With a long dark sigh, Meryl stared at herself in the vanity mirror. She didn't look anything like herself at the moment. Hair done up in curlers, a facial mask colored her skin green, and she wore an atrocious pink fluffy bathrobe. It wasn't her. She wasn't fluffy or fancy, she was just herself, the working girl who chose derringers to get her in and out of situations that were oftentimes dangerous. But Meryl was happy that way, it was the profession she chose, and after the one bad experience of being girlie, she decided never to do it again.
So why was she back? Meryl avoided setting her hand on her facial mask, her fingers up her jawbone in order to rest her head on her palm. Elbow on the cold marble surface of the vanity and she closed her eyes. There were about five more minutes to this stupid facial when Betty, Lynn and Milly would sure to be back to check on her and finish the beautifying. Meryl wasn't sure what irked her most, the fact that she was preparing for Milly's wedding or the fact that Milly knew she wasn't girlie and yet she was making her dress up anyway.
It wouldn't go very far. She was sure it was just a prank between Vash and Milly. At least Meryl hoped so because… Because… Meryl opened her eyes looking into her own reflection. She looked right at herself and said, "Because it's just not fair, that's why." And it wasn't. Her last relationship was more of a convenience than anything. She agreed to marry George because he was moving to December City and wanted her to go with him. They moved in together and after the first week he broke up with her because she wasn't going to sleep in the same room, or the same bed with him until they were married! He didn't want to get married until they could buy a house together, and she just couldn't justify living with him any longer. She found a job at Bernadelli a few days before and met Milly who was struggling to keep an apartment by herself.
Things worked out well, Meryl needed a place to sleep and Milly needed a roommate. By the end of the week they were drinking buddies, complaining about men and families and needs and wants and when they got depressed they went to the firing range together. The truth was, Meryl needed a friend more than she had realized, and it was very clear to her that Milly couldn't get along with out her either. It wasn't just because they worked together, they came to depend on each other for support.
Maybe that was the reason she felt abandoned when Milly went out drinking with Vash that first night. Meryl didn't want to hang out with the womanizer, it hurt her four ways to New Miami when he didn't so much as flash her a glance, but he'd flirt with everything else that had breasts. Meryl glanced down at herself and sighed even louder… "Oh, so that's the reason…" Milly was fairly well endowed… Meryl shook her head, it couldn't be because of that. They were drunk, that's all, and then they just got carried away and now it was leading up to something that they wouldn't be able to reverse, and Meryl knew she just had to stop it. But how?
Leaving them alone was obviously not working. Plan C failed too apparently. Meryl thought by letting Mr. Vash take Milly back with him, then maybe they would have realized they didn't have any real feelings for one another and it would all end… Meryl turned and glanced at the clock behind her. The wedding was in two hours. She lifted a hand to her head and reached between the curlers to scratch a spot that was pulling. Two hours to deadline and she didn't have a single clue at how to stop the wedding from happening.
Five minutes elapsed as she sat wracking her brains until the "wedding-nazi trio" arrived. "Meryl! Are you ready for the last touches?" Milly bounced in and sat down next to Meryl at the vanity, her hair already curled and falling around her face in little ringlets. She was glowing, simply beautiful. Meryl sighed.
"Sure Milly."
"Oh good! All right Betty, do your magic!" Milly clapped her hands together and put her hand down on Meryl's arm. "I'm so glad you're here with me right now." She turned to the mirror and pushed a ringlet out of her eyes. Meryl watched her and wondered where Milly's girlie side had come from. Milly was always the definition of tomboy. She had trouble putting on nylons when they were working in the office. Milly never wore makeup, never did anything more than brush out her hair, and yet look at her! She was the beautiful blond haired, blue eyed, girlie-girl that both of them always made fun of when they went shopping in the marketplace. How had this happened?
As Meryl felt the curlers tugged out of her hair, she watched as Milly toyed with the little silver necklace that Vash had given her. Meryl's eyes widened, so, it was him. He did this to her… Meryl wanted to kill him for taking away her friend. It tore her apart inside because she also wanted to give him a big hug for making Milly so very happy… One of the curlers was tugged too abruptly and Meryl let out a noise of dismay. Betty apologized and Milly turned to look at her.
"You okay, Meryl?"
Meryl didn't bother to look at her, "Sure, sure, just fine."
