"Come across you're lost and broken
You're coming to, but you're slow and waking
You start to shake, you still haven't spoken, what happened
They're coming back and you just don't know it
And you wanna cry but there's nothing coming
They're gonna push until you give in, say when
Now we're here and it turns to chaos, hurricane coming all around us
They're gonna crack, don't you back from the window, you stay low
It all began with the man and country
Every plan turns another century around again
And another nation fallen"

- Say When, The Fray

Chapter XXI

"I'm speaking with the council this afternoon, so I can find some sort of legal reason why this can't happen." Jesse said, running a hand through his hair. We were sitting at the table in my room, as Jesse had come in while I was still eating breakfast.

"Do you think they'll help?" I asked, taking a grape from the fruit bowl and popping it in my mouth.

He sighed. "Possibly. But there may be other more pressing matters out there. You have to remember, Susannah, that to them, Isabelle is just some girl. She's of no importance to save."

I swallowed the grape quickly, almost chocking. "Some girl?" I questioned, outraged. "Who cares if she's of no importance? She's still been kidnapped and taken by some demons, and forced into a life that she doesn't want to live-"

"But she agreed to marry him, Susannah." Jesse said, looking at me with sympathy. He knew how much I hated people who just didn't understand what was happening, didn't understand what it was like to be forced into a whole different life. "It's hard to find a reason to save her when she's agreed to it. At least, not a reason that the council will find legible."

I sighed, and put my head in my hands. Why was it so hard to convince people that this was wrong? Not even the council, who made the decisions for this region, seemed to want to do anything about it. It was hard for Jesse, although he was a ruler of a very large and influential city, to persuade them to make changes. This group of men who had been around for centuries (their places going to the next generations, similar to that of the place of king), were originally made to keep the peace. With two of the largest cities constantly fighting, there needed to be neutral ground.

But the neutral ground wasn't really doing its job at the moment, in my opinion.

"She should never have said yes…" I said, mumbling into my hands. I inhaled deeply, trying to clear my head, but it wasn't working. I was still pissed at Isabelle for agreeing to marry him. And even more annoyed at the fact that I was jealous of her, even if it was only slightly. After all, she was marrying the man that just a few days ago had promised me that he would forget about marriage for the time being, and stay with me. I put my hands back on the table, looking back at Jesse.

"I know, Susannah. But maybe she's just not as stubborn as you are." He smiled slightly, trying to lighten the conversation, and my mood. It didn't help.

He noticed my mood, and sighed, his expression concerned. "Querida…" He murmured, reaching across the table to hold my hand that was lying on top of it. But as soon as his hand touched mine, I retreated it, and folded my hands on top of my lap, underneath the table, and out of reach. I didn't want to be comforted. I didn't want people – especially Jesse – to take pity on me.

His expression changed to one of hurt, and he took his hand back too. I looked down, not making eye contact. I didn't want to see the effect my depressed, numb mood was having on him. I didn't want to hurt him.

He cleared his throat, as if getting attention. He had noticed my spacing out. I looked up to show that I was listening, but did not look at his face.

"I better get going, I'll be meeting the council shortly…" He said quietly, getting up and ready to leave. I stood up too, ready to say goodbye.

He continued speaking, while picking up his long, black coat. "I'll come back later, after I've spoken with them, and we'll see what we can do-"

The door knocked, cutting of his speech. Before either of us could shoo away whoever was there, in came Abbey, with a nervous expression on her face. She shut the door behind her quietly, and then stood, facing Jesse and I, twiddling her thumbs.

Jesse and I looked at each other, quizzical, then turned to look back at Abbey. Now, she looked anxious, her eyebrows turned up where they met, a little worry line appearing on her face. She was struggling to say something, I could tell.

I looked at Jesse in confusion, but he seemed to have understood. His face was turned towards me, as if checking my mood. He, too, had a worry line, and his expression almost broke my heart with the amount of concern and almost fear.

It dawned on me what Abbey was here for before she finally said something.

"It's time."

My breathing was coming out in quick, sharp gasps, and I had to hold my chest to try and keep myself together. Jesse was by my side immediately, running his hands up and down my arms soothingly.

"Susannah, it's okay, it'll be fine…" He was trying to comfort me with his words, but they were too quick, too frantic. I wasn't the only one who was starting to panic. And that did nothing to help my inner turmoil.

"Querida…" He murmured again, his hands on my face now, trying to get me to look at him. "Susannah." He said, louder this time, trying to snap me out of it. I looked up, our eyes locking. "I will sort this out – Isabelle will be fine. Trust me, Susannah." I was shaking my head, my hair swishing against my shoulders and the side of my face. "Trust me."

