Chapter Thirty Five

"Matrimonial"

I fled through the Castle's vast grounds, ignoring the rules of them being out of bounds after dark - like I cared about rules right now. My dress was in serious danger of tripping me up at any moment as I became entangled within the vast folds of material and the high heals on my feet weren't helping much either. Stopping for a moment, I slipped the silver heals from my feet and clasped them in one hand, as I yanked the skirt of my dress together in the other and bunched it up, giving me access to run faster, to escape this living nightmare, this utter humiliation and escape into the darkness of the night.

Tears were streaming down my face now. I was beyond caring and didn't have the strength to fight them back anymore. There was just no point in anything anymore - my life was over. Since my life was Henry and he had decided he no longer wanted me. He'd crushed me in the worst possible way - giving me hope and then snatching it away from me in one fell swoop. My life would be nothing without him.

Stumbling across the gardens, I tripped over my own damn feet. "Fuck you!" I screamed out loud up at the sky as the tears smeared my make up. "What have I ever done wrong?" I demanded, frustrated and angry with the world, angry with the whole universe. "Go pick on someone else…haven't you done enough to me, now you take my love away from me?" I clutched at my chest, an empty ache where my heart used to be. "You bastards!" I cussed to all and sundry, not really sure who my anger was aimed at.

As I righted myself, fighting with the damn dress again, I caught sight of a figure sat quietly on a bench under a garden gazebo. I sighed, I didn't really want to bump into anyone right now - with the state I was in I simply wanted to be left alone. Right now all I wanted was to run and hide away forever.

The figure looked up sharply, obviously having heard my unladylike cursing and the heart wrenching sobs.

"Cat?" The voice of the figure called.

I whirled in astonishment towards the sound. Henry?! It couldn't be…but as I took a few steps closer, there was no denying it was him sat statuesque on the garden bench. What the hell was he doing here? Rage overwhelmed me as I marched over to him and before the thought even lodged in my overwrought mind, the pair of shoes in my hand were flying through the air and slamming into him. I was silently thrilled when one of them smacked him in the head.

"You stupid asshole!" I spat at him, wishing I had kept one of the shoes to pummel him with.

"Cat?" his eyebrows puckered. "What are you doing out here? What…what's wrong?" he seemed genuinely confused as he stood from the bench to meet me.

"Oh, don't be a bigger jerk than you already are!" I screamed at him. "How could you do this to me? Why? What did I do deserve this?" The sobs were back and I struggled with the words.

"Deserve what?" he asked calmly, taking hold of my shoulders and dipping his head to look into my face. "I don't understand. What's happened?" He peered curiously at me.

"All I ever did was love you," I choked the words out, ignoring his ridiculous questions. "But you just keep screwing with me. I hate you Henry Fitzroy! I hate you!" I pounded my fists against his chest as I broke down in further sobs and tears flooded my face.

"Catalina," Henry spoke my name softly and gently held me in his arms, too weak now to support myself. "What, what is it? What have I done?"

His apparent ignorance and blasé attitude riled me more as I shoved him away. "Don't act stupid! You know damn well what you did! Now let me go. I never want to see you again!" I struggled away from him as he held fast onto my arms.

"Not until you tell me what you're screaming at me for. Sit down," he ordered and pulled me beside him on the bench. "Now…tell me what I did?"

I snorted at him. Was he a complete idiot? How could he possibly not know?

"You're late!" I muttered eventually, understating the obvious.

"I am?" he checked his pocket watch in alarm. "Damn! I am…" he realised. "I'm so sorry…I, I lost track of the time, I…"

"Ha! Yeah right…what utter crap!" I sniffed loudly, wishing I had a tissue with me - this was not a pretty picture. "You changed your mind, didn't you?" I avoided looking at his face - I couldn't bear to see the rejection in his eyes again.

He exhaled a large gust of air. "Yes…I mean, no, not like you're thinking," he quickly clarified. "I just…"

"You weren't coming…" I whispered barely audible as I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. "You don't….you don't want me," I choked the words over another sob.

"Hey, will you let me explain?" he asked, his voice soft and warm. He tenderly held my face between his palms, forcing me to look at him. A look of distress flashed across his features and I was suddenly conscious of the frightful mess I must have looked with tears pouring down my face, smudged make up, hair awry and a runny nose. "I made you cry," he whispered, sounding horrified. "I…did this to you." his eyes frowned whilst his thumbs gently wiped some of the tears away. "I'm so sorry…I…"

"Henry," I mumbled, trying to pull away from him. He was only making this harder.

