𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙀𝙧𝙖 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 | Napoleonic Stories

|1|Napoleon x Reader|1|

A Corpse's Spouse
(Reader shall be gender unidentified because a reader's gender isn't going to be assumed in these stories [unless it's gender specific or agab specific]
This story is based on the movie "Corpse Bride", the prompt inspired by Tiktok user "_JJunko".
Also this isn't accurate to anything, just a silly idea that I decided to run with because it made my brain do flips.)

   You had been practicing your vows for a near hour now, reciting them to an empty forest whilst holding out your ring to nobody. The vows felt fake, as they were fake, and with every attempt to make them more passionate and real you just got more frustrated. Arranged marriage was something your family had always told you to look forward for, and yet it still felt unreal and unfair that you were experiencing it now. You weren't inlove with your spouse- you barely knew them even, but your parents wanted you to marry someone wealthy, even if that meant you would be in misery.

   You sighed, taking another glance at the ring you would be placing upon your spouse's finger in just under forty eight hours. With a triumphant huff, you began to recite your vows one last time for the night, kneeling next to a branch to place your ring onto something resembling a hand. "With this ring," you began to finish, slipping the ring onto the branch, "I ask you to be mine."

   You then stayed still there for a moment, simply staring at this branch that was now holding your ring. After a minute you sighed, preparing to slip the ring back off before the branch began to twitch. Soon enough it had grasped onto your wrist, earning a shriek of terror from you as you fell to the forest floor.

   The branch- no, that was no branch, that was a hand. By god- did you just practice your vows on a corpse? The idea made you ill, and it seemed to be the reality as something began to emerge from the ground. Within seconds, there was the corpse of a man standing infront of you, still rather casually gripping your wrist both sternly and gently. The man's face was covered with his hat, though he quickly put it on sideways to look at you properly.

  "Bonsoir, mon amour."
   His voice was much smoother than you'd expect a dead person's voice to be, though perhaps that was just your imagination. "I- What-?" You stuttered, looking at this man with absolute terror. His face went from calmed to worried, "I did not frighten you, did I? I am deeply sorry if I had, mon chérie." He carefully kneeled infront of you, moving his hand from your wrist to your cheek. You were unsure of how to react, you didn't expect to be in this situation.

   "I'm not- I'm not frightened." You managed to sputter out, slowly coming to terms with the reality you were currently in. His expression seemed to relax at that, "Ah, good, it would have been quite bad if I had scared off my spouse, oui?" He asked rhetorically, gently ruffling up your hair. Before you could even process what he had said, he took hold of your hand and began to lead you through the forest.

   "Wait- wait wait wait-" You stuttered, causing him to stop and turn to you. His eyes captivated you in an odd way, almost to the point where you had forgotten what you were going to say but you managed to find your words, "Who are you-?"

   He seemed confused, as if he didn't expect this question but it didn't seem to throw him off too much as he responded, "Napoleon. Napoleon, Bonaparte." You felt your throat get dry as you realized just how insane this entire situation was. At this point you nearly forgot about your real soon to be spouse that you would be wed to in two days-

   Oh dear, you nearly forgot about your real soon to be spouse that you would be wed to in two days.

   "Well, Napoleon, I," You hesitated, looking at his eyes as you attempted to explain the situation. "I was just, practicing my vows on you, I don't actually," you paused, your voice beginning to crack as your throat just continued to get more dry. His expression fell as he released your hand, "Oh," was all he muttered as he looked down at his hand with your ring on it. He then slipped it off and held it out to you, "Forgive me for the misunderstanding mon amo- mon ami."

   You looked at the ring, debating whether you should take it back. How bad would it be to run away from all your problems with a new husband, away from all the arranged marriage issues and be at peace with a new, better life for yourself? Was that a selfish thought? Your parents would surely think so. Then again, when did you ever like your parents?

   You simply grabbed the ring and slipped it back onto Napoleon's finger, catching him by surprise. He looked at you, confused, "I'm- deeply confused, did I misunderstand?" He asked.

   "No, I don't think you did," You started, holding his hand and looking at him with uncertainty, "I think deep down I was practicing my vows for someone I didn't even know yet." You stated, which seemed to make him more confused, so you decided to continue,

   "I'm just surprised that someone was you."

(I haven't slept since yesterday so this is extremely badly written but mayyybe someone enjoyed it I dunno).