Within a matter of minutes, a party was in full swing at the Ball and Socket. Bonejangles and his band were playing lively tune after lively tune, drinks were being passed around, and hundreds of guests chatted lively with one another and toasted the triumph over the most hated creature in all the Land of the Dead. It truly was a spectacular party.
But as his friends and wife mingled with other guests, Victor instead sat quietly in one corner of the room, sipping his drink and keeping a watchful eye on Victoria, all the while hoping no one would notice him and disturb his solitude. It wasn't as if he wasn't enjoying the party, quite the contrary. He was having a marvelous time celebrating with his loved ones and was ecstatically happy about their success in defeating Barkis. It was a tremendous weight of his shoulders, after all.
However, it did unintentionally create a new one: the concern of Victoria's welfare. Sure, Victor had always been concerned about the safety of his wife, but up until then, it hadn't been something that he thought he had to constantly worry about every second of every day. It wasn't until he came so direly close to losing her did he realize how easily she could be taken away from him, a notion that frightened him beyond belief. He couldn't bear the thought of losing her, and from the little taste of being apart from her he had gotten earlier, he knew he would have no desire to go on without her.
So, instead of celebrating with his wife as he should have been, Victor instead retreated to the corner, watching Victoria's every move with intense focus. He knew his behavior was ridiculous, but at the moment he just couldn't risk anything, not again, and especially not after all that had taken place.
Victor was still intent on his guard duties when suddenly a haze of blue caught his attention. He looked over just in time to see Emily breeze out of the pub, seemingly unnoticed by everyone besides him. He hesitated for a moment, not wanting to leave Victoria unwatched, but in the end curiosity got the best of him and he quickly and quietly slipped out of the pub after her.
He found her standing just a few feet away from the entrance, staring up at the moon with a very thoughtful expression. Feeling as if he was interrupting something, Victor cautiously walked up to her from behind.
"Emily," he called out timidly, causing her to start a bit. Victor immediately regretted his actions and apologized quickly.
"I'm so sorry, Emily. I didn't mean to frighten you…"
"No, no Victor. It's fine, really," she assured him.
"I just saw you slip out and was wondering if everything was alright…" he paused awkwardly to read her reaction. "Is it?"
"Oh yes, Victor. I'm alright….its just…I've finally come to realize that it's over…it's really over…" she replied, that thoughtful, faraway look returning to her eyes.
"Yes, it finally is," Victor agreed, assuming he knew what she was speaking of, "and it never would have been that way had it not been for you." He paused again, only this time to stare at her with all the gratitude he felt in his heart. When he got no reaction from her, he continued. "I don't know how I could ever thank you enough."
"I'm not just talking about Barkis, Victor," Emily replied, causing him to be taken aback. He furrowed his brows in confusion.
"Y-you're not?"
"No," she answered softly as she returned her attention to the moon. "I'm talking about everything. My waiting in the darkness, my stay here in the Land of the Dead…it's finally come to its end."
"What do you mean," Victor questioned, not at all certain what she was speaking of.
"I mean that maybe my purpose in staying behind wasn't just to help defeat Barkis. I think it was something more…" she turned her gaze from the moon back to Victor. "I think I needed to finally realize how foolish my actions have been."
"Foolish," Victor responded incredulously. "It was foolish to save us from Barkis?"
"No Victor," she corrected in a nearly exasperated tone. "Lying in the dark so long, that was foolish." Emily sighed before continuing in an unsteady voice. "It was foolish of me to wait there so long for someone to come set me free…"
"It's not foolish to desire love," Victor pointed out sympathetically.
"Yes, but to almost steal someone away from their true love for my own selfish purposes was," she retorted.
"You did the right thing in the end…"
"But not for the right reason." Tears began to fall steadily down Emily's cheeks as she went on. "I returned you to Victoria out of guilt, not because I wanted to." There was an awkward pause as she attempted to clear the tears from her face, but as soon as she did, more would replace them. Victor, not having the slightest clue how to respond to such a confession, stood fiddling with his cravat in silence. Finally, Emily took in a deep breath (figuratively speaking) and continued.
