The Skeleton King's Bride

[Sans]

Fenrir had been among the dead for centuries, years even. He had grown deathly tired of ruling the Underworld and seeing nothing, but death. He hated that he had become so jaded towards the subject. He had begun to make jokes about, although death was no laughing matter. Each day was just as full of corpses as the last. He was so used to waking up in the Underworld that he kept his eye sockets shut for five minutes to avoid being surprised by the blinding light of all the new souls he had to take in to his Kingdom.

However, he was surprised to find out that when he opened his eyes this day, he was not in the Underworld. No, he was far from it in fact. There was something soft underneath him. It felt like a cushion. He felt exhausted, like he'd been sleeping for days. It was pitch dark. He felt around. His movement or rather his body seemed to be rather confined in a space no larger than himself. Was he surrounded by wood?

He began to cough and then he got confused. He had to be dreaming. Skeleton didn't cough. They don't have lungs! He didn't have lungs, but he was starting to feel suffocated. He pushed up on the barrier in front of him. He shielded himself from the sun rays... wait... sun rays? This had to be some type of joke or a dream or something.

He rose up, and looked around. It was his old manor. After all these years it was still here of all things. How had he gotten here. He rose up and realized he had been laying in a casket. It looked vaguely familiar, like everything else here.

He walked around, hearing the floors creak with each of his steps. He went to wipe the dust off the mirror before jumping back when he saw skin. Frantically he removed the dust. He was completely fleshed from head to toe and covered in dust and... needing clothes.


Edric Fell was to be married. His parents had set this up for him. He'd seen the numbers, he was going to be inheriting and incredibly large sum of money, but in order to get it, he would have to be married to a nice girl. That was the deal his parents had set for him. They had selected a girl, an ordinary girl, by the name of Breya Hayes.

She was cute, he'd give her that, but in his eyes she had no sex appeal. She wasn't tall or modeling. She wasn't rich as far as he knew. In fact, if it hadn't been for his parent, he probably would have never even looked twice at the girl. Just who was she? Who were her parents? He scoffed. Poor probably. Wasn't she supposed to be coming here to meet him? This whole thing was weighing on him.

"Edric honey, she's going to be here soon. Can you come down? Be ready sweetheart and be charming won't you eddikuns. We don't want our girl to be disgusted with our perfect little man do we?" Edric's mother Ann called up to him, she gave her husband, Reginald an expectant look.

"He'll behave honey," Reginald reassured her, "We did raise him right after all."

Edric came down the stairs, dressed in the finest designer clothing. He looked like he lived in a mansion. He stood by the door with his parents, waiting to see if his bride-to-be would in fact show up.

 

[The Writing Owl]

Breya hadn't really expected to get married so soon in life. Honestly, she hadn't even expected to find someone willing to set their child up with a stranger! At first she had tried to turn down the proposition. She couldn't well marry a stranger. They weren't living in olden times after all. This was the 21st century! They didn't do arranged marriages! Then they offered the money. Her fiancé (It still felt so weird to call him that) would be inheriting a fairly large sum of money from what she had been told. If she agreed to marry this man, then her family would be promised a portion of that money. It was enough to leave them secure for the rest of their lives and getting the younger ones through their schooling. There was no way she could turn down that kind of offer.

So there she was, driving to meet her fiancé. Her parents had wanted to come to meet this mysterious man she had so secretly fallen in love with, but Breya had refused. They didn't need to know until well after she had time to get to know this man she was supposedly supposed to marry. So she made the trip alone, feeling more and more inadequate as she passed by mansions, each one larger than the last. She had tried to wear her best, but even that felt like nothing more than rags. She pulled up to the mansion she had been instructed to go to, her dingy car looking like it belonged in a dump compared to the sports cars and fancy vehicles that surrounded her. She was stopped by a valet who took her car and found it a place to park, leaving her to walk up to the family and her future husband.

Before making the trek, Breya took a moment to look over her attire. She had picked out her best dress, a burgundy sun dress that came to just above her knees, and her nicest sweater to match. Both she had found at a good will in near pristine condition. Her heels looked like they were well worn. They were the only pair she had, so she hoped they at least made her look a bit taller and classier. Overall she felt like a country bumpkin going to a grand ball. Sighing, she looked up and put on her best smile as she saw the family waiting for her.

She tried desperately to mask her nerves as she walked up to the trio. "Um, hi Mr. and Mrs. Fell! It's lovely to see you both again." She greeted the couple, nodding to them before turning to Edric. "You must be Edric! It's lovely to meet you. My name is Breya Hayes." She held her hand out to shake, wondering if this was how most brides greeted their future spouses. Despite her attempts to seem confident, her nerves were worn well on her sleeve as she fidgeted and fussed with her attire. She felt so desperately out of place as she tried to come to grips with the fact that this was the life she was stepping into. This is for my family. She thought. This is all for them. So buck up and keep a smile! Despite her nerves she kept a smile on. Who knows? Maybe Edric would turn out to be a really amazing person.

 

[Sans]

Ann burst into hysterical tears, "Oooh isn't she adorable! I could just pinch her little cheeks. Honey fetch the camera. THE CAMERA!"

