Victor ran up the steps of the Everglot mansion. He got up to the porch and was about to knock when he heard Mr. and Mrs. Everglot talking inside right by the door.

"If ever I see that Van Dort boy…I'll strangle him with my bare hands!" Mr. Everglot said furiously.

"Your hands are to fat," Mrs. Everglot replied. "And his neck is to thin. You'll have to use a rope."

Victor backed away from the door then went around to the other side of the house where he saw a balcony. There were a tangled mess of vines going up along the wall to the top of the balcony and he started climbing.

It didn't take him long to get to the top but once he was about to climb over the railing he slipped, and fell down hard on the balcony with a thud.

He quickly got up and shook his head to clear his head. He then looked through the glass door and saw Victoria sitting in an arm chair. He quietly knocked on the door. Victoria looked back, got up and came to the door. She opened it and he came inside and closed the door behind him. He leaned against the door still out of breath from his long run here.

"Victoria." He said still gasping for breath.

"Victor? I'm so happy to see you. Come by the fire." She said grabbing his hand and bringing him over to the fire.

"Where have you been? Are you all right?'

"I-I-oh dear." He said. How was he going to explain this all to her? She wasn't going to believe any of it. Ok he'd tell her about Emily but not mention she was a corpse. How was he going to do that? That was the whole point of why he was here!

"You're as cold as death." She said touching his hand. "What's happened to you? Your coat."

Think! How was he supposed to explain this? He had to tell her Emily was a corpse or else she couldn't help him.

"Victoria…after the rehearsal today I went into the woods outside the town….and something happened…."

"What happened? Where you attacked by an animal?"

"No, I-I-I-met someone there…and…"

"Did he hurt you?" she asked concerned.

"Well…no…it wasn't…a 'he'." He said.

Victoria seemed to be getting it. "It was a girl…and you have feelings for her?" she asked.

"Yes, I love her…but…"

"But you know where supposed to get married? Victor, I'm not forcing you to marry me. It's my parents who wanted me to get married so badly but I didn't want to because I had already fallen in love."

"You had? But then why didn't your parents just let you marry him?"

"He isn't someone my parents would want me to marry. He works with the chief in our kitchen and…my parents never really liked him because his family was poor. I'm not going to stand in the way of you and…what's her name?" Victoria asked.

"Emily." Victor replied. "Her name is Emily."

"Well I'm not going to stand in the way of you and Emily being together." She said smiling at him.

Victor smiled back. "Thank you Victoria…but there is another thing…"

"What is it?" she asked.

"Well…she's not exactly…from around here…"

"What do you mean?"

Uh! This was going to be hard. She was never going to believe him. Wait a minute! Did he have anything of Emily's with him? He thought for a moment.

"She's not exactly…'alive'," Victor felt relieved to have finally said it.

Victoria was looking at him oddly. "What do you mean she's not alive?" Victoria said slowly.

Victor sighed and let out the whole story. How he had said his vows over Emily's grave making her think she was marrying her, then how he had fallen in love with her and she had taken him to the land of the dead.

"Victor…are you sure you hadn't just fallen asleep in the woods? And dreamt it all?"

Victor let out a long sigh. He knew she was never going to believe this. He could take her to Emily, couldn't he? He looked over Victoria's shoulder and gasped.

Emily was climbing up the railing of Victoria's balcony, her veil blowing in the wind.

Victoria was about to look over her shoulder but he quickly caught her head in his hands.

"What I told you is true. I am married to a corpse and I love her with all my heart."

Emily opened the door and walked in as a rush of wind blew her veil over her head and slammed the doors shut behind her.

"My darling, I just wanted to meet.-"she finally got her veil out of her face and gasped seeing Victoria.

Victoria then gasped now seeing that what Victor had been saying was true.

"Darling?" Emily said taking Victor's arm and pulling him closer to her. He knew she was really doing it to show Victoria that Victor was hers. "Who is this?" Emily asked obviously knowing that he had lied to her to see Victoria.

"Who is she?" Victoria asked though she already knew.

"I'm his wife." Emily said holding out her bony hand with the ring on it.

"See?" Victor said taking Emily's skeleton arm and waving it. "She's dead. Look."

Emily furiously pulled her arm away from him, then glaring at Victoria, she whispered. "Hopscotch,"

She grabbed Victor's arm and pulled him to her as they drifted out through the balcony doors and back to the land of the dead.