Pounding raindrops from the grey sky hit his clothes whilst he desperately tears at the large church doors. Their heaviness is overwhelming, the clock ticking away, he's too late, too late...
Finally the doors give way, swinging open and sending him stumbling forward. A sea of heads turns, the disgruntled congregation turning to stare. Panting, he clutches his hat and slowly rises, lifting his gaze so that it can stray down the endless aisle. At the very end of the aisle stand two figures: one dark and tall, the other petite and wearing white. In the colourless church, he can see the glint of gold as the ring slides onto her finger.
"No! No!" He screams, trying to move, but his feet are frozen. He can only stand and stare, the congregation oblivious to his cries, and watch the dark figure tightly grasp the one in white.
"No! Elizabeth..."
Jefferson's eyes snapped open, his heart racing as feebly cried out of Elizabeth. Shivering despite the sweat that had formed on his forehead, Jefferson blinked, slowly growing accustomed to the near darkness he was in. He saw the iron bars before him and ominous realisation set in. Jefferson leapt to his feet, panic filling him. He rushes to the bars, rattling them with all his strength. Their clangs broke the silence, though the bars remained firmly in place. Jefferson circled around, staring at the rough cave walls that encased him. Even the dim window had bars across it.
'There's no way of getting out of here,' Jefferson thought despondently, slumping down to the floor. Fumbling around in his pockets, Jefferson found his pocket watch. It had cracked, but the hands still ticked: 9 o'clock. He had no idea of that was the same day as Elizabeth's wedding, or the day after, or even a week after. Weakened by the drowsiness of the poppies and his hopelessness, Jefferson swung the pocket watch back and forth miserably.
'There's no way to get to Elizabeth...I may even be too late already...I've lost her...'
Overwhelmed by self-pity, Jefferson let out a sob, curling up his knees and burying his head, tears streaming down his face. For a while he remained in his catatonic state, rocking back and forth as he wept.
He barely noticed something scrambling up his trouser leg until Jefferson felt something tiny and wet nudge his forehead. Startled, Jefferson lifted his head and gave a shout of horror. Perched on his knee was a white mouse, it's red eyes gleaming up at him. The noise nibbled comfortingly at his coat pocket, and Jefferson pulled back out his pocket watch.
"I'm too late," he sighed to the mouse, brushing it off from him. Falling to the floor, the mouse gave an indignant squeak and clambered back into him.
"Get off!"
Jefferson looked up at approaching footsteps and he saw Regina's swishing dress coming closer.
"Talking to mice now?" She called teasingly, though Regina sounded a little pitying.
He opened his mouth to beg her to let him go, but Jefferson spotted what Regina held in her hand. Glancing down at the mouse, he was struck with an idea.
"I just want to talk to someone," Jefferson said, slowly rising and heading for the bars that separated them. He trailed his eyes upwards, making sure they lingered on Regina's chest before rising and meeting her eyes. Smirking at her, Jefferson stepped closer so that their clothes touched between the bars.
"Maybe you're right about Elizabeth," he whispered, "maybe I'm better off with someone else."
Regina's flushed face revealed her thoughts and hers hands tentatively reached through the bars to cup his chin, whilst Jefferson wound his around her back, making sure her eyes remained locked on his...
In one swift motion Jefferson grabbed the hat from Regina and jerked his hand back, sliding it through the bars. Stepping back, Regina's hands were forced away and she gripped the bars in anger, opening her mouth. Instead of words, Regina let out a cry of pain and she let go the bars that burnt her hands.
"What have you done?"
"It's quite a simple little enchantment," Jefferson cockily replied, grinning as Regina understood: Jefferson had his means of escape- and she couldn't reach him.
"You sneaky bast-"
"Sorry Regina," Jefferson called over her, grabbing the mouse from the dungeon floor, "I must be off. I have a wedding to attend."
The hat fell to the floor, purple smoke filling the dungeon cell before engulfing Jefferson as he leapt through.
Jefferson hurried through the woods, the shadowy trunks blurring as he passed by, focused upon reaching the church before it was too late. As Jefferson reached the castle, he removed his pocket-watch and checked the time- 12:45
'Fifteen minutes left…'
Quickening his pace into a run, Jefferson went past the castle, coming to a halt at the end of the drive. The pathway wound down a hill, the village far in the distance. Cursing the Frankenstein's for living so remotely, Jefferson stared down the desolate path, the seconds dwindling by in his head. Re-tracing his steps, Jefferson caught sight of a carriage parked on the driveway, its horse waiting. Without even checking if anybody was inside, Jefferson climbed up on top and grabbed the reins, whipping them against the horse.