"Right…I should explain," he sighed and sorted through his words. "My intention was never to stand you up or to hurt you or cause you pain. Though I know that I have and I hate myself for that." There was practically tears in his eyes. "I just…I needed to think. I lost track of the time. I'm sorry…I was coming, I promise I was…"

"To break it to me gently, huh?" I scoffed, as I sniffled some more.

"No, to marry you." His eyes scowled again. I couldn't decide if he was angry with me or himself.

"Yeah, right. That's why you were sat out here having second thoughts. You just got caught. You know, for a 500 year old vampire, you're pretty slow," I mocked him.

Henry sighed deeply. "I hurt you, again…I'm sorry. So very sorry…I've never wanted to hurt you. I just, I want you to try and understand something, alright? Will you listen to me?" he requested.

I rolled my eyes and sniffed again. "I suppose so," I muttered.

He realised that was the best he was going to get as he let go of my face and his hand slid down my arms, until he caught my hands in his and held them gently. His eyes fixed on mine and he took a deep unnecessary breath before he spoke. "Have you ever…been so completely terrified of finally getting exactly what you've desired for years?"

I frowned at him, not understanding. He must have read the confusion in my eyes as he tried again.

"Okay, try it this way. Imagine there's one thing, the only thing it seems has been missing from your life for more years than you care to remember. Now imagine you're on the verge of getting it, yet you're terrified of messing it up in some way. You want it so badly, but you're afraid if you hold it too tight, you might ruin it. That it could slip right through your hands and cause pain, not only to yourself, but to the one you love also." He searched my eyes, hoping I was following him. "That's how I feel about you. I want you so much, you're everything I've been searching for. But, lately I've been wondering if I'm selfish. Am I offering you this hope of us making it work merely to spend another year with you? What if we can't? How do I live with myself…knowing I took your life from you…for my own selfish reasons…simply because I can't bear to lose you?. So…I had to think, hard, before it was too late. Ask myself if I'm doing the right thing here, for you." His eyes implored with me to understand him.

"Okay, first of all, Mr 'Melodramatic, I'm such a tortured soul', you're not taking anything from me…we decided on this together, I want this. Besides you know you'll practically be saving me…I'm not going to live much of a normal life with this curse in my system anyway."

"Well, yes, maybe," he frowned. "But…"

"No. No buts and no maybe's, you know this is the only way. Without you I barely have weeks to live. I could die any day. With you I'm guaranteed another year at the least…a year to be with you. My parents won't have to grieve for me. I won't have to say goodbye to friends right now, or to this world. You're not simply offering me an empty hope, you're giving me a future. A future we can both share. That's not in the least bit selfish."

"Only if we can make it work," he cautioned, holding one finger up. "But, also I just wanted to be sure you know…for both of us I mean…if we make this work…this is really forever. Not the romantic notion of the word - but for all eternity. No going back." He lowered his head and appeared embarrassed as he toyed with my hands. "Do you think you can put up with me that long?" he looked up again.

He gave me such an impish grin, I couldn't help but laugh at him. "Yes," I smiled for the first time in the last couple of hours. He still wanted me, still loved me…he wanted to marry me and yet he thought that was being selfish! My silly, tortured, vulnerable, loving vampire. I stroked his cheek with my hand.

"I've been a fool, haven't I?" he asked, nuzzling into my hand and then turning his head to kiss the palm.

I nodded. "You could say that."

"Seeing you, so upset, knowing I caused that….it almost broke my heart. The way I felt when I saw you in tears, I knew then how much I love you…how much I want you, that I want this, so badly. And I know it's a risk, but isn't everything?" he shrugged, speaking to himself. "So…Cat, will you still marry me?"

I nodded and kissed his lips softly.

"Let's go then," he whispered as we parted, standing and taking my hand.

"What? Now? I'm a mess, look at me!" I shrieked, wondering what state I was in.

"I am and you're perfect," he whispered, wiping a streak of mascara from my cheek and tucking a few lose strands of hair back into place that must have been wrenched free when I tore the tiara from my head.

I tried to do everything at once as I hastily ran my hands over my face whilst looking down at myself, not believing him for a second that I looked perfect, trying to smooth the creases from my dress and looking around for my shoes.

