A/N: All right, let's get one thing straight: this is NOT your clichéd "Victoria doesn't get to the church on time" story, got it? This is a DARK, more ACCURATE, more IN CHARACTER version. It isn't happy, it isn't fluffy, and it sure isn't an "OMG VIC AND EM LIVE TOGETHER 4EVA!" fic. It is DARK, and SAD, so all you mindless V/E shippers out there might wanna find a different piece of literature, because this WON'T be your cuppa tea. We understand each other? No? Too bad. I am so SICK of all these stories that bash Victoria just to get Victor and Emily together. SICK of it. What'd she do that she would deserve your hate? What, she's not dead and blue, is that the problem?
On a different note, this IS going to be V/E AND V/V at the same time. Lovely? I think so. Oh, and there IS going to be V/B, because, let's face it, what else would he DO with her? She's got no money, so he has no reason to kill her (at least I don't think so).
Sorry if I sounded harsh up there, but it HAD to be said. There are some people out there that smudge the proud name of "V/E shipper" by bashing Victoria. Poor, poor Victoria…I really do like her, you know? Why can't she and Emily be friends?
Anyway, I've flapped my gums enough, ON WITH THE SHOW!
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The church stood, as it had her entire life, foreboding and mysteriously shrouded in shadows. Victoria Everglot wasn't sure exactly how a church could frighten her so badly, but it had and it did.
At the moment, the hundreds of corpses sitting in it sure didn't help.
It wasn't exactly what Victoria had expected to see when she had stormed out of her house: the dead walking among the living. That sort of thing just…didn't happen. However, it HAD, so against her better instinct, she followed the dearly departed to the very church she and her missing fiancé Victor were supposed to be married.
It had also been the place where she'd married HIM.
That horrid Barkis Bittern, who had only been interested in her for her money. He WAS…somewhat handsome, she'd give him that. But a more beastly man she had never met. His tantrum in the dining room had proven all her suspicions about him. She didn't want to know what he was doing at the moment.
She reached the doors of the church just as the ceremony had started. Peeking in, she saw a familiar face at the altar…"Victor?" She gasped loudly, soliciting a "shush!" from one of the skeletons in the back row. Not stopping to wonder about how a skeleton COULD shush her, she made her way to the front. Victor, hair combed and a peaceful smile on his face, had started to recite his vows.
"With this hand, I will lift your sorrows." He seemed so much calmer now, reciting it perfectly and gazing lovingly at the beautiful corpse before him, who looked near tears. "Your cup shall never empty, for I shall be your wine." He lifted the glass. The bride, still smiling, began her vows and lifted the red bottle and poured what looked like wine into Victor's cup. Victoria leaned in from her hiding spot to try and get a good look. "With this hand, I will lift your sorrows…your cup shall never empty f-for I will be…" The dead woman faltered slightly. "I…. I will be…."
Victor finished for her. "I will be your wine." He lifted the goblet to his lips, JUST as his dead bride caught sight of Victoria. Her eyes widened. "Victor, STOP!"
But it was too late.
Confused, Victor turned around and dropped the cup in shock. "VICTORIA?" He ran over to her and hugged her tightly; panic now shining in his eyes. "Wh-What are you doing here!" She could hear him crying slightly. He took her face in his hands, and smoothed some of her hair back. Forcing a smile, he said, "Victoria, I thought I'd lost you forever. I---I never would have----" He was starting to sweat heavily, and he grasped his chest. Victoria caught him as he collapsed, and cried, "Victor, wh-what did you DO!"
The other bride ran over and eased Victor to the ground, tears forming in her own, long-dead eyes. Shakily, she looked to Victoria. "I c-couldn't stop him in time…" She looked away. "I'm…I'm so very, VERY sorry…"
Victoria shook her head. "What happened? Wh-What's wrong with Victor?" She looked to him again, and gasped. His once-pale skin had turned the same sickening shade of blue shared by all the dead in the room. All at once she understood: Victor had killed himself. With a cry of anguish, Victoria collapsed in a heap on the floor, clinging tightly to the only one she had ever loved. She silently willed his heart to beat as she nuzzled into his now-cold chest. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She snapped her head up to stare at Victor. His eyes slowly fluttered open and stared at her, but they weren't the same eyes that had just looked into hers. They were dead eyes, lacking the shine and laughter they had once held. All that was left was a soft, sad glow, and Victoria couldn't bear to look at it. He smiled sadly. "Victoria…" Even his voice had changed to a melancholy whisper. He laughed quietly. "D-Don't be afraid…" Victor turned away sadly. "Please don't be afraid of me…"
She shook violently and backed away from him, crawling backwards on the floor. He reached out to her again, but she recoiled and turned away. Victor looked stunned. "It's just me, Victoria…" He walked over to her, and touched her cheek. With a small cry, she pulled away and cowered, holding her hand to her cheek. How COLD his hand had been! Victor looked hurt, as though she had smacked him in the face. She shook her head. It was Victor! Why was she so frightened? Victoria tried to convince herself that this…CREATURE in front of her was still the nervous, soft-spoken young gentleman she had fallen in love with the previous day; that the only thing that had changed was his skin, but that look in his eyes frightened her more than she could say. Victor looked at her again, and said, "It's just me…"
Nervously, she whispered, "No…Not anymore…"
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A/N: and thus ends chapter one…TOLD you it would be different from the other stories. I pride myself on originality, for some odd reason. Comments? Critiques? Flames? Sure, whatever. I love 'em all (even the flames. Flames are funny!)
