Disclaimer: I do not own any part of The Corpse Bride. This fanfiction is for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter Four: Secret Meetings

The talk with Elder Gutknecht had gone better than Victor expected. The way Emily had spoke his name had made him a little anxious about meeting him, but he had turned out to be a very old and kindly skeleton. Someone you could easily imagine as being a grandfather. It had only taken a little persuading on Emily's part to get him to cast a Ukrainian Haunting Spell on them to take them up to the Land of the Living.

Victor watched nervously as he watched to smoke from the crows' egg descend over them like a cloud, barely keeping himself from fidgeting as it passed over them, but relieved when, as it dispersed, he could see the familiar trees of the forest outside of his town.

He heard Emily give a soft exhalation of breath.

He turned to see that she was looking up at the sky with a pained dreamy expression.

"I spent so long in the darkness… I'd almost forgotten how beautiful the moonlight is," she whispered softly, gazing at the moon wistfully.

She turned her attention to a delicate moth fluttering by, giving a little giggle as she watched it fly in front the moon.

She closed her eyes as she sighed, stepping forward like she could not longer restrain herself, twirling gracefully in a circle before drifting back to Victor and circling around him, trailing one arm around him as she moved without actually touching him.

For a brief moment, Victor wanted to lean into her touch and twirl her around until she was breathless.

He turned his eyes away from her hypnotic beauty as he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

She was a corpse, he reminded himself. A corpse!

But she was so kind. He hated tricking her, but he had to speak to Victoria. If nothing else, he had to free her from their intended marriage.

He turned to see Emily apparently posing in the moonlight, looking uncertain for a moment before she continued her dance, gliding to a tree and swinging around it with her good arm before coming back to him and circling around him again, moving so gracefully it was like she floated over the ground instead of walked on it.

He took hold of his shoulders –horrified to note that he didn't find such an act unpleasant- allowing himself a brief moment of fulfilling his momentary fantasy, spinning her around in a wide circle before saying "Hold on, hold on," and sitting her down on a tombstone.

"I think I should… prepare… Mother and Father for the big news," he told her, scratching his neck anxiously, "I'll go ahead and you… wait here."

"Perfect," she sighed.

"I won't be long," Victor reassured her. "Stay right here. I'll be right back," he said, starting to leave.

"Okay," she replied amiably, turning her head back to the sky, gazing at the moon, taking in the sights of he forest with interest.

Victor dashed back to her. "No peeking," he ordered her gently.

She covered her mouth, giggled lightly at his antics.

Victor took the chance to quickly run back to town before she might change her mind.

At first he went to the front door of the Everglot family mansion, but heard through the door the Lord and Lady threatening to strangle him. So, going around the back, he found Victoria's balcony and carefully climbed up one of the pillars supporting it, something, he realized, he would never have done if he hadn't just climbed a sheer wall an hour before which made this look easy. Reaching the top, he pulled himself over the banister railing, his hand abruptly slipping and falling onto the floor. He quickly stood up, brushing himself off briefly and knocked on the glass doors that led into her room.

She walked over to the doors rather quickly for a lady in a corset and opened the door for him.

He ducked inside, closing the door quickly behind him, leaning against the windows and panting slightly, not quite believing he had made it here without Emily catching him and dragging him away.

Again.

"Victoria," he said, opening his eyes and looking at the young lady in front of him.

"Victor?" she asked, like she couldn't believe it was him for a moment. " I'm so happy to see you!" She took his hand gently, leading him over to the fireplace and ordering him, "Come by the fire." She gestured for him to sit and he did, appreciating the warmth his closer proximity to the fire brought to his body.

"Where have you been?" she asked him, concerned, "Are you all right?"

"I-- I -- oh dear," Victor sighs, glancing down and away, looking back up at her.

"You're as cold as death," Victoria gasped, touching his hand with a light finger, "What's happened to you?" she inquired, gesturing at him, "Your coat…"

Victor absently brushed at a tear in his jacket, feeling like he should feel self-conscious to be before her in such shabby clothing, but not really managing to actually be it.

"Victoria, I -- I confess," he sighed. "I've had an… experience. This morning, I was terrified of marriage. Then, on meeting you, I felt that, perhaps, it wouldn't be horrible. We… get along well and have some interests that we share. But now, now I realize that that isn't enough of a reason to get married."

Victoria gasped, hands flying to her mouth in joy, "Does that mean…"

"I don't care how difficult it will be, but I'm going to make sure you won't have to marry me," he told her. "You should marry the person you love."

Victoria jumped up and hugged him in delight.

Victor relaxed into the hug, happy he had managed to get here to have this talk with Victoria.

Then he saw Emily pulling herself up onto the banister, gasping at the sight, knowing that he was about to be taken back to the Land of the Dead.

Victoria jumped at his gasp and started to turn her head to see what had startled him

Victor quickly caught her head in his hands, keeping her from looking.

The least he could do was try to help her not to get too frightened when she saw Emily, as it now seemed inevitable.

"I seem to find myself married," he told her without preamble, hoping to explain enough to her before Emily came in. "And you should know it's unexpected."

The doors slammed open behind Victoria causing a rush of wind to gust against them, causing them both to jump up and face the balcony doors.

She walked in struggling briefly to get her veil out of her face saying, "My darling, I just wanted to meet--" she pushed aside her veil and gasped.

Victoria stiffened, obviously a little frightened by this strange woman in the tattered wedding dress.

Victor glanced between the two of them, dreading what he somehow knew was coming next.

"Darling?" Emily asked taking Victor's arm and pulling him closer to her, smiling questioningly, "Who's this?"

"Who is she?" Victoria asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"I'm his wife," Emily declared proudly, showing Victoria her skeleton hand with the wedding band on it.

"Victor?" Victoria asked, looking at him. Emily released his arm and crossed her own arms smugly, watching Victoria.

"Victoria, wait. You don't understand," Victor said, taking Emily's skeletal arm and waving it at her. "She's dead. Look," he said, pointing at the skeletal hand.

Emily pulled her arm out of his grip angrily, drifting back to the open balcony doors, glaring at him.

"Hopscotch," she whispered, looking quite frightening at the moment, reaching forward and grabbing Victor's arm, pulling him firmly to her, retreating with him out the balcony doors, flying backwards as the magic took them back to the Land of the Dead in a flurry of flying crows, despite his cry of "No!"