He'd already found them and knelt before me, placing them on my feet. "You're beautiful and I can't wait to be your husband. Lets go get married!" he murmured, before he kissed me again and then led me back towards the castle.

*****

"Happy? Mrs Fitzroy?" Henry asked, using my new name for the first time as he whirled me elegantly around the dance floor.

"Hmm, yes," I sighed in contentment as I lay my head on his shoulder and held him just a little tighter.

To say that our guests had been surprised when I returned, with Henry in tow, was a slight understatement. Coreen had literally stood their, mouth agape for a few seconds before she came to her senses and whisked me off into that side room again, fixing my hair and make up so as I looked…as good as I had before. I wouldn't quite go as far as Henry to declare that I looked beautiful, but I knew I looked better than I usually did.

"Did I tell you, how beautiful you look tonight?" Henry asked as the song finished and he led me from the dance floor for a small breather.

"Just a few times," I grinned at him as he pulled me close and kissed the side of my head. "And by the way, you look exceptionally handsome tonight."

Now that all the drama was dealt with and things had calmed down somewhat, I'd been able to look him over and give him my utmost approval. It was almost as if he knew what I would be wearing - though I wasn't quite ruling out the vampire mind reading thing here - sometimes he seemed far too intuitive! But he stood beside me now wearing a long dark purple frock coat over a white poet shirt - the frilly cuffs hung below the cuff of his jacket. Skin tight black pants and boots completed the outfit.

"You kinda look like a very sexy pirate," I chuckled to myself. "I like it."

"And you look like my medieval Princess…the princess I should have married almost 500 years ago, I think I'm long overdue," he smirked as he handed me a drink and took some water for himself.

Since the ceremony was over, along with admiring my husband…my husband, I could get used to that! But now I could fully appreciate the decorations in the room as well. On every available flat service sat lit red, black and white candles, alongside vases overflowing with black, white and red roses. Twinkle lights hung from the ceiling, creating the whole room in a magical, almost fairytale scene - perfect for a wedding such as ours. I would have to remember to thank Coreen properly later!

We had an informal buffet, with waiters carrying various trays of food and drinks to our small cluster of guests. That way it wouldn't be obvious that Henry wasn't eating - he could be seen to pick food up, only to feed it to me later and no one would be any the wiser.

"Can I cut in for a dance with the groom?" my Mum appeared beside us.

"Oh, um…sure," I replied and stood back. Henry handed me his glass and waltzed back onto the dance floor with my mother.

"Shall we?" my Dad asked, offering me his hand.

"Okay," I answered a little warily - concerned I was about to get my feet trodden on. As a rule my Dad didn't dance, I wasn't so sure he knew how. But I put down both glasses and indulged him for the moment. After all, who knew when, or if I would get to spend time with my parents again.

As the dance grew to a close, Henry mercifully reclaimed me - I understood now why my father avoided the dance floor!

"Let's go for a walk," he suggested and headed for the large double doors leading onto the terrace and out into the castle grounds.

We walked for awhile in silence, just holding hands, content to be with one another, to contemplate the day and revel in the fact we were now man and wife…or in our case, vampire and wife. Upon reaching the gazebo once more, we took a seat on the bench and cuddled into one another.

"It's a gorgeous night," I commented, gazing up at the moon and the stairs.

"Mmm, it is," Henry agreed but he wasn't looking at the sky, he was gazing at me.

I laughed at him and shook my head wryly. He gave me his wide, breathtaking grin in response, before leaning in to kiss my lips.

"I just wanted a few moments alone with you," he whispered, stealing another brief kiss.

"So, do you like the venue?" I wondered.

"It's very fitting, who's idea was this?"

"Well, Coreen made the suggestion - all overly excitable about it of course. And I thought it was one of her better ideas. This place is perfect for us to get married in - a castle - given your history. Hey…" I suddenly thought, "if Augustus didn't bring you here…and this was supposed to be a secret…how did you know where to come to?"

He laughed and looked away.

"Henry?" I whined.

"Well…it wasn't that much of a secret. Coreen paid for everything with my credit card, right?" I nodded…he'd told us to - he'd insisted that he was paying for everything. "Well…the statement came through yesterday, with a booking for this place on it. I just used common sense."

"Oh…damn," I whispered. I'd so wanted to surprise him.