"You sure don't seem fine," Milly said, her mouth turned down in a frown. She knew that Meryl wasn't enjoying this at all…. Of course, she wasn't enjoying it either, the nylons she wore were riding up in places she didn't know they could, something was pinching in an odd area near her armpit, and she swore there was a bobby pin in her ear. She swallowed, maybe the game was going too far. Milly played with her necklace thinking about how disappointed Vash would be if they stopped the game right then… But maybe it would be okay, Meryl would be happy again and everything could go back to normal, right? "Maybe I should tell you that…"
Her good intentions were suddenly put on hold when a knock at the door announced the arrival of a guest. "Come in!" Lynn sing-songed. She went over to the door and opened it to reveal a very handsome priest dressed in a very nice tuxedo. "Why, hello!" Lynn was blushing as she stepped back, "You have a visitor."
Milly's heart pattered in her chest and she froze. What was she thinking? This was Mr. Priest! She couldn't look at him like that… But goodness gracious did he look so handsome wearing that outfit! She felt a blush rising on her cheeks as she turned away, only she faced the mirror and could still see him. choosing to stare at herself instead, she waited to see what Wolfwood was going to say.
"I need to talk to you a minute," he put out a hand to Meryl and Betty slapped his hand away.
"She's not finished!"
Wolfwood shot her a dark look and Meryl turned in her chair much to the older woman's dismay. "I'll be back in a minute." She stood and gave Milly a glance, "I promise." Then, leaving with Wolfwood, they went out into the hallway and closed the door. The priest didn't say a word as they walked down the little hallway to the back door and slipped out into the sunshine. When they knew they were alone they both said in unison.
"We've got to stop this."
Meryl raised her hands in defeat, "I'm out of ideas."
"Same here… He made me spend every last double dollar on renting this tuxedo and buying him a celebratory drink at the bar." Wolfwood tugged at his bowtie and Meryl slapped his hand away and adjusted it for him without thinking. He looked down on her in curiosity until she realized what she was doing and stepped back.
"Sorry."
Nicholas smiled, "No problem. Looks like you've had experience with this before. You have a brother or something?"
"A boyfriend in high school," Meryl replied. She shook her head, trying to get back to business, "Where's Mr. Vash now?"
Hitching a thumb over his shoulder, Wolfwood said, "He's at the church. They're getting the last minute touches on the sanctuary." He reached out and grabbed Meryl's shoulders, "This is just not right. I was pretty sure they would fold by now but I don't think this game is going to end until all of our cards are on the table." They both stared at each other until Meryl closed her eyes.
"I fold."
Wolfwood's jaw dropped open, "What! You can't just bail on me now! What about you liking Needle Noggin?"
"I like Milly better, she's my best friend," Meryl shot back. "If marrying Vash will make her happy than I guess I'll just have to go along with it." She gently lifted the priest's hands from her shoulders and she started to turn. "I need to finish getting ready."
"But it can't end like this!"
Meryl shrugged, not bothering to look at him, "Why not let them have the happy ever after?"
"Because we haven't even faced the villain yet!" Nicholas saw Meryl stop in her tracks and he continued, "Did you ever stop to think that maybe there's an evil magician waiting to take away your cute partner? Make her suffer? Vash may be the hero of this story, but until the bad guy is destroyed there will never be a happy ending."
"What makes you think there is a villain in this story?"
"There's always one."
Turning to him again, Meryl looked at Wolfwood, trying to read his expression. She felt a lump form in her stomach. His cold gray eyes spoke of something horrible about to come. He knew something none of the rest of them did… What could it be? Who could… That man, that man Vash was looking for… The one he mentioned when the women in Enepril City caught him. "Do you know who Vash is searching for?"
Wolfwood frowned, "I do." He didn't say anything more and Meryl knew she would never receive an answer from him if she pried for more. Suddenly she was afraid, very afraid for Milly…
"But what if he never finds him? What if Vash and Milly were just to marry, have children, grow old and have a happy ending?"
"If Vash doesn't find him, he'll find Vash," the priest said simply.
Meryl felt a tug in her stomach and she turned again, then back, unable to process the conversation they were having at the moment. How had this turned so bad so quickly? Would things really get as bad as the priest was hinting? Maybe he was simply trying to scare her into changing her mind! She lifted an eyebrow… "Is this your plan?"
"What?"
"To get me scared and then go back in there and scare Milly too…"
"It's all the truth."
