Hey, guys! So I'm on my own for the first time in a while. I just watched what one of Tim Burton's greatest masterpieces is, in my opinion: Corpse Bride. It was the inspiration for this fanfic. Here's the cast:
Natsu Dragneel as Victor Van Dort
Lucy Heartfilia as Victoria Everglot
Lisanna Strauss as the Corpse Bride, AKA Emily
Jason Julierne as Lord Barkis
Layla Heartfilia as Mrs. Everglot, very OOC
Jude Heartfilia as Mr. Everglot
Makarov Dreyar as Elder Gutknecht
Reedus as Mayhew
Wakaba's wife as Mrs. Van Dort
Wakaba as Mr. Van Dort
Happy as Scraps
I honestly hope you all enjoy this story as much as Starry and I enjoyed the movie. It's a very sweet and romantic story that reminded me of a love triangle from Fairy Tail. Enjoy.
Natsu closed his sketchbook and sighed. Tomorrow was his wedding to Lucy Heartfilia. She was willing to marry him, which thrilled his parents, who'd thought no girl would ever be willing to marry him. The only problem was they'd never met. He'd never spoken to her or even seen her before, yet they were to be married. It was time to head to her house for the rehearsal.
"Now, remember," his mother told him. "The Heartfilias are a well-respected family. Don't make a fool of yourself."
"Shouldn't Lucy Heartfilia be marrying a lord or something?" Natsu asked.
"We're every bit as good as the Heartfilias!"
"But I've never even spoken to her."
"Thank goodness you have that going for us." The rest of the ride to the manor was silent as death. His parents went up to talk to hers, and he sat down to play the grand piano in the parlor. It sounded beautiful, and he didn't notice the pretty blonde girl sneaking up behind him.
"You play beautifully," she told him. He turned in shock, and knocked a vase off the piano. She caught it with a giggle, placing it back on top of the instrument.
"Miss Heartfilia!" he blurted. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"It's a pleasure, Mr. Dragneel. And please, call me Lucy."
"Call me Natsu." He held her hand, amazed by how soft it was. Her eyes were a warm chocolate brown, and her smile lit up the whole room.
"Come, you two!" Layla Heartfilia said, grabbing both of them.
"Now, repeat these words," the priest told Natsu. "'With this hand, I shall lift your sorrows. Your cup shall never empty, for I will be your wine. With this candle, I will light your way in darkness. With this ring I ask you to be mine.' Now, do it."
"W-with this candle…" Natsu stuttered, struggling to light it. When he wasn't looking, Lucy lit it with hers. A man came in and sat down, smiling evilly at the couple. The nervous bridegroom dropped the candle, which lit Layla's dress on fire. She shrieked while the group rushed to put it out. The strange man poured the cup of wine on it, putting out the flames.
"Learn your vows!" the priest yelled at Natsu, who left in embarrassment.
"He's quite the catch, isn't he?" remarked the man as Lucy watched her groom exit.
"With this hand…" Natsu muttered as he walked through the woods. "I will cup your—No, that's not it. 'With this Cup, I will light…' no, that's not it either. 'With this candle, I will…' Set your mother on fire." As he looked at the ring in his hand, he suddenly remembered all his vows! "With this hand, I will lift your sorrows! Your cup will never empty, for I will be your wine! With this candle, I will light your way in darkness. With this ring, I ask you to be mine!" He slid the gold band on a stick protruding from the ground. The wind picked up and the stick began to tremble. A hand came out of the ground. A corpse in a wedding gown rose out. She lifted her veil and smiled.
"I do," she whispered. Scared out of his mind, Natsu turned and ran. The corpse ran after him. She finally caught him on the bridge, and he passed out in fear.
When he awoke, he found himself lying on a couch.
"Oh, good," a voice said. "You're awake."
"I had a terrible dream."
"What was it about?" The woman smiling at him wasn't Lucy, but the Corpse Bride!
"AAAGH!" he screamed.
