Will yawned, his thick lashes covering the blue of his tired eyes. Jessamine looked pouty, her small mouth pinched in a look of disdain. Will had to admit she did look quite pretty in her exquisite gown of red pearls, but as perfect as her looks might have been, they did nothing to shape her treacherous personality. Even Jem looked bored, his dark gray suit offsetting his pallor, making his eyes and hair look brighter than usual. Poor Henry was red faced and flushed as he shifted awkwardly in his military-like black outfit marked with gold runes. His eyes rested on Charlotte as she made her way up the isle.
She was quite beautiful, the gold lacings of her dress and veil bring out the color in her cheeks. As she reached to lift her heavy dress when she made her way up the short steps, Jem could see the quick flash of the Branwell family ring on her finger.
Though Will had memorized the wedding vows by heart from reading The Codex, it was a dull ceremony with the vows going in one ear and coming out the other. Henry took Charlotte's hand as his family ring was returned. Then the marks, placed carefully on their skin with flawless precision. Sealing their marriage with a quick peck on her cheek, Henry lifted his disheveled ginger haired head with a sense of accomplishment.
Standing up as Henry and Charlotte made their way down the isle together, Jem pulled Will up who was starting to nod off in apparent exhaustion. Crossing her arms, Jessamine fixed her white, satin gloves, paying no attention to the ceremony. Much of the same could be said for Will, who was too busy focusing his concentration on the gray curl that had fallen out of place of Aunt Callida's, Charlotte's aunt, bun.
Charlotte glanced at her new rune and then at Henry, a small smile forming on her lips. Pulling out a bronze metal contraption from his paisley pocket, Henry slipped it into Charlotte's hand.
For a moment, she looked almost scared to open it for, as genius as Henry was, his inventions rarely worked. Holding her breath, she fiddled at the small jumbled of clockwork. It burst open, the gears clicking into place as they twisted against each other with unraveled tension. Unlike most of Henry's creations, this was fairly simple, resulting in a successful project.
It had formed into a small, bronze rose; the petals curling outward and thin stem gleaming in the light. Charlotte looked at it in awe, squeezing her husbands hand in thanks. Jem leaned his head against Will's shoulder, taking in a slow inhale of air as if it would help pass time faster. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, wishing that the ceremony could have been slightly more lively.
~~ooo~~
"That was an entire hour that I won't ever get back." Will complained, lying back on the floor of the training room. He spun a dagger on the floor, throwing it aimlessly at the wall. "And I'm turning sixteen today. I don't want to go to a bloody wedding on my birthday, oh, but there just HAD to be one...and an awfully boring one too."
"About that..." Jem said quietly, smiling shyly in the dim light. "I've never really celebrated birthdays...I'm sure you remember when I told you that when we were younger."
"I remember. You must have been raised in a crazy family...then again, you were raised in an Institute." said Will, pushing himself up into a seated position.
"Well, I remember you told me about having nice dinners and small presents on your birthday." Jem pulled out something from behind him and handed it to Will. "Shēngrì kuàilè."
"Vathek?" Will said incredulously, his eye lighting up with amazement. "This has got to be written by the one and only William Beckford."
"It was the second copy ever made. I thought a bookish person like you might want it." Jem shrugged, his face flushed with self-consciousness. "I don't know a thing about books, but I just guessed what you might want."
"No, James. This is great." Looking up at Jem, Will grinned, his fingers already itching instinctively on the worn pages. "I've heard this and Castle of Otranto are quite similar in writing styles, though, why you would know that, is beyond my knowledge."
"Lucky guess?" Jem offered, holding up his hands self-depreciatingly.
"Lucky guess indeed." Will flipped open the book, his thumb rested on the textblock of the book. Grazing his eyes hungrily over the words, Will was quiet, already reading his newly acquired book. His lips moved as if he were reading the book aloud, though no sound came from them. His eyes flitted to the next page, ignoring the chilly wind that swept through the training room.
"Come on." Jem said, holding out his hand to Will. "It's quite cold in here and there is no wood for the fireplace."
"Don't bother me, James. I'm much too busy."
"Come with me back to the main room at least. If you stay in here, you'll catch your death."
"Or possibly demon pox, there is always demon pox." Taking Jem's hand, Will pulled himself up reluctantly. He brushed off his vest, keeping one finger firmly in place between the book pages. Jem opened the training room door, ushering Will outside before closing the door with a dull click. The main room was hardly warmer than the training room, but it was much brighter, giving Will more light for reading.
The door to the institute burst open suddenly, Charlotte helping someone inside. It was a girl, slightly older than Jem and Will. Her face was matted with blood, splattering onto the wooden floors. Silent Brothers trailed after them, their hoods thrown back from their faces as they followed Charlotte into the infirmary.
"Finally." Will said, looking up from his book. "Something exciting."