Shaking her head, Meryl crossed her hands over her chest. "You only just met Vash a couple weeks ago. How would you know anything about him?"
Wolfwood's mouth shut abruptly and he looked at her. Uh oh. If he argued with her now than his whole position would be blown. He couldn't let her know that he was actually working for the bad guy of the story… Nicholas looked down at her and decided he had to change the conversation and fast. "I like your bathrobe," he said with a smirk.
Meryl looked down at herself and she shrieked, realizing the facial mask was still on her face! She squealed and took off into the building again. Wolfwood smiled at himself then hit his forehead with a hand. "That's no good! We still don't know how to stop the wedding!" Grumbling to himself, he pulled a cigarette from the tux pocket and lit it, shaking out the match as he walked down the alleyway to the main street.
The church was decked out with white streamers and paper flowers. There were women and men bustling in and out of the church, people dressed in fancy dresses and talking amongst themselves. Someone waved at him as he came up the steps and said, "Are you in the wedding party?"'
He nodded and was led into the side hall of the church where Vash was sitting at a small table eating a donut. The gunman looked up at him as he arrived and waved at him to sit down. "Hey Wolfwood, how are the girls?"
"Almost ready. The little girl has quite a bit more work to go, but the big girl only needs her dress," he thought about how pretty they were both going to look and glanced at Vash. The gunman looked completely different in a black tuxedo, but he noticed that he still had the mandatory bright red bowtie and cummerbund. "Needle Noggin, I have to ask you something."
Vash swallowed down the last bit of his donut and said, "Yeah, what?"
Wolfwood tried to think of the best way to say it, but realized bluntness would be the best in this circumstance, "You can't marry the insurance girl."
A chuckle arose in Vash's throat and he tried to stifle it but to no avail. After a moment he was laughing heartily and even the priest started to laugh after that. "You really think so," he managed after a moment.
"Yeah, I really do… Quite the gag you've been pulling on us…"
Suddenly Vash stopped laughing, "It's not a gag."
The laughter died in Wolfwood's throat. "What do you mean it's not? You can't be seriously thinking about marrying the big girl, can you?"
"Why not?"
"Because…" Wolfwood gritted his teeth. The secret was going to come out at this rate! He squeezed his hands into fists, and continued in a different vein, "Because, danger follows you everywhere and if you marry her she's just going to get hurt and it's going to haunt you the rest of your life."
Vash's eyes narrowed, and he looked away. The priest was right. Of course he was. It was also the reason that after this day the game he was playing with Milly would end and he'd be unhappy again. He already felt like playtime was over and it was time to move on… But just a few more hours was all he wanted… Just a little bit more time… But Wolfwood was right, eventually he would even have to leave both of the insurance girls behind, no matter how much he wanted them to be there by his side, to keep him company and amuse him. If he found Knives… It would all end. "I know," he said finally.
"So you'll stop this?"
Shaking his head, Vash looked Wolfwood straight in the eye, "Nope." He smiled and stood up.
"Why not!" Nicholas squawked.
The gunman smiled, "Because…" His smile wavered a moment, "Because I've always wondered what it would be like to live a normal life, and I'm afraid this may be the only chance I have left. Do you understand?" He turned away and walked down the hall, "I'll see you in the front of the sanctuary in an hour. Oh look, the guests are starting to arrive." His heart felt heavy and he went into the bathroom, locked the door, and started to cry.
hr
By three o'clock the town was abuzz about a wedding that was taking place at the Holy Light Chapel, and people were already dressing up to attend. Milly stood behind a folding screen trying to figure out how to work the latches on the back of her dress. Meryl peered around the screen, "Do you need any help Milly?"
"Oh yes, thank you Meryl," Milly said, turning so that Meryl could finish working the latches on her wedding dress. She looked down at the dress wondering if she'd ever be able to wear a dress like this for a real wedding… Her eyes went wide, she was having so much fun, and it only now occurred to her that it wasn't a real wedding and the entire town… Everyone was expecting to see a real wedding! Swallowing, Milly remembered something her big middle brother said, 'Lies are like sandworm tunnels, they don't appear on the surface until suddenly the ground gives way and a whole farm disappears into the sand…' She suddenly didn't feel very good, and she put her hand to her neck.