"I still love you Victor," she consented, "and even though I did do what was right in the end, I still desired to be with you. Deep inside my heart, I still believed we should have ended up together." She looked past him toward the direction of the pub and smiled a small, watery smile. "But upon getting to know Victoria, seeing what a wonderful person she is, and seeing how happy you two are together finally made me realize that what happened was indeedfor the best." Victor's heart when out to her at that moment and he desperately wanted to say something to make her feel better.
"Emily, I do love Victoria with all my heart," he began, mentally slapping himself in the process. Fabulous way to comfort her, you fool, he told himself. "But had it not been for that, I would have married you in a heartbeat." He looked into her eyes with the up most sincerity. "You truly are a wonderful person, Emily." Emily beamed at him affectionately and tenderly kissed his cheek.
"Thank you, Victor," she replied, her voice breaking up with emotion, "that was a wonderful thing to say, but it does not change the fact that I acted foolishly."
"Everyone does foolish things every now and then," Victor retorted. "It's what you learn from those actions that count."
"I suppose," she agreed, "and I do believe I learned quite a bit." She stepped closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm very happy for you Victor. I can say that sincerely now."
"Thank you, Emily," Victor replied, "for everything. How will I ever be able to repay you?"
"You already have," she replied with a smile. "You set me free….again!" She turned around and took a few steps toward the direction of the full moon. A few moments passed where she stood with her eyes closed and her arms outstretched, basking in the glow of it and looking like she was about to ascend. Victor could feel that something was about to happen. There was a change in the air around them. But before anything did happen, Emily turned her head towards him and smiled.
"I love you, Victor; you and Victoria. And I'm very happy for the both you. Would you please tell her that?"
"Y-yes, but…where are you going?"
"It's my time to truly be set free," she explained to him.
"Will we ever see you again," Victor asked, his own eyes brimming with tears.
"Don't worry, Victor. We'll all be together again someday, when the time is right. But in the mean time, would you do me a favor?"
"Anything," Victor agreed.
"Be happy," she told him, "and live…for me." And with that final goodbye, Emily let out a long sigh and transformed until hundreds of beautiful butterflies. Victor felt a sense of de ja vu strike him as he watched them fly off, but instead of flying off towards the moon, those butterflies seemed to have a much higher destination in mind. He watched in amazement and they flew beyond the moon towards the stars and the heavens beyond. Suddenly he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"Victor," Victoria called out. Victor whirled around to face her, suddenly ashamed for being gone so long.
"Oh, hello Victoria," he replied sheepishly.
"What's going on," she asked, looking up in the direction he had been staring off into. When she spotted the few remaining butterflies flying off into the distance, her eyes grew wider.
"Was that Emily?!"
"Yes dear, it was," Victor replied in rather melancholy manner.
"Is she….gone," she asked fearfully.
"I'm afraid so, Victoria," he answered her, all the while watching the last of the butterflies fade into nothingness. He heard a few sniffles coming from his wife and turned to face her.
"Oh Victor, I didn't get a chance to say goodbye," she told him tearfully. He immediately rushed over to her side and wrapped his arms around her. Victoria, in turn, buried her face into his chest and wept quietly.
"Oh please do not fret, Victoria. She knew you cared for her very much and how thankful we were to her. She told me to tell you that she loved you and to be happy and live for her." Hearing her sniffling cease a bit, Victor concluded that his comfort had worked, much to his relief. They stood holding each other for a moment more, enjoying the peace and the company of each other.
"Will we ever see her again," Victoria asked into his chest. Victor smiled.
"When the time is right," he answered her in Emily's words, "we'll all see each other again. I'm sure of it." He gazed up at the moon a bit longer before speaking again.
"Victoria, what say you and I bid the others farewell and go home?" Victoria picked her head up from his chest and smiled at him.
"That sound like a wonderful idea," she replied. Victor, in response, bent down towards her and kissed her softly on the lips. Then, hand in hand they walked slowly back towards the pub to bid their friends a temporary farewell and then head back to their normal lives in the Land of the Living, where they would surely live happily ever after.
THE END
Well, that's all folks! Hope you enjoyed my first full length Corpse Bride fan fiction! And if you did, there's plenty more where that came from! Until next time! Bye!