"Darling, are you all right?" she asked.
"Um, uh, I…" He backed away and bumped into a short man with a sword through his abdomen. He grabbed the handle. "Stand back! I've got a… dwarf… and I'm not afraid to use him! I want some questions, now!"
"Answers. I think you mean answers," the dwarf corrected.
"Yes, answers," Natsu agreed, nodding. "Where am I? Who are you?"
"Well, that's sort of a long story," the Corpse Bride told him.
"And what a story it is," a skeleton in a bowler hat said. "A tragic tale, of romance… passion… and a murder most foul. I'll tell you the tale of our lovely Corpse Bride.
"Not so long ago, our girl was a beauty, known for miles around. She met a stranger who was handsome, but down on his cash. And our poor, little baby, she fell hard and fast. Her father said no, but they came up with a plan to elope.
"Her mother's wedding dress fit like a glove. You don't need much when you're in love, except for the family jewels and a satchel of gold. On a dark foggy night at a quarter to three, she waited for him beneath the old oak tree. She was ready to go, but where was he? And so she waited. And waited. A sound came from the bushes. Was it her man? And then, everything went black.
"When she woke up she was dead as dust. Her money was gone, her heart was bust, and she made a vow lying under that tree. She'd wait for her true love to come set her free. Thanks for savin' her."
"In the woods, you said your vows so perfectly!" the Corpse Bride told Natsu. She showed him her left hand, which had the ring on it!
Scared, lost, and confused, Natsu ran out of that place. The Corpse Bride chased him. People all around the Land of the Dead helped her track him. He came to a dead end and climbed up the wall. His hand grabbed the Corpse Bride's leg.
"Could've used the stairs, silly!" she told him, giggling. They sat next to each other on a bench.
"Look, I'm really sorry about what happened to ya, but I can't be married to you! I don't even know your name!" Natsu tried.
"Well, that's a great way to start a marriage," a voice in her head said.
"Shut up!" she hissed. "I'm Lisanna."
"Lisanna…"
"Here. I got you something." She handed him a box. "It's a wedding present." Tentatively, he opened the box and pulled out a bone.
"Oh, um, thanks?" The box fell off his lap and the bones spilled out. They pieced together to form a cat. It smiled at him, and he recognized it. "Happy?" He smiled at the cat. "Happy! It's you!"
"Hey, Natsu! I was wondering when you'd get down here!" Happy laughed. "So, what happened?"
"He married me," Lisanna said.
"Mother never really approved of Happy. She never really approved of anything."
"Would she have approved of me?"
"You're lucky you never met her. As a matter of fact, I think you should."
"Great! Where are they buried?"
"They're not from around here."
"Oh. I see. They're still alive. Well, that is a problem."
"Lisanna, what about Elder Makarov?" Happy asked.
"We could ask him! Happy, you're a genius!" She led her husband to an old skeleton's house, where they had a Ukrainian Haunting spell cast on them. All they had to do to come back was say, "Hopscotch," to which Lisanna excitedly said, "Hopscotch?!"
As soon as they were above ground, Lisanna sighed happily.
"I've spent so long in the darkness. I forgot how beautiful the moonlight is." She began dancing around the clearing, tripping over a stump and losing her leg.
"Psst!" a maggot said, popping his head out of her ear. "I think you dropped something!" She grabbed it and put her leg back on. Natsu told her he was going to get his parents and left. As he stood outside the door to Lucy's manor, he heard her father threatening to strangle him with his bare hands.
"No," Layla replied. "Your hands are too fat, and his neck is too thin. You'd have to use a rope." Natsu began climbing the trellis on the side of the house. It led straight to Lucy's room, where she was sadly stitching a blanket. He landed with a thump on her balcony, making her look around in alarm. Then he rapped on the door.
"Natsu!" she sighed in relief, letting him in. "You're cold as ice! What's happened to you?"