His eyes had lost their panicked look. As I was staring, I came to the conclusion that this was all I had left. Jesse was all I had left. All I could do now was trust him, trust that he would make this right.

"Okay…" I whispered, calming down. His hands came back to my hair, smoothing it down, and then he held onto my shoulders.

"It'll be okay. Goodbye, querida." He said, and kissed me on my forehead, before leaving the room.

It did not escape me that that was what he had done seven years ago, before he left me in that cottage, just days before I was kidnapped by the demons.

-&-

Abbey was brushing my hair softly, taking out the tangles before she could style it. I was sitting at my dressing table, facing towards the mirror, still in a bathrobe. I hadn't picked out a dress yet. What was appropriate to wear to the wedding of a demon lord and a poor, innocent young girl?

"You don't have to go, you know." Abbey said, looking at me through the mirror. She knew I was still worrying about going.

I shook my head slightly, but stopped when I realised that Abbey was trying to smooth it out. "No, I do… I should go…"

She sighed, and carried on. I knew she didn't like the thought of me going. She thought that when I came back, I'd be worse. But I had to go. If I was there when it happened, when Paul and Isabelle were married, it would give me some closure. Because that would be it. The end. And then I would be able to move on with my life, and finally go do something.

Well, that was the plan. I wasn't too sure that it was going to work out that way, though. In this city, nothing ever went the way it was supposed to.

Although, I suppose, if everything were the way it was supposed to be, I wouldn't be here in the first place. I would be with Jesse, maybe even married to him. And Izzy and Will would be together, and probably never even bump into a demon. Maybe even Abbey would never have been brought to this city, and be living a good life on a farm somewhere. Where she was supposed to be.

But Paul had decided that he wanted me. And seven years ago, when that decision was made, so many lives were changed because of it. Everything was knocked out of balance. Never to go back to what it was.

For one thing, even if this turned out okay (not that I was being hopeful – I knew that all that led to was more disappointment), and Isabelle was saved, there was no guarantee that I would be back with Jesse. I knew that I didn't belong there, in the kingdom. And why would anyone there accept me when I had lived with demons for all these years?

No. Even if Jesse managed to prevent this marriage from happening, not everything would go back to what it was. I would never be able to go back to my old life.

"Suze?"

I looked up, and watched Abbey's reflection in the mirror. She was looking at me calmly, almost motherly.

"How would you like to have your hair done?" She asked, softly.

"Oh, erm, I'm not sure… You decide."

Our non-conversation went on like this, her doing my hair, occasionally asking questions to stop me from spacing out, and me giving her non-committal answers. Just a simple 'yes', or 'no', or a 'hmmm'.

She had decided on a loose bun, allowing some curls to fall around my face. She had placed a hair comb in my hair, with beautiful diamonds arranged to look like flowers, ranging in sizes, and all with a single emerald in the middle.

She also added some make-up, with just some dark eye shadow and liner around my eyes, with a little bit of silver to make them striking. The dark colours, and the emeralds in my hair, brought out the bright green of my eyes, and the deep red pigment she painted on my lips added contrast. It was very formal and elegant, far more dramatic than I would usually go for, but it seemed to work. I was going to a demon wedding, after all. Macabre was probably going to be the main style of dress.

"So… what dress?"

Abbey had opened the wardrobe, showing me a vast array of dresses. All black, of course. I walked over, and started flicking through them, biting my lip. I had no idea what I should be wearing, or what was suitable.

Eventually, I decided on a black strapless taffeta dress, which tightly hugged my figure and flowed out from my hips. The fabric was ruched at the side, and there was a beautifully delicate trim along the neckline with small flowers and diamonds, which I thought matched the hair comb beautifully. I paired it with a chocker style diamond necklace, and chunky bracelet, to counteract the simplistic design of the dress. Along with an amazing pair of black heels, I looked quite good. Beautiful, almost.

"Hmmm, I do like that dress. One of the better ones in the collection, it must be said." Abbey commented, still tying the ribbons of the corset at the back, and looking round me into the mirror at my reflection.

"Yes… better than most…" I murmured, fiddling with the necklace.

"You know, most of those dresses you might as well chuck out. Get some new ones in – maybe ones with colour."

"No…"

Abbey had finished with the corset, and was now standing in front of me. "What? Why the hell not? What's wrong with colour – black's so boring-"

"No, I mean, I'm not… I'm not staying here any longer. I'm not coming back."

It had only really come to me, when Abbey started discussing things about the future. I wasn't going to come back here, back to this room that I had been living in for the past seven years.

