Chapter 2

• The bishop literally dragged me down the aisle while I kicked and screamed. I kept telling myself that if I was going to die, I would make sure that the flag was flying when it happened. I had no intention of giving up and resigning myself to my death. I would fight this dead person and his "Lordship" until I died.
• So, while I was in the zombie bishop's rotting hands, I turned and twisted and fought every step, but the zombie bishop dragged me up to the altar. When the bishop finally pulled me under the arch of dead roses at the end of the aisle, there was a wave of hushed whispers from the other people in the church.
• "I am not getting married." I yelled at him and everyone else there.
• The bishop grabbed my wrist hard and broke, "Don't whine, child. Your future husband will be here any second, and he won't want to see you acting like a brat."
• I nervously looked back down the aisle, but I didn't see anything. People in the crowd would also turn their heads sometimes to try to see the groom. I was curious about what kind of smelly creature the groom would be. What if the bishop here turned out to be the handsome brother of the Prince of Darkness? What if the Prince of Darkness turned out to be a dead man?
• I started to feel sick as waves of it came up and hit my stomach. My mind started running through a million worst-case scenarios, which made me feel sicker and sicker.
• The bishop snapped his fingers and yelled to someone he didn't know, "Tell his highness to hurry up before his bride dies!"
• My legs gave out from under me, and the bishop grabbed me and pulled me to my feet in a rough way. He hissed at me in anger, "For God's sake, child, be brave."
• "I can't get married. Please let me go, "I asked him to help me.
• The bishop looked at me with pity and said, "Have courage, my child."
• Fear was slowly freezing my muscles and paralyzing me as my situation became more and more hopeless. Even as my knee tried to give way, the zombie bishop kept holding me up.
• When the bishop saw how upset I was, he shouted, "Someone should tell His Majesty to hurry up and get his bride before she passes out!"
• A small, pale boy got up and ran down the aisle, disappearing into the fog. As everyone looked at the scene in front of them, there was a quiet ripple of laughter. The bishop raised his hand sharply and told the crowd, "Quiet down now," in a firm voice. He then gently squeezed my shoulder. Oh my god, was he trying to cheer me up or make me feel better?
• My mind was now going crazy.
• The altar boy ran back up the aisle, and the bishop asked, "Is he coming?" The boy nodded, and the bishop asked again, "Is he coming?" God, please help me. I shut and opened my eyes again, hoping to wake up from this nightmare.
• People started eagerly looking over their shoulders for something or someone. I just stood there, frozen with fear and cold. The dead bishop gave another small sign to something that couldn't be seen, and out of nowhere, an organ started to play a haunting tune.
• All of the people at the wedding turned their heads to look down the aisle. As the music got louder, their faces lit up with big smiles. It wasn't quite the wedding march I was hoping for, but it sounded like something grand you might hear on TV from a foreign royal court. I probably would have liked it if my life hadn't been about to go down the drain.
• Now, waves of fear were hitting me, and a rush of adrenaline made me feel better for a moment. In a last-ditch effort, I used force to try to get out of the bishop's grip. The bishop struggled to keep me from turning and twisting. I thought I could get away for a split second, but then I saw something out of the corner of my eye that made me stop.
• I raised my head and watched as the legend walked toward me down the aisle. The guests at the wedding stood up and bowed their heads as he walked by. It was The Prince of Darkness. The Prince didn't look like the walking dead I had seen in my dreams. He was taller than six feet and easily filled the aisle with his broad, muscular body. He wore a well-fitted black Armani suit. I almost choked on my own breath as I thought to myself, "He's so handsome that he could distract a girl from fighting a zombie bishop."
• The Prince walked down the aisle like a runway model in one of the world's fashion capitals. I watched with a strange sort of interest as he casually lifted his hand and ran his fingers through his jet-black hair, smoothing back a few stray strands that were covering his beautiful amber eyes. Those eyes were like a spell. He was like a spell. I was on the edge of a metaphorical void I didn't know much about, and all I could think about was how good he looked in a suit.
