed and strength.

Most everyone was at the party but I heard someone in the men's room so I took her in the ladies room and locked the door behind us. It was a surgical paradise.

I laid her flat on a stretch of counter and was finally able to see with the bright lights. As I grabbed some of the hand towels the fancy bathroom afforded when I saw a few needles already threaded and knotted in a small dish. They must have been there to fix tears in dresses but today it might save someone's life. Say what you will about women; but they are always prepared.

I pulled back my jacket to put a real towel over it to staunch the bleeding when I realized just how small the bathroom was. The smell of her blood flooded the poorly ventilated space and my eyes fogged in a moment. I managed to cover her wound with a towel but not before I flexed my jaw wondering what it would be like to break her flesh open and drain the life force which was just being wasted. She probably wasn't going to survive anyways. It wasn't like I'd started this.

I pushed it away with restraint I didn't know I possessed and reminded myself of Josef's words. She was under Salvatore's protection and I was going to uphold that. Even so, the smell was impossible to escape and the irises of my eyes stayed white. It was hard to entice myself to work; but I did it dutifully. If I hadn't been so well-fed it would have been impossible to ignore; but we had properly sated ourselves in anticipation of spending the day with humans.

I was ready to pull back the towel and start trying to sew the wound shut when her heart, which had been fading, finally ceased to beat.

I sighed irritably and started to attempt resuscitation. I dutifully gave CPR for about two minutes. Compression, compression, compression, breath, compression….

When I pulled back it was a force of habit to look at my watch and say, "time of death: 10:47."

Without the pressure of my hand to hold it there the towel fell back and revealed that blood, dripping like a leaky faucet now that there was no heartbeat to pump it. I knew in my head that I should just leave her be; but my stomach reasoned that she wouldn't be using her blood anyways.

It wasn't natural to feed on someone with no heartbeat but I still relished in pulling her warm body close enough and breaking the skin of her neck with my fangs, creating a new bite on the other side. There's a certain anticipation that builds at that. I started to feed on her and it was consuming. I ignored as someone came to use the bathroom and found the door locked. It was good blood, fresh, healthy.

She was almost completely drained when I heard it. My head jerked up and I was convinced I had misheard when I heard it again. I pulled back and almost dropped her. When her heart beat again I put her back on the counter, my movements rough from shock.

How could her heart still beat? This was impossible.

But sure enough it gained in strength and speed until was beating normally. Slowly, the broken skin of her neck regrew, at an unnatural pace.

She remained unconscious and I was too, paralyzed by disbelief. There was only one thing that brought people back from the dead. It made them undead. It made them a vampire.

Somehow I had just turned this girl into a vampire.