"… What? What do you mean?" Abbey now stood with a confused and slightly saddened look on her face.

"I… I can't come back here, Abbey. Not with Isabelle and Paul…" I sighed, looking around my room. "I can't stay. I need to leave, to get away from here, once all this is finished. The only reason I've been staying around is because Paul wouldn't let me go, and now he'll probably let me, seeing as he has Isabelle. So… I can leave. Finally, after seven years."

"I guess… I mean, I can understand that. I just… well, I never really thought about it…" Abbey said, for once almost lost for words.

I hadn't thought about it either, until now. Not properly, anyway. I knew I was going to leave here eventually – it had just taken me until now to realise how soon it was that I was going to leave. I didn't even know where to go.

"You could always go to Jesse's," Abbey said, as if answering my thoughts. "He'd let you stay with him. It'll be better for you there, that's for sure."

"Hmmm… I suppose."

Jesse's place was better for Abbey. She didn't deserve to stay here – she was so kind, and bubbly, and human. After I've left his place, I was going to organise an arrangement for Abbey to leave, to go to Jesse's kingdom, so she could finally be free, just like I'm going to be. I'm sure I could get Jesse to do it for me – he was fairly acquainted with Abbey, and knew how lovely she was. He'd definitely be willing to get her away from here.

There was a knock on the door, and my heart plummeted.

A maid walked in, leaving the door open for me.

"A carriage is waiting for you, miss."

Abbey and I looked at each other, both of us nervous. Then we hugged each other fiercely, with Abbey trying to comfort me with words of support. After a few minutes, the maid cleared her throat, signally me to cut the goodbyes short.

With a final, watery smile, I followed the maid, and walked to the carriage to take me to the wedding of an innocent girl and a demon I was in love with.

-&-

I stepped out of the carriage, and immediately regretted the heels. The wedding was to take place in The Valley, a neutral ground, allowing anyone in the surrounding area to watch. This also meant having to stand in a muddy field. In heels. And a long dress. Not the best combination.

As I was hobbling along, to take my stand in the front row, I looked around at the people who had already gathered. It wasn't a very large affair, but a fair few people had turned up. A few I recognised from the ball, but there were a lot I didn't recognise at all. The majority were male, as these things always were, but there were a few females, with their arms linked with others. They were, presumably, the queens of other kingdoms in the region. They, too, were wearing heels and long dresses, and looked just about annoyed as I was about the situation of the wedding. And everyone was wearing black.

Maybe Abbey was right. Weddings and funerals really were the same in this place.

It was as I was standing there, in the wind and darkness of the gathering storm clouds, that Paul and guards appeared, moving to the front. I was avoiding looking at Paul, and was looking around me when I noticed William, standing to the side, looking completely lost.

Oh, no. He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't witness the love of his life being taken by a demon. How could they let him be here?!

And then I realised. They were making him watch. Just like in that story Paul told me, on the rooftops – Elysia had to watch her first love be tortured and killed. The demons were making him watch out of pure maliciousness. And in the back of my mind, I just knew it was Paul who decided to make him attend this wedding. Why else would he be brought here?

It was cruel. Heartless. And then I remembered what Paul had said after I had been so disgusted by the story. "It's the way demons are, Suze,"he had said.

I had said that he needn't be like that. That things changed.

But I was wrong. Paul was just as sadistic as the demons had been all those years ago.

I was still watching William. He was pulling at his hair, so obviously in distress, and heartbroken. I could tell, even from where I was, that he was fighting back the tears.

I took a step in his direction, wanting to go comfort him, but was held back by the guard next to me, who grabbed me around the waist. I glared at him in annoyance and disgust – all the demons were the same. They didn't care at all about another persons suffering, even if it was them who were causing it.

And then Isabelle was brought to the front, in a thin white dress, billowing in the strong wind. She looked so scared, her eyes wide. She looked so fragile and vulnerable between all of the large demons guarding her. She was taken to stand opposite Paul, who was still in talks with some elders.

My heartbeat sped up. This was it – it was about to start.

But where was Jesse? He had said he was talking with the council, that he was going to call an immediate meeting. That had been hours ago, now. Were they still talking? It was going to be too late! The wedding was about to start. We had run out of time.

These past few days, spent furiously finding some way to stop this, had gone to waste. But as soon as we were possibly about to get somewhere, it was too late. It was about to be over.

Paul was still speaking to the few men with white beards and long black robes – similar to what all the people around here who had authority were wearing. What was he talking about? Were they still making arrangements now?

