Join Me in Pieces

Chapter 5

"What's troubling you?" Chris asks.

It was morning, and Evanora lay on her side, staring at the ring on her hand. She was very clearly deep in thought. Who was the woman who had worn this ring previously? Would she have approved of the witch her son was marrying? Chris had clearly loved his family very much...Giving Evanora his mother's ring must have meant a great deal to him.

He'd been through a lot of hardship to get to where he was today. Perhaps that's why he was so ruthless. Evanora had never had a good relationship with her family when they were still alive, but she supposed if she had, she would be rather cold having to spend eternity without them as well. Or, perhaps the coldness of the vampire king was because Chris's people had been at war from the moment he'd been given the crown. Nevertheless, it was clear that he had a heart underneath all of his tattoos.

He deserved a good wife.

Chris walks over and sits on top of the covers on the bed next to Evanora, then lays on his side facing her, as if he were suddenly ready to listen to any of her problems. Evanora purses her lips, then removes her eyes from the ring and looks to her betrothed.

Above all, despite what either of them "deserved," peace between their peoples was the priority. They needed to communicate on that above all else for the moment.

"We should probably get married quickly," Evanora says quietly, the sleep still in her voice, "You saw how the familiars reacted when I told them the news yesterday, I can't imagine how the witches will react. Sure, some of them will love the idea of peace between the species, but others will riot. I'm sure some of the vampires will too."

Chris nods, understanding, "You're right, we need to be strategic."

"Ugh, I thought my wedding was gonna be the best day of my life. This is just exhausting." Evanora takes the pillow from underneath her and puts it over her face. She sighs.

Chris felt bad. She was right - one thing that humans, witches, and vampires all had in common were weddings. Meant to be a fun, exciting, celebratory day.

"You free this afternoon?" Evanora asks, voice muffled by the pillow.

Chris blinks, coming back to reality, "Are you serious?"

"Well, we have to be strategic, don't we?" Evanora asks, removing the pillow from her face.

Chris pauses a moment, thinking. She had a point, but...this was quite soon...

After thinking a moment more, Chris then takes Evanora's hand, which she hadn't been expecting.

"Take some time to relax this morning," Chris says, "Take a hot bubble bath, get some fresh fruit from the garden, explore the library if you'd like...I'll send someone for you when the time is right. I can't promise you today will be the best day of your life, but maybe it won't be so bad."

He squeezes her hand, then gets off the bed and walks off.

Evanora sits up in the bed, brows furrowed.

He actually wanted to be a good husband, didn't he?

This all just became so much more complicated.

X

Apples were a fruit sacred in witchcraft, and they also tasted so much better fresh off the tree.

Today it was sunny and warm, so Evanora had decided to go explore the garden as Chris had suggested. She walked around barefoot, trying to connect with the nature of her new surroundings. After munching on some fresh fruit, she'd taken a seat in the grass up against a tree. She sat criss-cross, palms face up, eyes shut, trying to meditate and clear her mind of the fears she had.