Blood Bride

Chapter Three: You May Bite the Bride

OPHELIA made herself at home, spending most of her time in her room, talking to her mother over the phone.

Constantly being in solitude gave her time to make up lies to tell her mother regarding school, which made Ophelia feel all the much worse. She hated lying. Ophelia had always been a good girl, followed the rules and never strayed from conformity. She was a kind and gentle heart and always did as she was told. This was the first time in her life where she was forced to lie in order to protect her mother from the horrid truth.

Her daughter was marrying a vampire for money.

What would her mother think? She would be so disappointed, and she wasn't sure if her weak heart could handle such news.

As of this morning, the day of the ceremony, she was sitting on the shower floor, with swollen red eyes and a newly formed headache.

She was absolutely petrified for what was to come later this evening. She thought she had mentally prepared herself for all of this, though she supposed there was nothing that could prepare her to give up her life and forge her own death certificate.

The scolding droplets of water pelted her cream-colored skin, painting it a soft twinge of red beneath the heated streams of water. The sensation was painful, yet it helped soothe the worry that was built up inside her and constricting her chest.

"Miss Ophelia? Are you almost done? We need to get you dressed." Tobias' voice said over the pouring shower water. Ophelia swallowed and rubbed her pink eyes with the back of her hand.

"Yes, I'll be out in a moment." He must have heard her faint whisper for his footsteps tread out of the room.

She just had to be brave. Brave like her father was at war, and brave like her mother was now in the face of death. She just needed to suck it up. She signed up for this and nothing that comes in the future should be a surprise.

Especially not anything having to do with the undead creatures she would live with for the remainder of her life.

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Ophelia stared at herself in front of the full-length mirror and admired the sleek white dress she had chosen a few days ago when she had gone shopping for one. Her chosen dress had see-through lace that made up the long sleeves and the sides of her dress, while the front and back of her dress were made up of solid white fabric. The dress was breathtaking, and it would have brought anyone to tears with its beauty, but she knew what this dress was used for and its purpose was not beautiful at all. All she could do was gaze upon it with impassiveness.

Tobias zipped up her dress and the skin-tight fabric hugged her like a python swallowing its prey.

"We only have a few hours before sundown, and I still need to help Master Cross get ready, as well as myself, so it's best we move quickly." He took her hand, guided her away from the mirror, and sat her down in front of the vanity.

Ophelia watched him grab a comb, guiding the plastic teeth through her hair. She looked into the vanity mirror, and to her surprise, she only saw herself and the comb moving on its own through her damp strands of hair.

"You're going to do my hair?" She was interested that he would be doing her hair instead of taking her to a hairdresser that knew what they were doing.

"Don't be sexist. Just because I am a man, doesn't mean I cannot do a lady's hair." Ophelia became flustered as she tried to explain that what he had said was wrong. She has seen male hairdressers and wasn't trying to be sexist at all. Instead, she figured it was best for her to be quiet now. "I have been doing the hair and makeup of Blood Brides for years. I stopped after I met Master Cross three hundred years ago because he never had a Blood Bride until now."