"Listen, Lucy, this morning, I was terrified of marriage. But then, I met you, and now, our wedding could not come soon enough."
"Oh, Natsu. I feel the same way!"
"There's just one problem." He had spotted Lisanna making her way into the room. "Lucy, I seem to find myself already married. I can explain."
"Darling, I just wanted to meet—" Lisanna broke off upon seeing Lucy. "Who's this?"
"Natsu, who's this?" Lucy asked, a note of terror in her voice.
"I'm his wife! Hopscotch!" As she began to vanish, she grabbed Natsu and took him.
"LUUUUCYYYY!" he yelled, reaching for his real bride's hand. It was too late.
"I can't believe it! You tricked me!" Lisanna yelled. "Just to get back to that other woman!"
"Lisanna, you're the other woman!"
"No! You're married to me! She's the other woman!"
"She's right!" Makarov called.
"Don't you understand!? I love Lucy!"
"Well, you should have thought about that before you asked me to marry you!"
"It was a mistake. I would never marry you!" Lisanna burst into tears and ran out of the house, carrying her bouquet.
"Roses, for eternal love." She pulled a rose out. "Lilies, for sweetness." The flower landed on the ground. "Baby's Breath." She threw the whole thing on the ground.
"Lisanna, what does that girl have that you don't have?" Gray, her maggot, inquired.
"How about a pulse?"
"Overrated," Erza, a spider, told her. "If only he could see how special you can be. If he only knew the you that we know."
"She still breathes air."
"Who cares?!" Gray exclaimed. "She can't play piano, or dance, or sing quite as well as you can. He needs his head examined. I'll do it."
Meanwhile, Lucy was telling her parents about the encounter with Natsu.
"We have to help him!"
"The only thing we need is to lock you in here!" Layla did just that. Lucy grabbed the blanket she had been stitching when Natsu had shown up and used it as a ladder to get out. It ripped, however, and she covered her head with the piece she had. The heartbroken bride headed to the church, and asked the priest to help her. He brought her back to her parents, who ensured she wouldn't escape again.
Natsu went to talk to Lisanna. She was playing a sad tune on her piano. He played a happier one and she played right along. Her hand popped off and crawled on him. The girl giggled nervously.
"Pardon my enthusiasm."
"I like your enthusiasm."
A bell rang, a woman calling out, "New arrival!" Natsu recognized the newcomer.
"Reedus!" he cheered. "How is everyone?"
"They're still wondering where you slipped off to," the man responded. "And Miss Lucy is going to be married this evening."
"Married? To who?"
"Some newcomer. Lord Somebody-Or-Other." Natsu sighed.
Meanwhile, Lord Jason, the mystery man from the rehearsal, was preparing to marry Natsu's bride. He really planned to rob her family of their fortune and kill Lucy. Unfortunately, no one knew of this, since he had done it years before with another girl and hadn't been caught. He also had no idea that the only reason Lucy was marrying Natsu was because her parents would've been sent to the poorhouse otherwise.
Natsu sighed as he looked at a flower Lucy had given him.
"I'm too late. I've lost her."
"He just walked off without saying a word!" Lisanna told Mirajane. "Are all men like this?" She didn't realize he was listening in.
"I wish it weren't true. They get something stuck in their heads and you can't do a thing with them." As if to demonstrate, she pulled a knife out of Elfman's head and used it to chop some meat.
"My dear," Makarov sighed, walking in. "I'm afraid there's a complication with your marriage."
"Ooh, let me tell her!" Gray begged from the book.
"Tell me what?"
"The vows are only binding until death do you part."
"So?"
"You're already dead." She gasped.
"If he finds out, he'll leave. Please, there must be a way!"
"There is."
"Go on. Get to the good part!" Gray told the old man. "We have to kill him!"
"WHAT?!"
"The only way for your marriage to be binding forever is if Natsu repeats his vows in the land of the living, then sips from the wine of ages."
"Poison!"
"It will stop his heart forever. Only then will he be free to give it to you."
