The Vampire and The Traveler Ch. 11

A few months after the proposal, the day of the wedding finally came. After spending some time discussing possible locations, they decided on an old chapel in a nearby wood. It had been abandoned for a while after a hurricane had flooded the area and ruined it, but later on some vampires came in and used it for ceremonies (once they had some human servants remove all the holy objects and symbols of course). The renovations had left it looking rather nice, so the couple ultimately decided that it was a good choice.

Shortly after arriving, the two went into their separate dressing rooms to prepare. Alex wasn't alone in putting on his wedding dress however, as both Spencer and his new father-in-law Solomon were with him.

After getting his dress on, he turned around to face the two other men. "How do I look?" He asked.

"You look good!" Spencer complimented. "Though your head piece is a little crooked. Hold on..." Spencer adjusted the veil, so it was on his head properly. "There we go."

"Thank you." He looked himself in the mirror. It wasn't every day that he had the occasion to wear such a fancy dress, so it felt nice. He'd initially thought about wearing a more traditional white dress, but Lilith was rather insistent that they both wear black since that was the vampiric custom for weddings. "Also, thanks for helping me with my makeup." He said, turning back to his friend. "I still haven't quite gotten the hang of that."

"No problem. It's an art that takes some time to get down."

Solomon stood on the sidelines, hand on his hip and cane in hand. "Those things are normally worn by women, you know." He commented.

"I'm aware, but I like wearing stuff like this."

"Hm..." he looked to Spencer "young man, would you mind leaving us alone for just a minute? I'd like to have a few words with my new son-in-law in private."

"Right, the ceremony will be starting soon anyway." He checked the time. "See you then!"

After he left, Solomon began tapping his cane at his feet. "I must admit that I still have reservations about you." He started. "But Lilith clearly loves you, and from what I have seen, you're more strange than dangerous. So, despite my personal hesitation, I don't want you to get the wrong idea: I do not object to this union." Shaking his head, a soft smile crept its way onto his face. "My brother always tells me I'm growing soft, maybe he's right."

"Well, maybe being soft isn't so bad."

He released a heavy sigh. "I suppose not. Lilith seemed...lonely for a while, like she was missing something in her life. Nowadays she seems much happier, and I think you might have played a part in that. Whatever the case, I'm just glad she's doing better." He put his hand on Alex's shoulder. "One more thing: please, take good care of my daughter. I love her dearly, and if you do anything to hurt her, I will not hesitate to end your life."

"You can trust me." He politely bowed. "I love Lilith very much and would never harm her. Rest assured, the day where you have to kill me will never come."

"I should trust that it won't." He checked his pocket watch. "Now, it's almost time for the ceremony to begin. Shall we?"

"Right." He left the dressing room, and Solomon went ahead of him to find his seating. Because Alex was being married into Lilith's family and not the other way around, it was he who would be walking down the aisle (or between the rows of seats in this case). As the ceremony began and his time came, he took a deep breath and opened the doors.

Stepping outside with a banquet of roses in his hands, he felt the dry air brushing past him and playing with his long hair and dress. Though it wasn't cold yet, the oppressive southern heat had given way to dryer air. Some of the tree's had turned shades of orange and yellow, adding color to the forested scene. It was truly a perfect Fall's night.

The vampiric way of marriage was different from that of humans; instead of a priest facilitating the ceremony, it was a vampiric elder. There were no holy symbols in sight, and the only thing adorning the elder's podium was a plain red cloth, a book, and a gold chalice.

He walked down the aisle, as the piano player banged out an eerie tune. At the end of the rows of chairs, his wife awaited in a black gown much similar to his, though she was not wearing a veil. Standing behind the podium, was a tall and lanky figure in black robes. They were bald, and their fangs more pronounced than the other vampires. He also noticed their wild red eyes, which made them look like they'd lost their humanity.

Arriving at the podium, his heart beating out of his chest, he glanced back at the crowd. The vampires did one thing similar to the humans at least, which was how they divided the seating. On the left side were Alex's family (which primarily consisted of his friends along with some relatives) and on the right were Lilith's family and friends. The left side mostly being human made a rather noticeable contrast between the two, though the right was not totally devoid of mortals since Lilith also invited her servants.

"Love is what brings us here today." The vampiric elder began speaking, their voice low and gravely. It sounded like they smoked a pack a day. "Love and passion. This mortal man was brought into the fold of vampirism, the unholy gift bestowed upon him by his newly engaged wife." They looked down at the book as they continued speaking, though Alex had no idea what the book was. "Now, his induction into the noble vampire society will be completed. Brought together in union, they will walk side-by-side in immortality."

The elder continued droning on for some time. Never given any direction to do anything, he stood there and listened. At various points he stopped paying attention and zoned out, before the elder finally asked Lilith the all-important question. He snapped out of his daze when he heard it.

"Do you, Lilith Maravalle, take this man to be your husband, to live together in immortality? To drink from the goblet of virgin's blood together, and to hold and comfort him so long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

They turned to Alex. "And do you, Alex Harlow, take this woman to be your wife, to live together in immortality? To drink from the goblet of virgin's blood together, and to hold and comfort her so long as you both shall live?"