• The Prince showed the bishop a relaxed hand and said, "Now you can let her go." The bishop's hand on my wrist got a little bit looser, but not all the way. The bishop didn't know if I would run or not. But the Prince gave the bishop a cool smile and said, "Don't be afraid, I've got her. She won't do it."
• I blinked. What was he trying to say? Even though I wasn't completely sure, the bishop let go of my hand and moved behind the arch of dead flowers.
• I thought right away that it was my chance to escape. My eyes were drawn to the far-off cemetery gates, and I tried to move, but I couldn't. I was stuck and didn't know why. "Look at me, my love, if you're scared," the Prince whispered to me. What? Did he just call me love? I wasn't sure if I should feel hard or soft...
• I couldn't tell if my heart was beating faster or slower as the Prince got closer to the archway where I was standing. He was both a dream and a nightmare. He was perfect in every way, but everything he stood for was so dark that it scared me. He had strong features that were put together in a way that was neither too soft nor too rough. I was drawn to his eyes, which were two pools of brown gold that glowed like dark amber in the moonlight. They were mesmerizing enough to make me forget about everything else.
• The Prince moved under the arch and stood on the other side of me. He smiled and told her, "You're beautiful." He reached out and gently took both of my hands in his, brought them to his mouth, and then ran his lips over my knuckles. My mouth slightly opened in shock as my brain went blank. Did I want to get away from this guy or make out with him?
• Part of me wanted to get away, but the other part of me wanted to stay in those eyes for the rest of my life. As the mist got thicker around us, I started to feel like I was in a dream. The group of people left, and it was just me and him left. Even the bishop's mumblings, which made no sense, disappeared into the ether.
• Someone or something I couldn't see wanted me to give in to this man and accept my fate. I wanted to fight against the urge. I moved around uncomfortably, and the stranger's grip on my hands got tighter. He was powerful. "Don't get in my way." I thought of an echo.
• I blinked. Did I just hear his voice in my head, or was I dreaming?
• He looked smart, like he could read my mind, from the way his eyes sparkled. My eyes started to burn with tears, and I thought, "If you can hear me, let me go." I felt sick to my stomach, and I could feel his hands lightly squeeze mine.
• The echo said, "I promise to make you happy."
• Oh no, I was stuck. Stuck with no way out.
• When the bishop loudly cleared his throat, the Prince took his golden eyes off of me. "Are you going to marry this woman?" the Bishop asked.
• The Prince turned his head back to me, looked straight into my eyes, and said, "I do."
• "Now you're mine, and I'm yours," he softly said in my head.
• I suddenly found my voice and said, "No way am I married to a crazy person!"
• The edges of his mouth turned up, and I could feel how amused he was, as if our minds were linked. I yelled in my head, "GET OUT OF MY MIND!" I was so mad.
• He said, with a hint of sarcasm, "Darling heart, please don't be like this. You're making yourself upset."
• The bishop shut his sermon book with a snap and said loudly, "Now you may kiss the bride." The crowd cheered, and I turned to my husband and looked up into his face with a mix of fear and attraction.
• "You'll never be alone, because I'll always love you." His words kept playing over and over in my head as he pulled me into his arms and pressed me against his body. I wanted to scream, "Get off of me!" but my body seemed to react strongly to his touch, wanting and needing it. The muscles under his shirt were warm and hard, and my hands couldn't help but feel them.
• The Prince gently put his finger under my chin and pulled my face up. Leaning down, he brushed his lips against mine and then said, "I'm sorry." He put his head on my shoulder and nipped my neck. At first, I didn't get it, but when I felt his grip around my waist tightening like a boa constrictor, I got it. I knew that something was wrong.
• He kissed my neck again and whispered, "Please forgive me."
• I opened my mouth to ask what was going on, but pain exploded in my neck as I felt the Prince of Darkness's teeth tear through my skin and start to drink my life away.Startkin and start to drink my life away.