Re: Here Comes the Bride (Updated)
Hi everybody! Okay, as you may or may not know, Madammina has taken a long hiatus from KHI, but she is still writing "Here Comes the Bride" and asked me to post the subsequent chapters for her on KHI. So, even though I'm the one posting the next chapter, this was written by madammina, not me.
Night 10
The guests began to enter as day shifted to dusk. Ezekiel was one of the first, with his guest, Melissa. Julia and Spencer were soon after. Riku and Sora were heading up the greeting as Kairi and Constance were to make their official appearance later.
Well, mostly Sora. Riku was being avoided by anyone who heard he was crazy.
“Do you think they think I don't have feelings?” Riku asked, in a brief peaceful moment. “How many people DID she invite?”
“Well, she has quite a few friends and then there's the courtesy politics.” A new voice spoke up, and Riku and Sora jumped. An older man had walked into the hall. Tall with greying hair and a strong face, his most distinctive quality was his voice. It easily reminded both Sora and Riku of a grandfather's voice, but it walked on a knife's edge of something very evil.
“Mr. Soulstice, Mr. Lockheart, meet Mr. Vincent Price,” Julia introduced the man, who gave a little bow. “He is the American ambassador to France.”
“WAS the American Ambassador, Miss Julia.” He gave a smile. Both Sora and Riku found themselves instantly liking the man. “I was let go after a few years. I couldn't speak French! It took me three days to write a speech in French and I just ended saying it in English anyway.” He began to laugh. “Well, I should go; apparently Constance wants me to say a few words, and there is always Harriet's cooking...” He trailed off but walked off into the main hall where the true band was playing.
“Are you doing okay? You only need to do this for a little while longer.” Julia was hovering again. “ I mean, if you are getting tired, you can enter the hall. Most of the guests have arrived by now, and both Miss Damati and Constance will be debuting soon.” Julia started to flitter around. “I really should get going too, but then the hall will be empty and-”
“Ah can do it, ma'am.” Rolly had appeared, and relief broke upon Julia's face. “Ah'll get them into the ballroom.”
“Why thank you, er...”
“His name is Rolly,” Riku spoke up. “Rolly Crump.”
“Oh, yes.” A look of distate appeared briefly on Julia's face, but that vanished as she strode into the hall.
“Thanks Rolly,” Riku said enthusiastically as he escaped into the hall. Sora gave a nod and followed.
**
It is a rather nice place. Now if only I can go without stepping on people's toes. Sora looked around at the large group in the main hall. He never knew it could fill this many people. Despite how he looked, Kairi and Constance were no where to be seen. Instead, he saw some people he recognized, but mostly people he didn't. They were all dancing to some... waltz? Whatever it was, the beat was slow. A servant came by with drinks, so Sora grabbed some. He grimaced as something burned in his throat.
“No, I will NOT have this. Just get me some juice.” Riku had also grabbed whatever Sora had, took a sip, and demanding something else. “I'm really sorry, Fernando, but me and alcohol don't really get along.” The man named Fernando gave a brief nod, then hurried off. “I see you're drinking.”
“Er, yeah... what is this?” Sora asked. Riku simply shrugged. “Then why are you throwing a fit?”
“Remember that day when I came back drunk?”
“Wasn't that our second day here?” Sora strained to remember. Why did it feel so long ago?
“Yeah, well, I was having some tea when one of Madam Leota's friends drugged my tea with alcohol. I passed out and woke up drunk and then hung over. I'm not going to attempt a repeat experience.” Sora just shrugged, took a sip, and started to cough it back up.
“Are you...Mister Lockheart?” They both turned to see a very pretty blond girl with bright blue eyes in front of them. “Hi, I think I'm your next dance partner. My name is Julie.” Sora gave a smile, bowed over her outstretched hand (quietly thanking Kenneth for the refresher on manners) and walked off with her. “So, I heard you just moved here.”
“Yes, I did. I'm liking it here so far.” Sora responded distractedly. It was much harder then he thought to keep a conversation and keep the dancing time at the same time. “I'm sorry, I'm not used to dancing.”
“That's alright, you'll get better. The Crescent City throws balls like this a lot. But Miss Hatchaway's are the most sought after. She's only been here three years and already she's the top of the pecking order.” Julie gave a girlish giggle. Sora found himself longing for Constance and her conversations which consisted of much more than social status and who wore which person's dress. Even if they never talked all the time, she at least looked like she was listening....
**
Riku was very bored. First, no one wanted to dance with him (He was mostly okay with that, but what bothered him was that people seemed to be rearranging their dance schedules to avoid him). Second, no one wanted to talk to him (which he was unhappy about.) Finally, he was surrounded by people so he couldn't even sneak off to the kitchen to hang out with the servants. They may not have trusted him or believed him like Leota (may Kingdom Hearts rest her soul) but if he wanted to just shoot the breeze, they would have put him to work while doing it.
