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AKA99: Yeah, you've only just seen the beginning of Mari's bitchiness, the full extent of which won't come up until Chapter 3.

D.N.S Akina: Sorry, but Mio's gone. She died in the show, so she's dead in my fics. Besides, as much as it's not her fault, her presence nearly tore the brothers apart.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kamen Rider Kiva, but I own Chōko and Mari

WORD COUNT: 2668

Edit 02/16/2016: I have made some changes, adding another element to the wedding ceremony as well as inserting a scene that somehow got deleted when I first posted this. It's not a new scene, it was actually meant to be there all along.

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

"So, is everyone clear on what they need to do?" the project leader asked the room in general. This was the volunteering society's last meeting before the exam period started, so everyone in the group had to be aware of what they would be responsible for preparing, for the end-of-year fundraiser they were organising. "Good. We'll meet up again April fourteenth, since luckily we'll all be finished our exams by then." All the members had handed their exam schedules in as soon as they were made available, and thankfully they would all be finishing early.

But Chōko had something else planned, unfortunately. "I'm afraid that won't work for me," she admitted, "I'm… getting married on that day."

A couple of jaws dropped. Not one of them had known that Yamamoto Chōko was engaged. Hell, they hadn't even known she'd been seeing anyone! This, of course, was because she hadn't. Chōko had only met her fiancé mere weeks ago, and they certainly hadn't been dating. They were only marrying because Ancient Law decreed it, as King and Queen of the Fangire Race.

"Really?!" one guy gasped, "Why didn't you say anything?!" Another reason none of them had expected this was that though she put plenty of effort and time into their activities, Chōko was more than a bit anti-social amongst the society members. She preferred to work behind the scenes, unless they needed her to debate with a particularly obstinate person.

Chōko shrugged. "My mother arranged it, and I didn't want to make a fuss."

Ichijo Mio, a girl just finishing her first year, hopped up and hugged her. She was the only one of them brave enough to enter the older woman's personal space. "Well, congratulations, Chōko-sempai!" And to use her given name. "Do you have your dress yet? If you don't, I could totally design it for you! Consider it my wedding gift to you!" Ichijo was majoring in fashion and design, and she'd been the driving force behind the volunteering society's clothing drive.

The very mention of a dress had Chōko wincing. She did have one, but… "My mother wants me to wear her mother's wedding dress…" She'd tried it on for alterations, but the material was itchy, heavy, and stifling, and her grandmother had had a thing for bows. Big bows. All over. At first, she'd tried to use the excuse that the Queen's wedding dress needed to be black, but her mother had waved it off, saying they could simply dye it once the tailors were done. "And besides, the dress would need to be ready by the fourteenth. You wouldn't have time to finish it and study for your exams."

Ichijo grinned impishly. "Just watch me." Before either of them could say any more, her phone vibrated. "Oh, that's Akio-kun. He's waiting downstairs to pick me up." Ichijo scribbled her number down on a random spare scrap of paper, along with a second number. "If you change your mind, you can call me at this number, or you can use my cousin's custom clothing service. They can get a dress put together for you in no time." Then she took off, leaving Chōko to fend for herself as the rest of the society's members swarmed her with questions.

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

The next day, Chōko made up her mind, and called Ichijo. "I'd like you to design the dress for me," she requested, "I looked up your cousin's service, and their website says they make custom formal wear; perhaps they could take care of actually making the dress so that you won't be distracted from your exams."

Ichijo agreed, and they met at her dorm that evening to come up with a design. The younger woman hadn't even batted an eye when Chōko said it had to be a black dress.

The dressmaking service would be expensive, but King had already offered to pay for it. Chōko was glad for that, because the final estimate had been a bit out of her price range.

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

After a month of nervous preparation and anticipation, the fateful day had arrived, Chōko had gone in to be fitted for her dress two days ago, and had picked the finished product up yesterday. Her mother had lamented the fact that she wasn't wearing her grandmother's old dress, but had quickly gotten over it when she saw the new one.

Ichijo and her cousin had outdone themselves. The bodice was made of black velvet, with black jewels sewn in all around her lower torso that glittered in the light when she moved. The neckline swept down gracefully and modestly. The sleeves were made of a transparent, black gauzy fabric. They hugged her arms from shoulder to elbow, but then opened up to flowing bell sleeves with a slit that began half-way between her wrists and elbows. The skirt was made of shiny ebony silk, cut narrowly to emphasise her figure, but leaving enough room for her to walk easily. Over it was a second skirt made entirely of jet-black lace in a beautiful floral design.

