Corpse Bride: Disaster in the afterlife

Chapter 1: 'Crashing the Party'

Emily stared hopefully into Victor's eyes as he moved smoothly through his portion of their wedding vows. Elder Gutknecht stood behind the alter, the wine goblet resting in his bony hands. He waited patiently for Victor to progress to the portion of the vow that require the 'wine'.
Your cup! Shall never empty…for I will be your wine. As Victor spoke he raised the goblet to his lips and Emily felt her heart flutter. What would she do if he refused to go through with the ceremony? Could she cope, knowing that he had turned her down twice in the same day? With anticipation Emily watched his with growing fear. The pain started to overwhelm her and she bit her lip nervously. Silently she let the breath she had been holding go in a sigh as he began to drink the poison.

It was however only at that moment, the doors to the church flew open and in strolled Lord Barkis. Slowly he made his way towards Emily and Victor, who were up at the front of the church. As he walked up the ale he could feel the eyes of the dead on him, yet made no move to acknowledge him. They would do nothing to him, for they were in a house of god, as well as the living. It was there very right to up hold that tradition and cause no harm. He on the other hand, would do no such thing. With a evil smirk he stopped a few feet away from Emily and Victor.

"Emily how nice it is to see you again. Afterlife's been treating you alright I take it." He said as Emily regarded him with only an icy stare. She would not rise to his bait. It was Victor who on the other hand, who took the like, hook and sinker all. Lowering the wine glass he glanced at Barkis somewhat confused.
"You were at the wedding rehearsal for Victoria and myself… who are you?" He said as he slowly took a step forward. The poison was making him slightly edgy and he really didn't like Lord Barkis. Emily placed a hand on Victor's shoulder and he glanced at her slightly.

"We go way back, that's all." She said sadly, yet a tinge of anger was apparent under the sadness. She wanted more than anything to stop Barkis in his tracks, but she had more important matters to attend to. She glanced again at Victor who was now sweating and breathing shallower. Gasping she glanced to Elder Gutknecht who just nodded. Frowning she turned back to face Barkis only to find him staring intently as the wine goblet resting in Victor's trembling grip. If I just took the goblet from him, and finished what was left…Emily would be without a husband yet again. Barkis thought with glee as he stole the goblet from Victor and downed what remained of what he perceived to be wine.

With an arrogant smirk he set the goblet on the table adjacent to them. The church was deathly silent, everyone present in the room aware of what had just transpired, everyone except Barkis of course. He strutted around the stage as if he owned it, displaying the wickedest smile Emily had ever witnessed. All she could do was tremble with suppressed anger; anger with Barkis assumed was due to the fact, that he had just ruined her wedding again. It never occurred to him, that she was so angry because he had just sealed his fate, a fate that would allow him to torment her for eternity. With this thought in his head, he began to boast, stroking his ego as he went.
"I'd expect you to be angry…" he paused stifling the laughter that was threatening to over take him. Slowly he continued on. "After all, I've ruined your wedding twice now." The entire church gasped as Emily stared heatedly at him. No one had ever dared to speak of it, yet he seemed to have no feelings for others. Victor glared at Barkis and moved to stay something, only to collapse to the ground in convulsions. The poison had finally begun to do its job and Victor was becoming ever closer to his death, and the love of his afterlife, yet Barkis seemed un-phased by it all. With the insane smile, still etched onto his face, he stepped closer to Victor. He had seen death to many times, yet it still seemed to amaze him. Everyone departure was different. Unique in it's own way. He bent down to finish Victor off, but was stopped by a furious looking Emily.

"We'll be seeing you. Backstabbing, murderous lying demons such as yourself, always become the entertainment down below." She said softly her voice like a razor edge knife. It cut him deep, and he whirled to face her his hand raised to strike, but it was the smile on her face that held him fast. The smirk she wore, so like his own chilled him to understanding. He finally realized what he had done. With a growl of pure anger he lunged at Emily yet only collapsed to the floor much like Victor had. The convulsion soon took him over as well.

Emily stepped over Barkis's convulsing body and knelt next to Victor's still one. She checked for a pulse and found not only his skin cold as death but also no pulse. It was a good sign, but why hadn't he woken up yet. Had they done something wrong in the ceremony, or was it just that fact, that his spirit was just too pure to say down there. As she stared at his motionless face, Emily felt tears well up behind her eyelids and she tired with all her might to blink them back. Why did nothing every turn out the was it was suppose to? Was she cursed to live her afterlife out alone? Bowing her head, she could faintly hear the maggot inside her head offering her words of comfort, yet she pushed them aside. All she wanted was Victor and perhaps a honeymoon that was long overdue. Fighting back the sobs she was willing herself to keep inside, a single tear slid down her cheek and dropped onto his.

Throughout the entire church, was a silence so deep that even the death could be woken by it. Yet that is exactly what Emily wished for. Nothing else in the world mattered, only Victor did and she feared that she might not have him after this. Clenching her hands she continued to blink back her tears as she noticed that his skin was getting bluer and bluer. Pulling back slightly she gasped, holding her breath again for the second time that night.

"V-victor?" She inquired softly as she gripped his hand with hers. Surprisingly she squeezed in, and faintly Victor squeezed back. Glancing down again, she saw that he was fully alert and staring back up at her. Relief flooded through Emily as she swallowed the lump that had been forming in her throat. "Oh Victor…" He sat up and pulled her into a hug, and throughout the church cheers for the couple rang out. Brushing the stray bangs out of her eyes Victor smiled warmly at her.

"You're acting as if you thought I wasn't going to come back to you." He said softly as Emily shook her head. She said nothing, but instead laid her head on his shoulder. Victor contently wrapped her up in his arms and placed a fleeting kiss against her temple. Sighing softly Victor turned to the blue form of Lord Barkis and frowned. He for some reason had a feeling that things concerning him hadn't even begun to surface yet. He glanced to the back of the church as the doors were thrown open once again and a distraught Victoria ran in.

"Victor! Please reconsider…" She said frantically as she stared wide eyed at Emily, wrapped up in Victor's arms. Her bottom lip trembled and she took a step back. Close to the edge of denial. Raising her arm, she pointed at Victor with a shaky hand and continued to shake her head. "How…why…HOW could you!"