VIII.

And so, the letters ceased to commute between the Romeo and Juliet. Victoria was utterly ashamed of herself for getting Hildegarde fired – the only mother figure in her life. Hildegarde was there for motherly affection when her own mother would just slap her in the face. She still wondered what Victor had written in that letter of his, but she guessed she would have to wait a few more months to know for sure. She surely missed Victor Van Dort dearly. No matter how many times she prayed for him to be about in the streets so she could catch a glimpse of him, he never showed up.

Just as well, I suppose, thought Victoria to herself as she drew back her heavy burgundy drapes to stare into the gray streets again. I assume his parents told him to stop writing as well…my mother would never miss a chance to remind them how important our family is compared to theirs…

Victoria snorted to herself. Yes, they used to be rich, but before they knew it they were left without a penny to their names. And so her parents' only option to save them from the poor house was marrying off their daughter to one of a richer family, in this case, the Van Dorts.

She sighed for the thousandth time in the past few months. She had lost count over time.

The girl dressed in black let the drapes fall back over the windows and dragged her feet over to her wardrobe. She get down on her knees and opened up the bottom drawer once again. The white paper holding the precious gift from the corpse bride was still concealed inside. Victoria took up the white paper gently and unwrapped it carefully. She lightly touched the dried up flowers with the bluish tint she loved so much. The faint sweet smell lingered.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on her bedroom door. Victoria startled and nearly dropped the bouquet. She hastily wrapped it back up and stowed it back in the drawer, shutting it and standing upright just as her mother and father both walked into the room. Victoria tried her best to look innocent. She bowed her head and folded her hands in front of her.

"Victoria!" her mother sounded relieved to see her daughter. This was a first. "We have terrible news! Don't we, Finis?" she cried hysterically.

"Yes quite," her father replied with much indifference.

Victoria's heart skipped, but settled down again. What could possibly be wrong?

"Daughter," Mr. Everglot said. "As you are well aware, we have absolutely no money left in our…"

"No money!" her mother cried, furiously fanning herself as if she would faint. Mr. Everglot cleared his throat quite irritably and continued.

"…left with us. We are in deep debt and doubt if we will even be able to keep this house."

Victoria nodded.

"We will surely starve!" her mother cried. "Or worse! What will the whole town think of us? We will be shamed forever!"

Victoria tried very hard not to role her eyes. Her tolerance level seemed to disintegrate with the many months of being locked up in her room.

"As I was saying," her father cut in sharply. "We do not have much time left before foreclosure, and we need money as soon as possible. Do you understand, Victoria?"

Victoria nodded. She had no idea what this man what getting at.

Her mother regained control. "So we must do it, Victoria. Of course, I trust the neighbors don't keep track of us very well, so we should slink by it. There are only a few months left as it is."

Victoria couldn't take it anymore. She let out her breath slowly. "What on earth are you speaking of, Madame?"

Mrs. Everglot glared at her daughter's sudden outburst. She lifted her chin in distain. "Your wedding, child, of course. We must get you married to that Vincent boy as soon as…"

"It's Victor," Victoria corrected breathlessly. Was she…going to be married sooner than she thought?

"…as soon as possible," Mrs. Everglot finished. "The wedding will take place tomorrow morning whether you are in favor or not." She turned on her heel and sauntered out of the door. Lord Everglot turned to follow his wife and waddled out the door, slamming it in turn.

Victoria slumped down in a nearby chair and felt her forehead to make sure she wasn't feverish. Was it true?

Was she really about to marry Victor Van Dort come morning?

….

Now readers, you all know the feeling of pure excitement the night before a huge event about to take place. You're stomach is swarming with anxious butterflies. You jump into your bed early, hoping to make the night pass by in a blur of speed so the morning can come up faster. But the whole night you lie in bed, wide-awake and staring wide-eyed at the dark ceiling, every once in a while glancing at the clock ticking on the wall. It's then you become conscious that the old grandfather clock's tick is much louder than usual, and is keeping you awake. You sit up in bed and look around the room, taking it all in. You then look out the window and realize that it's the moonlight keeping you awake. So you kick off the blankets and make your way to the window, shutting the curtains tight so as no light can creep in. You snuggle under your comforter once again, ready to fall asleep. But, are the blankets making you too hot? You kick them off, and suddenly you're thirsty.

To make a long story short, any night before a birthday, a holiday, a trip, or a wedding is going to take longer than you think.

This is exactly what Victoria was going through in bed that night. Try as hard as she might to sleep, her mind just wouldn't stop swimming with questions. She hadn't even finished her year of mourning yet and the next day she would be free of this house and her parents? She'd actually be living with Victor Van Dort? Would she really feel the cool breeze on her face again?

Victoria turned over onto her other side. She hadn't been able to see, let alone, speak to Victor for months. Wouldn't it be quite awkward between them?

