Title: 'Til Death Do Us Part
Setting: Albion. Bowerstone. Rookridge.
Genre: Drama/Tragedy/Angst
Rating: T (For suicide)
Summary: He loved her, more than enough to marry her. She loved him, not enough to confess she wasn't ready. When the wedding starts and there's no bride he realizes that love can hurt more than death itself.
Victor was a kind man. He would never hurt anyone, and selfless when the situation called for it. That's why Alex loved him. It didn't matter to him if she came from a poor family and his a rich one.
The day he proposed to her, Alex's heart soared. She was the happiest she had ever been. Now, well now, she wasn't so sure. They were both so young.
"Alex?" Victor called from the doorway. She made her way to the door and opened it. She was immediately picked up by her fiancé and spun around like a young child.
"Stop that! That tickles!" She called out laughing when he buried his face in the nape of her neck.
"I cannot wait until tomorrow." Victor said proudly. "Tomorrow I will whisk you away and you'll never have to farm again." Her mood deflated a little, but she did not show it. Instead she smiled brilliantly. Tomorrow was their wedding, and although most girls would be ecstatic, she was nervous, scared, and unsure.
"I cannot wait either." Victor placed his lips upon hers eagerly. He did not notice that her kiss was only half-hearted.
Alex slid on her shoes silently. She did not wish to wake Victor as her current act would break his heart. She kissed his forehead before heading downstairs, then out the door.
Marriage was a huge dedication. Something she knew she was too young to truly understand. Alex closed the door quietly behind her, leaving her only love and warmth of a good life behind.
Out in the cold, spring night Alex ran as far as could, all the way to Bower Lake, through the rain. She knew it would break his to run away, but he always deserved better. All she could hope is that he would forgive her one day. After all this was her way of giving him a new shot at a better life than she could give him.
It had stopped raining over night. The morning sun was out and had quickly warmed the earth and soaked up the moisture on the ground. Bowerstone was already a buzz with merchants and children. The perfect day for a wedding.
When Victor awoke without Alex by his side he figured she went out to get ready for the wedding. After all , it was unlucky to see the bride before the wedding.
The rest of his day went smoothly. He prepared for the wedding and arrived at the lookout in Rookridge where they would be wedded on time. Anxiously he, the guests, and the light monk, who would marry them, waited for Alex to arrive.
Hours passed and slowly the guests, even his parents, left with an apology. Only he and the monk were remained. Another hour passed and he too left, saying his apology as well. Victor didn't understand why. Alex would show. She was merely late.
Time passed. Victor was awoken by a guard. Victor stood, brushed himself off and looked up. The guard was sent to get him by his parents, as night had fallen making them worried. The moon was high. Alex hadn't come.
Saddened and confused Victor returned home. Had something happened to Alex? Was she captured by bandits? Was she attacked by highway men? He worried until morning. Then a guard came to his door with news. Alex hadn't prepared for the wedding. A few people admitted to seeing her run out of Bowerstone. She ran away from a life of riches and happiness. She ran away from him. The guard left with no words of comfort.
What did he do wrong? Was it something he said? Something he didn't say? He had questions with no one to answer. Depression set in throughout the day. There was no one to comfort himself. He refused anyone who tried. He could not even comfort himself. Victor stopped eating, stopped sleeping, stopped caring. She was perfect. Kind, funny, caring, soft spoken, and confident. There were none better for him. Yet he wasn't enough. He should have known this would happen from the start. There was nothing that could be done or said to fix this. She left, and when she left she took his soul with her and rung it dry.
He went on like this for months. All the way into the late months of winter. He could take it no more. She wasn't coming back. Without telling a soul he ran out to Rookridge in the dead of night, where he proposed to Alex and had hoped to marry her, and jumped off the cliff without another thought. Many say it was because his last thought was of her and he did not wish to tarnish it. His body was discovered, impaled by the sharp, jagged rocks below, only days later.
A few years had passes since Alex ran away. Bowerstone hadn't changed much since then. It was still the same.
She missed him. Alex missed Victor, and although it's been years, she needed to apologize. She was horrified when she was told he killed himself. It was, in every way possible, her fault, and everyone knew it. She was shunned by Bowerstone but lived on in Bowerstone because she knew that's what Victor would have wanted. He would never wish harm upon anyone.
He roamed the cliff where he died for years, wallowing in self-inflicted depression. Although he died long ago fate decided he could not die peacefully. He would have to suffer through an eternity of loneliness as a spirit, watching couple after couple come to the lookout he haunted.
It didn't take long for anger and revenge to replace depression and suffering. All he needed was an opportunity. This was her fault. She caused this. She killed him.
Time passed and his need for revenge grew, but no opportunities were presented to him. Not until the day he was grieving his losses, a man of the perfect age showed up.
"Excuse me?" The black haired blue eyed man asked. "Are you all right?"
"Y-you can see me?" Victor asked.