"Are you feeling okay Milly? This dress isn't too tight is it? You've gone pale…" Meryl turned her around looking worried. Was Milly going through wedding jitters? Maybe things were sinking in that it was going too quickly. "Shall we call it off? Maybe it was too soon…"
Milly played with the little silver necklace around her neck, and shook her head. "No, I'm fine Meryl… It has nothing to do with that." She closed her eyes trying to get back into character, the blushing bride… Didn't Vash say that they would hold a party for the town anyway? No matter what happened? If there were gifts they could be returned… No, she was pretty sure that Vash would make sure there weren't gifts because they were traveling and had no use for them. Milly opened her eyes again and smiled brightly, "I was just thinking about how I'm going to miss being your partner," she said.
"You aren't just going to quit once you get married!" Meryl said, trying to convince herself, although she was pretty sure that her boss would fire Milly himself if he found out she had married their target. Then again, maybe she would just forget to put that in her reports… "You'll be in the best position to do your job, being able to keep tabs on Vash twenty-four hours a day without having anyone question why!" She smiled, too many teeth were showing she was sure.
When she got back from talking to Wolfwood, she put on the best smile she could and decided to just give up and give in and follow the lemmings to their demise… Whatever that meant, her father used to say that, some old Earth saying. Meryl let herself become the girlie-girl, got in the dress, got her hair all done up, got her makeup on and helped Milly down the street to the chapel and in the back door where she was to get dressed. Milly was fine and giggling up until this point when the blood drained from her face, but a moment later she was back to normal. Meryl hoped this was the only time that was to happen, she was really worried that Betty had picked out a dress that was too small.
It was very beautiful actually, a train that stretched out behind her seven feet, all beaded, an antique white color, beaded front with small silk ribbon flowers, cut up high around her neck and long sleeves per Milly's request. At first Betty and Lynn argued that it would be too hot, but when they saw Milly's scars they complied immediately and covered her up but good. All she had left now were two more latches.
Meryl finished them, turned Milly around and reached for the veil. "Okay Milly, let's get this pinned in, shall we? I need you to sit down for me." Pushing Milly out from the screen, she maneuvered her over to a stool, plopped her down so as not to wrinkle her dress and started working the veil into position.
From behind, Meryl could only hear the slight sniffles coming from her friend, but soon those sniffles turned into jerks, and Meryl frowned, bending around her friend to look at Milly's face. "You're crying!"
Milly shook her head, wiping her face with her hands, "No I'm not… I'm just…"
"Oh Milly! What's going on? This isn't at all like you…"
The big girl waved Meryl away, she really wasn't sure why she was crying, but it just happened all of a sudden. She was thinking about the town and about everything and how her and Vash had decided that they would make up wedding vows together, and in the vows they would spill the beans on the prank wedding. Vash said it would all be perfect and that folks wouldn't know what hit them until they were having a ball at the reception and farewell party. The next day he was leaving town. When that thought hit her, the tears fell down her cheeks and she couldn't make them stop.
Meryl was trying to give her a tissue and Milly took it, covering up her face. This was all just a big mistake… A huge mistake, all from the beginning. She knew it would be, she knew if she got into anything with Vash that she'd lose her heart and it would be impossible to stop very easily. He was just so kind and so nice and handsome, and it irked Meryl, and a part of her wanted to do it just to get back at Meryl for her luck with men. At least Meryl had a boyfriend at one time, she wasn't so lucky and when Vash… "I'm sorry Meryl."
"What for?"
"For everything…" Milly blew her nose and threw the tissue away before reaching for another. "I'm sorry that I ruined things for you, and caused you so much trouble."
Her friend hugged her, and Milly waited for Meryl as she said, "You haven't caused me any trouble at all. You're my friend. What are friends for anyway?" Meryl pulled away and smiled, "I'm just glad that you're happy… You are happy aren't you? I'll call this whole thing off if you aren't, and then I'll go clobber Mr. Vash for setting you up to do something like this."
Milly smiled, imagining Meryl going after Mr. Vash with her derringers. She would too. Milly had seen Meryl do it to guys who bothered her in the past. This time she had an even bigger reason to do so. She could see it now, Meryl clobbers Vash the Stampede, gets her pictures in all of the papers and ends up getting the bounty for him. Grinning now, Milly nodded, "I'm happy Meryl. Really, I am!"
"All right then," Meryl said, patting Milly's shoulder. "Let me fix your makeup and we'll get this wedding underway!"