Maybe that was it. He just wanted to keep busy. Leota's corpse had been haunting his dreams lately. None of the previous hallucinations had disappeared. (He knew that because he had been trying to visit Emily in the attic, before the ball. She was still there, but she never responded.) But if he was working, then he just focused on the work. No corpses, no hallucinations, no worries about whatever Constance was up to... he just did something. He kneaded bread, or cut fruit, or churned butter or...it was mind numbing, but it was SOMETHING.
“A penny for your thoughts?” The blond man with blue eyes...Ezekiel...had slid up next to him.
“I hear you're some sort of big shot. I thought you wouldn't want to be seen with someone crazy,” Riku responded before sipping his apple juice.
“I'm just a business man. Here is a good chance to make some deals.”
“I'm not interested. I don't have any money anyway.” Riku attempted to wave him off, but Ezekiel caught his hand. Riku shuddered. Ezekiel's grip was cold and vice-like, and his bright blue eyes couldn't diminish the evil Riku felt in him. It wasn't darkness -at least not yet- but Riku knew the man before him was not someone to be trifled with.
Fortunately, Riku had had experience with this type of person.
“Normally this is where I would walk off, but I'm not interested in your money.”
“I'm c-”
“We both know if there is one thing you're not, it's crazy.” Ezekiel gave a mirthless smile. Riku's spirits did not rise upon discovering this person believed him. “And I know you're suspicious of Constance.”
“And you are too?” Riku tried to keep the hope out of his voice. It didn't work.
“I'm...Constance and I have a rather tangled relationship.”
“I did here you were engaged,” Riku admitted. Ezekiel gave a brief shrug.
“Very briefly, it fell apart in our negotiations. However, I did find out something very interesting then about Miss Hatchaway.”
“Which you can't tell me,” Riku correctly guessed. “So, why bother mentioning it at all?”
“Because I can direct you towards people who can pull you towards the facts you want.”
“They why haven't they come forward, and why tell me? Whatever you think of my sanity, I was very briefly committed to YOUR asylum. I'm not a very good witness.”
“Which is why you need facts. MY facts. I'll send a list to you in a few days.” He started to walk off.
“Hold up.” Riku shouted over the din. They must have switched to a faster dance. “What do you get out of this?”
“Nothing yet. At the very least, nothing that will require anything from you.” Ezekiel turned to taunt more, but a CRACK rang across the ballroom. Riku covered his ears and ducked. Upon seeing the bemused expression on Ezekiel's face, Riku searched for the hallucination that had to be the cause of it.
He found it very quickly. It was two paintings across from him. They were very large and Riku was never sure why they were three, since they showed two men dueling. As he watched, two....ghosts? Walked out of the painting, pointed their guns at each other, then fired. Upon doing so, they immediately disappeared and then reappeared to repeat the movement.
“Oh how wonderful,” Riku growled as he rubbed his eyes in a tired fashion. “I'm not even safe here.”
**
Ezekiel found himself admitting that Riku was a rather curious fellow. It went beyond looks – though he was odd looking – but rather in how he held himself. Whatever he just reacted too, it showed he had to be absolutely mad, but at the same point they had just had a rather rational argument with Riku quickly figuring out that Ezekiel was not someone to be trusted. Rather interesting.
“Ezekiel, I...” It was that idiot, Melissa. Her face had gone pale and she was shaking a bit. If it wasn't for the fact that Ezekiel knew that she was an addict, he would have thought she had food poisoning.
“Find a bathroom, I'll get some to you shortly. In return...” Melissa started to wince due to her “payment,” but allowed her face to turn neutral. Good. Soon she would completely know her place.
**
Kairi paced back and forth behind a large curtain. What if she messed up? What if it was only old guys there? What if she tripped and fell so that everyone saw up her dress? What if-
“Miss Kairi, please relax. You're giving me a headache.” Constance sipped some water as the servants double and triple checked everything.
**
A few hours in, Sora knew the beat for most of the major dances. He wasn't perfect, he couldn't do the fancier moves, but he could at least hold his own. Julie had been whisked away at the end of the dance by some other guy, and another girl had taken Julie's place. After a few hours, the party took a break as everyone grabbed something to eat. Sora grabbed some sort of fruit and sat by Riku, who was eating a pastry and wincing every few seconds.
“Where's Kairi? And Constance?” He finally managed to gasp after he took a sip of some cucumber water. “I thought they-”
“Well, they need to make an impression, don't they?” Riku reasoned and winced. “Stupid duelists. Anyway they should be coming out soon.” Sora decided not to ask about the duelist comment.