The horse jolted into life, pulling the carriage down the drive. Jefferson cracked the whip again, the horse growing faster as they hurtled down the path. A cool breeze stung at his eyes as they gained speed, dark clouds following them in the bleak sky. Just as Jefferson had begun to relax, the town coming into view, an unmistakeable voice from the carriage yelled up to him:
"Driver! I know I said to hurry, but this is ridiculous-"
Jefferson looked down to see just as Victor stuck his head out of the carriage, watching the doctor's face rapidly change from shock to anger.
"Jefferson! What the bloody hell are you doing?"
"Trying to get to the wedding," Jefferson said, giving the whip another crack, "shouldn't you already be there?"
"Yes, I was delayed by my experiment…but don't try to distract me! You've been gone for a week- and now you decide to reappear on top of my carriage! Do you really think I'm just going to let you ruin Elizabeth's wedding?"
"You have to let me come: if I jump off now you'll be stranded without a driver. Now, some directions would be good."
Victor glared furiously at him as though he was considering throwing Jefferson off anyway before spitting out how to find the church from arriving in the town. Conscious of the ever-decreasing time, Jefferson kept the horse at a fast pace as they went past the dull grey buildings in the town centre, cutting between the swarms of people who milled around until they were back on another country path.
The trees and overgrown bushes arched over the path, darkening the sky above them as the horse and carriage whirled past. Breathing heavily as the minutes ticked away in his head, Jefferson prayed they were nearing the church. He gave the reins a hard pull as they skidded to a halt in front of pristinely white building with a steeple rising up above the trees in the yard. The carriage door swung open and Victor clambered out, stopping by the horse and looking back up at Jefferson, who had begun to climb down.
"I have to go: but you stay here. Don't even think of stepping foot in that church: I know you don't agree with this marriage, but this may be Elizabeth's one chance of happiness. Don't even think of being selfish enough to try and take that away from her. And I'll warn you now - the Count's friends are guarding the doors, and I'm sure you don't want to risk running into them again."
Jefferson kept his gaze locked onto Victor's until eventually the doctor turned away and headed to the church, Jefferson's eyes following him up the steps. Victor grasped the church door, then turned and looked back as if to check that Jefferson hadn't moved. Smirking at Victor, Jefferson waited until he had vanished into the church.
'Why the hell did I change the will to let that git get the money?'
He lingered a little longer, hoping he hadn't left it too late. To Jefferson's relief another carriage pulled in and a group of people, tall and pale like the Count got out. Seizing his chance, Jefferson slipped in front of the large party and stepped into the church.
"Excuse me- name?" The guard spat, talon fingers grasping Jefferson's shoulder and yanking him back.
Despite his plan, Jefferson's heart began to hammer in his chest and he muttered:
"Montague…Lord Montague."
The guard quickly scanned down the list, but before he could realise there were no Montagues, the cluster of vampires gave an impatient cough before chatting to the guard, giving Jefferson the chance to slip away. He kept close to the walls, almost fully swallowed up by the shadows, though there were plenty of people to keep him hidden.
The church seemed completely packed, and even though everyone was colourless, many seemed unnaturally pale and Jefferson got the feeling very few of the guests were human. Through the crowd Jefferson spotted Victor, talking to a burly vampire, and he shrunk back even further into the crevice. He knew he couldn't be seen yet.
When Jefferson next looked, Victor had gone and he realised the church had fallen eerily silent as a song began to ring out of the organ. To his mind, the monotonous music sounded more like a death procession than a wedding song. His musings vanished as the doors beside him were flung open. A chilling breeze fluttered through the church and every head turned, including Jefferson's.
A pallid apparition came through the doors, her brother by her side. Elizabeth was hardly recognisable to Jefferson: her face seemed sallow, her paper white dress completely draining her of any contours or shadows. Her dark hair was swept underneath the veil that trailed down her back and along the velvet floor.
She walked slowly in the silence broken only by the jarring chords from the organ. As she passed by Jefferson could see her hands were trembling, clutching a bouquet of white roses. He saw her glance nervously down each pew and he blinked back the tears that had sudden welled up in his eyes as he resisted the urge to step out from his hiding place.