"Don't worry my love…you still surprised me, just a little earlier. And I couldn't have imagined all the decorations or the big production inside…it's all been perfect."

"Yes, it has," I sighed. "We must remember to thank Coreen appropriately. We'd never have pulled this wedding off without her, even if she was annoying with it!"

Henry laughed loudly and I joined in. As the chuckles dwindled, we sat in content silence once more - his arm around me and my head on his shoulder, each deep in our own thoughts.

"What are you thinking about?" Henry asked, his tone a gentle whisper.

Ah…so he couldn't mind read then, I giggled inwardly. What a stupid notion, of course he couldn't!

"Fate," I breathed. "If I had left the castle in a different direction…"

"You mean stormed out of there," Henry interrupted.

"What?" I sat up to look into his face.

"Coreen told me, said it was quite a spectacular exit," he chuckled.

I made a face at him and elbowed him softly in the ribs. "But if I had left a different way. If I hadn't tripped and saw you sat here…if you hadn't sat here, but somewhere else…we might not be married right now. The whole thing could be off…" I trailed off.

"That's a lot of 'ifs' there," he pulled me just that little bit closer.

"I know. But don't you see…it was all meant to happen…it was fate, destiny, kismet…call it what you will, you and I are meant to be together."

"You don't have to convince me love," Henry kissed my forehead.

"Maybe even…maybe that needed to happen before we got married. Maybe we needed that talk to sort things out, make sure we were both completely sure before fully committing to each other and…what's coming next."

"Perhaps you're right," he sighed. "But I am so sorry you had to get so upset, I hate to make you cry. It breaks my heart, undead as it is, to see you cry and in such distress. I'll make another vow to you, right now. You will never have to cry again because of me, because of something I did. I'm not going to do that to you."

"That's a pretty big vow to make…not easy to keep."

"I promise, swear on all that's holy," he made the Catholic sign of the cross on his body. "I am not going to do anything to make you cry."

"Henry, really…it doesn't matter. Because…you're worth the tears," I lifted my head from his shoulder and looked at him, a smile on my lips.

He offered me his breathtaking smile that I loved, the one I would never get used to in all eternity. His soft lips were on mine in the next breath…and I responded to him instinctively as he held me close. It felt familiar, yet all new at the same time. He was my husband now…maybe that changed things?

The kiss deepened as my hands wound around his neck and I drank in the scent and taste of him as our tongues and lips melded together. He growled lightly, a low reverberating sound deep in his throat that made me shiver against him and his hold on me tightened.

Finally I had to pull away, if only for the simple fact that I had to breathe. Momentarily I began to imagine what this would be like, what sex would be like between us when breathing was no longer such an issue and I blushed deeply.

"What?" he asked, catching my face flush.

"Nothing," I grinned at him, hiding my face in his neck and nibbling at him. "Did you eat...before?" my voice was mumbled against his skin, but he understood.

"Uh huh," he murmured…he loved it when I nibbled at him - his neck was sensitive.

"Fancy a snack?" I asked, lifting my head slightly and smirking at him as my head titled to the side, my long red curls flowing down my back, exposing my neck.

He growled again. "We shouldn't," he muttered, not being able to take his gaze from the tender skin of my throat.

"No one will see," I glanced around hastily. "And it's our wedding day, we can do anything we please." I murmured, fixing my hand to the back of his neck and dragging his head down towards mine.

A sexy, animalistic snarl left his lips before the sharp fangs scratched against my skin and pierced the vein effortlessly. I shuddered against him as my blood flowed into his mouth, becoming aroused by the act as he shared the passion with me. I held his head close to me, my eyes closed and I moaned softly.

"My goodness…can't you two wait!" snapped someone behind us.

My eyes flew open and I saw Vicki's mother, my aunt, over Henry's shoulder. She was stood in the garden smoking a cigarette, her mouth agape and staring at us appalled.

"Good God…you'll be free to do whatever you please soon enough. You could try to control yourself a little longer. Never seen such indecent behaviour!"

Henry had healed the wound and licked his lips free of any blood before he lifted his head. He gave me a quick wink before turning towards Marjory. "Jealous?" he asked.

I sniggered and smacked his shoulder as I hid my face in his chest.

"Oh my…I never….such rudeness!" she stammered as she hurried away, still muttering about our apparent lack of respect or self control.

