Title: The Slayer Bride Part 6/?
Author: Lora Darcy
Email: lora_darcy@yahoo.com
A/N: Done a bit of revisions for you guys. Tweaked the chapter a bit. Plan to post Chapter 6 very shortly. (And it is sooo good, if I do say so myself!)
Chapter Five: The Announcement
What, with one thing and another, four years passed.
The main street of Sunnydale city was filled as never before, awaiting the introduction of Princess Glory's groom-to-be, "Prince" Riley of Iowa. A large crowd had begun to assemble days in advance. There were no empty tables at the Expresso Pump. People packed into the street, anxious for a glimpse of the Prince. Hours before the event, the roads swelled with hoards of citizens who had heard implausible tales of the new Prince's looks and charm. All the tabloids were filled with stories of Prince Riley or of the aging and increasingly senile Queen Drusilla. Each tale seemed more implausible than the next.
At noon, Glory appeared at a specially designed stage in the middle of the street. She raised her arms, expensive jewelry glittering in the sunlight, and began to speak.
"My precious people. Today's the start of a big time for the 'Dale. God knows--Whoops! Sorry there. Didn't mean to bring the big G into it. Anyway, you've all heard already how Queen mommy dearest isn't doing cartwheels any more. She's gone and decided to get sick (in more ways than one) and the little docs all say that means its time for me to give up bachlorette lifestyle."
The crowd began to stir. At last, they hoped to learn the truth behind the rumors. The Princess would tell them about Prince Riley of Iowa.
"In a month, Sunnydale is having our 400th anniversary. That night, I'm going to have a big party: I'm getting married."
The crowd began to "ooh" and "ah."
"Yup, that's right. And I'm marrying a guy who used to be nothing more than your regular corn-fed college Cub Scout." Glory paused dramatically.
"Now for the big introduction. All my people, meet Prince Riley Finn of Iowa." From out of the movie theatre an extremely handsome and well-dressed Riley Finn emerged and slowly began to make his way through the mass of people and towards Glory's stage.
And the entire crowd, quite literally, dropped their jaws.
The older "Prince" Riley was miles away from his younger, non-stop-mope-fest self. He was resplendent, he was handsome, he was somehow… hot. His figure faults were gone: his stomach was now well-muscled; his shoulders and arms finally appeared proportional to the rest of his body. His hair, which had once been dirty blonde, was still mostly dirty blonde, except that before, he had only gone to a barber, whereas now he had a hair-stylist and his own colorist to create that pleasant "sun-kissed" effect. (This was long after highlights. In fact, highlights have been around for thousands of years. As long as there have been blondes, there has existed "blonde envy" necessitating the use of hair dye. Sir Lancelot was the first to hire his own, personal colorist to ensure up-to-the-moment root maintenance.)
"Okay, that's enough," Glory hissed through her teeth, grabbing Riley's hand. (He had reached her side by this point.) "We can't have you out there too much. Or we'll have to worry about over-exposure. I don't want our approval ratings to go down because of that. People get tired of seeing the same people all the time, like with Ashton and Demi. Or Bennifer. Now go!" Glory pushed Riley toward the back of the stage, allowing herself one last moment in the spot-light. In fact, she was quite a bit jealous of Riley. Her little people never gasped or dropped their jaws over her, the real Princess. Glory certainly thought they should. Some things just weren't fair….
After a moment, however, Glory gave up, and the royal family, along with the new fiancé, headed back to their mansion.
No one in attendance would ever forget that day. None of them had ever been so close to a person like Riley. He was one of the elite, a seemingly perfect kind of guy. Some were amazed by Riley's humble smile and kind eyes. Others were awed by his athletic build. Some decided to reserve any judgments until they knew more about him. And, inevitably, there were those who were envious of him. A portion of the crowd even hated him.
And only three were planning to murder him.
But –
–in the farthest end of the street–
–on the roof of the highest apartment complex–
–dark in the darkest corner–
–the lady in leather stood waiting.
Her stiletto boots were black and leather. Her pants were black leather and her coat. A medieval silver cross dangled from a black leather necklace. The mask over her eyes was made from a smooth and light leather fabric. But the most leather of all was in her dead eyes.
Dead and callous and heartless….