Her stomach hurt. She was both scared and excited at the same time. The girl turned her head to glance over at the clock ticking unusually loudly on her wall.

She wondered if Victor was feeling just as nervous.

….

Victor Van Dort could not seem to fall asleep. It was already one in the morning and he was wide-awake and staring up at the dark ceiling. It all happened so fast. One minute he was engaging in quite a normal conversation with his father, when his mother comes in all in an excited flurry almost screaming that the wedding would take place tomorrow morning. Victor remembered his completely shocked expression. Was he really going to see Victoria again?

The first thing that went through his mind was, "I can barely strike up a conversation as it is! How in the world am I going to talk to a beautiful woman I am in love with without tripping up my words?"

Victor sat up in his bed, knowing he wasn't going to get any sleep at this point. He quietly crept across the floor and sat at his desk, randomly flipping through books and sketches of his to hopefully make him sleepy. But something caught his eye in the corner of the old desk. It was a relatively small brown box with a limp ribbon tied around it. A smile almost came to Victor's lips when he reached for it, carefully untying the pale pink ribbon and removing the lid.

The shy young man picked out a stack of letters in rain-washed envelopes; all had the exact same return address in the left hand corner with the same slanted, delicate handwriting. He flipped through the letters that had been passed to him from Victoria Everglot. He read each one again and again; feeling more relaxed as he imagined her own voice reading them aloud to him.

By this time tomorrow night, he thought nervously, I'll be able to hear her voice for real.

….

"Victoria! Wake up! The wedding starts in two hours and you're still sleeping?"

The girl blinked groggily and sat up with great difficulty. Her heavy drapes were jerked back and she was blinded for a moment. Victoria rubbed her eyes and yawned sleepily.

Then it hit her like running into a thick cement wall: she was getting married today.

Victoria didn't know what she expected when she opened her eyes, but it most certainly wasn't her mother's ugly face glowering down at her. She jumped when her mother spoke again.

"Get up and get dressed, daughter," she said. "We must get to the church at once. Alice will assist you with your corsets."

Victoria looked over to the door where a touch-looking old lady stood. She wasn't nearly as ancient as Hildegarde had been, but was definitely old. She curtsied as Mrs. Everglot floated from the room and closed the door behind her. Alice walked swiftly over to Victoria and nodded courteously.

The girl smiled shyly. "It's nice to meet you, Alice," she said.

Alice nodded in turn, but didn't say a word. Instead, she began immediately undressing her new mistress (for now, at least), and lacing up her corsets. Victoria sucked in her stomach and was greeted with the familiar tugging against her ribcage. As horrible as it sounds, she was excited to see Victor again and not having to deal with living in the same house as her mother and father. Alice didn't speak a word, but began combing out the snarls in Victoria's brown hair that still felt damp from last night's bath. The girl decided that conversation was impossible at this point and just decided to sit quietly and let the woman continue with her work.

Finally, the maid bustled over to the wardrobe and pulled out a very large, flat box. She laid it on the bed and pulled out the plain white dress within. Victoria cocked her head to get a better look at it. The only difference between her wedding dress and all the other gowns in her closet was that this one was white. It had no extravagant features whatsoever, no silver designs, no sparkles, and it barely had a train. It was so plain Victoria sighed out loud. Even the veil was boring.

She had never thought about it before. When she had last worn this dress she wasn't even thinking about how she looked as always. But she remembered Emily's long flowing veil and the crown of flowers upon her brow. Her hair wasn't imprisoned in a bun, but cascading down her back. Victoria couldn't help but smile at the memory. Emily was indeed very beautiful, even for a corpse.

Victoria stepped into the wedding dress and buttoned it up, her maid fussing to do it herself. She decided not to complain. After all, this would be the last time anyone told her how to dress.

Alice led her to the mirror and Victoria checked herself out. Plain, as always. Her eyes were plain brown, much like her hair, which was swept back into a tight bun. Her insides hurt as usual with the corset laced up tightly below that boring white dress. In the light, it almost looked a gray.

But perhaps she could spice up herself a bit more? After all, it was her wedding day. Alice scurried out of the room and nervously called for Victoria to follow.

"I'll be there in a moment," the girl replied, making her way over to her wardrobe and kneeling beside it. The maid looked like she wanted to stop her, but hurried from the room instead. Victoria ignored her and pulled out the bottom drawer where the precious bouquet was unwrapped by Victoria's gentle hands. She lifted the fragile flowers from the drawer and cradled them in her arms as though she was cradling a crying infant.

"I'm getting married today," she told it. "And I would be honored if you joined me."

….

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Now this is the length of a chapter I'm talking about! It's been so long since I've written this story, and I really love writing this one. Thanks for reading Corpse Bride fanfics! I really don't think it's getting as much attention as it deserves.

All characters belong to Tim Burton, except Alice the maid. She's a little fusspot, isn't she?

Until the end, then!