"I do." Two simple words, yet they held so much meaning.

"You may raise the veil."

Lilith gently reached out and lifted the veil to reveal his blushing face. He could feel his heart start to beat faster as they neared the end of the ceremony. He felt so nervous and excited at the same time and had to wonder if Lilith felt a similar way beneath her cool exterior.

The vampiric elder then gave Lilith his golden chalice. "Now, drink of the virgin's blood." She took a sip, before offering a drink to Alex. He drank from it was well, noting that the blood somehow tasted smoother than other bloods he'd drank. He did have to wonder how they verified that it was virgin's blood specifically, however.

Setting the chalice back on his pedestal, it was then that the elder asked the final question. "Is there anyone here who objects to this union?" The question was met with silence. "Then, I pronounce you husband and wife, Lilith and Alex Maravalle. You may now kiss the groom."

Lilith leaned over and kissed him. Though they'd kissed many times before, this one felt so much more meaningful. There came cheers and applause as their lips met.

After pulling out of the kiss, Alex wasted no time. He threw the flowers into the crowd to see who caught it (he wasn't sure if vampires knew the significance of such a thing, but he couldn't resist the temptation). It flew into the crowd, and a loan hand reached out and grabbed it; it was Xander. The tall, hairy man looked to Spencer rather smugly. His boyfriend simply blushed and covered his face.

Alex chuckled at the sight, but in his moment of distraction, Lilith came in and (quite literally) swept him off his feet. Carrying him bridal style, she gave him a loving expression before carrying him down the aisle through the celebrating crowd.

With the ceremony over, it came time for the afterparty. A band began playing a list of songs chosen by Lilith. Alex had picked some songs of his own, but they decided to hold off on playing those until after they'd gotten through the bride's playlist. The couple danced slowly to the beat of a melancholy tune. Alex had improved his dancing skills a little bit, though Lilith was still leading. They danced through a good portion of the bridal playlist, but eventually it transitioned into Alex's music choices. The couple had very different music tastes, so they had attempted to make things flow better by separated the playlists, but it didn't make it any less jarring when a slow tune by a 19th century Russian composer suddenly transitioned into a cover of a J-Pop song. Once that happened, Lilith started finding it difficult to keep pace and decided it was time to sit down and drink.

Blood was the primary food offering, but given the number of human guests, they had to make accommodations with normal food. Many of the vampires were rather hesitant about this since providing human food at their gatherings was not customary, but Alex was insistent and there was little point in arguing with the groom (especially when the bride was taking his side). Though he was a vampire himself and was fine with just blood, he recalled how difficult it was to go to the vampiric ball where there was no human food to be found. Never one to let guests leave hungry, it was one point he would not budge on.

Alex and Lilith got themselves a sampling of blood and cake, before sitting at their table where Spencer and Xander were already seated. Shortly after they were joined by Cassandra, an old friend of Lilith's. Alex had met her on a number of occasions, as she liked to visit with Lilith when she had the time. She was a similar height as his wife and had long, black hair which matched the color of her dress.

"Now that I have the opportunity," Cassandra started, setting down her glass of blood "I'd like to give the both of you a little wedding gift." She handed a box wrapped up in red wrapping to Lilith.

"Oh, you're such a dear!" Lilith hugged her, before she started trying to tear open the wrapping.

"Not yet!" Cassandra put a hand up, signaling her to stop. "Wait until you get back to your hotel."

"Why wait?" Alex asked, tilting his head. "Don't you want to see how we like it?"

"It's a secret, and besides," she winked "I have a feeling you'll both like it."

"Okay...?"

"Well, I'll be sure to text you what I think of it later tonight." With that, Lilith set the present beside her chair before leaning over and whispering in her husband's ear. "In case you haven't realized, it's most likely some BDSM gear she found. Remember when I told you that me and her have similar tastes?"

"Ah..." he was about to say something but held his tongue and took a bite of his cake. He had to admit he was quite curious, but this was not the kind of thing to discuss in front of other people.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Spencer reached out and offered a gift of his own "it's not much, but I thought I'd get y'all a little something."

"Oh, thanks!" Alex grabbed the bag before reaching in and pulling out a black cape with a high collar and a silver chain. "You got me a cape?"

"Yeah, you only recently became a vampire so I thought you'd need a cape! All vampires need capes!"

Xander nodded in affirmation, crossing his arms.

"This is true." Lilith chimed in, giving Spencer a smile. "Thank you, Alex's wardrobe is severely lacking in proper vampiric attire."

"Yes, I think he would look nice in such outfits." Cassandra commented.

"Thanks." Alex folded up the cape and put it back on the bag so he didn't spill anything on it. "It occurs to me that I can't borrow any of Lilith's clothes, so a wardrobe update is probably in order." If he was being honest, he didn't see anything wrong with his current wardrobe, but he did like the idea of leaning more into the gothic aesthetic after his transformation.

After a gift exchange, some conversation and laughs, things eventually started to wind down. The party began dispersing as an increasing number of people got tired and left, so the couple eventually decided to retire to their hotel room. Though neither said it directly, both secretly knew what would happen once they got there.