Heirot

Tenele grinned madly, feeling joy flutter in her heart. She looked between the priest, Vlad, and her father. Her father... the thought was still shocking. She clutched Vlad tighter. "When?" she blurted out. She wanted to be Vlad's wife. His wife... the title sounded surreal in her mind. She wondered if it sounded just as different in his mind.

Vincent stood observing quietly. He knew he wouldn't be able to watch the wedding in doors, but he he wanted to see his daughter marry. He wanted to see her happy. He had missed so much of her life, and he didn't want to miss this.

The priest gauged the eagerness in her eyes and smiled a bit. "Well, I will need a little time to gather the materials for the ritual. I'd imagine you may wish to freshen up as well. But I see no reason not to proceed today. You've overcome enough obstacles already, without throwing a long wait on the top."

Something thrilled up inside Vlad's chest as he realized what the words meant. He could marry her, here, today. He'd never have dreamed he could want this moment so badly.

"I have one other request to impose upon you," he said, a little breathlessly. He cast a sideways glance at Vincent. "Would it be possible to prepare the ceremony outside?"

The priest balked. "Outside?"

"Yes. Out here."

He looked around him uneasily. "There are corpses, Lord Dracul. It will take days to clean this up. Perhaps in the central courtyard, you could still have the natural-"

"No...it is very important to us that it be out side," Vlad said, glancing around them for ideas. He spotted a copse of trees on a hill nearby that looked relatively sheltered. "Up there?"

The priest followed his gaze upward. "...There is a clearing there....you are certain you wouldn't prefer it in the sanctuary?"

Tenele understood what Vlad was getting at. She glanced to where he pointed. "I've always wanted an outdoor wedding," she spoke softly, smiling at the priest. "A girlish dream."

Her eyes met her father's, who seemed surprised. He smiled softly, nodding to them thankfully.

She was excited, too excited. She had nothing to wear. No dress. And where would they spend their wedding night?! She didn't think that priests would find it appropriate to spend it in a church. There were factors she hadn't considered, but did they really matter?

She knew she wanted the wedding night, she knew for a fact she wanted that. It was the final thing that connected them as husband and wife, and even so some people didn't recognize a marriage without it... She knew they could work that out somehow.

"Very well," the high priest acquiesced. "I will arrange for the ritual to be performed there. In the meantime, you two have some time to make your own preparations," he smiled. "The brothers and sisters of the compound have some cleanup to attend to, but I believe some of them will want to witness this as well. Everyone here owes you two their lives."

The priest gave Vlad a pat on the shoulder and turned to head back inside.

Vlad grinned at Tenele. "Well, my lady. It seems we have some work to do. We're hardly fit to be seen in public, let alone married."

"Guess its time to find that bathing chamber..." she told him with a smile, meeting his eyes. Then, her gaze fell on her father. "Will you..."

"I will be on that hill when the time comes," Vincent told her, fighting the urge to hug her again.

Tenele stepped forward before heading to the sanctuary walls. She leaned up and kissed Vincent on the cheek, not sure really what else to do. Then, taking Vlad's hand, she led him back behind the walls.

The people of the compound flocked to them, offering thanks. Some grabbed hold of their arms while they told them how thankful they were. Even Vlad was met with kindness. A woman came up to Tenele holding a bundle of soft cream fabric. "It was mine..." she muttered shyly. "You can't be married in that... Please, take it. I would be honored if you wore it today."

Tenele reached out slowly and took the soft cream dress from her. "Thank you," she replied after several long seconds. "Its lovely. Oh,thank you!" She grinned at the woman, thrilled to have something beautiful to wear on her wedding day.

Her wedding day? The sound, it was foreign to her ears.

Vlad was not accustomed to all the positive attention. The praise and gratitude of the people around him left him temporarily stunned to silence as he cautiously nodded to their gushing enthusiasm and made his way through the growing crowd. Now that the path was safe, the evacuated women and refugees were spilling out into the main hall. Hands patted him on the shoulder and strangers congratulated him as he passed. He glanced back at Tenele close behind him. Odd. He hadn't felt overwhelmed when he was surrounded by people who wanted to kill him.

