An almost gender-bent version of Corpse Bride. Contains spoilers of Corpse Bride; read if you have seen it, don't mind or don't care. Not the actually movie, just important scenes.

Note: First one isn't an actual scene.

And there he lay, buried in the ground to sleep for all eternity – or so she, Lady Jasper Malachite, and he thought.

Jamie panicked upon realising that he was buried, but surprised at the loss of the need of breathing.

Had he… No? He couldn't have. No…

No!

(Line break)

His hand lay outside the burial area, disguised as a branch. Years it had been since…

"With this ring," A masculine voice declared; it belonged to a female, definitely, however. "I ask you to be mine!"

His heart leapt. He had just gotten a wife! In his excitement, he grabbed his bride's arm, ignoring the gasp and struggles. She was stronger, for his arm ripped off! And, to see his bride, he pulled himself up to the land.

"I do."

And with a fearful gasp, his wife ran! She ran! And he gave chase, grabbing his arm as he did so.

His wife ran from him, into trees, across ice and onto the bridge. He stayed behind her, and he stepped forward, pushing her into the bridge's side, not meaning to of course (Jamie was a kind fellow truly), and whispered, leaning forward, "I shall now kiss the bride…"

(Line break)

She never meant to marry me.

His wife was meant to marry her true love, up in the land of the living, who, strangely, was too a female.

He thought this as he played on the piano. It was a skill he'd acquired as a boy, a living boy, and, not to brag, he was quite talented with it. He heard the hesitant footsteps of his bride, her name Ruby (such a beautiful name), as he sat forlornly at the piano.

Playing a beautiful piece, in his opinion.

He decided, since some related to him, to sing it. His mother had said he'd a soft, fragile and downright beautiful voice. Hopefully all that time buried in the ground hadn't ruined it.

"I sense there's something in the wind."

Still got it, he thought with a ghost of a smirk.

"That feels like tragedy's at hand."

He closed his eyes, knowing all the words to the beautiful song.

"And though I'd like to stand by her."

Originally, it'd been him, but given the circumstances, he changed it.

"Can't shake this feeling that I have…"

He felt her sit beside him, quiet and regretful.

"The worst is just around the bend."

He heard her apologise, but not only did he ignore her, he refused to hear her, and she laid a hand on his shoulder – he tensed to the cold touch; her hands were usually warm.

"And does she notice my feelings for her?"

He heard her draw a gasp, draw the hand away slowly, and the melody took over.

"And will she see how much she means to me?"

Silence still.

"I think it's not to be."

He opened his eyes as her masculine voice joined in. There was a small pause.

"Under a tree at quarter three, I had some hope in me."

He sang alone.

"But life was taken from me; I did not feel peace…"

She seemed quiet. Why would she not be?

"I made a promise to me under that tree that love will come to me."

That couldn't have been truer.

"But then she came and seemingly I had been found."

Tears filled his eyes as he remembered the brutal murder his 'loving' bride had put him through, growled at the thought of the betrayal but continued and played; he then remembered the thought of joy when he heard her ask for his marriage (though it really should have been the other way round), and that it was an accident.

"I adore her…"

True. Despite the fact she didn't love him back, despite the fact that it was an accidental marriage, he loved her.

"What will become of my dear friend?"

He referred to the living girl, Sapphire, though she wasn't truly her friend.

"Where will her actions lead her then?"

This time, he meant his bride when he lived – the murderous, money-stealing traitor!

"Although I'd like to join the crowd,"

The dead, her friends, were excited about her marriage…

"In their enthusiastic cloud."

They were so happy…

"Try as I may, it doesn't last…"

But after the news, and her constant running away, he found it hard to love someone who was a fiancé to a living – not his, a dead man, wife.

"What is this, a painful twist, is this a bitter kiss?"

It was horrible, knowing he'd dragged her away, marrying her, selfishly – but he'd waited all those years.

"There's so much life left in her eyes, it should not end like this."

Ruby had so much to live for – he couldn't take that away.

"My dreams were slain; my face was stained with memories of my pain."

He was so impatient to get married, that he didn't even know who he was marrying!

"But peace still came, I'll give her the same, and I will be okay…"

They didn't even know each other…

"And will they ever end up together?"

That did not refer to him, but to Ruby and Sapphire; he'd taken Ruby, so there must have been rumours about her going with her willingly (when really he'd dragged her to the afterlife).

"No, I think not, it's never to become."

Not unless he let go of his 'wife', which he didn't want to do really – more years of waiting.

"For I am not the one…"

Sapphire was – he was not.

The song ended. Both were silent.

Maybe that was a good thing…

(Line break)

It was wrong, to try to get Ruby to poison herself to marry him. After the news that they couldn't be married unless she sacrificed herself, Jamie was surprised to see her willing.

Perhaps it was to do with the news that Sapphire, unbeknownst to them, unwillingly, had married a Lady. Lady Something-or-Other. So Ruby had no one to go to, and Jamie, perhaps she loved him more than he knew.

He held that in his heart during the preparation, the journey and the wedding.

Or what there was of it.

And then he saw Sapphire. And he knew he couldn't. He stopped Ruby, just as it was about to touch, not bless, her lips, and took the poison in his hands, her hand and gestured to the unhappily newly wed to come. Gasps resonated in the room as the fiancés were reunited.

Then Lady Something-or-Other burst in.

Lady Jasper Malachite.

"You…" Jamie hissed. "You!"

"Jamie? But I left you!"

"… For dead."

(Line break)

She was finally gone. Jamie walked out into the yard, or the doorframe of the door leading to the yard.

He looked back, seeing Pearl (Sapphire's parents helper), Amethyst (or the maggot that feasted on his brains several times), some lady (who turned out to be Lapis) and several other unknown people.

He smiled and untied his bowtie, throwing it onto the floor, unbuttoned his tux's shirt and untucked his shirt. Years of being like that annoyed him – he couldn't stand the clothing.

He threw a glance, and a warm smile, back at his 'bride' and turned away.

He let out a sigh of relief, spreading out his arms, and smiled up at the moon.

Night. A beautiful, mysterious time to be married. But it was at night that he died.

Night would also be the time he let go.

Letting another sigh of relief leave his lips, he allowed his clothing and his corpse to turn into dragonflies and fly away.

He held no regrets as he saw Ruby and Sapphire walk to where he'd stood, hand in hand.

Freedom was sweet.

(Line break)

A/N: Well.

By the way, the song was a medley. I didn't create it (it belongs to Trickywi), but I had to change the lyrics.

Every he/him was originally a she/her.

"I made a promise to me under that tree that love will come to me." was originally, "I made a vow within my gown that love will come to me."

So yeah.

Jamie was originally going to marry Garnet, but who was she going out with? Herself! So I unfused them and sent Ruby, because she's more likely to be the male in any story. I really couldn't be bothered to make her male or Jamie female, so yeah. I made her attracted to women in the 19th Century (when Corpse Bride is meant to happen).

Deal with it.

Anyway, next chapter will be based on… a lullaby!

Until the next chapter.

Damn, I have so many ideas for fanfiction but only one idea for TSC. -_- WHY BRAIN WHY?!

… Bye.