Overall, Chōko was very pleased with it. If she was going to be forced to get married, at least she could do it in the most beautiful dress she'd ever wear.

Taiga knew Wataru was getting annoyed with his pacing, but he couldn't stop to save his life right now. He was anxious and confused and a little bit angry, and he just couldn't settle down. Who could, in this situation?

"Nii-san," Wataru said quietly, "It might be better if you sat down."

"I'm fine," Taiga snapped.

The Knight wasn't having any of it, though, and literally got up and forced the King into his chair. "Nago-san wasn't nearly this bad," he stated, though Taiga disagreed. He'd missed that wedding, only managing to arrive after the Neo-Fangire crashed the party, but he'd heard enough to know that Ixa's user had been a nervous wreck. Taiga didn't think he was quite there yet.

"I just… I don't want this. I mean, I know there's no backing out of it, but it doesn't mean I should be happy about it!" He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I wonder if this is how Kaa-san felt," he admitted, "When she was about to marry my father."

Wataru was quiet at that.

"I mean, why the hell does it have to be like this? Why can't the powers, or whatever or whoever dictates this stuff choose a Queen that her King could love, and vice-versa? Why not all that soulmate crap you find in fantasy books?"

His brother sat down next to him. "I don't know, Nii-san. All I know is that you're strong enough to get through this."

"I agree." Both brothers jumped, having not heard Shima coming in. "If it helps, I think your bride is just as nervous."

"Yeah, we've promised to do our best to not make each other miserable, though." Taiga sighed, taking out his picture of Mio. "I guess she'd be happy about this," he murmured.

Wataru squeezed his big brother's shoulder, but didn't say anything. They both missed the last Queen dearly, so much that it hurt, but rarely spoke about her. There was too much hurt attached to those memories, hurt that had almost torn them apart before. They were doing their best to move past it.

It was time. Her mother was hastily fixing her black veil, even though it was already on straight, but Chōko was too nervous to tell her to quit it. She felt like she would throw up if she opened her mouth.

When the music began, Chōko and her mother began to walk down the aisle. Her mother was beaming, enjoying every minute of it. Nearly all the important guests she'd wanted to come had done so, and so she got to show her good fortune off to all of them. On the other side of the church hall, the King's crowd consisted of his mother, his brother, Shima, and the three 'Arms Monsters'. The first three were there to support the King, and the other three had come just in case someone tried to take advantage of the gathering. The King himself stood up front by a small table.

Chōko felt like she couldn't breathe as she took her place next to him. It wasn't just the stress of having to get married against her will, though; she couldn't deny that he looked good in a tuxedo. At least this was a positive point.

He was visibly tense as he began. Fangire wedding ceremonies didn't require a priest or any other sort of official. They just needed the bride and groom plus at least one witness. "Chōko, proud Fangire Queen. Do thee swear eternal loyalty to the King?"

She took a deep, shaky breath before answering. "I swear."

The King took a set of jeweled chains from the table and took Chōko's clasped hands. Chōko didn't like this part – it was like he was making her his prisoner – but she stood still and allowed him to bind her wrists with them. He then picked up the crystal goblet filled with red wine with shaking hands and drank half of it, before handing it to her. Chōko took it, nearly dropping it, and brought it up under her veil. She wasn't much of a wine drinker, and had to fight a grimace as the liquid went down her throat.

He picked up one of the last two items on the table: a diamond-shaped gold amulet on a chain with a round amethyst stone in the middle, and put it on. It was one of the amulets worn by the Checkmate Four during formal ceremonies, and this one was designated specifically for the King. Chōko turned around and allowed him to place the second one, smaller with a more delicate chain and a stone of dark blue iolite, around her neck. She couldn't understand why the feel of his fingers brushing against her skin as he fastened it sent shivers down her spine.

As King lifted her veil, Chōko felt her chest tighten, but allowed him to lean in. The kiss was short, gentle, and hesitant. And for some reason, it sent a small, pleasant shiver down her spine and caused her cheeks to heat up. His face was flushed as well as they pulled away.

What was that? Why was her heart pounding? Why was she once again having difficulty breathing?