He finally wound up in the smaller corridor that led to their "chambers", also known as the library, and stepped inside. His chest squeezed insistently at him, a dull throb that protested the pendant hovering over it. He put his hand over it tiredly. "Just a bit longer," he muttered to it.

The ladies stole Tenele away before she could let Vlad know where she was going. She hoped he'd assume it was to prepare. They led her down the halls to where the monks gathered to bathe. Thankfully they left her alone to do the rest. She pumped hot water from the kitchen into the tub and went it was full she sank down beneath the water.

Her body was tired, but she was going to get passed that. She took a long bath, washing the blood and dirt off. When she was finished she smoothed the medicine her father had given them over her wound. Like magic, and maybe it was, the wound closed. The stitches fell away like dust. Her hand smoothed over the wound. Her body still felt the effects of it, the weariness.

She sucked it up, and slowly bust surely began to dawn the dress that the woman had given her. She reached a point where she couldn't fasten the buttons on the back, and so she called the young woman in to help her.

A few of the ladies gathered around, smiling happily with her. Tenele's cheeks started to hurt with how much she smiled, she was to happy to stop.

When Tenele didn't arrive behind him, Vlad surveyed the room and weighed his options. There was no shower , even in the study where Tenele had been quartered, but there was a bucket of water. He was going to need to make due. He hoisted the bucket up and was carrying it toward the bathroom when a knock came at the door. Vlad set the bucket down and went to the door, expecting to see Tenele. Instead, several nuns were standing outside his room.

"Lord Dracul," one murmured, "We've come to help you prepare. We thought you might....require better accommodations, and attire."

Vlad studied them with a devilish smirk. "I suppose that is true," he said. "Are you ladies planning to help me bathe?" He winked.

They blushed.

"J....Just to guide you in observing the formality...the high priest suspected you may not be used to such things."

'Does he think I'm some kind of barbarian?' Vlad thought in amusement. "Alright. Lead the way, ladies."

Twenty minutes later, he was washed and standing in a long bathrobe. One of the nuns pulled a tape measure around his waist and evaluated it with professional efficiency. "We'll need to take those pants in just a little," she murmured, glancing at a formal suit that had been volunteered for the occasion.

Vlad watched them fuss around the room, wondering how it could possibly take this much effort for one to simply get dressed, but they seemed insistent. He stepped over to the side of the room to avoid being trampled and put a hand against the wall to steady himself. He really wasn't feeling very well at all. He pulled the robe tighter to be sure it concealed the faintly luminescing stone on his chest. He was running high on excitement and sheer happiness. That would be enough to keep his maligned body running until the ceremony finished, he told himself.

"Alright," one of them finally told him. "These have just been tailored. Go have a try in the bathroom," she said, thrusting a pair of pressed black trousers into his arms.

Tenele looked at her reflection in the old mirror. The mirror was aged and warped and covered in black spots, but she could see herself clearly in it. The dress was long, and it dragged the ground about an inch. The woman who had volunteered it for her was taller. The sleeves were long as well, and belled out over her hands. The top hung off her shoulders, and lace trimmed the edges. There was lace and gold trim on the arms and around the waist.

"Its beautiful," Tenele murmured. "I couldn't have picked anything better."

"It shouldn't be much longer," the woman who had given her the dress replied. "Its a strange marriage isn't it?"

Tenele met the woman's eyes. "I love him."

The woman grinned. "That's all that matters then, dear." The woman cupped her face. "I can see that he loves you."

Tenele felt her heart jump. "He does," she agreed. She was ready, more than ready, and the time seemed to slow down to the point of being unbearable.

It was almost an hour later when Vlad's attendants finally beheld him with approving stares. "On with the tie!" one of them cheered.