There was a commotion in the back of the audience. I could here people suddenly start talking, and the movement of people. And horses hooves.

I turned around, in time to see Jesse make an appearance, storming through the crowd with a determined look on his face.

"Stop this, right now, Paul." He thundered.

Paul sighed, and turned around, looking a little bit peeved. "I told you that you weren't welcome, Jesse."

Jesse was still walking up to the front, coming to stand near Paul. Luckily, he was still talking loud enough for me to hear what he was saying. "You can't do this, Paul. She is from my kingdom, and your demons," he shouted, pointing towards the guards all around, "Took her illegally. It is against the rules for her to even be in your possession, let alone be married to you!"

Jesse was shouting. Jesse never shouted. He never even got angry.

I was shocked, to say the least.

"She agreed to marry me, Jesse. Therefore, this wedding has been allowed." Paul replied stonily.

"She was taken from my land, and I do not approve of it. So no, this wedding isn't being allowed."

Paul smiled, coldly. "Actually, she wasn't taken from you land. She was taken from a small woodland area, around five miles out of your limits. You have no say in whether this goes ahead or not."

I groaned, and looked at William, who looked scared shitless. What an idiot! Why take her away from ruled land? How were we meant to save her if there was no one else with authority with a say against her? That basically just gave Paul the permission to do as he wished – and what he wished was to make Isabelle his queen.

People started talking again, obviously overhearing this conversation like I was. The elders had gathered again, obviously discussing the point that Jesse brought up. But then they turned again and shook their heads, signalling that Jesse's objection was overruled. The wedding was to be allowed.

No!

The last chance was gone. It was all over. There was no way we could save Isabelle anymore.

I was breathing heavily, holding onto my chest. My corset was tight, not allowing me to take the big gulps of air I needed. A searing pain was making its way across my head, my muscles tingled. The wind was making the loose strands of hair whip against my face, the rain getting heavier and weighing down my dress.

Isabelle was moved to stand directly in front of Paul, who was signalling to someone for something.

And then I saw it.

The blood necklace.

No! This was wrong! They couldn't do this – they couldn't subject someone so young and innocent to a life that I had had to endure for the past seven years!

You know, at the start of this whole thing I was pretty upset. You would be too if the person you had given your virginity to went and got engaged to a younger, more innocent girl.

But now? Now I was angry. Severely pissed.

These people, these demons, had no right to change this girl's life so much. And how could the elders and the council let this happen? Were me and Jesse and Abbey the only sane people around here? The only people with morals?

Lightening struck a few hundred metres away, causing people to jump. There was a large crack through the air, and the charge made my muscles tingle. But I was still panicking. Paul was preparing the blood necklace. To destroy it. To replace mine and Paul's blood with his and Isabelle's. For there was only one blood necklace.

My breathing still came out in short gasps, and I had to hold a hand to my head. The throbbing in my head had worsened, making me squint through the pain.

A hand came on my arm.

"Susannah." Jesse was speaking to me urgently. "Susannah, calm down."

I was shaking my head, causing more hair from the bun to fall around my face. My hair was wet from the now heavy rain, sticking to my face. But the pain in my head! Ergh!

I pushed Jesse away, and tried to focus on the ceremony that was about to start. Paul had put the necklace down, and was starting to take blood from Isabelle.

NO! No, no, no, no…

Enough! This wasn't fair!

And then I realised, as what felt like electricity flowed through me, that this was what I had been waiting for. I had given up all hope, but I was still waiting. And this was it.

This was my opportune moment.

I was still faintly aware of Jesse by my side, trying to talk to me. But I blocked it all out, and focused on Paul, who was about to start the ceremony. I had no idea what was happening, what I was doing, but I could feel that with the electricity surging through me, the adrenalin pumping through my veins, that I could do something. I could stop this.

My head was still in agony. But I focused on the pain, the anger running through me. I channelled my emotions, like tapping into them for the first time. So raw, so powerful.

Paul was about to break the blood necklace.

No.

ENOUGH!

I took in a big breath of air, trying to prepare myself for whatever the hell was going on.

"Susannah, NO!"

I let it out, focusing on Paul the entire time. I was almost blinded with bright white light, and I could hear a loud screaming in the background. And then I noticed that it was me. The power, the anger, and all of the emotions running through me were being let out, but my head was throbbing more and more, the pain making my legs give way, so I collapsed, losing focus.

The power lost its strength and moved away from where I had been aiming it, and so I sucked it back in, as if protecting a personal possession. I felt my muscles weaken, the tingling fading into numbness. The bright light dimmed into blackness, and I let it take me.

Enough.

Review, please. :)