Jefferson hadn't realised he'd been tensely holding his breath until Elizabeth reached the end of the aisle. Victor released his arm and stepped away, leaving Elizabeth by the Count. With everyone in position, the music stopped. The minister began to speak; Elizabeth had turned to face the Count as though she was frozen.
Desperately, Jefferson opened his dry mouth, but no words escaped him. He was still relying upon the plan working. He glanced back at the guards, but they were stood watching, appearing to have absolutely no intention of raising the alarm. Despair clenched in his stomach, though all Jefferson could do was stand and stare, desperately trying to think of an alternative plan.
The Count's cold voice rang out across the church, followed by the minister repeating the wedding vows to Elizabeth.
Jefferson gazed out of the darkness at her, his heart tightly beating against his chest, pounding in his ears as he was forced to hear the words he'd been dreading.
"I…I don't!"
A stifled gasp rippled through the congregation. For a moment, everybody seemed to stare at Elizabeth in shock. The Count had stiffened; his face darkening dangerously as he registered what she'd said.
Jefferson could just see Elizabeth going to leave, but the Count grabbed hold of her arm, pulling her tightly back towards him. His head bent low as if he was whispering something to her.
Suddenly, there was a swift blur of white and a smacking sound echoed across the church. The Count recoiled, releasing Elizabeth. Jefferson wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but something had irked the vampires and most of the crowd had risen, angrily protesting.
In the confusion Elizabeth had been able to dart through the vampires that had completely forgotten her presence. As Elizabeth grew closer, Jefferson looked back at the doors: they were still being guarded. Just as she passed him, an idea hit him. Jefferson stuck out an arm and grabbed onto Elizabeth's hand, pulling her into the shadows.
"Go this way," he whispered and nodded towards a corridor leading off to their left, "on the count of three: one, two, go!"
As he'd counted down, Jefferson had pulled out the dungbombs he'd picked up in Hogsmeade and threw three into towards the pews before pushing Elizabeth forward and running. The foul odour only added to the confusion, though neither of them relaxed until they had reached a side door that led out of the church. Jefferson slammed the door behind them and locked it firmly, hearing the faint sounds of the vampires as they realised what had been released.
Gasping for air, Elizabeth clutched the nearby tree. She tugged off her veil, letting curls of hair fall over her flushed face.
"I can't believe I punched him! " Elizabeth cried, laughing as she looked up Jefferson, "and those stink-bomb things were brilliant!"
"Yes, but we're not safe yet: we have to go. Now."
Jefferson removed his hat and placed it on the grass, sprinkling some fairy dust on it.
"Wait! You mean we're going now? But I haven't packed, I can't go like this." Elizabeth said, motioning to her torn wedding dress.
"It doesn't matter; we really don't have much time," Jefferson said, twisting the hat.
The hat remained still and an edge of panic set in as the noise from the church grew louder. He added more fairy dust and gave the hat another spin. There was a sickening crack and the splintered door from the church was flung open.
"Elizabeth! Why did you have to punch him? They want your blood and -"
Victor stared at her, his gaze falling to that hat that had begun to enlarge before the trio.
"You're not going anywhere with him."
Jefferson had straightened up from being crouched over the hat and opened his mouth to explain.
"Why not?" Elizabeth demanded defiantly, "you can't make me stay here. I'm a grown woman- I can make my own decisions. It's not like you were much help in stopping me marrying the Count. If you want me to be happy, let me go."
"I want what's best for you," Victor replied, "and that was marrying the-"
"No it wasn't! And who are you to decide what's best for me?" Elizabeth interrupted, her voice breaking slightly, "look Victor, I don't want to argue with you anymore. I'm leaving with Jefferson, we'll visit soon, I promise, and the money, it's all yours, we've changed the will…"
The hat had reached its full size, swirls of magic covering their feet. Jefferson had released the mouse he'd pocketed and took Elizabeth's hand.
"It's time," he whispered, before addressing Victor, "I'll take good care of her, I promise."
Victor didn't look fully convinced but before Jefferson could continue, several vampires burst out of the church, the Count leading them. Tightening his grip around Elizabeth's hand, he caught her eye and nodded. With the magic swirling around them, they jumped.