"I'll help you with it, darling," the oldest of the three gushed as she walked up to help fasten the red sash around the vampire's collar. Vlad chuckled patiently as she fumbled with it.

"I assure you I can do that myself," he offered breathlessly.

"Well, I'm doing it for you," she said stubbornly. Something told him these women just wanted an excuse to play dress up, and he wasn't going to get much say in the matter. That said, the image reflecting at him in the mirror was gratifying. The outfit looked sharp. It had been a long time since the days he had dressed for court.

The woman's cool wrist brushed his neck, and she pulled her hand back like she'd been bitten. "My goodness," she murmured, looking confused. "You're burning up, dear."

"I'm sure he's just nervous," offered one of the others.

Vlad offered her a reassuring smirk. "It's perfectly normal. I'm always this temperature."

"You're sure? I'd heard vampires were cold to the touch," she murmured, then covered her mouth, wondering if she'd said something rude.

"I'm perfectly fine," he scoffed. "Thank you, ladies, for your assistance." He offered them a practiced bow. They beamed at one another as he took his leave of them and walked out into the hall. He stumbled forward into the wall and caught himself there for a moment, drawing slow breaths. The building felt like it was pressing in on him from every direction.

"So you really are ill?" one of the nuns who had watched him leave said from the doorway.

Vlad jerked his head toward her. "Just...jitters," he said, smirking at how ridiculous the concept sounded.

"I'll send for some medicine." You could almost see the gears turning as she wondered how medicine would affect a vampire. Vlad thought back to the experiment that had brought on this waning phase of invincibility. The doc had given him a human fever reducer afterward...and it had helped. Or maybe it had been the buckets of ice he had been lying on.

He resigned himself to return to the room, like a boy sent back to wash his hands before dinner. He wanted to be ready. He wanted to be with her, outside, under those trees. Maybe he did have some jitters, because normally he wasn't this clingy.

Tenele's hands writhed together nervously. She stood in front of a window looking out at the battle zone. It felt strange, so many people had been killed (although the enemy) and they were preparing for a wedding. One of the woman came up and placed a hand on her arm. "Dear, your hair. You can't get married with your hair like that! Sit, sit."

Tenele sat down and the woman gently started to comb her hair. Within a few minutes the lady had pulled Tenele's pretty silver hair up with little bronze clips. "There," she smiled, moving to stand in front of Tenele. "He's going to die when he sees you!" The lady thought about her words, and then laughed. "Oh, dear..."

When everything was ready all the women gathered and Tenele and ushered her from the room. She felt dizzy. Was this really happening? Was she sleeping still? The dizziness came easy with her still suffering from blood loss. All the factors about the moment flooded her. She had a living father... A father. He wasn't dead. Every combination of sentences to explain how that was true played in her mind. And then, she was getting married. They'd survived an epic battle, found her thought dead father, and now she was getting married to the only man she could ever love.

"Is this happening?" Tenele whispered urgently.

The ladies around her laughed.

It was a distant hike to the top of the hill where the trees crested around a small clearing. There were a lot of people here, a lot more than she thought would want to witness the marriage of a human to a vampire. Her eyes fluttered nervously around for Vlad. This wasn't the most conventional wedding, and Sinead wasn't here to witness it. It was not the wedding that she had imagined as a little girl, but she didn't care. It didn't matter. As long as she was with him, she could get married in a sack-cloth in the middle of a pig farm and be happy.

"So, how is this going to go?" Tenele asked the women. "I've never been married... I don't know what I'm doing."

One of the women smiled at her. "Oh, you'll have no trouble at all, my dear. We're just going to stand close so he doesn't see you before it's time! The priest will guide you through the whole thing. All you need to do is walk up nice and slow!"

Vlad was standing near the holy circle the priest had inscribed in the soil with sacred salts. His body was feeling steadier after the inhuman dose of medicine he'd taken inside, especially now that he was under the open air. The high priest turned as he noticed him.