Henry and I dissolved into fits of hysterics, thankful that she just assumed we'd been too eager with each other, rather than the fact he was actually drinking my blood. Once we calmed down again, he took my hand and suggested we should head back to our reception.

Approaching the terrace, I could just about make out the shape of a couple in a passionate embrace in the shadows, out of sight of the open door. Judging by the movements they were obviously locked in a kiss.

Henry snorted to himself, he could obviously see who it was with his eyesight. "Get a room!" he taunted the couple as we walked towards them. Only as we passed them and the light glinted off her glasses did I realise that it was Mike and Vicki, really going for it in a tipsy encounter.

"Oh my God!" I giggled in surprise. I knew those two still had feelings for one another…but I thought they were both far too stubborn to ever do anything about it.

"It's about damn time," Henry commented.

"Yes, they belong together." I agreed.

"Perfectly matched," he kissed the tip of my nose. " Just like you and me."

A few snacks for the human, a couple of dances and the slicing of the cake later, and Henry announced it was time we were leaving. We had a couple of hours drive ahead of us and it was obviously important we made it to safety before dawn - and with a little luck with time to consummate the marriage! I had no idea where he was taking me. Truth be told, given our circumstances, I wasn't expecting a honeymoon. But he told me he was doing this properly and he was going to give me a proper wedding and everything that went with that. And I was willing to go along with whatever he decided upon.

"Goodbye sweetheart," Mum hugged me close and kissed the top of my head. "Have a lovely time…"

I nodded, a sudden lump the size of Mount Everest had lodged itself in my throat and I couldn't speak. This was just too hard…how did you say goodbye to someone you loved when it was likely you'd never see them again?

"Hey, don't cry," she whispered. "It's still your wedding day, be happy." She pulled a tissue from her bag and dabbed at my eyes.

I sniffed and offered her half a smile. "I'll miss you," I sobbed.

"You'll see me again. Maybe you could both come over for Christmas?" she suggested.

I cried even harder, knowing that would be an impossibility. I didn't know when my change would happen, and even if we held off until after the holidays, it would be too risky for Henry to go. "We'll see," I managed to choke.

"Okay, now stop crying, and go and enjoy that husband of yours," she instructed me with a smile, though she was crying now too.

I nodded again. "I love you Mum," I held her tight again and breathed in the smell of her, trying to ingrain it upon my senses for ever more. "I'll call you," I promised - about the only thing I would be able to do. But it was better than my being dead, I reminded myself - this was kinder to my parents. I knew that…but it was so damn hard!

"You'd better," she laughed and kissed me again. "Have a wonderful time," she pushed me away slightly, otherwise I don't think I would ever have left her. She went over to say bye to Henry and possibly to give him last minute instructions on treating her daughter right.

"Bye Dad," I whispered, looking up at him through my tears.

"Goodbye love," he gave me a half hearted hug - he was never one for showing his love or emotions. He'd always been rather…distant with me in the past and nothing much had changed. "Have a nice time and don't forget to call your mother."

"I won't," I nodded. "Love you Dad," I added and gave him a big hug - damn his awkwardness, this might be the last chance I got.

"Yeah, you too," he muttered and placed a brief, uneasy kiss on my cheek. "Now, off you go…" he pushed me towards Henry, who wrapped his arms around me, waved to our other guests we'd already said our goodbyes to and ran to the car, amidst a shower of rice - courtesy of Coreen!!

"Are you sure about this?" Henry asked me as we drove away, glancing at me in concern. "You're so upset about leaving your parents."

I nodded as I wiped my eyes on the sodden tissue in my hands. "Yes," I managed to whisper, attempting to calm myself down. "I'll miss them, but I can still call them, and email, right?"

He nodded, "of course you can. Anytime."

"Then it's better for them to know I'm alive, and happy with you. I don't want them to mourn my death if they don't have to. This way they can be happy for me…"

"Well, if you're sure. I don't like to think of you being upset. But, you know, it's not going to get any easier, losing people you love."

"I'll get through it, with you." I offered him a watery smile. When in actual fact that thought terrified me - it was the only burden I could see of becoming a vampire. Losing my parents…watching my sister and brother grow old and die. Imagining my six year old niece as a great grandmother one day - it all seemed very surreal to me at the moment, but I knew it would happen some day…if we survived the year. And I was suddenly aware of the fact that being a vampire, being immortal, was not going to be easy at all.

But at least I would be with Henry…my love, my soul mate, forever.