Ann was a tall woman with a long neck that was perfect for peering over at neighbors. She had an unusually pointed nose, but other than that, her features were rather flawless. She looked to be like someone who had always come from money. Ann was also a sucker for small town girls... or at least she considered anyone less fortunate than her to be a small town girl. This girl was fitting the bill to a T. She wore a dress whose brand name she couldn't recognize and a sweater. The heels were probably hand me downs, but it was cute in its own little way. However, none of that would matter when she married her cute little Eddikuns.

Reginald went to get the camera, and the scratched his chin. He was a tall fellow, with more leg than he had torso. He had a goatee that made him look a little more sinister than he behaved. He was in fact, the biggest push over anyone knew except for when it came to business. He motioned for his son to get next to Breya, but of course things could only go smoothly for so long.

"Can't you save the pictures for a later time?" Edric turned his face up, "She isn't really photo ready. Wait until I've gotten her some new clothes. She should at least fit in."

What Edric said easily translated to, he didn't want to be photographed next to someone who looked so obviously poor.

"Edric darling, that's not something you should say. She looks nice, don't you think dear?" Ann looked expectantly at Reginald.

"Yes that's right," Reginald said suddenly, "Now be cooperative and stand next to her. I'll only take just the one photo and then you can be done. You will be taking her shopping won't you?"

Edric groaned and took his spot next to Breya, grabbing her by the waist, "Of course I am. I wouldn't be caught dead with someone who dressed like this."

He smiled as his father snapped a few pictures.

 

[The Writing Owl]

Breya definitely did not expect Ann's reaction, though she probably should have. How many times had older woman exclaim what a cute child she was when she had been walking through the store, dressed as she was. She was soon swept up in the flurry of motion as Ann called for pictures. Breya blushed, unsure how really to react. How did one pose with a fiancé they never knew? Really, everything seemed to be looking to be pretty okay if Edric was anything like Ann...

Of course he had to prove Breya wrong. She frowned, trying to figure out if she should be insulted by his comment of her not being 'camera ready'. Sure, she definitely didn't feel camera ready, but she had been wearing her best. Ann quickly confirmed that yes, this was apparently an insult as Reginald agreed with his wife. Breya blinked as a sudden hand pulled her to Edric's side, wrapping around her waist aggressively. She hesitated with her hands, trying to figure out where to put them before finally settling on wrapping an arm around Edric's waist and setting another hand on his chest. She smiled, wishing for nothing more than to hide from the sudden flashes of the camera.

After the impromptu photo session finished, Breya blinked as she realized they intended to take her shopping. "O-oh no, you all don't need to do that! I've got more than enough clothes of my own, a-and we aren't even married yet! I mean, I'd love to get to know Edric more, but really you don't need to go buy me things. You've all been generous enough!" She tried to argue. She felt a bit insulted by Edric's comment. She thought she looked okay, but looking around at her surroundings she realized that they were simply trying to make sure she could fit in properly with the rest of them. She couldn't keep going around wearing GoodWill clothing after all. She was marrying a rich man, someone who could take care of her family. Certain sacrifices had to be made.

 

[Sans]

Edric laughed at her comment, "Don't need to buy you clothes? Do you see what you're wearing? Come. Jeeves, get the car ready will you?"

Jeeves had been on standby. He was one of his family's many butlers. At Edric's command, he moved swiftly, bowing respectfully before doing so. After that, Edric grabbed Breya's hand, taking her up the stairs to his mother's closet which was easily the size of a bedroom. He supposed that she could easily find something in here that would work. His mother had always wanted a daughter and the clothes in here weren't even his mother's size. They might fit someone like Breya.

All of the clothing still had price tags on them. Not a single thing was cheaper than one hundred dollars. The shoes were lined all around the room in boxes and some of the clothes were covered in plastic. Breya probably could have shopped here, but there was no way Edric would let her off the hook that easily.

Edric stopped suddenly when he heard movement upstairs in the attic. He thought it was nothing, but then he heard it again.

"I need to check something..." He left Breya alone in the closet, going up more stair and eventually to the attic.

Nothing could truly explain how Edric felt when he saw a naked man and an empty coffin next to him. Furthermore, he knew who it was that had popped out of that coffin.

"F-Fenrir?" He stuttered, "B-b-but how? You were dead... My father used to read me stories about you, about how you blessed this family. You've been dead for centuries..."

Fenrir turned to face Edric, raising a perplexed eyebrow, "Yes, it would seem we both have a lot of questions we're dying to have answered."

He laughed at his pun, "Now if you'd be so kind as to tell me where I might be able to find some clothes?"

Edric nodded slowly, his jaw slightly open, "Down these stairs, door on your right."

"Thank you, my boy," Fenrir said, heading down the stairs, nearly hitting his head from how tall he was. He'd managed to make it to the room without being spotted by anyone and sure enough there were clothes right where Edric said they would be.

Edric made it back down the stairs, looking as though he'd seen a ghost, but Fenrir looked entirely too real to be a ghost. He began thinking that maybe he was going crazy. He contemplated going back to see if he'd truly seen what he thought, but he ultimately decided to wait for Breya. Fenrir put on some dashing clothes, a suit and tie to be certain. He looked even more handsome than Edric. He was tall, lean, and his jaw was sharp enough to cut diamonds. He'd found himself running into to Edric again, who still had not recovered from seeing him the first time.

"I'll be staying here, until I figure out what's going on. If your father is so fond of me, I don't believe he'd have a problem with that," Fenrir said coolly, "Are you waiting for someone?"