"How are you, lad? Ready?"

Vlad perked up a little at the term 'lad', but didn't bother objecting to it. He had enough things to think about. "Ready," he said.

The priest gestured for him to come into the circle. "Come and let's just run through things quickly before we start.

Vlad stepped into the circle, and almost went to his knees. He froze at the edge, his teeth tingling with the intensity of the holy magic. "Priesty," he whispered tightly. "We might have a problem."

The priest turned back to him, confused at first by the vampire's frustrated expression. "I see," he said. He raised a hand to his chin and frowned.

Vlad's head spun. Without his immunity to holy magic, what proof did he have to convince these people of his intentions? "Look...I didn't lie to you. I was immune at one point...but it seems I might have worn out my welcome," Vlad grimaced, trying to somehow think himself out of what was happening. "Maybe Thar has changed his mind."

"Have you changed your mind?" the priest asked quietly.

Vlad's gaze grew still and solemn. The hopeless ache in his heart was outwardly visible. After all this, was his body really going to betray him and prevent the whole thing? His expression hardened a little. "Never. I love her. I cannot..." He paused and closed his eyes, then glanced over at the crowd chatting amongst each other. "There can be no one else, even if I should outlive her by an eternity."

The priest thought for nearly a minute about what should be done. "Then I will believe you. After all, Thar has not wholly rejected you. This circle is the most sacred inscription known to man. Your kind would normally dissolve to ash within this emblem. If you can go through the ceremony, I see no reason not to recognize your union. But your hand must be able to accept the ring. If it burns through, the ritual can not be completed." He pulled the vampire's lapel to the side and inspected the scalding hot pendant he was wearing underneath. He took hold of it and pulled it off. "The circle is enough. this is redundant now," he said.

"Now, once again, Lord Dracul. Are you ready?"

The vampire met his eyes and slowly straightened, ignoring the circle. "Yes."

"Is the bride ready?" he asked, holding out his arms as if even this question were part of a sacred, timeless ritual. The ordinary trees around them suddenly felt enormous and ancient, sacred. The guests fell silent, and all eyes turned to the back of the group. Tenele's human shield of nuns and maids stepped carefully out of the way, revealing a straight path for Tenele to follow toward the circle.

Tenele looked up as the crowd parted. Her heart was in her throat. She looked straight a head to the priest and Vlad standing with him.

Her heart started beating again. She took a calm step forward. They said nice and slow, but she was worried about going to slow. Then, she was worried about going to fast.

When she finally reached the circle she stepped inside and smiled at Vlad. It was the happiest smile of her life. She glowed with it.

Over to the side, a good distance from that sacred circle Vincent stood leaning against a tree. He watched with a soft smile as his beautiful daughter walked in variations of speed to meet her future husband. He watched the wonder and excitement in her eyes at seeing Vlad waiting for her. He was happy, for the first time in a long time Vincent Raider knew peace.

Vlad's eyes froze on the sight of Tenele walking toward him. She was beautiful, and he'd never seen her so elegantly perfect before. He was used to her more rugged, feminine grace, but seeing her now reminded him how delicate and lovely she could appear when she chose. But the thrill that burst through him was not because of her beauty. All he could think, as he watched her approach, was how incredible it was that this strong, passionate woman who looked as amazing in armor as she did in satin really intended to marry him. That she was his, and that he was willing to be hers. In front of her, and only her, his pride and arrogance melted into humility and awe.

He forgot the holy barrage that was wailing on his body. He forgot everyone there. He smiled like he'd just found the greatest happines he'd known in his long, long life. When she finally reached him, he held out his hand for hers. "Maiden girl," he greeted her, his eyes shining like jewels.

Tenele placed her hand in his and gave it a firm squeeze. "My lord," she replied, her smile transforming into a wild grin. She met his ruby and mouthed the words, "I love you." She looked to the man standing off a distance away. He tipped his head at her, smiling.

Then she met the high priest's fatherly face. "We're ready."