Corpse Bride: M.C.

Chapter 14- One Giant Family

“What?” The word slipped out of Michael’s mouth unnoticed by himself. “Ashton sent his stupid bird to go spying,” Harry explained, slipping into the room, “Something about he saw Mr. and Mrs. Hood talking to some young, handsome guy. Said he’s rich and that was that. The wedding’s in a couple hours.” Michael stood there, stunned. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak; He just stayed in place, soaking up all the information he’d just heard. The love of his life, the only one he’s ever had, is marrying another man. “Maybe it’s time to move on, Michael,” Lauren said quietly. A few seconds later a squeak escaped her lips, the result of Harry elbowing her in the side. Michael heard her, and he kind of agreed with her. He just didn’t want to admit that maybe he should, because he didn’t want to. He began to slowly walk away from the three. He didn’t respond in any way, physically or verbally, when Emily called out his name. He heard concern dripping from her voice, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered anymore. He let his feet wander, just planning to end up wherever they take him.

Michael eventually  found himself back at that coffin he first hid from Emily in. He sat in it, holding the forget-me-not he still had. He thought about how maybe, just maybe, it’d be easier to just die. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt as bad. Though, then his heart may be broken forever. He wasn’t sure if he could live with a broken heart forever, whether he was dead or not. He probably couldn’t handle it. It’d just hurt way too much. He continued to examine the forget-me-not, spinning it around in his fingers. That forget-me-not was like a symbol of their love. They weren’t supposed to forget each other. Ever. But maybe she had forgotten him. Maybe she forgot him, and he should forget her, too. “I’m too late,” Michael whispered, a teardrop slipping out of the corner of his eye. He let the flower fall out of his hand and onto the floor, then he balled his hand into a fist. He just couldn’t believe it. He was too late.

“What do I do, Ashton? I mean, he just walked out. He didn’t say anything.” The sound of Emily’s voice, full of concern and love, caught Michael’s attention. He walked toward the direction that he’d heard the voice come from, eventually hearing little Harry’s too. “Well, Em, he’s probably heartbroken. You of all people should understand what that’s like.” Michael was taken aback at the small boy’s words. The kid, though young, seemed to have learned so much. Whether he learned it before or after death, Michael would never know. He finally found a door that was cracked open and he peeked through to see that, sure enough, there were Emily and Harry. “Are the entire male population like this, Harry?” Emily asked the small boy, “Because at least I talked to someone about it. He just walked off.” “Em, not all guys are comfortable with sharing their feelings—” “Hey, Em!” Ashton came running into the room, Calum hot on his heels, with a look of worry on their faces, “We have a problem!” “Let me tell her, Ash,” Calum said, pushing past the older boy, “I wanna tell her!” “Oh shut up, Calum!” Ashton said, shoving the tan boy to the ground. “Ashton? What’s going on?” Emily asked wearily, raising her eyebrows in confusion. “Well, you see,” Ashton nervously chuckled, scratching the back of his neck, “Your wedding vows? Remember that part that says ‘til death do us part? Well, um, funny thing. You’re already dead.” Ashton bit his lip, watching Emily’s face. She didn’t react quite as bad as he thought she would, though. “If Michael finds out, he’ll leave me,” Emily said sadly, “I’ll be all alone again.” “Hey!” Calum exclaimed, earning a punch in the stomach from Ashton. “There’s still a way, though, that you can be together,” Ashton assured the girl, “But it’s a little—Umm.” “We’ve gotta kill him!” Calum interrupted Ashton excitedly. A gasp slipped past both Michael and Emily’s mouths, though they had no idea Michael was listening in nor that he was there. “He’d have to give up his old life, Em,” Ashton explained, “He’d have to repeat his vows and drink from the wine of ages—” “Which is poison!” “and then his heart would stop and you could have it forever.”

Emily stared at Calum and Ashton in astonishment, not sure what to think. She finally sighed and sat next to the small fireplace in the room, just staring at the roaring fire. “I couldn’t ask him to do that,” Emily whispered sadly. Not even a moment later, Michael barged into the room. “You don’t have to, Emily,” he said, his voice steady. “Michael,” Ashton said, placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder, “Are you sure? You wouldn’t be able to see your parents ever again. You’d never see Mali again. You’d never see the shining sun or the evening stars, nor breath the fresh air above ever again. Do you understand that?” Michael closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He took Emily’s hand in his and pulled her up to where she was standing beside him. He looked straight into her beautiful, pale blue eyes and whispered two words. “I do.”

After telling the whole underworld that they were going to have a proper wedding, there was a big commotion. Everyone was running around like chickens with their heads cut off, no offense to the dead obviously, trying to get ready. There were seamstresses that fixed Michael’s suit, as it’d gotten torn when he had ran from Emily in the forest. There were people making a wedding cake, or at least trying to. Nobody had time for anything. There was going to be a wedding, and it was going to be amazing.

The commotion all stopped once it was announced that the bride was coming. Sure enough, Emily came down the staircase and she looked stunning. Calum even cried. Before Michael and Emily could even comment on each other, though, they were whisked away. Something about you’re not supposed to see each other before the wedding, Michael heard them say. Nevertheless, they all headed up to the land of the living together. Just like one giant family.