"I could never ask him."
"You don't have to," Natsu told her. "I'll do it." They went out to address everyone.
"Everyone," Natsu began. "We've decided to do this thing right. We're taking this party upstairs! Grab what you can and follow us!" Everyone excitedly grabbed items for the wedding. Mira, Elfman, and Cana eagerly made a wedding cake. Someone else repaired Lisanna's bouquet.
Meanwhile, the wedding feast for Lucy and Jason was taking place.
"Elegant. Cultured. Radiant," Jason said. "Lucy has snagged a husband who is all of these things. And, dare I say, no force on Earth could tear us apart!" Green flames erupted from the fireplace. A skeleton that still had an eye went up behind Mr. Heartfilia, and his eye fell out.
"There's an eye in my soup," Jude commented. The partygoers freaked out, and Jason dove beneath the table. By the time he came out, everyone but Lucy was gone.
"That's it! We're going to grab what money we can and get out of here!" he told his wife.
"Money? What money?" Lucy asked.
"Your dowry. It is my right!"
"My parents don't have any money. In fact, it's my marriage to you that will save them from the streets."
"The streets?! You're lying!" He picked her up and shook her. "Tell me you're lying!"
"Did things not go according to your plan, Lord Jason? Then perhaps in disappointment we are perfectly matched!" She left him alone in the room. He began screaming in anger. Lucy, on the other hand, followed the dead procession to the church. As she saw what was happening, she gasped.
"Shhhh!" a skeleton hissed. Natsu recited his vows perfectly, not realizing that Lucy was hiding behind a post behind him. Lisanna spotted her during her vows, and stopped Natsu before he could drink the poison.
"I was a bride," she told him sadly. "My dreams were taken from me. Now I've stolen them from someone else." He turned to see Lucy.
"Lucy," he sighed. Lisanna put his hand into his real bride's.
"Oh, isn't this touching?" Jason asked. "Our young lovers, together at last! It should be a happy ending to our little tale. But you forget: She's still my wife!" He took the sword from the dwarf and held it to Lucy's throat. "I'll not leave here empty-handed!"
"Get your hands off her!" Natsu growled.
"You?!" Lisanna whispered. She glared at Jason, who stared in shock. "YOU!"
"Lisanna? But I left you!"
"For dead."
Natsu began dueling the evil man. Mira tried to toss him a knife, but accidentally gave him a fork. Just when it looked like Jason stabbed Natsu through the middle, Lisanna had the sword through her abdomen. She held it up against Jason.
"Get out!" she snarled.
"Fine. But first," he agreed, grabbing the cup of poison. "To Lisanna! Always a bridesmaid, never the bride!" As he walked away, the dead surged toward him, intending to make him pay for what he had done to Lisanna. Makarov held them back, saying they couldn't touch him. However, Jason drank the poison, and promptly died. The group then was able to make him pay. Lisanna began to walk away from Natsu and Lucy, but Natsu stopped her.
"Wait. I made a promise."
"You kept your promise. You set me free." As she walked out of the church, she threw her bouquet, which was caught by Lucy. The Corpse Bride then turned into butterflies, which flew away, carrying her immortal soul to heaven. She would never ever forget what Natsu had done. And neither would they.
Katie: Aww! Wasn't that sweet?!
Natsu: Why was I so calm throughout the whole darn thing?
Katie: Reasons, that's why. Lucy, what did you think?"
Lucy: I thought it was incredibly sweet how Natsu fought Jason off with a fork. How does that even work?
Lisanna: I was dead… but Natsu sent me to heaven! Oh, it's so sweet! *cries tears of joy*
Katie: I sincerely hope you all enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it and watching the movie. I need your help to keep it going. If you liked a particular movie or book, tell me about it. I may turn it into my next story! Keep reading, keep reviewing, and keep being my awesome fans! I'm Katie Gold, and this has been Corpse Fairy! Good night, good reading, and happy holidays from us all here!