“Where hinges creak in doorless chambers...” Vincent Price had gathered several of the children around him and appeared to be launching into a ghost story. “...where strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls...” Sora had to admit, that voice was perfect for ghost stories. The children cozied up closer as his voice began to sound like some sort of evil grandfather. “...where candlelight flickers, though the air is deathly still. This is...” He was cut off as one of the servants whispered something into Vincent Price's ear.
“Who is that guy?” Sora asked. He wanted to find out how the story went.
“Jason, I think.” Riku glanced over. “It's hard to tell from here. If it is Jason, I hope he's got someone looking after his daughter. He mentioned his wife was ill.” Sora shrugged and watched as Vincent Price walked up the stairs on to a landing.
“Welcome, curious friends,” Vincent raised his voice and the place went silent. “You may not believe it, but beauty once lived in this house, and beauty lives here still. Show yourself.” Kairi walked out in a stunning pink dress. She gave a smile and walked down the stairs. A gap appeared for her as she twirled around before withdrawing to the side of the circle. Riku and Sora got up and tried to fight their way over to congratulate her. “Come, I have more beauty to show you.” Sora had gotten to the edge of the circle when an audible gasp came from the crowd. Constance stood there, wearing the same dress from the shop, but it appeared a thousand times more radiant. She too quietly worked her way down the floor, twirled around, then stopped before Sora.
“There is a dance next, would you deign to be my partner?” Sora blushed but finally responded.
“I would... I would love to, but I'm not good enough for your first dance.” He started to tap his toes a bit, but Constance leaned in towards his ear. What was that smell? It was so much better then her other perfume.
“I'll lead you,” she whispered. Sora responded with a yes.
**
As Constance had already taken Sora, Kairi asked Riku to be her first debut dance. He might not be all there, but he wouldn't laugh. An immodest smile lit up his face as he said "yes" rather loudly, then blushed, then took her hand and began to lead her into her first waltz. To her surprise, he was a better dancer than Sora.
“I've had more time to practice,” he responded with a smile. “It helps to get to know people here.” Why had she doubted him? Craziness aside, he was still her devoted friend. The last thing he would have wanted to do was hurt her. “How has your night been?”
“Both tense and boring,” she admitted as the dance sped up slightly. More people were entering the floor and Sora was starting to lead again. “I spend all my time worrying and hoping and...sometimes I just wonder if we've become too different.”
“Well, we have,” Riku admitted. “But everyone changes. Sometimes it's nice to be different for a while.”
“I know,” Kairi admitted. “But...” The song finished and everyone stepped away from their partners to cheer for the new debuts. Kairi blushed and curtsied, and was about to finish her response to Riku when another man asked for her next dance. She agreed, threw a look towards Riku (who nodded in acknowledgment) and set up for her next dance.
“DEATH! I SEE DEATH!!!” The doors to the hall flew open as a woman ran into the room. Her hair flew back, her eyes were wild, and the servants chased after her to get her to calm down. “I, Eleanor Audrey, SEER of all, see that someone here will die!” She did a few odd twirling movements as people fled from her. Riku was the only one who stood still; he just watched. Finally, she pointed towards him.
“YOU!!! YOU WILL DIE!!!” To everyone's astonishment, he took a sip of his drink.
“Yeah, I know.”
**
Several hours later, Constance was sitting alone in the hall. Sora was watching her, trying to work up the nerve to talk to her. He knew she needed to be cheered up. After Eleanor had entered, things had just gone downhill. It had taken so long for the police to arrive, and by then it had gotten late. Eleanor had thrown everyone off of their party feelings, then Ezekiel's date had thrown up, and...
It was just a mess. Which was why Constance was sitting alone in the great hall. Everyone else had gone to bed, and she just sat there with her shoes off and stared at the ceiling.
“Constance?” he finally spoke up. Constance turned to look at him. Her makeup was running a bit, but he didn't care. “Can I help you?”
“No, there's not much you can do.” She left her shoes on the floor and walked towards him. “You would think after all of this, the party would turn out better.” She turned around. “Actually, there is one thing you could do for me.”
“Anything,” Sora fervently replied.
“Can you help me recreate the best bit of the night?” With a smile, she placed her hands out, and Sora accepted. They quietly went into a dance together, moving to the music in their head. The two grew closer and closer together until Sora could have rested his head on her shoulder. He started to work up his nerve, and he pulled his head towards Constance's. There was a pause for a brief second, before their lips touched.
It was better then he thought. He lost track of time as the two of them kissed so gently in the middle of the ballroom floor.
**
Beta's Note: Reviews are always appreciated, and I'll let Mina know about them! Thanks for reading!