As she allowed him to take her arm and lead her from the room amongst the quiet applause of their guests, her mind was swimming with questions.

The reception her mother had organised was incredibly tedious. All of her mother's guests came by to congratulate the fairly agitated couple, while King's family was avoided like the plague. No 'respectable' Fangire wanted to be near the traitor ex-Queen, the human, the half-breed, and their bodyguards, though they were smart enough to not actually say so. King, of course, tried to take advantage of that, pulling Chōko over to them to get a break from the pointless, sucking-up chit-chat. She found their presence oddly soothing, if only because Knight talked about the antics of his friend Kengo at another friend's bachelor party, along with other tales, in order to ease the tension. Of course, Mari would inevitably come out of the crowd and pull them away to talk to another guest.

After the guests were finally chased off, the newlywed King and Queen had to sit for their wedding portrait, and Chōko was just thankful it was a photograph and not a painting, though the photographer was very fussy about the lighting and their exact positions. It took almost an hour to take a couple pictures, and by the time they were done, Chōko was exhausted and ready for bed.

But that was where the next hurdle laid.

Chōko's mother had initially planned on booking them a luxury hotel suit for the wedding night, but King had shot that down the second he heard it. Apparently the psychic bond between him and Knight prevented them from being too far away from each other, at least not comfortably. The only place where they could put some distance between them as Castle Doran, where they'd be living anyway.

So that was how Chōko found herself sitting in the King's bedchamber, wearing her silk nightgown and wondering what to do next. Her new husband sat next to her, silently picking at the bedspread.

"So…" Chōko began, blushing, "Have you ever… before…"

"No." His response was quiet. "Never really found anyone I liked that much. Well, except…" He trailed off, and Chōko knew he was talking about. The Queen before her, the one who'd died on the day of their wedding. The one that didn't love him back. "You?"

"No. I've never even had a boyfriend." Her mother had wanted her to be independent, just as she'd been. Mari had never expressed interest in settling down and starting a family, or even having a long-term relationship. She only went after a man if she needed his favour to achieve her goals (but she wouldn't go all the way with a human; the one line she wouldn't cross). Chōko herself had been accidentally conceived as a result of one such affair, and all she knew about her father was that he was wealthy and good at making child support payments on time.

In fact, Mari had spent the last couple of nights lecturing her daughter on tricks to use in bed, in order to seduce her way into the King's favour. She saw this marriage just as she saw all of her affairs: a useful tool in her quest for power. But Chōko was not ready for that.

"I see." Silence pervaded once again. Chōko awkwardly shifted her weight. She looked over at her new husband, and realised that he was staring at her already. Hesitantly, he reached over and placed his hand on hers. His touch was surprisingly warm. Their eyes met. The two young adults knew this was necessary, and honestly, though they weren't going to admit it out loud, neither of them minded it quite as much as they did the other stuff. Because there was definitely a physical attraction there.

It was Chōko who acted first, leaning in and kissing him again. He stiffened in surprise at first, then relaxed, and pulled her closer to him. Their bodies took over for them at that point. Chōko felt her breaths getting shorter as his fingers slipped under the spaghetti straps of her nightgown, and she began to undo the buttons of the dress shirt he was still wearing.

An unknown amount of time later, Chōko laid on the bed, soaked in sweat. Her partner settled next to her, breathing heavily. She felt incredibly sore between her legs, but that was insignificant. Whatever she'd been imagining before, her first experience had been incredible, surpassing all expectations.

Chōko glanced over at her husband, who was already starting to fall asleep. She knew she was close behind him, as sure enough, her eyes were starting to drift shut.

The last thing to go through her head before sleep claimed her was that maybe she wouldn't be able to love him, but this part wouldn't be so bad. Not at all.

Yeah... I'm not really pleased with how that last scene turned out, to be honest.

After this, I'm posting 'Rook' before the final chapter of 'Queen'. Here's a preview:

Katsurō flopped onto his hotel bed, staring at the ceiling and wondering if he'd just lied to his wife. Caitlin had picked up on his tension through the phone, and had asked about it when he'd gotten to the hotel and called her back. He'd said that it was fine, that at worst he'd be shunned and ignored by the very people he was searching out. He'd promised that he'd be back with her soon enough.

He'd never told her that his beliefs could put him on the receiving end of a brutal assault at best and dead at worst.

Also, happy early 26th birthday to Keisuke Katō, aka Nago-san!